The future of professional work? The rise of the `network form¿ and the decline of discretion

This article explores the implications of `networked¿ and `flexible¿ organisations for the work and skills of professionals. Drawing on material from four different case studies it reviews work that is out-sourced (IT professionals and housing benefit caseworkers), work done by teachers contracted to a temporary employment agency and work done through an inter-firm network (chemical production workers). In each of these cases work that was out-sourced was managed very differently to that which was undertaken in-house, with managerial monitoring replacing and reducing employees¿ discretion. New staff in these networks had fewer skills when hired and were given access to a narrower range of skills than their predecessors. By contrast, the production staff employed on permanent contracts in the inter-firm network were given (and took) significant amounts of responsibility, with positive results for both their skills and the work processes. Despite these results, out-sourcing and sub-contracting are a far more common means of securing flexibility than organisational collaboration and the implications of this for skills is considered

Dance and Its Importance in Bach’s Suites for Solo Cello

Before J. S. Bach, the cello was rarely used as a solo instrument. With his suites for solo cello, however, Bach took the instrument out of the background of dance accompaniment and basso continuo, and placed it on the center stage for musical audiences. He accomplished this by using dance movements, a style in which the cello was already a familiar accompanying instrument. The forms of these dance movements were also used in such a way as to uniquely express the cello’s potential as a solo instrument. Ultimately, it was these suites that would inspire other composers to write solo works for the cello. By looking to the past, Bach created a work that looked to the future. This paper explores the musical elements in this work that contribute to their lasting influence

Successful Approaches to Change-MaineDOT’s Experience (2015 State of the Bay Presentation)

https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cbep-presentations/1015/thumbnail.jp

Gender, choice and constraint in call centre employment

This paper examines the genderised experience of employment in call centres. While existing studies have acknowledged structural and agential constraints on women in the workplace, this paper goes further by illustrating the gendered nature of career choice and progression in a context which, in certain respects, appears to have benefitted women's desires for advancement. Drawing on quantitative and in-depth qualitative data from four Scottish call centres, the study provides evidence of gender inequality shaped by structural and ideological workplace and household constraints

'Making work pay' debates from a gender perspective: a comparative review of some recent policy reforms in thirty European countries

The objective of this report is to develop the gender perspective to this labour supply debate in two ways. Firstly, through a review of some key recent national policy reforms to social protection systems and related labour market programmes which are designed to integrate low-income groups into employment and where the policy objectives relate to the theme of ‘making work pay’, largely through a focus on enhancing the financial attractiveness of employment relative to benefit receipt. In this discussion we consider whether gender mainstreaming of the policy occurred, and what gender impact these reforms might be expected to have. Secondly, we turn to the wider incentives and barriers that are faced by those – still largely women – who take on the primary care role in households with young children, with a particular emphasis on the situation of mothers in low-income households (tax and benefits, active labour market policies, childcare, etc.). This report is based on the reports prepared by the 30 national experts in the Group of Experts on Gender, Social Inclusion and Employment

Occupational and physical therapists’ use of intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation strategies during patient interactions: a qualitative study

Importance: Occupational and physical therapists’ use of intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation strategies may play an important role in building therapeutic relationships, but little is known about how they use these strategies during patient interactions. Objective: To understand how therapists use intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation strategies during their patient interactions. Design: This qualitative study consisted of two stages of data collection. In Stage 1, therapists were interviewed regarding how they use emotion regulation strategies in their therapeutic relationships. In Stage 2, patient–therapist dyads were observed during treatment sessions and then interviewed at the end of the therapeutic relationship. Setting: Inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation hospitals and clinics in the United Kingdom. Participants: In Stage 1, 13 occupational therapists and 9 physical therapists participated; in Stage 2, 14 patient–therapist dyads participated. Outcome and Measures: A semistructured interview guide was used to ask therapists how they use emotion regulation strategies during patient interactions. Results: Therapists used a wide range of interpersonal and intrapersonal emotion regulation strategies that can be categorized in prominent emotion regulation strategy taxonomies. They used these strategies both proactively, in anticipation of emotional events, and reactively, in response to emotional events. Their use helped them to build and maintain the therapeutic relationship and to protect themselves, feel better, and get their jobs done. Conclusions and Relevance: The ability to regulate one’s own and others’ emotions is an essential part of therapists’ work. In this study, therapists used a wide range of emotion regulation strategies to benefit themselves and their patients. What This Article Adds: This is the first study to identify the specific intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation strategies used by occupational and physical therapists during patient–therapist interactions. This study makes an important contribution to understanding therapists’ use of proactive and reactive emotion regulation strategies to build and maintain therapeutic relationships

Mapping the public sector diaspora: towards a model of inter-sectoral cultural hybridity using evidence from the English healthcare reforms

Public service reforms increasingly blur the boundaries between public and private sectors, involving hybrid modes of service organization. With growing numbers of public services being transferred to private or mutual ownership, the article interprets reform as a public sector diaspora. Drawing upon the diaspora studies literature, the article proposes a model of hybridization that centres on the possibilities for cultural dislocation, adaptation, and hybridity. Focusing on reforms within the English National Health Service, the article presents an ethnographic study of the transfer or diaspora of doctors, nurses, clinical practitioners, and healthcare assistants from a public hospital to a private healthcare provider, exploring their experiences of migration, resettlement, and cultural hybridity. The model addresses a conceptual gap within the public policy and management literature by elaborating the antecedents, processes, and forms of cultural hybridization