本研究透過研究者從實務工作角度，整理自身和相關領域社工員於公部門從事社會工作之服務過程與經驗，以深度訪談的方式探究公部門社工員所擁有的專業自主發揮空間，以及提供專業服務過程常需考量及面對之問題，並歸納其存在之歸因與因應方式，從中思考社工專業制度是否有助於公部門社工專業自主性之發揮，並重新檢視社會工作專業存在於公部門扮演之角色及定位，找出可能的修正方向，期讓公部門的社會工作服務能與專業助人機制進行結合，讓社工專業能更貼近服務個案思考及服務。 　　本研究結果發現：（1）公部門社工專業角色定位不明，影響專業認同度；（2）政府的科層體制限制了公部門社工專業自主發展；（3）學校專業教育訓練是社工專業自主的基礎；（4）現行社工證照制度對於提升公部門社工專業自主性影響有限；（5）公部門督導功能受限於科層體制，影響公部門社工專業自主性的發揮。 根據研究結果，針對行政機關提出四點建議，包含：（1）建立公部門社工專業定位，釐清社工角色及職責；（2）各項福利申請或安置處遇的行政程序應盡量最簡化，減少繁瑣的行政作業，提升社工專業效能；（3）攸關弱勢權益的法規限制放寬其彈性，賦予社工員更多自主裁量空間，以彌補福利法規之不足及限制；（4）建構完善職前訓練制度。此外，針對目前社工專業制度提出三項建議，包含：（1）學校教育應重視培養社工獨立思考及專業自主能力；（2）重新檢視現行社工師證照資格認定方式，落實社工專業服務；（3）強化公部門督導專業角色，建立信任督導關係。最後，針對社會工作者自身則提出三項建議，包含：（1）堅定自我專業信念，建立專業自信及專業認同；（2）善用同儕支持與經驗分享，強化專業信念及專業知能，建構維持公部門社工專業自主的工作模式；（3）強化自我專業知能，累積實務工作技巧及能力，以實踐專業自主。 / The study by researchers from the substantive point of view, organizes their and public sector social workers’ service process and experience of social work and related areas. With in-depth interviews, the study explores that social workers of public sector have independence to develop their profession, finds the problems that often need to consider and face when providing professional services, and concludes with the cause and solution. Thus, it can further think if social worker’s profession system helps the public sector’s social workers have independence to develop their profession and re-examine the role and position that the social workers perform in public sector to find the way o amendments. Therefore, the public sector can be combined with a professional helping mechanism which allows the service to be closer to the social work profession case thinking and service. 　　The results of the study found that: (1) the role of public sector social worker is unknown that affects the degree of professional identity; (2) Government bureaucracy system limits the development of profession; (3) Professional schools of social work education and training is the foundation of professional autonomy (4) The current licensing system for enhancing the social public sector limited the autonomy of the social work profession influence;(5) Supervisory function is limited to the public sector bureaucratic system which affects public sector workers to develop professional autonomy. According to the research results, there are four-point proposal for the executive authorities, including: (1) Establish public-sector social work professional position and clarify the roles and responsibilities of social workers. (2)The placements of the case of an application for benefits or administrative procedures should be simplified as much as possible and be reduced cumbersome administrative operations in order to enhance the effectiveness of the social work profession. (3) The regulation of minority’s benefits should be more flexible so that it gives social workers more autonomy discretionary space to compensate for the lack of regulations and restrictions on welfare; (4) Establish a concrete pre-employment training system. In addition, there are three suggestions for the current system of social work profession made, including: (1) School education should focus on cultivating independent thinking and professional autonomy for social workers (2) Re-examine the existing qualification of social worker’s certificates to implement social work professional services; (3) strengthen the role of the public sector professional supervision and build a trust relationship of supervision. Finally, social workers themselves have proposed three suggestions, including: (1) firming self-professional belief and establishing professional confidence and professional identity; (2) use peer support and experience sharing, strengthen professional beliefs and professional knowledge and construct maintain professional autonomy of public sector workers working mode; (3) strengthen the self-professional knowledge, skills and ability to accumulate practical work to practice professional autonomy.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-22T20:50:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-04-28 / Os hospitais brasileiros, tanto do setor público quanto privado, vêm experimentando um marcado processo de racionalização de suas práticas, através de estratégias que visam disciplinar, regulamentar e controlar as várias dimensões da vida no hospital, portadoras de uma racionalidade ―instrumental‖ caracterizada pela busca de maior eficiência e eficácia institucional. Considerando a existência de um sistema dual de autoridades no hospital composto pelos poderes médico e administrativo, a introdução de uma lógica racionalizadora pela administração hospitalar impacta potencialmente no