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Side preferences in human dyads when walking: the influence of country, threat, handedness, and sexIn several species, lateral position preferences have been observed in pair mates, mother–infant dyads, and during agonistic interactions. This research examined side preferences in human dyads in an observational study and survey. We observed 1236 male–female pairs walking in the UK and found a bias for males to walk on the right side of the pair, which did not depend on hand-holding, or walking during daylight or darkness. The survey measured side preferences in 798 participants (398 left-handed, 411 right-handed), from the UK (402) and USA (396). Participants chose a side to walk when walking with their partner, or alone, in various threatening/non-threatening scenes. Threat did not influence preference in walking couples, but males, when passing a threatening stranger, preferred the best combat side for their handedness. Country and handedness also influenced preferences. Left-handers preferred the left side and right-handers preferred the right side, and USA participants exhibited a more rightward preference than UK participants. The pattern of preference for each country was equivalent, showing independent influences of handedness and cultural learning. Overall, the results suggest that males and females prefer the side that allows their dominant hand to be on the outside of the dyad.
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Developing research collaborations and building capacity in palliative and end-of-life care in the North West Coast of England: the PalCaRe-NWC partnershipBACKGROUND: The North West Coast area of England (Lancashire, Merseyside, Cheshire and South Cumbria) has high palliative care need (third highest prevalence in England) and historically low recorded National Institute for Health and Care Research research activity (second lowest research recruitment rate in England). To stimulate research activity, a new research partnership was formed to support and encourage palliative care research, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research from January 2022 until June 2023. OBJECTIVES: To develop a sustainable palliative care research partnership infrastructure across the North West Coast. To work with palliative care providers, patients and the public, and research staff to further understand local barriers and facilitators to palliative and end-of-life care research, and develop and implement solutions to these barriers. To build capacity in palliative and end-of-life care research through the mentorship of emerging research leaders and share expertise across organisations. To facilitate the development of high-quality research grant applications. ACTIVITIES: Phased activities were planned and actioned throughout the funded period to develop and embed an active palliative care research partnership across the region. These included: a survey and working groups to rapidly identify current local barriers to research and their sustainable solutions; individual and group support activities to build research capabilities and capacity; development and submission of high-quality, clinically relevant research proposals to the National Institute for Health and Care Research and other funders. RESULTS: Survey participants (<i>n</i> = 293) were mainly from clinical settings (71%), with 45% being nurses. While around three-quarters of participants were not research active, most wanted to increase their involvement. Key barriers identified from both the survey and working groups (<i>n</i> = 20 professional participants) included: lack of organisational research culture and capacity (including prioritisation and available time); research knowledge (including skills/expertise and funding opportunities); research infrastructure (including collaborative opportunities across multiple organisations and governance challenges); and patient and public perceptions of research (including vulnerabilities and burdens). Based on these findings, the partnership is working with national stakeholders to develop user-friendly resources to facilitate hospice-based research. Three action learning sets, that met several times (<i>n</i> = 15 staff), and two networking events (<i>n</i> = 78 participants) took place to facilitate collaboration and research capacity building. Eleven research grant applications totalling £5,435,967 were submitted as a direct result of partnership activities between January 2022 and June 2023. Limitations: Survey and working group findings and resulting activities represent the views and needs of staff within a particular United Kingdom geography and had limited public representation. CONCLUSIONS: Funding to support partnership work has been demonstrated to be effective in pump-priming research activities, leading to successful research grant submissions and building research capacity. However, consideration is needed about how to maintain partnership work, embed in local organisations and further develop work across non-traditional stakeholders such as hospices and social care providers if ongoing funding is unavailable. FUTURE WORK: North West Coast Clinical Research Network has provided short-term funding (July 2023-March 2024) to enable and sustain the expansion of Palliative Care Research Partnership North West Coast.
