Gillie Ruscombe-King, Laura Mackenzie, Steve Pearce and Kate Saunders
The mentalisation based therapeutic community (MBTC) is a group experience which promotes the acquisition of the capacity to mentalise. Members of the community gain greater…
Abstract
Purpose
The mentalisation based therapeutic community (MBTC) is a group experience which promotes the acquisition of the capacity to mentalise. Members of the community gain greater emotional stability and psychological robustness. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
MBTC works with three theoretical principles: the intrapsychic, interpersonal and social. It is a slow open group where each member completes a ten-week course. The approach is deliberately non-interpretive with an emphasis on personal responsibility and accountability in order to promote clarity of mind.
Findings
The authors’ experience is that the model engages group members with few drop outs.
Originality/value
The combination of mentalising and the use of therapeutic community principles within in MBTC has enhanced outcomes for group members.
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Discusses physical and psychological barriers to libraryuse, including access, inadequate guiding, noise level,classification and cataloguing systems and staffattitudes. Libraries…
Abstract
Discusses physical and psychological barriers to library use, including access, inadequate guiding, noise level, classification and cataloguing systems and staff attitudes. Libraries need to play a more proactive role in encouraging members and potential members to makc fuller and better use of their services.
The chapter discusses the question of social justice in social science research by problematizing the researcher-research content relationship and its guiding principle framework…
Abstract
The chapter discusses the question of social justice in social science research by problematizing the researcher-research content relationship and its guiding principle framework Science-Society-Me. With a focus on early career researchers, the author draws on her own PhD research experience to highlight the social justice tension inherent in the normative approaches and methods for selecting research topic, collecting data and relating with research participants, and analyzing and interpreting data especially in empirical research with fellow human beings. Drawing on the theory of affect, the chapter centralizes the position, biography and experience of the researcher, and the relationship between the researcher and the research participants to balance out the privileged (power) position of ‘science’ and ‘society’ in the current framework. To this end, I make two ontological and methodological adjustment recommendations: (1) Relocating the space of research from a fixed and exclusive ‘location’ of science theories, methods, concepts etc., to the space of daily life experience and interaction, requiring a compassionate approach to research, and thus the second recommendation; (2) Developing long-term, inclusive and equal relationships with research participants augmented by constant reflexivity – as including the biographies and experiences of the researcher and the research participant – as well as political reflexivity.
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Jonathan Bradshaw and Oleksandr Movshuk
The secondary analysis of the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) is used to examine inequality in the United Kingdom compared with other European…
Abstract
The secondary analysis of the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) is used to examine inequality in the United Kingdom compared with other European Union (EU) countries and to analyse how inequality has changed over the period from the start of the great financial crisis in 2008–2015. The analysis compares inequality in market income, gross income and disposable incomes, and measured inequality using the Gini coefficient, 80/20 and 90/10 ratios. It includes an analysis of the impact of cash benefits and direct taxes on market income and how the composition of households in different parts of the income distribution has changed over time. In addition, inequality within the EU is explored. The chapter concludes with a discussion of what contribution the EU itself through its own institutions and policies plays in mitigating market inequalities. We find that the distribution of market income in the United Kingdom is comparatively unequal, but the UK’s relative position on disposable income is greatly improved, due to an effective system of direct taxes and transfers. The conclusions remain broadly similar for all the inequality indices that are considered. There is evidence that households with children have moved down the distribution between 2008 and 2014 and aged households have moved up the distribution in most EU countries including the United Kingdom. The chapter concludes that EU policies have relatively little impact on inequality and that inequalities can really only be tackled using national redistributive policies.
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Heikki Hiilamo and Olli Kangas
In their income inequality theory (IIT), Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett posit that income inequality is at the heart of social “ills”. However, their critics argue that the…
Abstract
Purpose
In their income inequality theory (IIT), Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett posit that income inequality is at the heart of social “ills”. However, their critics argue that the hypothesis is biased and that “cherry picking” is used and support for the IIT is obtained by selecting a suitable sample of countries. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
With a sample of 127 countries, the authors study to what extent the correlation between income inequality and social “ills” varies among countries sampled by geography, religion and income level.
Findings
The results of the analysis show that the strength and sometimes the direction of connections between inequality and social “ills” vary according to countries’ cultural background and historical legacies. The IIT is not a universal law. However, it is on a firmer footing than competing explanations.
