Browsing by Author "Thompson, Ed"
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Item Open Access An Actor-Network Theory of Boundary Objects: Construction and Disappearance(British Academy of Management, 2016-09-06) Thompson, EdBoundary objects (Star and Grisemer, 1989) are non-human actors that are able to coordinate collaborative activity across social worlds. The means of boundary object emergence has not previously been theorised. This article makes use of Actor-Network Theory as a means of understanding boundary object ontology and transience. A case study of an emergency management collaboration forms the context for observing the construction and disappearance of a boundary object (here an emergency plan) in a turbulent actor-network. The article asserts that boundary objects are created through closer aligning understanding, and inscription – together identified as structuring activities. The strength of the object is determined by connections to strong actors. The moving of a boundary object between contexts is identified as re-contextualisation, a period in which the ontological strength of an object diminishes as connections to other actors are eroded in turbulent contexts.Item Metadata only Austerity Realism and the Governance of Leicester(Routledge, 2016-03-01) Davies, Jonathan S.; Thompson, EdItem Open Access The Boundaries of Bricolage(British Academy of Management, 2016-09-06) Thompson, Ed; Cantliff, DavidBricolage is established in the literature as a problem solving practice employed in turbulent contexts to overcome unexpected problems. This paper reviews existing literature on bricolage with a view to establishing the boundaries of the practice. A typology of ingenuer, bricoleurs and improvisers is proposed to define the practitioners of bricolage from others. The article then considers the defining characteristics of bricolage in terms of the novelty of the problem and the novelty of the solution.Item Metadata only The business environment: a global perspective(Pearson Education, 2018) Worthington, Ian; Britton, C.; Thompson, EdItem Open Access Care and the Vote(Political Studies Association, 2016-03-21) Thompson, Ed; Kaur, Ramanjeet; Baggott, Rob; Scullion, JaneThe right to vote is seen as a pillar of modern democracies and a component of a ‘good life’ of social participation. In the UK that right is extended to all adults unless they have been convicted of an offence in perverting democracy or are a prisoner. However it is possible that other barriers exist to prevent people from voting. This pilot research has investigated how democratic rights have been exercised by those in residential and nursing care – homes in Leicester and Leicestershire serve as a population. Citizens in such institutions often suffer from conditions which may affect their mental capacity, as well as making them particularly vulnerable to political decisions and policy changes. Following the 2015 general election each of the homes (n=272) was invited to take part in a telephone survey: 122 (45%) responded. Initial results suggest a significant difference in turnout exists between the population of care and nursing homes in comparison to the population average. Despite mental capacity having no bearing on voting rights, results from the survey indicate that many homes have considered residents’ capacity before allowing them to vote. Other possible barriers are discussed. The findings present significant avenues for future research. Firstly, there is a need for larger studies toward nationally representative figures. Secondly, it raises policy questions about how those in care in the UK are, or can be, enabled to vote. Finally, it has revealed that methods used for capacity testing in care and nursing homes are often improvised with little or no legal or medical foundation.Item Open Access Mental Capacity and the Vote: Divergent International Approaches and Shared Problems(2015) Thompson, Ed; Kaur, RamanjeetOn the 7th May this year millions of people went to polling stations (or had submitted postal votes) to choose their representatives in the House of Commons and other public office. These elected representatives make decisions which affect the public; and none are more subject to the implications of those decisions than individuals who receive medical, nursing, or social care. Despite their possible dependencies, research has shown that those in the UK receiving nursing care(Hudson, 1997; Nabi, 2002) or have ‘intellectual disabilities’ (Keeley et al., 2008) are substantially less likely to vote than the rest of the population(around a half or a third as likely, retrospectively). There are two contrasting national views on whether people who may have limited capacity should be allowed to vote. The UK system is designed to maximise democratic participation through voting. There is no restriction to accessing the vote by those who have any kind of intellectual impairment (The Mental Capacity Act 2005 prohibits substitute decisions with regard to voting), with the exception of those who are detained in psychiatric hospitals as a result of criminal activity. Though, contradictory advice exists, with the Citizens Advice Bureau (ND, online) suggesting that “people who have a severe mental illness and are unable to