Interviewing child witnesses within Memorandum guidelines. A survey of police officers in England and Wales

Since 1991, the evidence‐in‐chief of child witnesses in United Kingdom (UK) criminal proceedings can be an initial video‐recorded interview between a police officer/social worker and the child witness. This paper reports on the results of a survey of the attitudes and opinions of police officers who conduct video interviews with child witnesses in 18 police forces in England and Wales. Notably, officers' views were sought on the conduct of interviews. This builds on previous surveys which have focused on general views of videotaping children's evidence (for example, Davies and others 1995) and training issues (for example, Davies, Marshall and Robertson, 1998). Our findings support previous reports in that police officers view current provisions for child witnesses as a step in the right direction (Davies and others, 1995) but there are some reported limitations for example, gaps in training (Davies, Marshall and Robertson, 1998). In addition, we highlight the difficulties that can arise in relation to language use and some differences of opinion amongst officers (for example, with respect to the use of props in interviewing). Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling changes in dimensions,health status,and arboricultural implications for urban trees

Canberra, the capital of Australia since 1911, has been developed into a modern city from its original site on a nearly treeless plain. Today the city has about 300,000 inhabitants and 500,000 trees. The authors were requested by the managers of the urban public tree resource to survey their asset and to develop a computer-based system that would aid them in anticipating future maintenance requirements and its costs. This paper reports on our response. We have surveyed 3,000 streets and parks in the city, noting the species, number, and condition of every public space tree. We have also obtained the dimensions of sample trees, noting their total height, maximum crown width, height of maximum crown width, diameter at maximum crown width, and height at crown break. A management system has been developed using Microsoft Access^TM.Using standard regression techniques available on the package JMP^TM, we found that total tree height was related to age for all species and that all other parameters of interest were related to height or transformed values of height. We assumed a sigmoidal growth curve and calibrated 114 height/age curves to cover the 165,000 trees of the 340 species we have in our database. As well we used the data on tree condition to determine the rate at which populations change from healthy to stressed.By interviewing foremen and supervisors we were able to determine the maintenance treatments carried out in Canberra, the equipment used, and the number of trees that can be treated in a day, for each type of operation.The management system can be used to display the current inventory for each street or park, by suburb, in the database. It can also be used to model future increases in size or crown condition, to predict the operations that will be required as a consequence of tree growth or crown deterioration, and finally, by applying multipliers to equipment and personnel, to estimate the future costs of tree maintenance. Managers can use the system to anticipate problems such as uneven expenditure requirements in future years.     

Advocacy with Gloves on: The “Manners” of Strategy Used by Some Third Sector Organizations Undertaking Advocacy in NSW and Queensland

This article examines the strategies used by some third sector organizations in Australia to advocate. The purpose of this article is to identify the kinds of activities that organizations in New South Wales and Queensland use to promote advocacy, the kinds of language that is used to describe these activities, and the reasons given for the particular strategies adopted. The extent to which the organizations adopt “softer” (that is more institutional forms of advocacy) rather than more openly challenging forms of activism is examined, particularly in light of a neo-liberal political and economic environment. In this analysis emergent strategies are identified that are not easily categorized as either “institutional” or “radical” advocacy. The article presents an exploratory analysis of some of the implications of the strategies adopted, in terms of their democratic effects and potential to strengthen the capacity of third sector organizations. The article is informed by the findings of a qualitative research project involving interviews with 24 organizations in the community services and environmental fields.     

Why engage?

Foundations, consultants, and nonprofit managers have become interested in learning more about how to create effective strategies and interventions to strengthen nonprofit management and organizational capacity. In this article, we examine the extent to which organizational theory can explain the motivation to engage in different types of capacity‐building efforts. Using data gathered from focus groups and interviews with nonprofit executives, foundation executives, and capacity‐building professionals, we illustrate that while different organizational theories can explain the incentive to engage in capacity building, no single theory can truly capture the complexity of the decision‐making process. We show how a multitheoretical approach not only allows us to explain the evolution of capacity‐building efforts over time, but also helps us to identify and explain the problems that can be created by misinterpreting the incentive to engage in building individual and institutional capacity.     

‘If you're a male primary teacher,there's a big “why are you doing that? What is wrong with you?”’ Gendered expectations of male primary teachers: The ‘double bind’

The underrepresentation of men in non-traditional fields of work is often attributed to essentialist gendered beliefs that associate such roles exclusively with women. This phenomenon is not limited to any specific country but is observed worldwide. Moreover, male teacher drop-out rates remain a consistent issue. This article examines the detrimental impact of gendered expectations of masculinity on male primary teachers through interviews conducted with both male and female teachers in the UK. It argues that men in this occupation face a ‘double bind,’ being judged for conforming to hegemonic masculine norms while also facing judgement for deviating from them. All male teachers interviewed expressed feeling the pressure of gendered expectations, which primarily stem from one central misconception fuelled by traditional conceptions of gender; that the occupation is unsuitable for men. As a result, men who enter the profession encounter challenges not only related to their gender but also their sexuality and their sense of professional identity as teachers. Addressing the damaging role of gender beliefs is crucial in promoting the numerical representation of men in the teaching profession.     

The physical office work environment and employee wellbeing: Current state of research and future research agenda

Despite the awareness that employees spend at least half of their awake time at work, knowledge about how the physical office work environment (POWE) shapes employee wellbeing remains fragmented, inconsistent and scattered across disciplines. We provide a narrative review of the empirical literature to summarise the current state of the science and lay the groundwork for advancing a more holistic and nuanced theoretical understanding of the mediating mechanisms underlying the POWE-wellbeing relationship. To do so, we propose an updated taxonomy of POWE features, incorporating a new dimension – exposure to nature, and use this extended taxonomy to examine the evidence base on the relationship between POWE features and five dimensions of wellbeing: affective, physical, social, cognitive and professional. Based on our findings, we extend a meta-theoretical model which identifies three distinct theoretically-driven mediating pathways – relatedness, energy and functional discomfort – through which POWE features differentially influence wellbeing dimensions. In doing so, we integrate the organizational behaviour theory of Job Demands-Resources and the environmental psychology framework of POWE functions to argue that POWE functions can be both demands and resources-generating, and can, therefore, have simultaneous positive and negative consequences for employee wellbeing. We conclude with a critical examination of theoretical, methodological and practical implications for future research.