The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that there are over 79.5 million people forcibly displaced globally. Among them are almost 26 million refugees. When 1% of the worlds population has been forced to flee their homes due to conflict or persecution, the issue is undeniably urgent. Unfortunately, these situations are not short term. The United Nations estimates that the average refugee will spend 17 years in a camp. Data from the UNHCR and literature by members of the field are used to gain a comprehensive understanding of the nature of both planned and makeshift refugee camps, why they are temporary and what makes up their physical and social fabric. This knowledge is applied to perform a descriptive and critical analysis of existing refugee shelters and camps designed from both top-down and bottom-up approaches and the consequences of each. By using existing research and documentation observing and analysing how residents appropriate their surroundings to better suit their individual needs, the discrepancy between the actual needs of refugees and the needs which are currently fulfilled by existing responses is exposed. Existing theory is used to assess the capacity of architecture to redefine the refugee crisis through design in order to achieve more socially sustainable, long lasting alternatives. An architectural approach, based on the assumption of permanence, which understands the importance of addressing social, cultural and psychological needs, as well as immediate physical requirements, is the foundation of conceiving of an alternative, humane refugee camp.

My investigation focused on the media construction of migrants, during the 2015/16 migration crisis, particularly looking at the construction of migrants as either a security threat or a humanitarian concern. I hypothesised that the reporting of a migrant death within a news article would change the focus of security to be for the migrant, rather than securitising against the migrant. However, I found this not always to be the case; instead it was the focus on the individual which aided in the construction of a humanitarian discourse. 

My research took the form of a discourse analysis, using articles published in 2015 by the BBC, reporting on the migration crisis. 25 articles were chosen to analyse in depth, based on their relevance and a thematic analysis. Using these articles, I used their language and images to investigate the discourses present, exploring how migrants could be perceived as either a humanitarian concern, or a security threat. 

The predominant discourse was one of security. The presence of a death within the article did not change this discourse; instead, a humanitarian discourse was present in articles which had a focus on the individual and humanised the migrants. It can be argued that neither the humanitarian nor the security discourse is without issue, and so my research raises further questions surrounding the unchallenged nature of these discourses within our society; particularly as they may have concrete consequences for example in migration policy. 

The proliferation of slums in Kenya is largely attributed to rapid urbanisation. Most of these slums are shaped by a history of un-equitable and undefined urban development policies. To reverse these trends, there has been a shift to participatory slum upgrading as it has been identified as a key mechanism to promote urban equity and sustainable urbanisation. This study evaluates the influence of community participation in slum upgrading projects, in context of Nairobi slums. The aim of this research is to evaluate the factors that influence the success of a slum upgrading program, to analyse how a participatory slum upgrading model can be adopted to achieve a positive outcome and to investigate if Nairobi slums have successfully adopted community participatory models in the past. The research is done using a comparative case study approach that will draw lessons from 3 slums in Nairobi: Kibera, Mukuru and Korogocho, that will generate a criteria of success that can be applied in Nairobi slums. The research uses secondary data from Governments, NGO’s, academic papers and newspaper articles to critically evaluate the factors that influence the outcome of a slum upgrading  project. The preliminary findings demonstrate that the level community participation in the different stages of slum upgrading affects the outcome of a project. Consequently, the nature of how the communities are organised determines the impact of the upgrading process. Lastly, it is important to find innovative ways to prevent state neglect in participatory slum development to ensure a successful outcome.

Placemaking is a widely adopted tool used by local governments and tourism authorities to market destinations. Dubai has implemented this approach across the city and along its ever-growing waterfront. A great deal of literature has been written on waterfronts as a global phenomenon (Brownill, 2013) and the transferable models of Baltimore and Boston which have been embraced across the globe (Smith and Ferrari, 2012). This research aims to investigate and identify the success of Dubai's waterfront developments in creating quality places as waterfront developments have become key tourism destinations in Dubai. Quality places provide variety and are attractive, accessible, well-connected, comfortable and sociable - they are places that offer positive aesthetic and sensory experiences.

