scholarly journals Volunteer street patrols: responsibilised and motivated volunteering in community safety

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Westall
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Community Safety ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Supportive Function ◽  
Volunteer Motivations

Purpose This paper aims to contribute towards our knowledge and understanding of volunteer street patrols working within community safety and pluralised policing. Through the increased responsibilisation of communities and individuals, volunteers are taking to the streets to help others in need and support the community safety infrastructure. The example of volunteer street patrols is used to explore the motivations of individuals participating in the local delivery of community safety and policing. Design/methodology/approach This research is drawn from ethnographic research consisting of 170 hours of participant observation on the streets of a northern UK city, Manchester, supported by 24 semi-structured interviews with volunteers and stakeholders who participate in a street patrol and those working alongside them. Findings Using a three-paradigm perspective for volunteer motivations, the themes altruism, civil connection and volunteering for leisure are applied to explore volunteer motivations. Through their actions, volunteers in the street patrol are motivated volunteers who can offer an additional and important resource within the local community safety and pluralised policing infrastructure. Originality/value This paper highlights volunteer street patrols offer a caring and supportive function to people in need on the street, one in support of the police and other agencies. It contributes to the growing understanding of those who volunteer in policing and community safety landscapes. As responsibilised citizens, they have an increased awareness of social problems. They are motivated individuals who wish to create and maintain safety and play an important role in policing the night-time economy.

What is the host community perception of slum tourism in Colombia?

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-146
Author(s):  
María Dolores Herrero Amo ◽  
Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena ◽  
Salomé Laloum Gaultier
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Host Community ◽  
Community Perception ◽  
Positive Perception ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Slum Tourism ◽  
Research Questions

Purpose This paper aims to find answers to two research questions: What is the perception of the Moravia community on tourism in their neighbourhood? What are the conditions under which they can accept slum tourism? Design/methodology/approach The foundation of this paper was laid during a field trip to Medellin, Colombia, in March 2018. More than three weeks were spent in the neighbourhood of Moravia, one of Medellin’s “barrios” or slums, where a qualitative study was led. Semi-structured interviews with the local community were done around the neighbourhood. Findings The main finding of this research is the positive perception of slum tourism within the Moravia community. The researchers found that the locals are proud when outsiders visit to see their neighbourhood. The locals felt that, it breaks the prejudice surrounding their homes, and tourists are seen as spokespeople for the barrio. There are visible improvements made to the barrio owing to tourism. This research drew attention to the conditions under which this type of tourism can be accepted in the neighbourhood: community participation, interaction between hosts and tourists, education and respect of tourists and the visible improvements to the neighbourhood. Originality/value Slum tourism is an understudied topic in Colombia, especially in Medellin. By researching on the host perception on slum tourism, this paper contributes to literature on slum tourism from a new angle.

Making and measuring “good” HR practice in an SME: the case of a Yorkshire bakery

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Doherty ◽  
Ann Norton
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Original Model ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand how “good” HR practice is characterised in SMEs and what the drivers are for adopting this good practice. The paper also explores methods for measuring the impact of HR practice which are helpful and realistic in the context of an SME. Design/methodology/approach – The research was carried out in one SME, a bakery based in South Yorkshire. It was an action research project which utilised semi-structured interviews, participant observation on the factory floor and analysis of company documentation in the diagnosis phase. In addition, reflections on action interventions have informed the findings, together with post-project, semi-structured interviews with key actors three years after the completion of the project. Findings – The drivers of good HR practice were found to be size, market position, external “coercive networks”, presenting issues, the ideology of the managing director and the energy of an HR champion. The findings demonstrate that the impact of “good” HR practice can be best evaluated in SMEs through one-shot, cost-based metrics or more strategic qualitative measures. Originality/value – The paper develops an original model to show the relationship between the drivers, the HR practices adopted and measurable outcomes. This makes an important contribution to the debate about HRM within SMEs and it has practical value for informing the development of good HR practice in SMEs.

Moral urban citizenship and the youth problem in a Danish ghetto

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Strandholdt Bach ◽  
Nanna Schneidermann
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Valuable Data ◽  
Urban Citizenship ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Real World Problems

PurposeThis article examines the interventions from municipality, state and other actors in the Gellerup estate, a Danish “ghetto” by focusing on the youth problem and its construction, by examining a cross-disciplinary academic workshop intending to “solve the youth problem” of the estate.Design/methodology/approachThe article is based on the two authors' participation in the academic workshop, as well as their continued engagement with the Gellerup estate through separate project employments and ethnographic research projects in the estate, consisting of both participant observation and interviews.FindingsIn the article the authors suggest that the 2015 workshop reproduced particularly the category of idle urban young men as problematic. The authors analyze this as a form of “moral urban citizenship”. The article also analyzes some of the proposed solutions to the problem, particularly architectural transformations, and connects the Danish approach to the problems of the “ghetto” to urban developments historically and on a global scale.Originality/valueCross-disciplinary academic attempts to solve real-world problems are rarely incorporated as ethnographic data. In this article the authors attempt to include part of their own practice as academics as valuable data that opens up new perspectives on a field and their own involvement and analysis of it.

