Aggregate Growth and the Efficiency of Labour Reallocation

We consider the potential importance of labour market efficiency for aggregate growth. The idea is that efficient labour markets move workers more quickly from low to high productivity sites, thereby raising aggregate productivity growth. We define a measure of labour market efficiency as a structural parameter from a matching function. Using labour market data on 15 OECD countries, we estimate this and show that it has a significant effect on growth. The results are robust to a number of different estimation techniques. The quantitative impact of market efficiency is not trivial.growth, labour market efficiency, labour market institutions

Behaviours: Design and behaviour change in health

This chapter explores the role of design in the context of behaviour change for people living with long-term conditions. A series of short case studies illustrates how design can facilitate the development of products and interventions that better support the needs of individuals and how these can lead to positive coping behaviours. The chapter concludes with a broader discussion of the complexities and ethical issues that design in the context of behaviour change promotes

Overcoming alcohol and other drug addiction as a process of social identity transition : the social identity model of recovery (SIMOR)

In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on a recovery model within alcohol and drug policy and practice. This has occurred concurrently with the emergence of community- and strengths-based approaches in positive psychology, mental health recovery and desistance and rehabilitation from offending. Recovery is predicated on the idea of substance user empowerment and self-determination, using the metaphor of a ‘‘journey’’. Previous research describing recovery journeys has pointed to the importance of identity change processes, through which the internalised stigma and status of an ‘‘addict identity’’ is supplanted with a new identity. This theoretical paper argues that recovery is best understood as a personal journey of socially negotiated identity transition that occurs through changes in social networks and related meaningful activities. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is used as a case study to illustrate this process of social identity transition. In line with recent social identity theorising, it is proposed that (a) identity change in recovery is socially negotiated, (b) recovery emerges through socially mediated processes of social learning and social control and (c) recovery can be transmitted in social networks through a process of social influence

The TiM system: developing a novel telehealth service to improve access to specialist care in motor neurone disease using user-centered design

Objectives: Attendance at a specialist multidisciplinary motor neurone disease (MND) clinic is associated with improved survival and may also improve quality of life and reduce hospital admissions. However, patients struggle to travel to clinic and may experience difficulties between clinic visits that may not be addressed in a timely manner. We wanted to explore how we could improve access to specialist MND care. Methods: We adopted an iterative, user-centered co-design approach, collaborating with those with experience of providing and receiving MND care including patients, carers, clinicians, and technology developers. We explored the unmet needs of those living with MND, how they might be met through service redesign and through the use of digital technologies. We developed a new digital solution and performed initial testing with potential users including clinicians, patients, and carers. Results: We used these findings to develop a telehealth system (TiM) using an Android app into which patients and carers answer a series of questions about their condition on a weekly basis. The questions aim to capture all the physical, emotional, and social difficulties associated with MND. This information is immediately uploaded to the internet for review by the MND team. The data undergoes analysis in order to alert clinicians to any changes in a patient or carer’s condition. Conclusions: We describe the benefits of developing a novel digitally enabled service underpinned by participatory design. Future trials must evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the TiM system within a clinical environment

Aggregate growth and the efficiency of labour reallocation

We consider the potential importance of labour market efficiency for aggregate growth. The idea is that efficient labour markets move workers more quickly from low to high productivity sites, thereby raising aggregate productivity growth. We define a measure of labour market efficiency as a structural parameter from a matching function. Using labour market data on 15 OECD countries, we estimate this and show that it has a significant effect on growth. The results are robust to a number of different estimation techniques. The quantitative impact of market efficiency is not trivial

Landscapes of practice: Bricolage as a method for situated design.

This paper proposes a `bricolage' approach to designing systems forcooperative work. This involves users, participatory designers andethnographers in a continuing cycle of design and revised work practice,often in settings where resources are limited and short-term results arerequired. If exploits the flood to market of hardware, software and services.The approach is illustrated with results from a project with a practice oflandscape architects. Their work is analysed in terms of communities ofpractice and actor networks. These perspectives help to identify the`socilities' of people and technologies and of the relationships betweenthem. They help to distinguish different forms of cooperation with differingsupport needs, opportunities and vulnerabilities. They inform the designof technical support, the assessment of outcomes, and the design of furthersolutions, in a cycle of `situated experimentation'