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Team-Based Learning and Threshold Concepts in Biological Security and Dual-Use: Toward a Transformative Biological Security Pedagogy—The Game Changing Implications of CRISPR/Cas and the Design of a Novel Methodology for Influencing the Culture of Life and Associated Science through Awareness Raising and EducationCRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) gene editing technologies appear to be a game-changer and suggest great potential for genome manipulation and for developments in next-generation therapeutics. Ethical, legal and social concerns have been raised in light of recent applications in humans. Concern also arises in relation to the potential of such developments for misuse. In addressing the post-COVID19 challenges raised by responsible research innovation and in confronting what to do about the vexed question of “dual-use”, we contend that awareness-raising and education concerning the ethical, legal and social implications of scientific research innovation represents a welcome and empowering alternative to top down regulatory responses that may serve to stifle innovation. The design and subsequent implementation of a novel transformative pedagogy combining Team-Based Learning and Threshold Concepts yields both empirical evidence-based metrics for real-time learning. As well as generating novel empirical data-sets for the identification of subject-specific threshold concepts across discrete specialisms in the life sciences, we argue that this hybrid methodology can be used to engage science professionals and students alike in meaningful and much-needed dialogue about developments relating to genome manipulation. We demonstrate how evidence-based threshold concepts can inform the design of bespoke subject-specific training as we suggest was the case from our deployment of team-based learning and threshold concepts during our proof of concept application, prior to the pandemic, during the course of two European Union Human Brain Project training programmes undertaken in 2017 and 2018, with experts in neuroscience research at the Karonlinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Male entrapment and its charm warrant: A systematic review characterising male entrapment behaviours of domestic abuse, how they are described and researchedBackground: Research and policy traditionally focus on female victim-survivors of domestic abuse. Therefore, behaviour change approaches for male perpetrators of abuse look at the same, rather than focusing on the root cause of the problem — men who use abusive behaviours. This systematic review aimed to identify studies that characterise entrapment behaviours and how male perpetrators describe those behaviours. Method: The review used a systematic meta-analysis design, conducting an electronic search via databases with a two-stage strategy employed to locate literature and pinpoint key themes and concepts to explore coercive control and male entrapment behaviours of domestic abuse. The protocol was pre-registered on PROSPERO. Nine articles were identified within the review as being of interest, and this paper provides a narrative synthesis which details the results of the systematic review. Results: The narrative synthesis identified unities between some articles, which were labelled as commonalities. There are four commonalities: male behaviour, coercive control, charm and charisma and power. Critically the review only returned one article directly examining male behaviours of entrapment, with the findings still valid a decade later, but shows more research needs to be built upon this. Conclusion: This review showed that male behaviour within domestic abuse is chronically under-researched, and behaviours utilised by male perpetrators of abuse to entrap and coercively control a female partner need further investigation, but that charm and power is an area of interest.
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Affirmative Action in the Educational Sector: A Discriminative Practice or for Promoting Peaceful Living?The article discusses the admission process for Unity schools in Nigeria, which uses affirmative action to ensure the representation of students from all regions of the country. The policy promotes fairness, equity, and justice in education by compensating disadvantaged groups without equal access to opportunities, rights, and ‘social bases of self-respect’. Affirmative action removes obstacles that prevent individuals from pursuing their goals and ensures that all parts of the country are represented. They might not be the most intelligent students, but they are the best in their region. The evidence shows that affirmative action is not discriminatory but relatively justifiable as a temporary measure to reduce the educational imbalance between the northern and southern parts of the country. With limited school spaces and numerous applicants, the admission policy prioritizes diversity, equity, and unity. Without this policy, the schools would be dominated by students from the south of Nigeria, which could lead to conflict and a lack of positive peace. Educational achievement discrepancies, such as disparities in access to quality education, resources, and opportunities, have the potential to breed distrust and conflict within communities.
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Minding some animals but not others: Strategic attributions of mental capacities and moral worth to animals used for food in pescatarians, vegetarians, and omnivoresWhile moral concern for animals has become increasingly important for both consumer food choice and food policy makers, previous research demonstrated that meat eaters attribute lower moral status and mental capacities to animals raised for meat compared to non-food animals. The current research investigated whether this strategic flexibility in moral concern and mind perceptions also occurs when considering aquatic food animals and animals used for dairy and egg products, and the degree to which these concerns and perceptions are evident in pescatarians and vegetarians. We compared perceptions (mind attributions and moral concern) of land food animals versus aquatic food animals, and of animals in the meat versus dairy and egg industry between omnivores (n = 122), pescatarians (n = 118), vegetarians (n = 138), vegans (n = 120), and flexitarians (n = 60). Pescatarians scored lower than other dietary groups on moral concern and mind attribution for aquatic animals relative to farmed land animals. Unlike the other dietary groups, pescatarians and vegetarians scored lower on moral concern and mind attribution for dairy than beef cows and for layer chickens than broiler chickens. These findings demonstrate that pescatarians and vegetarians were flexible in their moral thinking about different types of food animals in ways that suited their consumption habits, even when the same animal was evaluated (e.g., dairy vs beef cows). This research highlights the psychological barriers that might prevent people from reducing animal product consumption and may need to be addressed in interventions to encourage transitioning towards more plant-based diets.