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Temperature testing climate action: what are the impacts of social and economic factors on local climate action in the UK?Introduction: Social and economic factors influence human behaviour at the individual and community levels. This study examines how variables such as sense of community, well-being, income, and deprivation impact climate-action behaviours. It provides an initial investigation into behaviours as ‘actions’ taken by people, individually and with their communities, under different social and economic conditions. Answering the primary research question, ‘Do social cohesion and socio-economic indicators impact climate action at the individual and community levels?’. Material and Method: A convenience sample of 105 participants from the UK was obtained for this study, comprising 84 online responses and 21 in-person responses. Independent variables representing social cohesion included well-being (WHO-5) at the individual level and sense of community (Brief Sense of Community Scale) at the community level. Socioeconomic position was assessed using income (bands) and deprivation (Indices of Multiple Deprivation). Each of these were grouped in accordance with the scale, and a MANOVA was conducted to analyse the effects of these groups against the dependent variables of individual and community climate actions. Results: Multivariate analysis revealed that the sense of community groups and income groups significantly impacted climate action. Univariate tests of between subjects effects indicated that the effect of sense of community was only significant on community climate action and post-hoc fishers LSD revealed the high sense of community group was varying from Low and Moderate sense of community. Income was found in post hoc analysis to have no significant differences between income groups. Wellbeing and Deprivation groups did not have an impact on climate action Conclusion: The findings highlight the importance of fostering a high sense of community through needs fulfilment, belonging, influence, and connection, to promote sustainable climate action behaviours and move towards a Net Zero Society. Sense of community as a social cohesion indicator, emerged as a key driver and the piece recommends collaborating with communities to track real-time behavioural and social change. Limitations of the research are the sample size and localised geography, yet it is argued that a place-based approach is needed in future social cohesion and climate action research.
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Eligibility of athletes with a difference in sex development in elite sport: Opinions of national, elite and world class athletesThere have been limited studies allowing key stakeholders the opportunity to voice their opinions on DSD athlete participation in elite sport. The purpose of this study was to survey athletes eligible to compete in the female category regarding DSD athletes' inclusion. This study surveyed national, elite and world class athletes (n = 147) competing in the female category regarding their opinions on the eligibility of DSD athletes in elite sport. The study compared current and retired Olympic sport athletes, elite versus world class athletes and current Olympic sport versus current Olympic‐recognised sport athletes. Most athletes believed that it was an unethical requirement to medicate in order to comply with eligibility regulations (67.2%). Overall, athletes did not support a separate category for DSD athletes, an opinion most strongly held for precision sports (69.5%) and a majority believed their participation in the female category was fair (54.4%, precision sports). This opinion was more commonly held by Olympic‐recognised sport than current Olympic sport athletes, particularly for sports heavily reliant on physical capacity (61.1% vs. 20%). More current Olympic sport athletes believed that the eligibility of DSD athletes for the female category was unfair, compared to Olympic‐recognised sport athletes. Athletes agreed that sports federations could be doing more to make sport more inclusive for DSD athletes (82.2%), with only 8.2% believing such athletes were treated fairly. After reviewing these novel results, the athletes' voice (in combination with scientific evidence) should be utilised to create appropriate policies that align with the collective values of athletes.
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Towards equity? Advancing rural consideration in flood risk managementFlood risk management (FRM) in England and Wales predominantly follows a utilitarian approach guided by cost–benefit analysis, with a corresponding focus on urban areas. This approach has been criticised for being unjust, as it neglects vulnerabilities that cannot be readily monetised, resulting in some of the most vulnerable flood‐affected communities being excluded from FRM provision. This issue is especially pronounced in rural areas. Ironically, rural communities are often overlooked despite many contributing to the protection of urban settlements. In response to increasing research on social injustices in FRM and policy calls for more equitable approaches, greater consideration of rural flooding is required. Using the River Severn catchment as a case study, this paper employs a questionnaire survey of 176 rural residents to gather perspectives on their engagement with FRM agencies. Their responses were then discussed with FRM organisations active in the region through interviews. The combined perspectives of rural communities and FRM organisations reveal challenges and opportunities for achieving just consideration of rural areas in FRM. The findings emphasise the need for a more inclusive approach to FRM in the River Severn catchment and offer valuable lessons for other rural areas in the United Kingdom and beyond.
