Christel McMullan

The Development of Entrepreneurial Leadership: The Role of Human, Social and Institutional Capital

This paper contributes to the literature on entrepreneurial leadership development. Leadership studies are characterized by an increasing emphasis given to an individual leaders social and organizational domain. Within the context of human capital and social capital theory, the paper reflects on the emergence of a social capital theory of leadership development. Using a retrospective, interpretivist research method, the authors present the experience of a cohort of business leaders on an executive development programme to uncover the everydayness of leadership development in practice. Specifically, they explore how entrepreneurial leadership develops as a social process and what the role of social capital is in this. The findings suggest that the enhancement of leaders’ human capital only occurred through their development of social capital. There is not, as extant literature suggests, a clear separation between leader development and leadership development. Further, the analysis implies that the social capital theory of leadership is limited in the context of the entrepreneurial small firm, and the authors propose that it should be expanded to incorporate institutional capital, that is, the formal structures and organizations which enhance the role of social capital and go beyond enriching the human capital stock of individual leaders.

Constructions of Social Exclusion among Young People from Interface Areas of Northern Ireland

The concept of social exclusion has attracted considerable interest and debate over the past 20 years. It is a multifaceted concept, which has been delineated in a variety of ways by different theorists. This article explores the main defining features of social exclusion, and proceeds to investigate the extent to which these are manifested in practice, in relation to the lived experiences of young people from deprived interface areas of Belfast. These young people are at the cutting edge of the divisions that have blighted Northern Ireland society. This qualitative study used interviews, firstly to ascertain the views of the young people themselves, and, secondly, to gauge the perceptions of community group leaders, training providers and employers who deal closely with them. Marked differences were found between the young people and the adult groups in relation to the social construction of exclusion and its impact on the young people.

'I have the world's best job' - staff experience of the advantages of caring for older people

RATIONALE Besides a growing demand for safe high-quality care for older people, long-term care (LTC) often struggles to recruit appropriately qualified nursing staff. Understanding what LTC staff value in their work may contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of what can attract staff and support person-centred care. AIM To explore staff experience of the advantages of working in LTC settings for older people. METHODS Narrative descriptions of 85 LTC staff in Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden on what they value in their work were analysed with qualitative content analysis. ETHICS Ethical approval was obtained according to the requirements of each country, and participants provided informed consent prior to the individual interviews. FINDINGS Working in LTC signifies bonding with the older people residing there, their next of kin and the team members. It means autonomy in ones daily tasks amalgamated with being a part of an affirmative team. Participants reported a sense of accomplishment and fulfilment; caring meant consideration and recognition of the older people and the relationships formed, which provided for professional and personal growth. The sharing of compassion between staff and residents indicated reciprocity of the relationship with residents. STUDY LIMITATIONS The findings may be transferable to LTC in general although they address only the positive aspects of caring for older people and only the experiences of those staff who had consented to take part in the study. CONCLUSIONS The findings add to what underpins the quality of care in nursing homes: compassion in the nurse-resident relationship and person-centred care in LTC. They indicate reciprocity in the relations formed that may contribute to the empowerment of older people, but further studies are needed to explore this in more detail.

The Development of Entrepreneurial Leadership

This paper contributes to the literature on entrepreneurial leadership development. Leadership studies are characterized by an increasing emphasis given to an individual leaders social and organizational domain. Within the context of human capital and social capital theory, the paper reflects on the emergence of a social capital theory of leadership development. Using a retrospective, interpretivist research method, the authors present the experience of a cohort of business leaders on an executive development programme to uncover the everydayness of leadership development in practice. Specifically, they explore how entrepreneurial leadership develops as a social process and what the role of social capital is in this. The findings suggest that the enhancement of leaders’ human capital only occurred through their development of social capital. There is not, as extant literature suggests, a clear separation between leader development and leadership development. Further, the analysis implies that the social capital theory of leadership is limited in the context of the entrepreneurial small firm, and the authors propose that it should be expanded to incorporate institutional capital, that is, the formal structures and organizations which enhance the role of social capital and go beyond enriching the human capital stock of individual leaders.

Using qualitative research to understand what outcomes matter to patients: direct and indirect approaches to outcome elicitation

Background There is a need for patient involvement when selecting trial outcomes, since their priorities may differ from healthcare professionals. Qualitative research can be used to identify outcomes that matter to patients in the development of core outcome sets (COS) and in trial feasibility studies that aim to feed patient perspectives into outcome domain selection for the definitive trial. For example, the COMET database currently includes 24 published (2-3/year) and 33 ongoing COS studies utilising interviews or focus groups with patients, carers and their representatives. However, it is unclear whether direct approaches to eliciting outcomes or indirect approaches focusing on the disease and treatment are most useful in informing trial design and outcome selection.

