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Body appreciation around the world: measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age
Get PDFThe Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
Improving access to Continuity of Care for Black women and women of minoritised ethnic groups in London: What are the views and experiences of Black and minoritised midwives?
No full textExploring views and experiences of Black and minoritised midwives
International Criminal Court complementarity and non-state actors’ proceedings
No full textThe law of complementarity codified by rules on the admissibility of cases is analysed concerning proceedings organised by non-State actors: (i) where the actors exercise substantial control over part of territory while vowing to depose a government of the State, (ii) where the actors break away from the territorial State with substantial military support of a foreign State, and (iii) where a non-State entity has accepted the ICC's jurisdiction. In particular, the general admissibility rules are considered to determine whether they could be said to apply to non-state actors. The arguments for the inclusion of such actors in the complementarity regime are discussed alongside arguments from their exclusion. Both arguments are critically examined to determine whether they have any merit considering the stated objectives of the ICC Statute. The following research question is examined: when and under what circumstances do non-state criminal proceedings fit with admissibility rules in the Rome Statute, and to what extent should a genuine prosecution by a lawfully constituted rebel tribunal be regarded as prosecution by a State (whether de facto or de jure) such that the case is barred before the ICC? To a larger degree, the question has yet to be answered by the drafters of the Rome Statute, and international law scholars and members of the ICC judiciary have focused on whether such proceedings ought to be considered for complementarity purposes. This thesis aims to provide some insights into the extent to which the terms of the debate over this issue could be transformed into a normative framework that the ICC might use to address the issue, should it arise in a particular situation. It focuses on complementarity regarding three categories of non-state actors: rebels fighting to replace the government of a territorial state, separatists, and contested entities with a claim to statehood. Seven substantive chapters have been used to answer the above question. In so doing, this thesis makes a few contributions to knowledge. Firstly, it marshals the rules and practices of the ICC and analyses how it appears to have considered the issue of trials conducted by non-state armed actors. Secondly, it challenges existing assumptions about ruling such actors in or out of the complementarity regime. It shows that the International Criminal Court may accommodate such trials for a limited purpose. Thirdly, it devises four principles that may guide the ICC in dealing with complementarity concerning the three types of non-state actors identified above. The first principle is that the complementarity regarding non-state actors must be construed as an implication flowing from case law on jurisdiction and prosecutorial discretion under Article 53 (1)(2) of the ICC Statute. The second is that including criminal trials by non-state actors should generally be taken as inconsistent with the admissibility rules under Article 17 of the Rome Statute. The third covers the idea that the unlawful nature of non-state actors should not mean that trials undertaken by non-state actors should be ignored to assess ICC's complementarity. The final principle proposed is that complementarity to non-state actors should be extended only when there is credible evidence to show that such actors are able and willing to conduct proceedings concerning crimes contemplated by Article 5 of the Rome Statute
Indonesia and the International Bill of Rights: role and implementation
No full textThe International Bill of Rights: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, are the very foundation of international human rights law. The paramount and legal significance of these instruments are unquestionable both at international and national levels. This thesis aims to identify the role and influence of Indonesia in the drafting of the International Bill of Rights and to assess Indonesia’s implementation and compliance with the standard set forth under the provided reporting system. The Optional Protocols to the Covenants are not discussed in the thesis as Indonesia is not a State party to the Optional Protocols as of today.
This thesis departs from two research questions: what is the standpoint, position, and role of Indonesia in the drafting of the International Bill of Rights; and does Indonesia accept the International Bill of Rights and comply with the standard of implementation set forth under the periodic reports.
In answering the research questions, the thesis is divided into two parts. The First Part focuses on the role of Indonesia in the drafting of the International Bill of Rights. The thesis first establishes the Indonesian concept of human rights which became the basis for Indonesia in approaching the International Bill of Rights. The thesis then continues to examine the role, view and position of Indonesia in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants on Human Rights. It examines, article by article, the position and role played by Indonesia in each provision of the International Covenants on Human Rights. The Second Part of the thesis analyses Indonesia’s implementation and compliance with the standard set forth under the periodic reports provided for the International Bill of Rights, including the Universal Periodic Review. In this part, the thesis discusses the compliance and the implementation of the substantive provisions of the Covenants, namely article 1 to 27 for the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 1 to 15 for the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The methodology used in this research is desk-based research in primary and secondary sources. For the first part, it looks extensively at the travaux préparatoires of the International Bill of Rights from 1945 to 1966, a period of about twenty-one years. It examines the summary records, procès-verbaux, proposals, documents, reports, resolutions of the relevant bodies involved in the drafting. For the constitution analysis, which becomes the basis to define the Indonesian concept of human rights, it looks at the minutes of Indonesian-Dutch negotiations and conferences between 1945 to 1949 both in Bahasa and in Dutch stored in the Dutch national archive. For the second part, it mainly relies on the documents produced related to the periodic reports, including the General Comments and the reports of the Special Rapporteur. In both parts, the thesis also looks at the secondary materials, mainly relies on the the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Travaux Préparatoires by William Schabas; Guide of the Travaux Préparatoires of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of Marc Bossuyt; and the U.N. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, CCPR Commentary by Manfred Nowak, to confirm the argument and provide a better understanding.
