The role of accommodation environments in student mental health and wellbeing

Background Due to the increasing concern over student mental health and wellbeing, attention has turned to the matter of creating environments, communities, and institutions which enable students to flourish. Methods To explore the role of accommodation environments in first year student mental health and wellbeing, eight focus groups were conducted in two universities in North West England and analysed using thematic analysis. Results Three overarching themes were identified: ‘The betwixt space’; ‘Accommodations as vessels to cultivate friendships and communities’; and ‘The importance of accommodation-based pastoral staff’. As attachment to place and relationships with significant others are disrupted by the transition, this leaves young people vulnerable whilst they go through a process to re-attach to new people and a new environment, and loneliness and social isolation were keenly felt during this period. Physical attributes of place that prevent social cohesion further exacerbated feelings of loneliness. Conclusions As it is common for students to withdraw physically and psychologically when they do not form friendships within their flat, accommodation-based pastoral staff have an important role to fulfil. Although these findings demonstrate the importance of the human element within accommodation, designing places that facilitate community, a sense of we-ness, and belonging is crucial.

Use of Economic Evidence When Prioritising Public Health Interventions in Schools: A Qualitative Study with School Staff

Schools are an ideal setting to deliver public health interventions, yet there are competing obligations that could limit their implementation. This study aimed to examine the decision making process and explore what evidence informs prioritisation of public health interventions in this setting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 staff in seven UK schools between November 2017 and March 2018. Participants were recruited from schools participating in The Birmingham Daily Mile trial and comprised leadership staff, teachers, and pastoral staff. Analyses used a constant comparison approach to explore the prioritisation process and schools’ use of economic evidence. Teachers felt that they had little decision making influence in regard to public health interventions, with this falling on leadership staff. Participants perceived tension between delivering academic subjects and public health initiatives and thought proven impact was important to justify the opportunity cost. Evidence did not appear to be routinely used, and participants were unaware of cost-effectiveness analyses, but thought it could be a useful tool. This study shows that schools face challenges in balancing the academic, health, and wellbeing needs of children. There is a need for targeted evidence that includes appropriate costs and outcomes and meets school decision makers’ needs.

PUTTING A STICKING PLASTER ON A GAPING WOUND – EXPLORING THE PROVISION BEING MADE IN ENGLISH SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH AND MENTAL WELL-BEING

The article presents a small-scale study utilising both questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Against the backdrop of widespread interest in the area of mental health/well- being by the UK government and also by the media, the study starts to explore the provision being made by secondary schools. The study suggests that the actions being taken nationally lack coherence. Even within the schools themselves, there is evidence of a fragmented approach as mental health/well-being initiatives are added to existing provision being offered by pastoral staff and formally appointed councillors. As new waves of pressure from social media, gender identity, examination stress and personal identity are held to impact mental health/well-being issues schools understand themselves as being the first responder. In turn, the majority of those interviewed in the study have a perception that support services such as Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and educational psychologists are less accessible as a result of budgetary constraints.

Constructively Managing Program-Related Conflict in Local Churches

Interpersonal conflict surrounding church programs is a major source of distress for both pastoral staff and lay members of evangelical churches. Such conflict, when destructive, may severely hinder the achievement of program objectives. However, conflict when managed constructively may lead to a more effective program and strengthened relationships. This empirical study seeks to understand the conditions under which program-related conflict in evangelical churches leads to detrimental outcomes and those which lead to constructive outcomes. In a role-playing, survey-based experiment of American church attenders (N = 276), participants’ satisfaction with conflict outcome was measured in a scenario with various outcomes concerning their program-related goal (maintaining the starting time of a mid-week children’s program) and their social goals (e.g., having a better relationship with the director of the children’s program, being affirmed in their Christian identity, and ensuring that decisions are made fairly). The study indicates that, in a conflict concerning a children’s program, church attenders who have a salient social goal achieved, but not their program-related goal, will be more satisfied than church attenders who have their program-related goal achieved but not a salient social goal.