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Promoting the development of China's open economicsSince China joined the World Trade Organization, China's foreign trade has developed rapidly, driving the rapid growth of the national economy, significantly improving people's income levels, with per capita income exceeding US$10,000, and eliminating absolute poverty. Two main factors have promoted the realization of the above goals. One is reform, the continuous improvement of the socialist market economic system with Chinese characteristics. The second is openness, especially joining the World Trade Organization, which has provided a broad and relatively free international market for the hardworking and courageous Chinese people. The mutual promotion of the two has consolidated the socialist market economic system with Chinese characteristics and strengthened the determination to continuously deepen reform and opening up. In the future, for quite some time, adhering to reform and opening up and improving the level of China's institutional opening up will be the inevitable choice for the sustainable development of China's economy.
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The long-term impact of climate change on growth: Evidence from Chinese provincesWe used more than sixty years of macroeconomic data at the province level in China in conjunction with the split/half-panel jackknife FE econometric approach to examine the impacts of climate change on China's economic growth from 1953 to 2015. Although the temperature rises less significantly than the global average and the US, we find that the temperature of 0.01° C above and below its historical norms reduces the growth of the GRP per capita by 0.2665 and 0.417 percentage points on average per year, which is much higher than the global average and the US. Surprisingly, the service sector is the most sensitive to temperature deviations compared to the agriculture and manufacturing industries. The adverse effects of temperature below the historical norms in China were adapted by reducing salary growth, increasing the number of employees and government expenditures, and improving trade openness to become less effective in more recent years. However, there is no significant evidence of adaptation application effectiveness across the provinces to the increasing temperature above its historical norms. Using four climate change estimation projects and predictions on temperatures rising, the accumulated temperature deviations above the historical average could cause 10.87 to 18.24 (28.99 to 54.74) annual GDP per capita growth percentage points under the Representative Concentration Pathways 1.9 (8.5). In other words, assuming the provincial yearly GDP per capita growth equals five percentage points on average, the total economic losses without applying any carbon neutrality policies will cause 6.82% to 12.88% of the economic losses by 2100, which is approximately 2.67-2.82 times higher than applying policies.
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The belt and road initiative and green productions: Evidence from Chinese overseas industrial parksIn this paper, we examine the positive effects of the establishment of Chinese Overseas Industrial Parks in Belt and Road member countries on green production. Using a rigorous difference-in-differences (DID) econometric approach, we measure Green Total Factor Productivity (GTFP) growth in host countries before and after the establishment of the industrial parks, with GTFP calculated using the SBM-DDF-GML algorithm. Our estimations show that the establishment of industrial parks increases GTFP by approximately 20% on average across all member countries. Placebo tests and other robustness checks further support these results. We also find that the industrial parks yield greater benefits for host countries that had relatively low levels of Chinese FDI before 2007, as well as those with limited renewable energy technologies and poor infrastructure.
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Student-Parents’ experiences of transitioning into university in the UK: how they feel, what they need, and how we can respondResearch exploring the transition into university of students with parental responsibility (student-parents) in the UK is very limited. This is a notable gap, not least given the recent inclusion of student-parents in the Office for Students’ Equality of Opportunity Register, meaning that all English providers are now obliged to identify and mitigate barriers to success for student-parents in their institutional Access & Participation Plans. This paper explores the findings of a UK-wide study of undergraduate student-parents. It provides an insight into participants’ feelings and motivations on starting university and reveals what student-parents need to ensure their successful transition into higher education. The paper concludes with recommendations for practice and shares two evidence-based, research-informed guides co-created with student-parents. These guides translate the learnings from the research project into practical toolkits aimed at assisting student-parents to navigate university and supporting personal tutors to facilitate their student-parent tutees’ transition into Higher Education.
