Intersectional impact of multiple identities on social work education in the UK

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Ben Chi-pun Liu, ‘Intersectional impact of multiple identities on social work education in the UK’, Journal of Social Work, Vol 17(2): 226-242, March 2017. © 2016 The Author(s). DOI to the published version: 10.1177/1468017316637220. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.Summary: The study reviews the records of 671 social work students and graduates including the seven intakes from the first cohort in 2003/2004 to the intake in 2010/2011 to examine the interacting effect of learning difficulties, ethnicity and gender on the completion of social work training at a university in the South East of England. Findings: Among the students, 79.9% of them were female, 50.1% were black, 27.9% white, 10.7% Asian and 11.3% other ethnicities. A majority of students did not report any disability. Among those who did (n ¼ 84), 52.3% (n ¼ 44) reported a learning difficulty.The percentage of students who have successfully completed the training is 76.4%, a completion rate that is comparable to the UK’s national figure. Having controlled the confounding variables, hierarchical logistic regression identified the risk factor for dropoutfrom undergraduate social work programme as black female students with learning difficulties (odds ratio ¼ 0.100, 95% confidence interval ¼ 0.012–0.862, p < 0.05). Findings suggested that students with multiplicity of identities, i.e. being black and female and with a learning difficulty, have a lower probability to complete the programme successfully. Applications: Strategies for tackling the intersecting disadvantages of race, gender and disabilities in social work training should embrace three principles: providing continuous support, focusing on how the support is provided and addressing contextual and structural barriers.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Interim Report deliverable for GLO 002/10: General IRI Planning and Technical Support for Harita Micro-Insurance Pilot.

This is the technical annex to HARITA IRI Report to Oxfam America. It is the interim Report deliverable for GLO 002/10: General IRI Planning and Technical Support for Harita Micro-Insurance Pilot and contains background material useful for the main report

Assessing the Role of CD103 in Immunity to an Intestinal Helminth Parasite

In the intestine, the integrin CD103 is expressed on a subset of T regulatory (T(reg)) cells and a population of dendritic cells (DCs) that produce retinoic acid and promote immune homeostasis. However, the role of CD103 during intestinal helminth infection has not been tested.We demonstrate that CD103 is dispensable for the development of protective immunity to the helminth parasite Trichuris muris. While we observed an increase in the frequency of CD103(+) DCs in the lamina propria (LP) following acute high-dose infection with Trichuris, lack of CD103 had no effect on the frequency of CD11c(+) DCs in the LP or mesenteric lymph nodes (mLN). CD103-deficient (CD103(-/-)) mice develop a slightly increased and earlier T cell response but resolve infection with similar kinetics to control mice. Similarly, low-dose chronic infection of CD103(-/-) mice with Trichuris resulted in no significant difference in immunity or parasite burden. Absence of CD103 also had no effect on the frequency of CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) T(reg) cells in the mLN or LP.These results suggest that CD103 is dispensable for intestinal immunity during helminth infection. Furthermore, lack of CD103 had no effect on DC or T(reg) recruitment or retention within the large intestine

A research-informed model for corporate social responsibility: towards accountability to impacted stakeholders

An Australian case study is presented of an ongoing conflict between Alcoa World Alumina, a multi-national mining company and the impacted stakeholders of Yarloop, a small rural community in Western Australia. The conflict has been subject to research by the author since the early 2000s and is the impetus for developing a model for corporate social responsibility (CSR). The model emphasises engaging impacted stakeholders in dialogue with powerful stakeholders to achieve social justice. This involves a three way set of relationships with key people in leadership positions from the relevant government departments, the corporation’s management group and the impacted stakeholders. The model is premised on an ethic of love approach which utilises the ideas of social justice, social sustainability, and the social pre-cautionary principle. An outline is presented of these ideas as well as a set of inter-linked strategies which are responsive to power inequalities in conflict situations. The ideas and strategies can guide efforts to address the social costs incurred by the impacted community stakeholders. This will involve a discerning commitment to work towards accountable government, sustainable business practices and social justice for impacted stakeholders. The approach requires a cultural shift in the business sector, and wider society, to equally value people, place and profit