Paul Lewis and Kate Bell
The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature, causes and consequences of the UK’s productivity problems and whether these may be addressed through the new technologies of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature, causes and consequences of the UK’s productivity problems and whether these may be addressed through the new technologies of artificial intelligence (AI).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews the literature on productivity to explain how it relates to earnings within different theoretical frameworks, advocating a “power over rents” framework as most realistic. It explains the UK’s twin productivity problems and reviews their potential causes, critically assessing the capacity for new technologies of AI to address them. It highlights the enduring importance of distribution and the design of work to improving the UK’s productivity.
Findings
The authors find that the UK’s productivity problems will not be solved by AI technologies due to technical and socio-technical challenges which will require the significant re-design of work. The authors highlight the importance of aggregate demand, which has been inhibited by the shifting distribution of income towards capital and rising inequality of earnings. These issues suggest an important role for trade unions and a renewal of the institutions of employment regulation and collective bargaining. While reversing recent trends raises considerable challenges, the authors observe renewed interest in trade unions from previously hostile thinktanks and international institutions including the IMF and OECD.
Originality/value
This paper advocates adopting a “power over rents” theoretical framework to understanding productivity and the distribution of gains. This provides a clear rationale for the role of trade unions, employment regulation and collective bargaining in improving distributional outcomes, raising firm-level productivity and achieving real productivity growth at an aggregate level.
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Kate Bell, Tony Kinder and Guro Huby
Rhetoric and reality lead separate lives when it comes to integrating health and social services in Scotland, and it is making planning and implementation difficult for…
Abstract
Rhetoric and reality lead separate lives when it comes to integrating health and social services in Scotland, and it is making planning and implementation difficult for practitioners of integration. This paper is a collaboration between a practitioner and two academics who teach, research and write about integration. It explores the views of other integration practitioners about the policy, language and nature of integration, and the issues practitioners are currently grappling with, especially how the policy language of ‘integration’ fails to connect with integration in practice. It appears that ‘integration’ has less to do with broad policy aspirations and principles of service (re)organisation, than with the specific aims, objectives and outcomes of individual projects delivered in very specific circumstances. Acknowledging the localisation of integration, and allowing the time for productive problem solving which can generate a new language, ought to be essential elements of integration.
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Ailsa Cook, John Harries and Guro Huby
The purpose of this paper is to consider how postgraduate education can contribute to the effective integration of health and social care through supporting public service…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider how postgraduate education can contribute to the effective integration of health and social care through supporting public service managers to develop the skills required for collaborative working.
Design/methodology/approach
Review of documentation from ten years of delivery of a part-time postgraduate programme for health and social care managers, critical reflection on the findings in light of relevant literature.
Findings
The health and social care managers participating in this postgraduate programme report working across complex, shifting and hidden boundaries. Effective education for integration should: ground learning in experience; develop a shared language; be inter-professional and co-produced; and support skill development.
Originality/value
This paper addresses a gap in the literature relating to the educational and development needs of health and social care managers leading collaborative working.
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The purpose of this paper is to look back on 150 years of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and reflect on the recent challenges to organised labour.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to look back on 150 years of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and reflect on the recent challenges to organised labour.
Design/methodology/approach
Places unions in their current context and discusses how they have responded to the challenge of declining membership.
Findings
With declining membership levels and the lack of a “silver bullet” solution, unions continue to face many challenges, although there is some light at the end of the organising tunnel.
Originality/value
This paper introduces the special issue which reflects on 150 years of the TUC.
