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Impact of Perpetrator and Victim Gender on Perceptions of Stalking Severity
No full textMany individuals will dismiss the seriousness of ex-partner stalking offences, often as a result of inaccurate and problematic beliefs about the offence (stalking myths). However, to date, stalking myth acceptance measurements have only considered attitudes about stereotypical stalking (male stalking a female). The current research considered whether inaccurate and problematic perceptions of stalking were dependent on the gender and sexuality of the perpetrator, victim, and participant. Additionally, it examined whether existing stalking myth acceptance scales measuring stereotypical stalking attitudes would predict perceptions of stalking incidents that involved female stalkers and/or male victims. Participants (N= 336) completed the stalking myth acceptance scale and then responded to a series of questions measuring their perceptions towards a stalking vignette. An independent groups design was used to manipulate the gender of the stalker and victim. The need for police intervention was greatest for incidents involving a male stalker and a female victim. Female victims of male stalking were predicted as being the most fearful, whilst male victims of female stalking were rated as least likely to be fearful. Heterosexual males and participants with minority sexual orientations were also more likely to identify the perpetrator’s actions as stalking. Finally, the SMA scales predicted participants’ attitudes for stereotypical stalking cases but not for the other scenarios. The findings demonstrate that gender plays a significant role in stalking perceptions and highlights the need for more inclusive SMA measurements to consider problematic attitudes towards non-stereotypical stalking
Shakespeare's fascist followers modern friends
No full textRichard Wilson's meticulously researched, powerfully argued and brilliantly written account of Shakespeare's 20th-century fascist followers is not just an important but a genuinely essential book.' Robert Shaughnessy, Guildford School of Acting, UK In this illuminating book, Richard Wilson demonstrates how in the 20th century Shakespeare and his plays were subjected to a misreading which served the purposes of proto-, present and future fascism. It exposes how Shakespeare was misappropriated by the far right to represent Britain's supposedly glorious history, and the ways in which they utilized him and the cultural capital of his work. Wilson's extensive and rigorous research also gestures beyond Britain, taking in case studies from North America, Germany and France. Some of the names this book unearths will surprise: many of the right-wing political views or leanings of the prominent figures discussed have been left unexplored or ignored. This book provides in-depth case studies of a wide variety of figures, from A. K. Chesterton, who was both editor of the British Union of Fascists' newspaper Blackshirt and former manager of press and publicity at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, to celebrated Shakespeareans such as G. Wilson Knight, through to writers, artists and theatre practitioners including W. B. Yeats, T. S. Eliot, Edward Gordon Craig and Marshall McLuhan, among others. At a time when democracy is under threat, populism is on the rise and far right views are increasingly prominent in our political landscape, Richard Wilson's book makes an especially vital contribution to Shakespeare scholarship
Human emotion classification of self-induced laughter using acoustic features and deep learning models
No full textLaughter, particularly self-induced laughter, has known therapeutic benefits. However, its acoustic-emotional dynamics remain underexplored compared to spontaneous or social laughter. This study presents a novel approach to classifying post-laughter emotional states (positive vs. neutral) based on both global and time-segmented MFCC features—including delta and delta-delta coefficients—extracted from recordings of 126 participants under controlled conditions. Emotion labels were obtained via immediate self-reports to minimize subjective bias. Analysis revealed that acoustic features from the later segments of laughter sessions are most predictive of emotional outcome. Among several models evaluated, BiLSTM achieved the highest performance (86.67% accuracy, F1 score = 0.87, and AUC = 0.96), indicating its strength in modeling temporal patterns in laughter. These findings not only advance emotion recognition from nonverbal cues but also offer insights for designing AI systems capable of generating or interpreting context-sensitive, emotionally relevant laughter—such as in therapeutic or assistive human-computer interactions
Addiction recovery stories: Emma Roughley in conversation with Lisa Ogilvie
No full textPurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine recovery through lived experience. It is part of a series that explores candid accounts of addiction and recovery to identify important components in the recovery process.Design/methodology/approachThe growth, connectedness, hope, identity, meaning in life,empowerment (G-CHIME) model comprises six elements important to addiction recovery (growth, connectedness, hope, identity, meaning in life and empowerment). It provides a standard against which to consider addiction recovery. It has been used in this series, as well as in the design of interventions that improve well-being and strengthen recovery. In this paper, a firsthand account is presented, followed by a semistructured e-interview with the author of the account. Narrative analysis is used to explore the account and interview through the G-CHIME model.FindingsThis paper shows that addiction recovery is a remarkable process that can be effectively explained using the G-CHIME model. The significance of each component in the model is apparent from the account and e-interview presented.Originality/valueEach account of recovery in this series is unique and as yet untold
