Browsing by Author "Blair, Krista"

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    2021 Report of the Evaluation of the Work.Live.Leicestershire Programme
    (De Montfort University, 2021-01-31) Blair, Krista; McGill, George; Gkiontsi, Dimitra; de Vries, Kay; Brown, Jayne; Clayton, David; Coleby, Dawn; Dunn, Andrew; Oviasu, Osaretin; Padley, Wendy
    The Work.Live.Leicestershire (WiLL) programme provided help to economically inactive or unemployed people in Leicestershire to move into job search, training, or employment. The programme aimed to help people into work or learning by improving their health and wellbeing, social engagement, and skills and work experience, and by supporting people as they volunteered, job searched or started a business. The programme was open to residents of rural Leicestershire who were economically inactive or unemployed, and targeted the areas of Hinckley and Bosworth, North West Leicestershire, Melton, and Harborough. As of November 2020, the programme had registered details of 535 participants1 (263 men and 266 women) across all age groups. 152 participants were 24 or under, and 158 participants were 51 or over. Of the participants registered, some will have just joined the programme, some will be part way through the programme, and some will have left the programme at various points after their initial engagement with WiLL. This report discusses findings from the second year of De Montfort University’s evaluation, focussing on programme results and how the programme supported people to address barriers to moving into work or learning. The programme is ongoing, and this report draws on data from both participants who had left the programme and those whose support was in progress.
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    Citizens’ Juries: When Older Adults Deliberate on the Benefits and Risks of Smart Health and Smart Homes
    (MDPI, 2019-04-01) Chadborn, Neil; Blair, Krista; Creswick, Helen; Hughes, Nancy; Dowthwaite, Liz; Oluwafunmilade, Adenekan; Perez Vallejos, Elvira
    Background: Technology-enabled healthcare or smart health has provided a wealth of products and services to enable older people to monitor and manage their own health conditions at home, thereby maintaining independence, whilst also reducing healthcare costs. However, despite the growing ubiquity of smart health, innovations are often technically driven, and the older user does not often have input into design. The purpose of the current study was to facilitate a debate about the positive and negative perceptions and attitudes towards digital health technologies. Methods: We conducted citizens’ juries to enable a deliberative inquiry into the benefits and risks of smart health technologies and systems. Transcriptions of group discussions were interpreted from a perspective of life-worlds versus systems-worlds. Results: Twenty-three participants of diverse demographics contributed to the debate. Views of older people were felt to be frequently ignored by organisations implementing systems and technologies. Participants demonstrated diverse levels of digital literacy and a range of concerns about misuse of technology. Conclusion: Our interpretation contrasted the life-world of experiences, hopes, and fears with the systems-world of surveillance, e ciencies, and risks. This interpretation o ers new perspectives on involving older people in co-design and governance of smart health and smart homes.
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    Exploring Parental Experiences of Online Engagement with Arts and Creative Activities During the COVID-19 pandemic: The Talent 25 Longitudinal Sub-sample Study (Executive Summary)
    (De Montfort University, 2021-12) Daxini, Amar; Dikwal-Bot, Diretnan; Blair, Krista; Ochieng, Rebecca; Nijhof, Dewy; Ochieng, B.
