This paper aims to describe how Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, UK, has introduced a management and leadership programme that has driven positive change in the organization.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe how Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, UK, has introduced a management and leadership programme that has driven positive change in the organization.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper details the reasons for the programme, how it was delivered and some of the results it has achieved.
Findings
The paper outlines the bespoke leadership‐development plan created by leadership and change‐management consultant SFL, which involves workshops to translate the core messages, followed by additional workshops for supervisory managers to develop their leadership skills in performance management, mentoring and coaching.
Practical implications
The paper shows that, despite an initial reluctance to change among members of Staffordshire's Fire and Rescue Service, the picture is overwhelmingly positive and the organization has gained Investor in People status.
Originality/value
The paper provides an example of successful leadership development in the public sector.
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How can researchers develop methods that are both child-centered and grounded in the “epistemology of racial emancipation” given the unique challenges associated with conducting…
Abstract
How can researchers develop methods that are both child-centered and grounded in the “epistemology of racial emancipation” given the unique challenges associated with conducting research with young people and white people? The purpose of this chapter is to examine the use of an innovative child-centered visual research method within the context of a larger ethnography focused on how white children come to form ideas about race in America. As part of a broader ethnographic study, white children between the ages of 10 and 13 were presented with photographs of celebrities. Children were asked questions about how to racially classify these popular culture icons, an activity that led to further discussion about race and racism in America. Drawing upon photographs of popular cultural icons and celebrities is one strategy for approaching uncomfortable topics with children in way that is less intimidating and that also brings new data to the study. Children made this aspect of the interview their own, bringing their unique perspectives to bear. This chapter discusses at length unique methodological issues, strategies, and innovations involved in research with white children about race. This chapter makes original contributions to the field of developing innovative, child-centered methods for conducting research with children and youth as well as existing scholarship on whiteness, privilege, and the social reproduction of racial ideology/racism.
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Nicola Patterson, Sharon Mavin and Jane Turner
This feminist standpoint study aims to make an empirical contribution to the entrepreneurial leadership and HRD fields. Women entrepreneur leaders' experiences of gender will be…
Abstract
Purpose
This feminist standpoint study aims to make an empirical contribution to the entrepreneurial leadership and HRD fields. Women entrepreneur leaders' experiences of gender will be explored through a framework of doing gender well and doing gender differently to unsettle the gender binary.
Design/methodology/approach
Against a backcloth of patriarchy, a theoretical gender lens is developed and a feminist standpoint research (FSR) approach taken in this study. There are five case studies of women entrepreneur leaders operating small businesses across North East England in sectors of IT, law, construction, beauty, and childcare. In each case study a two‐stage semi‐structured interview process was implemented and the women's voices analysed through a framework of doing gender well and differently.
Findings
This paper highlights the complexities of gender experiences offering four themes of women entrepreneurs' experiences of gender within entrepreneurial leadership: struggling with entrepreneurial leadership; awareness of difference; accepting and embracing difference; and responding to difference, which are offered to challenge the gender binary and capture the complexities of how gender is experienced.
Research limitations/implications
The field must begin to shift its focus from the dominant masculine discourse to foster understandings of gender experiences by using gender as an analytical category to enable the field to truly progress.
Social implications
Women are still an under‐represented group within entrepreneurship and within the higher echelons of organisations. This requires greater attention.
Originality/value
This feminist study calls for both scholars and practitioners to analyse critically their underlying assumptions and bring a gender consciousness to their HRD research and practice to understand gender complexities within entrepreneurial leadership and organisational experiences more widely.
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Cathy Brennan, Sonia Saraiva, Elizabeth Mitchell, Richard Melia, Lydia Campbell, Natalie King and Allan House
There are calls for greater regulation of online content related to self-harm and suicide, particularly that which is user-generated. However, the online space is a source of…
Abstract
Purpose
There are calls for greater regulation of online content related to self-harm and suicide, particularly that which is user-generated. However, the online space is a source of support and advice, including an important sharing of experiences. This study aims to explore what it is about such online content, and how people interact with it, that may confer harm or offer benefit.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors undertook a systematic review of the published evidence, using customised searches up to February 2021 in seven databases. The authors included empirical research on the internet or online use and self-harm or suicide content that had been indexed since 2015. The authors undertook a theoretically driven narrative synthesis.
