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Stakeholder mapping, modelling and management in festivals and events
No full textThe events sector has grown in scale, scope and significance around the world, harnessed for a variety of policy or business purposes by public, private, commercial or third sector agencies and organisations. Events have developed an “ever more extensive and divergent role in society” (Crowther et al., 2015, p.95) playing a widespread role in social, cultural, political and economic change. This has generated an increasing range of considerations and requirements faced by event management from an expanding number of groups, bodies and individuals – collectively referred to as ‘stakeholders’. Growing stakeholder needs and expectations can be dynamic, changeable and unexpected, and present themselves at any moment. They can put additional pressure on time, money and resources and impact on event planning, timelines and delivery in a variety of ways. As a result, festivals and events continue to become more complicated and complex projects to manage and can present considerable challenges for contemporary event practitioners, producers and managers alike. In order to fully grasp the nature of these challenges, it is essential to understand the needs and requirements of the stakeholders concerned, and in particular, what constitutes value for each of them. To achieve these objectives, practitioners need to know and understand their stakeholders through meaningful engagement, enabling them to anticipate stakeholder needs and reduce the likelihood of unexpected-unknowns and added complexity. This involves a process of identifying, mapping and timelining stakeholders to ensure stakeholder needs are addressed and opportunities for value creation are not missed and maximised. This chapter provides a step-by-step guide for this process with a supporting workbook (see page 153) that enables practitioners to apply the framework to their own events. Drawing on the related fields of stakeholder theory and project management, this chapter focuses on their intersection with event management to provide the foundations for this process. This includes an analysis of the limitations of currentpractice whilst offering a proven and practical methodological framework – an innovative approach developed specifically for the event sector through real-world examples and a longitudinal case study. Application of the framework should give an holistic view of the interconnecting stakeholder network and inform event planning, flow through into strategies, schedules, production and delivery, and become an indispensable tool integrated into event management process
Tender steps: connecting communities to break the silence on babyloss through dance
Full text linkTender Steps is a 10-minute dance film created to raise awareness of babyloss, produced as part of Babyloss Awareness Week 2024. Funded by Arts Council England and supported by Dance Mama, the project was developed in collaboration with local partners, including the perinatal charity Connected and the Work Health Hub. The film serves as a platform for grief, healing, and community connection, addressing an often-silenced experience through movement and digital storytelling.
This presentation will explore how Tender Steps exemplifies the conference theme of Connectivity by harnessing partnerships across the arts, health, and community sectors. The project was designed to bridge gaps between artistic practice and perinatal mental health support, engaging both bereaved families and the wider public. Through collaborative working with Connected and the Work Health Hub, the film was embedded within local support networks, enabling the project to extend beyond artistic expression into meaningful civic impact.
The presentation will highlight the ways Tender Steps delivered local engagement and facilitated open conversations around babyloss, while also reaching digital audiences beyond geographical boundaries. It will encourage discussion on how dance and film can act as catalysts for social connection, community healing, and cross-sector collaboration
Beyond values: business orientation as a driver of small business social responsibility
Full text linkSmall businesses differ from larger corporations in their approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) due to their unique reliance on the personal values of owner/managers. This study employs an abductive research methodology to explore the depth and relative influence of these personal values, in contrast to business motivations, on their social responsibility, through 38 semi-structured interviews with owner-managers of small businesses. Our key finding lies in demonstrating that transcending the purely economic-focused responsibilities toward broader social change requires self-transcendent values embedded in business orientation; otherwise, such values informing small business social responsibility (SBSR) might be traded off against other business motivations. This work expands SBSR theory, highlighting policy strategies and practical implications for small businesses, which can inform proactive SBSR that goes beyond compliance and economic responsibility
Soil-Driven Self-Healing Concrete: Evaluation of Soil Bacteria, Encapsulated Nutrients, and Environmental Conditions
Full text linkBiotechnology opens exciting possibilities for underground concrete structures, such as tunnels and
underground storage. Bio-self-healing concrete, which uses bacteria to repair cracks automatically,
could enhance the sustainability of these structures by enabling them to self-repair without human
intervention. However, a major challenge in bacteria-based self-healing concrete is ensuring bacterial
survival and activity, particularly in the harsh chemical environment of concrete, which typically has a
high pH that is detrimental to bacterial life.
This research explores a simple yet innovative idea: could the soil surrounding underground
structures provide the bacteria needed for self-healing? If successful, this approach could simplify
the process, making it more practical and cost-effective. The research addresses this question
through a series of lab experiments conducted in three phases, each designed to explore different
aspects of the conditions necessary for soil-driven bio-self-healing.
