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Investigating Mobile Technology for Experiential Outdoor Heritage Practices
Get PDFThis thesis investigates the potential of innovative mobile guides to enhance heritage experiences during walks in historic urban precincts. Focusing on the effects of smartphone-based and mobile projector-based guides, the research explores how different display modalities influence visitors' embodied and social engagement, behaviour, and meaning-making processes in complex, multi-sensory heritage environments. Through a series of empirical studies conducted in Canterbury's historic high street, involving 66 participants, the research employs a multi-method approach including surveys, interviews, observations, and participant-generated materials. The findings reveal that while smartphone guides often create a 'bubble' effect, isolating users from their surroundings, mobile projector guides foster more exploratory, playful, and socially engaged interactions with the heritage site. The thesis proposes a novel approach to designing mobile guides through the lens of 'playful walking', emphasizing the importance of supporting not only cognitive engagement but also multi-sensory, embodied, and social interactions. This approach is synthesized into actionable design considerations and four innovative design directions, illustrated with conceptual examples. Key contributions include technology design, empirical observations on the affordances of different mobile guide types, and a set of design principles for creating devices that support embodied heritage interpretation practices. The research highlights the potential of mobile projector guides to transform static heritage sites into dynamic spaces for interaction, fostering deeper connections between visitors and their surroundings. While primarily focused on historic urban precincts, the findings offer broader implications for designing mobile guides that enhance heritage experiences in contexts such as archaeological sites, living history museums, etc
The Safety of Digital Mental Health Interventions: Findings and Recommendations From a Qualitative Study Exploring Users' Experiences, Concerns, and Suggestions
Get PDFBackground: The literature around the safety of digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) is growing. However, the user/patient perspective is still absent from it. Understanding the user/patient perspective can ensure that professionals address issues that are significant to users/patients and help direct future research in the field.
Objective: This qualitative study aims to explore DMHI users’ experiences, views, concerns, and suggestions regarding the safety of DMHIs.
Methods: We included individuals aged 18 years old or older, having experience in using a DMHI, and can speak and understand English without the need for a translator. Fifteen individual interviews were conducted. Deductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.
Results: The analysis of the interview transcripts yielded 3 main themes: Nonresponse: A Concern, a Risk, and How Users Mitigate It, Symptom Deterioration and Its Management, and Concerns Around Data Privacy and How to Mitigate Them.
Conclusions: The results of this study led to 7 recommendations on how the safety of DMHIs can be improved: provide “easy access” versions of key information, use “approved by...” badges, anticipate and support deterioration, provide real-time feedback, acknowledge the lack of personalization, responsibly manage access, and provide genuine crisis support. These recommendations arose from users’ experiences and suggestions. If implemented, these recommendations can improve the safety of DMHIs and enhance users’ experience
Unlocking the English Legal System
No full textUnlocking the English Legal System will help you grasp the main concepts of the legal system in England and Wales with ease.
Containing accessible explanations in a clear and logical structure, it provides an excellent foundation for learning and revising. Key features include:
• Clear learning outcomes at the beginning of each chapter set out the skills and knowledge you will need to get to grips with the subject;
• Key Facts summaries throughout each chapter allow you to progressively build and consolidate your understanding;
• End-of-chapter summaries provide a useful checklist for each topic;
• Cases and judgments are highlighted to help you find them and add them to your notes quickly;
• Frequent activities and self-test questions and sample essay questions are included so you can put your knowledge into practice and prepare you for
assessment;
• A new ‘Critiquing the Law’ feature is designed to foster essential critical thinking skills.
The 8th edition has been fully updated throughout to reflect recent developments and changes in the law, including significant updates to the legal implications of the UK’s exit from the European Union and the running of the new Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). The book is also supported by updated digital learning resources. Part of the Unlocking the Law series, it is essential reading for all core modules on the English Legal System
Revisiting the case for assisted colonisation under rapid climate change
Get PDF1. Climate change is driving the rapid reorganisation of the world's biota as species shift their ranges to track suitable conditions, but habitat fragmentation and other barriers hinder this adaptive response for species with limited dispersal ability. Active translocation into newly suitable areas has been suggested as a strategy to conserve species otherwise unable to expand their ranges; however, assisted colonisation has not been widely adopted because the deliberate introduction of non-native species poses invasion risks and runs counter to traditional conservation approaches.
