Shared Prosperity, Stronger Regions: An Agenda for Rebuilding America's Older Core Cities

Explores opportunities for community collaborations to promote economic development and neighborhood revitalization, and offers strategies for public/private investment. Includes case studies in Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh

Cities, terrorism and development

This article interrogates the relationship between terrorism and development through the lens of cities, arguing that despite the post 9/11 hype in relation to cities of the global North, the impact of terrorism on cities of the global South should not be ignored. Defining terrorism in terms of acts of terror, it is suggested that cities are more susceptible to this form of political violence than rural areas because of the likelihood of greater impact and visibility and the incidence and impact of urban terror is greatest in cities of less developed countries. Eschewing a ‘developing’/’developed’ dichotomy it is nevertheless demonstrated that while terrorism has levelled risk across cities of the North and South, vulnerabilities in developing country cities are far greater. It is here that the link between terrorism and development can be most tightly drawn, providing a clear rationale for destabilising the vicious cycle of terrorism and counter-terrorism that destroys past and undermines future development

Peer power: Implementing a social work peer mentoring scheme

Peer-mentoring is known to have value for both mentors and mentees and on professional degree programmes. For mentors this can build confidence and support students to develop skills which align with the standards and expectations of social workers. For mentees benefits include increasing engagement, reducing worries and developing resilience. Although previous research has suggested that peer-mentoring is widely adopted in social work education programmes, there remains limited research on this topic for qualifying social work programmes in the UK. Recent research on this topic from members of our team, which was undertaken in another university, indicated the effectiveness of peer-mentoring in building a community of practice, supporting transitions, complementing the role of academic staff and in facilitating academic and professional development for both mentors and mentees. Indeed, those who had been mentors were keen to develop these skills further such as becoming practice educators supporting ongoing CPD. However, this research also noted problems encountered in establishing a peer-mentoring scheme. Building on some of the authors’ previous experience in co-producing a peer-mentoring scheme, this short oral presentation will outline how staff, students and former peer-mentors, who are now qualified social workers, have worked together to establish a mentoring scheme on an undergraduate programme. The presentation will outline the motivations for having a peer-mentoring scheme on the programme. It will also provide reflections on how we have used knowledge and experience from the previous scheme to avoid some of the challenges which can emerge with setting up peer-mentoring schemes. Student mentors will share their experiences of being involved in the scheme and former mentors will also reflect on how being involved in peer-mentoring has influenced their newly qualified practice. Implications for practice for educators, students, new social workers and employers will be discussed

Evaluation of a simulation-based hospital pharmacy training package for pharmacy students

© 2018, The Author(s). This study describes the process undertaken to develop, implement and evaluate a simulation-based training package focused on medication management and reconciliation processes for final year pharmacy students about a patient’s hospital journey. A five module training package was developed following a literature review and consultation with stakeholders. The simulation-based package immersed students in a real-life scenario and was delivered to final year pharmacy students over a six-week period in 2016. Data on knowledge, skills and confidence was collected via a survey in the week preceding engagement with the online training package and 1 week post completion of the training. The mean score was compared across four student categories: three categories incorporated students who had not completed a hospital pharmacy placement and one category comprised students who had completed a hospital placement. Qualitative feedback was collected via an online survey at the conclusion of the training program. Of the 79 participants, 44 (55.7%) completed both the pre and post- test surveys that showed the change in score was statistically significant. There was a significant positive change in mean test scores across all four student categories for the domains of skills, knowledge and confidence. Assessment of students’ confidence according to 16 ranking statements also improved markedly post-training. Thirty-one students provided qualitative feedback that was generally positive. The positive outcomes reinforce the rationale to include online simulation-based methodologies as part of pharmacy education programs. The model provides a reproducible framework for online simulated learning activities that could be applied within various professions and educational environments