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1 – 10 of over 2000
Article
Publication date: 7 October 2019

Michelle VanNatta

As the US criminal justice system and immigration system increasingly interconnect, even immigration policy that is facially race-neutral may involve biased practices. The purpose…

Abstract

Purpose

As the US criminal justice system and immigration system increasingly interconnect, even immigration policy that is facially race-neutral may involve biased practices. The purpose of this paper is to examine how institutional racism in criminal legal processes creates particular barriers for many individuals of Latin American and/or African descent facing deportation proceedings in US immigration courts, particularly in assertions regarding gang affiliation.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is based on ethnographic observation. The work utilized a grounded theory approach. The observation took place at public master calendar hearings at a Midwestern immigration court between 2013 and 2015, yielding over 400 pages of fieldnotes that were coded and analyzed for patterns.

Findings

Non-citizens in the USA, including lawful permanent residents, are subject to deportation if labeled “criminal.” Racial profiling and criminalization of communities of color create heightened risk of deportation. Assumptions that common tattoos or urban fashion indicate criminality, reliance on Facebook posts to “prove” gang membership, and the use of arrest records as evidence of criminality even if charges were dropped all put immigrants of Latin American and/or African descent at heightened risk.

Research limitations/implications

The ethnographic method used has strong validity but weaker reliability and generalizability.

Practical implications

This paper can help analysts, policymakers and advocates consider how to adapt systems to increase equity.

Originality/value

This research provides direct examples and ethnographic evidence of how race and cultural bias in criminal legal processes and immigration policies can affect people in deportation proceedings.

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 18 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 May 2019

John Pitts

The purpose of this paper is to consider what the author might call the evolution of the evolutionary argument about gangs and, while acknowledging its explanatory power, suggests…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider what the author might call the evolution of the evolutionary argument about gangs and, while acknowledging its explanatory power, suggests that gangs may develop in very different ways depending on the available opportunities, pre-existing forms of criminality in the areas in which gangs emerge and global change.

Design/methodology/approach

It is based on a review of the relevant literature and interviews with purposive samples of research, criminal justice and social welfare professionals and young people involved in or affected by gang crime. Findings were triangulated with data held by the police and other public authorities.

Findings

The term “street gang” includes a wide variety of groupings all of which are involved in some form of crime but with differential levels of organisation and commitment to purely instrumental goals. Gangs may form but not necessarily evolve. Gangs appear to develop in very different ways depending on the available opportunities, pre-existing forms of criminality in the areas in which they emerge and global changes in drugs markets.

Originality/value

The originality of the paper consists in its interrogation of the concept of “gang evolution” and its discussion of the variety of forms and evolutionary trajectories of gangs.

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 June 2022

Ke Ma, Yu Li, Guoyang Liu, Gang He, Chun Sha and Yilin Peng

The purpose of this study is to investigate the deformation characteristics and failure modes of the right bank slope of Xiluodu Hydropower Station after excavation.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the deformation characteristics and failure modes of the right bank slope of Xiluodu Hydropower Station after excavation.

Design/methodology/approach

Micro-seismic monitoring technology is applied to obtain the microfracture information and study the internal damage evolution law of the slope rock mass. A numerical model for discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) is established to analyse the deformation characteristics and failure mode of the slope. Micro-seismic monitoring and DDA can verify and supplement each other's results in the investigation of slope failure.

Findings

The results show that the slope has a downhill displacement along the weathered zone under natural conditions; the maximum resultant displacement at the monitoring point is 380 mm. The micro-seismic events are concentrated in an area located 30–100 m horizontally away from the slope surface and at an elevation of 390–470 m. The distribution of these micro-seismic events is consistent with the location of the unloading and weathered zones; it is the same as the DDA simulation result.

Originality/value

The study is anticipated to be used as reference for the stability analysis of rock slopes. By combining the continuous (micro-seismic monitoring technology) and discontinuous (DDA) methods, the entire process starting from the gradual accumulation of internal rock micro-damage to the macroscopic discontinuous deformation and failure of the slope can be investigated.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 39 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2000

Nadim Karim

The debate on taking ‘the profit out of crime’ in most countries has been linked to an increasing recognition of the threat to national and international stability represented by…

Abstract

The debate on taking ‘the profit out of crime’ in most countries has been linked to an increasing recognition of the threat to national and international stability represented by organised crime groups. These groups, in so far as their goal is financial gain, are businesses and are therefore often structurally and operationally able to take full advantage of services provided by other groups or on occasion work with such through an associated or integrated strategy. One of the most lethal organised crime groups in this respect are the Yakuza, or ‘Boryukudan’. The sum total of their criminal activity produces an annual yield of countless millions through various ‘activities’ including money laundering and corporate blackmail. The majority of these activities are carried out by centralised organisations capable of operating through a host of jurisdictions. It has become quite evident, particularly with respect to the last 15 years, that the Yakuza have been able to obtain a powerful ‘stranglehold’ over the economic sectors in several different countries. It will be the purpose of this paper, therefore, to analyse the severity of this impact with particular respect to the situation in the USA and Japan. With the advent of an ever diversifying global marketplace, the opportunities seem endless. And the ‘nightmare’ for law enforcement agencies has just begun.

