Search results
1 – 10 of 28The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of the recommendation to replace identity-first language with person-first language on people who self-identify as recovering…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of the recommendation to replace identity-first language with person-first language on people who self-identify as recovering addicts as part of a recovery programme. Narcotics Anonymous (NA) will be used to illustrate the contextualised nature of the recovering addict identity.
Design/methodology/approach
To demonstrate the value of the recovering addict identity and social relations in NA, this paper draws on Axel Honneth’s theory of mutual recognition and self-formation.
Findings
Person-first language overlooks the significance of identity-first language to people in 12-step recovery. This oversight is linked to the logic of stigma reduction which excludes all identity-first language by association rather than assessing the impact of such terms on a case-by-case basis. Honneth’s theory is used to show how the recovering addict identity facilitates self-confidence and self-esteem through relations of mutual recognition in NA.
Research limitations/implications
The argument excludes people who identify as recovering addicts, but do not attend 12-step groups. Further research would be needed to understand how the recommendation to use person-first language instead of identity-first language impacts upon other recovery communities and pathways.
Practical implications
The recommendation to replace identity-first language with person-first language might result in 12-step fellowships becoming marginalised within the broader academic and policy and practice arena. Language preferences can become a contentious issue when 12-step groups and their members enter the wider recovery arena where their preferred terminology is viewed as stigmatising and dehumanising.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first article to propose an alternative theoretical framework to stigma reduction for judging morally appropriate language in the alcohol and drugs field.
Details
Keywords
As the subject of female criminology in South Africa has only recently been dealt with in a qualitative manner, this paper aims to explore if there is a potential link between…
Abstract
Purpose
As the subject of female criminology in South Africa has only recently been dealt with in a qualitative manner, this paper aims to explore if there is a potential link between rehabilitation, reintegration support and recidivism as females are often placed back into the environment which prompted their criminal behaviour, further excluding them from rehabilitative reform, which might lead them to recidivate.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopted a qualitative approach using in-depth, semi-structured interviews with six participants that were chosen purposively.
Findings
The paper notes a potential link between rehabilitation, reintegration support and recidivism as the female prisoners are imprinted with criminal dispositions since rehabilitation within the correctional facility has no implementation process to ensure that restoration can continue after they have been released.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the limited number of the incarcerated female population and the scope of the preliminary study, the sample comprised of only six female offenders. As such, it contributes to the larger discourse of female criminality, but does not offer any recommendations.
Practical implications
Provides an understanding of the conditions in which the females are released. Allows for the inclusion of the female’s voice on, and reflection of, rehabilitation and recidivism. Notes a link between rehabilitation, reintegration and recidivism. Creates a pathway for further research in the exploration of a gendered reform approach.
Originality/value
While the subject of female criminology in South Africa has only recently been dealt with in a qualitative manner, this study offers an insight into how females who offend are often placed back into the environment which prompted their criminal behaviour.
Details
Keywords
Nilupulee Liyanagamage and Mario Fernando
Socially responsible firms are known to improve competitive advantage and create workplaces that protect employees and the society in the long-term. Yet, the transitionary and…
Abstract
Purpose
Socially responsible firms are known to improve competitive advantage and create workplaces that protect employees and the society in the long-term. Yet, the transitionary and project-based nature of the construction industry makes it difficult to espouse socially responsible practices. This study aims to adopt a person-centric conceptualisation of social responsibility by drawing on processes of individual sensemaking to gain a deeper understanding of small-business social responsibility (SBSR).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 people from the construction industry in Sri Lanka to develop retrospective narratives.
Findings
The findings suggest that individuals in small-business construction firms rely on intraindividual, organisational and wider societal considerations to make sense of SBSR. What drives these interviewees to be responsible is determined not so much by profitability or reputation but by their own SBSR sensemaking process.
Originality/value
This study examines how individuals make sense of social responsibility in transitionary project-based small businesses in the construction industry.
Details
Keywords
Claire Camilleri and Marilyn Clark
The purpose of this study is to explore and theorise about the desistance process of Maltese mothers who previously used drugs. The study unpacks how initial and continued…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore and theorise about the desistance process of Maltese mothers who previously used drugs. The study unpacks how initial and continued desistance from high-risk drug use (HRDU) is impacted by being a mother within the Maltese context and identifies contingencies for desistance and examines how they are negotiated along the desistance pathways.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted a symbolic interactionist-inspired career framework and involved in-depth exploration of trajectories of mothering and desistance of eight Maltese women with a history of HRDU. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews and analysis used an evolved grounded theory methodology.
Findings
Four explanatory categories were identified in the interview data to document the role of mothering in the various pathways to desistance recounted by the women. These are: becoming a mother; differing pathways of desistance in relation to mothering; the lived experience; identity negotiation and transformation. This study highlights how identity fluidity and transformation is central to the desistance process.
Practical implications
The paper aims to inform policy and practice with mothers who use drugs and their families and has important implications for the development and delivery of gender transformative interventions.
