Now showing items 3441-3460 of 7430

    • Designing a sensibility for sustainable clothing

      Hackney, Fiona; Saunders, Clare; Willett, Joanie; West, Jodie; Hill, Katie (Environmental Audit Committee, 2018-10-10)
    • Dress and textiles network: Heritage and design in the West Midlands

      Hackney, Fiona (Museum-University Partnership Initiative (MUPI), 2018-10-10)
    • Gender differences in research areas, methods and topics: Can people and thing orientations explain the results?

      Thelwall, Mike; Bailey, Carol; Tobin, Catherine; Bradshaw, Noel-Ann (Elsevier, 2018-12-26)
      Although the gender gap in academia has narrowed, females are underrepresented within some fields in the USA. Prior research suggests that the imbalances between science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields may be partly due to greater male interest in things and greater female interest in people, or to off-putting masculine cultures in some disciplines. To seek more detailed insights across all subjects, this article compares practising US male and female researchers between and within 285 narrow Scopus fields inside 26 broad fields from their first-authored articles published in 2017. The comparison is based on publishing fields and the words used in article titles, abstracts, and keywords. The results cannot be fully explained by the people/thing dimensions. Exceptions include greater female interest in veterinary science and cell biology and greater male interest in abstraction, patients, and power/control fields, such as politics and law. These may be due to other factors, such as the ability of a career to provide status or social impact or the availability of alternative careers. As a possible side effect of the partial people/thing relationship, females are more likely to use exploratory and qualitative methods and males are more likely to use quantitative methods. The results suggest that the necessary steps of eliminating explicit and implicit gender bias in academia are insufficient and might be complemented by measures to make fields more attractive to minority genders.
    • Educational policies on access and reduction of poverty: The case of Ghana

      Dzidza, Peter Mawunyo; Jackson, Ian; Normanyo, Amatefee K.; Walsh, Michael; Ikejiaku, Brian-Vincent (Professors World Peace Academy, 2018-06-15)
      Education breaks the circle of poverty, halts the spread of inequality and creates sustainable development. However, education is expensive, creating insurmountable barriers to access in Africa. UN Millennium Development Goal 2 requested countries adopt universal primary education by 2015 in order to reduce poverty. This study assesses how policies on access to education influenced poverty reduction in Ghana. At a higher level of education, the chances of a person being non-poor increase, and being a public servant provides an advantage in retaining a position above the poverty line compared to the people employed in agriculture. This research validates the need for Ghana to emphasize access to both primary and secondary education by providing infrastructure, free education, and training for teachers at the various level of education.
    • The effects of poverty reduction strategies on artisanal fishing in Ghana: The case of Keta municipality

      Dzidza, Peter Mawunyo; Jackson, Ian; Normanyo, Amatefee K.; Walsh, Michael (Canadian Center of Science and Education, 2017-05-31)
      This paper assesses the level of poverty in Ghana after three decades of successive implementation of numerous poverty reduction strategies including Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) by various governments of Ghana. The Keta municipality in the Volta region, where artisanal fishing thrives, was chosen as a representative sample of the whole country. The authors identified eleven artisanal fishing communities in the selected area using systematic sampling. Data were collected on household consumption patterns. This process was used to determine the profile of poverty using the latest upper poverty line of Ghana and the Greer and Thorbecke (1984) poverty formula. Research findings show that the various poverty alleviation methods implemented over three decades by the Government of Ghana, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) significantly failed as they have not produced any meaningful effect on poverty reduction in the sample area. Finally, this paper offers further suggestions regarding how this poverty gap may be bridged using alternative methods.
    • The importance of collaboration and competition within and outside the OECD

      Jackson, Ian; McManus, John (Canadian Center of Science and Education, 2016-08-10)
      The purpose of this paper is to address the role of the OECD in the global marketplace. The paper highlights some current trends in the global market and the changing role of the OECD. In this context, the authors discuss various perspectives on the role of OECD in a globalized world. The authors focus on recent debates on the state of the global economy and the changing position of the OECD in the world market. The authors apply a conceptual approach combined with analyses of data and secondary material. The authors also put forward an argument for investigating what determines competition within and outside the OECD. In this context, creating markets within a global economy requires considerable stimulus on the part of national governments. This necessitates national governments working together in partnership with national and global firms to reduced bureaucracy and increase transparency to boost trade in a cost effective manner. This is seen by some economists to be a prerequisite to future competitiveness. Finally, the authors seek to demonstrate how leading countries within the OECD are building innovative capability to master the challenges and opportunities that the new emerging economies present (such as Brazil).
    • Storying students’ ecologies of belonging: a narrative inquiry into the relationship between ‘first generation’ students and the University