This thesis proclaims and set forth the very basic philosophical concept of Indonesia’s human rights to better understand and define Indonesia’s legal approach towards the International Bill of Rights, and in general, towards the international human rights law
Transforming the delivery of learning in a rapidly changing digital environment and the evaluation of the consequent benefits
Get PDFRelentless technology development has been the principal catalyst contributing to an exponential rate of change in almost everything we do. The use of technology in training and learning, stimulated by forces induced by the global pandemic, led to unprecedented adjustments to training models. Across all industry segments, digital transformation has disrupted established market forces leaving many organisations dealing with evident uncertainty. A contributor to this was the lack of workforce preparedness for new demands on skills and capabilities. In the context of the local economy such change has had profound implications on the future of training industry.
This research studied the learning transformation project that enabled a core change in the training business model operated by the Training Academy (MT) at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). I assumed the roles of an embedded action researcher and leader of this project. I led the design and implementation of a transformation journey from the long-established mode of operation into a new organisational learning model that prioritises knowledge and quality excellence as its fundamental elements. The project lasted thirty months and followed the model of “action research”, with stages from diagnosis, to designing, implementing and evaluating the change intervention at the PwC’s Academy.
The action research cycle built on quantitative and qualitative measurement initiatives. These enabled me to set the right benchmarks against which a variance could be analysed at evaluation and reflection stages. Figure 1 below depicts the action research stages pursued by this change project.
A key aspect of this project was the learning and development of the Academy team that enabled the transformation to take place. Analysing the levels of knowledge and skill at the final stage of the project against the benchmark set at the beginning of the project indicated that the team had acquired significant new knowledge and capability. Statistical analysis showed that the null hypothesis, that the outcomes occurred purely by chance or coincidence had a negligible probability. These team learning outcomes exceeded my own initial project expectations and suggested that the project rollout, which was meticulously diagnosed and designed, successfully addressed the gaps against the desired model. This was also clearly corroborated by the evaluation and reflection stages.
The transformation project was delivered in all its phases in line with a changeover plan based on an articulated and agreed approach to change management, that was diagnosed and planned as part of the opening initiatives. The time and effort invested in the team delivered positive results in terms of involvement, motivation, new skills and capabilities acquired, leading to an efficient operation. The challenge of this project was to secure an effective client-centric approach by determining the best course of action to ensure an optimal holistic service to every Academy trainee or corporate clients making use of its services. Notwithstanding the unanticipated business context this project has registered positive outcomes both in terms of the operational and the academic objectives that were established at the start of the project.
In conclusion, this change project enabled the Academy to improve its services by enhancing personalised training that met better the needs of both individual as well as corporates. The new business model provided a more agile and adaptive setting that could respond better to market changes. This project resulted also in efficiency gains both in terms of administrative effort as well as in terms of trainee satisfaction rates. The agility around the new model enabled higher resiliency making it easier to reframe problems when faced with unexpected situations. Complete engagement of management and the formation of guiding coalition team, coupled with an organised transformation roadmap proved to be successful. The importance of having clear quality benchmarks as an end goal is also an important aspect to such change projects. Finally, the embedded use of data in managing such projects coupled with the right learning environment and team knowledge investment have the potential to yield significant growth.
Further research may consider investigating the ways in which institutional policies can promote or inhibit the transfer of knowledge from the trainee to the place of work within the context of a socio-economic analysis
Interactive machine learning framework for predicting non-performing bank loans
No full textThe aim of this study is to develop an Interactive Machine Learning framework, based on outlier hunting techniques to predict non-performing bank loans. Multivariate Gaussian Anomaly Detection technique was used for the outlier hunting to ensure that every incoming data observation to be learnt (as an update to the interactive classifier) during usage, is not anomalous, malicious, fictitious, or having erroneous measurements. The framework was applied to predict credit facilities such as loans in financial institutions that are not non-performing, and to enable the system keep learning new trends while in use. The loan classification model was trained using Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm because of its ability to perform well as observed in literature. The model built from the experiments was evaluated using standard machine learning evaluation metrics which include precision, recall, accuracy, area under the curve (AUC) and was also benchmarked against other models built with different algorithms. Results of the experiments show that SVM model has 96% accuracy which is the highest percentage of AUC obtained among the models trained. This study would enable users to verify the validity of data or feedback in an interactive machine learning environment before deciding whether or not the observations will be used in updating the model. This method would also help reduce the training time in the learning process. This study is significant in guaranteeing financial security of banks for the future and helping to maintain stability in the credit lending rates
Political connections, board ethnicity and value relevance in Mauritius
No full textPurpose: The paper aims to investigate the impact of political connections and board ethnicity on the value relevance of earnings and book value in Mauritius.
Design/methodology/approach:This study is based on a sample of 541 Mauritian-listed firm-year observations for 2001–2016. Financial and board diversity data have been collected using the listed firms’ annual reports and from reports published by the Stock Exchange of Mauritius. Political connection data was derived from the directory of Chief of State and Cabinet members. The research hypotheses were empirically tested using a modified Ohlson (1995) price model.
