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HRM's response to workplace bullying: complacent, complicit and compounding
Get PDFPerceptions of human resource (HRM) management’s response to worker bullying were investigated through a netnographic analysis of written comments concerning an online ‘TEDx’ talk called “Bullying and Corporate Psychopaths at Work” to help determine whether HRM are seen as supportive of bullied workers. This research utilized a qualitative, ethnographic approach deemed to be highly valid in researching sensitive areas such as that of workplace bullying. Findings align with, deepen, and extend previous theory and knowledge in that a key finding that emerges is that HRM is deemed by workers to be capable of, but unwilling to deal effectively with, bullying managers. HRM are seen as complacent in that they do little about psychopathic bullies, complicit in that they support managerial bullies and compounding in that they worsen outcomes from workers’ point of view. It appears that HRM has therefore lost the trust of this sample of bullied workers. The paper is a first to apply a netnographic analysis to the problem of workplace bullying and reveals HRM fails to deal with it to worker’s satisfaction. Implications include that the ubiquitous prevalence of workplace bullying around the world could continue unabated unless strict, clear codes of conduct are established and policed by HRM or non-HRM related forms of intervention are mobilized
The investigation of queuing models to calculate journey times to develop an intelligent transport system for smart cities
Get PDFIntelligent transport systems are a major component of smart cities because their deployment should result in reduced journey times, less traffic congestion and a significant reduction in road deaths, which will greatly improve the quality of life of their citizens. New technologies such as vehicular networks allow more information be available in realtime, and this information can be used with new analytical models to obtain more accurate estimates of journey times. This would be extremely useful to drivers and will also enable transport authorities to optimise the transport network. This paper addresses these issues using a model-based approach to provide a new way of estimating the delay along specified routes. A journey is defined as the traversal of several road links and junctions from source to destination. The delay at the junctions is analysed using the zero-server Markov chain technique. This is then combined with the Jackson network to analyse the delay across multiple junctions. The delay at road links is analysed using an M/M/K/K model. The results were validated using two simulators: SUMO and VISSIM. A real scenario is also examined to determine the best route. The preliminary results of this model-based analysis look promising but more work is needed to make it useful for wide-scale deployment
Dynamic reinforcement learning-driven digital twin for optimised multimedia traffic management in B5G SDN core networks
Get PDFThe rapid growth of multimedia applications and the rising expectations for an enhanced Quality of Experience
(QoE) among users have emphasised the need for innovative
approaches to ensure efficient delivery of video content in 5G and Beyond 5G (B5G) networks. Machine Learning (ML) techniques are increasingly being explored to address these challenges by enabling intelligent traffic management and QoE optimisation. Within this landscape, Software-Defined Networking (SDN) plays a pivotal role as a facilitator of dynamic resource allocation and QoE-centric network management. This paper introduces AIMTWIN, a reinforcement learning (RL)-driven Digital Twin framework designed to optimise multimedia traffic management in B5G SDN environments. AIMTWIN integrates real-time telemetry from physical networks with a dynamic virtual model to provide adaptive and efficient traffic routing. By prioritising static paths for QoS-critical multimedia flows and dynamically managing background traffic, the framework delivers superior network performance and user satisfaction. Experimental results on small and medium scale topologies highlight AIMTWIN’s ability to achieve consistently Excellent QoE compared to stateof-the-art routing methods, positioning it as a scalable and robust solution for next-generation networks
Taking action: reducing the risk of flooding for your community by maintaining drainage, watercourses and flood defences (C821a)
No full textGuidance created to explore enabling community maintenance for local flood risk management. It describes the necessary steps to organise a group with a view of doing maintenance activities on local flood risk assets
Music for displaced dyads (M4DD): a music therapy feasibility study for displaced Ukrainian parents and their pre-school children
No full textThe chapter describes and discusses aspects of a music therapy feasibility study, Music for Displaced Dyads (M4DD) for displaced Ukrainian parents and pre-school children undertaken in the Spring of 2023 in London. A feasibility study is a way to find out if a project plan has the potential to be successful as a bigger project. As this was the first such study that the team was aware of using these measures and protocols, a feasibility study seemed the best way to test the thinking behind the project. The chapter considers the range of data collected and their relationship to each other and discuss findings
Adapting scenario planning to create an expectation for surprises: going beyond probability and plausibility in risk assessment
