Lisa O' Farrell, Patricia Gilheaney and Rosemary Smyth
This paper aims to describe the establishment and evolution of Ireland's Mental Health Commission including its functions, strategic objectives and the challenges encountered.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the establishment and evolution of Ireland's Mental Health Commission including its functions, strategic objectives and the challenges encountered.
Design/methodology/approach
This case study is based on an analysis of the outputs of the organisation to date, legislative reviews, and available evidence on the contributions of the organisation to the development of services.
Findings
The organisation has a breadth of responsibilities. It has administered reviews of 9,896 involuntary admissions to inpatient units to date since its inception. It has regulatory and enforcement powers in terms of the licensing of inpatient mental health facilities in Ireland. It has issued numerous codes of practice and rules for the guidance of those working across services. It also has an independent Inspectorate arm that inspects the quality of mental health services annually.
Research limitations/implications
There is a risk of potential bias given the authors work for the organisation, however, attempts have been made to support observations with evidence from external sources.
Practical implications
The organisation's work has been seminal in enhancing the protection of the human rights of persons accessing mental health services. Regulatory measures have also led to changes in the behaviour of service providers, but it has proven to be more challenging to change attitudes and culture within services.
Social implications
The Commission has contributed to the reform agenda by focusing greater attention on rights‐based, participatory and recovery‐oriented models of care provision.
Originality/value
This paper documents the work of the Mental Health Commission and highlights the impact changes have had both for those using services and those providing them.
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Keywords
In 2010, Vintage Radio, a community radio station in Birkenhead set up and run entirely by older people for older people, received funding from communications charity Media Trust…
Abstract
Purpose
In 2010, Vintage Radio, a community radio station in Birkenhead set up and run entirely by older people for older people, received funding from communications charity Media Trust as part of the Community Voices scheme – a nationwide campaign that aims to support disadvantaged and isolated communities to get their stories told. The purpose of this paper is to record and document the creation and development of Vintage Radio and its outcomes to date. The paper seeks to outline the importance of inspiring, engaging, and supporting older communities to get their voices heard through digital media.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered via interviews with listeners, members, and volunteers from Vintage Radio via phone and e‐mail to find out about their involvement with the station and what it means to them. Quotes were recorded and included in this paper. Information was also gathered from the Vintage Radio web site.
Findings
The findings demonstrate that Vintage Radio has made a significant difference to the local community in a number of ways. A greater number of older volunteers have learned new digital and technical skills and this has improved the quality of the station's programming. Participants have forged new friendships and enabled other older people to overcome the sense of invisibility they sometimes suffer from. The radio station has reached out to those in care homes giving isolated and lonely residents a sense of belonging.
Research limitations/implications
Owing to geographical distance, face‐to‐face interviews are not possible.
Originality/value
This paper demonstrates how important it is to inspire, engage, and support older communities to get their voices heard through digital media and aims to encourage further similar activity in the UK.
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Lisa O’Farrell, Michael Byrne and Linda Moore
Regulation is increasingly being used in healthcare to influence the behaviour of healthcare organisations. Since 2006, a key change in Ireland has been the introduction of…
Abstract
Purpose
Regulation is increasingly being used in healthcare to influence the behaviour of healthcare organisations. Since 2006, a key change in Ireland has been the introduction of national regulatory standards in mental health services under new legislation. Little empirical evidence, however, exists on the effects of regulation. The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceived impact of standards at patient level as well as on professional and organisational practice in services.
Design/methodology/approach
An anonymous online survey methodology using a self-devised questionnaire instrument was employed. A national cohort of service managers and multi-disciplinary mental health professionals were asked their views on the introduction of standards.
Findings
A total of 185 individuals responded to the survey, yielding a response rate of 38 per cent. Substantial improvements were reported to have taken place across services with the most notable changes being improved safeguarding of patients’ rights and increased safety of care. Additionally, major changes were reported in professional working with new topics being discussed at management meetings and new functions being incorporated into certain professionals’ roles.
Practical implications
Standards can change behaviour at several levels across healthcare organisations, although professional groups differ in their views on the degree of this impact.
Originality value
To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first evaluation of the impact of national regulatory standards in healthcare in Ireland. This study lends support to the use of standards to enhance patient rights and the safety of services. The results provide useful direction for policy makers, regulators, and service providers.
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Alfred Austin Farrell, James Ashton, Witness Mapanga, Maureen Joffe, Nombulelo Chitha, Mags Beksinska, Wezile Chitha, Ashraf Coovadia, Clare L. Cutland, Robin L. Drennan, Kathleen Kahn, Lizette L. Koekemoer, Lisa K. Micklesfield, Jacqui Miot, Julian Naidoo, Maria Papathanasopoulos, Warrick Sive, Jenni Smit, Stephen M. Tollman, Martin G. Veller, Lisa J. Ware, Jeffrey Wing and Shane A. Norris
This study aims to ascertain the personal characteristics of a group of successful academic entrepreneurs in a South African university enterprise and the prevalent barriers and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to ascertain the personal characteristics of a group of successful academic entrepreneurs in a South African university enterprise and the prevalent barriers and enablers to their entrepreneurial endeavour.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a Delphi process to identify and rank the characteristics, enablers, barriers and behaviours of entrepreneurial academics, with a Nominal Group Technique applied to establish challenges they encounter managing their enterprise and to propose solutions.
Findings
Perseverance, resilience and innovation are critical personal characteristics, while collaborative networks, efficient research infrastructure and established research competence are essential for success. The university’s support for entrepreneurship is a significant enabler, with unnecessary bureaucracy and poor access to project and general enterprise funding an impediment. Successful academic entrepreneurs have strong leadership, and effective management and communication skills.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation is the small study participant group drawn from a single university enterprise, which complicates generalisability. The study supported the use of Krueger’s (2009) entrepreneurial intentions model for low- and middle-income country (LMIC) academic entrepreneur investigation but proposed the inclusion of mitigators to entrepreneurial activation to recognise contextual deficiencies and challenges.
