‘Drink a 12 box before you go’: pre-loading among young people in Aotearoa New Zealand

The practice of pre-loading—drinking large amounts of alcohol rapidly in private spaces prior to socialising in the night-time economy—has come to notice recently in the study of alcohol-related harm, but no studies have explored these phenomena in Aotearoa New Zealand. We used a theoretical framework developed with public health alcohol studies for understanding drinking cultures that conceptualises patterns of behaviours as arising within a dynamic interaction between forces of hedonism, function and control. We report findings from 34 focus groups conducted with 18–25 year olds as part of a project supported by the Marsden Fund, between 2011 and 2012, to investigate drinking cultures among young people. Our thematic analyses of participants’ accounts of pre-loading show that the term is in common use, applying to a range of practices motivated by price of alcohol but influenced by the pleasures of intoxication, the importance of peer processes and certain aspects of the regulatory system. We conclude with a discussion of the usefulness of the framework and the implications of the findings for public health policy that aims to reduce alcohol consumption and the harm that arises from it.     

‘Going through the doors of pain’: asylum seeker and Convention refugee experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand

A qualitative study by ChangeMakers Refugee Forum and the National Refugee Network of the experiences of 18 Convention refugees has highlighted that the standards of safety and protection that Aotearoa New Zealand is obliged to extend to Convention refugees are inadequately met; most notably that there is a significant disparity between United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees quota refugees and Convention refugees, despite there being no distinction between the two within the 1951 Refugee Convention. Themes relating to participants' experiences of destitution, discrimination, and the deterioration of their physical and mental health during the process of seeking asylum and protection emerged from the study. Lack of resources, information and insufficient policies amounts to a lack of security and protection for Convention refugees in Aotearoa New Zealand, revealing an environment where funding, collaboration, and political and public goodwill are minimal.     

Making Sense of Inequalities: How Do Clinical Commissioning Groups in England Understand their New Role?

This research explored how newly forming clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) were beginning to think about their new ‘duty’ to tackle health inequalities (HIs), as outlined in UK health policy. The concept of ‘sensemaking’ (Weick 1995) was used to illustrate the influences on CCGs’ interpretations of the policy. Three CCGs in the North of England were recruited, and qualitative methods, including interviews, observations and document analysis, were used to collect data, over a period from January 2012 to December 2012. The tangibility of central policy objectives is important in providing clear guidance and direction to organizations trying to tackle large scale policy agendas such as HIs. At a local level, both individual and collective organizational histories and wider relationships were influential on the way CCGs understood the problem of HIs and how they decided to try to tackle the issue locally. The research highlights what influences local level relationships and what factors need to be considered when trying to interpret and implement national policy at a local level.     

Fruit safety regulations in the transatlantic region: How are Africa’s exports faring with the regulations?

The regulations of fruit trade for safe consumption are taken seriously in the EU and US markets to protect the health of the consumers, animals, plants and environmental safety, and thereby reduce health expenditures. The fruit safety regulations as trade policy measures could be either trade-promoting or -impeding. The extensiveness and intensiveness of fruit safety regulations in these markets often have consequences for exporters from Africa and their desire to attain sustainable economic development. The effects of fruit safety regulations are heterogeneous across economic agents. To this end, many stakeholders in Africa’s food system have perceived compliance with these food regulatory measures as necessary conditions to access the developed countries’ markets, particularly in the EU and US. Besides, the competitiveness of Africa’s fruit exports has been impacted by the preponderance of the measures despite its comparative advantages in the fruits sub-sector. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of the EU and US sanitary and phytosanitary measures on Africa’s fruit exports. The empirical strategy involves the use of an augmented gravity model which explore the disentangling of these impact at the extensive and intensive margins of exports. Given the nature of trade data and specifically for this study, the zero trade flows are considered at both margins of exports for 45 African countries from 1995 to 2017. This study finds that the US market is more trade-impeding to Africa’s fruit exports than the EU market. Thus, Africa needs policies tweaking in the fruit value chain quality infrastructure, fruits’ quality and standards enforcement, capacity development, continuous update and modernisation of the fruits’ safety laws, directives and/or regulations. This will enhance the fruits’ quality to propel their access to the transatlantic markets.     

