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Reading Hitler's victims: refugee memoirs of Nazi persecution for British readers during appeasement and war
No full textThis book is the first study of the translation, publication and marketing of literary memoirs by both Jewish and non-Jewish victims of Nazi persecution for British readers during the years of Nazi rule. By exploring the different political and religious victim tropes that took centre stage in the British public imagination of Nazi persecution, it reveals that Jewish victims were rarely represented. Instead, during the war, the study shows that German and Austrian Christians came to represent ‘what Britain was fighting for’. This publishing history highlights the centrality of unspoken, unofficial censorship practices in British cultural institutions of the period, arguing that a focus on victim narratives makes such censorship inevitable
Parenting Interventions in refugee contexts: overview of findings and promising directions
No full textChildhood and adolescence are critical periods for shaping habits, behaviors, and identities, and
parents play a vital role for positive development in these years. Positive parenting during these
years leads to long-term benefits, ultimately promoting healthier societies. Refugee youth face
heightened risks of negative emotional, social, and mental health outcomes due to the adversities
in refugee contexts. Supporting refugee parents through targeted interventions can mitigate these
risks, empowering youth to become resilient adults and contributing members of their
communities. This paper examines the factors that would promote the effectiveness of parenting
interventions in refugee contexts and suggests future directions for parenting interventions. Since
parenting in refugee camps is uniquely challenging, comprehensive support systems to help
parents is required. Research highlights the importance of comprehensive parenting programs that
enhance knowledge, skills, cognitions, and mental health of parents. Group-based and longer-term
interventions are suggested to be particularly effective, fostering lasting social support networks.
Effective parenting interventions must also address basic needs including nutrition, safety, and
financial security to create the stability necessary for positive parenting practices. Despite these
promising outcomes, more research is needed to assess the cultural relevance and long-term
effectiveness of these programs, especially in refugee camp settings. Moreover, potential new
venues like intervening on promoting post-traumatic growth within different refugee settings as
well as using digital tools to establish and sustain parenting intervention programs shall be
examined. This paper provides potential new venues for research and interventions in refugee
contexts
A systematic literature review of inter-sessional activities (SLR) in coaching practice: what can we learn from counselling and therapy?
No full textPurpose
Although coaching is widely adopted in organisational and HRD contexts, inter sessional activities (IA) or “homework” activities carried out between sessions remain under examined. This study investigates how IA is applied in workplace coaching and assesses its effectiveness in enhancing programme outcomes.
Design
A systematic review was conducted across coaching and related disciplines, following the PRISMA guidelines to ensure transparency and methodological rigour. The search identified 7 empirical studies in workplace coaching and 43 in therapy and counselling that met the inclusion criteria.
Results
Five themes emerged: (1) inconsistent terminology and definitions of IA, (2) evidence of positive effects on behavioural and attitudinal outcomes, (3) wide variation in the types of activities assigned, (4) mixed perceptions of IA among practitioners and clients, and (5) factors influencing clients’ adherence and completion.
Originality
This review is the first to synthesise empirical evidence on IA within coaching, revealing a substantial research gap despite practitioners’ routine use of these activities. By mapping existing findings and identifying conceptual ambiguities, the study establishes a clear agenda for future research and offers practical guidance on embedding IA within a strong coach–client working alliance to maximise coaching effectiveness
Warning cultures in practice: shadow systems in local flood risk governance
Full text linkEarly warning reduces flood risk when forecasts are interpreted and converted into timely local action. In Luxembourg, a nationally centralised system, with no intermediate tier, places the next line of decision making immediately with municipalities. This paper examines how a structured shadow system emerges at the local scale to bridge gaps between national alerts and operational needs. Evidence is drawn from a focus group with municipal officials in a flood-affected community, including a flood-scenario exercise simulating an evolving rainfall event to examine decision-making under uncertainty. Thematic analysis shows that national flood alerts are generic, repetitive, and weakly linked to municipal thresholds for initiating preparedness measures. Ambiguous terminology, colour codes, and broad spatial and temporal framing limit their operational usefulness for local response. Frequent low-level alerts contribute to warning fatigue and erode trust. Officials construct meaning through institutional knowledge, lived experience, peer exchange, and heuristics. These locally embedded practices highlight the importance of scale, showing how municipal knowledge both localises and at times overrides national messages. The configuration strengthens local responsiveness but concentrates interpretive responsibility at municipal level without formal support, which can increase variability across jurisdictions. The analysis points to a need for impact-based, temporally precise, municipality-scale products with clear triggers and guidance co-developed with local officials and potentially residents, so that centrally issued forecasts can be converted into anticipatory action at the local level
