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This article considers how undocumented youth in the UK survive and construct their everyday lives in precarious circumstances. Drawing on multiple in-depth narrative interviews with (n = 7) undocumented youth, I illustrate how these young people focus on the future and engage in purposeful activities as a way of enduring the everyday challenges of living with no papers. I reflect on the relationships, which young people draw on to enable them to endure adversity and rebuild their everyday lives. I conclude that the presence of love and community is critical for young people's survival, safety and wellbeing, and I suggest how practitioners and researchers might make use of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of Vietnamese nationals consistently having some of the highest numbers of referrals into the UK's National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is increasingly apparent. However, this did not gather nationwide attention until the Essex tragedy of October 2019 which saw 39 Vietnamese nationals found lifeless in a lorry after they were brought into the country by a criminal network of human traffickers and smugglers. This paper seeks to understand the circumstances of these Vietnamese victims of human trafficking to the Britain by reviewing the situation in both countries—Vietnam and the UK. Three instances of Vietnamese nationals trafficked to the UK have been chosen as case studies. Through semi-structured interviews, issues regarding how voluntary migration led these vulnerable people into slavery will be explored and this will be analysed alongside a review of literature in the field. This paper reveals the complexity of the matter, which is primarily derived from the multinational nature of trafficking and the different attitudes and approaches of the various countries involved, as well as the difficulty facing the authorities when combating this particular crime involving this specific group of vulnerable people, especially in terms of victim support. The ultimate goal of this paper is to offer authorities and practitioners in both countries a fresh review of the challenges in supporting these victims, and to redirect their focus on the obstacles to addressing Vietnamese trafficking. These obstacles include the prevalence of—often illicit—labour-exporting companies in Vietnam, instances of initial voluntary engagement in labour migration relationships which later become coercive, and the failure of the UK and Vietnam to agree what constitutes a genuine trafficking victim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on empirical data generated in the 'Everyday Bordering in the UK' project, with a focus on the experiences of people seeking asylum and hoping to establish a safe life in the UK. Specifically, we show that during the process of claiming asylum, people's experiences of waiting and displacement—practices inherent in UK immigration policies—work as time- and space-based dimensions of power that are imbued with colonial logic. Existing studies apply the lens of Foucault's governmentality approach to politics regulating people seeking asylum. In particular, the international literature describes the policy of dispersal, and associated periods of waiting, as a dynamic of power used by governments to control and regulate behaviours. However, these time- and space-related experiences are often considered separately, focusing on the rationalities underpinning these politics. This paper, by contrast, develops Foucault's theories by examining how these two characteristics interconnect in the lived realities of people waiting for an asylum decision in the UK to create racialised politics of power and privilege that reproduce the colonial origins of European migration governance. In doing so, we contribute by illustrating how practices within the UK asylum system can be embodied by people seeking asylum to create a subject that modifies behaviours in response to being positioned as 'less deserving' than UK citizens—the 'colonised self'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the drivers and processes of forced migration may overlap for people seeking refuge or experiencing human trafficking, responses are invariably rooted in legislation and policy rather than empirical enquiry. In the UK, tightening of legislation around asylum has, for the past three decades, resulted in a 'hostile environment'. During this time, a discourse around human trafficking (also referred to as 'modern slavery' in the UK) has emerged. This paper looks at asylum and human trafficking in the UK to consider a fractioning of protection and resulting fractioning of support for basic needs and welfare provision, provided through the establishment of parallel systems of support for both populations. This paper explores the distinctions, interface, key points of contact, and disconnects between asylum and trafficking in the UK. It details the trajectory of asylum policy, provides an overview of the pre-history to the hostile environment, the impacts of fractioning refugee protection, and what this means for trust as a result. It is argued that trust is an essential component of UK government policies but that the trajectory of asylum policy from a focus on integration to a culture of hostility runs directly counter to efforts to identify 'victims' of 'modern slavery'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since at least 2012, UK housing providers (and policy makers) have introduced policies aimed at developing autonomy and independence among service users, through an agenda sometimes referred to as 'responsibilisation'. This paper considers the role that technologies play in this agenda, through an analysis of how wellbeing and independence are facilitated amongst older social housing tenants. Based on case studies of four supported housing schemes in England, the research considers the capacity to exercise agency amongst older persons, through their willingness and ability to accept technological interventions, and the role of support networks to facilitate independent living. Using the concept of modalities of agency, the research examines the impact of implementing 'low-level' assistive technologies in the home, based on the perspectives of residents and staff. The interventions studied were designed to improve social relationships, promote self-sufficiency and support self-managed care (based on the principle that the most effective projects facilitate individual agency). The research findings identified that residents responded differentially to technology, based on their levels of capability, motivation, reluctance and resistance. Whilst the study demonstrated that small technological innovations could have disproportionately positive impacts in improving wellbeing, the research demonstrates the complex nature of agency and limits of responsibility. The paper argues that responsibilisation is part of a wider neoliberal project, where choice and agency are manufactured to create an idealised notion of the autonomous actor (in this case through technology-enabled care). The article argues that a collaborative approach to service provision in which responsibility is shared, via co-managed care, is a more effective means of enhancing agency, than one which advocates a withdrawal of support (in the guise of autonomy). