Diplomacy and (mis)comprehension in the Antique Indian Ocean: gift-giving and ritual as a form of communication

There has been much discussion of the fluid nature of concepts like luxury, prestige and symbolism in the Ex Oriente Luxuria series (Schneider 2015). It is frequently recognised that these categorises are not immutable and whether an object (or the complex set of interactions involving its use) is imbued with such meaning is often dependent upon on specific circumstances, subjective experience and wider cultural values. Factors such as rarity, expense and what constitutes the exotic is heavily context dependent. As such, the meaning attributed to different items, be they spices, precious gemstones, or animals (/animal products) will vary from location to location. This raises an important series of questions – how easily could shared codes of interaction exist between societies separated by vast distances? More specifically, how might gifts that formed part of diplomatic dialogue be understood both by the giving party and the recipient? Do our sources allow us to easily analyse such forms of communication or is any original meaning too heavily distorted by the medium of record (such as literary genre) and pre-existing cultural expectations (clichés, topoi, notions of “otherness”)? The present paper explores these issues in relation to the Antique Indian Ocean (end of the first millennium BC to mid-first millennium AD). Two broad areas will receive particular focus. The first is relations between the Roman Empire and South Asian polities. In particular, considering the extent to which such diplomatic contact was coloured by the legacy of Alexander the Great. The second area to be examined relations between the Roman state, the Blemmyes and Axum. In addition to drawing upon source material from antiquity, comparative evidence from the better documented early modern period will also inform the discussion

Narrative enquiry into the physical literacy journeys of further education young ambassadors

The benefits of physical literacy are widely acknowledged, with advocates recognising the importance of its development throughout the life course. Whilst the link between physical activity, health and physical literacy is well researched, there is a noticeable lack of young people’s voices in the literature. This research aims to explore the physical literacy journeys of further education young ambassadors at a 6th form college in Southwest Wales, offering holistic and valuable insights into young people's unique experiences. Qualitative semi-structured interviews provide voices and perceptions, helping to contribute to a better understanding in this context. The narrative data obtained from the interviews underwent thematic analysis, facilitating the identification of emergent key themes. As a result of the coding framework, the researcher categorised themes as, 'desire for significance,' 'personal reward,' 'significant others,' 'imagining future self,' and 'environment’. The ambassadors' desire for significance emphasises the importance of early execution of fundamental movement skills for success and sustained participation. Yet re-defining success criteria will be beneficial in fostering feelings of pride and success in all individuals. The ambassadors clearly relished personal benefits from physical activity. Thus, physical education should prioritise autonomy and choice, focussing on personal reward and enjoyment when planning these opportunities. Various significant others played crucial roles in the ambassadors' lives, with teachers and family responsible for activity levels and peer groups acknowledged as strong determinants in activity choice and frequency. Promoting adult activity therefore provides relatable role models for young people to aspire to. The ambassadors’ keen sense of improving prospects highlights the need for universities to facilitate personal development and establish systems for mentoring students. Additionally, diverse student physical activity programs enhance the appeal of the institution. The scope of environmental influences ambassadors encountered gives prominence to the need for local authority providers to create safe and accessible opportunities. Furthermore, increasing knowledge of engagement in outdoor pursuits available locally is necessary to increase physical literacy

What challenges and enabling factors influence the effective use of digital systems among staff working in an acute paediatric setting?

