Eniola Abe, Pamela Dawson and Jason Scott
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic the United Kingdom Government implemented a policy to rapid discharge hospital patients into care homes. This study aimed to examine how the…
Abstract
Purpose
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic the United Kingdom Government implemented a policy to rapid discharge hospital patients into care homes. This study aimed to examine how the media in the United Kingdom portrayed hospital discharge to care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was a qualitative document analysis. Four sources (Daily Mail, The Independent, The Guardian and BBC News) were selected to represent political orientations encompassing right-wing, centrist and left-wing perspectives, and were searched for mention of hospital discharge, care homes and Covid-19 pandemic between 1st January 2020 and 24th February 2022. Article text was copied verbatim into Microsoft Word documents prior to analysis. Data were thematically analysed, followed by coding the sentiment in the included articles as well as coding the sentiment of themes and sub-themes.
Findings
Of 722 identified articles, 133 were eligible for inclusion as the final corpus. Data represented a moralistic narrative consisting of four themes: (1) Government as villain, (2) care homes as antiheroes, (3) patients as ideal victims and (4) moral outcomes. Most of the corpus had a negative sentiment (78.1%). One theme, moral outcomes, had considerably more positive sentiment (32.4%) than others (range 15.1%–21.9%).
Originality/value
A moralistic argument for improving cross-boundary interactions between health and social care services is provided, and the media can play a role pushing cross-boundary working higher up the policy agenda. Future work should examine how direct stakeholders, including those working in healthcare and care home settings, perceived the discharge policy.
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Ignat Kulkov, Björn Berggren, Kent Eriksson, Magnus Hellström and Kim Wikstrom
This paper focuses on medical device university spin-offs (USOs), taking into account the peculiarities of financial and nonfinancial support and intellectual property rights…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper focuses on medical device university spin-offs (USOs), taking into account the peculiarities of financial and nonfinancial support and intellectual property rights (IPRs). The authors declare that these parameters play a significant role in business development at the early stages.
Design/methodology/approach
This empirical data consist of individual and group interviews in Finland and Sweden, which are later inductively analyzed.
Findings
The results show that public financial support contributes to the formation and start of sales stages in small countries and local markets. However, at the validation stage, approaches for supporting entrepreneurship in the field of medical devices may differ. The ownership of IPRs assists in the development of entrepreneurship in the region due to the transfer of research results and researchers to the industry and increases the number of spin-offs and the cooperation of universities with business.
Originality/value
This contribution is in the identification of the key parameters for the formation, support and development of the USOs from the point of view of the availability of financial resources and the ownership of IPRs.
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Damilola Temitope Olorunshola and Temitayo Isaac Odeyemi
The purpose of this paper is to explore how inter-agency engagement across levels of government and the agencies' policies impact the development of Micro, Small and Medium Scale…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how inter-agency engagement across levels of government and the agencies' policies impact the development of Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria, with focus on taxation, business registration and access to finance.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical study involved data sourced through questionnaire administered to 192 MSMEs owners, semi-structured interviews with key officials, and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with leading members of the Osun State Chamber of Commerce, Mines, Industry and Agriculture (OSUCCIMA).
Findings
Amidst increasing levels of engagement amongst public agencies, most MSMEs had not benefited from MSMEs' support programmes. Also, although agencies increasingly utilised the mediating roles of OSUCCIMA in policies for MSMEs, gaps remain because of not factoring in OSUCCIMA's inputs into final policy/programme drafts. Again, policies and programmes were tangential to the desired development outcomes amongst MSMEs, irrespective of size.
Research limitations/implications
Considering differences in socio-economic and psycho-social orientations of residents/business owners across the various states, further studies focussing on other parts of Nigeria will help to strengthen the argument on how Nigeria aligns with the developing countries literature on the subject.
Originality/value
Existing literature demonstrates government's recognition of the significance of MSMEs and policy actions taken in setting the right atmosphere for them to thrive, focussing on the national or local governments. This study draws on these but also explores actions at the subnational level and the role of mediating institutions, thereby showing how a multi-level governance approach could influence outcomes.