1,721,894 research outputs found
A community of practice: a case study exploring safety and quality through professional leadership
No full textThis research reports an emerging Community of Practice (CoP), informing how knowledge, understanding and learning were shared through professional leaders using stories to influence change and improve the safety and quality of services. The research focused on generating knowledge and dramatising leadership experiences in integrated community health and social care services. A case study design and multiple qualitative data collection methods were used. The analysis of all data sources revealed rich descriptions with several emerging features including: a) Constructing and sharing a meaning for professional leadership through partnership working to foster cross organisational learning. b) Creating an entrepreneurial identity through contextualising new knowledge and skills c) Developing skills and confidence to be instrumental in progressing the safety and quality agenda d) Using storytelling, sharing anecdotes to dramatise experiences and encourage debate creating shared meanings within the Community of Practice e) The Community of Practice created a forum for learning through generating professional capital by sharing experiential knowledge. The theory practice gap has been closed through professional practice and leadership discourse, developing new knowledge to lead and empower practitioners. In doing so it has widened the debate regarding the professional leadership structure in operation and questioned the need to reshape the context in which professional leaders act and are able to influence the safety and quality of services. Professional leaders should have continual investment as a resource to impact on safety and quality improvements, service developments and managing change. Communities of Practice should be acknowledged and established as an opportunity to generate collective knowledge and influence organisational development and change. Storytelling and narrative can be used as a recognised methodology for sharing specific experiences in order to reflect, contextualise and provide the language required to influence the wider organisational strategic direction. A recognised programme of further research should be considered
The relationship between the rate of starch synthesis, the adenosine 5' -diphosphoglucose concentration and the amylose content of starch in developing pea embryos
No full textClarke, Belinda R.; Denyer, Kay; Jenner, Colin F.; Smith, Alison M
Expansion, Instability, and Mobility in the Urban Élite of Renaissance Verona: The Example of the Verità Family
Full text linkThis essay presents a demographic and economic survey of all Verità households in Verona during the first two centuries of Venetian rule, in order to examine the changing nature of local élites in Terraferma cities, a theme that was of great interest to Benjamin G. Kohl. Veronese noble families
that maintained or improved their economic and social position during this period did so by adapting to rapidly changing circumstances, and developing a wide range of strategic solutions to meet these challenges. In the Verità family there were high levels of instability and decline among many households and branches in the family, as well as cases of rapid and spectacular increases in wealth. Allegiance to the patriline was both a powerful ideal and a source of practical support, but household heads used it selectively as they made their way in the world. Maintaining the economic independence of individual branches and households was the fundamental principle of estate organization among members of this family, as will be shown by a detailed discussion of the division of the estate of Gabriele Verità in 1439. The social geography of the family (with some exceptions) was characterized by residential independence throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries
Structural shimming for high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in lab-on-a-chip devices
Full text linkHigh-resolution proton NMR spectroscopy is well-established as a tool for metabolomic analysis of biological fluids at the macro scale. Its full potential has, however, not been realised yet in the context of microfluidic devices. While microfabricated NMR detectors offer substantial gains in sensitivity, limited spectral resolution resulting from mismatches in the magnetic susceptibility of the sample fluid and the chip material remains a major hurdle. In this contribution, we show that susceptibility broadening can be avoided even in the presence of substantial mismatch by including suitably shaped compensation structures into the chip design. An efficient algorithm for the calculation of field maps from arbitrary chip layouts based on Gaussian quadrature is used to optimise the shape of the compensation structure to ensure a flat field distribution inside the sample area. Previously, the complexity of microfluidic NMR systems has been restricted to simple capillaries to avoid susceptibility broadening. The structural shimming approach introduced here can be adapted to virtually any shape of sample chamber and surrounding fluidic network, thereby greatly expanding the design space and enabling true lab-on-a-chip systems suitable for high-resolution NMR detectio
What do people think employee share ownership schemes do for them? A qualitative study of participants’ experiences in three UK share schemes
No full textResearch has produced mixed findings about the impact of participation in employee share ownership (ESO) schemes on employee attitudes and behaviours. Analyses of how participants themselves interpret ESO’s effects could contribute to both theory-building and empirical evidence, but have not, to date, been undertaken. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 37 participants in three tax-advantaged ESO schemes in nine companies within the United Kingdom. Employees tended to feel that ESO had not increased their motivation, commitment or performance because they were already exhibiting these at a high level, as any good employee should. Even where this occurred, there was little evidence that employees thought ESO had strong effects, with the exception of staying with the company long enough to get a financial payoff. For some, this payoff was far from certain to materialise. There was some evidence that ESO was perceived to lead to a greater general sense of inclusion and that feeling special (e.g. being selected to participate) enhanced the perceived effects of ESO. We highlight the important roles of expectancy and instrumentality (expectancy theory) and conclude that the employee experience of ESO reflects theory in some respects, but also offers new elements that theory may need to incorporate
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