George J.E. Crowther, Cathy A. Brennan, Katherine L.A. Hall, Abigail J. Flinders and Michael I. Bennett
People with dementia in hospital are susceptible to delirium, pain and psychological symptoms. These diagnoses are associated with worse patient outcomes, yet are often…
Abstract
Purpose
People with dementia in hospital are susceptible to delirium, pain and psychological symptoms. These diagnoses are associated with worse patient outcomes, yet are often underdiagnosed and undertreated. Distress is common in people experiencing delirium, pain and psychological symptoms. Screening for distress may therefore be a sensitive way of recognising unmet needs. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and feasibility testing of the Distress Recognition Tool (DRT). The DRT is a single question screening tool that is incorporated into existing hospital systems. It encourages healthcare professionals to regularly look for distress and signposts them to relevant resources when distress is identified.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors tested the feasibility of using the DRT in people with dementia admitted on two general hospital wards. Mixed methods were used to assess uptake and potential mechanisms of impact, including frequency of use, observation of ward processes and semi-structured interviews with primary stakeholders.
Findings
Over a 52-day period, the DRT was used during routine care of 32 participants; a total of 346 bed days. The DRT was completed 312 times; an average of 0.9 times per participant per day. Where participants had an identified carer, 83 per cent contributed to the assessment at least once during the admission. Thematic analysis of stakeholder interviews, and observational data suggested that the DRT was quick and simple to complete, improved ward awareness of distress and had the potential to improve care for people with dementia admitted to hospital.
Originality/value
This is the first short screening tool for routinely detecting distress in dementia in any setting. Its uptake was positive, and if effective it could improve care and outcomes for people with dementia, however it was beyond the scope of the study test this.
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Muhammad Yusuf Shaharudin, Zulkhairi Mohamad and Asmah Husaini
The wake of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had caused substantial disruptions to the usual delivery of healthcare services. This is because of restrictive orders that…
Abstract
The wake of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had caused substantial disruptions to the usual delivery of healthcare services. This is because of restrictive orders that were put in place to curb the spread of the infection. Palliative care services in Brunei also face challenges to deliver effective services during this period. However, the impact of advanced illnesses on patients' health and end-of-life care are issues that cannot be planned, postponed or cancelled. Hence, the palliative care team needs to continue to deliver effective palliative care services. As Brunei faced its second pandemic wave in August 2021, crucial adaptations were made to ensure palliative care service was not disrupted. This reflective case study aims to discuss the adaptations made in providing palliative care during this era of disruptions.
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In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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A story that Robert told in class during this research exposes the tension of simultaneously studying literacy and identity when submission and control are also processes at work…
Abstract
A story that Robert told in class during this research exposes the tension of simultaneously studying literacy and identity when submission and control are also processes at work in the story. There are two pieces of this story. In the first part of the story, Robert relates the narrative. The second part consists of the details of the story he told. Both pieces can be used to illustrate different elements of the tension between studying literacy and identity as a single construct labeled literate identity. In addition to suggesting a metaphor for literacy and identity, Robert's story navigates the constructs of submission and control that Wong (2008) discusses in terms of the aesthetic of motivation. The tension between submission and control when coupled with an exploration of literacy and identity has implications for the notions of resistance to literacy in the field of boys' literacy as well as the being and doing of literacy for the boys in this study.Our class began with the students congratulating Robert on his storytelling. When I inquired further, I found out that Robert had started to tell the legend of Cupid and Psyche in a previous class, but he had run out of time. The rest of the students expressed interest in hearing the story, either for the first time, or to know the end. Initially, his telling ebbed and flowed. He apologized for his lack of fluency and explained he was trying to provide us the parts of the story we would find the most interesting. Eventually he settled into a rhythm and finished 50 minutes later. (Reconstructed field note, December 2009)
The purpose of this paper is to celebrate the manifold contributions made by Michael Thomas, marketing professor extraordinary.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to celebrate the manifold contributions made by Michael Thomas, marketing professor extraordinary.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is an exercise in autobiographical memory, coupled with the subjective personal introspective procedures advocated by many leading marketing scholars, most notably, Steven Gould and Morris Holbrook.
Findings
The paper shows that ornithology is an apt metaphor – analogy, rather – for Professor Thomas's many and varied contributions to marketing thought.
Originality/value
The paper comes closer than most to defining the quintessential Michael Thomas.
Film provides an alternative medium for assessing our interpretations of cultural icons. This selective list looks at the film and video sources for information on and…
Abstract
Film provides an alternative medium for assessing our interpretations of cultural icons. This selective list looks at the film and video sources for information on and interpretations of the life of Woody Guthrie.
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Analysis of organizational decline has become central to the study of economy and society. Further advances in this area may fail however, because two major literatures on the…
Abstract
Analysis of organizational decline has become central to the study of economy and society. Further advances in this area may fail however, because two major literatures on the topic remain disintegrated and because both lack a sophisticated account of how social structure and interdependencies among organizations affect decline. This paper develops a perspective which tries to overcome these problems. The perspective explains decline through an understanding of how social ties and resource dependencies among firms affect market structure and the resulting behavior of firms within it. Evidence is furnished that supports the assumptions of the perspective and provides a basis for specifying propositions about the effect of network structure on organizational survival. I conclude by discussing the perspective’s implications for organizational theory and economic sociology.
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Mona Yaghoubi and Michael O’Connor Keefe
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of two important financing sources, debt and cash, on a firm’s investment decisions and explores the intertemporal impact…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of two important financing sources, debt and cash, on a firm’s investment decisions and explores the intertemporal impact of this financing on future investment volatility.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper first reports our results using ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation and then employ an instrumental variable (IV) strategy which addresses potential endogeneity that arises from future investment volatility on current capital structure and cash levels.
Findings
This paper finds firms with low levels of debt or high levels of cash experience higher future investment volatility, and the probability of large future investment increases with high cash levels. This study’s findings are economically important; for example, a one-standard-deviation increase from the mean of debt ratio implies an approximate 7.8% decrease in future investment volatility; and a one-standard-deviation increase from the mean of a firm’s cash level leads to a 47% increase in the probability of a large investment in the next year.
Originality/value
The findings of this study help firms understand the impact of their present financing decisions on the plausibility of their future investments. This paper contributes to the literature by making both novel and confirmatory findings. This paper was structured to include confirmatory findings for two reasons. First, this paper uses different methods to construct investment volatility and the related investment spike. Second, and more importantly, the hypotheses are interrelated and communicate how firms plan for and execute against uncertain future investments. Growth options are ephemeral, and the hypotheses structure provides a guideline for how a firm finances future growth options.