“We shouldn’t waste a good crisis”: the lived experience of working on the frontline through the first surge (and beyond) of COVID-19 in the UK and Ireland

ObjectivesTo explore the lived experience of long COVID with particular focus on the role of physical activity.DesignQualitative study using semistructured interviews.Participants18 people living with long COVID (9 men, 9 women; aged between 18–74 years; 10 white British, 3 white Other, 3 Asian, 1 black, 1 mixed ethnicity) recruited via a UK-based research interest database for people with long COVID.SettingTelephone interviews with 17 participants living in the UK and 1 participant living in the USA.ResultsFour themes were generated. Theme 1 describes how participants struggled with drastically reduced physical function, compounded by the cognitive and psychological effects of long COVID. Theme 2 highlights challenges associated with finding and interpreting advice about physical activity that was appropriately tailored. Theme 3 describes individual approaches to managing symptoms including fatigue and ‘brain fog’ while trying to resume and maintain activities of daily living and other forms of exercise. Theme 4 illustrates the battle with self-concept to accept reduced function (even temporarily) and the fear of permanent reduction in physical and cognitive ability.ConclusionsThis study provides insight into the challenges of managing physical activity alongside the extended symptoms associated with long COVID. Findings highlight the need for greater clarity and tailoring of physical activity-related advice for people with long COVID and improved support to resume activities important to individual well-being.

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The Lived Experience of Financialization at the UK Financial Fringe

Journal of Social Policy ◽

10.1017/s004727942100026x ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-22

Author(s):

LINDSEY APPLEYARD ◽

CARL PACKMAN ◽

JORDON LAZELL ◽

HUSSAN ASLAM

Keyword(s):

Lived Experience ◽

Financial Services ◽

Global Financial Crisis ◽

Credit Market ◽

Short Term ◽

Dramatic Decline ◽

The Everyday ◽

The Subject ◽

The Uk ◽

The Impact

Abstract The financialization of everyday life has received considerable attention since the 2008 global financial crisis. Financialization is thought to have created active financial subjects through the ability to participate in mainstream financial services. While the lived experience of these mainstream financial subjects has been the subject of close scrutiny, the experiences of financial subjects at the financial fringe have been rarely considered. In the UK, for example, the introduction of High-Cost, Short-Term Credit [HCSTC] or payday loan regulation was designed to protect vulnerable people from accessing unaffordable credit. Exploring the impact of HCSTC regulation is important due to the dramatic decline of the high-cost credit market which helped meet essential needs in an era of austerity. As such, the paper examines the impact of the HCSTC regulation on sixty-four financially marginalized individuals in the UK that are unable to access payday loans. First, we identify the range of socioeconomic strategies that individuals employ to manage their finances to create a typology of financial subjectivity at the financial fringe. Second, we demonstrate how the temporal and precarious nature of financial inclusion at the financial fringe adds nuance to existing debates of the everyday lived experience of financialization.

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The lived experience of redesigning lifestyle post-retirement in the UK

Occupational Therapy International ◽

10.1002/oti.309 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 48-58 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Gail Anne Mountain ◽

Claire Louise Craig

Keyword(s):

Lived Experience ◽

The Uk

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Understanding the lived experience of British non-offending paedophiles

Journal of Forensic Practice ◽

10.1108/jfp-10-2019-0046 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 71-81

Author(s):

Harriet Dymond ◽

Simon Duff

Keyword(s):

Sexual Abuse ◽

Lived Experience ◽

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽

Sexual Attraction ◽

Well Being ◽

Future Research ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Content Type ◽

