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Socio-spatial features of neighbourhoods supporting social interaction between locals and migrants in peri-urban China
No full textWestern literature shows evidence of a positive relationship between socio-spatial features of neighbourhoods and social interaction. However, there is little research exploring this relationship in the Chinese context, particularly between locals and migrants in peri-urban China where significant housing is being created. This paper studies the socio-spatial features of neighbourhoods in supporting social interaction between locals and migrants across different neighbourhood types in the peri-urban areas in Guangzhou. In this research, data were collected using door-to-door questionnaires and site surveys in 9 peri-urban neighbourhoods in Guangzhou. The nature and strength of relationships between socio-spatial features of neighbourhoods and social interaction were examined through statistical analysis. The results of this study suggest that the level of maintenance and accessibility can help improve social interaction for locals and migrants living together in villages, redeveloped villages, and commodity housing. Neighbourhood boundaries and quality of neighbourhoods were found to be positively related to social interaction for locals and migrants in redeveloped villages only. In addition, the perceived character of the neighbourhood can positively impact social interaction for locals in villages only. This study demonstrates that high-quality neighbourhoods can improve social interaction between migrants and locals in peri-urban villages, commodity housing, and redeveloped villages in China. The study provides a guide for neighbourhood designers, urban planners, and property managers in peri-urban China regarding how to create a neighbourhood supporting social interaction between locals and migrants in villages, redeveloped villages and commodity housing respectively.</p
An exploration of the current state of racial inequalities in the UK construction industry and mitigation strategies
No full textThis paper investigates racial inequalities faced by Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) employees in the UK construction industry. It aims to identify the types, contributing factors, prevalence, and impacts of racial discrimination by analyzing previous research and a questionnaire-based survey. The survey used open-ended questions to gather data directly from BAME construction workers. Thematic analysis of responses is employed to identify any trends in the findings. The paper establishes that BAME employees experience a wide range of discriminatory practices, with verbal abuse being the most common. Implicit bias, lack of representation, and workplace culture are key contributors. 86% of respondents reported experiencing racial discrimination within the context of their workplaces., The study also reveals negative impacts on mental health and career prospects for BAME workers. The study finds a high prevalence of racial inequalities fueling discrimination in this industry, The impacts of racial discrimination are significant. Strategies proposed for addressing inequalities include mandatory Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) training for employees, establishing transparent reporting systems, and the enforcement of strict sanctions for employees and firms involved in or deemed to promote racial discrimination. Further research is recommended for academics to explore effective implementation methods for DEI initiatives within the construction industry.</p
Introduction: new perspectives on joint attention
No full textThe concept of joint attention has sparked lively discussions within and across a range of areas, most notably developmental psychology and philosophy (Eilan et al. 2005; Seemann 2011; Metcalfe and Terrace 2013; Seemann 2021). It is often thought to be deeply implicated in our ability to comprehend other minds (Heal 2005; Schmitz 2014, Martens 2021), understand communicative expressions (Campbell 2019; Seemann 2019; Harder 2022), learn language (Sabbagh and Baldwin 2005), and engage in collaborative joint action (Fiebich and Gallagher 2013). Some have argued that, in its full-blown form, joint attention is part of a suite of distinctively human capacities that underpin the normativity of human interactions, which in turn allows for cumulative culture (Tomasello et al. 2005; Kern and Moll 2017).</p
Unleashing the potential of social media celebrities to promote food waste reduction in educational institutions: developing an extended model based on the value-belief-norm theory
No full textPurposeThis study aims to provide insights into the drivers of student engagement in food waste reduction strategies in educational institutions. The proposed research model integrates social media celebrities' attractiveness, expertise and trustworthiness with the value belief norm (VBN) theory to explore their influence on students' behaviour towards food waste reduction.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected from 417 students enrolled in public and private universities in the Riyadh and Macca regions of Saudi Arabia to evaluate the proposed model. The partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyse the responses.FindingsThe results showed that VBN theory's components, such as values (biospheric, altruistic and egoistic), beliefs (new ecological paradigm, awareness of consequences and aspirations of responsibility) and norms significantly and positively influence food waste reduction behavioural intentions. It was also discovered from the results that social media celebrities' attractiveness, expertise and trustworthiness influence food waste reduction behavioural intentions.Originality/valueThis study contributes significantly to the literature by identifying factors influencing student engagement in food waste reduction strategies in educational institutions where limited research exists. It fills this research gap by developing a novel theoretical framework integrating social media celebrities' attributes with the VBN theory to explain these factors.</p
Prenatal and postnatal exposure to antibiotics and risk of food allergy in the offspring: a nationwide birth cohort study in South Korea