Practical implications
Skills-deficient LMIC universities should extensively and directly support their entrepreneurial academics to overcome their contextual deficiencies and challenging environment.
Originality/value
This study contributes to addressing the paucity of academic entrepreneur research in LMIC contexts by identifying LMIC-specific factors that inhibit the entrepreneur’s movement from entrepreneurial intention to entrepreneurial action.
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Eric Beckman, Tianyu Pan, Miranda Kitterlin and Lisa Cain
The purpose of this study is to identify the motivating factors that influence repeat participation among university student volunteers at a world-renowned food festival. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify the motivating factors that influence repeat participation among university student volunteers at a world-renowned food festival. The direct and indirection relationship (through attitude toward volunteering) was tested. Additionally, the moderating role of class standing between student volunteers' motivations, attitudes and repeat volunteer intention was assessed.
Design/methodology/approach
Researchers applied a quantitative methodology to data collected after the festival volunteering experience. The research team collected 205 useable surveys from university student volunteers at the Food Network and Cooking Channel South Beach Wine and Food Festival (SOBEWFF®). Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships among volunteer motivations, attitude toward volunteering and intention to continue volunteering. Lastly, a multiple-group analysis was applied to test the moderating role of class standing.
Findings
The results showed the motivating factors purposive, personal enrichment and family traditions were significant in predicting attitude toward volunteering. These motivations did not significantly affect intention to continue volunteering; thus researchers found only an indirect relationship (through attitude toward volunteering) between volunteering motivations and intention to continue volunteering. Additionally, a positive attitude toward volunteering resulted in an intention to continue volunteering. Lastly, testing the moderating role of class standing revealed significant results on three pathways, indicating that students are motivated to volunteer differently based upon class standing (freshman through junior vs. senior, graduate).
Research limitations/implications
The data were collected prior to COVID-19, and the ways in which COVID-19 has impacted the events industry and the scape of future events are yet to be determined.
Practical implications
Festival organizers and managers should appeal to different motivations of potential student volunteers depending on their class standing. For example, results of the moderator “class standing” indicated that the relationship between personal enrichment motivation and attitude toward volunteering was strongest and significant among freshmen, sophomores and juniors, but insignificant among seniors and graduate students. Thus, freshmen through juniors are more highly motivated to obtain practical experiences, and this motivation results in a positive attitude toward volunteering.
Originality/value
This study tests the moderating role of class standing to help predict intention to continue volunteering at a special event. The research is further unique by extending an understanding of the validity and reliability of the special events volunteer motivations scale.
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This paper aims to explore the possible existence of the repeat phenomenon in police motor vehicle stops.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the possible existence of the repeat phenomenon in police motor vehicle stops.
Design/methodology/approach
The study involved a mid‐western police department. Data were collected from contact cards completed by police officers making motor vehicle stops between July 1, 2001 and December 31, 2001. Contact cards included information concerning the stop itself, driver, passengers, motor vehicle, and the officer making the stop. Individual identifiers of police officers allowed for an analysis of individual officer performance concerning motor vehicle stops. A Poisson process and logistic regression were used in the analysis.
Findings
Analyses revealed that motor vehicle stops are not randomly distributed across police officers and, in fact, a significant concentration of motor vehicle stops among few officers existed. Situational variables such as reason for the stop and time of the stop were significant predictors of high‐performing officers.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of the results include an immeasurable bias due to officers' discretion in completing contact cards for every motor vehicle stop, lack of external validity due to the specific circumstances surrounding the data collection, and the ‘time window effect’. Future research should focus on neighborhood level data collection, ‘hot spots’ for motor vehicle stops, the existence of high‐performing (repeat) officers in field (pedestrian) stops, potential differences in racial disparity of motor vehicle stops across high‐ and low‐performing officers.
Practical implications
The results of this study may offer insights into personnel and deployment practices based on officer performance.
Originality/value
This study is one of few on officer performance that included individual identifiers of police officers. This unique aspect of the data allowed for the analysis of a little‐researched area: officer productivity in motor vehicle stops.
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Tucker S. McGrimmon and Lisa M. Dilks
The purpose is to theorize and empirically estimate the impact of the gendered nature of the offender-victim dyad and crime type on time to arrest.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose is to theorize and empirically estimate the impact of the gendered nature of the offender-victim dyad and crime type on time to arrest.
Methodology/Approach
Predictions regarding the impact of gendered offender-victim dyads and crime type on time to arrest are constructed by extending role congruity theory and tested using data from the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System across five crime types using dyadic-based event history methods.
Findings
The authors find strong empirical support that role expectations derived from the gender composition of offender-victim dyads and the masculinity of the crime type affect time to clearance.
Originality/Value
This research is the first to theorize and empirically test the relative impact of role congruency and the relational nature of the offender-victim dyad in the adjudication process. Furthermore, the research shows that the construction of “normal crime” can be enhanced by applying a gendered and relational approach, based on social psychological theory, which is predictive of crime clearance.
Research limitations/Implications
Future research is required to validate the results for crimes where law enforcement has less discretion and are feminine typed.
Social Implications
The results imply that by accounting for the expectations generated by gender roles when applied to offender-victim dyads a casual mechanism is established that better organizes previously inconsistent results with respect to the impact of gender on time to clearance. Thus, the authors' utilization of role congruity theory of gender provides a more consistent explanation for inequalities in time to clearance that may be fruitful for evaluating other steps in the adjudication process.