Networking and knotworking practices: work integration as situated social process

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Scaratti ◽  
Silvia Ivaldi ◽  
Jean Frassy
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Social Process ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Situated Knowledge ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Integration Program ◽  
Work Integration ◽  
Gathering Data

Purpose This paper aims to present a transnational research intervention that relies on the qualitative monitoring of disadvantaged people’s work integration program. In particular, the paper adopts the concept of networking and knotworking to intercept and describe the ways in which organizational payers shape knowledge in their contexts of work inclusion. Design/methodology/approach The research is based on a developmental ethnographic research to detect meaningful, situated knowledge related to the activities for work integration of disadvantaged people. Two main techniques, “at home ethnography” (Ellis and Bochner, 2000; Hansen, 2006) and participant observation (Alvesson, 2009), were used for gathering data. Findings The paper highlights the existing contradictions within and between the multiple activity systems. The advantages of using the activity theory’s lenses are underlined together with two main approaches related to the assumption of a networking and knotworking orientation. The findings also refer to some new paths professionals identified for their daily activity. Originality/value The paper provides a better understanding of the contemporary challenges of working, that is extremely helpful to policy makers and other practitioners, including researchers.

Human smuggling and violence in the east Mediterranean

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 121-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore Baird
Keyword(s):  
Professional Practice ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Undocumented Migrants ◽  
East Mediterranean ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Physical Force ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Violent Acts ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline a typology of violent acts used against migrants using human smugglers. This paper relates the experiences of violence, coercion, and exploitation to migrants’ experiences of being smuggled across borders. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected using participant observation and semi-structured interviews among undocumented migrants and refugees who used human smugglers to enter Turkey and Greece. Fieldwork was conducted in Athens, Greece and Istanbul, Turkey over spring and summer 2011 and 2012. Findings – This paper presents an adapted typology of violence using four categories of coercive violence: threats and pressure, physical force, deception and fraud, and coercion/advantage taking. Movement with human smugglers may involve the violation of consent and forms of exploitation resembling, but not equating to, human trafficking. Research limitations/implications – The findings are based on a non-probability snowball sample, and are not generalizable. Further research should engage with other methods such as respondent driven sampling to gain more accurate estimates of violent events among smuggled migrants. Practical implications – Governments must respond appropriately when apprehending or detaining migrants, as many of them have been victimized by violence and may remain vulnerable because of continued threats from human smugglers. Originality/value – This paper presents a typology of violent acts against migrants using human smugglers, and can be used to develop further research and improve professional practice.

scholarly journals Professional sports teams: going beyond the core

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 554-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Pritchard ◽  
David Cook ◽  
Andrew Jones ◽  
Tom Bason ◽  
Paul Salisbury ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Professional Sports ◽  
Internal Marketing ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sports Teams ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
The Core

Purpose The addition of products to the core of matches by professional sports teams (PSTs) has received much coverage. However, there has been limited work as to how their stadiums are used to stage non-sporting events. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how clubs in the English Football League (EFL) use their venues to diversify into other markets. Design/methodology/approach Secondary sources were used to categorise the teams who played in the EFL by: average division turnover, stadium capacity and stadium age. Semi-structured interviews were held with a member of the commercial teams of 21 clubs. Findings Clubs use their stadiums to supply a range of products and working with partners is commonplace. These products are targeted at a range of stakeholders, such as supporters, the local community and regionally based organisations. In addition to their own efforts, increased geographical coverage for clubs usually develops in three ways: via internal marketing by local organisations who use the facilities, agents who market the stadium for the club and the EFL who market the league/clubs holistically. Research limitations/implications The use of a stadium allows PSTs to diversify by providing new products for new markets. In this instance it has led to the development of capabilities in areas such as conferencing, funerals and weddings. Originality/value This is one of the first papers to examine the capabilities developed by PSTs that lie outside the staging of matches.

