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Article
Publication date: 2 August 2023

Kiseong Kuen, Hyounggon Kwak and Kwang Hyun Ra

This study explores the applicability of Anderson's (1999) code of the street framework to an Asian context by examining the relationship between residents' perceptions of police…

Abstract

Purpose

This study explores the applicability of Anderson's (1999) code of the street framework to an Asian context by examining the relationship between residents' perceptions of police ineffectiveness, nationality, and street codes in foreigner-concentrated areas in South Korea.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used survey data from 1,865 residents of diverse nationalities living in 20 foreigner-concentrated areas in South Korea. Mixed-effects ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and moderation analysis were used to examine (1) the association between residents' perceptions of police ineffectiveness and their street codes and (2) how this association varies across nationality groups.

Findings

The study findings overall indicated that higher resident perceptions of police as ineffective tended to correspond with greater levels of street codes. However, the interaction analysis results found that this relationship was conditioned by nationality. Specifically, perceptions of police ineffectiveness were associated with greater levels of street codes among foreign residents, particularly Korean-Chinese residents, whereas this was not the case among Korean residents.

Originality/value

The relationship between perceptions of the police and street codes described by Anderson (1999) has primarily been examined in the context of the U.S. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study represents the first attempt to explore the link between residents' perceptions of the police and street codes by different nationality groups within an Asian setting.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 47 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 47 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Article
Publication date: 5 December 2023

Nanna Møller Mortensen

This study explores how street-level professionals translate and implement a co-production strategy, formulated by top management, in their professional practices, focusing on…

Abstract

Purpose

This study explores how street-level professionals translate and implement a co-production strategy, formulated by top management, in their professional practices, focusing on conflicts that arise during this process and the effectiveness of the coping strategies employed by these professionals to manage them.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a lower-level inquiry into three care services in Denmark. It adopted the translation perspective in organizational research to analyze the consequences of street-level professionals' translation choices. Data were collected through interviews and observations.

Findings

This study found that street-level professionals' translation choices contribute to conflicts of varying forms and extents. The finding suggests that the way conflicts are managed makes the difference between the actual organizational change and the more symbolic acceptance of co-production.

Originality/value

This study contributes to discourses on challenges in co-production implementation by deepening knowledge about the role of coping behavior and translation in sustainable implementation of co-production.

Details

International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 37 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3558

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2023

Blessing Nonye Onyima

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.

Details

Drugs, Habits and Social Policy, vol. 24 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2752-6739

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 March 2023

Sophie Soklaridis, Rowen Shier, Georgia Black, Gail Bellissimo, Anna Di Giandomenico, Sam Gruszecki, Elizabeth Lin, Jordana Rovet and Holly Harris

The purpose of this co-produced research project was to conduct interviews with people working in, volunteering with and accessing Canadian recovery colleges (RCs) to explore…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this co-produced research project was to conduct interviews with people working in, volunteering with and accessing Canadian recovery colleges (RCs) to explore their perspectives on what an evaluation strategy for RCs could look like.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a participatory action research approach and involved semistructured interviews with 29 people involved with RCs across Canada.

Findings

In this paper, the authors share insights from participants about the purposes of RC evaluation; key elements of evaluation; and the most applicable and effective approaches to evaluation. Participants indicated that RC evaluations should use a personalized, humanistic and accessible approach. The findings suggest that evaluations can serve multiple purposes and have the potential to support both organizational and personal-recovery goals if they are developed with meaningful input from people who access and work in RCs.

Practical implications

The findings can be used to guide evaluations in which aspects that are most important to those involved in RCs could inform choices, decisions, priorities, developments and adaptations in RC evaluation processes and, ultimately, in programming.

Originality/value

A recent scoping review revealed that although coproduction is a central feature of the RC model, coproduction principles are rarely acknowledged in descriptions of how RC evaluation strategies are developed. Exploring coproduction processes in all aspects of the RC model, including evaluation, can further the mission of RCs, which is to create spaces where people can come together and engage in mutual capacity-building and collaboration.

Details

Mental Health and Social Inclusion, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-8308

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 April 2023

Hibatullah Stetieh

This paper aims to examine accessibility in the built environment and tries to determine the physical and attitudinal barriers affecting Persons with Visual Disabilities' (PWVDs…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine accessibility in the built environment and tries to determine the physical and attitudinal barriers affecting Persons with Visual Disabilities' (PWVDs) experience on the University of Jordan (UJ) campus.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a descriptive mixed-methods study, based on the following: data collection regarding PWVDs' services at UJ; semi-structured interviews with PWVDs and with some employees at UJ; observations, photographs and direct measurements during campus tours; accompanying one student with poor eyesight when navigating through UJ campus; then, analyzing data in light of the national code's accessibility checklist.

