Dying at home: A qualitative study of the perspectives of older South Asians living in East London

South Asians constitute the single largest ethnic minority group in the United Kingdom, yet little is known about their perspectives and experiences on end-of-life care. Aim: To explore beliefs, attitudes and expectations expressed by older South Asians living in East London about dying at home. Methodology and methods: Five focus groups and 29 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 55 older adults (24 men and 31 women) aged between 52 to 78 years. Participants from six South Asian ethnic groups were recruited via 11 local community organisations. Data were analysed using a constructive grounded theory approach. Findings: Two key themes were identified. The theme of ‘reconsidering the homeland’ draws on the notion of ‘diaspora’ to help understand why for many participants the physical place of death was perceived by many as less important than the opportunity to carry out cultural and religious practices surrounding death. The second theme ‘home as a haven’ describes participants’ accounts of how their home is a place in which it is possible to perform various cultural and religious rituals. Cultural and religious practices were often seen as essential to achieving a peaceful death and honouring religious and filial duties. Conclusion: Older people of South Asian ethnicity living in East London perceive home as more than a physical location for dying relatives. They make efforts to adhere, but also adapt, to important social and cultural values relating to death and dying as part of the wider challenge of living in an emigrant society

'Men give in to chips and beer too easily': How working-class men make sense of gender differences in health

This article, based on qualitative research with working-class men, explores men's perceptions and experiences regarding gender differences in health. It demonstrates how men put forward a range of behavioural/cultural, materialist/structural and psychosocial factors, which were believed to differently impact men's health compared to women. A common theme underpinning their explanations was the ways in which men and women were located within two distinct gender categories. These characterisations were used to explain why health-damaging beliefs and behaviours were more prevalent among men and also why men were better suited for certain kinds of jobs, albeit with potential costs to their health. Men also believed that women were protected from the damaging physical and emotional impact of manual employment because of their primary role within the home and because they were less emotionally robust, which required men to shield women from the stresses they experienced. However, men's emotional withdrawal can also be viewed as another example of how men use whatever resources are available to achieve and maintain dominance over women. Finally, the article demonstrates how a gender- and class-based approach can capture the impact of men's health-related practices alongside the broader cultural and structural influences on men's health

What kind of mixed race/ethnicity data is needed for the 2020/21 global population census round: the cases of the UK, USA, and Canada

In western countries the mixed race/ethnicity population is experiencing a rapid increase in numbers and growing diversity, raising challenges for its capture in censuses and surveys. Methods include exact combinations of interest, multi-ticking, and open response, as exemplified by the censuses of England and Wales, the USA and Canada, and Scotland and Northern Ireland, respectively. However, investigations of question face validity, reproducibility of findings, and efficacy of capture reveal quality problems with all three approaches. The low reporting reliability of this population urgently requires research and testing to identify optimal strategies. While there is clearly no one gold standard method of capture and current approaches have developed within national contexts, it is timely to review these methods across the three countries and to make recommendations for the upcoming 2020/21 censuses

Improving public services through open data: public toilets

Bichard’s work for the TACT3 project (Bichard REF Output 3) found that UK toilet provision is not centrally collated and no national map or database of toilets exists. In contrast, the UK government’s white paper Open Public Services (2011) emphasised its commitment to incorporating the use of Open Data in public services provision that could be tailored to community preferences, and therefore be more sustainable. Incorporating Open Data on public toilet provision, Bichard and Knight (RCA) developed The Great British Public Toilet Map (GBPTM). Whilst a number of other websites and applications map toilets by ‘crowd surfing’, GBPTM is entirely populated by Open Data, and not only uses the data as information for users, but informs members of the public that such information is available and accessible for their use. This paper presents the development of the GBPTM, including inclusive design research and studies that compare accuracy of information directly provided by users with Open Data collected by local authorities. It suggests that, to meet the health and well-being of an ageing population, a sustainable and cost-effective solution must be found for ‘publicly accessible’ toilet provision, including opening up provision beyond that ‘for customers only’ and providing accurate information on current public provision. The paper highlights the barriers encountered in the production of Open Data by local authorities. A review of the paper in the journal Civil Engineering (May 2013) described the design of the GBPTM as a ‘simple and elegant solution’. The development of a digital output and an understanding of digitally based research led to Bichard’s successful submission to an EPSRC Digital Economy sandpit, in which she developed an interdisciplinary project with the Universities of Newcastle, Bournemouth and the West of England. The project, Family Rituals 2.0, secured £750,000 in research funding with Bichard as co-investigator (2013–15)

