There are two distinct kinds of innovation. In one we know what has to be done: perhaps to invest in new machinery or computers, or to implement new systems and policies or to…
Abstract
There are two distinct kinds of innovation. In one we know what has to be done: perhaps to invest in new machinery or computers, or to implement new systems and policies or to re‐train people for new opportunities. This kind of innovation requires new but well specified activities. The other kind of innovation occurs when people want to solve problems but how to do so is unclear and requires thought. This article examines how to improve the latter process of innovation. The first kind of innovation usually involves many people and large resources, but is almost an act of faith because what has to be done is usually decided for us by Government, economists, employers or teachers. The second kind of innovation is more personal and depends on individual decisions and action by small groups. It is usually smaller in scope and yet quicker to achieve results. Both forms of innovation are essential.
DURING some comments on the brain drain last month it was remarked that work study technologists stood on the periphery. Suddenly they have been moved right to the centre as the…
Abstract
DURING some comments on the brain drain last month it was remarked that work study technologists stood on the periphery. Suddenly they have been moved right to the centre as the result of a communication from Dr. Robert N. Lehrer. He is among the six American work study experts best known to the profession in this country, ranking with Barnes and Mundel as having contributed much to a right appreciation of the subject's value and its techniques.
There can be few who will regret the departure of 1966. As he makes his way towards that dim hall where the years are supposed to sit on their granite columns there will be few…
Abstract
There can be few who will regret the departure of 1966. As he makes his way towards that dim hall where the years are supposed to sit on their granite columns there will be few sighs at the parting. The year has been ‘a holy terror’ to almost everybody. Contraction has been its forte and uncertainty its foible. There have been severe restraints on enterprise, the crushing of many hopes and an air of apathy verging on despair. Future historians may well describe contemporary events as taking place ‘in the year of the Freeze’, much as it was once common to say ‘in the year of the French Revolution’.
INDUSTRIAL consultants are being increasingly employed both here and in the United States. It is natural that much of their work should fall within the field of work study since…
Abstract
INDUSTRIAL consultants are being increasingly employed both here and in the United States. It is natural that much of their work should fall within the field of work study since the usual reason for calling them in is to secure greater productivity. Such incursions are sometimes looked at askance by those assigned to that particular role in a company. This understandable human attitude will not be exorcised by implying that consultants are a race of infallible beings whose job is to impose superior methods on the permanent staff.
METHOD STUDY, as the name implies, is that part of Work Study which makes a careful and critical examination of the methods currently employed either in factory or office. It is…
Abstract
METHOD STUDY, as the name implies, is that part of Work Study which makes a careful and critical examination of the methods currently employed either in factory or office. It is not concerned with standards of performance or schemes for payment by result. Instead, it aims at cutting out movements or efforts which are not necessary and, in general, improving the methods in use. It uses charts and diagrams; cameras to record still or moving pictures; models and measuring instruments. Uninterrupted attention is concentrated on the study in hand for whatever time it requires.
LAST month we commented on a recent report, “Measurement of Productivity—Work Study Application and Training”, issued by the Joint Committee of the Institute of Cost and Works…
Abstract
LAST month we commented on a recent report, “Measurement of Productivity—Work Study Application and Training”, issued by the Joint Committee of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants and the Institute of Production Engineers. Since then we have had the opportunity of making a closer study of the Report and feel that some of the recommendations are of such importance that they are worthy of further comment.
CHANGE has always characterised industrial societies. To speak of it as a mid‐twentieth century phenomenon, a violation of the established order, is unrealistic. Manufacturing…
Abstract
CHANGE has always characterised industrial societies. To speak of it as a mid‐twentieth century phenomenon, a violation of the established order, is unrealistic. Manufacturing operations have always been reviewed, sporadically or systematically, in industry to find new methods in order to secure greater output or lower costs. Usually the worker continued at his job with altered duties and different demands upon him, adjusting fairly easily to changed conditions in a routine way.
Esther Skelhorn, Alessandra Girardi and Sam Cooper-Evans
Some individuals with autism may engage in violent behaviour. Research into autism specific factors (ASFs) that may contribute to violence is limited. The purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
Some individuals with autism may engage in violent behaviour. Research into autism specific factors (ASFs) that may contribute to violence is limited. The purpose of this paper is to explore the feasibility of use of an ASF framework which was developed to inform risk formulation and treatment needs.
Design/methodology/approach
Retrospective identification and evaluation of ASFs in offenders with autism (N = 13) at childhood, time of index offence and in current risk behaviours. The ASFs described in the framework were repetitive behaviours and circumscribed interests; poor social understanding and empathy; sensitivity to sensory stimulation; and disruption to rigid behavioural routines or difficulties coping with change.
Findings
There was evidence for all four ASFs being consistently present in childhood, contributing to violent behaviour at the index offence and current risk behaviours in at least one case. Poor social understanding and empathy was often present at both childhood and index offence in all cases. Of the seven cases with offence paralleling behaviour, five had at least one ASF present at each timepoint.
Practical implications
This proof-of-concept study provides initial support that ASFs play a role in offending behaviour of individuals with autism. Clinicians working in specialist and generic forensic services, with an in-depth knowledge of autism, could use the ASF framework to enhance risk assessments and facilitate more targeted treatment planning for offenders with autism in specialist and general forensic services.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to test the application of the ASF framework in an autistic offending population.
EARLIER in the year a conference was held in Lausanne, Switzerland on future trends in work. Experts from many countries, both developed and developing, spoke of the world‐wide…
Abstract
EARLIER in the year a conference was held in Lausanne, Switzerland on future trends in work. Experts from many countries, both developed and developing, spoke of the world‐wide recession and its effects on their respective workforces.
John Shine and Samantha Cooper-Evans
The purpose of this paper is to outline the initial development of a framework to assist in clinical case formulation for individuals diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline the initial development of a framework to assist in clinical case formulation for individuals diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) who have been convicted of violent and other offences.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed framework obtains information on the presence of ASD features from an individual’s developmental history, index offence and offence paralleling behaviours. Through obtaining information across these three domains the framework helps the practitioner make an informed assessment of the possible contribution of ASD to offending.
Findings
The framework aims to assist the practitioner to develop a clinical formulation based on hypothesised linkages between these domains for use in forensic assessment reports and to aid treatment planning. The use of the proposed framework is illustrated through a reference formulation based on a fictive case example.
Research limitations/implications
The framework is still in the early stages of development and has not been tested. The next stage is to utilise case information data to assess the validity of the items. This does not preclude the use of the framework by practitioners as an aid to generating clinical hypotheses about the possible link between autism and offending as the development of the tool has been informed by research on ASD and offending.
Practical implications
The framework may be used in conjunction with structured professional judgement tools. For example, the recently published third version of the HCR-20 includes pervasive developmental disorders as a historical risk item. This possible relevance of this item in terms of forensic risk could be presented using information obtained from the framework outlined in this paper. This in turn could be used to inform the formulation section of the HCR-20 and in the generation of treatment plans. In the longer term, the framework may help inform our understanding of possible relationships between violence risk and ASD and therefore aid effective assessment and treatment planning.
Social implications
In the longer term, the framework may help inform our understanding of possible relationships between violence risk and ASD and therefore aid effective assessment and treatment planning.
Originality/value
Although there is an emergent body of research on ASD and offending this has not yet been translated into a tool to help practitioners. This paper sets out an approach to do this and therefore makes an original contribution to the literature.