RTE News2Day programme which is a news programme for children did a special report on tackling bullying in primary schools and ABC’s Centre Director James O’Higgins Norman contributed to this. Be sure to check it out here.
An Garda Síochána: Culture, challenges, and change is an exploration and understanding of the organisational culture of An Garda Síochána Ireland’s National Policing Organisation. While the Gardaí or officers are often in the news media, there has been very little academic research on who and what this organisation is. On an abstract level, organisational culture provides the framework of the basic rules necessary to function, or survive, in an organisation. Police organisational culture provides an identity to officers that performs this same function. On a more specific scale, internationally, police culture has been understood to consist of masculinity, discrimination, exclusion, suspicion, isolation, solidarity/loyalty, moral and political conservatism, pragmatism, cynicism, aggression, negative views of supervision, selective enforcement of the law, and a prioritisation of the crime fighter role over service-oriented role. However, this understanding has been gathered from countries with very different policing organisations to Ireland. While the international research in police organisational culture is quite vast, there is relatively little to fill this area in Ireland, particularly when you exclude historical accounts of Irish policing and Northern Ireland. Of those studies that have been identified, very few specifically look at the organisation’s culture. Further to this, many of those studies are limited in numerical and geographic scope. While the relatively narrow field has limited a grounding for the findings of this study, they do provide a starting point for identifying what gap needs to be filled, namely an expansive study on the organisation s culture that is not confined to a small number of Gardaí or one geographic region. This considered, the gap identified in the Irish literature is one facet of this research. Naturally if there if the research in this area is underdeveloped in Ireland, then there is also a missing piece of where Ireland situates itself in the international policing literature. The Garda are a unique policing organisation, as such, this type of police culture has not been studied extensively internationally. One of the aims of this research is to understand where Ireland positions itself in the wider world of police organisational culture literature. However, in order for this to be done, and the primary aim of this research, you first need to gain a deeper understanding of what the culture of the Garda is and how this impacts relations within the organisation as well as their relationship with the communities in which they work. While the area of police organisational culture can be quite abstract, some of the more specific aspects of the culture this research aims to understand are in organisational relationships, accountability, and managing change. Though the aims listed thus far are wholly substantive, there is also remit for connecting these findings to a theoretical basis in social learning, social identity, and rotten apple theories to further understand how the culture of the Garda is transmitted throughout the organisation and over time. While this research fills a theoretical and empirical gap, there is also a methodological innovation in how the data was obtained and analysed. Certainly underutilised in Ireland, document analysis in the area of police organisational culture is also underutilised internationally. The data used in this research was obtained from eight documents, consisting of several thousands of pages of text, and spanning a 30-year period. The data from the documents was thematically analysed and a story was constructed based on the data to provide a deeper understanding of what the Garda culture is. While the documents of course contained the data necessary to provide an understanding of Garda culture, perhaps one of the more advantageous contributions of this methodology is the extended observation period provided that allowed for an analysis of the Garda culture over time, something not typically possible in other data collection methods due to their point in time collection nature. This research has contributed many key findings to the understanding of Garda culture. The first approach was to look at the organisation s culture from a top down level and what the relationship between the organisation and its members is. The findings in this area included what type of policing organisation the Garda is and what resources the organisation provides to its members (these resources included both physical resources as well as services provided). From this discussion stemmed a reconceptualization of the traditional types of policing organisations (i.e., militaristic and community/service oriented) as the Garda does not wholly fit in to either. Beyond this, the resources were examined in relation to making do with what little they are given despite increased demand for their services as well as how Gardaí are then left to cope with the added burdens. In particular reference to mental health provisions, how the organisation facilitated, or rather did not, practical and beneficial mental health services was looked at. Further to this organisational relationship from a top down perspective was an understanding of both internal and external organisational relationships and how these are influenced by the training Gardaí receive. These included how the Gardaí interact with each other on an individual level, encompassed within this is the idea that silence is necessary for survival in the organisation, as well as the Gardaí’s relationship with and to the communities they work in. In terms of training, as well as in conjunction with the idea of socialisation and Social Learning Theory embedding these characteristics into the organisation s culture and its members, it was found that the Gardaí are separated from the community from the outset of their training. This strengthened the earlier proposed idea that the Garda do not truly fit into a community oriented policing style. Internally, the relationships among Gardaí were examined both in relation to how they reacted to external and internal threats and it was concluded that the Gardaí overwhelmingly value self-preservation over loyalty. Chapter seven looked closer at accountability and blame within the organisation and how the lack of accountability on a wide scale coupled with the ever present blame culture impacts on Gardaí behaviour and actions. Though some of the examples given were seemingly indicative of individual level actions, it was argued that, stemming from Rotten Apple Theory, these behaviours are manifestations of organisational level behaviours that have been observed and learned by individual members and acted out based on this observation. In essence, even when behaviour was observed at an individual level, it was still reflective of organisational culture as rotten apples do not form in isolation but rather stem from rotten orchards. The final chapter brought the findings together with an added theoretical lens and the previous Irish and international literature to more fully understand where the Garda, and Ireland, fit into a larger scope of police organisational culture. It was reflected that while Ireland has always been considered quite different to many other international policing organisations, the more recent literature, particularly from the UK, seems to be more in line with some of the Irish characteristics found in the Garda culture. However, what this means for police culture, as a whole, has still not been fully explored.
