The contribution of allotments to the planetary health and social change

Disasters and pandemics that have occurred in the last decade have led societies to seek collaborative, sustainable and adaptable solutions to respond to profound social changes. The results of the surveys conducted by different institutions show that especially with the COVID-19 pandemic, the feeling of loneliness felt by individuals in the society has increased, and that encouraged the local governments to carry out various studies to increase the interaction between individuals in the society and improve public health. The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred new approaches to social change, including increased interest in allotment gardening as a means of accessing urban green spaces amid lockdowns. Allotment gardening has become a powerful tool for improving people’s health and well-being, as well as strengthening social relationships. This study explores the role of allotments in improving planetary health and examines strategies to increase the accessibility of green spaces, and thus social relationships for social benefit in a sustainable context

Post-rock composition and performance practice: authenticity, liveness, creativity & technology

This thesis seeks to recontextualise journalist Simon Reynolds’ 1995 definition of post rock from the perspective of a practitioner and guitarist, focusing on popular music production and recording practices. The research applies a practice-as-research (PAR) methodology combining practice, interviews (with contemporary practitioners in the field) and contextual theory (musicology of popular music, cultural theory, and technology studies).The rise of cheaper music technology and the influence of electronic dance music (EDM) aesthetics and cultures in the 1980s and 1990s in genres such as techno, house, and jungle, have influenced an increase in the integration of recording studio devices into live performance set-ups for stage. I argue that the amalgamation of studio and stage (DAWs, samplers, sequencers and loopers) redefines the ‘rock band’ model. This has created new collaborations, as the technology and production become a physical extension of the band members’ instruments (Emmerson, 2011) and expands their creative processes. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead comments on a new way of composing, recording and performing: a ‘third’ way between playing and programming (Greenwood, in Rose, 2019:201). The ‘rock band’ model is shifting between studio and stage, live and recorded, and experimental and accessible, challenging the themes of liveness (Auslander, 2002). The thesis proposes that the ‘I’ of the band identity or the individual ‘rock’ performer has therefore dissolved or has been displaced by the more complex ‘I’ of the human and machine. Through producing Series of Studio Experiments (2019) and the album Enid – Yes! (2021) the research practice is concerned with the space between live performance and creative studio production— the post-digital performance. Post-rock thus presents a paradigm shift in authenticity, in which the origins and authors of sound are dislocated, and the creative acts of the manipulation of sound becomes the emerging virtuosic act, or act of timbral virtuosity (Solis, 2015). Practice research at the links below

England is a Forest

England is a Forest is a collaborative and experimental illustrated forest. It is a virtual map and exhibition, with its physical debut at Sluice [Vernacular] Expo at The Minories, Colchester, June 2024. Through a free open call, it received over a hundred artworks, each portraying a specific tree with its geolocation. There was no selection process, just a shared sensibility by participants to collaborate. The Minories is an arts charity and gallery in an historic townhouse in central Colchester with the vision of 'empowering our communities to access the life-changing power of art'

Demystification and actualisation of data saturation in qualitative research through thematic analysis

The concept of saturation in qualitative research is a widely debated topic. Saturation refers to the point at which no new data or themes are emerging from the data set, which indicates that the data have been fully explored. It is considered an important concept as it helps to ensure that the findings are robust and that the data are being used to their full potential to achieve the research aim. Saturation, or the point at which further observation of data will not lead to the discovery of more information related to the research questions, is an important aspect of qualitative research. However, there is some mystification and semantic debate surrounding the term saturation, and it is not always clear how many rounds of research are needed to reach saturation or what criteria are used to make that determination during the thematic analysis process. This paper focuses on the actualisation of saturation in the context of thematic analysis and develops a systematic approach to using data to justify the contribution of research. Consequently, we introduce a distinct model to help researchers reach saturation through refining or expanding existing quotations, codes, themes and concepts as necessary

Huawei aligns with SDGs to achieve differentiation and competitive advantage in the smartphone industry

