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1 – 10 of 107Sarah Mahon, Laura O'Neill and Rachel Boland
In 2014, the Health Service Executive (HSE) in Ireland published its Safeguarding National Policy and Procedures (HSE, 2014). Under this policy, all agencies providing services…
Abstract
Purpose
In 2014, the Health Service Executive (HSE) in Ireland published its Safeguarding National Policy and Procedures (HSE, 2014). Under this policy, all agencies providing services through the social care directorate must ensure a robust culture of safeguarding is in place. Concurrent to this has been a move in social policy, practice and research to include the voice of the service user, both in terms of planning and reviewing services. (e.g. HIQA, 2012; Flanagan, 2020) This article examines whether service users with intellectual disabilities want to be involved in safeguarding plans and, if so, how that can be supported. Using focus groups service users demonstrated their knowledge of safeguarding as a concept, how they felt about the issues raised, and, crucially what they felt they would like to see happen next in addressing a safeguarding incident or concern. The focus groups took place in a large organisation providing residential services, day services, independent living supports and clinical supports. Engaging service users in planning and responding to safeguarding concerns is a fundamental principle of human rights legislation, both nationally and internationally. This study aims to highlight that it is both possible and desirable to engage fully with service users using a range of simple communication tools. For this to be implemented as routine practice in services providing support for people with intellectual disabilities, authentic leadership is required. Services will need to devote time, human resources and will need champions to get on board with the necessary culture shift.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative research examined peoples’ “lived experiences” and knowledge of safeguarding. Focus groups were used with thematic analysis highlighting common themes throughout, as guided by Braun and Clarke (2006). There were two objectives: Objective 1: measuring participant’s understanding of the safeguarding process. Objective 2: compare the potential differences between safeguarding plans devised by the participants in the focus groups, versus plans devised by trained designated officers responsible for safeguarding within the service.
Findings
Four principal themes emerged – 1. participants understanding of safeguarding; 2. restorative justice; 3. consent; and 4. high levels of emotional intelligence and compassion. Participants demonstrated that they could and did want to be involved in safeguarding planning and showed little variation in the plans compared to those completed by trained staff.
Research limitations/implications
The study was completed with a small sample size in a single service in one area. It may not represent the lived experiences and knowledge of safeguarding in other services and indeed other countries. The video may have led to some priming; for instance, the Gardai in the footage being called may have resulted in the participants stating that contacting Gardai should be part of the plan. After the video was shown, there was a heightened awareness of safeguarding. This may indicate that participants are aware of safeguarding but unsure of the terminology or how to discuss it out of context.
Practical implications
For this to be implemented as routine practice in services providing support for people with intellectual disabilities, authentic leadership is required. Services will need to devote time and human resources and will need champions in the safeguarding arena to get on board with the shift in culture required.
Social implications
While there did not appear to be many barriers to listening to participants, to progress this as a standard practice a very real shift in culture will be needed. It is important for practitioners to ask: Is the vulnerable person aware that this concern has been raised? What is known of the vulnerable person’s wishes in relation to the concern? To truly engage with service users in safeguarding plans these questions need to be more than a “tick box” exercise. This process needs to be fully embedded into a culture that promotes a person-centred, rights-based, inclusive approach as a standard rather than a one-off project. Some structural changes will be needed regarding the time given to designated officers, and what resources they can access (such as speech and language therapy). However, the real difference will be made by services operating authentic leadership that champions engagement on this scale, to fully answer the question posed by the researchers at the beginning of this report, “Whose safeguarding is it anyway?”
Originality/value
There appears to be little evidence of service user engagement in terms of planning and processing safeguarding responses, either in research or anecdotally.
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Kathy Kornas, Meghan O'Neill, Catherine Y. Liang, Lori Diemert, Tsoleen Ayanian, Melissa Chang and Laura Rosella
The purpose of this study is to understand health care providers' experiences with delivering a novel Integrated Care (IC) Program that co-ordinates hospital-based clinical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand health care providers' experiences with delivering a novel Integrated Care (IC) Program that co-ordinates hospital-based clinical services and home care for thoracic surgery patients, including perceptions on the provision of person-centred care and quality of work life.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a process evaluation using qualitative methods to understand provider experiences in the Integrated Care (IC) Program and to identify areas for programme improvement. Study data were collected using a focus group with thoracic surgeons, open-ended survey with home care providers, and semi-structured interviews with lead thoracic surgeons and IC leads, who are nurses serving as the primary point of contact for one consistent care team. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings
The IC Program was successful in supporting a partnership between health care providers and patients and caregivers to deliver a comprehensive and person-centred care experience. Informational continuity between providers was facilitated by IC leads and improved over time with greater professional integration and adaptation to the new care delivery processes. Differential impacts were found on quality of work life for providers in the IC Program.
Originality/value
This study describes provider experiences with delivering integrated and person-centred care across the hospital to home continuum, which can inform future integrated care initiatives.
