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1 – 10 of 54Alison Round, Ann Brackenridge and Jonathan W. Stead
Aims: To produce an audit tool which incorporates patient views on the whole process of care, for use in any district. Design and methods: A steering group with multi‐professional…
Abstract
Aims: To produce an audit tool which incorporates patient views on the whole process of care, for use in any district. Design and methods: A steering group with multi‐professional and lay representation, from primary and secondary care, was set up to oversee the project. A representative sample of 123 women with breast cancer was identified from participating practices. Audit of care as described in general practitioner notes was combined with patient questionnaires and interviews. Results: Worthwhile information of patients' concerns and the process of care can be collected by this combined approach. A questionnaire format is suitable for many aspects; offering an interview as an alternative encourages some women to participate who would otherwise refuse. The information collected by both techniques is broadly similar, and interface issues are well covered. Conclusions: This audit tool can be used by different providers or purchasers to give comparative information that addresses both patient and professional concerns.
Kieran Sweeney, Jonathan Stead and Liz Cosford
This article presents a qualitative analysis of three focus groups convened during a study day for health and social care professionals, which reveals a strong perception of a…
Abstract
This article presents a qualitative analysis of three focus groups convened during a study day for health and social care professionals, which reveals a strong perception of a philosophical difference in approaches to professional practice. The prospect of health and social care professionals working more closely together is welcomed, and evidence‐based practice should be encouraged and financially supported. While established educational strategies can be deployed to respond to the conventional perceived barriers to working together, more innovative models are needed. The authors commend the model of Significant Event Auditing.
Tessa Trappes‐Lomax, Annie Ellis and Mary Fox
This is the third in a series of articles about trying to develop better evidence for a service on the health/social care interface. All are based on our experiences of carrying…
Abstract
This is the third in a series of articles about trying to develop better evidence for a service on the health/social care interface. All are based on our experiences of carrying out a comparative study of residential rehabilitation for older people. The first two dealt with methodology and implementation. Now we reflect on the completion of the project and the first stages of dissemination.
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Brian Cooper, Tracey Shea, Julie W. Cox, Naomi Stead and Jonathan Robberts
This study aims to investigate which resources and sources of support are related to employee adaptability to work-related change during the COVID-19 pandemic, with implications…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate which resources and sources of support are related to employee adaptability to work-related change during the COVID-19 pandemic, with implications for human resource management (HRM).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analysed a survey of 1,619 employees working in architectural practice and allied fields in Australia in 2020.
Findings
Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, the authors asked whether workers would be more adaptable to change during COVID-19 if they were able to draw on a combination or bundle of supports, known as resource caravans. Hierarchical multiple regression and relative importance analysis showed that confidence in personal support networks during the pandemic was the most important predictor assisting workers to adapt to change, followed by concrete (practical, technical) organizational support for remote work. No evidence was found to corroborate this study's hypotheses that these resources provide support in bundles, challenging the notion of resource caravans in this research context.
Originality/value
The authors argue that COR theory has been too broadly applied to the workplace and that boundary conditions should apply to its emphasis on resource caravans. In practical terms, HRM supports to promote employee adaptability should be carefully targeted in extreme circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Eric John Darling and Stephen Jonathan Whitty
The purpose of this paper is to examine a case of sham compliance performance reporting through the lens of Goffman’s dramaturgy to reveal its dramaturgical structure. It makes a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine a case of sham compliance performance reporting through the lens of Goffman’s dramaturgy to reveal its dramaturgical structure. It makes a methodological contribution to comprehending “lived experience” accounts of project work, and adds knowledge concerning the behind-the-scenes motivators to sham behaviour in project work.
Design/methodology/approach
Using an ethnographic lived experience account, an aspect of project work is reconceptualised as a collection of dramaturgical scenes. These scenes disclose issues beyond the bounds of the traditional project management discourse, and increase knowledge and appreciation of sham and performative behaviour in project work.
Findings
Sham progress reporting can emerge in an environment where senior management’s ignorance of project work creates unworkable binds for project staff. Moreover, the sham behaviour succeeds at its objective because senior management are vulnerable to false impressions. This situation raises ethical issues for those involved, and creates an overhead in dealing with the reality of project work.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations to this study are due to the inherent nature of the ethnographic method, where it is difficult to recruit willing participants, particularly in terms of sham behaviour cases. This study has implications for research on sham and performativity behaviour in project work, as studies can benefit from the dramaturgical analysis and Goffmanesque scene illustration techniques that help give focus to particular aspects of social performance, and remove complexity from the narrative.
Practical implications
The research provides practitioners with a way of discussing superfluous compliance process using additional lived experience vocabulary. This could reduce the undue pressure to behave unethically, and reduce the burden to create the extra impression management work.
Originality/value
This study brings a voice to sham behaviour in project work. Continued ignorance of sham behaviour results in unnecessary work and unprofitable projects. Individuals could pay a price in terms of stress and well-being, not discussed.
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What is the relationship between the descriptive and the normative? The usual answer, in the social sciences, is based on a sharp distinction between facts and values. This…
Abstract
What is the relationship between the descriptive and the normative? The usual answer, in the social sciences, is based on a sharp distinction between facts and values. This chapter reprises and radicalizes long-standing critiques of the fact/value distinction, proposes an alternative theory of ontic webs in its stead, and then uses it to delineate six different forms of public sociology. It argues that facts are value-laden and values fact-laden; that facts and values are entangled in webs of belief and practice; and that attributions of causation and moral responsibility are connected via ontological assumptions. Effective public sociology therefore requires a combination of ontological extension and moral translation.
