“Piece of Mind” and “Wellbeing Town”

The long-term implications of COVID-19 for wellbeing are predicted to be both significant and enduring. Data from previous epidemics indicates long-term detrimental effects are more pronounced among particular demographics, including individuals with pre-existing mental health conditions. The Mental Health Independent Support Team (MhIST) is a charitable organisation offering a range of free-at-the-point-of-contact services via self-referral for a range of mental health and wellbeing concerns, both with and without diagnosis. Since March 2020, the organisation noted significant rises in demand for services. Serious games and their active involvement in eliciting rapid positive behavioural change is associated with their emergence as a key learning tool, with effects transferable to the real world. While a growing number of gamified interventions exist for a range of mental health diagnoses, their presence in the domain of positive psychology is more limited. The chapter reports two studies conducted to enhance the development of an educational game for adult wellbeing.

The role of talent intermediaries in accessing and developing refugee talent pools

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the role talent intermediaries can play in supporting the access and development of talent from forcibly displaced backgrounds.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw on a single case study design of UK charitable organisation, the Council for At-Risk Academics, to consider the global talent management of academics in exile.FindingsThis paper finds that specialised intermediaries can facilitate access to and the successful performance (individual and organisational) of refugee talent. Findings reveal a major shift in talent recruitment processes that are required in order for refugees to take up international work opportunities and highlight the importance of viewing individual potential, organisational support and opportunity access as a precursor for talent development and impact.Practical implicationsThis paper shows that profession-specific intermediary support that fosters cross-sector partnerships, better addresses the talent development and workforce integration challenges of refugees.Originality/valueApplication of a multi-level relational framework shows the reasons for, and reality of forced displacement for academics in exile. Focusing on the academic sector demonstrates the importance of protecting both individuals and values at the heart of professions subject to persecution during war and unrest. In highlighting how refugee talent intermediaries can support individuals to breach the canvas ceiling and facilitate the global mobility of refugee talent, a contribution is made to existing debates in diversity, global talent management and migration studies.

Common hand and wrist conditions: creation of UK research priorities defined by a James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership

ObjectivePrioritisation of important treatment uncertainties for ‘Common Conditions Affecting the Hand and Wrist’ via a UK-based James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership.SettingThis process was funded by a national charitable organisation and based in the UK.ParticipantsAnyone with experience of common conditions affecting the adult hand and wrist, including patients, carers and healthcare professionals. All treatment modalities delivered by a hand specialist, including therapists, surgeons or other allied professionals, were considered.InterventionsEstablished James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership methods were employed.Electronic and paper questionnaires identified potential uncertainties. These were subsequently confirmed using relevant, up-to-date systematic reviews. A final list of top 10 research uncertainties was developed via a face-to-face workshop with representation from patients and clinicians. Impact of research was sought by surveying hand clinicians electronically.Outcome measuresThe survey responses and prioritisation—both survey and workshop based.ResultsThere were 889 individually submitted questions from the initial survey, refined to 59 uncertainties across 32 themes. Eight additional uncertainties were added from published literature before prioritisation by 261 participants and the workshop allowed the final top 10 list to be finalised. The top 10 has so far contributed to the award of over £3.8 million of competitively awarded funding.ConclusionsThe Common Conditions in the Hand and Wrist Priority Setting Partnership identified important research questions and has allowed research funders to identify grant applications which are important to both patients and clinicians

Understanding the Effect of Digital Literacy on Employees' Digital Workplace Continuance Intentions and Individual Performance

While a growing body of literature suggests that employees' digital skills are important to enable both individuals and organisations to make the most of the digital workplace, empirical understanding of their effect on technology adoption and performance is currently limited. Drawing on prior models of technology acceptance and continuance, the present study investigated the effect of digital literacy on behavioural intention to continue using the digital workplace and, ultimately, on individual performance. Linear regression was used to analyse the conceptual model using survey data from 142 employees of a major UK charitable organisation. Results partially supported the model, demonstrating that employees' digital skills effect continuance intentions and individual performance via their perceptions of ease of use. The findings suggest an important role for digital literacy, both as an antecedent to the more general determinants of technology adoption, and in organisational interventions designed to encourage digital workplace adoption.

The provision of comprehensive crisis intervention by a charitable organisation: findings from a realist evaluation

Public and academic discussion about the needs of people experiencing suicidality and psychological distress is focused on the improvement and expansion of clinical services. The potential of non-clinical, voluntary organisations providing comprehensive support is overlooked. This article reports findings from a realist evaluation of a charitable organisation in New Zealand that provides crisis respite. Two phases of data collection and analysis enabled the development of a programme theory explaining how respite supports people experiencing suicidality and distress. Data from interviews, participant observation, document analysis and a focus group were examined using thematic analysis. The study identified key outcomes of this respite service, along with the contextual factors and mechanisms that explain how these outcomes were generated. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of respite and the benefits of crisis services operating as charitable organisations. The apparent advantages of volunteerism are discussed in the context of a trend towards professionalisation in crisis intervention.

