17390 research outputs found
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Meaningful intergenerational contact to build social connections, enhance felt understanding and build confidence in future community social action
No full textDespite considerable research on the impact of intergenerational contact on attitudes and behaviours towards the other generation, very few studies have qualitatively explored the psychological processes which occur, nor have they tested the effect of such programmes on more generalised outcomes. In this paper, we examine the effect of an intergenerational contact intervention, centred around discussions of social issues with intergenerational conversation partners. Firstly, we analyse focus group and interview data with younger (n = 24) and older (n = 10) participants conducted following the programme. Thematic analysis is used to explore the psychological processes that occur during intergenerational contact that could drive attitude and behaviour change. This is complemented by a quantitative study in which we examine the impact of the intergenerational contact programme on key intergroup outcomes (confidence in contact, perceived similarity) and more generalised outcomes (confidence in community social action). Primary and secondary school aged children (N = 114) completed survey measures prior to and following the intervention programme. Themes arising from the qualitative analysis showed a breakdown in stereotypes of older and younger generations. Additionally, further themes arising included intergroup felt understanding, self-disclosure, feeling heard and having voice, which we contend may drive intergenerational contact effects on intergenerational and more generalised outcomes. Analysis of survey responses revealed a significant boost in confidence in contact, perceived similarity, and confidence in social action (secondary school age pupils only) following intergenerational contact programme. Methodological limitations are outlined and future directions for research discussed
Disentangling the Gordian Knot of parasympathetic innervations in arthritic joint
No full textHealthy synovial joints receive innervations exclusively from sensory and sympathetic axons. In arthritis, however, they acquire cholinergic innervations with parasympathetic effects. The origin of cholinergic fibres in inflamed joints remains elusive. Based on clinical and preclinical evidence, we propose two models explaining their rise: (1) through sprouting and invasion of cholinergic sympathetic or parasympathetic axons from the periosteum of juxta-articular bones and (2) via phenotypic switch of intrinsic sympathetic (norepinephrinergic) fibres of synovial joints to cholinergic. The widely acknowledged anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressants effects of parasympathetic drive suggests a protective role of the newly aquired cholinergic innervations in arthritic joints. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Understanding the moral dimension of policing: the need to normalise ethical reasoning within police practice
No full textThis paper argues that more weight should be paid to the moral dimension of police work in light of recent challenges to police authority in the United Kingdom, most notably from Baroness Casey, but also from movements such as Black Lives Matter. We argue that MacIntyre’s (1985) idea of a practice helps reshape our understanding of policing in ways that redress these challenges. In particular, we emphasise the need to normalise ethical reasoning such that professional policing is framed in moral, as well as legal, terms. We suggest ways that this approach to policing can be developed through police education
Magical tourism and enchanting geographies: Storytelling, heritage, fantasy and folklore
No full textThis book explores the events, attractions, and places that comprise magical tourism. It assesses the intricacies of magical storytelling, ecologies, realities, entities, belief systems, cultural heritage, and rituals leading to spiritual, otherworldly, enchanting, mindful, interconnected, green and dark experiences.
The volume offers the reader insights into the exciting, popular new tourism trend of magical tourism and its over-arching attributes and tropes. The chapters in this volume feature a number of case studies and discussions including the history of magical travel, studies of affect, witch festivals, the rights of mythical animals, folkloric beasts, unmappable places that seem to retreat and slide sideways, multilayered place folklore and mythology, portals, nexuses of meaning, fayres, festivals, identities and cos-play. This volume addresses challenges of sustainable futures, green heritages, commercialisation, representation, inclusion, accessibility, community ownership, magical events, beliefs and practices and asks if there is a magical turn in research.
