Re‐building Bridges: Homeless People's Views on the Role of Vocational and Educational Activities in Their Everyday Lives

Homeless people face everyday challenges of marginalisation and stigmatisation. Consequently, they can suffer from low self‐confidence, self‐efficacy and agency. Empirical research in Britain on educational, skill‐building and meaningful activities for homeless people principally emphasises the instrumental value of training and learning as a route to employment rather than the impact of activities on homeless people's everyday lives. Theoretical literature suggests that psychosocial benefits related to the development of self‐efficacy, agency and empowerment can be gained from such activities. Participants' experiences and perceptions of educational and recreational activities were examined through 29 interviews at three homeless day centres in London. Thematic analysis suggests the restorative power of engagement in activities and shows that participants value activities, not only as the foundation for future goals of finding employment and housing, but as an immediate way of restoring a sense of self and finding positive experiences with a focus on the present. The findings underline the importance of viewing these interventions from a ‘bottom‐up’ perspective. The study tentatively concludes that accepting and emphasising the immediate personal benefits as a positive achievement of activities may be a valuable approach to better engage homeless clients. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Beyond resolution of presenting issues: Clients' experiences of an in‐house police counselling service

The availability of counselling services for employees has expanded significantly in recent years. However, despite an increase in appreciation of the value of counselling within the police service, there has been little research into the effectiveness of counselling with police personnel. The present study assesses an in‐house counselling service provided by the welfare and counselling department of a Scottish police force. Thirteen former clients (including both police officers and civilian support staff) were interviewed about their views on four areas of the counselling provision: how they entered counselling, the issues they brought, their experiences during counselling, and their assessment of the impact of counselling on their lives. Interviews were analysed using a grounded theory approach, which identified four main categories: initial engagement, learning by participating, experiencing moments of deep self‐examination, and moving beyond resolution of presenting problems. All of those who were interviewed appreciated the provision of a counselling service within their employment, and the majority reported that they had not only been helped to resolve their presenting problems, but had also made important gains in self‐awareness and work effectiveness. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for service delivery and future research.     

Relation between police image and police visibility

The purpose of this study was to build a model for the public image and visibility of the police. These variables were seen as central to successful community policing. Explanatory variables included were contacts with the police, victimisation and background characteristics of the respondents. Questionnaire data were obtained from a sample of 3271 adults (mean age 42) and 986 youngsters (mean age 15.5) in two Finnish cities. Using multi‐sample structural equation modelling, a four‐factor model with two image factors (Friendliness and Closeness) and two visibility factors (Patrol‐Car‐Related and Police‐on‐Foot Activities) was confirmed by the data. As hypothesised, for both adults and youngsters, seeing police‐on‐foot activities was positively correlated with both image factors, while seeing Patrol‐Car‐Related Activities was negatively correlated with police image. Relationships of explanatory variables with image factors were to a large extent but not completely mediated by the visibility factors. Some differences were found between adults and youngsters in factor means and in regression relationships. Quality of police visibility proved to be an important factor from the point of view of community policing, in which one of the main purposes is to improve the relationship between the police and the public. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The implementation and adoptability of behavioral skills training in a university career center

We evaluated the extent to which staff at a university career center (a) already used, (b) could be taught to use, and (c) might continue to use behavioral skills training (BST) when teaching interview answers to college students. We used a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across three staff‐student dyads to assess the extent to which staff implemented BST and students provided appropriate answers before and after training. Results showed that interview training at the career center typically consisted of few BST steps, but staff could be taught on how to implement BST. All staff rated BST as an acceptable and effective form of interview training, but only one indicated that he or she was likely to adopt BST at the career center.     

