This paper seeks to examine how to create value through communities.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to examine how to create value through communities.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper focuses on the importance of contacts, content and critical mass in a community and the key role of embracing change.
Findings
The paper highlights the importance of network “reach” and of a strategic, transparent framework known to the community. It contends that, without a guiding vision, there is no direction, and rudderless communities wither and die.
Practical implications
The paper argues that those seeking to create and build a community need to design the environment in which it operates in a way that encourages and helps members easily to apply the most beneficial approach for all.
Originality/value
The paper defines the real value of a network as the extent to which people who do not know you are talking about you to other people you do not know.
Details
Keywords
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Sarah McCue Horwitz, Julia Bell and Rebecca Grusky
Depression is a prevalent, debilitating condition that will replace cancer as the second leading cause of morbidity within the next decade and, according to the Global Burden of…
Abstract
Depression is a prevalent, debilitating condition that will replace cancer as the second leading cause of morbidity within the next decade and, according to the Global Burden of Disease Study, ranks number one in disability-adjusted life years for females 5 years and older worldwide (Blehar & Oren, 1997; Murray & Lopez, 1996). Depression in the workplace has been linked to increased absenteeism and productivity loss, is equal to the costs of diabetes and hypertension, and these costs are almost equal to the direct costs of depression treatment (Kessler et al., 1999; Marlowe, 2002; Druss, Rosenheck, & Sledge, 2000; Elinson, Houck, Marcus, & Pincus, 2004). A national study of individuals 15–54 years documented a lifetime prevalence of 17.1% and found that depression was more common in females, young adults, and those with less education (Blazer, Kessler, McGonagle, & Swartz, 1994; Kessler, McGonagle, Swartz, Blazer, & Nelson, 1993; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2000; Kessler et al., 1994a, 1994b; Bebbington et al., 2003).
Retreat of the Critics. The publication, last month, of a series of six main articles on Work Study with an introductory leader in The Financial Times was yet further proof of the…
Abstract
Retreat of the Critics. The publication, last month, of a series of six main articles on Work Study with an introductory leader in The Financial Times was yet further proof of the increasing interest and importance accorded by the nation at large to this decisive “tool of management” which has been, until comparatively recent years, the dream of a few, forward‐looking pioneers. During the past year or two, however, increasing references have been made to Work Study on the radio and television, and in the daily press. As The Financial Times points out: “The critical voices seem now to be growing fainter. For example, no less than 800 industrialists from every part of the country attended the recent conference on Work Study at Harrogate, organised by the British Institute of Management.”
The paper reports on the implementation of the Revised Elderly Persons' Disability Scale use – a 53‐item, seven sub‐scale functional assessment tool – in a range of older adult…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper reports on the implementation of the Revised Elderly Persons' Disability Scale use – a 53‐item, seven sub‐scale functional assessment tool – in a range of older adult care institutions. Staff education on the instrument's use is provided; patient assessments collated centrally; and results fed back to respective care facilities. This study explores the views of qualified and unqualified staff on the use of the scale in their respective UK National Health Service, Local Authority or Private Residential older adult care facilities.
Design/methodology/approach
An action research mode was adopted where the researcher was a member of a team responsible for planning, development, and co‐ordination of community care projects for adults leaving hospital care. Structured and semi‐structured interviewing was employed to explore personal experience of the instrument's use in older adult care institutions. A total of 20 care staff qualified in nursing or social work and nine unqualified staff participated in this research.
Findings
Participants reported that scale use contributed positively to the planning and delivery of care. Its use influenced the admission of individuals for care by the institutions studied and improvements in the quality of the transfer of clients between settings were reported. It proved straightforward to use and unqualified staff reported their greater involvement in the care planning process as a result of its implementation. Participants reported that instrument use contributed to the identification of staff training needs.
Originality/value
Evidence for functional assessment scale effectiveness is equivocal and little has been published on the experience of scale use by a range of elder care staff. This experience forms this study's sole focus and scale use is shown to have the potential to contribute to care improvement.
Details
Keywords
Marsha J. Courchane and Judith A. Giles
As financial markets move toward increased globalization, it becomes worth considering whether inherent differences in financial markets across different countries will diminish…
Abstract
As financial markets move toward increased globalization, it becomes worth considering whether inherent differences in financial markets across different countries will diminish. For two countries more similar than different in terms of geography, location, government and culture, Canada and the USA remain strikingly different in terms of housing finance. Public policy objectives toward housing followed quite different paths over the past 70 years and fundamental differences in banking practices have led to considerably different outcomes in terms of mortgage finance instruments in the two countries. Examines some of the differences in policy and in competitive practices between Canada and the USA in an attempt to illuminate why differences in rates and terms across the two countries still exist. While a part of the difference remains due to legal constraints concerning the finance of the domestic housing sector, focuses on the economics and public policy choices that have led to the observed differences rather than on an analysis of the legal structure.