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In our own words: Using participatory dialogue to reflect on the mental health experiences of autistic students in university
Get PDFThe mental health of autistic university students is a key issue to address, evidenced by increased prevalence of mental health issues within the autistic community and growing numbers of autistic university students. Autistic students experiencing mental health issues have the lowest retention and progression rates of any disability group. This research took a novel approach, with seven co-authors and members of the participatory group (all current/recent students) identifying 10 themes reflecting their mental health experiences at university through reflective discussions, enabling autistic people to lead research and address power imbalances inherent in autism research. They presented these themes at a webinar, attended by over 200 staff from UK universities, providing a platform for autistic students to influence practice. Ten themes identified in line with experiences of the triggers and risk factors for mental health at university were; Routine, living independently, reasonable adjustments, group work, sensory issues, attendance and a range of learning options, disclosing diagnosis, social issues, burnout and seeing the bigger picture. We discussed the support that we found to be useful and developed recommendations for universities to support the positive well-being of autistic students. We outline the need for universities to co-produce services and support with autistic students
Looking back to move forwards: a social and cultural history of heating in Europe - A summary of key findings across the UK, Romania, Sweden, Finland
Get PDFBuilding Capacity for Circular Economy Transitions: Exploring Knowledge of 3D Printing in Nigerian Universities.
Get PDFThe circular plastic economy offers a promising pathway toward sustainable resource management, but its adoption in developing contexts, particularly in Nigeria, remains underexplored. This chapter examines the capacity of Nigerian universities to drive the transition to a circular plastic economy through the integration of 3D printing technologies. By investigating the relationship between students’ knowledge of the plastic waste problem, their understanding of 3D printing and sub-technologies such as Filtech, and their engagement in plastic waste management actions, the chapter provides critical insights into this emerging field. Using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to analyse data collected from 151 university students, the findings highlight the statistically significant role of knowledge in influencing plastic waste management actions. However, the results reveal that 3D printing technologies and their sub-technologies have not yet significantly impacted plastic waste management, suggesting systemic gaps in infrastructure, policy, and institutional capacity. The chapter underscores the importance of universities as hubs of innovation, advocating for targeted investments in infrastructure, curricula, and policies to enhance capacity in 3D printing technologies. These measures are critical for fostering sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly in resource-constrained settings. The chapter concludes with recommendations for multi-sectoral partnerships and international support to bridge identified gaps and position Nigerian universities as leaders in sustainability and the circular plastic economy
The Study of Consumption Dynamics and Sociodemographics in Tourism and Hospitality Firms: A Case for Auto-netnography
Get PDFPurpose: In recent years, the study of consumer behavior has been widely integrated into the body of tourism research. Consumer behaviors are fundamentally dynamic processes; thus, understanding both consumer dynamics and socio-demographics are crucial for understanding consumer behavior in tourism research. This paper presents an argument and a call-to-action for a wider acceptance and adoption of auto-netnography as an alternative method for tourism researchers and practitioners to understand better the complex consumption dynamics and socio-demographics of consumers found in tourism and hospitality firms.
Design/methodology/approach: Using the Scopus academic citation database, bibliometric methodologies are deployed to search for and evaluate the deployment of auto-netnographies in tourism research hitherto.
Findings: Despite concerns regarding addressing issues of bias, reproducibility, and consistency to ensure the validity and reliability of their findings, netnographies still remain an effective and relevant research method for tourism researchers to investigate consumption dynamics and socio-demographics. However, as a progressive extension from netnography, and despite the potential of auto-netnography as a research method to contribute to tourism literature by the capture of researchers’ own online experiences through their own social observations, introspection, and reflexive notetaking, auto-netnographies have not been widely used in tourism research hitherto.
Originality: Netnography remains an effective research method to investigate the consumption dynamics and socio-demographics of consumers found in tourism and hospitality firms. Introspection and reflexivity are both important parts of netnography and are thus equally or more relevant in auto-netnography. A greater adoption of auto-netnography would allow the capture of researchers’ own online experiences as a consumer would and could arguably provide an alternative view of the consumption dynamics and socio-demographics of consumers that may lead to valuable theoretical and practical contributions being made to tourism literature in the future. Potential directions for the method’s ongoing development are also offered.
Research limitations/implications: Scopus is constantly being updated with new literature as it becomes published; therefore, our findings represent a ‘snapshot’ of data during the period of extraction from the academic database. Different keyword search strings when undertaking the Scopus searches could have also resulted in different findings. Nevertheless, this paper expands tourism researchers’ awareness of the range of qualitative methods available by arguing that auto-netnography could complement or even replace other more traditional research methods in the future
Community Protection Warnings and the practices of the preventive state.
