How high (and far) can you go? On setting fines in cartel cases involving vertically-integrated undertakings and foreign sales

Attitudes of physicians, patients, and village health workers toward glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy in rural China:A focus group study

Objective: To understand the knowledge and attitudes of rural Chinese physicians, patients, and village health workers (VHWs) toward diabetic eye disease and glaucoma. Methods: Focus groups for each of the 3 stakeholders were conducted in 3 counties (9 groups). The focus groups were recorded, transcribed, and coded using specialized software. Responses to questions about barriers to compliance and interventions to remove these barriers were also ranked and scored. Results: Among 22 physicians, 23 patients, and 25 VHWs, knowledge about diabetic eye disease was generally good, but physicians and patients understood glaucoma only as an acutely symptomatic disease of relatively low prevalence. Physicians did not favor routine pupillary dilation to detect asymptomatic disease, expressing concerns about workflow and danger and inconvenience to patients. Providers believed that cost was the main barrier to patient compliance, whereas patients ranked poorly trained physicians as more important. All 3 stakeholder groups ranked financial interventions to improve compliance (eg, direct payment, lotteries, and contracts) low and preferred patient education and telephone contact by nurses. All the groups somewhat doubted the ability of VHWs to screen for eye disease accurately, but patients were generally willing to pay for VHW screening. The VHWs were uncertain about the value of eye care training but might accept it if accompanied by equipment. They did not rank payment for screening services as important. Conclusions: Misconceptions about glaucoma's asymptomatic nature and an unwillingness to routinely examine asymptomatic patients must be addressed in training programs. Home contact by nurses and patient education may be the most appropriate interventions to improve compliance.

"Things I did not know”: Retrospectives on a Canadian rural male youth suicide using an instrumental photo voice case study

In Canada, it is young rural based men who are at the greatest risk for suicide. While there is no consensus on the reasons for this, evidence points to contextual social factors including isolation, lack of confidential services and pressure to uphold restrictive norms of rural masculinity. In this article we share findings drawn from an instrumental photo voice case study to distil factors contributing to the suicide of a young Canadian rural based man. Integrating photo voice methods and in-depth qualitative we conducted interviews with 7 family members and close friends of the deceased. The interviews and image data were analyzed using constant comparative methods to discern themes related to participants’ reflections on and perceptions about rural male suicide. Three inductively derived themes, “Missing the signs”, “Living up to his public image” and “Down in Rural Canada ” reflect the challenges that survivors and young rural men can experience in attempting to be comply with restrictive dominant ideals of masculinity. We conclude that community based suicide prevention efforts would benefit from gender-sensitive and place specific approaches to advancing men’s mental health by making tangibly available and affirming an array of masculinities to foster the well-being of young rural based men.

Delineating human resource management practice in domestic and foreign owned multinational enterprises in Australia

To date there is an absence of any systematic and extensive data on Australian multinational enterprises (MNEs). This research paper fills the information gap and leads to a discussion of the human resource management (HRM) practices of Australian MNEs in the global arena and whether there is a distinctive national identity associated with these practices. We report on the profile of Australian-based multinational enterprises (MNEs). Drawing on a systematic database developed by the authors in 2010–11 we are able to identify the numbers of Australian MNEs and their characteristics and compare them against a representative sample of foreign-owned MNEs operating in Australia.

Exploring communication between social workers, children and young people

A key issue for the social work profession concerns the nature, quality and content of communicative encounters with children and families. This article introduces some findings from a project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) that took place across the United Kingdom between 2013 and 2015, which explored how social workers communicate with children in their everyday practice. The Talking and Listening to Children (TLC) project had three phases: the first was ethnographic, involving observations of social workers in their workplace and during visits; the second used video-stimulated recall with a small number of children and their social workers; and the third developed online materials to support social workers. This paper discusses findings from the first phase. It highlights a diverse picture regarding the context and content of communicative processes; it is argued that attention to contextual issues is as important as focusing on individual practitioners’ behaviours and outlines a model for so doing.

Health and Social Care Workers Perceptions of Novel Psychoactive substances in Northern Ireland

Background: The EU Early Warning System currently monitors more than 450 new psychoactive substances (EMCDDA, 2015), far outweighing the total number of illicit drugs under international control (UNODC, 2013). Due to the recent emergence of NPS and rapidly changing nature of the market, evidence about the way in which the emerging drugs are managed in health and social care settings is limited. Methods: The study adopted a mixed methods design, utilising a cross sectional survey and follow up telephone interviews to capture data from staff working in drug and alcohol related services in statutory and voluntary sectors, across the five Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust areas in Northern Ireland. 196 staff participated in the survey and 13 took part in follow up telephone interviews. Results: Study respondents reported that addressing NPS related issues with service users was a key aspect of their daily role and function. Levels of injecting behaviours were also viewed as relatively high by the study participants. Almost all workers used harm reduction as their primary approach when working with service users and the majority of respondents called for additional practical training in relation to addressing drug interactions and intervening with NPS related issues.

An Evaluation of the Dual Diagnosis (substance use and mental health )Strategy in the South Eastern Trust Workers and Service Users Perceptions of Dual Diagnosis Issues

In the UK it is estimated that over 33% of psychiatric patients with enduring mental illness have a substance misuse problem, whilst over 50 % of clients currently accessing drug and alcohol services have a mental health problem. Between 2003 and 2013 in Northern Ireland, there were 741 recorded suicides by patients who were in contact with mental health services. Of this number, 68% (n=501) had a history of either alcohol or drug misuse or both, resulting in an average of 46 patient suicides per year associated with dual diagnosis (University of Manchester 2015).
The current evaluation examined staff attitudes towards working with dual diagnosis (co-existing difficulties) issues, staff confidence in working with clients with dual diagnosis, workers’ perceptions of the South Eastern dual diagnosis strategy and service user perspectives of dual diagnosis service provision.
The purpose of the evaluation was to provide evidence regarding the following in accordance with the current dual diagnosis strategy;
Staff understanding of the concept of dual diagnosis,
Staff attitudes towards working with dual diagnosis,
Staff confidence in working with individuals, who present with dual diagnosis,
Service users’ perspectives of SE Trust provision for dual diagnosis.
Staff views on the South Eastern Trust Dual Diagnosis Strategy.