To identify the success, or shortcomings, of Dubai’s waterfront developments, this research establishes an analytical framework which includes criteria and indicators for quality places, and is based on academic literature. Al Seef, Bluewaters and La Mer, three waterfront developments in Dubai, were assessed using this framework. The results of the analysis, along with the responses from interviews conducted with professionals, will help to form a conclusion which is the next stage of the research.

The results of this research will provide an understanding into the effectiveness of tourism placemaking in creating quality places in Dubai’s waterfront developments. The findings will contribute to research on waterfront developments and will shed light on waterfront placemaking in the context of the Middle East, providing an alternative to the wealth of literature on Western examples.

To what extent can historical models of communal living inform modern residential design in order to address the housing crisis in London? The residential sector in London, as in many other cities, is in crisis. Unaffordability, urban loneliness and an increasing and ageing population are major issues that we are facing. Cities contain 53% of the world’s population while only covering 2% of the Earth’s surface. With these figures set to rise, we need to investigate solutions to the urban residential crisis. 

Residential crisis has long plagued our cities, and as a result there is a wealth of historical precedent to analyse in relation to housing crisis response. This research investigates whether examples of communal housing throughout history have ever proved successful, and could, therefore, provide solutions to the modern crisis. While most literature focuses on the rise of socialism following WWII, this research looks further back in history to the Industrial age, arguing that this time produced more successful communal housing types than those of the latter twentieth century. 

By analysing examples of housing from London’s early modern history, we can understand the social trends and behaviours of past populations. Conversely, we can apply elements of these historical housing types to the present-day crisis. My research argues that housing forms of the Industrial Age, namely terraced, pedestrianised streets,  are more appropriate for addressing the current housing crisis than more modern proposals. This claim is substantiated by both sociological and historical research into the reflection of human behaviour in spatial design. 

With a global population that’s growing at an exponential rate leading to urban sprawl and increased pressure on resources, sustainable development is becoming increasingly challenging, yet an important aspect in the creation of healthy built environments. Covid-19 has changed what is required to achieve environmentally sustainable life. This research looks at how dimensions of environmental sustainability have changed due to the pandemic and whether these are being achieved by the mitigation measures currently being undertaken by house builders. A review of the literature has explored the definitions and the components of the analysis. An Environmental Evaluation Matrix is developed and used to collect data for the analysis of case studies and assessment of the environmental sustainability of volume house building practices.

Fifty million people worldwide have dementia (WHO,2015). Dementia is a progressive decline in cognitive ability, resulting in memory loss and one's disorientation of time and space. As a result of this fragmentation of identity, it can consequently reduce the quality of life. However, despite the irreversible decline in cognitive ability, it is argued that Architecture can significantly mitigate some of the daily challenges faced by those living with dementia and improve their quality of life. The research aims to understand how, using The 2015 Uk Department of Health HBN report on General design guidance for Dementia-friendly Health and Social Care Environments as the main framework. A critical evaluation of 3 out 12 design principles, which fall under the category of cognitive impairment, was done using renowned researcher and theories in architecture, dementia, and psychology, including Margret calkin, Elizabeth Brawley, and more. This was done to determine if these design principles improve quality of life and how they can be improved. An analysis and comparison of how successful they were implemented into global award-winning dementia care settings case studies were made. From looking at dementia care settings, the narrative of the research was then directed to mainstream housing. This was done to question if dementia design principles can be implemented into a mainstream home by understanding and comparing what design policy influences the homes we live in today. To understand if this was possible, a survey was conducted asking participants questions about dementia design principles and their home. From this survey, a conclusion was reached highlighting that dementia design principles should not just be reserved for the care home typology. In doing so, architecture can move beyond the institution and improve the quality of life for anyone impacted by dementia.

The research explores risk practitioners' communication and leadership practices to achieve and maintain Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) effectiveness. The study contributes to the descriptive literature by observing and elaborating phenomena in ERM in German non-financial companies and forms a practical guide for viewing ERM effectiveness as a set of organisational practices. It allows organisations to identify potentials for strengthening ERM units and optimising risk practitioner development programs. 

A cross-sectional field study approach using semi-structured interviews has been applied to understand and connect risk practitioners' perceptions to the organisational context. Leadership and senior risk practitioners with broad and deep ERM experience participated in this study. They represent multiple industries. 