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What democracy in action taught me about student empowermentA seed that was sown during lockdown – testing the boundaries of student agency and democratic participation – came to fruition two years later. This chapter reflects upon the journey from 2020, when the author explored ‘emergency’ democracy by way of students making online delivery decisions within the constraints of a pre-existing modular framework, to 2022, which saw students being handed the reins to create an entire module from a blank piece of paper. The chapter provides a practical insight into the process and timeline of facilitating students as module leaders as well as students’ views on the benefits of building a module’s learning outcomes, module content, delivery methods, and assessment techniques to meet their employability requirements. It closes with the author’s top three tips for those considering a process within their setting.
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Transforming geography education: The role of generative AI in curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and fieldworkGenerative artificial intelligence (GenAI) represents a major leap forward in AI technology, offering the potential to reshape education in various aspects. This paper explores the transformative potential of GenAI in geography education, focusing on its impacts across curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and fieldwork, through the lens of the Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (SAMR) model. In curriculum development, GenAI enables automatic generation and personalization of geographic content. Pedagogical approaches are evolving from text-based instruction to data-driven learning experiences where students analyze geographic phenomena using GenAI tools. Assessment methods are shifting to adaptive evaluation systems with continuous feedback, while fieldwork benefits from real-time data processing and opportunities for global collaboration. Nevertheless, these advancements are accompanied by substantial risks, including challenges such as overreliance on AI, content inaccuracies, biases, and data privacy concerns.
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The lived experience of inter-parental conflict and its developmental impacts on young adultsThe purpose of this thesis was to investigate the developmental impacts of destructive inter-parental conflict (IPC) on young adults. This was a phenomenologically-based, qualitative study. Seven participants, between the ages of 18 and 27 years old, who had experienced IPC between their parents, were interviewed, utilising semi-structured interviews. During the interviews, participants were also invited to draw a representation of themselves during the conflict and then invited to talk about the drawings; the drawings were not analysed, but were there to help elicit content during the interviews. Data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The analysis resulted in five Group Experiential Themes (GETs): ‘Feelings About the Family Home’ (subthemes: home as unsafe and unpredictable environment, a lack of emotional support in the family, and conflict hidden from the outside world), ‘Memories of Conflict’ (subthemes: physical conflict between parents, regular arguing and threatening behaviour, and co-dependency between parents), ‘Position of Participant During the Conflict’ (subthemes: caught in-between the conflict, feeling confused, feeling fear, involved with siblings for support, and used various coping mechanisms), ‘Impacts of Parental Conflict’ (subthemes: conflict as a traumatic event, parentification, emotional awareness, friendships and relationships, mental health and longing for security, current conflict resolution, education and career, comparison to sibling(s), and changing relationship with parents), and ‘Current Thoughts and Feelings About Conflict’ (subthemes: feelings about discussing conflict, and changing perspective on parental conflict). The findings from this research showcase that the developmental impacts of IPC can be long-lasting and wide-ranging, highlighting the need for further awareness to be given to the possible impacts of destructive IPC. It also highlights a connection between IPC and trauma, something which is greatly missing in the current literature in this field. This research has implications for those working in counselling and mental health, demonstrating the broad range of impacts that clients may face if they have been exposed to IPC during their childhoods and young adulthoods. The use of qualitative research methods has allowed for a child-centred understanding of the experiences of IPC, with the hope that their needs may be better understood and met by professionals.
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External and residence-based Italian citizenship in the Brexit contextBrexit, which caused Britons to lose EU citizenship and EU citizens in the UK to lose EU legislation protection, represents a challenge for the citizenships of EU member states. In this context, I explore the experiences with respect to Italian citizenship of Italians in the UK, Britons in Italy, and Britons in the UK and elsewhere with claims to Italian citizenship. I show how Italian citizenship legislation, despite recent restrictions, still offers good protection to Italians abroad and relatives of Italian citizens. While naturalisation by residence in Italy is characterised by exclusionary requirements, I show how the British population in Italy also includes long-term residents who have not sought naturalisation despite meeting the requirements well before Brexit. Beyond the letter of the law, procedures of naturalisation and the functioning of the linked institutions – especially consulates – are key in the experience of citizenship. For some interviewees, it was less complex to meet the requirements in the letter of the law than to prove it through the procedures. More generally, the analysis shows the complexity of citizenship in its internal and external dimensions, in the stratification of the experiences for different profiles of citizens and applicants, and in the interaction between the letter of the law and its implementation.
