Bethany Grew, Jack Charles Collins, Carl Richard Schneider and Stephen Ross Carter
To date, community pharmacy research has largely focused on the impact of service quality elements on patronage behavior. Investigation into the influence of cost and value is…
Abstract
Purpose
To date, community pharmacy research has largely focused on the impact of service quality elements on patronage behavior. Investigation into the influence of cost and value is limited. The purpose of this study is to explore what is known about customers’ perceptions of cost and value, and how these influence patronage patterns in community pharmacy.
Design/methodology/approach
A scoping review framework was used to conduct a systematic search of four databases with the addition of articles sourced from reference lists. The database search was reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis: Extension for Scoping Reviews protocol. Studies were analyzed in terms of author name, date of publication, study location, study population, methods and key findings.
Findings
The 26 studies retrieved were qualitative or quantitative in nature and included a broad sample population. Both cost and value were found to be key factors influencing pharmacy choice. Pharmacy customers were found to perceive costs in terms of monetary, psychological, emotional and convenience-related sacrifices. Value was either perceived as relating to the worth or utility of a good or service, or in terms of a trade-off relationship between what was received and given up by the consumer.
Research limitations/implications
A comprehensive interrogation into the true meaning of “value” to consumers is warranted to improve quantitative measurement instruments.
Practical implications
Pharmacies may attempt to influence customer behavior by minimizing unfixed costs to the consumer such as the price of goods and services and time costs.
Originality/value
This review highlights the need for academic enquiry into how consumers trade-off perceived costs for service in community pharmacy.
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Planning surgical services in the NHS needs to take account of thefinite capacity of the consultant and his/her team to carry out work ofa standard which does not compromise the…
Abstract
Planning surgical services in the NHS needs to take account of the finite capacity of the consultant and his/her team to carry out work of a standard which does not compromise the quality of care of the individual patient. Pressure is increasingly towards a consultant‐provided service. Current working practice suggests that one consultant could see 600‐650 new out‐patients per year and carry out 600‐650 case weighted operations per year. This would meet the general surgical needs of a population of about 30,000. Recom‐mends that this approach is considered in planning surgical services in the future rather than the historic workloads which are likely to perpetuate the present compromises in the quality of patient care.
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We publish elsewhere a report of the judgment delivered by Mr. LOVELAND‐LOVELAND, K.C., Chairman of the County of London Sessions, in the case of the Kensington Borough Council…
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We publish elsewhere a report of the judgment delivered by Mr. LOVELAND‐LOVELAND, K.C., Chairman of the County of London Sessions, in the case of the Kensington Borough Council versus Bugg. The termination of this case has been called a “compromise” by some of the trade journals, and it is well to point out that it was nothing of the kind. When a conviction is confirmed in a higher court, and when proceedings are stayed upon an undertaking being given by the defendants that they will do what they were proceeded against for not doing, the description of such circumstances by the term “compromise” is ridiculous—particularly when a judgment is accompanied by remarks so decisive and uncompromising as those which were made by the learned Chairman in reference to this case. The suggestion that the case should bo brought to a conclusion in the manner indicated came from the Bench, who were evidently perfectly satisfied as to the meaning which attaches to the word “Cornflour,” and the course suggested was obviously intended merely to save the time of the Court; while the fact that the defendants submitted to the terms imposed without oven attempting to bring forward such evidence as they might have been able to get to support their position, is in itself amply sufficient to show that their advisers had appreciated the weakness of their case. There has been the usual outery in the trade journals about the sufferings of the innocent tradesman, and about “interference with the liberties of manufacturers.” In the whole history of the administration of the Food Acts in this country there are hardly any instances of prosecutions for the sale of an article under a name which is properly applicable to another, in which such outcries have not been raised. Such outcries may, however, be taken as blessings in disguise, since they mainly serve to emphasise the facts and to educate the public. The term “Cornflour” is well known to have originated from the expression “Indian Corn Flour,” and it unquestionably has a specific meaning which is not applicable to either of the two words of which the term is made up. Originally, perhaps, the term “Indian Corn Flour” may have meant the actual meal of Indian Corn or Maize, but, by the usage of more than forty years the term “ Cornflour” means the prepared starch of Maize. No doubt it has been honestly thought by some that in view of this fact any starch might bo described as “Cornflour,” but such a position is quite untenable There is no argument which can bo adduced in support of the contention that rice starch may bo described as Cornflour, which cannot also be brought forward in support of a statement that any starch whatever may be sold as Cornflour. The absurdity of this position is so obvious that it is needless to discuss it. The starches obtained from different sources are different in physical characters, in structure, and in other respects. For these reasons they are differently acted upon by the digestive juices. Moreover different starch preparations exhibit differences which are due to the presence of minute amounts of special flavouring substances derived from the raw material; and these differences it is most important to consider since they often give to an article certain characters which are required by the purchaser. A number of instances in point could be brought forward. It is no more permissible to substitute rice starch for maize starch than it is to substitute potato starch for arrowroot starch, and, for reasons which are perfectly well known and always acted upon in the medical profession, a medical man who orders a patient to be fed on a particular starch food, such as cornflour, would strongly and rightly object—particularly in certain cases —to the substitution of another starch preparation for that which he had ordered. The matter has been settled in such a way and with so strong an expression of opinion on the part of the tribunal which dealt with it, that we think it unnecessary to discuss it further.