      Richards, Lynn (2018-04)
      This research study explores the ways in which articulations of belonging are expressed by a small number of second year education undergraduates in a post-1992 university in the UK. Issues of student engagement and belonging in Higher Education (HE) have been the subject of research within recent years as a way to enhance rates of student retention and success, as the Widening Participation agenda has realised a changing demographic within the traditional student body. This study focuses on the First Generation Student (FGS), as reflective of the non-traditional student, who is subject to a negative framing within the educational literary discourse. The research adopts a metaphorical lens to locate the FGS as migrant within the HE landscape and to consider HE institutional efforts to foster a sense of belonging, as a strategic tool for success, as a colonising process. Working within an ecological framing of the topic, the study focuses on the differing contexts within which the research participants operate and considers the impact these have upon student engagement with the university. As a way to foreground respectful working with research participants, a person-centred approach has been employed, using a narrative inquiry methodological framework. Voices of the participants, as narrators, are privileged within this study in order to afford them the opportunity to add to the ongoing conversation on belonging. Creative strategies, based upon photo- and metaphor-elicitation, have been employed to facilitate discussion of the abstract and intangible concept of belonging and to provide a participatory nature to this research study. Findings signal a strong resolve by these narrators to overcome obstacles in their path to success within what is often an unfamiliar terrain within HE. The potentiality of the individual is privileged, showing strengths that are brought to the world of study which are often unrecognised by university practices. The affective dimension of belonging is emphasised within the research and metaphors of belonging, articulated by the narrators, offer alternative conceptual structurings which privilege aspects to do with security and adventure. Such insights afford opportunities to view belonging from differing perspectives, to re-figure ways in which students see themselves within HE processes, and to alert staff and personnel to new ways in which they might view the non-traditional student. Aspects of valuing the diversity of students and of a person-centred approach to working are viewed as key to creating the possibilities for belonging.
    • In their own performance: an ethnographic study of mothers’ accounts of interactions with professionals at a children’s centre

      Tumelty, Bridget Patricia (2018)
      This study is concerned with how mothers, who have been referred to a children’s centre for support with parenting, interpret their interactions with professionals including midwives, health visitors, social workers and family support workers. Previous studies have concentrated on unhelpful, “them and us” othering practices, this project aimed to consider mothers’ interpretations of interactions, exploring verbal and non-verbal interactions as well as identifying what interactions with professionals that were helpful or not and why? To explore mothers’ stories, I designed an arts based performance ethnographic methodology. Through the use of theme boards and stream of consciousness writing in a drama group context, text was collected over an eighteen month period from 16 mothers. Initial review, editing and distilling of text was carried out with participants, generating 18 scenes for a play performed together in front of a live audience. Text not used in the play was further analysed using narrative analysis and produced an overarching metaphor of a ‘dance of compliance’. The dance explores images of mothers navigating steps of vulnerability, risk and compliance. Inhabiting the dance were many overlapping victimizing narratives exposing stories of parenting support presented as life enhancing in a context of scarcity. I found that the women kept dancing not because they were empowered but because the dance is obligatory, driven by the systematic production of unhelpful signs that come to constitute their reality. Theoretical perspective/s used in analysis highlight how children’s centres could become a space for symbolic exchanges of support bringing into the light steps of fortitude and humanity. Recommendations for practice centre on the need for professionals to engage in empathic interactions whist always looking for opportunities for mothers to participate in the day to day activities of parenting support.
    • Young people’s perceptions of novel psychoactive substances