Findings

UJ campus suffers from many shortcomings regarding accessibility; these include an insufficient pedestrian environment, limited tactile paths, low illuminance levels in lecture halls and other inadequate services. Besides, there are many infringements on PWVDs' paths, due to either new expansions or unconscious behavior. Moreover, interpersonal barriers prevent PWVDs from using assistive equipment and accommodation. The study concludes that preserving pedestrians' rights, monitoring new expansions, renovating the UJ campus in accordance with national codes and international standards, improving PWVDs services and awareness-raising programs are needed to ensure accessibility for PWVDs.

Originality/value

New legislation has been recently passed regarding accessibility in Jordan, and – on the UJ campus – the first phase of tactile paving has been installed. This paper is believed to be the first of its kind to evaluate PWVDs' services following the new changes. The study's methodology might also be deemed useful to stakeholders when enabling the built environment.

Details

Open House International, vol. 49 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0168-2601

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 August 2023

Puren Aktas, Jonathan Hammond and Liz Richardson

New Public Management-informed pay-for-performance policies are common in public sectors internationally but can be controversial with delivery agents. More attention is needed on…

Abstract

Purpose

New Public Management-informed pay-for-performance policies are common in public sectors internationally but can be controversial with delivery agents. More attention is needed on contingent forms of bottom-up implementation of challenging policies, in emerging market economies, for professionals who face tensions between policies and their codes of practice. Street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) mediate policy implementation through discretionary practices; health professionals have enhanced space for discretion based on autonomy derived from professional status. The authors explore policy implementation, adaptation and resistance by physicians, focusing on payments for health workers in Turkey.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 12 physicians in Turkish hospitals and thematic analysis of interview transcripts, using a blended (deductive and inductive) approach.

Findings

The policy fostered discretionary behaviours such as cherry-picking (high volume, low risk procedures) and pro-social rule-breaking (e.g. “upcoding”), highlighting clinical autonomy to navigate within policy restrictions. Respondents described damage to relationships with patients and colleagues, and dissonance between professional practice and perverse policy incentives, sometimes leading to disengagement from clinical work. Policymakers were perceived to be detached from the realities experienced by SLBs. Tensions between the policy and professional values risked alienating physicians.

Research limitations/implications

This study utilises participant self-reported perceptions of discretionary behaviours. Further work may adopt alternative methods to explore the relationship between self-reporting and observed practice.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to research on differentiated, contingent roles of groups with high scope for discretion in bottom-up implementation, pointing to the potential for policy-professional role conflicts between top-down P4P policies, and the values and codes of practice of professional SLBs.

Details

International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 36 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3558

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 March 2024

Lluis Francesc Peris Cancio and Maria Alexandra Monteiro Mustafá

The purpose of this article’s research was threefold. Firstly, it aimed to investigate how social services professionals coped during the pandemic period by comparing their…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article’s research was threefold. Firstly, it aimed to investigate how social services professionals coped during the pandemic period by comparing their involvement in five different national contexts. Secondly, it analysed how these professionals have performed their duties according to the street-level bureaucracy theory. Finally, the third question examines social workers' strategies to guide their professional role when they may have had more discretion in their actions. The research also examined whether discretion has increased during this phase and, if so, how it has been exercised.

Design/methodology/approach

This article is based on the findings of the project called “Theory and Practice of Social Work in the World in Times of Pandemic”, which was funded by the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW). The project involved 11 universities across five countries in Europe and Latin America, including Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Spain and Sweden. The research was conducted over 24 months to analyse the practices and measures taken to protect vulnerable people by adapting social services during the extraordinary period of the pandemic. In addition, the research explored how the awareness of emergency arose among social workers and how it influenced the services delivered from the perspective of the street-level bureaucracy theory. In different countries, the level of resourcefulness of services has varied based on their recognition of the severity of the pandemic and the impact of the government’s narratives. In some cases, these narratives have been conspiratorial or even anti-scientific. Additionally, there has been a reduction in the distance between professionals and clients, increased inequalities in access to services and a positive reassessment of the potential of new professional tools, such as digital social work, in establishing a trusting relationship.

Findings

As revealed in the interviews, the elements shaping this high degree of discretion among social workers can be classified into three levels: macro- and micro- (Saruis, 2015) plus a meso-level. Each level has four significant aspects. At the macro-level, these are legislation, public information, large associationism and integration of the social services-health system. At the meso-level, these are interpretations of role performance by managers technical equipment, self-organization and community action. The micro-level pertains to personal and family situations, emotions, ethics and social workers' direct relationships with those in charge.

Research limitations/implications

This study investigated how social workers responded to the Covid-19 pandemic. The data gathered sheds light on their understanding of the situation, as well as the differences in experiences across the five countries studied. However, it is essential to note that the findings may not apply to all situations or countries. Nevertheless, this research serves as a stepping stone for future studies to delve deeper into the results and explore them in greater detail .

