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This paper reflects on the systematic interconnections between creative workers and higher education institutions (HEIs). Despite the latter representing key intermediaries in creative industries' development and creative workers' career trajectories, the relationship between the two has rarely been framed in a relational and systemic framework. To do so, we chose the UK theatre sector as the case study and adopted a mixed methodology: UK Higher Education Statistical Agency quantitative data, which informed us on the employment state of workers 6 months after graduation, were combined with 21 semi-structured interviews with actors and actresses to understand the complexity of their relationship with HEIs. HEIs emerge as the initial door to paid jobs and professional networks for graduates and as employers for those in the later stages of their careers: the lack of formal ways to access jobs and the precarious working conditions for performers make hence HEIs a crucial force in shaping workers' careers. Furthermore, HE remains throughout the career of theatre workers an important part of their portfolio, providing reliable income and more stable working patterns when needed. The paper concludes with the findings' policy implications and the future role of HEIs in creative and cultural ecosystems.

Global economic events have had a profound effect upon both businesses and the available workforce. Industries need a more skilful and advanced labour market and individuals who complete tertiary-level education are afforded better protection against economic uncertainties. Consequently, demand for higher education worldwide is growing, due to a rising number of globally mobile students. However, return on investment is important and curriculums offering employability enhancement and work opportunities are motivating factors when international students make their study decisions. This paper details one UK university's approach to enhancing international student employability skills and employment outcomes, using a 3-day experiential learning residential on an MBA programme. Employing a survey design, the research investigates the benefits of this residential to 182 international MBA students (all from the Indian subcontinent region). The findings report that the international students developed key employability skills via the residential which significantly increased their propensity to obtain subsequent employment. The results of this paper provide much needed insight into improving both the employability skills and employment outcomes of international students, especially students from the Indian subcontinent, via immersive experiential learning activities.

The United Kingdom and Ireland have a well-established research base in motor competence (MC) research, ranging from reporting and monitoring levels of MC, developing assessment tools for MC, providing innovative curriculum and intervention design to support learning and development, as well as providing advocacy for particular groups, such as those with motor impairments. This expert statement, on behalf of the International Motor Development Research Consortium, draws together what is currently known about levels of MC in the United Kingdom and Ireland as well as current approaches to intervention in both countries. Subsequently presented are recommendations for researchers and practitioners to advance the field of MC for the benefit of children and youth in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and worldwide.

This study considers the impact of Outward Bound UK's first Women's Outdoor Leadership Course, as a strategy for addressing the gender imbalance in leadership within the organisation and wider outdoor sector. A qualitative approach was taken in order to examine changes experienced by the women on the course, what contributed to such changes and the significance of the female environment. Analysis taking an initial grounded theory approach led to the use of Transformational Learning Theory as a framework for understanding the data. Results suggest that transformations occurred primarily around confidence and an inner authentic sense of self. Key contributing factors to this were the supportive environment, the focus on learning, challenge and reflection, and relationships with female peers. Findings can be used to inform an explicit theory of change for further women's outdoor leadership development. More research is needed to understand the sustainability and impact of change.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a corner of society where the spotlight has not fallen -- the black hole of prisons, confining predominantly poor, minoritised and often younger adults. Globally, during the pandemic, people detained in prison have been locked away in solitary, or near solitary, confinement for up to 23-hours a day. In the UK, this meant choosing between fresh air, exercise or a phone call to loved ones each day. There has been little mention of education. Those in custody endured over a year locked in a cell without access to basic education let alone Higher Education (HE). In examining the state's responsibility to provide "education for all", we demonstrate, through our collective participation in the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Programme, the value and importance of prison education beyond the current focus on risk, responsibility and recidivism. We evidence the transformative and humanising potential of HE in prison through three key elements -- the space and learning environment; the role of voice, recognition and agency; and the power of disruptive and transgressive teaching practice. We shine a light on education in prison during the COVID-19 pandemic. The impacts of COVID-19 expose new and deeper forms of structural disadvantage that shape the educational experiences and journeys of people in custody. We consider how we can expedite "education as the practice of freedom" for those who are incarcerated during and beyond the pandemic. We conclude by reimagining HE in UK prisons, reflecting upon alternative, more positive, approaches to prison education.

Background: Embedded research involves co-locating researchers within non-academic organisations to better link research and practice. Embedded research initiatives are often complex and emergent with a range of underlying intents, structures and processes. This can create tensions within initiatives and contributes to ongoing uncertainty about the most suitable designs and the effectiveness of different approaches. Aims and objectives: We aimed to devise a practical framework to support those designing and cultivating embedded research by operationalising findings from an extensive study of existing initiatives. Key conclusions: The underpinning research on embedded initiatives -- a literature review and scoping exercise of initiatives in health settings across the UK -- showed that such initiatives share ten common sets of concerns in relation to their intent, structure and processes. We used these insights during a co-production workshop with embedded researchers and their managers that made use of a range of creative activities. The workshop resulted in a practical framework (and associated web-based tools) that draw on the metaphor of a garden to represent the growing, emergent nature of embedded research initiatives and the active work which individuals and organisations need to put into planning and maintaining such initiatives. Each of the aspects is represented as a separate area within the garden using relevant visual metaphors. Building on this, we also present a series of reflective questions designed to facilitate discussion and debate about design features, and we link these to the wider literature, thereby helping those involved to articulate and discuss their preferences and expectations.

