This paper focuses on the involvement and management of spontaneous volunteers. It develops a new theorywhich we call the 'involvement/exclusion' paradoxabout a situation which is frequently manifested when spontaneous volunteers converge in times of disaster. After reviewing research and policy guidance relating to spontaneous volunteering, we present findings from a study of responses to winter flood episodes in England. Taking together the empirical findings and the literature, the paper analyses elements inherent in the involvement/exclusion paradox and develops a conceptual model to illustrate and explain the paradox. Implications for managers and future research are discussed.

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The outcome of the UK's referendum on whether the UK should leave or remain in the European Union (so-called Brexit) came as a jolt to many across Europe. In this paper, we use causal mapping from soft OR to analyse longitudinal data from nine televised Brexit debates spread across the 4 weeks leading up to the referendum. We analyse these causal maps to build one view on why Brexit happened. The maps are analysed for the breadth, depth and consistency of arguments in the debate and, broadly, finds that the Leave campaign focused more consistently on a smaller set of campaign themes, contributed more detail to those themes, and focused on their own core issues rather than being diverted onto Remain strongholds. In contrast, Remain shared more information but across a broader range of themes (meaning they were less consistent), and followed Leave into themes that were clearly not their core battleground. The novelties for soft OR in this paper include: the difficulties of building and validating causal maps from secondary data; new techniques for analysing a group of causal maps to uncover the properties of arguments that spread longitudinally through a campaign; a methodology for a teaching case using publicly availability data; linking the paper, philosophically, to critical realism given the unique dataset. Finally, we identify differences in the Leave and Remain debate campaigns to offer one answer to the question 'Why did Brexit happen?'.

PurposeAs focal firms in supply networks reflect on their experiences of the pandemic and begin to rethink their operations and supply chains, there is a significant opportunity to leverage digital technological advances to enhance socially responsible operations performance (SROP). This paper develops a novel framework for exploring the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies for improving SROP. It highlights current best-practice examples and presents future research pathways.Design/methodology/approachThis viewpoint paper argues how Industry 4.0 technology adoption can enable effective SROP in the post-COVID-19 era. Academic articles, relevant grey literature, and insights from industry experts are used to support the development of the framework.FindingsSeven technologies are identified that bring transformational capabilities to SROP, i.e. big data analytics, digital twins, augmented reality, blockchain, 3D printing, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things. It is demonstrated how these technologies can help to improve three sub-themes of organisational social performance (employment practices, health and safety, and business practices) and three sub-themes of community social performance (quality of life and social welfare, social governance, and economic welfare and growth).Research limitations/implicationsA research agenda is outlined at the intersection of Industry 4.0 and SROP through the six sub-themes of organisational and community social performance. Further, these are connected through three overarching research agendas: “Trust through Technology”, “Responsible Relationships” and “Freedom through Flexibility”.Practical implicationsOrganisational agendas for Industry 4.0 and social responsibility can be complementary. The framework provides insights into how Industry 4.0 technologies can help firms achieve long-term post-COVID-19 recovery, with an emphasis on SROP. This can offer firms competitive advantage in the “new normal” by helping them build back better.Social implicationsPeople and communities should be at the heart of decisions about rethinking operations and supply chains. This paper expresses a view on what it entails for organisations to be responsible for the supply chain-wide social wellbeing of employees and the wider community they operate in, and how they can use technology to embed social responsibility in their operations and supply chains.Originality/valueContributes to the limited understanding of how Industry 4.0 technologies can lead to socially responsible transformations. A novel framework integrating SROP and Industry 4.0 is presented.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are heterogeneous in size (30 nm–10 µm), content (lipid, RNA, DNA, protein), and potential function(s). Many isolation techniques routinely discard the large EVs at the early stages of small EV or exosome isolation protocols. We describe here a standardised method to isolate large EVs from medulloblastoma cells and examine EV marker expression and diameter using imaging flow cytometry. Our approach permits the characterisation of each large EVs as an individual event, decorated with multiple fluorescently conjugated markers with the added advantage of visualising each event to ensure robust gating strategies are applied. Methods: We describe step-wise isolation and characterisation of a subset of large EVs from the medulloblastoma cell line UW228-2 assessed by fluorescent light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and tunable resistance pulse sensing (TRPS). Viability of parent cells was assessed by Annexin V exposure by flow cytometry. Imaging flow cytometry (Imagestream Mark II) identified EVs by direct fluorescent membrane labelling with Cell Mask Orange (CMO) in conjunction with EV markers. A stringent gating algorithm based on side scatter and fluorescence intensity was applied and expression of EV markers CD63, CD9 and LAMP 1 assessed. Results: UW228-2 cells prolifically release EVs of up to 6 µm. We show that the Imagestream Mark II imaging flow cytometer allows robust and reproducible analysis of large EVs, including assessment of diameter. We also demonstrate a correlation between increasing EV size and co-expression of markers screened. Conclusions: We have developed a labelling and stringent gating strategy which is able to explore EV marker expression (CD63, CD9, and LAMP1) on individual EVs within a widely heterogeneous population. Taken together, data presented here strongly support the value of exploring large EVs in clinical samples for potential biomarkers, useful in diagnostic screening and disease monitoring.

1Using activity based costing and simulation to reduce cost at a Police communications centre Abstract PurposeThis study is based at a Police Force's communications centre which undertakes a vital role in receiving and processing emergency and non-emergency telephone calls from the public and other agencies. The purpose of the study is to evaluate a method for addressing the conflict between the need to reduce cost and the requirement to meet national standards in terms of a timely response to customer calls. Design/methodology/approachIn a 2-stage methodology a Activity Based Costing (ABC) approach is used as a framework to show how costs are generated by the three 'drivers' of cost which relate to the design efficiency of the process, the demand on the process and the cost of resources used to undertake the process. The study then provides an analysis from a resource driver perspective using discrete-event simulation to model workforce staffing scenarios. FindingsCost savings within the police communications centre are identified from an analysis of the three drivers of cost.Further analysis from a resource driver viewpoint using a simulation study of an alternative workforce schedule predicted an overall reduction in staffing cost of 9.4%. Originality/valueThe study outlines an innovative method that identifies where cost can be reduced using activity-based costing and then provides an assessment of strategies that aim to reduce cost whilst maintaining service levels in a police operation using simulation.

This article considers the fickleness of application of the NSW land use planning system which, like other Australian jurisdictions, deals with 'command and control' of development proposals as they come forward. The nub of the regulation is zoning. As a case study, the article focuses on zoning objectives in statutory-based plans: their emergence, their haphazard development and impending downfall. Legal review of plans and decisions has a substantial and potentially negative effect on planning practice. A substantial part of the narrative relies on court judgments. There is also the problem of poorly contrived plans that invite legal challenge.