Although the literature on university–industry links has begun to uncover the reasons for, and types of, collaboration between universities and businesses, it offers relatively little explanation of ways to reduce the barriers in these collaborations. This paper seeks to unpack the nature of the obstacles to collaborations between universities and industry, exploring influence of different mechanisms in lowering barriers related to the orientation of universities and to the transactions involved in working with university partners. Drawing on a large-scale survey and public records, this paper explores the effects of collaboration experience, breadth of interaction, and inter-organizational trust on lowering different types of barriers. The analysis shows that prior experience of collaborative research lowers orientation-related barriers and that greater levels of trust reduce both types of barriers studied. It also indicates that breadth of interaction diminishes the orientation-related, but increases transaction-related barriers. The paper explores the implications of these findings for policies aimed at facilitating university–industry collaboration.

Investigating the factors that diminish the barriers to university-industry collaboration

Do you need to read published papers? Or are you a scientific paper non-reader or recluse? This book (very thoughtfully) starts off by asking whether you need to read this book—how many textbooks actually ask you whether you need to use/read/buy it? The need for such a book is certainly there, as this excellent little book is intended to help existing readers read, and actually interpret, medical papers better. Current non-readers and scientific recluses may even be encouraged to open medical journals for once! The book provides an excellent practical and pragmatic approach to critical analysis of much of the uninspiring and unread published literature (which often makes you wonder how it got into print in the first place!). There is a systematic discussion on evidence-based medicine and a thoughtful practical section on how to search the medical literature. Despite the age of the Internet and computerised databases, even the most experienced Medline surfer often only manages to find approximately a third of the published material on a particular subject—handy tips are provided to improve searches, to increase one’s gain and to reduce eye strain or repetitive strain injury from a long, tiring session at the Medline computer terminal. The book describes the various sections of a published paper, including appraisal of the nature of the study and statistics for the non-statistician. It then discusses what you would hope to gain from reading a particular paper, including papers that report drug trials, diagnostic screening tests, systematic reviews and guidelines. It also has information on economic analyses and qualitative research. Finally, it gives some examples of how to implement evidence-based findings. Since much of clinical medicine is still not evidence-based, perhaps this goes some way to rectify this appalling state of affairs. I also found the Appendix with a checklist for finding, appraising and implementing evidence fairly helpful. Readers of this excellent book who are like me — struggling to understand much of the published literature and also to produce an intelligible published paper every so often—this book not only helps you read a paper but tries to make you a better paper writer as well. Perhaps my understanding of evidence-based medicine will improve after reading this book, and make me a better teacher and researcher. Perhaps it will make me reject more of the papers submitted to the journal I help edit! At the cost of £14.95, this book is an absolute bargain and it fulfils its advertised aim of being a compressed introduction to the usefulness and potential applications of evidence-based medicine in the clinical setting. I recommend it wholeheartedly as an obligatory read.

How the Read a Paper: The Basics of Evidence Based Medicine

This NIHR-SSCR funded scoping review provides a comprehensive mapping of what is known about carers and caring, and aims to help inform policy, practice and research in relation to carers. The review was undertaken by searching 10 electronic bibliographic databases, supplemented by additional web searches to identify academic research, grey literature and wider knowledge. The analysis adopts a selective thematic approach covering: carer variables - the characteristics of different types of carer and different caring situations; types of care - the nature of needs of the cared for person and the features of the care situation; the impact of caring – resilience and coping, employment and health; and carer support and needs assessment. The final section highlights key messages identified from the review. It found that caring involves all sections and age groups of the population, with people are likely to experience one or more periods of caregiving over their lifetime. The uniqueness of each caring relationship is also highlighted. In relation to types of carers, knowledge about ‘hard to reach’ groups, such as BAME and LGBT carers, remains sparse. Older carers are also relatively invisible in policy and research terms. It found that much of the knowledge about carers identified in the review relates to their characteristics, their lived experience and the nature of their caregiving, with relatively less being known about the effectiveness of interventions to support them. The report concludes by offering suggestions for policy and practice. An appendix provides a bibliography of the 3,434 items identified in review, classified into 17 types of reference.

Seeing the wood for the trees. Carer related research and knowledge: A scoping review

Objectives: The purposes of this study were to explore the perceived barriers and challenges to continuing professional education (CPE) access for Canadian health care professionals and to identify best practices for improving access to CPE.

Design: Key informant interviews and Web-based online surveys were conducted.

Participants: Key informant interviews were conducted with national CPE accreditation bodies and health professional associations. An online survey was distributed to health professional education programs, as well as provincial professional associations, licensing and professional regulatory bodies.

Main outcome measures: The perceived barriers and challenges to CPE access for Canadian health care professionals and best practices for improving access to CPE.

