Towards a million change agents. A review of the social movements literature: implications for large scale change in the NHS.

This review explores 'social movements' as a new way of thinking about large-scale systems change and assesses the potential contribution of applying this new perspective to NHS improvement

A systematic review and meta-synthesis of effective nursing leadership

Introduction. There is a prevailing view that leadership and management development play a vital role in the creating of high performing organisations. Aim of the study. The aim of this research is to review relevant qualitative studies to identify the attributes of effective Nursing Leadership. Material and methods. Healthcare systems have experienced a substantial transformation during recent decades. This has resulted in Nurse Managers dealing with increased levels of systemic complexity and change. It’s been found,that leadership skills may help nurse managers to deal with these difficulties. Nine databases, Nursing Journals, reference lists from relevant publications and grey literature were searched. From over identified 2,000 articles, 394 were reviewed at abstract and 257 reviewed in full. Twelve articles were accepted for the systematic review. Systematic review and meta-synthesis methodologies were employed in the study. Data was collected between November 2006 and January 2007. Results. A variety of effective nursing leadership attributes were identified. Six themes were identified through metasynthesis: personal characteristics, interpersonal relationships, future vision, management of change, managerial competence and clinical experience. Conclusions. Whilst the findings of the research could not be explained by any single leadership theory, all the themes and attributes identified (except clinical experience) could be all identified in the generic leadership theory system, particularly in transformational and charismatic leadership theories. Two recommendations arise from the research. Firstly that further enquiries into Nursing Leadership should encompass the views of other relevant groups, such as patients,and other hospital staff groups. Secondly, these attributes should be empirically tested through quantitative methods

Volunteering and Social Activism: Pathways for Participation in Human Development

This discussion paper explores the following questions, drawing on the above-mentioned background study: How is volunteering an d social activism understood?; How do volunteering and social activism foster people's participation?; What is the relationship between participation and development?; What is required to widen and sustain participation

Two Varieties of Moral Exemplarism

References to moral exemplars run deep into the history of philosophy, as we find them featured in rather disparate context and approaches which span from virtue ethics to moral perfectionism, from existentialism to moral particularism. In the varied and growing contemporary literature on moral exemplarism, we find a number of options that can be brought down to the two rather broad yet distinctive categories of theoretical and anti-theoretical approaches. In the paper, I showcase and contrast these two varieties by taking the views of Zagzebski and Rorty as representative of, respectively, the reference to exemplars as most perfect beings to aspire to and get guidance from, and the use of them as next yet foreign beings to experiment with and get provocation from. Finally, I will draw some consequences for a conception of moral education hinged on unsettlement and transformation rather than on imitation and reproduction

Critical issues in library management : organizing for leadership and decision-making

Papers from the thirty-fifth Allerton Institute. [October 24-26, 1993]Includes bibliographical references