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This paper aims to explore the misuse of prescription opioids, associated consumption cultures and the emergence of “informal governing images” among young men in Nigeria.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the misuse of prescription opioids, associated consumption cultures and the emergence of “informal governing images” among young men in Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a qualitative research approach involving purposive sampling: six in-depth interviews, one focus group discussion and key informant interviews with two health-care professionals using the transgressive theory approach, this paper explores consumption cultures, motivations and the resultant “informal governing images” associated with the misuse of prescription opioids among young local street high-risk users in Nigeria.
Findings
Findings show complex expressions of diverse consumption practices, such as grinding, sniffing and concoction of tramadol (TM)with other opioids. The “puff-puff pass” practice serves as induction for new users of opioids commonly accessed through street drug dealers and pharmacists sold via backdoors. Codeine mixtures with different brands of soft drinks for dilution are used to achieve a “lower high” while a concoction of different opioids, with alcohol, and spirits obtains a “higher high”. Manufacturers’ indelible colouring and bottling discourage the non-medical use of opioids. Desiring to be awake for nocturnal activities, mostly “yahoo-yahoo” (internet fraud), sexual enhancement and dosage competitions, are motivations for the non-medical use of prescription opioids. These consumption cultures create “misuse circuits”, leading to the emergence of “informal governing images” triggered by threats from formal controls.
Practical implications
This paper, therefore, concludes that pharmaceutical industries should also add colourings to TM and codeine just like they did in rophinol to discourage the non-medical use of prescription opioids among young people in Nigeria.
Social implications
This paper concludes that rather than branding and packaging in such a way that concealability is difficult for high-risk users as the best way to discourage the non-medical consumption of prescription opioids in Nigeria, the focus should be on addressing youth poverty and unemployment and improving access to treatment for drug use disorders, instead of calling for more enforcement-based measures.
Originality/value
This is an original research.
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Ediomo-Ubong Nelson, Ogochukwu Winifred Odeigah and Emeka W. Dumbili
The purpose of this study is to understand the complex interplay between illicit opioids trade and consumption practices and state policies that aim to reduce their misuse.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand the complex interplay between illicit opioids trade and consumption practices and state policies that aim to reduce their misuse.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted an exploratory design. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews with 31 commercially oriented drug dealers in Uyo, Nigeria. The framework approach was used in data analyses, while “friction” provided the interpretive lens.
Findings
Accounts revealed public concerns over the misuse of tramadol and other opioids among young people and the associated health and social harms. These concerns provided support for enforcement-based approaches to prescription opioids control, including police raids on pharmacy stores. These measures did not curtail opioids supply and consumption. Instead, they constrained access to essential medicines for pain management, encouraged illegal markets and fuelled law enforcement corruption in the form of police complicity in illegal tramadol trade.
Research limitations/implications
The findings reveal the frictions of drug control in Nigeria, wherein enforcement-based approaches gained traction through public concerns about opioids misuse but also faced resistance due to the persistence of non-medical use and illegal supply channels made possible by law enforcement complicity. These indicate a need to prioritize approaches that seek to reduce illegal supply and misuse of opioids while ensuring availability of these medications for health-care needs.
Originality/value
The study is unique in its focus on the creative tension that exists between state control measures and local opioids supply and consumption practices.
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Sophie Wood, Annie Williams, Nell Warner, Helen Ruth Hodges, Aimee Cummings and Donald Forrester
Secure children’s homes (SCHs) restrict the liberty of young people considered to be a danger to themselves or others. However, not all young people referred to SCHs find a…
Abstract
Purpose
Secure children’s homes (SCHs) restrict the liberty of young people considered to be a danger to themselves or others. However, not all young people referred to SCHs find a placement, and little is known about the outcomes of the young person after an SCH or alternative placement. The purpose of this paper is to understand which characteristics most likely predict allocation to an SCH placement, and to explore the outcomes of the young people in the year after referral.
Design/methodology/approach
A retrospective electronic cohort study was conducted using linked social care data sets in England. The study population was all young people from England referred to SCHs for welfare reasons between 1st October 2016 to 31st March 2018 (n = 527). Logistic regression tested for differences in characteristics of SCH placement allocation and outcomes in the year after referral.
Findings
In total, 60% of young people referred to an SCH were allocated a place. Factors predicting successful or unsuccessful SCH allocation were previous placement in an SCH (OR = 2.12, p = 0.01); being female (OR = 2.26, p = 0.001); older age (OR = 0.75, p = 0.001); and a history of challenging behaviour (OR = 0.34, p = 0.01). In the year after referral, there were little differences in outcomes between young people placed in a SCH versus alternative accommodation.
Originality/value
The study raised concerns about the capacity of current services to recognise and meet the needs of this complex and vulnerable group of young people and highlights the necessity to explore and evaluate alternatives to SCHs.
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Hashem Alshurafat, Mohannad Obeid Al Shbail, Allam Hamdan, Ahmad Al-Dmour and Waed Ensour
This study aims to explore the factors that contribute to student academic dishonesty through an examination of the misuse of AI language models. Using the fraud triangle theory…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the factors that contribute to student academic dishonesty through an examination of the misuse of AI language models. Using the fraud triangle theory, which posits that opportunity, rationalization and pressure are key factors for fraudulent behavior, this study investigates how these elements interact and contribute to academic dishonesty among students.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, data on how accounting students used ChatGPT to cheat was acquired from 279 accounting students in Jordanian public universities over the course of two months, from January 2023 to March 2023, through previously tested and validated questionnaires. The main tool for gathering data was a questionnaire distributed online using Microsoft Forms.