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of social media use has been phenomenal, particularly during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, Facebook has also seen its share of users rise at a meteoric rate. At the same time, the academy is producing a growing body of literature concerning the use of online methods for primary data collection. Yet, despite the increase in the use of the internet as a research tool, very little still exists on the use of social media to recruit research participants, particularly those deemed "socially invisible". This paper addresses this gap. Another research project explored the experiences of South Asian women who had departed the social norms of arranged marriage to form an intimate relationship with a partner of choice and who then experienced forms of gender-related violence (GRV). The project encountered difficulties in recruiting participants from this marginalised and often invisible group in UK society, who are often too frightened or ashamed to come forward. This study demonstrates how to use Facebook ethically and methodologically, highlighting some of the methods used to overcome the challenges that were presented. The research was undertaken before the COVID-19 pandemic (which prompted a widespread use of social media in social science research). We argue that, despite the ethical challenges, the advantages of using social media to recruit participants when researching a highly sensitive topic such as GRV with 'invisible groups' was highly beneficial. We therefore suggest that social media should be an integral part of the research recruitment process, alongside non-digital methods, so that other 'invisible groups' are not created comprising those who cannot access technology. We share the lessons learned for the benefit of researchers using a similar approach today when recruiting research participants from invisible and marginalised groups. The authors caveat their recommendation of using social media with suggesting that those who do not have high levels of experience of data collection with such cohorts instead consider working with gatekeepers to facilitate the recruitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK refugee sector encompasses welfare provision, systems advocacy, capacity development and research. However, to date there has been little attention on refugees' experiences of the support provided by these services or on the views of the practitioners who deliver them. This paper draws from interviews and workshops with thirty refugee beneficiaries of an integration service in Scotland and twenty practitioners to shed light on how refugees and practitioners perceive and provide meaning to the work of the refugee sector. We identify refugee sector organisations as crucial nodes in refugees' social networks and explore the multiple roles they play in the integration process. Firstly, we confirm that refugee organisations act as connectors, linking refugees with wider networks of support. Secondly, we demonstrate that the work of the refugee sector involves acts of care that are of intrinsic value to refugees, over and above the achievement of tangible integration outcomes. Finally, we demonstrate that this care also involves acts that seek to overcome and subvert statutory system barriers. We propose to understand these acts as forms of "practice-based resistance" necessitated by a hostile policy environment. The findings expand on understandings of the refugee sector, its role in integration and the multi-faceted nature of integration processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers United Kingdom welfare provision for asylum seekers in the context of social protection scholarship, policy discourse more commonly associated with international development. Social protection definitions are contested, ranging from those focused on state provision to wider interpretations reflecting debates on holistic wellbeing, human rights and self-actualisation. Most recently, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has called for social protection policies for all citizens to reduce inequality among and within countries. Though there is exigency to reduce the extreme inequality existing between countries, literature is lacking on how social protection can be used to critique inequality within more economically affluent nations. Commentaries on social protection also tend to focus on economic poverty, with less attention given to vulnerabilities such as marginalisation. Literature suggests that UK asylum welfare provision is based on deterrence, control and marginalisation. In response, and to encourage equity in how all countries' public policy is assessed, this paper utilises an international social protection framework to critique UK asylum welfare provision. It concludes by advocating for transdisciplinary, human-centred and comprehensive social protection policy design, encouraging participation by a wider range of stakeholders and a holistic understanding of wellbeing to meet asylum seekers' needs effectively and efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars are interested in better understanding the low fertility observed in higher income countries. While some people are choosing to have smaller families, countries also report a 'fertility gap', which is the proportion of people who end up with fewer children than originally desired. This paper investigates some causes of the fertility gap in the UK. We amassed qualitative data from seven focus groups conducted among men and women of reproductive age with different educational backgrounds. These focus groups suggest that social support is an influential factor for Britons thinking about having children, although discussions differed in terms of whether this was support from partners or parents. Discussions with university-educated women featured themes of career opportunity costs, and non-university men contributed insights on the financial burden of parenthood. This exploratory study provides up-to-date material on unwanted childlessness and the low fertility in the UK, and highlights the merit of using qualitative