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Breathing Problems: The Unequal Impact of Air Pollution on Migrant Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in India
Full text linkThis paper focuses on three case studies of industrialization in India, focusing specifically on air quality. It analyzes the impact of poor air quality on the poorest sectors of society—namely, migrant workers—and the extent to which this was exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2013 India became the first country to adopt country-specific targets and indicators for air quality. Average exposure to small particulate matter (PM) has since dropped by 10 percent, but India still has the ninth highest average particulate matter concentration globally. One-third of India’s productivity is down to the informal sector, who are often unregistered, poorly paid, and shunned by large swaths of society. As one worker put it, “they treat us like stray dogs.” India’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic brought the treatment of this sector of society into sharp focus by suddenly, and literally, casting the previously ignored migrant and marginalized elements of society into the open. The paper uses data from Noida (Uttar Pradesh), Kolkata (West Bengal), and Pune (Maharashtra) to investigate links between government policies on industrialization, air quality, migrant workers, and COVID-19. It concludes by suggesting that in order to continue its economic development without destroying its living resources, India needs to improve pollution monitoring, enforce tighter pollution standards, and meaningfully incorporate human rights protection into environmental quality
A stakeholder-informed framework for the sustainable management of coastal lagoons in West Africa
No full textCoastal lagoons are highly susceptible to the impacts of climate change. In lagoons of the Global South development challenges and growing coastal populations compound climate stressors to create complex inter-connected problems that cross social, economic and environmental boundaries. The successful governance of lagoons thus requires multidimensional approaches that combine disciplines and incorporate multiple knowledges. A stakeholder informed management framework was developed for West African lagoons using a transdisciplinary and participatory approach. A network of researchers from across the region, collectively known as the Resilient Lagoon Network, facilitated participatory platforms for stakeholders to share their experiences of the stressors facing lagoons and their management. Participants were from academia, government organisations, NGOs, traditional authorities and coastal lagoon communities. The information acquired enabled an understanding and relative importance of the challenges facing lagoons as well as what constituted good management practice and an appreciation for the breadth of lagoon stakeholders. From this information a framework was created comprising three strands that outlined the “what, how and who” of sustainable lagoon management. The “what” consists of a series of social, economic, environmental and governance indicators, linked to the sustainable development goals, that provide a checklist for lagoon sustainability. The “how” outlines tenets of good governance with an emphasis on equity, participation, cooperation and open communication. The “who” maps the range of possible lagoon stakeholders. The framework has been sense tested with lagoon practitioners and made available across the region. Although based on the experience of West African lagoon stakeholders, it could be used to inform the management of lagoons across the Global South
Class, race and gender
Full text linkThe chapter explores the significance of class, race and gender in the global cultural history of war in the period 1650-1800
Nigeria
Full text linkWhen Nigeria confirmed its first COVID-19 case on February 27, 2020, the government deployed the military to enforce movement restrictions and public compliance measures. With an extensive presence in domestic security operations across multiple states, redeployment required minimal effort. While some new operations were established, many overlapped with existing deployments. Two new regulations expanded the powers of security agencies, further integrating the military into the national pandemic response. This chapter examines the securitisation of Nigeria’s response to COVID-19, focusing on the military’s role in enforcement and crisis management
Evaluation Report – Year 1 – Stakeholder perceptions of the Move Northamptonshire framework - Interviews
Full text linkPart one of the Year 1 Move Northamptonshire Framework report explored stakeholder views via an online survey to gain a high-level understanding of Northamptonshire’s physical activity system.For part two of the report, a total of 15 stakeholders were interviewed as an opt-in follow up to the 43 survey respondents (part one). Whilst 12 out of the 15 participants were conceptualised by Move Northamptonshire as ‘enablers’, 3 out of 15 of the participants were conceptualised as ‘connected to some degree’.The participants of the interviews worked in variety of roles across the system including, Principle in Travel Choices, Public Health Principles, Public Health Practitioners, Chairs of Board, Social Prescribers, Assistant Directors, Programme Managers, Principal Leisure Managers, Active Workplace Coordinators, Personalised Care Leads. The participants were working within organisations such as the NHS, Country Parks, Social Prescription, Public Health, North Northamptonshire Council, West Northamptonshire Council, Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board, and Voluntary Community Social Enterprises.This report provides a summary of in-depth interviews with stakeholders to better understand perceptions of the Move Northamptonshire framework and how to implement a whole-systems approach to deliver Move Northamptonshire more effectively in the future. Findings are presented as headline themes, with further discussion and supporting quotes provided within. The report concludes with points for reflection for system partners to discuss
'Ought I Not to Have Been Grateful?' Wooden Legs as Military Charity, 1800-1850s
