Esther Hauer, Annika M. Nordlund and Kristina Westerberg
The purpose of this paper is to examine the learning climate in elderly care, its potential improvements after the “Steps for skills”, and its influence on knowledge from formal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the learning climate in elderly care, its potential improvements after the “Steps for skills”, and its influence on knowledge from formal training. The assumptions were: the different activities of the Steps for skills should enhance the perceived learning climate; differences in working conditions in home help and residential homes should influence the perceived learning climate and its improvements; and changes in the perception of the learning climate should bring changes in the perceived usefulness of new knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is a case study carried out in the public elderly care in Sweden, and used a repeated measurements design. A total of 270 nursing assistants answered a questionnaire at Time I, and 174 at Time II.
Findings
Results show no improvements of the learning climate for the full sample. When contrasting the learning climate in home help services and in residential homes significant differences are found, and also a tendency for their learning climate to change in opposite directions. The perception of the learning climate seems to influence the perceived usefulness of new knowledge.
Research limitations/implications
The sample was from one single organization.
Practical implications
Developmental interventions should take in to consideration that context matters, and that the perceived learning climate influences the use of new knowledge.
Originality/value
In this study, a 15‐items learning climate scale (LCS) is presented. Another contribution is identifying working condition failure as a potential explanation to why interventions usually do not result in expected changes.
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Kristina Westerberg and Esther Hauer
The overall aim of the present study was to investigate the learning climate and work group skills perceived by managers and their subordinates in the municipal elderly care…
Abstract
Purpose
The overall aim of the present study was to investigate the learning climate and work group skills perceived by managers and their subordinates in the municipal elderly care, prior to a development project. The specific research questions were: Are managers' and their subordinates' perceptions of the learning climate related? and Does the manager's assessment of the work group skills correlate with the work group's perception of the learning climate?
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 12 managers and 130 of their subordinates were selected, and answered a questionnaire. The subordinates belonged to work groups with five to 19 care assistants working in elderly care. The majority of the participants were women (92 per cent). The mean age was 43 years old, range 20‐63.
Findings
Results suggest that the perception of the learning climate has a correspondence between the organisational levels (managers and their subordinates) and that there is a correspondence between managers' ratings of work group skills, in particular skills for effectively managing change, and the work groups' perception of their learning climate, in particular decision autonomy and developmental and collaborative potentials.
Research implications/limitations
The manager sample was small and from one single organisation.
Practical implications
The relations between the learning climate and the assessment of staff skills are important to the actions taken in order to facilitate workplace learning and development.
Originality/value
This study contrasted the managers' assessment of skills with their work groups' perceptions of learning climate, which is quite unusual in learning climate studies.
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Verlumun Celestine Gever, Nabaz Nawzad Abdullah, Mohammed Shaibu Onakpa, Ogochukwu Gabriella Onah, Chukwuemeka Chiebonam Onyia, Ifeanyi E. Iwundu and Esther Rita Gever
This study aimed to develop and test the impact of a social media-based intervention for improving the business skills and income of young smallholder farmers.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to develop and test the impact of a social media-based intervention for improving the business skills and income of young smallholder farmers.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the researchers used an exploratory approach to develop a social media-based intervention for acquiring business skills and improving income. Second, the researchers tested the effectiveness of the developed programme on a sample of 506 young smallholder farmers. Finally, the intervention and data collection took place over five years (2017–2021).
Findings
The result showed steady improvements in business skills and income from 2017 to 2021 for the treatment group, unlike the control group. Also, improvements in business skills led to a reduction in expenses and an increase in profit from 2017 to 2021. A further evaluation of the result showed that an addition of 5.1 mean scores in business skills led to the addition of $91 income between 2017 and 2018; for 2018–2019, 2.6 improvements in business skills increased income by $123. For 2019–2020, a 2.7 improvement increased income by $209, whilst for 2020–2021, a 1.6 improvement increased income by $320.
Originality/value
The results of this study could help explore ways of using social media to change behaviour aimed at improving income amongst young smallholder farmers.
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Ogochukwu Gabriella Onah, Ogwu Chris Attah, Umaru Isaac Ibrahim, Chiebonam Chukwuemeka Onyia, Esther Rita Gever, Peter N. Nwokolo and Verlumun Celestine Gever
The aim of this study was to determine the impact of oral communication in improving the marketing and financial management skills of sweet potato farmers.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study was to determine the impact of oral communication in improving the marketing and financial management skills of sweet potato farmers.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a quasi-experimental design with a pre- and post-test approach. The sample was 540 sweet potato farmers that were randomly assigned to training (n = 270) and no-training groups (n = 270) with analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) as the method of data analysis. While the training group received oral training sessions for three farming seasons beginning in 2019, 2020 and 2021, the no-training group did not receive any intervention.
Findings
Before the training sessions, all the sweet potato farmers scored low on marketing skills like advertising, sales promotion and sales forecasting. Both groups also scored low on financial management skills like budgeting, investments, saving and controlling expenditures. Their annual income level was also low and both groups did not significantly differ. However, after the training and during the follow-up evaluation, the participants in the training group reported a significant improvement in their marketing skills and financial management skills. There was also an improvement in their income level from $238 (N109,480) at baseline to $523 (N240,580) after the training and $782 (N359,720) after the follow-up evaluation. On the other hand, the no-training group reported a staggered fluctuation in their income of $241 (N110,860) at baseline, $371(N170,660) during post-training evaluation and $214 (N98,440) at follow-up assessment.
Research limitations/implications
The first limitation is that the study examined only one crop. There is a need to pay attention to farmers of other crops for better understanding. Another limitation of the study is that the researchers examined only oral communication. There is a need to compare more than one training to understand which is more effective. Finally, the current study did not consider the moderating effect of other factors like the source of labour and expenses.
Originality/value
This study has shown that oral communication is an effective tool for promoting the acquisition of marketing and financial management skills and enhancing agribusiness.
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Alpana Mair, Eleftheria Antoniadou, Anne Hendry and Branko Gabrovec
Polypharmacy, the concurrent use of multiple medicines by one individual, is a common and growing challenge driven by an ageing population and the growing number of people living…
Abstract
Purpose
Polypharmacy, the concurrent use of multiple medicines by one individual, is a common and growing challenge driven by an ageing population and the growing number of people living longer with chronic conditions. Up to 11% of unplanned hospital admissions in the UK are attributable to, mostly avoidable, harm from medicines. However, this topic is not yet central to integrated practice. This paper reviews the challenge that polypharmacy presents to the health and care system and offers lessons for integrated policy and practice.
Design/methodology/approach
Two commonly encountered scenarios illustrate the relevance of addressing inappropriate polypharmacy to integrated practice. An overview of the literature on polypharmacy and frailty, including two recent large studies of policy and practice in Europe, identifies lessons for practitioners, managers, policy makers and commissioners.
Findings
Comprehensive change strategies should extend beyond pharmacist led deprescribing initiatives. An inter-professional and systems thinking approach is required, so all members of the integrated team can play their part in realising the value of holistic prescribing, appropriate polypharmacy and shared decision making.
Practical implications
Awareness and education about polypharmacy should be embedded in inter-professional training for all practitioners who care for people with multimorbidity or frailty.
Originality/value
This paper will help policy makers, commissioners, managers and practitioners understand the value of addressing polypharmacy within their integrated services. Best practice national guidance developed in Scotland illustrates how to target resources so those at greatest risk of harm from polypharmacy can benefit from effective pharmaceutical care as part of holistic integrated care.