Education professionals (n = 41) in special schools were interviewed about supporting their autistic pupils transitioning to adulthood following the introduction of the Children and Families Act 2014. Our participants explained how they lacked the time to fully implement knowledge gained from training, leading to growing reliance on experiential expertise. While our participants reported employing a variety of methods to elicit the voices of pupils, they were uncertain how effective and ethical these were. Further, a lack of available opportunities meant that participants felt they could not always support young people in achieving their goals. Based on these findings, we recommend greater investment in the implementation of staff training, more flexibility for schools to be able to meaningfully elicit and act on pupils' voices, and better vocational opportunities for autistic young people with additional learning needs. This would enable the principles of the Act, which have been widely lauded, to become a closer reality.

This study explored the extent to which organisations responsible for initial teacher training, prepare pre-service teachers to deliver comprehensive sexuality education in schools. Five electronic databases were searched to identify publications that reported the provision of CSE training for pre-service teachers. Methodological quality was appraised using The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Systematic Reviews and Research Syntheses. Descriptive analyses were conducted to summarise the scope of pre-service teacher preparation. Twenty-two documents, primarily from the UK, Australia and the USA were identified for review. Overall, information regarding training in comprehensive sexuality education for pre-service teachers is limited. The review identified wide variability in training content and positioning in primary and/or secondary programmes as either core or elective requirements. Current provision does not appear to align with international and best-practice guidelines in most instances. Further research and greater transparency regarding the preparation of pre-service teachers to deliver comprehensive sexuality education is recommended to identify and prioritise best-practice holistic teaching concepts to improve teacher and student outcomes.

This article focuses on the experience of signing deaf academics working in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK. I utilise a research method previously unused in this context, eco-mapping, to explore the ways in which deaf academics see themselves and their involvement in their home HEIs and in the academic field more generally. I review the available literature of deaf academic experience in the UK before using extensive quotes from research interviews to illustrate how the burden of making their own workplaces accessible usually falls on the shoulders of deaf academics. I also show that there is a lack of appreciation of the emotional labour and time demands that such work requires from the academics' workplaces using a Lefebvrian understanding of time. I end with some reflections on the method used and on the implications of the barriers deaf academics and those from other linguistic minority communities can face in HEIs in the UK.

Purpose: This monograph reports on the strategic and operational roles of learning and development (L&D) professionals in Irish, UK European and US organisations including multinational corporations, small to medium enterprises, the public sector and not for profit organisations. This paper aims to investigate the contextual factors influencing L&D roles in organisations, the strategic and operational roles that L&D professionals play in organisations, the competencies and career trajectories of L&D professionals, the perceptions of multiple internal stakeholders of the effectiveness of L&D roles and the relationships between context, L&D roles, competencies/expertise and perceived organisational effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach: The study findings are based on the use of multiple methods. The authors gathered data from executives, senior managers, line managers, employee and L&D professionals using multiple methods: a survey (n = 440), Delphi study (n = 125) and semi-structured interviews (n = 30). Findings: The analysis revealed that L&D professionals increasingly respond to a multiplicity of external and internal contextual influences and internal stakeholders perceived the effectiveness of L&D professionals differently with significant gaps in perceptions of what L&D contributes to organisational effectiveness. L&D professionals perform both strategic and operational roles in organisations and they progress through four career levels. Each L&D role and career level requires a distinct and unique set of foundational competencies and L&D expertise. The authors found that different contextual predictors were important in explaining the perceived effectiveness of L&D roles and the importance attached to different foundational competencies and areas of L&D expertise. Originality/value: This is one of the few studies to have investigated the L&D professional role in organisations from the perspective of multiple stakeholders using multiple research methods.

Self-exclusion from school is a significant issue in the UK and increasingly associated with bullying. However, there is little research into this relationship and the experiences and support needs of adolescents who experience bullying leading to self-exclusion are unknown. Using participatory methodology, we worked with adolescents who had self-excluded from school and the staff supporting them, to identify key issues on experiences and support needs and design the research approach which was carried into a second phase of research involving four focus group discussions with other self-excluded adolescents. Fifteen adolescents were involved in total (11 female, 4 male, aged 13-16). Data was analysed thematically and findings suggest anxiety underpins self-exclusion due to bullying, which was shaped by friendship dynamics, issues around seeking support, and institutional factors in schools. This led to gradual withdrawal from school, and eventually self-exclusion. These shared experiences, knowledge, and insight go beyond the current literature, thus providing a strong rationale for involving adolescents in future research.

In this paper, we draw on previous conceptual work and theories pertaining to historical waves of reform, in order to reflect upon and locate the recent and current changes in the UK Higher Education (HE) landscape. Moreover, we consider the potentially catastrophic outcomes and consequences facing some HE institutions, and the sector as a whole, arising from the short-sighted and dogged pursuit of neoliberal policies -- policies still being followed, we posit, at the precise moment when the current predominant neoliberal wave of reform nears its end. Thus, we present the case that as neoliberalism is confronted with a terminal crisis of legitimacy 'from within' (a system crisis), so too are universities. We therefore ask: What next for the HE sector and Universities? Will HE institutions 'carry on regardless' pursuing exploitative, ecocidal, meaningless fiscal growth policies that inexorably risk their legitimacy; their very existence? Or will universities turn away from their generative role in this crisis and authentically begin to reclaim, imagine and practise another educational mission?