No full textThe need for risk assessments to take full account of uncertainty by going beyond probability and creating an expectation for surprises has recently been highlighted in this journal. This paper sets out an adaptation to the Intuitive Logics (IL) scenario-planning method that assists risk assessors to achieve this aim. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this adaptation through a controlled experiment. The controlled experiment took the form of a simulated IL scenario-planning exercise in which individuals assigned values representative of extreme outcomes to sets of simple and more complex clusters of driving forces under three experimental conditions representing alternative uncertainty expressions (‘probable’, ‘plausible’, and ‘surprising’). The values assigned in the ‘probable’ and ‘plausible’ conditions were not significantly different from each other. However, the ‘surprising’ condition resulted in the assignment of more extreme values than either of the other two conditions. The complexity of a set of clustered driving had no effect. A follow-up analysis showed that participants interpreted the words ‘probable’ and ‘plausible’ similarly. This is problematic for scenario methods like IL, which are claimed to stretch consideration of the future’s potential extremity beyond what it would be using probability by instead employing plausibility. Yet, if participants interpret ‘probable’ and ‘plausible’ similarly, then using plausibility instead of probability will not stretch their thinking as desired. By adapting IL in the simple way this paper outlines, scenario planning can assist risk assessors to go beyond both probability and plausibility, thereby taking fuller account of uncertainty and improving anticipation of surprises
Encouraging self-reflective practices to improve student mental health outcomes: a case study
Get PDFAddressing mental health amongst students is increasingly important for higher education practitioners and policy makers. Whilst most literature around mental health provision focuses on person-to-person support and trusted relationships, growing evidence has highlighted the benefits of self-reflective practices. This study utilises a mixed-methods approach to evaluate the perceived benefits of regular self-reflection. A total of 2496 students at a London university took part in self-reflective activities across an academic year, with 259 then completing an evaluative questionnaire. A comparison group, comprising 156 students, also completed a corresponding questionnaire. Most students who engaged in multiple self-reflective activities perceived the activity to be beneficial to their mental health – this perceived improvement increased as students increased participation. However, not all students perceived it as beneficial. Furthermore, students who partake in self-reflective activities – whether through this intervention or their own practices – had lower than average mental health, as measured using the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. This study contributes to practical discussions around how beneficial technological interventions around students’ mental health can be delivered on scale by providing students with opportunities for self-reflection and segmented resources. Recommendations for practice are included around how regular communications with students can address mental health outcomes
Enacting arachnean ethics: refusing the ‘thought-out-project’ of early childhood environmental education through arts-based praxis
Get PDFThis paper weaves a web that makes visible ways of thinking and being that lie outside institutionalised regimes of knowledge and power that typically shape life in contemporary reception classes in English primary schools. In an arts-based research project concerning multispecies flourishing with four-year-old children we read minor encounters through Fernand Deligny’s philosophical praxis to disrupt normative ideas about child development and environmental education. A series of threads are introduced from everyday encounters that surfaced as part of the project to provide sticking points with which to think otherwise about multispecies relationalities and refusing the ‘thought out project’ of contemporary schooling. The threads that are pursued concern: an imperative to challenge human exceptionalism and invest in ways to unlearn; the urgent need to question the primacy of language, representation, knowability and to focus upon what and who gets excluded when it is left unquestioned; recognising the power of noticing, attuning, and registering the wonder to be found in the everyday; and finally, taking seriously what can be learnt from valuing and attuning to neurodivergent ways of encountering the world through heightened sensitivity to affective and atmospheric forces. These threads do not necessarily resurface in predictable or consistent ways rather traces of each persistently vibrate throughout this paper and enable a mapping of the generative potential of refusing the ‘thought out project’
Well-being impact, freedom of expression, censorship and Islamophobia experienced by Muslim healthcare professionals during the current Gaza genocide
Get PDFThe Israeli government has publicly expressed genocidal intent and conducted systematic attacks on civilians of Gaza and wider Palestine, following decades of illegal occupation and apartheid. Tens of thousands of Palestinian women, men and children have been killed; over 2-million people forcefully displaced and starved. The humanitarian catastrophe has been compounded by systematic destruction of healthcare facilities, schools, and places of worship. An online survey was conducted between 10th November and 5 December 2023 to assess UK healthcare professionals (HCPs) and students’ experiences of censorship, Islamophobia and their well-being following the attacks on Palestinian civilians. Of the 651 respondants, >90% felt it was very important for them to be able to express their legitimate concerns regarding the genocide in Gaza; 93% felt censored. Overall, 69% experienced Islamophobia, a 37% increase between October and December 2023 (including verbal and physical abuse). Well-being was adversely impacted in 97%; only 12% felt their institution had offered culturally sensitive support. The wholesale assault on Gaza and wider occupied Palestine has had a significant adverse impact on the well-being of HCPs and students. Censorship and Islamophobia are widespread and rising. Urgent collective action is needed to tackle these intersecting issues and prevent further catastrophic consequences
Establishing a destination image scale
Get PDFAlthough the image is pivotal for destination success, there is a lack of consensus in the literature about its measurement. Following rigorous multi-stage scale development procedures, and using data drawn from four different research settings, the study identified 5 dimensions with 14 underlying items that constitute peoples’ cognitive perceptions of a tourist destination: natural environment, tourist infrastructure, attractions, access, and social environment. The validated scale contributes to the theoretical advancement of the image, minimising methodological flows and facilitating the comparability of the results, while also serving as a practical tool for destination managers