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Citizen attitudes towards the environment and association with perceived threats to the countryside: Evidence from countries in five European biogeographic zonesCitizens play a crucial role in attaining the United Nations 2030 sustainable development goals (SDGs). There is growing awareness of the importance of understanding citizen perspectives on environmental issues, in relation to developing and maintaining sustainable lifestyles, and in addressing perceived threats to protection and restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity. This analysis sought to understand people’s attitudes towards environmental conservation, how they relate to perceived threats to the countryside, and to determine how attitudes and perceived threats vary demographically and between countries. A survey was administered to citizens (quota sampled on age, gender, education, and split between rural and urban residency) across five countries representative of differing biogeographical regions (N = 3,190): Czech Republic (n = 649) (Continental); Spain (Mediterranean) (n = 623); Sweden (Boreal) (n = 645); Switzerland (Alpine) (n = 641); United Kingdom (UK) (Atlantic) (n = 632). Attitudes were measured using the Environmental Attitudes Inventory (EAI-24) on 2 factors (utilization; preservation) and perceived threat to the countryside on 1-factor (15 items). Multigroup regression analysis indicated that preservationist attitudes were associated with greater perceived threat to the countryside in all five countries. Higher perceived threat was associated with activities linked to environmental degradation, socio-economic uncertainty and risks in agri-food supply chains in all countries. The “bad behaviour of visitors” was the greatest perceived threat in the Czech Republic, Switzerland and the UK, while “lack of young farmers taking over farming” was the greatest perceived threat in Spain and Sweden. To promote pro-environmental attitudes and obtain greater public support for policies and interventions targeting environmental conservation, communication about environmental threats is needed, together with threat mitigation measures. Raising peoples’ awareness of threats to the countryside through targeted communications could promote pro-environment attitudes and potentially result in pro-environmental behaviours.
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The Challenge of Global Migration - Human Rights, Security and RefugeesThis is a comprehensive study that examines the sources of refugee flows, in particular as they relate to political persecution, trafficking human slavery, and human rights challenges in relation to gender and sexual identity. Liberal democratic states have been contending with significant refugee inflows. The migration of large populations to Europe and North America is driven by various factors, including regional conflicts, the impacts of global warming, political opposition to autocratic regimes, and societal. The purpose of this study is to understand the nature of human rights challenges, to cut through false perceptions and myths in relation to the sources of migration and refugee flows, and to provide a deeper understanding for academics and practitioners in relation to the support for refugees and victims of human slavery.
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Using hybrid qualitative analysis to explore lived experience of motherhood and postnatal depression: A thematic-dialogical approachThis paper illustrates a novel hybrid approach to analysis which offers unique insights into the experience of postnatal depression in British Pakistani-Muslim women, through the prioritising of voice. To do so, we combine thematic and dialogical analysis, using data from a study on motherhood and postnatal depression. Participants were part of the birth cohort ‘Born in Bradford's Better Start’. The rationale for developing a hybridised approach is discussed. The ensuing analyses highlight the role of internal voices and chronotope, which give a detailed insight into women's meaning making of psychological distress and motherhood during the postnatal period. We go onto discuss the strength and limitations of hybridising thematic-dialogical analysis in the context of health research.
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The micro-dynamics of peace and conflictThe study of micro-dynamics has grown over the last two decades, emerging now as a mainstay in research on peace and conflict. The focus on micro-dynamics, and other micro-level approaches, challenges the primacy of state-centric research. Yet despite the growing literature around the micro-dynamics of conflict and peacebuilding, the term remains opaque. Its use has evolved beyond a sweeping indicator for ‘subnational’, yet the field of study has seen limited development of the definitional parameters of the term and why the term retains utility. In this article we explore the deployment of the concept in distinct literatures, provide a working definition, and assess its application to the study of peace and conflict. We argue that micro-dynamics are simultaneously a unit of analysis, a social phenomenon and a sense-making tool for understanding human relations in the broader societal ecosystem. We contend that a micro-dynamics approach contributes to peace and conflict studies, offering insight into how individuals get on with their lives in conflict-affected areas. By providing multilayered insights of complex scenarios based upon thick, empirically led inductive analysis, the micro-dynamics lens generates a granular understanding of (i) how individuals and groups live and perceive boundaries and (ii) the shifting and malleable nature of inter- and intragroup relations in conflict-affected societies. A micro-dynamics lens, moreover, evidences (iii) the interconnected nature of the micro- and other scalar levels of analysis, elucidating understanding of what we characterize as the peace and conflict ecosystem.
