Jan Myers | Northumbria University (original) (raw)

Papers by Jan Myers

Cet article se fonde sur des recherches empiriques menées sur les performances financières et opé... more Cet article se fonde sur des recherches empiriques menées sur les performances financières et opérationnelles des coopératives d’épargne et de crédit (CEC) au pays de Galles. Cette recherche s’intéresse au soutien financier du Parlement gallois et du gouvernement britannique et aux conséquences qu’aura le programme d’insertion financière sur l’espace économique et social occupé par les coopératives d’épargne et de crédit.Cet article met l’accent sur un aspect particulier de larecherche : les entretiens réalisés avec des acteurs clés, des décideurs et des politiciens. Le mouvement naissant des coopératives d’épargne et de crédit s’est développé sous les bons auspices d’un gouvernement décentralisé. Cependant, les chercheurs remarquent que se préoccuper d’un programme d’insertion financière tout en se battant pour devenir des institutions financières coopératives indépendantes non seulement met à rude épreuve la performance financière et opérationnelle des coopératives d’épargne et de crédit, mais présente aussi des défis particuliers en termes d’orientation stratégique, de gestion et de gouvernance pour ces organisations en plein essor. A cet égard, cet article constitue une pièce de taille dans le puzzle du développement des CEC en Grande-Bretagn

The SES/ESD Network will periodically publish research papers about our research in Atlantic Cana... more The SES/ESD Network will periodically publish research papers about our research in Atlantic Canada. The papers will be written by both academics and social economy practitioners. The SES/ESD Network hopes these papers will contribute to the theory and practice of social economy within the Atlantic Region. Noreen Millar is the Network Coordinator and Managing Editor of the Working Paper Series. Papers in this series are not formally peer reviewed, but are products of Network-approved and managed research projects. About CSERP The Canadian Social Economy Research Partnerships (CSERP) is a collaborative effort of six regional research centres (nodes) across Canada, their community partners, and the national facilitating research hub. CSERP reaches out to practitioners, to researchers and to civil society, through the regional research centres and their community partners. It undertakes research as needed in order to understand and promote the social economy tradition within Canada and as a subject of academic enquiry within universities.

The paper thus draws on initial qualitative research with women entrepreneurs and begins to plot ... more The paper thus draws on initial qualitative research with women entrepreneurs and begins to plot the life stories of individuals to capture and give voice to women’s social experience; moreover to consider the distinctiveness of gender in social enterprise sectors and to thus consider specific characteristic of entrepreneurial behaviour in this context.

This paper considers the development of public service mutuals (PSMs) – those organisations that ... more This paper considers the development of public service mutuals (PSMs) – those organisations that have spun out of the public sector, and where employees of the new providers play a key role in shaping and delivering public services at local and national levels. This includes both the establishment of mutual organizations to deliver services and the application of mutual values and principles to the governance and management of new and existing non-mutual organizations.

Sustainability, Dec 24, 2010

How we know, is at least as important as what we know: Before educationalists can begin to teach ... more How we know, is at least as important as what we know: Before educationalists can begin to teach sustainability, we need to explore our own views of the world and how these are formed. The paper explores the ontological assumptions that underpin, usually implicitly, the pedagogical relationship and opens up the question of how people know each other and the world they share. Using understandings based in a phenomenological approach and guided by social constructionism, it suggests that the most appropriate pedagogical method for teaching sustainability is one based on situated learning and reflexive practice. To support its ontological questioning, the paper highlights two alternative culture's ways of understanding and recording the world: Those of the Inca who inhabited pre-Columbian Peru, which was based on the quipu system of knotted strings, and the complex social and religious system of the songlines of the original people of Australia. As an indication of the sorts of teaching experiences that an emancipatory and relational pedagogy might give rise to, the paper offers examples of two community learning experiences in the exemplar sustainable community of Stroud, Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom where the authors live.

The discourse of change in the provision of health and social care services has shifted and with ... more The discourse of change in the provision of health and social care services has shifted and with it new labels have been created for organisations and initiaitves that participate in the new strutcures: beacons, trailvlasers, and pathfinders.Alongside this there have been increased calls for accountability and a focus on achieving improved services and cost eficiencies through innovation. In Wales, a series of publications linked to public service reform has championed a citizen-centred model (the patient voice)that reinforces a move away from patients as passive recipients of services to that of engaged consumers and co-producers of services. Furthermore, the potential for rural community involvement in achieving Welsh Government aims for community cohesion and engagement is central to the Rural Health Plan, which has facilitated the development of a number of Rural Health Innovation Projects (RHIPs). Drawing on in-depth interviews with practitioners responsible for the design and deliver of RHIPs, this paper examines the processes of innovating in rural health and social care. We explore the strategic and operational issues that enhance or inhibit innovative practice. We suggest there are two key challenges to promoting co-design and effective co-production of new services in rural Wales. First, innovation processes can be seen to limit the potential for service user involvement. Second, practitioners' perceptions of their own and patients' skills and knowledge can act as barriers to meaningful engagement in, and chnages to, service design and delivery.

This paper draws on research undertaken in a rural health setting in Wales to consider how contin... more This paper draws on research undertaken in a rural health setting in Wales to consider how continued external interventions to encourage structural and service delivery changes impact on inter-personal and inter-organisational readiness to initiate and/or adopt innovative processes. What is of interest is the concept of trust as a mediator for change and the cognitive and affective elements that support positive expectations and cross-organisational working.

This chapter responds in part to the economic and financial crises, which we are currently experi... more This chapter responds in part to the economic and financial crises, which we are currently experiencing in the UK and indeed internationally. While this chapter does not focus on the reasons leading to the crises themselves, these events have resulted in – and provide a context for examination of – renewed interest in mutual models of business and service delivery as trust in our financial institutions, public and government agencies, and politicians has been shaken. This interest has been accompanied by re-positioning around principles and values whereby ‘cooperatives everywhere are rediscovering their core values as member-owned businesses, and are making these part of their business strategy’.

Advances in business strategy and competitive advantage book series, 2019

Research has demonstrated the importance of social capital for individual and firm-wide success s... more Research has demonstrated the importance of social capital for individual and firm-wide success such as individual promotions and firm innovation. Much of the research on social capital examines how individuals or firms can utilize existing social capital, but there is little research that explores how capital credit is generated and accessed in the first place. This chapter proposes a new framework to explore processes of generating, accessing, and accumulating social capital in relation to workplace innovation.

Local Economy, Aug 8, 2013

The near-collapse of the country’s largest financial institutions and the forced nationalisation ... more The near-collapse of the country’s largest financial institutions and the forced nationalisation of two major high-street banks raise concerns about the ability of smaller financial institutions to survive. In this article we assess the performance of a credit union in the South Wales Valleys in the context of the financial crisis. We offer a profile of Valleys Credit Union and provide statistics to assess its financial health and viability. We conclude that, while the credit union has ridden out the storm with considerable skill, it and other credit unions require continued political support, especially in terms of intervention in the market for instant loans with excessive rates of interest.

What is a self-help group? starting a group membership, purpose and participation communication -... more What is a self-help group? starting a group membership, purpose and participation communication - how groups work activities - what groups do extending member skills and knowledge publicity money transport and getting together computers and printing relationships with national organizations relationships with local professional workers drawing on local sources of help changes in groups raising awareness and campaigning for change ending a group with dignity evaluating your work.

Public Money & Management, Nov 9, 2015

There have been a number of developments in approaches to public service delivery in the UK, part... more There have been a number of developments in approaches to public service delivery in the UK, partly as a response to austerity measures, as well as a shift to new models of public sector, private and third sector provision. This article considers the development of public service mutuals—those organizations that have spun out of the public sector, and where employees of the new providers play a key role in shaping and delivering public services at local and national levels. The authors identify areas where further work is needed to better understand these new models and to consider whether the perceived benefits associated with traditional mutual models are applicable when applied to public service provision.

Public Money & Management, Jan 12, 2017

Journal of European Industrial Training, Dec 1, 2001

Much of the research and dialogue around the voluntary sector is around the economics and identit... more Much of the research and dialogue around the voluntary sector is around the economics and identity of the sector. Its relationship with clients, suppliers and government has become more sophisticated and complex. The ability of voluntary sector leadership to be proactive in determining the nature of these relationships underpins much of the current debate on the future of the voluntary sector, both in the UK and internationally. There are useful lessons to be learnt from business techniques. Yet, the execution of business‐enhancing tools needs to be considered in the context relevant to the sector’s interests and to the primary aims of a sector. This paper is based on practitioner experience, previous unpublished research, initial doctoral research into management and learning in the sector and e‐mail interviews with key respondents working in the non‐profit sector in the UK and Russia.

