scholarly journals Archaeology and contemporary death: Using the past to provoke, challenge and engage

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0244058
Author(s):  
Karina Croucher ◽  
Lindsey Büster ◽  
Jennifer Dayes ◽  
Laura Green ◽  
Justine Raynsford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Advanced Illness ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
The Past ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Personal Effect ◽  
The Uk

While death is universal, reactions to death and ways of dealing with the dead body are hugely diverse, and archaeological research reveals numerous ways of dealing with the dead through time and across the world. In this paper, findings are presented which not only demonstrate the power of archaeology to promote and aid discussion around this difficult and challenging topic, but also how our approach resulted in personal growth and professional development impacts for participants. In this interdisciplinary pilot study, archaeological case studies were used in 31 structured workshops with 187 participants from health and social care backgrounds in the UK, to explore their reactions to a diverse range of materials which documented wide and varied approaches to death and the dead. Our study supports the hypothesis that the past is a powerful instigator of conversation around challenging aspects of death, and after death care and practices: 93% of participants agreed with this. That exposure to archaeological case studies and artefacts stimulates multifaceted discourse, some of it difficult, is a theme that also emerges in our data from pre, post and follow-up questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. The material prompted participants to reflect on their biases, expectations and norms around both treatment of the dead, and of bereavement, impacting on their values, attitudes and beliefs. Moreover, 87% of participants believed the workshop would have a personal effect through thinking differently about death and bereavement, and 57% thought it would impact on how they approached death and bereavement in their professional practice. This has huge implications today, where talk of death remains troublesome, and for some, has a near-taboo status–‘taboo’ being a theme evident in some participants’ own words. The findings have an important role to play in facilitating and normalising discussions around dying and bereavement and in equipping professionals in their work with people with advanced illness.

scholarly journals Challenges and practices in promoting (ageing) employees working career in the health care sector – case studies from Germany, Finland and the UK

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Merkel ◽  
Mervi Ruokolainen ◽  
Daniel Holman
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Work Ability ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Ageing Workers ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Skilled Personnel ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Background The health and social care sector (HCS) is currently facing multiple challenges across Europe: against the background of ageing societies, more people are in need of care. Simultaneously, several countries report a lack of skilled personnel. Due to its structural characteristics, including a high share of part-time workers, an ageing workforce, and challenging working conditions, the HCS requires measures and strategies to deal with these challenges. Methods This qualitative study analyses if and how organisations in three countries (Germany, Finland, and the UK) report similar challenges and how they support longer working careers in the HCS. Therefore, we conducted multiple case studies in care organisations. Altogether 54 semi-structured interviews with employees and representatives of management were carried out and analysed thematically. Results Analysis of the interviews revealed that there are similar challenges reported across the countries. Multiple organisational measures and strategies to improve the work ability and working life participation of (ageing) workers were identified. We identified similar challenges across our cases but different strategies in responding to them. With respect to the organisational measures, our results showed that the studied organisations did not implement any age-specific management strategies but realised different reactive and proactive human relation measures aiming at maintaining and improving employees’ work ability (i.e., health, competence and motivation) and longer working careers. Conclusions Organisations within the HCS tend to focus on the recruitment of younger workers and/or migrant workers to address the current lack of skilled personnel. The idea of explicitly focusing on ageing workers and the concept of age management as a possible solution seems to lack awareness and/or popularity among organisations in the sector. The concept of age management offers a broad range of measures, which could be beneficial for both, employees and employers/organisations. Employees could benefit from a better occupational well-being and more meaningful careers, while employers could benefit from more committed employees with enhanced productivity, work ability and possibly a longer career.

scholarly journals Psychosocial impact on frontline health and social care professionals in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative interview study

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. e047353
Author(s):  
Henry Aughterson ◽  
Alison R McKinlay ◽  
Daisy Fancourt ◽  
Alexandra Burton
Keyword(s):  
Personal Growth ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work Conditions ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Communication Challenges ◽  
The Uk

ObjectivesTo explore the psychosocial well-being of health and social care professionals working during the COVID-19 pandemic.DesignThis was a qualitative study deploying in-depth, individual interviews, which were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used for coding.ParticipantsThis study involved 25 participants from a range of frontline professions in health and social care.SettingInterviews were conducted over the phone or video call, depending on participant preference.ResultsFrom the analysis, we identified 5 overarching themes: communication challenges, work-related stressors, support structures, personal growth and individual resilience. The participants expressed difficulties such as communication challenges and changing work conditions, but also positive factors such as increased team unity at work, and a greater reflection on what matters in life.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence on the support needs of health and social care professionals amid continued and future disruptions caused by the pandemic. It also elucidates some of the successful strategies (such as mindfulness, hobbies, restricting news intake, virtual socialising activities) deployed by health and social care professionals that can support their resilience and well-being and be used to guide future interventions.

scholarly journals Understanding out of Home Care Rates in Northern Ireland: A Thematic Analysis of Mixed Methods Case Studies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Will Mason ◽  
Kate Morris ◽  
Brid Featherstone ◽  
Lisa Bunting ◽  
Gavin Davidson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Out Of Home Care ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Children In Care

