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1 – 10 of 65Policies on integrated care have waxed and waned over time in the English health and care sectors, culminating in the creation of 42 integrated care systems (ICSs) which were…
Abstract
Purpose
Policies on integrated care have waxed and waned over time in the English health and care sectors, culminating in the creation of 42 integrated care systems (ICSs) which were confirmed in law in July 2022. One of the four fundamental purposes of ICSs is to tackle health inequalities. This paper reports on the content of the overarching ICS plans in order to explore how they focus on health inequalities and the strategies they intend to employ to make progress. It explores how the integrated approach of ICSs may help to facilitate progress on equity.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is based on a sample of 23 ICS strategic plans using a framework to extract relevant information on health inequalities.
Findings
The place-based nature of ICSs and the focus on working across traditional health and care boundaries with non-health partners gives the potential for them to tackle not only the inequalities in access to healthcare services, but also to address health behaviours and the wider social determinants of health inequalities. The plans reveal a commitment to addressing all three of these issues, although there is variation in their approach to tackling the wider social determinants of health and inequalities.
Originality/value
This study adds to our knowledge of the strategic importance assigned by the new ICSs to tackling health inequalities and illustrates the ways in which features of integrated care can facilitate progress in an area of prime importance to society.
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Rufai Haruna Kilu, Mohammed-Aminu Sanda and Ana Alacovska
There is growing scholarly discourse towards COVID-19 pandemic and creative entrepreneurship in the perspectives of Global South. Extant literature lacks sufficient empirical…
Abstract
Purpose
There is growing scholarly discourse towards COVID-19 pandemic and creative entrepreneurship in the perspectives of Global South. Extant literature lacks sufficient empirical evidence on the subject matter. This paper therefore provides insights into business models and business model shifts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic among creative entrepreneurs in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
In working towards achieving the purpose of the study, a qualitative design was deployed. Four artistic communities in three regions were understudied. The study conducted working interviews, Focus Group Discussions and field observations on the creative entrepreneurs.
Findings
The results showed a unique business model that captured ministries, agencies and departments; traditional authorities, foreigners and the diaspora community as key creative partners. The creative entrepreneurs equally proposed value via quality deliveries, attractive pattern mix, pure handy crafts, mart finishing, imbibing culture into productions and symbolic meanings. Their key activities include cutting and gluing, sewing and coloring, sketching and prototyping, annual Kente festivals, film shooting and editing. The creatives stream revenue through sales, advances, profit margins, contracts, gate proceeds, loans, friends and family support. The results also point at a regime of business model shifts among the creatives, deploying digitalization and diversification in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Research limitations/implications
The research by design is limited to the qualitative tradition; despite knowing well about the quantitative approach that could have provided a wider scope and coverage for effective generalizability. Certainly, it would be of future research interest to design a comparative mix-method study to achieve a wider coverage feat. Indeed, the paper does achieve the goal of providing an original empirical account, hence making a valid contribution to knowledge in the area of study.
Practical implications
The knowledge on demystified business models relative to the Ghanaian creative entrepreneurs has practical implications for practice: first, it generates a ground-up knowledge as to what creative entrepreneurial business models are, why they exist and exactly how to create one in a Global South perspective.
Social implications
These creative business models and the COVID-19 induced model shifts among the Ghanaian creative entrepreneurs imply continuous creative livelihoods, sustainable business models and assurance for innovation in creative entrepreneurship space.
Originality/value
The study is of high scientific value, creative entrepreneurial essence and public interest to better demystify creative entrepreneurial business models and theoretically framed them. It offers strong empirical evidence on COVID-19 induced business model shifts. These creative business models and the COVID-19 induced model shifts among the Ghanaian creative entrepreneurs imply continuous creative livelihoods, sustainable business models and assurance for innovation in creative entrepreneurship space.
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Soo Min Shin, Song Soo Lim and Yongsung Cho
This study aimed to estimate the economic benefits of PM2.5 emission abatement by Red Pine, Pinus Koraiensis and Quercus, using a metering model analyzing the amount of PM2.5…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to estimate the economic benefits of PM2.5 emission abatement by Red Pine, Pinus Koraiensis and Quercus, using a metering model analyzing the amount of PM2.5 absorption in Korea.
