This piece focuses on the microprocesses of decisions. It distills the complex cognitive processes inherent in decision making into pragmatic utility by articulating several…
Abstract
This piece focuses on the microprocesses of decisions. It distills the complex cognitive processes inherent in decision making into pragmatic utility by articulating several “games”. These games, as they are described in the article, routinely undermine the best‐intentioned proposals, initiatives, strategies and good ideas as they are played in ways that elude most participants. The cognitive decision processes (dubbed “games” here) are described as: Framing; Criteria setting; Misuse of analogy; Misuse of rationality; and Commitment building. The key purpose of the article is to distill complex processes into manageable dialect to improve awareness. Argues that awareness and understanding of these processes is essential to achieve influence in decision making, to avoid the pitfalls of fuzzy choice, and to promote mastery over the decision‐making process.
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Karen D. W. Patterson, Michelle Arthur and Marvin Washington
Rigid environments, those with exceptionally strong cultural and traditional barriers to change, present unique challenges for institutional entrepreneurs attempting to initiate…
Abstract
Rigid environments, those with exceptionally strong cultural and traditional barriers to change, present unique challenges for institutional entrepreneurs attempting to initiate change. We utilize such a setting to examine what support mechanisms, both individual and contextual, have been utilized when attempting change in rigid environments. We examine the case of successful and unsuccessful attempts to make golf more inclusive to women. Our research supports the claim that rigid environments require more complex combinations of support mechanisms than other settings, illustrating the importance of institutions in both enabling and constraining change in such settings.
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Margaret Cook, Glenda Cook, Philip Hodgson, Jan Reed, Charlotte Clarke and Pamela Inglis
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact that research governance processes in the National Health Service (NHS) are having on the conduct of research that involves a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact that research governance processes in the National Health Service (NHS) are having on the conduct of research that involves a national survey and to point to ways that existing processes may develop to facilitate such research.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes the experiences of a research team of seeking approval in 357 NHS organisations to carry out a national postal survey to investigate specialist services and specialist staffing for older people in England in the wake of recent policy developments. Through reflection on this experience, the team propose approaches for the development of existing research governance processes. The national survey was the first stage of the study, which was followed by a detailed investigation of the development of specialist service provision for older people in six case study sites across England. The national survey aimed to map specialist service provision for older people by identifying the range of service models, agency and professional involvements, and nature of the case load in statutory services (health and social care), independent and voluntary sector organisations.
Findings
Of the 357 NHS organisations approached for approval to carry out the survey within the organisation, this was achieved only in 247 organisations over 12 months. Many organisations were facilitative of the process; however, protracted and extensive approval processes in others led to long delays and redesigning of the research that was commissioned by the Department of Health.
Originality/value
The paper is of value in that it highlights processes and practices that hinder research and builds on those that work well.
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HARROGATE will be notable as the venue of the Conference in one or two ways that distinctive. The Association Year is now to begin on January 1st and not in September as…
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HARROGATE will be notable as the venue of the Conference in one or two ways that distinctive. The Association Year is now to begin on January 1st and not in September as heretofore; and, in consequence, there will be no election of president or of new council until the end of the year. The Association's annual election is to take place in November, and the advantages of this arrangement must be apparent to everyone who considers the matter. Until now the nominations have been sent out at a time when members have been scattered to all parts of the country on holiday, and committees of the Council have been elected often without the full consideration that could be given in the more suitable winter time. In the circumstances, at Harrogate the Chair will still be occupied by Sir Henry Miers, who has won from all librarians and those interested in libraries a fuller measure of admiration, if that were possible, than he possessed before he undertook the presidency. There will be no presidential address in the ordinary sense, although Sir Henry Miers will make a speech in the nature of an address from the Chair at one of the meetings. What is usually understood by the presidential address will be an inaugural address which it is hoped will be given by Lord Irwin. The new arrangement must bring about a new state of affairs in regard to the inaugural addresses. We take it that in future there will be what will be called a presidential address at the Annual Meeting nine months after the President takes office. He will certainly then be in the position to review the facts of his year with some knowledge of events; he may chronicle as well as prophesy.
OWING to the comparatively early date in the year of the Library Association Conference, this number of THE LIBRARY WORLD is published so that it may be in the hands of our…
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OWING to the comparatively early date in the year of the Library Association Conference, this number of THE LIBRARY WORLD is published so that it may be in the hands of our readers before it begins. The official programme is not in the hands of members at the time we write, but the circumstances are such this year that delay has been inevitable. We have dwelt already on the good fortune we enjoy in going to the beautiful West‐Country Spa. At this time of year it is at its best, and, if the weather is more genial than this weather‐chequered year gives us reason to expect, the Conference should be memorable on that account alone. The Conference has always been the focus of library friendships, and this idea, now that the Association is so large, should be developed. To be a member is to be one of a freemasonry of librarians, pledged to help and forward the work of one another. It is not in the conference rooms alone, where we listen, not always completely awake, to papers not always eloquent or cleverly read, that we gain most, although no one would discount these; it is in the hotels and boarding houses and restaurants, over dinner tables and in the easy chairs of the lounges, that we draw out really useful business information. In short, shop is the subject‐matter of conference conversation, and only misanthropic curmudgeons think otherwise.
