University of Leicester Open Journals
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‘Whose Gold Is This?’ The Gold of the Dutch Golden Coach
No full textThis article focuses on the gold leaf of the Golden Coach, a gift from the Amsterdam population to Queen Wilhelmina in 1898, using the methodologies of object biography and object itinerary. It asks what makes the object: its final form and function, the separate parts and their materiality, or the context of users and related objects as part of a continuous process of meaning making? An exhibition at the Amsterdam Museum (2021-2022) exposed the Golden Coach's complex history along these three layers of interpretation, leading to its transformation from a national symbol to a colonial object and contributing to broader discussions of slavery and colonialism in the Netherlands. Here, the interaction between the immaterial origins of the carriage and its raw materials, such as the gold leaf, will be discussed. Advanced scientific research revealed a Surinamese origin of the gold. Why is it relevant that we know that now? And what does it mean for the future of the Golden Coach
A5 5 Jupiter is a girl’s best friend
No full text The pressure within Jupiter’s layers is sufficient to create diamonds, the process in which carbon combines to produce a diamond would occur in the layer of Jupiter called the molecular hydrogen layer. The distance travelled by the carbon atoms from the water clouds to form a diamond is found to be 2850 km. This depth is situated in the molecular hydrogen level. The mass of diamond that could be formed in the northern hemisphere of Jupiter before melting was found to be 7.32×1014 kg. If this amount of diamonds were sold on Earth it would approximately cost £1.10 × 1022
“[My] soft, smooth skin… cut deep”: Using Filmmaking to Imagine, Feel and Perform Colonial Natural History in the Museum
No full textMuseums internationally continue to engage in urgent debates about the need to decentre the epistemological foundations of collections and institutions built on colonial expansion. Industrial cities like Manchester are only just beginning to address the uncomfortable legacies of colonial exploitation within their educational and cultural institutions. Contributing to this discussion, this article examines a project at the Manchester Museum that invited students from a local school to collaborate in the production of a film inspired by taxidermy specimens originating from a 1929 hunting safari in Sudan. Recounting the methods and outputs of this practice-based research project, I suggest that a cross-collections, creative approach to engaging audiences can generate new forms of imaginative and performed knowledge about the colonial histories of collections. Not only can these new forms of knowledge challenge existing accounts of provenance, they can be a tool to address historical injustices: inviting audiences to re-tell the histories of these things in their own words and making permanent space for these creative outputs within collections
Exhibition Review: Julia Child: A Recipe for Life, The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, Dearborn, Michigan, United States, 20 May 2023 - 10 September 2023
No full textA5 2 Harry Potter: Could a muggle survive quidditch?
No full textWe explore the feasibility of a muggle, who is a non-magical person, surviving a high-speed broomstick flight in the game quidditch (a fictional game), focusing on the Firebolt model, known for its maximum speed reaching 150 mph. The straight-line acceleration was found to exert a force of 0.68 G on the rider. However, a turn with a 5 metre radius to the right would require a banking angle of 89.38° and cause 92.42 G force on the rider. These extreme forces would result in catastrophic physical harm
Engagement with online resources and widening participation status: observations from a large, diverse Foundation Year science cohort
No full textDespite focused effort and attention over recent years, many potential barriers to progression and success remain within Higher Education. This study focuses on a cohort of 168 students studying on two semester-long Foundation Year Biological Sciences modules delivered at the University of East Anglia in the academic year 2021/22. These modules take place in consecutive semesters within the same academic year and specifically target students from underrepresented and widening participation backgrounds. This study seeks to understand whether a student’s widening participation background influences their engagement with online study resources.
We analysed the engagement of individual students with resources provided on the virtual learning environment (VLE) and related this to POLAR4 quintiles. POLAR4 classifies local areas across the UK according to the young participation rate in Higher Education within that area. All POLAR4 categories saw lower modules marks as well as engagement with practice assessments VLE-hosted resources in the second of the two semesters. These differences were greatest for students from the lowest POLAR4 quintile, POLAR4q1. POLAR4q1 students have significantly lower average module grades than all other categories across both semesters but with the gap widest in semester 2, despite the student engagement score increasing. There was no difference in the engagement scores for students from POLAR4q1 backgrounds compared to others in their cohort during the autumn semester but in in the spring semester, students from POLAR4q1 backgrounds had on average, higher engagement scores.
Students who grew up in a POLAR4q1 area are more likely to have had disrupted education journeys than their peers from other quintiles. As a result, it is likely they will need more than one intervention to be able to close the attainment gap that we see on these modules. We discuss this along with other potential causes and consequences for these findings alongside recommendations for interventions and further research
Ethnic Politics, Masculinity Wars of Sexuality and Male Targeted Violence During Times of Political Conflict and Unrest
No full textTraditional circumcision ceremonies hold profound cultural and social significance, often symbolizing the transition from childhood to adulthood in many societies. Anthropologist Arnold van Gennep’s (1960) theory of rites of passage elucidates how rituals like circumcision serve to demarcate and facilitate shifts in social status and identity. Victor Turner’s work further emphasizes the transformative nature of such rituals, highlighting how they entail the acquisition of greater responsibilities and roles within the community (Turner 1969). Shweder’s (2003) examination of cultural practices underscores the symbolic depth of circumcision, representing not only physical changes but also moral and social transformations. Within this cultural framework, circumcision embodies values of strength, courage and endurance, aligning with the community’s ideals of masculinity and resilience (Ahmed 2017). Consequently, for many boys, undergoing circumcision signifies not just personal pride but also a significant milestone toward earning respect and acceptance within their cultural context (Phiri 2021). 
Health Workers in Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Care for Refugees: Insights from Frontline Health and Humanitarian Professionals in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement, Uganda
No full textIn the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a marked global increase in cases of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) has been noted (Johnson et al. 2020). In the refugee settlements of Uganda, this is dramatically illustrated by an escalating crisis of teenage pregnancies (UN Women 2020; Diallo et al. 2023). During lockdowns, conflicts among families and couples increased and vulnerable community members, particularly children and young people, were exposed to heightened risks of abuse (Datzberger et al. 2023). For the humanitarian community, the escalation of the past years highlights the urgent need to sustainably improve SGBV prevention, care and case management in refugee settings
Resilience Thinking in Museums: Industrial Heritage, Urban Regeneration and Civic Engagement
Get PDFResilience thinking refers to the need to be prepared for the unexpected and unknown. Museums have learned to adjust to societal changes, not least because of the recent global pandemic, which has necessitated the introduction of new ways of activating a diverse public. We discuss how resilience thinking can function as a promoter of the adaptive reuse of industrial heritage by including local heritage knowledge in the ongoing regeneration of former brownfield sites. The current sectoral barriers in the planning system prevent museums from being central participants, despite their well-established local anchoring. Intangible heritage can provide coherence and connection between old buildings, including technical structures and new buildings/infrastructure. This allows for options for museums to voice ongoing creative and critical input and appear as spokespersons for civic involvement. Museums’ ability to facilitate local involvement needs to be acknowledged in urban planning