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Article
Publication date: 23 July 2019

Robert Francis Hesketh and Grace Robinson

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to disseminate street gang research by Hesketh (2018) that has identified young people’s perceptions between employment and criminality in…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to disseminate street gang research by Hesketh (2018) that has identified young people’s perceptions between employment and criminality in areas of Merseyside becoming blurred. In particular, disenfranchised young males are turning to involvement with drug dealing street gangs as a substitute for employment.

Design/methodology/approach

The research involved the use of a hybrid design using an adapted version of Wengraf’s (2001) biographic narrative interpretive method as the means for data collection with Strauss and Corbin’s (1995) grounded theory approach as the means of analysis.

Findings

Such is the demand for Class A drugs in night-time economies that street gangs in areas close to such economies are adding a dark business-like dimension for which Hesketh (2018) has termed “Deviant Entrepreneurship”. This can range from selling drugs on behalf of adult organised crime figures (known on the streets of Liverpool as “grafting”) to self-employment as sole trading deviant group enterprises having several “grafts” that recent research by Robinson, McLean and Densley (2018) has noted, has extended into the annals of Criminal Child Exploitation.

Research limitations/implications

Data were derived from a sample of young males, thus, no observations can be made about females involved in gangs.

Practical implications

The research highlights the need for more gang interventions that focus on building opportunities within marginalised areas. It also suggests as Andell (2019) points out a need for a fresh approach to countering gang culture.

Social implications

The paper concludes by suggesting that Merseyside is only one in many marginalised areas of the UK facing a similar problem as young people involved in street gangs attempt to realise their potential not through legitimate employment means but through dark entrepreneurial techniques learnt from older peers and adult figures.

Originality/value

The findings are taken from a PhD thesis by Robert F. Hesketh University of Chester.

Abstract

Details

Sociological Theory and Criminological Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-054-5

Article
Publication date: 9 March 2012

Teresa Oultram

The purpose of this paper is to show how research that is approached from multiple perspectives, using multiple methods, can help to illuminate the complex and contested nature of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show how research that is approached from multiple perspectives, using multiple methods, can help to illuminate the complex and contested nature of the purpose and practice of apprenticeship schemes in England. The author contends that understanding the various participants involved in the schemes helps to reveal how policy at the macro level is adapted at the micro level to suit different groups. The author argues that the usefulness in such an approach provides a greater understanding of the plurality of interests and needs at play within the scheme, opening up the apprenticeship scheme agenda to allow divergent voices to be heard.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a qualitative empirical paper which adopts a multi‐perspective, multi‐method approach.

Findings

The paper highlights a number of areas of contention between different stakeholders involved in the apprenticeship scheme that could affect the success of these schemes.

Originality/value

The author's aim is to demonstrate the use of a multi‐perspective, multi‐method approach as a way to generate research which takes into account the different experiences and agenda of stakeholders participating in apprenticeship schemes. It is envisaged that the paper will be of interest to readers interested in research methods and for those conducting research on young workers.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 March 2013

Christian Issmer, Jost Stellmacher and Mario Gollwitzer

This paper aims to examine the impact of perceived negativity against the ingroup on delinquency in disadvantaged social groups. It is based on assumptions from labeling theory…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the impact of perceived negativity against the ingroup on delinquency in disadvantaged social groups. It is based on assumptions from labeling theory and social identity theory.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors hypothesized that negative metastereotypes towards the outgroup “majority society” (i.e. the perception of the outgroup holding negative stereotypes against the ingroup) would enhance delinquent behavior. Based on recent findings from research on self‐esteem and aggression, the authors further hypothesized that self‐esteem would moderate this effect, namely that delinquency‐enhancement would be strongest for individuals high in self‐esteem. The hypotheses were tested in a sample of incarcerated adolescents (n=225) and a sample of educationally disadvantaged adolescents (n=92), respectively.

Findings

Negative metastereotypes towards the “majority society” are positively related to delinquent behavior. This effect is particularly strong when disadvantaged individuals' positive self‐regard is high.

Research limitations/implications

This research gives important, new insights on the basis of cross‐sectional, correlative data. Future research should aim to corroborate the findings by use of experimental or longitudinal designs.

Originality/value

The paper shows that the perception of negative stereotypes against one's disadvantaged ingroup in society is a risk factor for delinquent behavior. It furthermore highlights how personality differences in self‐esteem influence this relationship. The research builds a bridge between criminological labeling theory and social‐psychological social identity theory.

Details

Journal of Criminal Psychology, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2009-3829

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1996

Heinz Weihrich, Kai‐Uwe Seidenfuss and Volker Goebel

Introduces the traditional German apprenticeship training approach which has been received favourably in US governments (federal and state) and in industry, but suggests that…

1217

Abstract

Introduces the traditional German apprenticeship training approach which has been received favourably in US governments (federal and state) and in industry, but suggests that certain conditions in America do not favour heavy investment in such training. Shows that the educational transfer of the apprenticeship model may be facilitated by German firms investing and operating in the United States, as proved by the electronic giant Siemens which is committed to implementing the proven apprenticeship model in its US subsidiaries. Shows that the apprenticeship model alone may be insufficient, and may need to be supplemented by a higher level, dual system education which integrates theory and practice. Proposes that the Vocational Academy programme, illustrated by the Mercedes‐Benz experience, may fill this gap ‐ not to supplant the apprenticeship training, but to supplement it. Suggests that both the apprenticeship model and the Vocational Academy model, may fill an important need for an educational joint venture approach, not only in the United States but also in other countries, by making business and government organizations more competitive in the global market.

