‘What are ‘they’ Doing to our Food?’: Public Concerns about Food in the UK

1999 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 32-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Genetically Modified Food ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Public Concerns

This paper explores ‘expert’ constructions of public concerns about food within a sociological framework. Concerns about potential risks in food have become controversial social and political issues in Britain in recent years. This paper reflects on these wider debates, and on sociological work on food, ‘risk’ and science, which provide the backdrop for qualitative research studying ‘expert’ and ‘lay’ understandings of food risks. The first phase of this exploratory research consisted of a series of ‘key informant’ interviews with a range of ‘experts’ in the arena of food. The interview data serve to ‘map out’ the key issues in current debates about food. However, they also enable insight into the ways different involved ‘experts’ construct accounts of public concerns about food. From the data, several key issues and themes relating to ‘expert’ views of public understandings and concerns about food emerged. These included, a ‘rolling issue’ of food concerns, public questioning of the origins and integrity of food, increased involvement of ‘external people’ in food, the extent of public understandings of microbiological food safety; public understandings of risk in the BSE crisis, and public knowledge and acceptance of genetically-modified food. These data set the scene for further research directly exploring the views of food consumers. The issues and themes from the ‘expert’ accounts are being followed-up by the author through research in progress, which seeks to uncover the range of rich, intuitive understandings of food risks held by a diverse range of people who make up ‘the public’.

Listened to, but not heard! The failure to represent the public in genetically modified food policies

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 923-936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesper Lassen
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Food Policy ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Genetically Modified Food ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
Parliamentary Debates ◽  
The Public ◽  
Parliamentary Government ◽  
Public Concerns

‘In the mid-1990s, a mismatch was addressed between European genetically modified food policy, which focused primarily on risks and economic prospects, and public anxieties, which also included other concerns, and there was a development in European food policy toward the inclusion of what were referred to as “ethical aspects.” Using parliamentary debates in Denmark in 2002 and 2015 as a case, this article examines how three storylines of concern that were visible in public discourse at the time were represented by the decision makers in parliament. It shows that core public concerns raising fundamental questions about genetically modified foods, and in particular their perceived unnaturalness, were not considered in the parliamentary debates. It is suggested that the failure of the parliament to represent the public may undermine the legitimacy of politicians and lead to disillusionment with parliamentary government.

scholarly journals The performance of power and citizenship: David Cameron meets the people

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 678-690
Author(s):  
Peter Lunt
Keyword(s):  
Prime Minister ◽  
Political Agency ◽  
David Cameron ◽  
Political Autonomy ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
The People ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Television Studio

How do citizens respond to and engage with the performance of political power in the context of mainstream media? Through an analysis of two television programmes aired during the UK Brexit referendum campaign of 2016, a picture emerges of citizenship as the performative disruption of the performance of power. In the programmes the then UK prime minister, David Cameron, met members of the public for a mediated discussion of key issues in the Brexit referendum. Their interactions are analysed here as a confrontation between the performance of citizenship and power reflecting activist modalities of disruptive citizenship played out in the television studio. The article ends with reflections on questions about political agency as individualistic forms of disruptive political autonomy.

Public concerns will slow EU and UK privatisation

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
The Political ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Cost ◽  
Current Leadership ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Public Concerns

Subject Privatisation moves. Significance The UK Labour Party reaffirmed its objective of renationalising several privatised utilities and taking over projects funded by public-private partnerships at its September 24-27 annual party conference. The plan to shift back to public ownership has proved contentious with business as indicative of hostility to the private sector but popular with the public which associates privatisation with higher prices and poorer service quality. Impacts Renationalisation would be likely to use up much of a future Labour government’s political capital. The political cost would be regarded by Labour’s current leadership and its supporters as a price worth paying to honour a defining pledge. While renationalisation would be symbolic, the fortunes of such a government would depend more on its handling of the economy.

scholarly journals Challenges for Managing Complex Application Portfolios: A Case Study of South Australian Public Sector Agency

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (03) ◽  
pp. 01-08
Author(s):  
Yaser Mirza
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
State Government ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Root Cause ◽  
Organic Growth ◽  
Key Issues

This research explores the challenges in management and the root cause for complex application portfolios in the public sector. It takes Australian public sector organisations with the case of South Australia Police (SAPOL) for evaluation it being one of the significant and mission critical state government agencies. The exploratory research surfaces some of the key challenges using interview as primary data collection source, along with archive records, documentation, and direct observation as secondary sources. This paper reports on the information analysed surfacing eight key issues. It highlights that the organic growth of the technology portfolios, with mission criticality has resulted in many quick fixes which are not aligned with long term enterprise architectural stability. Integration of different mismatched technologies, along with the pressure from the business to always keep the lights on, does not provide the opportunity for the portfolios to be rationalised in an ongoing way. Other issues and the areas for further study are explored at the end.

