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Lifestyle Sports as Meaningful Experiences
No full textThis section is part of a chapter from the text "From PE Dread to PE Delight." The chapter focuses on how to make physical education (PE) more enjoyable and inclusive. It provides an example of how to enhance the delightfulness of PE by using student-centred pedagogies informed by research on meaningful PE, along with the introduction of lifestyle sports
“No Third Way”: The Immigrant Woman as Traumatised Other in Agatha Christie’s Mr Quin Story “Harlequin’s Lane”
No full textThe Intergenerational Impact of the Contaminated Blood Scandal: a qualitative study
No full textBackground: The Contaminated Blood Scandal (CBS) infected many People with Haemophilia (PwH) with blood-borne diseases. While studies have focused on those directly affected, little is known about the intergenerational impact on their children and siblings. Many adult children experienced multiple Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) as relatives became unwell or died, experiencing isolation, stigma, grief and loss from society and healthcare professionals. These experiences occurred within broader ecological systems that compounded their impact across individual, family, community, and societal levels.
Aims: To explore the impact of the CBS on adult children and siblings of affected PwH, including effects on trust in healthcare professionals and engagement with healthcare services. The study examines these experiences through Bronfenbrenner's Bio-Ecological Systems Framework to understand how individual, family, community, and societal factors interacted to influence development and trauma transmission across generations.
Methods: This qualitative research study used an interpretivist approach, conducted within the Haemophilia community by a researcher with member status. Semi-structured interviews with adult children and siblings (12 participants) of PwH affected by the CBS were undertaken. An autoethnographic approach allowed consideration of the researcher's insider status influences, embracing positionality and subjectivity. Interviews were analysed using six-stage Reflective Thematic Analysis in NVIVO.
Results: Key themes emerged including silence and stigma, mental health impact, intergenerational trauma transmission, life path disruption (education, relationships), and effects on healthcare trust and choices. Participants demonstrated patterns consistent with ACEs research, reporting significant psychological impacts, altered treatment choices, and heightened information needs. Many expressed specific needs for understanding and compassionate care from healthcare professionals, with some continuing to self-silence fears to protect their children. Through the Bio-Ecological Systems Framework lens, multiple system levels - from disrupted family microsystems to stigmatising societal macrosystems during the HIV/AIDS era – synthesised to create an environment where compounded effects caused lasting harm.
Conclusion: This group's life paths have been severely disrupted, resulting in psychological and socioeconomic disadvantage that can impact their children, passing trauma through generations. The trauma level experienced and continued through silencing and denial resulted in PTSD symptoms for some. Participants identified specific needs for healthcare interactions acknowledging their experiences and providing compassionate, transparent communication. Urgent research is needed into care approaches within specialist centres and integration of CBS learning into healthcare education, centring voices of people and families with Haemophilia in developing responses
Scholarship on Alternative Food Networks: from mid-life crisis to life begins at 40?
No full textThis paper critically assesses the literature on Alternative Food Networks (AFNs), based on a systematic literature review, encompassing work from both the rural studies and marketing disciplines. It reflects on the gaps between the contributions from both disciplines, and how they could be addressed in future research. A typology of AFNs helps understand the varied challenges faced. Too many AFN studies depend solely on producer and loyal customer perspectives, leading to overly optimistic assessments of their consumer appeal. Moreover, a tendency to downplay or overlook marketing management considerations, reduces the literature’s relevance for practitioners. Addressing the latter, and more critical assessments of how different types of AFNs can address social and planetary imperatives, are vital for reinvigorating the AFN literature to overcome its mid-life crisis
The cycling gardeners of Edinburgh – a green revolution in urban gardening
No full textThis case study explores The Cycling Gardeners of Edinburgh, a pioneering urban gardening business founded by Callum Ross. Using electric cargo bikes and tools, the company disrupts the traditional gardening model by reducing emissions and logistical inefficiencies in Edinburgh’s dense urban environment. Callum’s background in events management enabled him to streamline operations and implement a profit-sharing model for freelance gardeners. Strategic partnerships, community engagement, and sustainable business practices have driven growth, earning the company industry recognition. The case highlights green entrepreneurship, operational innovation, and sustainability-driven business models in an evolving urban economy
The effect of lowering the maximum tackle height in English Schoolboy rugby union on tackle characteristics, and all-injury and concussion rates
No full textObjectives
This study compared tackle characteristics and injury incidence in schoolboy rugby union before and after a law change that lowered the maximum legal tackle height.
Design
Prospective cohort study.
Methods
Match injuries and game exposures were reported by U15 and U18 schoolboy teams over three seasons (2017/18 to 2019/20) when the legal tackle height was at the line of the shoulder and one season (2021/22) at the line of the armpit. Matches were filmed pre- (U15:11; U18:16 matches) and post- (U15:10; U18:10 matches) tackle height change and tackles were coded for tackler and ball carrier techniques. Tackle characteristic propensities and injury incidences were compared pre- and post-tackle height change using ratio ratios (95 % CI).
Results
Pre- to post-tackle height change, the propensity of shoulder height tackles reduced at U15 (Rate Ratio:0.62, 95 % CI:0.51–0.75) and U18 (RR:0.77, 95 % CI:0.65–0.92). Post-change, tacklers were more often bent at the waist when tackling at U15 (RR:1.34, 95 %CI:1.21–1.49) and U18 (RR:1.18, 95 % CI:1.08–1.29).
