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1 – 10 of 11Niall Sreenan, Saba Hinrichs-Krapels, Alexandra Pollitt, Sarah Rawlings, Jonathan Grant, Benedict Wilkinson, Ross Pow and Emma Kinloch
Although supporting and assessing the non-academic “impact” of research are not entirely new developments in higher education, academics and research institutions are under…
Abstract
Although supporting and assessing the non-academic “impact” of research are not entirely new developments in higher education, academics and research institutions are under increasing pressure to produce work that has a measurable influence outside the academy. With a view to supporting the solution of complex societal issues with evidence and expertise, and against the background of increased emphasis on impact in the United Kingdom's 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF2021) and a proliferation of impact guides and tools, this article offers a simple, easy to remember framework for designing impactful research. We call this framework “The 7Cs of Impact” – Context, Communities, Constituencies, Challenge, Channels, Communication and Capture.
Drawing on core elements of the Policy Institute at King's College London's Impact by Design training course and the authors' practical experience in supporting and delivering impact, this paper outlines how this framework can help address key aspects across the lifecycle of a research project and plan, from identifying the intended impact of research and writing it into grants and proposals, to engaging project stakeholders and assessing whether the project has had the desired impact.
While preparations for current and future REF submissions may benefit from using this framework, this paper sets out the “7Cs” with a more holistic view of impact in mind, seeking to aid researchers in identifying, capturing, and communicating how research projects can and do contribute to the improvement in society.
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Filip Roodhooft and Alexandra Van den Abbeele
The aim of this paper is to shed light on the procurement process of consulting services within the public sector and to benchmark the obtained results with practices in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to shed light on the procurement process of consulting services within the public sector and to benchmark the obtained results with practices in the private sector.
Design/methodology/approach
A two‐stage research design has been used. First, in‐depth personal interviews were conducted with six users of consulting services. The second stage involved a cross‐sectional survey of purchasers of a broad range of business advisory services. This included private as well as public purchasers.
Findings
It was found that the procurement process of consulting services in the public sector differs significantly from that of private companies. Further analyses indicate that purchasers from public and private organizations are equally satisfied with the results of consulting services.
Research limitations/implications
The results of the study indicate that public sector organizations may need to develop new buying skills in market management, specification, competitive process, negotiation regulation and monitoring.
Practical implications
The paper suggests that a more high‐level management involvement is needed, recognizing the importance of the procurement function within the public sector and supporting highly trained staff in implementing strategic procurement initiatives.
Originality/value
The study provides unique insights on how consulting services are purchased in the public sector as well as in the private sector. Furthermore, the paper illustrates which purchase practices explain the satisfaction level of purchasers of consulting services.
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Germano Araujo Coelho, Fabiana da Cunha Saddi, Stephen Peckham, Mariana de Andrade da Silva, Jaqueline Damasceno Silva, Maria Luiza Pereira Barretos, Gabriela Rocha, Alexandra Novais, Cristiane Lopes Simão Lemos and Amélia Cohn
The study compares how distinct mechanisms that connect pre-established policy objectives to professionals' practices, and the health policy implementation context influenced…
Abstract
Purpose
The study compares how distinct mechanisms that connect pre-established policy objectives to professionals' practices, and the health policy implementation context influenced different approaches to frontline staff participation. The authors analysed 26 teams in six cities from two Brazilian states, during the last cycle of the National Program for Improving Access and Quality of Primary Care (PMAQ).
Design/methodology/approach
About 172 in-depth interviews were conducted with frontliners – community health workers (78), nurses (37), doctors (30) – and managers (27). Interview guides were based on key issues identified in the implementation and pay-for-performance (P4P) literature. Drawing on thematic analysis and synthesis of the literature, three types of participation mechanisms were identified: relational, motivational and incremental learning. They were analysed considering distinct contexts at the local level to understand how they influenced different forms of participation: mere adherence, result-oriented and transformative.
Findings
Administrations with stronger institutional organizational structures were able to control work processes and reduce professional discretion. However, sustained participation was more likely where there was greater integration between management and frontline health care teams. Motivation based only on financial incentives could not bring about transformative participation. This depended on the degree of professional's ideational motivation towards primary care. Finally, contexts with unfavourable working conditions tend to demotivate professionals, but incremental learning helps teams cope with these obstacles.
Originality/value
The study overcomes gaps in the literature in relation to PMAQ's implementation process. Overall, the study delves into which/how mechanisms alter frontliners participation in performance-oriented health programs.
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In this paper we propose a new method for the creation of subject bibliographies. Our method consists of two phases: first, the raw bibliographical material is downloaded from an…
Abstract
In this paper we propose a new method for the creation of subject bibliographies. Our method consists of two phases: first, the raw bibliographical material is downloaded from an online bibliographical database (e.g. DIALOG), and then this material is processed using knowledge‐based means. We apply a meta‐programming approach in which the raw bibliographic material is viewed as a logic program upon which we develop a second‐order logic program. The second‐order program creates the subject bibliography by operating a rule base and the first‐order logic program. The entire system, named REX, was written in PROLOG and used to create automatically a subject bibliography on Applications of Logic Programming in Decision and Control.