poder de decisão do corpo clínico que, por sua vez, ativa estratégias de conservação de autonomia que visam, em última instância, a manutenção do seu poder na instituição. Este estudo tem como objetivo compreender como os médicos vivenciam e dão sentido às políticas racionalizadoras da gestão hospitalar implementadas pela direção de um hospital da Secretaria de Saúde do Estado de São Paulo gerenciado por uma universidade através de convênio, contratualizado como hospital de ensino e certificado como de excelência pela Organização Nacional de Acreditação. Trata-se de um estudo de caso, com metodologia qualitativa de análise, que, a partir de entrevistas semi-estruturadas realizadas com seis médicos ligados diretamente à assistência, pôde identificar um aparente paradoxo entre os evidentes avanços dos mecanismos de controle institucional sobre o trabalho médico e a percepção ‖subjetiva‖ de tais avanços pelos médicos, que não os reconhecem como limites para sua autonomia técnica. Além disso, demonstra o quanto a resistência dos médicos às medidas racionalizadoras se faz em ato, na realização do seu trabalho, na criação de redes informais de contatos e conhecimentos que vão produzindo fluxos, modos de funcionamento do hospital, de produção do cuidado, que extravasam a racionalidade, o formalismo e a previsibilidade desejadas pela direção. / Brazilian hospitals, either in public or private sectors, have experienced a remarkable rationalization process in their practices through strategies aimed at regulate, discipline and control the diverse dimensions of hospital life. Such strategies convey a specific, instrumental rationality that is outlined by the search for greater institutional efficiency and effectiveness. Regarding the existence of a dual system of authorities in hospitals composed by both medical and administrative powers, the introduction of a rationalizing logic by the hospital administration potentially impacts the power of decision-making within the clinical board, whose professionals, on their turn, activate autonomy conservation strategies ultimately concerned with the maintenance of their power in the institution. The present study is aimed at understanding how medical doctors experience and assign meaning to the rationalizing hospital management policies implemented by the management board of a hospital belonging to the State Health Department of São Paulo. This hospital is managed by a university through a formal agreement as a teaching hospital. It is also certified by the National Accreditation Organization as an institution of excellence. As a case study carried out through an analytical qualitative methodology, which, from semi-structured interviews performed with six medical doctors directly concerned with health care, this research is able to identify an apparent paradox involving the evident advancement of the institutional mechanisms of control over medical work as well as the ―subjective‖ perception of such advancements by the physicians, who do not recognize them as limits for their technical autonomy. In addition, it demonstrates how far the resistance of physicians against the rationalizing measures is made in act, when performing their work, when creating informal networks of contact and knowledge, which follow through by producing flows, ways of operation for the hospital, ways of producing care, which go far beyond the rationality, the formalism, and the previsibility as aimed by the administration. / TEDE / BV UNIFESP: Teses e dissertações

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O objeto do presente estudo consiste nos papéis exercidos pelas instituições formadoras de profissionais de enfermagem, pelo mercado de trabalho e pelas entidades de classe da enfermagem no processo de profissionalização e de construção de sua identidade profissional. Este estudo tem por objetivo reescrever o processo de construção da identidade profissional da enfermagem a partir das discussões travadas pelos profissionais, nas instituições formadoras, acerca de sua especialização, a luz dos fatos sócio-históricos que desencadearam, ao longo do tempo, a passagem de uma enfermagem generalista para outra especialista. O trabalho discute o processo de profissionalização da enfermagem nas instituições formadoras tendo como pano de fundo as idéias clássicas da sociologia das profissões. Para ela, a enfermagem é vista coma uma semiprofissão, uma vez que não possui os quatro atributos fundamentais de uma verdadeira profissão: autonomia, corpo esotérico de conhecimentos, ideal de serviço e monopólio de saber e do fazer. Na tentativa de conquistar estes quatro atributos, ou alguns deles, para, então, ascender ao patamar de profissão, a enfermagem hoje vive um momento de transição na formação de seus profissionais: generalistas (tradicionais) ou especialistas (modernos). Em um outro aspecto, concluímos que, até o momento, o processo de legitimação, ou melhor, de construção social da identidade profissional da enfermagem especializada ainda não se consolidou, ou seja, as instituições formadoras, construtoras sociais do campo profissional da enfermagem, ainda não se definiram pela figura de um só perfil - generalista ou especialista - e, por isso, esta construção ainda encontra-se inacabada.