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Gender, religion, and political violence: lessons from Muslim women's experiences in UK electionsViolence against women in politics is on the rise, threatening political achievements with respect to equality. Little research, however, has been conducted on the experiences of women from minority communities. This article, therefore, takes an intersectional approach to explore how gender, religion, and other categories of difference intersect when it comes to Muslim women’s experiences in the UK. Based on a longitudinal case study of Bradford West during the 2015, 2017, and 2019 general elections that combines participant observations, qualitative interviews, and a Twitter analysis, we argue that, in addition to the violence often experienced by women, Muslim women are also confronted with Islamophobic bias and abuse, as well as intersectional intimidation and harassment from within the Muslim community in their constituencies. Our case study approach, however, also reveals the existence of appreciation and support for Muslim women in politics that needs to be nurtured to counter abuse.
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Cultural hierarchies in health: Does inherited sociocultural position (biraderi) shape diet and nutrition among British Pakistani children? Protocol for a mixed-methods studyThis study aims to explore links between biraderi–a form of identity-based social grouping and stratification which cuts across religions among South Asians–and infant and child nutrition among British Pakistanis using data from the Born in Bradford cohort study. The study will entail a mixed-methods approach to (i) develop an operational framework of biraderi for epidemiologic analyses and apply it to longitudinal data from the Born in Bradford cohort study, (ii) quantify and describe child nutrition and dietary patterns for biraderi sub-groups, and (iii) investigate whether known mechanisms of identity-based segregation, graded inequality, and network effects operate through diet and nutrition in the UK. Using Krieger’s ecosocial theory as an integrative framework we will (iv) re-conceptualise and interpret the role of biraderi / caste in the social construction and embodied experience of how infants and children eat in the UK. Following a literature review on biraderi and health, we will convene and consult a lay consultation group in Bradford through focus groups and academic experts through a Delphi study to guide planning, implementation, interpretation and dissemination of our secondary data analysis. In addition to being the first study to look at biraderi-based nutritional inequalities in the UK, our study is innovative in that we will formally involve experts and users in the design and interpretation of our quantitative analyses. Findings will be applicable in any part of the world where children experience disadvantage linked to sociocultural hierarchy and identity. Our findings will be of particular use in (i) identifying women and children at particular risk of suboptimal breastfeeding practices, poor complementary feeding, and unhealthy diets in primary school in the UK, and (ii) elucidating the sociocultural pathways through which inequalities in population health nutrition outcomes are expressed.
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Long-Term Effects of Childhood Exposure to War on Domestic ViolenceThis paper highlights the scarring effects of early life exposure to civil war, by examining the impact of exposure to conflict in childhood on the incidence of domestic violence in adulthood among married women. To estimate these effects, we use a difference-in-differences model which exploits variation in exposure to Nigeria’s 30-month-long civil war by year of birth and ethnicity. Our results, based on the 2008 Nigerian Demographic Health Survey, show that women exposed to the war during childhood are more likely to be victims of domestic violence in adulthood compared to those not exposed to the war, with larger effects observed for those exposed at younger ages. Additionally, we explore the mechanisms through which exposure to civil war might affect domestic violence, and find some support for both the normalisation of violence and weakened bargaining power hypotheses. Understanding the root causes of domestic violence is important given the high prevalence in developing countries and the deleterious consequences for women and their children.
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Exploring how mobile money adoption affects nutrition and household food securityThis paper explores how using mobile money services affects food security and nutritional status of households in Tanzania. This study uses data obtained from three waves of the Tanzanian National Panel Surveys and the instrumental variable (IV) approach. The evidence from this paper shows that using mobile money services resulted in household's enhanced nutritional and food security status. Households' receipt of remittances is the main pathway in which using mobile money services influences the food security and nutritional outcomes among households in Tanzania.
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Food expenditure, income, and mental health: outcomes from the UK Household Longitudinal SurveyThe incidence of mental health problems is increasing in the United Kingdom and may be associated with lower dietary quality. Food expenditure is a marker of food insecurity with potential implications for mental health. This analysis considers data collected as part of the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Survey (UKHLS), also known as ‘Understanding Society’ (2009-2021) (N=388,944) to determine the extent to which food expenditure within and outside the household, is associated with mental health, whilst controlling for demographic factors. Mental health was measured using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) for which responses were on a 4-point scale and reverse-scored so that a higher score represented more favourable mental health. Household food expenditure and food expenditure outside the home were the outcomes. Controlling for socioeconomic and demographic factors, fixed-effects models indicated that better mental health was associated with greater household food expenditure and with greater food expenditure outside the home and that this association persisted post-lockdown. Among those on lower incomes better mental health was associated with lower food expenditure. When people who identified as white and non-white were modelled separately, better mental health was associated with lower food expenditure within and beyond the household only in those who identified as white. These findings imply that the mental health of people residing in the UK, particularly those on lower incomes and those who identify as white, may benefit from spending less of the household budget on food. In achieving United Nations General Assembly (2012) Sustainable Development Goals related to poverty, hunger and in promoting mental health, policies are needed to render food more affordable and to reduce other aspects of expenditure that impact upon food budgeting.
