Andrew Kerslake and Keith Moultrie
Effective Management of information is essential to delivery of high‐quality services, particularly in inter‐agency working. Many social services departments are suspicious of…
Abstract
Effective Management of information is essential to delivery of high‐quality services, particularly in inter‐agency working. Many social services departments are suspicious of information systems, partly because of past experience of inappropriate solutions. The paper suggests an approach to help departments to build on existing systems so they can move towards better management and practitioner support.
Pippa Stilwell and Andrew Kerslake
This article summarises some results of an interview survey of older people recently admitted to care homes which aimed to estimate how many might have been able to take advantage…
Abstract
This article summarises some results of an interview survey of older people recently admitted to care homes which aimed to estimate how many might have been able to take advantage of Extra Care housing provision as an alternative. Information was collected via interview and semi‐structured questionnaire relating to 36 older people, their circumstances prior to admission and the factors which were decisive in directing them towards residential care. It was estimated that two‐thirds of the older people included in the survey could have benefited actively from Extra Care provision, either currently or at the time of an earlier move.
Randall Smith, Robin Darton, Ailsa Cameron, Eleanor K. Johnson, Liz Lloyd, Simon Evans, Teresa June Atkinson and Jeremy Porteus
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the process of commissioning adult social care services in England. It reflects the literature on commissioning at the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the process of commissioning adult social care services in England. It reflects the literature on commissioning at the strategic level followed by a section on operational or micro-commissioning. The rest of the paper focusses on the emergence of ideas about outcomes-based commissioning (OBC) in the field of adult social care and ends with critical consideration of the effectiveness of OBC in adult social care as applied to support and care provided in extra care housing.
Design/methodology/approach
The review of strategic and operational commissioning in adult social care in England (and Scotland in brief) is based on both policy documents and a review of the literature, as are the sources addressing OBC in adult social care particularly in extra care housing settings.
Findings
The core of this paper focusses on the challenges to the implementation of OBC in adult social care in the context of provision for residents in extra care housing. Of central importance are the impact of the squeeze on funding, increasing costs as a result of demographic change and the introduction of a national living wage plus the focus on the needs of service users through the idea of person-centred care and resistance to change on the part of adult social care staff and workers in other relevant settings.
Originality/value
Addressing the implementation of OBC in adult social care in England in the context of extra care housing.
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Keywords
ONE of the chief elements of success in Public Library work is suitable accommodation for books and readers, and it is interesting to note that Mr. Andrew Carnegie has recognised…
Abstract
ONE of the chief elements of success in Public Library work is suitable accommodation for books and readers, and it is interesting to note that Mr. Andrew Carnegie has recognised this by granting his money, in most cases, for buildings only. This means that many new libraries will commence with the best conditions as regards accommodation, and so escape the disabilities attaching to some of the older libraries through being housed in adapted buildings. Adapted buildings are rarely a success from an administrative point of view, as I can testify from personal experience.
Reviews the general literature of management relevant to the information and library professions, and that of the management of information, knowledge‐based and library services…
Abstract
Reviews the general literature of management relevant to the information and library professions, and that of the management of information, knowledge‐based and library services published in 2002. Themes emerging at major conferences are noted and issues of growing concern are identified.
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The following report was brought up by Dr. P. Brouardel, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris, President of the Commission, and was submitted for the approval of the Congress:
The case, briefly reported in the last issue of BFJ, an appeal to a Milk and Dairies Tribunal arising out of a local authority's refusal to grant a licence to a milk distributor…
Abstract
The case, briefly reported in the last issue of BFJ, an appeal to a Milk and Dairies Tribunal arising out of a local authority's refusal to grant a licence to a milk distributor because he failed to comply with a requirement that he should provide protective curtains to his milk floats, was a rare and in many ways, an interesting event. The Tribunal in this case was set up under reg. 16(2) (f), Milk (Special Designation) Regulations, 1963, constituted in accordance with Part I, clause 2 (2), Schedule 4 of the Regulations. Part II outlines procedure for such tribunals. The Tribunal is similar to that authorized by S.30, Food and Drugs Act, 1955, which deals with the registration of dairymen, dairy farms and farmers, and the Milk and Dairies (General) Regulations, 1959. Part II, Schedule 2 of the Act provided for reference to a tribunal of appeals against refusal or cancellation of registration by the Ministry, but of producers only. A local authority's power to refuse to register or cancellation contained in Part I, Schedule 2 provided for no such reference and related to instances where “public health is or is likely to be endangered by any act or default” of such a person, who was given the right of appeal against refusal to register, etc., to a magistrates' court. No such limitation exists in respect of the revoking, suspending, refusal to renew a licence under the Milk (Special Designation) Regulations, 1963; an appeal against same lies to the Minister, who must refer the matter to a tribunal, if the person so requests. This occurred in the case under discussion.
Marika Kawamoto and Masanori Koizumi
In this information age, demonstrating the significance of physical libraries is increasingly important. The roles and functions of libraries have been discussed using the concept…
Abstract
Purpose
In this information age, demonstrating the significance of physical libraries is increasingly important. The roles and functions of libraries have been discussed using the concept of the library as place in interdisciplinary perspectives. However, the overall structure of the concept is inadequate because there are multifaceted arguments; how the concept has changed is not clear either. The purpose of this study is to clarify the whole picture of the roles and functions of the library as place in public libraries and to show the transition of the roles and functions.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative content analysis and time-series analysis were conducted using 175 related articles that mentioned the roles and functions of the library as a place.
Findings
An overall of 2,966 codes about library as a place was extracted and organised into a conceptual model, comprising 3 symbolic infrastructures (Wisdom, Heritage and Community), 11 categories (Intelligence, Creativity, Novelty, Culture and History, Neutrality, Equality, Empowerment, Publicness, Privacy, Sociability and Friendliness) and 30 subcategories. The study found that concepts of the library as place have developed rapidly since the 1990s, and roles have diversified from traditional ones.
Originality/value
The conceptual model of the library as place in this study, which integrates diverse perspectives such as physical spaces, activities and symbols, is the first of model's kind.
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Marie McCaig, Anna Waugh, Tim Duffy and Colin R. Martin
Little is known about the lived experience of the older user of assistive technology. The aim of the investigation is to gain an appreciation of the experience of assistive…
Abstract
Purpose
Little is known about the lived experience of the older user of assistive technology. The aim of the investigation is to gain an appreciation of the experience of assistive technology (AT) in older people.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative phenomenology was conducted on individual interviews undertaken using a Husserlian phenomenological approach. The participants were six individuals, >65 years who all lived in supported housing.
Findings
Six key themes emerged from interviews: being unsure; being old; being a bother; being on my own; being neighbourly and being independent.
Social implications
Reactions to assistive technology are highly individualised and salient. In order to humanise the technology it is necessary to understand the person who is using it. Further research in this area is a priority as AT evolves and matures.
Originality/value
This study offers a novel insight into a neglected but important area of concern for older people.