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Urban Marginalities Throughout History
No full textThroughout history, cities have been hubs for the development of new philosophical, cultural, political, economic, and technological ideas, thereby enhancing the quality of life for their inhabitants. However, the concentration of populations and activities in cities coupled with other socio-economic and political factors have engendered significant challenges, affecting vulnerable social groups in particular, and giving rise to urban marginalities. This study explores the historical trajectory of urban marginalities in Western cities. It examines their diverse manifestations from antiquity to the present day. This is carried out using a historical approach and focusing on three pivotal aspects that mark the evolutionary expansion of the Western city. It looks into how the physical drivers for the development of the city can give rise to its physical and social impact, which urban marginalities are part of. The research aims to elucidate the multifaceted mechanisms underlying the emergence of urban marginalities, and the many forms under which they manifested themselves since ancient times. Such research highlights the importance of understanding the historical context of cities when addressing their contemporary urban challenges
Adapting a salutogenic critical appreciative inquiry approach to the co-production of culturally sensitive mental health service delivery for Black African and African Caribbean communities in Birmingham, UK
No full textBackground
A growing body of research has explored the prevalence of health inequalities in the delivery of mental health services for racialised communities in the UK, with an increased call for the use of equitable co-production methods to engage communities in the design and development of culturally sensitive services. There is, however, very little research on the use of asset-based frameworks to address the needs of specific ethnic groups, such as the Black African and African Caribbean community. This study, therefore, sought to explore the factors identified by the Black African/African-Caribbean community and service providers as important in the design and development of culturally sensitive mental health services, using a salutogenic, critical appreciative inquiry process.
Methodology
Implementing appreciative inquiry in 3 distinct phases, the qualitative research methods of online interviews and focus groups produced rich insights on the value of cultural norms and beliefs as protective factors for mental health, social and cultural capital in building resilience as well as the nuances surrounding resilience narratives and their impact on help-seeking behaviour, from both community members and service deliverers.
Findings
Recommendations made for service deliverers included improving diversity and representation in leadership, promoting holistic, community-tailored mental health services and access to alternative treatment options, and enhancing school and workplace based mental health support. Discussing the integration of recommendations, service deliverers focused on fostering sustainable interagency collaborations, confronting systemic and institutional racism and community ownership in culturally sensitive mental health service delivery. One of the novel contributions of this study is the development of a checklist that can potentially be tailored by service providers and community members to promote quality assessments and evaluations aimed at improving cultural sensitivity within services. This research further contributes to the literature by revealing that within Black African and African-Caribbean communities, resilience is seen as an integral part of identity, shaped by the profound impact of racism and discrimination, rather than a conscious choice.
Conclusion
Results from this study demonstrate the need for more research aimed at addressing the multiple factors that may be considered in the design and development of culturally sensitive mental health services for the specific racialised communities in the UK, beyond the BAME umbrella. Overall, this study evidences the value of a salutogenic, critical appreciative inquiry approach for engaging stakeholders as equal collaborators in addressing systemic issues and the nuances to be considered in the process of co-designing equitable culturally sensitive mental health services for diverse communities
Sport Mobilities: a framework and agenda for the study of sport in mobilities
No full textSport moves people physically, emotionally, socially (Eichberg and Loland 2010) and movement is central to sport. Yet, engagement with sport in mobilities studies is rare. This paper outlines an agenda for sport mobilities approaches to catalyse greater engagement in the field with the world of sport and to strengthen dialogues with, and mobilities’ position within, interdisciplinary sport studies. We first establish the promise of sport mobilities research before tracing existing engagements, and finally offering a framework for future sport mobilities approaches
Consuming and retailing fashion: South Asian diaspora negotiating clothing practices, identities and community making in Glasgow
No full textThis article explores South Asian diasporic fashion retail spaces and sartorial practices in Glasgow. Drawing on ten months of ethnographic research, it investigates how fashion and clothing contribute to identity construction, community building, and cultural blending among British South Asians. Utilising patchwork ethnography and city walking, the article presents the lived experiences of shopkeepers and consumers, demonstrating the interplay of gender, migration, spaces, and religion in sartorial practices. The findings reveal that fashion and sartorial practices are not merely about personal expression but also about negotiating hybrid and multiple identities and fostering community solidarity amidst the challenges of migration and cultural preservation. The article also contributes to the broader discourse on transnational fashion, advocating for a decolonial perspective that addresses ethical, moral, and environmental sustainability within diverse fashion systems
The Impact of Architects’ Reasoning on Early Design Decision-Making for Energy-Efficient Buildings
