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The discourse of deservingness has been mobilised against certain groups in the UK society navigating UK labour markets, among them refugees and asylum seekers. These discourses, leading to the stigmatisation of the unemployed are coupled with an emphasis on the importance of individuals taking responsibility to develop their 'employability'. Little attention has been paid to scrutinise the contrast between the deservingness rhetoric and policy making with the actual conditions newcomers, and in particular refugees and asylum seekers, are confronted with when seeking employment. Our paper fills such a gap by indicating key contradictions at the heart of labour market integration in the UK. On the one hand, the emphasis on deservingness is coupled with policy discourses that construct an environment shaped by welfare and labour market chauvinism. On the other hand, the policy architecture is fundamentally flawed in a number of ways in terms of the support mechanisms necessary to ensure that newcomers can successfully integrate into the labour market. [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]

Inclusive Cities, a university led knowledge exchange initiative works in collaboration with six UK city administrations facilitating the development of their strategic and practical approach to the inclusion of newcomers in the city. The paper places this case study into the context of the UK's centralized asylum reception and resettlement policy framework, contrasting it with the increasing recognition of the importance of the local level in integration and inclusion policy and the intersections between these differing modes of governance and competencies. The paper explores emerging learning from the programme in relation to the leadership role of local government, its ability to act as a place shaper in relation to inclusion and integration and it role in convening partners through horizontal, place-based, networks as well as the ways in which this case study can contribute to wider learning on the role of knowledge exchange in facilitating social change and policy framing at the city level and learning on the multi-level governance of reception and integration. The paper explores how mutual knowledge exchange may create space for a broadening out of the policy framing in relation to reception – in particular how a 'newcomer' frame may support increased innovation at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the means by which one UK local authority obtained certification of its Bereavement Service against ISO9001, ISO14001, and ISO27001. It aims to explain the processes that were followed, highlight the problems that were encountered, and show how these were overcome. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a case study approach. The case study emerged from a broader grounded theory study which is outside the scope of this paper. Findings – This paper demonstrates that ISO27001 can be fully integrated into a single management system with ISO9001 and ISO14001, and also illustrates that the various standards can be applied more flexibly than is often thought. Practical implications – This study will be of significant benefit to bereavement professionals because it offers advice and guidance on addressing pitfalls that may be encountered when bereavement services wish to seek certification against international standards. It will also benefit quality, environmental, and information security professionals because it shows, in a practical way, how the three standards can be fully integrated. Originality/value – The integration of ISO27001 into a comprehensive management system is an area which has previously been under-researched. Furthermore, this paper takes an original perspective to information security, arguing that ISO27001 can be applied beyond an ICT environment, and this is demonstrated by considering the standard in the context of bereavement services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade, teachers in Poland have observed an increase in the number of primary school children with bi/multilingual and culturally diverse backgrounds. Regardless of their complex experiences, they face many cultural, social, linguistic and educational challenges upon entering primary school. English teachers are often at the forefront, helping them navigate through the intricacy of their seemingly 'dual lives' (Li and Zhu. 2013. "Translanguaging Identities and Ideologies: Creating Transnational Space Through Flexible Multilingual Practices Amongst Chinese University Students in the UK." Applied Linguistics 34 (5): 516–535, 531). The paper presents the results of an interview study among 23 Polish EFL teachers with a view towards investigating Polish EFL teachers' experiences and ways of working with bi/multilingual children directed at child integration and socialization into the new environment. The collected data was coded following the content analysis approach (Krippendorff. 2003. Content Analysis: An Introduction to its Methodology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage) and analysed from the ecological perspective (see Bronfenbrenner. 1979. The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; van Lier. 2004. The Ecology and Semiotics of Language Learning. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers), whereby successful child socialization was observed to be dependent on an intricate network of interrelated factors. The role of the exosystem, i.e. the school system, has been found the least supportive due to the absence of a comprehensive multilingual policy, and lack of teacher support via teacher training, all of which have been concluded to be of urgent need in the emergent multilingual setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnic integration in a diverse society is a complex issue and is difficult to measure, conceptualise and interpret. Debates about integration are often made with reference to social cohesion, ethnic concentration, migration, multiculturalism and mixing; these terms are continually debated and re-interpreted, in both academic and policy discourses. The four papers in this special issue challenge our understandings of ethnic integration and associated concepts by demonstrating the value of examining 'missing' dimensions of integration, namely, the meaning of space and place, ordinariness, religion and language; by illustrating the dynamic nature of integration and its meaning; and by showing how the study of integration demands varied and innovative research methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to promote discussion about, and the development of the evidence-base underpinning integrated working for intergenerational working. It discusses perspectives on intergenerational work in general and specifically draws on case experiences of the use of intergenerational reminiscence based on sporting memories to highlight issues pertaining to integrated working.Design/methodology/approach The paper presents a general discussion of issues of intergenerational projects and integrated working, with case discussions of the use of sporting memories as an intervention for focusing intergenerational contact.Findings It is concluded that intergenerational work has much to offer but that it is far from clear how best to organise integrated working for this type of work. There are interesting lessons to be drawn for intergenerational interventions and integrated working from the case study discussions.Research limitations/implications Although case studies can provide crucial in-depth knowledge