Rachel Lock and Helen Lawton Smith
– This study aims to provide a better understanding of the barriers and constraints that are faced by women entrepreneurs in starting and running a business in Kenya.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to provide a better understanding of the barriers and constraints that are faced by women entrepreneurs in starting and running a business in Kenya.
Design/methodology/approach
The study draws on primary research conducted through face-to-face interviews with female entrepreneurs in Kenya in a wide range of sectors, each having their own micro enterprise. It draws on the framework of Bates et al. (2007) and Baughn et al. (2006) to look at the entrepreneurship landscape in Kenya and the barriers and constraints faced by women entrepreneurs, as well as the support and opportunities available.
Findings
It was found that female entrepreneurs in Kenya face far fewer barriers to starting micro-enterprises now than ever before. It is proving to be a widely successful model, which they use to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. There remain, however, a number of barriers to growth within the micro-enterprise sector. On the basis of these, the paper argues that for female entrepreneurship to have a greater impact on economic growth within Kenya, the country needs to introduce more effective policies, regulation of the informal sector and further support to women entrepreneurs. For example, support could take the form of business training, mentoring and financial support.
Originality/value
The paper presents original research on the growing phenomenon of female entrepreneurship in Kenya as a means of alleviating poverty. It considers how this trend relates to the growing availability of microfinance.
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Egil Petter Stræte and Terry Marsden
Within the agri-food sectors of Western countries, there is an increasing interest in alternative food, i.e., organic, local and regional food, artisanal food, short-supply…
Abstract
Within the agri-food sectors of Western countries, there is an increasing interest in alternative food, i.e., organic, local and regional food, artisanal food, short-supply chains, slow food etc. Innovation in food processing is a significant element both in alternative food and conventional food strategies. Alternatives are based on competition on qualities rather than price. A main question in this chapter is to address how alternative qualities are embedded into food products? This question is explored using a study of two alternative cases within the dairy sectors of Norway and Wales. A model of the different modes of designed qualities of food is developed and discussed to explore the complex issue of quality. We find space and technology especially relevant as dimensions of qualities. Our conclusion is that there is a need to nuance the discussion about quality and food. Firms may develop as hybrids within a conventional vs. alternative perspective, and a strong emphasis on the conventional and alternative as a dichotomy tends to give a static and restrictive perspective.
Rachael Collins, Tom Shakespeare and Lucy Firth
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the views and attitudes that psychiatrists have about recovery colleges (RCs).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the views and attitudes that psychiatrists have about recovery colleges (RCs).
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten psychiatrists from the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust.
Findings
Psychiatrists had a strong concept of the RC model, and were broadly positive about it, recognising many benefits. Various challenges were also acknowledged including how the RC model interacts with the medical model.
Originality/value
This is the first known study to explore solely the psychiatrists’ views of RCs, a group who are likely to be particularly influential within services. The sample was relatively unexposed to RCs, enabling insight into how the RC is perceived by those outside of its functioning as well as the state of wider organisational support, which is important for the success of RCs.
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Rachel Stevenson and Jean Atkinson
This is an opinion piece provided by Rachel, 31, and her grandmother, Jean, 97, who have been living together for two and a half years, since Rachel became unwell with myalgic…
Abstract
Purpose
This is an opinion piece provided by Rachel, 31, and her grandmother, Jean, 97, who have been living together for two and a half years, since Rachel became unwell with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.
Design/methodology/approach
Each author shares their experiences of intergenerational living through the pandemic.
Findings
What each of them has learned about intergenerational living during the COVID pandemic and mutual support and what has surprised them, including how it has improved quality of life for both of them.
Originality/value
This is an unusual intergenerational first-person account of intergenerational mutually supportive living during the pandemic, with insider insights.
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Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) are known to experience increased emotional and behavioural concerns. The study aims to assess whether detained ID patients with a…
Abstract
Purpose
Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) are known to experience increased emotional and behavioural concerns. The study aims to assess whether detained ID patients with a forensic history (IDPF) have increased difficulty managing their impulse control in comparison to detained ID patients without a forensic history (IDP). Using the externalising behaviour problems (EBP) subscale of the EPS, the study aims to compare the differences between the IDFP and IDP groups.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 60 patients with ID detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 (Revised 2007) were assessed using the behaviour rating scale of the EPS. The outcome scores of the EBP were used to examine any observed differences between the scores of forensically involved patients [n = 34] and those without a forensic history [n = 26]. It was hypothesised that patients with a forensic history would display higher scoring on externalised behavioural problems (EBP) than patients without such a history.
Findings
Non-parametric testing revealed that there were no significant differences in EBP scoring between the two sample groups. These findings indicate that, for patients in the present study, no differences were detected in the presentation of these two distinct groups. In fact, with the exception of the verbal aggression subscale of the EBP, the other three subscales (physical aggression, non-compliance and hyperactivity) show that actually the IDP group displayed the higher ranked means in these subscales when compared with the forensically involved group.
Originality/value
These results indicate possible increased treatment needs within the IDP group and question whether offending history is necessarily a reliable predictor of ongoing hostility and behavioural concerns within similar inpatient services.
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Sarah K. O’Connor, Rachna Vanjani, Rachel Cannon, Mary Beth Dawson and Rebecca Perkins
The US prison population has recently reached an all-time high, with women representing the fastest growing subpopulation. Correctional health-care system in the USA remains…
Abstract
Purpose
The US prison population has recently reached an all-time high, with women representing the fastest growing subpopulation. Correctional health-care system in the USA remains fragmented and nonuniform in practice, particularly in women’s health care, with poor transitions between incarceration and release. This study aims to examine the qualitative health-care experiences of women while incarcerated and their transition into the community health-care setting. Additionally, this study also examined the experiences of a subset of women who were pregnant while incarcerated.
Design/methodology/approach
After obtaining institutional review board approval, adult, English-speaking women with a history of incarceration within the past 10 years were interviewed using a semi-structured interview tool. Interview transcripts were analyzed using inductive content analysis.
Findings
The authors completed 21 full interviews and identified six themes that were both the most significant and most novel: “feeling stigmatized and insignificant,” “care as punishment,” “delay in care,” “exceptions to the rule,” “fragmentation of care” and “obstetric trauma and resilience.”
Originality/value
Women face numerous barriers and hardships when accessing basic and reproductive health-care services while incarcerated. This hardship is particularly challenging for women with substance use disorders. The authors were able to describe for the first time, partially through their own words, novel challenges described by women interacting with incarceration health care. Community providers should understand these barriers and challenges so as to effectively reengage women in care upon release and improve the health-care status of this historically marginalized group.