No full textBackground: There are only preliminary studies examining the associations of postnatal antibiotic exposure with food allergy in childhood, and the effect of antibiotic exposure in utero has not been resolved. Thus, we aimed to investigate the effect of prenatal and postnatal antibiotic exposure on the risk of food allergy in childhood. Methods: Using the nationwide birth cohort in South Korea, all 3,163,206 infants (pairing mother; n= 2,322,735) born in South Korea between 2010 and 2017 were included in the analysis. The primary outcome was the diagnosis of food allergy, and the observation period was between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2020. We implemented four different designs for the study, which consisted of a full unmatched cohort, 1:1 propensity-matched cohort, sibling comparison cohort, and health screening cohort along with multiple subgroup analyses.Results: During the follow-up period (median 6.92 years [IQR, 4.72–9.00]) of the 3,161,858 infants (52.6% male) in the birth cohort, 29,973 (1.9%) were diagnosed with food allergies. After a 1:1 propensity score matching, the use of antibiotics increased the risk of overall food allergy (prenatal [HR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.04–1.09] and postnatal [HR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.01–1.10] periods). The association was more significantly accentuated when antibiotic exposure was used in the short term, and the children were born preterm or with low birthweight; however, a trimester-specific effect was not observed. We observed more pronounced risks of food allergy in the health screening cohort (prenatal, 17%; postnatal, 15%), thus addressing the adverse effects of critical factors including maternal BMI, smoking status, and type of infant feeding. Similar trends were observed across all four differnt cohorts. 2 of 12 | OH et al. 1 | INTRODUCTION Food allergy is a serious health concern across the globe, especially among children.1 Recent studies from the United States have reported that the prevalence of food allergy among children reached 7.6%2 and continued to grow rapidly due to urbanization and westernization.1 Food allergy can induce life-threatening anaphylaxis and cause significant morbidity and mortality.1 Several genetic and environmental factors have been reported to lead to a lack or loss of tolerance to specific foods3–5 thereby resulting in the development of food allergy. In murine models, the gut microbiome performs critical functions in the development of immune tolerance to food allergens.6 Further, it is well-established that the gut microbiome can be perturbed by numerous factors including antibiotic treatment.7 The administration of antibiotics during pregnancy and young infancy is become increasingly prevalent and antibiotics account for ~30% and ~80% of total prescribed medications dispensed to preschool children and pregnant women, respectively.8 At the same time, mounting evidence suggests that prenatal exposure to antibiotics may increase the risk of chronic diseases including asthma9–14 and atopic dermatitis.15 However, only one study has investigated the association between early antibiotic exposure and childhood food allergy at the population level.16 This previous study has several limitations: not taking the potential confounding factors (e.g., familial history of allergic diseases and maternal smoking status) into consideration and only examining postnatal exposure to antibiotics; therefore, excluding prenatal exposure to antibiotics. Detailing the relationship between maternal antibiotic use and the risk of food allergy in the offspring has clinical and scientific significance ascribed to the fact that maternal antibiotic use in pregnancy may make adverse modifications to the microbiome, resulting in the development of food allergy in offspring. Thus, we designed and executed four different cohorts within the same population, using International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD-10) codes, and predetermined criteria for both maternal antibiotics and food allergy in offspring to control for a great number of potential confounders using nationwide birth cohort study in South Korea. We aimed to understand the potential association of fetal and postnatal antibiotic exposure on the development of food allergies among children. 2 | METHODS 2.1 | Data source A large-scale population-based birth cohort of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) in South Korea was conducted in this study.17–19 We established a mother–child paired birth cohort among all infants born between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2017. We used a unique insurance identification number shared within a family to construe the mother–child pairs.20 South Korea has a national health insurance that covers approximately 98% of all Korean citizens and the Korean government provides the first general health examination to all infants aged 6 months.20 The government anonymized all patient-related data to robust confidentiality. A previous study indicated that the overall positive predictive value for diagnostic records of the NHIS data was 82%.21 This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Kyung Hee University (KHSIRB-23-241(EA)). The requirement for informed consent was waived as this study used de-identified administrative data. 2.2 | Study design and participants: (1) full unmatched cohort; (2) Propensity score-matched cohort; (3) health-screening cohort; and (4) sibling cohort We set the “index date” as the birth date of each child. The followup ended on December 31, 2020, on the date of the first diagnosis of food allergy, or at the death of a child, whichever happened first. The observation period was between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2020 (Figure S1). Among the mother–child pairs enrolled from 2009Conclusion: This study reported a moderate association between early-life antibiotic use and subsequent food allergy during childhood throughout four different designs of analyses. This study suggests that clinicians need to consider the risks and benefits of antibiotics when administering antibiotics to individuals in the prenatal and postnatal periods.</p
Community detection in multiplex networks using orthogonal non-negative matrix tri-factorization based on graph regularization and diversity
No full textIn recent years, community detection has received increasing interest. In network analysis, community detection refers to the identification of tightly connected subsets of nodes, which are called “communities” or “groups”, in the network. Non-negative matrix factorization models are often used to solve the problem. Orthogonal non-negative matrix tri-factorization (ONMTF) exhibits significant potential as an approach for community detection within multiplex networks. This paper explores the application of ONMTF in multiplex networks, aiming to detect both shared and exclusive communities simultaneously. The model decomposes each layer within the multiplex network into two low-rank matrices. One matrix corresponds to shared communities across all layers, and the other to unique communities within each layer. Additionally, graph regularization and the diversity of private communities are taken into account in the algorithm. The Hilbert Schmidt Independence Criterion (HSIC) is used to constrain the independence of private communities. The results prove that ONMTF effectively addresses community detection in multiplex networks. It also offers strong interpretability and feature extraction capabilities. Therefore, it is an advanced method for community detection in multiplex networks.</p
