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Article
Publication date: 2 December 2014

Lynne Magor-Blatch, Navjot Bhullar, Bronwyn Thomson and Einar Thorsteinsson

The purpose of this paper is to systematically review quantitative research since 2000 on the effectiveness of residential therapeutic communities (TCs) for the treatment of…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to systematically review quantitative research since 2000 on the effectiveness of residential therapeutic communities (TCs) for the treatment of substance-use disorders with reference to substance-use, crime, mental health and social engagement outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic search with broad inclusion criteria resulted in the review of 11 studies. The studies investigated community-based TCs, as well as TCs modified for prisoners, prisoners transitioning to community living and TCs for individuals with co-occurring substance-use and mental health issues.

Findings

Results were analysed by comparing the findings of the studies under investigation, of which three studies investigated within-subjects outcomes, four compared TC treatment with a no-treatment control condition and four compared TC treatment with another treatment condition. Conclusion: consistent with previous systematic reviews of TCs, outcomes varied across studies but indicated TCs are generally effective as a treatment intervention, with reductions in substance-use and criminal activity, and increased improvement in mental health and social engagement evident in a number of studies reviewed.

Research limitations/implications

Variability in outcomes suggests further TC research and research syntheses focusing on a second key research question in the evaluation of complex interventions – how the intervention works – could play an important role in understanding TC effectiveness, and for whom it is effective and in what contexts.

Practical implications

Although there is some variability in treatment populations included in this review, evidence reported in other studies suggests individuals with severe substance-use disorders, mental health issues, forensic involvement and trauma histories, will benefit from TC treatment. This is supported by the literature which has found a general relationship between severity of substance use and treatment intensity (Darke et al., 2012; De Leon et al., 2008) with outcomes further enhanced by self-selection into treatment and appropriate client-treatment matching (see De Leon, 2010; De Leon et al., 2000, 2008). The weight of evidence gleaned from multiple sources of research, including randomised control trials and field outcome studies (De Leon, 2010) suggests TCs are an important and effective treatment for clients in improving at least some aspects of their quality of life, specifically mental health and social engagement, and in reducing harmful behaviours, including substance-use and crime. Variability in treatment setting and populations reflect the real-world setting in which TC treatment is delivered, providing a multifaceted treatment modality to a complex population in variable circumstances.

Originality/value

The strength of the current study is that it provided a broad evaluation of TC effectiveness across a range of outcomes (substance-use, criminal activity, mental health and social engagement), and is therefore valuable in updating the current literature and providing context for future research in this area. It aimed to address a key question in evaluating complex interventions: whether they are effective as they are delivered. Findings suggest that TC treatment is generally effective for the populations of concern in reducing substance use and criminal activity and contributing to some improvement in mental health and social engagement outcomes.

Details

Therapeutic Communities: The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, vol. 35 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0964-1866

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 25 October 2019

Caroline Cresswell

The chapter explores an overlooked theme across the literature: capturing the experience of childhood family disruption and transitional flux between foster family homes and the…

Abstract

The chapter explores an overlooked theme across the literature: capturing the experience of childhood family disruption and transitional flux between foster family homes and the independent sensemaking into the present of young care-experienced parents. The chapter draws upon research that constructed 20 biographical life story accounts of a diverse sample of foster care-experienced young people. The chapter aims to reflect upon the findings garnered from six of these accounts through extracting the narratives of a selection of participants who were to become or had become parents. This chapter makes sociological connections between past family disruption, demarcating present families of choice, and reconciliation of the past through experiencing parenting into the future within constructed ‘family displays’ (Finch, 2007). The chapter illustrates this phenomenon through narrative accounts offering a family history of parents who have experienced a variance of transitions between family units and who were negotiating, or had negotiated, their post-care independence through the role of becoming a parent themselves. The chapter highlights the symbolic value of parenting to the lives of young people who have experienced care in recalibrating their past familial experiences, as demonstrated through their family displays. Through the family displays of care-experienced parents, the importance of the relational context to youth transition ultimately reveals itself, as does the development of relational agency, and ultimately the role of parenting in developing a young person’s independent ‘post-care’ identity.

Details

Families in Motion: Ebbing and Flowing through Space and Time
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-416-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 July 2017

Bronwyn G. McCredie

This paper aims to provide a reflection on using Faff’s (2016) pitching template to design and present a genuine research pitch.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a reflection on using Faff’s (2016) pitching template to design and present a genuine research pitch.

Design/methodology/approach

As this is a Pitching Research Letter, there is only a suggested methodology which has not yet been used.

Findings

As this is a Pitching Research Letter, there are no findings.

Originality/value

It speaks to the journey of the pitch, a series of iterative processes from inception, the initial discovery of the research idea; to conclusion, delivering the pitch to a learned audience and receiving valuable feedback to develop and advance it.

Details

Accounting Research Journal, vol. 30 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1030-9616

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 March 2024

Bronwyn Eager, Craig Deegan and Terese Fiedler

The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed demonstration of how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to potentially generate valuable insights and recommendations…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed demonstration of how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to potentially generate valuable insights and recommendations regarding the role of accounting in addressing key sustainability-related issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The study offers a novel method for leveraging AI tools to augment traditional scoping study techniques. The method was used to show how the authors can produce recommendations for potentially enhancing organisational accountability pertaining to seasonal workers.

Findings

Through the use of AI and informed by the knowledge base that the authors created, the authors have developed prescriptions that have the potential to advance the interests of seasonal workers. In doing so, the authors have focussed on developing a useful and detailed guide to assist their colleagues to apply AI to various research questions.

Originality/value

This study demonstrates the ability of AI to assist researchers in efficiently finding solutions to social problems. By augmenting traditional scoping study techniques with AI tools, the authors present a framework to assist future research in such areas as accounting and accountability.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 32 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-372X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 January 2020

Rashid Ameer and Radiah Othman

The purpose of this paper is to test the Porter hypothesis using the Structure–Conduct–Performance (SCP) framework for a panel data set of industries in New Zealand.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to test the Porter hypothesis using the Structure–Conduct–Performance (SCP) framework for a panel data set of industries in New Zealand.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors developed a mutually exclusive classification of the process-led and product-led innovation strategies and examined their impact on SCP in the high (low) carbon emission industries.

Findings

The findings show that the high-level concentration provides more beneficial opportunities for product and geographical diversification that require a high level of R&D intensity. The authors find that in high-carbon emission industries, the product-led innovation strategies have a significant positive impact on the industry structure and performance which provide support for the Porter hypothesis.

Practical implications

The findings imply that competition effects firm-level investments, in particular, capital expenditure to address carbon emissions, as such investments give firms a head start over rivals, and increase their profit margin compared to other firms over time. Overall, the empirical results lend support to the Porter hypothesis and suggest that understanding of industries’ unique R&D attributes is critical to developing regulations to support industries in smaller economies.

Originality/value

It is the first study that examines the industry structure, R&D intensity and performance in a small developed economy of New Zealand.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 47 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 January 2021

Xiaohong Mei, Yang Ge, Jiashun Huang and Yu Chen

The purpose of this paper is to study the moderating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the knowledge asset–firm financial performance relationship.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the moderating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the knowledge asset–firm financial performance relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper first develops hypotheses based on multiple theoretical lenses and uses a sample of 3,030 US firms in 51 industries over 11 years to test these hypotheses.

Findings

It is found that CSR positively moderates the relationship between research and development (R&D) investments and the firm's financial performance, and the moderating effect declines when firms mistreat their employees.

Practical implications

This paper provides evidence that when firms allocate their resources, they should consider the synthetic effect among different activities such as R&D and CSR.

Originality/value

First, this study offers a new and alternate mechanism for the appropriability literature and also extends the boundary of CSR research. Second, this work shifts the CSR performance thought by considering CSR as an enabler rather than a driver for performance.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 25 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 February 2024

Mayank Varshney

Technology acquisition is a common phenomenon of acquiring external knowledge, but we have a limited understanding of conditions in which the acquirer integrates the target or…

Abstract

Purpose

Technology acquisition is a common phenomenon of acquiring external knowledge, but we have a limited understanding of conditions in which the acquirer integrates the target or not. On one hand, the acquirer may have a policy to integrate the target to benefit from its prior knowledge. On the other hand, the target may face challenges in continuing its knowledge creation and the acquirer may want to provide it autonomy to not disrupt it. This paper aims to identify conditions in which targets tend to be less integrated after acquisitions, allowing them to maintain more autonomy and contribute more to knowledge creation.

Design/methodology/approach

We test our arguments in the empirical setting of the global biopharmaceutical industry using a difference-in-difference approach on a longitudinal dataset of matched patents. We examine self-cites received by patents belonging to acquirers and the targets before and after the acquisitions.

Findings

We find that, on average, the targets’ prior patents do not receive more self-cites after the acquisition. We conclude that this is because their R&D activities are disrupted, suggesting a higher level of post-acquisition integration. However, more nuanced findings reveal that it may not be the case all the time. When the target has more research experience, is international or is specialized in complementary technologies, prior patents of targets continue to receive more self-cites after the acquisition. It indicates that the targets in such conditions continue knowledge creation, suggesting a lower level of post-acquisition integration.

Originality/value

Our findings contribute to post-acquisition integration research. While post-acquisition integration downside is common, we present conditions in which such a downside may be less likely. We highlight that the context of an acquisition may be an important determinant of the extent of integration of the target. Moreover, we supplement the integration research (cultural, structural and human resource and leadership perspectives of integration) by adding a knowledge-based perspective to it. Such dynamics have important implications for acquirers and targets in deriving value from the acquisition.

Details

Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, vol. 31 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5794

Keywords

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