An assessment of GRAI Grids and their use in the Strathclyde Integration Method

The purpose of this paper is to present a critical assessment of GRAI Grids as a tool for improved manufacturing integration. GRAI Grids, a key component of the GRAI approach, form an integral part of the Strathclyde Integration Method SIM for manufacturing integration. The contribution of the paper is thus to provide a 'third party' view of the effectiveness of GRAI Grids as a modelling tool. The paper presents a brief overview of the GRAI approach, concentrating particularly on the Grids, and an overview of SIM, showing how GRAI Grids are used. The main section of the paper presents an assessment and critique of GRAI Grids. Several benefits and limitations of the Grid as used in SIM and some suggestions for extensions are presented. The paper concludes that the use of the GRAI Grid, within a methodology, provides a unique insight into the behaviour and design of manufacturing information systems and that those who criticize the technique perhaps do so from a lack of awareness of its concepts, principles and advantages.     

Performing on a Wider Stage: Developing Inner-City Youth Through Play and Performance

This article reports on an ethnographic study of a youth leadership program that utilizes play and performance to support the development of inner-city youth. Participant observation and focus groups were used to learn about young people’s experience participating in the program and how they perceive its effect on their lives. The findings demonstrated that approaching the activities in the program as performances provided participants a way to practice being who they are not, a language for understanding their own development, and a way to become creators of developmental environments for themselves and others.     

Managing Money in Marriage: Multilevel and Cross‐National Effects of the Breadwinner Role

We examine whether institutionalized practices and beliefs regarding breadwinning roles are associated with the choice of more or less equal money management strategies in marriage. Using cross‐national data from 21 country contexts in the International Social Survey Programme and multilevel modeling, we find that in contexts of shared breadwinning, there is a greater likelihood of shared management of money, controlling for the relative income contribution of each spouse. We also find some evidence that the effect of spouses’ relative income contributions diminishes in contexts of shared breadwinning. Our analysis comparing women’s and men’s money management is consistent with previous research indicating that women’s management may be more work than power.     

For God's sake not for sale: trafficking and the church in Europe

This article is a case study of a faith-based organisation, the UK-based NGO CHASTE, working on the issue of sexual trafficking. It highlights issues that arise as a result of addressing the problem through a faith-based lens. The article explores the challenges CHASTE faces in its work, the small but significant achievements that the organisation has made, and the outlook for the future.     

Approaches to implementing manufacturing information systems

Since computers lie behind almost all aspects of new technology, industry now has the chance to develop true integrated Manufacturing Information Systems. This paper examines the developments in this direction which new technology makes available, and why companies should embrace them. Case studies are presented in which the progress achieved and problems encountered by three companies in realising their manufacturing information system are discussed. General conclusions are drawn from them and recommendations for successful implementation are put forward.     

Resident and family perspectives on assisted living

This research describes and compares the relative importance residents and family members place on attributes of the environment, the programs, and the policies of assisted living; describes their satisfaction with these features; and identifies factors associated with congruence between residents' and family members' ratings of importance and satisfaction. Both residents and their family members had high importance and satisfaction ratings. Family members gave the assisted living setting lower satisfaction ratings on all features than did residents. Congruence ranged from 34% to 71% for importance items and from 29% to 63% for satisfaction. Female residents, affectionate family relationships, and residing in an AL owned by a chain were positively associated with congruence on importance items, while resident and family education, resident income, and family involvement were negatively associated with congruence on importance items. For congruence on satisfaction items, having an affectionate relationship was positively associated and higher ADL dependency, more family involvement at the facility, and family members who viewed the facility as a safe place were negatively associated with congruence. This study makes a major stride forward because cognitively intact residents' perspectives are compared and contrasted with their own family members' perspectives, thus showing that residents and family members are two distinct groups, each with a unique set of preferences.     

Development of an evidence-based conceptual framework for workplace assessment

One solution to the underutilization of workplace accommodations is to use teleconferencing technology to conduct remote assessments, effectively expanding the geographical area that experienced rehabilitation specialists can cover. However, such an effort requires a highly structured and comprehensive assessment protocol. This paper reports on the analysis of 53 existing assessments to develop a conceptual framework for assessment and the use of that framework to evaluate the applicability of 10 work-related assessment protocols for remote tele-assessment. While none of the 10 protocols were found to be sufficiently comprehensive for our purposes, the conceptual framework itself will serve as an important tool to structure a new comprehensive protocol that will be developed. Moreover, the framework can also be used by providers of workplace assessments to evaluate the suitability of any assessment protocol to meet the needs of any particular individual or workplace situation.     

Enhancing practitioner-led education in social work: developing a secondment project

ABSTRACT

This paper illustrates the development of a secondment project designed to enhance practitioner-led social work education in a Higher Education Institution. The project was developed as part of a Teaching Partnership initiative to establish joint working and standardized approaches to social work education between Higher Education Institutes and Local Authorities across a UK region. Highlighted is how the project utilized a six-stage strategy designed to gather information to produce an evidence-base to support the implementation of a pilot practitioner secondment arrangement. The paper discusses strategies used to gather information from a range of stakeholders to inform the project, the project outcome and some considerations for future secondment arrangements. Contributing to a limited source of literature, challenges and limitations of developing formal secondment arrangements and delivering practitioner-led education in Higher Education Institutes are highlighted. This paper will assist Higher Education Institutes and Local Authorities in the design and implementation of formal secondment arrangements where these are identified as in need of development.