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Dave Beck

Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in Sociology, Bangor University
My research is mapping the growth of the emergency food assistance sector throughout Wales whereby I am exploring the experience and understanding of food poverty through food bank use. The research has focused on three different case study areas of Wales explaining the experience of food poverty in both rural and urban settings. Qualitative data analysis has involved the use of a multi-method approach with the various groups involved in food banks (service users, coordinators, volunteers and local referral organisations) through semi structured interviews, biographical narrative interviews and focus groups. This has been combined with a quantitative analysis of growing numbers of referrals to food banks in Wales and used to explain the growth of the sector and how this can be mapped using Geographical Information Systems (GIS).

I am a Teaching Assistant in the School of Social Sciences Bangor University and a lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy at Trinity Foundation College Bangor. I am also the lead on the Love Bangor Community Partnership for Bangor University Students’ Union and a volunteer at my local food bank. I have been researching the food systems of Wales for nearly ten years both within the school of Geography (SENRGy) and the School of Social Sciences and have been able to develop an understanding of how our current food structure affects choice and justice for marginalised people both through geography and demographic indicators. My recent research work has been utilised by both the Welsh Government and the UK Government with evidence submitted to the recent All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hunger and Food Poverty in Britain and the Fabian Commission.
Supervision for my doctorate is provided by Dr Hefin Gwilym (Social Sciences) and Dr Eifiona Thomas Lane (Geography).

Universal basic income: Wales is set to end its experiment – why we think that’s a mistake

Dec 07, 2023 01:33 am UTC| Economy

The Welsh government has announced that its universal basic income (UBI) project will not be continued after the initial pilot ends in 2025 because of the cost. The trial involved paying monthly payments of 1,600 each...

Food poverty at record levels – a children's book on food banks shows how normal it has become

Nov 24, 2019 22:19 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life

Wake up, mum. Im hungry! This is the opening line to the recently published childrens book, Its a No-Money Day, by Kate Milner, a powerful exploration of food banks and life below the poverty line. The UK should not be...

Economy

The US is one of the least trade-oriented countries in the world – despite laying the groundwork for today’s globalized system

Given the spate of news about international trade lately, Americans might be surprised to learn that the U.S. isnt very dependent on it. Indeed, looking at trade as a percentage of gross domestic product a metric...

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburgs literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers...

Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget

With Jim Chalmerss third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief beyond the tax cuts although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As this weeks consumer price...

Inflation is slowly falling, while student debt is climbing: 6 graphs that explain today’s CPI

Australias inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and its now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. The annual rate peaked at 7.8% in the December quarter of 2022 and is now just 3.6%, in...

Politics

US Urges China, Russia to Reject AI Control in Nuclear Arms, Align with Global Norms

Paul Dean, a senior U.S. arms control official, emphasized the critical need for China and Russia to join the U.S. in declaring that humans will always decide on the deployment of nuclear weapons, not artificial...

South Africa’s youth are a generation lost under democracy – study

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa recently painted a rosy picture in which the countrys youth democracys children had enormous opportunities for advancement, all thanks to successive post-apartheid governments led...

Sadiq Khan on track for third term as London mayor – but nearly half of Londoners dissatisfied with performance

Polls have consistently shown that the incumbent mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, appears to be on track to win a third term in office at the upcoming mayoral elections on May 2. One poll we commissioned as part of our...

Biden administration tells employers to stop shackling workers with ‘noncompete agreements’

Most American workers are hired at will: Employers owe their employees nothing in the relationship except earned wages, and employees are at liberty to quit at their option. As the rule is generally stated, either party...

Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board

To say that the Labour party is flying high in the polls is something of an understatement. But despite its consistent lead against the Tories, the opposition finds itself in a rather odd position: on the cusp of power but...

Science

IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects

About a trillion tiny particles called neutrinos pass through you every second. Created during the Big Bang, these relic neutrinos exist throughout the entire universe, but they cant harm you. In fact, only one of them is...

The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this...

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook

A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a mans home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station. The 700g,...

Peter Higgs was one of the greats of particle physics. He transformed what we know about the building blocks of the universe

Peter Higgs, who gave his name to the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson, has died aged 94. He was always a modest man, especially when considering that he was one of the greats of particle physics the area of...

Technology

Altcoin Market Rally Predicted, Analysts Forecast $4 Trillion Market Cap Surge

Analysts are predicting a substantial rally in the altcoin market, with projections indicating a surge that could drive the market cap to an impressive $4 trillion. This optimistic outlook is supported by positive economic...

Shiba Inu's Remarkable 12% Surge Fueled by Record SHIB Burns, Community Momentum

Shiba Inus ascent reaches new heights as the cryptocurrency experiences a remarkable 12% surge, fueled by record-breaking SHIB burns. The surge reflects robust community engagement and underscores the dynamic nature of the...

Vodafone Ventures into Crypto Integration: SIM Cards to Host Blockchain Wallets

Vodafone, the UK-based telecom giant, is pioneering a groundbreaking initiative to fuse blockchain technology with smartphone functionality by integrating cryptocurrency wallets directly into SIM cards. This innovative...

Leak: Huawei's Kirin PC Chip, Qingyun Notebooks to Launch Next Month

Leaked information hinting at the imminent debut of the highly anticipated Kirin PC chip alongside the release of new Qingyun notebooks. The introduction of this computer-dedicated CPU marks a significant milestone for...

Tesla Enhances Model Y Lineup with Longer-Range Variant, Price Adjustment

Tesla has revamped its Model Y offerings, bidding farewell to the standard range rear-wheel-drive (RWD) model while introducing a longer-range variant for an additional $2,000. This strategic maneuver aligns with Teslas...