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1 – 8 of 8Mary Elizabeth Brabston and Gerry McNamara
In today’s dynamic marketplace, top managers need information available at their fingertips. The Internet can provide this information at little cost and with little training…
Abstract
In today’s dynamic marketplace, top managers need information available at their fingertips. The Internet can provide this information at little cost and with little training, eliminating the “middleman” effect present today in most organizations. This paper outlines how the Internet can be used as a competitive knowledge tool to provide senior management with needed information on a real‐time basis. Included are obstacles to top managers’ use of the Internet and to obtaining needed information from the Internet, as well as Web sites of potential use to most top managers.
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David Woods, Gerry Leavey, Rosie Meek and Gavin Breslin
The high prevalence of mental illness within the prison population necessitates innovative mental health awareness provision. This purpose of this feasibility study with 75 males…
Abstract
Purpose
The high prevalence of mental illness within the prison population necessitates innovative mental health awareness provision. This purpose of this feasibility study with 75 males (47 intervention; 28 control) was to evaluate State of Mind Sport (SOMS), originally developed as a community based mental health and well-being initiative, in a notoriously challenging prison setting.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed 2 (group) × 2 (time) factorial design was adopted. Questionnaires tested for effects on knowledge of mental health, intentions to seek help, well-being and resilience. For each outcome measure, main and interaction effects (F) were determined by separate mixed factors analysis of variance. Two focus groups (N = 15) further explored feasibility and were subjected to general inductive analysis.
Findings
A significant group and time interaction effect were shown for mental health knowledge, F(1, 72) = 4.92, p = 0.03, ηp2 = 0.06, showing a greater post-programme improvement in mental health knowledge score for the intervention group. Focus group analysis revealed an increase in hope, coping efficacy and intentions to engage more openly with other prisoners regarding personal well-being as a result of the SOMS programme. However, fear of stigmatisation by other inmates and a general lack of trust in others remained as barriers to help-seeking.
Originality/value
The implications of this study, the first to evaluate a sport-based mental health intervention in prison, are that a short intervention with low costs can increase prisoner knowledge of mental health, intentions to engage in available well-being opportunities and increase a sense of hope, at least in the short term.
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I. Introduction For over forty years, a model for Third World development has gained widespread acceptance. Three key premises underpin the traditional development model: (1) the…
Abstract
I. Introduction For over forty years, a model for Third World development has gained widespread acceptance. Three key premises underpin the traditional development model: (1) the identification of “development” with the maximization of the rate of national economic growth; (2) the quest to achieve Western living standards and levels of industrialization which require the transfer of labor from the agricultural to the industrial sector as well as increased consumerism; and (3) the integration into the interdependence of Third World nations in the global economy and the global marketplace. Increasing the demand for a Third World nation's exports (in other words, export‐led growth) is viewed as leading to the maximization of a nation's Gross National Product (GNP).
This article aims to describe ebrary, a new digital library.
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to describe ebrary, a new digital library.
Design/methodology/approach
The article is prepared by a library professional and provides a summary of the main features.
Findings
A new digital library, ebrary is powerful system that cost effectively and efficiently creates highly interactive, online databases of content. ebrary creates databases of books, maps, sheet music, reports and other authoritative content from leading publishers, which they license to libraries and other institutions worldwide.
Originality/value
This article is a useful summary of a development of interest to library and information management professionals.
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Narges Farzaneh Kondori and Saeed Rouhani
In the digital age, courts need to be able to provide their services faster, more efficiently and less costly. Disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence can transform…
Abstract
Purpose
In the digital age, courts need to be able to provide their services faster, more efficiently and less costly. Disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence can transform courtroom services in completely new ways. This study aims to investigate and rank the critical success factors of digital courts.
Design/methodology/approach
The literature of digital court and the factors influencing its success have been reviewed and a framework consisting of 26 factors in seven categories was designed. These factors have been ranked using the fuzzy TOPSIS method.
Findings
The results show that the factor of Accessibility to the system had the absolute best precedence, followed by the factors of User satisfaction and Information security. The factor of Political convergence of the government and the judicial system had the lowest priority.
