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Background: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a practice that involves the removal of external female genitalia and is widely known as a violation of human rights. The custom is illegal in the United Kingdom (UK) and carries a sentence of up to 14 years in prison. This prohibition, along with the secretive nature of the practice, has led to limited research on the awareness of FGM on young people in the UK. Little is known about the process of involving young people in research about the topic. Methods: This paper is based on the findings of a Ph.D. project that used a community-based participatory research approach (CBPR). The research took a two-stage approach: stage one aimed to recruit nine young people aged 15–18, from the Southwest of England, who attended a 10-day training workshop to prepare them for stage two—data collection with young people aged 13–15. This paper focuses on the 10-day creative, collaborative workshops. The data collected from the collaborative workshops were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Undertaking CBPR enhanced the quality and relevance of this research. Engaging young people as co-researchers was vital for the success of this project. By developing a collaborative learning environment, young people were able to build trusting relationships which flourished beyond the research project. In addition, the creative workshops enabled peer learning about FGM and inspired young people to learn new skills that was useful in their daily lives. Conclusion: The collaborative environment created in this project enabled an insightful learning experience for young people and researchers alike. Participants and facilitators formed relationships; participants learned new marketable skills and researchers gained new insights about FGM, from a young person's perspective. Plain English summary: Making sure that young people are involved in research is important. It can sometimes be hard for young people to get involved with research involving a sensitive topic, such as female genital mutilation. This may be due to several reasons, one of which is the hidden nature of the practice, which may make it harder for researchers to engage and involve the youth. This project involved a group of second-generation youth from FGM-affected communities as co-researchers in a community based participatory research (CBPR) approach, which examined how second-generation youth, living in the United Kingdom (UK)—whether directly or indirectly affected by FGM—interpreted and understood the practice. We followed a two-stage process. Stage one involved recruiting and training young people to become co-researchers, and stage two involved the co-researchers conducting focus groups and interviews with their peers. The focus of this paper is stage one. Nine young people aged 15–18, attended a 10-day creative workshop training programme [7] and worked with the researcher to develop participatory methods that would be used with young people aged 13–15 at stage two of the project. The workshops employed team-building approaches and interactive learning techniques, including drawing and writing. Participants and facilitators formed relationships; participants learned new marketable skills and researchers gained new insights about FGM, from a young person's perspective. There were some difficult parts of running the sessions, such as, the time needed to make sure the sessions run smoothly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite predominantly lower social class origins, the second generation of established immigrant groups in the UK are now attaining high levels of education. However, they continue to experience poorer labour market outcomes than the majority population. These worse outcomes are often attributed in part to their disadvantaged origins, which do not, by contrast, appear to constrain their educational success. This paper engages with this paradox. We discuss potential mechanisms for second‐generation educational success and how far we might expect these to be replicated in labour market outcomes. We substantiate our discussion with new empirical analysis. Drawing on a unique longitudinal study of England and Wales spanning 40 years and encompassing one per cent of the population, we present evidence on the educational and labour market outcomes of the second generation of four groups of immigrants and the white British majority, controlling for multiple measures of social origins. We demonstrate that second‐generation men and women's educational advantage is only partially reflected in the labour market. We reflect on the implications of our findings for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary aim of this paper was to understand expressed emotion (EE) and its relationship to wellbeing in South Asians (SAs) living in the UK. A total of 529 participants of South Asian heritage were recruited from the UK and completed an online survey consisting of the family questionnaire, the level of expressed emotion scale (LEE), warmth measure, the hospital anxiety and depression scale. Components of EE and wellbeing were investigated using network analysis. Overall, the participants were classified as low EE for criticism, but high for emotional overinvolvement. They scored relatively high on the warmth scale. LEE scores were in the middle range. The network analysis revealed unique associations between EE subscales and symptoms of depression and anxiety, and highlighted positive aspects of EE. The network analysis also highlighted differences in EE between parents and partner. The findings provide an overview of the interactions and influence of EE variables within this population. Future research should focus on the differences between SA ethnicities and religions; differentiating between intrusive and non-intrusive involvement may help further explain part of the variance between variables; exploring first and second-generation immigrants would help discover the impact of acculturation and intergenerational trauma on EE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sacred kings of Late Iron Age northern Britain are thought to have symbolised fertility and considered responsible for the wellbeing of the lands and people; components of a system of governance maintained by conservative religious beliefs and champions of a local goddess of sovereignty, also associated with the cuckoo and the planet Venus. Their regicide was undertaken by their successors with a sacred spear at cult-sites at eight-year intervals when Venus set at its evening extreme at Samhain. Titled after the cuckoo, the symbol of male fertility across Europe, they mimicked the cuckoo's polygynous behaviour. Others have suggested their exploits were based on myths about the cuckoo. They are recalled in Irish legends, Arthurian tales and the writings of contemporary authors, depicted on stones and confirmed in recent place-name and archaeoastronomy studies, but not previously recognised. This paper explores the evidence for, and significance of, British, Irish and continental European warrior-champions named after the cuckoo. The study strongly suggests a continuity of cosmological beliefs, celestial associations, myths and legends, religious symbolism, sacred kingship and governance of tribal societies from the Indo-European immigrants to Britain until the adoption of Christianity and its associated form of kingship by the Picts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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