Using contractual incentives in district nursing in the English NHS: results from a qualitative study

Since 2008, health policy in England has been focusing increasingly on improving quality in healthcare services. To ensure quality improvements in community nursing, providers are required to meet several quality targets, including an incentive scheme known as Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN). This paper reports on a study of how financial incentives are used in district nursing, an area of care which is particularly difficult to measure and monitor.     

Measurement of de facto harmonisation: implications of non-disclosure for research planning and interpretation

Index-based harmonisation measurement techniques using company accounts data have been developed in prior research. Although the results of applying such measures have been reported in the literature as indicating actual levels of financial reporting harmony, such conclusions have not always been justified. In the first instance, it can be argued that the limitations of the indices as measures of financial reporting harmony in situations of non-disclosure were not always appreciated or highlighted. Secondly, data used for the purpose of measuring harmony was not always sufficiently robust to support the conclusions drawn. In this study, a generalised formula is presented, combining different categories of non-disclosure. It is reconciled to special cases derived in previous research and is then applied to company accounts data, which is sufficiently refined in detail to form a basis for answering illustrative exploratory research questions relating to the level of harmony and harmonisation trends. The specific analysis relates to deferred tax accounting in Ireland and Denmark over a period of eight years. Statistical analysis reinforces a discussion that warns researchers of the potential variations in results. Conclusions are drawn that the state of harmony is better estimated when the data is analysed to distinguish applicable from not-applicable cases of non-disclosure, and the index formulae applied are adjusted appropriately in both the numerator and the denominator. However, caution remains necessary where the non-disclosure level is relatively high.     

Epic Aspects of Retail Encounters: The Iliad of Hollister

Much has been written about myth and the marketplace. Consumer research has added immeasurably to academics’ appreciation of the myths that inhere in fabulous flagship stores and experiential retailing more generally. Studies of consumer mythopoeia, however, have tended to muffle the martial side of retailing, the heroic struggles that some customers undergo in-store. This article argues that the epic offers valuable insights into martial matters, and more. Although epic and myth overlap, they are far from identical. The former is characterized by conventions that can help illuminate consumers’ quests, not least their disturbing journeys through the underworld. These are considered in relation to Hollister (HCo), a phenomenally successful retail chain that’s renowned for its antithetical atmospherics and inky interior design. A qualitative study of Hollister lovers and haters casts light on the epic in action and adds to scholars’ understanding of immersive retailing experiences.     

“Moral Distance” in Organizations: An Inquiry into Ethical Violence in the Works of Kafka

In this paper, we demonstrate that the works of Franz Kafka provide an exemplary resource for the investigation of “moral distance” in organizational ethics. We accomplish this in two ways, first by drawing on Kafka’s work to navigate the complexities of the debate over the ethics of bureaucracy, using his work to expand and enrich the concept of “moral distance.” Second, Kafka’s work is used to investigate the existence of “ethical violence” within organizations which entails acts of condemnation and cruelty purportedly in the name of ethics. Kafka’s work provides insight into the processes of moral distancing across a range of organizational contexts including highly formal as well as more informal settings. The paper enriches the concept “moral distance” by identifying the existence of facilitators of moral distance beyond the mechanisms of formal rationality that have been the focus of existing studies. We argue that Kafka’s intense portrayal of “ethical violence” points to an aporia at the very heart of organizational ethics.     

Fashion involvement and experiential value: Gen Y retail apparel patronage

Despite Generation Y (Gen Y) consumers' significant role as a decision maker in the market, it is increasingly challenging for retailers to understand these consumers’ behavior and psychology. To enhance an in-depth understanding of Gen Y consumers, this study examined the effect of fashion involvement (FI) and perceived experiential value (EV) on Gen Y consumers’ retail apparel patronage behavior. Based on a survey method, data were collected from USA and Taiwan Gen Y samples. The structural equation modelling technique was used to analyze 413 useable surveys. Results indicate EV directly influences retail patronage, while FI indirectly affects retail patronage through EV. Analysis further reveals two dimensions of FI; cognitive involvement and affective involvement. Cognitive involvement has a moderate direct, negative effect on escapism value, and weak, negative effect on utilitarian value, while affective involvement has a moderate direct, positive effect on aesthetic value and weak, positive effect on escapism value. This study theoretically contributes to understanding how consumer involvement affects perceived experiential shopping value. Findings also provide strategic ideas for apparel retailers in creating shopping environments that resonate with Gen Y customers, which ultimately leads these customers to be loyal to their brands and stores.     

The success and future of gender-specific fundraising propositions

Men and women use language very differently in conversation. They also use different types of information, presented in different ways, to make decisions. And yet in a targeted appeal for support, which is essentially a proposition providing information and seeking a positive decision, no account is taken by charities of the gender of the recipient. This paper argues that all appeals will, in the matter of a few years, be written in gender-specific style, and cites focus-group research and a recent direct mail test (producing an 85 per cent uplift in response), as well as extensive literature on the use of language by the sexes, to support this argument.     

IS THERE A CONFLICT BETWEEN COMMERCIAL GAIN AND CONCERN FOR THE POOR? EVIDENCE FROM PRIVATE SCHOOLS FOR THE POOR IN INDIA AND NIGERIA

In many developing countries, private unaided schools are serving the poor in large numbers. Some commentators view their presence as undesirable - in particular assuming that there is a conflict between'commercial gain' and 'concern for the poor'. We show one way in which there is no conflict - the private unaided schools offer free or concessionary places to the poorest of the poor. Using data from a random sample of schools in Hyderabad, India, and a smaller sample in Makoko, Nigeria, we show that such places range from 10–20% of all places offered.