scholarly journals Social Impact Archaeology: Pontefract Castle and the Gatehouse Project

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendon Wilkins

Archaeology is said to add value to development, creating a deeper sense of place, community identity as well as improving health and wellbeing. Accentuating these wider social values has been welcomed by a profession keen to broaden its public relevance and legitimacy and protect its seat at the table in modern cultural life, but how much, if at all, do the public actually benefit from developer-led archaeology? Benefits to individuals and communities from archaeology projects are often abstract, intangible and difficult to attribute, and the discipline arguably lacks a satisfactory frame of reference around which it can express and design for these additional social values. Drawing on the language of social impact investing, this article will explore how the UK-based collaborative platform, DigVentures, has addressed this challenge. It introduces a 'Theory of Change' and 'Standards of Evidence' framework to account for the impact of development-led archaeology programmes, illustrating the causal links between activity and change through the case of the Pontefract Castle Gatehouse Project. It is complemented by a short documentary film exploring the spectrum of digital and physical opportunities for participation by the public alongside a team of highly experienced professional field archaeologists, demonstrating how development-led archaeology can be designed to accomplish far more than answer a planning brief.

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo J. Morelli ◽  
Paul T. Seaman

This article examines the theoretical underpinning of living wage campaigns. The article uses evidence, derived from the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey from 2005 to 2008, to examine the extent to which a living wage will address low pay within the labour force. We highlight the greater incidence of low pay within the private sector and then focus upon the public sector where the living wage demand has had most impact. The article builds upon the results from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey with analysis of the British Household Panel Survey in 2007 in order to examine the impact that the introduction of a living wage, within the public sector, would have in reducing household inequality.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 131
Author(s):  
Lilis Banowati ◽  
Cucu Herawati ◽  
Wiwiet Indriyani

Background: The increasing number of positive patients with Covid-19, the social impact in the form of stigma from being shunned by neighbors and even families and the impact of mental health, namely causing major psychosocial stresses that can trigger anxiety. Purpose  this study was to determine the stigma and level of public anxiety about Covid- 19. Methods: This type of research is descriptive quantitative, the study population is all people in the UPTD Haurgeulis Puskesmas, Indramayu Regency, as many as 88,468 people. The number of samples was 100 respondents using purposive sampling technique. Data were analyzed statistically using univariate analysis and data presentation in the form of frequency distributions. Results: This study shows that people have a low stigma as much as 1% and those who experience a high stigma are as much as 99%. As well as people who do not experience anxiety as much as 14% and most of them experience mild anxiety as much as 86%. Conclusion: The public should be wiser in sorting out information related to Covid-19 from various sources and can manage anxiety with good self-coping management, for example by relaxation and positive thinking related to Covid-19.


2019 ◽  
pp. 119-132
Author(s):  
David Rhind

This chapter describes the evolution of UK Official Statistics over an 80 year period under the influence of personalities, politics and government policies, new user needs and changing technology. These have led to changing institutional structures – such as the Statistics Commission - and periodic oscillations in what statistics are created and the ease of their accessibility by the public. The chapter concludes with the impact of the first major statistical legislation for 60 years, particularly as a consequence of its creation of the UK Statistics Authority. This has included major investment in quality assurance of National and Official Statistics and in professional resourcing. These changes are very welcome, as is the statutory specification of government statistics as a public good by the 2007 Statistics and Registration Service Act. But problems of access to some data sets and the pre-release of key economic statistics to selected groups of users remain. Given the widespread societal consequences of the advent of new technologies, what we collect and how we do it will inevitably continue to change rapidly.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s886-s887 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Durgahee ◽  
M. Isaac ◽  
J. Anderson

IntroductionSuicide is a major public health issue. It is the leading cause of death among younger adults in the UK. Suicide by jumping is an uncommon method. About 23 people die each year by jumping from the cliffs at beachy head, Sussex. The beachy head chaplaincy established a suicide-prevention patrol at beachy head in August 2004. To date there have been no studies evaluating the impact of a suicide patrol as a prevention strategy. This study aimed to assess the impact of this suicide-prevention patrol.MethodsData from local and national official statistics was gathered to examine the overall suicide numbers and rates of suicide by jumping vs. other methods. This included an in-depth scrutiny of coroners’ data and reports from the beachy head chaplaincy.A qualitative, phenomenological approach using in-depth interviews was used to evaluate the “lived experiences” of members of the suicide-prevention patrol.ResultsThe statistics reveal unexpected and at times, conflicting, results which will be offered for discussion.The thematic analysis of the interviews reveals insights into the motivations for volunteering; how a faith-based patrol works; the physical and psycho-social impact of the work; volunteers’ stories; the centrality of God within their work and motivation.For copyright reasons full details of the analyses cannot be made available before the conference.DiscussionWe welcome an interactive discussion of the results.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


2003 ◽  
Vol 186 ◽  
pp. 85-97
Author(s):  
Ray Barrell ◽  
Simon Kirby ◽  
Rebecca Riley ◽  
Desirée van Welsum

We construct a framework for evaluating the macroeconomic impact on the UK economy of policies that are aimed at reducing the number of people receiving social security benefits by helping them into employment. By means of model simulation we evaluate the gains to the economy in terms of output, employment and improvements to the public finances of a policy that reduces the number of people claiming disability benefits or lone parents on Income Support by 5 per cent. These gains can be regarded as significant and have to be offset against the costs of the policy. We conclude that it is possible to evaluate the impact of policies to enable benefit claimants to find work using a macroeconomic model, and that such an evaluation should be included in each assessment of policy change.


