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Article
Publication date: 6 April 2022

Stephen Gibb and Hartwig Pautz

The purpose of this paper is to identify lessons and implications on the theme of decent work in social care. This has long been highlighted as integral to improving social care…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify lessons and implications on the theme of decent work in social care. This has long been highlighted as integral to improving social care for the elderly. The COVID-19 pandemic experience reveals lessons and implications about the systemic absence of decent work in one place, Scotland, in care homes. The main lesson and implication is a need for change beyond the focus on levels of pay and systemic advocacy of decent work as it is conventionally understood.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected using qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 20 care workers in care homes.[AQ4] A range of care system institutional stakeholders was also interviewed. A range of care system institutional stakeholders was also interviewed.

Findings

Decent work in social care may only be progressed to the extent that a culture change is achieved, transcending the institutional stasis about who owns and engages with progressing decent work.

Research limitations/implications

This is a study in one place, Scotland, with a small sample of frontline care workers in care homes and representatives from a range of institutions.

Practical implications

Effective culture change for decent work in care homes needs to be a higher research priority. More explicit culture policies can be a mechanism by which overall decent work and system change may be catalysed and sustainably secured together. Explicit culture change is here set out with respect to operational, institutional and national domains.

Social implications

There needs to be social policy and political support for situating decent work to be part of a broader culture change around care work with the elderly. A culture-oriented change plan as well as new resourcing and structures can together ensure that the nadir of the pandemic experience was a historical turning point towards transformation rather than being just another low point in a recurring cycle.

Originality/value

The situating of systemic decent work progress within a broader culture change, and modelling that culture change, are original contributions.

Details

Working with Older People, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-3666

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 October 2014

Hartwig Pautz

The aim of this paper is to discuss the literature on income generation methods in the context of the “public library ethos”. As public libraries are struggling with cuts to…

1452

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to discuss the literature on income generation methods in the context of the “public library ethos”. As public libraries are struggling with cuts to public spending almost everywhere, the topic of “income generation” to supplement public funding is highly relevant.

Design/methodology/approach

The article is a review of existing literature about income generation methods and public library ethos.

Findings

The literature review reports on a large variety of income generation methods – some of them are country-specific and only applicable in particular political, legal and cultural environments, others could be applied by librarians across borders. The review makes clear that income generation is difficult and requires skill. It also clearly outlines the potential incompatibilities between some income generation methods and the public library ethos.

Practical implications

The article raises important issues with regards to how practitioners should go about funding existing or new services. It becomes clear that librarians need a clear ethical position regarding how services can be provided and under which conditions services cannot be provided on the basis of principled reasoning.

Originality/value

A broad range of literature on income generation and public library ethos from various countries is reviewed and questions regarding how public librarians, on a practical level, can improve their institutions’ funding situation are discussed. This praxis-oriented discussion is connected to important ethical considerations that should come into play when devising an income generation strategy.

Details

Library Review, vol. 63 no. 8/9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0024-2535

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 July 2013

Hartwig Pautz

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the management of internet access in the public library. It stresses how important professional access management is, addresses practical…

1587

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the management of internet access in the public library. It stresses how important professional access management is, addresses practical and ethical challenges and dilemmas with regard to managing access, highlights management strategies and emphasises the librarian's enduring ethical principles in the “internet age”.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a critical literature review.

Findings

First, there is not necessarily a difference between managing internet access and “traditional” stock selection. Second, managing internet access must not be understood as synonymous with limiting the information that is accessible through it. Third, the librarian must be aware of the risks that filters and other “technological fixes” pose to the library and the librarian's principles. Fourth, a number of strategies exist which protect these principles and allow information literacy and user independence to develop.

Practical implications

The paper highlights practical challenges to a librarian's everyday work and provides a discussion that is relevant to public librarians everywhere. It raises awareness of the potentials and pitfalls of a number of internet access management tools and assures the librarian of their important position as an enabler to information access and its use.

Originality/value

The paper raises awareness of important issues pertaining to internet access and its management in the public library. It asks pertinent and timely questions of relevance to the practical work of the librarian.

Details

New Library World, vol. 114 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Keywords

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to take stock and to increase understanding of the opportunities and threats for policing in ten European countries in the Political, Economic, Social, Technological and Legal (PESTL) environment.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is part of the large EU‐funded COMPOSITE project into organisational change. A PESTL analysis was executed to produce the environmental scan that will serve as a platform for further research into change management within the police. The findings are based on structured interviews with police officers of 17 different police forces and knowledgeable externals in ten European countries. The sampling strategy was optimized for representativeness under the binding capacity constraints defined by the COMPOSITE research budget.

Findings

European police forces face a long list of environmental changes that can be grouped in the five PESTL clusters with a common denominator. There is also quite some overlap as to both the importance and nature of the key PESTL trends across the ten countries, suggesting convergence in Europe.

Originality/value

A study of this magnitude has not been seen before in Europe, which brings new insights to the target population of police forces across Europe. Moreover, policing is an interesting field to study from the perspective of organisational change, featuring a high incidence of change in combination with a wide variety of change challenges, such as those related to identity and leadership.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 26 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

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