Interoperability optimisation for shared equity housing model development and FTB homeownership in the UK

Purpose – This paper assessed financial interoperability implications associated with First Time Buyers (FTB) in housing development and the role of the Community Land Trust Shared Equity Housing Model (CLT SEHM). Design/Methodology/Approach – The Interoperability optimisation process adopted by this study involved triangulated findings from literature, semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys. The text analysis of interview responses was actualised with Nvivo 9.0. This process informed the validation of themes through a questionnaire survey (purposive sampling), of which findings were subsequently analysed with statistical methods including binary logistic regression to validate interoperability rational and implications. Findings – The study identified positive financial interoperability outcomes for a successful synergy between the CLT SEHM and FTBs. From the analysis, there were sustainable results for average income multiple and property transfer/resale value for the CLT SEHM compared to conventional models. However, for the most at risk FTB groups, recommendations included increased concessions for CLT SEHM developments to incentivise bespoke rent purchase hybrid schemes. Originality/value – This research provided a good starting point for achieving improved level of efficiency necessary for the introduction of emerging/renewed alternative housing models into mainstream operational capabilities in housing and local development policies. Keywords – UK Housing Development, First Time Buyers (FTB), Interoperability, Community Land Trust, Shared Equity Housing Model, Binary Logistic Regression mode

Asset prices regime-switching and the role of inflation targeting monetary policy

This paper provides the empirical framework to assess whether UK monetary policy shocks induce both the UK housing market and the UK stock market to remain at a high-volatility (risk) environment. The Markov regime switching modelling approach is employed in order to identify two distinct environments for each market; namely, a high-risk environment and a low-risk environment, while a probit model is employed in order to test whether monetary policy shocks provide this predictive information regarding the current state of both markets under consideration. Our findings indicate that monetary policy shocks do indeed have predictive power on the stock market. In addition, in both asset markets there is a key role for inflation. Results are important especially within the framework of the inflation targeting monetary policy regime

Non-monetary poverty and deprivation: A capability approach

Given the continuing interest in multi-dimensional approaches to poverty, the paper considers ways in which Senian capability indicators can be used to assess and understand poverty and deprivation. More specifically, we develop novel capability data on 29 dimensions for adults from the US, UK and Italy to explore three core research questions. Firstly, we show that when poverty is seen as capability deprivation, different individuals are identified as poor compared with approaches based on low income or subjective wellbeing. However, we also observe that what the poor report being able to do or otherwise is, nonetheless, relatively robust to the use of these three different approaches. Secondly, we employ latent class analysis to identify poverty and deprivation profiles for groups within society and suggest that such profiles help to identify groups who are deprived with respect to some but not all areas of life. Thirdly, and finally, we examine the association between individual capability deprivation and local area deprivation in the UK. We find that individual capabilities are associated with local area deprivation in some cases but that the connections vary significantly depending on the dimension under consideration. We discuss the results and conclude by suggesting that capability indicators can provide insights into poverty which do not emerge from a more traditional approach focussing on income alone

Clergy in Place in England : Bias to the Poor or Inverse Care Law?

Faith traditions frequently proclaim priority for the poor and socially marginalised, emphasising individual and collective responsibility towards those in poverty. Ordained ministers or clergy – possibly the main investment of religious organisations – play a key role in encouraging and fulfilling that commitment in their local settings. This paper considers the availability of clergy to provide pastoral care in areas of high socio-economic deprivation. Data from the 2011 census of England are used to correlate area variations in the number of clergy with household and neighbourhood deprivation. Findings show that clergy are distributed inversely to socio-economic deprivation at the ecological level. Fewer clergy are available or readily accessible in the most deprived areas, raising questions about their ability to respond pastorally and act politically on behalf of the poor. Market forces that draw clergy deployments towards less deprived areas warrant further investigation

Heatwave planning: the role of the community in co-producing resilience

Drawing on a thematic analysis of relevant policy documents, the aim of this paper is to comment on an apparent disconnect between two associated contemporary UK policy areas: planning for heatwaves and community resilience. Regional and national policy documents that plan for heatwaves in the UK tend to focus on institutional emergency responses and infrastructure development. In these documents, although communities are mentioned, they are understood as passive recipients of resilience that is provided by active institutions. Meanwhile, contemporary discussion about community resilience highlights the potential for involving communities in planning for and responding to emergencies (although the concept is also the subject of critique). Within this context, the paper proposes that – through engagement with the ‘community resilience’ policy agenda and its critique – effort should be made to articulate and realise greater participation by individuals, and voluntary and community sector groups in heatwave preparation, planning and response