Originality/value
This study challenges taken-for-granted beliefs about the influence of mothering on desistance and identifies the complexities involved.
Details
Keywords
Anne Marie Gosselin and Sylvie Berthelot
Just like human beings, some companies engage in recurrent bad behaviour that negatively impacts their stakeholders and their prospects for long-term survival. For example, some…
Abstract
Purpose
Just like human beings, some companies engage in recurrent bad behaviour that negatively impacts their stakeholders and their prospects for long-term survival. For example, some firms become caught up in a vortex of corruption. SNC-Lavalin, a large Canadian consulting engineering company, is an example of one organisation that embarked on this path. Since then, the company has taken numerous steps to overcome its persistent problems with corruption. The object of this study is to determine whether these steps can be compared to the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), which is recognised for helping individuals overcome addiction to alcohol and drugs.
Design/methodology/approach
To examine events at SNC-Lavalin between 2000 and 2022, the authors carry out an in-depth examination of internal and external documentation. Three sources of data are used: archival documents, news articles and corporate documentation.
Findings
The results of the analysis show that the AA 12-step program seems to correspond to the steps SNC-Lavalin has taken over time. The “organisational” version of this program that the authors have developed could be useful to advisers of companies that are struggling with other types of bad behaviour and wish to stamp it out. These bad behaviours include the exploitation of vulnerable manpower, the exploitation of consumers through planned obsolescence or aggressive sales practices and pollution in all its forms.
Research limitations/implications
The study has certain limitations. It should be noted that the analyses were limited to public information. In addition, given the quantity of public information available for the period from 2009 to 2022, a methodical approach to selecting the sources of information elements was applied, which inevitably entailed ignoring other sources of information (e.g. television, radio and internet).
Originality/value
This study adds to previous work by providing an original and global perspective of the steps taken by a large international consulting engineering firm to overcome its recurring corruption problems. The parallel drawn with AA’s 12-step programs seems to correspond surprisingly well to the steps taken by the company. This parallel can potentially serve as a roadmap for advisers who have to counsel companies on recurring misconduct that has harmful repercussions for their stakeholders.
Details
Keywords
Rebecca Kippax and Lisa Ogilvie
The purpose of this paper is to examine recovery through lived experience. It is part of a series that explores candid accounts of addiction and recovery to identify the important…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine recovery through lived experience. It is part of a series that explores candid accounts of addiction and recovery to identify the important components in the recovery process.
Design/methodology/approach
The G-CHIME model comprises six elements important to addiction recovery (Growth, Connectedness, Hope, Identity, Meaning in life and Empowerment). It provides a standard against which to consider addiction recovery, having been used in this series, as well as in the design of interventions that improve well-being and strengthen recovery. In this paper, a first-hand account is presented, followed by a semi-structured e-interview with the author of the account. Narrative analysis is used to explore the account and interview through the G-CHIME model.
Findings
This paper shows that addiction recovery is a remarkable process that can be effectively explained using the G-CHIME model. The significance of each component in the model is apparent from the account and e-interview presented.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, each account of recovery in this series is unique, and as yet, untold.
Details
Keywords
Margaret Sullivan and George Shaw
The United States of America is in the midst of an opioid crisis. However, little has been written within the domain of LIS (Library and Information Science) about the health…
Abstract
Purpose
The United States of America is in the midst of an opioid crisis. However, little has been written within the domain of LIS (Library and Information Science) about the health information needs and behaviors of people who inject drugs. The purpose of this project is to conduct a scoping review of the current knowledge disseminated by LIS scholars and professionals regarding what information people who inject drugs have access to, need, how they interact with information and what dissemination methods may be most beneficial.
Design/methodology/approach
A scoping review of the literature was conducted with the additional inclusion criteria that the information needs be expressed from the insider perspective of this population instead of from the researcher.
Findings
In searching over a dozen databases, only seven articles were found that reflected the information behaviors of people who use drugs from the perspective of themselves. Only one article was from information science, two were from health informatics and one was from health communication, a closely linked field. These findings describe the information behaviors and needs of this population and speak to the need for more comprehensive research in this area in order to create targeted health information resources for this sensitive population.
Originality/value
There is little research in the domain of information science that has been conducted into the health information-seeking behaviors of people who inject drugs. Most of the work in this area is from the perspective of the researcher, not the person who injects drugs. This exploration into the literature on the information behavior of people that inject drugs from the perspective of themselves is unique.
Key messages
There is very little research that has been conducted into the health information-seeking behaviors of people who inject drugs.
Most of the work in this area is from the perspective of the researcher, not the person who injects drugs.
Only four such articles were found in the domain of LIS and seven, in total, between all academic domains.
There is very little research that has been conducted into the health information-seeking behaviors of people who inject drugs.
Most of the work in this area is from the perspective of the researcher, not the person who injects drugs.
Only four such articles were found in the domain of LIS and seven, in total, between all academic domains.
Details