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

What! Another Minimum Wage Study?

The Minimum Wage Study Commission was established in 1977 to aid Congress in investigating the effects and possible consequences of two proposed changes in the minimum wage law: indexing the wage to inflation and providing for a youth differential. This paper seeks to determine to what extent the Minimum Wage Study Commission's work has been helpful in policy debate, and compares the Commission's findings with those of the more conservative American Enterprise Institute. The paper also examines whether the Commission's final product was worth three years of study and $17 million. Our overall finding is that the Commission's report appears to have had little or no policy impact. The research did little to expand upon similar studies done prior to 1977, and cannot be said to be worth three years and$17 million. However, policy-makers still regard the report as a useful and credible examination of the effects of the mini- mum wage on the economy.

Are there 12 steps to better management? How the spiritual programme of Alcoholics Anonymous may influence management performance evaluated through general management competencies.

The 12 Step programme of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA, 2001) is a set of principles that provides a way of life for those that follow it and is based upon a ‘spiritual awakening’ (AA, 2001 pp59-60). The thesis is the first to examine how managers who follow this spiritual programme apply it in their organisational role through general management competencies (New, 1996). This mixed method, phenomenology-led research is placed within a social constructionist setting. A comprehensive and wide ranging literature review was conducted. The data was generated using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 1996), the Integrated Spiritual Intelligence Scale (Amram and Dyer, 2007) and Workplace Observation (Lucia and Lepsinger, 1999). The findings explain psychological antecedents, mechanisms and pathways that inform the sample of AA managers in their work role. The discussion identifies relationships with existing efficacious management styles and concepts. Areas of heuristic value for future research are identified. These areas include exploring the 12 Steps specifically as antecedents to emotional intelligence (Payne, 1985) and strengthening the statistical validity of instruments to measure humility and honesty in context of spirituality. Limitations of this research are also identified and discussed and important reservations about the concept and constructs of spiritual intelligence (Zohar, 1997) are raised. In conclusion, the 12 Step spiritual programme was found to be the primary influence in how the sample conduct their organisational management function. The research calls for human resource processes to re-consider how those who have adopted successful recovery techniques to overcome personal crises such as dependency issues are viewed and argues that they should be more highly valued by organisations as such experiences help develop management competencies

Community colleges and career education for older adults

Institutions of higher learning need to increase work-related training and support services

Ethical issues in implementation research: a discussion of the problems in achieving informed consent

Background: Improved quality of care is a policy objective of health care systems around the world. Implementation research is the scientific study of methods to promote the systematic uptake of clinical research findings into routine clinical practice, and hence to reduce inappropriate care. It includes the study of influences on healthcare professionals' behaviour and methods to enable them to use research findings more effectively. Cluster randomized trials represent the optimal design for evaluating the effectiveness of implementation strategies. Various codes of medical ethics, such as the Nuremberg Code and the Declaration of Helsinki inform medical research, but their relevance to cluster randomised trials in implementation research is unclear. This paper discusses the applicability of various ethical codes to obtaining consent in cluster trials in implementation research. Discussion: The appropriate application of biomedical codes to implementation research is not obvious. Discussion of the nature and practice of informed consent in implementation research cluster trials must consider the levels at which consent can be sought, and for what purpose it can be sought. The level at which an intervention is delivered can render the idea of patient level consent meaningless. Careful consideration of the ownership of information, and rights of access to and exploitation of data is required. For health care professionals and organizations, there is a balance between clinical freedom and responsibility to participate in research. Summary: While ethical justification for clinical trials relies heavily on individual consent, for implementation research aspects of distributive justice, economics, and political philosophy underlie the debate. Societies may need to trade off decisions on the choice between individualized consent and valid implementation research. We suggest that social sciences codes could usefully inform the consideration of implementation research by members of Research Ethics Committees

Developing the content of two behavioural interventions : using theory-based interventions to promote GP management of upper respiratory tract infection without prescribing antibiotics #1