An upcoming webinar titled “Evidence-based toolkits for addressing online harms with boys and young men” is scheduled to take place online on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, from 1 pm to 2 pm. This timely event will delve into the digital challenges faced by young males and showcase solutions designed to mitigate these risks.
The digital landscape offers boundless opportunities but also poses significant risks, especially for young individuals. Boys and young men, in particular, are increasingly exposed to negative influences online that can shape their behaviour and perceptions. The webinar, organised by leading academics and experts, aims to equip educators and activists with effective tools to counteract these harmful influences. The session will feature presentations on two major toolkits developed through rigorous research.
#Men4change: Tackling and transforming harmful gendered norms and behaviours (Dr. Fiona O’Rourke and Dr. Craig Haslop): This toolkit is an evidence-based educational resource, which offers youth leaders and activists practical tools that they can use to support young men in recognising, tackling and preventing harmful gendered norms and behaviours in their online and offline peer groups, including sexual and gender-based abuse. The #Men4change toolkit was produced as part of a three-year research project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
Teenage boys and sexual consent: Guidance for educators (Dr. Emily Setty): This toolkit was co-developed with teenage boys aged 16-18 via a workshop that explored their perspectives on how best to educate teenage boys about the nuances and challenges of sexual consent. The toolkit outlines boys’ perspectives on sexual consent and presents practical guidance and suggestions for addressing the issues raised within RSE, focusing on the diversity and complexity of masculine sexual subjectivities and cultures, both online and offline.
The webinar will be chaired by Dr. Darragh McCashin, who heads the Observatory on Cyberbullying, Cyberhate, and Online Harassment.
Participants are encouraged to register in advance to secure a spot in this important discussion. The webinar promises to provide invaluable insights and tools for those working to safeguard and empower young men in the digital age.
We wish to inform you about the upcoming celebrations of the International Day against Violence and Bullying at School including Cyberbullying on the 4th of November, which this year we will be celebrated under the theme “Tackling Cyberbullying and Other Forms of Online Violence Involving Children and Young People”.
This Day aims to build global momentum to prevent and address cyberbullying and other forms of online violence involving children and young people, by raising awareness of the issue, sharing what works to address it, and mobilizing governments, experts and the educational community.
As countries are responding to COVID-19 at varying stages, the lives and education of children and young people across the world have increasingly moved online. While online access presents opportunities for connection and learning, it is also increasingly putting children and young people at risk of online violence. Evidence shows that in various regions cyberbullying has been on the rise during the pandemic. In Europe, 44% of children who were cyberbullied before COVID-19 report it increased during lockdowns.
We encourage you to spread awareness about this important issue and let us know if you create any events or initiatives to mark the Day. To facilitate this, we will make resources available in multiple languages on the dedicated website including a social media pack. The website will also include a message by the UNESCO Director-General and information on the many activities UNESCO will be involved in.
Don’t hesitate to reach out for more information.
UNESCO team for Health and Education
The issue of bullying is an international concern; specifically, the harmful influence that bullying has on young people in educational settings. Restorative approaches have been viewed as an appropriate intervention for addressing bullying. A review of the literature suggests that the Whole School Approach is the most common form of implementing restorative approaches in English schools.
This research has sought to address a substantial gap in the existing literature, which has focused on implementation rather than the sustainability of restorative approaches. This research has developed a qualitative inquiry using a constructionist epistemology to explore the phenomena of change from the perspective of secondary school educationalists in their local ecosystems. Prior to the research phase, a soft systems methodology was used to stimulate opportunities for internal creativity with staff developing restorative approaches in their school. This enabled staff to develop a range of self-generated activities to enhance restorative interventions in their setting. A phenomenological methodology was used to focus on staff perceptions of change happening over an academic year. Focus groups were conducted in each of the four inquiry schools using a semi-structured interview process. A complexity-informed thematic analysis was conducted to synthesize and critique the data collected during the focus groups.
