Yes / In human societies there will always be differences of views and interests. But the reality today is that we are all interdependent and have to coexist on this small planet. Therefore, the only sensible and intelligent way of resolving differences and clashes of interests, whether between individuals or nations, is through dialogue. The promotion of a culture of dialogue and nonviolence for the future of mankind is thus an important task of the international community. (His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in a speech to the “Forum 2000″ Conference, Prague, Czech Republic, September 4, 1997)

Yes / The purpose of a systematization is threefold. It is first and foremost a tool for self reflection and critical analysis by participants of a process. Secondly, it enables participants to adjust and plan better for the future, learning from past mistakes and problems. And finally, it informs non-participants and hopefully encourages them to get involved. Lisa Cumming has worked with these goals in mind to produce this systematization of a six year experiment in how a University can share concerns and pool skills with local communities to help build a better place for working and living. She has been assisted by many people who have come in and out of the PPC as their time and inclination permits over the years. In the appendix we have only listed the members of our steering and now advisory committees. Many others have nurtured this process on its way and created lively and sometimes tense debates about the role of the PPC. We thank them all for their contributions. Readers will note that this systematization is open and self critical. The PPC did not set out to solve the problems of Bradford District. Participants in our network do not have a ‘solution’ to take off the shelf for addressing the complex issues facing the communities of the District. These include the legacy of economic change and decline and the differential impact on the South Asian communities who came to work in the factories that have closed down, as well as problems in housing, education and employment. PPC participants see value in the partnerships to be forged through the network and the discussion of difficult topics. Above all the PPC is a commitment to building a way of talking about the divisions and differences within and between our communities, largely a legacy of our social and economic past, as a first step to finding shared solutions for the future. On the journey, we have had many difficult moments as PPC network participants have debated and reflected on ways forward. Our systematization has tried to convey the ups and downs of this journey. We have learnt how quickly trust erodes where there is little clear leadership from the local state. We have also learnt that lack of trust makes it very difficult to challenge and open debate. Our idea of ‘safe spaces’ has been taken up in the District by others. But we are very aware that Bradford people are still not comfortable in talking about issues such as ethnicity, religion, gender, diversity, inequality and racism in ways which could encourage the search for shared understandings and an end to all discrimination and oppressions. It is for this reason that Bradford District’s idea of building a ‘Shared Future’ will require, we think, much more effort to open up ways of exploring these issues which go deep into our individual lived experiences as well as that in our groups and collectivities. One of our tasks for the future, therefore, is to deepen this effort and the challenges it implies. We all need to confront and examine our assumptions towards each other and to acknowledge the legacy of social inequality, racism and gender discrimination on people’s sense of self worth. We need to recognize the power relationships amongst us all, and how we can be powerless in one relationship and use our power to dominate in other relationships. There are complex intellectual problems to be addressed, such as the unresolved debate around multiculturalism, cohesion, integration and interaction. The PPC is just one space in our District for this debate to take place. The debate is not in itself the solution to the material problems facing our many poor communities. But opening it is one way of democratizing the search for such solutions and ensuring that as many voices as possible participate in finding them.

No

This thesis examines the issue of elementary school attendance in later nineteenth century Bradford. It seeks to do this by means of a little used source: the school log book. The focus of the study is on the experiences of head teachers who faced a constant struggle to achieve and maintain an acceptable level of attendance in Bradford where child employment in the flourishing textile industry had long been an inherent feature of working class life. It investigates broader issues affecting attendance in the context of prevailing social, cultural, religious, and economic factors. While the significant and influential pressures on attendance in Bradford were to be found elsewhere (for example, parental apathy; hostility to compulsory attendance; child labour; health and welfare), this investigation discovers that the town’s problems were compounded and made difficult by its phenomenal growth and rapid emergence by the middle of the nineteenth century as the undisputed capital of the world’s worsted manufacturing trade. It concludes that in the study of Victorian elementary school attendance Bradford deserves greater recognition in consideration of the tension between the demands of the most prolific half-time system of employment in the country, and prevailing attitudes to the introduction of universal elementary education in England and Wales.

