The Quest for Deeper Understanding in Interpretative Research: Hidden Meaning in Plain Sight

This paper contributes to the literature on qualitative methodology in a novel way, by being one of a handful of studies offering context and culture-bound insights of an interpretative analysis of meaning based on non-verbal communication from 49 semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. This paper is based on an interpretative phenomenological Ph.D. study, between 2017-2020, aiming to deepen our understanding of London-based Romanian migrant entrepreneurs' experiences of social inclusion through entrepreneurship. By leveraging the cultural insider positionality of the interviewer in this study, which granted direct access to this community and also valuable cultural understanding of participants’ non-verbal communication, seeking meaning within the untapped potential of around 93% non-verbal language, widely overlooked by qualitative researchers, has become an achievable research goal. By creating its own inventory of nonverbal communication codes, this paper uses interview extracts rich in nonverbal communication as illustrative examples to showcase their interpretative significance

Ethi(cs)quette of (Re)searching with E-friends: Clicking Towards a Social Media-driven Research Agenda

Social media increasingly shapes our professional and personal lives, leveraging its size, the potential for ubiquity, and real-time communication. Ranked the most popular social media platform by the number of subscribers, Facebook is increasingly gaining momentum as a research tool, mostly used to conduct surveys, adverts, and observation-driven research. However, Facebook’s potential for supporting consented qualitative research remains largely unexplored and deemed sometimes ethically questionable in the midst of ongoing debates around data protection rules and the ambiguity surrounding e-friendship meaning. This paper is based on an interpretative phenomenological Ph.D. study, between 2017-2020, aiming to deepen our understanding of London-based Romanian migrant entrepreneurs' experiences of social inclusion through entrepreneurship. This paper contributes to the literature on research methodology reflective practice of enabling ethical research, by outlining ethical implications of sampling via Facebook and when researching with e-friends as Facebook friends. It offers context-bound insights as guidance to researchers incorporating social media in their qualitative research The significance of this ethical research practice is discussed in terms of privacy, confidentiality, and informed consent as a cross point between GDPR regulatory framework, as universal research ethical framework, Facebook data privacy settings and the researcher’s reflective approach to mitigate ethical challenges experienced when recruiting Facebook e-friends

You scratch my back, and I scratch yours: Bartering for qualitative data

Recruiting research participants has been one of the significant challenges faced by qualitative researchers. Barter gained momentum during the Covid pandemic across a broad spectrum of professionals, including scholars searching to recruit research participants, despite being surrounded by ethical concerns of coercion or undue influence. This reflective paper created a barter reflective and ethical protocol showing how bartering created the entrepreneurial opportunity for 16 migrant entrepreneurs to exchange an average of 60 minutes of their time for participating in a qualitative interview with an average of 2.25 hrs (145 minutes) of business counselling and translation services delivered by the researcher. This paper contributes to the methodological practice of bartering. It argues that bartering is an ethical and efficient research practice in need of a code of ethics and protocol and should not be dismissed as ethically suspect until substantial evidence is brought forwar

The Asian business sector and the dynamics of change: a story of growth, diversity and success in the UK

Purpose – The Asian business community has been noted for its contribution to the UK economy. This vibrant sector of the small to medium-sized enterprises population serves to illustrate diversity in terms of spanning sectors including manufacturing and services, entertainment and fashion, hotels and property, food and pharmaceuticals. This paper seeks to draw out trends within this increasingly important sector of the economy. Design/methodology/approach – The study reports on a research project which comprises the latest phase in a seven-year, longitudinal study of the richest 200 Asian business people in the UK. Findings – The analysis suggests that the Asian business community has delivered significant and sustained growth which is higher than average growth in the UK. Originality/value – For policy makers and the business support community, this paper offers a greater understanding of the dynamics behind the success stories and thus offers opportunities to tailor any engagement with this community appropriately. For academics it adds to the growing literature of minority ethnic businesses in the UK

G × E Interaction and Heterosis in Elite Tomato Hybrids for Growth, Earliness and Fruit Parameters in Diverse Agro-Climatic Zones of Punjab

Six promising tomato hybrids selected from a pool of 60 F1 hybrids were evaluated for seven traits, along with the check hybrid (TH-1) at two locations falling under different agro-climatic zones of Punjab, India. G × E interaction was significant for early yield, fruit weight and total fruit yield, whereas, it was non-significant for fruit number, locule number, pericarp thickness and vine length. Overall higher mean-early-yield, fruit number, fruit weight and total yield at Ludhiana, rather than at Bathinda, may be due to higher organic carbon, available phosphorus and available potash and low electrical conductivity of the experimental soil at Ludhiana. Pooled analysis showed that hybrid TH-21 had the maximum early-yield (3.73 tha-1), fruit weight (72.7 g) and locule number (2.65), whereas, TH-23 had the highest fruit number per vine (53.7) and total fruit yield (51.2 tha-1). The magnitude of pooled standard heterosis was maximum for vine length (140.7%), followed by early yield (114.8%), total yield (88.3%), fruit number (49.7%), fruit weight (27.6%), pericarp thickness (16.4%) and locule number (-21.6%). On the basis of stability and superiority for fruit weight, fruit number, early and total yield, TH-21 was found to be the most promising hybrid, followed by TH-23