Introduction: This paper reports on the findings of a study investigating the potential effects of discipline (sciences and engineering versus humanities and social sciences) on the application of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers learning object metadata elements for the description of learning objects in the Jorum learning object repository. Method: A survey was conducted that examined a stratified sample of 470 metadata records and surrogates used for the description of learning objects in the Jorum repository. Analysis: A quantitative data analysis was performed based on the sample. This included descriptive statistics as well as a set of Chi squared tests for the identification of differences in the application of learning object metadata elements between disciplines. Results: The results of this study showed that some metadata elements tended to be more frequently applied for the description of learning objects in the humanities and social sciences than in sciences and engineering. These were: interactivity type, difficulty, aggregation level, coverage, structure and semantic density. Conclusions: The findings of this study could have implications for the design of metadata editors and annotation tools, as well as the development of metadata training programmes. (Contains 7 tables and 1 figure.)

This study considers the impact of using a series of Mindset interventions during a five-day outdoor personal development (OPD) course. Self-efficacy, resilience and Mindset were measured pre course, post course and one month post course. It was hypothesised that both experimental and control groups would increase their self-efficacy and resilience, and that the Mindset (experimental) group would significantly increase beyond the levels of the control group, who took part in the standard OPD course. It was also predicted that the Mindset group would move towards a Growth Mindset, whereas the control group would not show any change in Mindset. Hypotheses were tested using a randomised, quasi-experimental method. Separate mixed analyses of variance were carried out for each dependent variable, followed by planned comparisons and post-hoc tests using a Bonferroni correction. Results showed that both groups increased self-efficacy over time; however, there was no further significance for the experimental group. Resilience only increased significantly in the experimental group while the control group made no significant gain, and students in the experimental group moved significantly towards a Growth Mindset while the control group did not.

Extended pleurectomy decortication for complete macroscopic resection for pleural mesothelioma has never been evaluated in a randomised trial. The aim of this study was to compare outcomes after extended pleurectomy decortication plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone. MARS 2 was a phase 3, national, multicentre, open-label, parallel two-group, pragmatic, superiority randomised controlled trial conducted in the UK. The trial took place across 26 hospitals (21 recruiting only, one surgical only, and four recruiting and surgical). Following two cycles of chemotherapy, eligible participants with pleural mesothelioma were randomly assigned (1:1) to surgery and chemotherapy or chemotherapy alone using a secure web-based system. Individuals aged 16 years or older with resectable pleural mesothelioma and adequate organ and lung function were eligible for inclusion. Participants in the chemotherapy only group received two to four further cycles of chemotherapy, and participants in the surgery and chemotherapy group received pleurectomy decortication or extended pleurectomy decortication, followed by two to four further cycles of chemotherapy. It was not possible to mask allocation because the intervention was a major surgical procedure. The primary outcome was overall survival, defined as time from randomisation to death from any cause. Analyses were done on the intention-to-treat population for all outcomes, unless specified. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT02040272 , and is closed to new participants. Between June 19, 2015, and Jan 21, 2021, of 1030 assessed for eligibility, 335 participants were randomly assigned (169 to surgery and chemotherapy, and 166 to chemotherapy alone). 291 (87%) participants were men and 44 (13%) women, and 288 (86%) were diagnosed with epithelioid mesothelioma. At a median follow-up of 22·4 months (IQR 11·3–30·8), median survival was shorter in the surgery and chemotherapy group (19·3 months [IQR 10·0–33·7]) than in the chemotherapy alone group (24·8 months [IQR 12·6–37·4]), and the difference in restricted mean survival time at 2 years was –1·9 months (95% CI –3·4 to –0·3, p=0·019). There were 318 serious adverse events (grade ≥3) in the surgery group and 169 in the chemotherapy group (incidence rate ratio 3·6 [95% CI 2·3 to 5·5], p<0·0001), with increased incidence of cardiac (30 vs 12; 3·01 [1·13 to 8·02]) and respiratory (84 vs 34; 2·62 [1·58 to 4·33]) disorders, infection (124 vs 53; 2·13 [1·36 to 3·33]), and additional surgical or medical procedures (15 vs eight; 2·41 [1·04 to 5·57]) in the surgery group. Extended pleurectomy decortication was associated with worse survival to 2 years, and more serious adverse events for individuals with resectable pleural mesothelioma, compared with chemotherapy alone. National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme (15/188/31), Cancer Research UK Feasibility Studies Project Grant (A15895). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) is widely used by speech and language therapists to improve the interactions between children with delayed language development and their parents/carers. Despite favourable reports of the therapy from clinicians, little evidence of its effectiveness is available. We investigated the effects of PCIT as practised by clinicians within a clinical setting. Eighteen consecutive children referred for speech and language therapy because of their delayed language were entered in the study. A within-participants design was used, and the procedure was similar to that used clinically. Blind assessments were conducted twice before therapy to monitor change without therapy and once after completing PCIT. Significant changes in a parent rating scale, the children's mean length of utterance and the ratio of time of child to parent speech were found after the therapy. No changes were detected prior to therapy. The similarity of the design to clinical practice and the use of several clinicians suggest that the findings can be generalized to other settings and clinicians. These findings are a first step in evaluating PCIT; we now need to show that parents can maintain their newly acquired skills in interaction, and that this benefits their children's communication.

