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1 – 6 of 6Jorma Jokela, Shengnan Han, Ville Harkke, Markku Kallio, Leena Lindgren and Maaret Castrèn
The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a comparison study of using a mobile medical information system between civilian medical students and physicians undergoing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a comparison study of using a mobile medical information system between civilian medical students and physicians undergoing military service in Finland. Special emphasis is on differences in system usage, and perceptions towards the mobile medical system. Other points of interest are the important features of the mobile medical system, advantages and disadvantages of using the system in actual emergency situations and use of the device to search for general information.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is conducted between two groups of users, medical students and physicians undertaking military service.
Findings
The two groups are found to have similar behaviors toward the mobile system in different contexts. This study helps develop an understanding of how the two groups of users use a mobile medical information system while also providing insights of some behavioral differences between them. Not all of the differences are significant; indicating the possibility of developing a universal tool for both military and civilian contexts, but more contents of military medicine should be supplemented for military physicians.
Originality/value
This paper addresses an area of increasing research interest, i.e. mobile medical informatics.
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Leena Mikkola and Heli Parviainen
A frame is an interpretive scheme of meanings that guide participants’ interpretations of social interaction and their actions in social situations (Goffman, 1974). By identifying…
Abstract
Purpose
A frame is an interpretive scheme of meanings that guide participants’ interpretations of social interaction and their actions in social situations (Goffman, 1974). By identifying early-career physicians’ identity and relationship frames, this study aims to produce information about socially constructed ways to interpret leadership communication in a medical context.
Design/methodology/approach
The data consist of essays written by young physicians (n = 225) during their specialization training and workplace learning period. The analysis was conducted applying constructive grounded theory.
Findings
Three identity and relationship frames were identified: the expertise frame, the collegial frame and the system frame. These frames arranged the meanings of being a physician in a leader-follower relationship differently.
Originality/value
The findings suggest that identity questions discussed recently in medical leadership studies can be partly answered with being aware of and understanding socially constructed and somewhat contradictory frames.
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Alexander Styhre, Sanne Olilla, Leena Wikmalm and Jonas Roth
Identities are central to the regulation and control of knowledge‐intensive work. Rather than being managed on the basis of technocratic or bureaucratic control, knowledge…
Abstract
Purpose
Identities are central to the regulation and control of knowledge‐intensive work. Rather than being managed on the basis of technocratic or bureaucratic control, knowledge intensive firms are employing knowledge workers who enact and internalize identities and roles that guide everyday behaviour in organizations. However, the concept of identity is relational and contingent on local conditions and interactions in everyday practices, different identities may be complementary or even contradictory. The paper aims to show that consultants are altering between being experts and speaking‐partners, two identities that in many ways are complementary but also mutually reinforcing.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a case study of a Swedish management consulting firm, Johnson Consulting.
Findings
The challenge for consultants is to be capable of effortlessly transgressing the line of demarcation between the two identities – expert and speaking‐partner – and their accompanying practices for the benefit of the client. Skilled consultants are trained at moving back and forth between these positions while less experienced consultants may find it intimidating to lose their position as expert.
Practical implications
The paper concludes that knowledge‐intensive firms such as management consulting firms should articulate and elaborate on the various identities mobilized in everyday work when encountering clients.
Originality/value
The paper uses the literature on identities in knowledge‐intensive firms and an empirical study of management consultants to show that knowledge‐intensive work is always operating on the level of identities and self‐images. Understanding knowledge intensive firms thus demands an understanding of how co‐workers perceive their own role.
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Päivi Kinnunen, Leena Ripatti-Torniainen, Åsa Mickwitz and Anne Haarala-Muhonen
The study aims to investigate the state of higher education (HE) leadership research after the intensified focus on teaching and learning (TL) in academia.
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to investigate the state of higher education (HE) leadership research after the intensified focus on teaching and learning (TL) in academia.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors clarify the use of key concepts in English-medium empirical journal articles published between 2017 and 2021 by analysing 64 publications through qualitative content analysis.
Findings
The analysed papers on leadership of TL in HE activate a number of concepts, the commonest concepts being academic leadership, distributed leadership, educational leadership, transformational leadership, leadership and transformative leadership. Even if the papers highlight partly overlapping aspects of leadership, the study finds a rationale for the use of several concepts in the HE context. Contrary to the expectation raised in earlier scholarship, no holistic framework evolves from within the recent research to reveal the contribution that leadership of TL makes to leadership in HE generally.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations: Nearly 40 per cent of the analysed articles are from the United States of America (USA), United Kingdom (UK), Australia and Canada, which leaves large areas of the world aside. Implications: The found geographical incoherence might be remediated and the research of leadership of TL in HE generally led forward by widening the cultural and situational diversity in the field.
Originality/value
This research contributes to an enhanced understanding of the field of leadership in TL in HE in that it frames the concepts used in recent research and makes the differences, similarities and rationale between concepts visible.
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Tapani Jorma, Hanna Tiirinki, Risto Bloigu and Leena Turkki
The purpose of this study is to evaluate how LEAN thinking is used as a management and development tool in the Finnish public healthcare system and what kind of outcomes have been…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to evaluate how LEAN thinking is used as a management and development tool in the Finnish public healthcare system and what kind of outcomes have been achieved or expected by using it. The main focus is in managing and developing patient and treatment processes.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-method approach incorporating the Webropol survey was used.
Findings
LEAN is quite a new concept in Finnish public healthcare. It is mainly used as a development tool to seek financial savings and to improve the efficiency of patient processes, but has not yet been deeply implemented. However, the experiences from LEAN initiatives have been positive, and the methodology is already quite well-known. It can be concluded that, because of positive experiences from LEAN, the environment in Finnish healthcare is ready for the deeper implementation of LEAN.
Originality/value
This paper evaluates the usage of LEAN thinking for the first time in the public healthcare system of Finland as a development tool and a management system. It highlights the implementation and achieved results of LEAN thinking when used in the healthcare environment. It also highlights the expectations for LEAN thinking in Finnish public healthcare.
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