Search results

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings from one component of an empirical, mixed methods research project designed to determine the extent, nature and causes of abuse in contemporary independent sector care homes for older people.

A self-completion, postal questionnaire was used to elicit both numerical and textual data that were subsequently subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The questionnaire was distributed to newly appointed care staff in five participating care homes to determine the nature of any abuse they may have witnessed in the homes in which they had previously worked.

A significant proportion of respondents described instances of predominantly psychological and physical abuse and neglect and revealed hitherto undisclosed abusive practices.

Though the research draws upon the experiences of only 140 anonymous questionnaire respondents, of whom 94 had witnessed abuse, data suggest abuse continues to occur in some care homes for older people.

The research has revealed staffs’ recent experiences of a range of abusive acts and practices. Findings suggest that changes are required to current methods of external scrutiny and investigation of practices in care homes.

The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a research project designed to enhance knowledge of the current extent and nature of abuse in contemporary care homes for older people.

A self-completion, postal questionnaire was used to elicit both numerical and textual data that were subsequently subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The questionnaire was distributed to newly appointed care staff in five participating care homes providing care to older people to determine the nature of any abuse they may have witnessed in the homes in which they had previously worked.

A significant proportion of respondents had witnessed numerous occurrences of primarily psychological and physical abuse and neglect, perpetrated against the older people living in the care homes in which they had previously worked.

Although the research draws upon the experiences of only 197 anonymous questionnaire respondents, of whom 180 had witnessed abuse, data suggest that abuse continues to occur in some care homes for older people.

The research has revealed staffs’ recent experiences of a range of abusive acts and practices. When combined with two previous studies using the same or a similar methodology, the research also confirms the enduring presence of abuse in care homes. Findings again suggest that changes are required to current methods of external scrutiny and investigation of practices in care homes.

The purpose of this paper is to present some of the findings from an empirical, mixed methods research project that reveal underreporting and active concealment of abuse in private sector care homes.

Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 36 care home personnel. An anonymously completed questionnaire was also used concurrently among newly appointed staff in newly opened care homes, to elicit additional quantitative and qualitative data.

A significant number of respondents reported awareness of acts of abuse that had not been reported within the care home or externally to the authorities. Some respondents were aware that where occurrences of abuse had been reported, no subsequent action was taken, and external authorities were not always involved in responses to abuse. A significant number of respondents were aware of deliberate strategies used to deter reports of abuse to external agencies.

Though the research draws upon the experiences of only 36 care home personnel through interviews, and 94 questionnaire respondents who had witnessed occurrences of abuse, data suggest that a significant proportion of abuse in care homes remains unreported.

The research has revealed staffs’ experiences of underreporting of abuse in private sector care homes. Findings indicate that changes are required to current methods of scrutiny of occurrences of abuse in care homes and the strengthening of incentives to report it.

The purpose of this paper is to present a review of some of the fundamental theoretical and contextual components of commissioning and regulatory processes as applied to care home services, revisiting and examining how they impact on the potential prevention of abuse.

By revisiting a number of the theoretical bases of commissioning activity, some of which may also be applied to regulatory functions, the reasons for the apparent limited impact on the prevention of the abuse that occurs in care homes by these agencies are analysed.

The paper demonstrates how the application of commissioning and regulatory theory may be applied to the oversight of care homes to inform proposed preventative strategies.

The paper offers strategies to improve the prevention of abuse in care homes for older people.

A factual and “back to basics” approach is taken to demonstrate why current strategies that should contribute to tackling abuse in care homes are of limited efficacy.

The purpose of this paper is to present findings from two research projects undertaken between 2015 and 2019 that reveal continued underreporting and sometimes active concealment of abuse in private sector care homes for older people in England.

An anonymously completed questionnaire was used among newly appointed staff in 11 newly opened care homes to elicit both quantitative and qualitative data relating to the reporting of occurrences of abuse within the care homes in which they had previously worked. In total, 391 questionnaires in total were returned, 285 of which indicated that respondents had witnessed the perpetration of abuse on at least one occasion.

A significant number of respondents indicated their awareness of acts of abuse that had not been reported within the care home(s) in which they had worked, or externally to the appropriate authorities. Some respondents were aware that where occurrences of abuse had been reported within care homes no subsequent action was taken, or that external authorities were not always involved in responses to abuse. A significant number of respondents described strategies that had been used to deter reports of abuse to external agencies and to conceal its occurrence from the statutory regulator and service commissioners.

Though the research draws upon the experiences of only 285 questionnaire respondents who had witnessed episodes of abuse, data suggest that a significant proportion of abuse in care homes remains unreported.