This article adds to an ongoing conversation in gerontology about the importance of training and involving older people in research. Currently, the literature rarely distinguishes between the one-off involvement of older citizens in research projects and the development of research groups led by older people that sustain over time as well as the nature of educational initiatives that support their development. This article presents a case-study based on evaluative data from the WhyNot! Older Citizens' Research Group that has been running independently for nearly eight years. Members' evaluations of, and reflections on, the impact of the training program explore from their perspective: Why older people want to get involved in research training and research groups, what they value most in the training, and the types of impact their involvement has had. Creating an educational environment where participants were able to contribute their knowledge in a new context as well learn new skills through group-work based experiential learning were key. Regular role-modeling provided by inputs from successful established citizen research groups was also important. Of the many benefits members gained from being part of a research group, emphasis was given to the "relational" aspects of the experience. Likewise the benefits members' accorded to taking part in training and research transcended individual benefits encompassing benefits to the collective and the wider community. Linking health, social care and educational policies is important in providing coherence and opportunity for older people's voices to shape research, policy, and practice.

This article investigates the current use of case studies in the teaching of Operational Research (OR) in the UK: how and where they are used; how they are developed; and whether there is an interest in training this area. It is aimed at lecturers teaching OR who are using or planning to use case studies in their teaching. It may also be of interest to policy-makers who wish to know what is being done in OR. The article focuses on the results of a survey sent to lecturers of OR in higher education in the UK. These are combined with an examination of the literature on using case studies in teaching in general and a small number of specific examples of how case studies are used in OR teaching. Case studies are included in OR teaching in a variety of ways and to develop a range of skills; particularly the ability to transfer academic knowledge to real-life contexts. The article identifies that the most significant barrier to the use of case studies in OR teaching is the development of new case studies; suggestions are made to address this, including providing training and collaboration opportunities. Overall this article provides an assessment of the ways in which case studies are used in OR; the advantages and limitations of using them; and specific examples of their use which will provide ideas to assist in improving OR teaching.

No matter what the national context, the question of how to understand the impact of government programmes, particularly in terms of value for money, has emerged as a complex problem to be solved by social scientific management. This article engages with these trends in two ways. It focuses on the UK to understand how these tools and technologies are used for valuing objects and practices. By showing the rationality for using these techniques for understanding culture, it creates a link between studies of cultural policy and broader questions facing the arts and humanities. The article's second contribution is to our understanding of the role and function of arts and humanities by showing, in the British example, how a true understanding of the value of culture is impossible without the disciplines and fields that are currently peripheral to both government social science and, more broadly, higher education in the UK.

Aims: (i) To collect data on the consumption patterns, purchase patterns and motivations of the online NPS community, and (ii) engage this specific group of NPS users in an exploration of recent policy developments in the UK focusing on their experiences of new legislative controls and the perceived harms they may cause, and eliciting their suggestions for future policy developments in this area. Methods: We employed an exploratory online methodology comprising a survey and participatory online research designed to interact and engage with experienced users of NPS. Findings: The findings of our small-scale exploratory study illustrate that what we term the cyber-psychonauts are well equipped to make a valuable contribution to NPS policy debates in general, and are ideally placed to report on the effects of recent policy changes on NPS-related harms in particular. The majority of NPS users in our study supported the introduction of a regulated market for NPS, which would not criminalise users and which would focus on the reduction of NPS-related harm. Conclusions: We argue that "the cyberpsychonauts" are well placed to contribute to NPS-related drug policy debates and, furthermore, that there may be a role for them in disseminating emerging information about NPS-related harm.

In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), treatments are assigned randomly and treatments are withheld from participants. Is it ethically permissible to conduct an RCT in a social setting? This paper addresses two conditions for justifying RCTs: that there should be a state of equipoise and that the trial should be scientifically promising. Illustrated with a discussion of the RCT evaluation of the Wizards of Words reading programme, this paper argues that, first, the two conditions can give rise to genuine moral conflicts, and second, efforts can be made to ensure RCTs in social settings are scientifically promising. The argument of this paper therefore is a departure from the current debate on RCTs, where it is assumed these two justifying conditions should not come into conflict, either because research ethics is derived from the professional's duty of care, or because there is a strong distinction between the ethics of research and the duty of care. This paper also addresses critics who argue that in social settings RCTs cannot be scientifically promising and for that reason they are ethically impermissible.

This paper presents a societal perspective on academic leadership by exploring the preoccupations of academics as citizens rather than as employees, managers or individuals. It uses a listening post methodology to ask "what is it like to be a citizen of an academic institution in contemporary Britain?" Three listening posts, comprising 26 participants from 15 higher education institutions, were conducted and analysed. A number of common themes were identified, including a sense of ambiguity and ambivalence about one's relationship with the employing institution and a concern about the fragmentation of academic identities. Whilst this paper contributes towards debates about the marketisation of higher education and the implications for leadership and management practice, its main contribution is to challenge dominant individual and organisational perspectives on leadership by exposing an alternative discourse, based on citizenship, which may offer new opportunities for engagement in the civic life of universities.

This article addresses a question for those seeking to deepen engagement with nontraditional students for strategies of widening participation in the higher education setting. The question is as follows: how can the academic subject be made more "open" to what the student (and therefore also the nontraditional student) can bring to it? "Openness" is intended in two senses here that each generates its own corollary questions. First, there is the question of how the academic subject as a discipline can be seen as open to society and culture: and to the "world" of the student. Second, how can the teaching of the academic subject be opened up to what the student has to offer: what forms of pedagogy do we need? Reflecting philosophically, the article outlines responses to each of these questions. Responding to the first question, with particular focus on Western science tradition, concepts from debates with the philosophy of science are employed to highlight the interactions between society and the academic discipline in its real historical development. In response to the second question, the tradition of Critical Pedagogy is foregrounded as offering the types of openness to student involvement in and contribution to the academic discipline. Such approaches, it is suggested, can create spaces in which nontraditional students, by virtue of their social experiences, cultural identities and personal characteristics, can become more deeply engaged in the academic and intellectual life of their chosen academic subject. The article then combines a number of theoretical perspectives to suggest that the social and cultural mix within the student body is something that warrants renewed attention for academic life and work.

