Ethnic group affiliation and social exclusion in Cornwall; analysis, adjustment and extension of the 2001 England and Wales Census data

This thesis provides a critical understanding of the size and relative position of the Cornish in Cornwall, a county in the south-west of the UK. Cornwall is a region which has experienced increased levels of disadvantage for a prolonged period of time. The indigenous people, whilst seeing a rise in their inclusion in ethnicity variables in the region, have remained under-researched in terms of their socio-economic position relative to the non-Cornish in the same geographic area. This thesis addresses this gap in the literature and represents the first in-depth examination of the group. The 2001 Census included an option to ‘write-in’ a Cornish ethnic identity, however whilst accurate in the responses it recorded the result was almost certainly an under-enumeration due to the lack of a dedicated tick-box selection. This thesis is a rigorous examination of the Cornish, starting with these data, estimating their size and socio-economic position (in terms of social exclusion) relative to non-Cornish individuals. Three stages of primary analysis sought to; analyse, adjust and extend the 2001 Census result to broadly estimate the size, links with exclusion and the causal processes behind these links. Firstly, an accurate picture of the size of the Cornish population was estimated using an innovative weighting strategy, developed to collate all other data referring to the Cornish and to derive weights for application to the raw Census data. Secondly, a stage of primary survey research examined this group more directly for links with social exclusion factors; and thirdly, a stage of qualitative interviews with knowledgeable individuals in the region lent depth to the findings and provided a more coherent explanatory framework. The results indicate that the Cornish are certainly more numerous than the 2001 Census had indicated. The proportion of individuals self-identifying as Cornish is likely to be closer to a quarter of the population rather than the 6.7% indicated in the 2001 ii data. There was some discrepancy in the data between the belief amongst the group of social exclusion and the reality. In order to explain the discrepancy, a model was used which explores the difference between personal-level experience and group level discrimination (Taylor et al 1990). The results of this thesis highlight the complex and multi-dimensional processes inherent in, firstly, the methodological and practical process of ethnicity measurement and, secondly, its use as an explanatory variable for social exclusion experience. Overall, this thesis represents the first and most comprehensive examination of the indigenous people of Cornwall and their relative lived experience compared to non-Cornish in the same area

Autistic adults’ experiences of managing wellbeing and implications for social prescribing

doi: 10.1080/09687599.2023.2263628Autistic people demonstrate poor outcomes on objective measures of wellbeing, yet research centring lived experience provides a more nuanced picture. There is growing support for person-centred, holistic and community approaches to enhancing wellbeing for autistic people. Social prescribing may be one such approach. This qualitative study explored the concept of wellbeing for autistic adults – including barriers and self-management – and the implications of this for modifying social prescribing. It involved semi-structured interviews with 21 autistic adults in the UK. Reflexive thematic analysis of the data supports research suggesting that self-determination may underlie many aspects of wellbeing for autistic people. The COVID-19 pandemic provided new opportunities to develop wellbeing strategies but also had negative impacts. Social prescribing could promote self-determination by signposting autistic people to peer support opportunities building on intrinsic interests

Taking the biscuit: defining excessive quantities of free refreshments in a healthcare library

Evidence suggests that complementary hot drinks and biscuits benefit an overworked and highly stressed healthcare workforce. But when signage in healthcare libraries asks patrons not to consume “excessive” quantities of free hot drinks and biscuits, how much is too much? Tabner and colleagues explore this resource allocation conundrumAs the festive season approaches, temperatures plummet, days shorten, and healthcare workers see glimmers of time off around the holidays, some might consider the provision of unlimited free hot drinks and biscuits a welcome token of appreciation; this is particularly the case for National Health Service staff, who are often felt to be underpaid and undervalued.12 A chance observation of signage in a hospital library requesting that patrons avoid “excessive” consumption of free hot drinks and biscuits (fig 1) does, however, raise the question: if some people take more than others in a system constrained by both finances and logistics, might some staff end up getting the short end of the teaspoon?Fig 1 Observed signage in a hospital libraryAs sweet (and seemingly bottomless) as the ubiquitous communal box of Quality Street3 may be, the term “excessive” in the context of free refreshment consumption is open to interpretation. The Oxford English Dictionary defines excessive as “exceeding what is right, proportionate, or desirable,”4 suggesting that individuals may apply their own values and judgments. Interpretations may therefore vary depending on appetite, taste, income, the proximity of snacks to beverages, psychological determinants (eg, stress and guilt), and myriad factors not yet considered. But how much is too much? Furthermore, who judges etiquette in such situations, and how might opinions differ between staff members? One of the current authors described regularly succumbing to Bentham’s Panopticon effect,5 where behaviour is modified to avoid that uncomfortable feeling of being perceived as greedy by others.