Natural habitats enhance pollination services in apple and sweet cherry orchards: evidence from Southern Mediterranean agroecosystems
No full textWild pollinators play a critical role in crop production. However, the ongoing loss of natural habitats threatens pollination services and food security. We evaluated how the percentage of surrounding natural habitat and the distance from orchard edges influence wild floral visitors and pollination deficit in sweet cherry and apple orchards in Mediterranean Chile. Additionally, we examined the relationship between floral visitation and fruit production. We studied eighteen orchards of each crop and classified them into three categories according to the percentage of natural habitats within a 1 km radius: 70 %. Three pollination treatments (supplementary, open, and exclusion) were applied at the edge and into the orchard interior. We quantified floral visitor richness, floral visits, fruit set and fruit quality. Our results showed that sweet cherry orchards with less than 35 % surrounding natural habitat had significantly lower wild insect species richness and floral visits compared to orchards with > 35 %. In both crops, species richness and wild floral visits declined with increasing distance from the orchard edge. Wild floral visitors enhanced fruit set in both crops, while honey bees contributed to sweet cherry fruit set and apple seed set. Although insect pollination improved fruit quality, we found no direct relationship between flower visitation and fruit quality. In apple orchards with > 70 % natural habitat, fruit weight deficit was lower at the edge compared to both the interior and the edges of orchards with < 35 % of natural habitat. We recommend conserving natural habitats around orchards to support wild pollinator diversity and visitation, thereby reducing pollination deficits
The impact of pomegranate seed oil on postprandial lipemia and other cardiovascular disease risk markers in postmenopausal women
No full textThe replacement of saturated fats with unsaturated fats is extensively recognised as an effective
intervention for attenuating cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. However, the specific health effects
of individual types of unsaturated fats remain inadequately understood. To date, most research has
been conducted under fasting conditions, despite individuals typically spending the majority of their
day in the postprandial state. Elevated non-fasting triglyceride levels are now recognised as an
independent risk determinant for CVD, particularly among postmenopausal women. Therefore, it is
essential to investigate how various dietary fats influence postprandial lipid metabolism and vascular
function.
The literature review identified pomegranate seed waste as a promising source of bioactive
compounds, including punicic acid and tocopherols. However, limited investigations have explored
the phenolic profile of pomegranate seed oil (PSO) compared to other parts of the fruit, such as the
peel and juice. The seeds, particularly in oil form, exhibit potential for utilisation in functional food
applications. Notably, the literature review revealed a substantial gap in understanding regarding the
acute effects of PSO on postprandial lipaemia, vascular function, and associated inflammatory
markers in at-risk populations.
Before initiating the intervention study, a detailed compositional analysis of the PSO employed in
this research was conducted. Gas chromatography demonstrated that PSO contained a high
concentration of punicic acid, a conjugated linolenic acid, comprising approximately 81.81% to
84.86% of the total fatty acids, along with notable levels of linoleic acid and oleic acid. Furthermore,
total tocopherol content ranged from 362.69 to 397.48 mg/100 g of oil, with γ-tocopherol being the
predominant isomer. Phenolic compounds were also detected in adequate concentrations. This
compositional analysis provided a scientific basis for the selection of PSO as the test fat and supported
its hypothesised cardioprotective potential.
The PSO intervention study was designed to evaluate whether test meals enriched with PSO,
compared to control meals, could beneficially modulate postprandial lipaemia (triacylglycerols
(TAG)), vascular function, and inflammatory responses in postmenopausal women. In a single-blind,
randomised, crossover postprandial trial, 16 postmenopausal women consumed a single test meal (0
min: 50 g fat) enriched with either PSO or the control fat on two separate occasions spaced 4 to 6
weeks apart. The primary outcome measure was postprandial TAG, with secondary measures
including blood pressure, markers of endothelial function, inflammatory cytokines and metabolic
parameters.
