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1 – 10 of 95Nenna Ndukwe, David W. Borowski, Angela Lee, Anne Orr, Sarah Dexter‐Smith and Anil K. Agarwal
There has been considerable interest in the “two‐week rule” referral pathway efficacy for patients with suspected colorectal cancer. This study aims to explore the psychological…
Abstract
Purpose
There has been considerable interest in the “two‐week rule” referral pathway efficacy for patients with suspected colorectal cancer. This study aims to explore the psychological impact on these patients.
Design/methodology/approach
Consecutive patients referred for urgent investigations under the “two‐week rule” were invited to take part in semi‐structured interviews using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Interviews were audio‐taped, transcribed verbatim and analysed using investigator triangulation to enhance data trustworthiness.
Findings
Ten out of 23 (43.5 per cent) patients consented to interviews; none were diagnosed with cancer. Four super‐ordinate themes were explored, referring to the “making sense of the threat to health”, impact on self, impact on others, reflections on the “two‐week rule” referral, and its investigative process. Participants reported their anxiety, fear, vulnerability and coping mechanisms, but also raised concerns about the communication received during the “two‐week rule” referral process. Female participants preferred a female endoscopist.
Originality/value
This study is the first of its kind exploring the psychological effects of the “two‐week rule” process for colorectal cancer, highlighting potential areas for improvement in patient information, and satisfaction with the referral process.
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John Muhumuza Kakitahi, Henry Mwanaki Alinaitwe, Anne Landin and Simon James Mone
The purpose of this paper was to assess the magnitude of the impact of construction-related rework on selected project budgets and schedule in public building construction in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to assess the magnitude of the impact of construction-related rework on selected project budgets and schedule in public building construction in Uganda. The magnitude of construction-related rework was the mean determined over construction contracts under a selected project and expressed as a percentage of the construction contract sum.
Design/methodology/approach
A single case multi-unit study approach was adopted. A case study protocol was prepared that included a checklist, observation schedules and an interview guide. The three instruments were used to collect data from building contractors and end-users (the teaching staff and medical assistants). Representatives of the client entity and the end-users provided sufficient project documentation and related supplementary information for the study.
Findings
Construction-related rework was predominantly attributable to design information omissions, unacceptable workmanship and inadequate supervision of the contractor. Lightning conductor, electrical and roofing installations were the building elements that had the highest frequency of rework. It was further determined that the mean percentage of rework related impact on project budget and schedule was approximately 4.53 and 8.42 per cent, respectively.
Originality/value
The findings inform policy makers about likely areas that contribute to significant wastage and value loss in quality management of public sector projects. The research advocates for improved data collection protocols, integration of adequate design management and a whole life value philosophy during the public building construction process.
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This article focuses on the conditions that are conducive to effective work on reducing children's vulnerability to social exclusion. It draws on three studies of practitioners…
Abstract
This article focuses on the conditions that are conducive to effective work on reducing children's vulnerability to social exclusion. It draws on three studies of practitioners who are collaborating to prevent the social exclusion of children and young people. Two ideas are discussed: distributed expertise and relational agency. Distributed expertise recognises that expertise is distributed across local systems and that practitioners need to become adept at recognising, drawing on and contributing to it. Relational agency offers a finer‐grained analysis of what is involved in working in systems of distributed expertise. Findings include the need for professionals to develop relational agency as an extra layer of expertise alongside their core professional expertise and a concern that interprofessional work may result in seeing clients as tasks to be worked on rather than people to be worked with relationally. Implications for training and professional development are outlined.
