Oscar G. Mink

Police systems and systems thinking: An interpretive approach to understanding complexity

To start a dialog with police and criminal psychologists concerning systems theory and policing, the authors are presenting the following paper. This paper shares their thinking about systems theory as it might apply to policing. The paper draws upon specific examples from one of the twenty largest police departments in the United States. These examples include: race relations, domestic violence legislation, financing, and developing specialized units. The authors present some of the major concepts associated with systems thinking. They selected—context, valid information, relationships, shared meaning, attractors and agents. In addition, there are recommendations for future direction of dialog and research.

Changing a police culture of corruption: Implications for the police psychologist

The majority of police cadets, upon being sworn in and becoming rookie officers, enter their law enforcement organization and actively seek connections that they hope will be fulfilling and meaningful as well as provide a sense of belonging, security, honesty, mutual understanding, and trust. They strive to be the best that they can be. To the extent that healthy relationships form, the individual officer moves closer towards achieving a sense of wellness and a sense of personal wholeness that typically translates into optimum commitment to and performance on the job. However, to the extent that relationships are embedded in a culture of corruption and meta-pathologies such as dishonesty, an officers sense of well-being will forever fall short of achieving wholeness and less than optimum performance will be achieved. As the culture continues to become increasingly more toxic, the individuals performance will continue to decline (Trott, 1996, Yerly, 2000).

Human resource development: an emerging profession‐an emerging purpose

ln this article,we attempt to see Human Resource Development(HRD), and everything that could be called HRD, as it currently exists in U.S. organisations, and to understand its emergence from narrow, fragmented, and mechanical conceptualizations to more holistic ones. It is our view that any intentional organisational activity centered on human development, whether on individual development or on the development of cultures that enable individuals to work together effectively, could legitimately be seen as HRD. This view of HRD, we further believe, enables us to see more fully what is happening and why. Later in this paper, we will offer a definition of the field that is consistent with this comprehensive conceptualization.

Creative leadership: Discovering paradoxes of innovation and risk

Abstract Investigations of both creativity and leadership have focused primarily on genetic and/or teleological accounts. As such, they have tended to emphasize the attributes, behaviors, and purposes of individual actors. This research shifts the locus of inquiry to explore paradoxes inherent in the enactment of creative leadership in complex interpersonal situations. The most significant finding to emerge from interviews with 27 exemplary public school superintendents about their professional practice is their relatively closed problem-solving orientation. In specific instances of their practice, the superintendents in this study consistently framed difficult interpersonal interactions as problems to be solved rather than as problems to be explored. In retrospective reflections with the researchers, the superintendents explored previously unexamined dilemmas and binds in these situations with a more open, problem-finding orientation. The implications of this more open, problem-finding orientation for creativity are discussed.

Effects of Individualized Instruction on Control Expectancy: A Field Test.

Abstract This study was conducted in order to determine whether or not one semester of individualized instruction is enough time to create in students an increased sense of being able to control payoffs in life and to lead students to develop a more realistic appraisal of their ability to control payoffs in an academic environment. Paradoxically, the converse may occur. When first confronted with a success-oriented instructional process and opportunities for self-pacing, students with failure histories may become more external, anxious, or uncertain. In order to examine these notions, a sample of 126 educationally deficient students who were beginning their first semester of study in a community college were selected from 18 different sections of math, English, and history and tested twice—once at the beginning of the term and again late in the term just prior to finals.

Ontogogy: creatig a growth‐oriented learning environment

Learning organizations are one of many current buzz words used by persons concerned with the demands faced by all for change ‐ both radical and transformative change and incremental change. At the heart of any change process is the individual. We know from extensive studies in many fields what some of the essential requirements are for creating the conditions for adult learning, and an adult’s subsequent ability to adapt and change. One of the most critical and often overlooked requirements for adult learning is a learning context which is safe and supportive for and of the learned. Trust is also critical along with other essential requirements. Ontogogy is another appeal to examine the context of any learning required related to quality improvement, or any other change of innovation.