Search results

Exposure to trauma in childhood can have lasting impacts upon development and psychological well-being. Services can be sought to help young people heal from their experiences; however, literature suggests that their care may not always be trauma-informed. This paper aims to generate a theory to explain caregivers’ experiences of accessing mental health and therapeutic services for young people exposed to developmental trauma.

A constructivist grounded theory approach was used, using an iterative process of data collection and analysis. Nine individuals including foster carers, adoptive parents and a special guardian were interviewed following purposive and theoretical sampling. Techniques of initial, focused and theoretical coding, alongside constant comparative analysis were used to develop the end theory.

The theory demonstrates that multiple factors can impact upon caregivers’ experiences when accessing support for young people exposed to trauma. Six themes emerged documenting caregivers’ journeys from the decision to seek support to the ending of service involvement. Barriers, challenges and positive experiences are described. Results are contextualised through consideration of wider organisations and systems.

The theory highlights challenges caregivers face when accessing mental health and therapeutic support for young people exposed to developmental trauma. It provides new insights into what caregivers consider to be trauma-informed experiences of care in these settings. Tentative recommendations are provided in the hope of improving future care.

OF late, the desirability of public library authorities and their officials working out some method of supplying books to hospitals within their areas has been engaging the attention of the Library Association. The humane thought has struck someone that if a public library is supported out of the rates so that the ratepayers and other inhabitants of the area served by that library may enjoy the use of books while in their normal health, by how much the more should the said ratepayers and inhabitants not be cut off from that enjoyment when languishing in hospital with nothing else to do.

THE county libraries have now, after a few short years of experiment, established themselves as parts of the national system of education, in close relation to the elementary schools, on the one hand, and to the various forms of adult education on the other. Committees and chairmen of committees, directors, county councillors and the ultimate rate‐payers, are beginning to recognise this, but need to recognise in more complete and practical fashion still.

Middle and lower‐level managers play a significant role in the strategic management process, primarily in the execution stage. However, strategic diffusion – the extent to which a strategy is effectively executed and becomes an integral part of the organization – varies across organizations. This paper aims to examine the strategic diffusion process in two emerging economies, Mexico and Peru.

Parnell's strategic diffusion scale (SDS) was adopted for this study. Respondents also completed Cook and Wall's nine‐item organizational commitment instrument and a three‐item scale measuring satisfaction with firm performance. Surveys were translated into Spanish and completed by 218 Mexican and 270 Peruvian managers.

Strategic diffusion was linked to performance satisfaction among both Mexican and Peruvian managers. Overall, Mexican managers produced higher scores on the strategic diffusion scale (SDS) than did their Peruvian counterparts. The link between strategic diffusion and organizational commitment among middle and lower‐level managers remains unclear.

This study supports the strategic diffusion construct and the SDS. Three items in the scale were problematic in certain instances, however. The present study linked strategic diffusion to performance satisfaction in both Mexico and Peru. As expected, Mexican managers exhibited higher SDS scores than did their Peruvian counterparts. The link between strategic diffusion and organizational commitment was not strong, however. Additional research is needed in this area.

Middle and lower level managers in different countries have different views on the process of strategic diffusion. These distinctions are cause by a number of factors, including stages in the economic development cycle, organizational culture, and widely accepted management practices. Executives seeking to implement strategies should recognize the three key components of strategic diffusion – understanding, involvement, and commitment – and how they are influenced by national contexts.

There is a dearth of research assessing management behaviors in emerging nations. It is also important to learn more about processes associated with strategy execution in different organizations. This paper addresses both needs by assessing strategic diffusion in Mexico and Peru.

Companies increasingly concern themselves with the question of diversity. As globalisation continues to speed along and demographics undergo major shifts, organisations may believe that a more diverse work group will increase their effectiveness. This article addresses issues that may impact the success of integrating recent African American business school graduates of an historically black university into the culture of an organisation. African Americans were asked to compare Hispanics, the fastest growing minority, to both themselves and to whites with reference to managerial ability. Results show that they view themselves as distinct and more qualified than Hispanics, but see little difference between Hispanics and whites. The greater the supervisory ability of the respondent (as measured by Ghiselli’s Self Description Inventory (1971)) the greater the disparity perceived between African Americans and Hispanics. Implications for organisations are discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the production processes utilized by the global construction industry.

This paper discusses the history of the construction industry with a specific focus on the evolution of lean production systems (LPSs) that has a significant impact in reduction of waste in the light of operational performance. The paper proceeds through a comparison of the differences between construction and manufacturing processes.

The construction industry consumes large amounts of natural resources along with wastage due to inefficient and improper utilization. Numerous factors contribute to this poor performance, but an efficient means of identification and reduction of waste has always been left aside. A fully integrated LPS is a way to eliminate much waste in the construction process.

This paper has developed an instrument to measure degree of integration of LPS principles in the construction industry that can be used globally. It can be used as a checklist for what to aim at when trying to implement LPS in construction.

THE following observations are to hand dealing with the revised syllabus of the professional examinations conducted by the Library Association.

Public sector interest in methods for priority setting and program or policy evaluation has grown considerably over the last several decades, given increased expectations for accountable and efficient use of resources and emphasis on evidence‐based decision making as a component of good management practice. While there has been some occasional effort to conduct evaluation of priority setting projects, the literatures around priority setting and evaluation have largely evolved separately. In this paper, the aim is to bring them together.

The contention is that evaluation theory is a means by which evaluators reflect upon what it is they are doing when they do evaluation work. Theories help to organize thinking, sort out relevant from irrelevant information, provide transparent grounds for particular implementation choices, and can help resolve problematic issues which may arise in the conduct of an evaluation project.

A detailed review of three major branches of evaluation theory – methods, utilization, and valuing – identifies how such theories can guide the development of efforts to evaluate priority setting and resource allocation initiatives. Evaluation theories differ in terms of their guiding question, anticipated setting or context, evaluation foci, perspective from which benefits are calculated, and typical methods endorsed.

Choosing a particular theoretical approach will structure the way in which any priority setting process is evaluated. The paper suggests that explicitly considering evaluation theory makes key aspects of the evaluation process more visible to all stakeholders, and can assist in the design of effective evaluation of priority setting processes; this should iteratively serve to improve the understanding of priority setting practices themselves.

THIS number will appear at the beginning of the Leeds Conference. Although there is no evidence that the attendance will surpass the record attendance registered at the Birmingham Conference, there is every reason to believe that the attendance at Leeds will be very large. The year is one of importance in the history of the city, for it has marked the 300th anniversary of its charter. We hope that some of the festival spirit will survive into the week of the Conference. As a contributor has suggested on another page, we hope that all librarians who attend will do so with the determination to make the Conference one of the friendliest possible character. It has occasionally been pointed out that as the Association grows older it is liable to become more stilted and formal; that institutions and people become standardized and less dynamic. This, if it were true, would be a great pity.