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11 – 20 of 25The purpose of this paper is to consider the way in which the police service in England and Wales may be able to deal with significant cuts in government funding. The concept of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider the way in which the police service in England and Wales may be able to deal with significant cuts in government funding. The concept of “lean”, as developed in Japanese manufacturing in the 1950s, is proposed as a method by which waste can be reduced at the same time as improvements being made in policing outcomes. Characteristics of police culture and leadership are presented as potential blockages to the successful implementation of lean.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews literature within the sphere of operations management, policing and organisational behaviour to make appropriate recommendations. A case study, considering the performance challenges facing the Metropolitan Police Service in London, is provided to aid understanding and act as a catalyst for further discussion and research.
Findings
This paper argues that the simplistic approach to managing austerity so far has been short sighted – rather than considering the longer term development of policing and how a methodology such as lean may be better placed to deliver genuine improvements in public service, whilst also meeting unprecedented fiscal challenges.
Originality/value
Consideration of lean within public sector management has received recent scrutiny, but very little is offered in terms of the opportunities that lean thinking can offer within policing.
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Lauren Langman and Meghan A. Burke
Arthur Schlessinger (1983) suggested that the contradictions and paradoxes of American foreign policy reflected contradictions and paradoxes in the underlying character of the…
Abstract
Arthur Schlessinger (1983) suggested that the contradictions and paradoxes of American foreign policy reflected contradictions and paradoxes in the underlying character of the people. We would go further to suggest that the early years of colonial life, much like the early years of a person's life, had major consequences ever since. The intersection of Puritanism, available land, and eventually the rise of a commercial culture would forge a unique trajectory of what would be called “American Exceptionalism”, reflecting an “American character”, which itself is subject to three paradoxes or polarities, individualism vs. community, toughness vs. compassion, and moralism vs. pragmatism. The effect of this legacy and the dialectical aspect of American character were first evident when Winthrop proclaimed the city on the hill as the new Jerusalem. The legacy of that vision is taking place today in Iraq.
In this chapter, I trace Arizona's prison siting and construction history to examine how cultural norms and traditions, economics, political prerogatives, and notions about the…
Abstract
In this chapter, I trace Arizona's prison siting and construction history to examine how cultural norms and traditions, economics, political prerogatives, and notions about the prison's purpose shape how such institutions are conceived, planned, and realized over time. By looking longitudinally at how prisons have come to be – as physical entities – in one locale, I reveal both the continuities and changes in the underlying meaning of the prison. In doing so, I aim to contribute to a broader understanding of the process of late modern penal change, especially the proliferation of prison building in the past 30 years.
Labour came to power in 1997 and immediately transferred many features of its party political news management style into government, overseeing the departure of most of the civil…
Abstract
Purpose
Labour came to power in 1997 and immediately transferred many features of its party political news management style into government, overseeing the departure of most of the civil service communications leadership within two years, and developing the media management role of politically appointed special advisers. The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the changes in custom and practice that operated behind the scenes in government communications between 1997 and 2015, asking to what extent such changes challenge public trust in government in a liberal democracy.
Design/methodology/approach
This study takes a longitudinal, qualitative approach through in-depth interviews with former civil servants, journalists and special advisers, together with documentary and archival evidence. The data were analysed thematically through the text-processing software, NVivo.
Findings
The paper finds that although the controversy over the 2002 dossier on Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction was an extraordinary episode, the creative approach to news management that characterised this case still operates within UK Government communications: the bypassing of civil servants, a partial approach to the facts, selective briefing of favoured journalists, a lack of due process in the management of information and a disregard for the letter and spirit of propriety codes. This has implications for public trust and confidence in the workings of liberal democracy.
Originality/value
The study adopts a mediatisation approach to the study of public relations, using the concept of the “cross field” to demonstrate how PR professionals share media management responsibilities with a number of different promotional actors. PR professionals in government must therefore navigate between the hidden, competitive and demanding worlds of politics, the media and bureaucracy, working with journalists, politicians and political operatives to craft the narratives that seek to drive public opinion.