Kairotic and chronological knowing: diabetes logbooks in-and-out of the hospital

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Maria Piras
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Condition ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
The Right ◽  
Forms Of Knowledge

Purpose The paper reflects on the role of knowledge artefacts in the patient-provider relationship across the organisational boundaries of the clinical setting. Drawing on the analysis of the diabetes logbook, the purpose of this paper is to illustrate the role of knowledge artefacts in a fragmented system of knowledge through the study of two distinct practices: “logbook compiling” and “consultation in the surgery”. Design/methodology/approach The theoretical framework of analysis is rooted in the tradition of practice-based studies which envisions knowledge as the emerging, precarious and socially constructed product of being involved in a practice. The paper follows a designed qualitative research, conducting semi-structured interviews, participant observation and artefact analysis. Findings The knowledge artefacts support different and partially irreducible forms of knowledge. Knowing-in-practice is accomplished by means of different activities which contribute to the reshaping of the knowledge artefact itself. The analysis of the “knowledge artefact-in-use” reveals that different actors (doctors and patients) adopt two different perspectives when investigating the chronic condition. Clinicians are interested in a chronological representation of patient data while patients and families are interested in making sense of specific situations, adopting a kairotic perspective (Kairos: the right moment) that emphasises the instant in which something significant for someone happens. Originality/value The analysis of the knowledge artefacts-in-use has a twofold outcome. On one hand, it illustrates the mutual shaping of knowing, artefacts and practices. On the other hand, it shows how knowledge artefact can become pivotal resources in a fragmented system of knowledge.

scholarly journals In-between strengthened accessibility and economic demands

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Engström ◽  
Johanna Rivano Eckerdal
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
Societal Context ◽  
Self Service

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the implementation of self-service at public libraries from the perspective of their users. The implementation of self-service is related to a diverse societal context including, for example, an overall digitalisation, budget constraints and political expectations on public libraries to contribute to marketing the local community. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews with users and observations have been undertaken at self-service libraries in the south of Sweden. The material is analysed by means of a theoretical framework consisting of previous critical LIS-research, Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis and Habermas’ theory of the colonisation of the life world. Findings The implementation of self-service is affecting the users’ library practices as well as their expectations on the library. These expectations are shaped by various and sometimes competing discourses. Social implications To support public libraries’ role as democratic, public spheres, the complexity of the users’ understandings should be taken into consideration when implementing self-service. Originality/value The differing expectations articulated by the users, and the various discourses they can be related to, implicate a hegemonic struggle, corresponding to a changing view on public libraries.

scholarly journals Navigating the grey areas of law and ethics in ethnography

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-65
Author(s):  
Alessandro Moretti
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Ethnographic Methods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Law And Ethics ◽  
Research Environments ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Access To Knowledge

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to argue that the use of legally and ethically dubious methods in ethnography can sometimes be justified in the pursuit of new knowledge. The paper offers reflections on the risks that participatory methods of enquiry can bring upon both researcher and research participants, particularly in terms of the physical and reputational risks that researchers must face when adopting ethnographic methods in unwelcoming research environments. Design/methodology/approach Ethnographic methods, specifically participant observation (PO), were adopted to penetrate a gang of criminal ticket touts in the UK through a gatekeeper who provided access to knowledge and experience. Findings Pushing the legal and ethical boundaries of research is not only justifiable, but sometimes necessary in the discovery of new, socially valuable and otherwise unobtainable knowledge. Ethnographic research and PO are the only methods through which it is possible to gauge an understanding and appreciation, and thus present a valid depiction, of deviant and hard to access groups. As such, the use of these methods can sometimes be justified, within certain parameters. Originality/value This research adopts ethnographic methods in the under-researched and topical area of black market ticket touting in the UK. Ethnography alone, through an “internal” understanding of the participants’ viewpoints, can reveal that much of what is discussed in the media and in Parliament is inaccurate. The paper builds on the existing literature on touting and on conducting illegal research, and offers reflections on why these methods can sometimes be justified.

scholarly journals Cultural centres: a future for cultural Arctic tourism?

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-69
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ann Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Cultural Tourism ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Positive Interaction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Future

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential of cultural centres to be spaces that foster interaction between tourists and locals, and thereby meet the demands of new cultural tourists. This is done through conducting a case study of Katuaq Cultural Centre in Nuuk, Greenland. Combining theories of cultural contact and placemaking, the paper analyses how locals and tourists make use of and experience the centre. The paper then goes on to conduct a broader discussion about how future placemaking in tourism can respond to the emerging demands of cultural Arctic tourists, and to suggest ways to encourage positive interaction on both a local community level and a resident-visitor level. Design/methodology/approach A series of anthropological research methods were used, including participant observation in the cultural centre itself, and informal and semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders. Findings Concluding that, from multiple perspectives, Katuaq fails to perform as a “centre of culture”, the study offers innovative insights into how cultural centres can be operated more inclusively in the future, as spaces in which members of different cultural groups can achieve positive interaction. It is argued that the future of successful and fulfilling cultural tourism offerings in the Arctic lies at the intersection of tourism and leisure studies. Originality/value The originality of this paper lies first in its deepening of the academic discussion of cultural centres. Second, and on a broader level, the paper identifies an emerging trend of “community–tourism spaces” as cultural tourism offerings, and provides some insights into the conflicts experienced in these kinds of spaces, as well as some suggestions as to how further research on these spaces should continue.

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