      Freeman, Jodie (2018)
      Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) also known as “legal highs” replicate the effects of illegal substances such as ecstasy and cocaine. The most common NPS reported are stimulants and synthetic cannabinoids. Despite the Psychoactive Ban (2016) recent reports identified the UK as having the largest market of NPS use anywhere in Europe. These substances have a short history of consumption and consequently little is known about their effects and health implications. Despite this, the sale of NPS is easily achieved through the internet and street dealers. Increased reports of negative health consequences from NPS consumption and research findings highlighting the willingness of young people to consume drugs without knowing what they are, mean it is vital that we investigate young people’s understandings and perceptions of them. At present there are very few in-depth qualitative studies on NPS. A series of 7 focus groups with a range of young people (40=N: aged 16- 24 years) across the Merseyside area were carried out. Research sites included colleges, youth groups, supported living accommodations, and youth drug and alcohol services. Focus group interviews explored participants’ perceptions of NPS and were followed up with a few semi structured interviews with selected participants. The direction of the study focused on mainly on synthetic cannabinoids which may reflect the age of the study’s population. Using thematic analysis informed by a social constructionist perspective, three main themes were identified around stigma and identity, attractive features of NPS and risk. Findings showed that young people’s perceptions of these substances were dependent on their level of experience with illegal substances and NPS. A novel finding was that synthetic cannabinoid use is employed in the normalisation of cannabis use. Local, national and policy recommendations are made on how youth and health services in both educational and specialised services could work more closely and effectively with young people NPS. They also identify a need among young people for specific guidelines on how to use the Internet and Print media in relation to previous knowledge and experience.
    • Towards identifying potent new hits for glioblastoma

      Sherer, Chris; Prabhu, Saurabh; Adams, David; Hayes, Joseph; Rowther, Farzana; Tolaymat, Ibrahim; Warr, Tracy; Snape, Timothy J. (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2018-10-02)
      Glioblastoma is a devastating disease of the brain and is the most common malignant primary brain tumour in adults. The prognosis for patients is very poor with median time of survival after diagnosis measured in months, due in part to the tumours being highly aggressive and often resistant to chemotherapies. Alongside the ongoing research to identify key factors involved in tumour progression in glioblastoma, medicinal chemistry approaches must also be used in order to rapidly establish new and better treatments for brain tumour patients. Using a computational similarity search of the ZINC database, alongside traditional analogue design by medicinal chemistry intuition to improve the breadth of chemical space under consideration, six new hit compounds (14, 16, 18, 19, 20 and 22) were identified possessing low micromolar activity against both established cell lines (U87MG and U251MG) and patient-derived cell cultures (IN1472, IN1528 and IN1760). Each of these scaffolds provides a new platform for future development of a new therapy in this area, with particular promise shown against glioblastoma subtypes that are resistant to conventional chemotherapeutic agents.
    • She’s Reddit: A source of statistically significant gendered interest information

      Thelwall, Mike; Stuart, Emma (Elsevier, 2018-10-19)
      Information about gender differences in interests is necessary to disentangle the effects of discrimination and choice when gender inequalities occur, such as in employment. This article assesses gender differences in interests within the popular social news and entertainment site Reddit. A method to detect terms that are statistically significantly used more by males or females in 181 million comments in 100 subreddits shows that gender affects both the selection of subreddits and activities within most of them. The method avoids the hidden gender biases of topic modelling for this task. Although the method reveals statistically significant gender differences in interests for topics that are extensively discussed on Reddit, it cannot give definitive causes, and imitation and sharing within the site mean that additional checking is needed to verify the results. Nevertheless, with care, Reddit can serve as a useful source of insights into gender differences in interests.
    • Genomic and transcriptomic characterisation of undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma of bone

      Ali, Naser M.; Niada, Stefania; Brini, Anna T.; Morris, Mark R.; Kurusamy, Sathishkumar; Alholle, Abdullah; Huen, David; Antonescu, Cristina R.; Tirode, Franck; Sumathi, Vaiyapuri; et al. (Wiley, 2018-12-27)
      Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma of bone (UPSb), is a rare primary bone sarcoma that lacks a specific line of differentiation. There is very little information about the genetic alterations leading to tumourigenesis or malignant transformation. Distinguishing between UPSb and other malignant bone sarcomas, including dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma and osteosarcoma, can be challenging due to overlapping features. To explore the genomic and transcriptomic landscape of UPSb tumours, whole-exome sequencing (WES) and RNA Sequencing (RNA-Seq) were performed on UPSb tumours. All tumours lacked hotspot mutations in IDH1/2 132 or 172 codons, thereby excluding the diagnosis of dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma. Recurrent somatic mutations in TP53 were identified in 4/14 samples (29%). Moreover, recurrent mutations in histone chromatin remodelling genes, including H3F3A, ATRX and DOT1L, were identified in 5/14 samples (36%), highlighting the potential role of deregulated chromatin remodelling pathways in UPSb tumourigenesis. The majority of recurrent mutations in chromatin remodelling genes identified here are reported in COSMIC, including the H3F3A G35 and K36 hotspot residues. Copy number alteration analysis identified gains and losses in genes that have been previously altered in UPSb or UPS of soft tissue. Eight somatic gene fusions were identified by RNA-Seq, two of which, CLTC-VMP1 and FARP1-STK24, were reported previously in multiple cancers. Five gene fusions were genomically characterised. Hierarchical clustering analysis, using RNA-Seq data, distinctly clustered UPSb tumours from osteosarcoma and other sarcomas, thus molecularly distinguishing UPSb from other sarcomas. RNA-Seq expression profiling analysis and quantitative RT-PCR showed an elevated expression in FGF23 which can be a potential molecular biomarker in UPSb. To our knowledge, this study represents the first comprehensive WES and RNA-Seq analysis of UPSb tumours revealing novel protein-coding recurrent gene mutations, gene fusions and identifying a potential UPSb molecular biomarker, thereby broadening the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms and highlighting the possibility of developing novel targeted therapeutics.
    • Key somatic variables in young backstroke swimmers

