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Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 August 2024

Amos Shibambu and Mpho Ngoepe

This study aims to explore how service delivery can be enhanced through digital transformation in the public sector in South Africa.

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore how service delivery can be enhanced through digital transformation in the public sector in South Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

This case study used a qualitative research approach to obtain data through semi-structured interviews. The units of analysis were made up of individual professionals limited to purposive sampling to select chief information officers, investigators and administrative officers from national government departments and state-owned enterprises. The collected data from 12 participants was thematically analysed. The findings revealed that the government lacks legislation and strategy for digital transformation, leading to inconsistent implementation of digital transformation that enhances service delivery in the public sector of South Africa.

Findings

The findings revealed that the government lacks legislation and strategy for digital transformation, leading to inconsistent implementation of digital transformation that enhances service delivery in the public sector of South Africa.

Research limitations/implications

The study was limited to the public sector of South Africa; however, its recommendations are applicable to all organisations that need to provide their services using digital transformation.

Practical implications

Practically, the implications of this study will serve as a resourceful benchmark for the public sector and other organisations.

Social implications

Socially, the implications of this study ensure proper implementation of its recommendations to enhance service delivery in the public sector and other organisations.

Originality/value

Regarding the value that this study brings, it proposes an amendment of the current legislative framework in favour of one that covers digital transformation, which has become dominant in today’s enhanced provision of service delivery.

Details

Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. 74 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9342

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 4 June 2021

Bridget Harris and Delanie Woodlock

Technology increasingly features in intimate relationships and is used by domestic violence perpetrators to enact harm. In this chapter, we propose a theoretical and practical…

Abstract

Technology increasingly features in intimate relationships and is used by domestic violence perpetrators to enact harm. In this chapter, we propose a theoretical and practical framework for technology-facilitated harms in heterosexual relationships which we characterize as digital coercive control. Here, we include behaviors which can be classified as abuse and stalking and also individualized tactics which are less easy to categorize, but evoke fear and restrict the freedoms of a particular woman. Drawing on their knowledge of a victim/survivor's experiences and, in the context of patterns and dynamics of abuse, digital coercive control strategies are personalized by perpetrators and extend and exacerbate “real-world” violence.

Digital coercive control is unique because of its spacelessness and the ease, speed, and identity-shielding which technology affords. Victim/survivors describe how perpetrator use of technology creates a sense of omnipresence and omnipotence which can deter women from exiting violent relationships and weakens the (already tenuous) notion that abuse can be “escaped.” We contend that the ways that digital coercive control shifts temporal and geographic boundaries warrant attention. However, spatiality more broadly cannot be overlooked. The place and shape in which victim/survivors and perpetrators reside will shape both experiences of and response to violence. In this chapter, we explore these ideas, reporting on findings from a study on digital coercive control in regional, rural, and remote Australia. We adopt a feminist research methodology in regard to our ethos, research processes, analysis, and the outputs and outcomes of our project. Women's voices are foreground in this approach and the emphasis is on how research can be used to inform, guide, and develop responses to domestic violence.

Details

The Emerald International Handbook of Technology-Facilitated Violence and Abuse
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-849-2

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 July 2019

Rod Sheaff, Joyce Halliday, Mark Exworthy, Alex Gibson, Pauline W. Allen, Jonathan Clark, Sheena Asthana and Russell Mannion

Neo-liberal “reform” has in many countries shifted services across the boundary between the public and private sector. This policy re-opens the question of what structural and…

2860

Abstract

Purpose

Neo-liberal “reform” has in many countries shifted services across the boundary between the public and private sector. This policy re-opens the question of what structural and managerial differences, if any, differences of ownership make to healthcare providers. The purpose of this paper is to examine the connections between ownership, organisational structure and managerial regime within an elaboration of Donabedian’s reasoning about organisational structures. Using new data from England, it considers: how do the internal managerial regimes of differently owned healthcare providers differ, or not? In what respects did any such differences arise from differences in ownership or for other reasons?

