Kingsley Purdam, Aneez Esmail and Elisabeth Garratt
The purpose of this paper is to present findings from research into food insecurity amongst older people aged 50 years and older in the UK.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present findings from research into food insecurity amongst older people aged 50 years and older in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses secondary analysis of national-level survey data and semi-structured interviews with older people receiving emergency food from foodbanks.
Findings
There is a forgotten care gap in the UK where a substantial number of older people are living in food insecurity. Many older people live alone and in poverty, and increasing numbers are constrained in their spending on food and are skipping meals. Food insecurity amongst older people can be hidden. Within families a number of older people were trying to ensure that their children and grandchildren had enough to eat, but were reluctant to ask for help themselves.
Research limitations/implications
The broad categorisation of older people aged 50 and above comprises people in very different circumstances. The qualitative component of the research was undertaken across various sites in a single city in England. Despite these limitations, the analysis provides important insights into the experiences of the many older people enduring food insecurity.
Practical implications
An increased public and professional awareness of food insecurity amongst older people is needed. Increased routine screening for under-nutrition risk is a priority. Policy initiatives are needed that are multifaceted and which support older people across a range of age groups, particularly those living alone.
Social implications
Food insecurity amongst older people in the UK raises questions about the present policy approach and the responsibilities of the government.
Originality/value
The research provides important new insights into the experiences of the many older people experiencing food insecurity in the UK by drawing on survey data and interviews with older people using foodbanks.
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This paper sets out to explore the relationship between gender, New Public Management (NPM), citizenship and professional and user group identities and relationships within child…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper sets out to explore the relationship between gender, New Public Management (NPM), citizenship and professional and user group identities and relationships within child care social work practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper utilises findings from a major comparative survey undertaken in Denmark and the UK as part of Doctoral research. In addition the paper draws upon more recent empirical research carried out by the author in Sweden.
Findings
Paradigms imported from the private sector have led to the adoption of NPM, fiscal austerity and the reorganisation of childcare social work throughout Europe. This paper illustrates the connectivities between NPM, gender, citizenship and the contested terrains within which professional and user group relationships and identities are being forged. The paper offers a unique insight into the operationalisation of NPM and gender within childcare professional social work practice in different European settings.
Research limitations/implications
The paper's findings may be used to contribute to existing theoretical and empirical knowledge within the field of professional childcare social work and practice.
Originality/value
The paper offers a unique insight into the operationalisation of gender equality as a normative ideal premised on the development of organisational and legal settings which embrace an awareness of the duality of public and private spheres and the impact of different European welfare settings on the articulations of notions of gender and citizenship, which in turn operationalise processes of inclusion and exclusion of women as citizens, workers and parents.
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In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine how perceptions of organizational justice and social-focussed personal values influence perceived discrimination against immigrants in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how perceptions of organizational justice and social-focussed personal values influence perceived discrimination against immigrants in the workplace.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 224 employees of a mental health clinic in Norway completed Schwartz’s Portrait Values Questionnaire that measures personal values, Colquitt’s Organizational Justice Scale, and scale measuring perceived discrimination against immigrant in the workplace.
Findings
Perceived organizational justice and the social-focussed value universalism contributed significantly in explaining variance in perceived discrimination against immigrants in the workplace. Employees who scored low on perceived organizational justice scored high on perceived discrimination against immigrants, and employees who scored high on the value universalism scored high on perceived discrimination against immigrants in the workplace.
Research limitations/implications
The cross-sectional design cannot determine causality. The direction of the relationship between the variables is founded on prevailing empirical and theoretical contributions in the field.
Practical implications
Cultural diversity training programs should make employees aware of how their personal values and personal justice experiences influence their perceptions of discrimination against immigrants. Culturally diverse workplaces could benefit from recruiting employees who emphasize universalism.
Originality/value
Co-workers’ perception of exclusion and discriminating behavior against immigrants in the workplace is critical in order to reduce such unjust treatment. There is limited research on factors that influence perceptions of discrimination against others.