Russell Mannion and Ewen Speed
This paper aims to explore right wing populist government responses to the coronavirus pandemic.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore right wing populist government responses to the coronavirus pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is a narrative overview of right-wing populist policies and strategies, which is loosely structured around fascistic themes set out in Albert Camus’ allegorical novel, The Plague.
Findings
Although individual responses to the coronavirus pandemic among right-wing populists differ, they appear to coalesce around four central themes: initial denial and then mismanagement of the pandemic; the disease being framed as primarily an economic rather than a public health crisis; a contempt for scientific and professional expertise; and the “othering” of marginal groups for political ends. Populist responses to the pandemic have given rise to increased levels of xenophobia, the violation of human rights and the denigration of scientific expertise.
Research limitations/implications
This is a narrative overview from a personal viewpoint.
Originality/value
Drawing on themes in Camus' novel The Plague, this is a personal perspective on right wing populist government responses to the coronavirus pandemic. Populist responses to the pandemic have given rise to increased levels of intolerance and xenophobia and the violation of human rights and civil liberties.
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Jurgen Grotz, Lindsay Armstrong, Heather Edwards, Aileen Jones, Michael Locke, Laurel Smith, Ewen Speed and Linda Birt
This study aims to critically examine the effects of COVID-19 social discourses and policy decisions specifically on older adult volunteers in the UK, comparing the responses and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to critically examine the effects of COVID-19 social discourses and policy decisions specifically on older adult volunteers in the UK, comparing the responses and their effects in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, providing perspectives on effects of policy changes designed to reduce risk of infection as a result of COVID-19, specifically on volunteer involvement of and for older adults, and understand, from the perspectives of volunteer managers, how COVID-19 restrictions had impacted older people’s volunteering and situating this within statutory public health policies.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a critical discourse approach to explore, compare and contrast accounts of volunteering of and for older people in policy, and then compare the discourses within policy documents with the discourses in personal accounts of volunteering in health and social care settings in the four nations of the UK. This paper is co-produced in collaboration with co-authors who have direct experience with volunteer involvement responses and their impact on older people.
Findings
The prevailing overall policy approach during the pandemic was that risk of morbidity and mortality to older people was too high to permit them to participate in volunteering activities. Disenfranchising of older people, as exemplified in volunteer involvement, was remarkably uniform across the four nations of the UK. However, the authors find that despite, rather than because of policy changes, older volunteers, as part of, or with the help of, volunteer involving organisations, are taking time to think and to reconsider their involvement and are renewing their volunteer involvement with associated health benefits.
Research limitations/implications
Working with participants as co-authors helps to ensure the credibility of results in that there was agreement in the themes identified and the conclusions. A limitation of this study lies in the sampling method, as a convenience sample was used and there is only representation from one organisation in each of the four nations.
Originality/value
The paper combines existing knowledge about volunteer involvement of and for older adults.
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Andrew Goffey, Lynne Pettinger and Ewen Speed
This chapter explains how fundamental organisational change in the UK National Health Service (NHS) is being effected by new practices of digitised information gathering and use…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter explains how fundamental organisational change in the UK National Health Service (NHS) is being effected by new practices of digitised information gathering and use. It analyses the taken-for-granted IT infrastructures that lie behind digitisation and considers the relationship between digitisation and big data.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative research methods including discourse analysis, ethnography of software and key informant interviews were used. Actor-network theories, as developed by Science and technology Studies (STS) researchers were used to inform the research questions, data gathering and analysis. The chapter focuses on the aftermath of legislation to change the organisation of the NHS.
Findings
The chapter shows the benefits of qualitative research into specific manifestations information technology. It explains how apparently ‘objective’ and ‘neutral’ quantitative data gathering and analysis is mediated by complex software practices. It considers the political power of claims that data is neutral.
Originality/value
The chapter provides insight into a specific case of healthcare data and. It makes explicit the role of politics and the State in digitisation and shows how STS approaches can be used to understand political and technological practice.
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Caroline Barratt, Gillian Green and Ewen Speed
Previous research has established that there is a relationship between housing and mental health, however, understanding about how and why housing affects mental health is still…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous research has established that there is a relationship between housing and mental health, however, understanding about how and why housing affects mental health is still limited. The purpose of this paper is to address this deficit by focusing on the experiences of residents of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 20 HMO residents who were asked about their housing career and experience of living in a HMO. Participants were recruited with assistance from community organisations and landlords.
Findings
The physical properties and social environment of the property, as well as personal circumstances experienced prior to the move into the property, all influenced how mental health was affected. The authors identify and discuss in detail three key meditating factors: safety, control and identity which may affect how living in the property impacts the mental health of tenants.