Despite a constant rise in the attainment of Sats results year on year, the perception remains that British primary school children are underachieving and that they are reluctant readers and writers. In order to motivate their students, some teachers use films as a visual stimulus to provide students with ideas and create a personal and emotion connection with the written text. In the school years of 2013/14 I followed 21 primary classes which were taking part in a ‘film literacy’ scheme run by Bradford UNESCO City of Film. This initiative saw the training of teachers in the use of film as a tool in literacy lesson with the hope to raise attainment and motivation. Students and teachers completed questionnaires and interviews which were analysed in conjunction with observations and the students’ literacy grades. The research showed that both students and teachers recorded an increase in motivation. Further, significant progress in attainment also became evident: film literacy students raised their grades by 23.3% beyond the expected year-on-year increase. Improvements in inference, comprehension and vocabulary were especially praised. Students from schools with a low-income environment benefitted in particular. The research discusses six potential reasons for these changes, two of which are based on the belief that film is a particularly suitable medium for teaching as it engages students emotionally. Although the thesis acknowledges that Bradford involved a unique group of schools in the film literacy training and research, it nevertheless argues that film could be useful addition to primary classrooms due to its potential ability to raise standards and engage reluctant young writers.

Yes

Background: Obesity disproportionately affects Pakistani women and rates of obesity related conditions are high in Bradford. Research priority setting can guide the development of policy and practice, resulting in more relevant research. There are no research prioritisation exercises targeted at obesity in Pakistani women. Aim: To develop an obesity research agenda with Pakistani women living in deprived inner-city areas of Bradford. Methods: Using a feminist participatory action research design, a five stage process was adopted involving the following: (i) A systematic review to identify the gaps in knowledge (ii) face-to-face interviews with 21 Pakistani women to generate their health concerns (iii) focus groups to explore the obesity concerns of 23 Pakistani women (iv) survey to identify unmet obesity needs of Pakistani women according to 160 local, multisectoral stakeholders (v) adapted consensus method involving 32 Pakistani women to rank their identified concerns and unmet needs in order of importance. Results: The study identified needs related to cultural and language constraints, including barriers in obtaining health promotion information and the social isolation of women. Education needs and misconceptions surrounding diet and physical activity were also identified. Highest rankings were given to concerns and needs surrounding the mental health of Pakistani women, education needs for a healthy diet, and the benefits of physical activity. Conclusion: Pakistani women’s unmet obesity needs highlight the existence of wider determinants of health that are structural in nature. Considering these barriers, a research agenda was developed from the findings and reflect the obesity health needs of this population. / Funding through Born in Bradford / The full text will be available at the end of the embargo: 21st Sept 2022

No description available.

No / There is apparent under-reporting of child sexual abuse in Britain¿s Asian communities and a varied capacity amongst professionals to respond with cultural competence. Professional approaches originate in cultural contexts, which are often different from those of most British Asians. If the proportion of children and non-abusing carers from Asian communities who access relevant services is to increase, professionals need to develop better understandings of cultural imperatives which determine behaviour in those communities. Consultations with Asian women in Bradford reinforce the view that culturally competent practice and respectful dialogue are essential to the protection of children. They also highlight a number of recurring themes. Members of Asian communities are aware of child sexual abuse, they recognize that the issue needs to be addressed by all communities and they report that many of those affected within their own communities have found it difficult to access relevant services. These consultations, like reports of similar work elsewhere, indicate that difficulties, which appear to arise from Asian women¿s fears about how agencies will respond, are frequently compounded by the impact of cultural imperatives arising from izzat (honour/respect), haya (modesty) and sharam (shame/embarrassment), which have a considerable influence on how many will behave.

The concept of community cohesion is the centrepiece of the policy that was formulated by the British government in response to the urban disturbances in northern English towns during 2001. A number of official reports identified lack of community cohesion as the critical factor. The central argument for community cohesion, the self-segregation thesis, was based on evidence from Bradford. The core idea, parallel lives, was first articulated in the Ouseley Report and incorporated into the Cantle Report and subsequent government reports into the 2001 disturbances. The Commission for Integration and Cohesion widened the concept of community cohesion, which encompassed faith and ethnic groups, to include income and generation, suggesting that the concept was more complex than earlier definitions allowed. However, the increasing concern with terrorism has meant that Muslims remain the focus of debates on cohesion, and a conflation of the community cohesion programme with the government's anti-terrorism strategy is evident in the policy literature. Samad's article is based on research carried out in Bradford to unearth and explore the factors that enhance or undermine community cohesion in those areas where there are established Muslim communities and, additionally, those in which Muslim migrants have recently arrived. It scrutinizes the debate on a number of issues: the difficulties in defining and implementing community cohesion policy, and the issues of segregation, social capital, transnationalism and belonging. This data-driven analysis takes the main areas of debate and tests them with evidence from Bradford. The research findings challenge some of the fundamental assumptions that have informed government policy by providing new evidence that throws light on central aspects of the debate. The need to reflect on these assumptions became more relevant after the English riots of 2011, centred in London, and the subsequent necessity to develop an effective strategy that engages with their root causes.