The purpose of this case study is to highlight to individuals and businesses the importance of work‐life balance and how it can have a massive impact on one's daily life. It aims…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this case study is to highlight to individuals and businesses the importance of work‐life balance and how it can have a massive impact on one's daily life. It aims to describe the pitfalls of not having a policy in place and also how a business can go about implementing a policy.
Design/methodology/approach
The subject scope of the paper is to inform employers and employees of all aspects of work‐life balance from the cause and effect to the methods available to help them achieve a great balance and improve productivity and wellbeing.
Findings
The case study shows that work‐life balance is having a massive impact not only on businesses productivity, but also on the economy as a whole. A massive amount of money is being lost due to illness, etc. The information included from companies such as BT who have already implemented a work‐life balance programme shows that the results are significant. The increase in staff wellbeing and productivity is amazing and shows that implementing these programmes really makes a difference.
Originality/value
The case study is invaluable to any employer who has a team of staff. The findings of the research undertaken with BT shows that companies cannot wait until work‐life balance becomes a “must have” – it needs to be implemented straightaway to ensure that staff are happy in their job and that no aspect of their career is contributing to ill health. BT show that by ensuring that “work‐life” balance is prevalent in their business they have reduced absenteeism, increased productivity and have a more responsive and effective workforce.
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Jannine Williams and Nicola Patterson
There is a dearth of studies exploring the intersection of gender and disability within entrepreneurship research. This is despite women’s entrepreneurship research encouraging an…
Abstract
Purpose
There is a dearth of studies exploring the intersection of gender and disability within entrepreneurship research. This is despite women’s entrepreneurship research encouraging an expansion of the research questions asked and approaches taken. As a contribution to this debate, the purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of gender and disability as social categorizations which can shape entrepreneurial opportunities and experiences for disabled women entrepreneurs.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper offers an intersectional conceptual lens for the study of disabled women entrepreneurs to explore a concern for a particular social group – women – at a neglected point of intersection – disability – within the social setting of entrepreneurship. Guided by the research question (how can gender and feminist disability theory contribute to the development of an intersectional theoretical lens for future entrepreneurship research?), the potential for new theoretical insights to emerge in the entrepreneurship field is identified.
Findings
Through a gender and disability intersectional lens for entrepreneurship research, four theoretical synergies between gender and disability research are identified: the economic rationale; flexibility, individualism and meritocracy; and social and human capital. In addition to the theoretical synergies, the paper highlights three theoretical variances: the anomalous body and bodily variation; sexuality, beauty and appearance; and multiple experiences of care as potentially generative areas for women’s entrepreneurship research. The paper identifies new directions for future gender, disability and entrepreneurship research by outlining research questions for each synergy and variance which draw attention to disabled women entrepreneurs’ experiences of choice and control within and across different spaces and processes of entrepreneuring.
Originality/value
The conceptual intersectional lens offered to study disabled women’s entrepreneurship highlights new directions for exploring experiences of entrepreneuring at the intersection of disability and gender. The paper brings disability into view as a social category that should be of concern to feminist entrepreneurship researchers by surfacing different dimensions of experience to those currently explored. Through the new directions outlined, future research can further disrupt the prevailing discourse of individualism and meritocracy that perpetuates success as an individual’s responsibility, and instead offer the potential for richer understandings of entrepreneuring which has a gender and disability consciousness.
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The authors draw on Howard and Thomas-Hughes' (2020) framework for quality assessment of co-produced research, to interrogate our assumptions and processes and to reflect on our…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors draw on Howard and Thomas-Hughes' (2020) framework for quality assessment of co-produced research, to interrogate our assumptions and processes and to reflect on our project. They consider if they achieved our planned outcomes around developing practice, enabling a range of voices and perspectives within their research, and enacting change within the university museum.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors’ early years residency programme explores the potential of collaborations with community groups to transform knowledge and practice through action research. As museum educators, the authors find synergy between the participatory pedagogies underpinning their practice and the co-construction of knowledge within action research. Both are committed to enabling diverse interpretations within a collective and supportive framework. Within their project, practitioners from the museum and playgroup worked collaboratively to collect video footage, photos, children's artwork and reflective journals and memos.
Findings
The process of action, observation and reflection revealed much about the authors’ different perspectives and they found variations in both pedagogy and practice. Although the authors had a shared commitment to providing high quality, memorable, exciting opportunities for the children, the exploratory nature of the project meant that they did not agree what these experiences might look like in advance, and so they had different understandings of what they saw.
Research limitations/implications
Although the authors’ methodological framework was designed to make their research collaborative, structural challenges and the contexts of the art museum and university reinforced long established hierarchies. While some felt supported by the research process and the prestige of working with a university museum to gain legitimacy for their practice, others were disempowered by these same structures. The authors consider their obligations as practitioner-researchers to become aware of the role they play in maintaining, as well as challenging, hierarchies and assumptions.
Originality/value
Young children in museums is a growing area of study and this practitioner-led action research project develop a new strand of enquiry within this field. Through this research the authors can collaborate with community partners to record, analyse and make visible the many different ways in which young children experience the museum. As research led institutions, university museums are ideally placed to develop research in partnership with local public bodies and community groups. However, future work in this area would benefit from a more explicit consideration of the constraints implicit within the institutions within which they all operate.
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Kate L. Fennell, Pieter Jan Van Dam, Nicola Stephens, Adele Holloway and Roger Hughes
A systematic investigation of postgraduate leadership programs for health and/or human services offered by Australian higher education institutions was undertaken.
Abstract
Purpose
A systematic investigation of postgraduate leadership programs for health and/or human services offered by Australian higher education institutions was undertaken.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative analysis identified the core characteristics of the programs. A thematic analysis of the course learning outcomes was conducted and six major themes of disciplinary leadership and management knowledge; research and analytical skills; professional practice; communication and collaboration; creativity and innovation; and system knowledge are shared in this study.
Findings
The authors conclude that Australian universities have taken an evidence-based approach to leadership education.
Originality/value
More work might need to be undertaken to ensure leadership theories are incorporated into learning outcomes.
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Sanjay Chaudhary, Amandeep Dhir, Nicola Farronato, Melita Nicotra and Marco Pironti
The importance of knowledge-based assets and the capability to leverage them has been the subject of scholarly interest in entrepreneurial orientation literature. The authors…
Abstract
Purpose
The importance of knowledge-based assets and the capability to leverage them has been the subject of scholarly interest in entrepreneurial orientation literature. The authors attempt to understand the dominant themes in the prior literature and propose directions for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors performed a systematic review of 79 studies to answer the research questions: (1) What are the predominant themes in the literature on the role of intellectual capital and entrepreneurial orientation? (2) What are the potential fields of future research?
Findings
The findings suggest that current research engages the topics of intellectual capital, the capability to leverage knowledge assets and entrepreneurial orientation. The thematic analysis reveals the role of knowledge management, organizational learning, intellectual capital and absorptive capacity in entrepreneurial firms. The authors propose a theoretical model to explain how intellectual capital and its management influence firm-level entrepreneurial behavior.
Originality/value
Understanding the association between intellectual capital and the capability to leverage knowledge assets is crucial in a dynamic business environment. Effective deployment of knowledge is vital while searching for new entrepreneurial opportunities.
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Nicola Vick and Cheryl Kipping
Addressing the needs of people with a dual diagnosis is a core component of acute inpatient mental healthcare. In 2006/2007, the Healthcare Commission conducted a national review…
Abstract
Addressing the needs of people with a dual diagnosis is a core component of acute inpatient mental healthcare. In 2006/2007, the Healthcare Commission conducted a national review of NHS acute inpatient wards in England. The review included five indicators of particular relevance to working with people with a dual diagnosis. This paper provides an overview of the review process, reports the dual diagnosis findings and considers their implications for improving the care and treatment of people with a dual diagnosis in the inpatient setting.
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Emily Samuels and Nicola Moran
Physical health inequalities and mortality rates are higher amongst individuals with severe mental illness (SMI), including among forensic populations, than the general…
Abstract
Purpose
Physical health inequalities and mortality rates are higher amongst individuals with severe mental illness (SMI), including among forensic populations, than the general population. This paper aims to explore the experiences of individuals accessing primary health care following discharge from secure services, and the practitioners who support them.
Design/methodology/approach
Face-to-face qualitative interviews were conducted with service users (n = 4) and mental health practitioners (n = 4) within a forensic community mental health team in one NHS Trust in England in 2019. Data were analysed using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.
Findings
Four super-ordinate themes emerged: perceived importance of physical health, agency, responsibility and relationships. Service users mostly saw themselves as passive recipients of health care and prioritised their mental health over their physical health. Close working relationships meant that mental health practitioners were often the first contact for service users with any health issue and thus felt a sense of responsibility for their physical health care. Service users who did access primary care reported that consistency of professional, feeling understood and listened to without judgement or stigma were important.
Practical implications
Interventions for service users that include practicalities and strategies to facilitate independence in physical health care, and collaborative working between primary care and forensic mental health services, are encouraged.
Originality/value
This study highlights some of the unique challenges in forensics around improving physical health outcomes for individuals with SMI.
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Ramon Codina, Javier Principe and Matías Ávila
The purpose of this paper is to describe a variational multiscale finite element approximation for the incompressible Navier‐Stokes equations using the Boussinesq approximation to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe a variational multiscale finite element approximation for the incompressible Navier‐Stokes equations using the Boussinesq approximation to model thermal coupling.
Design/methodology/approach
The main feature of the formulation, in contrast to other stabilized methods, is that the subscales are considered as transient and orthogonal to the finite element space. These subscales are solution of a differential equation in time that needs to be integrated. Likewise, the effect of the subscales is kept, both in the nonlinear convective terms of the momentum and temperature equations and, if required, in the thermal coupling term of the momentum equation.
Findings
This strategy allows the approaching of the problem of dealing with thermal turbulence from a strictly numerical point of view and discussion important issues, such as the relationship between the turbulent mechanical dissipation and the turbulent thermal dissipation.
Originality/value
The treatment of thermal turbulence from a strictly numerical point of view is the main originality of the work.
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The prevalence of dual diagnosis in mentally disordered offenders is high. This paper outlines the dual diagnosis needs of service users in a north London secure forensic mental…
Abstract
The prevalence of dual diagnosis in mentally disordered offenders is high. This paper outlines the dual diagnosis needs of service users in a north London secure forensic mental health unit and discusses the development and implementation of a group treatment programme. It describes the three stages of the group work programme and suggests ways to support facilitators and evaluate the effectiveness of the programme.