Mark A. Glaser and Robert B. Denhardt
Citizens generally do not have a good understanding of local government and consequently have difficulty assessing performance objectively. Instead, they permit a variety of…
Abstract
Citizens generally do not have a good understanding of local government and consequently have difficulty assessing performance objectively. Instead, they permit a variety of indicators and sources of information to shape their perceptions of government. This research takes a first step toward an improved understanding of citizen-government relations, especially focusing on how citizens see government. The survey results from over 1800 citizens in Orange County, Florida (including the metropolitan area of Orlando) are analyzed through a series of multiple regression models employing varied assumptions and citizen populations to better understand what drives citizen perceptions of local government performance. To effectively change citizen-government relations, local government must honor citizen values and priorities by demonstrating that it listens to citizens and acts on what it hears.
Kelly Thomson and Joanne Jones
The purpose of this study was to explore how the migration experiences of international accounting professionals were shaped by colonial structures and how, through their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to explore how the migration experiences of international accounting professionals were shaped by colonial structures and how, through their interactions with other professionals, migrants hybridize their professional identities and the profession in Canada.
Design/methodology/approach
A post-colonial analysis of the career narratives of international accounting professionals who migrated to Canada.
Findings
This paper illustrates how explicit and formal requirements for transformation, as well as the more subtle informal demands of employers and clients, require non-Western professionals to transform personal characteristics in ways that make them more “Canadian” or “professional”. Findings show that mimicry takes many forms, with some professionals becoming “consummate mimics”, while others discuss their transition in ways that highlight resistance (“reluctant mimics”) and the demands that systematically frustrate and exclude many non-Western professionals from full participation in the “global” profession in Canada (“frustrated mimics”).
Research limitations/implications
This paper contributes to the existing scholarly literature on the persistence of colonial structures in shaping the experiences of colonized people even as they migrate in search of better opportunities decades after the colonial structures have been formally dismantled. It builds on Bhabha’s (1994) work illustrating that colonial structures are susceptible to change through action and interaction. We hope this study contributes to social change by providing some insights into how mimicry, resistance and hybridization may disrupt the unreflexive enactment of colonial structures that sustain inequality.
Originality/value
This study extends the literature on professional migration using a postcolonial perspective to empirically examine the lived experience of the colonial encounter and professionals transition their professional identities across borders.
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In total, 40% of the deaths of patients with learning disabilities have been classed as avoidable, and there is a known increased risk of harm while inpatients in hospital. This…
Abstract
Purpose
In total, 40% of the deaths of patients with learning disabilities have been classed as avoidable, and there is a known increased risk of harm while inpatients in hospital. This paper aims to look at the current experiences and treatment of people with learning disabilities within a general hospital setting to examine factors that affect their care.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive literature search was conducted of primary research between 2013 and 2019 to evaluate what is known about the quality of care and treatment that learning disabled patients experience within a general hospital.
Findings
The research suggests that people with learning disabilities receive haphazard care in hospital settings, with inconsistent implementation of reasonable adjustments, insufficient arrangements to support family and other carer input, and poor knowledge of learning disability amongst hospital staff.
Originality/value
Previously, reviews focussing on hospital care have mainly focussed on access to health care rather than its delivery. This review has found evidence of significant failings in delivering care to this patient group, identifying a gap of knowledge in this field regardless of policies and laws already in place. There should be stricter monitoring of the Equality Act’s enforcement, along with improved and mandatory training for all general health-care staff. It is crucial that health-care professionals learn from mistakes to improve the care and experiences of learning disabled inpatients.
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Douglas Renwick and Christina M. MacNeil
Within the general human resource management (HRM) literature, the devolution of HR tasks to line managers is often seen as a core element of an HR approach with a series of costs…
Abstract
Within the general human resource management (HRM) literature, the devolution of HR tasks to line managers is often seen as a core element of an HR approach with a series of costs and benefits arising. However, concerns have arisen on the ability and willingness of line managers to carry out HR tasks properly including developing employees in their careers, the demands such changes make on line managers themselves, and how such changes alter their own career patterns. This article maps out a consideration of aspects of career development given the trend to line manager involvement in careers. The implications for employee career development are explored, as are those for line managers and HR professionals.
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Ike‐Elechi Ogba and Rebecca Johnson
Health is becoming an increasingly important issue in the UK as well as the rest of Europe. Emphasis on the importance of healthy eating is ongoing for many reasons, including the…
Abstract
Purpose
Health is becoming an increasingly important issue in the UK as well as the rest of Europe. Emphasis on the importance of healthy eating is ongoing for many reasons, including the growing concern about childhood obesity resulting in the ban of advertising of unhealthy foods to children in the UK in April 2007. However, although legislation has been placed upon the advertising of unhealthy food products, no such restrictions have been placed on the packaging of children's foods despite the influence of packaging on consumer buyer decisions. This paper aims to investigate the effect of packaging on children's product preferences and its ability to influence parents' buyer decision in‐store.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was approached from the parents' rather than the children's perspective. A quantitative approach was adopted in data collection, using a 28 item Likert scaled questionnaire administered to 150 parents, with over 95 percent response rate.
