scholarly journals The variable and evolving nature of ‘cuckooing’ as a form of criminal exploitation in street level drug markets

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Spicer ◽  
Leah Moyle ◽  
Ross Coomber
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Crack Cocaine ◽  
Drug Markets ◽  
Drug Supply ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Criminal Exploitation ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Dominant Narratives ◽  
The Impact

AbstractA form of criminal exploitation rarely mentioned in the academic literature has recently emerged, evolved and taken meaningful hold in the UK. Hundreds of cases of ‘cuckooing’ have been reported, where heroin and crack cocaine dealers associated with the so-called ‘County Lines’ supply methodology have taken over the homes of local residents and created outposts to facilitate their supply operations in satellite locations. Dominant narratives surrounding this practice have stressed its exploitative nature and the vulnerabilities of those involved. Combining qualitative data from two studies, this paper critically analyses the model of cuckooing and the experiences of those affected. In turn it explores the impact of County Lines on affected areas and local populations, a topic that has received little academic scrutiny. Four typologies of cuckooing are constructed, highlighting its variance and complexity. Findings also suggest it to be a growing method of criminal exploitation beyond drug supply with a possible burgeoning presence being realised internationally.

scholarly journals Covid-19 and child criminal exploitation in the UK: implications of the pandemic for county lines

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Brewster ◽  
Grace Robinson ◽  
Bernard W. Silverman ◽  
Dave Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Illicit Drugs ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Drug Supply ◽  
Continuity Of Operations ◽  
Work From Home ◽  
Criminal Exploitation ◽  
Supply Model ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Way

AbstractIn March 2020, the UK was placed in lockdown following the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Just as legitimate workplaces made changes to enable their employees to work from home, the illicit drugs trade also made alternative arrangements, adapting its supply models to ensure continuity of operations. Based upon qualitative interviews with 46 practitioners, this paper assesses how front-line professionals have experienced and perceived the impact of Covid-19 on child criminal exploitation and County Lines drug supply in the UK. Throughout the paper, we highlight perceived adaptations to the County Lines supply model, the impact of lockdown restrictions on detection and law enforcement activities aimed at County Lines, and on efforts to safeguard children and young people from criminal exploitation. Our participants generally believed that the pandemic had induced shifts to County Lines that reflected an ongoing evolution of the drug supply model and changes in understanding or attention because of Covid-19 restrictions, rather than a complete reconstitution of the model itself. Practitioners perceived that Covid-19 has had, and continues to have, a significant impact on some young people’s vulnerability to exploitation, on the way in which police and frontline practitioners respond to County Lines and child criminal exploitation, and on the way illegal drugs are being moved and sold.

Designing services that are more than FAIR with User eXperience (UX) techniques

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Watson ◽  
Paulius Tvaranavicius ◽  
Rehan Kaleem
Keyword(s):  
User Experience ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Geospatial Data ◽  
User Research ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Real Value ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
User Centric ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

<p>More and more research data, models and software are being made accessible. This should, in principle, be of real value to the scientific community as well as decision makers, industry and wider society.</p><p>However, too often the data is not particularly easy to <strong>F</strong>ind, users can be left confused about terms, conditions and licences, therefore limiting <strong>A</strong>ccess. If a user actually manages to identify usable data that is <strong>I</strong>nteroperable with other relevant datasets and services they too often report that the process is not as easy they would like it to be. All of this results in valuable, accessible data remaining unused never mind <strong>R</strong>e-used.</p><p>Taking inspiration from the product design industries and applying the techniques of Service Design and User eXperience (UX) to develop user centric solutions would result in more intuitive, user relevant services that maximise the impact of making data and tools Open and FAIR.</p><p>This talk will present three use cases:</p><ol><li>UK Geoenergy Observatories: a complex and challenging programme of work to develop the digital infrastructure necessary to open up all research findings from two new Geoenergy testbeds in the UK.</li> <li>CAMELLIA rain garden calculator: a community engagement and co-design project in which rapid software prototyping led to local residents of a South London housing estate being able to co-design a new green space with environmental scientists and funding bodies.</li> <li>Geospatial Commission - Data Discoverability project: an evaluation of the current geospatial data portal landscape, involving user research and a UX evaluation of exiting portals. Resulting in a report on future improvements to geospatial data portals being submitted to the UK Government Cabinet Office.</li> </ol><p>This user centric, design led approach has provided developers with greater clarity on user requirements, resulting in more iterative and rapid deployments of digital services. End users, such as scientists, project managers and other stakeholders, reported a greater sense of ownership and investment in projects in which they are were throughout the research, design and development process.  </p><p> </p>

Sanctions and the insurance industry: challenges, risks and opportunities

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-451
Author(s):  
Matthew Moran ◽  
Daniel Salisbury
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Insurance Industry ◽  
State Level ◽  
Coercive Diplomacy ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
Target States ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Restrictive Measures ◽  
The Impact

