Shared service center research: A review of the past,present, and future

More than 75% of Fortune 500 companies have established models of shared services with the aim of gaining superior performance by cost savings and service enhancements. Despite scholars' complaints about scant shared service center (SSC) research, this study shows that the actual shortcoming in this stream concerns a high fragmentation of the academic literature (e.g., we found 137 works in the initial search and 83 works in a refined screen). In this first comprehensive literature review, we synthesize peer-reviewed articles and classify them into 4 perspectives according to their research questions (i.e., determinant, process, control, and outcome). We identify 17 major research areas across these perspectives. Additionally, we provide information on methodologies and theories. On the basis of the literature synthesis, we discuss opportunities and gaps and propose an agenda for future research. Specifically, we suggest 3 potential research directions (i.e., direct relationships, mediating, and outcome effects) regarding SSCs during their operational maturity phase.     

Women’s experiences of,and attitudes to,maternity education across the perinatal period in Victoria,Australia: A mixed-methods approach

Background

While the provision of maternity education across the perinatal period can increase the confidence and self-efficacy in childbearing women, there is still thought to be a lack of effective educational resources for parenthood. This study, conducted in Victoria, Australia, investigated women’s experiences of, and attitudes to education communicated in maternity service provision.

Videoing Supervision: Messages for Probation Practice

This paper reports on a PhD study, investigating the supervision of women service users (WSUs), by probation officers (POs) based on video data of one-to-one supervision sessions. The research identifies competing agendas of probation in England and Wales – one side emphasises punishment, whilst the other encourages humanistic, relationship-based practices. POs, routinely juggling these opposing expectations, appreciate traditional probation values of giving the WSU a voice and embracing psychodynamic approaches, to provide structure and support in confronting the complexities of officer/service user interactions. However, the data show that driven by managerialist enforcement requirements, it is the punitive discourse which is more frequently translated into practice. Organisational pressures, feelings about the person opposite, the offence or the individual’s background can manifest as conscious or unconscious micro-messages or masking messages. Just as SUs put on masks to disguise negative emotions or feel powerful, so too do POs; POs recognise masks and deceptions in SUs and, similarly, SUs are aware of this dynamic with POs. The research identifies practitioner ambivalence to certain narratives, particularly sexual abuse or poor mental health and, it is argued, reflective supervision is needed to deconstruct difficult personal and professional issues.     

老字号品牌价值共创机理及对策研究——基于服务主导逻辑视角

将服务主导逻辑的思维范式引入老字号企业中来,结合消费文化和社会情景价值理论探讨该领域中品牌价值的共创机理,基于理论假设构建研究框架。以北京、上海、福建三个地区的不同行业老字号品牌企业为实证研究对象,对企业员工和消费者进行访谈和问卷调查。通过修正的初始量表,基于PLS-SEM方法对收集的309份有效问卷调查数据应用SPSS22.0和Smart PLS2.0进行分析,验证消费者情感价值共创的中介作用及互联网媒介交互的调节作用。分析结果表明,消费者与老字号企业共同创造价值,历史悠久的老字号品牌企业关注基于互联网媒介下不同利益相关者的互动和协同才能创造品牌价值共创的最理想点,最后为老字号品牌管理提供有益的建议和应对策略。     

湖南省学前教育普及现状调查与对策建议

湖南省实施发展学前教育三年行动计划效果明显，学前教育机构总数、在园幼儿数、学前三年毛入学率显著增加。与经济发达省份对比，湖南省学前教育普及水平还比较落后，城镇学前教育普及水平明显高于农村地区，县域之间学前教育普及水平差距明显。湖南省普及学前教育面临的主要问题是：政府主导作用发挥不够、农村学前教育普及水平落后、学前教育基础建设不足、普及学前教育路径不畅。推进湖南学前教育持续普及，需要构建学前教育公共服务体系，大力扶持农村学前教育，建立学前教育的保障体系，优化学前教育普及模式。     

