30472 research outputs found
Sort by
Consumer psychology on food choice editing in favor of sustainability
Get PDFThis article examines rationale behind consumers’ vote for or against choice editing (reduciing food choice) in favor of sustainable consumption to inform marketing communication strategies
and sustainability policies. Based on a Qualitative analysis of free-text comments in a UK nationwide
survey on sustainable healthy food consumption using inductive thematic analysis, we found that
the majority (55.4%) disagreed with governments being given the right to minimize food choice
options available to consumers by requesting that food industry players supply only sustainable
food products whereas only 44.6% agreed with the idea. In-depth thematic analysis revealed that
those who disagreed with it expressed the reasons to be “Freedom of choice”, “Individual choice to
decide and responsibility”; “Producers to be encouraged to develop sustainable products”; “Need for
education”; “Consumers have power”; “Consumers should be made to fund health conditions they
develop from unhealthy food.”; “Government should fund production of sustainable foods”; and
“this will lead to less competition within the market”. On the other hand, the agreement expressed by
respondents gave reasons such as, “Food industry’s notorious for selling unhealthy food”; “Need to
keep the price of sustainable products down.”; “Government should legislate.”; “All food sold should
be whole natural food.”; “Retailers should produce more healthy food as obesity is a problem.”;
“Healthy food is good for us.”; “Government’s obligation.”; and “GMO foods, foods grown using
artificial methods, harm the environment and humans.” Our analysis revealed that change interventions have slowly reduced the pace of growth in the food industry, partially because of consumer
awareness at a gradual rate. Moreover, sustainable food products are viewed as ineffective in the
short run while market share for sustainable items remains substantially low. The implications of the
results include inclusive policies for sustainable consumption, government intervention by making it
mandatory to consume and produce sustainable items, accountability measures for food producers,
the introduction of a rebate system for sustainable production, and the monitoring of food prices
ensuring organic food is affordable to all
Co-creation during COVID-19: 30 comparative international case studies
Get PDFCo-creation – the joint production of innovation between combinations of industry, research, government and civil society – was widely used to respond to the challenges raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper describes 30 COVID-19 co-creation initiatives from 21 countries and three international cases. The template focuses on initiatives’ core characteristics, including information on key co-creation partners and their contributions, key outcomes as well as the initiatives’ size. The comparative evidence gathered through interviews with case study initiative leaders also describes what co-creation instruments were used, how networks leading to the collaboration were built, what type of cross-disciplinary co-operation took place, and what role governments played in the process and the procedures adopted to deal with the COVID-19 “exceptionality”, including the urgency of producing implementable solutions. The information gathered provides a basis for analyses on co-creation initiatives during COVID-19 and for drawing potential policy implications
Brightening the skies: institutional solutions to the societal and geopolitical risks of space expansionism
Get PDFIn his book, Dark Skies: Space Expansionism, Planetary Geopolitics, and the Ends of Humanity (Oxford University Press, 2020), Daniel Deudney argues that the expansion of humanity into space will pose unacceptable existential risks for our civilization and, perhaps, our species. Of particular concern are risks of civilization-destroying interplanetary conflict and the rise of totalitarian forms of government, both on Earth and in space. This chapter argues that these risks, although deserving to be taken seriously, may be mitigated by appropriate institutional developments. Near-term possibilities include strengthening the United Nations to give that body greater responsibility for human activities in outer space, and/or the creation of a dedicated World Space Agency. Ultimately, the logic points towards stronger forms of planetary and interplanetary governance organized according to federal principles
Public attitudes to referendums on Irish unification in Northern Ireland: evidence from an online consultation
Get PDFDebate on Irish unification has increased in recent years, yet public attitudes on the processes that might lead to it are underexplored. This article examines the results of an online public consultation carried out in Northern Ireland in the summer of 2020 on how any future referendums on the unification question would best be conducted. It shows that hopes and fears on this question exist across society in Northern Ireland. It also reveals that public views are yet to crystallise on many of the design features of a referendum. There are some exceptions to this: there is a widespread feeling that the Brexit referendum process should not be replicated; and there are signs of divergent views emerging between communities on the franchise, referendum threshold, and use of citizens’ assemblies. Nevertheless, we conclude that the lack of hardened views on most questions of process points to an opportunity for policymakers and impartial observers to foster agreement on how a referendum process should be conducted
Military sexual trauma: gender, military cultures, and the medicalization of abuse in contemporary America
