Birmingham City University Open Access Repository
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Understanding the Nuance of the Pansexual Identity: Exploring the Experiences of those who Identify as Pansexual in Different Contexts.
No full textPansexuality is a plurisexual identity that has become widely adopted over the last decade (Belous & Bauman, 2017). Pansexuality is most commonly defined as a romantic or sexual attraction to individuals regardless of gender (Gonel, 2013). However, the term is nuanced and often personal to those who identify with it. Despite data indicating a rise in the number of individuals identifying as pansexual (UK Census, 2020), there remains a notable gap in the literature concerning the experiences of those who use this label. This research focuses on pansexual identity expression and marking within specific contexts, the experiences of those who identify as both pansexual and gender diverse within relational contexts, and the types of content on TikTok around the pansexual identity. This research consists of 3 studies: The first study involved an online survey with 45 pansexual participants, followed by a second study that used online interviews with 21 participants who identified as pansexual and gender diverse to understand their relational experiences. Finally, the third study analysed 100 TikTok posts to explore online content about pansexuality. Reflexive thematic analysis and qualitative content analysis ware used as the analytical approach for this research. Participants constructed pansexuality as a nuanced and fluid identity that was personal and unique to them. Participants’ accounts also reflected a lack of information, representation and education concerning pansexuality and gender diversity, which directly impacted their decisions regarding identity marking and disclosure. Across differing contexts participants experienced discrimination, stigma and stereotyping, and these challenges were often attributed to limited public understanding of pansexuality and the internalised effects of mononormative and heteronormative biases. Particularly on TikTok, online activism was used as a catalyst for change, with users actively sharing educational content, challenging stereotypes and fostering community support. Overall, this research offers insight into the contemporary conceptualisation of pansexuality, where gender and sexuality are viewed on a spectrum, and identity labels and expression are understood as inherently nuanced and fluid. The findings highlight how a lack of societal understanding is impacting the experiences of pansexual individuals, throughout different contexts, which indicates an urgent need for societal adaptation
Internalizing social value in healthcare: Optimal policy in mixed public-private systems
No full textThis paper examines the interplay between public and private healthcare in a system that internalizes non-marketed social value. We provide new estimates of the healthcare social value and highlight the importance of integrating it into national accounts for effective macroeconomic policy analysis. Traditional metrics often undervalue healthcare by neglecting these externalities, leading to a suboptimal allocation of healthcare services from a societal perspective. While both public and private healthcare generate social value, determining the optimal public-private mix is challenging because they do not necessarily produce the same type of value, and an unregulated mixed system can impose negative fiscal externalities on public provision. To address these issues, we develop a general equilibrium model with dual public-private healthcare services, calibrate the non-marketed social value, and simulate two market liberalization scenarios with optimal Pigouvian tax policies. A key finding with significant policy implications is that healthcare social value accounts for at least 28 % of public healthcare expenditure, or more
Barriers, Bottlenecks, and Challenges in Implementing Safety I- and Safety II-Enabled Safe Systems of Working in Construction Projects: A Scoping Review
No full textThe construction industry has endured high incident rates for many decades. Although multiple safety measures in the form of Safety I- and II-enabled safe systems of working (SSoWs) have been implemented, statistics reveal that a significant prevalence of incidents prevails worldwide. However, there is limited information available about the actual factors that are impeding these SSoWs. This study investigates and evaluates the barriers, bottlenecks and challenges (BB&Cs) that hinder the implementation of Safety I- and II-enabled SSoWs in the construction industry. Using a scoping review methodology, a thorough search of articles documenting the BB&Cs of implementing Safety I- and II-enabled SSoWs was carried out using Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. An initiative model was employed for categorising BB&C to implement Safety I and II, which includes micro- (site), meso- (organisation), and macro (environment)-thematic groupings, as a guiding framework for the mapping and analysis of results. The search yielded 98 articles that discussed the implementation of Safety I and II, with 54 of them specifically related to BB&Cs. Emergent results emphasised how there is scant literature on the BB&Cs of implementation Safety I- and II-enabled SSoWs across site, organisation and environment levels. Extensive global research is necessary to comprehensively understand the obstacles to implementing Safety I and II in practice as a first step towards reducing incidents and accidents on site. Cumulatively, the findings suggest that implementing Safety I- and II-enabled SSoWs should be based on removing BB&Cs and evaluating how they affect safety performance