In the first phase, the focus was on understanding the chemical conditions of cement mortar surfaces
under which bacteria could survive and function. The research sought to identify the factors that
hinder bacterial activity, such as high pH, and to test methods that could improve the conditions for
bacteria to thrive. Specifically, experiments were conducted to assess pH levels, electrical
conductivity, and calcium ion concentrations in water environments around the mortar. The results
revealed that high pH levels resulting from cement mortar leaching hinder bacterial survival. Various
techniques were tested, including introducing supplementary materials like GGBS, using flowing
water, and accelerating carbonation. These methods created a more bacteria-friendly environment,
supporting the growth and activity of bacteria, particularly under conditions mimicking underground
structures exposed to water. This phase laid the foundation for understanding how to optimize the
chemical environment for bacterial activity.
The second phase explored how to supply the necessary nutrients to attract indigenous soil bacteria
to the cement mortar surfaces, thus supporting their activity in the self-healing process. Different
nutrient delivery methods were tested to ensure that the addition of nutrients did not compromise
the concrete’s properties. Nutrient-filled capsules were designed to gradually release nutrients,
facilitating bacterial activity to produce calcium carbonate for crack healing. The results showed that
calcium carbonate capsules had minimal impact on mortar properties due to their small size and low
concentration. In contrast, calcium alginate capsules, which were larger and created voids within the
mortar, weakened the material. Various capsule proportions were tested to find an optimal balance,
ensuring that the mortar strength remained largely intact while still promoting effective self-healing.
This phase answered the research question of how to incorporate nutrients into the mortar without
compromising its mechanical properties.
In the third phase, the performance of the self-healing system was tested in a soil environment to
simulate real-world underground conditions. Cement mortar samples were exposed to different
types of soil as well as water, which acted as a natural source of bacteria and other necessary
elements for self-healing. The success of the self-healing process was measured by observing crack
closure and the formation of calcium carbonate deposits both near the crack surface and deeper
within the mortar. The results demonstrated that the soil environment provided the necessary
conditions for bacteria to activate and repair cracks, simulating conditions typically found in
underground concrete structures. This phase directly addressed the research question by testing the
viability of using natural soil bacteria for self-healing, a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to
adding external bacterial cultures.
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These findings highlight a practical and sustainable approach to self-healing concrete by harnessing
naturally occurring bacteria in organic soil to repair cracks in underground structures. Experimental
results showed that modifying the harsh chemical environment of cement mortar—particularly by
lowering the pH from >13.5 to a range between 9.2 and 10.5 using GGBS replacement (30–50%),
flowing water, and accelerated carbonation—created conditions more conducive to bacterial
viability. Bacterial activity was negligible above pH 11.5, but significantly increased when the pH
dropped below 10.5, with optimal microbial-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP)
occurring near pH 9.5. The use of 50 µm calcium carbonate microcapsules allowed controlled
nutrient release without compromising mechanical strength, unlike larger alginate capsules (>300
µm) that reduced compressive strength by up to 15–20%. Notably, mortar samples exposed to
organic soil demonstrated visible crack closure up to 0.35 mm within 28 days, with calcium carbonate
precipitation reaching 3.1–4.2 g/m² on the crack surfaces, confirming active MICP. Overall, this
research presents soil-driven bio-self-healing concrete as a promising, low-cost, and environmentally
friendly solution to enhance the resilience and service life of underground infrastructur
Challenging the criminal liability of online services providers for sex trafficking – A comparison of the American and French approaches
No full textThis paper looks at the criminal liability of online services providers (‘OSPs’) of content linked to sex trafficking hosted on their websites. To this end, this paper considers the French prosecution of Vivastreet against the backdrop of two US prosecutions, Craigslist and Backpage. Although not charged with sex trafficking offences, these cases raise questions about the applicability of sex traf-ficking and pimping offences to OSPs, as well as the specific liability frameworks applicable to them.
The apparent difficulties in applying the law led to American amendments of legislation, in particular, the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act. The French regime is also being considered for reform. This study permits a comparison of the different legal attitudes towards the liability of OSPs hosting ad-vertisements for sexual services and an analysis of the relationships that have been developed be-tween states and OSPs to combat online cyber trafficking more broadly and sex trafficking more specifically. In particular, there is some support for the view that OSPs might be too useful to be seen as perpetrators since their support is pivotal in the fight against cyber trafficking. These cases and their consequences are useful to comment on the recent reform the European Union’s Anti-Trafficking Directive, in particular regarding cyber trafficking
"Two" in the exhibition Common Creatures, Bewildering Beasts
No full textRecent decades have seen an increased interest in animal representation within the arts. Examples include exhibitions such as The Animal Gaze, London Metropolitan University, UK (2008), Tier-Werden/Mensch-Werden, NGBK Berlin, DE (2009), Animals in Art, Arken, DK (2020/21), Portraits of Dogs: From Gainsborough to Hockney, The Wallace Collection, UK (2023), and The Origin of the Horse, Rønnebæksholm, DK (2024).
