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Fighting Jim Crow in Lancashire: Remembering the Battle of Bamber Bridge 1943-2023
No full textIn June 1943, African American troops based in the UK village of Bamber Bridge mutinied against the Jim Crow segregation conditions imposed in the European theatre of World
War II and found support from local residents. Following international news coverage of the events held in Lancashire to mark the 80th anniversary of the battle in June 2023, this
commemorative booklet honours their joint fight against racism. It features historical reflections on the conflict, a map of key locations and pictures of memorabilia from the battle,
extracts from the 1943 and 1944 court martial records, photos from the commemorations and ceremonies, insights from writers and directors of dramatic recreations of the mutiny, and a DVD and transcript of the documentary Community Memories of the Battle of Bamber Bridge. Scholars at the Institute for Black Atlantic Research at the University of Central Lancashire have produced this booklet in collaboration with Preston Black History Group, South Ribble Borough Council, StudioCanal, the US Embassy in London, the UK Ministry of Defence, and the US Defense Department
Permeability Jailbreak: A Deep Simulation Study of Hydraulic Fracture Cleanup in Heterogeneous Tight Gas Reservoirs
Get PDFUltra-tight gas reservoirs present severe flow constraints due to complex interactions between rock-fluid properties and hydraulic fracturing. This study investigates the impact of unconven-tional capillary pressure correlations and permeability jail effects on post-fracture cleanup in multiple fractured horizontal wells (MFHWs) using high-resolution numerical simulations. A novel modelling approach is applied to represent both weak and strong permeability jail phe-nomena in heterogeneous rock systems. A comprehensive suite of parametric simulations evalu-ates gas production loss (GPL) and produced fracture fluid (PFF) across varying fracture fluid volumes, shut-in times, drawdown pressures, and matrix permeabilities. The analysis leverages statistically designed experiments and response surface models to isolate the influence of rock heterogeneity and saturation-dependent flow restrictions on cleanup efficiency. Results reveal that strong jail zones drastically hinder fracture fluid recovery, while weak jail configurations in-teract with heterogeneity to produce nonlinear cleanup trends. Notably, reducing the pore size distribution index in Pc models improves predictive accuracy for ultra-tight conditions. These findings underscore the need to integrate unconventional Kr and Pc behaviour in hydraulic fracturing design to optimise flowback and long-term gas recovery. This work provides critical insights for improving reservoir performance and supports ambitions in energy resilience and net-zero transition strategies
Safeguarding Victims of Domestic Abuse During COVID-19: Survivor Perspectives
Get PDFThis study presents qualitative interviews with 15 victim-survivors of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) and quantitative analysis of police data in England. It explores survivors’ experiences accessing services during lockdown, identifying themes such as COVID-19-specific challenges, mental health, no recourse to public funds, child impact, cultural bereavement, service responses, and survivor-led recommendations. Key policy implications include improving police ethnicity recording, examining how ethnicity influences risk assessments and outcomes for minoritized victims, and providing culturally appropriate, trauma-informed services. The study calls for state-level preparedness for DVA responses during crises and addressing the structural harm caused by no recourse to public funds policies
From 'Fridays for Future' to Climate Summit Protests: Researching the New Subaltern Activism of Young People
No full textThe past 21 years have seen the UK environmental movement transform as climate change has become an urgent issue and broader publics have engaged in civil disobedience. More radical protest forms are curtailed by new legislation while large NGOs like Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace have repositioned themselves as more locally responsive (e.g. anti-fracking). This article uses a novel perceptive and mapping approach to political opportunity theory to compare networking in London’s environmental movement, 2002-3 to 2023-4. We compare our interview data (n=49) and an organisational network survey (n=66) from 2023-4 with data from 2002-3. We argue that structural opportunities vary little and so cannot explain contrasting networking patterns. We describe a set of contingent factors that have varied across the two different eras. These partly tally with activists’ own concerns about a recently emerged “grim political environment”. Our novel contribution shows that contingent factors shaping environmental activism have influenced activists’ perceptions of a closed polity, resulting in slightly more inclusive networks. Our key finding is that the centrality of climate change to contemporary environmental activism, the perceived urgency of the climate crisis and the government’s poor track record in slowing it, have resulted, cautiously, in networks that span what was once a more definitive radical-reformist divide
2nd International Yoga and mind-body practice conference: Book of abstracts
Get PDFOn behalf of the conference organising team, it is with great pleasure that we present this compilation of abstracts from the Yoga Conference 2024 held at the University of Central Lancashire. This conference has brought together a diverse group of scholars, practitioners, and enthusiasts from around the globe, all united by a shared passion for yoga and its multifaceted benefits.
The abstracts contained within this book reflect the breadth and depth of contemporary yoga studies. From exploring the physiological impacts of yoga on the human body to examining its psychological and spiritual dimensions, these abstracts offer a glimpse into the innovative and rigorous work being conducted in this field. Each contribution is a testament to the dedication and expertise of the authors, who have generously shared their insights and findings with the broader community.
As we navigate the complexities of modern life, the relevance of yoga as a tool for holistic well-being has never been more apparent. The studies presented here not only advance our understanding of yoga but also highlight its potential to foster resilience, peace, and harmony in our daily lives. We hope that this collection will inspire further research, practice, and dialogue, contributing to the ongoing evolution of yoga as both a science and an art.
