BA/Leverhulme Trust Small Research Grants 2023

Funded by

Please note: Awards are arranged alphabetically by surname of the grant recipient. The institution is that given at the time of application. The awards listed are those for the 2023 round of Small Research Grants.

Dr Liliane Abboud

Co-Applicant: Dr Nima Heirati

SRG23\231881

How Intelligent Should a Robot Be? Understanding the Consequences of Living with Household Robots on Wellbeing

University of Surrey

Value Awarded: £9542

Abstract: Recently, the use of AI-powered voice assistants and household robots has surged, providing significant benefits to individuals' wellbeing. However, accompanying this rise are notable contemporary challenges. Our research aims to explore the impact of living and interacting with household robots on people's wellbeing and their engagement with this technology. Through a quantitative experimental approach, we will investigate the psychological mechanisms and wellbeing outcomes resulting from individuals' interactions with household robots. This research carries significant societal importance. By informing policymakers about the implications of AI-powered household robots, we aim to shape AI policies to maximise societal benefits. Moreover, our insights will offer practitioners new perspectives on designing AI service robots that enhance household members’ wellbeing. Our findings will be widely disseminated among various audiences including society, scholars, and practitioners. This research will advance knowledge, enable evidence-based decision-making, and foster the creation of technologies that improve overall wellbeing and quality of life.

Professor Patricia Martine Adank

Co-Applicant: Dr Bronwen Gillian Evans

SRG23\230849

Imitation in speech: sensorimotor integration mechanism or social tool?

University College London

Value Awarded: £9445

Abstract: When talking to someone with a different regional accent we might change how we speak to sound more like them. Such speech imitation results from tight speech perception-production links: perceiving speech activates the speech production system and vice versa. Two hypotheses have been proposed regarding speech imitation. Hypothesis 1 proposes imitation is a key integration mechanism of speech processing by mediating its perception-production link. Hypothesis 2 suggests imitation represents a social tool for signalling distance to our conversation partner, but is not an integration mechanism in speech processing. Two experiments are planned: Experiment 1 will use the Stimulus Response Compatibility (SRC) task, which provides a controlled behavioural measure of speech imitation, using accented speech. Experiment 2 will combine the SRC task with temporary suppression of speech production areas using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of speech production brain areas to establish whether imitation of accented speech relies causally on speech production.

Dr Ketch Adeeko

Co-Applicant: Dr Lorna Treanor

SRG23\230608

Inclusive Growth: Entrepreneurial ecosystems and the growth trajectories of women entrepreneurs.

University of Bristol

Value Awarded: £8954.27

Abstract: This study will explore the growth of women-led businesses within UK entrepreneurial ecosystems. Extant research suggests structural barriers discriminate against businesses led by entrepreneurs marginalised by gender and other markers of disadvantage, thus restricting their business growth. However, there is limited understanding of how these constraints can be overcome within the context of an entrepreneurial ecosystem where women entrepreneurs are marginalised and under-represented. This research will identify barriers to growth and service-uptake, and develop theory on how women entrepreneurs navigate firm growth within entrepreneurial ecosystems. The study will utilize a survey of key stakeholders including women entrepreneurs, enterprise support delivery personnel, investors and institutional leaders followed by semi-structured interviews with a representative sample from this stakeholder group. The findings will inform the development of inclusive policy and business support interventions that drive growth within an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Professor Katharine Adeney

Co-Applicant: Professor Wilfried Swenden

SRG23\231227

Majority Nationalisms in South Asia: an analysis of content and survey evidence

University of Nottingham

Value Awarded: £9891.34

Abstract: This important, innovative and timely research will elucidate the dynamics of majority nationalism within South Asia, focusing on the countries of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. All three countries count as plural societies and all three were governed by the British Raj. Through access to comparative survey data and the analysis of content in Urdu, Sinhala and Hindi our research will provide the first comparative exploration of majoritarian nationalisms within South Asia. Unlike the recent attention paid to the rise of religious nationalism in South Asia (especially India), majoritarianism has also historically occurred along linguistic and regional lines. The survey data will allow us to analyse support for different forms of majority nationalism overtime and across, and within, the three states. The documentary analysis will allow us to analyse how political elites associated with the majority nation(s) frame the identity of the state and its policies towards minorities.

Dr Mahvish Ahmad

Co-Applicant: Dr Chana Morgenstern

SRG23\231922

Revolutionary Papers: A Transnational Research Initiative of Anticolonial Periodicals from the Global South

London School of Economics and Political Science

Value Awarded: £9738

Abstract: Revolutionary Papers is a transnational research collaboration exploring 20th century periodicals of anticolonial critical production. The initiative looks at the way that periodicals—including newspapers, magazines, cultural journals, and newsletters—established new counter publics, social and cultural movements, institutions, political vocabularies and art practices. Operating as forums for critique and debate under conditions of repression, periodicals facilitated processes of decolonization during colonialism and after the formal end of empire. RP traces the ways that periodicals supported social, political and cultural reconstruction amidst colonial destruction, building alternative networks that circulated new political ideas and dared to imagine worlds after empire.

This grant will allow us to deepen research collaborations with several scholars, especially with Dr Koni Benson, a historian of African anticolonialism at the University of the Western Cape, whose institution hosted a major international RP conference in Cape Town, South Africa in April 2022.

Dr Chinyere Ajayi

Co-Applicant: Dr Roxanne Khan

SRG23\230006

Resettled refugee women: the impact of domestic abuse and coercive control on social and economic mobility

University of Central Lancashire

Value Awarded: £9871.08

Abstract: This research will address the knowledge gap that exists regarding how resettled refugee women experience domestic abuse and coercive control (DACC), and if and how these experiences impact on women’s social and economic mobility, making this the first research to do so nationally and internationally. Working with community partners, the research will provide data about the nature of DACC experienced by resettled refugee women and how DACC might impact on women’s social and economic mobility. It will explore culturally competent responses to DACC and approaches to supporting women’s social and economic mobility. The project seeks to improve women’s wellbeing, in particular, by developing a training resource for practitioners which will be shared nationally and beyond. It will advance a number of the International Sustainable Development Goals: gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls; eliminating forms of GBV; increasing women's social participation and addressing issues of health and wellbeing.

Dr Zhraa Alhaboby

SRG23\230025

The cyber-victimisation of disabled adults in Northern Ireland: The scope and impact from a victim’s perspective

Open University

Value Awarded: £9632

Abstract: The cyber-victimisation of disabled people is a disturbing phenomenon with serious consequences on physical health, mental wellbeing, and social relationships. In Northern Ireland (NI), one in every five people is disabled, and disability hate crimes are at their highest recorded level. However, the victims’ perspective is underrepresented due to under-reporting and lack of trust in formal support. This study aims to explore the scope and impact of cyber-victimisation of disabled people in NI from a victim’s perspective. The study will examine the frequency and characteristics of cyber-victimisation experiences, assess the impact on wellbeing, and investigate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a case of public health emergency, on disability cyber-hate experiences. A mixed-method design will be adopted using internet-mediated data collection methods; an online survey followed by in-depth interviews with victims. The outcomes from this research will help in improving the support available to victims and increasing public awareness.

Dr Stephen Allen

Co-Applicant: Dr Charles Barthold and Professor Carole Elliott

SRG23\231724

Does organizational democracy matter for ecological sustainability in organizations? An analysis of the (in)significance of organizational democracy in for-profit businesses (B Corps) that have been certified as leading in how they work for ecological sustainability

University of Sheffield

Value Awarded: £9994

Abstract: This project will study the (in)significance of organizational democracy in for-profit businesses that have been certified as leading in how they work for ecological sustainability. It will involve interviewing 50 people who work across 10 UK-based Benefit Corporations (B Corps) and exploring the findings from the study with key stakeholders through an end-of-project workshop. There has been a lack of attention to studying possible (dis)connections between ecological sustainability and democracy within organizations. Greater understanding of how prioritising ecological sustainability interacts with democracy in business organizations will inform developments in theory, policy and practice. Working in organizations is a key aspect of peoples’ lives, and consequently provides a crucial space for the emergence of more sustainable societies. Democratic organizing involves collective decision making, equity, and autonomy.

Professor Peter Anderson

SRG23\230263

'We're Off to Sunny Spain: mass tourism and the mobility revolution 1959-1975'

University of Leeds

Value Awarded: £9870

Abstract: In 1950, 25 million people across the globe travelled internationally; by 2010 the number had soared to 880 million. The shift to mass international travel represents one of the crucial social changes of the twentieth century and Spain stands out as a paradigm of this mobility revolution. In the early 1950s, just 776,820 tourists journeyed there annually but by 1973 the number had rocketed to over 34 million. The mobility revolution in Spain remains neglected and the requested funding will pay for initial archival research and planning for a major project on the political, social, and environmental history of this mobility revolution. The project will challenge social and academic attitudes which dismiss mass tourists as tawdry and frivolous and use tourism to rethink the politics of the Franco regime, to gain new insights into the social experience of the mobility revolution, and to bring new understandings of the Anthropocene age.

Dr Joerg Arnold

SRG23\231172

Timothy Mason, Detlev Peukert, and the Practice of Doing Radical History in the Age of Extremes

University of Nottingham

Value Awarded: £7790

Abstract: Timothy Mason (1940-1990) and Detlev Peukert (1950-1990) rank among the most influential historians of the twentieth century. More than thirty years after their premature deaths, their interventions in the fields of labour history, women’s history, history ‘from below’ and ‘history and theory’ remain benchmark moments in the development of the profession. Their rich body of empirical work on the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany continues to inspire today’s historians. This project will offer the first monograph study of the two historians. Combining oral history with archival work, the project aims to produce a social history of knowledge through a biographical lens. The study embeds the lives of Mason and Peukert within the context of academic practice, political activism and transnational collaboration. In historicising the cutting-edge historiography of the late twentieth-century, the project makes an important contribution to understanding the trajectory of the Humanities in an ever-faster changing world.

Dr Veronica Barnsley

SRG23\231802

More than a safe pair of hands: Black midwives, anticolonialism and decolonising reproductive health

University of Sheffield

Value Awarded: £2589

Abstract: Black midwives in Africa and its diasporas have been at the forefront of anticolonial health activism since the 1950s and are active in current efforts to decolonise reproductive health. Midwives have been committed advocates for women’s rights, however their contributions have been overlooked due to white supremacy, white humanitarianism, and neocolonialism in global health, and risk being forgotten. This project puts the stories, perspectives and agendas of black midwives centre stage. Focusing on African American midwives and their international connections and networks, it is the first step towards a fuller understanding of Black midwives’ contributions to decolonising cultures of childbirth and reproductive health. By examining manuscript collections at the Schomburg Centre for Research in Black Culture and situating archival findings and writing by Black midwives in relation to debates in decolonial feminisms, global health and medical humanities, the project will produce new knowledge about Black midwives’ activism and advocacy.

Dr Sarah Barthélemy

Co-Applicant: Dr Cormac Stephen Begadon and Dr Gemma Betros

SRG23\231221

Cultures of Engagement: Female Religious Communities in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

Durham University

Value Awarded: £9663.8

Abstract: The study of women religious has in the twenty-first century become a major area of interdisciplinary scholarly activity, as researchers seek to uncover nuns and sisters’ agency and influence, demonstrating their significance for mainstream history. Yet a significant methodological and chronological barrier stand inhibit this progress: the taking of the French Revolution as the point of conclusion or commencement. Through the organisation of an international workshop, ‘Cultures of Engagement: Female Religious Communities in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries’, and a resulting publication, this project will act as a major historiographical intervention, recalibrating the ways in which scholars and non-specialists tell and interpret the histories of Catholic women religious in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, uncovering the many ways in which women of the religious life –usually considered cut off from the world– in fact became increasingly involved in the cultural, intellectual and political world of the eighteenth century and beyond.

Dr Philippe Beauregard

Co-Applicant: Dr Brianna A. Smith

SRG23\231055

Investigating the Political Success of Narcissistic Leaders

University of Aberdeen

Value Awarded: £9650

Abstract: What do American President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have in common? They have both been accused of being highly and overtly narcissistic. Such leaders have been successful in rising to the top of their states, including in Western democracies. Initially charismatic, these leaders can become dangerous. In the long term, narcissists are more likely to fail to empathise with people in need, they are impulsive in making decisions, they gamble and take great risks, and are more likely to initiate a major war. Their aggressivity, attack on democratic institutions, and inability to effectively cooperate are a threat to humanity. Our project aims to discover why people support overtly narcissistic leaders. We will conduct the first experimental study to test what emotions motivate British and American citizens to support such leaders, uncovering key psychological factors.

Dr Ibrar Bhatt

SRG23\230565

Heritage literacy maintenance and adaptation: A study of Muslim communities in Hong Kong SAR

Queen's University Belfast

Value Awarded: £9980

Abstract: This research project aims to explore how the religious heritage of Muslim communities in Hong Kong is adapted and maintained through systems of community education, social networks, and migration. The study adopts a literacy studies perspective to ethnographically trace how religious heritage features in everyday practices of literacy, and how such practices are central to the maintenance and adaptation of heritage. Working alongside locally-based researchers and stakeholders, the study will document the voices and lived experience of Hong Kong's Muslim communities as part of the city-state's evolving cultural infrastructure, including within the domains of social participation, belonging, and education.

The study will inform ideas about how Hong Kong's Muslim minorities sustain cultural and linguistic agency in an increasingly multicultural society, how heritage practices have transitioned from a colonial to a post-colonial era, their place in developing educational curricula, and, more broadly, how relations with mainland China occur.

Dr Eleanor Bland

SRG23\230290

Agents of Colonial Rule: Policing Suspect Communities in Western Australia, 1849-1914, and the Ongoing Legacies

Oxford Brookes University

Value Awarded: £9988.24

Abstract: I seek support to examine policing practices in Western Australia, 1849-1914, and their intergenerational and contemporary legacies. This historical criminology project will utilise extensive and under-examined archival records in the State Records Office of Western Australia, which provide detailed evidence of the attitudes of police officers and their encounters with those they suspected and apprehended, especially Indigenous Australians, convicts and former convicts and non-European immigrants. We are currently in an era of intense scrutiny of policing practices and of institutional failings in policing structures in the media and public consciousness, in national and international contexts. To begin to unpick the contemporary problems of police violence and police targeting around the world, we need to recognise and understand its historical roots. This research project, through historical research and examination of contemporary legacies, will show that the institution of policing in colonial contexts is rooted in stereotyping, targeting and violence.

Dr Josh Bowsher

SRG23\231359

Human Rights Early-Warning Systems: Genealogies of Cybernetic Prediction and Peace

University of Sussex

Value Awarded: £7610

Abstract: This research will explore the origins and conceptual development of early-warning systems within the field of human rights. Since the late-1980s, international institutions like the UN and human rights organisations have made numerous attempts to develop systems that can forewarn of mass violence and other serious human rights incidents. These endeavours have recently been reinvigorated thanks to new machine learning methods that monitor situations in real time through social media platforms. However, relatively little is known about the conceptual origins of these systems in cybernetics and the diffusion of cybernetic ideas tracing back to the 1950s. Responding to this gap, this project undertakes archival research at several institutions where the idea of early-warning and its application to issues of conflict and human rights was developed. By uncovering the values and assumptions shaping the development of these systems, the project will elucidate the ethical and political stakes of contemporary practice.

Dr Catalin Brylla

SRG23\231304

Media Engagement for Wellbeing in the Sight Loss Community: A Model for Research and Intervention

Bournemouth University

Value Awarded: £9975.98

Abstract: The physical, psychological, social and economic wellbeing of blind (and partially sighted) people has been compromised by social exclusion, as well as the sensory challenges of having impaired vision. This project will develop a model for engaging blind people with media, empowering them to improve their wellbeing and resist exclusion. Working together with two sight loss organisations, the project will empirically map the challenges and opportunities of implementing media engagement initiatives in the sight loss community. This will inform a new, preliminary model of blind people creating, appreciating and critiquing media, which will be piloted in practice. The model will be based on intersectionality, which considers how multiple social identities (e.g. disability, gender, age, ethnicity, religion) affect lived experiences and frame media engagement interventions. This renders the model applicable to studying and implementing media engagement for wellbeing in a range of marginalised and stigmatised communities.

Dr Leone Buckle

Co-Applicant: Dr Judit Fazekas and Dr Katherine Messenger

SRG23\231980

Who said what? – The role of speaker identity on children’s predictive grammar learning

University of Manchester

Value Awarded: £9717

Abstract: Children’s language experiences facilitate their language production as they often repeat words and sentence structures that they have heard other speakers use around them. Language acquisition occurs in diverse social environments as children regularly interact with caregivers, siblings, Early Years Practitioners and school peers. However, it is unclear whether children rely on some input sources more than others to support their language development since most studies have focused on the role of input from an adult. The project will consist of an experiment exploring the influence of interlocutor identity on children’s language learning by comparing the influence of adults who have mastered the target language and peers who are also in early stages of development. It will present a new methodological paradigm for studying socially mediated language learning, advance our understanding of language acquisition in different contexts and provide a springboard into novel research areas.

Dr Timothy Buescher

SRG23\230422

The Un-tiques Roadshow - Letting things go

Nottingham Trent University

Value Awarded: £9882.22

Abstract: This project aims to explore the mechanisms by which people relinquish items into the communal custody of a Library of Things (LoT), an organisation that curates, maintains, and repairs appliances and equipment for its members use for a nominal fee. LoTs have the potential to promote community cohesion through shared ownership, reduce climate anxiety through addressing issues of waste and manufacture, and give access to otherwise unavailable resources. By exploring the reasons given for donating to libraries, and the ties which may still connect people and the objects they donated, whilst seeing them in the context of the library (community ownership), we aim to uncover possibilities for helping individuals and families struggling with overwhelming possessions, whilst increasing support for LoT's and promoting an alternative to hyperconsumption. In particular, the potential to address problems of letting things go, in cases of compulsive hoarding.

Dr Patricia Canning

Co-Applicant: Professor Michael Rowe

SRG23\230427

An investigation into 'writing up' and 'writing off' domestic abuse crimes

Northumbria University

Value Awarded: £9469.5

Abstract: Perpetrators of domestic abuse harmed over 2.4 million adults in the UK in 2022, 1.7 million of whom were women. These figures are the tip of the iceberg, because many domestic abuse (DA) crimes go unreported. Police referred only 67,063 of these cases to the prosecution service for charging decisions. We believe this attrition rate (between incidents reported and referred) is connected, at least in part, to specific language choices made by investigating officers and related institutional agents. Such language choices include particular vocabulary and grammatical patterns that indicate victim-blaming. Therefore, working in partnership with UK police forces, we aim to collect, analyse, and report on the language used in (redacted) DA case files. We will produce a unique practical resource for police training in the form of a national guidance document based on our findings on the use of language in policing DA in collaboration with UK police forces.

Dr Leonardo Carella

SRG23\230358

Intra-Party Sources of Electoral System Change

University of Oxford

Value Awarded: £9441.59

Abstract: Why did many countries adopt proportional representation (PR) at the turn of the 20th century? Scholars have mostly understood these reforms as a result of parties’ seat-maximisation strategies, overlooking that at the time, parties were often only loose political groupings and PR was more divisive within these factions than between them. We propose a new explanation: elites adopted PR to build the disciplined, cohesive, programmatic parties needed for the age of mass politics. This explains why list-PR, which allows party leaders to vet candidates, was almost universally adopted over other PR variants that favour MPs’ independence and constituency focus. The project combines cross-country analysis of an original dataset of electoral reform initiatives in 34 countries (1860–1930) with case studies on electoral reform in Belgium, Italy and Britain. These draw on the analysis of parliamentary votes on multiple reform bills and qualitative archival evidence on pro-PR reformers’ advocacy strategies.

Dr Suelen Carls

Co-Applicant: Professor Mohamed Amal

SRG23\230970

Intellectual Property context, Regional Integration and Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America

Bournemouth University

Value Awarded: £9986.16

Abstract: Latin America's Intellectual Property (IP) context is fragmented and varies between countries. In practice, internal regulations and external international agreements, including trade and foreign investment related, shape neither homogeneous nor harmonised or compatible frameworks.

This project will assess the dynamic of IP context in the region through theoretical and empirical insights on these research questions: What are the determinants of IP context in Latin America? To what extent the IP context is shaped by the investment strategies of Multinational Companies (MNCs) operating in the region? To what extent do Regional and Bilateral Trade Agreements drive and (re)shape the evolution of the IP context?

It will look at the interactions between the two sources of IP, how they shape the institutional context, and the implications of such a dynamic and unstable context on the FDI strategies of MNCs in Latin America.

Dr Caroline Casey

Co-Applicant: Professor Daniel Muzio

SRG23\231569

Experiences of Alternative Pathways in Access to Solicitors’ Profession: Levelling up?

University of York

Value Awarded: £9988.65

Abstract: Degree apprenticeships provide an attractive alternative pathway to professional occupations that could disrupt longstanding inequalities in access. Yet uptake of the degree apprenticeship pathway has largely been by those from more-advantaged backgrounds. Moreover, professional occupations are highly institutionalised and access (and progression) typically favours those from more-advantaged backgrounds who possess valorised forms of cultural capital, for instance, based on accent, dress, school or university attended. In evaluating the impact of alternative pathways on social inequalities in access to, and experiences of, a professional occupation, this research explores the perspectives and experiences of 32 apprentice solicitors, asking how they understand and experience their pathway. Thematic analysis will identify and interpret key patterns across interview transcripts and online diary entries to explore how the findings vary by social background, type of law firm, and geographic location of origin. Theoretical, practical and policy implications will be drawn from the findings.

Dr Hang-Yee Chan

SRG23\231657

Efficacy of climate messaging on social media: An investigation of online peer persuasion

King's College London

Value Awarded: £9991.8

Abstract: Climate messaging that promotes consensus building and civic engagement on science-based mitigation often involves persuasion efforts via one-to-many broadcasting, such as NGOs devising campaigns and marketing agencies designing advertising. However, persuasion efforts among citizens – e.g., social media users share infographics or like advocacy videos – can amplify or attenuate the impact of climate messaging. While there has been considerable research in effective communication of climate change issues, little is known about how peer persuasion helps or hinders climate messaging. For instance, even if concerned citizens are more likely to engage in online peer persuasion, are the messages they choose to amplify persuasive for individuals with a more doubtful view on the issue? This project plans to investigate conditions under which peer-to-peer climate messaging might be effective or counter-productive. Findings will support policymakers to design more effective climate messaging, and help understand the impact of citizen advocacy.

Dr Ben Clements

Co-Applicant: Dr Kyriaki Nanou

SRG23\230931

Public opinion and the ‘Apostasy’ in Greece: The Centre Union party and the resignation of Georgios Papandreou in the July 1965 constitutional crisis

University of Leicester

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: The legislative elections of 1963 and 1964 were important for Greece, bringing to power the Centre Union party under Georgios Papandreou after sustained centre-right government. But Papandreou left office in July 1965 amid political and constitutional acrimony, with continuing instability leading to authoritarian rule by a military junta between 1967-74. There has been no scholarly research into the responses of the public at this time of meaningful change in the Greek political system. This project will analyse an untapped collection of survey datasets from 1964-66 to analyse public opinion in Athens. The project will shed new light on evaluations of Papandreou’s leadership and the Centre Union government, a party with a strong appeal to the urban electorate. The project will make a major contribution to the study of the pre-junta period and provide insights into the public mood at a time of democratic instability before the rise of authoritarian politics.

Dr Netta Cohen

SRG23\231139

Can't Touch This: A Global History of the Prickly Pear

University of Oxford

Value Awarded: £7625

Abstract: Recent studies have declared that climate change is starting to threaten one of the most resilient plant families in the world – the cacti – who are reaching their limits as the planet becomes a hotter and drier place. This forecast does not take into account other human-caused threats that already make cacti one of the world’s most endangered groups of organisms. As one study showed in 2015, cacti are among the most threatened taxonomic groups on Earth, even ahead of mammals and birds and just behind corals. The proposed research project wishes to tell the story of one such endangered cactus – the Opuntia ficus-indica, also known as the prickly pear or the Indian fig. It is in part a story of a global odyssey across continents and seas and of plant-insect relationships. Yet, it is not least a story of people, their environments, power relations, and ecological engagements.

Dr Clara Cohen

Co-Applicant: Dr Rachel Smith

SRG23\232015

Putting in the effort: The effect of processing difficult structures on perception, comprehension, and encoding of spoken language

University of Glasgow

Value Awarded: £9987.19

Abstract: This project asks how listeners can make sense of running speech in real time by prioritizing their attention to different parts of the linguistic structure. Specifically, we triangulate physiological and behavioural responses to different grammatical structures, to determine whether the effort required to process difficult structures at a variety of linguistic domains--phonetics, semantics, syntax, and word frequency---confers benefits (or imposes constraints) on listeners' ability to make sense of the following speech. To this end, we employ pupillometry, identifying conditions under which listeners’ pupils dilate more dynamically, reflecting a greater degree of listening effort imposed by these difficult structures. Simultaneously, we monitor listeners' behaviour as they perform tasks testing their ability to process and retain phonetic and semantic information. The results will reveal how listeners draw upon a variety of cues in running speech to help them fine-tune their attention to pick out key pieces of information.

Dr Conrad Copeland

SRG23\230315

Terror and Monetary Policy During the French Revolution

Independent Scholar

Value Awarded: £6566.25

Abstract: This project investigates the effect of the Terror as revolutionary government policy on inflation during the French Revolution. Revolutionary repression was targeted at a large cross-section of the population, including individuals accused of counterfeiting, destabilising the economy, and other forms of economic destruction. Whether this was true or not, government policy included an effort to restore confidence in the currency (the assignat) by targeting these individuals. This project seeks to explore the impact of this effort. This project uses a completely new and unique data source: time series execution data at the departmental level from Prudhomme’s Histoire Générale et Impartiale des Erreurs, des Fautes et des Crimes Commis Pendant la Révolution Française; and combines it with Caron’s Tableaux de Dépréciation du Papier-Monnaie to test the effectiveness of revolutionary terror as monetary policy. It is hypothesised that departments with higher levels of repression would experience a higher degree of price stability.

Dr Graham Cross

SRG23\231338

‘Workin’ on Those Airdromes’: Structures of Racism and the Visibility, Identity and Legacy of the African American 923rd Engineer Aviation Regiment in Britain, 1942-45

Manchester Metropolitan University

Value Awarded: £7795

Abstract: This study will provide a comprehensive exploration of how both the visible and hidden structures of racism, present in official and interpersonal segregation and discrimination mandating difference and exclusion, impacted on the visibility, identity and legacy of African American troops in East Anglia during the Second World War. Using previously undiscovered sources and an innovative 'ground-up' unit level focus, the study will focus on the individual soldiers to examine the day-to-day experience of structures of racism by the 923rd Engineer (Aviation) Regiment, the largest African American unit stationed in wartime Britain. The study will make a major contribution to understanding the African American military experience in Britain as part of the ‘Friendly Invasion’ and will suggest a new methodology for understanding the nature of military and civilian structural racism existing in this country during the war and wider twentieth century.

Dr Fadia Dakka

SRG23\231145

Reading Time. A phenomenological exploration of reading habits, rhythms and practices in doctoral education in the UK and Norway.

Birmingham City University

Value Awarded: £9372.32

Abstract: In contemporary doctoral education, much less attention is devoted to understanding how students engage with higher level readings,

than it is to supporting the development of their academic writing skills. Reading is generally approached instrumentally for research and equated with an extractive process to retrieve, survey or review the information needed for writing.

This project examines the under-researched area of reading habits, rhythms and practices among doctoral students in the UK and Norway, exploring how a diverse group of doctoral students relates to, makes sense of, and engages with reading as a research practice in its own right. Through the original use of a methodology centred on the students' lived experience, the project takes a closer look at the material, cognitive and affective dimensions of reading and draws pedagogical and philosophical implications for doctoral education and supervision whilst foregrounding mutual learning from cultural difference.

Dr Johny Daniel

Co-Applicant: Dr Hsuan-Hui Wang

SRG23\230549

Taiwanese teachers’ knowledge of teaching foundational Mandarin reading skills to primary school Chinese pupils.

Durham University

Value Awarded: £8244

Abstract: The acquisition of reading skills is widely recognized as a fundamental milestone in the early educational development of pupils. In this process, teachers play an indispensable role in supporting students to develop the essential skills of reading and comprehending text. However, prior studies have revealed worrisome findings regarding the readiness of teachers to teach foundational reading skills (e.g., Washburn et al., 2016). An important limitation of the existing literature is its heavy reliance on data collected in the United States, with little research done in other parts of the world. In addition, no suitable survey instrument has been developed to assess teachers’ knowledge of teaching reading in other languages such as Mandarin. Therefore, the current proposal aims to gather information on the primary school Chinese teachers' pedagogical practices in teaching foundational Mandarin reading skills and their perceived level of confidence in supporting primary-age pupils with reading difficulties in inclusive classrooms.

Dr Jareh Das

SRG23\230972

Black Clay: Handbuilng in Nigerian Pottery

Independent Scholar

Value Awarded: £7512

Abstract: Pottery in Nigeria is still practised in most parts of the country, and hand-building techniques have been passed down from generation to generation. Black Clay: Handbuilng in Nigerian Pottery is a research and development project exploring matrilineal tradition in Nigerian pottery. This project traces pottery traditions passed down from generation to generation between women to consider the legacy and importance of ceramics in Nigerian culture. By centring on indigenous pottery traditions led by women and hand-building techniques in communities in Ilorin, Warri and Kwali in Nigeria, this project also addresses how pottery is in decline, considering the threat of disappearance of this historic craft due to the introduction and flooding of Nigerian markets with modern containers such as enamel, plastics, aluminium and glazed wares.

Dr Jennifer Davey

SRG23\230983

Queen and Country: Queen Victoria and the Victorians

Independent Scholar

Value Awarded: £9961

Abstract: What did the Victorians think of their Queen? The Victorians were well placed to cast judgement on their monarch, as Queen Victoria spent her reign travelling around her kingdom. Those interactions held enormous significance for the Victorians, yet those journeys have been largely overlooked by historians. Little attention has been paid to the everyday interactions between Queen and Country leaving a distorted picture of popular attitudes towards one of the key figures of the age – Victoria – and one of the key institutions of the age – the monarchy.

Examining the journeys that Victoria made across her reign through the thoughts and feelings of ordinary people, this project will produce an original and timely new history of her reign. It will shine new light on the past relationship between Queen and Country, while also helping to inform current debates about the role and function of the monarchy.

Dr John Edward Davies

SRG23\231286

Researching the papers of Charles Francis Greville (1749-1809)

Independent Scholar

Value Awarded: £4894

Abstract: To undertake research for a biography of Charles Francis Greville (1749-1809), connoisseur, botanist and mineralogist. Greville has always been associated with his lover, Emma Hart and the way he passed he on to his uncle, Sir William Hamilton who later married her. However, there was much more to him. He was a noted patron and collector of art whose opinion was much sought, he had a thorough knowledge of botany and collected plants from around the globe and he was an expert mineralogist, whose extensive collection was bought by the British Museum, thereby establishing it as a world leader in that subject. He corresponded with many leading enlightenment scientists, including Erasmus Darwin, Joseph Black, and John Frederik Blumenbach. He was a close friend of Sir Joseph Banks. Research will be undertaken at British Library, Warwickshire Record Office and the National Library of Wales, the main repositories of Greville’s papers.

Dr James Dawson

SRG23\230391

Bulgaria’s Political Turmoil as a Democratisation Event?

Coventry University

Value Awarded: £9927.17

Abstract: This research will address whether Bulgaria’s current phase of political turmoil, evident through street-based mobilisations and five elections in just two years, can justifiably be considered a positive phase in the country’s path to democratisation. This addresses a conundrum of interest to political scientists and democracy promoters worldwide: are polarised, contentious civil societies better understood as spoiling or catalysing factors in young democracies? The former interpretation prevails in much rationalist political science theorising while the latter argument is rooted in agonistic democratic theory and the new social movements literature. This project will put these competing interpretations under the microscope by gauging which finds more support in the subjective experience of Bulgarian civil society – in both its liberal and illiberal guises. This will involve conducting interviews and focus groups in the capital Sofia – to tap liberal voices of protest – and Plovdiv – to tap anti-minority and anti-gender mobilisations.

Dr Matthew Day

SRG23\231819

Reading the Nation's Voyages - The Reception History of Richard Hakluyt's Principal Navigations (1589, 1598-1600)

University of Derby

Value Awarded: £9420

Abstract: The two editions of Richard Hakluyt's Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation (1589, 1598-1600) are important collections of early English travel narratives and related documents. Published when international travel grew rapidly, they contain texts recording many otherwise unknown voyages. Historians and literary critics have often regarded them as nationalist and imperialist but the evidence of actual readers is more nuanced encompassing both neutral and oppositional voices. This project is the first sustained reception history of early modern travel narratives. It combines evidence from the inspection of surviving copies with analysis of manuscript and print sources to establish the multi-faceted reception of Hakluyt's works including consideration of responses to the migrations recorded. It will evaluate the works' contribution to nationalist and imperialist discourses, the opposition to them and the complex relationship of migration with national identity thereby historicising debates which resonate in our own day.

Dr Sabine D'Costa

Co-Applicant: Dr Adelheid Holl

SRG23\230005

Firm productivity and exit during economic crisis: does the urban environment foster resilience?

University of Westminster

Value Awarded: £9970

Abstract: In periods of economic turmoil, the rate of firm exit (death) is accelerated, with important social implications such as job loss and an uneven impact across space. Though the most productive firms are normally more likely to survive, there is mixed evidence whether this is true during periods of economic crisis. Moreover, although firms in urban environments tend to be more productive, we know little about the urban-rural dimension of the productivity-exit relationship. This project will conduct econometric research at the firm and micro-geographic level to study the determinants of firm exit in Spain between 2009 and 2021. We will ascertain whether urban areas reinforce the productivity-survival relationship and whether and how they provided firms with better environments to remain productive and survive during both the 2008 Financial Crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. This will help shape future policies towards business support and reducing spatial economic disparities.

Dr Delphine De Moor

Co-Applicant: Dr Lena Sophie Pflüger

SRG23\231253

Rethinking Behavioural Observations – a direct comparison of sampling method performance

University of Exeter

Value Awarded: £9960

Abstract: Social relationships are vital to our well-being and survival. To grasp their significance, we need to understand why animals benefit from forming social connections in their natural environments, and uncover the evolutionary origins of these relationships. But how can we accurately record social behaviour? Traditionally, researchers have focused on observing and recording the behaviors of one individual at a time, assuming it provides the most accurate results. Yet, recent simulation studies suggest that sampling all group members at regular intervals might be a more effective approach. This project aims to compare the performance of both methods in recording social interactions and constructing social networks. By evaluating how similar, certain and robust the estimated networks are, we can gain valuable insights into the trade-offs of each sampling strategy. This will critically inform how we can reliably and effectively capture social behaviour, which lies at the heart of research on social relationships.

Professor Dianne Dean

Co-Applicant: Dr Pallavi Singh and Dr Scott Jones

SRG23\231613

Exploring food waste behaviour of young consumers

Sheffield Hallam University

Value Awarded: £8250

Abstract: Household food waste is a major contributor to the food waste problem. Ironically, research suggests that young people waste more food than their older counter parts. Extant research, even though limited, have evaluated factors and drivers of food waste among young consumers. However, previous research has mainly used self-reporting questionnaires which do not take the lived experiences of young consumers in account. Previous research has also failed to account for situational factors, such as moving to university when they start to make their own decisions independently which may influence the food management behaviour of young consumers. Therefore, we hope to fill these gaps, by using a sequential mixed methods approach (multi-method qualitative stage followed by quantitative survey) & contribute to understanding the attitudes and behaviours of young people towards food management and waste by exploring their life experiences when they have just arrived at the university and make decisions independently.

Dr Rocco d'Este

SRG23\230997

Management Practices, Unannounced Inspections, and Prison Conditions

University of Sussex

Value Awarded: £9920.4

Abstract: Incarceration is a crucial part of the crime analysis, but what happens inside prisons remains a `black box' (Western 2021). Extending our knowledge of dynamics often hidden behind bars is important. Such knowledge represents an essential prerequisite needed to improve inmates living conditions and facilitate the purpose of rehabilitation that prisons are ultimately supposed to serve. Building on the work of d'Este (2023), which has assembled a novel panel database of all of England and Wales Prisons, this project will shed more light on UK prison conditions and whether they respond to unannounced inspections conducted by His Majesty Inspectorate of Prisons and requesting changes in prison management practices. The grant is needed to hire research assistants to retrieve, gather, and code more information about UK prisons' conditions and inspections.

Dr Alan Duboisee De Ricquebourg

Co-Applicant: Professor Warren Maroun

SRG23\230659

Regulating auditors: ticking boxes or adding value?

University of Leeds

Value Awarded: £9610

Abstract: This project deals with a paradox: more onerous regulation of auditors does little to prevent high-profile audit failures. The project is a multifaceted one with funding sought for two phases. First, a conceptual model will be developed which illustrates how auditors counter accusations of poor performance and avoid the need for costly reforms. Second, the project examines two examples of recent regulatory efforts aimed at bolstering audit quality namely, a requirement for auditors to disclose “key audit matters” and rules for companies to limit audit firm tenures. Data will be collected using content analysis of applicable sources and detailed interviews with subject-matter experts. A combination of interpretive/qualitative and inferential analysis will be used to generate results. Findings will provide useful insights for regulators and organisations’ governing bodies grappling with how to safeguard audit quality and, in turn, the integrity of financial statements on which capital markets are so dependent.

Dr Sean Durbin

Co-Applicant: Dr Aidan Cottrell-Boyce

SRG23\232128

Israelism and the English Imperial Imagination

Manchester Metropolitan University

Value Awarded: £9800

Abstract: Anglo-Israelism is a religious movement that identifies the Anglo-Saxon peoples of Britain and northern Europe as the ethnic descendants of biblical Israel. It emerged in the eighteenth century and reached its peak in the early twentieth century, gaining favour among the upper echelons of society. Although the presence of official Anglo-Israelist organisations began to decline in England in the 1970s, Anglo-Israelist themes have been and continue to be influential in England and abroad. Despite this significance, Anglo-Israelism is not well understood by scholars or the public. This project aims to change that by bringing together UK and internationally based historians and scholars of religion from the to produce a landmark study of Israelism. It will focus on Israelism in the English Imperial Imagination, as well as the influence Anglo-Israelist ideas had and continue to have abroad, especially in relation to Christian Nationalism, and American exceptionalism.

Professor Dulini Fernando

Co-Applicant: Dr Nidhi Bisht and Professor Mehdi Boussebaa

SRG23\230951

The careers of highly skilled Indian corporate expatriates in the Netherlands

Aston University

Value Awarded: £9865

Abstract: The proposed study examines the careers of highly skilled Indian corporate expatriates in the Netherlands. Through one-to-one qualitative interviews with 45 individuals, we seek to:

Develop knowledge on how minority ethnic expatriate workers from emerging economies account for: a) their expatriation; b) their career trajectory over time (barriers and enablers at each appointment and consecutive appointment, and strategies used to cope and move forward; and c) the intersecting influence of nationality, gender and sexuality on their work and career experiences.
To develop relevant interventions to support the careers of expatriate workers from emerging economies – for example, guidelines on how to adopt an intersectional approach to facilitate the career progression of ethnic minority expatriates.
To share knowledge of diversity in the experiences of expatriate workers within relevant academic and practitioner communities to advance the equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI agenda) and contribute to capacity building.

Dr Maria Filippetti

Co-Applicant: Dr Gerardo Salvato

SRG23\230261

Understanding the role of skin temperature in the development of bodily-self awareness

University of Essex

Value Awarded: £9528.4

Abstract: The proposed project will examine the role of skin temperature signals in supporting the development of bodily self-awareness in children. While visual cues have been identified as a primary cue for body location in children, the role of internal signals is not well understood. In particular, autonomic signals are an essential aspect of bodily self-awareness, as they provide information about the body's state and are crucial for regulating emotions and social interactions (e.g. changes in skin temperature signal emotional arousal). Additionally, disruptions in temperature regulation are associated with altered bodily self-awareness in pathological conditions. This study aims to investigate whether bodily self-awareness in children is reflected in changes in skin temperature and whether seeing an artificial hand modulates skin temperature. This project will shed light on the mechanisms underlying bodily self-awareness and will have implications for research investigating the development of sociocognitive abilities such as emotion regulation and empathy.

Dr Joshua Fitzgerald

SRG23\230830

The Black Ink, The Red Paint, The Wite-out?: (Re)Covering the Art of Colonial Mexico’s Indigenous-Christian Lessons

University of Cambridge

Value Awarded: £9430

Abstract: This project identifies and adds context to a handwritten Mexican manuscript, written in Latin and Nahuatl (the language of the ‘Aztecs’) residing in Cambridge’s University Library. It will result in academic publications, research networking and community engagement via archival study and workshopping across the Atlantic. Overlooked in the archive, the manuscript ('Ms. 375') may be the earliest rearticulation of a Catholic lectionary by an Indigenous-Christian author. Its distinctive black-ink font and collection of rare Mesoamerican artwork found in illuminated letters in red paint allude to its makers' identities. More elusive are its dozens of white paint blots that cover and correct the lectionary's text. Applying an innovative theory developed with leading Lectionary experts, I will compare Ms 375 with four extant sister copies to situate it within Nahuatl translation studies, Spanish-Catholic Colonial discourse, and transcultural art history, recovering the provenance and practice covered up its lessons.

Dr Rachel Forshaw

Co-Applicant: Professor Eoin McLaughlin

SRG23\230812

Measuring the Long-term Health effects of Tonsillectomy in the UK

Heriot-Watt University

Value Awarded: £9870.41

Abstract: For much of the twentieth century, the removal of tonsils and adenoids was considered a routine procedure for treating tonsillitis and middle ear infections in childhood. However, recent research has suggested that these tissues play a crucial role in the development and functioning of the immune system. Despite this, tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy remain one of the most common paediatric surgeries performed worldwide. Therefore, there is a need for research to investigate the long-term impact of these procedures on adult health outcomes. Existing literature only establishes a correlative relationship due to issues of selection into treatment, meaning those treated were more likely to have underlying issues of ill health. By digitising historical doctor registration records from the Medical Directory and linking them to the National Child Development Study, we propose a method to test the hypothesis that tonsil removal in childhood causally affects long-term adult health outcomes.

Professor Suzanne Franks

Co-Applicant: Professor Lisbeth Howell

SRG23\232147

Women Experts in the Ghanaian Broadcast Media

City, University of London

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: The proposal would support research into female representation in Ghana’s leading news programmes, to investigate whether expert women are fairly represented.

A survey was conducted in 2021 in Ghana with research methodology designed by City University Journalism Department’s Expert Women Project, that has monitored news programmes since 2014. The results demonstrated that male experts exceeded women experts by a ratio of 11 to 1 on Ghana’s flagship media programmes. A second survey would crucially establish whether the gender ratio has improved, following the outcry caused by the previous results which were reported in national media, precipitating the establishment of the Ghana Women Experts website.

The plan includes a targeted event to publicise the results to journalists, politicians and academics allowing Ghanaian women to engage with news editors. Dissemination of a further report could have an impact throughout Africa and address vital issues of female empowerment and gender equity.

Dr Sarah Gillborn

Co-Applicant: Dr Saskia Jones

SRG23\230667

Mapping Contemporary Critical Psychology in the UK

University of Birmingham

Value Awarded: £8012

Abstract: Leading psychological organisations, such as the British Psychological Society and American Psychological Association, are undergoing a period of reckoning with the role of Psychology in supporting historical injustice and its contemporary contributions to the maintenance of systemic inequity and injustice. Often overlooked in such discussions are the potential contributions of Critical Psychology, through which psychologists interrogate how Psychology conceptualises human behaviour and how these understandings may serve to uphold systems of inequality. Such critical awareness is vital, and yet Critical Psychology remains disparate and located on the fringe of the discipline. The project investigators aim to map contemporary Critical Psychology to examine how its critical engagement with Psychology is informed, how it is used in teaching and psychology practice, and outline the aims of Critical Psychologists in the UK to understand how and in what way Critical Psychology should engage with wider Psychology to create necessary change.

