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We care but we’re not carers: perceptions and experiences of social prescribing in a UK national community organisation
No full textAims: (1) To explore how social prescribing referrals impact experiences of existing members of a voluntary and community-based organisation and (2) to describe the processes and relationships associated with joining community and voluntary organisations. Methods: Online survey and qualitative interviews with members of Men’s Sheds, a global volunteer-led initiative to address loneliness and social isolation in men. 93 self-selecting Shed members (average age 67 years, 93% male) from across England and Scotland took part in the survey about demographics, joining the Shed, and free-text questions about experiences in the Shed. From the survey participants, 21 Shed members were purposively sampled and interviewed to explore the impact of social prescribing and referrals on the Sheds. Results: Participating in the Men’s Shed was often associated with a significant change in personal circumstances, and Sheds provided a unique social support space, particularly valuable for men. Key factors around experiences of social prescribing and referral mechanisms were identified. We developed three themes: the experience of joining a Shed, success factors and risks of social prescribing, and ‘we care but we’re not carers’. Conclusions: The results show that Men’s Sheds are a caring organisation, but their members are not trained as professional carers, and men come to the Shed for their own personal reasons. They are concerned about the potential additional responsibilities associated with formal referrals. They encourage the development of relationships and local-level understanding of the essence of Sheds to enable social prescribing. As models of social prescribing grow nationally and internationally, collaboratively working with voluntary and community organisations to develop a mutually beneficial approach is essential for the effectiveness and sustainability of social prescribing in community health
Beyond reliability in first impressions research: Considering validity and the need to “mix it up with folks”
No full text‘First impressions’ are a popular topic in social psychology. They are researched because the initial judgments of others are consequential in everyday life (such as job interviews, first dates, justice outcomes). In the context of broader concerns about the credibility of psychological science, first impressions research has developed commendable initiatives for improving reliability (open stimulus databases, international collaborations, replication studies and reanalyses). However, these initiatives can impact the validity of studying how people form first impressions. There is a long history of critiquing the usefulness of passive-observer judgments of controlled, reduced, presentations of people - and these concerns are still relevant today. Here, we highlight the praiseworthy practices improving reliability in first impressions research, before moving on to identify persistent methodological concerns in the field. Including inadequate stimulus sampling and diversity, constrained participant response options, limited consideration of study context, and limitations of atomised presentations of target people. We identify how these methodological limitations impact on theory development, how we might be over/underestimating everyday experience, and even misunderstanding social differences in autism and mental health. Finally, we identify opportunities for methodological reform, focusing on codifying, not controlling, interactions, promoting inductive, participant-led, methodologies, and asking for stronger theory development and clarity on ‘can’ vs ‘do’ research questions. Overall, we praise reforms for improving the reliability of first impressions research, but improvements to making scientific predictions about first impressions require renewed consideration of validity
The relationship between change in routine and student mental wellbeing during a nationwide lockdown
No full textObjective: During March 2020, the UK entered a national lockdown, causing a sudden change in undergraduate students’ routines. This study uses this event to investigate the impact routine change had on students’ mental wellbeing; in particular looking at depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and eating behaviors. Method: Participants reported their daily routine timings (waking, breakfast, lunch, evening meal and bedtime) and activities (e.g. exercise amount, time with friends, time studying, etc) on a typical Monday, Wednesday and Saturday during term time and lockdown. Additionally they completed the PROMIS measures of anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance, and the Eating Pathology Symptom Inventory. Results: Lockdown saw small but significant shifts in routine timing (on average 1.5 h) However, there was no clear overall pattern of relationships between mental wellbeing and routine structure or magnitude of routine change. There was some evidence of changes in amount of exercise relating to reported anxiety. Discussion: These findings are consistent with the current literature reporting lockdown effects on behavior. Routine timings shifted, but this change was small and largely did not affect the mental wellbeing reported by undergraduate students. The change in amount of exercise posed by lockdown did appear to be an important factor in wellbeing, and more research should focus on the wellbeing implications of closing places for exercise.</p
What does the British public want for farmed animals in the UK? The human-farm animal bond expressed through survey data
No full textFor farmed animals, the human animal bond in any nation is expressed through survey data. This presentation is a case study on British public opinion, based on a 2023 published report [1]. What are British public beliefs and attitudes to farmed animal welfare? Is British public opinion consistent with animal welfare science? And should Government policy be influenced by public attitudes to welfare? The British public supports high animal welfare standards. For instance, a 2022 Focaldata poll found 71% of the British public would like the UK Government to pass more laws to improve welfare [2]. The British public supports more extensive and outdoor systems, and is opposed to cages and mutilations. A 2020 YouGov poll found 88% of the British public believe cages for farmed animals to be cruel, and 77% support a complete ban [3].Despite this, over 70% of farmed animals in the UK are raised intensively [4]. Contemporary intensive farming systems are associated with significant welfare problems. Over 25% of broiler chickens suffer lameness due to rapid growth [5]. Almost all the UK’s indoor breeding sows are severely confined in crates for five weeks per litter [6]. Around 30% of the UK laying flock is kept in modified cages, with the mutilation of beak trimming prevalent [7].All governments have a guardianship role to protect farm animal welfare [8]. Furthermore, given European publics are both citizens and consumers, there are strong democratic and market-based reasons for government policies to reflect public opinion on farmed animal welfare. References1. McCulloch, S. Farm Animal Welfare in the UK: What Does the British Public Want?; Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation: UK, 2023.2. Focaldata. Animal Welfare Standards; 2022.3. Compassion in World Farming. 