Edge landscapes in post-millennial British fiction

Post-millennial Britain is a locus of flux and uncertainty, defined by environmental concerns, fears regarding terrorism, and the destabilisation of European politics on the one hand, and increasing globalisation, liberal approaches to minority groups, and rapid technological advances on the other. The fiction that is being created at this point, in this place, reflects these issues in numerous different manners and through a variety of thematic shifts. One of these developments is a renewed literary interest in British rural landscapes, particularly those landscapes that are in some regard problematic, either literally or figuratively. These landscapes are defined as edges. This project examines the manner in which four novels employ British edge landscapes. Each chapter focuses on a particular novel and a particular landscape type, examining how the landscape functions within the text, and how the novel’s use of its place reflects post-millennial concerns. The project places the novels within a wider context of ecocritical principles and literary criticism, identifying both approaches specific to each individual text and prevailing tendencies that link the corpus. Ultimately the project delineates a preoccupation with uncertainty, and an attendant interest in the depiction of the particular, the individual experience and the local; it interrogates the ethics of this attention and marks the manner in which these texts both represent and remain complicit in the cultural elision of the consequences of human inhabitation in and interaction with their surroundings. The project concludes by considering the manner in which the prevailing concerns of the texts reflect an attention that self-reflexively marks itself as difficult, personal and flawed, and the manner in which the texts reflect environmental concern and insecurity while resisting the urge toward polemical trajectories

Evaluation of the good night out campaign: a sexual violence bystander training programme for nightlife workers in England

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2021-10-11, accepted 2022-07-06, registration 2022-07-07, epub 2022-08-16, online 2022-08-16, ppub 2023-10Acknowledgements: Bryony Parry and the GNOC CIC team (www.goodnightoutcampaign.org/) developed the intervention and trained local stakeholders to deliver the programme. The GNOC, Liverpool City Council, Rape and Sexual Abuse Merseyside and Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid supported data collection.Publication status: PublishedAim: Sexual violence is global public health, human rights and gender equality issue. Sexual violence bystander programmes for nightlife workers are emerging across a few countries and further examination of such programmes is required. This exploratory study evaluates the potential effectiveness of the Good Night Out Campaign, a sexual violence bystander programme for nightlife workers. Subject and methods: Two hundred and seven trainees attending the 1.5 hour training programme across two cities in England were recruited opportunistically, immediately prior to training delivery. Sexual violence myth acceptance and readiness and confidence to intervene in sexual violence were measured at baseline and post-intervention. Analyses used paired-sample tests to examine differences in the three measurements pre to post-training and effect sizes were quantified using Cohen’s d. Results: Compared to pre-training, post-training participants were significantly (p < 0.001) less likely to agree with sexual violence myths, and more likely to be confident and ready to intervene in sexual violence or incidents of vulnerability. Effect sizes were small–medium. Conclusions: The study adds to emergent evidence suggesting that sexual violence bystander programmes may be promising in decreasing sexual violence myths and barriers to bystander intervention, and increasing willingness to intervene amongst nightlife workers. Findings can support the emergence of sexual violence prevention activities implemented in nightlife spaces. Further programme implementation and evaluation using experimental designs is needed to explore outcomes in greater depth, considering the complexity of the nightlife environment

Evaluation of the good night out campaign: a sexual violence bystander training programme for nightlife workers in England

The version of record of this article, first published in [Journal of Public Health], is available online at Publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10389-022-01734-yAbstract Aim Sexual violence is global public health, human rights and gender equality issue. Sexual violence bystander programmes for nightlife workers are emerging across a few countries and further examination of such programmes is required. This exploratory study evaluates the potential effectiveness of the Good Night Out Campaign, a sexual violence bystander programme for nightlife workers. Subject and methods Two hundred and seven trainees attending the 1.5 hour training programme across two cities in England were recruited opportunistically, immediately prior to training delivery. Sexual violence myth acceptance and readiness and confidence to intervene in sexual violence were measured at baseline and post-intervention. Analyses used paired-sample tests to examine differences in the three measurements pre to post-training and effect sizes were quantified using Cohen’s d. Results Compared to pre-training, post-training participants were significantly (p<0.001) less likely to agree with sexual violence myths, and more likely to be confident and ready to intervene in sexual violence or incidents of vulnerability. Erect sizes were small–medium. Conclusions The study adds to emergent evidence suggesting that sexual violence bystander programmes may be promising in decreasing sexual violence myths and barriers to bystander intervention, and increasing willingness to intervene amongst nightlife workers. Findings can support the emergence of sexual violence prevention activities implemented in nightlife spaces. Further programme implementation and evaluation using experimental designs is needed to explore outcomes in greater depth, considering the complexity of the nightlife environment

The Mentors in Violence Prevention programme: impact on students’ knowledge and attitudes related to violence, prejudice, and abuse, and willingness to intervene as a bystander in secondary schools in England

Abstract Background Violence is a leading cause of death and disability for young people and has serious impacts on prospects across the lifecourse. The education sector is a crucial setting for preventing youth violence through incorporating programmes that address attitudes and behaviours. The Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) programme aims to change harmful attitudes and norms, and increase non-violent bystander intervention, through a peer mentoring approach. To date there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of the intervention in UK school settings. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the impact of the programme on students’ attitudes and knowledge related to violence prevention. Methods The study employed a mixed methods design. Pre and post surveys measured changes in students’ (aged 11–18) attitudes and knowledge related to violence prevention and bystander behaviour, gender stereotyping, acceptability of violence, and perceptions of others’ willingness to intervene. Interviews/focus groups with programme delivers and students, and anonymised programme data were used to explore and supplement survey findings. Results Overall, perceptions of the programme content and delivery were positive. Several beneficial impacts of the programme were found for mentors (students delivering the programme), including significant positive changes on measures of knowledge and attitudes towards violence prevention and the bystander approach, acceptability of violence perpetration, and perceptions of other students’ willingness to intervene (effect sizes were small-medium). However, the study found no significant change on any of the outcomes amongst mentees (younger students receiving the programme from mentors). Despite this, qualitative evidence suggested mentees enjoyed the content of the programme and the peer-led delivery, and this built relationships with older students. Qualitative evidence also identified additional benefits of the programme for mentors, including leadership and communication skills, and increased confidence and supportive relationships. Conclusions Evidence from this study suggests MVP is effective as a targeted programme for mentors, but no significant evidence was found to demonstrate its effectiveness as a universal bystander and violence prevention programme for mentees. Whilst further research with more robust study design is needed, developing mentors as leaders in violence prevention is a valuable impact of the programme in its own right