Published article abstracts

19
Aug
2011
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Alan Gillies, (2011) "Improving the quality of information security management systems with ISO27000", The TQM Journal, Vol. 23 Iss: 4, pp.367 - 376

Purpose – The ISO27001 standard provides a model for “establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring, reviewing, maintaining and improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS)”. This paper seeks to consider the global adoption of the ISO27000 series of standards, and to compare them with the adoption rates for ISO9000 and ISO14000. The paper aims to compare the barriers to adoption for the different standards.

09
Mar
2011
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Gillies AC and Howard J (2011) Information as change agent or barrier in health care reform?

Health care systems across the world are in a state of flux. If the experience of the early 1990s can be used as a model, the recent global economic downturn will lead to very significant pressures to reduce spending and achieve better value. Systems have provided a range of approaches to modeling and evaluating these more complex organizations, from simple process models to complex adaptive systems. This paper considers the pros and cons of such approaches and proposes a new modeling approach that combines the best elements of other techniques.

30
Nov
2009
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Maliapen M & Gillies AC (2010) The Integration of Systems Dynamics and Balanced Scorecards in Strategic Healthcare Policy

This paper uses simulation modelling techniques and presents summarized model outputs using the balanced scorecard approach. The simulation models have been formulated with the use of empirical health, clinical and financial data extracted from clinical data warehouses of a healthcare group. By emphasising the impact of strategic financial and clinical performance measures on healthcare institutions, it is argued that hospitals, in particular, need to re-focus cost-cutting efforts in areas that do not impact clinicians, patient satisfaction or quality of care.

18
Nov
2009
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Patel I & Gillies AC (2009) Between a national programme and a local hard place - a mental health case study in soft systems

The UK NHS National Programme for IT has been criticized for a lack of clinical engagement. This paper uses a soft systems methodology (SSM) analysis of a case study from the use of electronic systems within a National Health Service (NHS) Mental Health Trust in the United Kingdom (UK) to explore the legal and ethical implications of the failure to develop clinical systems which are fit for purpose.

18
Feb
2009
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Gillies AC (2008) The legal and ethical changes in the NHS landscape accompanying the policy shift from paper-based health records to electronic health records

The introduction of IT into health and associated forms of care has changed the nature of risks associated with the use of information. Continuing development is increasing the rate of change. This paper will consider the relationship between policy, ethics and the law within this changing landscape using a risk management approach.

18
Jan
2009
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Gillies AC & Maliapen M (2008) Using Healthcare System Archetypes to help hospitals become learning organisations,

Purpose – Internationally, change in healthcare is often a result of a knee jerk reaction to high-profile adverse events. Alternatively, change is driven by a reductionist set of targets and indicators, which do not reflect the complexity of hospitals. This paper posits that hospitals would benefit from promoting organisational learning, and that system archetypes offer a mechanism for achieving this. It seeks to examine the application of healthcare system archetypes in an Australian hospital.

18
Oct
2008
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Gillies AC & Galloway J (2008) Using Soft Systems Methodology to manage Knowledge in an IT Service Desk environment, The International Journal of Knowledge Management

Nonaka (1998) argued that for companies to prosper they must move away from a view of organisations as information processing entities with a focus on formal and systematic knowledge to exploit tacit knowledge. Much of the subsequent literature relates to commercial companies, often in North America.
Public services in the UK are undergoing rapid change to improve cost effectiveness, customer focus and improve outcomes. Reports such as Wanless (2002,2004, 2007), Protti (2002) and Gray (2007) argue that this requires a more intelligent use of knowledge and information.

01
Dec
2007
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Harrop, N & Gillies AC (2007) Improving Hospital Emergency Departments : Information, Culture and Context

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the implementation of a service improvement in the UK National Health Service, relevant to the National Programme for IT in the NHS.

Design/methodology/approach – Case study and semi-structured interviews, relating users' interaction with information systems to other aspects of a service improvement programme.

01
Nov
2007
admin

Gillies AC & Howard J (2007) Modelling the way that dentists use information: an audit tool for capability and competency

- IT offers many potential benefits to dentists.
- Benefits arise not from the IT directly, but from new ways of working.
- Increased usage of IT must be matched by increased maturity in information management and information governance.
- The Dental Practice Information Maturity Model (DPIMM) offers a tool to help manage this process.

01
Sep
2007
admin

Gillies AC (2007) What Is a Doctorate? A Comparison of UK and European Perceptions in the Light of the Bologna Process.

Gillies AC (2007) What Is a Doctorate? A Comparison of UK and European Perceptions in the Light of the Bologna Process.

The purpose of this article is to examine the nature of doctoral degrees in different countries and subjects, and to consider the extent to which there is a common understanding of the nature of doctoral degrees.

The article will first consider the framework for higher education in Europe then describe a personal history to show how this framework may be considered to be simplistic in terms of reflecting the reality of current practice.