‘Recovery work’ and ‘magic’ among long-term mental health service-users

Based on an extended period of qualitative research with mental health service-users in north-east England, this article considers the various forms of ‘magical work’ and ‘recovery work’ that emerge in the lives of people living with severe mental health problems. Given the now sizeable body of literature which seeks to problematize traditional conceptual boundaries of work, the article asks to what extent these hidden and unusual work-forms might also be considered legitimate members of the category. Rather than argue for the expansion of the construct to accommodate these activities, the paper attempts simply to problematize the extent to which so-called ‘mad’ forms of work are irresolvably different to more conventional forms of occupation. In challenging notions of the psychiatric patient as inevitably inactive, new vocabularies for service-user work are explored. Concluding remarks are also directed to recent policy debates concerning ‘back-to-work’ welfare reform for long-term out of work service-users

A Comparison of Grassland Management Systems for Beef Cattle Using Self-Contained Farmlets: Effects of Contrasting Nitrogen Inputs and Management Strategies on the Farm Economy

The financial implications of manipulating nitrogen (N) inputs and management strategies for beef production systems were assessed. One-hectare grassland farmlets were grazed to a target sward height by beef steers; herbage surplus to grazing requirements was cut for silage. Three systems were compared: ‘CN’, conventional mineral N application to a grass monoculture and broadcast slurry; ‘TN’, tactical mineral N application at fortnightly intervals to a grass monoculture with slurry injection and the early housing of cattle; ‘GC’, a mixed grass/white clover sward with no mineral N addition and slurry injection. Comparisons were made on two contrasting soil types: a freely-draining sandy loam (site 1) and a poorly drained clay (site 2). Financial budgets for 1999-2000 show that estimated gross profit margins (gross outputs minus variable costs), after deducting contractor’s charges for sward preparation and fertiliser spreading, were highest for treatment CN at both sites Î(€1552, €1356 and €1461 ha-1 for site 1 and €1562, €1281 and €1287 ha-1 for site 2, for treatments CN, TN and GC, respectively). Treatment TN was penalised by increased costs associated with an extended housed period and the need to purchase additional silage for winter feeding which cost €242 ha-1 at site 1 and €250 ha-1 at site 2. Savings in N fertiliser for TN in comparison with CN (€44 ha-1 at site 1 and €39 ha-1 at site 2) were more than offset by the increased costs of fortnightly fertiliser applications (€54 ha-1 at site 1 and €46 ha-1 at site 2). Treatment GC benefited from zero costs for the purchase and spreading of mineral N fertiliser but was penalised by increased variation in forage DM production which resulted in a shortfall in winter fodder requirements with a replacement cost of €250 at site 1 and €435 at site 2. The best overall economic performance after the allocation of all possible relevant costs (variable, fixed and capital) in terms of the relative net profit margin, was for GC at site 1 and for CN at site 2 (-€1358, -€2399 and -€1304 ha-1 at site 1 and -€1122, -€2810 and - €1380 ha-1 at site 2, for CN, TN and GC, respectively). The opportunity costs of reducing N surpluses at the gross profit margin level (after contractor’s charges) for treatments TN and GC over treatment CN were calculated at €2.29 kg-1 N surplus for TN and €0.67 kg-1 N surplus for GC at site 1, with corresponding values of €4.91 and €1.57 at site 2.Farmlets, Systems, Beef cattle, Nitrogen, Slurry, Animal production, Economics, UK, Farm Management,

Is executive impairment associated with schizophrenic syndromes? A meta-analysis

Original article can be found at: http://journals.cambridge.org/ Copyright Cambridge University Press. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291708003887A key neuropsychological proposal in schizophrenia is that negative and disorganization symptoms are associated with different patterns of impairment on executive tasks. Reporting correlations between positive, negative or disorganization symptoms and any type of executive test were meta-analysed. The influence of moderating factors was also examined, including age, treatment and stage of illness and whether symptoms were relapsing or persistent. The magnitudes of the correlations were compared with those for general intellectual impairment. Pooled correlations between executive impairment and both negative symptoms and disorganization were significant in the small-to-moderate range. That for positive symptoms (‘reality distortion’), however, was close to zero. The pattern of correlations among different executive tests differed significantly for negative symptoms and disorganization. Patients with stable clinical pictures showed significantly higher correlations with executive impairment than those with relapsing and remitting illnesses. Both negative symptoms and disorganization also correlated significantly with general intellectual function as indexed by current IQ. Meta-analysis supports the view that negative symptoms and disorganization are associated with partially dissociable patterns of executive impairment. However, co-existent general intellectual impairment has been an important confounding factor in the studies to date.Peer reviewe