Abstract Research exploring inequalities in UK child welfare interventions has produced counter-intuitive findings with respect to Northern Ireland (NI). Despite experiencing the highest levels of deprivation, NI also displays the lowest rates of children in care of all the UK nations. With reference to wider evidence in the field of child welfare inequalities, this article details the findings of two exploratory mixed methods case studies, located within NI Health and Social Care Trusts. Drawing on the narratives offered by child and family social workers, a series of possible explanations for NI’s significantly lower out of home care rates are considered. We suggest the operation of intersecting factors at multiple levels, including social work systems and practices, early help systems and structures, communities and families. These findings extend understandings of NI’s out of home care rates whilst raising broader questions for social work research and practice.

Counter-monumentality and the vulnerability of memory

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
James F Osborne
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Social Memory ◽  
Outward Appearance ◽  
Collective Memories ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Creation

Monuments have been a staple of archaeology since the beginning of the discipline and have been used as case-studies for a diverse range of topics. In recent years, monuments have been considered particularly often in studies of social memory. By materializing memorial ambitions, however, the creation of monuments provides a venue for collective memories to be challenged. Despite their outward appearance of strength and permanence, monuments additionally render the memory of their creators vulnerable and open to contestation. In particular, the practice of counter-monumentality, or active and deliberate interventions in traditional monuments, illustrates how the erection of monuments exposes the inherent fragility of memory. Examples from the present and the past demonstrate these points: a statue of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson in Baltimore, Maryland, and a corpus of monumental statues from southeastern Anatolian and northern Syria during the Iron Age.

scholarly journals The impact of story: measuring the impact of story for organisational change

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Rossetti ◽  
Tony Wall
Keyword(s):  
Organisational Change ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Service Improvement ◽  
Organisational Development ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Evidence

Purpose The role of dialogue has recently been identified as being important in generating impact in organisations, but the purposeful use of narrative or story-based approaches to effect organisational change and service improvement is still relatively innovative. The purpose of this paper is to document and examine two projects in health and social care settings which aim to generate organisational development and service improvement. Design/methodology/approach The paper evaluates and compares two case studies of story-based organisational development and service improvement projects in the UK. This involved developing an appropriate evaluation framework and assessing the impacts in each case using semi-structured interviews and thematic content analysis. Findings This paper reports the diversity of impacts and outcomes that were generated by the projects. Specifically, it is argued that there is a strong indication that story-based projects best achieve their objectives when clearly linked to key organisational strategic drivers or pathways, as evidenced by robust evaluation. Practical implications This paper recommends that researchers and practitioners, working with story-based methods, design credible and robust evaluative practices, in order to evidence how their work supports organisations to meet current sector challenges. The paper recommends a flexible evaluation framework for evaluating story-based projects in the workplace. Originality/value This paper offers new evidence and insight into the impacts and outcomes of using story-based approaches, and a new evaluation framework for these sorts of projects.

scholarly journals The Role of Cohousing In Building Sustainable Communities: Case studies from the UK

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (13) ◽  
pp. 187-197
Author(s):  
Jingjing Wang ◽  
Karim Hadjri
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Publishing House ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Sustainable Communities ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Sustainable Living ◽  
International Publishing ◽  
The Uk

This paper explored the role of cohousing models in the UK and discussed the benefits and limitations of cohousing models by exploring residents’ motivation and daily living. Through case studies in the UK, semi-structured interviews were carried out to establish the environmental and social sustainability of cohousing and to understand residents thinking and behaviour. This study found that cohousing could benefit various age groups, and promote residents’ thinking and behaviour change towards sustainable living. The findings of this research will establish a better understanding of UK cohousing and highlight the potentials and possibilities of cohousing communities.Keywords: sustainable communities, cohousing, environmental sustainability, social sustainability.eISSN 2398-4279 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ajqol.v3i13.176

scholarly journals Organizational Identification: Exploring the use of Training as an Employee Identification Marker in SMEs

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Adetola Adekunle
Keyword(s):  
Human Resource Development ◽  
Organizational Identification ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
The Body ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Situational Context ◽  
Training Interventions ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Employee Identification

Organizational identification (OI) is a fundamental organizational behavioural concept in business that influences employee belongingness with the organization, this study identified two key categories of factors (employee and organizational) that influence the employee OI process within SME- known as OI markers. The first category- employer situational-context markers are factors influencing employees’ OI process that employees do not have implementation control over but only experience and react to, such as vertical communication. The second category- employee situational-gap markers however include factors such as employees’ sense of in-company worth which are often cognitive and affective notions employees can control within SMEs. More specifically, emphasis was laid on ascertaining what role(s), training interventions, as a strategic human resource development (HRD) tool, play in influencing the employee OI process and thus the OI statuses of employees in SMEs within the UK. A conceptual OI framework was developed to facilitate the investigation using Dervin (1999) and Weick’s (1993) sense-making theories. The interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) method of analysis was employed for this exploratory study, using data from fifteen SME employees’ semi-structured interviews within the retail, health and social care, information and communication technology, financial and food industry of the UK economy. Training interventions emerged as a dual-role OI marker, with the research outcome proposition that employee OI statuses in SMEs occur as a vector component with both magnitude and directional attributes facilitated by employer situational-context and employee situational-gap markers. Specifically initiated and facilitated training interventions playing the roles of employer situational-context and employee situational-gap OI markers respectively. The identified vector quality of OI statuses further enhances the body of OI literature concerned with the non-static behaviour of employees OI status, as these can fluctuate between the two extremes of employee organizational disidentification or identification (EOD or EOI). An OI framework is proposed with which SMEs organizations could justifiably adjust their policies and procedures to imbue employees with a stronger sense of belongingness or OI status within their establishments.