      Sammoud, Senda; Nevill, Alan M.; Negra, Yassine; Bouguezzi, Raja; Helmi, Chaabene; Hachana, Younes (Routledge, 2018-11-15)
      The purpose of this study was to estimate the optimal body size, limb-segment length, girth or breadth ratios for 100-m backstroke mean speed performance in young swimmers. Sixty-three young swimmers (boys [n = 30; age: 13.98 ± 0.58 years]; girls [n = 33; age: 13.02 ± 1.20 years]) participated in this study. To identify the optimal body size and body composition components associated with 100-m backstroke speed performance, we adopted a multiplicative allometric log-linear regression model, which was refined using backward elimination. The multiplicative allometric model exploring the association between 100-m backstroke mean speed performance and the different somatic measurements estimated that biological age, sitting height, leg length for the lower-limbs, and two girths (forearm and arm relaxed girth) are the key predictors. Stature and body mass did not contribute to the model, suggesting that the advantage of longer levers was limb-specific rather than a general whole-body advantage. In fact, it is only by adopting multiplicative allometric models that the abovementioned ratios could have been derived. These findings highlighted the importance of considering somatic characteristics of young backstroke swimmers and can help swimming coaches to classify their swimmers and enable them to suggest what might be the swimmers’ most appropriate stroke (talent identification).
    • Micropechis ikaheka (Elapidae) in Papua, Indonesia: A study of diet and cannibalism

      Krey, Keliopas; O'Shea, Mark; Farajallah, Achmad; Setiadi, Dede; Suryobroto, Bambang (Societas Europaea Herpetologica, 2015-05-26)
      Snakes are primary predators in many terrestrial, aquatic, and marine communities. As predators, the lives of wild snakes are therefore closely related to feeding ecology. Feeding ecology is related not only to food availability but also to the body sizes of the predators and prey (Cundall and Greene, 2000). Studying the diet of a snake species is critical to our knowledge of the ecology of the snake at individual, population and community levels. Ecological studies of snake diets are also very important for a better understanding of the relationships between snakes and other organisms in the ecosystem (Su et al., 2005).
    • Understanding the intersection of culture, religion and gender on diversity management: a qualitative study of Nigerian hotels

      Ukachukwu, Amarachukwu (2018-12-01)
      Recent attention has been drawn to human resource management within the Nigerian context, with increased interest in the improvement of organisational management practices to enable Nigeria to compete in an increasingly globalised economy (Fajana et al., 2011). Despite this, however, there is a distinct paucity of academic literature addressing the effects of culture and religion on gender equality in management within Nigerian organisations (Tiemo and Arubayi, 2012). Nigeria does not have an indigenous tradition of human resource management, and as a consequence, many of its management practices are imported alongside foreign investment and amalgamated with local practices (Fajana et al., 2011). Nigeria’s patriarchal culture and demographic context have significant implications on diversity management, and this reflects on the composition of the workforce (Tiemo and Arubayi, 2012). Qualitative data collected in Northern, Southern and Eastern regions of Nigeria through in-depth interviews were coded and analysed. The study found that hotels in Nigeria are still grappling with the problem of gender inequality with females’ career development suffering greatly under the burden of a patriarchal culture. Females are also made to take job responsibilities that reflect their positions in the society and households. Secondly, the intersecting factors of gender, religion and culture put severe pressures on women, which tend to have a negative impact on work-life balance. Thirdly, family responsibility and expectations deter females from seeking promotion to the higher level of hotel administration. Many females who attempt to ‘rebel’ against the standing cultural order find themselves in marriage crises. Finally, gender diversity management is not promoted in Nigerian hotels. The study makes contributions to theory and practice. It finds common ground for the application of hegemonic masculinity framework and intersectionality perspective in gender and management inquiries. The study recommends radical holistic change is required regarding policy, cultural, programmatic, attitudinal and social actions.
    • Innovation and the export performance of firms in transition economies: the relevance of the business environment and the stage of transition