they can be limited in developing evidence we can be sure is more generalisable across contexts. Hence, further research is required into the impact of intergenerational projects, and how best to maximise this through effective integrated working.Practical implications The discussion and case study materials suggest there is much potential in using intergenerational projects to achieve a range of possible outcomes but it is not clear how integrated working is best operationalised in such work. Care is required about clarity concerning the aims of specific projects, but practitioners and others should be encouraged to carefully explore this area of work.Social implications The challenges of an ageing society are significant, as is the need to maintain intergenerational contact, mutuality and the implicit social contract across generations. Specifically developing opportunities for such contact may help achieve this and a range of other positive outcomes.Originality/value This paper brings together a discussion of intergenerational projects with consideration of the challenges of integrated working, and adds specific case study lessons from the use of sports-based reminiscence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper discusses an original theory of information exclusion and information inclusion, which explains how information interactions can be structured in ways that either exclude or include people seeking asylum. Design/methodology/approach: This theory was developed through an ethnographic study of the information experience of people seeking asylum in the United Kingdom. Fieldwork involved participant observations, participatory research workshops and semi-structured interviews, analysed using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Findings: People seeking asylum are confronted with two main information environments: the asylum system and the local third sector. Each environment frames contrasting information access, sharing and literacy practice modalities: the former produces information deprivation, information sharing agency denial and a fracturing information literacy practice; the latter facilitates multiple information affordances, information sharing agency promotion, and both local and heritage information literacy practice promotion. Our theory of information exclusion and information inclusion describes how through these modalities, an information environment can either promote or preclude inclusion. Originality/value: Previous information studies of migration tend to conceptualise social ex/inclusion as a linear journey. Our theory originally frames this as a non-straightforward and conflicting process, allowing to better understand the experience of people who are not simply either socially excluded or included, but may experience both states depending on context. It also shows that exclusion is not a matter of fact and is not fundamental to asylum systems: it is produced by specific policies and procedures and can therefore be changed. Thus, this theory provides conceptual tools for researchers to investigate the information experience of individuals moving between conflicting information practices, and for civil society actors and policymakers to document exclusionary information practices and design inclusive ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents findings from original research exploring the impact on Muslim men of a child sexual exploitation scandal that attracted significant attention to the northern English town where they live and contributed to a sustained detrimental effect on local community relations. It foregrounds men's accounts to reveal their agency and resilience in responding to racism that they identified as resulting from the scandal. It reveals how their accounts disrupt dominant discourses foregrounding Muslim self-segregation and lack of integration, demonstrating positive attachments and claims to localized space, and commitment to belonging. In doing so, it shows how men's responses to racism challenge racialized forms of knowledge about Muslims. The paper draws attention to the significance of localized forms of belonging in facilitating the inclusion of Muslim minorities. It also highlights the importance of centring Muslim men as historically speaking subjects in accounts of issues involving them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retail traffic is one of the main drivers for the growth of intermodal transport services in the UK. This paper examines the key factors underpinning this modal shift in order to learn lessons for other market and geographical contexts. Since successful retail intermodal logistics involves many actors, this paper is based on semi-structured interviews with major UK retailers, third-party logistics providers (3PLs) and rail operators, supplemented by document analysis. The qualitative data are analysed via a conceptual framework derived from the literature. Despite past successes and the presence of drivers for future growth, the paper identifies many operational issues without current solutions and the presence of ongoing public subsidy. The major conclusion is that the importance of 3PLs, aggregation and multi-user platforms must be recognised by transport planners in supporting the use of intermodal transport by retailers and other large shippers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we address the ambivalence in European immigrant integration discourses toward the political participation of immigrants. We show how this ambivalence manifests in what we call a 'participation paradox', which is constituted by two apparently conflicting, but potentially mutually reinforcing characteristics of the discourse. The first emphasizes the need for immigrants to be active in order to attain a well-integrated society and well-functioning democratic polity; the second is a call for the protection of liberal democratic institutions from the alleged 'illiberal threats' that migrants pose to society. Immigrant participation is thus both demanded and feared. Using illustrations from Denmark, we show two different ways in which this paradox plays out in practice: i) the fear of participation results in debates around the general desirability of immigrant participation; and ii) the perceived threat of 'undesired participation' reinforces the demand for immigrants to be 'good' citizens by participating in a 'civic' way. In these cases, the content of immigrant participation is discursively restricted. We end the paper by exploring the consequences of the paradox in terms of the democratic position of immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cohesion and integration agendas in Britain can be characterised by localisation of 'race relations' responsibilities and the importance of local institutions in shaping neighbourhoods has been acknowledged. However, little is understood about the roles of housing providers in integration initiatives. Indeed, research on housing and race has experienced a lull in the 2000s. Thus, this paper aims to examine how social housing providers negotiate their positions and are complicit in constructing a certain vision of community. It draws on interviews from the ESRC Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE)'s work in the ethnically diverse neighbourhoods of Cheetham Hill (Manchester), Newham (London), Butetown (Cardiff) and Pollokshields and Govanhill (Glasgow). The paper makes three arguments: first, that race and ethnicity as facets of 'integration' have been subsumed into broader agendas, yet remain implicit in community building; second, that housing