Findings
The study shows that packaging does affect the product preferences of children. Also, children are particularly interested in influencing the purchase of unhealthy foods. However, parents within the study claimed that they did not succumb to their children's requests for the purchase of unhealthy food, which contradicts evidence from previous findings.
Research limitations/implications
The claim by parents that they did not succumb to their children's requests for unhealthy food contradicts findings from previous research. This therefore leads to a recommendation for further studies as social desirability bias may have influenced the outcomes of the findings.
Practical implications
Findings from this study can be applied within the retail and service marketing sector to provide the practitioner with information relevant to decision making on children's influence on parents buyer behavior in‐store. Outcomes of the study are also important when considering the future of children's food marketing and tackling the issue of childhood obesity.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates that there is a relationship between packaging and children product preferences and children's influence on parents' buyer decision in‐store.
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Derek S. Thomson, John R. Kelly and Roy S. Webb
Many organisations are responding to the diminishing stability of their operating environments by developing flexible methods of performing their core function. This creates…
Abstract
Many organisations are responding to the diminishing stability of their operating environments by developing flexible methods of performing their core function. This creates demand for flexible supporting building space. While the architectural problems of providing such space have been solved for many years, its servicing remains problematic. This difficulty is manifested in the rising cost of services alterations necessitated when spaces are changed in use. The current inflexibility of services installation construction has prompted a study of reusable building services components. It is anticipated that this approach will increase services installation adaptability by reducing alteration costs. Focusing on the UK National Health Service, this paper presents a survey of trends in organisational function, their estate implications and the extent to which facilities managers can control or plan estate responses to frequent core function revision. Existing services component reuse practices are reviewed and component and process attributes conducive to disassembly and refurbishment are identified. It is concluded that, while reusable services components will achieve the required services installation adaptability, their technical feasibility and economic viability remain to be determined.
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Huthaifa Al-Hazaima, Mary Low and Umesh Sharma
This paper aims to examine the perceptions of salient stakeholders in Jordan concerning the importance of integrating sustainability education (SE) into the accounting curriculum.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the perceptions of salient stakeholders in Jordan concerning the importance of integrating sustainability education (SE) into the accounting curriculum.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses salient stakeholder theory as a lens and seeks to explore the possible integration of SE into the Jordanian tertiary accounting curriculum. A final sample of 702 salient stakeholders including university accounting educators, accounting students, industry accountants, government representatives and accounting association professional members were used to glean an insight of their views and the extent to which sustainability is present in accounting education.
Findings
Findings indicate that there is a strong belief by these salient stakeholders that there is significant importance for the integration of SE into the accounting curriculum in Jordanian universities. There is concern that the current curriculum does not meet the educational needs of future accountants and business executives from a sustainability perspective.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the research debate on the competencies crisis in accounting education by focusing on the lack of SE in the accounting curriculum. This study draws attention to the need of up-skilling and applied knowledge in this critical area. There are strong viewpoints from the salient stakeholders in this study. They emphasise that a progressive education solution is required and which integrates SE into the accounting curriculum.
Practical implications
The research is useful to accounting educators, professional accounting associations, industry, accounting students and the government. The salient stakeholders in Jordan wish to include SE within the accounting curriculum. This would lead to future accountants and business executives having stronger competencies to respond in a resilient and resourceful manner to changes in the way business is conducted, especially in an area where societal and environmental impacts are highly scrutinised.
Originality/value
This study provides evidence on how salient stakeholders of an emerging economy can influence, provide guidance and leadership in integrating SE in the accounting curriculum. Engaging actively and extensively with research studies such as this allows them to voice their opinions about the importance of sustainability and how their country can better engage in this increasingly important field.
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Jennifer Langworthy, Wendy Clow and Alan Breen
The purpose of this article is to investigate acceptability, dissemination and use of a multidisciplinary audit toolkit to monitor evidence‐based care for acute low back pain and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to investigate acceptability, dissemination and use of a multidisciplinary audit toolkit to monitor evidence‐based care for acute low back pain and to identify barriers to implementation of the RCGP evidence‐based LBP guideline and associated audit process.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was carried out of 707 clinical governance leads (CGLs) and 336 clinical audit leads in English/Welsh Health Authorities, NHS Trusts, Primary Care Groups and Primary Care Trusts. Subsequently, structured telephone interviews with 50 CGLs and 22 CALs in 72 Primary Care Trusts were qualitatively analysed.
Findings
Substantive barriers specific to implementation of the RCGP LBP guideline and associated audit toolkit could not be identified. Issues were raised pertaining to the wider healthcare system, which itself may restrain implementation of evidence‐based health care for LBP sufferers. Qualitative analysis revealed six categories responsible for poor clinical governance. Results suggest that LBP is not a priority area and that without National Service Framework status this is unlikely to change.
Research limitations/implications
Response to the initial survey was only 37 per cent; thus results may not be representative of all relevant UK NHS organisations. It coincided with a particularly busy period of change and ongoing reform, making it difficult to reach relevant personnel. This problem was accentuated by frequent change of persons in the post of clinical governance lead. All of this may have impacted on the response rate. In addition, some organisations/individuals were reluctant to be identified for the purpose of this study.
Originality/value
This study identifies the practical difficulties of delivering the clinical governance agenda, particularly in non‐priority areas, as reported by those responsible for doing so.