Michael Edwards, Josie Soutar and David Best
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the design and methodology of the REC-CONNECT project and to determine whether a co-produced approach to research in this area between…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the design and methodology of the REC-CONNECT project and to determine whether a co-produced approach to research in this area between those with lived experience, those delivering recovery support, and those investigating recovery evidence, generated greater project impact.
Design/methodology/approach
A co-productive approach was taken during project planning, training delivery, data collection and community connecting activity. Workshop evaluations were collected at each training session that provided data on worker/peer volunteer wellbeing, workshop efficacy and organisational factors. Community connectors used REC-CAP for evaluating improvements in clients’ community engagement.
Findings
Whilst co-production as a research approach broke down barriers between theory and practice and delivered a wider community asset map, a number of hurdles emerged: buy-in of all participants; culture/competing agendas; overcoming sense of disenfranchisement of people in recovery; and resources, tools and timescales of research requirements.
Research limitations/implications
This is a small study in Sheffield. As such, data are limited. However, the implications spread to other vulnerable groups in other areas are evidenced, and the principles offer sustainability and partnership that go beyond time-limited projects.
Social implications
Co-production as an approach to research in the substance misuse field has a meaningful impact on the “end-user” of people in recovery through empowerment, better connected recovery pathways and evidence-to-practice-based support models.
Originality/value
The project advanced the emerging principle of reciprocal asset-based community development and designed a co-produced model to create a team of professional, volunteer and peer community connectors to engage and connect new individuals to recovery with existing community assets, and who themselves emerged as a community asset through the project.
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Mark Butler, Michael Savic, David William Best, Victoria Manning, Katherine L. Mills and Dan I. Lubman
The purpose of this paper is to examine the strategies utilised to facilitate the wellbeing of workers of an alcohol and other drug (AOD) therapeutic community (TC)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the strategies utilised to facilitate the wellbeing of workers of an alcohol and other drug (AOD) therapeutic community (TC)
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative study that involved in-depth interviews with 11 workers from an Australian AOD TC organisation that provides both a residential TC program and an outreach program. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis
Findings
Three main interconnected themes emerged through analysis of the data: the challenges of working in an AOD TC organisation, including vicarious trauma, the isolation and safety of outreach workers and a lack of connection between teams; individual strategies for coping and facilitating wellbeing, such as family, friend and partner support and self-care practices; organisational facilitators of worker wellbeing, including staff supervision, employment conditions and the ability to communicate openly about stress. The analysis also revealed cross-cutting themes including the unique challenges and wellbeing support needs of outreach and lived experience workers.
Research limitations/implications
Rather than just preventing burnout, AOD TC organisations can also play a role in facilitating worker wellbeing.
Practical implications
This paper discusses a number of practical suggestions and indicates that additional strategies targeted at “at risk” teams or groups of workers may be needed alongside organisation-wide strategies.
Originality/value
This paper provides a novel and in-depth analysis of strategies to facilitate TC worker wellbeing and has implications for TC staff, managers and researchers.
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Emma H. Wood and Jonathan Moss
Using techniques developed mainly in subjective well-being and “happiness” studies, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the applicability of these and related methods for…
Abstract
Purpose
Using techniques developed mainly in subjective well-being and “happiness” studies, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the applicability of these and related methods for understanding and evaluating the emotional responses experienced within the live music event environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The concept of “experience” is debated and set within the context of music events designed to create a specific type of emotional experience for the attendees. The main tools for researching experiences over a time period are considered focusing on the “experience sampling method” (ESM) (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997) and the “day reconstruction method” (Kahneman et al., 2004). These methods are critiqued in terms of their usefulness and practicality as research tools in the study of audience emotions.
Findings
A revised method was then developed and a small-scale trial undertaken at a live music event, the results of which are presented and discussed. A conceptual model illustrating the interconnectedness of experience is introduced as an example of the application of the data gathered through this method to theory development. The paper concludes by reflecting on both the methodological appropriateness and practicality of ESMs as a way of gathering valuable data on the emotions engendered by events.
Research limitations/implications
An obstacle yet to be overcome is using this data to predict attitudinal and behavioural change related to arts marketing goals. However, studies in other areas have clearly shown that emotional response is a significant indicator of future behaviour suggesting that the potential is there.
Practical implications
The trialled method provides a useful starting point for better understanding the complexity of emotional effects triggered at live music events.
Originality/value
The paper concludes that an adaptation of these methods has the potential to provide much needed rich and credible data on the feelings and emotional reactions triggered by different elements of a live event.
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David William Best, Gerard Byrne, David Pullen, Jacqui Kelly, Karen Elliot and Michael Savic
The purpose of this paper is to test the feasibility of utilising an Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) model in the context of an Alcohol and Other Drug Therapeutic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the feasibility of utilising an Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) model in the context of an Alcohol and Other Drug Therapeutic Community, and to use this as a way of assessing how TCs can contribute to the local communities in which they are sited.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a qualitative action research project, based on an evolving model in which key stakeholders from participating sites were instrumental in shaping processes and activities, that is a partnership between a research centre, Turning Point in Melbourne, Australia and two Recovery Services operated by the Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory (TSA). One of these is the Dooralong Transformation Centre on the Central Coast of New South Wales and the other, Fairhaven, is in the Gold Coast hinterland of Queensland, Australia. The project was designed to create “rehabilitation without walls” by building bridges between the treatment centres and the communities they are based in, and improving participation in local community life. This was done through a series of structured workshops that mapped community asset networks and planned further community engagement activities.