Management Techniques ◽

The Uk

Purpose Research into paedophilia mainly uses offender samples; thus, little is understood about non-offending paedophiles. The limited body of research has been conducted in North America or Europe whose health and legal systems differ from those in the UK. Using semi-structured interviews, the purpose of this study is to explore the experience of three non-offending British paedophilic males. Design/methodology/approach The interview discussed their paedophilia, refraining from offending and perspectives on treatment initiatives. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings Three superordinate themes emerged: “paedophilia as more than a sexuality,” “acceptance leads to management” and “barriers to support.” These encapsulated how paedophilia was understood, how accepting one’s sexual attraction is tantamount to well-being and the various obstacles to providing support were discussed. Research limitations/implications Acknowledging the sampling considerations (size and recruitment), the results implicate research into paedophilia. The onset of paedophilia was chronologically associated with typical sexual attraction, and not the result of sexual abuse as some theories suggest. Furthermore, the tenets of attraction to children extending beyond sexual desire were highlighted. Practically, the results influence future research into the area and highlight the dearth in our understanding of diverse behavioural management techniques (i.e. computerised images of children or human-like dolls). Originality/value This paper presents novel insight into the aspects of paedophilia, excluding offensive behaviour and highlights the need for affordable, UK-based services targeted towards people with a paedophilic attraction to manage child sexual abuse preventatively and not reactively.

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Venturing From Home: Writing (and Teaching) as Creative-Relational Inquiry for Alternative Educational Futures

International Review of Qualitative Research ◽

10.1177/1940844720968213 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 194084472096821

Author(s):

Anne Pirrie ◽

Nini Fang

Keyword(s):

Student Satisfaction ◽

Lived Experience ◽

Performance Management ◽

Collaborative Writing ◽

Human Flourishing ◽

New Managerialism ◽

Relational Practice ◽

The Status ◽

The Uk ◽

Educational Futures

This article explores the ecology of contemporary higher education by foregrounding the ethical relation between its authors. The article expresses their commitment to throwing off familiar academic conventions in order to promote human flourishing in a sector that has been colonized by new managerialism and the associated mechanisms of “performance management,” surveillance, and exclusion. The authors write into the emblems of the naajavaarsuk (the ivory gull) and isumataq (the Inuit storyteller). They explore collaborative writing as an ethical, relational practice whilst exposing the lived problematics that have become the “new normal” in the contemporary academy, for instance, the fetishization of “student satisfaction.” The latter has gained traction in the UK in recent years, and in extreme cases can call forth acts of ethical violence that induce deep and long-lasting effects. Their account is visceral rather than abstract, rooted in lived experience and in theory. The authors conclude that the precondition for human flourishing in conditions of constraint is neither all-out resistance nor quietist acceptance of the status quo. It is to open up a space for education that inheres in our relation to the other, and quietly to resist being defined and limited by practices of monitoring and surveillance.

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‘And then we summarise in English for the others’: The lived experience of the multilingual workplace

Multilingua ◽

10.1515/multi-2014-0007 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 33 (1-2) ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Jo Angouri ◽

Marlene Miglbauer

Keyword(s):

Lived Experience ◽

Language Choice ◽

Daily Work ◽

Linguistic Resources ◽

Work Related ◽

Dominant Ideologies ◽

Multilingual Workplace ◽

The Uk ◽

The Impact

AbstractIn multinational corporate companies, multilingualism is often a daily reality for employees and the negotiation of language practices for work and social purposes, a routine. Despite the role of English as a lingua franca, the linguistic ecology of modern workplaces is dynamic, rich and diverse. While English is often used for communication between a company’s headquarters and its subsidiaries, language choice is dynamically negotiated between the interactants in informal meetings and everyday interactions in the workplace. Against this backdrop, the article discusses the lived experience of the multinational workplace. We draw on interview data with 40 employees in senior and junior management posts in 12 companies situated in Croatia, Greece, Italy, Serbia, Sweden and the UK where English is the official corporate language. Special attention is paid to the employees’ perceptions of the role of languages in their daily work life. We focus here on three discourses that have emerged from the analysis of our data: multilingualism and the use of English, multilingualism and cosmpolitanism, and challenges and expectations of multilingualism. Our findings show that the employees draw on a range of linguistic resources in order to manage their work-related interactions, and dominant ideologies in relation to language use come to the fore. We close the article by focusing on the profile of the ‘global’ employee and the impact of the ‘modern’ workplace on the working realities of the participants.