Get PDFThis article explores preventive justice through the use of Community Protection Warnings (CPWs), a civil measure used to tackle anti-social behaviour in England and Wales. Through a qualitative study of frontline practitioners’ experiences, this article argues that CPWs are a preventive form of punishment, framed through non-punitive intentions and as ‘just’ a warning, while their use in practice demonstrates coercive and punitive outcomes. Drawing on Beckett and Murakawa’s notion of the shadow penal state, in which the reach of the penal system is extended through new entry points outside of the criminal justice system, we argue the use of CPWs implies a penumbra to that shadow, further stretching the state's punitive reach with fewer due process protections
The histone acetyltransferase CBP participates in regulating the DNA damage response through ATM after double-strand breaks
Get PDFBackground: Spatial and temporal control of DNA damage response pathways after DNA damage is crucial for maintenance of genomic stability. Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) protein plays a central role in DNA damage response pathways. The chain of events following induction of DNA damage that results in full activation of ATM is still evolving. Here we set out to explore the role of CREB-binding protein (CBP), a histone acetyltransferase (HAT), in DNA damage response, particularly in the ATM activation pathway. Results: In response to DNA damage, CBP is stabilized and is recruited at sites of DNA double-strand breaks where it acetylates ATM and promotes its kinase activity. Cells deficient in CBP display an impairment in DNA double-strand break repair and high sensitivity to chemo- and radiotherapy. Importantly, re-expressing CBP’s HAT domain in CBP-deficient cells restores the DNA repair capability, demonstrating the essential role of CBP’s HAT domain in repairing DNA double-strand breaks. Conclusions: Together, our findings shed the light on CBP as a key participant in the ATM activation pathway and in the subsequent repair of DNA double-strand breaks, which may serve as a potential target to modulate the cellular response to DNA damaging agents in cancer
Psychological Mediators of the Relations between Goal Motives, Physical Activity and Well-Being: Testing a Model of Path Analysis.
Get PDFThe autonomous and controlled motivations underpinning goal pursuit directly impact physical activity and mental well-being and are important for healthy behavior adherence. Psychological variables can also affect physical activity and mental well-being. This study tested the association between goal motives, psychological variables, physical activity, and mental well-being using structural equation modelling. Adults (N = 323;Mage =32.46 ± 13.12 y) completed a cross-sectional survey measuring goal motives, motivation, affective experiences, self-efficacy, physical activity, and mental well-being. Our analysis showed support for the proposed model fit: (χ2(6) = 14.16, p = .028, RMSEA = .07, CFI = .99, TLI = .97). In contrast to controlled goal motives, autonomous goal motives were positively related to the psychological variables associated with physical activity and mental well-being. Motivation and affective experiences were positively associated with physical activity. Self-efficacy was positively associated with mental well-being. Intricacies of the associations between goal motives, psychological variables, physical activity, and mental well-being are discussed
Survival instincts of Chinese entrepreneurs in the UK: adaptation or hibernation
Get PDFSurviving a crisis requires a unique set of responses from a firm. This paper examines migrant entrepreneurs and their responses to COVID-19 pandemic. These entrepreneurs are disadvantaged in their markets, typically due to cultural differences, but also other barriers that include outright discrimination by native populations. Consequently, global crisis has a more severe meaning to migrant entrepreneurs who struggle in the best of times. Empirically we focus on interviews with Chinese entrepreneurs in the UK, employing template analysis to disentangle the data. We find two key mechanisms these entrepreneurs employ to respond to crisis: adaptation and/or hibernation. Adaptation is about introducing changes in response to altering market conditions, it is a proactive response. Hibernation is a passive response characterised by deliberate shutdown and/or slow-down of operations, with business continuity funded from accumulated financial reserves. The paper concludes that policy should be more sensitive to enabling responses that ensure firm survival
Voice
No full textVoice is a key concept in contemporary qualitative research. It is particularly prominent in fields concerned with marginal groups that have historically been denied a voice, such as disability studies, childhood studies, postcolonial studies and social work research. This entry begins with
an overview of dominant conceptions of voice. It discusses the politics of voice, and its production through relations of power, before moving on to discuss critiques of voice and their relevance for qualitative research. We focus in particular on how voice can become a tool of appropriation, and how dominant notions of voice can exclude voices that do not conform to the expectations of conventional qualitative methods. The entry concludes by reviewing work that
attempts to go beyond the model of rational subjectivity implied by dominant notions of voice. We consider the methodological potential of conceptualising the voice as embodied, material and more-than-representational