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1 – 10 of 34Outlines the new Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Approved Code ofPractice which provides the HSE with a range of new powers with which toprosecute outbreaks of…
Abstract
Outlines the new Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Approved Code of Practice which provides the HSE with a range of new powers with which to prosecute outbreaks of legionellosis. Presents the principal points of the updated Guidance Note on Legionnaires′ Disease HS (G) 70 which provides advice on preventing and minimizing the risk of an outbreak and being able to demonstrate that measures have been taken to achieve this.
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Juha Hagberg, Marko Pudas, Seppo Leppävuori, Ken Elsey and Alison Logan
The resolution of conventional graphical gravures is limited to about 50 to 100 microns depending on the technology used. For these gravures the depths are dependent on…
Abstract
The resolution of conventional graphical gravures is limited to about 50 to 100 microns depending on the technology used. For these gravures the depths are dependent on the widths of the grooves. For electrical circuitry, the target is to achieve 25 microns line and space widths in the near future. To obtain a reasonably high sheet resistance, the printed ink height must be reasonably high. The stated requirements require further development of the whole printing process together with the associated inks. The first step was to evaluate the gravure manufacturing method, which is capable of producing gravures of sufficient accuracy and uniform depth. In this paper a new gravure printing plate manufacturing method with high accuracy is presented. Printing results made with the manufactured gravure and tailored inks are reported.
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Alicia R. Ingersoll, Christy Glass and Alison Cook
The current study aims to analyze the connection between gender disparities and employment in senior legal roles within large American firms. Specifically, this study…
Abstract
Purpose
The current study aims to analyze the connection between gender disparities and employment in senior legal roles within large American firms. Specifically, this study seeks to uncover whether legal positions in large corporations reproduce inequalities in representation and wages, or whether these roles provide women with a pathway to greater gender parity.
Design/methodology/approach
Investigating a large data set of over 2,000 USA public companies over a ten-year period, this study examines the representation of women in senior legal roles, the likelihood of women’s appointment to those roles as a function of the gender composition of the industry and if a wage gap exists between men and women serving in the top legal roles in corporate America.
Findings
Findings suggest that rather than moving women closer to gender parity, in-house counsel positions reproduce many of the same inequalities found in large law firms, particularly with regard to representation in senior ranks and compensation.
Originality/value
Research has illustrated that women experience disadvantage in terms of representation, wages and advancement in large law firms and in corporate executive suites. Women lawyers who occupy senior executive roles, however, may benefit relative to their non-legal counterparts given their education and expertise. Their credentials and relative status may contribute in reducing or eliminating gender disparities. This study extends current research by investigating this potential path to greater gender equality.
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Alison Cook and Christy M. Glass
The purpose of this paper is to understand the conditions under which racial/ethnic minorities are promoted to top leadership positions in American corporations. In…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the conditions under which racial/ethnic minorities are promoted to top leadership positions in American corporations. In addition to testing the glass cliff theory for racial/ethnic minorities, the paper also develops and test two additional theoretical mechanisms: bold moves and the savior effect. While the glass cliff theory predicts racial/ethnic minorities will be promoted to struggling firms, the bold moves theory predicts the opposite, that racial/ethnic minorities will be promoted to strong firms. The savior effect predicts that minority CEOs will be replaced by white male leaders if firm performance struggles during their tenure.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper relies on conditional logistic regression to analyze all CEO transitions among Fortune 500 companies over a 15-year period.
Findings
Consistent with the bold moves thesis but contrary to the predictions of glass cliff theory, the results suggest that racial/ethnic minorities are more likely than white executives to be promoted CEO in strongly performing firms. As predicted by the savior effect theory, the paper also finds that when firm performance struggles under the leadership of racial/minority CEOs, these leaders are likely to be replaced by white CEOs.
Research limitations/implications
The findings contradict theory of the glass cliff and suggest additional mechanisms that shape the promotion probability of minority leaders.