methods in understanding the fertility gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper brings together two qualitative studies exploring how domestic violence and abuse (DVA) manifests within UK Muslim communities. Study one was conducted with UK-based Muslim female survivors of DVA (n = 10). Study two was conducted with UK professionals working in a supportive capacity with both DVA victims/survivors and those perpetrating abuse within Muslim communities (n = 9). Through a multi-perspective interpretative phenomenological lens, the two data sets were analysed for overarching themes. These themes were subsequently used to develop a graphical representation of the findings. The resulting outcome was the web model of DVA. The model identifies the trajectories and interactions at four levels in relation to DVA in Muslim communities. It is argued that this model has increased capacity for understanding the extended nature of how DVA manifests for UK Muslim communities, with a particular emphasis on the active role of faith and additional nuances often missed by singular methodological approaches. The model is recommended for use by services as a means toward individually tailored client care. Recommendations are made in relation to inclusive and decolonial approaches within gender-related violence research relating to minority communities in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narratives play a pivotal role in solving complex problems, as they provide an interpretive framework for facilitating the solution to a given challenge. We presume that if the basis of a narrative applied to a complex problem is incorrect, the interpretation of the problem will also be distorted. Therefore, solutions that are primarily low-efficiency in nature demand new or "rframed" narratives. We examine this premise through the case of the United Kingdom in the light of changes in narratives created to solve regional inequalities, particularly regarding the interpretative framework of the "Levelling Up" policy agenda and narrative, which was introduced by the government of Boris Johnson. Additionally, we conducted a literature review on the Levelling Up policy to provide a supplementary theoretical background beyond the concept of narratives. Conclusions on narratives and Levelling Up are also outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic, policy, and public concerns are intensifying around how to respond to increasing mental health problems amongst young people in OECD countries such as the UK and Australia. In this paper we make the case that public knowledge about mental health promotion, help-seeking, support and recovery can be understood as an enactment of public pedagogy--as knowledge practices and processes that are produced within and beyond formal spaces of learning. We explore the question of how new pedagogic modes of address are produced through digital technologies--social media, gamified therapies, e-mental health literacy, wearable technology--as they invite particular ways of knowing embodied distress as "mental illness or ill health." The rapid growth of formal and informal pedagogical sites for learning about youth mental health raises questions about the affective arrangements that produce new kinds of (ab)normal in the digital era. Through a posthumanist perspective that connects critical mental health studies and public pedagogy, this paper offers an original contribution that theorises pedagogic sites within the cultural formation of public-personal knowledge about mental (ill) health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the twenty years that mixed race has been on the United Kingdom (UK) censuses, the main story of mixed race in the UK remains one notable for its nominal presence and widespread absence in national discourses on race and ethnicity, racialisation, and racisms. The article explores reasons for this through connecting the continued presence/absence of mixed race in public discursive spheres to the role that White supremacy continues to play at systemic, structural, and institutional levels within UK society. As technologies of White supremacy, the article argues that continued marginalisation of mixed race has a direct connection to systemic, structural, and institutional aspects of race, racialisation, and racisms. Using three case studies, the article will use race-critical analyses to examine the ways that mixed race is present and—more often—absent at three societal levels: the state, institution, and civil society and voluntary and community sector. The paper will conclude by exploring key broad consequences for the persistent and common presence/absence of mixed race within race and racisms discourses as a technology of political power. Working in tandem, the paper exposes that presence/absence continues to affect mixed race people—and all racialised people—living in and under White supremacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gendered understandings of housing transitions amongst women and especially amongst those in substance use disorder recovery are under-researched. To address this gap, this study explores the multifaceted challenges and pathways to housing stability amongst women in substance use disorder recovery in the UK. Through qualitative analysis of life course interviews with 15 women in recovery, it becomes evident that housing insecurity, instability, and frequent transitions are common experiences. The women in the sample faced housing instability, ranging from temporary supported accommodations to homelessness. Notably, escaping negative relationships with male partners emerged as a primary cause of homelessness among these women. What this article highlights, which has not been found elsewhere to date, is that housing transitions are essentially a social process for women in recovery. This study highlights the social dimension of housing transitions. The potency of social capital and social networks in determining housing stability and security amongst women is emphasised as they exchange negative forms of social capital for positive forms of social capital. Recommendations stemming from this study include the need for drug recovery and housing policies to integrate gender-specific strategies to adequately support women in recovery. Further, they need to adopt a broader perspective, emphasizing the importance of fostering positive social connections and networks when considering housing options for individuals in recovery. For women who have spent a long time in supported residential and therapeutic environments, there is a need to develop a scaffolded support system to help women transition to independent living. The utilisation of recovery capital (and CHIME) as frameworks may provide a