The research has revealed experiences of continued underreporting and concealment of abuse among staff in private sector care homes. Findings indicate that a strengthening of incentives and protections extended to the staff who should report abuse are essential, and that changes to current methods of external scrutiny to which care homes are subject are required.

As the 1960s drew to a close, Congress found itself grappling with an increasing array of complex technological issues that it was ill equipped to analyze and that could be the cause of costly blunders if acted upon incorrectly. To alleviate this situation, the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) was created in 1972 under Public Law 92–484 in order to advise Congress on issues in science and technology so that relevant information would be available when pertinent legislation was being developed. Under the leadership of its director John Gibbons, OTA has earned the distinction of providing Congress, that most political of bodies, with timely and objective information without becoming mired in political skirmishes. Despite this distinction, OTA is one of the smallest government agencies, with a budget of twenty million dollars and a staff of 140. Its organization is remarkable for its simplicity. A bipartisan congressional Technology Assessment Board governs the agency overall but appoints the director who has full responsibility for running it. The nine agency divisions are organized according to scientific disciplines and report to the director with little or no intervening bureaucracy. Outside expert advice is available from the Technology Assessment Advisory Council. The result is an organization that is equally balanced politically and scientifically, that is streamlined and efficient, and that allows input from its governing members. This structure also allows great flexibility in the research and production of assessment reports. To do an assessment, OTA deploys its experts to go out and gather the information needed on the wide‐ranging topics it has been commissioned to research. The topics are chosen according to the need and interest of both houses and both political parties. Outside experts are sometimes called upon to do research but OTA exercises the final responsibility over their reports. Factual conclusions and options are presented but opinions are never given. The manner in which the information is acted upon is always left to Congress, a major reason for OTA's success.

This study introduces and tests strategic diversity as a mechanism for examining the strategy/structure fit in multinational corporations (MNCs). Strategic diversity is operationalized based on Galbraith and Kazanjian's (1986) framework that used a modified value‐added chain and center of gravity concept to explain diversity as a measure of the firm's movement from and around its original center of gravity. The results indicate that strategic diversity is a valid predictor of MNC organizational structure and may be more relevant for issues of strategy/structure fit in firms with international interests than the traditional measures of diversification. Future research in this area must consider the implications of strategic diversity for issues of strategy/structure fit by examining the effect of strategic diversity on both specific measures of strategy implementation and broad measures of overall economic performance.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an account of the coaching element that was included in an existing graduate literacy course and to describe the responses of experienced and less‐experienced teachers as they began to add collaborative peer coaching to their teaching identities.

Data collected included teachers’ coaching logs and written reflections on the coaching experience, and field notes taken by a professor. Data were analysed qualitatively through open coding. Initially, the authors read data individually and coded them by what they perceived to be the teachers’ coaching moves. Separately, they developed lists of codes and then reviewed coding lists to work through idiosyncratic data, collapse codes, align their language.

The authors identified three overarching and multi‐faceted moves that the coaching teachers made as they worked with partner teachers. They found that the teachers: used restraint; focused on partner teacher's needs; and provided opportunities for classroom observations and demonstrations.

Due to budget cuts, district coaching initiatives are being down‐sized. With fewer literacy coaches available, the authors believe that classroom teachers would benefit from learning about how to support each another as peer coaches.

Teachers’ coaching moves, along with the curricular conversations engendered by them, created a culture of learning based on reflection and dialogue between coaching and partner teachers.

Very few studies have been conducted on peer coaching or have addressed the process by which teachers enrolled in graduate programs learned how to engage in collaborative peer coaching.

The purpose of this chapter is to summarize and integrate a body of psychological literature regarding an individual difference related to the experience of anxiety that largely, and somewhat surprisingly, has been overlooked by organizational scientists. This variable, most often called social anxiety or social phobia, reflects a strong fear that one is in danger of behaving inappropriately, inadequately, or ineptly, with impending disastrous consequences such as rejection, humiliation, or ouster from a group (Trower & Gilbert, 1990). In providing a summary of the construct and ongoing investigations, the chapter offers ideas for future research into how this important variable may influence behaviors at work.

Many of the great cities of the ancient world had public toilets. It was not until Victorian times that they appeared in any large numbers in this country: the 1848 Public Health Act called for ‘Public Necessaries’ to be provided to improve sanitation. In recent years, public toilet closures have attracted much attention. Here, Pamela Holmes discusses the effects of incontinence on older people and argues that changes in approach can make a real difference to the quality of life for many older people.