organisation practices are often detached from local meanings of community and prioritise exclusionary activities focusing on behaviour change and, third, that the roles of housing organisations in constructing 'integrated' communities are highly variable and localised, influenced by the history and contemporary dynamics of place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For asylum route refugees, the existence and persistence of structural barriers to navigating statutory systems are well-documented. Even when initial barriers are overcome, further transitions may disrupt refugees' lives. One such is the arrival in the UK of family members from whom they had been separated during their flight from persecution. This paper draws upon data gathered using a Social Connections Mapping Tool methodology with reunited refugee families to make three contributions to the field of refugee studies. Firstly, families' accounts of navigating statutory systems confirm the multi-directionality of integration. Refugees' efforts to build and leverage social links proceed differentially across key statutory domains and cannot alone overcome systems barriers that require adaptation on the part of public services. Secondly, our findings contribute to scholarship that critiques the division of social relationships into categories of bonds, bridges and links, and the distinctions made between these based on ethnicity or nationality. Rather, refugees' social relationships are more appropriately understood as a fluid continuum, with their nature and purpose subject to change. Finally, refugee families' descriptions of settling in the UK highlight the influence of time on integration and the importance to refugees of re-building independence in a new country context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how integration across policy sectors was achieved under the spatial planning agenda in England, focusing on the case of delivering growth in a subregion in the east of England. The findings highlight the importance of both ‘hands-on’ and ‘hands-off’ meta-governance – in other words, high-level steering by central government – in enhancing sectoral integration. This has significant implications for the ongoing debate on planning in England, where the language of spatial planning is no longer in fashion, but where the need for effective integration continues to exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the changing geography of ethnic inequality in England and Wales drawing on data from the 2001 and 2011 censuses. Specifically, we use the 2011 Office for National Statistics (ONS) area classification to examine how ethnic inequalities within local areas with different demographic and socio-economic characteristics have changed overtime. Local ethnic inequalities are examined through a set of indicators which capture differences in housing, health, employment and education between ethnic minority groups and the White British in local authority districts in England and Wales. The results suggest that ethnic inequalities are widespread and persistent, and highlight the different ways in which inequalities manifest for particular ethnic groups in different localities. Ethnic inequality in housing and employment is severe for most ethnic minority groups, particularly in large urban areas that have been traditional settlement areas for ethnic minorities. However, inequalities increased most over the decade 2001-2011 in rural and coastal areas that have low ethnic diversity levels and small ethnic minority populations. The paper considers these findings in relation to theories of service provision and racism, ethnic density, and immigrant adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to outline relevant policies on the integration of health and social care (HSC) in the four home nations: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England and offer a comparison of emphasis and approaches and draw out general insights on the implementation of integrated care policy.Design/methodology/approach The paper is written as a piece of critical reflection by drawing on the authors’ knowledge and expertise and wider evidence where available.Findings Since 2010, HSC integration has started to diverge significantly in the four constituent countries of the UK. Although England and Wales have undergone considerable re-organisation of the NHS, Scotland and Northern Ireland have largely been marked by organisational continuity. However, beyond organisational differences, policy approaches, policy emphases and implementation strategies have also started to show considerable dissimilarity across the UK. An important contributory factor may be different ideological perspectives on the role of competition and pilots, partnership, patient choice and organisational incentives to bring about change in the field.Research limitations/implications The paper identifies a serious lack of comparative research in integration policy, despite the considerable opportunities for quasi-experimental studies. This lack of empirical research impedes shared learning across the home nations.Originality/value The paper presents a descriptive comparison of current integration policy between HSC providers in the four home nations. It reveals considerable opportunities for further research and comparative modelling of integration approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Using some case examples from Care & Repair England in the UK, this paper aims to focus on the integration of housing help in a hospital setting. Design/methodology/approach – The paper gives some background on Care & Repair and the development of local housing and hospital linked projects. The broader debate about the role of housing is then considered. Findings – Key recommendations from the case studies are discussed and the wider debate on improving integration is considered in relation to the UK Government's recent Care and Support White Paper. Originality/value – The paper considers the role that housing plays in health and social care provision and why people engaged in the sector should continue to work towards better integration of housing, health and social care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years asylum seekers arriving in the United Kingdom have been subject to a 'hostile policy environment' (Zetter et al. 2005) initiated by the UK government consisting of dispersal, destitution and detention. At the same time, the UK government has also focussed on 'integrating' refugees. In this paper, Critical Discourse Analysis of seven policy documents is used to demonstrate how ambivalence is a feature of UK and devolved government refugee integration strategies. Analysis revealed that each strategy is predicated upon rhetorical devices which construct the governments as having a 'proud history' of offering protection to those fleeing persecution by drawing on long histories and traditions of welcoming refugees. Such rhetorical and commemorative devices may also function to dialogically repress (Billig 1997) the UK's history of not providing protection to refugees and of creating a 'hostile environment' for asylum seekers. It concludes that such devices construct refugee integration ambivalently, which is a result of an ideological dilemma (Billig et al. 1988) inherent in these strategies between the integration of refugees and deterrence of asylum seekers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to describe and detail practices that are commonly used to pursue short-term functional targets (e.g. end of month sales targets) at the expense of supply