Police subjectivities in South Africa: a discourse analysis of police officers’ talk on protest
No full textPolice officers in the South African Police Service (SAPS) undertake their police work within national, institutional, and personal discourses. Together, these discourses create different, often contradictory, police subjectivities. Resultantly, research on policing in South Africa is increasingly concerned with these subjectivities and the contexts in which they are constructed. However, despite this growing interest in discourse and subjectivities, scholars of policing have not typically employed a discourse analysis to examine these processes. Through a Foucauldian Discourse Analysis, we examine two discourses, violence as an internal malignancy of protest and protest as legitimate . The subjectivities enabled through these discourses both sympathised with and demonised the struggles of protesters, reflecting a broader contradiction in South African society, namely that protest is discursively reified in the Constitution but must be exercised within the discursive-material parameters set by the state
Sharing fieldnotes: Collaborative learning at the summer music festival
No full textSometimes there are moments within fieldwork that are unplanned and that point to the potential of new research practices. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork at summer music festivals in the UK, this paper considers two moments when fieldnotes were shared with participants, both during and after the festival. I explore the potential of these moments for expanding our understandings of the field but also highlight some of the issues with this way of incorporating people into our studies. Overall, I suggest that sharing fieldnotes can encourage a greater level of understanding of those we research, and promotes a higher level of involvement between research participants and research process
Long-term health and psychological complications in recovered COVID-19 patients: A study in Dhaka city
No full textBackground
Recovery from COVID-19 can be accompanied by persistent symptoms and complications, collectively termed post-COVID syndrome or ‘long COVID’. This study explores the prevalence and nature of long-term physical and psychological complications among recovered COVID-19 patients in Dhaka, six months post-discharge.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 384 patients from COVID-dedicated hospitals in Dhaka. Data on psychological and physical outcomes, including fatigue, insomnia, and dementia, were collected using validated tools. Confidence intervals (CIs) were used to examine associations and determine statistical significance.
Results
Among the participants, the most common symptoms at hospital admission were cough (93.9%), fever (87.2%), and dyspnea (66.9%). Post-discharge, 74% of respondents reported health issues, with general weakness (58.5%) being the most common. Older participants (≥ 50) had a higher likelihood of longer hospital stays, with only 35.9% hospitalized for ≤ 7 days (CI: 45%–55% in < 50). They also exhibited higher comorbidity rates, including hypertension (57.1%; CI: 38%–45%) and diabetes (53.7%; CI: 22%–28%). Older participants were more likely to experience complications, with 93.1% reporting at least one (CI: 65%–75%). Insomnia was prevalent in both age groups (82.0%; CI: 78%–85%), with dementia more common in older participants (34.6%; CI: 25%–35%).
Conclusions
While older adults exhibited higher rates of dementia and longer hospital stays, the high prevalence of psychological complications across all groups emphasizes the need for comprehensive post-COVID care strategies, particularly for older patients
Person-Place Interactions: Landscape Choreographies of Self-Regulation
No full textThis chapter considers the process and importance of person-place interactions by exploring the connections people develop with places within the remit of reinforcing positive life experiences, life satisfaction and health, adopting the idea of landscape choreography. Ideas are derived from research involving planned walks in various urban green environments embracing a methodology involving the collection and analysis of user-based narratives. It explores the nature of these encounters, to consider how people live out their individual choreographies of landscape experience realising personal affordances and negotiating the experience towards positivity. It further considers the role of places in defining the self, expectations, in mediating and reinforcing personal well-being, and stresses the importance of easy access to quality urban landscapes designed on biophilic principles, or that promote routine contact with the natural world, as a biophilic pathway for self-regulation
Strategies for preventing and controlling overweight and obesity among high school students in Kiribati
No full textIntroduction
Overweight and obesity are rising concerns particularly in Pacific Island Countries (PICs) where healthcare capacity is limited. However, limited studies have explored school-based prevention strategies in Kiribati. This study aims to identify effective strategies for preventing and controlling overweight and obesity among senior high school students in Kiribati, including curriculum and policy changes, nutrition education, and exercise interventions.
