Nazira Visram, Adrian Roberts and Patience Seebohm
This article aims to describe how a self‐help group for people with cancer helped members regain mental well‐being. It is set within the context of the ESTEEM project which aims…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to describe how a self‐help group for people with cancer helped members regain mental well‐being. It is set within the context of the ESTEEM project which aims to develop guidelines for health and social care professionals on how to support self‐help groups.
Design/methodology/approach
The article is based on personal experience of belonging to the self‐help group. It also draws on a participatory qualitative study of 21 self‐help groups concerned with a range of health and social issues, carried out for the ESTEEM project.
Findings
Group members regained a sense of control over their lives, developed supportive relationships and participated in collective activities. They saw other members redefine their identity, not as victims but as people with a purpose in life. Early findings from the ESTEEM project suggest that other self‐help groups similarly promote social inclusion and mental well‐being.
Research limitations/implications
ESTEEM is a three stage programme still underway and conclusions are not yet finalised. Interview questions did not focus on well‐being; the association emerged during analysis.
Practical implications
The authors argue that the member‐led nature of self‐help groups is safe and effective in promoting well‐being. Top‐down monitoring and evaluation requirements are unhelpful.
Social implications
This article and the ESTEEM project aim to increase the options available to commissioners and professionals wishing to promote mental well‐being.
Originality/value
Self‐help groups are seldom mentioned in the literature on well‐being. This article starts to fill this gap.
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– The purpose of this paper is to review apprenticeship policy in the UK and to present examples of good practice.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review apprenticeship policy in the UK and to present examples of good practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach takes the form of a review of three cases.
Findings
Apprenticeships are not an easy option. An apprenticeship scheme, and indeed any training initiative, will not command support within an organisation unless it can be seen to assist the business in economic terms. Context is critical.
Practical implications
The paper argues for a more realistic assessment of the role of apprenticeship at the level of government policy and in the organisation.
Originality/value
The paper offers a different and more measured perspective on apprenticeships, which contrast with current uncritical hype and over-selling.
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Sanjay Kumar and Mihir Kumar Banerjee
Laser surface melting (LSM) on sensitized austenitic stainless steel of cold‐work 25 per cent was carried out by using a continuous wave CO2 laser of power 5kW and traverse speed…
Abstract
Laser surface melting (LSM) on sensitized austenitic stainless steel of cold‐work 25 per cent was carried out by using a continuous wave CO2 laser of power 5kW and traverse speed 20mm/sec of the beam. The stainless steel was sensitized at 898K for 10, 20 and 50hr durations. ASTM A262 Practice A test was used to examine the microstructures of the specimens before and after LSM while single loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (SL‐EPR) technique was used to quantify the degree of sensitization (DOS). A trend is noted between the cold‐work of stainless steel and the degree of desensitization by LSM.
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Betty Smith, Shirley V King and Ian Stewart
There is a growing awareness worldwide of the importance of the information available in Japanese scientific, technical and commercial literature. A survey of the demand for…
Abstract
There is a growing awareness worldwide of the importance of the information available in Japanese scientific, technical and commercial literature. A survey of the demand for Japanese serial literature was carried out at the British Library Document Supply Centre in late 1985, and the results were compared with the demand for literature in general. Results suggest that the Japanese are more interested in western developments than other countries are in Japanese science and technology; in other words, the language barrier affects westerners far more than it affects the Japanese. Academic institutions are the predominant UK users of Japanese literature, followed closely by industry/commerce. With overseas users, most use comes from the industrial/commercial sector. A significant amount of Japanese scientific, technical and business literature is largely underused: Japanese journals seeking to expand their readership would need to consider increasing their English language content.
Adrian Thomas, Walter C. Buboltz and Christopher S. Winkelspecht
The nature of the relationship between job characteristics, personality, and job satisfaction was investigated. A longstanding debate exists between psychologists that believe…
Abstract
The nature of the relationship between job characteristics, personality, and job satisfaction was investigated. A longstanding debate exists between psychologists that believe structural characteristics of the job are the primary determinants of job satisfaction (Kulik, Oldham, & Hackman, 1987; O'Reilly & Roberts, 1975) and those that believe personal attributes of the worker are most important (Hackman & Lawler, 1971; Pervin, 1968). Information was collected from 163 participants on the Job Characteristics Inventory, the Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator (Form G), and the satisfaction scale of the Job Diagnostic Survey. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that job characteristics successfully predicted job satisfaction (average Ra2 =.30). A series of hierarchical regressions indicated that personality had neither a direct effect on satisfaction nor a moderating effect on the job characteristics‐job satisfaction relation. These results indicate that, at least as measured by the MBTI, the characteristics of the individual may be of little importance during job redesign.
