Understanding the impact of the Cheshire Children’s Fund: Findings from 11 family case studies

The Children’s Fund was created in 2000 as part of the Government’s commitment to tackle disadvantage amongst children and young people. The aim of the Fund was to facilitate the development of more extensive and better co-ordinated early intervention services for children and young people aged 5 to 13 years who were at risk of social exclusion. Cheshire Children’s Fund, the local response to this national initiative, is guided by the Children’s Fund Partnership which is made up of representatives from local voluntary and statutory organisations. The aim of this research was to explore the impact of a number of projects which had received funding from the Cheshire Children’s Fund, specifically to learn how these projects had worked with children and families where there had been a positive outcome. The objectives of the research were to identify, for each child or family, the reasons for the provision of a service, the type of service that had been provided, and the impact that it had had on their lives. The research explored the factors that enabled a positive outcome for each family: the similarities and differences between the cases were also examined to determine whether any contributing factors were present across the services. The 11 projects were selected to cover a range of themes to reflect the breadth of the Children’s Fund work in Cheshire. They provided a range of services under the headings of crime prevention, promoting inclusion, success in schools and family support.Cheshire Children’s Fun

Sure Start Widnes Children’s Centres: An evaluation of a new programme

This project reports evaluates the publicity material created and used by Sure Start Widnes Children's Centres

Memory and Rememory: Critically Cultivating an Appropriate Response Through a Storied Approach to Listening

This dissertation argues for a storied approach to listening from the perspective of a white Southern woman. To do this, I carefully followed the work of two community groups. One, the Washington County Community Remembrance Project, is working to install a marker venerating Aaron, Anthony, and Randall, three enslaved people who were lynched in our area in 1856. The other, the James H. Berry United Daughters of the Confederacy, is responsible for installing a Confederate statue on the Bentonville Square in 1908 that was removed in 2020. As illustrated by the use of archival research and embedded participation in interracial community spaces, this project argues that the storied approach taken by the Washington County Community Remembrance Project ultimately renders it more effective than the assumptive work of the James H. Berry United Daughters of the Confederacy. By critically examining my own positionality in these two groups, I argue that a storied approach to listening as well as examining past and present influences on our community spaces is necessary. The motivations of both groups argue for storied, ephemeral retroactivism. Understanding the locations of both markers establish credibility and a Black sense of space in our pervasively white community. Listening to the words surrounding these projects establishes a minimization of racism as well as a Black sense of language critical to the work. A focus on the people of both groups asserts the importance of ancestorship and inspiration in an understanding of my own role in the community. Acknowledging the occasions of both groups’ unveiling (and/or removal) argues for the need for white confrontation as well as Black agency in reconciliation efforts moving forward. Critical to these conversations is the ability to hear my own positionality and privilege not just in these community spaces, but in administrative, pedagogical, and personal encounters in the present and beyond

PEDAGOGIA CRÍTICA E NEOLIBERALISMO

In this article, we reflect on the possibilities and responsibilities of critical pedagogy in relation to neoliberalism and physical education. In exploring these ideas, we also discuss problems of definition, such as the collapse and confusion of terms like critical pedagogy, critical research, and critical health and PE, as well the problematic positioning of ‘neoliberalism’ in critical scholarship. Although there is a growing body of research that illuminates the nuances and pervasiveness of neoliberal HPE policies and practices – both globally and in specific social contexts – we argue that there is still more work to be done to identify how critical pedagogical work may address (or at least attend to) the effects of neoliberalism. After all, there remains a ‘danger’ that critical pedagogy in neoliberal times may forward, rather than contest, the worst effects of neoliberal schooling and neoliberal HPE.En este artículo, reflexionamos sobre las posibilidades y las responsabilidades de la pedagogía crítica en relación al neoliberalismo y la Educación Física. Además de explorar estas ideas, debatimos los problemas de la definición, así como el colapso y la confusión de los términos como pedagogía crítica, investigación crítica, salud crítica y Educación Física, así como la problemática del neoliberalismo en los estudios críticos. Si bien hay un creciente cuerpo de investigaciones que iluminan los matices y la omnipresencia de las políticas y practicas neoliberales en HPE – tanto en los contextos globales como sociales específicos – nosotros argumentamos que ha todavia más trabajo por hacer para identificar  como el trabajo pedagógico puede dirigirse (o por lo menos intentar) a los efectos del neoliberalismo. Al ultimo, sigue existiendo el peligro de que la pedagogía crítica en tiempos neoliberales pueda transmitir, en lugar de cuestionar, los peores efectos de la escolarización neoliberal y del neoliberalismo en salud y Educación Física. Neste artigo, nós refletimos sobre as possibilidade e responsabilidades da pedagogia crítica em relação ao neoliberalismo e a Educação Física. Ao explorar essas ideias, nós também discutimos os problemas da definição, bem como o colapso e confusão de termos como pedagogia crítica, pesquisa crítica e saúde crítica e Educação Física, bem como a problemática posição do neoliberalismo nos estudos críticos. Embora exista um crescente corpo de pesquisas que iluminam as nuanças e onipresença das políticas e práticas neoliberais em HPE – tanto em contextos globais e em contextos sociais específicos – nós argumentamos que ainda existe mais trabalho a ser feito para identificar como o trabalho pedagógico crítico pode dirigir-se (ou ao menos tentar) aos efeitos do neoliberalismo. Ao fim, continua a existir o perigo de que a pedagogia crítica em tempos neoliberais possa transmitir, em vez de contestar, os piores efeitos da escolarização neoliberal e do neoliberalismo em saúde e Educação Física.  