chain integration. It also aims to identify the key questions that financial analysts should be asking companies to ensure that they are not using those practices and thereby destroying shareholder value. Design/methodology/approach -- The insights were gained from the authors' hands-on supply chain management experience and validated in discussions with supply chain executives across a range of industrial sectors (including electronics, consumer packaged goods and logistics service providers). Findings -- The paper identifies three sales and customer service practices, and two financial practices that undermine the performance of the integrated supply chain. In response it suggests alternative practices and four key questions that financial analysts should ask companies to ensure that the performance of the integrated supply chain is not sabotaged -- thereby helping supply chain managers. Practical implications -- The paper can help supply chain managers dispose of value-destructive behaviour in their organizations by offering them screens/descriptions of poor practice which they can hold up to their peers as a mirror. It provides the business imperative for change, by identifying the key questions analysts should ask to uncover value-destroying activities. Originality/value -- Supply chain managers often share their frustration with peers in anecdotal ways. The paper describes common practices and sources of frustration, using actual data and examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss “system transformation” in the context of different workforces and organisations seeking to support people experiencing multiple exclusion homelessness (MEH). From a relational and integrated care perspective it aims to identify barriers to achieving more effective ways of working in the prevailing context of “managerial domination”. Communities of practice (COPs) are evaluated to identify their potential to overcome some of these barriers. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a theoretical and conceptual discussion of a project in which a number of COPs were established and evaluated to ascertain their value in developing more relational ways of working in the context of MEH. Case studies of COPs operating in the context of MEH are explored and discussed. Findings – It is concluded that COPs have the potential to deliver small-scale changes (“little miracles”) which are characteristically more subversive than transformative. Nevertheless, the authors still see these small gains as significant when compared to the inertia that is often found in local systems of care where more traditional management techniques (such as “payment by results”) prevail. The authors also draw attention to the scope for much improved service quality which flows from moving beyond the “tick box” and into the realms of what it really takes to tackle homelessness and multiple exclusion. In other words, although often requiring considerable amounts of “craft and graft” to deliver seemingly very small amounts of change, these “little miracles” may actually be more conducive in the long run to delivering the kind of tangible “real” change that is often aspired to by both workers and service users and their carers. Research limitations/implications – The COPs project was limited in terms of time and scale and, hence, further research would be needed to, for example, ascertain their longer-term potential. Practical implications – There is merit in the theoretical perspectives discussed and, from these, of understanding how best to establish and operate COPs as a vehicle for achieving better outcomes through integrated or collaborative working. Social implications – There is much scope for better integrated or more collaborative working in the context of MEH and this paper draws attention to how COPs could be one means of achieving better outcomes for people experiencing MEH. Originality/value – This is the first paper to set out the theoretical analysis of COPs as a means of achieving better integrated or collaborative working. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within homelessness services recent policy developments have highlighted the need for integration and improved collaborative working and also, the need for 'Psychologically Informed Environments' (PIES) in which workers are better equipped to manage the 'complex trauma' associated with homelessness. Drawing on the findings of an evaluation of a multi-site development programme, this paper demonstrates how both these policy aspirations might be implemented through a single delivery vehicle (a community of practice). The paper describes how organizational, educational and psychosocial theory was used to inform programme design and reflects on the utility of these approaches in the light of the evaluation findings. It is reported that communities of practice can deliver significant performance gains in terms of building collaborative relationships and opening-up opportunities for interprofessional education and learning. Filling an important knowledge gap, it also suggested how (professional) participation in a community of practice might work to improve outcomes for service users. Most likely we see those outcomes as being linked to tackling exclusion by sustaining the workforce itself, that is in motivating workers to remain engaged and thinking positively in what is an emotionally challenging and stressful job role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tackles the formation of identity of a group of first generation Iraqi women in the diaspora, who went to the northern city of Kingston upon Hull in England, after 2003. The paper, therefore, focuses on three identity categories, viz. religious, cultural, and linguistic to see how the diaspora women negotiate the terms of their subject position as a first generation diaspora group in the United Kingdom, UK. The researcher used ethnography and interviewing in the study. Fifteen Iraqi women were interviewed in order to understand what ‘home’ means to them. The paper also examined the Iraqi women’s understanding of ‘citizenship’ and the role social media sites had played in creating virtual spaces for them, especially by feeding into their personal and cultural identities in the diaspora. The research is situated within the sphere of feminist political philosophy of diaspora in connection with the women’s rights to have identities different from the dominant culture in their host countries. Moreover, the researcher reviews three hypotheses bearing on intercultural relations: the multiculturalism hypothesis, the integration hypothesis, and the contact hypothesis. (Berry, John W. 2013. “Intercultural Relations in Plural Societies: Research Derived from Multiculturalism Policy.” Acta De Investtigacion Psicologica 2 (3), 1122-1135) By testing the three intercultural hypotheses against the results of the conducted research, the study concludes that the Iraqi diaspora community is not a homogenous entity as it includes minorities within the minority. Therefore, there needs to be a system that respects diversity, hence the researcher supports the continuation of multiculturalism policy in hope of developing better intercultural relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an urgent need to expand the scale and scope of refugee resettlement schemes, and yet country approaches to resettlement vary markedly and there is little cross-country learning from approaches and refugee experiences. In Japan, resettlement focuses on economic self-sufficiency through employment; whereas the UK, through Community Sponsorship volunteers, on