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Multi-academy trusts (MATs) are privatised, corporatised multi-school organisations led by chief executive officers (CEOs) whose role as system leaders requires them to structure…
Abstract
Multi-academy trusts (MATs) are privatised, corporatised multi-school organisations led by chief executive officers (CEOs) whose role as system leaders requires them to structure school leaders as policy actors. To illustrate the impact this can have on school leaders, an interview with a special educational needs and disabilities coordinator (SENDco) for a secondary school which is part of a MAT is analysed. This individual described a complex role requiring specialist skills and knowledge but also disclosed that she was not consulted on policy decisions which she had strong reservations about regarding their equity and inclusivity. This occurs because of the structure of the MAT. A typology for thinking about policy work and policy actors in schools set out by Ball et al. (2011) is used to show that the structure of the MAT can effectively bar school policy actors like the SENDco from being a ‘policy entrepreneur’ able to advocate for and interpret policy, to being a mere ‘receiver’ of policy. The result is that such an individual can become critically misaligned with their institution. In response to this mis-alignment, and without the outlet to be a vocal policy ‘critic’, the SENDco chooses to align herself professionally and personally with the local authority based on a shared history, culture and philosophy. This effectively renders the SENDco a ‘policy outsider’ within their own employing organisation, in effect stuck between two different worlds.
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Katherine J. C. Sang and Steven Glasgow
This chapter explores the potential for the classroom to be a space for activism and hope within the contemporary business school. Drawing on the extant literature, a reflexive…
Abstract
This chapter explores the potential for the classroom to be a space for activism and hope within the contemporary business school. Drawing on the extant literature, a reflexive account of our own teaching and learning practice, and a small number of interviews with academics using feminist material in their teaching in business schools, we explore the challenges, opportunities and joys experienced in the feminist classroom. We suggest that engaging in feminist teaching practice and theory can offer an opportunity for academics to engage in the critical management studies practice which is often said to be lacking within management research. We begin by setting out the extant positioning of Critical Management Studies, moving to an analysis of the educational context. Interwoven through this are our own perspectives. Our own reflections do not reveal the identities of students.
Simon Ofori Ametepey, Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa and Wellington Didibhuku Thwala
The Brundtland Commission report has been widely cited in debates about sustainable development (SD), but disagreements still exist about what SD is and the role or importance of…
Abstract
The Brundtland Commission report has been widely cited in debates about sustainable development (SD), but disagreements still exist about what SD is and the role or importance of ecology are central to the debate. SD is a movement that seeks to address social and economic issues to meet the needs of the entire community through alternative methods of development. The Kyoto Protocol, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), World Summit on Sustainable Development, and Rio+20 have all been significant initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This book focused on the development of sustainable infrastructure, which is linked to seven of the recently established Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Researchers emphasized the importance of developing an objective definition of SD. The most used definition of SD is proposed in the World Conference on Environment and Development (WCED) report, which emphasizes harmony among the three pillars: social, ecological, and economic. However, Lehtonen (2004) contends that separating the terms ‘social’ and ‘economic’ will isolate economic problems from their larger social context. This SD model recognizes that economic activities must be carried out for the benefit of society and that initiatives affecting humanity’s social context must be completed within ecological bounds. Mebratu (1998) classified SD definitions and origins into three categories: functional, conceptual, and intellectual. Hopwood et al. (2005) demonstrated the many ecological, social, and economic implications of SD. O’Riordan (1988) and Robinson (2004) define sustainability as an integral concept with a strong emphasis on nature. SD is a conservationist approach to natural resource allocation that focuses on technology to address pollution and resource depletion issues. To achieve development, current institutions must be transformed, with an emphasis on meeting people’s wants and interests in a way that is consistent with economic, equitable, and environmental concerns. It is frequently used to describe outdated economic development that disregards the environment. SD is viewed differently by different authors. Mitcham (1995) discovered ‘investigated or creative ambiguity’ in the term, which is a strength, not a flaw. O’Riordan (1988) admitted that the ambiguity surrounding the concept’s definition has sparked debate. Dresner (2008) demonstrated that the confusion surrounding SD does not render it ineffective. The Forum for the Future’s 5-capitals model and the triple bottom line (TBL) model are two examples of SD models that promote SD, but technological and scientific progress has been slow. The definition of SD is ambiguous, with various perspectives and insights from various authors. This section examined the body of knowledge on sustainability and its underlying concepts and principles, with references and a discussion of the TBL.