Design/methodology/approach

An observational systematic qualitative comparison of differently owned providers was the strongest feasible research design. The authors systematically compared a maximum variety (by ownership) sample of community health services; out-of-hours primary care; and hospital planned orthopaedics and ophthalmology providers (n=12 cases). The framework of comparison was the ownership theory mentioned above.

Findings

The connection between ownership (on the one hand) and organisation structures and managerial regimes (on the other) differed at different organisational levels. Top-level governance structures diverged by organisational ownership and objectives among the case-study organisations. All the case-study organisations irrespective of ownership had hierarchical, bureaucratic structures and managerial regimes for coordinating everyday service production, but to differing extents. In doctor-owned organisations, the doctors’, but not other occupations’, work was controlled and coordinated in a more-or-less democratic, self-governing ways.

Research limitations/implications

This study was empirically limited to just one sector in one country, although within that sector the case-study organisations were typical of their kinds. It focussed on formal structures, omitting to varying extents other technologies of power and the differences in care processes and patient experiences within differently owned organisations.

Practical implications

Type of ownership does appear, overall, to make a difference to at least some important aspects of an organisation’s governance structures and managerial regime. For the broader field of health organisational research, these findings highlight the importance of the owners’ agency in explaining organisational change. The findings also call into question the practice of copying managerial techniques (and “fads”) across the public–private boundary.

Originality/value

Ownership does make important differences to healthcare providers’ top-level governance structures and accountabilities and to work coordination activity, but with different patterns at different organisational levels. These findings have implications for understanding the legitimacy, governance and accountability of healthcare organisations, the distribution and use power within them, and system-wide policy interventions, for instance to improve care coordination and for the correspondingly required foci of healthcare organisational research.

Details

Journal of Health Organization and Management, vol. 33 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7266

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 6 January 2025

Amélia Veiga, A. Miguel Gomes and Fernando Remião

The present study aims to analyse the presumed relationship between VLC use and students’ grades.

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Abstract

Purpose

The present study aims to analyse the presumed relationship between VLC use and students’ grades.

Design/methodology/approach

The research strategy unfolds as a case study (Yin, 1994), framed by how undergraduate students of pharmaceutical sciences used video lecture capture (VLC) and the impact of VLC on pedagogic differentiation. Looking at the course of Mechanistic Toxicology (MecTox), the objective is to describe this case of pharmaceutical sciences in depth.

Findings

The findings reveal that over 90% of students engaged with VLC videos, with the average viewing time exceeding the total available video minutes, indicating strong student engagement. The study particularly highlights VLC’s positive impact on students with lower academic performance (grades D and E), suggesting that VLC can help reduce the performance gap and support a more inclusive educational environment.

Research limitations/implications

The findings may have limited generalisability beyond the specific context and sample used. However, this study allows the research findings to be compared with previous research (Remião et al., 2022), contributing to the debate on how pedagogic research can promote evidence-based decisions regarding innovative strategies. The meaning of educational inclusion processes and diversity is, thus, contingent on the institutionalisation of research as a practice of teaching and learning.

Practical implications

The results of this study thus provide interesting insights for the design of strategic action, considering the diversity of students as seen in parents’ academic qualifications and students’ conditions (e.g. student-workers, living away from home, holding a grant of economic and social support).

Social implications

The implications of research findings for society bring the issue of equity in education to the fore. By addressing the diverse needs of students, HEIs can contribute to greater educational equity.

Originality/value

Using VLC as a differentiated pedagogic device might give diversity “real” content insofar as institutional and national policies can mitigate the possible negative effects of parents’ low academic qualifications and the students’ conditions of living away from their residence area and holding a grant of economic and social support.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 17 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 April 2024

Kate L. Fennell, Pieter Jan Van Dam, Nicola Stephens, Adele Holloway and Roger Hughes

A systematic investigation of postgraduate leadership programs for health and/or human services offered by Australian higher education institutions was undertaken.