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    Fashioning a beautiful future? Supporting workers and addressing labour exploitation in Leicester’s textile and garment industry
    (University of Nottingham, 2022-06-01) Gardner, Alison; Blair, Krista; Burcu, Oana; Phelan, Kieran; Pajon, Laura; Walsh, D.; Stirk, Michelle; Gray, charlotte
    This report presents the results of a four-month research study into systemic and locality-based factors underpinning labour exploitation within Leicester’s Garment and Textile industry, with particular emphasis on the perspective of frontline workers. The key findings are summarised here, and an outline theory-of-change for future intervention and action is presented on pages 36-49. 1) What factors make people vulnerable to exploitation in Leicester? This report highlights four key themes increasing vulnerability to worker exploitation in Leicester. Financial precarity is widespread due to the prevalence of low wages, uncertain or part-time hours, and specific cost-pressures that particularly impact upon communities with lower levels of English language skills, or who were recently arrived in the UK. Many workers identify limits in their employability, which constrain the choices available to them, due to a lack of job search skills, qualifications, proficiency in English and (particularly for women) cultural expectations associated with family and childcare duties. Anti-exploitation measures have proved ineffective due to the isolation of workers, low expectations concerning the impact of raising concerns, and insufficient multi-agency collaboration at local level. There are also continuing disincentives to employers to offer decent work, due to uncertainty about the financial returns possible within an ethical business model and a ready supply of workers with limited options. 2) What can major retailers and Government agencies do to improve things? We have identified a range of potential levers for change, that emphasise the need for a concerted multi-agency and multi-sector approach to building resilience against exploitation. Key aspects of this approach include: ■ Improving community-based support, advocacy and advice for workers. ■ Establishing the proposed Single Labour Market Enforcement body, to simplify points of contact for reporting labour abuse and promote coordinated action in the medium to long term. ■ Supporting a range of employability interventions to provide greater choice and opportunity. ■ Co-operating with major brands and retailers to increase the supply of decent work and ensure that ethical practices are rewarded. ■ Improving links between enforcement agencies and communities, to improve the flow of intelligence and identify risks and threats. ■ Working with communities that suffer most from financial pressures to minimise costs and enable them to achieve a secure and sustainable income. 3) What other actions would improve the lives of garment workers? Workers spoke to us in detail about their lives and aspirations. In common with many people across the UK, they described how financial pressures were becoming acute, particularly in relation to housing, utilities bills and as a result of under-employment or unemployment. In this context a secure and sufficient income was the over-riding necessity, as well as advice and advocacy services that could help them to access welfare support and avoid expenditure on poor-value intermediary ‘agents’ in applying for benefits or passports. Workers also expressed a wish to pursue additional training, particularly in relation to English language skills, IT skills, and practical topics such as first aid. They described their high aspirations for their children, who were frequently receiving additional tutoring or support for higher education. As one participant put it ‘We want to make our children’s future beautiful’ (FG5). 4) Why do people choose to work in the industry and do they have a choice? Many workers had joined the garment industry because they perceived it as the only work available to them, often in connection with a lack of alternative skills, low levels of English language proficiency, or a desire to work informally ‘cash in hand’. Workers’ experiences of the garment industry were not wholly negative. Many of the people we spoke to were keen to see jobs return to the garment sector, but with (at least) minimum wages, career progression opportunities and fair conditions. Women in particular needed more flexible, part-time, and local opportunities for work, and valued the social contact and financial independence it offered. However, workers also expressed a wish for fairness in the workplace and greater choice in employment opportunities. 5) How can garment workers be better enabled to exercise their workplace rights? Evidence from our survey and focus groups showed that workers were aware of their right to the minimum wage and some other aspects of pay and conditions such as holiday pay and sick pay. However, in most cases workers could not identify a source of support that they would trust to help them if they had concerns about rights being withheld. Provision of community-based trusted advocacy services, and effective multi-agency follow-up on complaints could assist in raising expectations and trust in services to resolve workplace abuses. 6) Are factory owners listening to workers and responding with appropriate changes? Our research indicated that although many workers feel able to raise complaints with their employers, manufacturers frequently respond that they are unable to change terms and conditions within the current operating models. ‘Gaming’ of compliance with audit and inspection measures, and a ready supply of vulnerable labour, provides a further disincentive for change. Continued multi-sector action is necessary, combining the efforts of regulators and brands to reward ethical practice. 7) How would workers like to be represented and by whom? Our research participants frequently had little experience or knowledge of the benefits of being represented in the workplace. Some did not feel that trade unions would be of benefit to their situation, and others expressed concerns about the fragmentation of the workforce and a lack of unity between different worker groups. However, others expressed an interest to understand more about unions and how their voice might be better represented to employers. Progress on a local level would also complement - and be reinforced by – implementation of a Single Labour Market Enforcement body. Although many important areas for action have been identified through this research, progress will not be achievable without long-term, coordinated action towards the systemic change required. Our research indicated that a programme of multi-stakeholder intervention is essential to resolve entrenched challenges. The success of action moving forward will – most importantly - rely upon effective community engagement and productive partnership between business, government and regulatory sectors, the voluntary sector, and workers themselves, coming together as trustful agents for change in Leicester’s communities.
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    Work Live Leicestershire Summary Report
    (Work Live Leicestershire, 2019-07) Blair, Krista; Brown, Jayne; de Vries, Kay
    The Work.Live.Leicestershire (WiLL) programme is providing help for at least 541 economically inactive or unemployed people in Leicestershire to move into job search, training, or employment. The programme seeks to reach people living in many of the smallest rural communities, and at time of writing was open to any resident without work for four weeks or more. 43% of participants who were unemployed on entry to the programme had been out of work for 12 months or more.