Details

Journal of Financial Crime, vol. 7 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-0790

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2004

Jonathon R.B. Halbesleben and M. Ronald Buckley

This paper examines the historical development of pluralistic ignorance as a construct and its application to organizational studies. Pluralistic ignorance is a social comparison…

2544

Abstract

This paper examines the historical development of pluralistic ignorance as a construct and its application to organizational studies. Pluralistic ignorance is a social comparison error where an individual holds an opinion, but mistakenly believes that others hold the opposite opinion. Pluralistic ignorance was first developed as an important social construct in the 1920s by social psychologist Floyd Allport, and has been applied to myriad settings in psychology and sociology, including racial segregation, student perceptions of alcohol use, and classroom behavior. Despite work in pluralistic ignorance for over 75 years, it has only recently been applied to management settings. Management scholars have suggested applications of pluralistic ignorance to decision‐making, business ethics, group dynamics, performance appraisal, and burnout. Other management applications are proposed as a means to guide research in pluralistic ignorance in the future.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 42 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 November 2007

Glen Holt

The purpose of this article is to discuss how to best handle a crisis in a library.

508

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to discuss how to best handle a crisis in a library.

Design/methodology/approach

Discusses five cases of crises in libraries.

Findings

Knowing how to behave in a crisis is important.

Originality/value

Provides a discussion on how to handle a crisis in a library.

Details

The Bottom Line, vol. 20 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0888-045X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 February 2018

Xiao-qiang Jiao, Gang He, Zhen-ling Cui, Jian-bo Shen and Fu-suo Zhang

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the historical pattern of environmental cost due to grain production in China and to provide further implications of technologies and…

1281

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the historical pattern of environmental cost due to grain production in China and to provide further implications of technologies and policies for the transformation of China’s agricultural development toward sustainable intensification.

Design/methodology/approach

The data sets about grain production, arable land and chemical fertilizer use in China were collected from FAO, NBSC, and IFA. Greenhouse gas emissions were estimated using life cycle assessments. The policies concerning grain production and the environment were collected from the Ministry of Agriculture, and the State Council of China.

Findings

China has produced enough food to feed its growing population, but has neglected the resource-environmental costs of grain production since 1978. Consequently, China’s grain production is always accompanied with a high cost of resource and environment sustainability. However, from 2006 to 2015, the growth rate of grain production has surpassed that of chemical fertilizer consumption, resulting in improvement in nutrient use efficiency and decreasing trends of environmental cost for grain production. This could be partially attributed to technology innovations, such as Soil-Testing and Fertilizer-Recommendations (STFR), soil quality and crop management improvement, and so on, and policy supports (policies of STFR, soil quality improvement, and high-yield construction). This indicated that China’s grain production is starting to transform from high-input and high-output model to “less for more.”

Originality/value

This study is the first to determine the detailed, historical role of technological innovation and agri-environmental policy on the sustainability of grain production in China. The findings should have significant implications for technology and policy for the transformation of China’s agriculture development to sustainable intensification.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1966

NEW FILMS The technical activities centre at Sevenoaks School (cf. our issues of October 1965 and January 1966) is well‐known. Every term visitors from all over the country go to…

Abstract

NEW FILMS The technical activities centre at Sevenoaks School (cf. our issues of October 1965 and January 1966) is well‐known. Every term visitors from all over the country go to see what is going on there. Although it is mainly an out of school activity, Mr Gerd Sommerhoff, the master in charge of the centre, also takes the thirteen‐ and fourteen‐year‐olds for compulsory classes in school time.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 8 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Article
Publication date: 22 September 2020

Sally-Ann Ashton and Anna Bussu

The purpose of this paper is to explore how young people who offend with others define delinquent and criminal groups and consider the social risk factors associated with gang…

2622

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how young people who offend with others define delinquent and criminal groups and consider the social risk factors associated with gang membership and criminal exploitation.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample consisted of 15 young people who were purposively sampled from a group of 14- to 17-year-old males who had been identified as at risk of gang involvement and referred to a community-based programme. Using a social identity framework, a thematic analysis was undertaken to investigate how the participants viewed their role in offending as part of a group.

Findings

The participants identified peer groups, street gangs and the involvement of adult criminals as distinct categories of offending groups. Unlike prior models for gang involvement, some members of the sample were involved in multiple groups to perform different categories of crime. Importantly, participants displayed an awareness of exploitation and described successful exit strategies from criminal groups.

Research limitations/implications

Understanding how young people who are involved in delinquent behaviour and offending define gang and group offending.

Practical implications

The implications for gang and group offending prevention and intervention programmes are discussed.

Originality/value

The literature on child criminal exploitation and UK drug markets is in its infancy. This paper offers further evidence for the processes of joining and leaving delinquent and criminal groups.

Details

Journal of Criminal Psychology, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2009-3829

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 May 2009

John Pitts

In this article John Pitts contrasts John Hegedorn's account of the proliferation of violent youth gangs with those of conventional gang scholars.

Abstract

In this article John Pitts contrasts John Hegedorn's account of the proliferation of violent youth gangs with those of conventional gang scholars.

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

Keywords

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