The book is highly relevant to those with expertise and interest in geography, tourism, hospitality and events studies, marketing, religious studies, anthropology, sociology, heritage, cultural studies
Women’s leadership in environmental peacebuilding: Converging nature, climate, and peace
No full textThis article examines the role of female leadership in environmental peacebuilding, focusing on the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. It explores how women have been disproportionately affected by war, yet have emerged as key figures in addressing environmentally related challenges and promoting sustainable peace. Drawing on recent data and case studies, it argues that women’s increased participation is reshaping approaches to post-conflict recovery and sustainable reconstruction. The study highlights how women-led efforts in renewable energy innovation, energy transition, environmental restoration, green recovery, policy advocacy, and industrial sector participation contribute to both immediate recovery and long-term ecological resilience. By analysing these contributions, the commentary demonstrates the critical importance of integrating gender equality perspectives into environmental peacebuilding strategies and offers insights for policymakers engaged in post-conflict reconstruction efforts globally
Pesticide misuse, health impacts, and knowledge gaps among Cameroonian vegetable farmers: survey findings
No full textPesticide exposure poses a significant threat to public health in Cameroon, a country reliant heavily on vegetable production. This study aimed to assess the usage, knowledge, and handling practices of pesticides among vegetable farmers. We surveyed 345 farmers across six regions and eight divisions using interviews and on-farm observations from 2021 to 2022. Data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics, including multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and logistic regression. Farmers applied 43 active ingredients—46.5% insecticides, 41.8% fungicides, and 11.6% herbicides—many of which threaten health, ecosystems, and biodiversity. Of these, 6.9%, such as abamectin and methomyl, are classified as highly hazardous (WHO Ib), while others, including glyphosate, 2,4-D, and chlorothalonil, are probable or possible carcinogens (IARC, 2021). Misuse was prevalent: 80.4% mixed pesticides, 49.2% disregarded recommended dosages, and applications occurred twice weekly on average. Lack of support was evident, with 67.6% of farmers receiving no assistance, 65.3% lacking training, and 42.3% depending on neighbors for advice; additionally, 64.1% stored pesticides at home. MCA revealed that misuse correlated with farming experience, information sources, education level, land tenure, and inadequate support. Strikingly, 88.6% reported post-handling symptoms (e.g., fatigue, dizziness), with risk factors including limited PPE use, higher age, frequent applications, and less experience. Women showed greater vulnerability (OR = 1.09, 95% CI: 0.39–7.80, P <0.05), whereas PPE use reduced risks (OR = 5.86, 95% CI: 2.62–13.09, P <0.05), and lack of assistance exacerbated outcomes (OR = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.12–0.65, P <0.05). Significant knowledge gaps in compliance, health risks, and environmental impacts were evident (P < 0.01). These findings highlight a public health crisis driven by pervasive misuse in vegetable cultivation. We recommend urgent training and support for farmers, alongside residue analysis in Cameroon’s vegetables to quantify contamination levels and health risks, biomonitoring to assess exposure, and African Union-aligned bans on WHO Ib pesticides to protect communities
Incidental murder: Mary Cholmondeley’s sensational humour
No full textMary Cholmondeley’s The Danvers Jewels is a serio-comic homage to the 1860s sensation novel, serialised in Temple Bar in 1886 and published anonymously in one volume in 1887. The novella draws on domestic realism, sensation and humour to investigate the construction of class and gender roles: a combination that would become characteristic of Cholmondeley’s mature fiction including Diana Tempest (1893) and Red Pottage (1899). The Danvers Jewels and its publishing history show the author developing a critical network, as she balanced her own experiments in genre with the demands of the commercial market. The extant correspondence between Cholmondeley and a range of well-connected figures offers a test case for examining tensions between women writers’ sense of a literary vocation and the necessary negotiation of a professional network
Multimodality and reception studies
No full textMultimodal research has traditionally focused on the analysis of texts and their production, resulting in a wealth of theoretical and analytical constructs as well as approaches.1 On the one hand, multimodal research on texts and their production has pushed the field forward; on the other hand, however, it has resulted in different, and at times contradictory, accounts of how different modes work individually and together in making meaning. One of the reasons for the divergent accounts is a relative lack of empirical evidence coming from the other end of the multimodal communication process, i.e. the reception of multimodal texts. It is crucial to note that ‘reception’ here is not intended as passive uptake of an encoded message in a unidirectional process, but as the purposeful, active interaction and engagement of participants with a text in what Barker (2021: 194) calls a ‘two-sided affair’ (emphasis in original). Over the last two decades, scholars from a variety of fields, including linguistics, communication science, media studies and critical discourse studies, have started to take on the challenge of investigating text reception. Reception studies come in different forms, with different focuses and methodological approaches, both qualitative and quantitative. However, the common denominator between them is the interest, as the name suggests, in exploring how people interact and engage with multimodal texts. This special issue on Multimodality and Reception Studies aims to contribute to our understanding of how we can integrate text-based multimodal research with a reception focus and take stock of what insights this line of enquiry has offered us thus far
Volunteer motivation in a CITiZAN community archaeology project at Sandwich Bay, Kent
No full textVolunteer participation produces an invaluable wealth of support and data for the coastal and estuarine archaeology of the UK, which may otherwise go unrecorded, but what drives volunteers to conduct this work? Our paper aims to identify volunteer motivation for participating in fieldwork at Sandwich Bay, Kent, in February 2022, run by the Coastal and Intertidal Zone Archaeological Network (CITiZAN). Adopting methods within rapid ethnographic assessment (REA), which uses semi-structured interviews and participant observation, demonstrates that reasons for volunteering are numerous and varied. These include experiences, social factors, fear of losing archaeological knowledge, learning, and health and wellbeing. By better understanding volunteer motivations, projects in community archaeology can be better placed to recruit and retain their volunteers, where REA is demonstrated as an effective method for gaining this information
Decolonising occupational performance assessments, a scoping review Sarah Harvey and Elisa Valdez
No full textOral Paper presentation (15 mins