Scholars and policymakers tend to see economic sanctions as an important tool of coercive diplomacy, even if the effectiveness of sanctions in changing the policies of target states remains highly contested. Though much of the research on sanctions focuses on their effects at the state level, this article argues that analyzing their effectiveness must begin with the industrial sectors they are meant to affect. Through analysis of restrictive measures currently in place against Iran, this article explores the impact of sanctions at the working level within the insurance industry, drawing on qualitative data gathered as part of a recent workshop funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and industry partners.

scholarly journals Evolution of the Illegal Substances Market and Substance Users’ Social Situation and Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 4960
Author(s):  
Jacques Gaume ◽  
Elodie Schmutz ◽  
Jean-Bernard Daeppen ◽  
Frank Zobel
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Multivariate Analyses ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
Drug Markets ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Opioid Agonist ◽  
Substance Users ◽  
Treatment Centre ◽  
Trends Over Time ◽  
The Impact

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken for tackling it had the potential to lead to deep modifications in the supply of illegal drugs and to impact substance users’ health and social situation. To investigate this, we used mixed methods, i.e., quantitative data collected with a brief questionnaire from substance users receiving opioid agonist treatment in a treatment centre in Switzerland (N = 49), and qualitative data obtained using semi-structured phone interviews among a sub-group of participants (N = 17). We repeated data collection twice over four weeks to investigate trends over time (N = 51 and 14 at wave 2). Findings consistently showed the limited impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the illegal substance market. Over the two waves, the supply, price and purity of three main illegal substances did not significantly vary. Substance use was estimated as usual by most, trending toward a decrease. The impact of the pandemic on participants’ social situation and health was appraised as low to medium. Nevertheless, a minority of participants reported higher impact and multivariate analyses showed a more important impact for those who were female, younger, and not using multiple substances. This process was implemented quickly and provided an understanding of the short-term impact of the pandemic on drug markets and users.

scholarly journals Equity/Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Universities: The Case of Disabled People

Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Gregor Wolbring ◽  
Aspen Lillywhite
Keyword(s):  
Academic Staff ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Disabled Students ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

The origin of equity/equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives at universities are rooted in the 2005 Athena SWAN (Scientific Women’s Academic Network) charter from Advance HE in the UK, which has the purpose of initiating actions that generate gender equality in UK universities. Since then, Advance HE also set up a “race charter” to deal with equality issues that are experienced by ethnic staff and students within higher education. Today “equality, diversity and inclusion” and “equity, diversity and inclusion” (from now on both called EDI) are used as phrases by universities in many countries to highlight ongoing efforts to rectify the problems that are linked to EDI of students, non-academic staff, and academic staff, whereby the focus broadened from gender to include other underrepresented groups, including disabled students, disabled non-academic staff, and disabled academic staff. How EDI efforts are operationalized impacts the success and utility of EDI efforts for disabled students, non-academic staff, and academic staff, and impacts the social situation of disabled people in general. As such, we analysed in a first step using a scoping review approach, how disabled students, non-academic staff, and academic staff are engaged with in the EDI focused academic literature. Little engagement (16 sources, some only abstracts, some abstracts, and full text) with disabled students, non-academic staff, and academic staff was found. This bodes ill for the utility of existing EDI efforts for disabled students, non-academic staff, and academic staff, but also suggests an opening for many fields to critically analyse EDI efforts in relation to disabled students, non-academic staff, and academic staff, the intersectionality of disabled people with other EDI groups and the impact of the EDI efforts on the social situation of disabled people beyond educational settings. The problematic findings are discussed through the lens of ability studies and EDI premises, as evident in EDI policy documents, EDI academic, and non-academic literature covering non-disability groups, and policy documents, such as the 2017 “UNESCO Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers” and the 1999 “UNESCO World Conference on Sciences” recommendations that engage with the situation of researchers and research in universities.

scholarly journals The good, the bad and the ugly: A qualitative secondary analysis into the impact of doping and anti-doping on clean elite athletes in five European countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Martinelli ◽  
Sam Thrower ◽  
Andrew Heyes ◽  
Ian Boardley ◽  
Susan H Backhouse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Elite Athletes ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Rule Compliance ◽  
Poor Treatment ◽  
Qualitative Secondary Analysis ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Background: Although a precise percentage of athletes doping has remained elusive, evidence to date suggest that the majority of athletes are ‘clean’. Protecting clean sport, and the rights of athletes to a clean sport environment, is at the centre of anti-doping policies. To better support and enable clean athletes and sport, an understanding of the clean athlete lifeworld is required. This study explores and discusses several ways that clean athletes have been and are affected by doping and anti-doping. Methods: Qualitative Secondary Analysis (QSA) was used to re-analyse and interpret 13 focus group transcripts generated from the ‘Research-Embedded Strategic Plan for Anti-Doping Education Clean Sport Alliance Initiative for Tackling Doping’ (RESPECT) project to explore the impact of doping and anti-doping on clean athletes (see Petroczi et al. 2021). The sample in the parent study included 82 self-declared clean elite athletes, active and recently retired, from Germany (n=23) Ireland (n=14), the Netherlands (n=15), Slovenia (n=14), and the UK (n=16), who collectively represented 36 different sports. Results: Reflexive thematic analysis generated three themes. The first overarching theme captured the harm done by clean athletes having to coexist with dopers (i.e., denied medals, money, moments and memories; altered expectations and perceptions of the self; incite suspicion). The second overarching theme highlighted how clean athletes are undermined by lenient and poor treatment of dopers and clean athletes respectively. The third overarching theme described the anxiety experienced by clean athletes over mistakes that could lead to anti-doping rules violations. Conclusion: The impacts of doping on clean athletes - direct or indirect - are experienced by all clean athletes in some way. The results indicate that current approaches to anti-doping rule compliance frequently undermine clean athletes and the perceive legitimacy of the anti-doping system. With considerable qualitative data on athletes’ views available, secondary data analysis offers a cost effective, quick, and feasible approach for anti-doping research.