Guidelines for Ecotourism Operations in the Great Plains

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature defines ecotourism as: Environmentally responsible travel to natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and accompanying cultural features, both past and present) that promote conservation, have a low visitor impact and provide for beneficially active socioeconomic involvement of local peoples. Ecotourism has the potential to support communities and conservation efforts from revenue streams to parks and reserves in the Great Plains, while also contributing to a culture shift towards a conservation ethic. Recent surges in ecotourism have contributed to growth in the tourism sectors in Great Plains states, because these approaches to tourism can leverage the open spaces, natural landscapes, and culture and heritage of the region. Facilities, Food, Activities, Guest Care, and Environment Awareness-- This resource is designed to support the planning, growth, and development of ecotourism facilities that offer beds, activities, and food to guests. We selected five components of ecotourism for use in guidelines and evaluations for ecotourism operations: facilities, activities, food, guest care, and environmental awareness. Tourists vary in their expectations and needs, and ecotourism operations vary in their goals and investment potential. One path to business success is to meet expectations of guests. This publication provides rubrics that describe expectations for the five ecotourism components at each level (1-star to 5-star). Achievement of higher levels of guest expectations may require more design, planning, and investment, and clients may pay more for facilities that achieve higher levels. Each facilities’ goals should dictate the level at which they wish to operate. These evaluation guidelines were developed after considerable experience at domestic and international facilities

A sociological analysis of an area-based health initiative: a vehicle for social change?

This thesis explores the implementation of an area-based health improvement initiative in the north west of England called Target Wellbeing. In the decades before Target Wellbeing was commissioned in 2007, health inequalities between people living in different areas of the UK had been widening. ABIs were identified by the Labour Government as a key tool for improving the health and wellbeing of residents in areas of socio-economic disadvantage and addressing inequalities in health. ABIs such as this have been well evaluated but there remains no firm evidence about the ability of such initiatives to improve health or to reduce health inequalities. In addition to the problems associated with evaluation, the processes through which ABIs might be used to influence change are not well understood and the value of using area-based services to improve health has been taken for granted. There is little understanding about the processes through which service provider partnerships might develop and limited knowledge about the processes through which residents might develop relations with providers. The key aim of this research was to examine the social processes through which ABIs develop over time. Using a case study approach, the research examined one Target Wellbeing programme as a social figuration of interdependent people. Ethnographic methods, including documentary analysis, non-participant observation and interviews, were used to explore the processes and networks that mediated the planned public health development. The study also drew on relevant quantitative data to describe changes over time. Ideas from figurational sociology were used as sensitising concepts in the development of a substantive theory about the processes through which ABIs develop. The study developed theoretical insight into processes of joint working that helps to explain why, in the context in which services are commissioned and performance managed, provider co-ordination is unlikely to be implemented as planned. It also provided a more sociologically adequate account of the ways in which relations between residents and providers were influenced by the history of relations in the town. Changes to residents’ relations with other residents and providers in the town influenced a greater sense of control over their circumstances. These findings demonstrate that, in relation to public health policy and practice, ABIs might more usefully be conceptualised as a series of interrelated processes that might be used to establish the preconditions for influencing change among residents. However, the study showed that interventions targeted at a small part of much wider networks of interconnected people are unlikely to influence sustained changes for residents in deprived areas

Effect of Nest Box Temperature Mitigation Treatments on Nest Success and Nestling Condition in a Southeastern Population of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis)

Understanding behavioral responses of wildlife to climate change will be important as global temperatures continue to rise. Effects of rising temperatures may impact many species, including those that breed in seemingly protected nests, such as cavity nesting birds. Variations in nest cavity microclimate during the early development of secondary cavity nesting passerines may affect the growth of offspring and impact nesting success and survival. We examined the effect of two heat mitigation treatments (white exterior, n=11, and an internal foil heat shield, n=16) and nest box opening orientation (north, south, east, west) on internal nest box temperatures and the effect of internal nest box temperature on nest success and nestling development in a population of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) at a restored grassland in central Georgia. We predicted that nest boxes receiving a heat treatment would experience cooler internal temperatures and fledge more offspring of higher body condition compared to control next boxes (n=23). Nest boxes were checked approximately every 3 to 4 days between April and mid-August 2020 and 2021 to record nesting activity and nestling measurements (tarsus and weight). Internal nest box temperature was recorded hourly between April 1st and June 28th using remote data loggers installed on the inside wall of each box. We calculated the maximum daily, minimum nightly and overall averages per nesting attempt and examined the relations of each variable with nestling weight and tarsus length to test the effect of temperature on nest success. White paint applied to the exterior of nest boxes was effective in producing cooler thermal environments compared to control and foil boxes. However, both painted nest boxes and boxes that experienced cooler nightly low temperatures were less likely to be successful. This study highlight the importance of investigating species-specific responses to increasing temperatures before implementing wide-scale habitat modifications

Use and experiences of front-line health services amongst Black and Minority Ethnic residents of Western Cheshire

This small-scale study was designed to explore the use and experiences of front-line health services within the Western Cheshire Primary Care Trust area amongst residents belonging to black and minority ethnic groups. A qualitative approach was adopted for the study as the aim was to explore perceptions and capture experiences