      Recica, Fisnik; Hashi, Iraj; Jackson, Ian; Krasniqi, Besnik (Inderscience, 2019-12-17)
      This paper investigates the impact of product and process innovation on firms’ export performance in transition economies (TEs) which embarked on a systemic change from a planned to a market economy in the early 1990s. The research builds on the technology gap theory and the analysis of the self-selection of firms into the export market. Unlike other studies that have focused on the export behaviour of firms in developed economies where business environment is generally stable and favourable, the paper controls for the relevance of business environment and the stage of transition on export performance of firms. The paper uses the firm-level Business Environment and Performance Survey data undertaken by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 2002, 2005 and 2008 in 29 TEs. Findings show that the impact of innovation on export performance increases with the transition reforms. Macroeconomic instability acts as a moderating factor of export performance in countries at high transition stage, as it pushes firms to export more, as a risk shifting mechanism. The main implication of the study is that the impact of some explanatory factors on export performance differs through the stages of transition.
    • The effects of remittances on education in a post-conflict society: evidence from Bosnia-Herzegovina

      Oruc, Nermin; Jackson, Ian; Pugh, Geoffrey (Taylor and Francis, 2018-11-20)
      This paper analyses the effects of remittances on the educational enrolment of children in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where a process of forced migration made the relocation decision exogenous. Accordingly, this study has no need of methods to address the endogeneity of remittances. Hence, the approach taken means that the measure of educational enrolment is regressed on a set of individual- and household-level variables. In addition, a new approach to estimation is introduced, whereby the effect of remittances is calculated for each income quintile. It is found that the relationship between remittances and educational enrolment is strong among households from the fourth quintile, which includes households just outside the risk of poverty, while for those in poorer quintiles the effect is not significant.
    • Althusser and contingency

      Pippa, Stefano; Pippa, Stefano (Mimesis International, 2019-01-31)
      The concept of contingency plays a central role in Althusser's attempt to recast Marxist philosophy and to free the Marxist conception of history from notions such as teleology, necessity and origin. Drawing on a wealth of published and unpublished material, Stefano Pippa discusses how Althusser's unfaltering commitment to contingency should encourage us to revisit our understanding of his conceptions of structural change, ideology, politics and materialism. As grounded on contingency, Althusser's so-called 'Structural Marxism' originates in fact a 'logic of interruption' and a notion of structurally under-determined becoming; just like his theory of ideology is radically reinterpreted on the basis of his notion of 'overinterpellation'. Though constant, Althusser's relationship with contingency has not been monolithic throughout his career. As observed by Pippa, it is possible to distinguish a 'political' and a 'philosophical' moment in Althusser's late materialism of contingency. Perhaps, as this volume suggests, the problematic coexistence of these two aspects might account for the unstable character of Althusser's late philosophical project.
    • The confidence delusion: A sociological exploration of participants' confidence in sport-for-development

      Scott, David S. (Sage, 2018-11-25)
      Although sport is widely utilised as a tool for personal development, capacity building, and fostering peace, there are still numerous theoretical gaps in our knowledge about how sport influences individuals’ identities, and how this translates into their everyday lives. Within the academic literature there has been seemingly little focus placed upon participants’ emotional and embodied accounts of their sport-for-development (SfD) experiences. This paper uses phenomenologically-inspired theory to explore individuals’ lived experiences of a SfD course, and their descriptions of the social interactions and feelings of confidence they encountered, in order to address this lack of experiential data. An ethnographic methodology was used to collect data through four sports leadership course observations, and cyclical interviews over 4–10 months with eleven course attendees, plus individual interviews with five tutors. Participants’ understandings of their course experiences and the subsequent influence these understandings had on their lives were described through their use of the term confidence. A further phenomenological and sociological interrogation of this term enabled confidence to be seen as being experienced as a ‘frame’ and ‘through the body’ by participants. This study provides original conceptualisations of confidence in relation to participants’ SfD experiences, as well as important discussions regarding the role of emotions and embodiment in understanding the impact of SfD on participants’ everyday lives.