Yes

Yes / Changes globally mean that there are now record numbers of mothers in paid employment and a reported prevalence of involved fathering. This poses challenges to mothers and fathers as they negotiate care-work practices within their relationships. Focusing on interviews with three heterosexual couples (taken from a wider UK qualitative project on working parents), the paper considers care-work negotiations of three couples, against a backdrop of debates about intensive mothering and involved fathering. It aims to consider different configurations of work and care within three different couple relationships. We found that power within the relationships was negotiated along differential axis of gender and working status (full or part time paid work) . We present qualitatively rich insights into these negotiations. Framed by a critical discursive psychological approach, we call on other researchers to think critically about dominant discourses and practices of working, caring and parenting, pointedly how couples situated around the world operationalise these discourses in talking about themselves as worker and carers.

No description available.

Yes / Binge drinking has sparked considerable interest and concern. However despite this interest little is known about the lay understanding of binge drinking and whether there are differences in understanding by gender, age and level of deprivation. Aims: This study investigated the beliefs and attitudes of a sample in the Inverclyde area to binge drinking. Methods: Using both cluster and quota sampling, 586 subjects completed a structured interview, using open questions about their beliefs on binge drinking and was it a problem generally and locally. Findings: Definitions of binge drinking tended to concentrate on intoxication and some described a dependent drinking pattern. Causes and solutions offered were varied but pointed up levels of deprivation in respect of jobs and entertainment. More subjects regarded binge drinking as a problem in society than locally, which is consistent with research suggesting that misperceptions of others¿ drinking increases with social distance. Differences in beliefs were found by age and level of deprivation but not gender. It was marked that no subject offered the `official¿ definition of bingeing or even an approximation of it. Conclusions: Further research is required if future mass media campaigns and interventions are to be relevant to the population.

Yes

Yes / Over the past few decades the number of women having their first babies over the age of 35 in the United Kingdom (UK) has increased. Women’s timing of motherhood is invariably bound up with a discourse of ‘choice’ and in this paper we consider the role choice plays in the timing of motherhood among women who have been defined as ‘older’ mothers. This article is based on data from 11 semi-structured interviews that explored the transition to motherhood among ‘older’ middle-class mothers. The interviews were analysed using critical discursive psychology. The women drew upon two dominant repertoires when making sense of their timing of motherhood. Within the first repertoire, ‘older motherhood as circumstance’, older motherhood was presented as the outcome of life circumstances beyond their control, with a lack of the ‘right’ circumstances facilitating ‘delayed’ motherhood. Within the second repertoire, ‘older motherhood as readiness’, women constructed themselves as (now) prepared for motherhood. ‘Readiness’ was bound up with notions of self-fulfillment, yet also assessments of their ability to be ‘good’ mothers. We conclude that, far from a straightforward choice, the timing of motherhood is shaped by cultural definitions of the ‘right’ circumstances for parenthood, but also cultural definitions of ‘good’ motherhood, which may define when women are ‘ready’.

No / Based on research conducted during a large-scale European Commission project on international perspectives on positive/affirmative action measures, the authors provide a comparative analysis of the legal context and perceptions of the impact of positive action in the United Kingdom and the United States. The study adopted participatory methods including consensus workshops, interviews, and legal analysis to obtain data from those individuals responsible for designing and implementing positive action measures. Findings are discussed, conclusions drawn, and wide-ranging recommendations are made at governmental and organizational levels. The authors conclude by suggesting possible implications for policy and argue for widespread awareness-raising campaigns of both the need for positive action measures for disadvantaged groups and the benefits of such measures for wider society. They also recommend the adoption of a more coherent and collaborative approach to the utilization and evaluation of the effectiveness of positive or affirmative action.

Yes / This paper provides an overview of the laws regulating positive action in the UK. It also presents key findings from a selection of research studies on positive action in the UK conducted between 2003 and 2009 by the Centre for Inclusion and Diversity at the University of Bradford, and provides examples of positive action drawn from these studies.

No / This study considered the nature of continuing bonds with deceased relatives in a sample of Pakistani Muslims living in the United Kingdom. Ten participants were interviewed following a cultural psychology approach and transcripts were analyzed using grounded theory methodology. Dreaming, talking with others about the deceased, following the deceased's example, keeping memories and mementos, and doing actions thought to help the deceased were forms of continued relationship found. These were intertwined with the process of grieving and were influenced by the family, culture, and religion. Religion was a strong influence on the prominence given by participants to finishing well and on the notion of doing actions thought to help the deceased. Cultural mores, such as the community, and collectivist ethos and the expectation that emotion would be expressed around the time of death, were found to be supportive for some but sources of tension for other participants. Expressing a continuing bond through following the deceased's example so as to make them proud or happy seemed to be reinforced by cultural roots in respect for elders. Participants gave instances of tensions in areas such as expression of emotion and communality versus individualism that arose as a result of their position between two cultural frameworks, some illustrating how assimilation into the host culture set up conflict with the expected norms of their family/ancestral culture. The study highlights how understanding different cultural and religious influences may enrich the concept of continuing bonds.

No / Based on research conducted during a large-scale European Commission project on international perspectives on positive/affirmative action measures, the authors provide a comparative analysis of the legal context and perceptions of the impact of positive action in the United Kingdom and the United States. The study adopted participatory methods including consensus workshops, interviews, and legal analysis to obtain data from those individuals responsible for designing and implementing positive action measures. Findings are discussed, conclusions drawn, and wide-ranging recommendations are made at governmental and organizational levels. The authors conclude by suggesting possible implications for policy and argue for widespread awareness-raising campaigns of both the need for positive action measures for disadvantaged groups and the benefits of such measures for wider society. They also recommend the adoption of a more coherent and collaborative approach to the utilization and evaluation of the effectiveness of positive or affirmative action.