Speculative net zero from the margins

This chapter examines the experiences of individuals from marginalised communities-such as LGBTIQ+, people with disabilities, under-or unemployed-and what they imagine a net zero future to look like. It then introduces government policies related to global warming and climate change, acknowledging that these communities are often excluded by both government and media in research and discussion on policy development. Using a participatory design methodology, the research provided opportunities for members of these groups to speculate on future needs

The IOC and Olympic Law: Scoping the Regulatory Space of the IOC

This chapter explores a specific and often under-explored area of transnational sports law: Olympic law. It begins by defining the parameters of the Olympic legal framework and distinguishing between the origins and functions of lex Olympica and Olympic law by identifying the key foundational documents at the heart of both regulatory systems. Having established their separate purposes, the chapter explores how both sources of law operate as governance structures for the legal regulation of the Olympic Games in two specific fields. First, it will examine the restrictions imposed on athletes’ ability to exploit their participation in the Olympics for their own commercial benefit and the wider legality of Rule 40 of the Olympic Charter. Secondly, it will interrogate the International Olympic Committee’s commitment to protect, respect and provide remedies for the abuse of human rights at the Olympic Games by examining the impact of Rules 40.2 and 50.2 of the Olympic Charter. It will conclude that the importance of the Olympic legal framework is in its ability to act as a template for sports governance, but that it is not yet providing the leadership that the Olympic Movement should be expecting of it

The discursive framing of the climate and health polycrisis in English, French and Spanish

The climate and health polycrisis represents a complex network of cross-cultural, multidisciplinary, and interdiscursive interdependencies threatening the future of life on Earth. This chapter investigates the complexities underpinning this polycrisis through an analysis of its discursive framing. Through a corpus-based contrastive analysis of the use of health, santé and salud in climate-themed and health-themed parascientific communication in English, French, and Spanish, three recurrent framing activities are identified. These include defining and contextualising the polycrisis, representing cause and effect, and proposing solutions. These framing activities were interrogated to determine variation in the cultural and epistemological construction of knowledge of the climate and health polycrisis. The findings highlight the crucial role of cultural and linguistic diversity in shaping responses to global crises and call for pluriversal approaches to knowledge production to address the complex challenges posed by global polycrises

Short report on a 6-week at-home exergaming intervention to improve balance in children with developmental coordination disorder

Background Previous studies have evidenced balance training for improving postural control in children with DCD, however none have examined how neuromuscular mechanisms controlling balance might be improved with training. Aims To assess the neuromuscular control of balance before and after training in children with DCD. Methods and procedures Eleven children with DCD completed a six-week, game-based intervention to train balance, and lower-limb and core strength. Six children with DCD formed the control group. Stepping behaviour, centre of mass variability, centre of pressure area, and postural muscle onset latencies, using a continuous oscillating platform paradigm, were assessed at baseline, immediately-post and six-week-post intervention. Outcomes and results Both groups showed improvement in the oscillating platform task, indicating a learning effect. However, only the training group showed improvements in MABC-2 balance percentile scores from baseline (p = 0.008). Conclusions and implications These findings suggest that children with DCD can learn through repeated exposure to challenging situations, regardless whether training is given. However, only the training group were able to transfer these improvements to the MABC-2 balance assessment. This may suggest the intervention exposed children to increased movement variations which could be transferred to a different task

Determination of the pK a Value of a Brønsted Acid by 19 F NMR Spectroscopy

Brønsted acids, such as phosphoric acids derived from chiral 1,1′‐bi‐2‐naphthol (BINOL), are important catalysts in the formation of carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bonds, for example. The catalytic activity of these Brønsted acids is strongly linked to their acidity, and as such, the evaluation of compounds to determine pK a values provides insight into their catalytic activity. Herein, a 19F{1H} NMR methodology is detailed to determine the pK a of a fluorinated binaphthyl‐derived phosphinic acid, rac‐1, in acetonitrile and in the presence of a fluorinated sulfonamide reference compound (2–4). The approach was tested initially using 2 and 3, with the ΔpK a (0.08) in strong agreement with previously reported values (6.6 for 2 and 6.68/6.73 for 3). Sigmoidal curves of normalised chemical shift change (Δδ) against equivalents of the base phosphazene P1‐tBu added overlapped for 2 and 3, but in the case of rac‐1 and either 2, 3 or 4, there was significant separation. A variety of different approaches for determining the ΔpK a were compared. Values of pK a determined when the normalised Δδ was 90% were optimal for 2 and 3, whereas a normalised Δδ of 75% was optimal for 4, resulting in the pK a of rac‐1 being determined to be 8.47–8.71

Enhancing NO2 sensing performance through interface engineering in Cs2AgBiBr6/SnO2/ZnO-NRs sensor

