This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/14717794200600010. When citing the…
Abstract
This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/14717794200600010. When citing the article, please cite: Claudine McCreadie, Fay Wright, Anthea Tinker, (2006), “Improving the provision of information about assistive technology for older people”, Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, Vol. 7 Iss: 2, pp. 13 - 22.
Patrick M. Wright, Anthony J. Nyberg and Robert E. Ployhart
Research in strategic human resource management (SHRM) has evolved over the past 30 years to become more theory based and to exhibit greater empirical rigor. However, much has…
Abstract
Research in strategic human resource management (SHRM) has evolved over the past 30 years to become more theory based and to exhibit greater empirical rigor. However, much has changed in the external environment that makes the existing theories, approaches, and methodologies inappropriate for addressing the questions that organizations face in managing their human resources today. In this chapter we discuss a number of environmental changes impacting organizations and identify tensions that researchers have faced in exploring how firms seek to manage their people as a source of competitive advantage. We argue that past research has focused on only one side of the tension at a time, thus limiting the usefulness of the answers that research provides. We advocate for research that simultaneously addresses both sides of the tensions in a way that can revolutionize research in SHRM.
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Anthea Tinker, Hannah Zeilig, Fay Wright, Julienne Hanson, Ruth Mayagoitia and Hede Wojgani
Extra care housing has developed from sheltered housing and has increasingly been seen as a popular option by policy‐makers for a number of reasons. These include the inability of…
Abstract
Extra care housing has developed from sheltered housing and has increasingly been seen as a popular option by policy‐makers for a number of reasons. These include the inability of conventional sheltered housing to be an adequate solution for a growing population of very old people, the decline in popularity and high costs of residential care and perceived problems with older people staying in mainstream housing. There is, however, no agreed definition of extra care housing, even though a growing number of government grants are becoming available for this type of housing. This is causing confusion for providers and for older people and their families who are not sure exactly what is provided. This lack of clarity means that this form of housing has become an erratic and piecemeal form of provision.
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Anthea Tinker, Fay Wright, Julienne Hanson, Ruth Mayagoitia, Hede Wojgani and Alan Holmans
Extra care housing is seen as a popular option for older people by families, some older people, policy‐makers and practitioners. Some new build is being provided but another…
Abstract
Extra care housing is seen as a popular option for older people by families, some older people, policy‐makers and practitioners. Some new build is being provided but another option, for which grants are available, is to remodel existing outmoded buildings. This research reports on recent attempts from 10 case‐study areas in England to remodel sheltered housing and residential care homes to extra care housing. The results are mixed, with satisfaction reported by many new tenants, anger by some existing ones, challenges at every stage of the project for design and construction teams, and issues over the provision of assistive technology and care. Nearly all the schemes experienced unexpected problems during the course of construction. Remodelling is not necessarily faster or cheaper than commissioning a purpose‐designed new building. Nevertheless, remodelling may be the only viable option for some unpopular or outdated schemes. The research showed that remodelling is not a quick fix, but that it did have considerable advantages for many of the older people and support staff who were living and working in the remodelled buildings. The research concluded that remodelling should only be undertaken when other options have been carefully examined. Drawing on the research findings, advice to policy‐makers and practitioners who are considering this course of action is outlined in the discussion.
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Claudine McCreadie, Fay Wright and Anthea Tinker
The importance of assistive technology (AT) in helping older people maintain independence is increasingly recognised in policy. The article reports on a modest piece of research…
Abstract
The importance of assistive technology (AT) in helping older people maintain independence is increasingly recognised in policy. The article reports on a modest piece of research, funded by the Helen Hamlyn Foundation, that looked at an important corollary of this development — the provision of relevant and appropriate information about AT. The research involved mapping both AT and information sources, focus groups with 28 users aged 75 and over and 12 carers, interviews with 40 professionals and information providers and a postal questionnaire to 131 care home managers (response rate of 45%). The findings point to the large volume of available information, but suggest that there are problems in identifying needs and in accessing all necessary information. Professionals share these problems and organisational issues impact on professional capacity to provide satisfactory information. The situation in care homes appears ambiguous in terms of responsibility for AT provision for residents and hence for information. The researchers concluded that there is considerable scope for improving both access to information and the design of that information. They also concluded that there are terminology issues that need addressing in further research.
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Ruth Mayagoitia, Els Van Boxstael, Hedieh Wojgani, Fay Wright, Julienne Hanson and Anthea Tinker
Extra care housing (ECH) is housing for older people that aims to provide flexible care while fostering independence. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact that some…
Abstract
Purpose
Extra care housing (ECH) is housing for older people that aims to provide flexible care while fostering independence. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact that some of the successes and failures in improving accessibility during remodelling had on care provision, in order to offer advice to social housing providers planning to remodel existing properties into ECH.
Design/methodology/approach
The data consisted of an inventory of accessibility features and assistive technology (AT) items in flats and common areas. The data were drawn from ten ECH schemes in different regions of England.
Findings
Most of the AT found was low-technology supporting independence, such as grabbers; some was specific to care provision, such as hoists. Even after remodelling, the design and layout of most buildings did not fully comply with accessibility standards, leading to increased provision of care for some tenants: a care-negative situation.
Research limitations/implications
This multidisciplinary, original research on remodelling into ECH presents successful examples of accessibility, AT and care integration that required active tenant involvement and creative design input from care staff, architects and builders who were AT and accessibility aware. It is argued that for new and remodelled ECH buildings to be care-neutral, designers need to work towards the most inclusive model of ECH.
Originality/value
This is original research that has produced guidance for builders, developers, policy makers and other stake holders.
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P. Matthijs Bal and Paul G. W. Jansen
As demographic changes impact the workplace, governments, organizations, and workers are looking for ways to sustain optimal working lives at higher ages. Workplace flexibility…
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As demographic changes impact the workplace, governments, organizations, and workers are looking for ways to sustain optimal working lives at higher ages. Workplace flexibility has been introduced as a potential way workers can have more satisfying working lives until their retirement ages. This chapter presents a critical review of the literature on workplace flexibility across the lifespan. It discusses how flexibility has been conceptualized across different disciplines, and postulates a definition that captures the joint roles of employer and employee in negotiating workplace flexibility that contributes to both employee and organization benefits. Moreover, it reviews how flexibility has been theorized and investigated in relation to older workers. The chapter ends with a future research agenda for advancing understanding of how workplace flexibility may enhance working experiences of older workers, and in particular focuses on the critical investigation of uses of flexibility in relation to older workers.
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Yonjoo Jeong, Neil Simcock and Gordon Walker
Community renewable energy has been widely advocated as a mode of implementation of sustainable energy technologies that contrast in various ways from those of public or private…
Abstract
Community renewable energy has been widely advocated as a mode of implementation of sustainable energy technologies that contrast in various ways from those of public or private sector utilities (Walker & Cass, 2007). Community energy projects have been established in many countries around the world, including various parts of Europe (DTI, 2004; Lauber, 2004; Madlener, 2007), the United States (Hoffman & High-Pippert, 2005, 2009), Australia (Moloney, Horne, & Fien, 2010) and Japan (Maruyama, Nishikido, & Iida, 2007), forming part of a more distributed rather than centralised pattern of energy generation. For Seyfang and Smith (2007) they potentially represent examples of ‘grassroots innovation’, forms of niche-based social experimentation with wider significance for the emergence of forms of transition towards sustainable socio-technical systems (Smith, 2007).