Moving from ‘what we know works’ to ‘what we do in practice’: An evidence overview of implementation and diffusion of innovation in transition to adulthood for care experienced young people

Global research has shown that most young people who are care experienced are not prepared to transition to independent living at 18 years of age and require support into early adulthood. We used rigorous systematic methods to identify English-based peer reviewed and grey literature describing innovations relevant to care experienced young people as they transition into adulthood, with a focus upon lessons for their implementation and diffusion. We synthesised the evidence narratively and organise data linked to seven key areas important to the transition to adulthood: (1) Health and well-being; (2) relationships; (3) education and training; (4) employment; (5) participation in society; (6) accommodation; (7) other. Twenty-five papers met our inclusion criteria. This review has found that, whilst there are a broad spectrum of innovations taking place within the social care environment for care experienced young people to support their transition into adulthood, there exists limited insight into how best to support implementation and diffusion of evidence-based innovation. We drew upon the ‘Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research’, developed in the setting of clinical service delivery, to highlight challenges in implementing and diffusing evidence-based innovation for care experienced young people transitioning into adulthood.     

How do immigrant parents of children with complex health needs manage to cope in their daily lives?

Daily life with children who have complex health needs can be stressful for parents. Immigrant parents are vulnerable to stress because they may lack language skills and knowledge about the health care system and have limited social networks. In this study, we focus on how immigrant parents of children with complex health needs use emotion‐focused and problem‐focused coping strategies to manage their daily life, and how their self‐efficacy and the immigration process may affect their coping. This qualitative study had an exploratory design with individual and focus group interviews. The sample comprised 27 parents—18 mothers and 9 fathers—from Pakistan, Poland, and Vietnam. The findings indicated that the parents' love for their child helps them to cope in their daily life. Newly arrived migrants, single mothers with a severely ill child who lacked support and migrant parents with language difficulties struggle to cope. Some of the stress is related to personal, social and structural problems, and to the insufficient resources available to meet the child's needs. The parents used both emotion‐focused and problem‐focused coping strategies. The parents noted that access to both universal and selective welfare services is an important factor that contributed to their self‐efficacy and coping.     

From the ‘cape of despair’ to the Cape of Good Hope: letters of the emigrant poor in early nineteenth-century England

This article draws on an unusually rich archive to explore the motives and mentality of poor English emigrants in the early nineteenth century. In 1819, the Colonial Department advertised a subsidized emigration scheme to South Africa; 2000 people wrote letters of application preserved in the National Archives. In studying the emigrant poor, historians have been primarily dependent on numerical data derived from passenger lists. The letters of application of 1819 allow more nuanced conclusions about the circumstances and the aspirations of the poor emigrant at a time of severe economic distress. The correspondence shows which trades were particularly drawn to emigration, particularly the framework knitters and the weavers who had lost not only their regular income but their trades. The letters also shed light on the gender tensions which lay beneath the surface of what was promoted as family migration. Most telling of all, the letters show that among the poor there was more to the decision to emigrate than fatalism and passivity. Poor emigrants expected to have to work for their living, but with the reward of greater security, enhanced prosperity, and – in the case of the male majority – the achievement of ‘independence’.     

Radical change or more of the same? Public attitudes towards social citizenship in New Zealand since neoliberal reform

International empirical evidence, including that from Australia, suggests that neoliberal reform has not changed public attitudes towards the social rights of citizenship as much as one might predict. But do these international findings hold true for New Zealand, whose institutions were more rapidly transformed by neoliberal reform than similar countries? Drawing upon public opinion data regarding economic protectionism and the welfare state over the past two decades, this paper argues that while some significant changes have emerged there is no overwhelming evidence of a paradigmatic shift in public attitudes towards social citizenship rights as a result of New Zealand's neoliberal reform. Indeed, New Zealand's experience appears as ambiguous and ambivalent as that of Australia, albeit different policy and historical settings have produced some differences in public attitudes.     

