34,485 research outputs found
Applications of lean thinking: a briefing document
This report has been put together by the Health and Care Infrastructure Research and Innovation Centre (HaCIRIC) at the University of Salford for the Department of Health.
The need for the report grew out of two main simple questions,
o Is Lean applicable in sectors other than manufacturing?
o Can the service delivery sector learn from the success of lean in manufacturing and realise the benefits of its implementation?The aim of the report is to list together examples of lean thinking as it is evidenced in the
public and private service sector. Following a review of various sources a catalogue of evidence is put together in an organised manner which demonstrates that Lean principles
and techniques, when applied rigorously and throughout an entire organization/unit, they can have a positive impact on productivity, cost, quality, and timely delivery of services
A TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF ONLINE ASEXUAL REPRESENTATION AND VISIBILITY ON REDDIT
Asexuality remains an under-researched topic in media, gender & sexualities studies. Previous research has explored definitional questions of asexuality, interviews and surveys of asexual people, and consideration of asexualityâs place within queer and feminist communities. However, research has not yet fully explored the issue of asexuality invisibility in the media, which currently amounts to symbolic annihilation. While representation of asexuality is nearly non-existent in mainstream and traditional media, digital spaces have been the location of visibility and self-expression for asexuals. In examining how queer representation of asexuality is seen and made visible online, this textual analysis study examined the content created by ten asexuality-focused subdivisions (âsubredditsâ) of the social media site Reddit. This study found that asexual subreddits serve as areas of community, pride, and discussion on the concept of asexuality for asexual individuals, while they serve as resources and locations of support for those in the early stages of questioning or understanding their own asexuality. These efforts fight symbolic annihilation of asexuality to these groups of people, though whether these sites combat larger invisibilities is unclear
A Study of Three Community and School-Based Models of Child Welfare Service Delivery in Ontario: An Exploration Of Parentsâ, Service Providersâ, and Community Experiences
This report highlights results from our study of three innovative child welfare programs in Ontario attempting to modify front line child protection practice. These programs endeavor to deliver child welfare services in ways that promote greater accessibility and acceptability of services for families, provide increased levels of assistance to families, afford a better understanding of daily living circumstances of children and families, and engage the community in protecting children. Study results confirm that the three programs were successful in accomplishing these goals. Parentsâ, service providersâ, and community membersâ perceptions of these programs showcase the positive helping relationships and community partnerships that are possible under existing child protection mandates
Collaborative Practices that Support Creativity in Design
Design is a ubiquitous, collaborative and highly material activity. Because of the embodied nature of the design profession, designers apply certain collaborative practices to enhance creativity in their everyday work. Within the domain of industrial design, we studied two educational design departments over a period of eight months. Using examples from our fieldwork, we develop our results around three broad themes related to collaborative practices that support the creativity of design professionals: 1) externalization, 2) use of physical space, and 3) use of bodies. We believe that these themes of collaborative practices could provide new insights into designing technologies for supporting a varied set of design activities. We describe two conceptual collaborative systems derived from the results of our study
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Exploring Cultural and Linguistic Aspects within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth Community
The purpose of this study was to explore the cultural and linguistic aspects within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) youth community. A qualitative research design with an exploratory approach was utilized in this study. An interview questionnaire was created to explore participantsâ perceptions and experiences to generate an understanding on LGBTQ culture in practice. The study sample consisted of 12 youth who selfâidentify as LGBTQ recruited by snowball sampling. Oneâonâone interviews were conducted, audioârecorded, per participant consent, and transcribed for thematic analysis. Based on participant narratives, this study found there are cultural considerations that pertain specifically to the LGBTQ community, such as the importance of having family togetherness or personal identity. A key finding was LGBTQ youth sought to create families who provide them with feelings of acceptance, warmth, and belonging. Another key finding was LGBTQ youth are continuously developing and creating new ways of naming themselves to selfâidentify and identify others in the community. Implications for social work practice include increasing cultural humility and awareness of the fluidity in the LGBTQ community when working with LGBTQ youth. Future research is needed to understand LGBTQ youth perceptions of cultural sensitivity and social work practice. Finally, it is recommended that researchers use feminist and queer theoretical frameworks when working with the LGBTQ youth population