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Black men, religiosity and desistance: exploring Islam, desistance and identity

Safer Communities ◽

10.1108/sc-04-2017-0013 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 47-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Shona Robinson-Edwards ◽

Craig Pinkney

Keyword(s):

Lived Experience ◽

Black Men ◽

Social Science Research ◽

Science Research ◽

Father Absence ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Efficient Manner ◽

Content Type ◽

The Uk

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of Ibrahim, an ex-offender who has embraced Islam. Ibrahim professes Islam to be the influential element to his desistance process. This study explores Ibrahim’s journey, emphasising and reflecting upon youth; criminality and religiosity. Much of the current research relating to Black men and offending is limited to masculinity, father absence, gangs and criminality. The role of religiosity in the lives of offenders and/or ex-offenders is often overlooked. The authors suggest that identity, religiosity and desistance can raise a host of complexities while highlighting the unique challenges and benefits experienced by Ibrahim, following the practice of religion. Design/methodology/approach This paper took a qualitative, ethnographic approach, in the form of analysing and exploring Ibrahim’s personal lived experience. The analysis of semi-structured interviews, and reflective diaries, utilising grounded theory allowed the formation of the following three core themes: desistance, religion and identity. Findings The findings within this paper identify an interlink between desistance, religion and identity. The role of religiosity is becoming increasingly more important in academic social science research. This paper highlights the complexities of all three above intersections. Research limitations/implications This paper explores the complexities of religiosity in the desistance process of Ibrahim. Research in relation to former gang members in the UK and the role of religiosity in their lives is fairly under-researched. This paper seeks to build on existing research surrounding gang, further exploring religiosity from a UK context. Practical implications Time spent with Ibrahim had to be tightly scheduled, due to the work commitments of both Ibrahim and the researcher. Therefore, planning had to be done ahead in an efficient manner. Social implications Researching the way individuals experience the world is a “growing phenomenon”. This paper aimed to explore the lived experience of religiosity from the perspective of Ibrahim. However, it was important to not stereotype and label all Black males who have embraced Islam and desisted from crime. Therefore, this paper’s intention is not to stereotype Black men, but to raise awareness and encourage further discussion surrounding the role of religiosity in the lives of ex-offenders’. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, studies specifically focusing on the role of Islam in the life of an ex-offender are few and far between. Therefore, findings from this study are important to develop further understanding surrounding religiosity, offending and desistance. This study explores the lived experiences of Ibrahim, an former gang member and ex-offender who professes Islam to be a fundamental source to his desistance process.

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HIV stigma in UK press reporting of a case of intentional HIV transmission

Health An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health Illness and Medicine ◽

10.1177/1363459320949901 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 136345932094990 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Rusi Jaspal ◽

Brigitte Nerlich

Keyword(s):

Lived Experience ◽

Hiv Transmission ◽

Social Representations ◽

News Coverage ◽

Hiv Treatment ◽

Social Constructionist ◽

Hiv Stigma ◽

Hiv Care ◽

Criminal Prosecution ◽

The Uk

The UK has set itself the ambitious target of zero new HIV transmissions by 2030. HIV stigma is a significant barrier to achieving this target. Media reporting plays an important role in shaping social representations of HIV and of stigma. Between 2016 and 2018, the media in the UK reported on the Daryll Rowe case – the first criminal prosecution for intentional transmission of HIV in the UK. This article examines the way that UK newspapers reported this case, which may have exacerbated HIV stigma. Using Nexis, 178 UK newspaper articles were extracted and subjected to qualitative thematic analysis through a social constructionist lens. Informed by social representations theory, the analysis yielded three discursive themes: (1) Representing the perpetrator through HIV-focussed metaphors; (2) Constructing volitional ambiguity; and (3) Anchoring the lived experience of HIV to misery and death. UK newspapers constructed an ‘evil vs victimhood’ dichotomy in relation to Rowe and the men infected with HIV, respectively. This article argues that news coverage of the Rowe story constructs HIV in ways that are inconsistent with public health messaging. Reporting failed to note innovations in HIV treatment and prevention but instead disseminated stigmatising social representations of HIV. This is important because stigma impedes effective HIV prevention, engagement with HIV care and ultimately our ability to achieve the zero-infections target.