providing social connections to facilitate integration. This paper explores the strengths and short-comings of each approach and examines the ways in which refugee resettlement programmes prioritising different integration domains might influence refugee experiences of integration more widely. Drawing on principles and domains set out in the Indicators of Integration Framework (Ndofor-Tah, C. Strang, A. Phillimore, J. Morrice, L., Michael, L., Wood, P., Simmons, J. (2019) Home Office Indicators of Integration framework 2019), insight is provided into the multi-dimensionality of integration and new understandings about the nature of social connections are offered. The findings highlight the context specific nature of integration policy and practice and underline the importance of a holistic approach. We conclude that resettlement initiatives might incorporate both employers and local communities working in collaboration to support newly arrived refugees but with some state involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents two cross‐sectional survey studies, both conducted in Britain, which focus on how different cultural identities are managed in multicultural settings. Specifically, the studies explored the extent to which essentialism moderates the perceived compatibility of acculturation orientations, heritage culture maintenance and majority culture adoption. In study 1, participants (N = 198) were Somali minority members living in the UK. It was found when minority members essentialized Britishness themselves, and when they perceived that British people essentialized Britishness, they saw a desire to maintain the culture of origin and a desire adopt the majority culture as conflicting with each other. In study 2, participants (N = 200) were white British majority members living in the UK. Findings showed that when white British majority members essentialized Britishness, they too perceived the two acculturation preferences as being incompatible with each other. Taken together, these studies show that essentializing British identity can lead to a view that the majority and minority cultures are mutually exclusive. Implications for intergroup relations and integration into British society are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Foundation Years (FY) have proliferated within UK Higher Education in recent years, and their benefits and successes have been well documented (e.g. the enhancement of opportunities for underrepresented students, second-chance education, skills and confidence enhancement, and a pipeline into STEM. However, when managed centrally, their implementation can be a contentious site of interdisciplinary unease and ‘mutual suspicion’ and as much as a fruitful avenue for innovative collaboration. One of the key issues is the question of how to embed academic skills / literacies development within a meaningful, ‘integrated’, interdisciplinary context effectively whilst utilising expertise from both academic departments and learning development / skills teams, and thus navigating disparate disciplinary agendas, communities of practice and strategic priorities. This paper reports on how this complex terrain was navigated at Royal Holloway, University of London, to successfully embed academic skills (using Universal Design for Learning pedagogy) into an academically authentic, inclusive, interdisciplinary ‘Global Perspectives and Academic Practice’ unit that facilitated student integration into academic departments. Whilst we report on how the programme led to higher than sector average attainment, retention and progression (the EE described it as a ‘TEF Gold offering’), we critically analyse the challenges of embedding and aligning such provision within the communities of practice of a researchintensive institution. Throughout, we suggest ways forward at both practical and strategic levels to ensure the immense potential of integrated academic literacies development within FYs can be realised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a concentration of container traffic in the southeast of the UK over the last few decades, regional ports are attempting new development strategies to capture or retain specific traffic segments. These include intra-European short-sea traffic and a potentially increasing feeder market. These trends are reflected in the movement of different container types, which result in a number of planning challenges related to changing infrastructural and operational requirements. This paper uses highly disaggregated data on container type movements to address three issues that can inform these planning challenges. First, the imbalance of trade resulting in empty container repositioning; second, the requirement for gauge-cleared rail routes to cater for the increasing proportion of high-cube containers; and third, the specialisation of European short-sea traffic at secondary UK ports. The results reveal the disproportionate repositioning of empty containers at Scottish ports and the importance of 45 ft, high-cube and pallet-wide containers at regional ports, highlighting their focus on intra-European short-sea traffic and raising difficulties relating to their lower quality of landside infrastructure (particularly rail) in comparison to the large south-eastern ports. The potential repercussions on hinterland infrastructure development raise questions about both public and private sector responses to regional port development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Western states are concerned about maintaining and securing national borders. Across Europe, one response has been to implement restrictive asylum regimes that prevent ‘bogus’ applicants and grant refuge only to the ‘deserving’. Alongside these concerns, states are eager to encourage socially cohesive communities. One recent tool adopted by the UK government has been citizenship policy, including English language/life in the UK tests and citizenship ceremonies. By drawing upon in-depth interviews with refugees in Scotland (UK), this paper explores the impact of the current asylum regime and citizenship policies from the perspective of individual voices that are often absent from wider debates. It explores how temporary refugee status impacts upon individuals' everyday lives including employment and education, and impacts upon children. The data also question the reasons for refugees deciding to become British citizens (or not) and highlight instrumental reasons alongside less tangible factors such as gaining a sense of security. Taking the discussion forward, the study explores some unintended consequences of immigration and citizenship policies in the UK. The research suggests that not only do restrictive asylum policies negatively impact upon refugees and their integration but also serve to elevate fear and uncertainty, which can unintentionally spur individuals to seek naturalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Studies on migration and integration in Britain have noted the paucity of research on ‘new’ migrants, especially ‘illegal’ migrants and asylum seekers. This paper focuses on one understudied group – Albanian immigrants and their children – and looks at their migration and settlement, based on sixty interviews conducted in two phases either side of a 2003 mini-amnesty that gave many indefinite leave to remain. This regularization is the fulcrum around which our analytical narrative is built. Focusing on the interaction of migrants' agency with host-country structure, the paper shows that an unsettled asylum policy and delays in implementation have had deleterious effects on migrants' integration and sense of belonging, even after citizenship acquisition. As they search for a social and ethnic positioning within a multi-ethnic host society, the eventual realization of Albanians' migration project is accompanied by culture shock, intergenerational difference and ambivalence towards integration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recent years of community engagement under the war on terror in the UK have seen the co-option of bridge-building initiatives into wider narratives of securing communities. Through ethnographic insights into a peace building inter-faith initiative that made it onto the news as a ‘deradicalization’ workshop, I show how encounters in such projects are susceptible to being reframed into the very narrative in which encounters are sought after in the first place as a political settlement to growing inter-ethnic tension and conflict. This paper contributes to the growing geographies of encounter literature by making more explicit the narratives that shape how encounters function. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Former research detected the paradox of high quality formal institutional background accompanied by a low level of social trust in the United Kingdom. The aim of the current paper is to solve this initial puzzle. As traditional social capital literature is not able to explain the low level of trust in this case, we propose a comprehensive approach incorporating the analysis of immigration, integration, inequality and access to justice data to shed light on trust-eliminating mechanisms. The social and economic aspects are examined in the matrix of extra-community network, intra-community trust, radius of trust and need for formal external enforcement. Four factors -- concentrated highly diverse areas, tight communities living next to each other with limited extra-community links, minorities' high exposure to deprivation and limited access to justice -- are identified as the origin of our puzzle. As social trust plays a fundamental role in enhancing economic growth, the trust-impeding mechanisms explored in the current paper shall be of great importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and review the leadership challenges in workforce planning, paying special reference to adult social care primarily in England (UK) whilst raising leadership issues that have international resonance. Design/methodology/approach – This is a viewpoint which presents a distillation of key issues, challenges and relevant literature spanning workforce planning, human resources and social care. Findings – The paper finds that growing demands on services, rising expectations for personalised care and support, together with the provision of safe and effective joined up care are some of the key drivers facing social care and wider public services. Leaders need to ensure a robust data and evidence base, sound interpretation of intelligence as well as building integrated approaches to workforce planning both within and between services. Practical implications – Workforce leadership provides the bedrock to ensuring social care builds the workforce required for the future. As services undergo redesign and transformation the workforce planning task is more important now than ever and is a key responsibility for every organisation's leadership, including chief executives, commissioners and workforce specialists. Originality/value – Workforce planning in social care is afforded relatively little attention and the analysis presented in this paper provides the stimulus for debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper interrogates a concept at the core of a social policy agenda that has dominated thinking in the UK over the past decade. It argues that the notion of ‘community cohesion’ is based on a fundamentally flawed interpretation of the sources of tension and conflict in Britain’s towns and cities. It overly ethnicizes societal divisions and essentializes ethnicity. Examining the development of government policy since 2001 the paper shows that the result has been a predominantly culturalist agenda that obscures key sources of division, most notably those related to social class and material inequality. It is argued that the hegemonic status of this policy stream has also undermined the equalities agenda. The paper concludes with a reflection on the implications of the emergence of a Conservative-led coalition government in May 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper focuses on the legal dimension of integration and investigates the interface between legal status and refugee integration in the UK context. Legal status shapes one’s legal environment and therefore has significant implications for integration. For the purposes of this paper, integration is conceptualized as a multidimensional two-way process that starts upon arrival in the host state. This forms the basis for assessing whether the refugees’ journey from asylum seeker to citizen as set out in UK migration law supports their integration. This paper comes at a time when the UK Government is reforming its immigration system and making important changes to the path to British citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Jewish population living in Britain has commonly been depicted as a 'model of integration'. This paper explores the social and spatial transitions made by the Jewish community over the course of more than a century of settlement and adaptation, with particular reference to Leeds. Using an historical perspective, the paper traces the changing 'place' of Jews in wider society in terms of their socio-economic status and how they construct themselves as a religious and ethnic minority in Britain. Drawing on a mixed methods approach, the paper reveals how Leeds Jews' understandings of community, identity, integration and citizenship have evolved over time. The research uncovers diverse and complex interpretations of Jewishness and integration, which unsettle the idealised notions of community, the straightforward trajectory of adaptation, and unproblematic conceptions of identity embedded in the Jewish model of integration. The paper reflects on the implications of the Jewish experience for current debates and discourses on 'race', difference and social integration in twenty-first-century Britain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite ongoing debates about the nature and role of multiculturalism in the UK, the idea of integration remains significant in British immigration policies and community relations, and it orients itself towards second and third-generation diasporans as well as recent arrivals. Drawing on original data from the UK Iranian diaspora, this paper aims to complicate extant debates by exploring the cultural dimensions of integration mainly at the intra-diasporic level. Particularly among secular middle-class UK Iranians, 'integration' acts as an idiom for being a 'good', 'successful', 'proper' Iranian, and a failure to integrate is often described as unacceptable and even shameful. Integration in this sense mirrors dominant neo-liberal attitudes and puts huge pressure on Iranians to constantly 'do better' in cultural and economic terms to justify their presence in the UK. Crucially, these processes are predicated on a critique and/or rejection of Iranian Shiism and Islam in general, thus helping to marginalize Iranian Shia identities in representations of Iranian-ness in the British mainstream. We argue, therefore, that dominant policies and discourses of integration, regardless of their stated intention, intersect with the multiple