basis upon which to map out holistic and sustainable pathways to housing stability and security for women in recovery due to their acknowledgement of interconnected and related life domains that produce change and transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muslim marriages have gained much attention in public debates and academic research. This article examines marriage practices among displaced Iraqi Shia migrants in the UK. Only a few studies have examined this group and fewer by investigating their marriage practices as a way to preserve their religious and cultural memory (Halbwachs 1992). The article is based on Pierre Nora's concept of lieux de mémoire, which refers to spaces, objects or events that have a significant meaning to a particular groups' collective memory (Nora 1989, 1996). I argue in this paper that the transnational aspects of cultural memory expressed in Shia marriage practices such as rituals, images, and objects among the Iraqi Twelver Shia women in the UK can be regarded as examples of transnational Shia lieux de mémoire. These marriage practices, although appropriated for various personal, social, and religious memories outside of any national framework, are still highly politicized. The article focuses on the practice of sofrat al-'aqd (for short sofra) that provides women with the ability to articulate their religious and social identity through material objects placed on the sofra that act as women's transnational Shia lieux de mémoire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents new insights into the relationship between inequality in access to higher education and social stratification through the analytical lens of refugees' access to high participation systems of higher education (HPS). Taking stock of the growing numbers of refugees and their increasing—yet still marginal—demand for accessing higher education, the paper analyses the specific statuses and rights they are granted, and how they combine in two European Higher Education Area HPS, England and Germany. The comparative analysis draws on the desk-based study of immigration and access to higher education policies and mechanisms for refugees in the two countries. The concept of assemblage is called upon to highlight how complex combinations of asylum, welfare and access to higher education policies lead to differential rights which create different spaces of opportunity for refugees with higher education aspirations. More generally, analysing how these rights intersect allows for a better understanding of inequalities in access to higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of 'aspiration-raising' has been ubiquitous in the discussion of differential rates of participation in higher education in England for many years. Potential students from disadvantaged backgrounds are constructed as setting their sights too low and therefore not considering higher education or ignoring elite universities that they could access. However, it is increasingly understood that aspiration-raising is unable to explain patterns of participation and that it risks 'blaming the victim' by failing to appreciate the structural constraints forged through their sociocultural context. The purpose of this paper is to present an alternative lens in the form of 'possible selves'. This is drawn from the discipline of psychology and aims to explain how we all conceive and develop visions of ourselves in future states. These images create a motivational impetus for actions in the present in order to achieve a like-to-be self—or evade a like-to-avoid self. Notably, the theory takes specific account of the individual's expectations and the importance of having a clear pathway towards a long-term destination. This paper provides an overview of the foundational theory and empirical evidence for a general readership, before presenting a new conceptual model focused on access to higher education. This is then used to explore the principles that might underpin interventions to support participation from disadvantaged groups within highly stratified systems, as well as suggesting a new policy agenda and priorities for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violence is recognised as a cause of health harm, but it is not consistently or adequately captured in healthcare data systems. While administrative health records could be valuable sources of information for measuring violence, they remain underutilised in violence-related research. The present research aims to examine the suitability of violence indicators in emergency care, primary care, and linked healthcare datasets. Descriptive analyses were conducted with the 2015/16 Hospital Episode Statistics Accident and Emergency (HES A&E) and the 2021/22 Emergency Care Data Set (ECDS). The potential of the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) and the South Wales Violence Surveillance dataset (a police and emergency department (ED) dataset linked by Public Health Wales) were shown using available evidence. Among the discussed datasets, the South Wales Violence Surveillance dataset has the most detail about violent acts and their contexts, while the CPRD includes a more extensive range of socioeconomic factors about patients and extensive linkage with other datasets. Currently, detailed safeguarding information is routinely removed from the ECDS extracts provided to researchers, limiting its utility for violence research. In the HES A&E, only physical violence was consistently recorded. Addressing these issues has the potential to improve the use of health administrative data in research on violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There were reported increases in negative emotions such as boredom and loneliness during lockdown; simultaneously, there was a notable increase in new users and activity on online dating platforms (ODPs). While motivations for using ODPs vary widely, there is limited understanding for users' motivations to engage with ODPs in a time when restrictions were in place. To explore users' motivations and the impact COVID-19 had on their online dating experiences during the pandemic semi-structured interviews (N = 12) were conducted in the UK during December 2020–July 2021. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Motivations for using ODPs during the pandemic included addressing negative emotions such as loneliness, but, crucially, they became a necessity for meeting new people and making romantic and non-romantic connections in a time of social isolation. Lockdowns had negative effects on creating and sustaining online connections; however, where online connections were made, lockdowns restricted contact through social distancing and tier systems, limiting the ability to progress a relationship by moving it offline. Online interactions provided a relationship building foundation; however, there was ultimately a need to move the interaction offline in order for the relationship to develop. Findings related to motivations fit with prior literature; however, there was a shift in priorities, with importance being placed on online spaces to meet social needs that were limited due to the pandemic. ODPs were important for society, they provided a space for connection and socialising, which was vital in helping people navigate the solitude of lockdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities continue to experience inequalities within the United Kingdom (UK) mental health system despite major government policy initiatives. Access to higher education for many ethnic minorities remains problematic. Within higher education, BME students consistently face barriers in terms of accessing culturally appropriate services including a lack of cultural understanding, communication issues, and where and how to seek help. This paper attempts to address the problems facing ethnic minorities with regard to accessing mental health services at university. Importantly, this paper highlights that barriers to accessing mental health support for ethnic minorities directly impact upon attainment outcomes and psychological well-being. This study utilizes the narratives of 32 BME university students to examine the impact of negotiating racial inequality and discrimination at university and the impact upon mental health. Aspects examined considered the impact of belonging, isolation, and marginalization on mental health and how this consequently affects university participation for BME students. Utilizing a thematic analysis paradigm, the key findings presented point towards differential healthcare outcomes for ethnic minority university students experiencing mental illness. The empirical findings in this paper suggest that currently ethnic minority service users experience overt discrimination and a lack of access to culturally appropriate services that are cognizant of the racialized plights faced by BME individuals. These findings inform an overarching dialogue, which suggests that mental health service providers need to work more collegially with people from BME communities prior to service design and delivery. Furthermore, the findings suggest that, upon presenting mental health issues, information should be made available in appropriate languages for ethnic minorities to support understanding about their illnesses and how they can seek professional intervention and help. Conclusions and recommendations provided advocate greater diversification of mental health support systems for ethnic minority students within universities. Conclusions drawn will also consider how existing systems can function to dismantle racial inequality within the mental health profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around 2009 some UK universities (based outside of the capital) began to open 'satellite campuses' in London. There are currently 14 such campuses at present, which have been developed primarily with an international student market in mind. Concerns have been raised, however, about the quality of teaching on these campuses and the fact that student attainment is ostensibly falling significantly below that for the 'home' campus. This project is the first of its kind to investigate, systematically, the ways in which universities are representing themselves in relation to these campuses (data include an analysis of prospectuses, YouTube content, websites and material garnered at open days). Using these data, we discuss the role that the City of London plays as a pivotal backdrop to these developments: the way it serves to substitute and compensate for lower levels of resources provided directly to the student from the university (here we consider accommodation, the outsourcing of teaching, the absence of a substantive campus environment and a general lack of focus on 'pedagogical' matters in almost all marketing materials). Instead, the universities place London at the front and centre of attempts to 'sell' the campus to potential students. The paper makes some innovative conceptual links between work in migration studies on the role and function of global cities in attracting workers and the way in which the city operates in this case to attract international students. These campuses feed into debates around the increasing inequalities evidenced as a consequence of the internationalisation of higher education, even when such developments are ostensibly 'domestic'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interpersonal violence comprises a variety of different types of violence that occur between individuals, including violence perpetrated by strangers and acquaintances, intimate partners and family members. Interpersonal violence is a leading cause of death, particularly among young adults. Inconsistencies in definitions and approaches to the measurement of interpersonal violence mean it is difficult to clearly understand its prevalence and the differences and similarities between its different subcategories and contexts. In the UK, specialist services provide support for victim-survivors and also perpetrators of violence. As well as delivering frontline services, specialist services collect data on interpersonal violence, both routinely and for the purpose of research and evaluation. This data has the potential to greatly improve understanding of violence in the UK; however, several issues make this challenging. This review describes and discusses some of the key challenges facing the two types of data collected by specialist services. Key inconsistencies regarding conceptualisation and measurement are identified, along with the implications of these for the synthesis of data, including implications for researchers, service providers, funders and commissioners. Recommendations are proposed to improve practice, the quality of data and, therefore, the understanding of interpersonal violence in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work and allied professions can struggle to accurately assess child neglect. Our research project is developing a new child neglect measurement tool for use by multi-agencies to address this issue. Phase two of this project employed a Delphi study to gather the views of a range of experts to help develop it. There were two important stages to inform the Delphi study: a systematic review of child neglect measures, and three online focus groups with a purposive sample of 16 participants with expertise in child neglect (academics, practitioners, and experts by experience). We then conducted a three-round modified online Delphi study with a purposive sample