The Changing Role of the Local State in UK Leisure Provision

In the UK the public sector has had a long history of both providing leisure opportunities and also regulating and encouraging activities of other agents through legislation, enforcement and subsidy. What we seek to do in this paper is to address some of the recent shifts in public sector operation so that readers can perform a comparative analysis with recent developments in their own nation state. Our basic argument is that the experience of the last two decades has been characterised by: i. a gradual fragmentation of the ‘leisure project’ ii. a growing instrumentalism in public policy which increasingly deploys leisure in order to secure wider social goals. iii. an invasive centralisation of policy and a reduction of the power of the local state. These processes are interrelated and are associated with a proliferation of more short term pragmatic policies. These in turn find expression in more centralised project funding and contracting arrangements. The shift away from traditional leisure policy and towards a contract culture was centrally driven in the UK by iconoclastic neoliberalist policies. They were the hallmark of Margaret Thatcher’s years of governance (1979-1990) .This policy direction has been continued, arguably refined and sharpened, by the three successive ‘New Labour’ governments of Tony Blair (1997-2006)

Joining up policy discourses and fragmented practices: The precarious contribution of cultural projects to social inclusion?

This article outlines New Labour's policy discourse about social exclusion and the confusing challenge it poses to local cultural projects. Government now demands hard evidence to measure the impact of cultural projects on performance indicators such as education, employment, crime and health. However, community-based workers are hard pressed to collect valid and reliable data that evaluate projects against clear criteria for social inclusion. This article outlines possible criteria for social inclusion. Then, drawing on data collected from two 'Arts in Health' projects, we examine how contributions to social inclusion might have been effected. Considerable energy is required to form new alliances and health partnerships to resolve the dilemmas posed by a confused policy discourse and by fragile funding streams. © The Policy Press, 2006

Count Me In: The dimensions of social inclusion through culture and sport

This study was set up to examine claims made for the ability of cultural projects to promote social inclusion (cultural projects are here taken to include those incorporating sport, the arts, media, heritage and outdoor adventure). This was to be achieved primarily by collecting evidence from a sample of 14 projects selected from some 200 that had volunteered their services. The report to the government’s Social Exclusion Unit (SEU) from the Policy Action Team (PAT10) (1999)2 noted the potential. In his foreword, Chris Smith (then Secretary of State for the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS)) wrote: “… art and sport can not only make a valuable contribution to delivering key outcomes of lower long term unemployment, less crime, better health and better qualifications, but can also help to develop the individual pride, community spirit and capacity for responsibility that enable communities to run regeneration programmes themselves”. Similar statements have followed from other politicians, particularly in the recent Commons debate on sport and social exclusion (22/11/01), and again in the public health debate (13/12/01). However, the PAT 10 report also came to the same conclusion as previous commentators (e.g. Glyptis, 19893; Allison & Coalter, 19964; Long & Sanderson, 19985) that there is little ‘hard’ evidence of the social benefits that accrue

Count Me In: The Dimensions of social inclusion through Culture, Media & Sport (Executive Summary)

This study was set up to examine claims made for the ability of cultural projects to promote social inclusion (cultural projects are here taken to include those incorporating sport, the arts, media, heritage and outdoor adventure). This was to be achieved primarily by collecting evidence from a sample of 14 projects selected from some 200 that had volunteered their services. The report to the government’s Social Exclusion Unit (SEU) from the Policy Action Team (PAT10) (1999) noted the potential. In his foreword, Chris Smith (then Secretary of State for the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS)) wrote: “… art and sport can not only make a valuable contribution to delivering key outcomes of lower long term unemployment, less crime, better health and better qualifications, but can also help to develop the individual pride, community spirit and capacity for responsibility that enable communities to run regeneration programmes themselves”. Similar statements have followed from other politicians, particularly in the recent Commons debate on sport and social exclusion (22/11/01), and again in the public health debate (13/12/01). However, the PAT 10 report also came to the same conclusion as previous commentators (e.g. Glyptis, 19893; Allison & Coalter, 19964; Long & Sanderson, 1998) that there is little ‘hard’ evidence of the social benefits that accrue

Sensory modulation and negative affect in children at familial risk of ADHD

Background/aims Sensory modulation difficulties are commonly reported in patients with ADHD, however there has been little focus on the development of these difficulties in young children at a higher risk of later ADHD diagnosis. This study investigated whether children with a familial history of ADHD show greater sensory modulation difficulties. We also explored whether sensory modulation was linked to negative affectivity, which has been highlighted as a potential early marker of ADHD. Methods Parents of children under 6 years with a family history of ADHD (n = 65) and no family history (n = 122) completed questionnaires on sensory modulation and temperament. Results Children from families with ADHD were reported to display extreme patterns of hyperresponsiveness and hyporesponsiveness, relative to controls. No differences emerged for the sensory seeking domain. Some children within the high-risk group reported high scores across all three sensory modulation patterns. Regression analysis revealed that hyperresponsiveness predicted higher levels of negative affect. Conclusions/implications This study is the first to report greater sensory modulation difficulties in children at familial risk of ADHD. Future research should establish whether children with sensory modulation and temperament difficulties in early childhood are more vulnerable to developing ADHD