Submitted by Simone Souza (simonecgsouza@hotmail.com) on 2017-06-07T14:38:05Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2014_Heidy Dall Orto Hellebrandt.pdf: 1021048 bytes, checksum: 22de873b4d7319442280e8ab4181f33e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Jordan (jordanbiblio@gmail.com) on 2017-06-07T16:23:25Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2014_Heidy Dall Orto Hellebrandt.pdf: 1021048 bytes, checksum: 22de873b4d7319442280e8ab4181f33e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-07T16:23:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2014_Heidy Dall Orto Hellebrandt.pdf: 1021048 bytes, checksum: 22de873b4d7319442280e8ab4181f33e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-26 / O Programa Institucional de Bolsas de Iniciação Científica (PIBIC) do Ministério da Educação tem como objetivo estimular o potencial dos alunos mais identificados com o mundo da produção do conhecimento através de sua inserção em projetos de pesquisa ao longo da graduação. A esses alunos é oferecido um acompanhamento diferenciado de um mestre ou doutor que, além de orientá-los no processo de pesquisar, os inserem nos seus grupos de pesquisa, nos quais a vivência do processo de aprender é pautada em práticas pedagógicas diferenciadas, alicerçadas no processo de pesquisar de forma a desenvolver a autonomia para conhecer e aprender de maneira mais eficaz. Foi nosso pressuposto que as maneiras de ensinar e a participação na Iniciação Científica (IC) contribuíram de alguma forma para que esses alunos se tornassem mais autônomos no seu processo de aprender. Traçamos como objetivo analisar, desde a perspectiva dos alunos participantes na IC entre os anos de 2010 e 2012, como se configuraram as suas maneiras de aprender no âmbito do PIBIC que contribuíram para o desenvolvimento da autonomia no seu processo de aprender em enfermagem. Trata-se de um estudo de abordagem qualitativa, cujos dados foram coletados através de nove entrevistas semiestruturadas e de dois grupos focais realizados com alunos participantes do PIBIC na Faculdade de Enfermagem da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso. Tivemos como resultados que os grupos de pesquisa funcionam como uma importante base no processo de aprender do aluno de enfermagem participante do PIBIC, pois neles desenvolvem as capacidades de relacionar-se e interagir com colegas e docentes, em um processo recursivo que aprofunda o conhecimento e ajuda a desenvolver habilidades de escrita e ainda de aprender com os próprios acertos e erros, assim como dos demais participantes do grupo. O contexto de aprendizado proporcionado pelas inúmeras experiências desenvolvidas na IC, como as muitas leituras e discussões de textos e teorias, os constantes processos de fazer e refazer, tanto individualmente como coletivamente os projetos e os relatórios de pesquisa de todos os alunos do grupo de pesquisa são fatores que promovem a autonomia, no sentido moriniano do termo, e ajudam no desenvolvimento de novas estratégias para aprender a aprender. Outro importante fator de aprendizado é a compreensão do erro como oportunidade de novas tentativas de apreender o conhecimento necessário para cumprir mais uma etapa, e saber que outras virão e esse devir constante é um ponto de convergência que potencializa a vontade de aprender mais e fazer melhor na próxima tentativa. Ter um grupo que caminha junto, com objetivos relativamente semelhantes, contribui para que cada aluno aprenda a tecer suas inúmeras redes de ajuda e compreender que elas apontam para múltiplas fontes de conhecimento e atualização, o que repõe a ideia de dependência como algo que pede reciprocidade de todos no grupo, como um componente importante para a formação da autonomia individual, entendida sempre dentro das inter-relações que estabelecemos com os demais. / The Institutional Program for Scientific Initiation Scholarships (PIBIC) of the Brazilian Ministry of Education aims to encourage the potential of students who are more