scholarly journals Understanding the present, re-visioning the future: An initial mapping of music therapists in the United Kingdom

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine E Carr ◽  
Giorgos Tsiris ◽  
Muriel Swijghuisen Reigersberg

Music therapy is a small, but evolving profession. Numbers of music therapists are increasing, yet little is known regarding the workforce and its employment characteristics. To understand the current profile of the music therapy workforce in the United Kingdom (UK), the British Association for Music Therapy (BAMT) commissioned a national survey of its membership. This survey explores the profile of the UK music therapy workforce in terms of demographics, training and employment characteristics. An online survey was circulated to all BAMT members. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of open-ended responses. A total of 374 therapists responded (44% response rate). Following demographic information (including age, nationality and training background), we focus on employment characteristics such as income, types of work, settings, clients and age groups. Supervision and clinical fees are considered as well as commissioning and funding of self-employed and employed music therapy work. As an initial mapping of the current UK workforce, this study offers a pragmatic platform to consider development and strategic priorities and thus to re-vision the future of music therapy in the country. Potential implications for the international music therapy community are also discussed.

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Hall ◽  
Rachel Kay ◽  
Jim Green

The number of equines injured as a result of incidents during road transport is currently unknown in the United Kingdom. Although previous research has identified factors that affect an equine’s behavioural and physiological responses to transportation, their contribution to incident occurrence and injury risk is unclear. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with incident occurrence and equine injury during transportation by road. An online survey was administered between 12 May 2017 and 21 July 2017 in the UK. The survey was open to those transporting equines non-commercially and comprised two sections. Questions relating to general transport behaviour were completed by all participants. Participants who had experienced an incident then provided details of these, including outcomes. Incidents were reported by 16.2% (342/2116) of participants, with details included for 399 incidents. Those participants who had a professional/competitive involvement with equines reported more incidents than those with a predominantly leisure involvement (p < 0.01). Equine behaviour was the attributed cause of 56% of incidents reported and most incidents occurred during the first hour of travel (65%). In over 50% of the incidents reported, the equine was injured, with those incidents attributed to transport vehicle malfunction being associated with the highest percentage of injury (68%). This study highlights the need for better preparation of the equine for transportation and to identify risk factors associated with transport vehicle type, design and operation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 135945752199779
Author(s):  
Ali Rowley

Music Therapists face significant stressors at work which, if not adequately addressed, could lead to stress and burnout. Against the background of a final-year dissertation, this article discusses how Music Therapists use self-care to manage occupational stressors. While the small-scale qualitative research project focussed on how Music Therapists working in hospices in the United Kingdom manage work-related stressors, analysis of the data revealed themes which, it is suggested, seem to apply to the wider music therapy community. Findings indicate that Music Therapists would be well-advised to develop and use self-care strategies to mitigate work-related stressors and thus reduce the potential for ill-health. The article seeks to inform the practice of Music Therapists and concludes with the author’s recommendations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (S 01) ◽  
pp. S44-S49
Author(s):  
Misha Patel ◽  
Payvand Menhadji ◽  
Serena Mayor

Abstract Objective The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected professionals in all fields; none more so than medical and dental professionals. As dental core trainees (DCT) working in hospitals, we have been at the forefront of the crisis and one of the first in line for redeployment. Therefore, we decided to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the redeployment of DCTs across the UK. Materials and Methods  Data for this study was collected and shared between three project researchers. All researchers were undergoing dental core training in Oral Surgery and Restorative dentistry at Guy’s Hospital, London. An online survey was sent out via email and online social media platforms to reach as many DCTs as possible in the United Kingdom. Implied consent was obtained by respondents on submission of the survey.The survey consisted of five sections and was branched, with respondents answering different sections depending on their redeployment status. No qualitative data was collected, as all questions included in the survey were dichotomous or multiple-choice questions. The last two questions were in the form of a 5-point Likert scale, inviting respondents to rate five statements from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Results A total of 150 participants responded, of which 34% had been redeployed due to the pandemic. The majority of DCTs were redeployed to an intensive care unit or similar setting, and over 75% of those redeployed were working with either COVID-19 positive/suspect patients. Additionally, 23.8% of respondents had stopped patient contact due to their medical status. Conclusion Many DCTs have been deployed to departments outside of their specialty and expressed some anxiety as a result. Inevitably, this has resulted in disruption to their training program and education over the last few months. The response across the United Kingdom has been understandably variable due to the differing demands of the hospital trusts within which the DCTs work.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma R. Miller ◽  
Ian N. Olver ◽  
Carlene J. Wilson ◽  
Belinda Lunnay ◽  
Samantha B. Meyer ◽  
...  