Introduction: The NHS Wales Paediatric Welsh Nursing Care Record (Paeds WNCR) project aims to standardise and digitalise paediatric inpatient and risk assessment documents across Wales. This research, conducted in a rural Health Board (HB) in West and Mid Wales, examines the sociotechnical environment and how the multidisciplinary team (MDT) interact with the current digital systems. Methods: A pre-implementation study assessed the usability of the Welsh Clinical Portal (WCP) and WelshPas (WPas) using the industry-standard System Usability Scale (SUS) along with open-ended surveys. The study also explored the digital confidence and attitudes of the staff. Results: The SUS scores indicated that both WCP (mean and median = 61.25) and WPas (mean=62.27, median = 62.50) fall below the industry standard for acceptable usability (n=68), suggesting an urgent need for improvement. Qualitative feedback revealed diverse staff experiences and an ethnographic-narrative approach was used to describe their lived experiences. Discussion: Four themes emerged: user experience and confidence, benefits, challenges, and change. The complexity of factors affecting digital system use was categorized into three themes: Health Information Technology, Clinical Standards, and Change Management. These factors can be plotted along a continuum that ranges from challenging to beneficial. The exact impact of each factor is very individual to that person. Conclusion: Despite the limited generalisability due to small sample sizes, this research provides insights into the current use of digital record-keeping systems and HIT in clinical practice by paediatric staff. It highlights the scarcity of prior research focused on paediatric staff’s experiences with HIT implementation and the sheer frustration, anger and irritation expressed by the majority of the HCPs, which mirrors the negative influences caused by poorly performing digital devices, slow Wi-Fi networks, system interfaces that do not support clinical workflows. This research on the perspectives and practices of this group of paediatric staff has the potential to contribute new insights to the field, specifically within the hospital-based paediatric areas in Wales

Rewriting Torah in the Fourth Gospel: with particular reference to scriptural interpretation in the Prologue

This dissertation aims to study some of the ways in which the Gospel of John uses the Jewish Scriptures, particularly the Law of Moses (Torah), in its presentation of Jesus. In addition to drawing attention to the testimony of Scripture (5:39) and to what Moses wrote about Jesus (5:45), the Gospel employs many scriptural quotations as well as allusions, motifs and symbols drawn from the Torah in its narrative about Jesus. This aim of this dissertation, therefore, is to analyse the function of these ‘Torah’ elements in the Johannine narrative and to explore how they contribute to our understanding of the reception of the Jewish Scriptures in the Gospel of John in relation to its Christological concerns. Based on recent research on Second Temple Jewish literature, this study will argue in particular that the Gospel of John and certain Rewritten Scripture compositions share many hermeneutical strategies and exegetical techniques. The books of Jubilees, Genesis Apocryphon and Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum (LAB), it is proposed, provide valuable parallels to the Fourth Gospel in respect of its wide-ranging scriptural interpretation. The second half of the dissertation focuses on the various strategies and techniques of scriptural interpretation that are attested in the Johannine Prologue. In John 1:1–18, the Fourth Evangelist employs the symbols of Logos and light, drawn primarily from Genesis 1 as well as Jewish Wisdom traditions, to characterize Jesus as a pre-existent and divine figure. In addition, the evocation of Exodus traditions in the Prologue’s references to Jesus as the embodiment of God’s glory (1:14) are designed to persuade the audience that Jesus Christ, the Logos incarnate, is the unique revelation of God in the world. This study therefore attends to the exegetical methods and rhetorical impact of the v interpretation of the Jewish scriptures that are identifiable in the Gospel of John, particularly in its opening Prologue. Like many Rewritten Scripture texts, the literary devices of expansion, omission, and embellishment in the Prologue’s engagement with Scripture provide significant hints for tracing the exegetical motivations and rhetorical purposes that lie behind the composition of the Johannine narrative. We therefore explore how John prepares his ‘we’ community (1:14) for the fulfilment of God’s promises and to demonstrate how the testimony of Scripture aligns with the inclusion of believers as the children of God (1:12)

Learner experiences of low attainment groups in the context of a rights approach to education

