scholarly journals Tackling the Digital Divide

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Liptrott
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovations ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovations Theory ◽  
Adoption Of Technology ◽  
Research Results ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Social Empowerment

A focus of daily life in the UK now revolves around the adoption of technology and the impact of Internet based technology raises issues of the digital divide, knowledge divide, social empowerment and socio economic effects. This paper focuses on the impact of the UK government's policy, ‘digital by default', on individuals with limited IT skills living in an area of deprivation. Following a review of prior research, the paper analyses data from semi structured interviews with progression support workers in their roles supporting individuals in their use of computers to find employment. Research results identify barriers inhibiting individuals from using IT and the discussion reflects whether the inclusion of concepts of Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations theory into the design of the ‘digital by default' policy has the potential to address the digital divide. The Conclusion draws on the research results to recommend a revised policy strategy.

Tackling the Digital Divide

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Mark Liptrott
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovations ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovations Theory ◽  
Adoption Of Technology ◽  
Research Results ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Social Empowerment

A focus of daily life in the UK now revolves around the adoption of technology and the impact of Internet based technology raises issues of the digital divide, knowledge divide, social empowerment and socio economic effects. This paper focuses on the impact of the UK government's policy, ‘digital by default', on individuals with limited IT skills living in an area of deprivation. Following a review of prior research, the paper analyses data from semi structured interviews with progression support workers in their roles supporting individuals in their use of computers to find employment. Research results identify barriers inhibiting individuals from using IT and the discussion reflects whether the inclusion of concepts of Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations theory into the design of the ‘digital by default' policy has the potential to address the digital divide. The Conclusion draws on the research results to recommend a revised policy strategy.

scholarly journals How are patients with rare diseases and their carers in the UK impacted by the way care is coordinated? An exploratory qualitative interview study

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Simpson ◽  
Lara Bloom ◽  
Naomi J. Fulop ◽  
Emma Hudson ◽  
Kerry Leeson-Beevers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Care Coordination ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
School Work ◽  
Travel Costs ◽  
Care Plans ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Care coordination is considered important for patients with rare conditions, yet research addressing the impact of care coordination is limited. This study aimed to explore how care coordination (or lack of) impacts on patients and carers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 patients and carers/parents in the UK, representing a range of rare conditions (including undiagnosed conditions). Transcripts were analysed thematically in an iterative process. Results Participants described a range of experiences and views in relation to care coordination. Reports of uncoordinated care emerged: appointments were uncoordinated, communication between key stakeholders was ineffective, patients and carers were required to coordinate their own care, and care was not coordinated to meet the changing needs of patients in different scenarios. As a result, participants experienced an additional burden and barriers/delays to accessing care. The impacts described by patients and carers, either attributed to or exacerbated by uncoordinated care, included: impact on physical health (including fatigue), financial impact (including loss of earnings and travel costs), and psychosocial impact (including disruption to school, work and emotional burden). Overall data highlight the importance of flexible care, which meets individual needs throughout patients’/carers’ journeys. Specifically, study participants suggested that the impacts may be addressed by: having support from a professional to coordinate care, changing the approach of clinics and appointments (where they take place, which professionals/services are available and how they are scheduled), and improving communication through the use of technology, care plans, accessible points of contact and multi-disciplinary team working. Conclusion This study provides further evidence of impacts of uncoordinated care; these may be complex and influenced by a number of factors. Approaches to coordination which improve access to care and lessen the time and burden placed on patients and carers may be particularly beneficial. Findings should influence future service developments (and the evaluation of such developments). This will be achieved, in the first instance, by informing the CONCORD Study in the UK.

scholarly journals Plan for the worst, hope for the best? Exploring major events related terrorism and future challenges for UK event professionals

