Search

The UK's abundant municipal water supply has resulted in slow progress with the uptake of rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems within the home. Research has indicated that exploring public preferences for domestic RWH are necessary for increasing demand. Here, we use explicit and implicit tests to investigate public perceptions of RWH for non-potable uses, and compare perceptions of respondents with and without domestic RWH systems. RWH is perceived positively by most respondents indicating an openness and acceptance of this technology (and/or lack of strong negative attitudes). Implicit attitudes are generally more positive than explicit, especially in respondents with RWH systems, implying that the positivity is deep-seated in their subconsciousness. We also reveal differences between subconscious (implicit) beliefs and practical difficulties (explicit opinions). Outdoor uses of rainwater are preferred, hence, more work in promoting indoor uses is needed to maximise the resource potential of UK rainfall and uptake of RWH systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the impact of a changing higher education system on young adults' priorities and motivations. A considerable number of studies have explored the impact of recent changes on patterns of participation "within" higher education. However, there has been less emphasis on how such changes have been played out in the experiences of graduates and, more specifically, in the interface between higher education and lifelong learning. To redress this gap, this article explores the changes to graduates' experiences brought about by the "massification" of the higher education system. Research conducted amongst young people in Australia has suggested that as result of the normalisation of post-compulsory education and the encouragement of high aspirations, young people have come to assume a one-to-one relationship between being qualified and having a lasting professional career. It has been argued that as a result of these assumptions, young adults are often disappointed when they do eventually enter the labour market, and experience uncertainties previously associated with the end of compulsory schooling. If young adults do indeed feel misled about the rewards of a higher education, it is possible that this may have a significant bearing on their perceptions of the value of engaging in further education and training in the future. Drawing on 90 life history interviews with graduates in their mid-twenties, this article explores the prevalence of such attitudes in the UK and their impact on young adults' attitudes to lifelong learning. (Contains 1 table and 4 notes.)

This paper draws on life history interviews with young adults in the UK to consider Manuela du Bois-Reymond's claims about the increasing prevalence of "trendsetter learners" across Europe. Du Bois-Reymond has argued that certain groups of young adults are at the forefront of developing new forms of learning in response to what they perceive to be the failings of formal education--namely the disjuncture between theory and practice within the education that they are offered and a lack of respect from many of the teachers with whom they come into contact. These young adults, she contends, are the "trendsetter learners", creating youth cultural capital that helps them to realise self-determined ways of living and learning. In considering some of these claims, this paper draws on data from the "Young Graduates and Lifelong Learning" project funded by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council. Between September 2005 and January 2006, 90 in-depth life history interviews were conducted with graduates from six higher education institutions. Our findings suggest that the degree of autonomy, freedom and creativity in young people's patterns of learning that underpin du Bois-Reymond's analysis is over-stated. We argue that, while du Bois-Reymond's work makes an important contribution to conceptualising the ways in which young Europeans engage with learning, her dichotomy between "trendsetter" learners and their "disengaged" counterparts overlooks: complexities inherent in this relationship, the social status attached to particular forms of more traditional education and training, and the structuring nature of much workplace learning. (Contains 4 notes.)

The UK's National Adult Learning Survey has emphasised that graduates are more likely than other groups of people to engage in further learning and to be motivated by the intrinsic nature of the subject matter. However, beyond this we know relatively little about the learning of graduates as a specific group. In particular, we know very little about how experiences of higher education affect attitudes towards learning in the years after graduation. To start to redress this gap, this paper draws on in-depth interviews with 90 graduates from six different UK higher education institutions, five years after they completed their first degree. It argues that, in the case of many of these young adults, the influence of higher education on further learning was exerted at three levels in relation to: the process of learning; the construction of learner identities; and understandings of the relationship between learning and the wider world. (Contains 4 notes and 1 table.)

At a time when "personal development planning" is being rolled out across the UK higher education sector, this paper explores young adults' inclinations to plan for the future in relation to work, relationships and other aspects of life. Although Giddens has emphasised the prevalence of strategic life planning (or the "colonisation of the future") in all strata of contemporary society, du Bois Reymond has argued that there are important differences by social class, with young people from more privileged backgrounds more likely than their peers to engage in such life-planning activities. This paper draws on interviews with 90 young adults (in their mid-20s) to question some of these assumptions about relationships between social location and propensity to plan for the future. It shows how, within this sample at least, there was a strong association between having had a privileged "learning career" (such as attending a high-status university and identifying as an "academic high flier") and a "disinclination" to form detailed plans for the future. In part, this appeared to be related to a strong sense of ontological security and the confidence to resist what Giddens terms "an increasingly dominant temporal outlook." (Contains 2 tables.)