Practical implications
Race and ethnicity shape promotion and replacement decisions for top leadership positions in important ways. While minority leaders are not set up to fail, as glass cliff theory would predict, the authors do find that confidence in the leadership of minority leaders may be tenuous. To overcome the risks of replacement of minority leaders, firms should seek to eliminate bias by allowing minority leaders enough time and resources to overcome declines in firm performance and increase the transparency of replacement decisions.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to test the glass cliff thesis with regard to racial/ethnic minorities. The paper also develops and tests two new mechanisms related to leader succession: bold moves and the savior effect.
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The emergence of gender-nonconforming behavior in a child presents an opportunity and, often, significant pressure for parents to question the gender beliefs they have…
Abstract
Purpose
The emergence of gender-nonconforming behavior in a child presents an opportunity and, often, significant pressure for parents to question the gender beliefs they have taken for granted. The purpose of this research is to examine how parents of gender-diverse youth respond to such pressures and ultimately come to understand and support their children’s gender identity.
Methodology/approach
This research is guided by Ridgeway’s theoretical concept of gender as a primary frame for coordinating social life. Using in-depth interviews with 36 supportive parents of gender-diverse children, the author details the process by which parents developed a critical consciousness of gender and subsequently adopted trans-affirming beliefs in response to their children’s gender-nonconformity.
Findings
Findings illustrate the power of gender as a primary frame for organizing life within the family as well as the circumstances under which hegemonic gender beliefs can be disrupted and alternative beliefs can be formed. The analysis shows that the process of making space for gender diversity within the home, which is taken on almost exclusively by mothers, invokes competing maternal mandates of raising “proper” children versus modeling selfless devotion to children’s happiness and well-being. As mothers navigate these conflicting requirements to create greater gender freedom for their children, they reinforce and perpetuate gender stereotypes that cast women as natural caregivers. Ironically, the work of intensive mothering is also the mechanism through which women come to develop alternative gender beliefs that they then use to expand gender possibilities for their children.
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Gary Lamph, Alison Elliott, Kathryn Gardner, Karen Wright, Emma Jones, Michael Haslam, Nicola Graham-Kevan, Raeesa Jassat, Fiona Jones and Mick McKeown
Workforce development is crucial to the offender personality disorder (OPD) service to provide contemporary, evidenced care and treatment. This study aims to provide an…
Abstract
Purpose
Workforce development is crucial to the offender personality disorder (OPD) service to provide contemporary, evidenced care and treatment. This study aims to provide an overview and the research evaluation results of a regional higher education programme delivered to a range of criminal justice workers used on the OPD pathway.
Design/methodology/approach
Three modules were developed and delivered; these are (1) enhancing understanding (20 students), (2) formulation and therapeutic intervention (20 students) and (3) relationships, teams and environments (17 students). A mixed-methods study evaluated participant confidence and compassion. Pre, post and six-month follow-up questionnaires were completed. Additionally, a series of focus groups were conducted to gain in-depth qualitative feedback with a cross-section of students across the modules (N = 7). Quantitative data was collected and analysed separately due to the three modules all having different content. Qualitative data was analysed, and a synthesis of qualitative findings was reported from data taken across the three modules.
Findings
A total of 52 students participated, drawn from three modules: Module 1 (N = 19); Module 2 (N = 18); Module 3 (N = 15). Confidence in working with people with a personality disorder or associated difficulties improved significantly following completion of any of the modules, whereas compassion did not. Results have been synthesised and have assisted in the future shaping of modules to meet the learning needs of students.
Research limitations/implications
Further evaluation of the effectiveness of educational programmes requires attention, as does the longer-term durability of effect. Further research is required to explore the post-training impact upon practice, and further exploration is required and larger sample sizes to draw definitive conclusions related to compassion.
Practical implications
This unique model of co-production that draws upon the expertise of people with lived experience, occupational frontline and academics is achievable and well received by students and can be reproduced elsewhere.
Social implications
The positive uptake and results of this study indicate a need for expansion of accessible OPD workforce training opportunities across the UK. Further research is required to explore student feedback and comparisons of effectiveness comparing different modes of training delivery, especially in light of the pandemic, which has forced organisations and higher education institutions to develop more digital and distance learning approaches to their portfolios.
Originality/value
This novel research provides an evaluation of the only higher education credit-bearing modules in the UK focussed solely upon the OPD workforce and aligned with the national drive for non-credit bearing awareness level training “knowledge and understanding framework” (KUF).
