Susan Proctor and John Campbell
Primary care in the NHS changed substantially during the 1990s. In recent years, structural changes, most notably the introduction of primary care groups as an administrative…
Abstract
Primary care in the NHS changed substantially during the 1990s. In recent years, structural changes, most notably the introduction of primary care groups as an administrative centre for planning, have added impetus to the need for adopting meaningful measures of quality of the primary care service. This qualitative study reports the views of a sample of general practitioners, primary care nurses, and practice managers on the development and refinement of current performance indicators. Seven themes were identified as key areas for development of indicators of performance: patient experience, clinical activity, service development and innovation, access, health promotion, cost effectiveness, and quality of life outcomes. These themes are incorporated into a dynamic framework for development where improved outcomes (including quality of life measures) are seen as central to the evaluation of quality, and inter‐professional collaboration in the delivery and evaluation of quality of the new primary care is called for.
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Roger Paxton, Fiona MacDonald, Rory Allott, Peter Mitford, Susan Proctor and Margaret Smith
Standards for assessing and managing suicide risk were developed and incorporated into a guidance manual for general practitioners. The effects of the manual on opinions and…
Abstract
Standards for assessing and managing suicide risk were developed and incorporated into a guidance manual for general practitioners. The effects of the manual on opinions and practice were evaluated using a quasi‐experimental controlled before/after design, comparing participating general practitioners with others who did not use the manual. Thirty four general practitioners participated over a six‐month period. The intervention group showed changes in perceptions, with increased satisfaction with their own methods and in their recognition and assessment of suicide risk. Their practice changed, with increased recording of relevant factors in notes. The comparison group did not change in these ways. It is concluded that general practitioners’ practice and opinions in assessing and managing suicide risk were significantly improved using a minimal intervention. Given the importance of the topic and the small size of this study, further research is needed, examining changes in professional practice, knowledge and attitudes.
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Elizabeth McCay, Celina Carter, Andria Aiello, Susan Quesnel, Carol Howes, Heather Beanlands, John Langley, Bruce MacLaurin, Steven Hwang, Linda Cooper and Christina Lord
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) training which was provided to community agency staff (N=18) implementing DBT…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) training which was provided to community agency staff (N=18) implementing DBT in the community with street-involved youth.
Design/methodology/approach
Staff participated in a multi-component approach to training which consisted of webinars, online training, self-study manuals, and ongoing peer consultation. To evaluate assess the effectiveness of the training, questionnaires assessing evaluating DBT skills knowledge, behavioral anticipation and confidence, and DBT skills use, were completed at baseline, immediately post-training, four to six months post-training, and 12-16 months post-training. Additionally, the mental health outcomes for youth receiving the DBT intervention are reported to support the effectiveness of the training outcomes.
Findings
Results demonstrate that the DBT skills, knowledge, and confidence of community agency staff improved significantly from pre to post-training and that knowledge and confidence were sustained over time. Additionally, the training was clinically effective as demonstrated by the significant improvement in mental health outcomes for street-involved youth participating in the intervention.
Practical implications
Findings suggest that this evidence-based intervention can be taught to a range of staff working in community service agencies providing care to street-involved youth and that the intervention can be delivered effectively.
Originality/value
These findings help to close the knowledge-practice gap between evidence-based treatment (EBT) research and practice while promoting the implementation of EBT in the community to enhance positive youth outcomes.
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Susan Teather and Wendy Hillman
There has been very little empirical research for the need to identify the importance of an inclusive territory of commonality for “invisible” students with disabilities in…
Abstract
Purpose
There has been very little empirical research for the need to identify the importance of an inclusive territory of commonality for “invisible” students with disabilities in Australian education testing, such as the National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The research methodology used a cross-sectional mixed methods, deductive quantitative, an inductive qualitative, functionalist perspective and interpretivist perspective from internet secondary data analysis. This was undertaken to investigate the government functionalist macrosociology of Australian education to the detriment of the microsociology debate of students with disabilities, for inclusive education and social justice.
Findings
This finding showed vastly underestimated numbers of students with disabilities in Australian schools experienced through “gatekeeping”, non-participation in NAPLAN testing and choices of schools, resulting in poor educational outcomes and work-readiness.
Social implications
The research findings showed that functionalism of Australian education is threatening not only social order, well-being and resilience of an innovative Australian economy through welfare dependency; but also depriving people with disabilities of social equality and empowerment against poverty brought about by a lack of education and of the human right to do a decent job.