88% of UK public think cages are cruel. Available online: https://www.ciwf.org.uk/news/2020/12/88-of-uk-public-think-cages-are-cruel (accessed on February 8).4. Compassion in World Farming. UK factory farming map. Available online: https://www.ciwf.org.uk/factory-farm-map/ (accessed on February 14).5. RSPCA. Eat. Sit. Suffer. Repeat: The Life of a Typical Meat Chicken; Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: 2020.6. McCulloch, S. Banning Farrowing Crates in the UK: Transitioning to Free Farrowing to Meet the Welfare Needs of Pigs; Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation: UK, 2022.7. Gov.UK. UK egg packing station throughput and price dataset; DEFRA: 2023.8. Farm Animal Welfare Council. Farm animal welfare in Great Britain: Past, present and future; Farm Animal Welfare Council: London, 2009.<br/
Creating space for dialogue:Exploring what matters for children on St Helena Island through The World Café
Get PDFThe World Café (TWC) method is now established as a participatory tool used in community development and qualitative research. However, there is a limited critique of TWC as a social work research method, especially with children. This paper discusses TWC as a method for understanding what matters for children on the British Overseas Territory of St Helena Island. As a social worker, the importance of supporting children’s engagement and voice is well known in participation, necessitating careful ethical consideration. Within this project facilitating authentic conversations with children on a remote island required examining assumptions alongside engaging with colonial legacies to bring forward respectful participation. TWC shares several fractures of other participatory approaches evolving from critical pedagogy, which appeared aligned with social work values and ethics. Facilitated shared learning and allowed children to discuss issues that mattered to them, although handing over dialogue to children required commitment to trust and sharing control with young people. Café events revealed the complex positioning of social roles situating lived experiences, whereby children developed their learning of what mattered to them through interactions and a growing understanding of their global position. The method edged dialogue towards transformative conversations, acknowledging the oppression of marginalised peoples, requires reflection and action from children and young people themselves to elevate their positions from within their own knowledge. This supports the potential for further research to understand if creative methods can create more spaces for dialogue, allowing the emergence of more authentic children’s engagement in research which is more socially just.</p
Exploring the Developmental Practice Environment Experiences of High Performing Athletes
No full textThe influence and interaction of perceived experience on athlete development during deliberate practice activities is unknown. The current study aimed to explore the developmental experiences of high performing athletes during deliberate practice. Participants were 15 Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme Dual Career athletes (8 females, 7 males, aged between 17 to 18 years) enrolled in full-time UK tertiary education. Experiential data was collected through semi-structured interviews and thematically analysed. Ten overarching themes were developed: Enjoyable Low-Pressure Practice Environment, Simulated Competition Against Others, Practice Performance Success, Challenging Environment, Supportive Relationships and Sanctuaries, Exposure to Higher Level Athletes and Different Practice Environments, Ability Status within the Practice Group, High Intensity Climate, Disruption to Practice Routine, and Practice Performance Failure. Findings revealed practice experiences to contain significant infrequent positive and consistent low-level negative experiences. To avoid spiralling negativity, participants accepted failure and used successful performance to enhance self-belief. Practitioners working within athlete development can review study findings to enhance their deliberate practice environment
Preventing Unintended Harm from Socioecological Interactions
Get PDFEcosystems provide an intrinsic and inevitable link between engineering projects and society, and indeed all human activities are embedded in ecological reality. While the ecosystem services framework is a helpful way of exploring and analyzing potential synergies between engineering projects and wider environmental processes, its focus is on benefits to humans generically without any explicit regard to specific stakeholders and the plurality of nonutilitarian ways in which they may appreciate or suffer from a particular ecological system. An ecosystem services assessment therefore carries certain risks if used as a tool for decision-making or auditing, and a broader approach is needed. This chapter goes on to outline a pluralistic evaluation framework as a tool to facilitate accounting for the importance of diverse natural processes in engineering solutions. Pluralistic evaluation is illustrated in several areas (hydrology, atmospheric dynamics, and agroecosystems), and a step-by-step approach is outlined for implementing a pluralistic evaluation
Potluck in the Seventh-day Adventist Church:Two auto-ethnographic accounts
Get PDFThis chapter presents the lived experience of two community members in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, where eating together is a widespread practice. Placing belongingness into focus, the main purpose is to show how and to what extent belongingness is enabled through potlucks often held on Saturdays (Shabbat) and at diverse community events.The authors explain what potluck is and how it became an integral part of the worldwide Adventist Church. The contemporary significance of spirituality and belongingness is highlighted.The auto-ethnographic narratives show how personality and cultural background feed into the formation of belongingness, which is a unique and individual process. At the same time, the role of what and how the community offers are foregrounded