and competing realities that exist in a diasporic community to produce particular social and cultural relations which may exclude identities protected under UK law. However, we also draw comparison with the US to suggest that these dynamics might begin to change in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper asks the question – who moves into what kinds of neighbourhoods and what kind of residential sorting is occurring in the ethnically diverse metropolitan region of Los Angeles. The study examines residential selections across a typology of neighbourhood types in the Los Angeles metropolitan region using residential mobility data from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (LAFANS). Similar to recent work in the UK and Canadian contexts, ethnic groups demonstrate moderately strong relationships between their socio‐economic statuses and their neighbourhood contexts. Both behaviour, that is, actual moves and preferences, are consistent with a tendency to increased mixing and declining segregation in the residential mosaic. In particular, the expressed residential preferences and the choices of these households provide an explanatory context for the overall decline in segregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of the first stage of a project seeking to improve interprofessional working between general practice and adult social care teams. It develops the current evidence base through findings from focus groups and reflects on the implications of the findings for interprofessional collaboration. Design/methodology/approach -- The project involved running seven focus groups with general practice staff and adult social work teams to explore their perceptions and understanding of each other. Findings -- The focus groups highlighted that the negative aspects of interprofessional working outweighed the positives. Negatives included perceptions of different value bases, a lack of knowledge about each others' roles and responsibilities which resulted in resorting to stereotypes, poor interprofessional communication and a sense of an unspoken professional hierarchy with general practitioners (GPs) at the top leading preventing a culture of appropriate challenge. Research limitations/implications -- The research has only been conducted with four GP practices and three social work teams that had expressed an interest in improving their interprofessional working. Therefore the findings may not be generalisable. Practical implications -- The case study suggests that there is a lack of effective interprofessional working between social care teams and general practice. With the current health and social care agenda focused on integration, this suggests there should be a greater focus on this area. Originality/value -- This paper illustrates that despite many years of policy makers promoting better integration, the quality of the interprofessional collaboration between social care teams and general practice remains poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At times of economic uncertainty the position of new migrants is subject to ever closer scrutiny. While the main focus of attention tends to be on the world of employment the research on which this paper is based started from the proposition that leisure and sport spaces can support processes of social inclusion yet may also serve to exclude certain groups. As such, these spaces may be seen as contested and racialised places that shape behaviour. The paper draws on interviews with White migrants from Poland and Black migrants from Africa to examine the normalising of whiteness. We use this paper not just to explore how leisure and sport spaces are encoded by new migrants, but how struggles over those spaces and the use of social and cultural capital are racialised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the value of the “capability approach” as an alternative framework for understanding and conceptualising the role of Refugee Community Organisations (RCOs) and other providers for groups conventionally considered “hard to reach”. Design/methodology/approach – A study of the education services of RCOs, drawing primarily on semi-structured interviews with 71 users, is put forward as a case study for how the capability approach can be operationalised. Findings – The capability approach is found to offer various valuable insights, relating to its appreciation of the multi-dimensional nature of human wellbeing, the significance of individual diversity, and the importance of human agency. Research limitations/implications – The case study is based on a relatively small purposive sample, and may have limited external validity. As the research design proved strong for exploring how RCOs develop their users’ capabilities but weak for exploring if and how they may also constrict them, further research in this area is required. Practical implications – A number of valuable attributes of the capability approach are highlighted for broadening the understanding, the role of RCOs and other service providers. Social implications – The paper outlines the potential of the capability approach to contribute to policymaking related to RCOs and other providers, and to debates relating to social exclusion, cohesion and integration. Originality/value – The paper draws attention to the value of the capability approach within the field of migration research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a research paper that discusses the gratitude and hospitality offered by Great Britain government policy by integrating several Tamil refugees by the means of employing them in their host country. The topics discussed include background information of the refugees that include English language skills, employment status, and age, marginalization and discrimination faced by Tamil refugees in host country, and employment through ethnic community.

Our study tackles upon the influence that the English as a second language knowledge has upon the integration of immigrants to the UK in general, and of Romanian immigrants in particular. Actually, this fact is valid for all immigrants to the UK. The main stress of the integration aspects is on the economic one, namely what chances Romanian immigrants have to get well-paid, qualified jobs there. Furthermore, the great merit of our study is that it draws attention upon the connection between English and integration and employment of which most Romanian immigrants to the UK are highly aware. The theoretical part of our paper is supported by facts and examples that, in some cases, depict professionally successful Romanians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper makes the case for a joint redefinition of the concepts of transnationalism and integration in a way that would allow a better combination. Transnationalism is here defined as a coping strategy for migrants who strive to manage their integration into two (or more) settings. Integration is commonly depicted as a multi-level process which combines a social embedding into a web of interpersonal or associational relations and a systemic embedding into wider economic or political systems. Next to these levels, this work highlights a third one, namely the identity integration of migrants who seek to maintain a balance between the poles of their identity. This conceptual framework is applied in order to analyse the emergence of collective practices of development among two North African groups in France (the Moroccan Chleuhs and the Algerian Kabyles) and one UK-based North Indian group (the Sikh Punjabis). It is shown that transnational development practices, in