Design/methodology/approach
To estimate the economic effects of PM2.5 adsorptions by trees, the frequency of hospital visits resulting from respiratory and circulatory diseases was estimated using a Probit model based on the data from National Health and Nutrition Survey.
Findings
The results show that Quercus and Pinus Koraiensis absorb and eliminate the largest amount of PM2.5. Reducing 1 ton of PM2.5 emission through the planting of trees leads to lower incidences of respiratory and circulatory diseases equivalent to the amount of 95 million won. When the trees planted are 2-year-old Red Pine, Pinus Koraiensis and Quercus, the resulting economic benefits of the PM2.5 abatement would amount to 481 million won, 173 million won and 1,027 million won, respectively. If the trees are 80 years old, the economic benefits are estimated to be 73 billion won for Red Pine, 103 billion won for Pinus Koraiensis and 38 billion won for Quercus.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation of this study is that the weight of PM2.5 adsorbed by each leaf area entirely depended on the experimental results from a prior study and the values are likely to be different from those actually absorbed in natural surroundings. In addition, because of the lack of data from a domestic survey on the surface of leaf area or the reload flow rate of PM2.5, this study referred to data from foreign research. Unfortunately, this specific data may not reflect climatic and terrain characteristics specific to the target country. We used the annual wind speed to calculate the reload flow rate and elimination volume; however, the figures could be more accurate with hourly or daily climate variations. When estimating the health benefits of changes in PM2.5 emissions on respiratory and circulatory diseases, more segmented access to patients' hospital visits and hospital admissions are desirable. Finally, the study focused on the three major tree species of Korea, however, a more detailed study of PM2.5 reduction by various tree types is needed in the future.
Originality/value
This paper quantitatively assessed the amount of PM2.5 adsorption by each of the three tree species. Then, the economic benefits were calculated in terms of how much money would be saved on hospital visits thanks to the reduced PM2.5 levels and lower incidences of respiratory and circulatory system diseases. The net contribution of this study was to prove the trees' function of reducing PM2.5 as it relates to human health. We focused on the most common trees in Korea and compared them to provide new information on the species.
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Izabela Pruchnicka-Grabias, Iwona Piekunko-Mantiuk and Scott W. Hegerty
The Polish economy has undergone major challenges and changes over the past few decades. The country's trade flows, in particular, have become more firmly tied to the country’s…
Abstract
Purpose
The Polish economy has undergone major challenges and changes over the past few decades. The country's trade flows, in particular, have become more firmly tied to the country’s Western neighbors as they have grown in volume. This study examines Poland's trade balances in ten Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) sectors versus the United States of America, first testing for and isolating structural breaks in each time series. These breaks are then included in a set of the cointegration models to examine their macroeconomic determinants.
Design/methodology/approach
Linear and nonlinear and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag models, both with and without dummies corresponding to structural breaks, are estimated.
Findings
One key finding is that incorporating these breaks reduces the significance of the real exchange rate in the model, supporting the hypothesis that this variable already incorporates important information. It also results in weaker evidence for cointegration of all variables in certain sectors.
Research limitations/implications
This study looks only at one pair of countries, without any third-country effects.
Originality/value
An important country pair's trade relations is examined; in addition, the real exchange rate is shown to incorporate economic information that results in structural changes in the economy. The paper extends the existing literature by conducting an analysis of Poland's trade balances with the USA, which have not been studied in such a context so far. A strong point is a broad methodology that lets compare the results the authors obtained with different kinds of models, both linear and nonlinear ones, with and without structural breaks.
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Ketshepileone Shiela Matlhoko, Jana Franie Vermaas, Natasha Cronjé and Sean van der Merwe
The South African wool industry is integral to the country's agricultural sector, particularly sheep farming and wool production. Small-scale farmers play a vital role in this…
Abstract
Purpose
The South African wool industry is integral to the country's agricultural sector, particularly sheep farming and wool production. Small-scale farmers play a vital role in this industry and contribute to employment and food security in rural communities. However, these farmers face numerous challenges, including a lack of funding, poor farming practices and difficulty selling their wool at fair prices. This study aims to address these challenges, the University of Free State launched a wool value chain project for small-scale farmers.
