Jenny Mercer, Kerry Gibson and Debbie Clayton
Much evidence suggests that animals can serve as therapeutic tools for those working with vulnerable individuals. This exploratory study analysed the accounts of staff and…
Abstract
Purpose
Much evidence suggests that animals can serve as therapeutic tools for those working with vulnerable individuals. This exploratory study analysed the accounts of staff and offenders involved in a UK prison-based animal programme. The purpose of this paper was to explore the perceived impact of such a programme with male offenders.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three service users and five staff members. Participants were drawn from a special unit in a category B prison which housed an animal centre.
Findings
A thematic analysis identified four salient themes: a sense of responsibility, building trust, enhanced communication, and impact on mood and behaviour. Findings revealed that offenders seemed to gain particular benefit from interacting with the two Labrador dogs which were present on the wing.
Practical implications
The study highlights the therapeutic potential of the presence of animals in prisons. Their implications of this for forensic practice are discussed.
Originality/value
This paper offers an important contribution to the sparse literature about prison-based animal programmes in the UK.
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John McCormick, Kerry Barnett, Seyyed Babak Alavi and Geoffrey Newcombe
This paper develops a theoretical framework to guide future inquiry into board governance of independent schools.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper develops a theoretical framework to guide future inquiry into board governance of independent schools.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors' approach is to integrate literatures related to corporate and educational boards, motivation, leadership and group processes that are appropriate for conceptualizing independent school board governance processes.
Findings
Shows that the institutional role of an independent school board is likely to be quite different, and considerably more significant than the role of a board of a systemic school.
Originality/value
This paper develops an original theoretical framework that will provide a sound basis for investigation of an important but neglected aspect of educational administration in Australia.
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Wilson Ozuem, Michelle Willis and Kerry Howell
In this paper, the authors underpin thematic analysis with a philosophical and methodological dimension and present a nuanced perspective on the application of thematic analysis…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors underpin thematic analysis with a philosophical and methodological dimension and present a nuanced perspective on the application of thematic analysis in a data-driven context. Thematic analysis is a widely used qualitative analytic method; it is perceived as a transparent approach that offers single meaning. However, through Husserlian descriptive phenomenology, this paper aims to examine issues regarding subject/object and multidimensional meanings and realities.
Design/methodology/approach
In most extant studies, thematic analysis has become a prescriptive approach. This emerging qualitative approach has been applied to a range of studies on social and organisational issues, knowledge management and education. However, despite its wide usage, researchers are divided as to its effectiveness. Many choose quantitative approaches as an alternative, and some disagree as to what counts as the definitive framework and process for thematic analysis. Consequently, the authors provide a level of validity for thematic analysis through emphasising a specific methodological approach based on ontological and epistemological positions.
Findings
Contrary to the common mantra from contemporary qualitative researchers who claim thematic analysis is often based on a static and enduring approach, the current paper highlights the dynamic nature of a thematic analytic approach and offers a deeper understanding of the ways in which researchers can use the right approach to understand the emerging complex data context.
Originality/value
Several insights regarding the literature on thematic analysis were identified, including the current conceptualisation of thematic analysis as a dynamic approach. Understanding thematic analysis through phenomenology provides a basis on which to undertake a whole range of inclusive approaches that were previously undifferentiated from a quantitative perspective.
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Laura Bauer, Caton Weinberger, Dorothy R. Carter and Lauren Blackwell Landon
Large-scale and complex issues tend to require a system of interconnected teams (i.e., multiteam systems) that offer more manpower, resources, and flexibility to meet more…
Abstract
Large-scale and complex issues tend to require a system of interconnected teams (i.e., multiteam systems) that offer more manpower, resources, and flexibility to meet more challenging demands. However, multiteam systems often work within “extreme environments” that can be very stressful, and the impact of this stress can deplete team members’ Well-Being and hinder team performance. Current research on multiteam systems does not address the need to understand how environmental stressors may impact component teams and overall team functioning and how multiteam systems in these environments can regulate stress to overcome these problems. NASA’s spaceflight multiteam system provides a unique example that organizational researchers can look at to understand how the Mission Control team helps regulate stress in the spaceflight team operating within an isolated, confined, and extreme environment. This chapter articulates how NASA’s spaceflight multiteam system stress regulation practices can inform organizational psychologists and advance our understanding of multiteam system functioning.
