Carnivalesque activism as a public relations genre: A case study of the New Zealand group Mothers Against Genetic Engineering

This paper argues that carnivalesque protest comprises a particular genre of activist public relations which articulates conflict with, and resistance to, dominant discourses on controversial issues. A case study of the New Zealand group Mothers Against Genetic Engineering illustrates how the carnivalesque, by promoting community relationships and influencing public opinion through values of affect, can open up new spaces for public dialogue about social issues. It is argued that carnivalesque protest challenges the notion that collaboration should be a core professional value of public relations practice.     

Questioning Research with Children: Discrepancy between Theory and Practice?

This paper argues that current child and childhood research is problematical in as much as there is a discrepancy between theory and research practice. Although in theory, children are conceptualised as active agents in the social world, the type of research that children are typically involved in implies that children are competent, knowledgeable and affective only in terms of their own lives, their own spaces, their own childhoods. The implications of this discrepancy are discussed. The paper concludes that although research that contributes to a greater understanding of childhood experiences is important, it is equally important to involve children in research that goes beyond 'childhood'.     

The paradox of parental participation and legal representation in ‘edge of care’ meetings

This paper assesses the nature of parental participation and legal representation in pre‐proceedings meetings in England and Wales. These are called when a local authority is considering care proceedings on a child. The parent(s) are invited to a meeting to discuss the concerns, and are entitled to attend with a lawyer. The paper draws on findings from a study of the process which included a file survey of over 200 cases, observations of 36 meetings and interviews with more than 90 key informants, including parents. The aim of the process is (usually) to reach an agreement to prevent the case going to court, but the families are usually well known to children's services, and have been through many meetings and agreements before. What then are the possibilities for parental participation and legal representation in the meetings? The study shows that they may help bring a greater degree of clarity to the local authority's proposals, but are not expected to challenge them. Paradoxically, they serve to reinforce the authority's position. The meetings can help divert cases, but it is important to be realistic about the chances of change in these often long‐standing ‘edge of care’ cases.     

Job satisfaction and ‘welfare‐to‐work‘: is any job a good job for Australian single mothers?

This exploratory study sought to assess the job satisfaction of employed Australian single mothers who had mandatory employment participation requirements. In particular, we sought to identify the characteristics of the job and the individual that were closely associated with participant's job satisfaction. Self‐report data on job satisfaction, employment characteristics and parenting stress were collected from 155 employed single mothers. Participant job satisfaction was compared to female Australian population norms and linear regression analyses determined the job‐related and individual predictors of single mothers' job satisfaction. Findings from this exploratory study revealed that single mothers involved in a mandatory welfare‐to‐work program experienced significantly lower job satisfaction than the Australian female population. The individual variable, parental distress, negatively predicted each of the six job satisfaction domains while being employed on a casual basis was inversely associated with three domains (job security, work hours and overall job satisfaction). The Australian government purported that making the transition from welfare to work would improve wellbeing for program participants, under the assumption that ‘any job's a good job‘. However, the relatively low levels of job satisfaction experienced by single mothers in the current study provide little support for this assumption.     

Getting back in the DeLorean: modernization vs. anti-modernization in contemporary British politics

ABSTRACT

This article highlights a growing clash between mainstream modernizing and populist anti-modernizing forces in the UK. Whilst scholarship on UK party politics has, for the past three decades, focussed on processes of party modernization, little attention has been paid to the countervailing processes of resistance towards modernization. This contrasts with comparative studies, which show that throughout much of Europe modernization processes have worked to produce populist backlashes from anti-modernizing forces seeking to reassert various types of traditional values and practices. Drawing on the comparative literature on modernization, our argument here is that a similar populist backlash against modernization is occurring across the political spectrum in the UK and has been a factor in: the rise of nationalism associated with UKIP and the SNP; the 2016 BREXIT vote and the efforts of both Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Conservative PM Theresa May to distance their parties from the legacies of their modernizing predecessors. Empirically, we show how this increasingly prevalent line of conflict is playing out in the UK, whilst theoretically we argue that a discourse theoretical approach can provide significant advantages over existing approaches for understanding the dynamic interplay between modernizing and anti-modernizing discourses.     

It's More Than an M‐shape: The Political Economy of Female Non‐Standard Workers in the Republic of Korea

This study examines the re‐entrance of female workers into the Korean labor market. We highlight that women in their 40s have the highest rate of employment among all female workers and that a large proportion of these women are entering into non‐standard employment. In approaching this question, we examine the political economy of this phenomenon by first discussing the demand side of the Korean labor market using the gendering of the varieties of capitalism argument and then the supply side with the work–life balance argument. When examining re‐entrance into the labor market, women with general skills with lower education and higher education both found it more feasible to re‐enter the labor market as non‐standard workers. While work–life balance is a prominent reason for women's choice of opting out of the labor market, work–life balance choice mattered less for women re‐entering the labor market as non‐standard workers in their 40s and 50s but instead firmly based skill formation mattered more. In addition, the retail service industry is suggested to absorb a large number of female workers with lower skill levels who would have had difficulties in re‐entering other male‐oriented companies.     

Factors Influencing Uptake and Use of a New Health Information App for Young People

Abstract

When young people need health information they are increasingly likely to use online sources and health apps (applications). Yet, these are not necessarily well-designed, reliable or appropriate, and research has primarily focused on adult use. Our study is the first to use qualitative mixed methods (focus groups and interviews) to apply the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to understand 26 young people’s uptake and use of a new, clinically-approved health app (application) for 16–25?year olds. We found that perceived usefulness, perceived ease-of-use, social influences and trust, all differently impacted children and young people health-app acceptance and effectiveness. Implications for future research and young-person health-app development are discussed.     

Assessing Listening in Elementary and Junior High Schools: An Examination of Four Listening Tests

The major object of the Calgary Listening Inquiry Project (CLIP) was the undertaking of school-based studies derived from teacher-defined problems and concerns with listening instruction. Another objective was development, implementation, and assessment of effective strategies and materials for teaching and evaluating listening. Four tests—Listening Comprehension Tests (LCT), Alberta Listening Tests (ALT), Test of Adolescent Language (TOAL), and Thinking Creatively with Sounds and Words (TCSW)—were administered. Discussion concerns the nature of these tests and how the use and study of them helped teachers not only to acquire data about students' listening skills but also to develop a vocabulary about listening and to define their questions. Teachers developed a Listening Profile for use as a student checklist for listening skill development and two Listening Awareness Assessment Questionnaires to obtain student feedback and to involve students as participants in CLIP.     

Research Note: The LIVITY study: research challenges and strategies for engaging with the black caribbean community in a study of HIV infection

There is an increasing incidence of new HIV‐1 diagnoses among black Caribbeans in the UK, but there has been limited research in this area. The LIVITY study is the first in‐depth epidemiological and behavioural study to examine the impact of HIV among black Caribbeans in the UK. The UK black Caribbean community has traditionally been regarded as less likely to participate in clinical research and surveys. We identified three major challenges to recruitment to the LIVITY study: general distrust of the research process; the considerable stigma surrounding HIV in the black Caribbean community and the sensitivity of obtaining detailed sexual histories. The strategies devised to help overcome these barriers to optimise recruitment included: the establishment of a black Caribbean Community Advisory Group to facilitate communication between the community and the researchers and assist in questionnaire design to improve acceptability to the participants; use of healthcare practitioners as gatekeepers; extensive piloting and modification of the questionnaire among black Caribbean patients; reassurances of confidentiality during recruitment; and ethnic matching between interviewer and study participants. Another challenge was the high rate of loss to follow‐up among eligible patients, potentially compromising the study’s generalisability. Nevertheless, use of the above strategies resulted in a satisfactory enrolment rate of 57%, who were representative of all eligible patients.