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Case Study Methodology (case + study_methodology)
Selected AbstractsEvaluating the context within which continence care is provided in rehabilitation units for older peopleINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OLDER PEOPLE NURSING, Issue 1 2007Jayne Wright Aim., This paper presents the first phase of an all Ireland 2-year study between the University of Ulster and University College Cork, to determine the contextual indicators that enable or hinder person centred continence care and management in rehabilitation settings for older people. The primary outcome of the study was the development of a tool to enable practitioners to assess the practice context within which continence care is provided. The main focus of this paper is the value of understanding practice ,context' (culture, leadership and evaluation) and its impact to the provision of person centred continence care. Background., The literature highlights the effect of continence problems on the quality of life of older people. Incontinence is often seen by health care professionals and older people as an inevitable consequence of ageing and difficult to treat. Furthermore, health care professionals do not always have the necessary skills and knowledge of best practice in continence care and treatments. The Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework utilized in the study proposes that successful implementation of evidence in practice is dependent on the inter-relationship of three key elements; the nature of the evidence, the quality of the context and expert facilitation. Kitson et al. propose that for successful implementation, evidence needs to be robust, the context receptive to change and appropriate facilitation is needed. Consequently understanding practice ,context' and its impact on the provision of person centred continence care is of value. Methods., Case study methodology with several data collection methods was utilized to measure all aspects of ,context' as identified by the PARIHS framework. Methods include: Royal College of Physicians Audit Scheme, Staff Knowledge questionnaire, semi-structured observation of practice and multidisciplinary focus groups. Findings., The data were analysed in two stages. Stage 1 using both qualitative and quantitative (SPSS 12) methods. Stage 2 analysed all the data utilizing the characteristics of context from the PARIHS framework in order to identify the strong and weak characteristics of the context within which continence care was provided. Continence care and management in this study was found to be focused on continence containment rather than proactive management. The evidence suggests that the context (leadership, culture and evaluation) was weak and not conducive to person centred continence care and management. Conclusion., An analysis of the data using the context framework provided a picture of the context within the units and the identification of the specific contextual issues hindering and enabling the delivery of person centred continence care. This process has thus, added to our understanding of the importance of context to the provision of person-centred care. [source] Intangible benefits valuation in ERP projectsINFORMATION SYSTEMS JOURNAL, Issue 4 2002Kenneth E Murphy Abstract. The development, implementation and ownership of information systems, especially large-scale systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), has become progressively longer in duration and more cost intensive. As a result, IS managers are being required to justify projects financially based on their return. Historically, information systems have been difficult to quantify in monetary terms because of the intangible nature of many of the derived benefits, e.g. improved customer service. Using the case study methodology, this paper examines an attempt by a large computer manufacturer to incorporate intangibles into traditional cost,benefit analysis in an ERP project. The paper reviews the importance of intangibles, lists intangible benefits that are important in ERP projects and demonstrates the use of a scheme through which they can be incorporated into traditional evaluation techniques. [source] Numeracy for adults with Down syndrome: it's a matter of quality of lifeJOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 10 2005R. Faragher Abstract Background Numeracy development is widely accepted as critical for adults in the general community which is equally the case for adults with Down syndrome. This paper reports some of the findings of a study including the research question: What is the justification for numeracy development for adults with Down syndrome? Investigating this question led to the search for a framework to support the ongoing development of numeracy. Method The research used a case study methodology. Five adults were observed and interviewed in two contexts each. The data were analyzed to identify links to the quality of life model. Results The research illustrates how a quality of life approach can be used to justify and guide the lifelong development of numeracy. Data from the case studies linked numeracy to quality of life under the principles of personal contexts, variability, life-span perspective, values, choices and personal control, perceptions and self-image. Conclusions The principles of quality of life can provide a framework for the development of numeracy in the context of adulthood and Down syndrome. Preparation for the numeracy needs of a long and satisfying adulthood should begin in early childhood, continue in schools with the teaching of underlying mathematics concepts and skills, and be modified and refined throughout adulthood by the use of a numeracy development plan. Carers and professionals interacting in the contexts need to adopt a teaching role for numeracy. [source] CULTIVATING JUST PLANNING AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL FARM STRUGGLE IN LOS ANGELESJOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2009CLARA IRAZÁBAL ABSTRACT:,The South Central Farm (SCF) in Los Angeles was a 14-acre urban farm in one of the highest concentrations of impoverished residents in the county. It was destroyed in July 2006. This article analyzes its epic as a landscape of resistance to discriminatory legal and planning practices. It then presents its creation and maintenance as an issue of environmental justice, and argues that there was a substantive rationale on the basis of environmental justice and planning ethics that should have provided sufficient grounds for the city to prevent its dismantling. Based on qualitative case study methodology, the study contributes to the formulation of creation and preservation rationales for community gardens and other "commons" threatened by eventual dismantlement in capitalist societies. [source] The organizational knowledge iceberg: An empirical investigationKNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 2 2009Sajjad HaiderArticle first published online: 11 APR 200 This study explores the critical success factors of implementing and running a knowledge management program. In doing so, the paper proposes and tests a conceptual model of "knowledge iceberg" inside the organization using a case study methodology. In total 89 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted over a period of 1 year in the SoftNetCo company to study success factors in the implementation of knowledge initiatives. During the research period 11 knowledge management initiatives were launched in the company which provided an excellent platform to conduct this research. The findings of the study suggest the existence of a knowledge iceberg inside organizations. It is reported that six activities can cause the knowledge iceberg to rise which is critical for the success of knowledge management initiatives. It is further argued that a holistic approach is required to manage knowledge, people, and culture and that managers have to concentrate more on managing people than the knowledge itself. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Defining a knowledge strategy framework for process aligned organizations: an IBM caseKNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 2 2008Stephen McLaughlin Many organizations struggling to capitalize on their knowledge assets tend to let their knowledge management systems emerge from existing IT systems and infrastructure. Within a complex business environment this can cause a mismatch between how knowledge assets are, and should be managed. In order to help organizations develop dynamic and effective KM systems, the authors' suggest that organizations need to re-think how knowledge is created and shared around their core business processes. To be more specific the author's contend that for organizations where inter/intra organizational collaboration is vital to overall end-to-end performance, such as in a supply chain, organizations need to consider first the relationship between what the authors see as four key components. These are knowledge strategy, core process optimization, core process performance and knowledge barriers. This paper will explain why these components are important, and the relationship between them. The findings put forward in this paper are based on research concerned with improving process performance through knowledge transfer. The research follows a critical theory approach to identify best knowledge transfer practice across complex organizations. The research is exploratory in nature and a case study methodology is used to support this line of inductive theory building. The findings presented are based on data collated within, and across IBM's integrated supply chain. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] |