Details

European Business Review, vol. 96 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-534X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 1962

Not unexpectedly certain correspondents have taken exception to our suggestion that this country will be doing a grave disservice to many boys and girls in secondary modern…

Abstract

Not unexpectedly certain correspondents have taken exception to our suggestion that this country will be doing a grave disservice to many boys and girls in secondary modern schools, if, willy‐nilly, the school‐leaving age for all is raised to 16. (Mr Levitas — August, p 20 — please note: through very close connections we are well aware of the magnificent work being done by some secondary modern schools and particularly for those two‐thirds or so of the more able children who elect to stay on for an extra year. May it long continue.)

Details

Education + Training, vol. 4 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Article
Publication date: 13 May 2020

Robert Francis Hesketh and Rachael Box

This paper aims to disseminate previous street gang research by Hesketh (2018) and the ongoing practice of Box (2015) in countering network poverty as a precursor to gang…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to disseminate previous street gang research by Hesketh (2018) and the ongoing practice of Box (2015) in countering network poverty as a precursor to gang membership through bridging/social mixing.

Findings

The findings draw attention to the considerable amount of research, media reports and government policy that has intensified and pathologised the issue of gang membership and its causes in the UK. Moreover, they identify the effects of marginalisation and limited opportunity as the main protagonists and highlight how young disenfranchised people some more resilient than others cope with growing up in areas void of legitimate life choices and positive networks. In particular, the study finds evidence that bridging and the resulting social mixing as a result of temporary migration was highly significant in the decision to conform, desist or abstain from gang membership.

Research limitations/implications

Liverpool study involved males only (need to examine females within the Merseyside area) although London practice addresses both young men and women. The paper highlights the impact of bridging as an intervention in countering network poverty and friendship networks restricted to marginalised environments, leaving many young people vulnerable to gang involvement, knife and youth crime.

Practical implications

Impact of bridging on young people in the development of good social capital is as follows: it highlights actual practice of findings in deterring young people away from gangs and criminality; it highlights the need for more interventions aimed at bridging communities; and it identifies the need for interventions around young disenfranchised people (social intelligence).

Social implications

The evidence suggests that interventions involving bridging both internally and externally can be instrumental in developing policy that aims to deter young people away from street crime.

Originality/value

The paper attempts to provide originality in highlighting a process that has not been fully implemented within current policy involving young disenfranchised people, gangs and violence.

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2006

Claire H. Griffiths

The purpose of this monograph is to present the first English translation of a unique French colonial report on women living under colonial rule in West Africa.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this monograph is to present the first English translation of a unique French colonial report on women living under colonial rule in West Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

The issue begins with a discussion of the contribution this report makes to the history of social development policy in Africa, and how it serves the on‐going critique of colonisation. This is followed by the English translation of the original report held in the National Archives of Senegal. The translation is accompanied by explanatory notes, translator’s comments, a glossary of African and technical terms, and a bibliography.

Findings

The discussion highlights contemporary social development policies and practices which featured in identical or similar forms in French colonial social policy.

Practical implications

As the report demonstrates, access to basic education and improving maternal/infant health care have dominated the social development agenda for women in sub‐Saharan Africa for over a century, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future in the Millennium Development Goals which define the international community’s agenda for social development to 2015. The parallels between colonial and post‐colonial social policies in Africa raise questions about the philosophical and cultural foundations of contemporary social development policy in Africa and the direction policy is following in the 21st century.

Originality/value

Though the discussion adopts a consciously postcolonial perspective, the report that follows presents a consciously colonial view of the “Other”. Given the parallels identified here between contemporary and colonial policy‐making, this can only add to the value of the document in exploring the values that underpin contemporary social development practice.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 26 no. 11/12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 June 2012

J. Carlos González‐Faraco and Anita Gramigna

In the Europe of the nineteenth century, a significant increase in abandoned children was caused by demographic pressures and growing economic difficulties that progressively…

Abstract

Purpose

In the Europe of the nineteenth century, a significant increase in abandoned children was caused by demographic pressures and growing economic difficulties that progressively afflicted the lowest social strata of the population. Those who had neither family, nor school, educated themselves in the streets or learned from patron‐tutors who aspired to produce a specific social subject, channelizing their “congenitally” subversive tendencies through a certain kind of structured apprenticeship. This model of education (or “bad education”) can be defined as the formalization, paradoxically devoid of symbols and alphabet, of the experience of the street within a specific system of knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to seek to encounter in literary sources the traces of the education of these marginalized children.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors intend to study, by means of the testimony of novels, the mentality of this historic period and the phenomenon of this very different kind of childhood. The epistemological and methodological viewpoint that is adopted is both ethnographic and historical, since the authors are attempting to understand and establish the evolving nexuses and dynamics of the educational phenomenon that is the object of the investigation.

Findings

The central objective of this investigation lies in the notion of “bad education”. By “bad education” the authors mean the presence of an educational itinerary, an acculturation, a personality formation, and a professionalization that have all strayed from the dominant, hegemonic social models. This “model” of education forms part of the prevailing educational philosophy of a particular epoch and historical situation, as demonstrated throughout this paper.

Originality/value

This paper proposes an operation of educational archaeology. However, this operation can contribute to an epistemological awareness that can greatly benefit both the pedagogical reflections of our time and the educations of so many marginalized children who inhabit the destitute streets of the contemporary metropolis.

Abstract

Details

Sociological Theory and Criminological Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-054-5

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