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The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 and its amendment – the Trade and Competitive Act of 1988 – are unique not only in the history of the accounting and auditing…
Abstract
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 and its amendment – the Trade and Competitive Act of 1988 – are unique not only in the history of the accounting and auditing profession, but also in international law. The Acts raised awareness of the need for efficient and adequate internal control systems to prevent illegal acts such as the bribery of foreign officials, political parties and governments to secure or maintain contracts overseas. Its uniqueness is also due to the fact that the USA is the first country to pioneer such a legislation that impacted foreign trade, international law and codes of ethics. The research traces the history of the FCPA before and after its enactment, the role played by the various branches of the United States Government – Congress, Department of Justice, Securities Exchange commission (SEC), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); the contributions made by professional associations such as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICFA), the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), the American Bar Association (ABA); and, finally, the role played by various international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). A cultural, ethical and legalistic background will give a better understanding of the FCPA as wll as the rationale for its controversy.
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Ferdinando Paolo Santarpia, Valentina Sommovigo, Sara Brecciaroli, Chiara Consiglio and Laura Borgogni
By integrating the conservation of resources and the emotion-as-social-information theories, this study aims to question whether the leader’s effort to calm down when team members…
Abstract
Purpose
By integrating the conservation of resources and the emotion-as-social-information theories, this study aims to question whether the leader’s effort to calm down when team members perceive intra-team conflict (ITC) may have a counterproductive effect on their interpersonal functioning. Specifically, the authors investigated whether team members with higher individual perceptions of ITC would be more likely to experience interpersonal strain (ISW) when their team leaders downregulate or suppress their emotional responses (i.e. high interpersonal modulation of emotional responses [MER]). A further objective of the study was to examine whether this exacerbating effect would be conditional on the leader’s sex.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 236 white collars nested in 48 teams (Msize = 6.23; SDsize = 2.69) and their respective team leaders (56.7% men) of a large organization providing financial services.
Findings
Multilevel model results showed that team members confronted with higher ITC experienced higher ISW levels, especially when the leader’s interpersonal modulation of team members’ emotional responses was high (vs low). This effect was stronger when the interpersonal modulation was enacted by women (vs men) team leaders.
Originality/value
This study moves an important step forward in the conflict and ISW literature, as it is the first to identify a leader’s MER and sex as key boundary conditions under which ITC is related to team members’ ISW. The implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.
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Laura Connelly and Teela Sanders
In this chapter, the authors reflect on how the criminological agenda can move towards disrupting the boundaries that exist between the academe and sex work activism. The authors…
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors reflect on how the criminological agenda can move towards disrupting the boundaries that exist between the academe and sex work activism. The authors do so as academics who strive to affect social change outside of the academe, but do not attempt to offer a prescriptive ‘how to guide’. Indeed, they are themselves still grappling with the challenges of, and learning to be better at, ‘academic-activism’. The chapter begins by shining light on the activist underpinnings of the sex workers’ rights movement, before outlining some of the key scholarship in sex work studies, drawing particular attention to that which seeks to bring about social change. It then explores the utility of participatory action research (PAR) to sex work studies and reflects on how a PAR-inspired approach was used in the Beyond the Gaze research project. Here, the authors cast a critically reflexive eye over the unique realities, including the challenges, of integrating sex worker ‘peer researchers’ within the research team. The chapter concludes by considering how the criminological agenda must adapt if we truly want to bring truly want to bring about positive social change for sex workers, as well as how the current system of Higher Education ultimately stymies ‘academic-activist’ approaches to research.
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Laura Biron, Benedict Rumbold and Ruth Faden
The purpose of this paper is to consider some of the philosophical and bioethical issues raised by the creation of the draft social values framework developed to facilitate data…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider some of the philosophical and bioethical issues raised by the creation of the draft social values framework developed to facilitate data collection and country‐specific presentations at the inaugural workshop on “Social values and health priority setting” held in February 2011.
Design/methodology/approach
Conceptual analysis is used to analyse the term “social values”, as employed in the framework, and its relationship to related ideas such as moral values. The structure of the framework (process and content values) is considered in light of current debate in philosophy and bioethics about the political and moral aims served by these kinds of values, and the extent to which they are either suited to, or sufficient for, the policy context.
Findings
There is much to be gained by engaging with the arguments presented in the philosophical literature in order to further refine the framework. The framework should remain neutral in respect of the importance of procedural values in different contexts and should be as inclusive as possible in respect of the principles it includes. Further development would be best served by taking a multidisciplinary approach. The framework could provide a valuable space in which future debates about procedural/substantive values can be considered.
Originality/value
The paper brings philosophical and bioethics perspectives to bear on a new framework proposed for the analysis of social values in health priority setting. It identifies how such a practical, policy‐focused framework might be informed by engagement with deeper, and often unresolved, questions or principle around resource allocation in health.