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Ruwini Edirisinghe, Kerry Anne London, Pushpitha Kalutara and Guillermo Aranda-Mena
Building information modelling (BIM) is increasingly being adopted during construction projects. Design and construction practices are adjusting to the new system. BIM is intended…
Abstract
Purpose
Building information modelling (BIM) is increasingly being adopted during construction projects. Design and construction practices are adjusting to the new system. BIM is intended to support the entire project life-cycle: the design and construction phases, and also facility management (FM). However, BIM-enabled FM remains in its infancy and has not yet reached its full potential. The purpose of this paper is to identify major aspects of BIM in order to derive a fully BIM-enabled FM process.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 207 papers were classified into main and subordinate research areas for quantitative analysis. These findings were then used to conceptualise a BIM-enabled FM framework grounded by innovation diffusion theory for adoption, and for determining the path of future research.
Findings
Through an extensive literature review, the paper summarises many benefits and challenges. Major aspects of BIM are identified in order to describe a BIM-enabled FM implementation process grounded by innovation diffusion theory. The major research areas of the proposed framework include: planning and guidelines; value realisation; internal leadership and knowledge; procurement; FM; specific application areas; data capture techniques; data integration; knowledge management; and legal and policy impact. Each element is detailed and is supported by literature. Finally, gaps are highlighted for investigation in future research.
Originality/value
This paper systematically classifies and evaluates the existing research, thus contributing to the achievement of the ultimate vision of BIM-enabled FM. The proposed framework informs facility managers, and the BIM-enabled FM implementation process. Further, the holistic survey identifies gaps in the body of knowledge, revealing avenues for future research.
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Stuart Orr, Amrik S. Sohal, Katherine Gray, Jennine Harbrow, David Harrison and Anne Mennen
This paper presents the results of a survey of senior and middle managers from the Southern Health Care Network in Victoria, Australia. The survey was conducted to determine…
Abstract
This paper presents the results of a survey of senior and middle managers from the Southern Health Care Network in Victoria, Australia. The survey was conducted to determine whether IT is used as a strategic tool to meet competitive issues within the health care industry. A detailed interview was also conducted with the senior manager of information systems for the Southern Health Care Network. The research sought to identify the strategic IT issues facing the health care sector, whether IT was currently used as a source of competitive advantage within the network or by competitors, key factors for successful IT implementation and any impediments to taking full advantage of IT. The research identified a lack of understanding of IT options and potential benefits in this industry. It also determined that there was little or no awareness of the competitive advantage that could be achieved through IT. The role of IT within the network was found to be constrained at the level of providing a supporting infrastructure for users rather than one of being pivotal for organisational strategic advantage.
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Karen Spector and Elizabeth Anne Murray
Preservice English teachers are expected to use literary theories and criticism to read and respond to literary texts. Over the past century, two of the most common approaches to…
Abstract
Purpose
Preservice English teachers are expected to use literary theories and criticism to read and respond to literary texts. Over the past century, two of the most common approaches to literary encounters in secondary schools have been New Criticism – particularly the practice of close reading – and Rosenblatt's transactional theory, both of which have been expanded through critical theorizing along the way. Elucidated by data produced in iterative experiments with Frost's “The Road Not Taken,” the authors reconceptualize the reader, the text, and close reading through the critical posthuman theory of reading with love as a generative way of thinking outside of the habitual practices of European humanisms.
Design/methodology/approach
In “thinking with” (Jackson and Mazzei, 2023) desiring-machines, affect, Man and critical posthuman theory, this post qualitative inquiry maps how the “The Road Not Taken” worked when students plugged into it iteratively in processes of reading with love, an affirmative and creative series of experiments with literature.
Findings
This study mapped how respect for authority, the battle of good v evil, individualism and meritocracy operated as desiring-machines that channeled most participants’ initial readings of “The Road Not Taken.” In subsequent experiments with the poem, the authors demonstrate that reading with love as a critical posthuman process of reading invites participants to exceed the logics of recognition and representation, add or invent additional ways of being and relating to the world and thereby produce the possibility to transform a world toward greater inclusivity and equity.