of 60 international panellists with expertise in child neglect. We followed the CREDES guidelines for the rigorous application of the Delphi technique. The panel generated salient items for the tool and scaled these for importance. The panel reached consensus for 18 items and 15 elements for the tool. The items included neglect type, chronicity, and severity. The elements included hyperlinks to research and the use of 10-point scales. The draft tool is short and may be useable by a range of practitioners in multi-agency settings. It is inclusive of social harms, such as poverty and social isolation. It will now be piloted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the determinants of the massive vote shift that characterised the UK's 2019 elections. To do so, this study firstly investigated opinions expressed by pro-Labour social groups about the hot issues of the political campaign; secondly, it conducted a cross-constituency analysis on the 2019 vote. The present findings reveal that the issues emphasised by the Conservative manifesto tallied with the opinions of traditional left-wing social groups. The cross-constituency statistical analysis confirmed this point and found a significant association between Labour's losses and the territorial distribution of the abovementioned social groups. These findings suggest that the crucial aspect of the vote shift was the Conservatives' appeal to the sociocultural conservativism of part of Labour's traditional voters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article traces the imperial roots of the contemporary asylum–welfare nexus. It explores how English colonial governance exported Poor Law legislation firstly to colonial America (USA) and secondly to British North America (Canada). It argues that these three countries are an Anglophone shared moral space of law and governance, revealing the common unresolved contradictions underpinning contemporary debates about who 'deserves' entry, under what conditions, and why. Historical perspectives unsettle assumptions about the primacy of national geopolitical borders and the exceptionalism of contemporary migration. This article uses historical sociology to trace why and how national sovereignty took primacy over municipalities in controlling the mobility of people and the concomitant moral underpinnings. It then draws on new empirical research in three pioneering 'sanctuary cities' to explore how cities contest the entwining of welfare and migration governance. However, the article explores how these initiatives often reproduce justifications based on 'deservingness' and 'contribution'. Through tracing the common threads that led to these forms of governance, we can understand they are not self-evident. A historical perspective allows us to ask different questions and open realms of alternative possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women are under-represented in leadership roles in United Kingdom Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Existing scholarship focuses on institutional barriers, which include cognitive bias and entrenched homosocial cultures, rather than external factors such as the use of executive search firms (ESFs) in recruitment and selection. Recent research indicates that the use of ESFs is increasing for senior HEI appointments. This analysis offers insights on these firms' involvement from a gender equality perspective, based on the results from a study that used a 'virtuous circle' approach to research and knowledge exchange. The requirement for HEIs to pay 'due regard' to equality considerations under the Public Sector Equality Duty provides a framework for analysis. This paper provides new insights on the dynamics within recruitment processes when ESFs are involved and on how a legislative approach can leverage better equality outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides new important evidence on the spatial dimension of social class inequalities in graduates' labour market outcomes, an aspect largely overlooked within the existing literature. Using data from the HESA Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Early and Longitudinal Survey (DLHE) for the 2008/09 graduate cohort and applying multilevel logistic regression models, we investigate whether and the extent to which social class inequalities in graduates' occupational outcomes vary depending on the job opportunities in the geographical area where they find employment. By examining different macro-level indicators, we find wider social inequalities by parental social class in areas with fewer opportunities in high professional and managerial occupations and smaller inequalities in areas with more opportunities. Interestingly, this pattern applies only to graduates who moved away from their place of origin. We interpret this finding as the result of selective migration, that is, areas with more opportunities attract the better-qualified graduates irrespective of their social origin. Finally, graduates' HE experiences—in particular, their field of study—and sector of employment explain most of the social class gap in areas with fewer job opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between deprivation and health and educational inequalities has been well evidenced in the literature. Recent UK research has now established a similar social gradient in child welfare interventions (Bywaters et al. 2018) with children living in the most deprived areas in the UK facing a much higher chance of being placed on the child protection register or in out-of-home care. There is an emerging narrative that poverty has become the wallpaper of practice, "too big to tackle and too familiar to notice" (Morris et al. 2018) and invisible amid lack of public support and political will to increase welfare spending. This paper will examine poverty-related inequalities and how these affect families. It will discuss the importance of recognising that poverty is a social justice issue and a core task for social work and outline the range of supports that may be available for families to help lift them out of poverty. Finally, it will describe the development of a new practice framework for social work in Northern Ireland that challenges social workers to embed anti-poverty approaches in their practice. The framework emphasises that poverty is a social justice issue, seeks to provide practical support and guidance to re-focus attention, debate, and action on poverty in times of global economic uncertainty and give social workers the tools to make it central to their practice once again. It reinforces the need for social workers to understand and acknowledge the impact of poverty, and to advocate for and support those most in need. It aims to challenge and empower professionals