Anne Eyre and Kate Brady
The aim of this paper is to highlight key themes and issues relating to the recovery phase of disaster. Particular emphasis is given to psychosocial and community dimensions and…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to highlight key themes and issues relating to the recovery phase of disaster. Particular emphasis is given to psychosocial and community dimensions and the lessons identified by and for those working in recovery‐related programmes. The paper starts with a review of the research undertaken as a result of two Winston Churchill Memorial Trust fellowships, and is followed by a discussion of the meaning and application of recovery in relation to emergency management.
Design/methodology/approach
Both Churchill projects shared the common aim of seeking to understand the meaning of psychosocial recovery following disaster from the perspective of those directly involved in community‐based activities. A snowball sampling approach enabled further contacts to develop beyond initial interviewees identified. The following themes informed the topics explored and questions asked: comparative experiences of community impacts of disasters and approaches to psychosocial support strategies; post‐disaster activities that supported the wellbeing of people and communities following major emergencies (and those which did not work so well); and lessons and implications for future post‐disaster recovery agendas.
Findings
The purpose and key principles of psychosocial recovery are highlighted, including the importance of focusing on people, facilitating community engagement and addressing organizational and personal resilience among recovery personnel. The need to plan for and address psychosocial recovery as part of an integrated and holistic approach to emergency management is a key message in this paper and, it is argued, is of relevance to all involved in dealing with disasters: “if there is an emergency to respond to, there is something to recover from”, as Kate Brady wrote in 2010 in Best Practice Psychosocial Recovery following Emergencies.
Social implications
Further research might build on the themes identified here and draw further comparisons across other case studies in terms of the meaning of recovery and what “success” might mean in terms of recovery programmes. In the UK, a longitudinal perspective might also offer researchers opportunity to examine the experiences and lessons associated with psychosocial recovery across those communities affected by the decade of disasters in the 1980s, soon approaching their 30th anniversaries.
Originality/value
Based on primary research, the article reinforces and illustrates key themes and principles in the field of disaster recovery. It focusses on the psychosocial dimension, an aspect sometimes neglected in disaster management. Its messages are of value to both researchers and practitioners within the field of emergency management.
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Hattie Catherine Ann Moyes, Lana MacNaboe and Kate Townsend
This paper aims to understand the current scale of substance misuse in psychiatric intensive care units (PICUs), identify how substance misuse affects members of staff, patients…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to understand the current scale of substance misuse in psychiatric intensive care units (PICUs), identify how substance misuse affects members of staff, patients and the running of wards and explore with staff what resources would be most useful to more effectively manage substance misuse and dual diagnosis on PICUs.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper used a mixed-methods approach, using a quantitative survey to determine the extent of substance use in PICUs and a co-design workshop to understand the impact of substance misuse on PICU wards, staff and patients.
Findings
The estimated rate of substance misuse in PICUs over a 12-month period is 67%, with cannabis the most frequently used substance. Despite the range of problems experienced on PICUs because of substance misuse, the availability of training and resources for staff was mixed.
Research limitations/implications
The findings may not be fully generalisable as research participants were members of a national quality improvement programme, and therefore, may not be representative of all PICUs. Data was collected from clinicians only; if patients were included, they might have provided another perspective on substance misuse on PICUs.
Practical implications
This paper emphasises the importance of substance misuse training for PICU staff to adequately respond to patients who misuse substances, improve the ward environment, staff well-being and patient outcomes.
Originality/value
This paper provides an updated estimation of rates of substance misuse in PICUs over a 12-month period and make suggestions for a training programme that can better support staff to address substance misuse on PICUs.
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Amy-Kate Hurrell, Simon Draycott and Leanne Andrews
Previous research has indicated that helping professionals working with traumatised individuals are susceptible to adverse effects which can be recognised as secondary traumatic…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous research has indicated that helping professionals working with traumatised individuals are susceptible to adverse effects which can be recognised as secondary traumatic stress (STS). The purpose of this paper is to explore STS in police officer’s investigating childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed a cross-sectional, quantitative design. An online questionnaire was completed by 101 Child Abuse Investigation Unit (CAIU) police officers in England and Wales. STS, coping strategies, anxiety, depression and demographic information was collected for all participants.
Findings
It was indicated that increased exposure to CSA, measured by number of interviews in the past six months, was associated with higher levels of STS. Positive coping strategies, negative coping strategies, anxiety and depression all had a strong, positive relationship with STS.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is a first step to understanding STS in CAIU police officers in the England and Wales. This area of research remains under-developed and would benefit from further attention in the future.
Originality/value
This is the first known study of its kind in the UK.
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Richard D. Chenhall and Kate Senior
The purpose of this paper is to improve current evaluation designs for Indigenous Australian residential alcohol and drug treatment centres, by understanding the context of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to improve current evaluation designs for Indigenous Australian residential alcohol and drug treatment centres, by understanding the context of treatment in this modified TC context. The aim of the research is to present an analysis of the key features of treatment associated with four Indigenous Australian alcohol and drug treatment centres, as expressed by staff working in these centres.