Originality/value
The authors reconceptualize the categories of “the reader” and “the text” from Rosenblatt’s transactional theory within practices of reading with love, which they situate within a critical posthuman theory. They eschew separating efferent and aesthetic reading stances while also recuperating practices of “close reading,” historically associated with the New Critics, by demonstrating the generativity of critically valenced “close reading” within a Deleuzian process of reading with love.
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Sandra Wooltorton, Anne Wilkinson, Pierre Horwitz, Sue Bahn, Janice Redmond and Julian Dooley
Academic approaches to the challenge of enhancing sustainability in research in university contexts illustrate that universities are affected by the very same values and…
Abstract
Purpose
Academic approaches to the challenge of enhancing sustainability in research in university contexts illustrate that universities are affected by the very same values and socio-ecological issues they set out to address, making transformation difficult at every level. A theoretical and practical framework designed to facilitate cultural transformation is therefore necessary for conceptualising the problem and delineating possible strategies to enhance sustainability in research. Organisational change is also required, possibly on a university-by-university basis, where cross-institutional learning may be possible with personal behaviours that enhance collaboration across disciplinary and administrative divides.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper contends that action research, in particular, community action research (CAR), offers the best approach to this task because it focusses on learning and change, and these are both essential to cultural transformation. A case study from a university in Western Australia is used to demonstrate this approach.
Findings
The case study analysis shows some evidence for the presence of knowledge for organisational transformation, and that future monitoring cycles will be needed to detect the extent of the change.
Originality/value
The paper introduces CAR as an approach to advance the change for sustainability in higher education and discusses some of the implications for universities who are looking to incorporate sustainability as a major part of their culture.
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John Muhumuza Kakitahi, Anne Landin and Henry M. Alinaitwe
Rework is known to contribute to waste and value losses in building design and construction. Studies estimate its magnitude between 2 and 25 per cent of construction contract…
Abstract
Purpose
Rework is known to contribute to waste and value losses in building design and construction. Studies estimate its magnitude between 2 and 25 per cent of construction contract sums. Rework‐related waste could, however, be higher if the whole life cycle of building facilities is considered. Rework occurrences are increasing in Uganda and yet the National Development Plan 2010/11 – 14/15 intends to construct additional public buildings. With insufficient information regarding rework causality and magnitude, wastage arising from rework during the implementation of the National Development Plan could be substantial. The problem of rework occurrence in Uganda will require determining rework causality and magnitude. This paper seeks to address these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory study on rework in public building construction was undertaken through a case study to understand its causality and the timeframe over which it occurs. This preliminary research is characteristically qualitative with the aim of investigating rework causality in public building construction in Uganda. The case study was based on a project that rehabilitated and constructed new buildings in 15 nursing schools across Uganda. Semi‐structured interviews, contract documentation and archival records were used as sources of information on rework causality. Selective coding and subsequent categorisation of rework data was undertaken to support analysis of rework causality.
Findings
The findings supplement limited previous research that shows rework as a phenomenon existing into the operation and maintenance stage of building facilities. Rework‐related costs during this stage for the case study, referred to as operation‐related rework costs, were on average 0.25 per cent of construction contract sums. Significant causes of rework were ineffective stakeholder management, insufficient works supervision and use of non‐compliant building materials.
Originality/value
The paper highlights the need for improved design management, effective stakeholder management and a whole life value philosophy in order to reduce rework in public building construction.
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The most obvious symptom of the most obvious trend in the building of new libraries is the fact that, as yet, no spade has entered the ground of the site on Euston Road, London…
Abstract
The most obvious symptom of the most obvious trend in the building of new libraries is the fact that, as yet, no spade has entered the ground of the site on Euston Road, London, upon which the new building for the British Library Reference Division has to be erected. Some twenty years of continued negotiation and discussion finally resulted in the choice of this site. The UK and much more of the world awaits with anticipation what could and should be the major building library of the twentieth century. The planning and design of a library building, however large or small, is, relatively speaking, a major operation, and deserves time, care and patience if the best results are to be produced.