Participation is seen as an important right for learners, though there is lack of evidence to understand learners’ views on classroom practice. This includes decisions about grouping learners, for example, in terms of their prior attainment or perceived ‘ability’. This research took place in Wales where children’s rights are strongly promoted as an educational approach, but where there is also evidence of widespread attainment grouping in schools. Focus groups and interviews were carried out with secondary school learners in lower attaining groups (n = 70) and teachers and teaching assistants (n = 10) to understand experiences of learning support. Findings suggest strong learner satisfaction with groups, but also lack of movement between groups that reinforced ability hierarchies in schools and supported the development of negative identities for some learners. There was a lack of consensus among educators about the purpose of attainment grouping, with some seeing it as a way of addressing systemic issues within the school

‘Ail i neb yn ei ddysg Gymraeg’: Dr Siôn Dafydd Rhys a Chyfraith Hywel

Wrth bori drwy gampwaith Dr Daniel Huws, A Repertory of Welsh Manuscripts and Scribes c.800–c.1800, deuthum ar draws y llawysgrif hon: Llanstephan 79 (33C) Welsh law s.xvi/xvii A transcript, on pp.1–68, in the hand of Siôn Dafydd Rhys, of part of an unidentified text of the Law of Hywel, beginning abruptly, containing damweiniau, cynghawsedd and triads. A few marginal references to sigla ‘S3’, ‘S4’, ‘Cott. 3’ and ‘J’ [sigla used in Leg. Wall.] in the hand of Moses *Williams (e.g. pp.46, 54) and another (pp.65–7). 4o. 37 fols (pp.i–iv, 1–70; i–iv and 69–70 are fly-leaves).2 Bwriad yr ysgrif hon yw gweld a oes modd adnabod cynsail y testun a cheisio gweld a yw trawsgrifiad Siôn Dafydd Rhys yn gopi gwerthfawr o un o lawysgrifau coll Cyfraith Hywel. Ystyrir hefyd pwy oedd Siôn Dafydd Rhys a rhai o’i gyfoeswyr a beth oedd eu diddordeb yn y gyfraith cyn symud ymlaen i ddadansoddi cynnwys y llawysgrif. Drwy ystyried y llawysgrif hon, nad yw wedi derbyn unrhyw sylw o’r blaen gan ysgolheigion, cynigir ychwanegiad newydd at y corpws o lawysgrifau cyfraith a’r hyn a wyddom am eu trosglwyddiad

The need for a new entrepreneurship paradigm to address the issue of inequality

In their article on Sustainable Development and Entrepreneurship, Hall et al (2010, 446) make the point that “much of the work to date in the entrepreneurship field has an implicit assumption that entrepreneurship only leads to positive outcomes for society” and question the conditions under which entrepreneurship is welfare creating rather than welfare destroying. In our chapter in the ICSB’s 2024 Annual Global Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Report, Felicity and I address this with respect to the inequalities (SDG 10) that entrepreneurship has tended to create in “impoverished communities within developing and emerging economies” (op.cit). We provide examples of MSMEs that are addressing this issue and propose the need for a new Harmonious Entrepreneurship paradigm that does not see inequality as an inevitable consequence of entrepreneurship as Isenberg (2014) has contended

Falling into Glăveanu’s Gap: A lyric essay searching for resilience through creativity

This paper is in two parts comprising a literature review and a creative, non-fiction, lyric essay format to explore interplay between ambivalent emotions, creativity, and resilience. The context is my own state affect between client sessions, as a psychotherapist and researcher. The lyric essay, “Falling into Glăveanu’s Gap,” that comprises the second part of this paper covers a period of great disquiet in my personal and professional life, when adverse life experiences impacted my research, and, as such, formed an integral part of the research itself. My self-search heuristic exploration forms part of a larger, doctoral enquiry into the interplay between ambivalence, creativity, and resilience amongst therapists, examining whether those engaged in creativity experience a greater sense of resilience. Resilience is the antithesis of burnout, a condition which disproportionately affects practicing therapists. This research argues that therapist education, training and continuing professional development provision, would benefit from a stronger focus on therapist emotion and affect, outside of the therapy room. Opportunities for engagement with creativity are recommended to aid the development of therapist resilience and to combat therapist burn-out