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Mission to Survive: Hungarian Historian Gyula Szekfü as Agent and DiplomatThis study assesses the wartime intelligence activities of the leading Hungarian historian Gyula Szekfű, and the controversial diplomatic role he played in Moscow after the Second World War. It is argued that the scholar-turned-diplomat nurtured the forlorn hope of mitigating the impact of military defeat by securing Soviet benevolence towards Hungary. Szekfű’s deep anxiety for his country, inextricably entwined with his own existential fears and a powerful motive of self-preservation, contributed to his complete political metamorphosis. Instead of justifying or condemning his inconsistencies and moral choices, this article traces the elements of continuity in his thinking and in Hungarian foreign policy.
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Power-informed practice in social workSummary: This article reviews the existing literature on power within a social work context and extends the analysis to broader sociological understandings through which to rethink the ways in which social work professionals understand and work with power within everyday practice. Findings: The review argues that prevailing dichotomies, which feature so centrally in theoretical conceptualisations of power, offering binary positions of power as ‘good or bad’, ‘positive or negative’ and ‘productive or limiting’ are limiting in themselves. It is argued that power must also be recognised as a construct which operates in a synchronous way; whereby it can impact in limiting and productive ways at the same time. Applications: To support this position, the Power-informed Practice (PiP) framework, which recognises power at the individual, professional and structural levels is offered. The utility of the framework in providing a clearer understanding of power is then presented in relation to working with children who have experienced abuse. As a tool, the framework enables social workers to structure their analysis of power within all areas of contemporary social work practice, in order to promote and support processes of empowerment.
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From campus dig to community impact: reflections from an armchair noviceThe University of Bradford was constructed in the 1960s, following the demolition of Victorian streets, houses, and local community buildings. An on-campus archaeological excavation took place in 2021 as a result of Covid-19 restrictions. Using a variety of archive sources, the results of the Dig led to an armchair exploration of both former Victorian residents and also the social history of the former community. This reflective piece documents the archive journey taken by someone who is not an archaeologist and touches upon the experiences of heritage attachment.
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The zone of playful proximal developmentIn this chapter, I will interpret the Zone of Proximal Development from the perspective of chronotope or time-space configuration. From here, I will explore the ‘zone of playful proximal development’ and contrast it with a zone of serious proximal development. At the heart of the playful I suggest is the possibility of joint, spontaneous improvisation.
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Regional economic inequalities; migration and community response, with special reference to YugoslaviaAfter a general introduction to the problems of regional imbalance, this paper proceeds to an analysis of the background and causes of regional economic inequalities in Yugoslavia. Demographic factors are outlined with reference to Yugoslav statistical sources, and the policies being adopted for those areas defined as being in need of special assistance are examined. The author concludes by indicating some lessons to be drawn from Yugoslavia's experience of migration and especially of its workers abroad.
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Dear Prime Minister, Mr Musk and Mr Zuckerberg!: The challenge of social media and platformed racism in the English premier league and football leagueThis paper draws on original research from a larger study of racism and Islamophobia online around football, particularly a set of interviews with staff at English football clubs whose responsibility is to manage social media. We use that information alongside our reflections on “platformed racism” to appraise how expressions of racism on social media differ from those in and around the grounds, and how clubs and others in football contest them. This involves a consideration of three themes commonly identified by those speaking on behalf of the clubs: The triggers that ignite racist posts; the partnerships necessary to counter them; and their proposed solutions. Hence this is not just a cue for a collective wringing of hands, but an effort to point the way forward.
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Games and Learning: Consolidating and Expanding the Potential of Analogue and Digital GamesFor a long time, Games Research suffered from what Jaakko Stenros and Annika Waern classified as the Digital Fallacy – the tendency to regard analog games as a subset of digital games rather than the other way around. Where boardgames were once associated with the past of games and learning and digital games with the future, there are now fresh insights and applications for boardgames in learning – alongside with their renaissance as games for entertainment. Even as boardgames found new relevance in learning, the already-recognized possibilities in digital games for learning have continued to expand, with more flexible and ubiquitous tools and platforms allowing for a greater variety of avenues of learning research and practice to be explored. Augmented and mixed reality as well as virtual reality are frontiers in learning that beg for further exploration.