Findings
From 4,493 unique records, 87 met our inclusion criteria. The literature is rapidly expanding and not all the evidence is high quality, with very few longitudinal or intervention studies so little evidence to understand possible causal links. Very little content online is classifiable as explicitly harmful or definitively helpful, with responses varying by the individual and immediate context. The authors present a framework that seeks to represent the interplay in online use between the person, the medium, the content and the outcome.
Originality/value
This review highlights that content should not be considered separately to the person accessing it, so online safety means thinking about all users. Blanket removal or unthinking regulation may be more harmful than helpful. A focus on safe browsing is important and tools that limit time and diversify content would support this.
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Susan Saldanha, Natalie Tavitian, Elizabeth Lehman, Lindsay Carey and Peter Higgs
Housing First (HF) is an evidence-based practice effective in reducing homelessness among those who experience chronic homelessness. However, a strong synthesis evaluating the…
Abstract
Purpose
Housing First (HF) is an evidence-based practice effective in reducing homelessness among those who experience chronic homelessness. However, a strong synthesis evaluating the effectiveness of this intervention is lacking for people who use drugs. The purpose of this study is to explore international literature databases to identify the effectiveness of the HF programme among people who use drugs.
Design/methodology/approach
A modified framework from Arksey and O’Malley (2005) was used, namely: identifying the research question; developing inclusion and exclusion criteria; identifying relevant studies for study selection; charting the data; and collating, summarising and reporting the results.
Findings
Three main themes were identified: substance use related outcomes, housing-related outcomes and social outcomes. There is strong evidence that HF increases housing retention and reduces homelessness among chronically homeless people who use drugs. However, literature relating to substance use and social outcomes for this population report mixed and inconclusive findings.
Research limitations/implications
This scoping review concludes that additional research is required to conclusively determine whether HF is an effective intervention for homeless substance users. Future researchers must use formal assessments of substance use and ensure clear reporting of the HF intervention is accomplished. It is recommended for researchers and policymakers to consider the specific needs of the people who use drugs before implementation of HF for this population.
Practical implications
Differential effectiveness of HF through diagnostic subgroups such as alcohol use and drug use is varied with alcohol use being found to decrease due to the HF programme, but findings relating to other drug use outcomes are varied. As most previous studies used the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) to measure substance use among participants, however, the ASI, a self-reporting measure has unstable criterion validity and can cause under or over reporting of substance use. Structured toxicology or diagnostic assessments of substance use must be used for research instead to assist researchers in making firm conclusions about the reported rates.
Social implications
The slightly poorer housing outcomes among people who use substances indicate that this group may need more intensive approaches to finding and maintaining housing. Additional services for the group that address comorbid problems and consequences relating to substance use are required. It is suggested that housing should be provided within an integrated model that offers additional support services such as case management as when well matched to clients, case management appears to be an effective intervention among homeless sub-populations, as it reduces substance use, improves quality of life and health outcomes, improves social connectedness and increases housing tenure and satisfaction.
Originality/value
This scoping review concludes that additional research is required to conclusively determine whether HF is an effective intervention for homeless substance users. Future researchers must use formal assessments of substance use and ensure clear reporting of the HF intervention is accomplished. It is recommended for researchers and policymakers to consider the specific needs of the people who use drugs before HF implementation for this population.
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Sneh Bhardwaj, Damian Morgan and Natalie Elms
Situated in the context of India, where women’s representation on corporate boards remains low, this study aims to explore whether and how tokenism impacts the behaviours of…
Abstract
Purpose
Situated in the context of India, where women’s representation on corporate boards remains low, this study aims to explore whether and how tokenism impacts the behaviours of female directors.
Design/methodology/approach
The boardroom experiences and perceptions of 14 women directors are explored through semi-structured interviews and analysed using an inductive and interpretive process. Also, to get a counter perspective and avoid the social desirability bias from the women participants’ responses, 16 men directors are interviewed.