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Debbie Spain, Laura Harwood and Lucy O'Neill
Adults who have autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience a range of core and co-morbid characteristics which impede daily functioning and quality of life. Children and…
Abstract
Purpose
Adults who have autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience a range of core and co-morbid characteristics which impede daily functioning and quality of life. Children and adolescents with ASD derive clinically meaningful benefits from psychological interventions, including those designed to reduce socio-communication deficits and mental health conditions. Relatively little is known about the effectiveness of these interventions for the adult ASD population. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
A selective search of English language, peer-reviewed publications was undertaken, in order to summarise the empirical data pertaining to psychological interventions for adults with high-functioning ASD (HF-ASD).
Findings
Thus far, social skills interventions, cognitive behaviour therapy techniques, and mindfulness-based approaches have been researched most extensively. Interventions have primarily sought to: reduce the impact of core ASD characteristics; enhance skills; and improve co-morbid mental health symptoms. Methodological and clinical heterogeneity render it difficult to generalise study findings across population samples, but overall, interventions appear to be associated with reductions in co-morbid symptom severity, and improved functioning.
Research limitations/implications
Further studies that seek to improve functioning, reduce co-morbid characteristics, and enhance the propensity for attaining and maintaining independence are now needed.
Practical implications
Adaptations to standard treatment protocols are likely required in order to enhance engagement and optimise treatment gains.
Originality/value
This is one of the first reviews to focus specifically on psychological interventions for adults with HF-ASD.
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Debbie Spain, Lucy O'Neill, Laura Harwood and Eddie Chaplin
Empirical research indicates that adults who have autism spectrum disorders (ASD) can derive clinically and statistically meaningful benefits from individual and group-based…
Abstract
Purpose
Empirical research indicates that adults who have autism spectrum disorders (ASD) can derive clinically and statistically meaningful benefits from individual and group-based psychological interventions, specifically those which employ skills-based, behavioural, and cognitive techniques. Given the inherent socio-communication, executive functioning, and theory of mind impairments that individuals with ASD can experience, it is deemed necessary to modify the design and delivery of interventions so as to enhance engagement and outcomes. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This general review provides a summary of the extant literature and clinical guidelines for the provision of psychological interventions for adults with ASD.
Findings
Adaptations to the structure, process, content, and outcome measurement are outlined. It is likely that optimal treatment gains for adults with ASD are contingent on a prolonged assessment phase, pre-therapy interventions including psycho-education and skills-based interventions, thoughtful regard to the formulation of presenting difficulties, and consideration of, and methods to overcome, the difficulties that may arise when seeking to implement change, identify goals, and manage endings.
Originality/value
This is one of the first reviews to condense the clinical implications for providing psychological interventions for adults with ASD.
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Timothy J. Vogus, Laura E. McClelland, Yuna S.H. Lee, Kathleen L. McFadden and Xinyu Hu
Health care delivery is experiencing a multi-faceted epidemic of suffering among patients and care providers. Compassion is defined as noticing, feeling and responding to…
Abstract
Purpose
Health care delivery is experiencing a multi-faceted epidemic of suffering among patients and care providers. Compassion is defined as noticing, feeling and responding to suffering. However, compassion is typically seen as an individual rather than a more systemic response to suffering and cannot match the scale of the problem as a result. The authors develop a model of a compassion system and details its antecedents (leader behaviors and a compassionate human resource (HR) bundle), its climate or the extent that the organization values, supports and rewards expression of compassion and the behaviors and practices through which it is enacted (standardization and customization) and its effects on efficiently reducing suffering and delivering high quality care.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a conceptual approach that synthesizes the literature in health services, HR management, organizational behavior and service operations to develop a new conceptual model.
Findings
The paper makes three key contributions. First, the authors theorize the central importance of compassion and a collective commitment to compassion (compassion system) to reducing pervasive patient and care provider suffering in health care. Second, the authors develop a model of an organizational compassion system that details its antecedents of leader behaviors and values as well as a compassionate HR bundle. Third, the authors theorize how compassion climate enhances collective employee well-being and increases standardization and customization behaviors that reduce suffering through more efficient and higher quality care, respectively.
Originality/value
This paper develops a novel model of how health care organizations can simultaneously achieve efficiency and quality through a compassion system. Specific leader behaviors and practices that enable compassion climate and the processes through which it achieves efficiency and quality are detailed. Future directions for how other service organizations can replicate a compassion system are discussed.
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Lerzan Aksoy, Linda Alkire (née Nasr), Jay Kandampully, Laura Kemppainen, Lu Kong and Laura E. McClelland
The purpose of this study is to highlight the role that service firms can play to improve societal health and create symbiotic value, defined as value created as a result of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to highlight the role that service firms can play to improve societal health and create symbiotic value, defined as value created as a result of collaborative relationships between the firm, its employees, customers and the communities in which it operates.
Design/methodology/approach
This manuscript examines the case of Millennials as they make up a dominant portion of the current workforce in society and proposes a conceptual framework for symbiotic value creation.
Findings
This study identifies the need to develop supporting mechanisms for the growing role of Millennials as employees and members of society that ultimately, in turn, create symbiotic value.
Originality/value
The paper proposes an integrative framework beyond the traditional and siloed examination of linkages between employee, customer, firm and society, creating new opportunities for extending a service theory and practice.
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