Debiasing or regularisation? Two interpretations of the concept of ‘true preference’ in behavioural economics

Theory and Decision - I reconsider Bleichrodt, Pinto Prades and Wakker’s (BPW) 2001 paper about eliciting utility measures from stated preference surveys. That paper pioneers a method that is...     

Conspiracy to corrupt public morals and the ‘unlawful’ status of homosexuality in Britain after 1967

The common law offence of conspiracy to corrupt public morals has a long though controversial history in English law. It was a charge mainly employed against obscenity, procuring prostitution, keeping a disorderly house, public indecency and public mischief. These could be interpreted by the courts as facets of a single offence known as conspiracy to corrupt public morals. The charge was used intermittently in the twentieth century, mainly against the arrangement of prostitution and ‘disorderly houses’ used by homosexual men. It was applied again in 1960 in the Ladies Directory case and was subsequently used against gay men who advertised for friends and partners in the underground magazine International Times (IT). The prosecution of IT was based on the legal principle that certain forms of ‘outrageously immoral’ conduct were in themselves corrupting of public morals, whether such conduct was legal or not. This principle placed male homosexuality in the legal category of ‘unlawful’ or ‘wrongful’ acts. In that sense, even after the decriminalization of homosexuality between men in 1967, it still had an uncertain legal status. Conspiracy to corrupt public morals cast a shadow over early attempts to create a gay civil society that was partly based on magazines and personal advertising. For conservative critics of the 1967 Act, conspiracy charges had the useful effect of curtailing public expressions of homosexuality.     

How to get evidence? The role of government–business interaction in evidence-based policy-making for the development of Internet of Things industry in China

This paper provides theoretical bases and a framework to describe the incremental process of macro-level innovation policy-making for emerging industry in China and the role of government–business (G–B) interactions in generating policy-making evidence. By analyzing the decision-making processes of three macro-level innovation policies for the Internet of Things as a mode of industry development, the paper finds that the macro-level innovation policy-making resulted from a gradual sub-issue solving in each of several sub-processes. The specific micro-level policy tools are formed and implemented through G–B interactions to generate evidence, and these processes are gradual and incremental, helping policy-makers to overcome the high levels of uncertainties in emerging industry development. Five interactive approaches in this research are identified: inspections, investigations, soft lobbying, conferences, and cooperation. The patterns of interactions vary with the nature of the innovation policies. Our findings contribute to the evidence-based policy-making perspective, by clarifying the innovation policy-making sub-process and the evidence-generating mechanism of G–B interactions in dealing with emerging industry development uncertainties.     

How are policies implemented in children's services? Developing an initial programme theory to evaluate the implementation of the new Child Sexual Exploitation guidance in Wales

Although children's social care is an area rich in guidance, there is very little research looking at the implementation of new policies in the United Kingdom. In this article, we report on the first stage of a realist evaluation of the implementation of the new Safeguarding Children from Child Sexual Exploitation guidance in Wales. We discuss the development of an initial programme theory, for which we conducted semi-structured interviews with practitioners and managers in three local authorities. We developed programme theories across three areas: policy nature and development, implementation plans and organizational context. Findings suggest that, for policies to produce a significant impact on practice, they need to be sufficiently different to social workers' current perceptions of practice. Second, we found that the coordination between national and local policies is critical for successful implementation as contradictions between them might lead to confusion in what local teams should prioritize. Finally, our findings highlight the importance of effective communication of policy changes, as well as a supportive organizational culture to strengthen implementation in local contexts. These findings illustrate the complexity of policy implementation and the need for policymakers to consider the meaningful involvement of local practitioners in national policy development.     