The research identifies four practice episodes. Creating shared understanding aims to enable effective knowledge management across boundaries by creating shared knowledge and meaning of the business and the organisational ERM. The second episode emphasises the value-creating capabilities of the organisational ERM approaches and processes. Leadership practice, the third practice episode, centres on fostering dialogue and direction to increases risk practitioners' influence in decision-making processes. The final practice episode comprises relationship-management practices to establish informal networks, helping risk practitioners balance independence and involvement. Executing these practices implies risk practitioners gaining and using referent and expert power and applying a participatory leadership style. 

The research contributes to an enhanced understanding of the means available for risk practitioners to increase ERM effectiveness. The study's focus on the German context constitutes a limitation as cultural differences in risk practitioners' practices remain unconsidered.

For reasons of planetary and personal health, many people are trying to swap from animal-based (AB) to plant-based (PB) foods. Supermarkets are tapping into this growing sector by increasing ranges of PB convenience foods and ready-meals. This project compared 10 categories of plant-based ready-made main courses to equivalent traditional (AB) versions (e.g. PB lasagne and beef lasagne). Comparisons were made using front- and back-of-packet nutritional information, e.g. calories, protein provided, salt and fat content, added sugar and also price. Additionally, levels of fortification were analysed. 

Main findings were that PB foods tended to conform to expectations by being lower in protein, fat and energy and higher in carbohydrate and fibre than AB alternatives. Salt content was similar, but there tended to be more added sugar in PB versions. It was noted that quantities of protein comparable to AB versions were provided by PB products containing concentrated plant protein sources (e.g. soy protein concentrates and isolates) such as non-chicken nuggets and meat-free burgers. Protein equivalence was much lower in more mixed-style dishes (e.g. curry or chilli and rice).

Only 6% of analysed PB products had been fortified to any degree. This matters because there are some vitamins and minerals (e.g. vitamin B12, iron and calcium) that are found, if not exclusively, then in larger quantities and/or more digestible forms in AB foods.

Facial recognition technology has emerged recently due to cutting-edge advancements in computer science and artificial intelligence. The technology uses advanced software which enables computers and smartphones to scan user's faces and decipher their age, gender, mood, and other essential traits through algorithms. This technology can play a vital role in the modern retail industry. It benefits retail marketers in building highly personalized marketing campaigns by providing detailed insights on the customer in-store. While there is ample research on the application of biometric technology in retail, there is limited empirical research on the consumers' perception of the application of facial recognition for marketing purposes. Using field data in the form of surveys, this research investigates the British consumers' perceptions of facial recognition technology application for in-store marketing. Drawing from pertinent technology acceptance models and other constructs relevant to the use of facial recognition technology such as individual innovativeness, awareness, perceived risks and prior experience, this study adopts an exploratory approach to develop a model for influencing factors of the cognitive perceptions of consumers and their behavioural intentions of facial recognition technology application for in-store marketing. British consumers (n=315) were found to have a positive perception towards the usefulness of the technology. Awareness and the consumer's innovativeness were strong indicators of the consumers' perceptions and behavioural intentions to use facial recognition in retail stores. Perceived risks and perceived usefulness of the technology were robust predictors of consumers' attitudes towards accepting facial recognition in a retail store.

This research is a work in progress focused on delivering textual information to mature adults in a video game environment to test if it would improve user engagement, comprehension and retention of this information as compared to traditional delivery methods like paper or screen-based reading.  

A video game is being developed that allows a player to drive a car in an urban environment. This will be a fully playable video game with some additional features related to delivering text and testing comprehension within the game. The comprehension tests are designed in a way that they are part of the game and do not break immersion. 

The information being displayed in the game will be from the UK Highway Code. The questions will be related to the same topic. Answering the questions correctly will allow users to pass barriers in the game and get higher scores. 

The study will use volunteer participants who will be mature adults residing in the UK. After playing the game, the players will be asked a few questions regarding their experience and the information they read. There will be a follow-up later to test the retention of this information. 