2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 483-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Chapman ◽  
Helen Lawton Smith ◽  
Peter Wood ◽  
Timothy Barnes ◽  
Saverio Romeo

Over the last decade policies framing the enterprise agenda for UK higher education institutions (HEIs) have consistently emphasized the potential impact of successful universities on both regional and national economies. Such policies have been backed by significant public funding to ensure that the UK HEI sector is able to compete globally in the creation and exploitation of cutting-edge science. Collectively, these initiatives have led to the development of a ‘third mission’ for universities – increasing the pace and impact of knowledge-exchange activities – while simultaneously maintaining and improving their more traditional research and teaching activities. Previous studies have demonstrated the contribution of universities to the growth of high-technology clusters as well as to knowledge exchange activities more generally. However, the extent to which these activities, particularly the formation of new university-related companies, deliver benefits to particular regions and cities is imperfectly understood. As a consequence, the economic and social impact of companies originating in universities in the UK is generally under-reported by official surveys, which frequently fail to capture details of the trajectories of such companies after formation. These considerations form the context for this paper, which presents the results from a detailed study of the impact of science and technology based academic spin-offs from a cross-section of London's HEIs.


2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-227
Author(s):  
Kwabena Frimpong

Purpose – This article aims to focus on the impact of the current austerity measures on UK public sector anti-fraud and financial crime investigative resource capacity building initiative developed over the years to tackle fraud against the public purse. Design/methodology/approach – The article draws on secondary sources of data and available literature on fraud and financial crime. Findings – Fraud is a challenge in the UK public sector but the cut-back on anti-fraud and financial crime investigative resources, given the scale of public sector fraud, the growing emphasis on accountability and the time of austerity with public money more exposed to fraud is arguably a back-door/u-turn policy on zero-tolerance approach in tackling public sector fraud and financial crime. There is the potential of this encouraging more fraud and financial crime against the public sector in the long term if measures are not taken to devise strategies for enhancing anti-fraud and financial crime investigative resource capacity. Research limitations/implications – The research implication for this article is that it opens an avenue for future studies to examine post austerity strategies for strengthening public sector anti-fraud and financial crime investigative resource strategies to deal with emerging fraud threats to UK public sector. Practical implications – This article acts as a reference guide for policymakers to reflect on the long-term adverse impact of the austerity on anti-fraud and financial crime investigative resource capacity and capability in tackling fraud public sector fraud. Originality/value – The paper attempts to present an alternative lens to examining the scale of UK public sector fraud problem rather than relying on headline story of declining fraud in UK.


2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-57
Author(s):  
Kim Knott

Abstract How has the study of religion in the UK been shaped by its institutional contexts? Consideration is given to the Christian and secular foundations of universities and higher education colleges, the relationship of theology and religious studies, and the impact of institutional structures and drivers associated with teaching and research. The formation of ‘TRS’ as an instrumental and contested subject area is discussed, as is the changing curriculum. Research on religion is examined in relation to new institutional pressures and opportunities: the assessment of university research and the public funding of research. The importance of the impact agenda and capacity building are illustrated.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. e047995
Author(s):  
Rosamund Yu ◽  
Bec Hanley ◽  
Simon Denegri ◽  
Jaber Ahmed ◽  
Nicholas J McNally

ObjectivesTo design, deliver and evaluate a programme of training workshops for biomedical researchers aimed at building confidence and skills in actively involving patients and the public (PPI) in research.DesignA bespoke programme of training workshops in PPI aimed at researchers.SettingA large National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre in London and several partner organisations.Participants721 scientists, clinicians and research managers attending dedicated training in PPI at a major London NHS (National Health Service)–university partnership.InterventionsA programme of 72 training workshops, designed to build practical skills and confidence for researchers working with patients and the public in research, was delivered at a major research-active NHS:university partnership. An iterative approach was taken to the programme, with the content of the workshops continually reviewed and refreshed to respond to the needs of researchers. Surveys before, immediately following and 6 months after training investigated the impact on researchers’ confidence and skills in PPI work, and the kind of PPI they subsequently carried out.ResultsTraining brought about immediate marked increases in researchers’ self-reported confidence to carry out PPI activities within their research, and in their knowledge of good practice. The evaluation indicates that workshop attendees were more likely to involve patients in their research following training. Researchers tended to involve patients and the public in a range of areas, including input to study design and patient information, in particular.ConclusionsWhen positioned within a broader organisational strategy for PPI in research, such training has an important role to play in progressing PPI in a major research partnership. Training appeared to provide the confidence needed to carry out PPI which enabled further development of confidence and skills. Involving researchers who have attended the training in the ongoing development of the programme and bringing in patients to the training programme are key next steps.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feifei Bu ◽  
Andrew Steptoe ◽  
Hei Wan Mak ◽  
Daisy Fancourt

There is currently major concern about the impact of the global COVID 19 outbreak on mental health. But it remains unclear how individual behaviors could exacerbate or protect against adverse changes in mental health. This study aimed to examine the associations between specific activities (or time use) and mental health and wellbeing amongst people during the COVID 19 pandemic. Data were from the UCL COVID 19 Social Study; a panel study collecting data weekly during the COVID 19 pandemic. The analytical sample consisted of 55,204 adults living in the UK who were followed up for the strict 11 week lockdown period from 21st March to 31st May 2020. Data were analyzed using fixed effects and Arellano Bond models. We found that changes in time spent on a range of activities were associated with changes in mental health and wellbeing. After controlling for bidirectionality, behaviors involving outdoor activities including gardening and exercising predicted subsequent improvements in mental health and wellbeing, while increased time spent on following news about COVID 19 predicted declines in mental health and wellbeing. These results are relevant to the formulation of guidance for people obliged to spend extended periods in isolation during health emergencies, and may help the public to maintain wellbeing during future pandemics.


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