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Assessing claims of counterproductivity of Just Stop Oil’s civil disobedience
Get PDFA key development in the post-pandemic climate movement has been the rise of small-scale civil disobedience groups, who prioritise high-profile disruptions to gain media attention. The British group Just Stop Oil (JSO) have been one of the most publicised. In this paper we research the impact of JSO and ask if they have been counterproductive, as is often claimed. We make a significant contribution to the interdisciplinary literature on climate activism by proposing a two-dimensional framework for assessing counterproductivity. We conducted a rigorous mixed-methods study, analysing how JSO’s campaigning influenced media reporting and public opinion. This included media content analysis and public opinion surveys to evaluate how JSO’s protests shaped discourse on climate policy, public attitudes, and government responses. Our findings show that JSO achieved considerable media visibility, yet it has had limited success in broadening public awareness of climate change. However, they did contribute to increasing the salience of the issue of new oil and gas licences, compelling political actors to publicly address the matter. JSO have not been counterproductive in the sense that they have not turned public or policymakers against Net Zero policies. Their impact on support for the climate movement and state repression is more ambiguous
Using Digital Tools to Explore Spatial Strategies and the Illusion of Realism in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Oliver Twist
Get PDFThis paper interprets the literary spaces of London as depicted in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892) and Oliver Twist (1838) through acts of mapping and reading the city. Digital mapping tools, combined with analysis of spatial meaning in the text, enable us to visualise and understand spatial meaning in literature far more fully than ever before. However, while many digital mapping projects for literature seek to align fictional space with the “real”, this study argues that such correspondence is often secondary to the narrative strategies through which writers construct a totalising sense of place that is nonetheless illusional. In contrast to many digital literary mapping projects that treat historical maps as a benchmark for fictional accuracy, then, we approach mapping as a way of making visible the different techniques through which Dickens and Conan Doyle construct verisimilitude and how these strategies illuminate broader questions about the relationship between maps and texts in literary interpretation. The paper is in four parts. The first section maps the fictional onto real world maps using digital map layers and compares the two. The second turns from visual acts of mapping to verbal and looks closely at Conan Doyle’s textual and spatial strategies as Holmes and Watson move across different parts of London. The third section compares strategies in an early work also centred on criminal London: Oliver Twist. The final section problematises the desire for fiction to be “accurate” in a detailed reading of the short story “The Blue Carbuncle”
Evaluation of Initial Teacher Education programmes for quality education of English Language Learners in England : Provision, practice, expectations
Get PDFThe growing linguistic diversity in English schools necessitates evaluating Initial Teacher Education programmes, particularly their capacity to prepare trainee teachers for educating English Language Learners (ELLs) (Cunningham, 2019; Demie, 2018). This study investigates the content, quality, and pedagogical foundations of Initial Teacher Education in England to assess whether these programmes adequately equip teachers for ELL instruction in mainstream classrooms (Flockton & Cunningham, 2021). With nearly 1.7 million pupils requiring language support (The Bell Foundation, 2024), research consistently shows that Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) feel underprepared for teaching ELLs (Starbuck, 2018). Alarmingly, fewer than 50% of NQTs report feeling prepared, with this figure declining over time (Ginnis et al., 2018). Gaps in Initial Teacher Education curricula include insufficient integration of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theories and English Language Teaching (ELT) pedagogies—key components for addressing linguistic diversity (Lucas & Villegas, 2010; Murakami, 2008). This study addresses these deficiencies by examining the extent to which Initial Teacher Education programmes integrate relevant pedagogical theories, explore trainee teachers' experiences, and assess their confidence in teaching ELLs (Franson, 1999; Cajkler & Hall, 2009). Using a mixed-methods approach—including surveys, interviews, and curriculum analysis—it identifies successes and shortcomings in preparing teachers for linguistically diverse classrooms (Flockton & Cunningham, 2021). Findings reveal that while some programmes include effective ELL teaching strategies, widespread improvements are needed, particularly in practical, classroom-based training. Recommendations are made for enhancing Initial Teacher Education curricula to better prepare future teachers and ensure ELLs receive quality education. These insights are vital for policymakers, educators, and Initial Teacher Education providers in adapting to an increasingly multilingual educational landscape (Cunningham, 2019; Demie, 2018)
Hide and Seek in Embedding Space : Geometry-based Steganography and Detection in Large Language Models
No full textOptimizing wearable IMU configurations for running gait analysis : a machine learning-based sensor fusion approach
