Martyn Higgins

Bio: Martyn Higgins is an academic researcher from London South Bank University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Social work & Social change. The author has an hindex of 8, co-authored 25 publications receiving 181 citations.

Reluctant Gangsters Revisited: The Evolution of Gangs from Postcodes to Profits

Abstract: The aim of the current study was to understand how gangs have changed in the past 10 years since Pitts’ (2008) study in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The study undertook interviews with 21 practitioners working on gang-related issues and 10 young people affected by gangs or formerly embedded in them. Two focus groups involving 37 participants from key agencies then explored the preliminary findings and contributed to a conceptualization of a new operating model of gangs. The study found that local gangs had evolved into more organized and profit-oriented entities than a decade earlier. The new operating model rejected visible signs of gang membership as ‘bad for business’ because they attracted unwanted attention from law enforcement agencies. Faced with a saturated drugs market in London, gangs moved out to capture drugs markets in smaller UK towns in ‘county lines’ activities. This more business-oriented ethos has changed the meaning of both territory and violence. While gang members in the original study described an emotional connection with their postcode, territory is increasingly regarded as a marketplace to be protected. Similarly, violence has moved from an expressive means of reinforcing gang identity to being increasingly used as an instrumental means of protecting business interests. The current study offers a rare opportunity to gain a picture of gangs at two time periods and contributes to work on the contested nature of UK gangs and renewed interest in gang evolution. These findings have important implications for local authorities and criminal justice agencies who need to address the profit motive of gang activity directly.

The Struggle for the Soul of Social Work in England

Abstract: There is a debate or struggle for the nature and future of social work in England. This tension is between a narrow or limited type of practice and a broader and emancipatory social work, grounded in the International Federation of Social Work and the wider conception of the profession in other European states. The limited model of social work seems to provide a dominant paradigm, which may result in the loss of a more visionary and humane social work. This is a qualitative study of an undergraduate social work programme in England. There were 48 participants, comprised of academics, students, service users and practice educators. Interviews and focus groups were used and a thematic analysis was undertaken. The key finding of this study is that the paradigm of state or statutory social work in England threatens to replace a broad conception of social work as understood in such definitions as the International Federation of Social Work and social work in other European states.

Can a Munro-Inspired Approach Transform the Lives of Looked after Children in England?

Abstract: This discussion paper will examine the lessons from the Munro Review relevant for looked after children. Although the Munro Review focuses on child protection, we will argue that some of its key principles have relevance for understanding looked after childhoods. The Munro Review provides an analysis of the current state of the child protection system, challenging bureaucratised practice and arguing for a reclaiming of professional social work identity, knowledge and understanding. There are three key principles of the Munro Review that this paper will focus upon. The first two are the recognition that risk cannot be eradicated and the bureaucratisation of practice is an inadequate response to the demand for public accountability. The third principle is that ethical integrity lies at the heart of services for children in public care. The key message of this paper is that a Munro approach can transform looked after childhoods. However, the current ‘child protection’ model of social work in England may prev...

The archaeology of knowledge

Abstract: We may not be able to make you love reading, but archaeology of knowledge will lead you to love reading starting from now. Book is the window to open the new world. The world that you want is in the better stage and level. World will always guide you to even the prestige stage of the life. You know, this is some of how reading will give you the kindness. In this case, more books you read more knowledge you know, but it can mean also the bore is full.

New labour, new language?

Abstract: ![][1] Norman Fairclough Routledge, £9.99, pp 178 ISBN 0 415 21827 6 Rating: ![Graphic][2] ![Graphic][3] ![Graphic][4] ![Graphic][5] “I can suck melancholy out of a song,” says Shakespeare's Jaques, “as a weasel sucks eggs.” Hence the phrase “weasel words,” coined for political purposes in the United States at the end of the 19th century and used (most famously by Theodore Roosevelt, criticising President Woodrow Wilson) to describe rhetoric that sounds as if it has substance but is actually empty of specific meaning, or is at best ambiguous and vague. All competent politicians know, often purely instinctively, how to coin weasel words, or at least how to use them. But none is as good at it as Tony Blair and “new Labour,” according to Norman Fairclough in this penetrating disquisition, refreshingly free of sociolinguistic jargon and bolstered by linguistic evidence and analysis. Some short words make superb weasels. Like “we.” Not much ambiguity there, you might think. But “we” … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif [2]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif [3]: /embed/inline-graphic-2.gif [4]: /embed/inline-graphic-3.gif [5]: /embed/inline-graphic-4.gif

Synthesing Qualitative and Quantitative Health Evidence

Abstract: Synthesing Qualitative and Quantitative Health Evidence , Synthesing Qualitative and Quantitative Health Evidence , کتابخانه دیجیتال جندی شاپور اهواز