Background: Research has shown for some time that addressing criminogenic need is one of the crucial aspects of reducing reoffending in all types of offenders. Criminogenic need such as anger or inappropriate sexual interest is considered to be crucial in the commission of the offence. The aim of the present study is to investigate the extent to which forensic services address the needs of those accepted into services. Method: This study reviews the treatment for 197 offenders with intellectual disability accepted into a range of services. Participants' case files were examined to ascertain the extent to which need was addressed through recognised therapies. A standard pro forma was used on which we had established good reliability across four research assistants. Results: The most frequently referred problems were violence and sexual offending. Specialist forensic intellectual disability community services were significantly more likely to provide treatment specifically designed to address index behaviours when compared to generic community services and secure services. Conclusions: Various possible explanations of these findings are explored including staffing levels, diagnosed mental illness, expertise of staff and clarity of purpose in services. (Contains 3 tables.)

This article addresses the under-theorization of visual techniques for social science research applications through the cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT). The "problem" of "the visual" in research is given an ontological framing by highlighting the ways in which the use of visual techniques as research tools--designed to elicit participant responses--has a bearing upon the types of data that are produced: the "how" to some degree shapes the "what" of research output. CHAT, by drawing our attention to the ways in which the artefacts we use to mediate researcher-participant relationship (our visual research tools) also affects them, alerts us to the meanings that we (inadvertently, reflexively or even deliberately) create in the research process. Three different kinds of visual techniques are explored according to a CHAT-informed typology: diagrams as a means of eliciting technical information, drawings as a means of eliciting interpretations and judgements and fictional characters as a means of eliciting personal identification. In each case, the ontological consequences of the choice of visual technique for the insight produced are discussed to explore the value of CHAT as one approach to deepening our understanding and appreciation of the value of "the visual" in research. (Contains 6 figures.)

The appropriateness of using statistical data to inform the design of any given service development or initiative often depends upon judgements regarding scale. Large-scale data sets, perhaps national in scope, whilst potentially important in informing the design, implementation and roll-out of experimental initiatives, will often remain unused for small-scale interventions involving only small numbers of service users or participants. This can be the result of legitimate concerns regarding representativity and rigour. Whilst large data sets may allow for strong claims to made regarding trends and tendencies with the population, a small scale intervention involving perhaps only tens of participants will not offer the opportunity to devise developmental rationales that are supported by such statistical rigour. This creates a situation in which important pilot studies and "suck-it-and-see" interventions are conducted in a basic empirical fashion that does not draw upon the informed reflection that large scale data makes possible. This article will argue that such a situation is not necessary. Through graduated and selective engagement with large-scale data sets it is possible to make good use of what they offer to inform the design and up-scaling of small pilot interventions. The discussion will focus on the case of a small intervention involving just nine parents and their babies conducted in Liverpool schools. More specifically it will consider the ways in which one national data-set, the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), can be used to develop this project. It will do this by way of profiling the MCS in order to both select out those aspects that could or should not be used and those aspects that could be used beneficially to inform the development of the initiative. In the process it will devise a set of criteria that could usefully be adapted for use by others in relation to service situations in which similar issues of scalar mis-match between available data-sets and service design exist.

This paper reflects on the development of teacher continuing professional development (CPD) in Scotland, a constituent part of the United Kingdom that now has significant devolved powers within the United Kingdom--from a time when INSET was ill-coordinated and unvalued to the present reliance on CPD, with substantial investment, as the agent of supporting teachers to enhance the overall quality of the workforce. The problematic issue of teacher professionalism is considered particularly in relation to the lack of a clearly articulated national strategy or statement of purpose. The major initiatives associated with Scotland's approach to teacher standards are addressed and the potential for further change explored in the light of the recent national review of teacher education. (Contains 1 table.)

This paper argues that school professionals' attitudes to continuing professional development (CPD) fall into identifiable types, which influence their involvement with CPD. In order to consider appropriate support for staff to take up relevant CPD, this paper aims to identify what these attitudes are. To this end, a model developed as an outcome of a Wellcome Trust funded project is applied to the experiences of school professionals in a networked CPD context. The Wellcome Trust model presents four categories--believers, seekers, agnostics and sceptics--according to their attitudes to CPD. This study extends it with a further, fifth, category; that of "providers". Whilst the original model suggests that professionals' uptake of CPD is primarily dependent on their individual attitude, this paper argues that attitude is a more complex product of professional attitude and other factors, such as access to, relevance and variety of CPD. Through the additional lens provided by other CPD models used in the literature, this paper offers insights into possible ways forward in providing appropriate support for effective CPD in a networked context. (Contains 7 tables.)

Graphic elicitation, i.e. asking participants to draw, is an interview technique used to focus the interviewee on the given topic or gain extra meaning not covered verbally as part of the interview. This study analyses two interview contexts which included visual elicitation. It describes a successful example in which the researcher maintained control over the mode of the planned research task (diagram) as well as another example in which slippage occurred between the mode of the planned research task (drawing) and the resulting artefact (diagram). Through this analysis, strategies for maintaining researcher control over the mode of elicitation are identified, increasing our understanding about the theory and practice of both drawings and diagrams as two "different" modes of visual elicitation. The paper concludes that the required control does not necessarily comprise an increase in task structure (directing participants as to "how" to draw). Moreover, the subject and purpose of the task are equally important. Successful researcher control then comprises a careful balance between all the three aspects of purpose, structure and subject. (Contains 1 table, 3 figures, and 5 notes.)