Design/methodology/approach
In this project, one of the studies conducted assessed the effectiveness of different detergents suitable for traditional wool scouring methods for small-scale farmers who lack access to sophisticated machinery. The investigation was conducted by scouring 160 wool samples using three different detergents and filtered water as a control. The wool samples were then evaluated for their cleanliness, brightness and fibre properties through a combination of scanning electron microscopy, spectrophotometry and statistical analysis at different scouring times (3, 10, 15 and 20 min, respectively).
Findings
The results showed that the combination of scouring time and the type of scouring solution used could significantly impact wool quality. It was found that using a combination of standard detergent or Woolwash as a scouring solution with a scouring time of 10–15 min resulted in the best outcome in terms of fibre property, wool colour and scouring loss.
Originality/value
This study demonstrated that traditional wool scouring methods could be an option for small-scale farmers and anyone who want to learn how to scour wool without expensive machinery to make wool products.
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Qianqian Li, Bo Zhang, Tao Yang, Qingwen Dai, Wei Huang and Xiaolei Wang
The purpose of this paper is to artificially construct a functional surface with self-propulsion flow characteristics for the directional transportation of propellant in surface…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to artificially construct a functional surface with self-propulsion flow characteristics for the directional transportation of propellant in surface tension tanks.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, a method to enhance the propulsion efficiency by using functional surfaces of self-propulsion performance was proposed. Superhydrophilic wedged-groove with the superhydrophobic background was fabricated and the self-propulsion capacity was verified.
Findings
It is found that the self-propulsion capacity is related to the divergence angle of the wedged-groove in the hydrophilic area, and the velocity of the droplets on the deflector plate is the largest with the divergence angle of 4°; the temperature gradient field formed by the condensing device at the nozzle can accelerate the droplet outflow from the tank.
Originality/value
Realization of this idea provides an accurate control strategy for the complex flow process of propellant in plate surface tension tanks, which could enhance the efficiency of the tension tank significantly.
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Diqian Ren, Jun-Ki Choi and Kellie Schneider
Because of the significant differences in the features and requirements of specific products and the capabilities of various additive manufacturing (AM) solutions, selecting the…
Abstract
Purpose
Because of the significant differences in the features and requirements of specific products and the capabilities of various additive manufacturing (AM) solutions, selecting the most appropriate AM technology can be challenging. This study aims to propose a method to solve the complex process selection in 3D printing applications, especially by creating a new multicriteria decision-making tool that takes the direct certainty of each comparison to reflect the decision-maker’s desire effectively.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology proposed includes five steps: defining the AM technology selection decision criteria and constraints, extracting available AM parameters from the database, evaluating the selected AM technology parameters based on the proposed decision-making methodology, improving the accuracy of the decision by adopting newly proposed weighting scheme and selecting optimal AM technologies by integrating information gathered from the whole decision-making process.
Findings
To demonstrate the feasibility and reliability of the proposed methodology, this case study describes a detailed industrial application in rapid investment casting that applies the weightings to a tailored AM technologies and materials database to determine the most suitable AM process. The results showed that the proposed methodology could solve complicated AM process selection problems at both the design and manufacturing stages.
Originality/value
This research proposes a unique multicriteria decision-making solution, which employs an exclusive weightings calculation algorithm that converts the decision-maker's subjective priority of the involved criteria into comparable values. The proposed framework can reduce decision-maker's comparison duty and potentially reduce errors in the pairwise comparisons used in other decision-making methodologies.
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Wantanee Phanprasit, Kanchanok Songpek, Vorakamol Boonyayothin and Dusit Sujirarat
The purpose of this paper is to explore inhalation levels and dermal exposure to toluene among printing workers who wore no personal protective equipment; it is conducted in a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore inhalation levels and dermal exposure to toluene among printing workers who wore no personal protective equipment; it is conducted in a plastic bag factory. Using a charcoal cloth pad (CCP) as a dermal sampler to assess skin permeation of liquid toluene is also investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 27 stationary air samples as well as urine and dermal samples were collected over 9 days from 11 printing workers. Six pieces of CCP were wrapped on each of the workers’ fingers for the dermal sample collection. Air samples were collected and analyzed according to NIOSH No. 1501, and 65 post-shift urine samples were collected and analyzed using gas chromatography equipped with headspace sampler (GC-HS/FID). Multiple linear regression was employed to analyze the association between the studied variables.