Originality/value
The study provided a critical evaluation of the weaknesses of government functionalism; specifically the relationship between the dualism of macro and micro perspectives, which promotes the existence of “invisible” students with disabilities in education, despite government legislation purporting an inclusive education for all students.
Catherine Demangeot, Amanda J. Broderick and C. Samuel Craig
Paul F. Nunes, Susan A. Piotroski, Lay Lim Teo and R. Michael Matheis
As Chinese consumers become more affluent, their expectations about what a brand should deliver are rising. To better understand the challenges facing companies that want to…
Abstract
Purpose
As Chinese consumers become more affluent, their expectations about what a brand should deliver are rising. To better understand the challenges facing companies that want to establish a brand in China, Accenture surveyed more than a thousand Chinese consumers to learn how they decide what to buy. This paper aims to examine those results.
Design/methodology/approach
Accenture conducted 1,022 interviews from China that surveyed consumers of six categories of products and services: automobiles, appliances, consumer packaged goods, financial services, high‐tech products and apparel. Consumers chosen for the China part of the study were generally younger and wealthier than the typical Chinese consumer – a reasonable proxy for the initial target audiences for brands attempting to succeed in China.
Findings
Accenture research shows that creating a successful brand in this environment requires a sophisticated understanding of what segments of the Chinese markets value in a brand and a willingness to reach China's increasingly choosy consumers through innovative media.
Practical implications
The data about Chinese consumers' expectations translate into seven core lessons for marketers. Three of the lessons offer ways to shape brand image and four suggest how to best communicate the brand message.
Originality/value
Analysis of the survey data identified six consumer segments, which – although they share much in common – each have particular differences in their set of brand values.
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Research shows that postsecondary students are largely unaware of the impact of algorithms on their everyday lives. Also, most noncomputer science students are not being taught…
Abstract
Purpose
Research shows that postsecondary students are largely unaware of the impact of algorithms on their everyday lives. Also, most noncomputer science students are not being taught about algorithms as part of the regular curriculum. This exploratory, qualitative study aims to explore subject-matter experts’ insights and perceptions of the knowledge components, coping behaviors and pedagogical considerations to aid faculty in teaching algorithmic literacy to postsecondary students.
Design/methodology/approach
Eleven semistructured interviews and one focus group were conducted with scholars and teachers of critical algorithm studies and related fields. A content analysis was manually performed on the transcripts using a mixture of deductive and inductive coding. Data analysis was aided by the coding software program Dedoose (2021) to determine frequency totals for occurrences of a code across all participants along with how many times specific participants mentioned a code. Then, findings were organized around the three themes of knowledge components, coping behaviors and pedagogy.
Findings
The findings suggested a set of 10 knowledge components that would contribute to students’ algorithmic literacy along with seven behaviors that students could use to help them better cope with algorithmic systems. A set of five teaching strategies also surfaced to help improve students’ algorithmic literacy.
Originality/value
This study contributes to improved pedagogy surrounding algorithmic literacy and validates existing multi-faceted conceptualizations and measurements of algorithmic literacy.
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The paper is a study of Clarice McNamara, née Irwin (1901–1990), an educator who advocated for reform in the interwar period in Australia. Clarice is known for her role within the…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper is a study of Clarice McNamara, née Irwin (1901–1990), an educator who advocated for reform in the interwar period in Australia. Clarice is known for her role within the New Education Fellowship in Australia, 1940s–1960s; however, the purpose of this paper is to investigate her activism in an earlier period, including contributions made to the journal Education from 1925 to 1938 to ask how she addressed conditions of schooling, curriculum reform, and a range of other educational, social, political and economic issues, and to what effect.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary source material includes the previously ignored contributions to Education and a substantial unpublished autobiography. Used in conjunction, the sources allow a biographical, rhetorical and contextual study to stress a dynamic relationship between writing, attitudes, and the formation and activity of organisations.
Findings
McNamara was an unconventional thinker whose writing urged the case for radical change. She kept visions of reformed education alive for educators and brought transnational progressive literature to the attention of Australian educators in an overall reactionary period. Her writing was part of a wider activism that embraced schooling, leftist ideologies, and feminist issues.
Originality/value
There has been little scholarly attention to the life and work of McNamara, particularly in the 1920s–1930s. The paper indicates her relevance for histories of progressive education in Australia and its transnational networks, the Teachers Federation and feminist activism between the wars.