The findings from this research suggest that staff perceptions construct a complex and nuanced understanding of restorative approaches, whilst exploring the tensions and accommodations of school change. Furthermore, this research reveals how systems can innovate or distort initiatives such as restorative approaches.
Consequently, there then follows a discussion for implications of the findings from this research in response to the research questions. Furthermore, there is a wider discussion on the implications for the field of restorative approaches. This includes how a complexity theory-informed analysis provides insights into the phenomena of school change and the sustainability of restorative approaches. The thesis ends with reflections and possibilities on how those seeking to implement and sustain change in complex adaptive systems can act as system-synthesis leaders to engage with complex phenomena.
The SPHE Network‘s 5th conference, Unmute Yourself: Communication and Education in Response to Crises, will take place via Zoom on Friday 12th of November (9:00am-5:00pm). The conference will have a specific focus on the following topics:
This upcoming event will comprise of
Registration is available here (60 euro; 10 euro student rate). A detailed conference programme will be uploaded to the SPHE Network website soon. Please disseminate to any colleagues, networks and students who may be interested in attending this event.
If you would like further information about the SPHE Network or the upcoming event, please do not hesitate in contacting Seline.keating@dcu.ie.
Code of Practice for Employers and Employees on the Prevention and Resolution of Bullying at Work
Recently published Code of Practice (COP) developed by the Health and Safety Authority and the Workplace Relations Commission and published in January 2021.
Regardless of where we work, when we work or how we work, workplace conflict can occur. Where people are involved, different perspectives meet and this can result in misunderstandings, misgivings, and where things remain unclear and vague, disharmony.
Now that we are distanced, we have less ability to receive communication in its fullest sense. We do not get the body language, the levity that might be in a comment: the nuance of a spoken word is lost if delivered by email. This new climate of work can result in increased misunderstanding and a sense of not really fully appreciating what a person means, when they ask something of you.
The last thing we need now is increased confusion and conflict from our work. Yet as we are remote working, the atmosphere and general collegiality around our work, can take a nosedive.
Difficulties in relating brought about by distance relating and a scarcity of human presence can prove stressful. Stress be a cause of as well because of bullying. When this occurs, every organisation needs to have a system in place to process such matters and manage a complaint to a resolution of some sort.
On that point, the new COP is an update and upgrade on two previous Codes – both agencies had separate Codes related to their distinct legislation prior to this. As Codes are not of themselves legislation, but a strong standard set in line with legislation, any Code must show a link between its contents and standards set and relevant legislative powers. In this case, both agencies have underpinning legislation in the guise of various Industrial Relations Acts (WRC) and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act (2005) (HSA)
The COP was developed with inputs from employer body IBEC and employee representative body ICTU, as well as employment expertise from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) over the past two years. Further public consultation and inputs from private and commercial parties was undertaken. The new COP is now welcomed as a replacement of the previous Codes promoted by each agency, the HSA’s from 2007 and the WRC’s from 2002.
This new COP is more comprehensive on the informal approaches to dealing with bullying complaints at enterprise level.
It has a new second ‘filter’ stage, when employers can bring a problem-solving approach to issues where bullying is a feature or an alleged feature of a troubled relationship at work. This was added due to the nuanced nature of human behaviour at work and the fact that a person’s perception is heavily influenced by their attitude and pre-existing suspicion.
A situation where bullying is cited may well, at times, be better managed to the satisfaction of all, by slowly unravelling the behaviours and trying to reduce the tension and hurt around the deteriorating relationship.
Giving more time, space and energy to such a resolution, early in the process, can often yield more positive results than formal legalistic approaches further into the issue.
The joint COP also highlights to people who are considering bringing a bullying case, the seriousness of making any complaint citing bullying. Bullying can be wrongly used to cover many difficult issues, which are not bullying.
The COP also highlights the serious mental health fallout from being bullied, and outlines the behaviours that should not be tolerated between people at work. It highlights the employer’s duty to prevent improper conduct and ensure fair and reasonable supervision and management. It gives employers guidance on the need for competence across the systems of work and a proper working complaints procedure within an Anti-Bullying Policy, which all employees are aware of, and signed up to, as part of induction programmes.
