scholarly journals Visibly better? Testing the effect of ethnic appearance on citizen perceptions of the police

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Davies ◽  
Ben Bradford ◽  
Julia Yesberg ◽  
Krisztián Pósch

Ethnic minority officers continue to be underrepresented across UK police forces. Further, some ethnic minority groups consistently report lower levels of confidence in police compared to their White British counterparts. Although there is consensus that a more ethnically representative police service is a good idea, there is limited evidence in the UK on how the public perceives officers of different ethnic appearance, and how this relates to trust, confidence and legitimacy. This paper presents findings from an online experiment (n=260) exploring how ethnic appearance affects perceptions of police. Our findings offer rare empirical support for a more ethnically representative police force. First, across respondents, we found that Black officers were perceived significantly more favourably than White or Asian officers. Second, we found that Black respondents had more negative responses to White officers, yet there was little evidence that Black officers elicited more negative reactions from White or Asian respondents. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. e041102
Author(s):  
Cleo Baskin ◽  
Geiske Zijlstra ◽  
Mike McGrath ◽  
Caroline Lee ◽  
Fiona Helen Duncan ◽  
...  

ObjectivesUndertake a scoping review to determine the effectiveness of community-centred interventions designed to improve the mental health and well-being of adults from ethnic minority groups in the UK.MethodsWe searched six electronic academic databases for studies published between January 1990 and September 2019: Medline, Embase, PsychINFO, Scopus, CINAHL and Cochrane. For intervention description and data extraction we used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews checklist and Template for Intervention Description and Replication guide. Quality was assessed using Cochrane risk of bias tools. Grey literature results were deemed beyond the scope of this review due to the large number of interventions and lack of available outcomes data.ResultsOf 4501 studies, 7 met the eligibility criteria of UK-based community interventions targeting mental health in adults from ethnic minority populations: four randomised controlled trials, one pre/post-pilot study, one cross-sectional study and one ethnographic study. Interventions included therapy-style sessions, peer-support groups, educational materials, gym access and a family services programme. Common components included a focus on tackling social isolation, using lay health workers from within the community, signposting and overcoming structural barriers to access. Four studies reported a statistically significant positive effect on mental health outcomes and six were appraised as having a high risk of bias. Study populations were ethnically heterogeneous and targeted people mainly from South Asia. No studies examined interventions targeting men.ConclusionsThere is a paucity of high-quality evidence regarding community-centred interventions focused on improving public mental health among ethnic minority groups. Decision makers need scientific evidence to inform effective approaches to mitigating health disparities. Our next steps are to map promising community activities and interventions that are currently being provided to help identify emerging evidence.


2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Johns ◽  
Sara MacBride-Stewart ◽  
Martin Powell ◽  
Alison Green

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the claim that the tie-break criterion introduced under the Equality Act 2010 is not really positive action as is claimed by its government sponsors. It evaluates this claim by locating the tie-break into equal opportunities theory, taking into account merit considerations, and reviews its potential implications. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual discussion of the tie-break. Findings – The paper concludes that the tie-break is not positive action, nor is it positive discrimination. It employs the framework established by Forbes (1991) and attempts to locate it in theoretical discussions of the need to refine merit to take identity characteristics into account. While it could serve to make a more sophisticated approach to merit possible it fails to achieve its implicit potential in this regard. Research limitations/implications – The paper is conceptual and will benefit from empirical support in the future. Practical implications – Practically, the tie-break promises to add some greater clarity to the muddled understanding of equal opportunities and diversity that underpins much policy and legislation. As a result it will arguably prove hard to implement and will carry other associated problems. Social implications – Socially, the tie-break, mis-represented as it currently is, promises to create greater uncertainty around the nature and purposes of equality of opportunity. Consequently, it could exacerbate tensions and hostilities and promote significant resistance to “equality” measures. Originality/value – This paper is an original conceptual piece that will shine a light on an important legal innovation. The tie-break is not what it is described to be and carries both potential and threat for advocates of equality of opportunity. In pursuing socially significant outcomes of this type, conceptual accuracy and transparency are vital, and this paper contributes to this endeavour.


Author(s):  
Lex Thijssen ◽  
Marcel Coenders ◽  
Bram Lancee

AbstractIn this study, we present the results of a large-scale field experiment on ethnic discrimination in the Dutch labor market. We sent fictitious job applications (N = 4211) to vacancies for jobs in ten different occupations in the Netherlands. By examining 35 different ethnic minority groups, we detect considerable differences in discrimination rates, predominantly between Western and non-Western minorities. Furthermore, we find little systematic variation in discrimination patterns with regard to gender, regions, and occupations, pointing to the existence of an ethnic hierarchy that is widely shared among employers. Finally, we do not find empirical support for the hypothesis that adding personal information in job applications reduces discrimination.