Recent years have witnessed a growing intensity of competition in business. Aligning an organisations’ differentiation strategy with the SDGs not only contributes to a sustainable future but also brings tangible benefits such as market growth and competitive advantage. The case study focuses on Huawei and SDG initiatives. Founded in 1987, Huawei has emerged as one of the leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smartphone devices. With 194,000 employees operating in over 170 countries. By incorporating specific sustainable development goals (SDGs) relevant to the smartphone industry, Huawei has differentiated itself in line with Porter’s generic strategies for growth, with particular emphasis on differentiation as a strategy for growth to create a unique identity in the smartphone industry. The case study explains Porter’s generic strategies for growth, with particular emphasis on differentiation as a strategy for growth. The case then goes on to explore how Huawei’s differentiation strategy aligns with the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, through the SDGs adopted in 2015, to drive sustainable competitive advantage in the smartphone industry. In addition, the case study explores how Huawei contributes to specific SDGs to drive innovation in the telecommunications sector as well as strengthened their market position as industry innovators and achieved sustainable competitive advantage in the smartphone industry both in China and globally. The case study suggests that businesses should consider aligning the SDGs in their strategic planning to inspire change, create a positive impact on the environment and most importantly achieve market growth and drive sustainable competitive advantage. Finally, the case study provides questions that encourages students to engage in critical thinking to demonstrate how the Porter’s generic strategies model is applied in real life situations in the context of Huawei and its SDG initiatives to achieve competitive advantage in the smartphone industry

Wearable tech, virtual fashion, and immersive technologies

Since the turn of the 21st century, humanity has witnessed many technological innovations in fashion, apparel, and textiles which have created entirely new product categories and brought new developments to all stages of the product life cycle. Wearable technology and virtual fashion represent two new product categories in the physical and digital realms of fashion. In this chapter, new opportunities and challenges for environmental sustainability emerging from the introduction of these new product categories in the marketplace are discussed. Focus is placed on textile-based wearable technologies, such as electronic textiles, smart clothing, virtual apparel, and textiles in digital social interactions and retailing; covering their implications for sustainability at all levels: from materials, production, and distribution to use and disposal

Reputations: Pier Luigi Nervi (1891–1979)

Article on the life and work of Pier Luigi Nervi for the June 2024 Architectural Review special issue on "Sports"

The joy of apples and seaside forensics: engaging the local community to explore the built environment

My practice foregrounds community engagement, placemaking and inclusion in relation to design and the built environment, achieved through a variety of projects, events and workshops. As an Early Career Researcher, I’m building on this practice to develop my academic research. My presentation is an introduction to two such recent projects. 'The Office for Field Forensics: Folkestone' is a fictional investigative agency dedicated to the study of the urban, social and environmental conditions that define a particular location. Working with students from East Kent College, St Peter’s C of E Primary School and University for the Creative Arts, we developed a body of creative research that we archived and presented in the form of models, drawings and a publication, representing a glimpse into the make-up of a town as the participants understand it. Yinka Ilori MBE’s 'Slices of Peace' was a public art commission for Kings Hill in Kent, the result of a cultural partnership between Liberty Property Trust, Kent County Council, Turner Contemporary Margate, FutureCity, and UCA. Supporting the project was AtelierUCA, a team of students and graduates who supported public engagement, project documentation, and the development of the accompanying exhibition and publication

Unframing

This essay examines the film/video frame variously as a technical, aesthetic, perceptual and ideological object/function via an analysis of some relevant examples of artists' film and video. Several technical functions in film and video are either overlooked or taken for granted. One of the most important of these is the frame, especially in the cinema context where it functions as an image container, a subsistent, invisible barrier or cut-off between the screen space and its surrounding darkness. Several filmmakers have tested the givenness of the framing edges - it’s called the frame but it’s really a mask - either by incorporating them into the work or by making them disappear. The strategy of incorporation, in the form of frames within frames, can generate a partial mise en abyme (Droste Effect), or gesture towards it. In William Raban’s 2’ 45”, for example, there is a pattern of frames and forms within forms, but at the same time there are variations within each framing. These variations distinguish the work from the exact replications of the Droste Effect, where a fractal-like, exact mise en abyme generates a sense of vertigo, of an endless dead-endedness, because it precludes any possibility of deviation and hence uncertainty, on which films depend for their interest. The frame is crucial to the stability that images require and the proliferation of mobile and other platforms in the internet age has done nothing to disperse it, on the contrary, so it is perhaps surprising that only a small number of filmmakers have sought to question and dissolve it. The dissolution of the frame threatens the dissolution of the image: in the works considered in this essay, forms of cinematic framing and hence of off-screen space are challenged on their own terms. The frame ceases to be a window, with the illusionistic implications of that, and its dissolution leads to it becoming more akin to the frame of a material medium like painting, where it is determined by the artist in response to the formal requirement of the picture. For although digital video technology allows aspect ratios to be freely created, the edges still function in the same way as an analogue film frame

Createch: peer-to-peer networking (P2P) and knowledge exchange (KE)

The report highlights the findings from research into P2PN Networking and Knowledge Exchange in Createch with a particular reference to sustainability. The research was delivered through the Createch P2P and KE projects that was funded by UKRI via the University for the Creative Arts, AHRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA)