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1 – 10 of 57David William Best, Gerard Byrne, David Pullen, Jacqui Kelly, Karen Elliot and Michael Savic
The purpose of this paper is to test the feasibility of utilising an Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) model in the context of an Alcohol and Other Drug Therapeutic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the feasibility of utilising an Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) model in the context of an Alcohol and Other Drug Therapeutic Community, and to use this as a way of assessing how TCs can contribute to the local communities in which they are sited.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a qualitative action research project, based on an evolving model in which key stakeholders from participating sites were instrumental in shaping processes and activities, that is a partnership between a research centre, Turning Point in Melbourne, Australia and two Recovery Services operated by the Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory (TSA). One of these is the Dooralong Transformation Centre on the Central Coast of New South Wales and the other, Fairhaven, is in the Gold Coast hinterland of Queensland, Australia. The project was designed to create “rehabilitation without walls” by building bridges between the treatment centres and the communities they are based in, and improving participation in local community life. This was done through a series of structured workshops that mapped community asset networks and planned further community engagement activities.
Findings
Both of the TCs already had strong connections in their local areas including but not restricted to involvement with the mutual aid fellowships. Staff, residents and ex-residents still in contact with the service were strongly committed to community engagement and were able to identify a wide range of connections in the community and to build these around existing Salvation Army connections and networks.
Research limitations/implications
This is a pilot study with limited research findings and no assessment of the generalisability of this method to other settings or TCs.
Practical implications
Both TCs are able to act as “community resources” through which residents and ex-residents are able to give back to their local communities and develop the social and community capital that can prepare them for reintegration and can positively contribute to the experience of living in the local community.
Social implications
This paper has significant ramifications for how TCs engage with their local communities both as a mechanism for supporting resident re-entry and also to challenge stigma and discrimination.
Originality/value
The paper and project extend the idea of ABCD to a Reciprocal Community Development model in which TCs can act as active participants in their lived communities and by doing so can create a “therapeutic landscape for recovery”.
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Mark Loughhead, Ellie Hodges, Heather McIntyre, Nicholas Gerard Procter, Anne Barbara, Brooke Bickley, Geoff Harris, Lisa Huber and Lee Martinez
This discursive paper presents a lived experience leadership model as developed as part of the Activating Lived Experience Leadership (ALEL) project to increase the recognition…
Abstract
Purpose
This discursive paper presents a lived experience leadership model as developed as part of the Activating Lived Experience Leadership (ALEL) project to increase the recognition and understanding of lived experience leadership in mental health and social sectors. The model of lived experience leadership was formulated through a collaboration between the South Australian Lived Experience Leadership & Advocacy Network and the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Research and Education Group.
Design/methodology/approach
As one of the outcomes of the ALEL research project, this model incorporates findings from a two-year research project in South Australia using participatory action research methodology and cocreation methodology. Focus groups with lived experience leaders, interviews with sector leaders and a national survey of lived experience leaders provided the basis of qualitative data, which was interpreted via an iterative and shared analysis. This work identified intersecting lived experience values, actions, qualities and skills as characteristics of effective lived experience leadership and was visioned and led by lived experience leaders.
Findings
The resulting model frames lived experience leadership as a social movement for recognition, inclusion and justice and is composed of six leadership actions: centres lived experience; stands up and speaks out; champions justice; nurtures connected and collective spaces; mobilises strategically; and leads change. Leadership is also guided by the values of integrity, authenticity, mutuality and intersectionality, and the key positionings of staying peer and sharing power.
Originality/value
This model is based on innovative primary research, which has been developed to encourage understanding across mental health and social sectors on the work of lived experience leaders in seeking change and the value that they offer for systems transformation. It also offers unique insights to guide reflective learning for the lived experience and consumer movement, workers, clinicians, policymakers and communities.
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M. Muzamil Naqshbandi, Ibrahim Kabir, Nurul Amirah Ishak and Md. Zahidul Islam
Drawing on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, the authors examine how working in the hybrid workplace model (telework and flexible work) affects job performance via the…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, the authors examine how working in the hybrid workplace model (telework and flexible work) affects job performance via the intervening role of work engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopted a quantitative approach and collected data from 277 employees working in universities in Nigeria. Partial least square structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data and test the hypotheses.
Findings
The findings reveal that flexible work, not telework, has a significant and positive effect on job performance. It also emerges that flexible work positively affects work engagement, and work engagement significantly mediates the relationship between flexible work and job performance. However, the findings do not support the effect of telework on work engagement and the mediating role of work engagement in the proposed relation between telework and job performance.