Methods
This mixed-methods study employed a prospective observational approach across four randomly selected senior high schools in South Tarawa, Kiribati from August to November 2020. Purposive sampling was used to select study participants. A total of 32 students (aged 13–19) and 20 School Committee Members (SCMs) participated in semi-structured interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Qualitative Data were collected using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression analysis were conducted to determine associations between student behaviors and overweight/obesity prevalence. Measures were taken to reduce selection bias, including stratified sampling based on school size and student demographics.
Results
None of the schools had physical education or nutritional health courses in their curriculum. Unhealthy dietary patterns, insufficient physical activity, and substance use (kava, alcohol, and tobacco) were prevalent among students. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in overweight and obesity prevalence among the four schools ( p = 0.04), with students from central and western schools exhibiting higher obesity rates. Meal skipping (OR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.21–4.97, p0.03) and low sports involvement (OR = 3.12, 95% CI: 1.45–6.73, p = 0.01) were significantly associated with overweight and obesity. SCMs reported policy gaps and lack of implementation regarding student health and nutrition.
Conclusion
The absence of structured physical education, inadequate health policies, and poor implementation contribute to overweight and obesity among high school students in Kiribati. Policy revisions, curriculum integration of health education, and school-based intervention programs are necessary to address these issues. Furthermore, regional differences in school environments should be considered when designing interventions
Digital Musical Lives
No full textThis chapter considers music technology from the perspective of young people, both inside and outside the classroom. It positions music technology within the role of the contemporary classroom music teacher and theorises these approaches within frameworks of critical pedagogy and the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) model. The chapter discusses the multi-modal nature of digital technologies in schools, and considers how music technology can feature in musical interactions beyond the music classroom and across a school community. The place of digital technologies in young people’s musical development, and pedagogies to facilitate and enable this learning, are also addressed. The chapter concludes by considering how to develop digital thinking in a field which is constantly changing and developing, thereby equipping music teachers to be responsive and reflective practitioners
'I cut toenails with scissors and trim it with sand paper'. Patients' perspectives on diabetic foot complications
No full textIntroduction: This study aimed to explore type 2 diabetes mellitus patients’ perspectives on diabetic foot complications and challenges of footcare management in Sigatoka, Fiji.
Methods: This study applied a qualitative approach among persons with diabetes who attended diabetic foot clinics from August to September 2021. Participants were selected through purposive sampling and included any self-identified Fijian aged 18 years and over who had type 2 diabetes with a minimum diagnosis duration of 6 months and no experience of an amputation. Data were collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews, and the content of interviews was transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis to generate themes and subthemes outlined in the study.
Results: The study included 30 participants. Three major themes were identified. The first was patient perceptions of diabetic foot complications, which showed that there was very limited patient knowledge of how diabetes caused foot complications. The second was practising foot care, which reflected that commonly practised recommendations were associated with daily activities like washing the feet. Third was patient perceptions of footcare services, whereby the majority were generally happy with the footcare services available to them.
Conclusion: The study results indicated that patients lacked sufficient knowledge about the symptoms and prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and healthy practices related to food complications. More effort needs to be invested into diabetes and footcare knowledge and practices for patients at the Sigatoka Hospital. This will help guide patients to make life-altering decisions that can help reduce the rate of diabetes related lower limb amputations, which are easily preventable