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1 – 4 of 4Stephen 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.
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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…
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.
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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…
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.
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Arjan van den Born, Arjen van Witteloostuijn, Melody Barlage, Saraï Sapulete, Ad van den Oord, Sofie Rogiest, Nathalie Vallet, Zdenko Reguli, Michal Vit, Christian Mouhanna, Damien Cassa, Henriette Binder, Vivian Blumenthal, Jochen Christe‐Zeyse, Stefanie Giljohann, Mario Gruschinske, Hartwig Pautz, Susanne Stein‐Müller, Fabio Bisogni, Pietro Costanzo, Trpe Stojanovski, Stojanka Mirceva, Katerina Krstevska, Rade Rajkovcevski, Mila Stamenova, Saskia Bayerl, Kate Horton, Gabriele Jacobs, Theo Jochoms, Gert Vogel, Daniela Andrei, Adriana Baban, Sofia Chirica, Catalina Otoiu, Lucia Ratiu, Claudia Rus, Mihai Varga, Gabriel Vonas, Victoria Alsina, Mila Gascó, Kerry Allen, Kamal Birdi, Kathryn Betteridge, Rebecca Casey, Leslie Graham and László Pólos
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…
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.
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