Findings
The mean (SD) urinary toluene (UTol) level was 13.42 (9.72) ug/L. Toluene on the CCP (TolCCP) was a meaningful predictor for UTol (p-value=0.027) with r and r2 values of 0.441 and 0.195, respectively. The r and r2 of the model using the toluene time-weighted average concentrations in air were 0.739 and 0.546, respectively. The absorbed dose of toluene determined from the TolCCP ranged from 1.05 to 91.94 mg, accounting for 12.3 percent of the threshold limit value (TLV).
Originality/value
Dermal exposure was insignificant when workers wore respirators, but when not, dermal absorption could contribute to the overall uptake and exposure above the TLV. Appropriate gloves should be assigned to the workers to reduce dermal exposure to toluene.
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Pooja Chaoji and Miia Martinsuo
This paper empirically investigates the processes by which manufacturing firms create radical innovations in their core production process, referred to as radical manufacturing…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper empirically investigates the processes by which manufacturing firms create radical innovations in their core production process, referred to as radical manufacturing technology innovations (RMTI). The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the processes and practices manufacturing firms use to create RMTI.
Design/methodology/approach
Creation processes for 23 RMTI projects from diverse industry and technology contexts are explored. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews, and an inductive analysis was carried out to identify similarities and differences in RMTI types and creation processes.
Findings
Three types of RMTI and three alternative RMTI creation processes are revealed and characterized. An integrated view is developed of the activities of the equipment supplier and the manufacturing firm, highlighting their different roles and interaction across the three RMTI creation process types.
Research limitations/implications
The exploratory design limits the depth of the analysis per RMTI project, and the focus is on manufacturing technology innovations in one country. The results extend previous case and context-specific findings on RMTI creation processes and provide novel frameworks for cross-case comparisons.
Practical implications
The manufacturing firms’ proactive role in RMTI creation is defined. A framework is proposed for using different RMTI creation processes for different types of RMTI.
Originality/value
This study addresses recent calls for empirical research on understanding the ways in which process innovations unfold in manufacturing firms. The findings emphasize the role of manufacturing firms as creators of RMTI in addition to their role as innovation adopters and implementers and reveal the suitability of different RMTI creation processes for different RMTI types.
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Andrew Chunkil Park, Leigh Goodrich, Bobak Hedayati, Ralph Albert, Kyle Dornhofer and Erin Danielle Knox
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate delirium as a possible consequence of the application of symptom-triggered therapy for alcohol withdrawal and to explore alternative…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate delirium as a possible consequence of the application of symptom-triggered therapy for alcohol withdrawal and to explore alternative treatment modalities. In the management of alcohol withdrawal syndrome, symptom-triggered therapy directs nursing staff to regularly assess patients using standardized instruments, such as the Clinical Institute for Withdrawal Assessment of Alcohol, Revised (CIWA-Ar), and administer benzodiazepines at symptom severity thresholds. Symptom-triggered therapy has been shown to lower total benzodiazepine dosage and treatment duration relative to fixed dosage tapers (Daeppen et al., 2002). However, CIWA-Ar has important limitations. Because of its reliance on patient reporting, it is inappropriate for nonverbal patients, non-English speakers (in the absence of readily available translators) and patients in confusional states including delirium and psychosis. Importantly, it also relies on the appropriate selection of patients and considering alternate etiologies for signs and symptoms also associated with alcohol withdrawal.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors report a case of a 47-year-old male admitted for cardiac arrest because of benzodiazepine and alcohol overdose who developed worsening delirium on CIWA-Ar protocol.
Findings
While symptom-triggered therapy through instruments such as the CIWA-Ar protocol has shown to lower total benzodiazepine dosage and treatment duration in patients in alcohol withdrawal, over-reliance on such tools may also lead providers to overlook other causes of delirium.
Originality/value
This case illustrates the necessity for providers to consider using other available assessment and treatment options including objective alcohol withdrawal scales, fixed benzodiazepine dosage tapers and even antiepileptic medications in select patients.
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