Opportunity For Closure Research Articles

Beyond Doubt: The Case Against ‘Not Proven’

AbstractScotland, unusually, has three verdicts in criminal trials: guilty, not guilty, and not proven. The not proven verdict, regarded by many as an intermediate option between the other two, has been the subject of a long‐running debate as to whether it should be abolished. In this article we argue that it should. Drawing on empirical evidence from two recent studies, we cast doubt on the arguments most often made in its favour – that it serves a valuable communicative function, protects against wrongful conviction, and/or increases juror satisfaction. There is no consensus on its meaning or appropriate application in any given case, and it risks both stigmatising an acquitted accused and diminishing complainers’ opportunities for closure. It is doubtful that it prevents wrongful conviction, but even if it does, there are more effective measures in this regard.

Developing and Implementing Peer-Led Intervention to Support Staff in Long-Term Care Homes Manage Grief

Front-line staff in long-term care (LTC) homes often form strong emotional bonds with residents. When residents die, staffs’ grief often goes unattended, and may result in disenfranchised grief. The aim of this article is to develop, implement, and assess the benefits of a peer-led debriefing intervention to help staff manage their grief and provide LTC homes an organizational approach to support them. This research was nested within a 5-year participatory action research to develop and implement palliative care programs within four LTC homes in Canada. Data specific to this debriefing intervention included questionnaires from six peer debriefers, field observations of six debriefings, and qualitative interviews with 23 staff participants. An original peer-led debriefing intervention (INNPUT) for LTC home staff was developed and implemented. Data revealed that the intervention offered staff an opportunity to express grief in a safe context with others, an opportunity for closure and acknowledgment. The INNPUT intervention benefits staff and offers an innovative, sustainable, easy to use strategy for LTC homes.

My Father's Final Lesson.

Studies have shown that during residency and training, less than half of clinicians are comfortable with, let alone knowledgeable about, delivering bad news. As attendings, we should not rob our patients of the time at the end of life, the opportunity for closure, and the chance to say what needs to be said.

Learning From a Shift of Context?: Student teachers on non-school placements

SUMMARY Placements in work organisations are a common part of the learning experience of all those who are involved in the educational system in the UK. They are founded on the belief, largely unexplored, that direct experience of a setting is a powerful prompt for learning. The paper explores the influence of two pre-service placements on the present practice of five teachers. Despite a clearly defined curriculum framework, the placements did not achieve their purpose. The paper proposes that three issues should be considered when designing such placements: learners need to feel that they are undertaking authentic activities within their placement setting, that there are opportunities for closure of learning cycles and that there is strong linkage of learning process with learning support.