Practical implications

The study highlights the crucial role of social workers as street-level workers in managing, negotiating and creating meaning in the interaction between professionals and the people they serve. This is especially relevant in Latin America. Additionally, the study emphasizes the significance of social workers as policy actors and the political nature of social work practice. The findings also underscore the importance of effective communication and collaboration between social workers, their teams and the organizations they work for. The sources cited in the study are Barberis and Boccagni (2014) and Cuadra and Staaf (2014). The research has also underscored the potential of social service workers to build networks and cooperate. Such networking can play a vital role in implementing their acquired knowledge. The study has, therefore, emphasized the importance of social workers being an integral part of the societies they serve. They need to continuously enhance their communication skills, using all the necessary tools to gain a comprehensive and updated understanding of the evolving needs of their clients. Integrating digital social work as a mode of service provision has emerged as a crucial aspect, especially in the three European countries observed. This approach has demonstrated its potential and is expected to continue being a part of services to some extent, even after the return to normalcy. However, it is essential to ensure that the accessibility and proximity of services are not compromised in any way.

Social implications

An unexpected result was observed during the research: the pandemic circumstances have led to valuable reflections. These reflections can help in rethinking and recreating social services. Social workers have been given a unique opportunity to return to the essence of their profession and develop less bureaucratic and more humane ways of working. This experience has also enabled them to recover a closer relationship with the people they serve. To sum up, this study emphasizes that social workers, when given more leeway in their work, rely on cultivating and upholding relationships with other professionals, organizations and stakeholders to stay connected with the community they serve. This is crucial for ensuring the delivery of effective and sustainable social services.

Originality/value

The research employed a thematic analysis approach (Bazeley, 2007) to identify themes related to the concept of consciousness as derived from the field experiences of social workers. Additionally, an in-case and cross-case analysis method (Fereday and Muir-Cochrane, 2006) was used to connect themes related to individual experiences with those gathered from the overall experiences.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 44 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 January 2024

Sergio Sánchez-Castiñeira

This study aims to identify the street-level approaches of professional workers in complex public social service organisations when attending to social assistance claimants.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to identify the street-level approaches of professional workers in complex public social service organisations when attending to social assistance claimants.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed a multifaceted approach comprising documentary analysis, semi-structured individual interviews (17) and focus group discussions (8) with qualified frontline social workers from primary care social services in Tarragona.

Findings

Social workers embodied three specific sets of cognitive, normative and emotional dispositions when attending to people with low incomes. First, the compassionate approach conceives clients as defensive regarding social services and emotionally vulnerable because of deprivation. Second, the instructional approach frames clients as being baffled by a new, precarious, institutional and economic context. They also lack information, abilities and the proper mindset to conceive of and attain available welfare and occupational resources. Third, the enforcement approach tends to define clients as suspicious, trying to obtain an excessive and unfair advantage of the welfare system that would eventually hamper their social opportunities.

Originality/value

Research thus far has tended to define public social assistance programmes in Southern welfare state contexts as mostly inefficient and hardly relevant residual social policies. The street-level approach shows that social workers try to resist the mere administrative processing of benefits, which is a professionally troubling and organisationally unsustainable way to proceed. They attempt to help clients by providing inclusive content in order to implement their benefits.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 44 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 February 2024

Charles Gillon, Michael J. Ostwald and Hazel Easthope

The architectural profession faces an increasingly complex ethical landscape. In recent decades, the ethical foundations for architecture – formally defined in professional codes…

Abstract

Purpose

The architectural profession faces an increasingly complex ethical landscape. In recent decades, the ethical foundations for architecture – formally defined in professional codes of conduct and reflected in regulatory frameworks – have expanded to incorporate imperatives derived from environmental and social responsibilities. The present research examines how these expanding ethical expectations are reflected in, and supported by, recent research about architectural ethics.

Design/methodology/approach

Analysis is based on a systematic review of recent research (2002–2023) focussing on ethical values and associated behaviours in the architectural profession. The review identifies 37 research articles (from a starting set of 2,483 articles), which are analysed empirically and then qualitatively to draw out views around three types of ethical behaviour. The paper then discusses how these findings align thematically with the evolving ethical needs of architectural practitioners (as defined in the professional codes of ethics and conduct of the RIBA in the UK, AIA in Australia and the AIA in the USA).

Findings

While business ethics remains the focus of past research, there has been a rise in research about ethics and social and environmental factors. The content of professional codes reflects this shift, setting the conditions for architects to aspire to increased expectations of environmental and social responsibility.

Originality/value

This article undertakes the first systematic review of recent research about architectural ethics and its alignment with the content of contemporary professional codes. Organised thematically, recent research about ethical values and associated behaviours can offer guidance for the evolving ethical needs of architects.

Details

Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-6862

Keywords

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