Gamification is “The use of game design elements in non-game contexts.” (Deterding et al., 2011). The study explores if the gamified method of information delivery is more engaging than the traditional methods. This will guide future research into this method to measure the effectiveness of this method and refine this method of delivering textual information. 

As a comics artist and an educator, I have a strong interest in the application of comics in educational contexts, particularly those outside the formal classroom. My previous comics-related research projects have shown that comics may be especially suitable for narrating personal stories and viewpoints. With this in mind, I have designed a small-scale research study to investigate how creating comics may support young people’s meaning-making with museum collections. The adolescent age range (10-19 years old) is relatively overlooked in museum and gallery education in favour or younger children/family activities. To address this gap, the study was specifically aimed at young people aged 10-19. A group of eight participants was recruited through local arts organisations to take part in this study. Due to the lockdown restrictions, his study has been taking place online, through a series of Zoom workshops. Participants explored items in an online collection of an art museum, and selected items that they found curious or inspiring. During the workshops, participants created comics as their personal interpretations of their chosen objects/items. Participants’ comics were used as project data; additional data was collected through questionnaires following the completion of artwork. Although at present this study is ongoing, the data collected and analysed so far has revealed participants’ choices of objects to be determined by their interests and previous experiences. The study has also demonstrated participants’ strong engagement with museum collections, and a significant degree of independence in their creative decisions.

The cloze probability (CP) task is used to investigate the way in which sentences are processed. Participants’ task is to complete a sentence that is presented without the final word; however, sentences vary in levels of CP. High CP sentences have a highly anticipated completion word (e.g. Bradley prefers cats over dogs) whereas, low CP sentences can be completed with several different words, none of which are highly anticipated (e.g. In the distance they heard the kettle). These tasks have previously utilised spoken and hand-written forms of language production, but technological advances mean CP tasks need to be adapted to include typed language as a production modality. In the present study, sentences were presented online to be completed through typed text. Three tasks were included. A standard CP task in which participants completed sentences by freely producing the final word, a picture naming task where the final word of the sentence was presented in picture form, and a copying task. High CP sentences resulted in quicker reaction times of latency and duration compared to low CP sentences. Copying tasks gained the fastest responses, followed by picture naming and then cloze tasks. The effect of language processing, shown through CP tasks, remains present when utilising typed text as modality of language production. Copying task results suggested prediction may not be required in all language production. These results assist in relating CP tasks to modern methods of language production.

This study’s overall aim is to determine whether feeding behaviours differ between UK garden bird species, specifically focusing on the effects of access to a variety of feed types and the provision of predation cover near feeding areas. This is a multidisciplinary study involving both first-hand behavioural observations of feeding birds, and a human-participant survey focusing on the general public’s opinions and behaviours towards garden bird species. The survey includes 283 human participants and has been shared through local community pages, such as the platform ‘Next Door’, and through the local radio station ‘BBC Radio Oxford’ during the Sunday Garden and Wildlife Breakfast Show. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, behavioural observations have been performed in a private garden, with a total of 20 hours’ worth of behavioural data collected. During observations, three different feed types were presented in three different feeding areas within the garden: suet blocks in a fully covered area, mixed seeds and nuts in a partially covered area, and mealworms in an open area. Using current research from The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the predictions for this study’s results include: smaller bird species will feed in areas with an abundance of predatory cover, smaller species will consume more seeds and nut feed types, and medium to larger bird species will feed from areas with proteins and fat provisions. This research is important in understanding UK bird species and their behavioural responses to the changing human demographics.  