identified to the world of knowledge production through its inclusion in research projects during graduation. For these students, the program offers a differentiated monitoring by a master or doctor, whom in addition to guide the students in the search process, insert them in their research groups, in which the experience of the learning process is guided by differentiated teaching practices that are grounded in research process in order to develop their autonomy to know and learn more effectively. It was our assumption that the ways of teaching and the participation in Scientific Initiation (IC) contributed somehow for these students to become more autonomous in their learning process. We have traced as our objective: to analyze the perspective of participating students in IC (between the years 2010 and 2012) and the configuration of their ways of learning in PIBIC which contributed to the development of autonomy in their learning process in nursing. This is a qualitative study, which data were collected through nine semi-structured interviews and two focus groups conducted with PIBIC students (in 2010-2011 and in 2011-2012) at the Faculty of Nursing at the Federal University of Mato Grosso. As results, we have that research groups act as an important base in the learning process of nursing students participating in PIBIC, because in these students are developed different skills like: to relate and interact with peers and professors in a recursive process that deepens knowledge and helps develop writing abilities and also to learn from their own successes and mistakes and from the successes and mistakes of other members of the group as well. The context of learning provided by the numerous experiences developed in Scientific Initiation, as many readings and discussions of texts and theories, the constant process of making and remaking both individually and collectively projects and research reports of all students in the research group, are factors that promote autonomy, in the Morinean understanding of the term, and help in developing new strategies for the learning how to learn process. Another important learning factor is the understanding the error as an opportunity to further attempts to obtain necessary knowledge to perform one more step, and to know that others will come and this constant becoming is a point of convergence that enhances the desire to learn more and do better next time. To have a group that walks together with relatively similar goals, helps each student learn to weave their numerous help networks and understand that those networks point to multiple sources of knowledge and upgrade, which resets the idea of dependence as something that seeks reciprocity of everyone in the group, and being this an important component for the training of individual autonomy, understanding it always within the inter - relationships we set with others.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O objeto do presente estudo consiste nos papéis exercidos pelas instituições formadoras de profissionais de enfermagem, pelo mercado de trabalho e pelas entidades de classe da enfermagem no processo de profissionalização e de construção de sua identidade profissional. Este estudo tem por objetivo reescrever o processo de construção da identidade profissional da enfermagem a partir das discussões travadas pelos profissionais, nas instituições formadoras, acerca de sua especialização, a luz dos fatos sócio-históricos que desencadearam, ao longo do tempo, a passagem de uma enfermagem generalista para outra especialista. O trabalho discute o processo de profissionalização da enfermagem nas instituições formadoras tendo como pano de fundo as idéias clássicas da sociologia das profissões. Para ela, a enfermagem é vista coma uma semiprofissão, uma vez que não possui os quatro atributos fundamentais de uma verdadeira profissão: autonomia, corpo esotérico de conhecimentos, ideal de serviço e monopólio de saber e do fazer. Na tentativa de conquistar estes quatro atributos, ou alguns deles, para, então, ascender ao patamar de profissão, a enfermagem hoje vive um momento de transição na formação de seus profissionais: generalistas (tradicionais) ou especialistas (modernos). Em um outro aspecto, concluímos que, até o momento, o processo de legitimação, ou melhor, de construção social da identidade profissional da enfermagem especializada ainda não se consolidou, ou seja, as instituições formadoras, construtoras sociais do campo profissional da enfermagem, ainda não se definiram pela figura de um só perfil - generalista ou especialista - e, por isso, esta construção ainda encontra-se inacabada.