Who Participates,How and Why in Urban Regeneration Projects? The Case of the New ‘City’ of East Manchester

Participation is advocated by political leaders as crucial for enhancing social responsibility, building social capital, improving public services, qualifying for full citizenship and for enabling local democratic participation. Despite this increased commitment to encouraging public participation, however, there remains a lack of understanding of what motivates individuals to become community activists. This analysis of urban regeneration confirms that participation is a minority sport reflecting the reluctance and/or inability of the majority of community members to engage. The motives for that minority of local people who do engage are, therefore, important for policy-makers and academics to understand. This research project in east Manchester reveals that the motives of activists are varied and more nuanced than is proposed by existing social science theories such as rational choice, social network theory or the application of such concepts as citizen-consumers. A hybridized model which privileges social network theory without, however, entirely excluding ideas of the consumer-citizen and rational choice is advocated as a more effective way of explaining both community activism and also the varying levels and durability of individual participation. If participation is to increase, however, it is vital that the nuanced motives of participants are better appreciated.     

‘I make use of my precious experience,and help others. It's a kind of blessing.’ Does public sharing of past experiences help in the rehabilitation of former offenders or drug abusers?

The Community Education Service (CES) of The Society of Rehabilitation and Crime Prevention (SRACP) has pioneered the adoption of life education in crime prevention education in Hong Kong since 1977. Under this programme, former offenders and drug abusers are recruited to share their experiences with community audiences. Through such sharing, it is hoped that the former offenders and drug abusers will gain a deeper insight into the consequences of committing crime or abusing drugs, have the courage to admit their failings and find the way to lead a more fulfilling and law-abiding life.

In the past, different organizations have employed former offenders and drug abusers in educational programmes, particularly in relation to the prevention of juvenile delinquency. A number of studies demonstrate the educational effectiveness of sharing past deviant behaviours with audiences. Moreover, the mission of SRACP is to help the reintegration into society of former offenders and drug abusers. Consequently, employing former offenders and drug abusers to share their experiences serves another important function; to facilitate the transformation of their past histories into valuable assets and help with their own rehabilitation during the process of serving others, as suggested by ‘helper therapy’ and ‘professional ex-s’ (Brown 1991). A successful rehabilitation means success in reducing recidivism.

This paper examines whether sharing one's real-life experiences with others can influence the rehabilitation process, and provides recommendations for improving service delivery to benefit both audience and the speakers themselves. Fifteen individuals who were formerly either offenders or drug abusers, aged between 18 and 45 years, and who had led a ‘clean’ life for the previous six months, took part in in-depth interviews in order to investigate their perceptions of the function of real-life experience sharing in their own rehabilitation. Concepts of labelling theory (Becker 1963) and self-fulfilling prophecy (Wilkins 1976) provided the framework for these interviews.

The study concludes that respondents are normally able to help themselves to resist crime and drugs, given that the internal and external factors affecting sharing are well addressed. The results identify practical implications and directions for future involvement of former offenders and drug abusers in community-based crime prevention education programmes.     

How effective do families of non–English‐speaking background (NESB) and child protection caseworkers in Australia see the use of interpreters? A qualitative study to help inform good practice principles

Little empirical research has been conducted in Australia on what constitutes as effective practice with interpreters in child protection matters. This study aimed to address this gap. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 29 non–English‐speaking background (NESB) client families and 17 child protection caseworkers (as part of a larger study). Four examples of good practice (e.g. accurate translation) and 14 examples of ineffective practice emerged. The examples of poor practice were consequently grouped as issues with: (i) interpreters (e.g. inaccurate translation); (ii) caseworkers (e.g. insufficient time); (iii) NESB families (e.g. refusing to use an interpreter); and (iv) resources (e.g. insufficient face‐to‐face interpreters). As expected, the results largely replicate the (scant) national and international literature, indicating that features of good practice, and barriers to them, are similar across multicultural countries. This paper does however argue that training for interpreters dealing in such sensitive matters and training for caseworkers on working effectively with interpreters seem to be at the heart of good practice. This study is significant because it draws on the richness of data that qualitative methods offer to identify the full range of relevant variables and provide empirical support for principles of good practice.