Health and Safety Gone Mad!


Book Description

The state has stepped in to keep us all safe from harm. Thanks to this year's Health and Safety Offences Act, what was once seen as a mere mishap is today classified as a 'crime'. This is a guide to the slip-free, risk assessed crazy world of Britain in the 21st century.




Myths of Work


Book Description

Buying a table tennis table will make your staff happier. Working eight hours a day, five days a week, will result in the most productivity. Paying higher salaries will always result in higher motivation. But will it really? There are a staggering number of myths, stereotypes and out-of-date rules that abound in the workplace. This can make it feel impossible to truly know how to get the most out of your career, your team and your organization. In Myths of Work, Ian MacRae and Adrian Furnham take an entertaining and evidence-based look at the most pervasive myths about our working lives, from the serious to the ridiculous, to give you the insight you need to become a better manager in the modern workplace. Fascinating real life case studies from organizations around the world display the myths (and how to overcome them) in practice. Myths of Work takes the most up-to-date academic research in business and psychology and combines it with practical insights, a lively writing style and a handy dip-in-and-out structure to form your ultimate guide to becoming a better enlightened manager.




In the Interests of Safety


Book Description

Does an airline pilot really need to surrender his tweezers at airport security when he's about to board an aircraft equipped with an axe on the back of the cockpit door Can a mobile phone really cause a major explosion at a gas station And is there really a good reason why you should be be prevented from swimming in a lake more than a foot deep These rules exist, and they exist in the name of our own protection. But in this engrossing dissection of global health, safety and security regulations, authors Tracey Brown and Michael Hanlon dig a little deeper to discover the real reasons behind many of the instructions we obey without questioning their creators' motives. Their conclusions range from the startling to the staggering, and in presenting them the authors seek to empower readers to question the people and organisations who come up with them in the first place.




In the Interests of Safety


Book Description

Does an airline pilot really need to surrender his tweezers at airport security when he's about to board an aircraft equipped with an axe on the back of the cockpit door Can a mobile phone really cause a major explosion at a gas station And is there really a good reason why you should be be prevented from swimming in a lake more than a foot deep These rules exist, and they exist in the name of our own protection. But in this engrossing dissection of global health, safety and security regulations, authors Tracey Brown and Michael Hanlon dig a little deeper to discover the real reasons behind many of the instructions we obey without questioning their creators' motives. Their conclusions range from the startling to the staggering, and in presenting them the authors seek to empower readers to question the people and organisations who come up with them in the first place.




Leaves on the Line


Book Description

In every walk of life, from relationships, to work, to politics, sport and the news, our everyday use of English harbours duplicities of meaning. We say 'I'm sorry' when we mean 'absolute nonsense', and write 'Yours faithfully' when we're thinking 'Sod you!' Jealousy, rage, love, affection – we're equally good at disguising them all. Leaves on the Line compiles this secret language – this 'double English' – in a hilarious and forthright volume exposing the doublespeak of the British language. For the first time, everyday terms which we casually deploy to loved ones and total strangers, and have been thrown at us from the radio or TV will be 'glossed' (yes, we really mean 'stripped') to reveal the unadorned, raw truth below. The book will be over 200 hilarious phrases of common doublespeak and will be essential reading for everyone from puzzled foreigners to young people to whom the dark art of linguistic dissembling are not yet second nature. The book includes phrases and the truths behind them, such as: Transport: 'This service is delayed because of leaves on the track...' Social: 'I'm not being racist but...' Weather: 'Nice weather we're having...' Sport: 'We're taking each game as it comes...' Relationships: 'I've never met anyone like you before...' Polititcs: 'Spending on health has increased in real terms, year on year, since we were elected...'