Get PDFSexual violence is a serious problem within armed services. This article explores intra-service rape – that is, rape carried out by servicepersonnel against other servicepersonnel – in branches of the U.S. military from the 1990s to the present. Such forms of violence are often denied by senior military officers and, when acknowledged, routinely minimized. The article begins by establishing the parameters of the crisis of sexual abuse within the US armed services. Second, it explores systematic failures to recognize forms of suffering. Victim-survivors in the military are vulnerable to military-specific obstacles to reporting their abuse and being believed, including contractual restrictions and ‘chains of command’, organizational cohesion, warrior comportment, interpersonal vulnerability, and gendered and sexual identities. Particular attention is paid to differences by gender and sexual orientation. Third, it analyses the medicalization of suffering in the modern military and its effects. What meanings are assigned to ‘military sexual trauma’ (MST) and how has that label affected victim-survivors of rape or sexual assault? The article concludes by arguing that the concept of ‘trauma’ as it is applied to victims of sexual abuse does a formidable amount of political and ideological work
Political discourse and gendered welfare reform: a case study of the UK coalition government
Get PDFIn the UK, as in many other countries, welfare reform in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis has had a detrimental effect on gender equality. Between 2010 and 2015 the UK Coalition government initiated far-reaching cuts to public spending, as well as an increase in welfare conditionality. These reforms have hit women harder than men as they are more likely to rely on welfare benefits and services due to unpaid care responsibilities. Many have suggested that the way in which issues are represented by policymakers can limit what can be conceived as appropriate policy solutions. In line with this, Bacchi’s What’s the problem represented to be? (WPR) approach is used in this article to interrogate the way in which welfare was problematised by the UK Coalition government. Findings suggest that the Coalition’s represented reform as necessary to make work pay, with ‘work’ promoted as paid work and unpaid care work (predominantly undertaken by women) ignored. It also highlights the ways in which the Coalition’s promotion of paid work silenced the necessity and value of care, allowing for the implementation of welfare reforms which have disproportionately disadvantaged women and exacerbated gender inequality
Learning in noisy classrooms: children’s reports of annoyance and distraction from noise are associated with individual differences in mind-wandering and switching skills
Get PDFClassrooms are noisy, yet little is known about pupils’ subjective reactions to noise. We surveyed 112 children between 8.70 and 11.38 years of age and extracted five dimensions in their reactions to noise by factorial analyses: (1) perceived classroom loudness, (2) hearing difficulties, (3) attention capture, (4) interference, (5) annoyance from noise. Structural Equation Models were run to better understand interindividual differences in noise interference and annoyance. Children reporting hearing and switching difficulties experienced more interference and annoyance from noise. Children who had a greater propensity for mind-wandering also experienced more interference from noise, but were annoyed by noise only to the extent that it produced interference—the relationship between mind-wandering and noise annoyance was indirect, and not direct, as was the case for reported hearing and switching difficulties. We suggest that the distinction between annoyance and interference has theoretical, empirical, and practical relevance for educational research
Celebrating Hoggett & Pearl: The Family, Law and Society, 1983 - 2009
No full textBook synopsis: As the first woman to be appointed President of the UK Supreme Court, Brenda Hale was one of the UK's most high profile and influential judges, and she is among the most powerful women leaders of our time. For almost half a century, she pioneered as an educator, reformer, and decision-maker, leaving a distinct mark on the law and the lives of many. In commemoration of her recent retirement from the Supreme Court, this collection celebrates her long and illustrious career. Organised by thematic chapters and featuring original research from leading academics, judges and lawyers, this book offers a comprehensive account of Lady Hale's achievements and enduring impact. The contributors, many of whom were her peers and colleagues, demonstrate how Hale forged her own path within male-dominated institutions, carved a space for herself and others, and, ultimately, endeavoured to promote justice for everyone
Breastfeeding, ‘tainted’ love, and femmephobia: containing the ‘dirty’ performances of embodied femininity
No full textIn this conceptual analysis, we theorise breastfeeding as an embodied ‘dirty’ performance of femininity and draw on Hoskin’s work on femme theory to propose that women who breastfeed in public, who do so for an ‘extended’ time, and who enjoy it are subject to femmephobic attacks. We integrate three streams of literature to unsettle the ‘taint’ of breastfeeding. We first theorise breastfeeding as an act of femininity where women perform gender trouble in line with Butler's work. We also draw on Douglas’ work on ‘dirt’ and Rivera’s work on emotional ‘dirty’ work to theorise that ‘taint’ is one way in which society stigmatises the phenomenon of breastfeeding. Specifically, we propose that embodied breastfeeding evokes ‘tainted’ emotions. We then draw on Schippers’ work on ‘containing’ pariah forms of femininity (lest they ‘contaminate’ patriarchy) by showing how femmephobic stigmatisation limits breastfeeding women’s corporeality and presence in shared spaces
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Birkbeck Institutional Research Online? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!