Individual budgets allow the service user to take control and make decisions about the care that they receive. Manchester was one of 13 local authority development sites chosen by…
Abstract
Individual budgets allow the service user to take control and make decisions about the care that they receive. Manchester was one of 13 local authority development sites chosen by the Department of Health to trial individual budgets. The pilot has ended but the scheme remains strong. Here, Caroline Marsh describes how one individual's life has been transformed through the power of choice.
Saad Alshahrani, Shams Rahman and Caroline Chan
The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive conceptual model for the impact of hospital-supplier integration on the overall performance of healthcare organisations. It…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive conceptual model for the impact of hospital-supplier integration on the overall performance of healthcare organisations. It also investigates the moderating role of lean practices between hospital-supplier integration and hospital performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 498 public and private hospitals in Saudi Arabia using a survey. Structural equation modelling was used for data analysis.
Findings
The results indicate that hospital-supplier integration has a positive impact on the hospital performance. These effects are even more notable when adopting lean practices in the hospitals.
Research limitations/implications
The data were collected from one developing country, namely Saudi Arabia. Thus, the findings may be relevant to the Saudi context but not those of other developing countries. Second, the data were collected from the hospitals’ end but not from the suppliers, so the latter’s perspectives on the themes covered here are not known. Future research may investigate the validity of the model in various developing countries whose healthcare systems have different characteristics, and the relationships between hospitals and their suppliers may follow different governance models.
Practical implications
The developed model and results will help hospitals in the Saudi health system to make better decisions on managing their logistics and supply partners.
Originality/value
This study extends the current research by developing a model that highlights the impact of hospital-supplier integration on the overall performance of healthcare organisations and tests this model to confirm its validity. To the authors’ knowledge, this study would be one of the first that uses both lean thinking and relational view of competitive advantage theory combined to examine the moderating role of lean practices on the inter-organisational relationships in Saudi Arabia.
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The purpose of this study is to examine consumer attitude toward gamification in the context of over-the-top (OTT) media service. The particular focus of this paper is on game…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine consumer attitude toward gamification in the context of over-the-top (OTT) media service. The particular focus of this paper is on game mechanics from the mechanics-dynamics-aesthetics framework and its effects on consumer attitude toward both gamification and OTT media service provider brand.
Design/methodology/approach
A 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial experiment to examine the three core elements of game mechanics – components, controls and courses on consumer attitude, which was operationalized in eight vignettes with a sample size of 296.
Findings
It was found that the three elements in game mechanics demonstrated a multiplicative effect. The different combinations of elements in game mechanics would result in eliciting different consumer attitudes toward gamification and brand. Despite one combination that attained a high positive consumer attitude toward gamification in OTT, that same combination was not effective in creating a high positive attitude toward the OTT provider brand. The findings demonstrate the need for OTT providers to be clear of their gamification objectives before selecting the combination of game mechanics.
Research limitations/implications
This study adds to the body of knowledge on consumer attitude toward gamification, especially in the OTT market where there is still literature is limited.
Practical implications
OTT providers should determine their objectives for using gamification and design the game mechanics according to the optimal combination of elements – components, controls and courses.
Originality/value
According to the author’s knowledge, this is the first paper to examine consumer attitude toward gamification and OTT provider based on game mechanics. It provides an understanding on the interaction of elements in game mechanics and shows that different element combinations can be used to meet different goals.
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Francesca Robertson, Jason Barrow, Magdalena Wajrak, Noel Nannup, Caroline Bishop and Alison Nannup
The purpose of this paper is to explore the idea that, in the last few decades, collaborative inquiry methods have evolved along a similar trajectory to dual lens research. Dual…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the idea that, in the last few decades, collaborative inquiry methods have evolved along a similar trajectory to dual lens research. Dual lens research, known in various contexts as both ways, two-eyed seeing Old Ways New Ways, and Koodjal Jinnung (looking both ways), is designed to generate new knowledge by exploring a theme through Aboriginal and contemporary western lenses. Participatory action research and a dual lens approach are considered in a number of projects with a particular focus on the issues such work can raise including conceptual challenges posed by fundamental differences between knowledge sets.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors hypothesize that a dual lens approach will become a branch of participatory action research, as such, a robust description needs to be developed and its ethical implications are considered. Existing work in this direction, including principles and processes, are collated and discussed.