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Stephanie Dugdale, Heather Semper, Rachel Povey, Sarah Elison-Davies, Glyn Davies and Jonathan Ward
Despite overall reductions in levels of smoking in the UK, rates of offender smoking remain high. In 2016, it was announced that prisons in England and Wales would gradually…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite overall reductions in levels of smoking in the UK, rates of offender smoking remain high. In 2016, it was announced that prisons in England and Wales would gradually introduce a smoking ban. The purpose of this paper is to explore offenders’ perceptions around the upcoming smoking ban.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of eight focus groups were conducted in four prisons across the North of England. Both smoking and non-smoking offenders participated in the focus groups, and thematic analysis was used to explore the findings.
Findings
Themes generated from the data were “freedom and rights”, “the prison environment” and “guiding support”. Participants discussed how the smoking ban was viewed as a punishment and restricted their freedom, with perceptions as to why the ban was being implemented centring around others trying to control them. Participants expressed concerns around the financial implications of the smoking ban on already stretched prison resources. Participants also recommended improving the nicotine replacement therapy on offer, and increasing the range of leisure activities within the prison to prepare for the smoking ban.
Originality/value
Overall, it was apparent that participants’ awareness of the smoking ban was generally poor. It is recommended that offenders need to be made more aware of the smoking cessation support they will receive and given the opportunity to ask questions about the smoking ban. Increasing offenders’ awareness of the ban may reduce stress associated with a perceived lack of choice around their smoking behaviours.
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Jonathan Marks and Karen Hidden
Entrepreneurship; Social entrepreneurship.
Abstract
Subject area
Entrepreneurship; Social entrepreneurship.
Study level/applicability
Graduate level.
Case overview
This paper, The Brownies & Downies case study, aims to examine a social enterprise that provides employment, training and job placements for people with intellectual disability within a trendy artisanal coffee shop in Cape Town, South Africa. The business is based on a similar establishment (same name) in The Netherlands and was brought to Cape Town by Wendy Vermeulen, a Dutch national who completed a social development internship in Cape Town. The case is located within the field of social enterprise with a particular focus on the tension between purpose and profit and the pressure and challenges of replication, growth and scale/expansion. The protagonist in the case is Wade Schultz, Wendy’s business partner, who is grappling with how to not only remain true to the social purpose of the business but also turn a profit in the pressured and competitive coffee industry. He is further challenged by deciding whether to expand the existing training business into other sectors or seek a replication model in other South African cities as a means of growing revenue and increasing the social impact.
Expected learning outcomes
The key learning from this case study are as follows: First, intellectual disability is a hidden form of disability, often misunderstood and subject to prejudice and discriminatory hiring practices. Intellectual disability exists on a scale – some individuals are able to work outside of pretexted or sheltered workspaces. Greater effort is required within open workplaces to sensitive staff to working with/alongside intellectually disabled people. This case illustrates a social enterprise model that seeks to bridge the gap between sheltered workspaces and open workspaces. Second, most social enterprises grapple with the tension between profit and purpose; this case presents a company that is living this dilemma. The importance of remaining true to purpose needs to be balanced carefully against becoming economically self-sufficient; however, the pursuit of profits should not happen at the cost of social mission. Alternate business models are a mechanism to building revenue to support the social objective.
Supplementary materials
Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
Subject code
CSS: 3: Entrepreneurship.
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Roberto Barontini and Jonathan Taglialatela
The purpose of this study is to shed light on the relationship between patent applications and long-term risk for small firms across the global financial crisis of 2008. During a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to shed light on the relationship between patent applications and long-term risk for small firms across the global financial crisis of 2008. During a crisis, firm risk often skyrockets, and small and medium enterprises face significant dangers to their business continuity. However, managers have a set of strategies that could be implemented to increase a firm’s resilience, sustaining competitive advantages and improving access to financial resource. The authors focused on the investigating the impact of patenting activities on small business risk in a time of crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a quantitative study based on a sample of Italian firms that applied for a patent in 2005. The changes in corporate credit ratings over a five-year period are related to different proxies of patent activity using multivariate regression analysis.
Findings
Firms that filed for a patent were more resilient, compared to the control sample, during the financial crisis. Innovative activities resulting in patent application seem to deliver strategic resources useful to tackle the crisis rather than increase riskiness. The moderating effect of patents on risk sensitivity is stronger for small firms and when the number of patents or the patent intensity is larger.
Originality/value
Limited evidence is available on how patent applications are related to risks for small firms during an economic crisis. The authors highlight that the innovative efforts resulting in patent applications can support small business resilience. The authors also point out that the implementation of patent information in small firms' credit score modeling is still an uncommon practice, while it is useful in estimating firm risk in a way more robust to exogenous credit shocks.
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Investigates the differences in protocols between arbitral tribunals and courts, with particular emphasis on US, Greek and English law. Gives examples of each country and its way…
Abstract
Investigates the differences in protocols between arbitral tribunals and courts, with particular emphasis on US, Greek and English law. Gives examples of each country and its way of using the law in specific circumstances, and shows the variations therein. Sums up that arbitration is much the better way to gok as it avoids delays and expenses, plus the vexation/frustration of normal litigation. Concludes that the US and Greek constitutions and common law tradition in England appear to allow involved parties to choose their own judge, who can thus be an arbitrator. Discusses e‐commerce and speculates on this for the future.
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