Kayleigh M. Nelson, Aimee I. McKinnon, Angela Farr, Jaynie Y. Rance and Ceri J. Phillips
The purpose of this paper is to present an evaluation of a collaborative commissioning approach to improve quality and experience and reduce cost within integrated health and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present an evaluation of a collaborative commissioning approach to improve quality and experience and reduce cost within integrated health and social care.
Design/methodology/approach
A multi-method approach is used involving qualitative interviews, documentary analysis and non-participant observation.
Findings
The findings suggest that the approach provides a suitable framework for the collaborative commissioning of integrated health and social care services.
Research limitations/implications
Further research is now needed to provide a definitive evaluation of its value outside of Wales.
Practical implications
With the significant scrutiny on health systems, the approach demonstrates effectiveness in securing quality improvements, achievement of recognised care standards and patient outcomes, while providing scope for financial gains and a goal for stakeholders to engage in effective communication.
Originality/value
This research presents an innovative method for collaborative commissioning and reveals activities that appear to contribute to more effective commissioning processes.
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C. Ken Weidner II and Lisa A.T. Nelson
Given the substantial resources of the United States, the failure of the American federal response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been both tragic and avoidable. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the substantial resources of the United States, the failure of the American federal response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been both tragic and avoidable. The authors frame this response as an artifact of power-addiction among administration officials and examine the US federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of maladaptive denial by government officials, including President Trump.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use qualitative research methods for this study by analyzing key events, public statements by administration officials from multiple credible media reports and US federal government websites. The authors analyzed these data using Weidner and Purohit's (2009) model describing maladaptive denial in organizations and power-addiction among leaders.
Findings
The authors' analysis identifies maladaptive denial – and the concomitant power-addiction – as significantly contributing to the Trump administration's failed response to COVID-19. Maladaptive denial and power-addiction characterized Trump as a candidate and for the three years of his presidency preceding the COVID-19 crisis. Whatever normative “guardrails” or checks and balances existed in the American system to restrict the administration's behavior before the crisis were ill-equipped to significantly prevent or alter the failed federal response to the pandemic.
Originality/value
The article applies the model of maladaptive denial in organizations (Weidner and Purohit, 2009) to the public sector, and explores the lengths to which power-addicted leaders and regimes can violate the public's trust in institutions in a crisis, even in the US, a liberal democracy characterized by freedom of political expression. While organizations and change initiatives may fail for a variety of reasons, this case revealed the extent to which maladaptive denial can permeate a government – or any organization – and its response to a crisis.
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Laura Abbott and Kelly Lockwood
Around 7% of the female prison population are pregnant (Albertson, O'Keeffe, Lessing-Turner, Burke & Renfrew, 2014; Kennedy, Marshall, Parkinson, Delap, & Abbott, 2016; Prison…
Abstract
Around 7% of the female prison population are pregnant (Albertson, O'Keeffe, Lessing-Turner, Burke & Renfrew, 2014; Kennedy, Marshall, Parkinson, Delap, & Abbott, 2016; Prison Reform Trust, 2019). However, although recent years have witnessed growing academic interest in relation to mothering and imprisonment, limited attention has been paid to exploring the experiences of pregnancy for women serving a custodial sentence. Combining health and criminological research, this chapter offers a unique perspective of women's accounts of pregnancy and imprisonment, highlighting the specific challenges faced by pregnant women in negotiating the prison environment, whilst also illustrating the adaptive strategies adopted to cope with pregnancy and new motherhood in the context of imprisonment.
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This article presents new evidence on anticompetitive practices in the franchise sector. Drawing from a corpus of Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs) filed by 3,716 franchise…
Abstract
This article presents new evidence on anticompetitive practices in the franchise sector. Drawing from a corpus of Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs) filed by 3,716 franchise brands in years 2011–2023 (partial), I report new information on franchise brands' use of interfirm nonsolicitation (“no poach”) clauses barring recruitment between firms, no hire clauses barring employment, and franchisor requirements that franchisees use employee noncompete clauses barring workers from joining competitors. Regulatory actions that restricted the enforceability of anticompetitive clauses began to appear in FDDs in 2018. While nonsolicitation and no hire clauses have declined in use, the use of noncompetes remained stable over time. While prior evidence on anticompetitive practices largely draws from individual complaints, survey data, and limited hand-coded samples, this article spotlights new methods for finding barriers to worker mobility in large, unstructured text corpora.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which external subject-specific mentoring can influence the professional identity construction of early career physics teachers…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which external subject-specific mentoring can influence the professional identity construction of early career physics teachers (ECPT).
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology evolved from the evaluation of a mentoring project, involving semi-structured interviews with a number of early career teachers. Responses from 18 teachers, which related to the impact of the mentoring relationship on their professional identity development, were subject to a process of iterative thematic coding in the context of interpretative repertoires via a collaborative “developmental dialogue” between the managers of the mentoring project and its external evaluators.
Findings
The analysis of participants’ responses suggested that the nature of the relationship between early career teacher and mentor played a role in the emergence, or suppression, of their professional identities as physics teachers at the start of their teaching careers. In some cases, mentoring provision was little short of a “lifeline” for the teachers.
Practical implications
Mentors need the opportunity to develop their professional practice and identity through contact with the community of teacher educators. The practice of training, mentoring and coaching teachers should be valued at least as much as teaching itself and should be recognised as its own professional practice.
Originality/value
This study builds on a number of well-established pieces of research and concepts relating to the challenges facing early career teachers and their professional identity construction. It provides insight into the challenges facing ECPTs specifically, which includes the risk of isolation and unrealistic expectations from colleagues. It not only confirms the merits of external mentoring, but also demonstrates the significant responsibility, which comes with the mentor’s role and the negative impact on teachers’ professional identity construction caused by deficiencies in mentoring.