Fast Food Shutdown: From disorganisation to action in the service sector

This article discusses the Fast Food Shutdown, a strike on 4 October 2018 that involved Wetherspoon, McDonald’s, TGI Fridays and UberEats workers in the United Kingdom. It compares the different strategies of the Bakers Food and Allied Workers’ Union at Wetherspoon and Industrial Workers of the World at UberEats. The two case studies, drawing on the authors’ ongoing ethnographic research, provide important examples of successful precarious worker organising. In particular, the argument focuses on the role of action in organising, as well as the relationship between the rank-and-file and the union. While these could point the way to the recomposition of the workers movement – both in greenfield sectors and within existing unions – there remain important questions about how these experiences can be generalised

Exploring British adolescent rugby league players' experiences of professional academies and dropout.

The purposes of this study were threefold: to explore former rugby league players’ experiences of professional academy environments, to understand their reasons for dropping out of the sport, and to explore their recommendations for optimising future talent development environments. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine ex-professional academy rugby league players up to one year after dropping out of playing rugby. A combination of inductive and deductive thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data. The thematic analysis revealed three general dimensions: talent development pathways, reasons for dropout, and recommendations. The findings suggest that players’ talent development experiences, and the reasons for dropout could be explained by a complex interaction of micro (e.g. negative academy experiences), meso (e.g. education), exo (e.g. player pathway structures), and macro systems (e.g. transitions to other clubs). It is concluded from these findings that talent development pathways which lack a long-term focus, and emphasise early success are likely to result in increased risk of burnout, de-motivation, and subsequent dropout. From an applied perspective, talent development pathways must consider the many personal and environmental factors which interact to determine an individual’s talent development trajectory. Furthermore, by recognising the multiple factors that may influence development, the effectiveness of development pathways may be enhanced by neither excluding “potential” through inappropriate early identification, nor ignoring crucial talent development variables that contribute toward the fulfilment of potential

The role of individual and social variables in task performance.

This paper reports on a data-based study in which we explored - as part of a larger-scale British-Hungarian research project - the effects of a number of affective and social variables on foreign language (L2) learners’ engagement in oral argumentative tasks. The assumption underlying the investigation was that students’ verbal behaviour in oral task situations is partly determined by a number of non-linguistic and non-cognitive factors whose examination may constitute a potentially fruitful extension of existing task-based research paradigms. The independent variables in the study included various aspects of L2 motivation and several factors characterizing the learner groups the participating students were members of (such as group cohesiveness and intermember relations), as well as the learners’ L2 proficiency and ‘willingness to communicate’ in their L1. The dependent variables involved objective measures of the students’ language output in two oral argumentative tasks (one in the learners’ L1, the other in their L2): the quantity of speech and the number of turns produced by the speakers. The results provide insights into the interrelationship of the multiple variables determining the learners’ task engagement, and suggest a multi-level construct whereby some independent variables only come into force when certain conditions have been met

The effects of social service contact on teenagers in England

Objective: This study investigated outcomes of social service contact during teenage years. Method: Secondary analysis was conducted of the Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England (N = 15,770), using data on reported contact with social services resulting from teenagers’ behavior. Outcomes considered were educational achievement and aspiration, mental health, and locus of control. Inverse-probability-weighted regression adjustment was used to estimate the effect of social service contact. Results: There was no significant difference between those who received social service contact and those who did not for mental health outcome or aspiration to apply to university. Those with contact had lower odds of achieving good exam results or of being confident in university acceptance if sought. Results for locus of control were mixed. Conclusions: Attention is needed to the role of social services in supporting the education of young people in difficulty. Further research is needed on the outcomes of social services contact

Violence and vulnerability:Children’s strategies and the logic of violence in Burundi

This study explores how children in conflict-affected Burundi deal with violence in their everyday lives. Focusing on schools as a context in which children are prepared for further roles in society, child-centred, qualitative and mixed-methods research was conducted at 36 primary schools throughout Burundi. Findings reveal that children use a variety of strategies to deal with violence they encounter. These strategies reflect a learned 'logic of violence', matching dynamics of violence and vulnerability in society at large. Children's strategies are ultimately aimed at reducing vulnerability to (future) violence and indicative of the omnipresence of violence and uncertainty in Burundi. (C) 2019 The Authors. Children & Society published by National Children's Bureau and John Wiley & Sons LtdPublic Health and primary car

Examining the psychological wellbeing of refugee children and the role of friendship and bullying

BACKGROUND: Refugee children might have experienced violent and traumatic events before settling into a new country. In the United Kingdom, the number of refugee children is increasing; however, little is known about their psycho-social and physical well-being. AIM: This study aims to investigate the psychological well-being and behaviour of refugee children compared to British-born children on a number of psychological, social, behavioural, and health-related issues and to investigate the role of friendship as a protective factor. SAMPLES: This study utilized a sample of 149 refugee children recruited from two charities, 79 of which are children aged 6-10 years and 70 older refugee children aged 11-16 years. The study also included 120 non-refugee children recruited from primary schools aged 6-10 years. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study that investigates the psycho-social well-being of refugee children compared to non-refugee British-born children. The study explored symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, emotional and behavioural problems (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), self-esteem, friendships and popularity, bullying and victimization, physical health, and psychosomatic problems. RESULTS: Young refugee children reported more peer problems, functional impairment, physical health, and psychosomatic problems compared to the control children and older refugee children groups. On the other hand, older refugee children had lower self-esteem (academic and social self-peers) compared to the younger refugee children group. The differences between the groups were explained by friendship quality, number of friends, peer bullying/victimization, or sibling bullying/victimization except for physical health and psychosomatic problems. CONCLUSIONS: While refugee children were found to be at risk on various levels, the findings also point to the fact that social relationships including friendship quality and number of friends played an essential protective role. Conversely, bullying was a risk factor that explained many of the refugees' problems. These findings pave the way for future research to further probe into the well-being of refugee children in the United Kingdom while also targeting relevant intervention schemes specifically tailored to address their needs

Association of the personal factors of culture, attitude and motivation with health behavior among adolescents in Malaysia

This study was undertaken to determine the association of the personal factors of culture, attitude and motivation on health behavior among Malaysian adolescents. A cluster sampling technique was used and a total of 1,029 students with ages ranging from 15 to 17 years (M age = 15.9, SD = .637) were selected as respondents. The research instrument was a self-administered questionnaire covering health behavior, culture, attitude, and motivation towards health. The strongest linear relationship was found between culture and health behavior (r = .618, p = .001). Besides the culture of adolescents being the main predictor of health behavior (β = .365, p = .000), attitude (β = .283, p = .000) and motivation (β = .064, p = .033) also had significant independent effects on health behavior. Hence, culture, attitude and motivation should be taken into consideration in the promotion of health education, especially at school level

Hidden violence is silent rape: sexual and gender-based violence in refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants in Belgium and the Netherlands

Although women, young people and refugees are vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) worldwide, little evidence exists concerning SGBV against refugees in Europe. Using community-based participatory research, 223 in-depth interviews were conducted with refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants in Belgium and the Netherlands. Responses were analysed using framework analysis. The majority of the respondents were either personally victimised or knew of a close peer being victimised since their arrival in the European Union. A total of 332 experiences of SGBV were reported, mostly afflicted on them by (ex-)partners or asylum professionals. More than half of the reported violent experiences comprised sexual violence, including rape and sexual exploitation. Results suggest that refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants in Belgium and the Netherlands are extremely vulnerable to violence and, specifically, to sexual violence. Future SGBV preventive measures should consist of rights-based, desirable and participatory interventions, focusing on several socio-ecological levels concurrently