Representations of sport in the revolutionary socialist press in Britain, 1988–2012

This paper considers how sport presents a dualism to those on the far left of the political spectrum. A long-standing, passionate debate has existed on the contradictory role played by sport, polarised between those who reject it as a bourgeois capitalist plague and those who argue for its reclamation and reformation. A case study is offered of a political party that has consistently used revolutionary Marxism as the basis for its activity and how this party, the largest in Britain, addresses sport in its publications. The study draws on empirical data to illustrate this debate by reporting findings from three socialist publications. When sport did feature it was often in relation to high profile sporting events with a critical tone adopted and typically focused on issues of commodification, exploitation and alienation of athletes and supporters. However, readers’ letters, printed in the same publications, revealed how this interpretation was not universally accepted, thus illustrating the contradictory nature of sport for those on the far left

Professional sexual abuse in mental health services: capturing practitioner views of a contemporary corruption of care

This paper focuses on practitioner views of professional sexual abuse in mental health services in the UK. In spite of high profile cases and changes to the law and regulation of mental health professionals in recent years, it remains a signifi cant problem. It also presents particular challenges for colleagues and managers of services when incidents are reported or come to light through everyday practice. To date it has received little attention in research other than from within psychological therapies. This study seeks to provide a counter balance to those approaches by taking a social inequalities perspective and focusing on systemic and institutional dimensions. It draws comparisons with Wardaugh and Wilding’s (1993) theory of the ‘corruption of care’ and argues that even when mental health care is provided in the community it can still become corrupted. The paper presents the findings of a small scale study of practitioner perspectives on the subject. The findings tentatively suggest that the problem is endemic but hidden by ineffective management responses. It argues for new approaches to selection, training and support for professionals that include counter-intuitive approaches to policing colleagues and institutional cultures