Originality/value
The results contribute both to material and methodological debate on consequences of income inequality.
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Mark Piney, Diane Llewellyn, Rachel O'Hara, John Saunders, John Cocker, Kate Jones and David Fishwick
Exposure to isocyanates was the leading cause of occupational asthma in the UK. Motor vehicle repair (MVR) bodyshop paint sprayers were at greatest risk, despite widespread use of…
Abstract
Purpose
Exposure to isocyanates was the leading cause of occupational asthma in the UK. Motor vehicle repair (MVR) bodyshop paint sprayers were at greatest risk, despite widespread use of air-fed breathing apparatus and ventilated booths. Most paint sprayers work in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) project, described in this paper, is to improve exposure control measures in at least 20 per cent of MVR bodyshops, and reduce the risk of occupational asthma. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
A three-stranded plan consisted of: Safety and Health Awareness Days (SHADs); workplace inspections; and third-party stakeholder communications. The impact of various parts of the project were evaluated.
Findings
Approximately 18 per cent of bodyshops in the UK attended one of 32 SHADs, following which over 90 per cent of delegates expressed an “intention to act” to improve exposure control measures. A local assessment showed that at least 50 per cent of bodyshops improved exposure control measures. An evaluation of 109 inspections found that enforcement action was taken at 40 per cent of visits. Third-party engagement produced a joint HSE-industry designed poster, new agreed guidance on spray booths and dissemination of SHAD material. Knowledge of booth clearance time has become widespread, and 85 per cent of booths now have pressure gauges. Biological monitoring data show that, post-SHAD, exposures were lower.
Originality/value
A sustained national project using clear, relevant, tested messages delivered via different routes, had a sector-wide impact in bodyshops. It is probable that the project has improved isocyanate exposure control in at least 20 per cent of bodyshops. The generic lessons could be applied to other widespread SME businesses.
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Louise Gillies and Helen M. Burrows
Families conduct their affairs through processes that are built upon those of previous generations and also social capacities such as culture, class, oppression and poverty. The…
Abstract
Families conduct their affairs through processes that are built upon those of previous generations and also social capacities such as culture, class, oppression and poverty. The media has played a part in stereotyping the lower classes through their portrayal on the television programmes such as Benefits Street and Jeremy Kyle and tabloid newspaper stories. This chapter is a case study of two families who are at the opposing ends of the social scale, the Horrobin/Carter and Aldridge families. The two families were chosen due to them being linked by marriage in the younger generation. Through the use of genograms, we explore how the families differ in their attitudes towards relationships within their individual families, and also how they relate to each other as separate family groups. Despite the many differences, there are also a number of key similarities, particularly regarding the key females in the families, in terms of family background and snobbery. We also show that there is little family loyalty in the more privileged family and a power differential between the two families (oppressors vs. oppressed) in terms of the crimes committed.
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This article explores the meanings of societal marketing in the context of AIDS community‐based organizations (CBOs). Studies have investigated the practice of relationship…
Abstract
This article explores the meanings of societal marketing in the context of AIDS community‐based organizations (CBOs). Studies have investigated the practice of relationship marketing in for‐profit businesses, but we have yet to understand fully the practice of relationship marketing in the vast and socially important not‐for‐profit or philanthropic sectors that practise societal marketing. Four ways in which therapeutic or “revivalist” discourse is cultivated and appropriated by clients are elaborated: reproduction of community, the use of metaphor, encouraging reflexive self‐development, and tangibilizing grief. Implications for customer intimacy and relationship marketing in the societal marketing sector are elaborated.
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Kate Warren, Sam Ramaiah and Rehman Teagle
As part of an initial needs assessment for a community development project to improve access to health and social care services for new migrants, a local epidemiological profile…
Abstract
As part of an initial needs assessment for a community development project to improve access to health and social care services for new migrants, a local epidemiological profile of new migrants was produced for Walsall in the West Midlands. Data were compiled from Office for National Statistics estimates of international migration, National Insurance Number applications from overseas nationals, ‘Flag 4’ GP registrations by new immigrants, United Kingdom Border Agency asylum bulletins, and Citizens Advice Bureau immigration queries. It is estimated that there has been a steady influx of between 800 and 1,400 new migrants per year into Walsall. The majority are young adults from Asia and Eastern Europe, and are living in the southern part of the borough. This information needs to be updated regularly, shared with relevant partners and used to inform commissioning decisions.