Overall injury incidence pre- and post-tackle height change was not significantly different for U15 (RR:0.79, 95%CI:0.53–1.17) or U18 (RR:1.11, 95%CI:0.89–1.37). Pre- to post-tackle height change, neither all concussions at U15 (RR:1.43, 95%CI:0.73–2.70) and U18 (RR:0.95, 95%CI:0.59–1.47) or tackle-related concussions at U15 (RR:1.39, 95%CI:0.55–3.25) and U18 (RR:0.92, 95%CI:0.48–1.65) were different.
Conclusions
Following a lowering of the permitted tackle height, tackler and ball carrier tackle techniques changed, without changing the incidence of all injuries or concussions. Further lowering of the tackle height may be explored to invoke the necessary technique changes to reduce injury.
Keyword
Justice-involved children with Special Educational Needs and Disability: what are the implications for access to identification and support through an Education, Health and Care Plan? A thought-piece.
Full text linkThis thought piece exposes the gap in the operationalised support in England for young people within the justice system who have Special Educational Needs. It exposes inequity within the system which serves to create barriers for justice-involved young people, who are likely to already be disengaged from education, in accessing appropriate provision. It presents gaps in key educational advice and practice relating to the access to Education, Health and Care Plans as a route to support for justice-involved young people, identifying a negative bias for this group of children who are already marginalised. Within the context of an English Special Educational Needs system which is widely recognised as broken, and an ongoing parliamentary consultation into ways to improve the situation, this piece suggests key changes to reduce the inequitable access to special education provision for young people accommodated in the secure estate. These suggestions make a contribution to the agenda of English politicians and the Department of Education
Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, and Decentralized Finance: A Case Study of Financial Inclusion in Morocco
Full text linkBlockchain technology is being increasingly deployed to store and process transactions and information in the global financial sector. Blockchain underpins cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and facilitates decentralized finance (DeFi), representing a paradigm shift in the global financial landscape, offering alternative solutions to traditional banking, and fostering financial inclusion. In developing economies such as Morocco, where a significant portion of the population remains unbanked, these digital financial innovations present both opportunities and challenges. This study examines the potential role of cryptocurrencies and DeFi in enhancing financial inclusion in Morocco, where cryptocurrencies
have been banned since 2017. However, the public continues to use cryptocurrencies, circumventing restrictions, and the Moroccan Central Bank is now preparing to introduce
new regulations to legalize their use within the country. In this context, this article analyses the potential of cryptocurrencies to mitigate barriers such as high transaction costs, restricted access to financial services in rural areas, and limited financial literacy in the
country. The study pursues a mixed-methods approach, which combines a quantitative survey with qualitative expert interviews and adapts the Unified Theory of Acceptance
and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model to the Moroccan context. The findings reveal that while cryptocurrencies offer cost-efficient financial transactions and improved accessibility, their adoption may be constrained by regulatory uncertainty, security risks, and technological
limitations. The novelty of the article thus lies in its focus on the key mechanisms that influence the adoption of cryptocurrencies and their potential impact in a specific
national context. In so doing, the study highlights the need for a structured regulatory framework, investment in digital infrastructure, and targeted financial literacy initiatives to optimize the potential role of cryptocurrencies in progressing financial inclusion in
Morocco. This underscores the need for integrated models and guidelines for policymakers, financial institutions, and technology providers to ensure the responsible introduction of cryptocurrencies in developing world environments
Decolonising History Beyond the Curriculum: Student Participation and the Local Lens Towards a ‘Reparative History’
Full text linkThis chapter discusses a case study of undergraduate History students engaged in decolonisation activity outside the classroom. It focuses on the ‘Legacies of Slavery in Gloucester’ project where students have been directly involved in research and public engagement activities working in collaboration with external partners and community groups. By undertaking research and producing public facing exhibitions, students have been involved in uncovering hidden or underappreciated stories that trace numerous tangible and intangible legacies of empire, colonialism, and slavery at the local level. These represent the possibilities of the local lens and Public History as effective ways to ‘bring slavery home,’ as well as the potential for student participation in ‘reparative history.’ Going beyond the theoretical identification and critique of Eurocentrism, it showcases a more active and transformative engagement with the means of knowledge production and exchange which disrupts the effects of imperialism on historical narratives at the local level. The chapter argues this form of reparative work has become far more significant following the events and clashes of 2020. The projects and initiatives discussed here propose a means of decolonisation in practice for the discipline of History via student-centred active learning, engagement with local resources and stakeholders, and a focus on public engagement with the local community. Furthermore, these case studies not only highlight the importance of harnessing universities as an ‘anchor institutions,’ but provide useful examples for the deployment and development of a number of transferrable skills for students
Responsible research and innovation of carbon removal: strategies for field trials
Full text linkDemonstrating methods for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is now a focus of research and development programmes designed to support decision making about future technology deployment. In this perspective piece, we outline some of the approaches to responsible research and innovation (RRI) being put to work in a United Kingdom-based programme organising field trials of various carbon removal methods. Unlike the disruptive technologies that predominate in RRI scholarship, many land-based methods for carbon removal have already been deployed, in some cases over many decades, with governance closely linked with longstanding fields of research and practice. We highlight why responsible innovation frameworks that developed in the context of geoengineering controversies may be only partially-suited to field trials of land-based carbon removal methods. We suggest that field trials of carbon removal methods are not simply evidentiary procedures but also strategic sites within an emerging innovation regime where RRI approaches can be both implemented and critically tested
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