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The purpose of this study is to explore the characteristics and potential effects of teaching and learning through audio teleconferencing (dial-in) with a cell phone. In addition, the study aims to identify the associations between the audio teleconferencing and video teleconferencing in a 12-week postgraduate course.

The study is a cross-sectional survey conducted at the Department of Educational Innovations at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology from March to June 2020. The purposive sampling technique was used to sample 100 postgraduate students who registered for a course in the department. The data for the study were collected using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and 17-item self-administered eQuestionnaire. Multiple Linear Regression analysis, ANOVA, Independent sample T-test and Mann–Whitney U-test were used to estimate the differences in course achievements of students who experienced education through audio teleconferencing and those who experienced education through video teleconferencing.

In total, 59% of the participating postgraduate students chose to attend the synchronous online lectures via audio teleconferencing (dial-in). The participants gave a high SUS score (SUS > 80.3; Grade A; Excellent) for audio conferencing service. Among the students in the audio teleconferencing cohort, the results evidenced a strong positive linear correlation, (r (57) = 0.79, p < 0.05), between the individual adjective ratings and the SUS scores. There was marginal significance among demography of students in the audio teleconference (AT) cohort with regards to their perception about the dial-in lecture. There was no statistically significant difference, (t (98) = 1.88, p = 0.063), in the achievement test for AT students and video teleconference (VT) students. The instructors and the students were satisfied with the AT.

Based on the students’ preference, AT offers equal benefit as VT with regards to system satisfaction and perceived quality of online teaching. AT, as teaching modality, should be an option for students who reside in communities with high latency internet connectivity. It is recommended that instructors are trained on how to engage and motivate students via AT.

Higher education institutions in Ghana are facing decisions about how to continue learning and teaching through flexible pedagogy, while keeping their faculty members and students protected from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these institutions have canceled the brick-and-mortar education and other conventional learning practices and have instructed faculty to adopt online teaching through synchronous video teleconferencing platforms. However, the learning experience is not the same for students who reside in remote or rural communities with low bandwidth. There is very little research in this topic, especially in developing countries like Ghana, and the present study aims to bridge the gap in the literature by exploring the characteristics and potential effects of teaching and learning through audio teleconferencing (dial-in) with a cell phone, in the context of a 12-week postgraduate course.

This paper aims to review calls on the UK police service to respond to the dual challenge of increasing governmental/public demands for improvements in police efficiency and effectiveness in the likely context of decreasing real time increases in financial resources. Specifically it aims to highlight the reform of police organizational structures, a greater focus on performance management and people development initiatives as areas that have the potential to bring about significant benefits for future UK policing.

Using the results of Government‐sponsored research and other secondary data the approach is to explore the potential for implementation of new approaches to policing.

There would appear to be a consensus between the Government and the police service of the need for reform. The mechanics of successful implementation, however, face institutional, cultural and financial obstacles.

The complexity of policing and its interaction with government and the public requires significant analysis. The success of future initiatives can only be judged through analysis following implementation.

The paper identifies that there may be tangible areas of policing activity that could benefit from the implementation of new techniques such as the “lean” principles of management as a means of focusing on more cost effective ways of utilising future police resources.

This paper draws together and contextualises specific areas of police practice that could benefit from new ways of working and posits improvements in efficiency for the future.

The purpose of this paper is to evidence the emergence of new forms of work organisation which if observed could be seen as consistent with the concept of the “learning factory”. This is attempted through reporting the views of those workers engaged in team based operations and reflects upon the emerging role of first‐line and team‐based supervisors. The implications of such developments are then considered from the perspective of the current HR plant managers.

This paper reports on a study of 18 US and UK automotive component suppliers. The information gathered included questionnaire data detailing management practices and giving plant level performance measures. The paper draws primarily on data gathered from interviews conducted with workers, team leaders and managers, including HR managers.

While the majority of plants may be some way from a “learning factory” model there is evidence of changing practices, structures and expectations in each that are in varying ways broadly consistent with elements of this approach. As a consequence of the prioritisation for increases in devolution of responsibility to other employees, the traditional role of the HR manager was seen to be evolving which to a number of managers was creating difficulties.

This paper contributes to the growing evidence of the devolvement of traditional “managerial” responsibilities to lower levels within increasingly “lean” manufacturing organisations. It also comments on the evolving role of HR managers in contemporary manufacturing.

This paper aims to outline an exploratory study of how a multi-agency, partnership approach to crime prevention might enable the police more effectively to target their utilisation of resources in order both to reduce local levels of criminality and to improve public confidence. It is set against a backdrop of major police reforms that will require police commanders to demonstrate high levels of accountability in terms of resource and financial utilisation, and to show continuing improvement in levels of public confidence.

A case study approach is adopted; it draws upon both primary and secondary data sources and is framed within a situational approach to crime prevention.

There has been a drop in the levels of burglary in those areas where the home improvement initiative (Decent Homes Programme) has been carried out. The tenants consulted as part of the research reported that they felt safer in their homes as a result. Also, their general level of satisfaction with the police and other agencies has improved.

There has been an overall drop in levels of reported crime in terms of burglaries across the UK. It may be asked whether such improvement in Nottingham has been due to a genuine improvement in police performance or is as a consequence of the home improvements. The present paper is a single case study, with no opportunity for a comparative analysis across other police force areas. This limitation could be overcome by other researchers involved in similar Decent Homes Programmes in other cities in the UK.

The research illustrates that multi-agency working may indeed help create an improvement in living conditions for residents. It also identifies the fact that, as a result of successful integrated multi-agency approaches to crime prevention, the police are able to save resources in terms of time spent investigating crime.

This paper adds tangible evidence to theoretical discourse on the benefits of multi-agency work in the context of social housing

The paper is set in the context of the impact of new public management (NPM) on the police service in the UK. Specifically, it aims to describe a modelling based approach to targeted police performance improvement within a specific area of measured operational policing namely sanction detection levels. It draws upon nationally available crime statistics, which have been utilised in a novel way in order to provide the police with an additional performance management technique.

The paper uses secondary data and the PROMETHEE ranking technique to exposit performance rank improvement of a police force amongst their most similar forces group.

The modelling approach is a proven tool that could be used in partnership with other police performance management techniques in their attempt to meet the public interest and Home Office demands for improvements in base sanction detection levels.

The paper presents a theoretical approach that seeks to address a complex and multifaceted operational issue affecting all police forces. The theoretical nature in itself presents a potentially idealistic scenario.

The paper demonstrates that innovative modelling has the potential to add value to techniques that are currently used in the area of police performance improvement, in this case sanction detection levels. At the fundamental level this could be viewed in terms of “Where to start first, and from there?” with respect to targeting certain types of crime.

This paper uses a modern ranking technique previously unused in this area.

This paper reports some preliminary findings from a research project on the management of problem solving and continuous improvement in UK and US first tier automotive component manufacturers. It draws on organizational theory to interpret emerging structures, relationships and roles in the light of recent work on the “learning factory” model of manufacturing. There is considerable evidence of shifting patterns of roles and responsibilities, especially for operators, front‐line managers and a new cadre of continuous improvement specialists, but only limited evidence of knowledge transfer across organizational boundaries. Overall the findings suggest that there are various routes toward the learning factory and that ultimately this model of operations is likely to have numerous practical incarnations.

The UK police service has a major challenge to introduce innovative ways of improving efficiency and productivity, whilst at the same time improving public opinion as to their effectiveness in the “fight against crime”. The purpose of this paper is to outline an exploratory study of the ability to cluster police forces based on their sanction detection levels over a number of different offence groups and whether these clusters have different associated public opinions towards them.

Using secondary data and the fuzzy c‐means clustering technique to exposit clusters of police forces based on sanction detection levels, relating them in a statistical analysis with public opinion on the police.

The clustering analysis shows how police forces can be considered relative to each other, based on their sanction detection levels of certain offence groups, including; burglary, fraud and forgery and criminal damage. Using the established clusters of police forces, in respect of independent variables relating to public opinion, including confidence in police; there does appear to be statistically significant differences amongst the clusters of police force.

The results demonstrate the connection between the police's attempt to fight crime and public opinion. With the public opinion measures considered post the establishing of police forces’ clusters, the results show the public does notice the level of sanction detections achieved. The identified disconnect of the public with the criminal justice system is something that can be improved on in the future.

Demonstrates that there is a significant link in the relationship between the levels of sanction detection levels of police forces and public opinion about their ability to fight crime.

This paper employs fuzzy c‐means, a modern clustering technique nascent in this area of research.

The maintenance of public order and the control of crime are clearly amongst the primary objectives of global law enforcement agencies. An important antecedent to this is the consideration of public trust in their police force. The purpose of this paper is to utilise data from the fifth round European Social Survey (ESS), to investigate how public social indicators may be highlight the level of trust in a country’s police force.

The results from the ESS are analysed using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), multiply conjunctional causal configurations of the considered social indicators are then established and analysed.

A consequence of using fsQCA, asymmetric causal configurations are identified for the relative high and low limiting levels of trust towards the police in the considered countries. The results offer novel insights into the relationship between social indicators and police trust, as well as expositing a nascent technique (fsQCA) that may offer future potential in this area.

This paper introduces a nascent technique (fsQCA) to analyse a major European data set relating to citizens perceptions of the police. The findings might prove useful for policing organisations as they develop strategies to maintain/improve the level of trust and confidence of citizens in the policing services they provide.

Examines innovation, labour and human resource management in contemporary manufacturing. Case study data are presented from automotive plants in the USA and the UK. Reports on the human resource practices in use and considers the relationship with the plants’ manufacturing and innovation activities. In particular, focuses on current developments in the roles of employees and their training and development implications.