scholarly journals Transforming community nursing services in the UK; lessons from a participatory evaluation of the implementation of a new community nursing model in East London based on the principles of the Dutch Buurtzorg model

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirza Lalani ◽  
Jane Fernandes ◽  
Richard Fradgley ◽  
Caroline Ogunsola ◽  
Martin Marshall
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Patient Experience ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
Community Nursing ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Framework Analysis ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Background Buurtzorg, a model of community nursing conceived in the Netherlands, is widely cited as a promising and evidence-based approach to improving the delivery of integrated nursing and social care in community settings. The model is characterised by high levels of patient and staff satisfaction, professional autonomy exercised through self-managing nursing teams, client empowerment and holistic, patient centred care. This study aimed to examine the extent to which some of the principles of the Buurtzorg model could be adapted for community nursing in the United Kingdom. Methods A community nursing model based on the Buurtzorg approach was piloted from June 2017–August 2018 with a team of nurses co-located in a single general practice in the Borough of Tower Hamlets, East London, UK. The initiative was evaluated using a participatory methodology known as the Researcher-in-Residence model. Qualitative data were collected using participant observation of meetings and semi-structured interviews with nurse team members, senior managers, patients/carers and other local stakeholders such as General Practitioners (GP) and social workers. A thematic framework analysis of the data was carried out. Results Implementation of a community nursing model based on the Buurtzorg approach in East London had mixed success when assessed against its key principles. Patient experience of the service was positive because of the better access, improved continuity of care and longer appointment times in comparison with traditional community nursing provision. The model also provided important learning for developing service integration in community care, in particular, how to form effective collaborations across the care system with other health and social care professionals. However, some of the core features of the Buurtzorg model were difficult to put into practice in the National Health Service (NHS) because of significant cultural and regulatory differences between The Netherlands and the UK, especially the nurses’ ability to exercise professional autonomy. Conclusions Whilst many of the principles of the Buurtzorg model are applicable and transferable to the UK, in particular promoting independence among patients, improving patient experience and empowering frontline staff, the successful embedding of these aims as normalised ways of working will require a significant cultural shift at all levels of the NHS.

Academic Experiences of Using VLEs

2011 ◽  
pp. 34-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Newland ◽  
Martin Jenkins ◽  
Neil Ringan
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Academic Experiences ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Academic Practice ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
E Learning ◽  
The Uk

This chapter describes the drivers which have influenced the adoption of e-learning within the UK HE sector and consequently resulted in the increasing adoption of VLEs within institutions. It identifies a range of issues at the institutional and individual academic staff levels which need to be considered and addressed when designing and implementing a VLE within an HE institution. The authors draw on their personal experience in supporting a diverse range of academic staff to integrate e-learning and VLEs within their academic practice and their experience in implementing VLEs in a range of institutions to develop a series of guidelines and lessons for institutions to consider. Evidence from a range of case studies undertaken by the authors is utilised to provide examples from academic practice, which illustrate how effective implementation of these guidelines and lessons can enhance the student learning experience and support the role of academic staff within the HE sector.

scholarly journals A Qualitative Study of the Views of Health and Social Care Decision-makers on the Role of Wellbeing in Resource Allocation Decisions in the UK

Economies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Tessa Peasgood ◽  
Jill Carlton ◽  
John Brazier
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Subjective Wellbeing ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Allocation Decisions ◽  
Resource Allocation Decisions

There has been growing international interest in the role that wellbeing measures could play within policy making in health and social care. This project explored the opinions of a sample of UK decision-makers on the relevance of wellbeing and subjective wellbeing (by which we mean good and bad feelings or overall evaluations of life, such as life satisfaction) for resource allocation decisions within health and social care. Through these discussions we draw out the perceived advantages and the potential concerns that decision-makers have about broadening out to wellbeing and subjective wellbeing rather than just measuring health. Three focus groups were conducted: with members of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Citizen’s Council, with a Health and Wellbeing Board at a Local Authority and with Public Health England. In addition, eleven semi-structured interviews were held with staff from NHS England and members of a range of NICE committees. We identified a range of opinions about the role of wellbeing and a broadly held view that there was a need for improved consideration of broader quality of life outcomes. We also identified considerable caution in relation to the use of subjective wellbeing.

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