Respectable Drinkers, Sensible Drinking, Serious Leisure: Single-Malt Whisky Enthusiasts and the Moral Panic of Irresponsible Others

In the public discourse of policy-makers and journalists, drinkers of (excessive) alcohol are portrayed either as irresponsible, immoral deviants or as gullible victims. In other words, the public discourse engenders a moral panic about alcohol-crazed individuals, who become what Cohen [1972. Folk devil and moral panics. London: Routledge] identifies as folk devils: the Other, abusing alcohol to create anti-social disorder. However, alcohol-drinking was, is and continues to be an everyday practice in the leisure lives of the majority of people in the UK. In this research article, I want to explore the serious leisure of whisky-tasting to provide a counter to the myth of the alcohol-drinker as folk devil, to try to construct a new public discourse of sensible drinking. I will draw on ethnographic work at whisky-tastings alongside interviews and analysis of on-line discourses. I show that participation in whisky-tasting events creates a safe space in which excessive amounts of alcohol are consumed, yet the norms of the particular habitus ensure that such drinking never leads to misbehaviour. In doing so, however, I will note that the respectability of whisky-drinking is associated with its masculine, white, privileged habitus – the folk devil becomes someone else, someone Other

Understanding employee resourcing in construction organizations

In recent years the literature on employee resourcing has consistently advocated the importance of adopting a holistic, strategic approach to employee deployment decision making rather than adopting a reactive needs-based approach. This is particularly problematic in construction where the multi-project environment leads to constantly changing resource requirements and to changing demands over a project's life cycle. This can lead to inappropriate decisions, which fail to meet the longer-term needs of both construction organizations and their employees. A structured and comprehensive understanding of the current project team deployment practices within large construction organizations was developed. Project deployment practices were examined within seven case study contracting firms. The emergent themes that shaped the decision-making processes were grouped into five broad clusters comprising human resource planning, performance/career management, team deployment, employee involvement and training and development. The research confirms that a reactive and ad hoc approach to the function prevails within the firms investigated. This suggests a weak relationship between the deployment process and human resource planning, team deployment, performance management, employee involvement and training and development activities. It is suggested that strategic HR-business partnering could engender more transparent and productive relationships in this crucial area

The eventization of leisure and the strange death of alternative Leeds

The communicative potential of city spaces as leisure spaces is a central assumption of political activism and the creation of alternative, counter-cultural and subcultural scenes. However, such potential for city spaces is limited by the gentrification, privatization and eventization of city centres in the wake of wider societal and cultural struggles over leisure, work and identity formation. In this paper, we present research on alternative scenes in the city of Leeds to argue that the eventization of the city centre has led to a marginalization and of alternative scenes on the fringes of the city. Such marginalization has not caused the death of alternative Leeds or political activism associated with those scenes—but it has changed the leisure spaces (physical, political and social) in which alternative scenes contest the mainstream

Do Exercise, Physical Activity, Dietetic, or Combined Interventions Improve Body Weight in New Kidney Transplant Recipients? A Narrative Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Data Availability Statement: Data is contained within the article or Supplementary Material. The data presented in this study are available in this article and included Supplementary Material.Supplementary Materials: Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8236/1/2/14/s1?version=1633165351 (ZIP-Document, 999 KiB) The following are available online at www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/kidneydial1020014/s1, Figure S1: Risk-of-bias plots for Non-RCTs (n = 6), Table S1: PRISMA checklist, Table S2: Search strategy, Table S3: Screening form, Table S4: Detailed sample characteristics, Table S5: Study characteristics of non-RCTs, Table S6: Details of intervention nonRCTs (n = 6), Table S7: Sensitivity analysis.Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Weight gain within the first year of kidney transplantation is associated with adverse outcomes. This narrative systematic review and meta-analysis examines the effect of exercise, physical activity, dietary, and/or combined interventions on body weight and body mass index (BMI) within the first year of kidney transplantation. Seven databases were searched from January 1985 to April 2021 (Prospero ID: CRD42019140865), using a ‘Population, Intervention, Controls, Outcome’ (PICO) framework. The risk-of-bias was assessed by two reviewers. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that included post-intervention body weight or BMI values. Of the 1197 articles screened, sixteen met the search criteria. Ten were RCTs, and six were quasi-experimental studies, including a total of 1821 new kidney transplant recipients. The sample sizes ranged from 8 to 452. Interventions (duration and type) were variable. Random-effects meta-analysis revealed no significant difference in post-intervention body weight (−2.5 kg, 95% CI −5.22 to 0.22) or BMI (−0.4 kg/m2, 95% CI −1.33 to 0.54). Despite methodological variance, statistical heterogeneity was not significant. Sensitivity analysis suggests combined interventions warrant further investigation. Five RCTs were classified as ‘high-risk’, one as ‘some-concerns’, and four as ‘low-risk’ for bias. We did not find evidence that dietary, exercise, or combined interventions led to significant changes in body weight or BMI post kidney transplantation. The number and quality of intervention studies are low. Higher quality RCTs are needed to evaluate the immediate and longer-term effects of combined interventions on body weight in new kidney transplant recipients.Kidney Research UK PhD Grant (AHPF_001_20171122); NIHR Advanced Research Fellowship (ICA-CL-2017-03-020); National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (DRF-2017-10-105)