Browsing by Person "Willock, Joyce"

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A preliminary study into stress in Welsh farmers.
(informa healthcare, 2002) Pollock, Leslie; Deaville, Jennifer; Gilman, Alice; Willock, Joyce
In a preliminary study the factors that cause Mid-Wales farmers most stress were investigated in a convenience sample of farmers attending the Royal Welsh Show. The results showed that government policy, finance and time pressure were the factors that farmers found most stressful. Isolation consistently achieved the lowest rating of the stressors. These results are consistent with other British studies.
Comparing a 'budge' to a 'nudge': Farmer responses to voluntary and compulsory compliance in a water quality management regime
(2013-10) Barnes, A. P.; Toma, L.; Willock, Joyce; Hall, C.
A set of choice related interventions exist for 'nudging' individuals towards socially desirable behaviours. Conversely, regulation, which we refer as 'budging', implies a reduction in the choice-set for these individuals. We compare the voluntary adoption of water quality management techniques between farmers within a designated Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) with those outside the zone across Scotland. Divergent groups emerge towards the purpose of the regulation, responsibility towards water pollution issues and compliance towards the regulation. There were significantly higher levels of adoption of some voluntary water quality measures by members of the non-designated group. We argue that engagement with these farmers should not focus purely on the biophysical division under which they are designated but should include the range of attitudinal alignments should include across designations in order to change social norms. This would be an approach for raising the social capital of farmers within a community and engender long-term behavioural change. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Farmer perspectives and practices regarding water pollution control programmes in Scotland
(2009-12) Barnes, A. P.; Willock, Joyce; Hall, C.; Toma, L.
Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) were introduced in response to the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) which states that all EU countries must reduce the nitrate in drinking water to a maximum of 50 mg/l. Farmers within a designated NVZ must adhere to strict rules over the timing and application of nitrogen from organic and inorganic sources. In Scotland, four NVZ regions were designated in 2003, covering around 14% of the land area and affecting over 12,000 farmers. This paper outlines the results of a recent study to understand farmer activities in response to and attitudes towards NVZ regulations in Scotland. A telephone survey was administered, obtaining a response of 184 farmers, supplemented by four workshops held in each NVZ region. This explored, both quantitatively and qualitatively, farmer behaviour and attitudes. The bulk of farmers have made little capital investment since the 2003 designation. Few farmers have invested in increased slurry storage facilities, nor begun to transport more slurry off-farm, claiming to have had enough storage capacity before designation to cover the imposed closed period. Farmer attitudes indicate a mostly negative view towards the perceived environmental benefits, water management and compliance. This can be explained by a number of concerns raised by farmers towards the scientific basis for designations. Furthermore, farmers viewed the restrictions placed on farming practices within NVZs as too inflexible. Given the mostly sceptical perceptions demonstrated by the farmers we call for a more integrated approach to water management at the catchment level. There is a role for policy-makers to provide clearer information over the science and purpose of the designations and also to invest in the transfer of technologies, in particular N-use software which is specifically tailored to NVZ regulations. Also, critical to this would be the development of transparent indicators of water quality. This may start to embed nitrogen pollution impacts within the farmer's cultural framework of decision-making. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Negotiating parental accountability in the face of uncertainty for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
(2014-02-04) Gray Brunton, C.; McVittie, Chris; Ellison, Marion; Willock, Joyce
Despite extensive research into attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), parents' constructions of their children's behaviors have received limited attention. This is particularly true outside North American contexts, where ADHD is less established historically. Our research demonstrates how United Kingdom parents made sense of ADHD and their own identities postdiagnosis. Using discourse analysis from interviews with 12 parents, we show that they drew from biological and social environmental repertoires when talking about their child's condition, paralleling repertoires found circulating in the United Kingdom media. However, in the context of parental narratives, both these repertoires were difficult for parents to support and involved problematic subject positions for parental accountability in the child's behavior. In this article we focus on the strategies parents used to negotiate these troublesome identities and construct accounts of moral and legitimate parenting in a context in which uncertainties surrounding ADHD existed and parenting was scrutinized.
Producers and consumers of organic meat: A focus on attitudes and motivations.
(Emerald, 2004) McEachern, M. G.; Willock, Joyce
Research into organic production is internationally widespread but has rarely focused on producer's motivations for adopting organic farming techniques and whether organic consumers share their values. As conventional agricultural prices remain depressed, questions arise surrounding producer's motivations towards organic production. For example, are motivations based on economic rather than ethical decisions? Additionally, what motivations underpin consumer's organic purchases and are those values shared between producers and consumers? Using postal questionnaires, the attitudes and motivations of both producers and consumers towards organic livestock production, are explored. Future recommendations are made to the industry with regard to the UK market for organically produced meat.
Stress and psychological well-being during campus re-location: A longitudinal study in a Scottish university
(2009) Connolly, John F.; Willock, Joyce; Hipwell, Michele; Chisholm, Vivienne
Utilising a farmer typology to understand farmer behaviour towards water quality management: Nitrate Vulnerable Zones in Scotland
(Routledge, 2011-05) Barnes, A. P.; Willock, Joyce; Toma, L.; Hall, C.
Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) are employed as compulsory instruments to meet standards on EU water quality. Farmers operating in NVZs face a number of restrictions on agricultural activity and a greater requirement for record keeping in relation to timing and quantities of nitrogen inputs used. This paper presents results of a survey into the attitudes and values of farmers within the designated Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) in Scotland. A typology based on perceptions towards water quality management was developed using factor and cluster analysis techniques. Three types were identified as 'resistors', 'apathists' and 'multifunctionalists'. The 'resistors' and the 'multifunctionalists' had similar approaches to land use management, but then diverged in terms of their perceptions towards the environment, water management and the NVZ regulations in particular. The apathists were indifferent towards the aims of the regulation and to water quality management in general. This was also evidenced by their lack of uptake of voluntary measures for improving water quality. The lack of engagement from the 'apathists', which represent around a third of the responses to the survey, is particularly problematic for policy makers. There is a need for greater targeting of information to this farmer type emphasising favourable perceptions which encourage water quality management behaviours. 2011 University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
You can't fight windmills: how older men do health, ill health and masculinities.
(Sage, 2006) McVittie, Chris; Willock, Joyce
Many health researchers have reported higher mortality and morbidity rates for men than for women. Various writers have argued that such differences reflect men's delay in seeking help when required and that reluctance to seek help reflects prevailing constructions of hegemonic masculinity. The authors report findings from an interview study of 12 older men's understandings of health and ill health. In describing health, participants constructed identities consistent with prevailing notions of hegemonic masculinity. When discussing ill health, they aligned themselves with less powerful identities that were inconsistent with the ideal hegemonic masculinity. Participants used a time will tell discursive formulation to negotiate transitions between hegemonic and subordinate identities. Delay in seeking help, accordingly, can be viewed as reflecting transitions in identity rather than hegemonic masculinity itself. These constructions are consistent with those found in other contexts and act to disadvantage men both in health terms and in identity terms.