Denna studie är en del av det VR-finansierade forskningsprojektet ”Lärares autonomi i Sverige, Finland, Irland, England och Tyskland” och undersöker hur lärare i tre svenska kommuner upplever sin professionella autonomi i termer av kontroll och beslutsfattning. Autonomi betraktas vidare i denna studie som ett komplext och flerdimensionellt fenomen som kan ta olika form beroende på vilken del av lärarens arbete som berörs. Med hjälp av Wermke, Olason Rick och Salokangas analytiska modell, som delar upp lärares autonomi utifrån olika aspekter av arbetet, undersöks lärares autonomi inom de två nivåerna klassrum och skola samt de fyra domänerna utbildning, social, utveckling och administration. Studien baseras på en enkätundersökning som besvarats av 615 svenska lärare. Resultatet av studiens statistiska analyser visar hur lärares uppfattade autonomi skiljer sig mellan de tre kommunerna. Samtidigt varierar graden av autonomi mellan de olika nivåerna och domänerna på ett liknande sätt i samtliga kommuner, vilket skapar en bild över hur lärare i den svenska nationella kontexten uppfattar sin professionella autonomi. Högst autonomi tycks lärarna uppleva i utbildningsfrågor, medan de upplever att de har lägst autonomi i frågor gällande deras professionella utveckling. / This study is written as a part of the research project ”Teacher autonomy in Sweden, Finland, Ireland, England and Germany” and examines how teachers in three Swedish municipalities perceive their professional autonomy in terms of decision-making and control. In this study autonomy is seen as a complex and multidimensional phenomenon, that can take different forms in different aspects of teachers’ work. By using Wermke, Olason Rick and Salokangas’ analytical device, which sorts teacher autonomy into different aspects of work, teacher autonomy is examined in two levels, classroom and school, and in four domains, education, social, development and administration. The study is based on a survey taken by 615 Swedish teachers. The results show how teachers’ perceived autonomy differs between the three municipalities. The results also show how the degree of autonomy varies between the levels and domains in a similar manner across all three municipalities, which paints a picture of how teachers in the Swedish national context perceive their professional autonomy. The teachers perceive themselves as most autonomous in educational decisions and least autonomous in decisions regarding their professional development.

