Is gender a factor in perceived prison officer competence?

Background The introduction of women officers into HM Prison Service raised questions regarding women's ability to perform what had traditionally been a male role. Existing research is inconclusive as to whether female prison officers are as competent as male prison officers, and whether there are gender differences in job performance. This study examined prisoners' perceptions of male and female prison officers' performance. Hypotheses The hypotheses were that overall competence and professionalism ratings would not differ for men and women officers, but that there would be differences in how men and women were perceived to perform their roles. Women were expected to be rated as more communicative, more empathic and less disciplining. Method The Prison Officer Competency Rating Scale (PORS) was designed for this study. Ratings on the PORS for male and female officers were given by 57 adult male prisoners. Results There was no significant difference in prisoners' ratings of overall competence of men and women officers. Of the PORS subscales, there were no gender differences in Discipline and Control, Communication or Empathy, but there was a significant difference in Professionalism, where prisoners rated women as more professional. Conclusion The failure to find any differences between men and women in overall job competence, or on communication, empathy and discipline, as perceived by prisoners, suggests that men and women may be performing their jobs similarly in many respects. Women were rated as more professional, and items contributing to this scale related to respecting privacy and keeping calm in difficult situations, where there may be inherent gender biases. Copyright © 2005 Whurr Publishers Ltd.

Is there life in the old dogs yet? Making break-tests work on financial contagion

Many tests of financial contagion require a definition of the dates separating calm from crisis periods. We propose to use a battery of break search procedures for individual time series to objectively identify potential break dates in relationships between countries. Applied to the biggest European stock markets and combined with two well established tests for financial contagion, this approach results in break dates which correctly identify the timing of changes in cross-country transmission mechanisms. Application of break search procedures breathes new life into the established contagion tests, allowing for an objective, data-driven timing of crisis periods.

One date, one break?

This paper demonstrates that the conventional approach of using official liberalisation dates as the only existing breakdates could lead to inaccurate conclusions as to the effect of the underlying liberalisation policies. It also proposes an alternative paradigm for obtaining more robust estimates of volatility changes around official liberalisation dates and/or other important market events. By focusing on five East Asian emerging markets, all of which liberalised their financial markets in the late, and by using recent advances in the econometrics of structural change, it shows that (i) the detected breakdates in the volatility of stock market returns can be dramatically different to official liberalisation dates and (ii) the use of official liberalisation dates as breakdates can readily entail inaccurate inference. In contrast, the use of data-driven techniques for the detection of multiple structural changes leads to a richer and inevitably more accurate pattern of volatility evolution emerges in comparison with focussing on official liberalisation dates.

Non-English-speaking defendants in the magistrates court:a comparative study of face-to-face and prison video link interpreter-mediated hearings in England

This study compares interpreter-mediated face-to-face Magistrates Court hearings with those conducted through prison video link in which interpreters are located in court and non- English-speaking defendants in prison. It seeks to examine the impact that the presence of video link has on court actors in terms of interaction and behaviour. The data comprises 11 audio-recordings of face-to-face hearings, 10 recordings of prison video link hearings, semistructured interviews with 27 court actors, and ethnographic observation of hearings as viewed by defendants in Wormwood Scrubs prison in London. The over-arching theme is the pervasive influence of the ecology of the courtroom upon all court actors in interpretermediated hearings and thus on the communication process. Close analysis of the court transcripts shows that their relative proximity to one another can be a determinant of status, interpreting role, mode and volume. The very few legal protocols which apply to interpretermediated cases (acknowledging and ratifying the interpreter, for example), are often forgotten or dispensed with. Court interpreters lack proper training in the specific challenges of court interpreting, whether they are co-present with the defendant or not. Other court actors often misunderstand the interpreter’s role. This has probably come about because courts have adjusted their perceptions of what they think interpreters are supposed to do based on their own experiences of working with them, and have gradually come to accept poor practice (the inability to perform simultaneous interpreting, for example) as the norm. In video link courts, mismatches of sound and image due to court clerks’ failure to adequately track current speakers, poor image and sound quality and the fact that non-English-speaking defendants in pre-and post-court consultations can see and hear interpreters but not their defence advocates are just some of the additional layers of disadvantage and confusion already suffered by non- English-speaking defendants. These factors make it less likely that justice will be done.

