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Exploring the Role of Determinants Affecting Responsible Underwater Behaviour of Marine-Based Tourists
Get PDFThis study utilised divers’ demographic characteristics, diving experience, and attitudes to analyse the association between these factors and divers’ responsible underwater behaviour among Chinese scuba divers in Hong Kong. More innovatively, the measurement construct of diving attitude was further employed as a mediator to investigate its influence on the relationship between divers’ diving experience and responsible underwater behaviours based on the conceptual framework of previous works in the literature. The questionnaire data for this study were collected at four of the most popular dive sites among the marine protected areas in Hong Kong, with 398 valid samples after eliminating incomplete questionnaires. Regression results demonstrated that divers’ demographic characteristics could significantly predict their responsible underwater behaviour, with age (b = 0.10, p < 0.05) and education (b = 0.15, p < 0.05) being found to be positively associated with their diving behaviour. In addition, path analysis demonstrated that divers’ diving experience and attitude could explain 13.6% and 22.6% of the variance in predicting their responsible diving behaviour, respectively. However, no mediation effect was found on the relationship between diving experience and responsible underwater behaviour relative to diving attitude, given the absence of statistical effects regarding the positive impact of divers’ diving experience on their attitude (β = 0.024, se = 0.022, t = 1.085, p = 0.279). Based on the research findings, theoretical and practical implications were discussed correspondingly, which are believed to be beneficial in promoting marine conservation and the sustainable development of marine-based nature tourism in Hong Kong
What shapes ambivalence towards ‘feminism’ amongst the clergy? Comparing responses from clergywomen and theologically conservative clergymen in the Church of England.
Get PDFIn 1994 the Church of England ordained its first women priests and since 2014 women clergy have been appointed as bishops, a senior role in the Church’s ordained hierarchy. However, their acceptance into these roles has been highly ambivalent. How ambivalence manifests and the role of deeper beliefs about gender in the Church is under-researched, especially in understanding the positions of male clergy who oppose women’s ordination. This article draws on data sets from two separate projects conducting semi-structured interviews with both men and women in the priesthood and compares the ambivalence towards feminism held by female clergy and theologically conservative male clergy. The argument unpacks how institutional and cultural factors intersect with tradition-specific beliefs to generate highly ambivalent views about feminism as a movement. The conclusion suggests ways feminism is mythologised and
used to reframe conservative male clergy as vulnerable and as potential victims of misandry
Ethno Music Gatherings: Pedagogy, Experience, Impact
No full textThis book presents key findings from a 4-year project that sought to understand Ethno Gatherings, an organized residential folk, world, and traditional music programme for young people aged 18-30. In response to three lines of enquiry, pedagogy and professional development, participant experience, and the impact it had upon those who attended, the authors examine the complexity of an Ethno music experience. By considering its history and current practices, the following themes are explored: non-formal music making, personal authenticity, holistic praxis, musical possible selves, intercultural music exchange, sustainability, social media engagement, song sharing, and future practices. Constructed through data drawn from participant observations, interviews, online social media analysis, onsite and video observations, surveys, and questionnaires the authors ask critical questions concerning Ethno’s history, ethos, pedagogy, and philosophical ideals. First held in Sweden in 1990, Ethno Gatherings are now located in over 40 countries worldwide and are part of JM Internationals youth music programmes. As a collection of integrated thought, the book’s purpose is to illuminate new understandings of what Ethno does to support its future growth and development
Artificial intelligence potential for net zero sustainability: Current evidence and prospects
Get PDFThis comprehensive review explores the nexus between AI and the pursuit of net-zero emissions, highlighting the potential of AI in driving sustainable development and combating climate change. The paper examines various threads within this field, including AI applications for net zero, AI-driven solutions and innovations, challenges and ethical considerations, opportunities for collaboration and partnerships, capacity building and education, policy and regulatory support, investment and funding, as well as scalability and replicability of AI solutions. Key findings emphasize the enabling role of AI in optimizing energy systems, enhancing climate modelling and prediction, improving sustainability in various sectors such as transportation, agriculture, and waste management, and enabling effective emissions monitoring and tracking. The review also highlights challenges related to data availability, quality, privacy, energy consumption, bias, fairness, human-AI collaboration, and governance. Opportunities for collaboration, capacity building, policy support, investment, and scalability are identified as key drivers for future research and implementation. Ultimately, this review underscores the transformative potential of AI in achieving a sustainable, net-zero future and provides insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners engaged in climate change mitigation and adaptation
Bad People Alert: The Expression of Disgust Signals Its Target’s Bad Moral Character
Get PDFExpressions of moral disgust and anger in social situations signal the target’s moral failure to third-party observers. But little is known about whether the two emotions have different communication functions in sociomoral contexts. Based on the literature about social factors that actually distinguish between anger and disgust, two experiments investigated the inferences people make about the social target of an angry or disgusted expression. Primarily, we tested whether disgusted expressions aimed at a person convey the inference that the person has a bad moral character, more than angry expressions which communicate that the person did a thing with bad consequences. Together, these two experiments shed light on the functional differences between angry and disgusted expressions, as much as they co-occur in everyday life