Author(s):  
Pauline Rivart ◽  
Verity Wainwright ◽  
Sandra Flynn ◽  
Isabelle M. Hunt ◽  
Jenny Shaw ◽  
...  

It is estimated that between 36,000 and 360,000 people are affected by suicide every year in the UK, and a proportion may develop depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, or engage in high-risk behaviours. Recent systematic analyses have revealed a clear gap in research on suicide bereavement in minority ethnic groups. This study aimed to understand the experiences and support needs of individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds bereaved by suicide and was the first in the UK to investigate this matter. The study was a secondary analysis of data. Participants were 7158 people residing in the UK who completed an online survey about their experiences of suicide. Free-text qualitative responses of 227 participants who did not identify as White British were analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes were identified: maladaptive coping strategies, emotional processes following suicide, lack of support from agencies, and the importance of mental health awareness. Ethnic minority groups reported a lack of support despite attempts to engage with services, noted the prevalence of stigma within ethnic minority groups, and expressed a need to tackle this. These preliminary results suggest that ethnic minority individuals require visible and accessible services that can successfully engage with and support them.


2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Button ◽  
Chris Lewis ◽  
David Shepherd ◽  
Graham Brooks

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges of measuring fraud in overseas aid. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on 21 semi-structured interviews with key persons working in the delivery of aid in both the public and voluntary sectors. It uses the UK Department for International Development as a case study to applying more accurate measures of fraud. Findings – This paper shows there are significant challenges to using fraud loss measurement to gauge fraud in overseas aid. However, it argues that, along with other types of measures, it could be used in areas of expenditure in overseas governments and charities to measure aid. Given the high risk of such aid to fraud, it argues helping to develop capacity to reduce aid, of which measuring the size of the problem is an important part; this could be considered as aid in its own right. Research limitations/implications – The researchers were not able to visit high-risk countries for fraud to examine in the local context views on the challenges of measuring fraud. Practical implications – The paper offers insights on the challenges to accurately measuring fraud in an overseas context, which will be useful to policy-makers in this context. Social implications – Given the importance of as much aid as possible reaching recipients, it offers an important contribution to helping to reduce losses in this important area. Originality/value – There has been very little consideration of how to measure fraud in the overseas aid context, with most effort aimed at corruption, which poses some of the same challenges, as well as some very different challenges.


2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 561-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayantunji Gbadamosi

Although postmodernism and celebrity culture are closely linked, research attention on this has not been adequately synthesized with ethnic minority groups. Hence, this article, which is rooted in an interpretive research paradigm, explores the symbolic consumption of Black African women in the UK with specific reference to celebrity culture. Although the study shows some purchase decisions based on products’ functionality, generally, it shows the robust interplay of personal, cultural, social, and commercial factors in the symbolic consumption of these women. This is shown to be linked to the prevalent celebrity culture in the society. They consume to enhance their self-esteem and keep up with the societal trend in the host environment. Hence, the notion of acculturation features prominently in their consumption. The article extends the discourse on the extant ethnic minority studies and augments the current knowledge about symbolic consumption especially with reference to Black African women.


Ethnicities ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 518-534
Author(s):  
Hella von Unger ◽  
Penelope Scott ◽  
Dennis Odukoya

Migration- and ethnicity-related categories are a core feature of public health systems internationally, particularly in health reporting on communicable infectious diseases. The specific categories and classifications used differ from country to country and are subject to controversy and change. The article compares categorization practices in health reporting in the UK and Germany with regard to tuberculosis. Tuberculosis has been framed as a ‘migrants’ disease’ in recent decades and new categories were introduced to collect and report epidemiological data. We reconstruct the genesis, change and power effects of categories related to im/migrants and ethnic minority groups. In both countries, migration-related categorizations entail constructions of im/migrants as ‘carriers of disease’. However, the categories also connect with discourses on human rights, prevention, treatment and care for migrants as vulnerable groups. While this ambivalent role of migration-related categories is not unique to health statistics, the potential contribution to processes of ‘othering’ and politics of exclusion seem particularly imminent in the context of communicable diseases such as tuberculosis. Ethnicity categories used in the UK, but not in Germany, also contribute to othering through racialization and culturalization, yet at the same time provide opportunities for community participation in the discourse.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward S. Dove ◽  
Ruby Reed-Berendt ◽  
Manish Pareek