Borassus husk fibre/epoxy composites experimental analysis of physical, thermal, flexural, and dynamic mechanical properties for high-performance applications
No full textThis study explores the impact of alkali treatment on the physical, thermal, flexural, and thermo-mechanical properties of Borassus flabellifer husk fiber-reinforced epoxy composites in accordance with standards. Using the hand layup method, composites were fabricated with 10% (wt.) untreated and alkali-treated fibers (0.25–2 hours). SEM analysis confirmed improved fiber-matrix adhesion, leading to enhanced properties. Treated fiber composites exhibited reduced moisture regain (0.57−1.28%) and water absorption (0.59−1.55%), indicating superior moisture resistance. Thermal stability increased with alkali treatment, with integral process decomposition temperature (IPDT) reaching 547°C for 2-hr treated fibers. The glass transition temperature (Tg) peaked at 94.5°C for the 0.5-hr treated Borassus fiber-reinforced epoxy (0.5TBHFE). Flexural modulus (up to 3.2 GPa) and strength (up to 108.7 MPa) exceeded many conventional bio-fibers-reinforced composites, making them rational for structural applications. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed enhanced damping properties (tan δ up to 1.21), improving energy dissipation and impact resistance. Overall, 0.5TBHFE offered an optimum balance between stiffness and damping, making it suitable for aerospace and automotive applications. This study highlights the potential of Borassus husk fibers as a sustainable reinforcement alternative, though further optimization and industrial processing are needed for broader application
An investigation of the impact of Islamic microfinance on women's entrepreneurship development in rural areas of Bangladesh a case study of indigenous women in Chittagong
No full textIslamic microfinance presents a promising solution for fostering women's entrepreneurship and alleviating poverty in emerging economies. This study examines the impact of Islamic microfinance (IMF) on tribal women in Bangladesh, exploring how it aids them in developing entrepreneurial initiatives. Furthermore, it seeks to investigate the effects of Islamic microfinance on tribal women's financial empowerment, the well-being of their families, poverty reduction, and access to economic resource schemes.This study utilises qualitative data collection methods to assess the impact of Islamic microfinance in achieving its objectives. Additionally, this investigation conducts semi-structured interviews with successful tribal women entrepreneurs and those aspiring to entrepreneurship. The interviews encompass two focus groups: effective tribal women entrepreneurs with at least one year of experience, and individuals who have recently participated in or are interested in entrepreneurial programmes and training to engage in entrepreneurial schemes through the Islamic microfinance sector in the future. The qualitative data is analysed through thematic analysis and coded using NVivo software.Furthermore, this thesis evaluates the impact of Islamic microfinance on tribal women's entrepreneurship development in rustic regions of Bangladesh, where there is a shortage of understanding regarding Islamic microfinance facilities. It determines how Islamic microfinance approaches can improve tribal women's entrepreneurship, increasing their contribution to household income and family welfare. In addition, it measures the extent to which Islamic microfinance approaches significantly contribute to expanding the entrepreneurial activities of tribal women. Based on empirical outcomes, the study has highlighted that Islamic microfinance programs contribute considerably to tribal women’s entrepreneurship development and poverty elimination. The research findings also underscore that, through the effective support of Islamic microfinance, tribal women entrepreneurs have contributed to women's empowerment, gender equity, household well-being, and economic enfranchisement in developing countries like Bangladesh.However, the empirical outcomes also have emphasised that tribal women entrepreneurs can succeed better if IMFIs offer them entrepreneurial schemes tailored solely for tribal women, easier access to finance, and formal entrepreneurship training. Finally, these empirical outcomes have contributed to the broader Islamic microfinance literature by reviewing Bangladesh's moderately less investigated emerging economy. This thesis also theoretically and methodologically explores Islamic microfinance's impact and influence on rural women's entrepreneurship development, specifically among tribal women in Chittagong, Bangladesh
Creative mental health recovery an approach to healing
No full textThis book presents the importance of the role of creativity, particularly everyday creativity, in the lives of people on a mental health recovery journey. Through a review of historical and contemporary literature and research findings on the topic, the book starts by giving readers an idea of the state of play of conceptualisations of both creativity and recovery. The authors arrive at and present their own definitions of these concepts, using autoethnography to bring their own experiences into the text. They then illustrate to the reader what creativity in recovery looks like in practice, through interviews with and written accounts from creative individuals who have experienced a mental health recovery journey, grounding the theory with tangible stories of application. The interviews are analysed, with themes picked out and a model of creativity and recovery produced by the authors. Implications and possible future directions are then discussed. This unique presentation of creative recovery will be of interest to a wide range of mental health professionals, specifically those studying or practicing mental health recovery and creative therapies