A mixed-methods feasibility and external pilot study to inform a large pragmatic randomised controlled trial of the effects of surgical wound dressing strategies on surgical site infections (Bluebelle Phase B): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BackgroundSurgical site infections (SSIs) are common, occurring in up to 25% of > 4 million operations performed in England each year. Previous trials of the effect of wound dressings on the risk of developing a SSI are of poor quality and underpowered.Methods/DesignThis study is a feasibility and pilot trial to examine the feasibility of a full trial that will compare simple dressings, no dressing and tissue-glue as a dressing. It is examining the overall acceptability of trial participation, identifying opportunities for refinement, testing the feasibility of and validating new outcome tools to assess SSI, wound management issues and patients’ wound symptom experiences. It is also exploring methods for avoiding performance bias and blinding outcome assessors by testing the feasibility of collecting wound photographs taken in theatre immediately after wound closure and, at 4–8 weeks after surgery, taken by participants themselves or their carers. Finally, it is identifying the main cost drivers for an economic evaluation of dressing types. Integrated qualitative research is exploring acceptability and reasons for non-adherence to allocation. Adults undergoing primary elective or unplanned abdominal general surgery or Caesarean section are eligible. The main exclusion criteria are abdominal or other major surgery less than three months before the index operation or contraindication to dressing allocation. The trial is scheduled to recruit for nine months. The findings will be used to inform the design of a main trial.DiscussionThis pilot trial is the first pragmatic study to randomise participants to no dressing or tissue-glue as a dressing versus a simple dressing. Early evidence from the ongoing pilot shows that recruitment is proceeding well and that the interventions are acceptable to participants. Combined with the qualitative findings, the findings will inform whether a main, large trial is feasible and, if so, how it should be designed.Trial registrationISRCTN49328913. Registered on 20 October 2015.

Adapting to ulcerative colitis to try to live a 'normal' life:: a qualitative study of patients' experiences in the Midlands region of England

Objective To provide a framework that is able to categorise whether patients are able to adapt to and lead a ‘normal’ life with ulcerative colitis (UC) and to detail the factors that influence this. Design Qualitative research study using in-depth semi-structured interviews. Setting Four clinical sites in the West and East Midlands regions of England. Participants 28 adult patients diagnosed with UC for years between 1 and 22. Results Medication was rarely sufficient for patients to adapt to UC and live as ‘normal’ a life as possible. Virtually all patients tested and adopted non-medical adaptation methods to improve physical and psychological well-being, to help them carry on working and to prevent embarrassment. In addition, some patients benefited from outside support providing them with practical, emotional and/or financial help. In conjunction with adaptation strategies and the time to adapt, this meant that some patients with severe clinical disease were able to maintain a sense of normality in life. Patients reported that clinicians were not always receptive to discussion of the broader context of life with UC. Conclusions Patients’ experience of UC and their ability to adapt in order to maintain a sense of normality in life is a complex interplay of symptoms, adaptation strategies and outside support. Over time patients test out a variety of non-medical adaptation strategies. Awareness of this may help clinicians and researchers to understand patients’ views on the role of medical and other therapies. Further research around the utility of this framework in clinical practice and research is now required. Trial registration number ISRCTN56523019, results.

The Development of Entrepreneurial Leadership: The Role of Human, Social and Institutional Capital: Development of Entrepreneurial Leadership

This paper contributes to the literature on entrepreneurial leadership development. Leadership studies are characterized by an increasing emphasis given to an individual leaders social and organizational domain. Within the context of human capital and social capital theory, the paper reflects on the emergence of a social capital theory of leadership development. Using a retrospective, interpretivist research method, the authors present the experience of a cohort of business leaders on an executive development programme to uncover the everydayness of leadership development in practice. Specifically, they explore how entrepreneurial leadership develops as a social process and what the role of social capital is in this. The findings suggest that the enhancement of leaders’ human capital only occurred through their development of social capital. There is not, as extant literature suggests, a clear separation between leader development and leadership development. Further, the analysis implies that the social capital theory of leadership is limited in the context of the entrepreneurial small firm, and the authors propose that it should be expanded to incorporate institutional capital, that is, the formal structures and organizations which enhance the role of social capital and go beyond enriching the human capital stock of individual leaders.