U. Kamachi Mudali, R.K. Dayal and G.L. Goswami
This study used laser melting techniques to improve the intergranular corrosion resistance of cold worked and sensitised stainless steel surfaces. Type 316 stainless steel…
Abstract
This study used laser melting techniques to improve the intergranular corrosion resistance of cold worked and sensitised stainless steel surfaces. Type 316 stainless steel specimens, cold worked to 5 per cent, 10 per cent and 20 per cent reductions in thickness values, were sensitised at 923K for 25 hours. These specimens were laser‐surface‐melted by using a 300W Nd:YAG pulsed laser, and tested according to ASTM A262 practice A and practice E tests. The results of the practice A test showed that a cellular‐dendritic structure was present in the laser‐melted region in contrast to a typical ditch microstructure observed for sensitised unmelted specimens and a ditch structure was not present in the melt‐affected zone (MAZ). The hardness measurements across the melted, MAZ, and unmelted zones showed significant variations in their values. The results of the practice E tests showed no intergranular cracks for laser‐melted specimens while the unmelted specimens (5 and 10 per cent cold working) failed the test through significant cracking. The improvement in IGC resistance is attributed to the dissolution of M23C6 carbides and the homogenisation of chromium‐depleted regions.
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This paper reports the findings of in‐depth case study research carried out with the board of a UK family business. The research was designed to explore interaction amongst…
Abstract
This paper reports the findings of in‐depth case study research carried out with the board of a UK family business. The research was designed to explore interaction amongst directors seeking to achieve agreement on a key strategic issue in one of their quarterly board meetings. In particular there is a focus on the extent to which there is parity between individual directors’ own opinions and views about this strategic issue, contributions they made in the boardroom and the collective agreement reached.
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Tiet-Hanh Dao-Tran, Keith Townsend, Rebecca Loundoun, Adrian Wilkinson and Charrlotte Seib
This study aims to explore the intention to quit and its associations among ambulance personnel and to compare the intention to quit and its associations between paramedic and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the intention to quit and its associations among ambulance personnel and to compare the intention to quit and its associations between paramedic and non-paramedic staff.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional study was conducted on 492 Australian ambulance personnel. Participants were selected by stratified random sampling. Data were collected using phone interview-administered questionnaires. Descriptive analyses, bivariate associations and structural equation modelling were performed for data analysis.
Findings
The study found that 70% of ambulance personnel intended to quit their jobs. Intention to quit was similar between paramedics and non-paramedic staff. In both staff groups, supervisors' and colleagues' support was associated with mental health symptoms; job satisfaction was associated with the intention to quit. Supervisors' and colleagues' support was indirectly associated with the intention to quit via increasing job satisfaction and reducing the experience of mental health symptoms among paramedics only. Mental health symptoms were directly associated with the intention to quit and indirectly associated with the intention to quit via reducing job satisfaction among paramedics only.
Practical implications
The study findings provide evidence for resource allocation in human resource management. The findings suggest that interventions to increase job satisfaction may reduce the intention to quit for all ambulance personnel. Interventions to improve supervisors' and colleagues' support and to manage depression, anxiety and stress symptoms may help to reduce the intention to quit for paramedics only.
Originality/value
This is the first study to model and compare the direct and indirect associations of intention to quit between paramedics and non-paramedic staff in ambulance personnel.
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Adrian N. Carr and Philip Hancock
The paper aims to introduce the manner in which management and organization theory have viewed space and time as significant resources and to put forward a number of more…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to introduce the manner in which management and organization theory have viewed space and time as significant resources and to put forward a number of more contemporary views as to how space and time is both managed and experienced.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts a postmodern approach in assembling what it regards as “fragments” from a variety of disciplinary discourses on space and time. Each fragment presents, putatively, a different voice, theme or motif which are intended to help the reader better understand the trajectories contained in the other papers in the volume.
Findings
The paper finds that conceptions of space and time are fundamental to the manner in which organizations are managed and organized and are a symbolic order inter‐related to themes of power and control. The manner in which we experience space and time is open to manipulation and specifically a form compression that displaces critical reflection and may make individuals prone to external locus of control. The manner in which time and space are linked to the suppression of human agency and the imperatives of capitalism cannot be overestimated and require reflexive consideration.
Originality/value
The paper, and the volume as a whole, recognises time and space as social constructions and thus open to “reconstruction”. Space and time are not simple a priori categories that are fixed, immutable absolutes and knowable entities. The recognition of the intersubjective “nature” of space and time is shown to help us better appreciate the different manner in which space and time is experienced and the manner in which space and time are used in the management of change.