AI Agents: A Comprehensive Review of Evolution, Architectures, Applications, and Future Directions
No full textTechnology is rapidly evolving, with the use and adoption of AI agents on the rise. This paper presents a critical review of the evolution, architectures, applications, and future directions of AI agents. This review brings to fore the fact that currently, Ai agents had become highly sophisticated, with an ability to execute tasks that are complex across several fields of such as business, health and medicine and cybersecurity. However, despite these benefits, there still exist concerns such as limited reasoning, inefficient context management, and idea generalisation. Other challenges of AI agents include algorithmic bias and privacy violations. To address the identified challenges, this paper suggests that for future works on AI agents should prioritise coming up with architectures with advanced reasoning, efficient and good memory usage, AI-human collaboration, introduction of standardised frameworks, and applications of AI in scientific discovery. The contribution of this work to the existing body of academic discussion is a comprehensive assessment of AI agents, showing the capabilities, challenges, and the areas for future development. Although AI agents promise great advantages, the utilisation of these goods that it promises depends on clear understanding to the challenges, limitations and the inherent ethical and security risks and providing clear and timely solutions through continued interdisciplinary research and engagements
Does the entrepreneurship learning approach influence self-efficacy? The role of students’ entrepreneurial competence and satisfaction
No full textThis study examined the influence of an entrepreneurship education learning approach on students’ self-efficacy, with a specific focus on the mediating roles played by entrepreneurial competence and satisfaction. Informed by a conceptual framework drawn from pertinent literature, data were collected through purposive sampling from a diverse cohort of students within technical universities. Employing the AMOS structural equation modelling (SEM) method, the analysis revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between the entrepreneurship learning approach and self-efficacy without mediating variables. However, the study observed no significant direct relationship in the presence of these mediating factors. This suggests that entrepreneurial competence and satisfaction fully mediated the impact of the learning approach on self-efficacy. It is important to note that the study’s findings are contextually bound to technical universities within a less developed economy, cautioning against generalising them to traditional universities. Nonetheless, the study underscored the pivotal role of entrepreneurship education, self-competence, and student satisfaction in bolstering students’ self-efficacy, serving as a potent catalyst for fostering entrepreneurial intentions. Consequently, the study advocated for integrating entrepreneurship learning approaches in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions
Mechanistic study of char formation in lignin and a lignin/biopolyamide blend for value-added applications
No full textThis study investigates the mechanism of charring of a hydroxypropyl-modified lignin (TcC) and its 50:50 wt% blend with a bio-based polyamide (PA1010). Potential applications are in carbon fibre and activated carbon production. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) coupled with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy revealed that the blend’s thermal stability up to 500°C was lower than expected based on the TGA profiles of the individual components. However, above 500°C, the blend exhibited improved thermal stability. Isothermal pyrolysis was conducted at temperatures between 300°C to 800°C in 50°C intervals. Chars were characterized using FTIR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and porosity measurements. There is no evidence of covalent bond formation between the two degrading polymers in the blend. However the melting of PA1010, which surrounds the lignin particles, at 180°C and the relatively high thermal stability of the molten PA1010 up to 400°C, leads to delayed but extended initial thermal dehydration and decarboxylation of the lignin. This results in enhanced aromatization and increased thermal stability of the lignin above 500°C, contributing to enhanced char formation (20.8 % compared to a theoretical value of 17.5 %, calculated form the averaged sum of the chars from its components). These findings indicate the suitability of the blend for carbon fibre formation. However, the reduced porosity of the blend’s char (0.5 %), compared to that of lignin alone (4.7 %), indicates that the blend is not suitable for producing an activated carbon. This latter aspect will be discussed in a forthcoming publication.[Display omitted]•Lignin/PA1010 blend less stable than lignin, but produces more char than expected.•No chemical, only physical interactions between lignin and PA1010 during pyrolysis.•Molten PA1010 encapsulates lignin, promoting aromatisation and char formation.•Blend a suitable precursor for carbon fibre, but for high-porosity activated carbon