I extend our heartfelt gratitude to Sam Pywell, Ambreen Chohan, and the University of Central Lancashire for their support, enthusiasm, and leadership in making this event a resounding success. Your commitment to excellence and your unwavering enthusiasm have been instrumental in bringing this conference to fruition. May the diffusion of knowledge shared within these pages serve as a foundation for future discoveries and a source of inspiration for all who seek to deepen their engagement with yoga
A privacy-preserving access control protocol for 6G supported intelligent UAV networks
No full textDue to their autonomous operation, high mobility, and real-time communication capabilities, 6G-supported Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (6G-UAVs) (i.e., drones) are increasingly being utilized to enhance data collection and management in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs). Despite their manifold benefits, 6G-supported UAV-based ITS (6G-U-ITS) faces unique security challenges beyond conventional cyber and physical threats. These include real-time authentication, impersonation attacks, physical tampering or cloning and protection against identity spoofing in highly dynamic environments. For instance, an attacker may steal a drone and use its identity to send authenticated malicious messages to the ITS, causing road accidents. Therefore, a secure authentication scheme must ensure resilience against UAV identity theft and unauthorized access while maintaining low-latency and computational efficiency to support the stringent real-time security requirements of 6G-U-ITS. Existing authentication schemes are not specifically designed to address these challenges, making it imperative to develop a lightweight and robust authentication mechanism tailored for 6G-U-ITS. Moreover, most of the existing protocols are vulnerable to physical tampering and impersonation attacks and also require high computation overhead. In this paper, to mitigate these limitations and satisfy the aforementioned requirements, we propose a secure access control protocol for 6G-U-ITS. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first security solution in the literature that can achieve security against UAVs physical attacks. Furthermore, we justify the robustness of the designed protocol against potential attacks through detailed formal and informal security assessment. Via testbed experiments, we show that our protocol achieves 20.66% and 22.82% higher efficiency on communication and computation overhead, respectively, compared to other contemporary competing protocols
The ‘Police Progression Paradox? Why are Women Under-Represented Across the Middle Ranks of the Police?
Get PDFInternationally, despite increasing numbers of women entering the police, women are still under-represented across the various ranks of law enforcement, especially within more senior and leadership positions. Barriers to women’s progression within law enforcement has been identified in previous research; however, what is not known are the reasons behind the drop in representation of women officers across the middle tiers of the police; an important promotion stage likely to hinder women entering senior ranks. This article seeks to address this significant dearth in knowledge, by presenting the findings of a large-scale mixed-methods research exploring staff retention and, in particular, the experiences and barriers faced by women officers. The resulting research comprises three parts: i) statistical analyses of national workforce data on 142,505 police officers in England and Wales, ii) in-depth examination of one constabulary’s HR data pertaining to 3,321 officers, and iii) force-wide semi-structured interviews with women officers (n=9). Each method targets a unique level of ecology (cultural/national; organisational, and individual) and draws on complexity theory to provide a multi-level exploration of the issues and barriers preventing women from progressing in their policing careers. Central here is an examination of the gendering of the police organisation and the ways in which gender performance, stereotypes, bias, and expectations filter through to working relationships and policing hierarchies vis-a-vis the social and domestic sphere. We argue that focusing only on women’s overall representation in the police, creates a ‘police progression paradox’ which masks the underlying problem of women’s progression into senior roles
Scorpion ( Hottentotta tamulus ) venom pre-exposure delays functional recovery in mice following peripheral nerve injury
Get PDFScorpion sting leads to profound challenges of central nervous system (CNS) impairments such as neuro-inflammation, unconsciousness, aberrant ion channels physiology, epilepsy and may become fatal due to heart failure. However persistence of Hottentotta tamulus venom in peripheral nerves and subsequent influence on regenerative process of injured peripheral nerve remains unknown. Current study reports the persistence of H. tamulus venom components 30-days following its intraperitoneal administration in sciatic nerves (SN) of mice pre-exposed through either a single-toxin exposure (STE) or multiple-toxin exposure (MTE). Of note, venom pre-exposure delays and compromises the sensori-motor functional recovery in STE and MTE mice following standard sciatic nerve crush injury. Histological investigations of regenerating SN and gastrocnemius muscles (GCM) 14-days post crush injury exhibited reduced myelination and limited numbers of motor axons in SNs and GCM of MTE mice, respectively. Consistently, a marked reduction in expression of regeneration-promoting markers including transcription factors (such as Atf-3 and c-Jun), regeneration associated genes (such as Sprr1a and Gap-43) and ion channel proteins encoding genes (such as Scn9a and Kcc2) was observed in lumber dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and regenerating SN 14-days post crush injury. Collectively, this study reports the persistence and regeneration-inhibiting effects of H. tamulus venom in peripheral nerve of pre-exposed mice leading to compromised functional recovery
Assessing the impact of influencer marketing on brand value and business revenue: An empirical and thematic analysis
Get PDFThis paper aims to empirically assess the multifaceted impact of influencer marketing on brand value and business revenue, highlighting how influencer credibility, professionalism, and consumer satisfaction in digital engagements drive purchase intentions and brand enhancement. It explores the evolving dynamics within digital ecosystems where content co-creation and social media interactions foster consumer-brand relationships and generate measurable economic outcomes. Recognizing the strategic role of authenticity and trust, the study underscores the need for transparent collaborations and data-driven influencer strategies to sustain competitive advantage in contemporary markets