This article draws upon results from an ESRC-funded research project exploring young graduates' attitudes to, and experiences of, further education or learning postgraduation. Respondents' narratives indicated a strong emphasis upon job-based learning, or training, over and above an oft-stated desire to do further study "for its own sake". Whilst the majority of graduates expressed contentment with their work-leisure-education balance, a significant number also marked up a desire for "leisure-learning" which was not "yet" possible due to the demands of work and work-based training. This prompts questions about how we, and the graduates, conceptualise the "use" of having a degree in an era of higher education massification, exploring issues of "generic" skills and personal growth. It also raises questions about the role and function of wider "lifelong learning" practices for those in their twenties, as well as the status of the work-leisure-education balance of young professionals, and whether this encourages or discourages efforts to develop a "learning society". (Contains 1 table and 5 notes.)

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) are today widely considered to be a more progressive and environmentally sensitive approach to Flood Risk Management (FRM). However, this paper argues that the sustainability of SuDS should not be so simply presumed. Devices will depend upon correct behaviour from those local to them in order to function properly over time, and for Green Infrastructure SuDS to flourish and deliver their promised multiple benefits. This paper looks to the potential value in using Social Practice Theory as a lens for understanding current behaviours around SuDS devices, and for assessing possible strategies for encouraging positive behaviour amongst affected communities. It concludes in arguing that involving local people as much as possible in the co-design of systems and then working to maintain involvement and awareness will be the most cost-effective means by which SuDS might be made to live up to the sustainability they are celebrated for.

Across three years (2017–2020), the ESRC Seminar series, "Civil Agency, Society and Climate Adaptation to Weather Extremes" (CASCADE-NET) critically examined the changing role of civil society in extreme weather adaptation. One full-day seminar explored "less heard voices" within Civil Society, considering ways of engaging diverse groups in resiliency, knowledge exchange, and capacity building. A small interdisciplinary group from the seminar followed up with a roundtable discussion, conducted online, discussing first who the less-heard voices in society are, and how labels, such as "vulnerable" and "hard to reach", might need to be reappraised, and concluding that it is often those in power who make themselves "hard to reach" and who fail to listen. The group then discussed how deeper engagement with citizens and communities can be achieved through improved relationships and networks. Finally, the roundtable discussed how the succession of crises affecting the UK (and other settings) could, paradoxically, present an opportune moment to press the case for a more joined-up and inclusive civil society. The concluding section summarizes key insights from the roundtable and identifies opportunities to rethink engagement with "hard to reach" groups. To answer our question of "how to" engage diverse groups, we conclude with the action points to change the orientation of the powerful to (i) be genuinely open to listening to, and acting upon the voices of less heard groups; (ii) listen on the terms of groups who are voicing their experience, rather than force them into pre-arranged consultation formats; (iii) engage early, widely and frequently; (iv) build trust by demonstrating willingness to listen, through actions; (v) tackle historical mistrust, unequal resources, experiences of neglect or exploitation that undermine groups' interest in engaging with the powerful. A transformation in orientation to community engagement is in order if we are to produce effective, locally attuned, collective action in the face of social shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change-related extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe, requiring urgent action to effectively plan for them. While disabled women are one group likely to be disproportionately and negatively affected by disasters, they are often not included in disaster planning. This commentary paper utilizes McRuer's Crip Theory as a lens to explore this topic, where the strength of disabled women's capacity to positively contribute to effective disaster planning becomes evident. Their lived understandings of negotiating often unacknowledged barriers can act as useful tools to assuage the impacts of disasters. Their experiences are recognized under the rubric of crip theory as neither deviant nor "other", but as capabilities worthy of mainstreaming. Disaster situations that may be seen as chaotic to those accustomed to services and environments that closely match their requirements, could be perceived as both familiar and resolvable to a disabled woman. In this way, disabled women can utilize their everyday problem-solving skills to help tackle these impacts, viewing them as circumstances to be methodically navigated and overcome. Enabling disabled women room at the planning table is neither luxury nor bonus, but essential. Participatory inclusion and successful planning for disabled individuals benefits a much larger swathe of society than initially anticipated, as illustrated in this paper by international examples of best practice. We all profit from more inclusive planning to create more accessible and inclusive communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding public perceptions of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) is critical for addressing barriers to their implementation. Perceptions are typically evaluated using explicit measures (e.g. questionnaires) that are subject to biases and may not fully capture attitudes towards SuDS. A novel image-based application of the Implicit Association Test is developed to investigate unconscious perceptions of SuDS in public greenspace and combined with explicit tests to evaluate perceptions of greenspace with and without SuDS, focusing on a sample population in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Greenspace with or without SuDS is perceived positively by the sample population. Overall, respondents implicitly and explicitly prefer greenspace without SuDS and perceive greenspace without SuDS as more attractive, tidier and safer. The wide distribution of scores for SuDS, nonetheless, suggests a range of opinions and illustrates the complex nature of preferences for the use of greenspace. That the strongly negative explicit scores were not reflected in the implicit tests may suggest that explicit attitudes towards tidiness and safety may not be deep-rooted and are subject to social bias. Combined explicit and implicit tests may help us to understand any disconnect between expressed positive attitudes to natural spaces and behaviours around them and inform SuDS design to increase public acceptance. This article is part of the theme issue 'Urban flood resilience'.