Youth in the UK: 99 problems but the gang ain ' t one?

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Smithson ◽  
Rob Ralphs

Purpose – At a time when youth gangs and gang policy feature significantly in the discourse on UK youth, it is judicious to critique the framework and evidence upon which these policy developments have originated. The political focus on gangs was heightened, in part, by the English riots in 2011. The reaction to the riots was a “concerted all-out war on gangs” and led to the development of the national Ending Gangs and Youth Violence (EGYV) strategy. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use Manchester as a case study to illustrate what the they argue to be the misplaced focus of the current EGYV strategy and provide a detailed critique of the strategy to date. Findings – The paper suggests that government funded gang interventions are currently bereft of a “what works” approach and should only be implemented when the authors have significantly developed the knowledge and understanding of gangs in a local context. Originality/value – The paper calls for a stronger evidence based policy approach to tackling gangs.

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Button ◽  
Chris Lewis ◽  
David Shepherd ◽  
Graham Brooks

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges of measuring fraud in overseas aid. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on 21 semi-structured interviews with key persons working in the delivery of aid in both the public and voluntary sectors. It uses the UK Department for International Development as a case study to applying more accurate measures of fraud. Findings – This paper shows there are significant challenges to using fraud loss measurement to gauge fraud in overseas aid. However, it argues that, along with other types of measures, it could be used in areas of expenditure in overseas governments and charities to measure aid. Given the high risk of such aid to fraud, it argues helping to develop capacity to reduce aid, of which measuring the size of the problem is an important part; this could be considered as aid in its own right. Research limitations/implications – The researchers were not able to visit high-risk countries for fraud to examine in the local context views on the challenges of measuring fraud. Practical implications – The paper offers insights on the challenges to accurately measuring fraud in an overseas context, which will be useful to policy-makers in this context. Social implications – Given the importance of as much aid as possible reaching recipients, it offers an important contribution to helping to reduce losses in this important area. Originality/value – There has been very little consideration of how to measure fraud in the overseas aid context, with most effort aimed at corruption, which poses some of the same challenges, as well as some very different challenges.


2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 770-790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Schauer ◽  
Ana Cristina Vasconcelos ◽  
Barbara Sen

Purpose – This paper aims to present a holistic framework, termed ShaRInK (Sharer, Relations, Institution, Knowledge), that depicts key categories of influences that shape individual perceptions of knowledge sharing within an organisational setting. Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory and qualitative case study strategy in which empirical data were gathered from 24 interviewees that were based in four different branches (i.e. China, The Netherlands, the UK and the USA) of a single information technology services organisation. Findings – The findings led to a holistic framework that depicts four key categories of influences that shape knowledge sharing from an individual perspective: attitudes and characteristics of the sharers, relations between the sharers, institutions which act as a united entity on sharer perceptions and knowledge itself. Furthermore, the four key influences not only shape knowledge sharing independently but are intertwined and have a synergistic effect. The ShaRInK framework is formed by combining these. Originality/value – The findings indicate that knowledge sharing from an individual-level perspective is a more complex phenomenon than currently portrayed in the literature. All four key influences, each being fundamentally different in nature, and their relationships should be taken into account. Equally, the ShaRInK framework can be applied by organisations when developing a knowledge-sharing strategy or auditing existing strategies.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Philip O'Connor

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine how the “colleen” archetype was used in the creation of a successful brand personality for a range of soap manufactured in Ireland during the early twentieth century. It reveals the commercial and political agendas behind this move and the colleen's later application to Ulster unionist graphic propaganda against Home Rule between 1914 and 1916. Design/methodology/approach – This case study is based on an analysis of primary and secondary sources; the former encompassing both graphic advertising material and ephemera. Findings – This paper demonstrates how contemporary pictorial advertising for colleen soap was suffused with text and imagery propounding Ulster's preservation within the UK. It also suggests that the popularity of this brand personality may have been a factor in the colleen's appropriation for propaganda purposes by certain strands within Ulster unionism. Originality/value – This paper is based on original research that expands the historical corpus of Irish visual representation, while also adding notably to discourses within the History of Marketing and Women's History.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Wronka

Purpose This paper aims to examine the framework for the regulation of crypto assets in Germany, the UK and Switzerland focusing on anti-money laundering (AML) laws. It comprehensively addresses the risks of crypto assets and the benefits along with the changes made to the existing laws to regulate cryptocurrency. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative data was analyzed to collect information for the case study and to challenge/examine the existing data and statistics. Findings The findings suggested that the AML laws are additionally modified to include the cryptocurrencies violations of the legislation, as it is the decentralized financial systems generating opportunities for crimes and terror financing. The moderate or mild laws were found in Switzerland following Germany and the UK has the most traditional and stringent laws of money laundering. Originality/value The paper has focused on the comparison of the three states in their AML laws comprehensively along with their attitude toward the crypto businesses.