2. We use the future of forest ecosystems in Great Britain as a thought experiment to argue that mass-scale assisted colonisation will likely be required not to conserve threatened species, but to maintain functional ecosystems. As the climate changes, existing forest plant and animal communities of northern Europe will increasingly die out in their current locations, but in Great Britain, their replacement with range-expanding species from further south will be limited to a subset of mobile species able to overcome the ocean barrier. As a result, British forests will come to lack many important component species unless these are actively translocated; will have reduced resilience and adaptive capacity; and may eventually collapse.
3. Policy implications: Maintaining functioning ecosystems in a hotter world will require mass-scale assisted colonisation, so appropriate conservation policy, legislative frameworks and regulating bodies must be urgently developed. Conservationists must shift focus from the prevention of species extinctions to the maintenance of functioning ecosystems; from trying to prevent change and maintain the biotic communities, we have to trying to shape the biotic changes that are now inevitable. We must shift from reactive to proactive approaches to facilitate the emergence of robust novel ecosystems
What’s in a quail shell? That which we call an egg by any other means can be described
No full textAbstract:
In egg research Haugh units (HU) are used for both chickens and other birds, despite the fact that they were derived exclusively for the former. Inspired by Shakespeare’s line “What's in a name?,” we considered the development of calculation methods specific to the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) egg quality. Hereby, we sought to develop destructive and non-destructive approaches to evaluating qualitative characteristics of quail egg contents, including density of the interior (Di) and yolk weight (Wy). We used eggs laid by 11-month-old quails of an F2 model resource population. An experimental procedure was proposed for approximating volumes of thick albumen and yolk depending on the whole egg weight, calculating formulae for a complex indicator of the quail egg contents quality, i.e., Egg Quality Index (EQI). Its computation was based on egg weight, thick albumen height and yolk height or diameter. A comparative assessment of the use of indices demonstrated the advantage of EQI over HU. Based on the empirical data, mathematical models were obtained for calculating Di and Wy expressed as sets of indices for egg density (weight divided by volume), metabolism (surface area divided by volume), and air cell (its volume divided by egg volume). When calculating Di, it is advisable to use indices for egg density (weight divided by volume), metabolism (surface area divided by volume) and air cell (air cell volume divided by egg volume). Of the indices assessed, Wy depended to a greater extent on the egg surface area-to-volume ratio (S/V).
Highlights:
• We derived a novel quail egg quality formula to define the Egg Quality Index (EQI).
• EQI is based on egg weight, thick albumen height and yolk height or diameter.
• The entire quail egg diversity tested showed the advantage of EQI over Haugh units.
• We found egg interior density via indices for egg density, metabolism and air cell.
• Yolk weight depended largely on the surface area-to-volume ratio of the egg
Introduction to the Edited Book in Honour of Professor David Storey as a Scholar of Entrepreneurship and Small Firms
No full textTowards an inclusive and culturally sensitive conceptualisation of sexual well-being of young people: preliminary framework development using a modified Delphi methodology
Get PDFThis study aims to contribute to the development of a comprehensive framework for sexual well-being of young people. By making space for diverse young people's perspectives through co-creating the framework, we seek to enhance the understanding of sexual well-being in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) research in a culturally sensitive and inclusive way. A modified Delphi study invited SRHR young professionals (aged 18-30) with different backgrounds to participate as experts in three rounds of online discussions. A framework of sexual well-being was co-created by 15 young professionals from countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. This framework recognised sexual well-being as a subjective concept with different meanings, for example by applying an open understanding of sexual activity, and intimacy. It also acknowledged the challenges individuals face in fully understanding and achieving their sexual well-being, due to societal injustices. The framework outlined key capabilities inherent to sexual well-being, including informed decision-making, bodily autonomy, consent, exploration, self-awareness, pleasure, communication, comfort, safety, and self-esteem. Considering that these capabilities can only be realised within an enabling environment, access to sexual health information and services, as well as acceptance, respect, safety, and freedom from coercion and violence, were included as a key part of the framework. This study captured young people's views on sexual well-being to co-create a culturally sensitive framework. This framework recognises different interpretations of sexual well-being, and focuses on supportive environments that empower individuals to define and pursue sexual well-being in a way that honours their experiences and needs
The rippling effect of supply chains as complex adaptive non-linear systems
No full textNon-linearities can lead to unexpected dynamic behaviours in supply chain systems that could then either trigger disruptions or make the response and recovery process more difficult. In this chapter, we take a control-theoretic perspective to discuss the impact of non-linearities on the ripple effect. This chapter is particularly relevant for researchers wanting to learn more about the different types of non-linearities that can be found in supply chain systems, the existing analytical methods to deal with each type of non-linearity and future scope for research based on the current knowledge in this field
Dwelling and disruption: How art and DIY practices can reconfigure domestic spaces to reveal new meanings of everyday life
Get PDFABSTRACT
Dwelling and Disruption: How Art and DIY Practices Can Reconfigure Domestic Spaces to Reveal New Meanings of Everyday Life
Dedicated to Simon Adams, AKA Paul Ritter (1966 - 2021)
This practice-based PhD explores how art practice and Do It Yourself (DIY) methods can temporally disturb the material surfaces of everyday life to allow new readings of the nature of home to unfold.