Design/methodology/approach
Ethnographic observations were made at each site between 2008 and 2009 with the first author attending treatment groups, education sessions, staff meetings and other events. The first author conducted informal conversational discussions with all programme staff and board members. In addition, 23 staff and 15 board members participated in a semi-structured interview with an emphasis on gaining views on the essential elements of residential alcohol and drug treatment, potential barriers to effective treatment delivery and “what works” in residential treatment.
Findings
A number of key themes emerged, including the importance of the flexibility of programmes to include a wide variety of treatment approaches, the importance of culture (although defined differently) in the delivery of appropriate service, provision of safe spaces that allow for clients and staff interaction, the potential for improvement in the provision of effective client case management, the need to reduce job-related stress through staff professional development and organisational culture change and the need to address the difficulties experienced in the provision of effective aftercare.
Originality/value
Currently, there is very little evidence related to Indigenous Australian approaches to the treatment of alcohol and drug misuse. The paper contributes to the understanding of the key features of treatment delivery, as identified by staff employed in drug and alcohol residential treatment. This understanding is vital so that government agencies can provide appropriate funding to areas of need for treatment services.
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Sharon Anne Mavin, Carole Elliott, Valerie Stead and Jannine Williams
The purpose of this special issue is to extend the Economic and Social Sciences Research Council (ESRC)-funded UK seminar series–Challenging Gendered Media (Mis)Representations of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this special issue is to extend the Economic and Social Sciences Research Council (ESRC)-funded UK seminar series–Challenging Gendered Media (Mis)Representations of Women Professionals and Leaders; and to highlight research into the gendered media constructions of women managers and leaders and outline effective methods and methodologies into diverse media.
Design/methodology/approach
Gendered analysis of television, autobiographies (of Sheryl Sandberg, Karren Brady, Hillary Clinton and Julia Gillard), broadcast news media and media press through critical discourse analysis, thematic analysis, metaphor and computer-aided text analysis software following the format of the Gender Media Monitoring Project (2015) and [critical] ecological framework for advancing social change.
Findings
The papers surface the gendered nature of media constructions of women managers and leaders and offer methods and methodologies for others to follow to interrogate gendered media. Further, the papers discuss – how women’s leadership is glamourized, fetishized and sexualized; the embodiment of leadership for women; how popular culture can subvert the dominant gaze; how women use agency and how powerful gendered norms shape perceptions, discourses and norms and how these are resisted, repudiated and represented.
Practical implications
The papers focus upon how the media constructs women managers and leaders and offer implications of how media influences and is influenced by practice. There are recommendations provided as to how the media could itself be organized differently to reflect diverse audiences, and what can be done to challenge gendered media.
Social implications
Challenging gendered media representations of women managers and leaders is critical to social justice and equality for women in management and leadership.
Originality/value
This is an invited Special Issue comprising inaugural collection of research through which we get to “see” women and leaders and the gendered media gaze and to learn from research into popular culture through analysis of television, autobiographies and media press.
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Ansie Elizabeth Kitching, Robert Tubb Carstens and Petra Engelbrecht
The transition from primary school to secondary school is viewed globally as a crucial period in students' lives and a challenging transition can have both short-term and…
Abstract
The transition from primary school to secondary school is viewed globally as a crucial period in students' lives and a challenging transition can have both short-term and long-term consequences for the wellbeing of students. Despite primary-secondary transition being so important, it is a neglected area of research in general in most countries including South Africa. By smoothing the transition from primary to secondary school challenges that are related to students' disengagement with education, school failure (school dropout), and continued social inequality can be addressed. In this chapter, the value of a transition intervention based on peer mentoring to ease the transition of students in five primary schools in an area of the country where the context is characterized by socioeconomic challenges is discussed. A lack of resources and funding make it difficult to provide individual support to all these students. In response to this challenge, a peer-mentoring approach has been applied to develop an intervention aimed at preparing the students with insight into the challenges that awaits them. The intervention encompasses a workshop attended by a representative group of 20 Grade 7 students, selected based on the leadership skills as demonstrated in their interactions with adults and peers. Following the workshop, they are given the opportunity to give feedback to their Grade 7 peers and also avail themselves for individual discussions with their peers. In this chapter, we critically reflect on the value of this peer-mentored approach for socioeconomically challenged school contexts.
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Kate L. Reynolds and Lloyd C. Harris
Proposes responding to earlier calls for further research into “fraudulent” or “feigned” customer complaints, and providing insights which explore and describe the motivations and…
Abstract
Purpose
Proposes responding to earlier calls for further research into “fraudulent” or “feigned” customer complaints, and providing insights which explore and describe the motivations and forms of such deliberate “illegitimate” customer complaints.