Introduction: This project examined the impact of COVID-19 and associated restrictions on alcohol practises (consumption and stockpiling), and perceptions of health risk among women in midlife (those aged 45–64 years).Methods: We collected online survey data from 2,437 midlife women in the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia in May 2020, recruited using a commercial panel, in the early days of mandated COVID-19 related restrictions in both countries. Participants were surveyed again (N = 1,377) in July 2020, at a time when COVID-19 restrictions were beginning to ease. The surveys included the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test—Consumption (AUDIT-C) and questions alcohol stockpiling. Analysis involved a range of univariate and multivariate techniques examining the impact of demographic variables and negative affect on consumption and acquisition outcomes.Results: In both surveys (May and July), UK women scored higher than Australian women on the AUDIT-C, and residence in the UK was found to independently predict stockpiling of alcohol (RR: 1.51; 95% CI: 1.20, 1.91). Developing depression between surveys (RR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.14, 2.04) and reporting pessimism (RR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.81), and fear/anxiety (RR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.70) at the beginning of the study period also predicted stockpiling by the end of the lockdown. Having a tertiary education was protective for alcohol stockpiling at each time point (RR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.54, 0.87).Conclusions: COVID-19 was associated with increases in risky alcohol practises that were predicted by negative emotional responses to the pandemic. Anxiety, pessimism and depression predicted stockpiling behaviour in UK and Australian women despite the many demographic and contextual differences between the two cohorts. Given our findings and the findings of others that mental health issues developed or were exacerbated during lockdown and may continue long after that time, urgent action is required to address a potential future pandemic of alcohol-related harms.


Author(s):  
Sylwia Majkowska-Szulc

Brexit is a unique phenomenon as no Member State has ever expressed the will to leave the European Union. Never before had the in-depth impact of a Member State withdrawal been analysed. The issue has started to be analysed after the referendum in which the British voted in favour of leaving the European Union. The topic of the potential consequences of Brexit in the field of private international law concerns, inter alia, national jurisdiction in civil and commercial matters, mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments, specific procedures of EU uniform law, judicial cooperation between Member States or the functioning of the e-Justice Portal and dynamic forms. Before a given Member State withdraws from the EU, interested parties should have been informed, inter alia, of how pending proceedings will be conducted starting with the withdrawal day, what about proceedings initiated at the date of withdrawal or later on, and what about the rulings of the courts of the applicant state covered by the exequatur procedure before the withdrawal. Therefore, the primary purpose of the article is to determine the framework for the future relationship between the EU and the UK in the field of private international law. An additional aim of this paper is to better prepare natural and legal persons for the new post-Brexit reality. European integration has brought Europe peace and prosperity and enabled unprecedented cooperation in all areas of common interest. Following the withdrawal decision, the state and its citizens cease to benefit from the acquis communautaire. In fact, the United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020. As far as private international law is concerned, the United Kingdom has become a third country. Subsequently, on 1 February 2020 a transition period has started and it aims to provide more time for citizens and businesses to adapt. The negotiations on the future partnership between the EU and the UK has started in March 2020, but they were postponed due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. The relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union is sometimes compared to love that has passed away, but former lovers must continue to meet from time to time to manage certain common affaires. The analysis of the topic leads to the conclusion that, in fact, Brexit is a unique phenomenon that has no added value.