Findings
Dual lens research as a branch of participatory action research is of great significance in countries with Aboriginal populations that are undergoing a cultural renaissance. As dual lens practitioners, the authors are finding their research outputs have a high positive impact on both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations and make a genuine contribution to reconciliation by finding ways of going forward together.
Originality/value
This paper joins a growing body of research that supports resonances between Aboriginal and “western” research methods.
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Compilation of numeric data has been of interest to mankind since ancient times. Collections of astronomic observations permitted the production of systematic calendars for great…
Abstract
Compilation of numeric data has been of interest to mankind since ancient times. Collections of astronomic observations permitted the production of systematic calendars for great nations like the Mayans, Egyptians, Babylonians and Jews. Extensive sets of data were available to early navigators and pioneer physicists of medieval times. A well known example of data compilation was the celebrated Alfonsine Tables. The tables were completed in 1252 under the direction of Isaac ben Said and Yehuda ben Moshe Cohen during the rule of Alfonso X. of Castile. For three hundred years this was considered to be the best planetary data collection. Another famous astronomical data compilation was Caroline Herschel's Catalogue of Stars published in 1798. In the last decade there has been an increased need for precise information by government agencies, private industries, the business world and academic institutions. The continuing acknowledgement of the need for quantitative data contributed to the quick development and marketing of many databases that contain numerical and other factual information.
Azadeh Lak, Mina Ramezani and Reihaneh Aghamolaei
The fast development of urban movement infrastructures has created neglected urban places in cities. This study aims to provide users’ preferences for designing lost spaces that…
Abstract
Purpose
The fast development of urban movement infrastructures has created neglected urban places in cities. This study aims to provide users’ preferences for designing lost spaces that are a by-product of elevated urban highways (UHs) and bridges to develop a conceptual model for better environmental design.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is conducted by a combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods. In the first phase, to explore the citizen’s environmental preferences based on the Q-sort technique and in-depth interviews, the ideas of 50 users were considered up to data saturation. The preferences of people for designs under urban bridges were extracted by content analysis in the qualitative phase. In the quantitative phase, to validate these preferences, the extracted themes and sub-themes were examined by 144 experts in design studies using the web-based questionnaire based on the first phase outcomes. The validity of the model was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis in SPSS22 and Lisrel software.
Findings
The findings show that users’ preferences emphasize design strategies such as safety and security, physical coherence, visibility, vitality, richness, a sense of belonging and comfort to the design of lost spaces. Overall, this study highlights an empirical study into user’s needs and expectations of lost urban spaces.
Originality/value
The findings show that users’ preferences emphasize design strategies such as safety and security, physical coherence, visibility, vitality, richness, a sense of belonging and comfort to the design of lost spaces. Overall, this study highlights an empirical study into user’s needs and expectations of lost urban spaces.
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Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and…
Abstract
Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and shows that these are in many, differing, areas across management research from: retail finance; precarious jobs and decisions; methodological lessons from feminism; call centre experience and disability discrimination. These and all points east and west are covered and laid out in a simple, abstract style, including, where applicable, references, endnotes and bibliography in an easy‐to‐follow manner. Summarizes each paper and also gives conclusions where needed, in a comfortable modern format.
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Nathalie Lozano-Neira and Jen Marchbank
To explore the intersecting dynamics of gender, ethnicity, age, safety, power and sexuality in two cases of qualitative research
Abstract
Purpose
To explore the intersecting dynamics of gender, ethnicity, age, safety, power and sexuality in two cases of qualitative research
Methodology/approach
Reflexive analysis of community participatory action research.
Findings
Being an ‘insider’ is a nuanced and complex identity in social research leading to power flows that are not unidirectional. In addition, not only is gender not the only difference that makes a difference, but it is also important to consider the importance of difference within ‘sameness’.
Originality/value
In considering intersecting identities, difference and sameness this chapter adds to the assertion that research is never ‘hygienic’ and the role of self and research participants are vital considerations at all stages from design to dissemination.