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Ref 2021 Portfolio: Community Maker and The Portland Inn Project.
Get PDFThe Community Maker project focused on the Portland Street area of Stoke-on-Trent, where 33 houses were famously refurbished and sold for £1 each as part of a long-term process of social and urban redevelopment led by Stoke-on-Trent City Council. The project formed part of the cultural sector’s response to place-making for the area. It brought long-term residents together with new arrivals to build an active and engaged community. Artist and researcher (and £1 home owner) Anna Francis approached the British Ceramics Biennial (BCB) to work with local people to explore personal histories, ambitions, and ideas through arts practice, which included making and sharing food and collaboratively designing and making ceramic objects, to then identify priorities for positive social and community change. The project was initially funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, later gaining additional funding from Arts Council England.
The findings led to the formation of The Portland Inn Project, a collaborative research project led by Francis and Rebecca Davies, which moves on from Community Maker to deliver community-led change based on the identified priorities.
The insights provided by the project have been discussed and disseminated via a public programme of events, workshops and displays on a public green space (Century Street, Stoke-on-Trent) and via exhibition displays at the BCB in 2015 and 2017, AirSpace Gallery, and The Potteries Museum Stoke-on-Trent (2018) as well as being shared at conferences and events in the UK and Estonia.
The research was featured in a Guardian online documentary on deprivation and renewal in Stoke-on-Trent, and The Portland Inn Project was used as a case study by Francois Matarasso in his book on Participatory Art, ‘A Restless Art’ (2019).
This portfolio was prepared to support the submission of Rethinking the Brownfield for the Ref 2021 exercise
What Film is your Film Like? : Negotiating Authenticity in the Distributive Seriality of the Zombi Franchise
Get PDFIt is perhaps because of its overtly commercial focus that we imagine the franchise to be a phenomenon of production—if a film is a success, then subsequent films will be produced in order to capitalise upon the success of that first film. Occasionally, savvy producers have capitalised on the value that film seriality can bring by producing unofficial sequels to successful films, a phenomenon that can most visibly be seen in the unlikely sequels Titanic II (2010), Easy Rider: The Ride Back (2012), and The Bronx Bull—AKA Raging Bull 2 (2016). Yet, while this practice of unofficial serialisation may seem disingenuous to Anglo-American audiences, in Italy, it is common practice for films to receive unofficial sequels through a cultural practice known as ‘filone’, which roughly translates as ‘in the tradition of’. Often imported from the United States, certain films would routinely receive unofficial sequels in an effort to capitalise on their successes. This practice is perhaps best illustrated by Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978), a film that was released in Italy as Zombi, which received unofficial sequels in the form of Zombi 2 (1979) and Zombi 3 (1988), neither of which had any relation to Romero or Dawn of the Dead. When Zombi 2 and 3 were released outside of Italy, they were retitled to Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 and 3 respectively, in order to remove any association with Dawn of the Dead, but they would inadvertently inaugurate an entirely new franchise through what I describe in this chapter as ‘distributive seriality’. This chapter will examine the evolution of the Zombi franchise and will consider how distributors in Italy, Germany, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States have all contributed to the evolution of the series
Difficulties and support in the transition to higher education for non-traditional students
Get PDFThis paper explores the difficulties and support experienced by non-traditional students during their first-year transition to a sport and exercise course at a post-1992 university. The transition to HE presents simultaneous educational, ecological and developmental changes for students and their capability to navigate changes may affect experience, satisfaction and engagement with courses. Sixteen students were interviewed twice during their first academic year. Findings indicate that students feel anxious about the transition period, with low self-efficacy surrounding their academic potential, despite still being optimistic about their learning. Social factors positively impact their progression, especially the support from peers. Relationships with both staff and peers support transition, with an effective induction praised. Student support services were praised as supportive by students. Difficulties were experienced regarding work-loading, staff availability, and a hesitancy to seek support. Recommendations are made to support post-1992 institutions’ and non-traditional entrants’ transition to Higher Education
Responding to Firearm Crime
No full textThis Chapter focuses on the criminal use of firearms and ammunition, the role they play within criminal justice systems and the relevant responses that seek to control their illicit use on both national and international scales. It introduces the diverse scope of firearm-related offences and examines the response from all sectors of the criminal justice system including the role of procedural law, law enforcement, forensic science, forensic-led investigation and the prosecution and sentencing of firearm-related crime in court. This Chapter aims to demonstrate and understand the challenges and complexity that currently exist in the context of fighting firearm-related crime both within and across country borders. In doing so, it seeks to highlight and justify the need for culture change in criminal justice systems across the globe. To more effectively and efficiently detect, investigate and prosecute all forms of firearm-related crime, we need to move towards more holistic and co-operative processes, developing improved communication methods between criminal justice sectors and enhancing individuals’ knowledge and skillsets to maximise the value and use of modern technology. The contribution and role of probation and rehabilitation services are therefore beyond the scope of this Chapter
Response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights call for evidence on the Government’s Independent Human Rights Act Review
Get PDFCommercialisation of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) and Financial Performance & Outreach. A Cross-Country Analysis and Case Study of Nepal.