Global Developments in Social Prescribing

Social prescribing is an approach that aims to improve health and well-being. It connects individuals to non-clinical services and supports that address social needs, such as those related to loneliness, housing instability and mental health. At the person level, social prescribing can give individuals the knowledge, skills, motivation and confidence to manage their own health and well-being. At the society level, it can facilitate greater collaboration across health, social, and community sectors to promote integrated care and move beyond the traditional biomedical model of health. While the term social prescribing was first popularised in the UK, this practice has become more prevalent and widely publicised internationally over the last decade. This paper aims to illuminate the ways social prescribing has been conceptualised and implemented across 17 countries in Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. We draw from the ‘Beyond the Building Blocks’ framework to describe the essential inputs for adopting social prescribing into policy and practice, related to service delivery; social determinants and household production of health; workforce; leadership and governance; financing, community organisations and societal partnerships; health technology; and information, learning and accountability. Cross-cutting lessons can inform country and regional efforts to tailor social prescribing models to best support local needs

Degrees of Choice? Exploring the Structure/Agency Debate within Higher Education - A Study of Potential Students from Cornwall

This study is a quantitative, questionnaire based, project that sought to examine the structure/ agency debate amongst potential higher education students in Cornwall. Existing literature showed that there were two main approaches to access to higher education debates; those that put structural factors such as class and parental status first; and those that put more emphasis on the role of the individual. This project sought to examine both sides of this debate in an area of low socio-economic status; Cornwall. As such the research question for this project was: 'Which factors play the larger part in the decision making behaviour of potential imiversify students from Cornwall; the structural or the agency influenced factors?' In order to achieve this, 600 questionnaires were delivered to potential higher education students (current AS/A level students) at 12 colleges around the County. The questionnaire sought to examine the decision making factors of the students and also asked if the student plarmed on applying to University; there were 24 questions spread over 5 sections in total. A response rate of 53% meant that there were 319 cases for analysis, which were then entered into SPSS manually. Data analysis consisted of three main stages; firstly, the life goals data that was collected was subjected to factor analysis. Secondly a logistic regression model was constructed to represent the structural factors of the decision process; and lastly, a second logistic regression model was constructed that represented all the agency factors. The factor analysis revealed that there were three main themes of life goals that were held by the students; relationship goals; wealth and status goals; and altruistic goals. These were then made into separate variables and used in the second logistic regression model. The first model that was constructed; the structural model; was found not to be significant at the conventional (p < 0.05) level. The second model; the agency factors; was found to be statistically significant; however not all the variables were significant. A backwards L:R model revealed that only four of the variables significantly impacted on the dependent variable (intention to apply). As such the conclusions of this project, whilst limited because of the small sample size, argue that students from Cornwall who take more AS levels; would rather apply to the South-West than abroad; felt that their family should help with money whilst they were studying; and felt that University was worth all the assorted costs, are those students who are more likely to apply to University. To address the research question, the evidence collected in this study suggests that agency factors play a larger part in the decision making behaviour of potential students firom Cornwall; which has raised some interesting implications that require further research to explore further.FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE & BUSINES

Ethnic group affiliation and social exclusion in Cornwall : analysis, adjustment and extension of the 2001 England and Wales Census data

This thesis provides a critical understanding of the size and relative position of the Cornish in Cornwall, a county in the south-west of the UK. Cornwall is a region which has experienced increased levels of disadvantage for a prolonged period of time. The indigenous people, whilst seeing a rise in their inclusion in ethnicity variables in the region, have remained under-researched in terms of their socio-economic position relative to the non-Cornish in the same geographic area. This thesis addresses this gap in the literature and represents the first in-depth examination of the group. The 2001 Census included an option to ‘write-in’ a Cornish ethnic identity, however whilst accurate in the responses it recorded the result was almost certainly an under-enumeration due to the lack of a dedicated tick-box selection. This thesis is a rigorous examination of the Cornish, starting with these data, estimating their size and socio-economic position (in terms of social exclusion) relative to non-Cornish individuals. Three stages of primary analysis sought to; analyse, adjust and extend the 2001 Census result to broadly estimate the size, links with exclusion and the causal processes behind these links. Firstly, an accurate picture of the size of the Cornish population was estimated using an innovative weighting strategy, developed to collate all other data referring to the Cornish and to derive weights for application to the raw Census data. Secondly, a stage of primary survey research examined this group more directly for links with social exclusion factors; and thirdly, a stage of qualitative interviews with knowledgeable individuals in the region lent depth to the findings and provided a more coherent explanatory framework. The results indicate that the Cornish are certainly more numerous than the 2001 Census had indicated. The proportion of individuals self-identifying as Cornish is likely to be closer to a quarter of the population rather than the 6.7% indicated in the 2001 ii data. There was some discrepancy in the data between the belief amongst the group of social exclusion and the reality. In order to explain the discrepancy, a model was used which explores the difference between personal-level experience and group level discrimination (Taylor et al 1990). The results of this thesis highlight the complex and multi-dimensional processes inherent in, firstly, the methodological and practical process of ethnicity measurement and, secondly, its use as an explanatory variable for social exclusion experience. Overall, this thesis represents the first and most comprehensive examination of the indigenous people of Cornwall and their relative lived experience compared to non-Cornish in the same area.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo