Search results

Since 2011, the Extremism Risk Guidance (ERG 22+) has been the primary risk assessment framework used for terrorist and violent extremist offenders in England and Wales. The aim of this study was to conduct a rapid evidence assessment to examine the research literature on the ERG22+ factors and to identify possible significant new and emerging knowledge around potential new factors.

Searches were conducted of the Google Scholar database to identify relevant literature published between 2012 and 2020. In total, 29 documents were identified, which examined new radicalisation models and frameworks, 339 were identified, which explored to some extent one or more of the current ERG factors, and a further 138 articles were identified, which focused on potentially relevant additional issues/factors.

Most of the ERG factors were the focus of substantial research activity between 2012 and 2020. Six factors, however, received very little research attention. Potential implications of these trends are considered. Ten research themes were identified with the potential to either form new factors or which could play a significant role in the updating or revision of some existing factors.

This paper is the first rapid evidence assessment on the ERG22+ risk factors. It provides an important picture of the published scientific research of potential relevance in this area and helps to inform the review process for the ERG22+.

Factors that may influence risk and/or vulnerability to radicalisation or involvement in terrorism by individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are currently undetermined. The purpose of this rapid evidence assessment (REA) was to identify and review studies which consider the association between ASD and terrorism to explore potential risk or vulnerability factors and the implications for intervention.

The REA method was used to review the literature, with 16 papers meeting inclusion criteria.

Ten factors were identified as relevant to ASD and terrorism which were combined into four overarching themes: cognitive, social, psychological and ASD traits.

This REA presents a novel review of literature relating to ASD and terrorism. The findings are valuable to practitioners working with individuals with ASD who may present with the identified risk and/or vulnerability factors. The implications of these factors for intervention are discussed, along with directions for future research.

It has been long understood that there are expectations that leaders support the wellbeing of their followers but when it comes to followers’ support for the wellbeing of leaders, this is less appreciated. This chapter offers insight from the research into wellbeing practices focused on faculty colleagues in the higher education. Using a sample of 254 faculty members with distinguishing administrative and non-administrative roles, as proxies for leaders and followers, the authors conducted a study on how higher education administrative faculty and non-administrative faculty members supported each other in terms of wellbeing. Based on this study, the authors present a chapter that explores the relational aspects of workplace wellbeing, how people feel at work, what worries them, their perceived marginal value from relationship with colleagues, marginal wellbeing issues and their mood state conditions, the minimization of distress, and the optimization of workplace wellbeing. The premise was that colleagues in these two role sets need to support the wellbeing of each other despite their roles and the authors set out to learn from both what this looked like in the lived experiences.

The purpose of this paper is to identify specific practices companies can adopt to unleash the social entrepreneurial spirit of their employees. It is in response to growing expectations from customers, employees, investors and governmental agencies around the world that businesses serve not just the financial interests of their shareholders but the environmental and social expectations of all citizens. By encouraging and supporting employees to pursue innovative products, services and management practices that address both the company’s business interests and the individual’s social passions, corporate social entrepreneurship (CSE) has the potential to do both.

A systematic review (SR) of academic studies published in peer-reviewed journals was conducted to answer the review question: What are the organizational enablers of CSE in large national and multinational corporations? Thirteen relevant high-quality academic research studies were identified. These studies were then synthesized through a multi-step coding process using Atlas.ti. Common themes were identified and actionable management recommendations developed.

Three findings emerged: (a) that while an organization’s values, demonstrated by its leadership, empower CSEs, specific structures and practices are required to enable them to have the intended impact on its environmental and social performance; (b) that CSEs are motivated, but organizations need to invest in developing their skills and capabilities; and (c) when CSE success is recognized and rewarded it positively impacts future efforts by other employees.

Available research has focused on the characteristics of the individual CSEs and the challenges they face. Although that research provided sufficient insights to support the analysis performed in this study, little research has been conducted to establish the extent to which CSE: (a) is used by businesses today, (b) is positively impacting company corporate social responsibility (CSR) perceptions; (c) may be improved through the application of the study’s recommendations, (d) is affected by leadership styles and business cultures and (e) differs across industry, national and political settings. Both qualitative and quantitative research into these and related topics are needed.

This paper provides a comprehensive view of the relationship between an organization’s practices and CSE success. It recommends that executives communicate their personal and the organization’s values; that they make specific, targeted organizational investments to support CSE; actively identify, recruit and train these employees; and establish, measure and report CSE results.

CSE is an important complementary approach to CSR, environmental, social and governance investing and the United Nation’s sustainability development goals. It can contribute to businesses serving not just the commercial interests of their shareholders but the environmental and social expectations of all citizens.

While previous studies have focused on the personal characteristics and behaviors of CSEs, this is the first to use these insights to develop a comprehensive understanding of the organizational characteristics required for their success. Corporations are increasingly expected to meet the environmental and social expectations of all stakeholders, yet these programs are too often seen as more symbolic than substantive. This paper provides a roadmap for institutionalizing CSE as an important contributor to these efforts.

Since the last decade, debates regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of the forms of transfer, i.e. in the form of in-kind or cash transfers, have been gaining momentum. This paper aims to explore the preferences revealed by the beneficiaries, the role of contextual conditions in moulding these preferences, factors associated with the transfer scheme that defines the preferences and the rationale behind such responses.

The study conducted involves primary data collected from an Indian state, Odisha. 308 beneficiaries of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) were interviewed concerning specific objectives in a rural district (Mayurbhanj) and another highly urbanised district (Khordha).