国家治理体系与政府购买公共服务

政府购买公共服务关系到政府职能的转变和政府治理水平的提升,关系到政府与市场之间功能与地位的调整与理顺,因而是国家治理体系的重要一环。政府购买公共服务背后体现的是国家治理体系现代化的取向,那么在理论逻辑上是要以新公共管理理论、政府治理、第三方治理和多中心治理理论为理论基石。目前,我国政府购买公共服务还存在着范围不清、关系不顺、法律不健全的制度现实,因而必须构建科学规范的现代化的政府购买服务制度和配套制度体系,以进一步推进国家治理体系的制度现代化。     

Multi-objective optimization in partitioning the healthcare system of Parana State in Brazil

Motivated by a proposal of the local authority for improving the existing healthcare system in the Parana State in Brazil, this article presents an optimization-based model for developing a better system for patients by aggregating various health services offered in the municipalities of Parana into some microregions. The problem is formulated as a multi-objective partitioning of the nodes of an undirected graph (or network) with the municipalities as the nodes and the roads connecting them as the edges of the graph. Maximizing the population homogeneity in the microregions, maximizing the variety of medical procedures offered in the microregions, and minimizing the inter-microregion distances to be traveled by patients are considered as three objective functions of the problem. An integer-coded multi-objective genetic algorithm is adopted as the optimization tool, which yields a significant improvement to the existing healthcare system map of the Parana State. The results obtained may have a strong impact on the healthcare system management in Parana. The model proposed here could be a useful tool to aid the decision-making in health management, as well as for better organization of any healthcare system, including those of other Brazilian States.     

Sexual Health Services for Homeless Youth: A Qualitative Analysis of their Experiences

The sexual health problems experienced by homeless youth bring into question their use of available sexual health services. Using a qualitative typological analysis, this study aims to identify sexual health services utilization profiles for homeless youth, and to understand the role of the homeless experience on the utilization of sexual health services. Individual interviews were conducted with 33 homeless youth (17 men, 16 women) between 18 and 25?years of age. Typological analysis identified four profiles: (1) a targeted use of sexual health services to determine one’s serological status following a relational change during the homeless experience; (2) a limited use of sexual health services to manage sexual emergencies that arise during the homeless experience; (3) a regular use of sexual health services to avoid the risks associated with the homeless experience; (4) a frequent use of sexual health services to obtain support when engaging in prostitution during the homeless experience. This study shows that the precarious and unstable conditions within the homeless experience incite youth to utilize sexual health services in different ways. These findings point to the importance of rethinking sexual health services to better adapt them to the different utilization profiles of homeless youth.     

Key Determinants to using Telehealth Technology to Serve Medically Ill and Depressed Homebound Older Adults

Despite the increasing evidence for the effectiveness of telehealth technology in screening and treating chronic diseases, and comorbid depression among older adults, they have been slowly adopted by home health care (HHC) agencies. Therefore, this study aimed to identify factors that determine telehealth technology adoption. Twenty directors from the National Association for Homecare & Hospice member agencies completed a 45-min telephone interview. Questions were asked regarding their perceptions of telehealth, the key determinants of telehealth adoption and use, and recommendations they would give on telehealth adoption. The majority of the participants perceived telehealth as effective for managing symptoms and reducing cost. Meanwhile, some participants had a mixed feeling toward telehealth for depression care as they did not recognize their agency as equipped with the necessary resources and trained staff. Moreover, significant determinants of telehealth adoption included the agency-related characteristics, the patient-home environment, reimbursement and cost-related factors, and staff telehealth perception. Findings imply that there is a need for financial support both at the state and the federal levels to encourage telehealth adoption among HHC agencies. Future studies should consider exploring strategies used by successful programs to overcome barriers.     

The changing landscape of public service delivery systems for disabled people in China: a Shanghai case study

This article will consider the current development of an emerging contract culture for the delivery of social services and its impact on disabled people in China. The discussion is based on an original qualitative study in Shanghai. The past 30 years have seen dramatic changes in China, which in parts have led to improvements in the lives of disabled people. The China Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF) became a key player in delivering these changes with the government. However, the CDPF is being criticized by disabled people for being too bureaucratic and not being effective enough in its delivery of services. One of its responses is to work with newly emerging not-for-profit organizations (NPOs) of and for disabled people. The CDPF has now begun to contract the delivery of some services to such NPOs. It is hoped that this may improve their effectiveness but the development of a contract culture in the delivery of services for disabled people may also be seen to pose a threat.