the form of collective remittances, constitute a matrix of identity integration for migrants who want to reinvent their identity of villager despite the transformations induced by their stay abroad. However, the success of their actual engagement into cross-border practices largely depends on the effectiveness of their systemic and social integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper seeks to suggest that social housing can and should be the local hub for cost-effective, human-scale health and wellbeing. It aims to explore the way that community-based housing providers can help health and social care services to deliver long-term wellbeing. Design/methodology/approach – The argument is illustrated with examples of constructive practice drawn from membership of the PlaceShapers Group of housing associations, across different parts of England. Findings – Localism and promotion of public health lie at the roots of social housing, dating back more than 150 years. Because of their physical stake and presence in communities, social landlords are able to offer combined homes and support in a way and on a scale that few private operators can match. So social housing providers are in a prime position to add value and recast the relationship between health, wellbeing, social care and housing. But social housing organisations and their leaders will need to be highly inventive, enterprising and determined to reap the full rewards for service users and neighbourhoods. Practical implications – Changes to the health, wellbeing and social care landscape, coming into effect in England and Wales from April 2013, present a unique opportunity to bridge the "parallel worlds" of housing and health. Local housing providers now have the chance to bond their long-term presence, commitment and investment in communities to the new outcomes required for health and social care. Originality/value – The lead author is chair of a grouping of community-based housing associations working throughout England and is especially well placed to identify examples of innovative practice, such as those described in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Product life-cycle reduction, hazardous substance utilisation, waste generation and resource utilisation – among other sustainably issues – are becoming a growing concern for electronics manufactures in the UK; with tighter measures not only over what materials can be used, but also on waste production and energy utilisation. This paper discusses extensions on a tool developed by the Loughborough University to include the evaluation of sustainable phenomena during production, thus supporting more sustainable production in the electronics manufacturing domain. The tool supports the optimisation of process and product design in advance of production runs in order to support a ‘right first time’ approach to manufacturing, whilst meeting both quality and customer requirements. The main contributions are (1) providing a simulation tool to approach sustainable aspects of business based on specific user priorities in the area, (2) demonstrating the tool on a real case study developed under industrial constraints and conditions and (3) providing a tool that can evolve along with the rapidly changing sustainability requirements in the application domain. The tool is presented, in this paper, along with its integrated modelling framework. The study contains results derived from an industry-based case study, designed to represent both the functionality and potential of the developed tool. The case study and the analysis have a focus on sustainable impacts due to poor quality. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the new millennium there has been a shift away from multiculturalism and the politics of difference towards integration, assimilation and a gradual 'thickening' of political belonging. The alleged weaknesses of the multicultural model and advantages of thicker, communitarian notions of community are highlighted in recent discourses on migrant incorporation and increasingly reflected in citizenship and migration policies across European countries. In this paper I critically examine citizenship reform and civic integration policies in the United Kingdom and argue that the fashionable language of integration represents a politically dated and normatively deficient approach to ethnic diversity. I furnish the basic tenets of an alternative pluralist mode of inclusion based on respectful symbiosis and the 'letting be' of groups of migrant origin, and examine the conditions for such a model's empirical implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conducts a form of racial archaeology in relation to the areas of Brixton and Brick Lane in London. Both inner-city areas are strongly associated with meanings related to race and difference. This paper examines some of the dominant ways though which Brixton and Brick Lane became represented in key policy texts. It investigates how these representations changed through time and identifies three different moments that have dominated the evolution of multiculturalism in local political discourse: a moment of racial pathology, where race is viewed as a problem of space or in space; a moment of reflection, where race is perceived through the lens of cultural difference; and a moment of celebration, where cultural difference is represented as an asset to be capitalised upon by acts of local regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on one example of knowledge transfer conducted by the ESRC Identities and Social Action Programme which involved briefing Tony Blair for his December 2006 speech on multiculturalism and extremism. Two key themes in the report prepared for Blair and his speech-writer are described - the nature of contemporary complex multicultures and the 'fragility' of white English identities. These are contrasted with themes in Blair's speech which, in general, celebrated (white) British national character and took a traditional 'divided communities' perspective on UK multiculturalism while introducing further measures to encourage 'integration'. The paper describes the dilemmas and challenges faced in formulating a report for this context, in particular issues about developing a narrative in a highly contested field, complicity with power and credentials to speak. It argues, too, that although ostensibly an exceptional opportunity, more mundane acts of knowledge transfer might be more effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The government has explicitly identified housing as a key dimension of its strategy for refugee integration, the goal being to assist new migrants to access decent, safe, secure and affordable accommodation. Yet the evidence suggests that many asylum seekers and refugees experience housing deprivation and insecurity. The precise meaning of housing ‘integration’, what it can and should achieve, and how progress towards integration can be measured is uncertain and sometimes contested terrain. Drawing on qualitative research across five English localities, the paper explores what local housing providers and community development workers feel are the prerequisites for successful housing integration. The discussion focuses on the induction process, on-going support, ‘move-on’ support for new refugees, and the need to combat racist harassment. The paper concludes that despite good intentions and some localised successes, there are still many obstacles to refugee housing integration, which arise from multiple gaps in provision, choice and support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]