Sudharshana Srinivasan, Toni P. Sorrell, J. Paul Brooks, David J. Edwards and Robyn Diehl McDougle
The purpose of this research paper is to describe quantitative methods that assist police administrators with evaluating current staffing and justifying to local governing bodies…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research paper is to describe quantitative methods that assist police administrators with evaluating current staffing and justifying to local governing bodies the size of the patrol workforce required to meet performance benchmarks.
Design/methodology/approach
A discrete-event simulation model is developed to analyze various staffing levels and alternative scheduling scenarios. Input distributions are based on computer-aided dispatch (CAD) data from an urban police department. The results can be used to estimate the size of the patrol force needed to meet performance objectives.
Findings
The simulation model produces an estimate of the number of officers required to staff the department in order to meet benchmark goals. The output also indicates when and where patrol officers need to be added and shows performance plateaus where staffing increases only marginally improve performance. Observations on the trade-offs between meeting budget (via staffing) and benchmark goals are also provided.
Research limitations/implications
Assuming that the quality of CAD data is reliable, our model requires data for one year to generate the distributions needed for the simulation. The computation of staffing estimates requires a shift-relief factor, calculated by the department to account for times when officers cannot be scheduled.
Practical implications
This study suggests that the department should hire additional patrol officers or increase overtime hours in order to meet performance benchmarks.
Originality/value
In contrast to previous modeling approaches, our simulation does not rely on the assumption that the policing system is static or in a steady state.
Details
Keywords
Tom Schultheiss, Lorraine Hartline, Jean Mandeberg, Pam Petrich and Sue Stern
The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the…
Abstract
The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the RSR review column, “Recent Reference Books,” by Frances Neel Cheney. “Reference Books in Print” includes all additional books received prior to the inclusion deadline established for this issue. Appearance in this column does not preclude a later review in RSR. Publishers are urged to send a copy of all new reference books directly to RSR as soon as published, for immediate listing in “Reference Books in Print.” Reference books with imprints older than two years will not be included (with the exception of current reprints or older books newly acquired for distribution by another publisher). The column shall also occasionally include library science or other library related publications of other than a reference character.
Timothy Hackman and Margaret Loebe
This chapter discusses the project to investigate, recommend, and create user-focused solutions for opening and operating Severn Library, a high-density storage facility, at the…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter discusses the project to investigate, recommend, and create user-focused solutions for opening and operating Severn Library, a high-density storage facility, at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD.
Methodology/approach
This chapter takes the case study approach, discussing the practical application of project management techniques to various stages of a large-scale project to plan for a high-density storage facility.
Findings
Although the Severn Library project began with a large project team, lack of formal project management expertise and the massive nature of the project led to its breakdown into smaller constituent projects, with the two authors filling the roles of “accidental project managers” to complete the work on time. Although this approach was ultimately successful, the overall success of the project could have been improved through more formal application of project management techniques.
Research limitations/implications
This chapter discusses the experience of the authors at one large, public state university. The experience of other libraries and library managers may vary based on institutional context.
Practical implications
This chapter will be valuable to library managers interested in project management techniques in libraries, and/or in planning for high-density library storage facilities.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this is the only writing on the application of project management techniques to construction and operation of a high-density library storage facility.
Details
Keywords
The long‐awaited regulations to provide statutory compositional requirements for the ever‐increasing range of meat products have at last arrived; presented in the form of a…
Abstract
The long‐awaited regulations to provide statutory compositional requirements for the ever‐increasing range of meat products have at last arrived; presented in the form of a triology—The Canned Meat Product Regulations, The Meat Pie and Sausage Roll Regulations and The Sausage and Other Meat Product Regulations—all of which apply to England and Wales only; presumably the Scottish counterparts, modified for the geographical variations in commodities, will appear in due course. The Meat Pie and Sausage Roll Regulations come into operation on May 31 1968; the other two on May 31 1969.
The formulated proposals for this legal principle in the trade battern of the European Community have again appeared in the EEC draft Directive. It has been many years in coming…
Abstract
The formulated proposals for this legal principle in the trade battern of the European Community have again appeared in the EEC draft Directive. It has been many years in coming, indicating the extreme difficulties encountered in bringing some sort of harmony in the different laws of Member‐states including those of the United Kingdom, relating to the subject. Over the years there were periods of what appeared to be complete inactivity, when no progress was being made, when consultations were at a stand‐still, but the situation was closely monitored by manufacturers of goods, including food and drink, in the UK and the BFJ published fairly detailed reviews of proposals being considered — in 1979 and 1981; and even as recently as the last few months — in “Consumerism in the Community”, the subject was briefly discussed.
The way of thought and vision and memory is that they often come upon you unexpectedly, presenting nothing new but usually with a clarity and emphasis that it all seems new. This…
Abstract
The way of thought and vision and memory is that they often come upon you unexpectedly, presenting nothing new but usually with a clarity and emphasis that it all seems new. This will sometimes happen after a long period of indecision or when things are extremely difficult, as they have long been for the country, in most homes and among ordinary individuals. Watching one's life savings dwindle away, the nest‐egg laid down for security in an uncertain world, is a frightening process. This has happened to the nation, once the richest in the world, and ot its elderly people, most of them taught the habit of saving in early youth. We are also taught that what has been is past changing; the clock cannot be put back, and the largesse—much of it going to unprincipled spongers—distributed by a spendthrift Government as token relief is no answer, not even to present difficulties. The response can only come by a change of heart in those whose brutal selfishness have caused it all; and this may be a long time in coming. In the meantime, it is a useful exercise to consider our assets, to recognize those which must be protected at all costs and upon which, when sanity returns, the future depends.
Tony Smith, Sally Fowler-Davis, Susan Nancarrow, Steven Mark Brian Ariss and Pam Enderby
The purpose of this study is to review evidence on the nature of effective leadership in interprofessional health and social care teams.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to review evidence on the nature of effective leadership in interprofessional health and social care teams.
Design/methodology/approach
A critical review and thematic synthesis of research literature conducted using systematic methods to identify and construct a framework to explain the available evidence about leadership in interprofessional health and social care teams.
Findings
Twenty-eight papers were reviewed and contributed to the framework for interprofessional leadership. Twelve themes emerged from the literature, the themes were: facilitate shared leadership; transformation and change; personal qualities; goal alignment; creativity and innovation; communication; team-building; leadership clarity; direction setting; external liaison; skill mix and diversity; clinical and contextual expertise. The discussion includes some comparative analysis with theories and themes in team management and team leadership.
Originality/value
This research identifies some of the characteristics of effective leadership of interprofessional health and social care teams. By capturing and synthesising the literature, it is clear that effective interprofessional health and social care team leadership requires a unique blend of knowledge and skills that support innovation and improvement. Further research is required to deepen the understanding of the degree to which team leadership results in better outcomes for both patients and teams.