SUPPORT FOR YOUTH LEAVING CARE: A NATIONAL RESEARCH STUDY, INDIA

This paper is a condensed version of a study entitled “Beyond 18: Leaving Child Care Institutions — A Study of Aftercare Practices in Five States of India”, conducted and published in 2019 by Udayan Care, a charitable organisation, with support from UNICEF India and Tata Trusts. This research involved the participation of care leavers, government functionaries, duty-bearers, and civil society practitioners. It found that upon turning 18, youth transitioning out of child care institutions to independent life in India experience many challenges, such as securing housing and identity documents; accessing education, skill development, and employment opportunities; and garnering psychosocial support. This study also showed that absent or inadequate aftercare support during transition increases care leavers’ vulnerabilities to homelessness, unemployment, substance misuse, and ruptured social relationships. It also found that continued aftercare support is necessary to foster independent living skills in these young people and enable their reintegration into mainstream society. While exploring the continuum from child care to aftercare, the researchers developed the concept of a “Sphere of Aftercare”, comprising eight domains of support that are considered essential for a successful transition. The study revealed a lack of transition planning at the level of child care institutions and functionaries and a general lack of understanding of the holistic aftercare needs of youth throughout the eight identified domains. The study also found an absence of clarity about stakeholders’ roles; a lack of data management with regard to the number of youth leaving care, leading to inadequate budget planning; and a lack of adequate monitoring mechanisms to assess care leavers’ outcomes. In light of this study’s findings, policy reforms and ways of developing robust aftercare programmes are recommended in relation to policy, practice, and law.

366 The ED young person’s wellbeing guide – a novel approach to psychosocial risk assessing children and young people in the emergency department

Aims/Objectives/BackgroundThe 2019/20 RCEM National QIP ‘Care of Children in the ED’ recommends use of a recognised tool (eg HEEADSSS) to psychosocial risk assess 12–17 year olds seen in the ED. Northwick Park’s ED team collaborated with the Young Harrow Foundation (YHF), a local charitable organisation, to coproduce the ED Young Person’s Wellbeing Guide with the aim of addressing this standard whilst also meeting the needs of ED staff and the children and young people (CYP) that we care for.Methods/DesignYHF’s Change Champions, a dynamic group of local 15–25 year olds with lived experience of areas such as youth violence and mental health, worked with the ED team and fed back that they wouldn’t necessarily expect (or welcome) ED staff enquiring about such personal topics (particularly if presenting with an unrelated issue) but valued access to reliable support and advice for themselves or their peers. ED staff, similarly, often felt awkward approaching such sensitive subjects with CYP if the presentation was with a seemingly unrelated complaint or when departmental pressures prohibited development of a meaningful doctor-patient rapport. The Wellbeing Guide was therefore coproduced to provide CYP with links to trusted sources of support (based on the HEEADSSS categories) as well as allowing the ED clinician to broach such conversations by asking whether any issues raised in the Guide resonated with the young person and whether further support or advice was required.Abstract 366 Figure 1Results/ConclusionsThe Wellbeing Guide will be piloted, and offered to all 12–17yo’s attending the ED, in the next few weeks. Using an iterative approach the document will be further developed through feedback from CYP. We are also developing a complementary document containing links to resources for parents concerned about their child. We aspire to an online version of both documents, accessible via the Trust’s website, in the next few months.

Nature et publicité sociale: du scénario catastrophe à la reconquête de l’environnement dans les campagnes de FNE

The aim of this study is to define the semiotic and linguistic components of social advertising, the objective of which is to raise awareness in western populations. To this end, we compare the procedures used in social and commercial posters, and highlight the importance of environmental issues in recent years, in which defending nature or commending natural concerns are more and more commonplace. Using a contrastive analysis of two campaigns by a French charitable organisation, France Nature Environnement (FNE), in 2011 and 2016, we reflect on the specific discursive strategies employed to seduce message receivers and demonstrate that both campaigns, the first through the use of irony and the second though the auguring of a better world, convince people of the need for sustainable development. En este trabajo, determinamos los parámetros semio-lingüísticos de las publicidades sociales que tienen como objetivo la concienciación de las poblaciones occidentales en la actualidad. Para ello, comparamos los procedimientos utilizados en los carteles sociales y comerciales, y ponemos de relieve la importancia de la cuestión medioambiental en estos últimos años, razón por la cual los objetos publicitarios defendiendo la naturaleza o preconizando lo natural resultan ser cada vez más frecuentes. En concreto, a partir del análisis contrastivo de dos campañas de la asociación francesa France Nature Environnement (FNE) de 2011 y 2016, revelamos pues las estrategias discursivas concretas empleadas para seducir a los receptores de nuestras sociedades contemporáneas y evidenciamos que tanto la campaña de 2011 basada en la ironía como la de 2016 presagiando un mundo mejor consiguen persuadir a los individuos de la importancia de un planeta sostenible.

Strategy-Focused Agile Transformation: A Case Study

Strategic agility enables an organisation to sense and seize opportunities, manage uncertainty and adapt to changes. This paper presents one case study of a traditional charitable organisation taking a strategy-focused approach to agile transformation. Interview data was collected over a 13-month period through interviews at different stages and with different members of the transformation team and Heads of Department. This case study illustrates the challenges faced in such a transformation, and shows that strategic agility requires different time horizons to co-exist: a future vision, a medium term set of objectives and a short term performance monitoring perspective.

Tunisia pre-poll tactics reveal democratic flaws

Significance Tunisia will hold legislative and presidential elections on October 6 and November 10, respectively. On June 18, parliament passed an amendment to electoral law barring individuals who use their media or other organisations for campaigning from running for office. Karoui was the frontrunner to win the presidency in a June 12 opinion poll published by Sigma Conseil, but will be prevented from running if the law enters force. He owns Nessma TV, which has been critical of the government, as well as a charitable organisation. This makes the amendment look as though it is targeting individuals who could threaten the major parties’ control of government. Impacts Tunisia may have set a precedent for preventing media personalities or wealthy populists from using their influence to become politicians. The ruling coalition may lose support if it is seen to be manipulating the electoral process to ensure victory. This case highlights the urgency of establishing a constitutional court to protect Tunisia’s democratic transition and consolidation.