Findings
The study finds that, as gender minorities, women directors' visibility on boards can create performance pressures on these women. To counter gender-based prejudices, women directors consciously alter their behaviours and project both male and female traits consistent with the director role. By doing so, women directors overcome tokenistic stereotypes and are accepted as part of the director in-group, irrespective of their numeric representation on the board.
Practical implications
The research has implications for governments attempting to increase women’s board presence through affirmative actions and for firms aiming to improve the gender diversity of their board composition.
Originality/value
These findings present an alternative perspective on women directors’ board behaviour by exploring the applicability of Western trends on tokenism and critical mass in the context of India, adding to the vast body of literature concerned with minorities on corporate boards.
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Natalie Coers, Nicole Stedman, Grady Roberts, Allen Wysocki and Hannah Carter
The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of leadership development as experienced by non-government organization (NGO) executive leaders in international…
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of leadership development as experienced by non-government organization (NGO) executive leaders in international agricultural development. Data were collected from twelve executive NGO leaders through in-depth interviews to understand the textural and structural essences of the participants’ lived experiences of leadership development. Findings indicated the integral role of mentoring in leadership development prior to obtaining an executive leadership role and supported the conceptual model inclusive of mentoring as a mediating factor of efficacious leadership development. The study provided implications and future research recommendations for executive leaders in international agricultural development, as well as for leadership educators and practitioners.
Over the last two to three decades, European welfare states have witnessed fundamental changes in both family and labour market structures with many more women being in the paid…
Abstract
Over the last two to three decades, European welfare states have witnessed fundamental changes in both family and labour market structures with many more women being in the paid labour market. While this was seen to address previous problems linked to women’s disadvantage, it has also been argued to give rise to new risk and social inequalities, including falling fertility rates and increasing childlessness. Research has identified the lack of affordable childcare as a key factor in childlessness leading to a strong EU focus on early childhood education and care. Since 2000, the EU has played a more proactive role in policies and initiatives aimed to address decreasing fertility rates with greater pressure for convergence among member states. However, there has continued to be a large degree of variation between countries. This chapter thus examines the case of Germany which has one of the highest levels of childlessness in Europe. It focuses on the intersection between childlessness and childcare provision in Germany and analyses the existing childcare arrangements with a view to understand how they influence childlessness. Particular attention is given to the role of the German government as the main actor in the process to explore ideology-related explanations of German policy-makers which led to contradictory policies. Relying on an extensive review of the related literature and policy documents, together with the personal interviews with policy-makers, academics and women’s organisations, this chapter concludes that the relatively conservative outlook of the German government which prioritises the motherhood and caregiver role, and the dominance of the corporate welfare system, has limited developments to improve access to childcare resulting in ‘a culture of childlessness’ in Germany (Kreyenfeld & Konietzka, 2017).
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This paper aims to examine the recent jurisprudence of the Supreme Court concerning the registration of land as a town or village green (TVG). This area of law has proved…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the recent jurisprudence of the Supreme Court concerning the registration of land as a town or village green (TVG). This area of law has proved contentious over the past decade and shows no sign of relenting. Most recently, in April 2014, the Supreme Court was asked to determine whether use that is pursuant to a statutory right could be qualifying use for the purposes of village green registration, which requires 20 years use “as of right”.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper starts by summarising the law relating to the registration of land as a TVG and identifies the current problem that the courts are grappling with, namely the “by right” defence. After analysing the two leading authorities in relation to this point, the paper makes a judgment on the operation and conceptual underpinning of the “by right” defence.
Findings
The paper concludes that the “by right” defence in the context of village green registration is a functioning concept that prevents the registration of land as a town and village green whenever the use relied upon is indulged in pursuant to a statutory right. Furthermore, the defence should also be construed with the pre-existing test for use “as of right” rather than being recognised as an additional limb to this test.
Originality/value
The value of this paper is that it seeks to clarify an area of planning and property law that is fraught with conceptual uncertainty, and seeks to re-align the law of town and village greens with its prescriptive underpinnings.