Evaluation of a hospital-based community liaison pharmacy service in Northern Ireland

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a hospital based community liaison pharmacy service on a range of outcomes in patients aged more than 55 years and taking more than 3 prescribed drugs, who had been admitted to the medical unit of a district general hospital in Northern Ireland.

Responsible Participation, Community Engagement and Policing in Transitional Societies: Lessons from a Local Crime Survey in Northern Ireland

The new structures of policing in Northern Ireland have been internationally lauded as a success, but the manner in which police-community relations are unfolding in local settings is less clear. In this article we draw on a local crime survey conducted in a Republican area in Belfast to examine residents’ views of policing and to highlight residents’ concerns about police effectiveness in dealing with crime and disorder. Drawing on Habermas’s concept of ‘responsible participation’, we also consider the role that community organisations can play in helping overcome local scepticism and developing positive forms of engagement with the police. © 2012 The Authors

Community engagement in Belfast: Queen's University and the Sandy Row community

This chapter examines a case study of a university-community civic engagement project involving a homework club in an area of significant educational and social disadvantage. The chapter gives voice to community leaders who talk about the role of the initiative and their relationship with the university.

Facebook faith - social networking in a faith based community

This paper views the increasing social networking as an efficient emerging ministry to the moveable generation. Through social network such as Facebook, ministry from a pastoral perspective can become more authentic and meaningful. Ministry is relational. Social Networking sites provide a strong platform to being part in other people’s life. Social networking and living online builds community beyond geographical boarders. Young adults and youths digital identity often reflects their faith, this is supported by research which suggests a practice of more openness to share and expose private issues online. Spiritual and religious views are freely shared, creating sacred spaces in the midst of life practising a holistic faith identity in a secular community. Providing a strong platform for information flow, Social Network is attractive in a postmodern society where inviting people to join in events are perceived as non threatening, making church community events transparent and available to people who do not attend church, inviting spiritual friendships and relationships. Social Networking strengthens relationship in a non hierarchical manner and invites the minister into lives where there previously would have been barriers, engaging in prayer and bible study as well as pastoral care through social networking, thus relationships deepens via social networking making people real. It has been observed that, although community building happens on the net, church affiliation loyalty remains to the local community. Therefore presence ministry though social networks emerges as a core form of ministry, where relations to youth who move from local church to university campuses are kept alive. The asynchronous nature of communication within social networking eases the minister in her work. The minister is able to engage with many individuals at the same time. Before the minister could visit one person at a time, now she visits 5-6 individuals at any given time. Therefore social networking not only increases the quality of the work, but also empowers the minister to be more efficient.

Carbon management, local governance and community engagement

This article examines the role of communities in carbon management as it relates to both climate change and energy policy at the local level and as a seedbed for grassroots activity. The article considers some of the implications of recent policy developments, particularly the ways in which the ‘lines of responsibility’ are now being drawn at the local level. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with local authorities in the UK and the USA, the article examines the political distinctions that are evident between the two situations and the ramifications of these for practical community engagement in carbon management at the local level. Community engagement is likely to be central to the delivery of CO2 reductions, but evidence so far points to a series of challenges that will require a greater emphasis on partnership working between community groups and formal decision-making bodies.

Community engagement and social organization: introducing concepts, policy and practical applications

This chapter provides an introductory overview of how the term ‘community’ has been conceptualized in sociological literatures, noting that there remains considerable uncertainty with regard to the way in which communities could or should be defined. The chapter examines the salience of underlying concepts of social organization that can shape and influence the extent to which programmes of engagement are likely to be successful. Drawing on recent empirical work some of the key opportunities and challenges for local government in translating the concepts into practice are considered.

Navigating the labyrinth: a guide to sequence-based, community ecology of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Data generated from next generation sequencing (NGS) will soon comprise the majority of information about arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) communities. Although these approaches give deeper insight, analysing NGS data involves decisions that can significantly affect results and conclusions. This is particularly true for AMF community studies, because much remains to be known about their basic biology and genetics. During a workshop in 2013, representatives from seven research groups using NGS for AMF community ecology gathered to discuss common challenges and directions for future research. Our goal was to improve the quality and accessibility of NGS data for the AMF research community. Discussions spanned sampling design, sample preservation, sequencing, bioinformatics and data archiving. With concrete examples we demonstrated how different approaches can significantly alter analysis outcomes. Failure to consider the consequences of these decisions may compound bias introduced at each step along the workflow. The products of these discussions have been summarized in this paper in order to serve as a guide for any researcher undertaking NGS sequencing of AMF communities.