Findings: This study shows that political connections negatively impact the value relevance of earnings and book value. The authors find that firms with Franco-Mauritian directors will constrain political connections’ negative impact. The authors find contrasting results for Indo-Mauritian directors since they form an integral part of the government in Mauritius.
Originality/value: This study contributes to the scarce accounting literature in Mauritius. Firstly, no study has investigated the relationship between the value relevance of accounting information and political connections in Mauritius. Secondly, Mauritius’s capital market is dominated by a non-indigenous ethnic group, Franco-Mauritians, who remain the economic elite. Hence, Mauritius presents an opportunity to bring forth another important aspect in the capital market and corporate governance; diversity on the board of directors. Therefore, the study extends to the political connections and board diversity literature
Investigating the sustainability potential of multi-angled façade systems as a renovation strategy for office buildings
Get PDFThis PhD study focuses on office building renovations between 1960 and 1980 with a special case study focus on Danish office buildings representative of the European office buildings built in the same era under the influence of Modernism. The study presents a multi-angled façade system as a new energy efficient concept with visual and optical potentials to renovate these office buildings and also as a façade concept for new buildings.
Currently, office buildings built between 1960 and 1980 in Copenhagen are facing problems related to the external envelope while, in most cases, the buildings’ internal body is in good condition. One can divide these problems into Economic, Environmental and Indoor Climate related problems; and Optical and Visual problems.
In this PhD study, the author includes qualitative research observations, exploratory structured interviews, case study analysis, simulation analysis, and a quantitative approach utilising statistical analysis. He used IDA ICE version 4.8, Autodesk software CFD, and 3DMax for the simulation analysis.
The simulation results show that the difference in the area-weighted total primary energy consumption when renovated with multi-angled façades is 4.1 to 6.3 kWh/(m2•year) less than the renovation with flat façades, depending on the façade’s orientation. The results also showed improved visual and optical quality inside the office room where, the period for which the shading device is totally closed for a flat façade is higher than that for a multi-angled façade system (one may close the shading device on one element of the multi-angled façade, but not both). The study results also show that the multi-angle design concept can potentially improve natural ventilation inside an office room compared with a flat façade. Furthermore, the average amount of heat removed by natural ventilation inside the multi-angled façade room was approximately 31% higher than the heat removed by natural ventilation inside the flat façade room.
This research contributes to our body of knowledge concerning the optimal configuration for designing a multi-angled façade system for office buildings to optimise daylight and solar radiation use penetrating through it. The configuration also reduces energy consumption for heating, ventilation, and lighting. The multi-angled façade’s optimal configuration also enhances natural ventilation inside the office room providing an acceptable indoor climate without necessitating mechanical ventilation
Towards an evaluation of Tom Smail’s doctrine of God the Father
Get PDFTom Smail sought to address what he saw as deficiencies in the 1970s charismatic movement in the UK by calling for a renewed focus on the person of God the Father. This thesis contributes to an evaluation of the doctrine of the Father he offered in The Forgotten Father (1980) and in subsequent books on Trinitarian topics. Smail’s contribution is set in its ecclesial and theological context, and his account of the Father described. Objections are raised against his commitment to the notion that the Son is eternally functionally subordinate to the Father. This concept – derived from Smail’s understanding of Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics IV.I – leads him to blur necessary distinctions between the immanent and the economic Trinity and between the divine processions and the missions. These weaknesses lead to a characterisation of the Father principally in terms of authority which, it is argued, detracts from, rather than advances, his pastoral aims
An exploration into positive emotions following bereavement – relief and guilt
Get PDFThe possible presence of positive emotions within the bereavement experience is rarely acknowledged by either bereavement literature and research, and the wider socio-cultural context of the western world. This situation raises issues relating to the deemed appropriateness or otherwise of such emotions as judged by society, others, and the individual themselves; the meanings given to such emotions by the bereaved individual, lay-persons, researchers and clinicians; and the impact of such emotions and their perceived meanings on the individual and their family / friends.
This study seeks to illuminate the possible presence of positive emotions in the bereavement experience; to understand better the contexts in which this phenomenon may arise, the meanings which the bereaved may assign to their emotions; and whether these add to the complexity of the bereavement processes at play. A qualitative methodology, specifically Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used in order to capture rich descriptions of how individuals perceived the presence of positive emotions following a bereavement, and how they made sense of this experience in terms of both personal and social worlds.
Individual interviews of six participants were transcribed and analysed. The findings of this study illustrated that positive emotions in the bereavement experience can arise in the context of caregiving, prolonged illness, a stressful dying experience, and where death was desired, particularly if by the dying person. Positive emotions co-existed with other emotions during the bereavement experience; with ‘relief’ appearing as the most frequently described positive emotion. Meanings of the bereavement experience were made, including those relating to the presence of positive emotions. While on one hand there was a personal acceptance of such emotions, on the other a sense of social taboo and deviation from the social norm was also illustrated. None of the participants appeared to suffer from any adverse outcome to their mourning processes in terms of complex or delayed grief, as a result of their bereavement experience; and a number of positive outcomes were identified in regard to their lives, their sense of self, and their relationships