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This article shares how providing teacher candidates with experiences in a predominantly black elementary school for their clinical experiences highlighted a need to recognize…
Abstract
Purpose
This article shares how providing teacher candidates with experiences in a predominantly black elementary school for their clinical experiences highlighted a need to recognize, acknowledge and address anti-blackness in teacher candidates’ clinical courses. As well as, a need to emphasize the brilliance and assets of black students. Additionally, this article shares ways in which those involved in the work of school-university or professional development school (PDS) partnerships can incorporate practices that address anti-blackness in clinical practice.
Design/methodology/approach
Conceptual paper sharing experiences addressing anti-blackness in school-university partnerships.
Findings
National Association of Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) recently revised their Nine Essentials to include this revised version of Essential 1: A comprehensive mission which calls for the advancement of equity, antiracism and social justice within and among schools, colleges/universities and their respective community and professional partners. The work that the author presents in this article around preparing teacher candidates to address anti-blackness fits into the call of Essential 1 because when anti-blackness is addressed equity, antiracism and social justice can be part of the educational experiences of black children. This article shares how providing teacher candidates experiences in a predominantly black elementary school for their clinical experiences highlighted a need to recognize, acknowledge and address anti-blackness in teacher candidates’ clinical practice. As well as, a need to emphasize the brilliance and assets of black students. Additionally, this article shares ways in which those involved in the work of school-university or PDS partnerships can incorporate practices that address anti-blackness in clinical courses.
Originality/value
The author believes that this manuscript is appropriate for publication because it addresses a necessary shift that must happen in clinical practice by recognizing, acknowledging and addressing anti-blackness, as well as making sure teacher candidates are prepared to teach black students. This manuscript has not been published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. The author has no conflicts of interest to disclose.
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The purpose of this article is to explore the understanding and interpretation of evidence‐based practice among Sure Start centre managers.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to explore the understanding and interpretation of evidence‐based practice among Sure Start centre managers.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi‐structured interviews were carried out with Children's Centre managers from one London borough.
Findings
The interviews highlighted the varied and, for some limited, view of evidence‐based practice. For many managers their understanding was confined to evidence generated locally rather than perceiving a role for externally‐generated evidence to support effective practice. Managers also highlighted the constraints they face in taking what some perceive to be an evidence‐based approach.
Originality/value
Although Sure Start Children's Centres are one of the main sites for delivering evidence‐based interventions to improve outcomes for young children and families in the UK, and despite Government announcements promoting the use of evidence‐based practice in these settings, little is known about the knowledge and interpretation of managers on this issue or the difficulties of translating ideas into practice on the ground. Thus, there is a danger that some of the potential benefits of evidence‐based practice may be lost if this disconnect between policy and practice is not addressed.
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Richard Mayer, Kate Job and Nick Ellis
The last decade has seen much soul‐searching within the Marketing Academy as it struggles to address what Brown has described as the discipline’s “mid‐life crisis”. Magee terms…
Abstract
The last decade has seen much soul‐searching within the Marketing Academy as it struggles to address what Brown has described as the discipline’s “mid‐life crisis”. Magee terms this tendency “metanoia” and observes that no less a work than “Dante’s Inferno begins with lines that refer to it”. He notes how people reaching this point often “turn in on themselves, and perhaps turn towards religion”. It is with this “metanoid” perspective on marketing theory that the authors of this piece present two possible paths to epistemological paradise; one route representing an inward re‐evaluation and the other more of an outward exploration. Two of the authors combine to take an axiomatic approach to rediscovering the celestial citadel, whereas the third has forsaken the fundamentalist fortress. In his, the second, sermon Brother Nick implores you to reject the foregoing calls to get back to basics, and instead, to embrace a more contemporary, critical orientation to “dat ole time marketing religion”.