Background: Evidence shows that antibiotics have limited effectiveness in the management of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) yet GPs continue to prescribe antibiotics. Implementation research does not currently provide a strong evidence base to guide the choice of interventions to promote the uptake of such evidence-based practice by health professionals. While systematic reviews demonstrate that interventions to change clinical practice can be effective, heterogeneity between studies hinders generalisation to routine practice. Psychological models of behaviour change that have been used successfully to predict variation in behaviour in the general population can also predict the clinical behaviour of healthcare professionals. The purpose of this study was to design two theoretically-based interventions to promote the management of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) without prescribing antibiotics. Method: Interventions were developed using a systematic, empirically informed approach in which we: selected theoretical frameworks; identified modifiable behavioural antecedents that predicted GPs intended and actual management of URTI; mapped these target antecedents on to evidence-based behaviour change techniques; and operationalised intervention components in a format suitable for delivery by postal questionnaire. Results: We identified two psychological constructs that predicted GP management of URTI: "Self-efficacy," representing belief in one's capabilities, and "Anticipated consequences," representing beliefs about the consequences of one's actions. Behavioural techniques known to be effective in changing these beliefs were used in the design of two paper-based, interactive interventions. Intervention 1 targeted self-efficacy and required GPs to consider progressively more difficult situations in a "graded task" and to develop an "action plan" of what to do when next presented with one of these situations. Intervention 2 targeted anticipated consequences and required GPs to respond to a "persuasive communication" containing a series of pictures representing the consequences of managing URTI with and without antibiotics. Conclusion: It is feasible to systematically develop theoretically-based interventions to change professional practice. Two interventions were designed that differentially target generalisable constructs predictive of GP management of URTI. Our detailed and scientific rationale for the choice and design of our interventions will provide a basis for understanding any effects identified in their evaluation. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00376142This study is funded by the European Commission Research Directorate as part of a multi-partner program: Research Based Education and Quality Improvement (ReBEQI): A Framework and tools to develop effective quality improvement programs in European healthcare. (Proposal No: QLRT-2001-00657)

Improving the delivery of care for patients with diabetes through understanding optimised team work and organisation in primary care

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Are there valid proxy measures of clinical behaviour?

Background: Accurate measures of health professionals' clinical practice are critically important to guide health policy decisions, as well as for professional self-evaluation and for research-based investigation of clinical practice and process of care. It is often not feasible or ethical to measure behaviour through direct observation, and rigorous behavioural measures are difficult and costly to use. The aim of this review was to identify the current evidence relating to the relationships between proxy measures and direct measures of clinical behaviour. In particular, the accuracy of medical record review, clinician self-reported and patient-reported behaviour was assessed relative to directly observed behaviour. Methods: We searched: PsycINFO; MEDLINE; EMBASE; CINAHL; Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials; science/social science citation index; Current contents (social & behavioural med/clinical med); ISI conference proceedings; and Index to Theses. Inclusion criteria: empirical, quantitative studies; and examining clinical behaviours. An independent, direct measure of behaviour (by standardised patient, other trained observer or by video/audio recording) was considered the 'gold standard' for comparison. Proxy measures of behaviour included: retrospective self-report; patient-report; or chart-review. All titles, abstracts, and full text articles retrieved by electronic searching were screened for inclusion and abstracted independently by two reviewers. Disagreements were resolved by discussion with a third reviewer where necessary. Results: Fifteen reports originating from 11 studies met the inclusion criteria. The method of direct measurement was by standardised patient in six reports, trained observer in three reports, and audio/video recording in six reports. Multiple proxy measures of behaviour were compared in five of 15 reports. Only four of 15 reports used appropriate statistical methods to compare measures. Some direct measures failed to meet our validity criteria. The accuracy of patient report and chart review as proxy measures varied considerably across a wide range of clinical actions. The evidence for clinician self-report was inconclusive. Conclusion: Valid measures of clinical behaviour are of fundamental importance to accurately identify gaps in care delivery, improve quality of care, and ultimately to improve patient care. However, the evidence base for three commonly used proxy measures of clinicians' behaviour is very limited. Further research is needed to better establish the methods of development, application, and analysis for a range of both direct and proxy measures of behaviour

Academic Functioning and Mental Health in Adolescence

The current study examines patterns of academic functioning and mental health in 184 middle school children and the relation of such patterns to their prior and subsequent functioning. Data were collected from children during their second, third, fourth, eighth, and ninth grade school years. Cluster analyses were used to delineate patterns of academic functioning and mental health during eighth grade. The authors examined the relation of these patterns to academic functioning and mental health 1 year later the transition to high school, and then examined the long-term developmental roots of the eighth grade patterns using data collected during elementary school years. Results indicated variegated patterns of academic and emotional functioning at eighth grade and stability in these patterns across the high school transition. Some long-term continuity was found among children showing uniformly positive or negative functioning at eighth grade. Studying child functioning across multiple domains and time periods is discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68127/2/10.1177_0743558499142002.pd