Rory O’Connor – författare

The compassionate, evidence-based book on understanding and preventing suicide, from the acclaimed psychologist and expert in suicide research and prevention. WINNER OF THE BPS POPULAR SCIENCE BOOK AWARD AS FEATURED ON BBC RADIO 4 'Read this incredible book. I wept and I learnt' Prof Tanya Byron, clinical psychologist ‘Full of helpful tips and brilliant advice. This book comes from the heart.’ Roman Kemp, presenter and mental health advocate When you are faced with the unthinkable, this is the book you can turn to. Suicide is both baffling and devastating in equal measures, and it can affect any one of us: one person dies by suicide every 40 seconds. Yet despite the scale of the devastation, for family members and friends, suicide is still poorly understood. Drawing on decades of work in the field of suicide prevention and research, and having been bereaved by suicide twice, Professor O'Connor is here to help. Written with empathy and understanding, When It Is Darkest untangles the complex reasons behind someone taking their own life and dispels unhelpful myths around suicide. For those trying to help someone vulnerable, it will provide indispensable advice on communication, stressing the importance of listening to fears and anxieties without judgment. And for those who are struggling to get through the tragedy of suicide, it will help you find strength in the darkest of places. Praise for When It Is Darkest:'Compassionate, personal and thought-provoking' Prof Steve Peters, bestselling author of The Chimp Paradox ‘Rory is wise, unbelievably knowledgeable and an incredible force for good’ Dr Xand van Tulleken ‘[A] unique combination of research, clinical, and deeply personal perspectives on one of the great societal challenges of our time’ Nav Kapur, Professor of Psychiatry and Population Health, University of Manchester ‘An essential read. Honest and unflinching, but always thoughtful and compassionate’ Dr Niall Boyce, Editor, Lancet Psychiatry

Suicide is increasingly recognized as a major global issue of public health, with far-reaching social, economic, and emotional consequences. The World Health Organization estimates that around 800,000 people die each year by suicide, with suicide attempts perhaps up to twenty times more frequent than the completed act. Moreover, in the past thirty years global suicide rates have increased by a dizzying 60 per cent. (For example, in Japan—after Russia, the developed world’s leading suicide nation—more than 33,000 people committed suicide in 2007.)Some general facts are now widely known. For instance: suicide is mainly a (young) male act; mental disorders (such as depression and schizophrenia) are strongly associated with the majority of suicide cases; and suicide rates tend to increase during times of economic downturn, and decrease when individuals within society are well integrated—which probably explains why suicide rates tend to decline during wars. Also, certain groups of people (e.g. alcoholics, the bereaved, prisoners, and migrants) are recognized to be at particular risk of suicide.While it is possible to make such generalizations, many urgent questions, of course, remain unanswered. Consequently, practical and scholarly research better to understand the complex interaction of psychological, genetic, sociological, and environmental factors that may lead to suicide flourishes as never before, not least in the hope of instigating effective suicide-prevention strategies and initiatives. However, much of the literature remains inaccessible or is highly specialized and compartmentalized, so that it is often difficult to obtain an informed overview. To enable users to make sense of the sheer scale of the growth in research output—and the breadth of the field—this new four-volume collection from Routledge’s Major Themes in Health and Social Welfare series answers the need for a comprehensive reference work offering wide-ranging and multidisciplinary perspectives on suicide and suicidal behaviour.Edited by two of the world’s leading authorities, the collection brings together canonical and the very best cutting-edge research. Suicide will be welcomed by professionals and policy-makers. It will also be an invaluable reference resource for students and scholars working in the field, as well as users from a wide range of allied disciplines—such as nursing, education, social work, and law—who increasingly require an understanding of the issues this collection explores.

In today’s sick world, the application of psychological research and methods to issues about and around health could not be more important. Health psychologists pursue ambitious goals, including: the promotion and maintenance of health; the prevention and management of illness; the improvement of healthcare systems; and the formulation of rational health policies. And they seek to understand dizzyingly difficult questions, such as: how do people adapt to chronic illness? What factors influence healthy eating? How is stress linked to heart disease? And, why do so many patients ignore medical advice and prescriptions?As research in and around health psychology burgeons as never before, this new four-volume collection from Routledge’s acclaimed Critical Concepts in Psychology series meets the need for an authoritative reference work to make sense of a rapidly growing and ever more complex corpus of literature. Edited by two leading scholars, the collection gathers foundational and canonical work, together with innovative and cutting-edge applications and interventions.With a full index, together with a comprehensive introduction, newly written by the editors, which places the collected material in its historical and intellectual context, Health Psychology will be particularly useful as a one-stop database allowing scattered and often fugitive material to be easily located. It will also be welcomed as a crucial tool permitting rapid access to less familiar—and sometimes overlooked—texts. For researchers and advanced students, it is a vital one-stop research and reference resource.