Design/methodology/approach
Critical incident technique was utilized in analyzing 104 interviews with customers who had knowingly made an illegitimate complaint within the six months prior to the interview. Data collection stopped at the point of theoretical saturation and was subsequently analyzed according to the coding procedures advocated by Strauss and Corbin (open, axial and selective coding).
Findings
Two key insights emerged from data analysis. First, coding procedures revealed four distinct forms of customer complainants. These are labeled; “one‐off complainants”, “opportunistic complainants”, “conditioned complainants”, and “professional complainants”. Second, six main motives for articulating fraudulent complaints were uncovered during data analysis. These are termed; “freeloaders”, “fraudulent returners”, “fault transferors”, “solitary ego gains”, “peer‐induced esteem seekers”, and “disruptive gains”.
Research limitations/implications
The study is constrained by its exploratory design and qualitative methods employed. Subsequently, future studies could employ survey methods to improve empirical generalizability. Future studies could adopt a more inclusive approach and incorporate insights from employees, managers, and other relevant actors within service encounters.
Practical implications
Practical implications highlighted by the study include a need for businesses to examine and, in many cases, reevaluate their personnel training, customer complaint and service recovery procedures. Furthermore, managers may wish to enforce mechanisms wherein customer complaints are monitored and tracked in a manner that assists in the identification and challenging of re‐offending fraudulent complainers.
Originality/value
The study constitutes the first systematic attempt to explore and describe illegitimate customer complaining behaviors.
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Rebekah Russell–Bennett, Rory Mulcahy, Kate Letheren, Ryan McAndrew and Uwe Dulleck
A transformative service aims to improve wellbeing; however, current approaches have an implicit assumption that all wellbeing dimensions are equal and more dimensions led to…
Abstract
Purpose
A transformative service aims to improve wellbeing; however, current approaches have an implicit assumption that all wellbeing dimensions are equal and more dimensions led to higher wellbeing. The purpose of this paper is to present evidence for a new framework that identifies the paradox of competing wellbeing dimensions for both the individual and others in society – the transformative service paradox (TSP).
Design/methodology/approach
Data is drawn from a mixed-method approach using qualitative (interviews) and quantitative data (lab experiment) in an electricity service context. The first study involves 45 household interviews (n = 118) and deals with the nature of trade-offs at the individual level to establish the concept of the TSP. The second study uses a behavioral economics laboratory experiment (n = 110) to test the self vs. other nature of the trade-off in day-to-day use of electricity.
Findings
The interviews and experiment identified that temporal (now vs. future) and beneficiary-level factors explain why individuals make wellbeing trade-offs for the transformative service of electricity. The laboratory experiment showed that when the future implication of the trade-off is made salient, consumers are more willing to forego physical wellbeing for environmental wellbeing, whereas when the “now” implication is more salient consumers forego financial wellbeing for physical wellbeing.
Originality/value
This research introduces the term “Transformative Service Paradox” and identifies two factors that explain why consumers make wellbeing trade-offs at the individual level and at the societal level; temporal (now vs. future) and wellbeing beneficiary.
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Janet R. McColl-Kennedy, Paul Patterson, Michael K. Brady, Lilliemay Cheung and Doan Nguyen
The purpose of this paper is to explicate professionals’ giving backstory, identifying what motivates and hinders professionals’ undertaking of pro bono service activities…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explicate professionals’ giving backstory, identifying what motivates and hinders professionals’ undertaking of pro bono service activities. Examples are provided of different pro bono giving styles, as professionals struggle to resolve inter-institutional tensions, thus addressing this little understood yet vital form of giving, and meeting an important research priority.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a discovery-oriented grounded theory approach, this paper draws on narratives from interviews with 31 professionals to explicate, from the professional’s point of view, the backstory of pro bono service.
Findings
The authors provide an integrative institutional logics-based framework for understanding the backstory to professionals’ giving. Three distinct pro bono giving styles are revealed: first, an individual logic (self-centric), an “I” logic; second, an organizational logic (organization-centric), “We” logic; and third, a societal “All” logic (where the greater good to society in general is the dominant logic). The paper concludes with recommendations for how professionals and professional service firms (PSFs) can better align their pro bono giving styles with non-paying not-for-profit clients for multi-party benefit.
Originality/value
The originality of this research lies in addressing an important yet little understood form of giving through delving into the backstory to pro bono service. First, the paper theorizes the characteristics of a formerly unarticulated form of giving, distinguishing it from individual-to-individual close consumer gifting, individual to organizational charitable giving, sponsorship, and volunteering. Second, the different inter-institutional logics of pro bono giving are identified, with three main pro bono giving styles uncovered. Third, the authors link professional services theory, theoretical perspectives from giving, and institutional logics theory to develop an integrated framework to explain service professionals’ pro bono activities. Furthermore, a compelling agenda for future research is provided to guide future work.