Selection of gender‐incongruent applicants: No gender bias with structured interviews

Research suggests that the use of structured interviews can reduce gender bias in hiring. However, studies have been limited to gender‐neutral professions or laboratory simulations. The current study evaluated two components of the structured interview in a field sample of 691 applicants interviewing for a male‐dominated position of public transit operator. Multilevel modeling results show no significant differences in ratings across applicant gender with this highly structured interview. This relation was found in individual interviewer ratings and consensus panel ratings, as well as irrespective of interviewer gender and interviewer participation in comprehensive versus minimal training in structured interviewing. This study provided a conservative test in a male‐dominated profession to further validate the value of the structured interview for promoting equal hiring practices.     

Cross-cultural differences in eyewitness memory reports

Increasingly, investigators conduct interviews with eyewitnesses from different cultures. The culture in which people have been socialised can impact the way they encode, remember, and report information about their experiences. We examined whether eyewitness memory reports of mock witnesses from collectivistic (sub-Saharan Africa) and individualistic (Northern Europe) cultures differed regarding quantity and quality of central and background details reported. Mock witnesses (total N = 200) from rural Ghana, urban Ghana, and the Netherlands were shown stimuli scenes of crimes in Dutch and Ghanaian settings and provided free and cued recalls. Individualistic culture mock witnesses reported the most details, irrespective of detail type. For each cultural group, mock witnesses reported more correct central details when crime was witnessed in their own native setting than a non-native setting, though for different recall domains. The findings provide insight for legal and investigative professionals as well as immigration officials eliciting memory reports in cross-cultural contexts.     

An examination of the Self-Administered Interview as a verbal veracity assessment tool

The self-administered interview (SAI) is a written eyewitness recall tool that elicits more information from cooperative witnesses than written free recall (WFR) formats. To date, SAI research has examined the accounts of cooperative people providing honest reports. In the current experiment, truthful and fabricating participants (N = 128) either completed a WFR or a SAI after witnessing a crime (initial account). After a 1-week delay, participants were interviewed verbally (subsequent interview). Truth tellers reported significantly more detail than liars in both the initial account and subsequent interview, and participants who completed the SAI reported more detail than those completing the WFR. Truth tellers repeated and omitted more information in the subsequent interview than liars; however, there was no significant difference in the number of reminiscent details reported. Although the SAI is effective in eliciting information as an initial eyewitness reporting tool, no benefits for the detection of deception were demonstrated.     

Individual differences in effective interview design: Factors affecting question choice

Despite the evidence that structured interviews are superior to unstructured interviews, interviewers remain reluctant to use them for personnel selection. The current research replicated and extended recent research examining how individual differences relate to the ability to identify effective interview questions. Question judgments were made across questions that varied substantially in quality and across two different jobs. Across two samples of data, respondents evaluated past behavioral and traditional interview questions more favorably than oddball questions and questions about job‐irrelevant competencies. Furthermore, general mental ability and social aptitude were strongly related to skill in identifying effective interview questions, with results suggesting these traits are associated with customizing questions to specific job contexts.     

前景理论视角下结构化面试问题的设计

前景理论回答了类似应聘者在结构化面试中所面临的不确定场景下,人们是如何决策并行动的问题。论文采用思辨方法就结构化面试问题设计中如何恰当应用前景理论的基本要．董,有效提高结构化面试效度进行了探讨,结论如下：1）问题句子越短、问题越具体,效度有望越高;2）问题导向性要与岗位胜任特征充分契合;3）回溯性行为面试问题效度要高于虚拟情景面试问题;4）由于年龄、性别及个体认知能力等方面的差异,问题设计不仅要因需而变,也要因人而异。     

Effet des représentations et des conditions d’activités sur l’épuisement professionnel des policiers français dans un contexte de réformes

The purpose of this article is (1) to test the hypothesis of the primacy of subjective factors (professional representations) compared to objective factors of activity (ratio of police to population and ratio of police to reported offences) and sociobiographic factors (age and seniority), in the determination of the professional exhaustion expressed by French policemen in the current context of administrative reforms. A determination of professional representations and professional exhaustion by the status of the policemen are also advanced (2). The empirical study (N=143) confirmed these expectations and allowed to engage a psychosocial analysis concerning identity issues connected to professional representations within the framework of politics of prevention of the police professional exhaustion.