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Sian Calvert, Robert C. Dempsey and Rachel Povey
Childhood obesity is a major global health concern. Understanding children's and adolescent’s eating behaviours and promoting healthier behaviours is key for reducing the…
Abstract
Purpose
Childhood obesity is a major global health concern. Understanding children's and adolescent’s eating behaviours and promoting healthier behaviours is key for reducing the negative health outcomes associated with obesity. The current study explored the perceptions of healthy eating behaviours and the influences on eating behaviours amongst 11-to-13-year-old secondary school students.
Design/methodology/approach
Nine semi-structured same-sex focus group discussions were conducted in schools located in deprived areas of England, with the discussions subjected to a thematic framework analysis.
Findings
Three main constructs were identified in the analysis as follows: (1) eating patterns and lifestyle, (2) social influences and (3) environmental influences. Participants understood what healthy eating behaviours are and the benefits of eating healthy; yet, they reported irregular mealtimes and consuming unhealthy snacks. Students reported that their parents and fellow student peers were strong influences on their own eating behaviours, with girls subjected to being teased by male students for attempting to eat healthily. Finally, students perceived that unhealthy foods were cheaper, tasted better and were readily available in their social environments compared to healthier options, making healthier behaviours less likely to occur.
Originality/value
Findings indicate that students had a good understanding of healthy eating behaviours but did not always practise them and are seemingly influenced by their social and environmental context. The promotion of healthier eating in this age group needs to challenge the misperceptions associated with the accessibility and social acceptability of unhealthy food items.
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David M. Gligor and Mary Holcomb
– The purpose of this paper is to understand how personal relationships influence behavior within a supply-chain context.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand how personal relationships influence behavior within a supply-chain context.
Design/methodology/approach
This research employs a qualitative methodology that allows for a rich assessment of how buyers and suppliers of logistics services interact within the context of personal relationships (e.g. friendships), that are themselves embedded within interfirm relationships. Based on a grounded theory approach, a model is developed describing how and why personal relationships are important for supply-chain managers to consider when cultivating interfirm connections.
Findings
The findings reveal how managers act/interact within the context of personal relationships, as well as the outcomes/benefits associated with the development of personal relationships.
Research limitations/implications
This study uses qualitative interviews to generate theory. The generalizability of the findings will have to be empirically examined in future research.
Practical implications
Managers can use the findings to understand explicitly what types of benefits personal relationships can yield. Further, this study presents to managers the specific actions that buyers and suppliers of logistics services engage in, when developing a personal relationship, in order to facilitate the generation of positive business outcomes.
Originality/value
A notable weakness in the supply-chain relationship literature is the unfulfilled need for research examining interfirm relationships at a micro/individual level, rather than the traditionally adopted firm-to-firm view, in order to account for the social/relational elements of firm-level relationships. This paper addresses that gap by exploring personal relationships within supply chains.
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It is often assumed that poisoners and product tamperers are likely to share an interest in or knowledge of poisonous substances. The purpose of this paper is to determine…
Abstract
Purpose
It is often assumed that poisoners and product tamperers are likely to share an interest in or knowledge of poisonous substances. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether perpetrators with existing poison knowledge will choose different contaminating agents than non-experts, as well as whether there is a link between poison expertise and outcomes in malicious contamination cases. Based on their expertise, it is expected that those perpetrators with some form of existing poison knowledge would select more concerning and difficult to obtain agents, and that attacks committed by experts would result in more harm than attacks by non-experts.
Design/methodology/approach
A content analysis was conducted on qualitative descriptions of malicious contamination events, with relevant behavioural variables identified as being present or absent for each individual case. Differences between experts and non-experts in agent choice and incident outcome were then explored using descriptive statistics, contingency tables and Mann-Whitney U tests.
Findings
Agent choice was found to differ between experts and non-experts, with different agents chosen depending on whether the event was a threat or a genuine contamination incident. However, attacks by poison experts were found to be no more deadly than attacks perpetrated by non-experts.
Originality/value
This research provides the first known analysis comparing agent choice and outcomes in malicious contamination incidents as a factor of perpetrator knowledge. Investigative applications are discussed.
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