Regulating Social Research: Exploring the Implications of Extending Ethical Review Procedures in Social Research

Reflecting on my experience of leading several qualitative research projects to investigate \'sensitive\' topics with potentially \'vulnerable\' participants, this paper considers the impact and consequences of increased ethical regulation in relation to my own research field and social research more generally. It argues that extending ethical regulation threatens social research in general, and specifically, threatens the study of \'sensitive\' topics with \'vulnerable\' populations. The consequences of increased ethical regulation may contradict its intention and place \'vulnerable\' participants at greater risk than \'sensitive\' research undertaken with such groups in earlier historical periods. The paper urges social researchers to act collectively, to engage with ethical regulatory regimes in order to challenge the threats they pose to scholarship, and by doing so, defend the value of social research for advancing knowledge so that our scholarship might better serve the populations we study.Ethical Regulation, Sensitive Topics, Vulnerable Groups, Social Research, ESRC

‘Nothing’s really that hard, you can do it’. Agency and fatalism: the resettlement needs of girls in custody

This report presents the results of a qualitative study, funded by the Sir Halley Stewart Trust, of the resettlement needs of 17-year-old young women in a single young offender institution in England and Wales. Using in depth qualitative interviews with 16 girls in custody and two follow up interviews in the community, the study aimed to give expression to the girls’ views on what support they thought would be required, both while in prison and in the form of resettlement provision on release, if they were not to reoffend. The sample size, while small, is equivalent to the capacity of the young offender institution where field work was conducted and to around one third of the total female population of the secure estate on any one day. Field work was conducted between December 2011 and November 2012. Girls constitute a small proportion of children below the age of 18 in custody and have consequently tended to be ‘invisible’ from a research perspective. Yet girls in prison are among the most vulnerable young people in society and recent falls in youth imprisonment have tended to amplify that vulnerability, as less serious cases have been diverted to community based interventions. Such developments have posed additional challenges for the already difficult task of providing effective resettlement

Hard times: young people’s and young parents’ experiences of living through poverty in Luton

This research report is primarily concerned with the experiences of young people (16-24 years) and young parents bringing up children within the context of poverty in Luton. It is divided into three sections. Part One provides a general overview of poverty research in the UK. Part Two presents the findings from the study of young people and young parents’ experiences of poverty in Luton. Part Three discusses the implications of the findings presented and recommendations that arise from them. The overview of research presented in part one of this report is organised under the following headings: measures of poverty commonly adopted in UK poverty research; the extent of poverty in the UK including a short discussion of gender and ethnicity; attitudes to poverty amongst the general public; the impacts of poverty on children and families; poverty amongst young people; parenting in poverty; patterns of poverty. Part two of the report provides a brief description of the methodology adopted for this study and the sample amongst whom the research was conducted. Key findings are then summarised. Following this a thematic analysis of interview data is presented. This covers the following themes: how participants defined poverty; how participants explained poverty; the images of ‘poor people’ participants employed; whether participants considered they or their families were poor; participants’ descriptions of living through poverty; what participants thought the Local Authority should do to tackle poverty. Part three presents a discussion of the implications of the findings from this study and the recommendations that arise from them

Living in the shadows: street culture and its role in the development and maintenance of survival strategies of socially marginal young people

application for a PhD by publicationThis text demonstrates that my work on young people who are exploited through prostitution and young people involved in problematic drug use in Britain at the end ofthe twentieth and beginning ofthe twenty-first century constitutes a significant contribution to advancing our knowledge ofthese inter-related issues. The text demonstrates that, in Britain, at the end of the twentieth and beginning ofthe twenty-first century, young people exploited through prostitution and young people involved in problematic drug use share in common lived experiences in poverty at the margins of society. The common theme demonstrated here is that, as a result ofthe poverty generated by social and economic policies adopted in Britain in response to gIobalisation, 'street cultures' play an important role in the development and maintenance of survival strategies adopted by socially marginalised and economically disadvantaged young people. The discussion argues that these cultures perform important functions in time and space for socially and economically marginal young people. They do so in different ways for different young people. At the same time, however, they serve to further entrench their social and economic exclusion and disadvantage

Providing safe and supported accommodation for young people who are in the care system and who are at risk of, or experiencing, sexual exploitation or trafficking for sexual exploitation

This report presents the findings of a scoping study into accommodation for young people at risk of/experiencing sexual exploitation. The scoping study took place January to March 2011 and included a literature search, consultation with young people, consultation with practitioners and development of a full research proposal. The research was funded by the NSPCC

Research into gang-associated sexual exploitation and sexual violence : interim report

The research has been commissioned by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England (OCC) as part of their Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups (CSEGG).This report presents the interim findings of a two year study into gang-associated sexual exploitation and violenc

"It's wrong - but you get used to it" : a qualitative study of gang-associated sexual violence towards, and exploitation of, young people in England

A report commissioned by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner’s Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and GroupsThe research was commissioned by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England as part of its Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups. The research aimed to consider: the scale and nature of gang-associated sexual violence and exploitation in six areas of England; the main pathways into gang-related sexual violence and exploitation for young people living in these neighbourhoods; and potential models for an effective multi-agency response to the issue