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“Why would you want to stand?” an account of the lived experience of employees taking part in a workplace sit-stand desk intervention

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-019-8038-9 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jennifer Hall ◽

Tess Kay ◽

Alison McConnell ◽

Louise Mansfield

Keyword(s):

Lived Experience ◽

Sedentary Behaviour ◽

Interpersonal Relationships ◽

Design Theory ◽

Cultural Theory ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Employee Health ◽

Individual Level ◽

Pilot Rct ◽

The Uk

Abstract Background Sit-stand desk interventions have the potential to reduce workplace sedentary behaviour and improve employee health. However, the extent of sit-stand desk use varies between employees and in different organisational contexts. Framed by organisational cultural theory and product design theory, this study examined employees’ lived experience of taking part in a workplace sit-stand desk intervention, to understand the processes influencing feasibility and acceptability. Methods Participant observations and qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 employees from two office-based workplaces in the UK, as part of a process evaluation that ran alongside a pilot RCT of a workplace sit-stand desk intervention. Observational field notes and transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Three themes related to the experience of using a sit-stand desk at work were generated: employees’ relationship with their sit-stand desk; aspirations and outcomes related to employee health and productivity; and cultural norms and interpersonal relationships. The perceived usability of the desk varied depending on how employees interacted with the desk within their personal and organisational context. Employees reported that the perceived influence of the desk on their productivity levels shaped use of the desk; those who perceived that standing increased energy and alertness tended to stand more often. Sit-stand desks were voiced as being more acceptable than intervention strategies that involve leaving the desk, as productivity was conflated with being at the desk. Conclusions The findings indicate a range of organisational, social-cultural and individual-level factors that shape the feasibility and acceptability of sit-stand desk use, and suggest strategies for improving employees’ experiences of using a sit-stand desk at work, which might positively influence sedentary behaviour reduction and health. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02172599, 22nd June 2014 (prospectively registered).

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Coerced to Leave: Punishment and the Surveillance of Foreign-National Offenders in the UK

Surveillance & Society ◽

10.24908/ss.v12i4.4760 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 471-484 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Ines Hasselberg

Keyword(s):

Lived Experience ◽

Electronic Monitoring ◽

State Control ◽

Judicial Process ◽

Foreign National ◽

Administrative Practices ◽

Foreign Nationals ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

State Surveillance ◽

The Uk

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in London among foreign-national offenders facing deportation from the United Kingdom, this paper seeks to examine how foreign-national offenders experience and understand state policies of control. Worldwide, foreign-nationals are increasingly subject to forms of state surveillance, not just when crossing borders but also during their stay within a given state’s territory. Detention centres, weekly or monthly reporting requirements, and electronic monitoring are already common migrant surveillance strategies allied to deportation policies in many countries across the globe. These forms of state control are conceived legally as administrative practices necessary to control foreign-nationals whose status is still being adjudicated and to enforce the removal of unwanted foreign-nationals. Consequently, these strategies are not inflicted through a judicial process, even though these same practices are used within the context of penal incarceration and supervision. The lived experience of deportability and associated state surveillance highlights the punitive and coercive effects of detention and related conditions of bail. Ironically, but perhaps not unintentionally, those who are deemed a risk and subject to surveillance and banishment are therefore constantly feeling vulnerable and in need of protection. Because they do not consider themselves a risk to society, the foreign-national offenders interviewed for this study understand state surveillance not as a measure of control, but rather as punishment for wanting to stay. In their eyes, it is designed to coerce them to leave. An examination of the experiences of detention and bail reveals how such forms of surveillance work to discipline deportable bodies.

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