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Frank J. Cavico and Bahaudin Mujtaba
While the words diversity, disparate impact, and discrimination are commonly read and heard by working adults and professionals, they can at times be confusing and fearful to some…
Abstract
Purpose
While the words diversity, disparate impact, and discrimination are commonly read and heard by working adults and professionals, they can at times be confusing and fearful to some managers. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of a specific aspect of US civil rights laws – the disparate impact theory. The authors provide an analysis based on the statute, case law interpreting, and applying the statute, administrative guidelines from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as well as legal and management commentary. The paper illustrates the requirements of a plaintiff employee’s initial case based on the disparate impact theory. The challenging causation component which requires some degree of statistical evidence is given particular attention. Limitations to the paper are stated at the beginning; and recommendations to managers are explored and provided toward the end of the paper.
Design/methodology/approach
It is a legal paper which covers all the laws related to discrimination based on disparate impact and disparate treatment theories. Actual court cases up until this month and Americans laws related to this concept are reviewed and critically discussed.
Findings
The salient feature of disparate impact is that this legal theory allows a plaintiff job applicant or employee to sustain a case of illegal discrimination without providing any evidence of a discriminatory motive. As opposed to the disparate treatment liability is imposed based on disproportionate adverse results and not discriminatory intent.
Research limitations/implications
This paper deals with the disparate impact theory pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. However, it must be pointed out that the disparate impact theory is also applicable to claims arising under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Since the focus of this paper is Title VII federal and state constitutional issues, such as the applicability of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection clause that may arise in disparate impact cases involving government entities will not be addressed.
Practical implications
Managers and employees can protect themselves in the workplace from illegal discriminatory practices. Initially, employers and managers must be aware of the distinction between a disparate impact case and a disparate treatment case with the latter requiring evidence of intentional discrimination. Evidence, of course, can be direct or circumstantial or inferential. Whereas in a disparate impact case there is no intentional discrimination; and as such proof of discriminatory intent is not required. Rather, the employee has to present evidence that the employer’s neutral on-its-face employment policy or practice caused an adverse disproportionate impact on the employee as a member of a protected class.
Social implications
Human resources professionals and managers must become educated in diversity laws in order to provide an inclusive workplace for all employees and candidates. Employers have legitimate areas of concern in hiring and promoting employees; and the courts are cognizant of employer responsibilities; and thus the employers must be able to show how specific knowledge, skills, education, training, backgrounds, as well as height, weight, strength, and dexterity are legitimate qualifications that directly relate to successful job performance.
Originality/value
This is an original paper by the authors.
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The purpose of this research is to analyse the vehicular pursuit policy of State Police and State Highway Patrol agencies in the USA.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to analyse the vehicular pursuit policy of State Police and State Highway Patrol agencies in the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
Written policies were compared against a Standard Policy, developed by the researcher, based on prior academic and legal research in combination with the existing policies of the Connecticut State Police, California Highway Patrol, and the Minnesota State Police. A total of 47 written pursuit policies were received for a 94 percent return rate.
Findings
All policies had statements pertaining to safety and the need to pursue with due care and regard for public welfare. Items not included in many policies involved elements pertaining to liability and negligence: concerns that have been demonstrated to be instigators of litigation.
Research limitations/implications
This work centers solely on state agencies. This study is the first step in an ongoing, long‐term project aimed at law enforcement vehicular pursuit policy analysis. The first step in the project centered on state agencies but will grow to include municipal agencies as well.
Practical implications
A very useful treatment of the practical side of law enforcement policy. Existing pursuit policies are examined, as are the legal principles used to guide police policy development.
Originality/value
This paper fills an untapped niche in policy research. It is both a practical analysis of existing pursuit policies and an examination of legal cases and constitutional guidelines.