Empowering our future generations through telecommunications : an inter-school telecommunications project with grade 3 and 4 students

iv, 124 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm.No abstract

Fragmentation of decorin, biglycan, lumican and keratocan is elevated in degenerate human meniscus, knee and hip articular cartilages compared with age-matched macroscopically normal and control tissues

Introduction: The small leucine-rich proteoglycans (SLRPs) modulate tissue organization, cellular proliferation, matrix adhesion, growth factor and cytokine responses, and sterically protect the surface of collagen type I and II fibrils from proteolysis. Catabolism of SLRPs has important consequences for the integrity of articular cartilage and meniscus by interfering with their tissue homeostatic functions. Methods: SLRPs were dissociatively extracted from articular cartilage from total knee and hip replacements, menisci from total knee replacements, macroscopically normal and fibrillated knee articular cartilage from mature age-matched donors, and normal young articular cartilage. The tissue extracts were digested with chondroitinase ABC and keratanase-I before identification of SLRP core protein species by Western blotting using antibodies to the carboxyl-termini of the SLRPs. Results: Multiple core-protein species were detected for all of the SLRPs (except fibromodulin) in the degenerate osteoarthritic articular cartilage and menisci. Fibromodulin had markedly less fragments detected with the carboxyl-terminal antibody compared with other SLRPs. There were fewer SLRP catabolites in osteoarthritic hip than in knee articular cartilage. Fragmentation of all SLRPs in normal age-matched, nonfibrillated knee articular cartilage was less than in fibrillated articular cartilage from the same knee joint or total knee replacement articular cartilage specimens of similar age. There was little fragmentation of SLRPs in normal control knee articular cartilage. Only decorin exhibited a consistent increase in fragmentation in menisci in association with osteoarthritis. There were no fragments of decorin, biglycan, lumican, or keratocan that were unique to any tissue. A single fibromodulin fragment was detected in osteoarthritic articular cartilage but not meniscus. All SLRPs showed a modest age-related increase in fragmentation in knee articular and meniscal cartilage but not in other tissues. Conclusion: Enhanced fragmentation of SLRPs is evident in degenerate articular cartilage and meniscus. Specific decorin and fibromodulin core protein fragments in degenerate meniscus and/or human articular cartilage may be of value as biomarkers of disease. Once the enzymes responsible for their generation have been identified, further research may identify them as therapeutic targets

Achilles and tail tendons of perlecan exon 3 null heparan sulphate deficient mice display surprising improvement in tendon tensile properties and altered collagen fibril organisation compared to C57BL/6 wild type mice

The aim of this study was to determine the role of the perlecan (Hspg2) heparan sulphate (HS) side chains on cell and matrix homeostasis in tail and Achilles tendons in 3 and 12 week old Hspg2 exon 3 null HS deficient (Hspg2Δ3 − ∕Δ3 −) and C57 BL/6 Wild Type (WT) mice. Perlecan has important cell regulatory and matrix organizational properties through HS mediated interactions with a range of growth factors and morphogens and with structural extracellular matrix glycoproteins which define tissue function and allow the resident cells to regulate tissue homeostasis. It was expected that ablation of the HS chains on perlecan would severely disrupt normal tendon organization and functional properties and it was envisaged that this study would better define the role of HS in normal tendon function and in tendon repair processes. Tail and Achilles tendons from each genotype were biomechanically tested (ultimate tensile stress (UTS), tensile modulus (TM)) and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and collagen (hydroxyproline) compositional analyses were undertaken. Tenocytes were isolated from tail tendons from each mouse genotype and grown in monolayer culture. These cultures were undertaken in the presence of FGF-2 to assess the cell signaling properties of each genotype. Total RNA was isolated from 3–12 week old tail and Achilles tendons and qRT-PCR was undertaken to assess the expression of the following genes Vcan, Bgn, Dcn, Lum, Hspg2, Ltbp1, Ltbp2, Eln and Fbn1. Type VI collagen and perlecan were immunolocalised in tail tendon and collagen fibrils were imaged using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). FGF-2 stimulated tenocyte monolayers displayed elevated Adamts4, Mmp2, 3, 13 mRNA levels compared to WT mice. Non-stimulated tendon Col1A1, Vcan, Bgn, Dcn, Lum, Hspg2, Ltbp1, Ltbp2, Eln and Fbn1 mRNA levels showed no major differences between the two genotypes other than a decline with ageing while LTBP2 expression increased. Eln expression also declined to a greater extent in the perlecan exon 3 null mice (P < 0.05). Type VI collagen and perlecan were immunolocalised in tail tendon and collagen fibrils imaged using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This indicated a more compact form of collagen localization in the perlecan exon 3 null mice. Collagen fibrils were also smaller by TEM, which may facilitate a more condensed fibril packing accounting for the superior UTS displayed by the perlecan exon 3 null mice. The amplified catabolic phenotype of Hspg2Δ3 − ∕Δ3 − mice may account for the age-dependent decline in GAG observed in tail tendon over 3 to 12 weeks. After Achilles tenotomy Hspg2Δ3 − ∕Δ3 − and WT mice had similar rates of recovery of UTS and TM over 12 weeks post operatively indicating that a deficiency of HS was not detrimental to tendon repair