No full textObjective This study applies machine learning (ML) techniques to address this hardware limitation by determining the feasibility of reducing a high-dimensional 17-sensor network to a “minimal-optimal” subset without compromising measurement accuracy. Unlike previous studies focusing on activity classification, we systematically quantify the information redundancy in kinematic chains to optimize sensor fusion architectures. Methods Twenty-five recreational runners performed treadmill protocols at three speeds (8, 10, and 12 km/h) while wearing a gold-standard Xsens MVN system (17 IMUs). Raw accelerometer and gyroscope signals were programmatically subsetted to simulate minimal configurations. A Random Forest (RF) regression model was selected after benchmarking against baseline Linear Regression and deep learning (LSTM) models. A comprehensive vector of time-and frequency-domain features was extracted via sliding windows, and Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE) was applied to identify the most critical signal attributes. Results Analysis revealed that a single lumbosacral IMU could successfully reconstruct global parameters (Cadence, Vertical Oscillation, Ground Contact Time) with high precision ( R 2 > 0.95 , M A P E 0.91 , M A P E = 7.12 % ). Performance remained robust across all running speeds, with only a marginal accuracy drop at 12 km/h. Conclusion This study validates a machine learning framework for optimizing sensor array design. The proposed three-sensor fusion offers a robust, low-cost architectural blueprint for next-generation wearable devices, proving that complex deep learning is not always required when sensor placement is biomechanically optimized
Taming the Many-Headed Monster : Understanding Charles I’s Personal Rule
Get PDFDespite a reputation for being petty, vindictive and mean, recent research suggests that Charles I’s main problem might have been that he was too successful for his own goo
International Environmental Impact of CKD Care
No full textIntroduction Data reporting the environmental impact of the overall chronic kidney disease (CKD) care pathway are limited. Methods We performed a life cycle assessment (LCA) of CKD stages 1 to 5, with a primary focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and a secondary aim of quantifying broader environmental effects. The main scope estimated annual environmental impacts in the USA and UK, both per patient and for the total CKD population, with 8 additional countries included in exploratory analyses. Model inputs (annual health care resource use; travel distance; energy mix; and heating, cooling, and lighting requirements) were country-specific, where available. Environmental impacts by stage were calculated using the ReCiPe impact assessment method. Results In the USA and UK, annual per-patient GHG emissions increased with CKD stage, from 1.9 to 7.8 tonnes and 0.4 to 5.1 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e), respectively, with similar trends for other environmental impacts. Total annual GHG emissions were 30.6 and 1.8 megatonnes CO2e in the USA and UK, respectively, with stage 3 contributing the greatest proportion. Hospitalization drove emissions for stages 1 to 4, for stage 5 on supportive care, and for the prevalent transplant population. For patients receiving kidney replacement therapy (KRT), choice of modality drove GHG emissions. Although only 6.7% of the US CKD population and 2.6% of the UK population received KRT, this accounted for 15.2% and 11.1% of national CKD emissions, respectively, largely from thrice-weekly in-center hemodialysis (HD). Conclusion This research provides insights into the overall environmental burden of CKD and impact hotspots, enabling the development of targeted interventions that reduce emissions
Young adult life courses in the Global South : A comparative framework and research agenda
No full textAs of 2025, 85% of the world population lives in countries typically associated with the Global South. Fifty percent of the world’s population is under age 30. This article introduces the special issue on “Young Adult Life Courses in the Global South.” It aims to provide a conceptual entry point for globally comparative research on young adult life courses. We systematize and contextualize key insights from the twelve contributions to this special issue, which were selected through an open call, on 1) relevant macro-structural conditions for young adult life courses in the Global South, 2) conceptualizing adulthood processes, including implications for young adults’ agency. Based on the contributions to this special issue, we propose a comparative framework that focuses on the locally specific interplay between economic, normative, and temporal conditions for navigating social adulthood. Second, we summarize the authors’ critiques of established concepts of young adulthood and highlight alternative conceptualizations that they employ, including their implications for young adults’ agency. We close by outlining avenues for future research for a globally comparative research agenda on young adult life courses
Little Scientists & Social Apprentices : Active Word Learning in Dynamic Social Contexts Using a Transparent Dyadic Interaction Platform
Get PDFResearch characterises the child as an active learner who attends more to and selectively retains information they actively elicit better than information they passively receive. At the same time, children learn best from knowledgeable others who tailor information to children's learning progress. Bringing these disparate findings together requires examining children's active learning in social interactions. The current study examines whether the active learning advantage persists in social interactions with others and is influenced by the pedagogical status of their social partner (mother, father or friend). We tested 4‐ to 5‐year‐old children with their social partners (Nfriend = 47, Nmother = 44, Nfather = 53) during a word learning task using a novel setup where two participants can interact with visual objects on a transparent touchscreen while observing each other. Participants could either actively choose objects to hear their labels or passively observe their partner's choices. Early in the task, there was an overall active benefit, although this pattern appeared to be predominantly driven by interactions between peers. Later in the task, learning appeared to be dynamic and more influenced by the social partner with whom the child was interacting, especially when considering interactions with their peers and their fathers. Together, these findings underscore the temporal and social dynamics of an active learning benefit in children's social interactions