Where some shows have provided a broad introduction to the field itself, others have zoomed in on the representation of a particular species, while others again have focused on the ontological and ethical questions that arise from the meeting between human and non-human animals.
In Common Creatures, Bewildering Beasts, the viewer comes into close proximity with animality as we bring together a number of Danish and international works that focus on the relationship between humans and animals. Inspired by Danish artist Asger Jorn’s iconic "modification painting", The Disquieting Duckling, 1959, we explore what happens when animals no longer fit into traditional categories, but become too big or too small, or threaten to overpower us as they crawl under the doorstep or dive into the mattress.
Common Creatures, Bewildering Beasts is not about so-called "wild" animals, but about shared habitats, unstable categories and boundaries that are crossed. Therefore, the exhibition will be home to a number of "ordinary" animals: pets, domesticated farm animals, and service animals. Pests in places where they shouldn't be. Animals behaving in funny, human-like ways on social media. Invasive species and animals forced to flee because of climate change, entering our cities and homes.
The video artwork "Two" was exhibited by invitation in Common Creatures, Bewildering Beasts by curators by Rikke Hansen and Tanja Nellemann Kruse. The exhibition took place at KH7artspace in Aarhus, Denmark, June 6-28, 2025.
Video details:
The anticipated loss of a pet dog is anxious for most, but towards the end of life its effect is often enhanced. The relationship may be the only encounter the human has with another being daily. "Two" draws on a project with the Alzheimer’s Society’s ‘Memory Cafes’ in Nottingham and Lincolnshire and offers the personal and pertinent stories of the significance of end of live interspecies relationships as told firsthand. It presents an opportunity for others to witness intimacies and personal thoughts on companionship and understand the positive value inter-species relationships bring
Complex relationship between hot flashes and sleep: insights from a randomised trial in menopausal women
No full textCommentary on: Pei et al. Hot flashes and sleep disruption in a randomised
trial in menopausal women. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2025;2321,:102.e1–9.
Implications for practice and research
► Future research should explore combined treatments for
hot flashes and sleep disturbances in menopausal women,
focusing on improving overall quality of life.
► Healthcare providers should prioritise evidence- based
treatments (hormone therapy, non- hormonal medications
and behavioural approaches) to manage nocturnal hot
flashes and improve sleep
Understanding vulnerabilities and pathways in the commission of sexual offences by autistic individuals: perspectives from UK-based practitioners
Full text linkAlthough autistic people are no more likely to perpetrate crime compared to the general population, evidence suggests that certain types of crime, such as sexual offences, are more common among autistic individuals who do engage in crime. In recent years, with the rapid increase in the commission of sexual offences in the United Kingdom (UK) and beyond, it has become increasingly critical to explore why some autistic individuals engage with sexual crime, in order to establish robust mechanisms for preventing initial offences as well as re-offending. Drawing on data collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 UK-based practitioners who work directly with autistic adults who have been charged and/or convicted of committing sexual offences in the UK, this article explores questions regarding why some autistic individuals engage in sexual offending, focusing on the various vulnerabilities of autistic individuals for committing sexual offences. The article explores potential ‘pathways’ to sexual offending, tracing the absence, from a young age, of provision of sex education to young autistic people, and the stifling of their abilities to practise healthy sexual relationships
Shedding Light S.H.E.D: sustaining and scaling impact from Arts and Social Science Research
No full textESRC/AHRC SHAPE Catalyst Roadshow Derby. Invited to be the keynote speaker focusing on: Shedding Light S.H.E.D: sustaining and scaling impact from Arts and Social Science Research
“They’re a Girl So Don’t Expect Too Much”: The Marginalisation of Women in Esports Videogames
No full textIn this chapter we discuss and consider extant research on women working within the esports gaming sphere and draw on the personal views, experiences, and observations of the second author, who is a gamer and streamer within the team-based videogame ‘League of Legends’. We present the findings of a small-scale qualitative study, which explored the lived experiences of female League of Legend gamers. It was revealed, that despite increasing female participation in esports, patriarchal gendered stereotypes persist and are enabled by the anonymity afforded to online viewers. We call for further in-depth qualitative research to explore the views and experiences of female gamers and consider how, and in what ways, female gamers can empower themselves to challenge and counter the dominant masculine hegemony