No full textIn 1814, Sergeant Thomas Jackson received a charitable pension from the Royal Hospital of Chelsea. He also received an item which would come to define him for the rest of his life, marking him out to his contemporaries as a veteran and recipient of public charity. He was given a wooden ‘peg leg’ to help him walk. His later memoirs record his anger at how this item described to him by his patrons: “This new appendage…was to be free of cost – without money – without price; a free gratuitous national gift. Ought I not to have been very grateful? Somehow or other, at that time, I was not”. Jackson’s case demonstrates the relational construction of disabled identity through objects, as previously discussed by Disability Studies scholars like Katherine Ott, Richard Sandell and Jocelyn Dodd. Disability as a concept and as an identity is not only created by one’s relationships to other people or to medical professionals. Disability is also constructed by the role of certain physical objects in one’s everyday domestic life and in one’s perceived ability to participate in wider society through use of such items. By the later eighteenth century, the British military’s mass-produced wooden leg was the main item associated in popular print culture with military and naval veterans, facilitating their rehabilitation back into civilian society. Wooden legs and other medical supports could be made to measure and gifted as prizes to some men or were purchased unseen as second-hand or spoiled goods from hospitals or military depots. They were part of the everyday lives of many former soldiers, with daily maintenance, cleaning and regular repair and replacement. Despite his initial horror, Jackson came to prefer his Chelsea prosthesis over his other more fashionable and less visible prosthesis, gifted to him by well-wishers. This chapter explores the complex social, economic and cultural relationships of men like Jackson and his patrons with these medical supports
Militias and Volunteers in Britain and Ireland
No full textMilitias and volunteers have an important place in the history of the British Isles. A ‘militia’ is a military force consisting of part-time amateurs, but in Britain the term has often been applied to more formal and official military organisations. ‘Volunteers’ in this context are more informal and local, and could take many forms. Both should be considered part of what Ian Beckett calls the ‘amateur military tradition’, which was particularly strong in Britain and Ireland, a consequence of their geography and their political culture. Due to concerns about the dangers of a standing army, Britain largely relied on militias for home defence and maintaining order. Britain had traditions of amateur soldiering dating back to the medieval period, which were then formalised in the Tudor period. Militias played an important role in the conflicts of the seventeenth century and really came into their own in the eighteenth. The key institution here is the New Militia of 1757, which remained in force until the end of the Napoleonic Wars, supplemented by other types of volunteer soldier. The Victorians too were enthusiasts for the militia ideal, which was key to the army reforms of the later nineteenth century. While the militia formally ceased to exist in the early twentieth century, there are continuities right up to the Army Reserve of the twenty first
Empowering Learners through Immersive Technologies: A Case Study at Chester House Estate
Full text linkThis article explores the integration of immersive technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality in educational contexts, using the Chester House Estate as a case study. Through a collaborative effort between students and staff at the University of Northampton and the students and staff at the Creating Tomorrow College, the project developed a set of interactive digital resources aimed at enriching the visitor experience and increasing accessibility and social impact through the involvement of students as co-creators in the learning process
Justice Denied: Exploring Inequities in the Legal System
No full textThis volume focuses on injustice in the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales and discusses the barriers to achieving justice. The book draws on contributions from established and emerging scholars, as well as insight from professional practice to provide insight into the contemporary challenges in distinct areas of injustice through original analysis and argument. Topics covered include the theory of punishment, criminal justice, access to justice, climate justice, migrant justice and barriers to justice. The volume will be of interest to researchers, academics and policy-makers working in the areas of Criminal Law, Criminology, Sociology of Law and Human Rights Law. Focused on the legal system of England and Wales, the issues raised are relevant for an international readership
Two Surveys to Explore Associations Between Spontaneous Anomalous Experiences, and Fasting and Vegetarianism
Full text linkContemporary and historical accounts from spiritual traditions and elsewhere appear to suggest a role for fasting and vegetarianism in spiritual development and access to ‘supernormal powers’. We recently conducted interviews with psi adepts who use fasting and vegetarianism to support their work with psi and reported findings that are consistent with such accounts. However, it was not clear whether these associations obtained only for particular elite practitioners or whether they might apply to more general populations. We therefore proposed to conduct online questionnaire-based surveys of two separate samples recruited through Facebook groups consisting of vegans and vegetarians (N = 804) and those who practise fasting (N = 154) to see if these associations could be confirmed. Working with a vegan/vegetarian group allowed us to compare those who fast with those who do not; similarly, the fasting sample allowed us to compare vegans and vegetarians with those who eat meat. Preliminary findings indicate that significantly higher levels of self-reported anomalous experiences and abilities are reported by those who: fast; engage in longer fasts; have a longer history of fasting; practise vegan or vegetarian over meat-eating diets; practise vegan over vegetarian diets; have increased adherence to a wholefood diet; and habitually abstain from alcohol. The implications of these findings are discussed
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