2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 34-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thorsten Roser ◽  
Robert DeFillippi ◽  
Julia Goga Cooke

Purpose – This case study of a fashion-design company aims to show how a co-creation initiative produces competitive advantage by nurturing creativity, expanding the company’s innovation capabilities and enabling it to engage with both taste-making customers and designers from anywhere in the world. Design/methodology/approach – In 2009, Fronteer Strategy, a Netherlands-based market-analysis firm published a conceptual framework for identifying specifically how a firm’s processes and initiatives employ co-creation. This case looks at how this theoretical framework compares with the actual complexities of the co-creation process developed by Own Label. Findings – Own Label’s co-creation approach is a hybrid model that utilizes more than one type of co-creation across its fashion-design process. Practical implications – What makes co-creation in design-intensive industries a disruptive approach is the democratization of the process by which design choices are made. Originality/value – Own Label is utilizing its hybrid models of co-creation in order to strategically position its self in niche markets, adapt faster to trends, as well as to be a design leader.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Austin

Purpose At “The Academy” the author has undertaken five lesson study (LS) cycles to date and the outcomes of these are discussed with consideration to the local context, the culture and the wider context which have surrounded the six-year period of implementation. The emphasis here is not to present pedagogical outcomes of the LS but to present the leadership challenges they have presented and how these have been overcome. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This paper is presented as a case study and uses the author’s personal reflections on the approaches used thus far to implement LS within the specific context. The author also uses a review of data concerning continuous professional development (CPD) within “The Academy” along with interviews with some of the teachers who have been involved. Findings LS is an emerging form of CPD in the UK and even when implemented does not yield a wealth of quantitative data which can be used to prove the impact it can have; consequently implementing LS can be perceived as a risk within the profession. The author explores whether the “impact” which is emerging is everything the author expected it to be, or indeed everything it needs to be. The author discovers the culture we are working in, with increasing pressures on time and increased dependence on quantitative data, requires leaders to manage the associated perceived risks in order to successfully implement LS. Originality/value This paper is intended to provide useful insights for senior leaders and leaders of LS who are in the process of implementing LS within their own contexts.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-146
Author(s):  
Sarah Jane Godfrey

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to convey the experience of medical cannabis users and growers in the UK. Design/methodology/approach Biography and personal ethnograpy. Findings Medical cannabis users are forced into cultivating their own medicine. Research limitations/implications Single case study. Practical implications There is an urgent need for policy change to enable medical cannabis users to access their medication easily and affordably. Social implications A rising number of people are denied their constitutional right to health by a misguided policy. Originality/value This study fills a major gap in the literature on medical cannabis growers.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Webster ◽  
John F. Wilson ◽  
Nicholas D. Wong

Purpose This paper is concerned with the historical record of one business in the UK, which has long laid claim to the moral high ground in the conduct of its affairs – the amalgam of consumer co-operative business organisations, which eventually merged to become the Co-operative Group at the beginning of the 21st century. This paper aims to offer an assessment of the record of the British consumer co-operative movement’s efforts to abide by and promote its values and principles during the first 137 years of its existence (1863 to 1990). Design/methodology/approach The paper is developed using largely qualitative research methods and a variety of sources. These include archival resources and business-historical materials such as committee minutes and correspondence. These materials have been complemented by several semi-structured recorded interviews with senior members of the Co-operative Group. Findings The authors develop several conclusions. First, where ethical choices were possible and no serious commercial interests were impaired, the co-operative movement could and usually did do its best to adhere to its principles. Second, in several instances, commercial interests did frequently trump ideals. Finally, the organisational structure of the movement made it very difficult to ensure that co-operative principles and values were adhered to. Originality/value This paper presents a unique case-study that examines the inherent tension between commerce and ethics in the co-operative movement.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 422-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cletus Agyenim-Boateng ◽  
Kofi Oduro-Boateng

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate disaster accountability process, and it seeks to advocate for involvement of victims as salient stakeholders in the accountability process. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopt a case study of the 3rd June, 2015 flood disaster and fire that occurred in Accra, Ghana and draw mainly on interviews, as well as observations and a review of publicly available documents. Findings Several actors are involved in disaster management in Ghana. These actors play several roles as part of the disaster management process. Coordination is observed among some governmental actors. However, there is a little collaboration among these actors. There are, therefore, no clear accountability relationships between the actors. Moreover, the forms of accountability process are largely upward and internal. So, although we find the victims as salient stakeholders, their perspectives are not prioritised as part of the accountability process. Research limitations/implications As a result of less engagement with victims in the accountability process, a central accountability concern, outcomes, namely, benefits for victims in terms of changes in their knowledge, status, attitudes, values, skills, behaviours or conditions were not promoted. Downward accountability should be encouraged to promote better outcomes. Originality/value Although some studies on accounting for disasters have been undertaken, there is none in our local context, and also this study has been able to uncover under-representation of victims in the accountability process using adaptive accountability lens.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 699-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darlene Himick ◽  
Kate Ruff

Purpose Profit is often moralized by activists, but scant research has carefully examined what profit is for these activists or how they use it to create a more just world. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how social movements use counter accounts of profit as tools of resistance. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case study design, informed by framing theory, is used to trace the framing of profit from activists’ counter accounts to actions they precipitated. Specifically, the study examines counter accounts of profit from the UK abolition movement, Médecines Sans Frontières access to essential medicines campaign and Brigitte Bardot Foundation’s opposition to the Canadian seal hunt, and how their framings of profit influenced change. Findings Activists reframe profit to create visibilities and bridges to the suffering of distant others. Reframing the calculation and boundary of profit is a strategy to elicit moral outrage, hope and ultimately a more just world. Through these reframings, activists in three different social movements were able to change the possibilities of who and what can be profitable, and how. Social implications The inherently incomplete nature of accounting frames give rise to accounting’s vulnerability to non-accountants to assert their views of a moral profit. Accounting therefore is both a means of control at a distance but also “emancipation at a distance.” Originality/value Scholars have asserted that accounting can be used for resistance, few studies have examined how. By examining how activists assert what profit is – and should be – the paper documents and theorizes profit as contested and highlights accounting’s emancipatory potential.


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