to tackle poverty and inequality as an aspect of ethical and effective practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This project report outlines the findings of an initial exploratory study of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the demand, capacity, and capability of the police within the United Kingdom. Freedom of information requests provide data regarding employees affected by COVID-19, including those working from home. A survey of police employees adds richness by exploring the departments and specialist capabilities affected. Preliminary results indicate a shift in demand away from property-related and violent crime, to online criminality, and disorders such as anti-social behavior and breaches of coronavirus legislation. Combined with high volumes of absent employees throughout 2020, the study postulates a reduction in police satisfaction, trust, and confidence may have occurred in the response to cyber investigation and policing anti-social behavior. Investment in agile technology to increase workforce flexibility and improved contingency planning are identified as requirements to prepare for future pandemics and avoid repetition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term political extremism is commonly used to refer to political attitudes considered to be outside the ideological mainstream. This study leverages computational content analysis of big data to longitudinally examine (1970–2019) the prevalence of terms denoting far-right and far-left political extremism in more than 30 million written news and opinion articles from 54 news media outlets popular in the United States and the United Kingdom. We find that the usage of terms denoting right and left political extremism has been increasing across news media outlets in both countries. This trend is particularly stark for far-right-denoting terms, which have been growing in prevalence since at least 2008. Most U.S. and U.K. news media outlets tend to use far-right-denoting terms substantially more often than they use far-left-denoting terms. The rising prevalence in news media of terms denoting political extremism is strongly correlated with similar growing usage of terms denoting prejudice and social justice discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soon after the Conservative-led Coalition government came to power in 2010, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi announced that Islamophobia had passed the 'dinner-table test' in contemporary Britain. Resultantly, the need to address Islamophobia was identified as a priority for the Coalition. This article critically analyses how the Coalition sought to achieve this and the extent to which it was successful. Focusing on the period 2010-15, this article initially frames what is meant by Islamophobia, before briefly setting out how it had been responded to by previous British governments. Regarding the Coalition, a threefold approach is adopted that considers the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Islamophobia, the Cross-Government Working Group on Anti-Muslim Hate, and the political discourses used by the Coalition about Muslims and Islam more generally. Concluding that the Coalition failed to meet the high expectations set by Warsi's speech, this article considers why this might have been so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between family structure and maternal depressive symptoms (MDS) in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Family structures that involve transitions across life's course, such as divorce, can alter access to resources and introduce new stressors into family systems. Using the stress process model, we examine the links between family structure, stress, resources, and MDS. Using nationally representative data from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States and cross-sectional models for each country, we find that family structure may influence MDS differently in the UK than it does in Australia or, especially, the US. Specifically, mothers in the UK who either enter or leave a marriage after the birth of their child experience increased levels of MDS compared with mothers who do not experience a similar transition. These findings demonstrate that the effects of family structure transitions across life's course may vary according to the country context as well as to the mother's access to resources and exposure to stress. Considering that the effects of family structure transitions are not universal, this indicates that greater attention should be paid to the country contexts families exist in and the effects that public policies and social safety nets can have on MDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the outbreak of the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), pandemic during March 2020, lockdown measures taken by governments have forced many families, especially those who have children, to re-arrange domestic and market work division. In this study, I investigate the factors associated with partnered and employed individuals' involvement with housework during the COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom. Drawing evidence from the first wave of the Covid-19 Survey from the Five National Longitudinal Studies dataset with using OLS regressions, this study found that daily working hours, socioeconomic status, and partner's key worker status are important indicators of daily time spent on housework. Furthermore, interaction analysis showed that women living with a key worker partner not only did more housework than women whose partner was working in a regular job, but they also did more housework than men living with a key worker partner during the lockdown. Policy implications of regulating maximum daily working hours and key worker status are discussed in the context of re-arranging paid and unpaid work between couples during the first lockdown in the United Kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus (COVID-19) arrived in the United Kingdom (UK) in February 2020, placing an unprecedented burden on the National Health Service (NHS). Literature from past epidemics and the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of using a gender lens when considering policy, experiences, and impacts of the disease. Researchers are increasingly examining the experiences of healthcare workers (HCWs), yet there is a dearth of research considering how gender shapes HCWs' personal experiences. As the majority of HCWs in the UK and worldwide are women, research that investigates gender and focuses on women's experiences is urgently needed. We conducted an analysis of 41 qualitative interviews with HCWs in the British NHS during the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Spring