Organisational Learning and Change in a Public Sector Context

It is broadly accepted that learning is important in supporting thedelivery of change (Tsang, 1997). Furthermore, during times of publicsector budget cuts there is a growing interest in innovation and change(Pollitt, 2010, Brown and Osborne, 2013). However, it is also generallyaccepted that austere times typically lead to a reduction in training anddevelopment budgets – particularly within the public sector (Jewson etal., 2015).This paper explores the extent to which the assumed link betweenlearning and change is contested during austerity. 51 public sectormanagers from Wales and Scotland participated in the study, over aperiod of 13 months, from a wide range of public sector organisationsacross two devolved parts of the UK. The research explored issuessurrounding motivations for learning, expectations of outcomes andperceptions around the drivers of change.It is found that public sector budget cuts are having a direct impact onlearning and development opportunities across the UK public sector.Whilst budget cuts may lead to change, this is likely to be piecemealrather than strategic. In conclusion this research supports the view thatausterity is a barrier to meaningful change in the public sector and not adriver

Leadership of Integrated Health and Social Care Services

This research explores the lived experience of those individuals charged with leading the integration of health and social care services in Scotland. The research was primarily qualitative in nature – comprising of a qualitative survey of front-line managers of integrated health and social care services from a single partnership area. The survey explored the management and leadership tasks and activities expected of those leading health and social care teams. The research uncovers a sense that these new leadership positions are both overwhelming in the scope of tasks required and lack clarity in how these tasks should be undertaken. This highlights a need for coordinated support and training for staff who are charged with leading integrated health and social care teams. Three key recommendations have been drawn from the findings of this research: more support should be provided to managers working within these complex integrated systems; a joint training programme should be developed for managers across both partnering organisations and finally relevant policies and procedures should be compiled into one reference resource for managers of integrated services

A Pfaffian formula for monomer-dimer partition functions

We consider the monomer-dimer partition function on arbitrary finite planar graphs and arbitrary monomer and dimer weights, with the restriction that the only non-zero monomer weights are those on the boundary. We prove a Pfaffian formula for the corresponding partition function. As a consequence of this result, multipoint boundary monomer correlation functions at close packing are shown to satisfy fermionic statistics. Our proof is based on the celebrated Kasteleyn theorem, combined with a theorem on Pfaffians proved by one of the authors, and a careful labeling and directing procedure of the vertices and edges of the graph.Comment: Added referenc

Engaging denial through spirituality: An ethnographic study of caregivers of the elderly and implications for pastoral care

The paper examines a number of studies conducted on caregivers of the institutionalized elderly, including a large qualitative research project conducted by the author and a hospital administrator. Finding that many professional caregivers of the aged continue to deny their own aging and death to some degree, this paper seeks to chart the relationship between such denial and spiritual wholeness. The facets of denial, both positive and negative, are examined in the light of the dual nature of spirituality. Midlife is viewed as being the crucial time for growth and well-being for oneself and for the wider community, including the earth. Theological and practical considerations are offered

The state of British politics today is in part a consequence of decades of underinvestment in public administration education and research

Ian Elliott discusses the more systemic factors behind the various controversies in British politics in recent years. He writes that while poor leadership is often discussed as a key contributing factor, it is a rather simple explanation for so many differing events over such a sustained period of time

Stupid not to include the arts : the creation and evolution of the Saskatchewan Arts Board, 1948-1970

Wishing to modernize the province of Saskatchewan, the Tommy Douglas-led Co-operative Commonwealth Federation government (CCF), initiated a number of major, if not groundbreaking, programs. One of these initiatives, the Saskatchewan Arts Board, was a significant cultural agency for the province. Modeled on the British Arts Council, it was the first organization of its kind in North America. Stupid Not to Include the Arts examines the first twenty-two years of the Board’s existence and whether it strayed from its original mandate, and whether it was successful. By focusing on the Board’s relationships with the artists, the people, the government, and the art world, this thesis will illustrate the Board’s transition from an audience-developing and programming organization to an artist-developing and grant-giving organization

Building student engagement through co-production and curriculum co-design in public administration programmes

Public administration as a field of work and study offers a theoretically rich yet practical tool to enact student engagement and the ideal of students-as-partners: the principles of service co-creation. Public administration, as an interdisciplinary and applied field, promoting and reflecting democratic principles, is a good source of tools for practice. As such we expect it to be particularly suitable for curriculum co-design principles. Our research sets potential benefits and challenges in facilitating a co-designed curriculum for public administration programmes. In doing so we make the case for more co-design and co-production of teaching as a tool to achieve enhanced understanding of these concepts and greater student engagement

Modified protein expression in the tectorial membrane of the cochlea reveals roles for the striated sheet matrix

The tectorial membrane (TM) of the mammalian cochlea is a complex extracellular matrix which, in response to acoustic stimulation, displaces the hair bundles of outer hair cells (OHCs), thereby initiating sensory transduction and amplification. Here, using TM segments from the basal, high-frequency region of the cochleae of genetically modified mice (including models of human hereditary deafness) with missing or modified TM proteins, we demonstrate that frequency-dependent stiffening is associated with the striated sheet matrix (SSM). Frequency-dependent stiffening largely disappeared in all three TM mutations studied where the SSM was absent either entirely or at least from the stiffest part of the TM overlying the OHCs. In all three TM mutations, dissipation of energy is decreased at low (<8 kHz) and increased at high (>8 kHz) stimulus frequencies. The SSM is composed of polypeptides carrying fixed charges, and electrostatic interaction between them may account for frequency-dependent stiffness changes in the material properties of the TM. Through comparison with previous in vivo measurements, it is proposed that implementation of frequency-dependent stiffening of the TM in the OHC attachment region facilitates interaction among tones, backward transmission of energy, and amplification in the cochlea