Practical implications
Good property management can lessen the potential harmful effects of living in a HMO. However, poorly run properties which house numerous vulnerable people may increase the risk of poor mental health due to attendant high levels of stress and possible risk of abuse.
Originality/value
Based on the reports of HMO residents, the authors outline the key mediating processes through which living in HMOs may affect mental wellbeing, as well as illuminating the potential risks and benefits of HMOs, an overlooked tenure in housing research.
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Hanna Carlsson and Roos Pijpers
This paper analyses how neighbourhood governance of social care affects the scope for frontline workers to address health inequities of older ethnic minorities. We critically…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper analyses how neighbourhood governance of social care affects the scope for frontline workers to address health inequities of older ethnic minorities. We critically discuss how an area-based, generic approach to service provision limits and enables frontline workers' efforts to reach out to ethnic minority elders, using a relational approach to place. This approach emphasises social and cultural distances to social care and understands efforts to bridge these distances as “relational work”.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a two-year multiple case study of the cities of Nijmegen and The Hague, the Netherlands, following the development of policies and practices relevant to ethnic minority elders. They conducted 44 semi-structured interviews with managers, policy officers and frontline workers as well as 295 h of participant observation at network events and meeting activities.
Findings
Relational work was open-ended and consisted of a continuous reorientation of goals and means. In some cases, frontline workers spanned neighbourhood boundaries to connect with professional networks, key figures and places meaningful to ethnic minority elders. While neighbourhood governance is attuned to equality, relational work practice fosters possibilities for achieving equity.
Research limitations/implications
Further research on achieving equity in relational work practice and more explicit policy support of relational work is needed.
Originality/value
The paper contributes empirical knowledge about how neighbourhood governance of social care affects ethnic minority elders. It translates a relational view of place into a “situational” social justice approach.
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Qiong Tao and Yingjiao Xu
Fashion subscription service is a newly emerged retailing model that provides an innovative way of shopping to meet consumers’ fashion needs. From the perspective of innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
Fashion subscription service is a newly emerged retailing model that provides an innovative way of shopping to meet consumers’ fashion needs. From the perspective of innovation adoption, the purpose of this paper is to provide an insight of consumers’ perceptions as well as adoption intention of this innovative retailing format.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is qualitative in nature, utilizing focus group study approach. In this paper, content analysis was applied to analyze the data.
Findings
While possessing varying degrees of knowledge about fashion subscription retailing, the participants shared the following perceptions of relative advantages, including convenience, personalization, consumer excitement, opportunities to try new styles, and opportunity to better manage their apparel budget. Concerns mainly focused on missing social shopping experiences and the hassle in the cancellation process. The overall adoption intention was high.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the nature of this research, the sample size was limited and results may not be generalized. This research paid less attention to individual differences, in terms of demographic and psychographic characteristics.
Practical implications
Future marketing could focus more on educating consumers about the attributes of the services they provide. Retailers can strategically leverage the positively perceived advantages in their marketing communications to enhance consumers’ adoption intention of their services.
Originality/value
The paper fills a gap in the literature on consumer behavior toward fashion subscription retailing and sheds light for companies in their endeavors to excel in this new retailing venue.
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Christian Glade, Peter Kesting, Remigiusz Smolinski and Dominik K. Kanbach
This study explores the negotiation behaviors and strategies employed by experienced entrepreneurs to secure venture capital (VC) funding.
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the negotiation behaviors and strategies employed by experienced entrepreneurs to secure venture capital (VC) funding.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a qualitative approach, we conducted interviews with 32 accomplished founders with track records in securing VC funding. Our conceptual underpinning rests upon an existing negotiation competency model. This study employed a systematic and iterative data analysis method, following an inductive approach grounded in Gioia et al.’s (2013) methodology to conceptualize the unprocessed interview data.
Findings
We identified three dimensions characterizing entrepreneurial negotiation behavior in VC negotiations: negotiation competencies, power tactics, and negotiation style. Furthermore, we identified specific behaviors in these dimensions and explored how entrepreneurs apply these skills in the VC context.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes a nuanced understanding of entrepreneurs’ negotiation behaviors, opening avenues for further research on effective strategies in entrepreneurial finance.
Practical implications
Entrepreneurs can leverage the identified negotiation strategies to enhance their skills and navigate VC negotiations more effectively, potentially leading to better funding outcomes. Furthermore, training programs can be crafted to encourage the cultivation of these behaviors.
Originality/value
This study is the first to systematically examine the negotiation behaviors and strategies employed by experienced entrepreneurs in VC negotiations, revealing entrepreneurs’ specific behaviors and elucidating how these behaviors are employed within negotiations to provide practical insights.