What is music therapy? A survey study of public awareness and perceptions of the profession

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Morgan ◽  
Jane Humphreys ◽  
Catherine Warner
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
The Public ◽  
Poor Understanding ◽  
Analyse Data ◽  
The Uk

Since emerging in the 1940s, the music therapy profession has grown to an estimated 15,000 qualified music therapists practising in 55 countries across a diverse range of contexts (e.g. Tsiris, 2015; WFMT, 2020). Yet music therapists feel the public have a poor understanding of the profession (e.g. Kern and Tague, 2017; Pearson, 2018); to date, however, there is no empirical evidence to support such claims. The current study sought to address this gap in the literature by conducting an online survey to explore public awareness and perceptions of music therapy. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyse data from 359 non-music therapists aged 18 or over, of whom 46% were from the UK, 18% from the US, and the rest from 37 other countries. Results revealed that participants appreciated the therapeutic value of music but lacked awareness and understanding of professional music therapy services—this paper argues that such poor understanding is likely to reduce people’s prospects of seeking the service. Therefore, governing bodies of the profession should focus their attention on improving public awareness of fundamental aspects of music therapy, and helping the public distinguish between the profession of music therapy and a therapeutic use of music.

scholarly journals A discourse network analysis of the public media debate on the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
C H Buckton ◽  
G Fergie ◽  
P Leifeld ◽  
S Hilton
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Complex Network ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Soft Drinks ◽  
Media Content Analysis ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The Public ◽  
Food Policies ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Background On 6th April 2018, the UK Government introduced the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) as a policy designed to reduce population level sugar consumption and related illnesses. Given that the successful introduction of upstream food and nutrition policies is a highly political enterprise involving multiple interested parties, understanding the complex network of stakeholders seeking to influence such policy decisions is imperative. Methods Media content analysis was employed to build a data set of relevant articles from UK national newspapers. Articles were analysed to identify stakeholder agreement or disagreement with defined concept statements. We used discourse network analysis to produce visual representations of the stakeholder network and coalitions evident in the debate, leading up to and following the announcement of the SDIL. Results We identified 3,883 statements made by 214 individuals from 176 organisations, relating to 47 concepts. Visualisations revealed a complex network of stakeholders with two discourse coalitions. Polarisation arose from 3 factors: (i) differences in political ideology; (ii) position on the specific policy option; (iii) interpretation of the evidence. Industry stakeholders appeared less united before the SDIL announcement. Some industry actors appeared in the supportive coalition, possibly due to the use of corporate social responsibility rhetoric. Jamie Oliver was a dominant supportive stakeholder, suggestive of his role as a policy entrepreneur. Conclusions This study illustrates the complexity of the network of stakeholders involved in the public debate on food policies such as sugar tax and the SDIL. Public health advocates seeking to gain support for future upstream regulation to promote population health would benefit from tailoring their communication to take advantage of sources of polarisation. Vocal celebrity policy entrepreneurs may be instrumental to facilitate alignment of stakeholders around a clear ideology. Key messages This study provides a novel insight into the network of stakeholders involved in public debates on food policies. Public health advocates may benefit by identifying and aligning with a clear ideology.

The Social, Economic and Political Issues Surrounding Employers' Liability Insurance in the UK

2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN HOOD
Keyword(s):  
Social Economic ◽  
Liability Insurance ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Government Legislation ◽  
National Systems

It has long been recognised in both the UK and in other countries that society has an obligation to compensate workers who are injured or who suffer ill health through the course of their employment. The most common means of society ensuring this is by government legislation requiring employers to fund a variety of insurance schemes.This article explores the situation which has recently prevailed in the UK. The system of insurance which has historically dealt with the question of an employer's liability to pay compensation has been in a state of turmoil, and a diverse range of stakeholders have called upon the government to act. The article analyses the various suggestions made, considers the merits of other national systems and evaluates the government's response. It concludes with the view that government inaction is likely to present them with an even greater crisis.

Full Fact

2019 ◽  
pp. 359-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Sippitt
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Debate ◽  
The State ◽  
The Public ◽  
Inaccurate Information ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Full Fact

The UK is a fortunate country with high levels of education, well-developed public and civil society institutions, and some highly trusted media. Nevertheless, there is evidence that the public is substantially misinformed on key issues of public debate, and leading figures have pointed to consistent issues involving the inaccurate use of facts in public debate. Full Fact is the UK’s independent, nonpartisan, factchecking charity. We aim to stop the spread of specific bits of inaccurate information and to secure systemic changes that help make misinformation rarer and less harmful. In this piece we discuss the state of misinformation and disinformation in the UK, the role that we think factchecking has in tackling it, and the research we are eager to learn from to inform our work.

It’s not easy (not) being green: Agenda dissonance of Green Party press relations and newspaper coverage

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 625-641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ceri Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Full Range ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Green Party ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Political Events ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Environmental Focus ◽  
Party Press ◽  
The Uk

The Green Party of England and Wales is trying to move from being perceived as a party with a specific environmental focus to a broad-spectrum political force with policy and opinion across the full range of political issues. How does the UK press respond to this change of agenda by the party? An analysis of UK newspaper articles and Green Party press releases reveals a dissonance between what is discussed by the party and what is printed about the party. Further investigation reveals that, in relation to specific political events, Green Party opinion, even though appearing to widen the political debate on some key issues, was largely ignored by UK newspapers. These findings have implications for any minority or ‘core-issue’ party looking to widen its political agenda and electoral appeal.

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