This article has been produced from the work of a research project conducted in the context of a city-wide education service in the United Kingdom. This was the Liverpool Learning Networks Research Project, which began in July 2005. The researchers carried out semi-structured interviews with education practitioners--learning network coordinators--who have strategic responsibility for the development of school networks in Liverpool. The role of these practitioners represents a confluence of two significant agendas. The first is that of social inclusion, with "the school" being seen as a key vehicle of policy delivery. The second is that of a shift towards the model of "the school network", aimed at improving pupil learning. What emerges from the interviews is that social inclusion is central to these key practitioners' understanding of the learning networks for which they are responsible. Despite a strong local emphasis on "learning", then, in the presentation of the learning networks, within the city the focus on what happens in the classroom has become blurred by a far wider, social notion of how learning should be understood. The authors argue that this represents a significant tension for how learning networks will actually develop. Whilst in a perfect world a focus upon pupil learning in the classroom on the one hand, and on child social welfare on the other, may complement one another, in reality this is not the case. In the real world of government priority, resource commitment and time-bound policy delivery, one or other focus will win out. The emphasis placed upon social inclusion by these senior education officers suggests that this is what will ultimately shape the direction and destination of these "learning" networks. If so, the legacy of such networks may prove to be government-driven social reform rather than the pioneering of "networked learning" that was their original promise. (Contains 2 notes.)

Background: Models of service provision and professional training differ between countries. This study aims to investigate a specialist intellectual disabilities model and a generic mental health model, specifically comparing psychiatrists' knowledge and competencies, and service quality and accessibility in meeting the mental health needs of people with intellectual disabilities. Method: Data were collected from consultant and trainee psychiatrists within a specialist intellectual disabilities model (UK) and a generic mental health model (Australia). Results: The sample sizes were 294 (UK) and 205 (Australia). Statistically significant differences were found, with UK participants having positive views about the specialist intellectual disabilities service model they worked within, demonstrating flexible and accessible working practices and service provision, responsive to the range of mental health needs of the population with intellectual disabilities, and providing a wide range of treatments and supports. The UK participants were knowledgeable, well trained and confident in their work. They wanted to work with people with intellectual disabilities. In all of these areas, the converse was found from the Australian generic mental health service model. Conclusions: The specialist intellectual disabilities model of service provision and training has advantages over the generic mental health model.

This article draws upon the work of two researchers who facilitated practitioner research with school professionals in Liverpool. The researchers themselves had not been involved in practitioner research before. In this account, the researchers reflect critically upon their own experience. The discussion presents the learning curve that the researchers underwent as well as what they discovered about the relationship between practitioners and researchers when engaged in school-based research. Crucially the issue of practitioners' understandings of what constituted "good" research emerged as a significant issue. In particular, positivist notions of research that drew from popular scientific understandings, as well as the culture of numerical targeting in the schools system, seemed to shape these practitioners' sense of what was expected of them as practitioner-researchers. The article finishes by reflecting upon the possible lessons that this work presents for education managers considering practitioner research approaches for continuing professional development (CPD).

This paper draws on the findings of a research project funded by the Liverpool City of Learning consortium in the UK. The aim is to explore the process of introduction of ten authority wide learning networks, the impact these have on school professionals practice, the opportunities they offer for CPD and the extent to which they may impact on pupil learning. The research presented here draws on findings from a questionnaire distributed to school professionals and key issues emerging from their analysis point to the influence of national government agendas on school professionals' interpretation of the purpose of the networks. They also point to the views of staff regarding the impact of the attainment agenda as well as the extent to which an increased emphasis on social inclusion and wider understandings of learning and achievement (which are less well represented by results-based performance monitoring) are having on their hopes for what Learning Networks might deliver. The expectations of staff of the opportunities offered by learning networks for long term professional development provide some interesting insights, and perhaps, some useful pointers as to how networks of this kind might develop in the future.

Historically the voices of children in research have been silent. They are often seen as victims or beneficiaries of research rather than co-researchers or partners. This is beginning to change with growing awareness that involving children in the design, delivery and evaluation of services can make services more accessible to them and their peers. This article reviews the processes involved in a research project commissioned by Children's Fund, which investigated the use and non-use of services within a local area. The involvement of children was paramount and resulted in the recruitment of nine young researchers between the ages of 7-13. Various cycles of participatory action research evolved throughout the project and this article focuses specifically on two--recruiting the researcher and training young researchers. We consider the cycles of reflection and action crucial to any participatory project and discuss how lessons were learned to inform further stages of the process. Themes such as challenges, power and participation are discussed throughout. (Contains 3 figures.)

This paper investigates the phenomenon of mothers' emotional labour in relation to children's transfer from first- to second-level schooling: a time that has been shown to pose significant challenges for students and their families. It seeks to break the silence that surrounds the recognition and production of emotional labour in general, and specifically in relation to education. Drawing on 25 case studies, this research explores in-depth both the extent and nature of emotional work in mothers' daily practices. Against that backdrop it identifies the specific emotional work performed at school transfer. It examines mothers' common experiences in shouldering emotional education work and finds that mothers are key education workers. This research suggests that mothers' lives are shaped by caring labour including education work: labours that are largely unseen but that are inalienable, and demanding on their time and energies. (Contains 3 notes and 1 table.)

