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Police–school partnerships and the war on black youth

Police–school partnerships and the war on black youth

This article discusses the growing presence of police officers in British schools, under a resurgent police–school partnerships policy agenda in the ‘war on gangs’ and serious youth violence. It argues that while efforts to coordinate law enforcement and education implicate schools in general, evidence on race and policing raises concerns about the disproportionate impact of such strategies on black students. Police–school partnerships enhance existing and escalating forms of multi-agency police surveillance and profiling, while also giving officers a greater role in everyday schooling matters. Thus, grassroots anti-racist movements face a developing and dynamic challenge to resist not only the militarised policing of black youth, but also the corresponding weaponization of schools and the wider welfare state. Click here to read…
Dr Neil Thompson
August 17, 2021
Four pillars to engage and support ‘hard-to-reach’ workers

Four pillars to engage and support ‘hard-to-reach’ workers

The success of workplace mental health efforts depends not just on offering resources and benefits, but actively engaging workers to understand what’s available and how to access help when they need it. However, leaders often find certain workers are “hard-to-reach,” whether because of their role, working arrangements, workplace stress, or other factors. Overcoming those barriers can be the key to meeting mental health needs where they’re greatest. The first step is understanding the different reasons that workers can be hard-to-reach. People in non-traditional work arrangements, such as contract, seasonal, or gig workers, often have irregular hours and may lack strong connections at work. Those regularly outside a traditional workplace, such as truck drivers, traveling salespeople, and even remote workers, may…
Dr Neil Thompson
August 17, 2021
Spotlight – Anti-racism for Beginners

Spotlight – Anti-racism for Beginners

The destructive and dehumanizing effects of racism are quite rightly receiving increased attention. In this short, introductory text, Neil Thompson welcomes this new emphasis but warns against the dangers of oversimplifying complex issues. This is an ideal book for anyone wanting to understand the importance of anti-racism and guidance in taking the necessary steps. Available from here or Amazon
Dr Neil Thompson
August 3, 2021
Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Manage your own learning

Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Manage your own learning

It is now increasingly being appreciated that self-directed learning is the most effective form of learning. That is, if we are able to identify for ourselves what we want or need to learn and how we are going to learn it, we are likely to be more motivated and the learning gained will be more suited to our own specific needs. Unfortunately, though, many people adopt a passive approach to learning – they assume that it is someone else’s job to take the lead, an ‘expert’ in learning like a teacher, tutor, trainer or mentor. Of course, such people can be very helpful as guides, advisers, sources of encouragement, support and ideas, but the more control we have over our…
Dr Neil Thompson
August 3, 2021
Hybrid and remote working in the North of England: Impact and future prospects

Hybrid and remote working in the North of England: Impact and future prospects

As the full scale and implications of the post-pandemic shift to hybrid working are becoming clearer, this new joint Work Foundation and Newcastle University Business School report provides insight into the challenges and opportunities related to remote working for businesses and places in the North of England. This study, based on secondary data analysis and 33 interviews with businesses and local stakeholders, finds that employee preferences are likely to drive the shift to enduring hybrid working in the months following Government’s removal of the working from home guidance. Our research found that remote working enhanced workers’ sense of flexibility and autonomy, which led to enhanced trust between employers and staff. At the same time, this mode of working blurred boundaries…
Dr Neil Thompson
August 3, 2021
The liking gap – We tend to underestimate the positive first impression we make on strangers

The liking gap – We tend to underestimate the positive first impression we make on strangers

Talking to someone new can be daunting, but such conversations “have the power to turn strangers into friends, coffee dates into marriages, and interviews into jobs,” note the authors of a new paper, published in Psychological Science, which has found that perhaps we shouldn’t feel so anxious about them. Across five studies, the researchers explored what strangers thought about each other after chatting, and they found consistent evidence for what they call a “liking gap” – other people like us more than we think. Though in other areas of life many of us have a rosy-tinted view of our abilities, it seems that we tend to under-estimate how we come across socially. For the first study, Erica Boothby at Cornell…
Dr Neil Thompson
August 3, 2021