The role of BACP in maximising the potential of counselling and psychological therapies research in the UK: Benefitting clients, communities, and societies
Get PDFThe British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) is the largest professional membership body within the field of counselling and psychological therapies in the UK, but there is a mismatch between its membership of >65,000 and its research impact. This article sets out a potential strategic direction as considered by an informal grouping of researchers and teachers in the field. Actionable research plans are outlined at three levels: client-practitioner, local communities, and societies. At the client-practitioner level, data-informed practice can be
readily implemented as a therapeutic aid akin to supervision, providing the potential for integrating research into everyday practice. At the community level, interdisciplinary collaborations together with a focus on equality, diversity, and inclusiveness are paths to building a community of researchers and citizens that includes marginalised populations. The importance of social justice extends into the societal level, connecting with politics at a micro and macro level, and engaging internationally to respond to actual threats (e.g., climate change). Across these three levels, high value is placed on data with its potential for informing and improving practice, but also enhancing the lives of people in communities and societies. Overall, research strategies need to be collaborative (i.e., collegial) and less singular (i.e., individually project based), developing cumulative knowledge around specific topics via a ‘capture and build’ strategy for small projects with strategic oversight by BACP. Clarity of research strategy combined with collaborative and collective action from BACP and leaders in the field can help realise the full potential of BACP’s research capacity
Different backgrounds... shared uncertainties: How can universities support higher education staff with issues of imposter syndrome?
No full textEnhanced Early Detection of Thyroid Abnormalities using a Hybrid Deep Learning Model: A Sequential CNN and K-Means Clustering Approach
Get PDFThe thyroid gland, often referred to as the butterfly gland due to its shape, is located in the neck and plays a crucial role in regulating metabolism. It is susceptible to various health conditions, including hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, thyroid cancer, and thyroid nodules. Early detection of these conditions is essential for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. Detecting thyroid nodules using machine learning and deep learning techniques presents a challenging yet promising research avenue. The choice of model depends on the characteristics of the patient's thyroid data, the dataset size, and the available computational resources. Hybrid models can be employed to handle complex data more effectively. In this study, a sequential Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model was developed due to its capability to automate feature extraction and focus on Regions-of-Interest (ROIs) for detecting thyroid abnormalities. The proposed model achieved an accuracy of 81.5%, with a precision of 97.4% and a sensitivity of 83.1%, indicating its robustness in classifying images as benign or malignant. The confusion matrix provided further performance insights. Data segmentation was enhanced using K-means clustering for its scalability and efficiency in processing large medical image datasets. Compared to traditional models, the proposed hybrid approach demonstrated a significant improvement in diagnostic accuracy and precision, achieving performance gains of approximately 15-20% over baseline methods. These advancements underscore the potential of integrating machine learning and deep learning in medical diagnostics, paving the way for more reliable and efficient diagnostic tools for healthcare professionals
The Dark Pedagogies of Kaijū in the Anthropocene
No full textKaijū (Japanese for ‘strange beasts’), or daikaijū (large strange beasts), have experienced something of a resurgence over the past decade or so. Transnational films based on RKO’s King Kong and Toho Studios’ Godzilla films have presented the monsters not in their traditional metaphorical guise as harbingers of nuclear or environmental disaster, but as restorative creatures, Titans set to restore balance to a crisis zone created by humans. Jonas Andreasen Lysgaard, Stefan Bengtsson, Martin Hauberg-Lund Laugesen argue in Dark Pedagogy: Education, Horror and the Anthropocene (2019) that ‘the human responses to exposure to terrible nonhuman reality’ in the face of climate disaster oscillate between denial and insanity leading to human extinction. Such responses, they argue, help motivate ‘educational practices dealing with environmental, sustainability and climate change issues’ (p. 8-9).
This chapter explores the ramifications of the ‘dark pedagogies’ in recent kaijū cinema, from Godzilla (2014) to Shin Godzilla (2016) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021). This is not to explore how the monsters embody metaphors of global catastrophe, but to explore how these films provide a dark pedagogical strain of humanity’s growing sense of irrelevance in the face of the climate emergency. Across many kaijū films, human agency becomes a secondary consideration – the giant monstrous figures are rarely destroyed by human intervention. The kaijū, or Titans, themselves provide restorative succour and glimpses of hope, only for the cycle to repeat itself again while humanity witnesses its own vain attempts to deny the threat or counteract it with ‘mad science’. That such threats care little for human agency or the arbitrary lines of nation borders (the films take place across several continents), the hyper-object kaijū do less to warn us of our hubris and impact on the environment, than to show us, in gothic fashion, our helpless against such a catastrophe of our own creation