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Robyn Keast, Myrna Mandell and Kerry Brown
The three governance modes of state, market and network have long been recognized as key forms of social organization. However, the failure of these modes to solve complex public…
Abstract
The three governance modes of state, market and network have long been recognized as key forms of social organization. However, the failure of these modes to solve complex public problems has meant that new hybrid arrangements drawing on and mixing the strengths of each mode have come to the fore. This situation results in what is contended to be a “crowded” policy domain which may erode the potential for positive service delivery and programme outcomes. This paper argues that policy and decision-makers need to recognize the difference between these modes and select optimal mixes. The paper proceeds by tracing the evolution of the expanded mix. It sets out a coherent framework to aid decision-making and explores the challenges faced by governments in balancing the structural and operational mechanisms necessary to sustain the engagement of such a diverse set of players
Kristin L. Cullen-Lester, Caitlin M. Porter, Hayley M. Trainer, Pol Solanelles and Dorothy R. Carter
The field of Human Resource Management (HRM) has long recognized the importance of interpersonal influence for employee and organizational effectiveness. HRM research and practice…
Abstract
The field of Human Resource Management (HRM) has long recognized the importance of interpersonal influence for employee and organizational effectiveness. HRM research and practice have focused primarily on individuals’ characteristics and behaviors as a means to understand “who” is influential in organizations, with substantially less attention paid to social networks. To reinvigorate a focus on network structures to explain interpersonal influence, the authors present a comprehensive account of how network structures enable and constrain influence within organizations. The authors begin by describing how power and status, two key determinants of individual influence in organizations, operate through different mechanisms, and delineate a range of network positions that yield power, reflect status, and/or capture realized influence. Then, the authors extend initial structural views of influence beyond the positions of individuals to consider how network structures within and between groups – capturing group social capital and/or shared leadership – enable and constrain groups’ ability to influence group members, other groups, and the broader organizational system. The authors also discuss how HRM may leverage these insights to facilitate interpersonal influence in ways that support individual, group, and organizational effectiveness.
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Abstract
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Victoria Stobo, Kerry Patterson, Kristofer Erickson and Ronan Deazley
The inability of cultural institutions to make available digital reproductions of collected material highlights a shortcoming with the existing copyright framework in a number of…
Abstract
Purpose
The inability of cultural institutions to make available digital reproductions of collected material highlights a shortcoming with the existing copyright framework in a number of national jurisdictions. Overlapping efforts to remedy the situation were recently undertaken in the form of EU Directive 2012/28/EU, the “Orphan Works” directive, and a new licensing scheme introduced by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO). The purpose of this paper is to empirically evaluate both the EU and UK policy approaches, drawing on data collected during a live rights clearance simulation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors attempted to clear rights in a sample of 432 items contained in the mixed-media Edwin Morgan Scrapbooks collection held by the University of Glasgow Library. Data were collected on the resource costs incurred at each stage of the rights clearance process, from initial audit of the collection, through to compliance with diligent search requirements under EU Directive 2012/28/EU and the UKIPO licensing procedures.
Findings
Comparing results against the two current policy options for the use of orphan works, the authors find that the UKIPO licensing scheme offers a moderate degree of legal certainty but also the highest cost to institutions (the cost of diligent search in addition to licence fees). The EU exception to copyright provides less legal certainty in the case of rightsholder re-emergence, but also retains high diligent search costs. Both policy options may be suitable for institutions wishing to make use of a small number of high-risk works, but neither approach is currently suitable for mass digitisation.
Research limitations/implications
This rights clearance exercise is focussed on a single case study with unique properties (with a high proportion of partial works embedded in a work of bricolage). Consequently, the results obtained in this study reflect differences from simulation studies on other types of orphan works. However, by adopting similar methodological and reporting standards to previous empirical studies, the authors can compare rights clearance costs between collections of different works.
Originality/value
This study is the first to empirically assess the 2014 UK orphan works licensing scheme from an institutional perspective. The authors hope that it will contribute to an understanding of how policy could more effectively assist libraries and archives in their digitisation efforts.
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David Treacy, John P. Spillane and Paul Tansey
This paper aims to identify the critical factors causing construction disputes in small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in Ireland during the recent recession period from 2007 to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the critical factors causing construction disputes in small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in Ireland during the recent recession period from 2007 to 2013.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a mixed-method approach incorporating a literature review, case studies and questionnaire survey, with results analysed using exploratory (data reduction) factor analysis.
Findings
The results indicate seven core critical factors which result in construction disputes in SMEs in Ireland during a recession: payment and extras; physical work conditions; poor financial/legal practise; changes to the agreed scope of works; time overrun; defects; and requests for increase in speed of project and long-term defects.
Research Limitations/implications
With Ireland emerging from the current economic recession and the prevalence of SMEs in the construction sector, it is essential to document the core critical factors of construction disputes which emerge within this particular segment of the built environment.
Practical Implications
To address the adversarial nature of the construction sector and the prevalence of SMEs, it is essential to identify and document the critical factors of construction disputes within this remit. It is envisaged that the results of this research will be acknowledged, and the recommendations adopted, by construction SMEs, particularly within Ireland, as they emerge from the economic recession.
Originality/value
This paper fulfils a gap in knowledge with the emergence of the economic recession and the identification of critical factors of construction dispute within SMEs in the Irish construction industry.