Findings
The results show that all of the fraud triangle factors are significant determinants of student academic dishonesty and student misuse of ChatGPT. The findings of this research can be used to guide the development of technology-based preventative measures.
Originality/value
This study provides valuable insights into the motivations and factors that drive students to engage in academic dishonesty and sheds light on the broader issue of technology-assisted academic dishonesty and its impact on the educational system. This study’s contribution is significant, as it sheds light on a pressing issue in education and provides valuable information for educators and policymakers to address the problem and improve academic standards.
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Adebukola E. Oyewunmi, Oluwatomi Adedeji and Abimbola Adegbuyi
Practitioners and management researchers have chorused the salvific tendencies of spiritual intelligence. Whilst the emergence of spirituality and its derivatives in the workplace…
Abstract
Purpose
Practitioners and management researchers have chorused the salvific tendencies of spiritual intelligence. Whilst the emergence of spirituality and its derivatives in the workplace is widely acclaimed, the conflict that exists between spiritual ideals and the capitalist ethos of modern organisations raises questions about dark manifestations. This incongruence necessitates the consideration of the misuse of spiritual intelligence.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts conceptual lens and theoretical arguments to interrogate the assumption of absolute constructiveness that is accorded spiritual intelligence in its framing and discusses the potential of a dark side.
Findings
The dark side of spiritual intelligence is its deployment to achieve self-serving purposes, to harm, rather than to help others. More practitioners and management researchers must acknowledge that spiritual intelligence and workplace spirituality may have dark manifestations and incorporate this reality in the assessment of organisations and the individuals within them.
Originality/value
This exploratory article joins the sparse extant literature on the dark side of spiritual intelligence and workplace spirituality. It contributes to the literature by offering critical insights into spiritual intelligence and the need to integrate the potential for misuse in the existing models.
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Anthony Sumnaya Kumasey, Farhad Hossain, Aminu Mamman and Eric Delle
Concerns regarding the dysfunctional behaviours of public officials have sparked renewed interest in public service ethics and spirituality. While national and organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
Concerns regarding the dysfunctional behaviours of public officials have sparked renewed interest in public service ethics and spirituality. While national and organizational systems have been established to eliminate dysfunctional behaviours such as corruption, sexual harassment and misuse of confidential information, the practice continues to have a demoralizing impact on developing countries. The study aims to intend to investigate the empirical relation between the application of spirituality and ethics in reducting dysfunctional behaviours within Ghana's Public Sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The study conducted a qualitative case analysis that utilized 28 semi-structured interviews and four focus groups. Interviews and group discussions with public sector staff, managers and policymakers were used to collect qualitative data. This approach facilitated an in-depth investigation into their views on dysfunctional actions and the possible impact of workplace spirituality and ethics in the Ghanaian public service.
Findings
The study uncovered a persistent recurrence of dysfunctional behaviours, such as fraudulent activities, resource misuse, unofficial work and inappropriate use of official time. There was uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of integrating ethics and spirituality to curtail dysfunctional behaviours. Nevertheless, the results supported adopting spiritual and ethical rejuvenation in the public service as a universal solution to overcome these behaviours.
Originality/value
This study enhances comprehension of dysfunctional behaviours in Ghana's public service by providing insights into how spirituality and ethics can transform it. The potentials of workplace spirituality and ethics can lead to a strong public service that embodies accountability, integrity and effectiveness, thereby serving as a pivotal device for Ghana's holistic advancement.
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Privacy is a sensitive issue in business because it involves how a platform uses consumer personal data. In terms of consumer rights, personal information needs to be protected in…
Abstract
Purpose
Privacy is a sensitive issue in business because it involves how a platform uses consumer personal data. In terms of consumer rights, personal information needs to be protected in the privacy policy (PP). This study describes several aspects of the PP that consumers need to pay attention to, especially points prone to misuse of personal information.
Design/methodology/approach
This research used a taxonomy of consumer privacy concerns in e-commerce to reveal general and specific privacy concerns. The privacy calculus theory was also applied to explore consumer rationalization using (1) consumer knowledge about PP, (2) subjective perception, and (3) proximity to the PP features. Furthermore, the netnographic approach was used to combine the interrelation between technology and social construction. A sample of 378 young consumers in several major cities in Indonesia participated online and offline. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted to gain more in-depth comprehension.
Findings
The results showed that most young consumers have sufficient basic knowledge of the important points of PP. Furthermore, they tend not to read the PP because it is long and cumbersome, and therefore do not wish to expend much cognitive effort on it.
Originality/value
This study provides several results that can be utilized by policymakers or e-commerce companies to pay more attention to PPs for young groups. In addition, e-commerce companies can increase the knowledge of the privacy situation of Internet users in general.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2022-0740
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Hayley Alderson and Carrie Harrop
When teaching in or around the subject of care-experienced young people, it is important for information to be presented in a way that not only creates an understanding of the…
Abstract
When teaching in or around the subject of care-experienced young people, it is important for information to be presented in a way that not only creates an understanding of the prevalence of care experience but also emphasises the myriad of life challenges associated with experiences of being involved in the care system.
It is known that out of the 12 million children living in England, just under 400,000 (3%) are known to the social care system at any one time and just over 82,000 of these children are ‘looked after’, under the legal guardianship of local authorities in England.
It will not be unusual for students to come to university with little or no exposure to or understanding of children in care, their lives or what it means to be care experienced. Therefore, teaching in this area needs to draw attention to the reasons as to why care experiences result in hardships, this can be done by identifying why care experience is a sensitive subject area. This chapter identifies some (but not all) of the common adversities that care-experienced young people often face inclusive of changes in accommodation and placement instability, insecure relationships, poor mental health, disrupted education, substance misuse, and poverty.
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