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'Catherine Unsung, 1916': a reading of a poem by Ian Farnes from his ignitionpress pamphlet Burntisland
No full textDriving pro-environmental practice change and food waste reduction in (and around) professional kitchens : connecting materiality and meaning
Get PDFThis paper examines how interventions via the physical working environment can be used to promote behaviour aimed at food waste reduction. Building on theories of practice, data were collected at luxury hotels using multiple methods, encompassing document analysis, observation and interviews. A new set of protocols for waste collection were introduced in the kitchens to drive practice change among chefs and associated personnel. The findings suggest that the intervention was initially met with resistance, which was attributed to the misalignment of meanings associated with this initiative among practitioners. However, subsequent human and non-human interventions helped to create new shared meanings that drove changes in attitudes and behaviours. The findings show how this initial focus on materiality led to change in ‘meaningful knowledge’, and subsequently shared meanings. Moreover, the data stress that practice change is constrained when shared meanings are not established and mobilised effectively. Overall, the study demonstrates how organisational practices concerning food waste can be modified through small-scale interventions, coupled with additional reinforcement strategies
Re-framing European Union (EU) - United Kingdom (UK) cooperation to address human trafficking and migrant smuggling
Get PDFSince the UK’s departure from the EU, the two parties have established a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) to shape their post-Brexit trade relationship. However, no formal agreement has been reached to address people smuggling and human trafficking, despite the UK government's stated intention to collaborate with the EU in tackling these crimes. We argue that when such an agreement is negotiated, it should adopt a human rights-based approach, ensuring the effective identification and protection of actual and potential victims of human trafficking. Enhanced cooperation in integrated border management, such as the 2024 post-Brexit arrangement between the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and the UK, and bilateral agreements with France, has yet to sufficiently prioritise human rights. Like the EU’s other cooperation agreements with third states, any potential future bilateral agreement should also incorporate human rights clauses, in line with specific measures contained in the TCA. These legally binding clauses are designed to safeguard and strengthen the protection of fundamental rights. Addressing the complexity of human trafficking and migrant smuggling, along with the multifaceted governance systems they entail, requires balancing the UK’s national sovereignty with the EU’s legal personality and primacy over its Member States in the development of bilateral agreements rooted in human rights. This challenge requires cooperation and responsibility-sharing, rather than uncoordinated systems that states, and non-state actors can exploit
Workforce recruitment through pre-nursing vocational and education training schemes : a qualitative evaluation through a social capital lens
Get PDFAim.
To evaluate learners' and stakeholders' experiences and perspectives of two models of pre-nursing vocational education and training (VET) schemes on nursing workforce recruitment.
Design.
Qualitative exploratory approach.
Methods.
This qualitative study comprised online, semi-structured interviews of nine stakeholders and eight trainees from one United Kingdom region in which two pre-nursing VET scheme models were implemented. Interview data was thematically analysed and interpreted through a social capital theory lens.
Results.
The interviews uncovered three key themes concerning the participants' experiences and perspectives on workforce recruitment: motivations and expectations, relational aspects of curriculum design and delivery and future possibilities. Established social structures were reported to be connected to education and clinical boundaries, enabling learners to build relationships with staff and patients and influencing their identity and career choices in healthcare. Limited placement opportunities hindered clinical learning, trainees from non-traditional backgrounds were underrepresented, and the validity of the academic preparation was unclear.
Conclusion.
The study makes a novel contribution by explaining how social assets can be created for all parties through two pre-nursing VET models when stakeholders' expectations and motivations align with learners' aspirations for a vocational route into nursing. This potentially leads to recruitment into nursing and healthcare pathways. The study's insights also showed a lack of recognition of this route to nursing and a lack of standardisation in access and educational delivery. The findings have implications for policy and educational practice. A deeper understanding of the socioeconomic factors affecting learners' nursing and healthcare career choices can enhance existing knowledge. Furthermore, studies are required to compare with other regions nationally and internationally to determine how pre-nursing VET schemes significantly address the global nurse recruitment crisis while considering local social and economic contexts.
Reporting Method.
Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ).
Patient or Public Contribution.
Stakeholder consultation during the study's design phase influenced the development of the research questions. Presenting the findings at a regional stakeholder workshop highlighted the key discussion points reported in the paper
Links between poverty, climate-induced migration and deforestation in western Madagascar
Get PDFRecently, people from arid regions in Madagascar have migrated to greener and wetter areas, creating socioeconomic and environmental challenges from increased demand for natural resources. This paper examines the relationship between human migration and land use change in five communes in and around the Menabe Antimena protected area, a critical biodiversity hotspot in western Madagascar. We analysed poverty and climate differences between migrants' origins and destinations by conducting 92 semi-structured interviews, 46 with migrants in Menabe and 46 with residents of Androy, a region contributing to migration flow. We also investigated population dynamics and ecological indicators, including forest cover and number of VIIRS active fires detected weighted with precipitations between 2017 and 2022. Results show that migrants moved to areas with more rainfall and less poverty, with 89.1 % leaving their home villages due to famine and poor lifestyle. The number of migrants entering the protected area has increased 3.2 times with 63.0 % of them directly involved in illegal agricultural practices. The forest cover in areas of communes inside the protected area declined by 22.1 % though 36.4 % outside, while weighted active fires rose by 24.7 % inside and 55.9 % outside, with higher fire occurrences in communes with larger forest. Among migrants, 45.7 % plan to return home once they have saved sufficient funds, 28.3 % intend to settle permanently, and 13.0 % aim to relocate to more productive areas after clearing local forest. These findings can guide authorities and conservation managers in making policies to support migrants in adopting sustainable farming practices, addressing links to deforestation
A digital reimagining of the real : indexical loss and creative potentialities in the cinema
Get PDFWith the advent of digital technologies, questions concerning the ontology of cinema and issues of realism have returned in a renewed fashion. Everything seems to change with the loss of the indexical bond between the film image and physical reality, sometimes reaching apocalyptic conclusions regarding the end of cinema, if not of reality as such. In this paper, we engage with the indexical loss as a positive force, considering realism and reality in two seemingly opposing ways, both of which however can renew our understanding of cinema as well as our relationship with the world. We consider various moments in the past labelled as death(s) of cinema before exploring the importance of indexical accounts and looking at the crisis of this paradigm by revisiting the notion of realism through Gilles Deleuze. Towards the end of the paper, we investigate the practical results of such a theoretical stance in the works of filmmakers who have tested and experimented with the fabrics and facets of digital audio-vision