Author(s):  
Federico Fabbrini

This book examines how the European Union has changed during Brexit and because of Brexit, while also reflecting on the developments of the EU besides Brexit and beyond Brexit. It argues that the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU—the first ever case of disintegration since the start of the European integration process—creates an urgent need to reform the EU. In fact, while the EU institutions and its Member States have remained united in their negotiations vis-à-vis the UK, Brexit has created transitional problems for the EU, and exposed other serious fissures in its system of governance which need to be addressed moving forward. As the EU goes through another major crisis in the form of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the case for increasing the effectiveness and the legitimacy of the EU grows stronger. In this context, the book analyses the plan to establish a Conference on the Future of Europe, considering its precedents and discussing its prospects.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Morgan ◽  
Jane Humphreys ◽  
Catherine Warner

Since emerging in the 1940s, the music therapy profession has grown to an estimated 15,000 qualified music therapists practising in 55 countries across a diverse range of contexts (e.g. Tsiris, 2015; WFMT, 2020). Yet music therapists feel the public have a poor understanding of the profession (e.g. Kern and Tague, 2017; Pearson, 2018); to date, however, there is no empirical evidence to support such claims. The current study sought to address this gap in the literature by conducting an online survey to explore public awareness and perceptions of music therapy. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyse data from 359 non-music therapists aged 18 or over, of whom 46% were from the UK, 18% from the US, and the rest from 37 other countries. Results revealed that participants appreciated the therapeutic value of music but lacked awareness and understanding of professional music therapy services—this paper argues that such poor understanding is likely to reduce people’s prospects of seeking the service. Therefore, governing bodies of the profession should focus their attention on improving public awareness of fundamental aspects of music therapy, and helping the public distinguish between the profession of music therapy and a therapeutic use of music.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-341
Author(s):  
James Harrison

There was a concern following the 2016 Brexit referendum that environmental standards in the United Kingdom (UK) may be lowered unless action was taken to address gaps in environmental governance that would be caused by leaving the European Union (EU). Debates over the nature of those gaps and how to fill them have continued over the years since the referendum and it is only recently that the emerging picture of post-Brexit environmental governance in Scotland has been revealed, allowing a preliminary study of the future for environmental standards in the jurisdiction. This article aims to provide an overview and analysis of recent legal developments which are likely to influence the future of environmental law in Scotland, including the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the United Kingdom Internal Market Act, the incorporation of environmental principles into Scots law, new powers to align Scottish environmental standards with EU law, and the new institutional framework to oversee compliance with environmental law in Scotland. The article considers the impact that these new arrangements will have on the development of Scottish environmental law and in particular the implications for Scottish institutions in deciding whether to promote ongoing continuity with EU law, promote convergence with other parts of the UK, or strike out on their own path of environmental law reform.


Author(s):  
Sionaidh Douglas-Scott

This chapter evaluates how Brexit and the withdrawal negotiations impacted the UK system of devolved governance. The focus is on devolution because the voices of the three devolved nations — Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland — have been too much ignored in Brexit manoeuvres, especially given Scotland and Northern Ireland voted in the Referendum to remain in the EU. The chapter then details the key points of the EU Withdrawal Act 2018 (EUWA) and EU Withdrawal Agreement Act 2020 (WAA), and looks at how Brexit will impact devolution. It also discusses the status of the UK’s existing territorial constitution. Finally, the chapter describes a possible federal future for the UK, and considers scenarios of regional independence.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026461962110099
Author(s):  
Nigel Halpern ◽  
Jillian M Rickly ◽  
Marcus Hansen ◽  
John Fellenor

In response to the Coronavirus disease, the United Kingdom (UK) government introduced lockdown measures requiring people to isolate and adhere to social distancing. This article uses Constraints Negotiation Theory to examine effects of the lockdown on people with vision impairment (PwVI). The research is based on an online survey of 639 PwVI in the UK. The analysis was conducted using partial least squares structural equation modelling in SmartPLS. The findings show that the lockdown had a negative effect on the participation and well-being of PwVI. However, they also show that the negative effects could be negotiated by adapting activities. This emphasises the need for a more inclusive response to current or future pandemics that recognises the vulnerabilities of PwVI and helps them to overcome the challenges associated with any measures that are introduced.


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