We observed that the PSO-enriched meal significantly reduced postprandial TAG levels compared to
the control (P < 0.001). Additionally, the PSO-enriched meal significantly augmented acetylcholine
vasodilatory response (endothelium-dependent vasodilation) (P < 0.001), with a significantly greater
reduction in postprandial diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.001) and a comparable result for systolic
blood pressure (P = 0.048). For the postprandial pulse wave velocity (PWV), only the incremental
area under the curve (iAUC) differed significantly between the test fats. These effects were
accompanied by elevated postprandial plasma nitrite concentrations following PSO intake, indicating
improved nitric oxide bioavailability. Furthermore, PSO consumption resulted in a reduced
postprandial inflammatory response, as reflected by a lower postprandial sICAM-1 response (P <
0.001) after the PSO-enriched meal compared with the control meal. PSO also caused lower
interleukin (IL)-6 production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated whole blood cultures (P <
0.006), with higher postprandial IL-10 production (P = 0.031) after the PSO-enriched meal than after
the control meal. There were no significant differences between meals in postprandial glucose,
insulin, and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) responses.
In conclusion, this study provides novel evidence that PSO positively influences postprandial TAG
levels, endothelial function (acetylcholine, endothelium-dependent vasodilation, and blood pressure),
and inflammatory status in postmenopausal women. These findings may have implications for dietary
fat recommendations for this population and support continued exploration of PSO as a
cardioprotective functional food
An examination of the professional-self understanding of teachers working with excluded students
Full text linkThis study investigates teachers’ professional self-understanding of working with students
experiencing school exclusion. Utilising interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA), the
research focuses on the experiences of seven educators at a northern England academy. It is
a qualitative approach exploring how these teachers perceive their identities and
professional roles in their teaching practices. The findings highlight that while teachers can
adapt effectively to new environments, there is a pressing need for greater institutional
support, especially for newly qualified teachers, who greatly benefit from comprehensive
training and mentoring. In contrast, more experienced educators demonstrate greater
resilience during this transition. The study introduces a conceptual framework for teacher
identity that encompasses caring ethics, professionalism, and relational knowing,
categorising teachers into three groups: robust, developing, and foundational. Despite the
absence of structural support, these educators exhibit a commitment to generosity and self-improvement, which enables them to engage meaningfully with marginalised students.
Furthermore, long-serving teachers actively seek experiences that align with programme
goals, underscoring the need for specialised training to better support their professional
development
Signal herding and contrarianism in REITs - dissemination of stock vs fixed income factors
No full textHerding and contrarian behaviours in financial markets have drawn significant attention due to their potential to distort prices. In the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) market, both behaviours have been observed, though explanations often remain anecdotal. This paper provides further insights into herding and contrarianism in US equity REITs by analysing their inherent characteristics and the impact of exogenous informational signals. Our findings reveal frequent and prolonged contrarian behaviour, contrasted with sporadic and brief herding episodes at both the market and sub-sector levels. Our results highlight the dual nature of REITs, where return dispersions differ inherently between their stock and fixed-income characteristics. Moreover, information spillovers from the stock and debt markets, as well as signals from larger REITs, drive distinct investor behaviours. We also observe that herding tendencies increase when investors shift capital from the stock market and that excess return dispersion intensifies during recessions, reflecting a heightened reliance on private information in times of crisis
How did labelling provision on menus for online food delivery change after implementation of England's calorie labelling regulations?
No full textThis study describes the provision of calorie labelling in the digital out-of-home food sector after the implementation of mandatory calorie labelling for large businesses in England in April 2022. Using online menu data from two major food delivery services between June 2022 and October 2023, the number of restaurants available for delivery and the share of restaurants displaying calories was determined for every neighbourhood (Lower layer Super Output Area/Data Zone) in Great Britain. Among restaurants that display calories, we determined the share of labelled menu items and these items’ calorie content. We assessed differences by area deprivation and restaurant type. Online food delivery was available in ∼89% of Great Britain, with more restaurants available in more deprived neighbourhoods. The share of restaurants that display calories was overall low and decreasing over time (median 14% in June 2022 to 12% in October 2023), and was lowest in most deprived (9%) compared with 14% in the least deprived neighbourhoods in October 2023. Among restaurants displaying calories, the share of labelled items was high (79%–76%), while calorie content decreased slightly (by 14 kcal/food item and 5 kcal/drink item). Changes by deprivation were limited and heterogenous by restaurant type. The observed, small reduction in median calorie content may suggest positive, structural change and warrants further investigation. However, the coverage of calorie labelling is limited, and the lower provision in more deprived neighbourhoods may widen dietary health inequalities