Este estudo teve como objetivos: compreender como se dá o processo de o enfermeiro exercer sua autonomia nas decisões de final de vida vivenciadas em UTI adulto; identificar os significados que ele atribui à experiência de tomar decisões e de exercer sua autonomia nas situações de final de vida dos pacientes internados na UTI adulto; construir uma teoria substantiva sobre a compreensão de exercer a sua autonomia nas tomadas de decisão em situações de final de vida dos pacientes na UTI adulto. Utilizou-se como referencial teórico o Interacionismo Simbólico e como referencial metodológico a Teoria Fundamentada em Dados. A análise comparativa dos dados possibilitou desvendar o significado de exercer autonomia do enfermeiro com pacientes em final de vida internados na UTI adulto. Foi possível serem identificados três fenômenos que compõem esta experiência. O primeiro,Trabalhando num ambiente de pressão, representa a etapa inicial da experiência do enfermeiro, agrega não somente o contexto que permeia o seu trabalho na UTI, mas também os aspectos clínicos do paciente, as interações com os outros profissionais e com a família nas tomadas de decisão de final de vida. O segundo,Buscando empoderar-se para poder decidir, mostra o movimento, no qual o enfermeiro cria estratégias para ampliar as oportunidades a fim de poder exercer autonomia. O terceiro,Revendo os espaços para exercer autonomia, reconsidera outros espaços onde possa atuar no processo de final de vida, em relação ao planejamento do cuidado ao paciente, no acolhimento das famílias nas tomadas de decisão ou, ainda, na interface com os membros da equipe e a instituição. A articulação destes fenômenos permitiu identificar a categoria central AMPLIANDO AS OPORTUNIDADES PARA EXERCER A AUTONOMIA, que representa o processo vivido pelo enfermeiro na busca de espaços de poder de decisão e de ação ao assumir seu papel nos cuidados no processo de final de vida. / The purpose of this study is to: understand the process of autonomy exercised by nurses when making decisions related to end-of-life situations they in the adult ICU; to identify the meanings that nurses attribute to the experience of making decisions and of exercising their autonomy in end-of-life situations of adult patients in ICU; to construct a theoretical model about the process of understanding the exercise of their autonomy in decision-making relating to end-of-life situations of adult patients in the ICU. The study used as a theoretical reference the Symbolic Interactionism, and as methodological reference, the Grounded theory. The comparative analysis of the data has permitted the understanding of the meaning of nurses experience in exercising autonomy relating to life-ending adult patients in the ICU. Three phenomena that compose this experience have been identified: The first, \"Working in an environment of pressure,\" represents the initial phase of nurses experience, adding not only the features that exist within the ICU where the work is done, but also the clinical aspects of patients interaction with other professionals and family in end of life decision-making. The second, \"Seeking to gain power in order to be allowed to make decisions,\" shows the movement in which nurses create strategies for expanding opportunities in order to exercise autonomy. The third phenomena, \"Reviewing the spaces to exercise autonomy,\" reconsiders other spaces where nurses can act in end-of-life situations regarding planning of patient care, supporting families on their decision making and interface with health team members and the institution. The articulation of these phenomena has permitted the identification of the central category EXPANDING-THE-OPPORTUNITIES-FOR-EXERCISE AUTONOMY, based on which it has been possible to propose a theoretical model that explains the experience. It represents the process experienced by nurses in seeking spaces of power regarding decision making and action to assume the care role in end-of-life process.

This thesis is concerned with teacher agency and how this is achieved within the autonomous schooling model of England’s academies programme. The enquiry draws upon the empirical work conducted in a single case study sponsored academy (‘Bucklands Academy’ ) in 2012. The research was conducted in order to investigate whether the autonomy and freedoms afforded to one such school extended to the teachers working in it and how this affected their professional roles as classroom educators. The thesis begins by sharing my research interest, which relates to whether greater levels of school autonomy enhance the pedagogical approaches taken by teachers. This interest then develops towards the notion of teacher agency and asks the fundamental research question: Is this academy a place where teacher agency can flourish? The study sets out the policy context for academies in England, including an analysis of the historical development of state secondary schooling since 1944. It is shown that the continued ‘need’ to develop a new approach to schooling, eventually in the form of academies, started with claims of unfairness, discrimination and waste of talent brought about by the tripartite system of schooling established by the 1944 Education Act. It then analyses later concerns about the alleged failure of the comprehensive system to achieve its aim of raising standards for all children. The political contexts of state schooling are considered, and particular attention is