The comparative results show that the strength of the contextual conditions significantly influences the preferences of the beneficiaries in the rural district as compared to the effect on the beneficiaries of the urban district. Education seems to have an insignificant impact in rural areas. However, income and standard of living have positive significant effects on shaping the preferences for cash or in-kind transfers.

Examining the strength of the contextual conditions and emphasising beneficiaries' perspectives would stimulate a better understanding of the implementation of the proposed quasi-Universal Basic Income. The study would hence, be instrumental in dealing with the transition towards cash transfers in the Indian context where the co-responsibility of both stakeholders, the government and the beneficiaries, should be given equal weightage.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-03-2023-0158

The purpose of this study was to examine the internalization of group-level identities held by people who are on the sex offense registry and how these influence emotions and the willingness to accept treatment. The types and consequences of identities and stigmas are often examined at the individual level, but most people belong to groups that hold collective identities that can be detected in phrases such as “we, us, our,” etc.

Longitudinal data from 2008 to 2024 was used to examine registrant’s group identities. Interviews were conducted with 115 registrants and 40 of their family members, and narrative research analysis was used to assess how participants’ levels of liminality influence why some on the registry never come to see themselves as sex criminals.

Three group-level identities were found that corresponded with varying phases of liminality. The first group had a fixed mindset, no liminality and a strong sense of self. The second group of registrants had liminoid experiences, allowing them to change the way they saw themselves over time. This group had a growth mindset that believed change was attainable. The third group exhibited fixed mindset, as they either always saw themselves as sex criminals and required no transition or came to see themselves as sex offenders post-punishment.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no studies that have examined group-level identities among people convicted of sex crimes or what the consequences of group identities have on behavior.

This article focuses on understanding the evolution of the academic identity of a university academic within the contemporary university context, highlighting the significant influence of professional performance evaluations.

In order to achieve the objectives, a narrative-biographical approach was used, through an in-depth analysis of the life and professional career of a Spanish academic.

The results reveal a progression in identity from a state of naivety to that of a survivor, characterized by a strong adherence to the demands of scientific production, with research assuming a central role. This shift is motivated by an enduring pursuit of stable employment conducive to full professional and personal development. Several factors influence this change, including the context of evaluation, lack of funding, relationship with the thesis supervisor, and job instability, among others. The article concludes by outlining policy implications aimed at enhancing the work and professional standards of university faculty. These recommendations include awareness-raising initiatives, re-evaluating existing evaluation systems, and promoting institutional support, among other measures. Implementing these strategies is expected to optimize the professional growth of academics and, therefore, enhance the quality of services provided by universities.

Although previous research has acknowledged the impact of these evaluations, this study stands out by exploring how academic identity is shaped and reconfigured over the course of a career.

Symptom control is a key aim of advanced cancer and palliative care. Yet, wellbeing in this context is complex, highly contextual, and contested. The World Health Organisation’s (WHO, 2021, p. 10) recent definition of wellbeing, for example, emphasises ‘meaning and purpose’. Models of care – such as the biopsychosocial model – aim to attend to this complexity. And such models matter: if assessments of an intervention lowlight effects relating to psychological and social domains, the potential benefits of these interventions may go unrecognised. In this chapter, the authors provide the results of a review of symptom assessment scales used in advanced cancer and palliative care settings. Combining the analytic strengths of a critical review with the brevity of a rapid review (Grant & Booth, 2009), this critical rapid review asks: to what degree do scales measuring the impacts/effects of symptoms on wellbeing in advanced cancer contexts incorporate the three components of the ‘biopsychosocial’ model: biological, psychological, and social? Findings – considered in the context of conflicting evidence on the effectiveness of medicinal cannabis in supporting patient wellbeing – show that only five of the eleven scales identified through the review attend to social aspects of wellbeing. These findings reinforce critiques of the biopsychosocial model and demonstrate the dominance of dualistic, biomedical conceptualisations of wellbeing. Drawing on Barry et al.’s (2008) scholarship on interdisciplinarity, the findings underscore the limitations of numeric measures of wellbeing conducted in isolation and support calls for an ontological reimagination of wellbeing in advanced cancer and palliative care contexts.

Health technologies are advancing rapidly and becoming more expensive, posing a challenge for financing healthcare systems. Health technology assessment (HTA) improves the efficiency of resource allocation by facilitating evidence-informed decisions on the value of health technologies. Our study aims to create a customized HTA roadmap for Oman based on a gap analysis between the current and future status of HTA implementation.

We surveyed participants of an advanced HTA training program to assess the current state of HTA implementation in Oman and explore long-term goals. A list of draft recommendations was developed in areas with room for improvement. The list was then validated for its feasibility in a round table discussion with senior health policy experts to conclude on specific actions for HTA implementation.

Survey results aligned well with expert discussions. The round table discussion concluded with a phasic action plan for HTA implementation. In the short term (1–2 years), efforts will focus on building capacity through training programs. For medium-term actions (3–5 years), plans include expanding the HTA unit and introducing multiple cost-effectiveness thresholds while from 6–10 years, publishing of HTA recommendations, critical appraisal reports, and timelines is recommended.

Although the HTA system in Oman is still in its early stages, strong initiatives are being taken for its advancement. This structured approach ensures a comprehensive integration of HTA into the healthcare system, enhancing decision-making and promoting a sustainable, evidence-based system addressing the population’s needs.