Search Results (5)

This article provides findings from a small-scale project undertaken to understand the student experience of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer plus (LGBTQ+) student community in a large post-92 university in England. Focus groups were conducted with students that explored areas of student life, including support, the campus environment, and belonging. A social constructivist theoretical perspective underpins the article. Students develop common knowledge via social processes that are powerfully influenced by cultural factors that are constantly in a state of flux. The article also rejects essentialist delineations of LGBTQ+ gender and sexuality and subscribes instead to a Butlerian framework of identity where behaviours associated with gender and sexuality are instruments of regulatory regimes. Even within a university culture that is inclusive and welcoming, opportunities were not always provided for LGBTQ+ students to speak about their personal lives and identities authentically, and university classrooms did not always feel like safe places for students. Whilst staff were generally helpful and supportive to their LGBTQ+ students, many lacked the knowledge and skills to confidently meet the needs of these students, particularly those identifying as trans and non-binary. The recommendations include calls for universities to commit to high-quality mandatory training for staff so that trans and non-binary students in particular are supported by staff appropriately equipped to support their needs. Full article

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine why and how adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience variable impairment and identify the processes and strategies adults with ADHD use to develop positive self-regulation skills. Methods: A mixed cohort of 11 participants (6 female and 5 male) from a university, an adult ADHD clinic and an ADHD support group in the UK were interviewed online between September 2021 and February 2022. Data were collected and analysed simultaneously, inspired by a constructivist grounded theory methodology. Results: Participants described a “polar awareness of difference” from others in terms of engagement and ADHD characteristics, and a “polar awareness of consciousness” experienced as the states of chaotic attention and hyperfocus, both of which impact core perceptions of self. Using an infinity paradigm, the results demonstrate unskilled attempts to self-regulate within and between these states using self-absorption or self-transcendence strategies, including their inherent challenges and energetic cost. Our results further indicate that at the centre of this dynamic paradigm, creative awareness strategies exist, which exemplify polarity awareness and the regulation of that awareness supported by an authentic inner compass (AIC). Conclusions: This paper presents the empirical foundation for the ADHD Creative Awareness Theory (CAT)—a new theory for understanding the experience of ADHD consciousness and environmental engagement. Practical implications are explored, and recommendations include use of the CAT as a framework for understanding and development of inherent self-regulation skills for adults with ADHD. Full article

Retail is one of the defining elements of urban spaces. The study of commerce is largely based on its evolution and how it relates with urban environments. Currently, with the advent of mass tourism, there has been an adjustment in the commercial fabric of the area’s most sought after by tourists. Among these latter areas, the historical centers of commerce stand out. The first objective of this research is to analyze the modern evolution of the commercial fabric of Lisbon by comparing the city center with the rest of the city. For this goal, I use a quantitative approach through the quotient location for specific retail typologies. The results show dissimilarities that are associated with the geographical location of retail, which vary according to the different retail typologies being analyzed. The second goal is based on the assumption that the mere analysis of the evolution of the retail typologies is limited in the context of tourist cities. Considering this matter, a qualitative method (photo analysis, conceptually supported by the concept of authenticity) is used. The results show the usefulness of the concept of authenticity to apprehend and discuss how retail is reacting to the tourism industry, thereby contributing to the transformation of the city center into a leisure and entertainment destination. Full article

There is a clear call for pre-collegiate students in the United States to become literate in computer science (CS) concepts and practices through integrated, authentic experiences and instruction. Yet, a majority of in-service and pre-service pre-collegiate teachers (instructing children aged five to 18) lack the fundamental skills and self-efficacy to adequately and effectively integrate CS into existing curricula. In this study, 30 pre-collegiate teachers who represent a wide band of experience, grade-levels, and prior CS familiarity participated in a 16-day professional development (PD) course to enhance their content knowledge and self-efficacy in integrating CS into existing lessons and curricula. Using both qualitative and quantitative methodology, a social constructivist approach guided the researchers in the development of the PD, as well as the data collection and analysis on teacher content knowledge and perceptions through a mixed-methods study. Ultimately, participants were introduced to CS concepts and practices through NetLogo, which is a popular multi-agent simulator. The results show that although the pre-collegiate teachers adopted CS instruction, the CS implementation within their curricula was limited to the activities and scope of the PD with few adaptations and minimal systemic change in implementation behaviors. Full article

This paper examines how the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage (CCPWCNH) is implemented in China, with specific reference to tourism development at the local level in the Ancient City of Pingyao (ACP). Based on a qualitative methodology and constructivist paradigm, the research employs observation and semi-structured interviews to explore how the interaction between heritage authorization and tourism-related commodification shapes the transformation of the local community. Giddens’ theories, amongst others, on modernity, time–space distanciation, disembedding, and reflexivity, are employed to analyze this case study. The paper argues that the reconstruction of “traditional-style culture” has contributed to the transformative processes in the ACP. Traditional-style culture differs from “traditional culture” in that the former refers to cultural forms that are purposely (re)constructed to serve contemporary political or economic needs, while the latter refers to cultural forms that are rooted in the local contexts of premodern societies. One of the impacts of traditional-style culture, which is the product of the interaction between heritage authorization and tourism development, is the emergence of a commercialized environment. This environment confounds the notion of authenticity that is claimed in authorized concepts of heritage. There, construction of traditional-style culture demonstrates the relationship of powerful actors with hierarchical power, leading to an unequal positioning of external agents (such as heritage experts) and local residents. Full article