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Despair is defined in the dictionary as the complete loss or absence of hope. Many if not most individuals feel a deep sense of despair, made more intense by the loneliness that is part of their lives. The power differentials between those who receive services and those who provide services often intensify this sense of despair and loneliness. It is in that relationship between the powerful and the powerless that loneliness and despair start to build, because there is no bridge between the people who serve and those being served. Those of us who provide services and supports to people in need have been taught to be objective and factual, but facts are only part of the story, the roadway so to speak. The foundations of the bridges between people are found in the emotional connections, the places where the stories of their lives take shape. In order to gain the whole story we must listen to the feelings, where the thematic images behind the words present the story of this person’s life.

Material characterisation in nuclear environments is an essential part of decommissioning processes. This paper explores the feasibility of deploying commercial off the shelf (COTS) laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and Raman spectroscopy, for use in a decommissioning hot cell environment, to inform waste operation decision making. To operate these techniques, adapters and probes were designed and constructed, for each instrument, to form tools that a robotic arm could pick up and operate remotely from an isolated control room. The developed instrumentation successfully returned live measurement data to a control room for saving and further analysis (e.g. material classification/identification). Successful testing of the solutions was performed for contact LIBS, contact Raman and stand-off Raman on a PaR M3000 robotic arm, in a simulated hot cell environment and the limitations identified. Data obtained by the techniques are analysed, classified and presented in a 3D virtual environment. The spectral data collected by a basic COTS LIBS showed potential for use in contamination identification (beryllium is used as example). Potential for COTS, LIBS and Raman in decommissioning is established and improvements to the hardware, the measurement processes and how the data is stored and used, are identified.

This paper builds on the work of Abraham Masolow who said that his article was meant to be a starting point for future research into the concept of becoming human. The paper integrates concepts from neuropsychology, neurobiology, and trauma informed services to present a holistic framework within which we can discuss the processes involved in becoming interdependent human beings. Rather than seeing safety as a set of needs within the ddevelopmental framework, the paper presents the concept that safety is the framework, the matrix, within which developmental processes occur.

PurposeThe purpose for writing this paper is to help develop and apply integrated models and methods of best practice that can prevent and manage workplace incivility (WPI) and workplace violence (WPV).Design/methodology/approachThis approach uses the framework of the public health model to integrate neurobiological, behavioural, organisational, mental health, and educational theory into a holistic framework for the primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of WPV. The key concepts built into this model are those of organisational violence (OV), trauma‐informed services, and positive behaviour support (PBS). This approach is further illustrated by case studies from organisations that have successfully implemented safety protocols that demonstrate the effectiveness of such an integrated approach. This method is derived primarily from qualitative data based on the expertise and experience of the authors in the areas of psychiatry, social work research, and instructional implementation as well as reviews of the current literature.FindingsThis model suggests that understanding WPI and violence as reactions to a combination of internal and external stressors is key to interrupting these violent responses. Responding to WPV requires that organisations first take responsibility for their own role in generating WPV and recognize the impact of organisationally generated trauma on staff and services users. In this behavioural model, WPV and WPI have functions which require the teaching of replacement behaviours that help individuals to escape from these stresses in ways that do not cause harm to themselves and/or others. Thus, management must instruct staff how to teach and reinforce appropriate social and communicative behaviours in order to replace those behaviours leading to WPV and WPI.Practical implicationsThe practical implications of this paper are that it provides human service practitioners with: an understanding of the functions of reactive violence at work; a methodology to identify different types WPI and WPV; a framework to proactively teach violence replacement behaviours, empowering people to address the causative factors in ways that do not cause harm to self and/or others; skills that can be taught to management and staff individually or in group settings, as well as to service users; and implementation models from various organisations that have achieved significant reductions in WPV. Another important outcome demonstrated through the case studies is that significant financial savings can be achieved through reduction of WPI and WPV which may in turn lead to a related improvement in the quality of life for staff and service users through changes in workplace practices. This outcome has implications for organisational practice and theory as well as human services education and training.Social implicationsOne key social implication of the model, if integrated into the company's social responsibility policies and practices, is the potential for improving the quality of life for staff and patients in health care settings as well as employees, customers, and service users in other settings.Originality/valueThe originality shown in this paper is the way the three key concepts of OV, trauma‐informed services, and PBS are built into a public health model to prevent and mitigate WPV. This paper is of particular value to boards of management, organisational directors, supervisors, HR and training departments as well as direct care staff, service providers, and regulatory bodies.

Decision makers have little time to study literature on the prevention and management of workplace violence (WPV). In a health care workplace setting, identifying the person, stimulus, and environmental interactions that can lead to violence is a complicated process. Those in positions of leadership make decisions that affect many individuals, agencies, and communities. Often, they come from different professional backgrounds yet need ways of rapidly understanding concepts of violence that transcend their profession, training, or experience. Translational models (TMs) in WPV visually summarize and interprofessionally facilitate this understanding of concepts, enhancing the chances of more effective collaborative solutions to WPV. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how TM can be used in interprofessional settings to find effective solutions to reduce WPV.

The interactions between humans and the ocean are significant, and necessitate more comprehensive study on an international scale. The world's oceans provide great health benefits to humans ranging from food and nutritional resources, to recreational opportunities and new treatments for human disease. However, recently, human health effects from exposure to substances present in the marine ecosystem such as synthetic organic chemicals (e.g., chlorobiphenyls, chlorinated dioxins and some industrial solvents), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals (both introduced and anthropogenic), marine toxins, and pathogens have been recorded and are of great concern. This paper reviews our state of knowledge of the interactions between oceans and human health and proposes indicators and a research strategy to investigate and monitor these relationships more closely. Four approaches to gathering information on indicators included here are: biomarkers; cellular pathology; physiological and behavioural responses; and changes in populations. All hold the potential to enhance our understanding of marine environmental quality and far-reaching effects on human health. Monitoring systems that include the rapid assessment of contaminants in the ecosystem and subsequent risk to human populations, with appropriate internationally distributed data bases, need to be developed and validated. Such tools would provide early detection of potential environmental threats, and enhance the ability to prevent human illness.