Originality/value
The paper provides fresh insights by linking the components of the hybrid workplace model with job performance and employee work engagement and extending the JD-R model to the hybrid workplace setting. The practitioners can benefit from the findings of this study by factoring in the importance of the hybrid workplace model in designing policies and procedures to promote job performance.
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Stephen O’ Reilly, John Flannery, Terence O’ Donnell, Andrew Muddiman, Gerard Healy, Michael Byrne and Sean Cian Ó Mathúna
Multilayer aircore inductors fabricated in a range of interconnection technologies which are MCM compatible are presented and compared. These consist of thick‐film, low…
Abstract
Multilayer aircore inductors fabricated in a range of interconnection technologies which are MCM compatible are presented and compared. These consist of thick‐film, low temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC), printed circuit board (PCB) and fine‐line plated copper on ceramic (copper plating). From a comparison of simulated and measured results, it can be concluded that a predictive design capability has been achieved for inductance and self‐resonant frequency (SRF). Modelling of AC resistance and Q requires further investigation.
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Peter Byrne, Pat McAllister and Peter Wyatt
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of choices of model structure and scale in development viability appraisal. The paper addresses two questions concerning the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of choices of model structure and scale in development viability appraisal. The paper addresses two questions concerning the application of development appraisal techniques to viability modelling within the UK planning system. The first relates to the extent to which, given intrinsic input uncertainty, the choice of model structure significantly affects model outputs. The second concerns the extent to which, given intrinsic input uncertainty, the level of model complexity significantly affects model outputs.
Design/methodology/approach
Monte Carlo simulation procedures are applied to a hypothetical development scheme in order to measure the effects of model aggregation and structure on model output variance.
Findings
It is concluded that, given the particular scheme modelled and unavoidably subjective assumptions of input variance, that simple and simplistic models may produce similar outputs to more robust and disaggregated models. Evidence is found of equifinality in the outputs of a simple, aggregated model of development viability relative to more complex, disaggregated models.
Originality/value
Development viability appraisal has become increasingly important in the planning system. Consequently, the theory, application and outputs from development appraisal are under intense scrutiny from a wide range of users. However, there has been very little published evaluation of viability models. This paper contributes to the limited literature in this area.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance of asset classes in the South African investment market and assess the diversification benefits from adding listed property…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance of asset classes in the South African investment market and assess the diversification benefits from adding listed property stock into domestic mixed‐asset portfolios.
Design/methodology/approach
The data sets comprise of quarterly returns on property listed stock, all share, all bond and 90 day Treasury bill for the period of January, 1999 to December, 2009. Return‐risk performance of all the assets were compared using mean return, standard deviation, mean standard deviation ratio, coefficient of variation and correlation coefficient. To determine return enhancement and risk reduction benefits of property listed stock in mixed‐asset portfolios, 22 naïve portfolios (17 with property stock and five without) were constructed and, their return and risk levels, obtained using Markowitz's mean variance analysis, were compared.
Findings
The results showed that there was evidence of superior return and risk‐adjusted performance of real estate stock over other assets. Also, adding property stock into mixed‐asset portfolios was found to have produced enhanced and statistically significant risk‐adjusted returns but minimal and insignificant risk reduction benefits. These results however are conditional on the percentage allocation to real estate and the asset class replaced.
Research limitations/implications
The study has implication for investors. They could consider the inclusion of listed property stock in their portfolios with the expectation of a significant risk‐adjusted return enhancement but marginal risk reduction.
Originality/value
The paper is one of the few attempts at assessing the diversification benefits of listed property stock, especially from the perspective of African emerging market.
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Redeemer Krah and Gerard Mertens
The study investigates the influence of financial transparency on citizens' trust and revenue paying behaviour of citizens of local governments in sub-Saharan Africa. It relies on…
Abstract
Purpose
The study investigates the influence of financial transparency on citizens' trust and revenue paying behaviour of citizens of local governments in sub-Saharan Africa. It relies on the theories of stewardship and public choice in explaining the relationship between financial transparency, trust and willingness to pay.
Design/methodology/approach
The study applied a Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) to survey data of 404 respondents selected from four Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies of Ghana to test the hypotheses of the study.
Findings
It establishes the fact that financial transparency positively influences trust of citizens in local government and their willingness to pay taxes and levies. The study also found that both financial transparency and trust are low in the local governments of Ghana.