Constructively Managing Program-related Conflict In Local Churches

Interpersonal conflict surrounding church programs is a major source of distress for both pastoral staff and lay members of evangelical churches. Such conflict, when destructive, may severely hinder the achievement of program objectives. However, conflict when managed constructively may lead to a more effective program and strengthened relationships. This empirical study seeks to understand the conditions under which program-related conflict in evangelical churches leads to detrimental outcomes and those which lead to constructive outcomes. In a role-playing, survey-based experiment of American church attenders ( N = 276), participants’ satisfaction with conflict outcome was measured in a scenario with various outcomes concerning their program-related goal (maintaining the starting time of a mid-week children’s program) and their social goals (e.g., having a better relationship with the director of the children’s program, being affirmed in their Christian identity, and ensuring that decisions are made fairly). The study indicates that, in a conflict concerning a children’s program, church attenders who have a salient social goal achieved, but not their program-related goal, will be more satisfied than church attenders who have their program-related goal achieved but not a salient social goal.

“Swirl Babies”

This chapter shifts attention from the church’s outreach efforts to another dimension of its internal workings—how it handles romantic relationships among church members. In particular, tensions have arisen over interracial romantic relationships. Many in the congregation perceive the pastoral staff as discouraging such relationships, if not always explicitly. One result is a regular meeting of couples involved in these relationships in settings outside the church, and hiding their relationships from other church members and the staff. The ambivalence about interracial romance becomes a good setting in which to understand the congregation’s overall ambivalence about dealing with issues of race and racial inequality forthrightly.

An Archaeological Mystery Revealed by Radiocarbon Dating of Cross-Flow Nanofiltrated Amino Acids Derived from Bone Collagen, Silk, and Hair: Case Study of the Bishops Baldwin I and Radbot II from Noyon-Tournai

Excavations in the cathedral of Tournai revealed two sepultures, which were identified by the excavators as those of bishops because of their special location in the cathedral. One burial was assigned to Baldwin I, who died in AD 1068, because (1) a ring with the inscription “BAL” was found and (2) a funeral stone with text was present on top of the grave mentioning the name Baldewinus. The second burial probably belongs to Radbot II, who was the successor of Baldwin I, and died in AD 1098. Both burials contained textiles (silk), the skeleton, a wooden pastoral staff, and human hair was still present on the skull of what was presumed to be Radbot II. All the protein-containing materials were degraded and/or contaminated. Standard sample pretreatment methods were not able to remove all the contaminants. Single and double cross-flow nanofiltration of the hydrolyzed protein-containing materials were performed. The sample quality for radiocarbon dating was improved and14C data revealed interesting and surprising results. The14C dates of the wooden pastoral staff and permeate femur confirm that the skeleton and tomb belong to bishop Baldwin I. The14C dates of hair and permeate skull indicate that the skeleton may indeed belong to bishop Radbot II. The younger14C dates of the wooden pastoral staff and silk samples indicate a postburial disturbance of the site burial during the 12th–13th century.

An Archaeological Mystery Revealed by Radiocarbon Dating of Cross-Flow Nanofiltrated Amino Acids Derived from Bone Collagen, Silk, and Hair: Case Study of the Bishops Baldwin I and Radbot II from Noyon-Tournai

Excavations in the cathedral of Tournai revealed two sepultures, which were identified by the excavators as those of bishops because of their special location in the cathedral. One burial was assigned to Baldwin I, who died in AD 1068, because (1) a ring with the inscription “BAL” was found and (2) a funeral stone with text was present on top of the grave mentioning the name Baldewinus. The second burial probably belongs to Radbot II, who was the successor of Baldwin I, and died in AD 1098. Both burials contained textiles (silk), the skeleton, a wooden pastoral staff, and human hair was still present on the skull of what was presumed to be Radbot II. All the protein-containing materials were degraded and/or contaminated. Standard sample pretreatment methods were not able to remove all the contaminants. Single and double cross-flow nanofiltration of the hydrolyzed protein-containing materials were performed. The sample quality for radiocarbon dating was improved and14C data revealed interesting and surprising results. The14C dates of the wooden pastoral staff and permeate femur confirm that the skeleton and tomb belong to bishop Baldwin I. The14C dates of hair and permeate skull indicate that the skeleton may indeed belong to bishop Radbot II. The younger14C dates of the wooden pastoral staff and silk samples indicate a postburial disturbance of the site burial during the 12th–13th century.