Disused Religious Space: Youth Participation in Built Heritage Regeneration

The rights of young people to participate in decision-making processes that affect their lives has been encouraged since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Since then, policy-makers and planners have started to consider the views of youth, especially those aged 11–17. The size of the youth population and their feelings of social isolation are two important reasons to include them in the decision-making that affects their local built environment. Little is known about youth opinions of the built environment and in particular disused religious buildings which can become a significant part of local cultural heritage. This paper explores youth perceptions, place attachment and influence on identity of a prominent disused local Methodist church in the City of Belfast. The paper details the expressive methodological approach designed to encourage youth participation in the regeneration scheme. The findings of the study showcase the valuable connections that can be made between youth and heritage religious buildings through education programmes. The project conclusions also highlight the benefits to be gained from engaging youth in local built heritage and will be of interest to those involved in the design, planning and redevelopment processes

The public mountain land resource for recreation in New Zealand

The first volume of these studies concentrated on the needs, behaviour and wants of New Zealand mountain recreationists. It was the conception of Dr Robert Aukerman of Colorado State University in his leadership of this mountain recreation research programme at Lincoln College that an inventory and analysis of public mountain land resources for recreation should be an integral part of the programme. Bruce Geden and Jenny Davison had begun such work as part of their post-graduate Diploma in Natural Resources projects at Lincoln College. Under Bob Aukerman's guidance, first Bruce Geden then Jaquetta Smith developed and unified the inventory to include all pub public land areas "perceived as mountains" throughout the main islands of New Zealand. Jaquetta Smith and Jenny Davison patiently canvassed the agencies administering such lands, identifying from a variety of sources the records of natural resources and recreation facilities for each administrative region. The variety of talents that each brought to the study, Jaquetta Smith with degrees in geology and forestry, Jenny Davison in history, Bruce Geden in geography, were unified in their common interest in natural resources and recreation. Their combined work is presented in a format which takes account of both public administration and regional geography. This inventory is of mountain land which is conventionally considered as public land. Omitted from it are the extensive areas of mountain lands which are included in the pastorally-occupied areas of both North and South Island. The recreational use of South Island pastoral runs is the subject of studies reported in the third volume of this series. Recreational use of North Island pastoral properties may be principally as access to public mountain land resources beyond their boundaries. Such questions of access are briefly mentioned at appropriate points in this inventory. Also omitted from this inventory are most of those areas of mountain lands which remain as Maori Land. It would be presumptuous of this Institute to report on such terrain without the active cooperation of Maori people. The recreational significance of such Maori Land to both Maori and other people warrants a full exposition in its own right. This volume will be welcomed as the first compendium of public recreational land resources on a national basis. What is presented here may stimulate other appropriate agencies to compile similar inventories of recreational resources of New Zealand coasts and wetlands and to expand the recreational assessment of New Zealand water bodies. Only by such documentation are the issues of access and management likely to be clarified. The interests of both New Zealand residents and visitors from overseas demand that these issues receive the purposeful and sustained attention of citizens and administrative agencies alike. It is the hope of this Institute that these three volumes of studies will help make this possible

Protocol for a systematic review exploring the psychometric properties of self-report health-related quality of life and subjective wellbeing measures used by adolescents with intellectual disabilities

BACKGROUND: Whilst there are studies that have systematically reviewed the psychometric properties of quality of life measures for children and young people with intellectual disabilities, these narrowly focus on disease or health conditions. The objective of this planned systematic review is therefore to collate, summarise, and critically appraise the psychometric properties of self-report health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and subjective wellbeing measures used by adolescents (aged 11-16) with an intellectual disability. METHODS: We designed and registered a study protocol for a systematic review of studies which explores the psychometric properties of self-report HRQoL and subjective wellbeing measures used by adolescents with intellectual disabilities. Electronic databases including PsycINFO, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and ERIC will be searched using predefined search terms to identify relevant studies. Quantitative and mixed-methods studies, and studies published in peer-reviewed journals or grey literature, will be included. Review papers, editorials, and case studies will be excluded. Eligible studies should identify self-report measures which assess HRQoL and subjective wellbeing among adolescents with intellectual disabilities. The methodological quality of the included studies will be assessed by applying the COSMIN Risk of Bias checklist. The quality of the evidence (i.e. the total body of evidence used for the overall ratings on each psychometric property of an instrument) will be evaluated in accordance with the modified GRADE guidelines. DISCUSSION: This systematic review will be among the first to systematically explore the psychometric properties of self-report HRQoL and subjective wellbeing measures used by adolescents with intellectual disabilities. By providing evidence-based knowledge about measures being used in HRQoL and subjective wellbeing research amongst this population, and more importantly how reliable and valid these measures are, the most suitable for use will be identified. Our findings will be of potential interest to clinicians, researchers, and service providers who need information about the methodological quality and the characteristics of measures to make informed decisions about the most reliable and valid tool for a specific purpose. The findings from this study will contribute to the knowledge surrounding available and appropriate measures to use for measuring HRQoL and subjective wellbeing of adolescents with intellectual disabilities, which are necessary to inform intervention development and future health policy. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: The protocol has been registered at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). The registration number is CRD42021231697

Involving adolescents with intellectual disability in the adaptation of self-reported subjective well-being measures:participatory research and methodological considerations

BACKGROUND: The measurement of subjective well-being is challenging with samples of adolescents with intellectual disability (ID) given the cognitive and linguistic difficulties they face in comprehending standardised measures, and as such is primarily based on proxy reports. The lack of appropriate tools needs to be addressed so that adolescents with ID can self-report on their own well-being. The current study reports on the use of participatory research methods to adapt and modify two standardised self-report measures of subjective well-being suitable for completion by adolescents with ID. METHOD: Two special schools were recruited for this study. At each school, staff (n = 15) and pupils aged 11-17 years (n = 35) participated. A series of co-design workshops were conducted to adapt two standardised subjective well-being measures: Kidscreen-10 and short-form Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale. RESULTS: Specific aspects for measure adaption were identified: simplifying the item wording and phrasing; inclusion of pictorial communication symbols and visual prompts to represent the meaning of items; changing of tense of questions from past to present; asking questions rather than statements; reducing 5-point Likert scales to 3-point or dichotomous; presenting one item at a time during administration; and developing alternate formats of the survey to ensure inclusivity. CONCLUSIONS: This paper illustrates the value of using participatory research methods when working alongside adolescents with ID and offers methodological, as well as practical, guidance in the context of adapting subjective self-report measures for this target group, serving as a guide to fellow researchers and clinicians interested in modifying or developing self-report measures for adolescents with ID

Modelling across extremal dependence classes

Different dependence scenarios can arise in multivariate extremes, entailing careful selection of an appropriate class of models. In bivariate extremes, the variables are either asymptotically dependent or are asymptotically independent. Most available statistical models suit one or other of these cases, but not both, resulting in a stage in the inference that is unaccounted for, but can substantially impact subsequent extrapolation. Existing modelling solutions to this problem are either applicable only on sub-domains, or appeal to multiple limit theories. We introduce a unified representation for bivariate extremes that encompasses a wide variety of dependence scenarios, and applies when at least one variable is large. Our representation motivates a parametric model that encompasses both dependence classes. We implement a simple version of this model, and show that it performs well in a range of settings