Relevance of Doctoral Research in Architecture
No full textThe proceedings of the international conference "Relevance and Doctoral Research in Architecture" (July 2023) congregates an eclectic mix of doctoral, post-doctoral researchers, early-career scholars, and esteemed research supervisors from across the globe, all united by a common pursuit: to delve into the core of relevance within architectural research.</p
A practice-based investigation into relief-printing techniques in children's picturebooks
No full textThe use of relief-printing techniques in contemporary picturebook-making practice remains mostly optional or digitally supplemented, in spite of the ubiquity of historical techniques. At the same time, as a practising author-illustrator of picturebooks using relief-printing techniques to create artworks, I was experiencing a sense of limitation imposed on myself by the medium.The aim of this practice-based research into relief-printed picturebooks is to develop historical relief-printing techniques into a relevant form as a method of creating original artwork for picturebook in contemporary practice. The result aims to bring further knowledge on this subject into the field, as well as providing useful references on techniques for practitioners. It would also be valuable in terms of preserving and reframing manual art techniques in the digital age.Bibliographical analysis and reflective practice have been used as research methods.The former is applied to detailed examination of the artworks by selected historical and contemporary artists, as well as my own. Where the development of new techniques is involved, reflective practice has been applied, which dealt with trial and error, evaluation of results, and further experimentation and analysis. The exploration of new techniques was situated within processes of picturebook-making from conception to visualisation, through which their mutually supportive relationship was revealed. This was a key finding of the research.As the outcome, a picturebook and its catalogue of artwork associated with the written commentary of the project have been produced. The findings of the research are the revised relief-printing techniques, as well as a new approach to the development of printmaking techniques through the combination of bibliographical analysis and reflective practice in picturebook-making.Regarding further research possibilities, the relief printed picturebooks by other artists mentioned in this thesis are limited to a selection to fulfil the purpose of this research, and thus an extended bibliographical study on this area would be effective, as well as practice-based research on other printmaking techniques in picturebooks.</p
What is collaborative ministry? How might it be identified and nurtured in a local Anglican parish context?
No full textThis thesis presents an account of the exploration of the concept of collaborative ministry in a local Church of England urban parish, undertaken as part of a theological action research project by me as parish rector and researcher. Despite helpful academic writing, widely published on this topic, there still exist more questions than answers for practitioners entrusted with parish leadership at local level.The research methodology is empirical, qualitative and inductive, investigating church members’ experiences of ministry, received and given, as they participated in a theological action research programme undertaken over four years. The research paradigm is the concept of priesthood of both the ordained and all the baptised. Participants were interviewed about their engagement in a variety of opportunities for ministry within the parish and neighbourhood community alongside personal experiences of ministry both given and received. The complementary properties of the Pastoral Cycle (Green, 2009) and the Reflection Action Cycle (Cameron et al, 2010) were drawn upon, together with ARCH (Rooms and Keifert) to generate participation and reflection as key aspects of the research project. An Appreciative Inquiry (Cooperrider et al) approach was found to be helpful in framing the gifts afforded by ministry for analysis. The data was analysed in dialogue with appropriate academic theological literature.This thesis presents an argument that effective ministry is naturally collaborative as revealed by common thematic concepts from transcribed, coded and analysed interviews with participants. A shared understanding of ministry shows it to be reflective and intentional in nature, demanding situational awareness and attentive listening to both God and people. All examples of ministry analysed had in common the thematic concepts of relationships, listening, learning and sacrificial, costly giving. It was seen to be relational, growing from mutual trust, and attentiveness rooted in the Gospel not dependant on the permission of the institutional church.Analysis of research data shows all examples of ministry analysed to be collaborative and suggests how knowledge of this might be effectively nurtured as part of professional practice of church leadership.</p
Evaluation of shaft angle to ball-to-target line as a predictor of horizontal delivery plane angle in the golf swing
No full textThe shaft angle to the ball-to-target line at various points in the golf swing is used by coaches as an indication of the horizontal delivery plane angle (HPA). The aim of the current study was to understand to what degree this simplified method of using the shaft orientation can predict the orientation of the HPA. Fifty-two male golfers hit 40 drives each in an indoor biomechanics laboratory. Between-subject regression models were created for the relationship between the HPA and the shaft angle to the ball-to-target line at three different swing positions. Additionally, single subject regression models were created for each subject for the small variables. The only significant between-subjects regression model was for mid-downswing (Adjusted R2 = 89.5%, RMSE = 2.41°); however, this was deemed not accurate enough to distinguish differences between typical driver and wedge HPA. The only shaft position to have significant single-subject regression models for all participants was mid-downswing. The mean RMSE for those models was determined to be low enough to distinguish typical driver and wedge swing planes within individuals. Overall, the shaft angle was only deemed accurate enough to predict the HPA within individual subjects, and only for mid-downswing.</p
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