No full textArchitects arguably have the greatest influence on the design of buildings. One of the key factors that make it hard to improve the energy efficiency of buildings is the use of architects’ reasoning by architects at the early design stage. There is a need to assess the impact of architects’ reasoning on the energy performance of the designed building. To this end, this research was conducted in two phases. Firstly, the most influential design parameters, in terms of energy efficiency, were identified and used to develop a design exercise issued to a sample of practising architects in the north of Algeria. Design exercise participants were required to minimise expected energy consumption along with the construction cost. Secondly, computer-generated dynamic design optimisation for the same design task was conducted in DesignBuilder v6. 1 .8. The computer-generated designs decisively outperformed the human-generated designs. The experienced architects achieved the least-performing designs rather than those with less experience
Islam and faith in times of crisis: Religious observance and Muslim communities in the pandemic
No full textThis article explores the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on Muslims living in Birmingham, UK on religious observance and faith in times of crisis. This article presents qualitative insights into participants experiences of the impacts of the pandemic and the national measures taken on their religious observance including impacts around prayer and worship, the use of technologies to mediate faith practice, communal worship and wellbeing, worship under socially distanced conditions and the observance of Ramadan and Eid. In exploring these experiences we reveal a range of ways in which Muslims have been impacted, as a result of the distinctive nature of Islam as embodying specific aspects of orthodoxy and orthopraxy. We explore the dynamic between impacts religious observance and the ways in which religious leaders drew upon Islamic scripture and teachings to reinforce adherence to local and national guidance as a dutiful responsibility to others. We also unpack what this means for Muslims, faith and community connectedness in times of crisis such as the pandemic
Optimizing Large Language Models for Arabic Healthcare Communication: A Focus on Patient-Centered NLP Applications
No full textRecent studies have highlighted the growing integration of Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques and Large Language Models (LLMs) in healthcare. These technologies have shown promising outcomes across various healthcare tasks, especially in widely studied languages like English and Chinese. While NLP methods have been extensively researched, LLM applications in healthcare represent a developing area with significant potential. However, the successful implementation of LLMs in healthcare requires careful review and guidance from human experts to ensure accuracy and reliability. Despite their emerging value, research on NLP and LLM applications for Arabic remains limited particularly when compared to other languages. This gap is largely due to challenges like the lack of suitable training datasets, the diversity of Arabic dialects, and the language’s structural complexity. In this study, a panel of medical experts evaluated responses generated by LLMs, including ChatGPT, for Arabic healthcare inquiries, rating their accuracy between 85% and 90%. After fine tuning ChatGPT with data from the Altibbi platform, accuracy improved to a range of 87% to 92%. This study demonstrates the potential of LLMs in addressing Arabic healthcare queries especially in interpreting questions across dialects. It highlights the value of LLMs in enhancing healthcare communication within the Arabic-speaking world and points to a promising area for further research. This work establishes a foundation for optimizing NLP and LLM technologies to achieve greater linguistic and cultural adaptability in global healthcare settings
Creativity Collaboratives Toolkit
No full textThis toolkit aims to help teachers and school across the Elliot Foundation to explore and implement creative teaching and learning in the classsroom
Assessing the Cybersecurity Needs and Experiences of Disabled Users
No full textDigital technology is incredibly crucial in today’s world. The use of technology is considered a right for both able and disabled users. Accessibility and security are two important concepts in the technology context. Accessibility refers to the level to which a product or service is designed to be utilized by people with disabilities. While security focuses on protecting a product or service from threats and harm. Accessible security refers to the practice of ensuring that digital products and services are not only secure but also accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. Numerous studies have been conducted on the usage of technologies among people with disabilities. However, little research has been undertaken on accessible cybersecurity. Understanding encounters of disabled individuals with cybersecurity challenges can help develop more accessible and secure technologies and improve user experience. The first step to improving the accessibility of cybersecurity safeguards for users with disabilities is assessing their attitudes and needs. The aim of the study is to explore the cybersecurity attitude, behavior and awareness of people with various types of disability. The survey used to determine the most significant gap for people with disabilities in the accessible cybersecurity context to help them better handle and understand cyber threats in their everyday lives. The survey findings point out that having cybersecurity awareness does not always result in preventing security breaches. There is a gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. There is a notable concern regarding insufficient technological safeguards. Recommendations are included for software developers to create a more accessible and secure digital environment
Social media, kidinfluencers and the changing discourse on childhood
No full textThe proliferation of children becoming famous through social media channels such as YouTube/Kids, Instagram and TikTok bring up important and difficult questions about the wellbeing of children, their relationship with public facing media and the boundaries of parent-child relationship