From weddings and wakes to hangovers, pre-marriage courses, working as an apprentice on a building site, Irish summers, the Irish abroad, smart-arse barmen, more hangovers, aspiring TDs, the GAA lotto man, going on the hop from school and Irish mammies. Based on the hugely successful Rory’s Stories Facebook page, The Rory’s Stories Guide to Being Irish is a laugh-out-loud guide to the most important things about being Irish.

Nobody thought Rory O’Connor would make it – written off as ‘thick’ at school he struggled to find a career he felt he could succeed in. When a hot tip led to a win on the horses it was the beginning of a dangerous spiral into a gambling addiction that gnawed away at his self-esteem even further.How did the man who thought he had nothing to live for go on to become a stand-up comedian selling out venues around Ireland and reaching 800,000 people through his social media platforms? This is Rory’s Story.Told with his trademark humour, this straight-talking memoir is a book for anyone who wants to be inspired by an ordinary man’s mental health journey. 'A witty and moving look behind one of the biggest comedy success stories of recent years.' Donal Lynch, Sunday Independent 'Great Read' Kieran Cuddihy, The Hard Shoulder ''Brilliant' Dermot and Dave

Rory O’Connor has three kids and, in his own words, is just about surviving a life filled with sleep deprivation, stray Lego underfoot, mashed potato on the walls and the unmatched pride that comes with being a dad!   Having coped with the labour ward and having been lulled into a false sense of security with one child, he’s now knee deep in nappies, tackling tantrums and trying desperately to enjoy the occasional family holiday.   The Rory’s Stories Guide to Parenting brings Rory’s trademark brilliant observations, everyday humour and down-to-earth common sense to the wonderful world of parenting. It’s the ‘guide’ to parenting we’ve all been waiting for!

This textbook is intended for SPI (software process improvement) managers and - searchers, quality managers, and experienced project and research managers. The papers constitute the research proceedings of the 16th EuroSPI (European Software Process Improvement, www.eurospi.net) conference held in Alcala (Madrid region), September 2–4, 2009, Spain. Conferences have been held since 1994 in Dublin, 1995 in Vienna (Austria), 1997 in Budapest (Hungary), 1998 in Gothenburg (Sweden), 1999 in Pori (Finland), 2000 in Copenhagen (Denmark), 2001 in Limerick (Ireland), 2002 in Nuremberg (G- many), 2003 in Graz (Austria), 2004 in Trondheim (Norway), 2005 in Budapest (Hungary), 2006 in Joensuu (Finland), 2007 in Potsdam (Germany), 2008 in Dublin (Ireland), and 2009 in Alcala (Spain). EuroSPI established an experience library (library.eurospi.net) which will be conti- ously extended over the next few years and will be made available to all attendees. EuroSPI also created an umbrella initiative for establishing a European Qualification Network in which different SPINs and national initiatives join mutually beneficial collaborations (ECQA – European Certification and Qualification Association, www.ecqa.org). With a general assembly during October 15–16, 2007 through Euro-SPI partners and networks, in collaboration with the European Union (supported by the EU L- nardo da Vinci Programme) a European certification association has been created (www.eu-certificates.org, www.ecqa.org) for the IT and services sector to offer SPI knowledge and certificates to industry, establishing close knowledge transfer links between research and industry.

A typical characterization of EuroSPI is reflected in a statement made by a c- pany: “. . . the biggest value of EuroSPI lies in its function as a European knowledge and experience exchange mechanism for SPI and innovation. ” Since its beginning in 1994 in Dublin, the EuroSPI initiative has outlined that there is not a single silver bullet to solve SPI issues, but that you need to understand a c- bination of different SPI methods and approaches to achieve concrete benefits. The- fore each proceedings volume covers a variety of different topics, and at the conf- ence we discuss potential synergies and the combined use of such methods and - proaches. These proceedings contain selected research papers for five topics: Section I: SPI Tools Section II: SPI Methods Section III: SPI in SMEs Section IV: Economic Aspects of SPI Section V: The Future of SPI Section I presents studies on SPI tools. The authors provide an insight into new tools which can be used for SPI. Willem Bekkers et al. present a new assessment method and tool for software product management. Ismael Edrei-Espinosa-Curiel et al. illustrate a graphical approach to support the teaching of SPI. Paul Clarke and coworkers deal with an analysis and a tool to help real adoption of standards like ISO 12207 and they focus on SPI implementation and practices. Esparanca Amengual et al. present a new team-based assessment method and tool.