WE write on the eve of an Annual Meeting of the Library Association. We expect many interesting things from it, for although it is not the first meeting under the new…
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WE write on the eve of an Annual Meeting of the Library Association. We expect many interesting things from it, for although it is not the first meeting under the new constitution, it is the first in which all the sections will be actively engaged. From a membership of eight hundred in 1927 we are, in 1930, within measurable distance of a membership of three thousand; and, although we have not reached that figure by a few hundreds—and those few will be the most difficult to obtain quickly—this is a really memorable achievement. There are certain necessary results of the Association's expansion. In the former days it was possible for every member, if he desired, to attend all the meetings; today parallel meetings are necessary in order to represent all interests, and members must make a selection amongst the good things offered. Large meetings are not entirely desirable; discussion of any effective sort is impossible in them; and the speakers are usually those who always speak, and who possess more nerve than the rest of us. This does not mean that they are not worth a hearing. Nevertheless, seeing that at least 1,000 will be at Cambridge, small sectional meetings in which no one who has anything to say need be afraid of saying it, are an ideal to which we are forced by the growth of our numbers.
Prem Sikka, Hugh Willmott and Tony Puxty
In the UK and elsewhere, accounting vocabularies and practices havecome to permeate everyday life through their involvement in themanagement of hospitals, schools, universities…
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In the UK and elsewhere, accounting vocabularies and practices have come to permeate everyday life through their involvement in the management of hospitals, schools, universities, charities, trade unions, etc. This has been accompanied by an increase in the power of accountancy and the institutions of accountancy which increasingly function as quasi‐legislators. Such developments call for a (re)consideration of the role of accounting academics/intellectuals. Argues that, in a world where major business and professional interests are organized to advance sectional interests, to promote stereotyped images and to limit public debates, accounting academics/intellectuals have a responsibility to give visibility to such issues and thereby mobilize potentialities for gaining a fuller understanding of, and encouraging more democratic participation in, the design and operation of major social institutions. Suggests that, despite the constraints on academics, there are considerable opportunities to create, develop or become active in public policy debates through networks that comprise politicians, journalists, disaffected practitioners and concerned citizens – all of whom are potential allies in furthering a process in which accounting and its institutions are problematized and accounting professionals are rendered more accountable.
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Kirsty McCaskill and Anne Goulding
Discusses the results of a research project investigating public library compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act, 1995 (DDA). Gives an overview of the DDA and discusses…
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Discusses the results of a research project investigating public library compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act, 1995 (DDA). Gives an overview of the DDA and discusses public library responses to Part III of the Act, covering access to services. Describes the results of the research, which took a case study approach, focusing on public library responses in the three key areas of policies and practices, access and communications. Concludes that standards of service for people with disabilities varies considerably between public library authorities and that, although most libraries are beginning to respond to the DDA, progress is slow and concentrated on the needs of certain groups of disabled people.
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Joanne Belknap and Deanne Grant
Gender-based abuses (GBAs; more frequently referred to as ‘violence against women’) have been a concern of current day feminists and their predecessors, dating back centuries, but…
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Gender-based abuses (GBAs; more frequently referred to as ‘violence against women’) have been a concern of current day feminists and their predecessors, dating back centuries, but only came under broader scrutiny in the latter half of the twentieth century. The goal of this chapter is to provide a historical overview of the emergence of feminist concerns and activism that led to a largely global identification and recognition of the prevalence and ramifications of GBA. The chapter includes a range of GBAs, such as sexual harassment, stalking, sex trafficking, and forced marriage, but focusses primarily on intimate partner abuse and rape. It is beyond the scope of one chapter, or even one book, to adequately address the efforts to respond to GBA across the world. Instead, the authors hope to describe the work by feminist activists and scholars to identify GBA as a serious and prevalent social problem, the various and often overlapping types of GBA, and the work to design and implement a range of responses to deter GBA, advocate for GBA survivors, hold gender-based abusers accountable, and provide safer communities. In addition to the early attempts to assess and respond to GBA, this chapter covers some of the most original and innovative documentations and responses to GBA from across the globe.
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Katy Cigno, Greta Bradley and Tony Ellingham
Discusses attempts by the government’s political opposition (in the UK) to break the consensus on welfare and considers whether the recent change in political power has materially…
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Discusses attempts by the government’s political opposition (in the UK) to break the consensus on welfare and considers whether the recent change in political power has materially altered the direction of policy relating to care in the community and the role of social workers. Charts the development of the British welfare state from its conception in 1945 through to the present day, focussing on recent reforms in community care provisions and the role of social workers; details how the profession has been undermined by a series of events and profiles the former government’s response. Identifies that the welfare role of social workers has diminished, and been replaced with a social control function. Concludes that, despite the legacy inherited from the previous government, a shift in the political approach to social services and community care provision is discernible.