Motivating a volunteer workforce in the criminal justice system

The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) requires that police detention processes are monitored and inspected. The United Kingdom is partially ensuring this provision through the use of an existing independent volunteer workforce. This research explores the conditions required for the effective use of this volunteer workforce through 12 semi-structured interviews. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used that initially generated 46 motivator codes that were clustered into six themes of volunteer motivation consisting of: personal affect, personal growth, social goals, altruistic, activity and values. Ten demotivators were also revealed through the interviews. The implications of these findings for volunteer motivation and how organisations may capitalise on this are discusse

Motivating a volunteer workforce in the criminal justice system

The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) requires that police detention processes are monitored and inspected. The United Kingdom is partially ensuring this provision through the use of an existing independent volunteer workforce. This research explores the conditions required for the effective use of this volunteer workforce through 12 semi-structured interviews. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used that initially generated 46 motivator codes that were clustered into six themes of volunteer motivation consisting of: personal affect, personal growth, social goals, altruistic, activity and values. Ten demotivators were also revealed through the interviews. The implications of these findings for volunteer motivation and how organisations may capitalise on this are discusse

The Decline of the Temporary Worker: A Regional Perspective Local Economy

Employment of temporary workers has been affected by new legislation in 2002 and the stabilisation of the economy in the early 21st century. These factors are hypothesised to reduce the overall level of temporary employment in the UK economy. To confirm this hypothesis, data from 28 Labour Force Survey (LFS) studies carried out between the periods of December 1997 and November 2004 were analysed alongside turnover data for the Employment Agency Industry. The results revealed a reduction of over a quarter of a million temporary workers in the UK Economy over 6 years. Qualitative interviews with ten large temporary worker employers confirmed that legislation and employers' preference for permanent workers reduced the demand for temporary workers. Nonetheless, regional differences were apparent with some regions such as Northern Ireland and Wales increasing their employment of temporary workers

Resilience in police emergency services 999 call operators

The current study investigated resilience in emergency service 999 call operators. A longitudinal study was adopted with interviews carried out with 22 and then a year later 15 call operators in a centralised emergency management centre. Calls handled by the operators could range from minor crimes to dealing with victims of rape or murder. An inductive thematic analysis approach was taken to analyse the data which summarised 85 codes generated into three themes consisting of: building resilience in the job, organisational dysfunctions and job demands. Call operators spoke freely on how they developed resilience on dealing with emergency calls. The longitudinal design helped this investigation. Call operators developed a hard shell and relied heavily on teamwork and training to build up their resilience

dRail: a novel physical layout methodology for power gated circuits

In this paper we present a physical layout methodology, called dRail, to allow power gated and non-power gated cells to be placed next to each other. This is unlike traditional voltage area layout which separates cells to prevent shorting of power supplies leading to impact on area, routing and power. To implement dRail, a modified standard cell architecture and physical layout is proposed. The methodology is validated by implementing power gating on the data engine in an ARM Cortex-A5 processor using a 65nm library, and shows up to 38% reduction in area cost when compared to traditional voltage area layou

Gender differences within 360‐degree managerial performance appraisals

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of gender on the performance assessments of managers arising from the 360‐degree scheme operated within the UK headquarters of a large multi‐international financial services organisation. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire approach was used to collect data on 66 managers (33 males and 33 females) against four broad capabilities on the 360‐degree appraisal system. Data were gathered on each of the 66 managers from eight different sources including the individual being appraised, three of their peers, three of their direct reports (subordinates) and their manager (supervisor). Findings – Performance ratings were either gender neutral or higher for female than for male managers. Within the case company there was no evidence of unfavourable discrimination against female managers, if anything the reverse with female managers showing superior performance compared to their male counterparts. Research limitations/implications – As with all cross‐sectional research causality cannot be confirmed and difficulties in accessing 360‐degree appraisal information for a large number of managers led to constraints on research methodology. Practical implications – The implication for human resource management is that the 360‐degree appraisal system did not necessarily fulfil the degree of objectivity claimed by its adherents and that possible adverse influence may be inherent within the 360‐degree rating system of managers particularly

Providing developmental feedback to individuals from different ethnic minority groups using expert systems

The paper is an account of a commercially successful and viable expert system entitled FRED (Feedback Reporter Evaluating Development). Expert systems offer a consistent approach to providing feedback to individuals that people with personal biases and emotions may find difficult to achieve. The text used in the expert system is sensitive and carefully worded by a team of skilled professionals, many of whom were from ethnic and cultural minorities. This is especially important when dealing with internal applicants from ethnic minorities as feedback given is consistent, fair, non-judgemental and devoid of possible ethnic prejudices and emotional statements. FRED offers a sensitive, comprehensive and cost-effective method of producing feedback reports for individuals from an ethnic minority and the paper details FRED's design, use and evaluation in an organizational setting. Future research is recommended in utilizing expert systems to provide feedback in assessment and development settings

Becoming a consultant: investigating the strategies used by postgraduate students to gain behaviours and skills appropriate to consultancy

A number of different authors have highlighted the need for postgraduate students to be work ready for a career in consulting. This paper examines a cohort of 21 MSc students from a UK based University and how they addressed this issue through an assignment geared up towards this aim. The completed assessments ranged in terms of the strategies the students used to assess their development needs for a career in consultancy. Strategies used consisted of: competency analysis, SWOT analysis, psychometric tests, use of the British Psychological Society consultancy cycle (from the Qualification in Occupational Psychology) and use of consultancy cycles from other sources. Interestingly there was a lack of consistency between students in terms of what strategies they chose to be future consultants. This research is useful because it systematically demonstrates which strategies may be used by postgraduates to identify the skills and behaviours they need for a consultancy career

A fascinating insight: The Entrepreneurial Paradox: Examining the Interplay between Entrepreneurial and Management Thinking.

Book review of The Entrepreneurial Paradox: Examining the Interplay between Entrepreneurial and Management Thinking, by Lianne Taylor. Palgrave Macmillan, 2017, 304pp, ISBN 9781137569486