Get PDFMicrofinance institutions (MFIs) are designed to improve the socio-economic status of lowincome households and reduce poverty in developing countries. Initially, MFIs were developed as non-commercial institutions (not-for-profit). However, in recent decades, a growing number of commercial MFIs (for-profit) have begun to emerge which means an increasing percentage of MFIs are now interested in their own financial gain. These MFIs have received criticism for neglecting their purported social objective. In spite of this institutional shift and the resultant criticism, very few studies have investigated the impact of the commercialisation of MFIs on their performance—and even among the few studies that do exist, there is little consensus on the matter. Therefore, this thesis investigates the effect of the growing commercialisation of MFIs on their financial performance and outreach, utilising data from the MIX Market from 2002 to 2016—data which cover 2,102 MFIs from 114 developing countries. The generalised method of moments (GMM) has been applied to analyse the data, and the findings show that the commercialisation of MFIs has no significant effect on their financial performance but has a significant positive effect on the breadth and a significant negative effect on the depth of the outreach of MFIs.
Furthermore, using multiple MFI cases from Nepal, this study investigates the effect of the commercialisation of MFIs at a micro-level and also investigates how the commercialisation of MFIs affects their financial performance and outreach due to the lack of study. The mixed method has been applied and found that commercial MFIs are less profitable and operationally selfsufficient than non-commercial MFIs in Nepal. The result also shows that the profitability of commercial MFIs decreases in the short run but increases in the long run. Moreover, the results presented that commercial MFIs have higher number of borrowers than non-commercial MFIs in Nepal. Similarly, the findings show that commercial MFIs are providing smaller loans compared to non-commercial MFIs but also reveal that the loan size is increasing. In addition, the qualitative analysis shows that the commercialisation of MFIs mainly affects three endogenous factors, i.e., profit intention, size, and management and staff efficiency which affects their financial performance and outreach.
Finally, this thesis also examines whether the profitability of MFIs affects their decisions to offer loans to business start-ups as some argue that higher bank profitability dissuades a bank’s risk taking; thus, it is associated with larger capital reserves because profitable banks stand to lose more shareholder value if downside risks are realised. On the other hand, more profitable banks can borrow more and engage in risky activities on a larger scale under the presence of leverage constraints. A review of the current literature shows that no studies have been done on this subject in the context of MFIs. Therefore, this study uses data from 566 MFIs in 93 countries from the period of 2008 to 2018 and performs an analysis using a random intercept multilevel model. The results show that the profitability of MFIs has a negative relationship with the provision of financial capital to business start-ups
Ref 2021 Portfolio: Rethinking the Brownfield, Anna Francis
Get PDFRethinking the Brownfield is a body of work which Francis began working on in 2012. The initial research took place during a research residency in Nara, Japan, where Francis learned the Japanese flower arranging technique Ikebana, before returning to Stoke-on-Trent to begin an exploration of 3 city centre Brownfields, the site of the greyhound track, the abbatoir and the ABC Cinema. These 3 sites became the focus of activity, and have been visited regularly since 2012, where workshops have been hosted on the sites, as well as the sites explored and responsive artworks created in the form of ‘Brownfield Ikebana’ in 2012, 2015 and 2018. Francis has also looked closely at developed Brownfields, via a research activity looking at the former National Garden Festival Site (see the Lost Gardens curatorial project) and Westport Lake (see Birder’s Paradise.) Rethinking the Brownfield also led to the development of the Spode Rose Garden in a previously disused space, now a public green space. This project along with Brownfield Ikebana workshops, urban nature tours and Brownfield Banquets have all created space for dialogue with the public about the usefulness and purpose of these sites in ecological terms for wildlife and humans.