The take up of business support by minority ethnic enterprises: the experience of South Asian businesses in England

This research contributes to a greater understanding of minority ethnic business (MEB) needs and practices and helps identify the support needs of minority ethnic firms in relation to existing support provision. The aims are, therefore, to examine the take-up of support by minority ethnic enterprises focusing mainly on the South Asian community with some representation from the African-Caribbean and Korean communities. Fifty minority ethnic businesses across South West London were contacted and semi-structured interviews took place with the owner/owner managers. The findings suggest that policy makers need to appreciate the diversity of MEBs and policies aimed at these businesses should reflect that diversity

Recreational Physical Activity as an Independent Predictor of Multivariable Cardiovascular Disease Risk

The role of physical activity in preventing CVD has been highlighted by Professor Jerry Morris in the 1950’s. We report outcome of a 15-year prospective study with the aim to identify whether physical activity showed cardiovascular benefit independent of common risk factors and of central obesity. Baseline data of 8662 subjects, with no previous history of heart disease, diabetes or stroke, were obtained from an age- and gender- stratified sample of adults in Australian capital cities and were linked with the National Death Index to determine the causes of death of 610 subjects who had died to 31 December 2004. The study consisted of 4175 males (age 42.3±13.1 years) and 4487 females (age 42.8±13.2 years). Fasting serum lipid levels, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and smoking habits at baseline were recorded. The Framingham Risk Scores of 15-year mortality due to CHD and CVD were calculated using established equations. Subjects were also asked if they engaged in vigorous exercise, less vigorous exercise or walk for recreation and exercise in the past 2 weeks. Subjects in the high recreational physical activity category were 0.16 (0.06–0.43; p<0.001) and 0.12 (0.03–0.48; p = 0.003) times as likely as subjects in the low category for CVD and CHD mortality respectively. After adjusting for both the Framingham Risk Score and central obesity (Waist circumference to Hip circumference Ratio), those in the high recreational physical activity group were 0.35 (0.13–0.98) times less likely compared to the low category for CVD mortality. Recreational physical activity independently predicted reduced cardiovascular mortality over fifteen years. A public health focus on increased physical activity and preventing obesity is required to reduce the risk of CVD and CHD

Growth and yield of elite genotypes of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) in diverse agroclimatic zones of Punjab

Eleven elite genotypes of chilli along with one check (Punjab Surkh) were evaluated at two diverse locations of Punjab, India. The G × E interaction was significant for red ripe fruit yield, fruit width and fruit weight and genotype Acc-33-1 was the most stable across locations. The pooled analysis showed that the genotype, SD 463 had the maximum red ripe fruit yield (0.586 kg plant-1) and fruit weight (4.1 g); Mehma Sarja had the highest plant height (93.5 cm) and fruit width (13.4 mm); Selection 7 exhibited the lowest plant height (37.6 cm) and fruit width (7.0 mm); PC-6-1 had the longest fruits (8.6 cm); DCL 524 possessed maximum number of seeds fruit-1 (43.5); Selection 36-1 produced the maximum seed weight (0.211 g fruit-1). The low broad sense heritability (h2) for number of seeds fruit-1 and dried seed weight fruit-1 revealed that these traits were highly influenced by environment. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance for red ripe fruit yield, fruit weight, plant height, fruit length and fruit width indicated the important role played by additive gene effects. &nbsp

Synergistic effects of high fat feeding and apolipoprotein E deletion on enterocytic amyloid-beta abundance

Background: Amyloid-β (Aβ), a key protein found in amyloid plaques of subjects with Alzheimer's disease is expressed in the absorptive epithelial cells of the small intestine. Ingestion of saturated fat significantly enhances enterocytic Aβ abundance whereas fasting abolishes expression. Apolipoprotein (apo) E has been shown to directly modulate Aβ biogenesis in liver and neuronal cells but it's effect in enterocytes is not known. In addition, apo E modulates villi length, which may indirectly modulate Aβ as a consequence of differences in lipid absorption. This study compared Aβ abundance and villi length in wild-type (WT) and apo E knockout (KO) mice maintained on either a low-fat or high-fat diet. Wild-type C57BL/6J and apo E KO mice were randomised for six-months to a diet containing either 4% (w/w) unsaturated fats, or chow comprising 16% saturated fats and 1% cholesterol. Quantitative immunohistochemistry was used to assess Aβ abundance in small intestinal enterocytes. Apo E KO mice given the low-fat diet had similar enterocytic Aβ abundance compared to WT controls. Results: The saturated fat diet substantially increased enterocytic Aβ in WT and in apo E KO mice, however the effect was greater in the latter. Villi height was significantly greater in apo E KO mice than for WT controls when given the low-fat diet. However, WT mice had comparable villi length to apo E KO when fed the saturated fat and cholesterol enriched diet. There was no effect of the high-fat diet on villi length in apo E KO mice. Conclusion: The findings of this study are consistent with the notion that lipid substrate availability modulates enterocytic Aβ. Apo E may influence enterocytic lipid availability by modulating absorptive capacity