understand the voting procedure […] cannot vote.” In the United Kingdom the principal remains that all of those who wish to vote are able to do so; in keeping with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, where citizens with disabilities have the same political rights as any other citizen (see Keely et al., 2008). Equal access to the ballot is not practiced in the United States of America, where the prime concern with regard to capacity for decision making rests with the integrity of the ballot. Following a 2001 federal court decision ‘The Doe Standard’(Doe v. Roe, 2001) was introduced which set a requirement for competence in order to vote, those found to lack capacity for making electoral decisions are restricted from voting. Where capacity might be called into question a test might be conducted by a psychiatrist. Appelbaum et al. (2005) reports on the development of a specific test, the Competence Assessment Tool for Voting (CAT-V), which includes criteria to assess the nature and personal impact of voting. Those who are found not to have capacity are denied the right to vote. Subsequent research interest with regards to adaptations of the CAT-V has been seen in Italy (Tiraboschi et al., 2011) and Spain (Irastorza et al, 2011). The practicalities of administering such a test within a short timeframe to all of those who are known to have a condition affecting capacity would seem to be problematic for psychiatrists and allied professionals with limited resources. The question of whether those who do not have capacity in regard to an electoral decision should vote would seem to be a broad issue with many interested parties, particularly in the light of growing levels of an aging population and rising numbers of dementia sufferers. There exists a more specific problem for psychiatry to consider (at least in an international context)in the practicalities of such a situation, and whether the capacity of a large number of people can be assessed at a time immediately prior to an election.Item Open Access The Structuring Activities of Boundary Objects(Orgnaizational Learning, Knowledge and Capabilities Conference, 2017-03-28) Thompson, Ed; Herbane, B.; Macpherson, AllanBoundary objects (Star and Griesemer, 1989) are non-human actors or artefacts that can coordinate collaborative activity across social worlds. Unlike human actors, who have intentionality, this coordinating role occurs as the object is embedded in the network of actors and they influence or shape interactions and meanings between human actors. While existing research has investigated, and demonstrated, the success of objects facilitating collaboration within (epistemic objects, Knorr Cetina, 1999) and across (boundary objects, Star and Griesemer, 1989) groups, it has hitherto been unable to explain how such objects come into being (Nicolini et al, 2012); the focus has been on the role of objects in assembling networks of actors, rather than the roles of networks of actors in assembling specific objects (Knights and McCabe, 2016). Moreover, primarily research on such boundary objects has been in stable environments, where day-today activity is predictable and ordered. This article makes use of Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as a means of understanding boundary object formation, ontology and transience. Specifically, this paper addresses how boundary objects come into being, how they hold together the actor network, and how they are affected by changes in context.Item Metadata only The Role of Traditions in Crisis – ‘Women and Children First’(British Academy of Management: Achieving transformation for greater good: Societal, organisational and personal barriers and enablers., 2024-09-02) Thompson, Ed; Buckley, D.This paper considers how solutions created during crisis by bricolage can permeate the popular narrative to become traditions, using the example of ‘women and children first’ established in 1852 during the sinking of HMS Birkenhead off the coast of South Africa. The theoretical implications include bricolaged solutions lasting over many years between and across situations.Item Open Access Why is Austerity Governable? A Gramscian Urban Regime Analysis of Leicester, UK(Wiley, 2018-08-15) Davies, Jonathan S.; Bua, Adrian; Thompson, Ed; Cortina-Oriol, MercèAusterity has been delivered in the UK, without durably effective resistance. Read through a dialogue between Urban Regime Theory and Gramsci’s theory of the integral state, the paper considers how austerity was normalised and made governable in the city of Leicester. It shows how Leicester navigated waves of crisis, restructuring and austerity, positioning itself as a multicultural city of entrepreneurs. The paper explores historical influences on the development of the local state, inscribed in the politics of austerity governance today. From a regime-theoretical standpoint, it shows how the local state accrued the governing resources to deliver austerity, while disorganising and containing resistance. Imbued with legacies of past-struggles, this process of organised-disorganisation produced a functional hegemony articulated in the multiple subjectivities of “austerian realism”. The paper elaborates six dimensions of Gramscian regime analysis to inform further research.