Whether it is "e-research" in Australia, "cyberinfrastructure" in the United States, the "grid" in Europe, or "e-science" in the United Kingdom, a transformation is clearly occurring in research practice, a transformation that will have a profound impact on the roles of information professionals within higher education. Research is becoming more multidisciplinary, more collaborative, more global, and more dependent on the capabilities offered through advanced networks and large data storage. "E-science" is described as a large-scale, distributed, collaborative science enabled by the Internet and related technologies. "E-research" is a broader term that includes nonscientific research, but also refers to large-scale, distributed, national, or global collaboration in research. This article discusses how these changes can provide new opportunities and challenges for information professionals within higher education, who must bring their know-how forward and actively engage in strengthening partnerships with each other and with the researchers within their own institutions if they are to continue to be a relevant and important part of the research endeavors of their institutions. (Contains 13 notes.)

Interviews were conducted with staff and family members of 54 Australian individuals with mental retardation and with nine of the individuals, who had been moved from a psychiatric hospital to community residential homes. Overall, all informants regarded the move as positive and reported improvements in daily living skills, social skills, and quality of life. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Discussion of Web-based online public access catalogs (OPACs) focuses on a review of six Web OPAC interfaces in use in academic libraries in the United Kingdom. Presents a checklist and guidelines of important features and functions that are currently available, including search strategies, access points, display, links, and layout. (Author/LRW)

Policy for urban trees is based upon a presumption that residents favour and benefit from them but in Britain the evidence for this is patchy and dated. We therefore initiated a study to understand modern attitudes and perceptions from adult urban residents across Britain. Our study consisted of exploratory focus groups to identify the main issues that concerned residents, and a large (6000 participant) demographically representative survey to quantify views and attitudes. Further focus groups were conducted to help interpret some of the main findings from the survey. There was a large level of support for urban trees, with a desire for more trees from about a third of the survey respondents. Trees were favoured in parks, gardens and existing urban woodlands, and less so along transport corridors and residential streets. The management of urban trees was an important issue for a significant proportion, mainly driven by perceived ecosystem disservices that trees can deliver. Most recognised that local authorities held greatest responsibility for management of trees in publicly accessible space, but many were uncomfortable or uncertain how to interact with them. A relatively small proportion of survey participants expressed an interest in participating in tree-related activities such as tree planting, watering or other forms of maintenance. Communication about trees to urban dwellers was considered piecemeal and comparatively ineffective. Statistical analysis revealed that respondent age was the most important factor determining attitudes to trees and their management. The study concludes that there are important sectors of the urban population, especially young people, that are disconnected from urban trees, and that education and communication programmes need to be improved to ensure that all residents better understand what the benefits of trees are. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe experiences between 2018 and 2021 co-designing tree health policy options linked with the UK's evolving land use policy post EU-Exit within the Future Farming and Countryside Programme. Policy makers, researchers and more than 250 land managers took part in a series of co-design engagements in a three-phase iterative co-design process that culminated in a new Tree Health Pilot. After defining the components of co-design, we describe how relationships between policy makers, researchers and land managers were built, the methods researchers introduced into the process to build capability and support participation, and the outcomes in terms of the key opportunities and challenges for policy co-design. We conclude that it is possible to move policy design beyond user focused research and into co-design. However, this relies on adequate time and resources required to build trust and fully engage all parties in a meaningful way, including the development of tools and techniques that include experimentation, different knowledge types, and moving from research and evidence collection into design. Having policy makers with participatory mindsets in the same space as land managers was important to facilitating active learning between all of those involved in the collective. Researchers played a critical role in the co-design, balancing the views and understandings of the policy community with those of the land manager community, facilitating learning, and selecting tools and techniques to make design options explicit. We conclude that policy co-design in the land-based and environmental sector is a real opportunity at an early stage of realisation, but the effectiveness and range of positive and negative outcomes and impacts will need to be evaluated in the future. • Co-design approaches have potential to develop land use policies that better reflect land manager perspectives and realities. • Policy co-design objectives are likely to be constrained by the political and financial realities of the policy context. • Significant time and resources are required to build trust and engage policy makers and land managers in meaningful process. • Methods involved in co-design are important to who is engaged and how easily they can share detailed perspectives. • Researchers play an important role mediating and facilitating trust and learning between policy makers and land managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global existential and catastrophic risks, particularly those arising from technological developments, present challenges for intergenerational justice. We aim to present a solutions-based approach to the challenge of intergenerational inequality. We examine options for representing future generations in our present policymaking structures, drawing on case studies from Singapore, Finland, Hungary, Israel, Scotland and Wales. We derive several factors which contribute to the success of some of these institutions, and discuss reasons for the failure or abolition of others. We draw out broad lessons which we can apply to policymaking in England, and make policy recommendations based on these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes LabSkills, a revolutionary teaching tool to improve practical science in schools. LabSkills offers the chance to help improve the exposure that the average Key Stage 5 (age 16-19) student has to practical work. This is a huge area for development being highlighted by universities who are seeing a worryingly growing trend in students with little practical experience. From the outset, LabSkills presents an interface that is easy to use and well thought out. It is quick and easy for students to navigate their way around the menu and to always return to this point. There are welcomed useful menu items at the top of the screen; simple things, such as having a Periodic Table, glossary and calculator to hand, make this software easy to use without interruption, helping students to remain focused and concentrate on the tasks and tests given. When a student looks at a typical practical technique, there are high-quality videos that allow the student to follow a technique step-by-step. Far more useful than a simple demonstration or video, this allows students to replay each step, or sequence of steps, if they need to and goes some way to increasing their confidence when they come to do the technique for themselves.