Hogyan bonthatók le a látható és láthatatlan falak? – Kooperatív kutatás a megváltozott munkaképességűek foglalkoztatásával kapcsolatos mentális gátak lebontásáról (How to break down the visible and unvisible walls? – A cooperative research about the breaking down of mental barriers of the employment of disabled people)

A szerzők tanulmányukban egy kooperatív kutatási projekt eredményeit mutatják be, melyet emberierőforrás- menedzsment szakos master hallgatókkal folytattak megváltozott munkaképességűek foglalkoztatásával kapcsolatban. Magyarországon rendkívül magas a munkanélküliség a fogyatékkal élők körében, és a szerzők úgy vélik, hogy a HR-szakértőknek kulcsfontosságú szerepük van abban, hogy a foglalkoztatási korlátokat fenntartják-e, vagy változtatnak a jelenlegi helyzeten. A kritikai emberierőforrás-fejlesztés és a kritikai pedagógia hagyományait követve kutatásuk kettős célt tűzött ki. Céljuk volt egyrészt a jövő HRszakembereinek megváltozott munkaképességűek foglalkoztatásával kapcsolatos mentális mintázatainak, attitűdjeinek és hiedelmeinek feltárása, amelyek az elnyomás, diszkrimináció vagy kizsákmányolás gyökerei lehetnek. Másrészt pedig a kooperatív kutatás alkalmazásával a hallgatók emancipációját szándékoztak előmozdítani, továbbá az üzleti felsőoktatást uraló pozitivista filozófiát és értékrendszert kívánták kihívás elé állítani, s ily módon segíteni egy kritikusabb világnézet kibontakozását. ________ In this paper we present the results of a cooperative inquiry research project undertaken with Master students specialized in Human Resource Management on the employment of disabled people. Unemployment among people with disabilities is very high in Hungary and HR professionals have a key role in maintaining or reducing employment barriers and modifying the present situation. Following the tradition of critical Human Resource Development and critical pedagogy, the aim of the research project was twofold. First, we aimed to reveal the mental patterns, attitudes and beliefs of future HR professionals to the employment of people with disabilities, which might become roots causes of domination, discrimination or exploitation. Secondly, through applying cooperative inquiry, researchers aimed to emancipate students and challenge the positivist philosophy and value system which usually dominate business education and thereby engender a more critical worldview.

Értékteremtés e-kereskedelemmel – kitörési lehetőség a recesszió sújtotta magyar kiskereskedelemben? (Value creation of e-commerce – Chance to break out for the recession-hit Hungarian retail sector?)

Kimutatható-e az e-kereskedelem hatása a vállalati teljesítményre a recesszióval küzdő magyar kiskereskedelmi piacon? A hagyományos bolti értékesítés vagy on-line kereskedelem vezet hazánkban jobb pénzügyi teljesítményhez? Ezekre a kérdésekre a magyar IKT (infokommunikációs technológiai) kiskereskedők 187 elemű mintáján igyekeznek a szerzők választ keresni, az adatgyűjtést újszerű módon részben automatizált webpókokra bízva, következtetéseiket pedig elsősorban klaszterelemzési technikákra építve. Megállapítják, hogy bár a legjobb bolti kereskedők többnyire valamivel nagyobb és stabilabb profitrátákkal jellemezhetők a válság éveiben is, a piac megtartása és növelése terén már egyértelműen az e-kereskedők jeleskedtek. Eredményeik szerint az e-kereskedelem hozzásegítheti a kiskereskedőket a munkaerő-hatékonyság növeléséhez is, ám ha gyors rendelkezésre állással vagy alacsony árakkal csábítják vevőiket, akkor a profittöbblet egy részét felőrölheti a magasabb készlettartási igény vagy az árverseny. _____ The study examines whether e-commerce has a significant impact on corporate performance on the Hungarian retail market struggling with the effects of economic downturn. Is it brick-and-mortal retail or e-commerce that leads to a better financial performance? Using the innovative data gathering tools of automotive web crawlers the authors seek answers to these questions on a sample of 187 Hungarian ICT retailers. Based on cluster analysis they conclude that while the best traditional retailers have somewhat higher and more stable profitability ratios even during the years of recession, e-tailers are more successful in retaining and increasing their market share. E-commerce is also associated with higher human resource productivity, but the possible profit surplus originating from this advantage could be jeopardized in the long run as new electronic traders typically attract their customers by shorter service time or lower prices.