Originality/value
This research guides current movements towards employing transformational technologies, tackling modern challenges and providing new opportunities to enhance the digital journey of the court ecosystem actors.
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Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Natasha Ann Ginnivan, Paul Leslie Simpson, Susan Baidawi, Adrienne Withall, Brie Williams and Tony Butler
The purpose of this commentary is to draw upon available literature and practices related to COVID-19 and management of older incarcerated adults in Australia to highlight key…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this commentary is to draw upon available literature and practices related to COVID-19 and management of older incarcerated adults in Australia to highlight key matters for better risk management and care of this population during this and future infectious disease pan/epidemics.
Design/methodology/approach
The present commentary draws on current policies, practices and literature regarding the health, needs and management of older incarcerated adults in Australia to discuss risk, care and early release for this population during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Findings
Incarcerated persons experience poorer health and accelerated age-related decline compared to those in the general community. The present situation offers the opportunity to fill knowledge and practice gaps, including policies for staff training, identification of dementia and cognitive decline, assessment of mobility issues, addressing barriers to health-seeking, possibilities of medical or compassionate release, risk assessment and release protocols and post-release needs.
Practical implications
While Australian prisons have acknowledged the vulnerability of older persons, more focused adaptation of COVID-19-related policies to consider adults as young as 45 years are needed. Appropriate ethical identification and management of cases in this population is needed, as is discussion on issues of decarceration and medical release. Re-conceptualisation of incarcerated adults as “citizens in need of care”, rather than as “offenders to be secured”, will be beneficial. Robust, local evidence is needed to assist decision-making.
Originality/value
This is a comprehensive, focused review of relevant evidence, policies and practices for a growing subpopulation of prisoners worldwide with complex needs and particular vulnerability to the COVID-19.
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Tim Denison and Malcolm McDonald
Responds to the recent criticism associated with marketing′s poorcontribution to business success. Reviews the state of marketing inBritish industry, drawing on previous research…
Abstract
Responds to the recent criticism associated with marketing′s poor contribution to business success. Reviews the state of marketing in British industry, drawing on previous research and continues by describing the major changes experienced in the business environment, arguing that the future of marketing depends on recognizing these trends and responding to them. Goes on to describe the steps that leading companies, based in the UK, are taking to become truly marketing orientated, and the ways in which they are meeting the new challenges they face. It ends by highlighting the new opportunities for market‐led companies and concludes that marketing′s contribution to business performance is in its ascendancy and far from decline.
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Stephanie Habersaat, Sid Hamed Abdellaoui and Jutta M. Wolf
The purpose of this study is (1) to confirm the relationship between the two dimensions of social desirability (pretending and denying), self-reported stress and health reports in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is (1) to confirm the relationship between the two dimensions of social desirability (pretending and denying), self-reported stress and health reports in police officers and (2) to assess whether dysfunctions in basal cortisol profiles are related to social desirability.
Design/methodology/approach
Social desirability is known to influence how individuals respond to sensitive topics, such as questions concerning health in the workplace, and has usually been defined according to two dimensions: pretending and denying. However, it is not known whether social desirability is only a bias in responding to health surveys or a more general attitude of denying problems and pretending to be stronger than one is in the everyday life. If the latter is true, social desirability may have important health implications, and underlying mechanisms must be described. In total, 77 police officers completed questionnaires measuring social desirability (denying and pretending), perceived stress as well as mental and somatic health symptoms. They were further instructed to collect saliva samples for cortisol concentrations assays.
Findings
These preliminary results showed that denying was negatively related to the report of stress and health symptoms. Furthermore, police officers higher in pretending showed a flatter diurnal cortisol slope.
Research limitations/implications
The correlation between dysregulation of the hypothalmic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, as expressed by a flatter cortisol slope, and a higher score in the pretending subscale suggests that looking for social approval by inflating one's capacities is related to chronic work-related stress, making the individual more vulnerable to stress-related disease.
Originality/value
To study the potential health-relevant consequences and underlying mechanisms of social desirability bias related to police culture by including stress biomarkers.
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