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- Andersson, Roy, et al.
(författare)
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Similarities and differences between TQM, six sigma and lean
- 2006
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Ingår i: TQM Magazine. - : Emerald. - 0954-478X .- 1758-6887. ; 18:3, s. 282-296
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Purpose – During the last decades, different quality management concepts, including total quality management (TQM), six sigma and lean, have been applied by many different organisations. Although much important work has been documented regarding TQM, six sigma and lean, a number of questions remain concerning the applicability of these concepts in various organisations and contexts. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to describe the similarities and differences between the concepts, including an evaluation and criticism of each concept.Design/methodology/approach – Within a case study, a literature review and face‐to‐face interviews in typical TQM, six sigma and lean organisations have been carried out.Findings – While TQM, six sigma and lean have many similarities, especially concerning origin, methodologies, tools and effects, they differ in some areas, in particular concerning the main theory, approach and the main criticism. The lean concept is slightly different from TQM and six sigma. However, there is a lot to gain if organisations are able to combine these three concepts, as they are complementary. Six sigma and lean are excellent road‐maps, which could be used one by one or combined, together with the values in TQM.Originality/value – The paper provides guidance to organisations regarding the applicability and properties of quality concepts. Organisations need to work continuously with customer‐orientated activities in order to survive; irrespective of how these activities are labelled. The paper will also serve as a basis for further research in this area, focusing on practical experience of these concepts.
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| 3. |
- Eriksson, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Experiences of long-term home care as an informal caregiver to a spouse : Gendered meanings in everyday life for female carers
- 2013
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Ingår i: International Journal of Older People Nursing. - Oxford : Wiley. - 1748-3735 .- 1748-3743. ; 8:2, s. 159-165
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background. One of the most common circumstances in which a woman gradually steps into a long-term caregiver role at home involves caring for a spouse suffering from dementia. Little attention has been paid to examining the experiences and motivations of such caregivers from a feminist perspective. Methods. Twelve women, all of whom were informal caregivers to a partner suffering from dementia, were interviewed on the following themes: the home, their partner's disease, everyday life, their relationship and autonomy. The results of these interviews were analysed in relation to gender identity and social power structures using a feminist perspective. Results. The findings of this study show that the informants frequently reflected on their caregiving activities in terms of both general and heteronormative expectations. The results suggest that the process of heteropolarisation in these cases can be an understood as a consequence of both the spouse's illness and the resulting caring duties. Also, the results suggest that the act of caring leads to introspections concerning perceived 'shortcomings' as a caregiver. Finally, the results indicate that it is important to recognise when the need for support in day-to-day caring is downplayed. Conclusions. Women view their caregiving role and responsibilities as paramount; their other duties, including caring for themselves, are deemed less important. We stress that the intense commitment and responsibilities that women experience in their day-to-day caring must be acknowledged and that it is important for healthcare professionals to find mechanisms for providing choices for female caregivers without neglecting their moral concerns. Implications for practice. Female carers face difficulties in always living up to gendered standards and this need to be considered when evaluating policies and practices for family carers.
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| 4. |
- Eriksson, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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His helping hands-adult daughter's perceptions' of fathers with caregiving responsibility
- 2013
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Ingår i: European Journal of Social Work. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1369-1457 .- 1468-2664. ; 16:2, s. 235-248
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Women's position as informal carers has been taken for granted in social policy and social professions, while relatively few discussions have elaborated on caring as a later life activity for men and the impact on family care. This study explores the processes connected to informal caregiving in later life through the position of adult daughters of older fathers engaged with long-term caregiving responsibilities for a partner. A sample of eight daughters, with fathers having primary caregiving responsibility for their ill partners was recruited and in-depth interviews were carried out and analysed according to qualitative procedures. The daughters' descriptions of their relationships with their fathers show that being an older man who engages in caring can have a positive outcome on relations. Even if some of the daughters have doubts about their fathers “masculine authenticity”, all of them appear to cherish “his helping hands” as a carer and closer more intimate relationships with their fathers. Caring for an old and frail spouse may potentially present alternative ways of being a man beyond traditional ‘male activities’ and that caring might also sometimes involve a re-construction of gender identities. It is suggested that social work professionals may use a gendered understanding to assess and work strategically with daughters and other family members who support caring fathers.
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| 6. |
- Eriksson, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Transitions in Men’s Caring Identities : Placing a partner in a nursing home
- 2008
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Ingår i: International Journal of Older People Nursing. - : Wiley. - 1748-3735 .- 1748-3743. ; 3:2, s. 131-137
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives. The aim of this study is to describe, from a gender identity perspective, the experiences of older men involved in the process of caring for a partner at home and the placement into a nursing home. Background. Few studies have paid attention to the importance of gender when considering the social experiences of older men providing care for an ill spouse and finally placing a partner in a nursing home. Further understanding is much needed of how older men experience the process of caring for a spouse from a gender identity perspective. Design. A qualitative constructivist approach was adopted for this study. Participants. Data consists of interviews with seven men that have been informal carers and experienced the placement of their wife in a nursing home. Methods. Interviews were analysed with a constructivist approach. Results. The results indicate that men go through two transitions in their gender identity during the caregiving process and placement. From the mutual loving relationship of being a loving husband, the social responsibility of daily care of their wives changes the situation into that of being a caring husband, and finally with the move to a nursing home there is a transition from intimate care to a relationship based on friendship. Conclusions. The results show that older caregiving men undergo a process involving a reconstruction of gender identity. To formally recognize men’s caring activities and to make them sustainable, we believe that men in an informal caring relationship need support. Relevance to clinical practice. Nurses need to recognize the identity struggles resulting in sadness and suffering that are related to changes in men’s lives during the caregiving process. Understanding the dynamics and changes that occur when men take on a caring task is important for the development of their role as carers.