Charles Collins, Mayeh Omar, Damodar Adhikari, Ramji Dhakal, Nick Emmel, Megha Raj Dhakal, Padam Chand, Druba Thapa and Arjun B. Singh
The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss policy analysis in Nepal and review the wide range of choices feasible in decentralisation decision making.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss policy analysis in Nepal and review the wide range of choices feasible in decentralisation decision making.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper an iterative qualitative method was developed and used in the research, which consisted of focus group interviews, key informant interviews, document analysis, including descriptive statistics, and analysis of the policy context. Participants in the research reflected the urban/rural mix of districts and the geography of Nepal. Analysis combined transcribed interviews with findings from document searches and analysis of the policy context. Coding was pre‐determined during the training workshop and further codes were generated during and after the fieldwork.
Findings
The paper finds that Nepal is in the process of decentralising public services from the central level to the local level, particularly to local bodies: District Development Committees (DDCs), Village Development Committees (VDCs) and Municipalities. Key contextual factors referred to are the overall structure of decentralisation, the social context of poverty and the political instability leading to a fluid political situation characterised by political tension, armed conflict, controversies and agreements while carrying out the research. The key issues identified and discussed in the paper are the policy process leading to decentralisation, the organisational structure and tension in the proposed system, the systems of resource generation, allocation, planning and management and lastly the forms of accountability, participation, public‐private relations and collaborative strategies.
Originality/value
The paper discusses the challenges faced in conducting such a policy analysis, the broad ranging and unremitting nature of the decentralisation process, and the contextual setting of the process of change.
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The enormous growth in publishing in Victorian England is surveyed from its origins in the eighteenth century to the demise, or survival, of principal publishing houses in the…
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The enormous growth in publishing in Victorian England is surveyed from its origins in the eighteenth century to the demise, or survival, of principal publishing houses in the twentieth century. The major publishers ‐ Longman, Murray, Smith Elder, Chapman and Hall, Colburn, Bentley, Heinemann, Methuen and Macmillan ‐ are discussed in relation to their authors and publishing successes and failures. The relation between the full‐length book and the major literary journals is discussed and the capitalist, risk taking nature of publishing as a commercial enterprise is emphasised.
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Charles Collins and Andrew Green
Decentralization is an important element in the policy formulationand implementation of Primary Health Care (PHC) in developing countries.While this may well be the case, certain…
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Decentralization is an important element in the policy formulation and implementation of Primary Health Care (PHC) in developing countries. While this may well be the case, certain forms of “decentralization” policies can have negative implications for the development of PHC. It can be associated with a reduced role of the public sector, weaken the central Ministry of Health, be instrumental in producing inequity and facilitate political domination. It is necessary to examine decentralization with a view to securing its effective formulation and implementation. A set of ten questions and related issues is set out to facilitate this examination.
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One of the critical factors that separate great organizations from good organizations is leadership (Collins, 2001). To support this statement, find a school that consistently has…
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One of the critical factors that separate great organizations from good organizations is leadership (Collins, 2001). To support this statement, find a school that consistently has high performance, regardless of the students’ socio-economic background, and there will be present a talented, highly effective leader. Effective school leadership is a major, if not the major, key to our overcoming the morass of failure in our schools. School leadership, especially in independent charter or autonomous schools, is complicated by the fact that schools are irrational organizations (Patterson, Purkey, & Parker, 1986) that require legislative (relational) rather than executive (direction from the top) leadership (Collins, 2001). For many years, the author has been examining school leadership through his experiences: as a leader, reading, studying leaders, and producing tools to select talented people to lead schools. It has become apparent to the author that the key to successful leaders is not found in personality or style but originates in something much deeper – the leader’s core values or mental models (Covey, 1990; Senge, P. (1990). The Fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York, NY: Doubleday) and how these translate into transformative leadership beliefs and behaviors or attributes. In this chapter, the author will share some of the attributes he and others have found to set great school leaders apart. The rationale for, and implementation of the structured interview in a charter school setting are described. Challenges and outcomes of the implementation of the structured interview are detailed as well.
IT is fitting that a new series of this magazine should be introduced by some reflections on the whole question of book selection, both for the general public and libraries.
THE greatly increased interest in historical studies since the second world war has been, I hope, a welcome challenge to librarians, but it has been very difficult to meet it…
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THE greatly increased interest in historical studies since the second world war has been, I hope, a welcome challenge to librarians, but it has been very difficult to meet it. That the librarians of our new universities should have had little research material to offer was only to be expected. Unfortunately, research scholars have discovered that our older libraries were also deficient, that source materials had either not been purchased, in the years when they were readily available, or had been acquired only to be discarded at a later date. Recently, therefore, both old libraries and new have found themselves in competition for a small and dwindling supply of out‐of‐print publications.