Practical implications
The study emphasises the importance of financial transparency in improving trust and willingness to pay. Thus, local governments are encouraged to seek innovative ways to enhance the quality and access to financial information by the citizens.
Originality/value
While prior studies focus on the measurement and determinant of financial transparency, this study links financial transparency to revenue mobilisation in the local government of sub-Saharan Africa.
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The compulsive buying (CB)behaviour has become topics of increasing interest to researchers and policy makers, particularly because researches have shown that it can influence…
Abstract
Purpose
The compulsive buying (CB)behaviour has become topics of increasing interest to researchers and policy makers, particularly because researches have shown that it can influence consumer behaviour and well-being. However, a clear picture of how this phenomenon arises has proven elusive. Using the adolescents perceived level of stress as an integrative framework, the purpose of this paper is to derive hypotheses from two theoretical perspectives (the stress and CB behaviour), and uses a survey of adolescents (15-18) year in India to test the hypotheses.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study is the first to experimentally manipulate important stressors in the lives of adolescents, i.e. familial and non-familial; and measures its impact on CB among a sample of 15-18-year old adolescents. Next, the authors investigate the relationship between CB and post-purchase regret and then whether gender moderates the stress-CB relationship.
Findings
The present study finds that adolescents increasingly turn to CB in an attempt to cope with heightened levels of stress due to familial and non-familial factors. Surprisingly, findings reveal that non-familial factors are not a major source of stress among adolescents. Gender was not found to moderate stress-CB relationship. Both boys and girls were found to respond to higher levels of stress with higher incidences of CB. Results suggest that CB behaviour is a common coping strategy for adolescents from both genders. The findings indicate that one’s experiences and circumstances in adolescence are related to their CB behaviour, thus a framework has been used to elucidate them, have important implications for theory and practice.
Originality/value
The study makes some inimitable and significant contributions to the literature. It portrays one of few studies to investigate CB during adolescence period – a hard to reach population. Here authors experimentally manipulate stress levels to investigate its impact on CB. The study’s findings in regard to gender’s impact on the stress-CB relationship suggest that CB begins during adolescence period and is a common coping strategy for both boys and girls.
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Gavin Davidson and Gerard Leavey
This article provides an overview of the literature on the impact of ‘the Troubles’ on mental health in Northern Ireland. It identifies three main phases of professional and…
Abstract
This article provides an overview of the literature on the impact of ‘the Troubles’ on mental health in Northern Ireland. It identifies three main phases of professional and policy response from concerns about the effects of the violence in the early 1970s, through many years of collective denial and neglect, until acknowledgment, following the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 (Northern Ireland Office, 1998), of high levels of trauma and unmet need. The issues of inequality and stigma are also considered and it is argued that peace is necessary but insufficient for promoting mental health. The development of mental health services in Northern Ireland and the relatively recent focus on promoting mental health are also outlined and examined. It is suggested that attempts to address the needs arising as a result of ‘the Troubles’ and more general mental health promotion strategies have, to some extent, developed in parallel and that it may be important to integrate these efforts. The relative under‐development of mental health services, the comprehensive Bamford Review (2005; 2006) and the positive approach of the Public Health Agency mean that, even in the current economic climate, there are great opportunities for progress. Routine screening, in primary care and mental health services for trauma, including Troubles‐related trauma, is recommended to identify and address these issues on an individual level. It is also argued, however, that more substantial political change is needed to effectively address societal division, inequality and stigma to the benefit of all.
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Anne Hansen, Zinta Byrne and Christa Kiersch
The purpose of this paper is to examine organizational identification as an underlying mechanism for how perceptions of interpersonal leadership are related to employee…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine organizational identification as an underlying mechanism for how perceptions of interpersonal leadership are related to employee engagement, and its relationship with commitment and job tension.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 451 full-time employees at an international firm completed a web-based survey.
Findings
Organizational identification mediated the relationship between perceived interpersonal leadership and engagement, which mediated the relationship between perceived interpersonal leadership and commitment. Engagement mediated the relationship between identification and job tension.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations include cross-sectional data. Strengths include a large field sample. Implication is that leaders who encourage employees’ identification with the organization may also encourage their engagement.
Practical implications
Interpersonal leadership characteristics can be developed, and are positively related to employees’ identification, commitment, and engagement, which are negatively related to job tension.
Social implications
Interpersonal leaders are positively associated with employees’ engagement; high engagement has been related to positive employee health and well-being. A healthy workforce translates into a healthy society.
Originality/value
This study is one of the few to examine the underlying mechanisms through which leadership relates to engagement.
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