Cet article se fonde sur des recherches empiriques menées sur les performances financières et opé... more Cet article se fonde sur des recherches empiriques menées sur les performances financières et opérationnelles des coopératives d’épargne et de crédit (CEC) au pays de Galles. Cette recherche s’intéresse au soutien financier du Parlement gallois et du gouvernement britannique et aux conséquences qu’aura le programme d’insertion financière sur l’espace économique et social occupé par les coopératives d’épargne et de crédit.Cet article met l’accent sur un aspect particulier de larecherche : les entretiens réalisés avec des acteurs clés, des décideurs et des politiciens. Le mouvement naissant des coopératives d’épargne et de crédit s’est développé sous les bons auspices d’un gouvernement décentralisé. Cependant, les chercheurs remarquent que se préoccuper d’un programme d’insertion financière tout en se battant pour devenir des institutions financières coopératives indépendantes non seulement met à rude épreuve la performance financière et opérationnelle des coopératives d’épargne et de crédit, mais présente aussi des défis particuliers en termes d’orientation stratégique, de gestion et de gouvernance pour ces organisations en plein essor. A cet égard, cet article constitue une pièce de taille dans le puzzle du développement des CEC en Grande-Bretagn

The SES/ESD Network will periodically publish research papers about our research in Atlantic Cana... more The SES/ESD Network will periodically publish research papers about our research in Atlantic Canada. The papers will be written by both academics and social economy practitioners. The SES/ESD Network hopes these papers will contribute to the theory and practice of social economy within the Atlantic Region. Noreen Millar is the Network Coordinator and Managing Editor of the Working Paper Series. Papers in this series are not formally peer reviewed, but are products of Network-approved and managed research projects. About CSERP The Canadian Social Economy Research Partnerships (CSERP) is a collaborative effort of six regional research centres (nodes) across Canada, their community partners, and the national facilitating research hub. CSERP reaches out to practitioners, to researchers and to civil society, through the regional research centres and their community partners. It undertakes research as needed in order to understand and promote the social economy tradition within Canada and as a subject of academic enquiry within universities.

The paper thus draws on initial qualitative research with women entrepreneurs and begins to plot ... more The paper thus draws on initial qualitative research with women entrepreneurs and begins to plot the life stories of individuals to capture and give voice to women’s social experience; moreover to consider the distinctiveness of gender in social enterprise sectors and to thus consider specific characteristic of entrepreneurial behaviour in this context.

This paper considers the development of public service mutuals (PSMs) – those organisations that ... more This paper considers the development of public service mutuals (PSMs) – those organisations that have spun out of the public sector, and where employees of the new providers play a key role in shaping and delivering public services at local and national levels. This includes both the establishment of mutual organizations to deliver services and the application of mutual values and principles to the governance and management of new and existing non-mutual organizations.

Sustainability, Dec 24, 2010

How we know, is at least as important as what we know: Before educationalists can begin to teach ... more How we know, is at least as important as what we know: Before educationalists can begin to teach sustainability, we need to explore our own views of the world and how these are formed. The paper explores the ontological assumptions that underpin, usually implicitly, the pedagogical relationship and opens up the question of how people know each other and the world they share. Using understandings based in a phenomenological approach and guided by social constructionism, it suggests that the most appropriate pedagogical method for teaching sustainability is one based on situated learning and reflexive practice. To support its ontological questioning, the paper highlights two alternative culture's ways of understanding and recording the world: Those of the Inca who inhabited pre-Columbian Peru, which was based on the quipu system of knotted strings, and the complex social and religious system of the songlines of the original people of Australia. As an indication of the sorts of teaching experiences that an emancipatory and relational pedagogy might give rise to, the paper offers examples of two community learning experiences in the exemplar sustainable community of Stroud, Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom where the authors live.