This study evaluates waiting experiences in a cancer treatment context. It examines the effects of multiple servicescape dimensions, including the design, spatial layout and functionality of the physical surroundings alongside ambient conditions such as lighting and temperature, on visitor satisfaction. The study adopted a case-study strategy in a cancer and haematology clinic at a UK hospital. Scoping discussions with clinical staff, observations of the clinical environment and 'walk-throughs' were used to develop a survey to capture visitors' expectations, perceptions and satisfaction with waiting experiences. Ambient conditions were shown to have a greater impact on satisfaction than the design and layout. Perceptions of wayfinding and privacy features, alone and in combination, were shown to influence satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Improving experiences of privacy and wayfinding can significantly improve overall satisfaction. Better management of these dimensions can help compensate for deficiencies in other areas of the physical servicescape. • Examines the waiting experiences in a cancer care setting. • Evaluates the impacts of the physical servicescape on user satisfaction. • Ambient conditions have a greater impact on satisfaction than design and layout. • Wayfinding and privacy features, alone and in combination, affect (dis)satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the light of the Scottish Government's commitment to the principles enshrined in the Christie Commission and developing approaches worldwide to public administration, this article considers the forces at work and the major arguments for suggesting the need for increased and enhanced participation by parents in educational decision-making and school governance by focusing on the early 1980s. This was another period when participative democracy and partnership between lay-persons and public ofticials was widely supported at a theoretical level but often met resistance on the ground. An analysis of the responses to the abortive School Council consultative exercise of 1984 conducted by the Scoftish Education Department (SED) is oftered. The period before the emergence of Michael Forsyth as Education Minister in the Scoftish Office in Mrs Thatcher's era as UK Prime Minister is reviewed. Forsyth's controversial proposals for the establishment of School Boards that caused such consternation among the educational establishment and parents have subsequently been replaced by Parent Councils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on cultural policy in Great Britain. It says that the relation between the well-being and sports participation is fairly established, whereas mass media use is much linked with debates on its role as a root of moral panics and ill-being. It also mentions that the participation of cultural policy with ideas on well-being in the country has been mainly of two sorts such as promoting arts and creative activities as component of education and using arts therapy as treatment.

Abstract: Scenario planning is one of the tools consistently reported as being used by executives to support their business development. A scenario planning project typically consists of three phases — preparation, development and use. This paper focuses on the third phase, where the scenarios that have been developed are put to their intended use in the context of developing strategy. Significant problems have been experienced as scenario projects move into this critical phase, perhaps due to a failure to link scenario development with strategy creation and execution efforts. These issues are explored via a case study of a large UK organisation operating in the transport sector, where a scenario-based strategy development exercise was used to support the leadership development of senior managers. We propose that a scenario orientation phase is a valuable missing link in many scenario projects, which can establish a bridge between scenario development and scenario use. Scenario orientation is a process of familiarisation with the scenarios that involves understanding their nature in some detail. This can be a crucial step, particularly if there is a significant time lapse between scenario development and scenario use, or if the people using the scenarios were not involved in their development. Without a good orientation to the scenarios, participants in a scenario planning exercise may be poor at the subsequent activities that require their explicit use. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The UK is committed to meeting a series of ‘high-level marine objectives’ which are required to satisfy national obligations and to meet international commitments for the marine environment. There are more than 16 such international high-level policy driven obligations and commitments, together with more than 18 European and more than 12 of national origin. In the UK, there is an assumption that the current and planned monitoring will provide evidence to demonstrate achievement against these high-level objectives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: To screen patients with oligoarticular and polyarticular forms of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) to determine (i) the severity of their class II skeletal pattern; (ii) temporomandibular joint signs and symptoms and (iii) use of systemic corticosteroids. Design: Cross-sectional screening. Subjects and setting: Sixty-eight children with JIA aged between 9 and 16 years old who were screened at four regional treatment centres in the UK. Method: Patients were screened clinically and radiographically for the presence of class 11 skeletal pattern and temporomandibular (TMJ) pain dysfunction syndrome. In addition, the JIA sub-type and history of disease activity and medication were recorded. Main outcome measures: Class II skeletal pattern, TMJ signs and symptoms, use of systemic corticosteroids. Results: The mean ANB values were 4.2 degrees (SD=2.9 degrees) in the oligoarticular group and 5.1 degrees (SD=3.8 degrees) in the polyarticular group. Just under one-third of children had a moderate or severe class II skeletal pattern and a further quarter of children had a mild class II skeletal pattern. Clinical signs and symptoms of temporomandibular joint pain dysfunction syndrome were low (<20%), except for crepitus and click which affected between 24 and 40% of JIA children. Radiographically, 57% of oligoarticular and 77% of polyarticular cases exhibited condylar erosion. Use of systemic corticosteroids varied between centres, but overall, was prescribed more in polyarticular cases (P=0.00l). Conclusions: Just under one-third of oligoarticular and polyarticular JIA patients exhibited a moderate or severe class II skeletal pattern. It is, therefore, likely that any future clinical trial to investigate the effect of functional appliance treatment in JIA patients,will need multicentre co-operation to fulfil potential sample size requirements. Clinical signs and symptoms of temporomandibular joint pain dysfunction syndrome were low except for crepitus and click. However radiographic evidence of condylar erosion was high particularly in the polyarticular group. Use of systemic corticosteroids was prescr bed more in polyarticular cases and this is likely to reflect the severity of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]