Central to this work are investigations into how the development of the dimensions of reach, touch, vibration/sound and folding as embodied practice research methods, can provide new means of connection between the 'opaque interiority of the body and the exteriority of the world' (Pallasmaa 2012).
My research investigation involves an ongoing series of physical interventions into the fabric of my house. This has produced an ongoing, interconnected stream of artworks from 2014 to 2025. Due to their temporary nature, I think of the artworks as a series of "visitors" to my house. Visitors that are accommodated and tolerated during their stay.
The essentially site-based and ephemeral nature of the practice means that the main body of the work exists in recorded form. This consists of over 90 artworks, documented through still images, videos and audio and including moving, site specific and durational works, together with the parallel text based and audio work of Brenchley. All the work is accessible via my website and relevant links.
Together with artworks made for and situated in my house, several pieces have left home in different forms to be presented in galleries, museums, outdoor spaces, and festivals. These include sound and object installations for Art in Romney Marsh in 2014, The Symposium for Acoustic Ecology at Chatham Dockyard in 2014 , Curious, South Norwood London in 2014 and 2015, Portability: Art Moves, at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 2014 & 2015 Portability: Art Moves at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 2014, Uncommon Chemistry at the Observer Building in Hastings 2017, Installation in Gulbenkian Theatre Canterbury in 2017, work and talk as part of Sticky Thick for the Whitstable Biennale in 2017, Installation and paper delivered at Goldsmiths University, London 2017, Paper delivered for Large Objects Moving Air as part of Creative Research into Sound Arts Practice at the London College of Communication in 2018 and work exhibited at the Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate in 2021 and 22 and at Hantverk & Found gallery in Margate in 2018.
My research considers the body of the house as a material extension of our own bodies, with dust as a central motif, medium and shared material. Through practice, the research explores the premise that the domestic spaces of home are emotionally and materially charged through habitation. Metaphorically, the envelope of the house, in its plasticity, folds around us as we live, constantly adjusting, stretching and refolding through habitation and the ongoing spatial fluidity of the quotidian.
This research project reaches back to my own childhood, extending out through my children, and reflecting on the gradual dismantling of my father's psyche through Alzheimer's dementia. My practice-based interventions explore how the constant folding and unfolding of our bodies and senses respond to the spaces and objects around us. Our own skin including our eyes, folding with the folds of space. DIY (do it yourself) and making good, processes by which the home is constantly being remade, form an ongoing process of material analysis and investigation, becoming an essential research method in this project.
The innate and compulsive trait of my Double Deficit Dyslexia (DDD), in feeling, finding and making new connections between seemingly disparate elements in everything I experience, is critical in shaping the conceptual underpinning, structure and form of my research process, thesis, art practice and methodology. This capacity opens up new possibilities for a material, conceptual and sensorial examination of the nature of home
Tackling health inequalities: what exactly do we mean? Evidence from health policy in England
Get PDFObjectives
To develop a model to support health systems in clarifying how they might target action to reduce health inequalities, and to use it to understand current policy on health inequalities in England.
Methods
We used the wider literature on the definitions of health inequalities to draw together a schematic model which attempts to link together the different conceptualisations of health inequalities present in the literature with potential sites of action that could be taken by local health systems. We then undertook a document analysis of the policy documents and programmes underlying the recent reorganisation of the NHS in England.
Results
The need to tackle health inequalities is cited as one of the main rationales underlying the changes. However, there is a lack of clarity within the documents around: the type of inequality being addressed; the identification of the group(s) suffering from inequalities; and the ways in which the assumed ameliorative mechanisms will work in practice. The documents place considerable emphasis on the assumption that closer partnership working will address inequalities, although the mechanisms by which this will be achieved are not specified and previous research demonstrates how difficult this can be.
Conclusions
The aspiration to tackle health inequalities through newly constituted Integrated Care Systems and Boards is welcome. However, it is well known that the contribution that health care services can make to addressing inequalities is relatively limited. Greater clarity is required of policy and local strategy if efforts are to be appropriately targeted
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