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Baxter ◽  
Jenny Flinn ◽  
Lucrezia Flurina Picco
Keyword(s):  
Marketing Strategy ◽  
Significant Rise ◽  
Destination Marketing ◽  
Major Event ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate major event related terrorism and the resulting challenges that event professionals may face when hosting major events in cities as part of a destination marketing strategy. Design/methodology/approach The research was based in the UK due to the significant rise in terrorist activities that have taken place in its urban cities in recent years. The exploratory nature of this study utilised semi-structured interviews with UK event professionals, enabling a preliminary, in-depth investigation of the challenges that events professionals face as a result of major event related terrorism. Findings The research findings identify three challenges faced by event professionals when organising major events: knowledge and understanding in relation to major event related terrorism; the impact of major event related terrorism in terms of responsibility and accountability; and managing for major event related terrorism in budgetary terms. Research limitations/implications The research is limited to the UK, other destinations will pose their own unique challenges when hosting and managing events. It is suggested that this research be evaluated against similar studies in other destinations. This is a preliminary study and each of the topics identified within the findings warrant further exploration in their own right. Originality/value The paper offers an insight into the challenges faced by event professionals in the UK when delivering major events as part of a destination marketing strategy. With the increase in major event related terrorism in cities the findings of this research are of relevance not only to event professionals but anyone with a role in destination and tourism development.

How did Autistic Children, and their Parents, Experience School Transition during the COVID-19 Pandemic?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aimee Code ◽  
Umar Toseeb ◽  
Kathryn Asbury ◽  
Laura Fox
Keyword(s):  
School Transition ◽  
School Closure ◽  
School Transitions ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
New School ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant school closures, social distancing measures, and restrictions placed on routine activities, the start of the academic year in September 2020 was a unique time for those transitioning to a new school. This study aimed to explore the experiences of parents who supported autistic children making a school transition in 2020, and to examine what impact parents perceived the COVID-19 pandemic had on their child’s school transition. Emphasis was placed on identifying facilitating factors that had benefitted school transitions, and barriers, which had negatively impacted these experiences. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 13 parents of autistic children in the UK. Reflexive thematic analysis was carried out to identify themes in interview data. Parents reported a variety of experiences, and factors that were perceived as facilitatory to some were observed to be barriers by others. For some parents, the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted aspects of school transitions. For example, school closure in March 2020, being unable to visit their child’s new school, and social distancing measures were discussed as being barriers to an easy transition. However, other parents identified these factors as being facilitatory for their child or reported that these circumstances created opportunities to approach the school transition in a unique, improved manner. This paper sheds light on the heterogeneity of experiences and perceptions of parents of autistic children, and highlights the need to examine the impact of COVID-19 on school transitions, including practices which may be advantageous to retain.

scholarly journals Implementing and measuring person-centredness using an APP for knowledge transfer: the iMPAKT app

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 251-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanya McCance ◽  
Brighide M Lynch ◽  
Christine Boomer ◽  
Donna Brown ◽  
Christopher Nugent ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Patient Experience ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Key Performance Indicators ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Evaluation Approach ◽  
Experience Of Care ◽  
Measurement Framework ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objective The aim of the study was to evaluate a technological solution in the form of an App to implement and measure person-centredness in nursing. The focus was to enhance the knowledge transfer of a set of person-centred key performance indicators and the corresponding measurement framework used to inform improvements in the experience of care. Design The study used an evaluation approach derived from the work of the Medical Research Council to assess the feasibility of the App and establish the degree to which the App was meeting the aims set out in the development phase. Evaluation data were collected using focus groups (n = 7) and semi-structured interviews (n = 7) to capture the impact of processes experienced by participating sites. Setting The study was conducted in the UK and Australia in two organizations, across 11 participating sites. Participants 22 nurses from 11 sites in two large health care organizations were recruited on a voluntary basis. Intervention Implementing the KPIs and measurement framework via the APP through two cycles of data collection. Main Outcome Measures The main outcome was to establish feasibility in the use of the App. Results The majority of nurse/midwife participants found the App easy to use. There was broad consensus that the App was an effective method to measure the patient experience and generated clear, concise reports in real time. Conclusions The implementation of the person-centred key performance indicators using the App enhanced the generation of meaningful data to evidence patient experience across a range of different clinical settings.

scholarly journals Green technologies and firms’ market value: a micro-econometric analysis of European firms

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 855-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Colombelli ◽  
Claudia Ghisetti ◽  
Francesco Quatraro
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Market Value ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Green Technologies ◽  
Main Hypothesis ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
The One ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This paper investigates the impact of the generation of green (environmental) technologies on the market value (MV) of a sample of listed companies. The analysis is grounded on the combination of two different theoretical approaches, that is the one focusing on the relationship between MV and innovation and the one pertaining to the economic effects of eco-innovation. Environmental regulation, based on the regulatory push–pull effect, induces firms to cope with more stringent rules through innovation efforts, and this eventually leads to the emergence of new markets for the suppliers of green technologies (GTs). Our main hypothesis is that firms able to generate GTs can be expected to show better stock market performances in this framework, because of the prospects of regulation-driven profitability gains. The empirical analysis has been carried out on a sample of listed firms from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK observed over the 1985–2011 time span, and it is based on the implementation of the most recent version of the MV equation, corrected for selection bias. Results are consistent with those of previous literature and highlight the positive impact of innovation on MV. When narrowing the focus to firms operating in sectors with a high propensity to generate GTs, we have found that the stringency of the environmental regulatory framework also yields a positive a significant impact, as does the stock of GTs vis-à-vis non-GTs. Moreover, environmental regulatory framework positively moderates the positive effect of the stock of GTs. Lastly, the quality of firms’ own knowledge stocks is also found to positively influence firms’ MV.

Taught resilience programmes: a case study from the perspective of employees of a large pharmaceutical company based in the UK

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-129
Author(s):  
Frances Costello
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Resilience ◽  
Personal Resilience ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Impact

PurposeResearch was undertaken to understand whether taught resilience programmes which highlight the protective factors of resilience would impact individual resilience outcomes. The research focussed on specific resilience dimensions, change agility, physical, emotional and mental resilience, purpose in life and recovery; in an attempt to bridge the gap in understanding whether it is possible through taught programmes to improve resilience through the creation of new habits.Design/methodology/approachThe research was conducted using interpretative phenomenological analysis methods and used semi-structured interviews with 12 participants to understand participants lived experience of a one-day personal resilience programme, conducted within a private global manufacturing organisation.FindingsThe research found that all 12 participants interviewed 12–18 months post-programme made sustainable habits changes increasing personal resilience levels. Participants built new habits into their everyday lives, in the physical dimension exercising more regularly, taking breaks, changes in nutrition and creating better sleep patterns. Through increased understanding of emotional intelligence participants were able to react more favourably to adverse situations and through mental increased resilience focus achieve work and home priorities. In understanding the change journey participants found that they were able to move more quickly through the change cycle. Almost all participants found understanding their life purpose difficult and were not able to give a conclusive answer to what this might be, they found that attending the programme helped reflection in this dimension.Originality/valueThe paper includes an overview of previous resilience research but differs in its examination of the impact of a specific taught resilience programme in a large private sector organisation using IPA methodology.

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 Using Diffusion of Innovations Theory to Modify Library OER Interventions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 173-188
Author(s):  
Kathy Essmiller
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Of Innovations ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Human Performance Technology ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
State University ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovations Theory ◽  
Performance Technology ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Online Spaces ◽  
The Impact

The high cost of commercial textbooks has been well documented. To help alleviate the impact of those costs, the Oklahoma State University (OSU) Library identified exploration and support of open educational resources (OER) as a priority in their strategic plan. The OSU Library OER Librarian used human performance technology analysis findings to select and design interventions for inclusion in the library's support of OER. When OSU abruptly switched mid-Spring 2020 to emergency remote teaching in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the library was faced with the need to modify interventions designed for face-to-face interaction to engage and support faculty instructors in online spaces. This chapter uses diffusions of innovations theory to describe how the library made meaning of and anticipated challenges and to share how the library designed and implemented modified interventions.

Improving the Effects of Global Health Initiatives through FOMENT

2015 ◽  
pp. 134-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhiuddin Haider ◽  
Theofani Makrinos ◽  
Madhurima Sarkar
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Of Innovations ◽  
Developing Nations ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovations Theory ◽  
Organization Management ◽  
Organizational Variables ◽  
Adoption Of Innovations ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
New Methodologies ◽  
Individual Variables ◽  
The Impact

The incidence of communicable and non-communicable diseases is rising globally in both developed and developing nations. New methodologies are required for reaching the general population and promoting preventative behavior. The objective of this chapter is to discuss the Focus, Organization, Management, Environment, Network, and Technology (FOMENT) process as a strategy and a tool to enhance the impact and efficiency of the diffusion process within public health systems and change agencies, especially in developing countries. FOMENT can be seen as an extension of Everett Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DOI) and can be used by organizations to maximize the diffusion rate of health initiatives into a community. The understanding of individual variables from DOI and organizational variables from FOMENT, as well as their corresponding indicators will support the convergence approach to enhance diffusion capacity building (DCB) needed for the adoption of innovations and related behavior change.

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