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Abstract

Purpose

A systematic investigation of postgraduate leadership programs for health and/or human services offered by Australian higher education institutions was undertaken.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative analysis identified the core characteristics of the programs. A thematic analysis of the course learning outcomes was conducted and six major themes of disciplinary leadership and management knowledge; research and analytical skills; professional practice; communication and collaboration; creativity and innovation; and system knowledge are shared in this study.

Findings

The authors conclude that Australian universities have taken an evidence-based approach to leadership education.

Originality/value

More work might need to be undertaken to ensure leadership theories are incorporated into learning outcomes.

Details

Journal of Leadership Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1552-9045

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 April 2024

Ilse Valenzuela Matus, Jorge Lino Alves, Joaquim Góis, Paulo Vaz-Pires and Augusto Barata da Rocha

The purpose of this paper is to review cases of artificial reefs built through additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and analyse their ecological goals, fabrication process…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review cases of artificial reefs built through additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and analyse their ecological goals, fabrication process, materials, structural design features and implementation location to determine predominant parameters, environmental impacts, advantages, and limitations.

Design/methodology/approach

The review analysed 16 cases of artificial reefs from both temperate and tropical regions. These were categorised based on the AM process used, the mortar material used (crucial for biological applications), the structural design features and the location of implementation. These parameters are assessed to determine how effectively the designs meet the stipulated ecological goals, how AM technologies demonstrate their potential in comparison to conventional methods and the preference locations of these implementations.

Findings

The overview revealed that the dominant artificial reef implementation occurs in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Seas, both accounting for 24%. The remaining cases were in the Australian Sea (20%), the South Asia Sea (12%), the Persian Gulf and the Pacific Ocean, both with 8%, and the Indian Sea with 4% of all the cases studied. It was concluded that fused filament fabrication, binder jetting and material extrusion represent the main AM processes used to build artificial reefs. Cementitious materials, ceramics, polymers and geopolymer formulations were used, incorporating aggregates from mineral residues, biological wastes and pozzolan materials, to reduce environmental impacts, promote the circular economy and be more beneficial for marine ecosystems. The evaluation ranking assessed how well their design and materials align with their ecological goals, demonstrating that five cases were ranked with high effectiveness, ten projects with moderate effectiveness and one case with low effectiveness.

Originality/value

AM represents an innovative method for marine restoration and management. It offers a rapid prototyping technique for design validation and enables the creation of highly complex shapes for habitat diversification while incorporating a diverse range of materials to benefit environmental and marine species’ habitats.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. 30 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 3 July 2020

Jenna Jacobson

Social media management is an emerging profession that is growing as companies increasingly adopt social media. The purpose of this paper is to analyze social media managers’…

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Abstract

Purpose

Social media management is an emerging profession that is growing as companies increasingly adopt social media. The purpose of this paper is to analyze social media managers’ personal branding.

Design/methodology/approach

In-depth qualitative data is drawn from 20 semi-structured interviews with social media managers and supported by three years of orienting fieldwork in Toronto, Canada.

Findings

Social media managers are responsible for managing and executing organizations’ brands and presence on social media and digital platforms. As lead users of social media, social media managers provide critical insight into the emerging practices of personal branding on social media. “The future audience” is introduced to describe how individuals project a curated brand for all future unknown and unanticipated audiences, which emphasizes a professional identity. Due to workplace uncertainty, social media managers embody the mentality of being “always-on-the-job-market”, which is a driver for personal branding in their attempt to gain or maintain employment.

Originality/value

While personal branding is largely discussed by industry professionals, there is a need for empirical research on personal branding that examines how various employee groups experience personal branding. This research fills this gap by analyzing how people working in social media brand their identity and how their personal branding is used to market themselves to gain and maintain employment. The development of “the future audience” and “always-on-the-job-market” can be used to understand other professions and experiences of personal branding.

Details

Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 29 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1061-0421

Keywords

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