Law and the Layman

This is the text of a speech presented by the Honorable Bolitha J. Laws before the Bar Association of St. Louis on April 15, 1955

Honour and respect in Danish prisons: Contesting ‘cognitive distortions’ in cognitive-behavioural programmes

© 2016, © The Author(s) 2016. Using empirical data from prison-based cognitive-behavioural programmes, this article considers how prisoners’ subcultural capital shapes their responses to demands for ‘cognitive self-change’. We argue that accounts of ‘respect’ in the prior literature fail to capture how prisoners react to these programmes, and that a discussion of honour (and what we term ‘respect plus’) needs to be incorporated. The empirical material derives from four different cognitive-behavioural programme setups in three Danish prisons and semi-structured interviews with participants and course instructors. By attempting to create accountable and rational actors, who ‘self-manage’, the therapeutic ethos neglects participants’ life experiences and subcultural capital. Open expressions of moral values by prisoners (such as displays of honour and respect) are considered to be cognitive distortions which are dismissed by instructors, while alternative and ‘correct’ thinking styles are prescribed. Our findings advance understandings of the meanings of honour and respect in prisons in general and in cognitive-behavioural programmes in particular.This work was supported by the Danish Council for Independent Research | Social Sciences grant number 12-125308 for the research project Education in Social Skills and Emotional Training

Creativity in events: the untold story

This paper reports upon untold stories that illustrate the creativity but also complexity of working in outdoor events. There has been global interest in the Creative Industries and the Creative Economy more generally. Events have not been identified or categorised as part of this. Experiences have been identified as part of the creative sectors (NESTA, 2006) and events are seen as experiences (Jackson, 2006; Berridge 2007). There has been little research undertaken about the creative nature of event experiences, especially in how they are created. A theoretical framework was created from literature on creativity more generally to inform the Creativity in Events research project. Interviews with those working in the outdoor events sector were the basis of the qualitative stage of the research project investigating the phenomenon of creativity in events. This paper identifies the core facets of creativity in the management of outdoor events. These were fluency, originality, imagination, elaboration, environment and complexity. A vignette is used to illustrate the intricacy of the nature of creativity in the production of outdoor event experiences. The overall findings were that event management was both creative and pragmatic and that both are necessary. There was a need for a creative environment with processes and familiarity that aided inspiration and originality. The background and findings are relevant to recognising events as part of the wider creative economy. A greater understanding of the nature of creativity in events informs both education and practice

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for schizophrenia - outcomes for functioning, distress and quality of life : A meta-analysis

Background: The effect of cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis (CBTp) on the core symptoms of schizophrenia has proven contentious, with current meta-analyses finding at most only small effects. However, it has been suggested that the effects of CBTp in areas other than psychotic symptoms are at least as important and potentially benefit from the intervention. Method: We meta-analysed RCTs investigating the effectiveness of CBTp for functioning, distress and quality of life in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and related disorders. Data from 36 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) met our inclusion criteria- 27 assessing functioning (1579 participants); 8 for distress (465 participants); and 10 for quality of life (592 participants). Results: The pooled effect size for functioning was small but significant for the end-of-trial (0.25: 95% CI: 0.14 to 0.33); however, this became non-significant at follow-up (0.10 [95%CI -0.07 to 0.26]). Although a small benefit of CBT was evident for reducing distress (0.37: 95%CI 0.05 to 0.69), this became nonsignificant when adjusted for possible publication bias (0.18: 95%CI -0.12 to 0.48). Finally, CBTp showed no benefit for improving quality of life (0.04: 95% CI: -0.12 to 0.19). Conclusions: CBTp has a small therapeutic effect on functioning at end-of-trial, although this benefit is not evident at follow-up. Although CBTp produced a small benefit on distress, this was subject to possible publication bias and became nonsignificant when adjusted. We found no evidence that CBTp increases quality of life post-intervention.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio