Effects of exposure to occupational violence and the mediating impact of fear

This paper examines the consequences of exposure to work-related violence and in particular, focuses upon the role of fear (of violence) as a mediating variable. The sample comprises UK public house licensees-individuals who manage public houses and hold the licence permitting the sale of alcoholic drinks on the premises. Questionnaires were sent to 479 licensees and a response rate of 51% was achieved. Each questionnaire measured exposure to a range of violent assaults, fear of violence, general well-being, job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Based upon a final sample of 242 pub licensees, regression analyses showed that as the severity of the violence to which licensees were exposed increased, so fear of becoming a victim and symptoms of impaired well-being increased, while job satisfaction and organizational commitment decreased. Hierarchical analyses showed that fear of violence fully mediated the negative impact of exposure upon each of these other variables. It is argued that the management of fear appraisals should be integrated into organizational responses to work-place violence.     

Consent as Resistance,Resistance as Consent: Re‐Reading Part‐Time Professionals’ Acceptance of Their Marginal Positions

The part‐time employee has traditionally occupied a marginal position in organizations. The recent increase in the numbers of part‐time professionals, however, has been seen as offering potential for the status of the part‐time employee to improve. Evidence to date suggests that this improvement has not taken place and that the part‐time professional is also marginalized. Interestingly, research suggests that part‐time professionals may not experience their subordinate positions as problematic, often believing that the drawbacks of reduced hours working are a legitimate consequence of their ‘choice’ to work part‐time. Such ‘choices’ are frequently attributed to part‐timers’ prioritization of non‐work activities. In this article, using a Foucauldian approach to identity, we argue that choices need to be understood as both situated in time and space and constituted through discourse. Using these ideas we provide a re‐reading of part‐timers’ consent to their marginalization, arguing that their responses to their positions at work can also be understood as resistance to some of the dominant norms of professionalism. We set out the conditions that might be implicated in translating subjective resistance into more material actions.     

Invisible or Mainstream? Disability in Surveys and Censuses in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Social Indicators Research - This paper examines to what extent household surveys and censuses in low- and middle-income countries include disability questions and the types of questions under use....     

An agenda for future research regarding the mental health of young people with care experience

Young people who are currently or were previously in state care have consistently been found to have much higher rates of mental health and neurodevelopmental difficulties than the general youth population. While a number of high-quality reviews highlight what research has been undertaken in relation to the mental health of young people with care experience and the gaps in our knowledge and understanding, there is, until now, no consensus, so far as we aware, as to where our collective research efforts should be directed with this important group. Through a series of UK wide workshops, we undertook a consultative process to identify an agreed research agenda between those with lived experience of being in care (n = 15), practitioners, policy makers and researchers (n = 59), for future research regarding the mental health of young people with care experience, including those who are neurodiverse/have a neurodevelopmental difficulty. This consensus statement identified 21 foci within four broad categories: how we conceptualize mental health; under-studied populations; under-studied topics; and underused methodologies. We hope that those who commission, fund and undertake research will engage in this discussion about the future agenda for research regarding the mental health of young people with care experience.     

The 'Scottish' Approach? The discursive construction of a national police force

In 2005, the location of the G8 summit meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, brought the contested boundaries of the state and the nation to the fore. Confronted by the prospect of significant public disorder police forces in Scotland routinely flagged up a 'Scottish approach to policing'. Drawing on research with key police officers and others we explore the processes through which national identities come to be articulated, contested and acted out in the context of one particular institution: the police. We consider the claim that policing of the summit was 'Scottish' and assess the implications of this assertion. Whilst the police have been argued to be integral to the constitution and expression of nation-statehood we highlight the dangers in an uncritical acceptance of police philosophies and also point to the banal ways in which national identity is naturalised.     

It's a long way to Auchterarder! 'Negotiated management' and mismanagement in the policing of G8 protests

Recent analyses of protest policing in Western democracies argue that there has been a marked shift away from oppressive or coercive approaches to an emphasis on consensus based negotiation. King and Waddington (2005) amongst others, however, suggest that the policing of international summits may be an exception to this rule. This paper examines protest policing in relation to the 2005 G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. We argue that 'negotiated management' cannot be imported wholesale as a policing strategy. Rather it is mediated by local history, forms of police knowledge and modes of engagement. Drawing on interviews and participant observation we show that 'negotiated management' works best when both sides are committed to negotiation and that police stereotyping or protestor intransigence can lead to the escalation of any given event. In closing we note the new challenges posed by forms of 'global' protest and consider the implications for future policing of protest.     

Roadmap to recovery: Reporting on a research taskforce supporting Indigenous responses to COVID‐19 in Australia

In April 2020 a Group of Eight Taskforce was convened, consisting of over 100 researchers, to provide independent, research‐based recommendations to the Commonwealth Government on a “Roadmap to Recovery” from COVID‐19. The report covered issues ranging from pandemic control and relaxation of social distancing measures, to well‐being and special considerations for vulnerable populations. Our work focused on the critical needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities; this paper presents an overview of our recommendations to the Roadmap report. In addressing the global challenges posed by pandemics for citizens around the world, Indigenous people are recognised as highly vulnerable. At the time of writing Australia's First Nations Peoples have been largely spared from COVID‐19 in comparison to other Indigenous populations globally. Our recommendations emphasise self‐determination and equitable needs‐based funding to support Indigenous communities to recover from COVID‐19, addressing persistent overcrowded housing, and a focus on workforce, especially for regional and remote communities. These latter two issues have been highlighted as major issues of risk for Indigenous communities in Australia It remains to be seen how governments across Australia take up these recommendations to support Indigenous peoples' health and healing journey through yet another, potentially catastrophic, health crisis.     

Nation speaking unto nation? Newspapers and national identity in the devolved UK

There are two problems with the existing account of the relationship between newspapers and national identity in the UK. The first is that although it is widely assumed that the mass media are central to the reproduction and evolution of national identity this has never been empirically demonstrated. The second is that exactly what comprises the relevant ‘national’ context in the UK is unclear. Content analysis of 2,500 sampled articles, together with qualitative comparison of different editions of the same newspaper titles and interviews with editors and journalists are used to show the extent and nature of ‘national’ frames of reference in newspapers in England and Scotland. Paradoxically, devolution may have reduced the spatial diversity of news stories in the press in England and Scotland.     

The Singapore state's response to migration

Migration trends in Singapore are traced since 1819. Immigration has been encouraged to advance economic development. Local and international factors fuel migration to Singapore. Singapore depends upon foreign labor. Population growth has been mainly due to migration from China, India, Malaysia, and countries surrounding Singapore. Independence in 1965 led to policies aimed at controlling high population growth. Policies became pronatalist after 1987. Foreigners in 1998 were over 18% of the total population, which was six times the number in 1970. About 2000 Singaporeans per year emigrated during the 1990s. Singapore is encouraging overseas industrial development. In 1997, the Prime Minister called for recruitment of foreign talent in order to meet the challenges of an increasingly globalized world, low fertility, and an aging society. Economic planners recommend short-term migration of unskilled foreign workers who would be a revolving pool to fill jobs natives do not want. Singapore is promoting arts and culture in order to keep people in Singapore. The government has issued assurances that natives will have first priority on jobs, education, and training. Singapore's ability to absorb workers will depend upon its economic performance.     

A narrowing gap? Trends in the childlessness of professional women in Australia 1986–2006

This paper examines whether the gap in fertility between women with higher education and in professional occupations and other women has narrowed or widened over time in Australia. Using data from the Australian Census of Population and Housing 1986, 1996 and 2006, the paper focuses on levels of childlessness. Both working women (using occupational categories) and all women (using educational attainment) aged between 20 and 44 were examined. Focusing particularly on women working in, or qualified for, some selected high-prestige professions (doctors, lawyers, dentists and vets), as well as on women with other tertiary qualifications and working in other professional or managerial occupations, the findings suggest that, between 1986 and 2006, childlessness has grown at a slower rate for women with tertiary education than for all women, although women with tertiary education continue to have the highest proportion of childlessness. Our findings for working women were similar, with women working in selected prestigious occupations having the highest rates of childlessness of all working women, but with this growing at a slower rate than was the case overall.