‘Muslim Pakistani prisoners and their experiences upon release from prison: a political economy approach’

Although plausible at the level of observation and description, much prisoner re-entry literature, seems undertheorized. Therefore, there seems little offering a counter explanation that meets the seemingly commonplace and intractable processes socially integrating those released from prison, and the insuperable challenges faced by those undergoing such experiences. Important as ex-prisoner’s own accounts are, they are insufficient without consideration of the social structural constraints placed upon them. The article considers these constraints through the meaning placed by a group of British Muslim men on their experiences upon release from prison

Nascent Entrepreneurs and Internet Based Crowd Funding: An examination of barriers in practice

Background Internet Enabled Crowdfunding (IECF) is evolving fast to become a global phenomenon and has an increasingly important role for the seed financing of Nascent Entrepreneurs. Although Crowdfunding is growing in popularity, basic academic knowledge in understanding of the general phenomena is still necessary. Academic and policy attention is drawn to the high growth "Gazelle's" rather than the more typical entrepreneur who starts from an under privileged position, using their own savings to start a low-productivity firm in a highly competitive market. A number of non-economic aspects appear to be impacting on the IECF process. Aim The aim of this paper is to explore the barriers to finance for Nascent Entrepreneurs in the context of internet-based crowd funding. While the advantages of IECF are documented, for many potential entrepreneurs, it can be source of new barriers or a new learning environment. The debates around problems faced by nascent entrepreneurs are reviewed and the impact of IECF is considered. Research Approach The review is carried out via the use of a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). The particular approach to the SLR used in this study is explained. The paper then explores the findings outlining themes emerging from the review and discussing the emerging barriers under those themes. Contribution This paper positions the phenomenon of IECF against the landscape and context of Nascent Entrepreneurs and explores the barriers that face Nascent Entrepreneurs in their start up journey. Research suggests a lack of access to funding as being a fundamental problem faced by Nascent Entrepreneurs. But this paper goes beyond the identification of traditional barriers and focusses on issues that are emerging because of the innovative use of web 2.0. The paper contributes to a better understanding of the role and impacts that Web 2.0 and social media is having on the access to finance for nascent entrepreneurs. This paper concludes with implications of the emergence of new barriers for Nascent Entrepreneurs. Future research questions are proposed based on emergent themes

Learning from adapting an established face-to-face peer research approach to remote delivery during the Covid-19 pandemic

This case study describes how an established peer research approach was adapted from face-to-face to remote delivery in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. It will introduce the benefits and challenges of peer research in general and how this translates to the virtual domain. We will highlight strengths of a remote approach as well as reflecting on how to compensate for key components of participatory work which usually require the academic researcher to be physically present in the area. The peer research project discussed here was part of an evaluation of a national empowerment programme in areas experiencing disadvantage. In two previous rounds of peer research, peer researchers took part in two days of face-to-face training and a one-day workshop to analyse the data. This project involved peer researchers exploring residents’ experiences of ‘gatekeepers’ in their community (‘gatekeepers’ were defined as anyone who makes decisions on whether others can access services, support or funding). Training, support, data collection, and analysis had to be adapted to be remote, with specific attention to building trust, tailoring content for shorter online training, and the ethics of a) whether it was appropriate to carry out research at all during the pandemic and b) how to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of the peer researchers and research participants. This case study is a collaboration between the academic researcher and community worker involved in the project and serves as a means of reflecting on the process of participatory research and to further build on the partnership

"Not just merely different: Travelling Theories, post-feminism and the racialized politics of women of color"

I argue (with Samie, 2017) that when even the so-called “critical” scholarship about women of color mostly speaks to cultural tropes of difference, this limits the possibility of recovering alternative knowledges. For me, uncovering persistent problems is an essential step to urging contemporary researchers to better recover diverse representations of difference that are sometimes consciously, and other times inadvertently, erased. Adding my voice to a number of sport scholars who advocate a decolonising approach, this paper highlights the importance of centring the differential manifestation of power asymmetries through a transnational feminist approach, within and across the transient boundaries of space, belonging and knowledge production, in order to put the “critical” back into critical studies of race, sport and gender

Optimising Physical Education: The Application of OPTIMAL Theory in Practice

The development of motor competence is critical for a child’s holistic development and engagement in physical activity across the lifespan. As physical education becomes more marginalised in school settings, efforts are needed to enhance the quality of movement skill learning environments. One such approach is through the optimisation of task design, instruction and feedback which engages learners in key attentional (external focus of attention) and motivational (enhanced expectancies and autonomy support) processes. This paper aims to provide practical examples of how these key attentional and motivational factors can be applied by teachers in physical education lessons to optimise the learning of motor skills and motivation to create a physically literate learner

Exploring the roles of spatial configuration and property market data in achieving sustainable retail environment in Leeds city centre

The understanding that property value, street connectivity, accessibility, and peoples’ wellbeing are related could help in achieving sustainable environment. Urban and property decision makers including developers, investors, planners, and occupiers are now challenged with need to balance economy, society, and environmental needs to achieve sustainability. In a practical sense, a given city centre space containing retail property (dominantly) should have physical retail shops positioned in optimum (prime) locations that will attract the high footfall of consumers, reduces carbon footprint of consumers/suppliers, and generate optimum return for landlords and the property occupiers. This research maps out optimum locations of real shops (retail property) to achieve sustainable retail location within Leeds city centre. This study explores how sustainable retail locations could be achieved viz-a-viz interconnectivity of street network and its relationships with retail property market data. The study explores the spatial relationships between retail property value, consumer movement and shopping destinations. The work rests on the assumptions of space syntax that the interconnectivity of street network influence influx of people movement, property value and people wellbeing. The study analyses the spatial layouts of Leeds city centre (UK) using DepthMap and QGIS to better understand how sustainable retail locations can be achieved base on existing theory of spatial configuration. The work shows that reconfiguration and repositioning of certain numbers retail property could enhance property value, consumer movement and wellbeing, thereby increasing the chance of achieving a sustainable retail environment. The study recommends similar investigations into other urban centres to better understand how sustainability could be achieved in an urban setting

Creating a Sustainable Fashion Ecosystem in Northern England

AIM • To create a self-sustaining creative fashion ecosystem in the North of England as a contribution to cultural sustainability OBJECTIVES • To produce outputs for FABRICATE: Leeds Beckett's Fashion and Architecture research cluster • To develop a Graduate Fashion North event to rival London’s Graduate Fashion Week • To facilitate collaboration and creative knowledge exchange between leading fashion schools in Northern England • To prevent the ‘creative drain’ of talent to London • To celebrate the unique fashion cultures of Northern England