Findings
Both of the TCs already had strong connections in their local areas including but not restricted to involvement with the mutual aid fellowships. Staff, residents and ex-residents still in contact with the service were strongly committed to community engagement and were able to identify a wide range of connections in the community and to build these around existing Salvation Army connections and networks.
Research limitations/implications
This is a pilot study with limited research findings and no assessment of the generalisability of this method to other settings or TCs.
Practical implications
Both TCs are able to act as “community resources” through which residents and ex-residents are able to give back to their local communities and develop the social and community capital that can prepare them for reintegration and can positively contribute to the experience of living in the local community.
Social implications
This paper has significant ramifications for how TCs engage with their local communities both as a mechanism for supporting resident re-entry and also to challenge stigma and discrimination.
Originality/value
The paper and project extend the idea of ABCD to a Reciprocal Community Development model in which TCs can act as active participants in their lived communities and by doing so can create a “therapeutic landscape for recovery”.
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David William Best, Catherine Haslam, Petra Staiger, Genevieve Dingle, Michael Savic, Ramez Bathish, Jock Mackenzie, Melinda Beckwith and Dan I. Lubman
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how social identity change can support the TC objective of promoting “right living”. This is compatible with the literature on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how social identity change can support the TC objective of promoting “right living”. This is compatible with the literature on addiction recovery which has shown that identity change is central to this process. While much of the earlier literature focussed primarily on an individual analysis of change, there is a growing body of research showing the important contribution that social networks, social group membership and associated social identities make to sustainable change.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes baseline data for a multi-site prospective cohort study of 308 clients entering therapeutic community (TC) treatment and characterizes the presenting profile of this cohort on a range of social identity and recovery measures at the point of TC entry.
Findings
The sample was predominantly male with a mean age of 35 years, with the large majority having been unemployed in the month before admission. The most commonly reported primary substance was methamphetamine, followed by alcohol and heroin. The sample reported low rates of engagement in recovery groups, but access to and moderate degrees of social support was also reported in the period prior to admission.
Research limitations/implications
The paper highlights the important role that TCs play in facilitating identity change and in promoting sustainable recovery.
Practical implications
The paper discusses opportunities for working with social identities both during residence and in community re-integration, and highlights what TCs can do to support and sustain recovery.
Social implications
The paper brings to light the potential contribution of social group membership and social identity change to management of recovery in TC settings.
Originality/value
The study described provides an innovative way of assessing TC effectiveness and testing novel questions about the role of social identity and recovery capital as key predictors of change.
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Grace Ann Rosile and Robert F. Dennehy
This chapter covers the history of the Standing Conference for Management and Organizational Inquiry (sc’MOI). It develops insights into embodiment conference practices, how…
Abstract
This chapter covers the history of the Standing Conference for Management and Organizational Inquiry (sc’MOI). It develops insights into embodiment conference practices, how critical storytelling was part of our conference work from the beginning, and how the conference community used “ensemble leadership” rather than a hierarchical solo leader, or board-led approach. Sc’MOI existed for 25 years, and disbanded, while still solvent.
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The purpose of this research paper is to consider the aesthetic and commercial success of the “early music” or “historically informed performance” (HIP) movement during the 1970s…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research paper is to consider the aesthetic and commercial success of the “early music” or “historically informed performance” (HIP) movement during the 1970s and 1980s in the UK. Particular attention is given to the relationship between HIP performers and “the authenticity business” (i.e. the market‐driven commercial exploitation of this form of musical performance).
Design/methodology/approach
Through applying the metaphor of the “false relation” (a musical compositional device characteristic of the renaissance period), the paper explores the contradictory relationship between HIP and the market. The research is based on a detailed literature review relating to the emergence of the early music labour market, and interviews with 40 experts in the field (including HIP music directors, performers, agents, broadcasters, record company directors and instrument makers in the UK).
Findings
Far from being a mere backdrop to the ideologically driven practice of HIP, the paper demonstrates the close connection between market‐led entrepreneurial activity of some performers, and the subsequent success of early music performance. Particular attention is brought to the mediating role of authenticity discourse in bridging the art‐commerce divide and marketing early music successfully.
Originality/value
The paper offers a novel perspective from which to understand the artistic and commercial development of this cultural movement. It is suggested that the emphasis on the mediating role of authenticity discourse; and the closeness of the relationship between performance ideology and market‐based practices warrants further research across artistic and cultural movements more broadly.
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Charles H. Schwepker and David J. Good
Sales quotas typically “drive” sales organizations. As such, the ability of the sales organization, both individually (the salesperson) and the group (the total collection of the…
Abstract
Sales quotas typically “drive” sales organizations. As such, the ability of the sales organization, both individually (the salesperson) and the group (the total collection of the sales professionals), to accomplish its quota has a significant impact on the performance of the sales and marketing organization, as well as the entire firm. Within the context of this use, quotas represent a critical sales goal, although very little is actually known about their strategic or operational use within marketing organizations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate quotas from a strategic and operational perspective to provide additional insight into understanding sales quotas. Specifically, this manuscript investigates the consequences of failing to achieve quota and the relationship between these consequences and salesperson performance, salesperson income, and the firm’s annual sales revenue. In addition, the relationship between these variables and quota difficulty, and quota performance are explored.