Playing by the Rules


Book Description

Can a cell phone cause a major explosion at a gas station? What would happen if the 3 oz rule at airports was abolished? And are all the child protection measures really making children safer? These rules exist in the name of our own protection, but has anyone ever stopped to consider exactly how and why? In Playing by the Rules, authors Tracey Brown and Michael Hanlon dig deeper to discover the real reasons behind many of the global safety rules and security regulations we obey without question, and their conclusions range from the surprisingly pointless to shockingly dangerous. Does it make sense to surrender your nail clippers to board a plane equipped with an axe on the back of the cockpit door? And is there really a good reason to prevent an adult from swimming in a lake more than a foot deep? This engrossing study will inspire readers to question the people and organizations who come up with life's little guidelines – and empower you to live life to the full.




Buildings for Mission


Book Description

This practical and comprehensive guide offers essential and expert advice on every aspect of caring for churches. A money-saving handbook for all who care for and maintain church buildings, it provides expert advice from a leading church architect and an experienced heritage buildings specialist. Drawn from extensive experience of working with local churches, they also show how church buildings can be tools for contemporary mission, packed with potential for effective engagement with the whole community. They cover a wide range of practical issues that affect church buildings, from caring for medieval masonry to installing multimedia electronic systems, and offer essential information and easy-to-follow advice on: • heating, lighting and energy efficiency • installing a kitchen or toilets • dealing with damp • treating timber decay • making your building accessible • what to do about bats • health and safety • seating options • fonts and baptisteries and much more. In addition, this handbook offers a step-by-step guide to planning and implementing an extension or a reordering project, including advice on public consultation, dealing with diocesan committees and fundraising. An annual calendar of basic church care is included, plus a church health checklist and a basic church buildings audit.




Naked Safety


Book Description

Workplace safety has never been seen as sexy, clever or cool. Fraught with legislative hurdles, ambiguous policy and complex procedures, despite its alleged importance safety has lost its way. For many organisations safety is seen as burdensome and bureaucratic and has become little more than paperwork and performance charts: things done in fear of persecution – from the authorities, the media or the civil arena – rather than doing the right thing. To change the game and build real risk literacy, it’s vital to make things easier, to strip things back to basics and think again about how we work. This is Naked Safety. Encouraging the reader to step outside their comfort zone, this book demystifies workplace safety, challenging traditional views and catalysing critical thought and high-impact action. With narratives on the central pillars of workplace safety including risk management; legal frameworks; performance; governance; leadership and culture, as well as perspectives on key issues that affect safety – and business – more broadly, such as worker wellbeing; employee engagement; the impact of globalisation; corporate social responsibility; sustainability and the role of the safety practitioner, Naked Safety features over 100 actions to bring about positive, sustainable organisational change. This book is a useful, multi-purpose guide for professionals; an indispensable toolkit for practitioners, business leaders, and anyone with an interest in workplace risk and Occupational Safety and Health. Let’s get Naked!




Managing Science


Book Description

'This book aims to introduce the working research scientists to the art and techniques of management and the skills necessary to be a good and effective manager and leader of science and scientists. This includes understanding the organization and functioning of scientific research establishments (universities, laboratories, research councils, etc.) and how to deal with the associated committee work, recruiting and team building; how to deal with difficulties managing projects and handling risks."--back cover.




Policy Capacity and Governance


Book Description

This book provides unique insights into the role of policy capacity in policymaking and policy change, as it is being uncovered at the research frontier in contemporary policy studies. The book is structured into a series of sections on policy capacity in theory and practice, each focusing on a specific aspect of policy capacity and its influence on policy formulation, decision-making, implementation and evaluation. In addition to making a significant contribution to the body of literature on the theoretical approaches to researching the role of capacity in policymaking, it also provides practical examples of the application of these approaches through a variety of national and sectoral case studies. Including contributions from authors working in a wide variety of disciplines, the book demonstrates, across the various topics investigated, many commonalities and consistencies in relation to the study of policy capacity and policy-making. This work has interdisciplinary appeal and will engage scholars in fields ranging from geography to communications, health, social work and political science, amongst others with an interest in public policy.