of 2020. Our findings demonstrate that gender is significant when understanding the experiences of HCWs during COVID-19 as it illuminates ingrained inequalities and asymmetrical power relations, gendered organizational structures and norms, and individual gendered bodies that interact to shape experiences of healthcare workers. These findings point to important steps to improve gender equality, the wellbeing of healthcare workers, and the overall strength of the NHS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food offers highly profitable opportunities to criminal actors. Recent cases, from wine and meat adulteration to milk powder contaminations, have brought renewed attention to forms of harmful activities which have long occurred in the food sector. Despite several scandals over the last few decades, food has so far received scant criminological attention and the concept of food crime remains subject to different definitions. This article assesses regulations in the United Kingdom (UK) and UK authorities' official reports published between 2013 and 2018 through a review of academic literature published in English. It charts the evolution of the food crime concept, its various meanings, and different harmful activities associated with food crime, which originate from unlawful acts and omissions. This article also points out that further criminological research needs to address the definitional issue of food crime and inform a more integrated policy approach by considering activities beyond food fraud and the protection of food safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the mid-1970s, the higher education system in the UK has massified. Over this period, the government policy drivers for higher education have shifted towards a homogenised rationale, linking higher education to the economic well-being of the country. The massification of higher education has involved a widening of participation from traditional students to new and diverse student cohorts with differing information needs. The increased positioning of students as consumers by higher education means the student choice process has become complex. Drawing on a recently conferred doctorate, this article asks whether the messages sent by institutions about the motivation for undertaking a degree have changed during the recent period of massification of UK higher education. It asks how such changes are reflected, overtly or in coded form, in the institutional pre-entry 'prospectus' documents aimed at students. Taking a discourse-historical approach, the work identifies six periods of discourse change between 1976 and 2013, analysing prospectuses from four case-study institutions of different perceived status. The research finds that the materials homogenise gradually over the period and there is a concordant concealment of the differential status, purpose and offer of the institutions, alongside an increase in the functional importance of the coded signalling power of the differential prestige of undergraduate degrees within the UK. This research's finding that the documents produced by institutions have become increasingly difficult to differentiate highlights equity issues in provision of marketing in terms of widening participation and fair access aims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fracking in the United Kingdom has yet to reach full industrial development, but it is still subject to significant opposition. This study uses Beck's risk society theory and anti-politics to examine the views voiced by opponents to fracking in Yorkshire, England. A qualitative approach was used. Semi-structured interviews with protesters and local newspaper reports were evaluated to provide a thematic analysis. The study drew upon discourse analysis and framing literature to reveal discourses within the interviews. Although there are signs of post-materialist concerns with the environment, these issues did not dominate the discussion. Scientists were not held responsible for the risks involved in fracking. Instead, the economic greediness of politicians and austerity measures were perceived as putting the environment and human health at risk. Interviewees thought fossil fuel energy production was economically advantaged over more sustainable energy and jobs in the low carbon economy. Protesters' trust in politicians had been eroded, but faith in democracy remained. It is argued that the consensual post-politics of risk society have not led to a reinvigoration of democratic debate. Instead anti-politics have taken place, due to the frustration of citizens. Protesters wanted a citizen-led deliberative approach to the concerns raised. Such a process would have to go beyond the consensual, and recognise the inherently agonistic process of democracy if it is to succeed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on the lives of British Muslim young men, this article examines the links between their social and economic relations and their prison experiences, desistance, and identity. In understanding the meanings they place on their prison experiences and their social and economic marginalization, the article theorises about social integration, and their place in British society. An intergenerational shift from the availability of local high-waged, skilled, and secure textile work to low-waged, precarious, service work presented them with a series of problems and opportunities, leading them to reject licit wage labour and embrace illicit entrepreneurial criminality. The article concludes that their social and economic relations drove criminal solutions, not ethnicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on the UK context, and drawing on freely available information about online learning and the underlying commercial agreements between institutions, Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) platforms and Online Program Management (OPM) companies, this article shows how digitization and universities' global expansion strategies are involved in forms of transnational marketization. In particular, the article shows that the online learning marketplace in the UK shows signs of segmentation, with 'premium' offerings in the high-to-middle tier targeting socially advantaged students-as-consumers, and a bottom region of low-ranking institutions drifting towards low-grade 'unbundled' provision that targets middle-to-low income groups. The article argues that the current global landscape of online education is a shifting, unequal market place, and that more research is needed on how different groups from a range of socio-economic backgrounds successfully or unsuccessfully navigate an increasingly fragmented and 'unbundled' educational terrain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]