scholarly journals Niejednoznaczny wpływ Brexitu na życie młodych Polaków w Wielkiej Brytanii

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (4 (178)) ◽  
pp. 49-70
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Trąbka ◽  
Iga Wermińska-Wiśnicka
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Comparative Study ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Different Sources

Ambiguous impact of Brexit on young Poles living in the United Kingdom The paper aims to analyse the impact of Brexit on the social anchoring of young Poles in the United Kingdom in four spheres of their lives: decision and return plans; application for British citizenship; buying properties; well-being and life satisfaction. The article is based on research conducted within the project „CEEYouth: The comparative study of young migrants from Poland and Lithuania in the context of Brexit”. We also handle statistics data from the Office for National Statistics as well as qualitative data from three waves of Qualitative Longitudinal Research of 41 young (aged 19–34) Polish post-accession migrants in the UK. We find that it is hard to unambiguously assess the impact of Brexit on the mentioned spheres of young Poles’ lives. Firstly, it is caused by the fact that different sources of data show results which are contrasting and secondly, the reactions of people are dynamically changing within the lapse of time. Therefore, it could be surely said that Brexit has impacted the lives of young Polish migrants, but it has caused neither mass return, nor the general willingness to naturalise. Although the results of the Brexit referendum have caused disturbance amid many Poles, it has not impacted their life decisions or, according to statistics, their well-being.

The DUMA Drug Market Indicator Framework: methamphetamine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabella Voce ◽  
Alexandra Voce
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Drug Market ◽  
Drug Markets ◽  
Drug Supply ◽  
Criminal Offending ◽  
Methamphetamine Use ◽  
Indicator Framework ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Market Indicator

In this paper, we introduce the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) Drug Market Indicator Framework. We use the framework to examine Australian trends in methamphetamine supply, demand and related harms between 2013 and 2019 to provide a baseline for measuring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. There were consistent increases in the prevalence, frequency and quantity of methamphetamine use, and corresponding increases in dependence, overdose and methamphetamine-related criminal offending. A brief but substantial decrease in methamphetamine availability occurred during 2017. Despite this, the methamphetamine market quickly recovered and continued to strengthen into 2019. This paper highlights the importance of monitoring indicators relating to drug supply, demand and harm to understand the dynamics of illicit drug markets during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

scholarly journals Hughes et al. (2020) 'I feel cancer patients have been neglected'.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyndsay Hughes ◽  
Mira Zuchowski ◽  
Vanessa Boshell ◽  
Myra Hunter ◽  
Sam Norton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Perceived Vulnerability ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aimed to explore the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic including Government-enforced restrictions, on women diagnosed with oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer in the UK using a mixed-methods approach. MethodsDepression (PHQ-2), anxiety (GAD-7), optimism (LOT-R) and perceived risk of recurrence (IPQ-BCS) were measured pre-COVID-19 outbreak and perceived vulnerability, severity and impact of COVID-19 were measured during the UK lockdown period of 23rd March-13th May 2020. Free text responses provided qualitative data. Descriptive statistics regarding COVID-19-specific behaviours and correlations between pre-COVID-19 psychosocial factors and COVID-19 outcomes were conducted. Thematic analysis was conducted on qualitative responses. Quantitative and qualitative data are presented together.Results253 responses were received during the UK lockdown period. Twenty-six percent of the sample were shielding and 15% felt at higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Higher pre-COVID-19 depression and anxiety and lower optimism were associated with higher perceived vulnerability to and severity of COVID-19 and lower confidence in protecting oneself. There were positive and negative effects of lockdown on exercise and relationships and 42% reported negative impacts on anxiety. Participants reported fear of COVID-19, difficulties with adapting to isolation and using technology, and anxiety about the impact of delayed cancer treatment on their cancer recovery and recurrence. ConclusionsNegative effects of lockdown, particularly for delayed cancer treatment should be considered to manage ongoing anxiety. Screening of state depression and anxiety is suggested for intervention prioritisation, but more longitudinal research is needed to understand the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on breast cancer survivors.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document