[In view of the approaching Conference of the Library Association at Perth, the following note on the Leighton Library may not be inopportune. Dunblane is within an hour's railway…
Abstract
[In view of the approaching Conference of the Library Association at Perth, the following note on the Leighton Library may not be inopportune. Dunblane is within an hour's railway journey from Perth and has a magnificent cathedral, founded in the twelfth century, which is well worthy of a visit.]
This study aims to analyze how organization development (OD) practitioners develop corporate citizenship for the purpose of increasing their organization’s capacity to practice…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze how organization development (OD) practitioners develop corporate citizenship for the purpose of increasing their organization’s capacity to practice corporate citizenship. Research shows that very few corporations have the organizational capacity to practice corporate citizenship. Evidence exists that ever more corporations adopt programs of corporate citizenship development to increase this capacity. However, there still is a general lack of a strategic understanding of how corporate citizenship development occurs. The potential of OD frameworks and tools for developing corporate citizenship have been highlighted. Nevertheless, how OD practitioners develop corporate citizenship has not been studied empirically so far.
Design/methodology/approach
A sociomaterial case study design was used. The work of six OD practitioners when developing corporate citizenship in one of the largest pharmaceutical corporations was studied over several months, based on interviews, observations and document analyses.
Findings
The findings presented offer model practices of corporate citizenship development, in the form of five core strategies and five core behaviors that increase an organization’s capacity to practice corporate citizenship.
Research limitations/implications
With this study, the notion of corporate citizenship development has become established as a distinct research area. The study might encourage further research in this important niche area.
Practical implications
The findings have direct practical implications for at least seven different stakeholder groups.
Originality/value
The findings shed new light on both the epistemological and practical foundations of the concept of corporate citizenship, and hint to a new role of the fields of OD and human resource development in the twenty-first century.
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This paper aims to highlight the emphasis placed on training at UK not‐for‐profit health‐insurance company BHSF.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to highlight the emphasis placed on training at UK not‐for‐profit health‐insurance company BHSF.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents the views of the firm's HR and quality‐management director.
Findings
This paper advances the view that upgrading transferable skills and gaining nationally recognized qualifications makes more sense than ever because, when businesses start to come out of the economic downturn, they will need to have retained and improved their skills base.
Practical implications
The paper argues that National Vocational Qualifications, apprenticeships, partnerships with schools, colleges and universities and graduate recruitment are key to improving productivity and competitiveness for all sizes of business.
Originality/value
The paper suggests that employees who take advantage of training opportunities are likely to be more motivated, committed to their employer, and capable of making a greater contribution to the business.
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ARTICLES have been written from time to time in our professional journals dealing with the question of local collections. These articles have, however, dealt with the formation of…
Abstract
ARTICLES have been written from time to time in our professional journals dealing with the question of local collections. These articles have, however, dealt with the formation of such collections, the principles of collecting, methods of storage, and the best means of classifying and cataloguing the same. But I do not remember any of the writers advocating the establishment of what may be termed county libraries, i.e., special libraries in each county for the accumulation of everything relating to the county. All works that do not deal in some way or another with the locality would be outside the scope of such libraries.
It has often been said that a great part of the strength of Aslib lies in the fact that it brings together those whose experience has been gained in many widely differing fields…
Abstract
It has often been said that a great part of the strength of Aslib lies in the fact that it brings together those whose experience has been gained in many widely differing fields but who have a common interest in the means by which information may be collected and disseminated to the greatest advantage. Lists of its members have, therefore, a more than ordinary value since they present, in miniature, a cross‐section of institutions and individuals who share this special interest.
JOHANN FROBEN, the famous printer of Basle, was born at Hammelburg, in Franconia, about the year 1460. The exact year of his birth is not definitely known, but 1460 is probably…
Abstract
JOHANN FROBEN, the famous printer of Basle, was born at Hammelburg, in Franconia, about the year 1460. The exact year of his birth is not definitely known, but 1460 is probably not far wrong, as we find him established at Basle as a printer in 1491. He was educated at Basle University, where he distinguished himself as a scholar, particularly in the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages. After finishing his studies at Basle, he turned his attention to the then new art of printing, and he showed such aptitude that Johann Amerbach, another well‐known printer of Basle, who had set up a press in that city in 1481, induced him to devote his energies to the art, and appointed him to a position in his own printing establishment. Froben thus had the advantage of learning the art of printing under one of the best known printers of the period. In 1491, Froben set up a press of his own in Basle, having become a naturalized citizen of that city the previous year. He had been used in Amerbach's establishment to print with gothic types, and it was, therefore, but natural that his first production should also be printed in that type. This was an octavo Latin Bible, with two columns to a page, printed in a very small gothic type. He afterwards introduced the type invented by Aldus, that known as italic, the first book to be printed with this type being the Adagia of Erasmus, issued in 1513, of which mention is made later. Froben was also instrumental in making the roman type more popular in Germany, as although roman type had been used by German printers for about 20 years, having been introduced by Mentelin at Strassburg, about the year 1470, it was not so much in favour as the gothic type.