Francis has shared information about the project at the Nordic Geographer’s Conference, Estonia 2014, The London Design Festival in 2014, and in talks and events at Arnolfini Bristol, at the British Ceramics Biennial 2015, at the Manchester Contemporary Art Fair, 2018 and via exhibitions in Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham and Nottingham. The research process relating to The Spode Rose Garden was presented within a documentary display of the project commissioned for the Small Worlds Exhibition at New Art Gallery Walsall in 2015.
This portfolio was prepared to support the submission of Rethinking the Brownfield for the Ref 2021 exercise
Professional Identity Development through Incidental Learning
Get PDFAbstract: Chapter 2
This chapter continues to explore the concept of professionalism and attempts are made to link professional identity development of trainee teachers to informal, reflective processes as opposed to a mechanistic, criteria-based approach. This chapter studies theories of self and identity development with a particular focus on a constructivist model which provides a framework against which teacher development can be measured. Arguments are made about the impact that the mentor and the wider team have on teacher development, particularly when training within what is often described as a challenging sector. Alongside this the dynamic nature of the relationship between all participating members, is explored in terms of a transformative process that impacts on practice in an unbounded, informal way
Investigation of the expression levels of CPEB4, APC, TRIP13, EIF2S3, EIF4A1, IFNg, PIK3CA and CTNNB1 genes in different stage colorectal tumors
Get PDFBackground/aim: The aim of the study is to assess expression levels of CPEB4, APC, TRIP13, EIF2S3, EIF4A1, IFNg, PIK3CA and CTNNB1 genes in tumors and peripheral bloods of colorectal cancer patients in stages I–IV.
Materials and methods: The mRNA levels of the genes were determined in tumor tissues and peripheral blood samples of 45 colorectal cancer patients and colon tissues and peripheral blood samples of 5 healthy individuals. Real-time polymerase chain reaction method was used for the analysis.
Results: The mRNA level of the CPEB4 gene was significantly downregulated in colorectal tumor tissues and was upregulated in the peripheral blood of colorectal cancer patients relative to the controls (P < 0.05). APC mRNA level was significantly downregulated in tissues and upregulated in the peripheral blood (P < 0.05). TRIP13 mRNA level was upregulated in peripheral blood and also significantly upregulated in colorectal tumor tissues (P < 0.05). EIF2S3 mRNA level was upregulated in tissues and also significantly upregulated in peripheral blood (P < 0.05). PIK3CA mRNA level was downregulated in tissues and upregulated in peripheral blood. EIF4A1 mRNA level was downregulated in tissues and significantly upregulated in peripheral blood (P < 0.05). CTNNB1 mRNA level was downregulated in tissues and upregulated in peripheral blood. IFNg mRNA level was upregulated in both colorectal cancer tumor tissues and peripheral blood.
Conclusion: TRIP13 and CPEB4 mRNA up regulation in the peripheral blood of patients with colorectal cancer may be a potential target for early stage diagnosis. In addition to this evaluation, although there is not much study on EIF2S3 and EIF4A1 mRNA changes in cases with colorectal cancer, upregulation in peripheral blood draws attention in our study. These data will shed light on the new comprehensive studies
The effect of tourism activity on housing affordability
Get PDFAlthough researchers have confirmed the impact of tourism on housing prices in many destinations affected with overtourism, they do not consider housing affordability in relation to the population's income levels. This study explores the relationship between tourism activity and housing affordability, using a sample of Croatian municipalities. Specifically, the study investigates how tourist accommodation, concentration, seasonality and overall vulnerability to tourism influence housing affordability in this emerging tourism-driven European country. The results obtained reveal tourism intensification's deteriorating effect on local residents' abilities to afford housing. The findings indicate a particularly strong tourism seasonality impact, suggesting the presence of common negative externalities, such as employment fluctuations, difficulties in maintaining economic status, and revenue instabilities, in localities prone to seasonal tourism fluctuations
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