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| 8. |
- Hammar, Karl, 1982-
(författare)
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Content Ontology Design Patterns: Qualities, Methods, and Tools
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Ontologies are formal knowledge models that describe concepts and relationships and enable data integration, information search, and reasoning. Ontology Design Patterns (ODPs) are reusable solutions intended to simplify ontology development and support the use of semantic technologies by ontology engineers. ODPs document and package good modelling practices for reuse, ideally enabling inexperienced ontologists to construct high-quality ontologies. Although ODPs are already used for development, there are still remaining challenges that have not been addressed in the literature. These research gaps include a lack of knowledge about (1) which ODP features are important for ontology engineering, (2) less experienced developers' preferences and barriers for employing ODP tooling, and (3) the suitability of the eXtreme Design (XD) ODP usage methodology in non-academic contexts.This dissertation aims to close these gaps by combining quantitative and qualitative methods, primarily based on five ontology engineering projects involving inexperienced ontologists. A series of ontology engineering workshops and surveys provided data about developer preferences regarding ODP features, ODP usage methodology, and ODP tooling needs. Other data sources are ontologies and ODPs published on the web, which have been studied in detail. To evaluate tooling improvements, experimental approaches provide data from comparison of new tools and techniques against established alternatives.The analysis of the gathered data resulted in a set of measurable quality indicators that cover aspects of ODP documentation, formal representation or axiomatisation, and usage by ontologists. These indicators highlight quality trade-offs: for instance, between ODP Learnability and Reusability, or between Functional Suitability and Performance Efficiency. Furthermore, the results demonstrate a need for ODP tools that support three novel property specialisation strategies, and highlight the preference of inexperienced developers for template-based ODP instantiation---neither of which are supported in prior tooling. The studies also resulted in improvements to ODP search engines based on ODP-specific attributes. Finally, the analysis shows that XD should include guidance for the developer roles and responsibilities in ontology engineering projects, suggestions on how to reuse existing ontology resources, and approaches for adapting XD to project-specific contexts.
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| 9. |
- Hammar, Karl, 1982-
(författare)
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Towards an Ontology Design Pattern Quality Model
- 2013
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The use of semantic technologies and Semantic Web ontologies in particular have enabled many recent developments in information integration, search engines, and reasoning over formalised knowledge. Ontology Design Patterns have been proposed to be useful in simplifying the development of Semantic Web ontologies by codifying and reusing modelling best practices.This thesis investigates the quality of Ontology Design Patterns. The main contribution of the thesis is a theoretically grounded and partially empirically evaluated quality model for such patterns including a set of quality characteristics, indicators, measurement methods and recommendations. The quality model is based on established theory on information system quality, conceptual model quality, and ontology evaluation. It has been tested in a case study setting and in two experiments.The main findings of this thesis are that the quality of Ontology Design Patterns can be identified, formalised and measured, and furthermore, that these qualities interact in such a way that ontology engineers using patterns need to make tradeoffs regarding which qualities they wish to prioritise. The developed model may aid them in making these choices.This work has been supported by Jönköing University.
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| 10. |
- Hellström, Ingrid, et al.
(författare)
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Chores and sense of self : gendered understandings of voices of older married women with dementia
- 2015
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Ingår i: International Journal of Older People Nursing. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1748-3735 .- 1748-3743. ; 10:2, s. 127-135
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background. Marital relationships in dementia are forged between the person withdementia and the care partner, and such relationships have an impact on the way inwhich dementia is understood and experienced. The everyday work that underpinsthe relationship is usually divided between spouses and based on traditional divisions of household chores.Aims and objectives. The aim was to describe how older women with dementia express the importance of their homes and their chores in everyday life.Methods. Seven women with dementia, who were cohabiting with their husbands, were interviewed on up to five occasions at home during a five-to-six-year period on the following themes: the home, their dementia illness, everyday life, their relationships with their husbands and dignity and autonomy.Results. The qualitative analysis showed three different patterns in the women’s narratives: keeping the core of the self through the home, keeping the self through polarising division of labour and keeping the self through (re-) negotiations of responsibilities. The feeling of one’s home and home-related chores is an essential way to express who you are.Conclusion. The women stated that household chores are the centre of their lives despite their dementia disease and that the home, even though it shrinks, still makes the women see themselves as an important person, namely the ‘competent wife’.Implications for practice. Nurses need to be aware that ‘doing gender’ may be a means of preserving personhood as well as of sustaining couplehood in dementia.
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