The COP also addresses recent Irish court judgements on bullying. These judgements emphasise the requirements needed for a case to be considered one of bullying. These judgements held that occasional disputes, irregular disagreements and even personality fallouts, do not, of themselves, meet the criteria for bullying.
Bullying cases are based on regular, repeated, serious, traumatic targeted ill-treatment of a person or persons, and therefore, employees making such a claim should know of this standard, and apply it. Employers processing various complaints should have some direction on what to process as bullying and which disputes can, and should be, processed otherwise.
Finally, the new COP, being a joint code, aligns the systems in place at State level. It gives some examples of what is and what is not considered under the bullying heading, and differentiates harassment as a distinct set of behaviours, under nine specified grounds. Harassment cases are processed separately to bullying and come within the remit of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC).
WRC/HSA Joint Code of Practice on the Prevention and resolution of Bullying at Work 2021 – Main additions:
• Increased focus on the initial employer classification of a complaint: whether it is a general conflict, as case of alleged bullying, a case of alleged harassment, or some other workplace issue wrongly labelled.
• Increased direction and advice on informal resolution of complaints of bullying within the work area.
• Reiteration of sanction for maliciously or carelessly making a bullying complaint.
• Clarity on the roles of both agencies and where they overlap and diverge.
• Clarity on the legal finding of Irish courts to ensure proper assessment of bullying complaints.
• Clarity from recent Irish court rulings on bullying investigations and the rights of various parties, including employer role.
• Clarification on follow-on processes for formal investigation of bullying cases.
Read it here: Code of Practice for Employers and Employees on the Prevention and Resolution of Bullying at Work
Social media has changed how society communicates, transformed how individuals access the latest headline news and has altered many aspects of everyday life. It has, in turn changed the way in which individuals can target other members of society. In recent years, society has seen the likes of Facebook and Twitter used to distribute hate speech, accommodate revenge pornography and abuse others online. Consequently, the Government and the criminal justice system are being put under increasing pressure to tackle online abuse. Many of the current legal provisions contained in the law of England and Wales were enacted before the creation of social media. Yet these Acts are used to prosecute those who conduct abusive behaviour online. Issues are therefore arising with the adaptation of Acts of Parliament never intended to cover a digital age.
This thesis will critically examine several Acts of Parliament which have been used to control unlawful behaviour on social media sites, including, though not limited to, the Public Order Act 1986, the Malicious Communications Act 1988, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. It will be argued that the current use of these Acts breaches the fundamental principle of legality in the criminal law, before turning to examine freedom of speech and privacy online. Legality, at its very basic means the law needs to be accessible and clear to maintain the rule of law.
The final parts of this thesis will examine how other countries and institutions govern online behaviour. In the conclusive chapters, recommendations will be put forward as to how the legal system and society can better protect those who are abused online, including a draft social media Bill and a proposed universal code of conduct.
Dublin City University has welcomed today’s announcement by the Irish Research Council that two researchers at the National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre have been awarded grants in the New Foundations scheme.
Dr. Seline Keating, Assistant Professor in SPHE and Wellbeing in DCU’s Institute of Education and a Research Fellow at the National Anti-Bullying Centre, received a grant for ‘Exploring the Frixos Sexuality Programme and its relevance to the Irish RSE primary school context’.
Frixos is an award-winning sexuality education programme based on active and experiential learning methods suitable for primary school aged children in Ireland. Dr. Keating will exchange ideas with its creators and look at how it might positively impact the current Relationships and Sexuality Education (including sexuality-based bullying) review in Ireland and assist in the next phase of developing classroom materials and teacher training.
Derek Laffan, Research Assistant at the National Anti-Bullying Centre, was awarded funding for his project Tweets, Posts and Persecution: Online social networking among Palestinians and its influence on Palestinian identity and wellbeing.
Palestinians have embraced social media in recent years to express and promote their identity to the world as a resistance to the ongoing occupation. There has also been a strategic effort to demonise, disregard and delegitimize the Palestinian identity online which has led to Palestinians experiencing censorship and physical persecution related to their social media activities. This research study aims to identify what types of social media behaviours are related to persecution, and how social media has influenced Palestinian identity and wellbeing in recent years.
The New Foundations scheme provides support for research actions, the development of networks and consortia, conference and workshop development, and creative approaches to the communication of scientific concepts and/or complex societal challenges for a lay audience. This year, the scheme awarded grants under four strands: Engaging Civic Society; Knowledge Exchange for impact; STEAM; In partnership with the DFAR Networking & Collaboration Grants for prospective North-South Research Partnerships.
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