Diasporic and Local Mainstream Media as a Tool for Intercultural Integration? The Case of Latin American Communities in Italy
In Italy, communication research on the impact of media on immigrantsâ integration dynamics has up until now privileged the sphere of national mainstream media. This paper takes into consideration the role of diasporic media as complimentary to perspective, by exploring the disposition of the two media fields towards the promotion of intercultural dialogue. In an attempt to assess whether there is in fact an intercultural media integration process occurring in both mainstream and Latin-America diasporic media players in Italy, this paper focuses on gathering evidence from the media pertaining to the society in general and from those created by and for immigrant communities. This evaluation aims to establish the degree to which majority and minorities take an interest in each other as well as the story telling they deploy or one another. Interculturalism and intercultural media integration are the main theoretical frameworks used to understand how intercultural dialogue is operationalized at the media level. Preliminary findings suggest a local mainstream media scene out of step with the de facto multicultural society, whereas only in some cases do Latin-American diasporic media demonstrate integrative potential capable ofâ bridging the gapâ with the host society rather than merely fulfilling its ingroup âbondingâ role
Managing sustainability risks in fashion supply chains
Paper presented at Logistics Research Network Annual Conference 2014, 3rd-5th September 2014, Huddersfield. Abstract: Much has been written about fashion supply chains in recent years pertaining to the offshoring of production and sourcing by UK retailers to other countries including inter alia Asia as well as the attendant risks to such activities. There is ample evidence suggesting that businesses can experience disruptions from sustainability issues that are pertaining in their supply chains. Also, there is an increasing focus on sustainability issues in global businesses and fashion supply chains are not immune to these issues, particularly when wider issues of corporate and social responsibility are included. And yet, the consideration of sustainability and its impact on risk pertaining to the fashion supply chains have not been actively pursued. Moreover little is known about how sustainability issues manifest themselves as risks. Further, the lack of sustainability risk conceptualization hinders the development of sustainability risk management framework which is critical to all but specifically to the global fashion supply chains to survive and compete in a volatile and demand driven sector. This paper presents a proposal for a PhD research study at the Logistics Institute, Hull University Business School investigating this interaction
Social Intelligence Design for Mediated Communication
Without abstract
Stigma and GPsâ perceptions of dementia
YesObjectives: General practitioners (GPs) are crucial to improving timely diagnosis, but little is reported about how they
perceive dementia, and whether their perceptions display any elements of stigma. The aim of this study was to explore how
GPsâ perceptions of dementia map onto current conceptualizations of stigma and whether GPs feel that stigma affects
timely diagnosis.
Methods: Twenty-three GPs from England were interviewed by telephone. Data were analyzed by means of content
analysis. This involved open coding followed by the application of a coding framework derived from the literature to
explore how and to what extent their perceptions relate to stigma as well as the unique nature of their perceptions.
Results: Three themes emerged from the analysis: (1) âmaking sense of dementiaâ, (2) ârelating perceptions of dementia to
oneselfâ and (3) âconsidering the consequences of dementiaâ. GPsâ perceptions of dementia mapped onto current
conceptualizations of stigma. Perceptions about dementia that were linked to their own existential anxiety and to a
perceived similarity between people with dementia and themselves were particularly salient. GPs perceived dementia as a
stigma which was gradually being overcome but that stigma still hindered timely diagnosis. They provided examples of
structural discrimination within the health service, including lack of time for patients and shortcomings in training that
were to the detriment of people with dementia.
Conclusion: Measures to involve GPs in tackling stigma should include training and opportunities to explore how they
perceive dementia, as well as support to address structural discrimination.The study was funded by Alzheimer Europe (Luxembourg) in the form of tuition fees for Dianne Gove for her PhD study
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