given to the neo-liberal ideology developed after 1979 of ‘rolling back the state’, introducing choice and competition between schools and increasing the role of the private sector in the delivery of public services. However, the scope of the investigation is not restricted to the national policy context; the research interest lies in establishing what the key reforms have meant for teachers in the classroom and how this has affected the agency they achieve. A number of themes emerged in the review of key literature, including school autonomy, teacher professionalism, the policy to practice paradox and discourses around the academies programme. This thesis sets out a clear theoretical position, which draws upon the critical realist social theory developed by Roy Bhaskar and Margaret Archer. This approach offers a centrist alternative to what Pring (2000b) describes as the false dualism of the two epistemological positions of educational research. Critical realism posits that the world is real and that its structures exist beyond our understanding, but that our knowledge of this stratified world is socially constructed. Within the structure-agency debate, the ecological view of agency developed by Priestley et al. (2015) is adopted, which sees it as being context-dependent and something that individuals achieve in concrete settings. The empirical work within this study consisted of semi-structured interviews, observations and documentary analysis. The main findings from the research are that the case-study school had significant autonomy to develop its own policies and approaches to raising standards. However, this autonomy did not extend to any significant extent below the level of the academy sponsors and the principal. The school had developed a highly performative culture where teachers’ work was centrally directed and through which they were held highly accountable for the attainment of their students. It was found that the way in which autonomy was distributed throughout the school affected the agency of key stakeholders. The sponsors achieved high levels of agency, the principal achieved restricted agency and teachers achieved limited agency. It was found that teachers took one of two approaches to a new curricular reform being introduced by the academy sponsors. They either adopted it or used their limited agency to modify it so that it aligned more closely with their own educational philosophies. There was no indication that any teachers rejected the school’s reform, and it is suggested that this may have been the result of them subordinating this key policy to their ultimate concern of working in a school recognised by school inspectors to be highly effective. This thesis concludes that, contrary to the policy rhetoric, teachers working in one sponsored academy may have had less autonomy than those teaching in local authority maintained schools. This in turn affected the agency they achieved, which appears to undermine the original vision and aims of the academies programme. The thesis concludes by offering possible areas for further research which emerged during this study.

No / The United Kingdom is considered to be the world leader in nurse prescribing, no other country having the same extended non-medical prescribing rights. Arguably, this growth has outpaced research to evaluate the benefits, particularly in areas of clinical practice where patients have complex co-morbid conditions such as palliative care. This is the first study of non-medical prescribing in palliative care in almost a decade. AIM: To explore the current position of nurse prescribing in palliative care and establish the impact on practice of the 2012 legislative changes. DESIGN: An online survey circulated during May and June 2013. PARTICIPANTS: Nurse members (n = 37) of a regional cancer network palliative care group (61% response rate). RESULTS: While this survey found non-medical prescribers have embraced the 2012 legislative changes and prescribe a wide range of drugs for cancer pain, we also identified scope to improve the transition from qualified to active non-medical prescriber by reducing the time interval between the two. CONCLUSION: To maximise the economic and clinical benefit of non-medical prescribing, the delay between qualifying as a prescriber and becoming an active prescriber needs to be reduced. Nurses who may be considering training to be a non-medical prescriber may be encouraged by the provision of adequate study leave and support to cover clinical work. Further research should explore the patients' perspective of non-medical prescribing.

Kunskaper om och perspektiv på skolämnet geografi är viktiga när relationen mellan lärare och ämne sätt i fokus, särskilt om lärares ämnesspecifika förståelse betraktas som bärande för hur geografiämnet blir till i skolan. Syftet med denna studie är att utforska hur geografilärares ämnesspecifika förståelse kommer till uttryck och kan förstås när lärare själva får reflektera över ämnet och undervisningen. Resultaten visar på en bred variation i hur lärare förstår och resonerar om det egna ämnet. Analysen uppvisar skillnader i hur denna förståelse kan tolkas där två av fynden rör hur vardagens geografier inkluderas samt geografiämnets roll som beredskapsämne. Till det förs en diskussion om det ömsesidiga beroendeförhållandet mellan vad lärare upplever som möjligt och tillåtet, den kapacitet de har att agera, samt geografilärarens roll som medskapare av ämnet.