Stocks of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) have been in decline both in the United Kingdom and across the entirety of their range.  This decline is likely due to a blend of anthropogenic and natural causes, such as higher marine mortality, pollution of rivers, overfishing and loss of spawning habitat.  In order to stabilise, restore and maintain a healthy salmon population, it is vital to identify and protect spawning habitat.  The Gala Water is a tributary of the River Tweed, a major salmon fishing river, and thus presents a potentially important spawning location.  This study reviews the depth, velocity, vegetation and land use of a 2.27 kilometre section of the upstream Gala Water in order to determine its suitability as a habitat for salmon spawning.  It also conducts a broad scale review of downstream environments with the aim of identifying any obstacles or features inhibiting salmon migration.  The study found that the upstream Gala Water exhibits a very suitable depth and velocity for salmon spawning based on previous research into active redd locations.  It further provides abundant cover through well vegetated natural banks, deep pools, and anthropogenic features such as bridges and rip rap.  Downstream, the Tweed and Gala Water suffer from some mild pollution from the towns of Galashiels and Selkirk, but their rural nature leaves them free from industrial level pollution that would inhibit migration.  With the instillation of the salmon ladder at Skinworks Cauld in Galashiels, there is nothing to inhibit salmon from accessing the upstream Gala Water.  Combined with the hydraulic and floral characteristics of said area, the upstream Gala Water provides a very suitable habitat for Atlantic salmon spawning.   

The international union for conservation of nature (IUCN) currently recommends a minimum distance of 10m between tourists and Great Apes. Not adhering to this can increase the risk of disease transmission but currently little research has evaluated the prevalence with which tourists adhere to these guidelines. This study focused on the site of Bukit Lawang in Gunung Leuser National Park, Indonesia, a popular destination for seeing Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) , which are currently listed as critically endangered. A study in 2014 asserted that IUCN guidelines need to be enforced at this site.  Photos from the top ten wildlife tour companies in this area were analysed on Trip advisor to find the percentage of photos in which tourists were in close contact with orangutans. Photos in which tourists were less than 10m from orangutans were found for nine out of ten tour companies.  I compared the least and most recent photos (an average period of around 5 years) and found no marked change since the previous study in 2014. I also looked at whether having a clear policy on the tour companies website was related to the prevalence of close contact photos, with some suggestion that it may decrease the prevalence of close contact photos observed. I end by making recommendations for improved regulation of these guidelines in light of the COVID19 pandemic.

The aim of the research is to contribute to the debate about pornography in young people’s lives and to inform effective education programs. There are limited studies conducted in the UK and the ones that have been conducted reveal the need for more qualitative research. Despite the inconclusive findings of the impact of pornography on young people, there is agreement that better education is needed to help young people understand pornography and the role it might play in their lives. Semi-structured interviews with open ended questions will be used in this study to generate rich talk, stories and reflections in response to the interviewer's questions. There will be 8-10 adolescents involved between two groups of friends. Participants will be heterosexual, cis-female, aged 16-19 and do not need to be active pornography consumers. Phenomenology and Social Norms theory are the theoretical perspectives to be applied in order to gain a deep understanding of the subject. Applying Social Norms theory will allow an understanding of whether there is a possible effect of norms on behaviour, whilst phenomenology will enable a deeper investigation of how social agents themselves navigate and explain the reality they live in. Reflexive Thematic Analysis will be used deductively by applying Social Norms theory and inductively in phenomenological analysis and interpretation of the data. The data will be reported through the analytic narrative and illustrative extracts. The mixed approach should allow to understand the meaning within the narratives of individual actors while acknowledging the social influence of pornography. 

This research aims to examine how American writer Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) depicts lesbian sexuality in her work, using close readings of the novels ‘Q.E.D.’ and ‘The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas’, and the poetry ‘Tender Buttons’, ‘Lifting Belly’, ‘Miss Furr and Miss Skeene’ and ‘As A Wife Has A Cow’. A particular focus will be placed on the themes of sexual wordplay, subversion of gender, and the queering of domesticity within these texts. Stein is a writer of the Modernist era, a period in the late 19th and early 20th centuries characterised by the need to break from societal traditions and develop new ideas. In this research I have found that Stein shuns contemporary patriarchal norms through her writing, which is revolutionary as much for its abstract style and experimental structures as for its content, which is largely centred on Stein’s committed long-term relationship with partner Alice B. Toklas. My analyses are supported by research on lesbian sexuality in Modernist literature by Hannah Roche, as well as Chris Coffman’s work exploring Stein’s gender identity through the lens of queer theory. Limitations of this research involve the narrow scope of reading Stein’s work through the singular lens of queerness, and the potential to ignore more problematic parts of Stein’s work in favour of celebrating her legacy as a lesbian luminary.