Results and conclusions: Geographic isolation and poor technological and telecommunications infrastructure were identified as key barriers to CPE delivery and access. Financial factors, such as funding to support travel or cost of attendance, were also identified as major challenges. Tele-education programming was identified as a best practice approach to improve CPE access, as were regional CPE activities and self-directed learning programs. Employer-sponsored initiatives, including staff coverage or locum support, remuneration for time off and paid travel expenses for CPE participation were also identified as best practice approaches.

Factors influencing rural health care professionals' access to continuing professional education.

PURPOSE. Despite agreement across disciplines regarding the significance of deliberate self-harm (DSH), there continues to be a lack of consensus regarding what DSH is and is not. The purpose of this literature review was to determine the current state of understanding of this complex phenomenon.

CONCLUSIONS. There remains a problem of definitional ambiguity regarding DSH, and a definition derived from the literature is offered. Using Rodger's framework for the evolutionary approach to concept analysis, the attributes, antecedents, and consequences of DSH are developed.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS. Therapeutic approaches that are based on open-minded, non-judgmental listening and on harm minimization rather than abstinence may be more effective than current treatment approaches that forbid any form of DSH.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1744-6163.2008.00172.x

A literature review of deliberate self-harm.

Prevalence of mental health disorder is increasing among young people. It is recognized that early intervention is essential in supporting young people, and care provided within schools to support emotional well-being is recommended as part of this process. A scoping review was undertaken examining school nurses' experiences of supporting the mental health of schoolchildren. Findings suggest that school nurses have a central role in supporting young peoples' mental health, although a number of barriers exist which impact on school nurses' preparedness for this aspect of their role. While there are inconsistencies in the provision of mental health training available to support school nurses, when training is implemented it has positive outcomes for service provision and quality of care. A number of challenges for school nurses were also identified, and recommendations for practice are suggested in the article.

/pdf/school-nurses-experiences-of-managing-young-people-with-57o137674s.pdf

School Nurses' Experiences of Managing Young People With Mental Health Problems: A Scoping Review.

Deliberate self-harm is recognized as a serious public health issue in young people. There is evidence that young people who self-harm are more likely to repeat self-harm, and this in turn increases their risk of completed suicide. Prevalence studies have identified that the rate of self-harm among young people is on the increase, information largely based on data arising from review and analysis of hospital attendances. However, community-based studies indicate that the prevalence is much higher, with those seen in emergency departments representing the 'tip of the iceberg' (Hawton and Rodham, 2006). Young people's motives for self-harm are discussed, as are research findings which indicate that nurses can have negative attitudes towards patients who self-harm. The article considers the implications of this for young people and identifies areas for future research.

http://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/pdfplus/10.12968/bjon.2007.16.3.22967

Characteristics and trends of self-harming behaviour in young people.

Despite regulatory measures on the labelling of energy drinks (EDs), their consumption among adolescents continues to grow in popularity, but teachers increasingly report significant behavioural concerns among students who disclose habitual ED consumption. A review of papers published between January 2010 and October 2016 was undertaken to determine whether an association between adverse behaviour and consumption of ED exists. Findings indicate that ED consumption among adolescents is associated with alcohol and substance use, risky behaviours and psychological states including sensation seeking, depression and anxiety symptoms. ED consumption impacts negatively on executive functions and increases hyperactivity/inattention symptoms among adolescents. An inverse association between ED consumption and sleep duration exists. The findings highlight the need for greater awareness of the potential risk of ED consumption among adolescents.

/pdf/behavioural-correlates-of-energy-drink-consumption-among-4bwj6ojgr8.pdf

Behavioural correlates of energy drink consumption among adolescents: A review of the literature

Attitudes of emergency care staff towards young people who self-harm: A scoping review

This paper reports on the findings of a study which aimed to determine the contribution of school nurses to promoting sexual health within schools and whether occupational and professional boundaries impinged on the school nurses' ability to undertake this aspect of their role. The research was carried out across three Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, a total of 30 school nurses (n=30) from across the three PCTs were included in the study. Analysis of the data indicated that barriers in the form of gate-keepers were present and they could impede the school nurse in fulfilling her role as a health educator. This gate-keeping existed across three 'tiers': the school governors, the school (as a collective organisation) and teachers. Nurses employed a variety of strategies to negotiate their way through these gatekeepers in order to access the classroom setting, key among them was their willingness to collaborate and co-operate, by 'slotting in' with the school, the curriculum and its timetable and 'fitting in' with the teachers, as their needs dictated.

Karen Cleaver

Papers

School Nurses' Experiences of Managing Young People With Mental Health Problems: A Scoping Review.

Characteristics and trends of self-harming behaviour in young people.

Behavioural correlates of energy drink consumption among adolescents: A review of the literature

Attitudes of emergency care staff towards young people who self-harm: A scoping review

Sexual health promotion: the barriers school nurses face.