The aim of UK-REACH (“The United Kingdom Research study into Ethnicity And COVID-19 outcomes in Healthcare workers”) is to understand if, how, and why healthcare workers (HCWs) in the UK from ethnic minority groups are at increased risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19. In this article, we present findings from Work Package 3, the ethico-legal stream, which undertook qualitative research seeking to understand and address legal, ethical, and social acceptability issues around data protection, privacy, and information governance associated with the linkage of HCWs’ registration data and healthcare data. We interviewed 22 key opinion leaders in healthcare and health research from across the UK in two-to-one semi-structured interviews. Transcripts were manually coded using qualitative thematic analysis. Participants told us that a significant implication across all stages of Big Data research in public health are drivers of mistrust – of the research itself, research staff and funders, and broader concerns of mistrust within participant communities, particularly in the context of COVID-19 and those situated in more marginalised community settings. However, despite the challenges, participants also identified ways in which legally compliant and ethically informed approaches to research can be crafted to mitigate or overcome mistrust and establish confidence in Big Data public health research. Overall, our research indicates that a “Big Data Ethics by Design” approach can help assure 1) that meaningful engagement is taking place and that extant challenges are addressed, and 2) that any new challenges or hitherto unknown unknowns can be rapidly and properly considered to ensure potential (but material) harms are identified and minimised where necessary. Our findings indicate such an approach, in turn, will help drive better scientific breakthroughs that translate into medical innovations and effective public health interventions, which benefit the publics studied.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katy Kerrane ◽  
Andrew Lindridge ◽  
Sally Dibb

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how consumption linked with life transitions can differ in its potential to bring about ongoing liminality. By examining how consumers can draw on overlapping systems of resources, different ways in which consumers negotiate ongoing liminality following the transition to motherhood are identified. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted an interpretive, exploratory study using in-depth phenomenological interviews with 23 South Asian mothers living in the UK. The sample consisted of mothers at different stages of motherhood. Findings Following life transitions, consumers may encounter liminal hotspots at the intersection of overlapping systems of resources. The findings examine two liminal hotspots with differing potential to produce ongoing liminality. The study shows how consumers navigate these liminal hotspots in different ways, by accepting, rejecting and amalgamating the resources at hand. Research limitations/implications The research sample could have been more diverse; future research could examine liminal hotspots relating to different minority groups and life transitions. Practical implications Marketers need to examine the different ways in which consumers draw on different systems of resources following life transitions. The paper includes implications for how marketers segment, target and market to ethnic minority consumers. Originality/value Due to increasingly fluid social conditions, there are likely to be growing numbers of consumers who experience ongoing liminality following life transitions. A preliminary framework is presented outlining different ways that consumers negotiate ongoing liminality by drawing on overlapping systems of resources, broadening the understanding of the role that marketplace resources play beyond life transitions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
V Kabeya ◽  
S Puthussery ◽  
A Furmanski

Abstract Background Culturally appropriate interventions are needed to improve the uptake of genetic counselling and testing among ethnically diverse communities. This study aims to assess the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a “Health Party” intervention to increase awareness, knowledge and uptake of genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer among ethnic minority women in the UK. Methods The “Health Party” intervention will include an educational session in a party setting. Participants will be taught by professionals about genetic testing and how to access genetic testing services in the UK National Health Service. We will recruit a sample of 60 women aged 18 years and over from key ethnic minority groups in the UK (Black African, Black Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi) and will conduct four community based sessions, each with about 15 participants. The outcomes will primarily relate to recruitment and attrition rates, data collection, study resources and intervention delivery. A quantitative pre-post evaluation with measurements before, shortly after, and at 6 months following the intervention will be conducted to assess the preliminary effectiveness on awareness, knowledge and uptake of genetic testing. We will use three way mixed analysis of variance (MANOVA) to analyse changes pre- and post- intervention. The fidelity of the intervention including facilitation strategies, quality of delivery and participant response will be assessed. Conclusions Findings will establish the feasibility of the intervention and will provide insights into its effectiveness to increase the awareness, knowledge and uptake of genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer among women from ethnic minority groups in the UK. Impact: Depending on its feasibility and effectiveness, the intervention can be used to help women from ethnic minority groups to make informed choices about genetic testing and improve early diagnosis and treatment of breast and ovarian cancer. Key messages “Health Party” may be a feasible intervention for ethnic minority women in the UK. “Health Party” intervention may increase awareness, knowledge and uptake of services.


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