Developing sensors that operate under ambient conditions with minimal energy consumption, ensuring a robust response and efficient recovery to toxic NO2 gas, can help take appropriate and corrective measures to protect human health from exposure to hazardous environments. In this study, we have successfully designed a gas sensor device based on a sandwich structure of Cs2AgBiBr6/SnO2/ZnO-nanorods (CABB/SnO2/ZnO-NRs) for detecting NO2 at room temperature. The insertion of the SnO2 layer between the CABB and ZnO-NRs, which works as a hole blocker, not only improves significantly the sensor stability from a few hours to more than a month but also offers the energy step for electron transfer from ZnO-NRs to CABB. The CABB layer further enhances the charge separation, transport, and conductivity from the perovskite to the ZnO surface, actively participating in the gas-sensitive reaction. The response of CABB/SnO2/ZnO-NRs sensors to 100 ppm NO2 is about 9 times higher than that of ZnO-NRs, showing a significantly improved NO2 sensing performance

Digital Aesthetics And Transcending Lo-Fi In Alex G’S God Save The Animals

For the recording of his 2022 album, God Save The Animals, Alex G decided to forgo the comforts of his bedroom and USB microphone which had proved so creatively fruitful for the production of his previous records. While these records had been marked by an idiosyncratic blend of lo-fi aesthetics and sonic experimentalism, this time he chose to work with a half-dozen engineers in professional recording studios with the intention to create a record of the highest recording quality. The result is a record “more dynamic than ever in its sonic palette.” (Bandcamp, 2022) Considering contemporary trends of ‘analogue fetishism’ in contemporary guitar-music, this paper presents ‘God Save The Animals’ as a case study of a work which embraces ‘the digital’ as an aesthetic value that transgresses the stylistic conventions of indierock. Using methods of recording analysis, the study aims to articulate ways in which the contemporary recordist may approach concepts such as intertextuality, signification, and digital aesthetics to expand their sound-world into strange and novel places

Considerations of Frontality and Formality in Facades

Today, considerations of architectural facade design are overwhelmingly centred on technical building performance aspects (Hermann et al, 2015) (Herzog, 2017) (Ching, 2019) (Knaack, 2018). We observe that this is to the detriment of building facade in its representational, civic and symbolic functioning. On the other hand, UK architectural practice has seen a revival of interest in the well composed facade, most notably in the work of Sergison Bates, Caruso St John, David Chipperfield Architects, and Morris & Co. These practices and others have explored the characteristics of the ‘background’ building contributing to the ‘wall’ (Schumacher, 1971) of the urban block. Though theories of facade composition can assist in the analysis of these trends, and synthesis of new facade design principles, we note that it has been a neglected subject for four decades or more. We note the empirical visual preference survey work of Create Streets (REF) seeking to record public perceptions of facade design, the negative associations of modernist solutions, and appropriate levels of ‘complexity’. We identify methodologies for more precise research into type and degree of complexity. Revisiting the subject of facade as an aesthetic unity is overdue, and to investigate this we present observations on the late Victorian warehouse typology of Manchester UK. In doing so, we posit that the heritage of this city’s ‘background’ architecture can supply a critical tool for contemporary practice in assessing principles of balance, composition, rhythm and proportion

‘It's got its ups and downs’: what people with intellectual disabilities living in supported living and residential care like and dislike about their home

Background: Given the current sociopolitical climate, people with intellectual disabilities are spending more time at home. Much housing‐related research focuses on informant‐completed measures and quantifiable outcomes. By contrast, this article explores the perspectives of adults with intellectual disabilities concerning what they liked or disliked about their homes. Method: Data is drawn from 53 semi‐structured interviews with people with intellectual disabilities in supported living or residential care in England. Results: Three themes were generated: space and place; people make or break a home; and day‐to‐day autonomy. These highlight the importance of belonging and the significance of other people in the creation of ‘home’. Conclusion: If people are to flourish, attention must be paid to aspects of the home that provide comfort, enjoyment, and a sense of belonging. These findings can benefit professionals, family members and people with intellectual disabilities, when considering current or future living arrangements

The Devil Is in the Details: Horror Objects Through the Baltic Lens

The submitted work ‘The Devil Is in The Details: Horror Objects Through the Baltic Lens’ is an accepted chapter part of the book ‘The Baltic Horror Collection’ curated and edited by notable horror researcher Dr Fernando Pagnoni Berns, due to be published via University of Wales Press. The chapter observes the phenomena of the undead Object in Baltic horror cinema through the theoretical frameworks of psychoanalytical and affect theory, through a feminist informed perspective. This chapter deconstructs undead objects in notable Baltic horror cinema, primarily focusing on the Iconic Swedish horror Häxän (1922, directed by Benjamin Christensen), Soviet Russian horror Mister Designer (1987, directed by Oleg Teptsov) and the 2003 Dogville by Danish Director Lars Von Trier. These are compared to the broader landscape of object-centric Baltic horror and contrasted with mainstream American cinema to observe the series of tropes and nuances that exist when horror is projected through a Baltic perspective. The ominous otherworld of the inanimate undead is one that has shadowed the history of horror storytelling, and this chapter attempts to determine the distinct nuances that set Baltic object-centric horror apart, defining the connection between the object-centric and anthropocentric in the horror genre