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Long-term temporal stability of personality in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Comparison of trait ratings and behaviour codings over a quarter of a centuryThere is a lack of research examining whether trait ratings and behaviour codings yield similar measures of personality in nonhuman animals, and whether these measures are stable over the long term. Here, we compare personality assessments in the same group of zoo-housed chimpanzees over a 25 year period, offering a rare opportunity for the analysis of long-term temporal stability of personality in this species. We attempt to disentangle the effects of time and measure through an analysis of similarities and differences at a group and individual level. The first wave of the study rated 59 chimpanzees’ personality traits on an adapted version of the Madingley Questionnaire. The trait principal component analysis (PCA) revealed five components: Submissiveness, Extraversion, Neuroticism, Agreeableness and Openness. A separate PCA identified five components based on behavioural codings: Grooming, Play, Sociability, Aggression and Responsibility. The second wave, with 19 individuals, identified three components arising from behavioural codings: Popularity, Sociability and Influence. When comparing across time for the 11 chimpanzees common to both waves, our primary hypothesis, that trait ratings from the first wave would not correlate with behaviour codings from the second because they are measuring different axes, was largely supported. Our second hypothesis, that the behaviour codings carried out during the two waves would correlate because they were measuring the same thing, was supported, both at the component level and the individual behaviour level, thus providing evidence of stability of behaviour codings over time, particularly those reflecting sociability measures. Personality trait ratings were different to behavioural codings and included aspects not captured through those codings, including intelligence, apprehension, excitability and gentleness; thus, we argue that they represent a more comprehensive characterisation of individuality.
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My legal lifeArticle on legal life.
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Violence against Muslims: Conquered, not fully colonized, in the Making of the Muslim “Other” in the Central African RepublicMuslims in the Central African Republic have experienced extreme violence for more than a decade. Through ethnographic fieldwork and archival research, this article shows how the foundations for contemporary violence were created through colonial and postcolonial state-making. The civilizing mission of republican colonialism set Muslims apart. Lifestyle and mobility were never fully colonized; escape depicted difference. Nationalist liberation mythologies render Muslim citizenship as foreign, precarious, and subject to ongoing contestation. Pentecostalism, a lateral liberation philosophy presented as patriotism, provides power to anti-Muslim discourse. Violence against Muslims is situated in an accumulated “pastness” of state-making and struggle in Central African historiography.
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Conclusion: Knowledge and skills partnershipsResearch in youth justice is vast and varied, meaning that those seeking to identify ‘good practice’ or ‘evidence’ must navigate multiple studies, large and small, from every jurisdiction and academic discipline. The scholarship has been produced using diverse methodologies and approaches, and although there is an increasing focus on policy impact and practitioner perspectives, its breadth and depth can make this vast literature difficult to access by those interested in an evidence-based approach.
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Introduction: Knowledge/evidence production and utilizationThere are different types of knowledge relevant and applicable to the youth justice context that can be developed or acquired through engagement in academic study/scholarship and mastered through professional practice. Evidence-based practice, defined in different ways, is informed and guided by empirical research, theoretical insights, young people’s narratives and professional knowledge/expertise (Baker et al., 2011). The focus of this edited collection is on forms of knowledge exchange (transfer) between professionals and academics in the youth justice context. The phrase ‘Knowledge and Skills Partnerships’ is invoked, and covers a spectrum of meanings, employed as an umbrella term that encompasses the exchange and transfer of knowledge between stakeholders and translation of theory/evidence into practice. This emphasis on the construction and dissemination of knowledge in youth justice was the theme of an event on Wednesday 8 June 2022. Dr Jayne Price, Dr Sean Creaney and Gareth Jones chaired a one-day online conference 1 about ‘Knowledge Transfer Partnerships’ between youth justice practice and academia. The event was hosted by Cheshire Youth Justice Services, Edge Hill University and the University of Chester, and focused on knowledge/evidence production and utilisation in youth justice practice. The catalyst for the event was HM Inspectorate of Probation’s (2021:6) report on Cheshire Youth Justice Services: We were impressed with the [Youth Justice Service] YJS’s use of evidence and academic research to inform and develop practice and services. This is some of the strongest we have seen. The inspectorate alluded to the benefits of a well-established knowledge and skills partnership and how evidence is used to inform practice. It was heartening to see such value placed on research-informed and evidence-based practice, highlighted in the final inspection report that was then published online (HM Inspectorate of Probation, 2021). It is important to emphasise the opportunity which this conference and book presents of drawing together other expertise in this area. This includes creating a space to disseminate achievements (including proactive knowledge exchange strategies), engage academic/practice experts and heighten the importance of knowledge and skills partnerships by creating a space for professionals to reflect upon their own beliefs and values, including principles that underpin meaningful knowledge exchange activity. Understanding the environments within which practitioners operate is of paramount importance, (re)attaching value to ‘knowledge from practice, or practice wisdom’ (Gibson, Vaswani and Dyer, 2024), when seeking to nurture the development of evidence-based policy and practice within organisations.
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“Just keep on going”: An exploration of the childhood experiences of young men whose parents were imprisoned in Singapore and the perspective of professionals involved in care and supportThis study explores into the childhood experiences of young men whose parents were imprisoned in Singapore, and the perspectives of professionals involved in the care of these young people. Using an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) research method the research delved into the lived experiences of three young people and five professionals, using semi-structured interviews to understand their retrospective worldview. The findings showed shared negative impacts which permeates various facets of a young person’s life across the young participants. The professionals shared the same perceptive as the young people of parental imprisonment. Professionals highlighted systemic issues, emphasizing the lack of synergy between systems, while unanimous consent existed among young participants and professionals regarding the insufficiency of financial support for families with imprisoned members. Although this research aligns with existing literature at a broader level, it introduces nuanced experiences influenced by culture and ethnicity, often overlooked in Western-centric literature. The research also identifies the importance of prioritizing the voices of young people in shaping effective practices, especially within the Southeast Asian context. The research recommends the establishment of a dedicated agency to oversee the well-being and support of children with imprisoned parents, coordinating assistance from the point of parental arrest. It’s also recommends training for caregivers, focusing on parenting skills, enhancing connections with children, and offering guidance on communication. Emphasizing schools as vital social support for children of imprisoned parents, the study suggests enhanced training for professionals to guide the young people. Furthermore, the research underscores the importance of soliciting input directly from young people themselves to identify their needs and support needed while under the care of guardians.
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Space–time analysis of urban green spaces’ disappearance in Ilorin, NigeriaIn recent years, urban green spaces (UGS) have fought for relevance and dominance with competing urban development agendas, which have often proclaimed moral victory, favoring competing interests over the need for UGS. This study examined the decline of UGS between 1986 and 2020 in Ilorin, Nigeria. The methodology employed survey (population estimates) and remotely sensed satellite data (Landsat imagery). The study estimated the UGS decline, land surface temperature (LST) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for Ilorin from images retrieved from Landsat 5, 7, and 8 thermal infrared sensors using the mono window algorithm and green spaces. Findings revealed the drastic depletion of green spaces, as the combined average reduction effect of riparian and densely vegetated green areas, woodlands, and agricultural sites took place at the rate of 3.37 percent. In comparison, built-up and gray spaces increased by an average of 4.90 percent over the study periods increasing the average LST from 38 °C to over 40 °C. With staunch assurances, Ilorin is on pace to lose 9.51 hectares before 2030. Conclusively, governments and city managers must do enough through environmental investments by revising policies that produce new results that can improve the roles of UGS in ecosystem services provision.