The discourse of change in the provision of health and social care services has shifted and with ... more The discourse of change in the provision of health and social care services has shifted and with it new labels have been created for organisations and initiaitves that participate in the new strutcures: beacons, trailvlasers, and pathfinders.Alongside this there have been increased calls for accountability and a focus on achieving improved services and cost eficiencies through innovation. In Wales, a series of publications linked to public service reform has championed a citizen-centred model (the patient voice)that reinforces a move away from patients as passive recipients of services to that of engaged consumers and co-producers of services. Furthermore, the potential for rural community involvement in achieving Welsh Government aims for community cohesion and engagement is central to the Rural Health Plan, which has facilitated the development of a number of Rural Health Innovation Projects (RHIPs). Drawing on in-depth interviews with practitioners responsible for the design and deliver of RHIPs, this paper examines the processes of innovating in rural health and social care. We explore the strategic and operational issues that enhance or inhibit innovative practice. We suggest there are two key challenges to promoting co-design and effective co-production of new services in rural Wales. First, innovation processes can be seen to limit the potential for service user involvement. Second, practitioners' perceptions of their own and patients' skills and knowledge can act as barriers to meaningful engagement in, and chnages to, service design and delivery.

This paper draws on research undertaken in a rural health setting in Wales to consider how contin... more This paper draws on research undertaken in a rural health setting in Wales to consider how continued external interventions to encourage structural and service delivery changes impact on inter-personal and inter-organisational readiness to initiate and/or adopt innovative processes. What is of interest is the concept of trust as a mediator for change and the cognitive and affective elements that support positive expectations and cross-organisational working.

This chapter responds in part to the economic and financial crises, which we are currently experi... more This chapter responds in part to the economic and financial crises, which we are currently experiencing in the UK and indeed internationally. While this chapter does not focus on the reasons leading to the crises themselves, these events have resulted in – and provide a context for examination of – renewed interest in mutual models of business and service delivery as trust in our financial institutions, public and government agencies, and politicians has been shaken. This interest has been accompanied by re-positioning around principles and values whereby ‘cooperatives everywhere are rediscovering their core values as member-owned businesses, and are making these part of their business strategy’.

Advances in business strategy and competitive advantage book series, 2019

Research has demonstrated the importance of social capital for individual and firm-wide success s... more Research has demonstrated the importance of social capital for individual and firm-wide success such as individual promotions and firm innovation. Much of the research on social capital examines how individuals or firms can utilize existing social capital, but there is little research that explores how capital credit is generated and accessed in the first place. This chapter proposes a new framework to explore processes of generating, accessing, and accumulating social capital in relation to workplace innovation.

Local Economy, Aug 8, 2013

The near-collapse of the country’s largest financial institutions and the forced nationalisation ... more The near-collapse of the country’s largest financial institutions and the forced nationalisation of two major high-street banks raise concerns about the ability of smaller financial institutions to survive. In this article we assess the performance of a credit union in the South Wales Valleys in the context of the financial crisis. We offer a profile of Valleys Credit Union and provide statistics to assess its financial health and viability. We conclude that, while the credit union has ridden out the storm with considerable skill, it and other credit unions require continued political support, especially in terms of intervention in the market for instant loans with excessive rates of interest.

What is a self-help group? starting a group membership, purpose and participation communication -... more What is a self-help group? starting a group membership, purpose and participation communication - how groups work activities - what groups do extending member skills and knowledge publicity money transport and getting together computers and printing relationships with national organizations relationships with local professional workers drawing on local sources of help changes in groups raising awareness and campaigning for change ending a group with dignity evaluating your work.

Public Money & Management, Nov 9, 2015

There have been a number of developments in approaches to public service delivery in the UK, part... more There have been a number of developments in approaches to public service delivery in the UK, partly as a response to austerity measures, as well as a shift to new models of public sector, private and third sector provision. This article considers the development of public service mutuals—those organizations that have spun out of the public sector, and where employees of the new providers play a key role in shaping and delivering public services at local and national levels. The authors identify areas where further work is needed to better understand these new models and to consider whether the perceived benefits associated with traditional mutual models are applicable when applied to public service provision.

Public Money & Management, Jan 12, 2017

Journal of European Industrial Training, Dec 1, 2001

Much of the research and dialogue around the voluntary sector is around the economics and identit... more Much of the research and dialogue around the voluntary sector is around the economics and identity of the sector. Its relationship with clients, suppliers and government has become more sophisticated and complex. The ability of voluntary sector leadership to be proactive in determining the nature of these relationships underpins much of the current debate on the future of the voluntary sector, both in the UK and internationally. There are useful lessons to be learnt from business techniques. Yet, the execution of business‐enhancing tools needs to be considered in the context relevant to the sector’s interests and to the primary aims of a sector. This paper is based on practitioner experience, previous unpublished research, initial doctoral research into management and learning in the sector and e‐mail interviews with key respondents working in the non‐profit sector in the UK and Russia.