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Rev. CM Donald F. Campbell and PhD
While this paper is concerned with social teaching in the Catholic Church, I must point out that social action in Canadian churches has taken on an ecumenical approach. For…
Abstract
While this paper is concerned with social teaching in the Catholic Church, I must point out that social action in Canadian churches has taken on an ecumenical approach. For example, on Ash Wednesday, 1988, 12 leading Canadian religious bodies, including the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Anglican Primate of Canada, and spokespersons for the Lutherans and Disciples of Christ rejected “increased defence spending as a priority” and that “nuclear weapons have no place in the national defence policies.”
Although typologies of violence have become more common, relatively little attention has been given to Donald Black’s (1983) distinction between moralistic and predatory violence…
Abstract
Although typologies of violence have become more common, relatively little attention has been given to Donald Black’s (1983) distinction between moralistic and predatory violence. Moralistic violence is rooted in conflict; predatory violence is rooted in exploitation. We elaborate Black’s typology and show how it is similar to, but distinct from, other typologies of violence. We also address the criteria by which typologies of any kind might be judged. Borrowing from the literatures on typologies and on standards of scientific theory, we argue that explanatory typologies should be evaluated according to four criteria: the degree to which they are powerful, theoretical, general, and parsimonious. Applying the criteria to Black’s typology, we argue that the distinction between moralistic and predatory violence is an important contribution to the arsenal of the student of violence.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide findings of an exploratory study of Special Agents in Charge (SACs) in a variety of federal law enforcement agencies and presents summary…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide findings of an exploratory study of Special Agents in Charge (SACs) in a variety of federal law enforcement agencies and presents summary descriptions, including demographics and career paths of female agents.
Design/methodology/approach
Incumbent SACs, reached with assistance from law enforcement organizations and through snowball techniques, anonymously completed questionnaires that were mailed to each individually. This methodology provided a snapshot in time of the first generation of women to have reached the rank of SAC.
Findings
The findings suggest that women are moving up the ranks of federal agencies even while their overall percentages of employment have become somewhat static. Regardless of type or size of federal agency, there are a number of common career paths and the ages and racial demographics of the women are also similar across agencies.
Practical implications
As federal agency recruitment of women seems to have stagnated, a portrait of women who have reached middle management may provide insight into the obstacles women face in these agencies and also into how some women have overcome these obstacles.
Originality/value
The findings are derived from the first ever study of women SACs. In addition to providing a snapshot of incumbent women, it will provide baseline data for later studies of future generations of women who move up in the ranks of federal law enforcement.
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Annette Markham and Riccardo Pronzato
This paper aims to explore how critical digital and data literacies are facilitated by testing different methods in the classroom, with the ambition to find a pedagogical…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how critical digital and data literacies are facilitated by testing different methods in the classroom, with the ambition to find a pedagogical framework for prompting sustained critical literacies.
Design/methodology/approach
This contribution draws on a 10-year set of critical pedagogy experiments conducted in Denmark, USA and Italy, and engaging more than 1,500 young adults. Multi-method pedagogical design trains students to conduct self-oriented guided autoethnography, situational analysis, allegorical mapping, and critical infrastructure analysis.
Findings
The techniques of guided autoethnography for facilitating sustained data literacy rely on inviting multiple iterations of self-analysis through sequential prompts, whereby students move through stages of observation, critical thinking, critical theory-informed critique around the lived experience of hegemonic data and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructures.
Research limitations/implications
Critical digital/data literacy researchers should continue to test models for building sustained critique that not only facilitate changes in behavior over time but also facilitate citizen social science, whereby participants use these autoethnographic techniques with friends and families to build locally relevant critique of the hegemonic power of data/AI infrastructures.
Originality/value
The proposed literacy model adopts a critical theory stance and shows the value of using multiple modes of intervention at micro and macro levels to prompt self-analysis and meta-level reflexivity for learners. This framework places critical theory at the center of the pedagogy to spark more radical stances, which is contended to be an essential step in moving students from attitudinal change to behavioral change.
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