Dr Francesco Goglia

Co-Applicant: Dr Luisa Revelli

SRG23\230910

Multilingualism and language practices in the diaspora: the case of the Eritrean community in Milan

University of Exeter

Value Awarded: £8760

Abstract: This project aims to analyse the attitudes and language use of the Eritrean community in Milan. The linguistic repertoire of Eritreans in this city may include Italian, English, Tigrinya, Amharic as well as other Eritrean languages. We will examine how speakers use their languages both in person and digitally when interacting with members of the local community as well as within their transnational co-national network of friends and family. We will also explore how language use varies depending on different factors such as migration waves, generations, subsequent changes in language policies in Eritrea, multiculturalism levels in Milan, religious and political affiliations, education level, and migration trajectory. Data collection (interviews, questionnaires, videos and ethnographic observation) will be done through an engaged-research approach with members of the community. We will disseminate results through public-engagement events and make the data available online for easy access by interested parties.

Dr Beatriz González-Fernández

SRG23\230423

How well are the multiple meanings of words known by second language English learners? The effect of etymological relatedness vs. perceived semantic relatedness

University of Sheffield

Value Awarded: £9970

Abstract: This project aims to investigate the knowledge that second language (L2) learners have of multiple meanings of English words, and whether this knowledge is affected by the etymological relatedness (historical distinction between polysemy and homonymy) and by learners’ perceived level of semantic relatedness (meaning similarity) among those meanings. Currently, very little is known about this issue. This is surprising because most words in a language have more than one meaning, and knowing multiple meanings of words is considered crucial for successful communication and language use. I hypothesise that L2-learners’ perceptions of semantic relatedness may be a stronger indicator of knowledge and acquisition of words’ multiple meanings than etymological relatedness. I will pilot-test this hypothesis by testing English learners’ knowledge and semantic-relatedness perceptions of polysemous and homonymous meanings of words. The project will contribute significantly to the advancement of meaning acquisition theory and research, with important implications for L2 vocabulary teaching.

Dr Anastasia Gouseti

Co-Applicant: Dr Patricia Shaw

SRG23\230440

The platformised school: widening opportunities or exacerbating inequalities?

University of Hull

Value Awarded: £9693.79

Abstract: The use of virtual learning and other platforms in schools has rapidly proliferated. This has resulted in intense forms of ‘plaformised education’ creating opportunities for teaching, learning and communication but also exacerbating digital inequalities for students with inadequate digital access and capital who struggle to engage with platformised types of education effectively. This project intends to: i) develop understandings of how digital platforms have become a primary ‘space’ for schools’ operations, ii) identify the opportunities and challenges platformisation can create for educators, students and parents/carers, iii) establish a shared vision of what digital exclusion entails and how to address this. Through a qualitative, participatory approach, this project will explore teachers, students and parents/carers’ experiences with school platformisation in England. The results will enable policy makers and practitioners to amplify their understanding of how platformised schooling may exacerbate inequalities and will contribute original knowledge around digital opportunities and exclusion.

Dr Rita Goyal

SRG23\231821

Exploring the glass-cliff phenomenon in the appointments of female Chairpersons on FTSE350 boards

Coventry University

Value Awarded: £9811.8

Abstract: It is reported that women who manage to break the glass ceiling and reach leadership positions often do so in precarious circumstances. Accepting those leadership positions often adversely impacts their professional advancement, a phenomenon known as the glass-cliff phenomenon (Ryan et al., 2010). Recently, in FTSE350 boards, there has been a significant increase in gender diversity. However, positions of power, i.e., Chair and CEO roles, continue to be male-dominated. This indicates that the motivations behind promoting women in leadership are complex and need further exploration. Through 30 elite interviews with board members of FTSE350 companies and thematic analysis, I intend to explore the motivations behind the appointments of female directors. The study will help develop insights into the impact of recent regulatory initiatives on female leaders and any changes that may be warranted in policy & praxis for the sustainable growth of female leaders and organisations.

Professor Yilmaz Guney

Co-Applicant: Dr Syed Shabi-Ul-Hassan and Professor Taufiq Choudhry

SRG23\230955

Impact of oil price fluctuations and volatility on the business cycle of major oil exporting and importing countries

Coventry University

Value Awarded: £9805.85

Abstract: Oil is one of the major contributors to the global GDP (3% in 2021). Considering its importance for economic growth, this research aims to analyse the relationship between oil prices changes (volatility) on the business cycle of major oil exporting &importing countries. The literature has so far modelled the relationship from an importing economy’s perspective. Similarly, oil price volatility is another aspect with considerably limited coverage. This research using local projection method proposed by Jorda (2005), will analyse the relationship between the underlying variables. This will identify the Granger causality, time-varying elasticities which largely are assumed to be constant, impulse responses without VARs estimation or issues related with the ordering of the variables. This research will contribute to the existing literature and inform the policy makers regarding the i) the dynamics of the relationship ii) magnitude of oil price and volatility changes on the business cycle; and iii) policy implications.

Dr Xiuli Guo

Co-Applicant: Ms Eileen Conlan and Dr Muzammal Khan

SRG23\231610

Investigating consumers’ perception of green consumption– A netnograpy approach

University of the West of Scotland

Value Awarded: £9921

Abstract: Green consumption has drawn great attention in recent years. Although theoretical relationships and new constructs have been examined to explore and understand green consumption, little attention has been paid to exploring consumers’ discussions of green consumption on social media platforms. This study adopts netnography as a novel qualitative approach to explore this phenomenon thoroughly on Facebook. The public Facebook group Sustainable Living was chosen for the authors to collect archived data (posts and comments). The findings will further extend the knowledge of green consumption, its delineations and nature, and the drivers to it as well as providing managerial implications for marketers and policy makers to have a better understanding of consumers’ green consumption from the point view of consumers.

Dr Leora Hadas

SRG23\230966

Eco-Practitioners in the Audiovisual Content Industries: UK and Finland Perspectives

University of Nottingham

Value Awarded: £9955.75

Abstract: The project examines the professional roles and experiences of and the challenges facing practitioners in the emerging field of environmentally sustainable “green” screen media production. The past ten years have seen a fast-growing awareness of the need for a green transition in the global screen industries and new roles and professions have emerged around facilitating this (e.g. sustainability consultant, eco-runner.) However, the sector is currently chaotic with no established professional pathways and standards. In collaboration with lead practitioners in the UK and Finland, the project will carry out an interview- and survey-based ethnography of the green production sector in those two leading countries. Through looking at career trajectories, motivations, professional needs, and lived experiences of eco-practitioners, the project will result in two interventions to support professionalization in the form of a policy paper and a pilot for an online professionalization hub.

Dr Charlotte Haines Lyon

SRG23\230885

Toilet Talk

York St John University

Value Awarded: £8988.35

Abstract: In February 2023, school protests about barriers in school toilets hit UK headlines. I was asked to comment by several media outlets because of our initial Toilet Talk study, with sixth form students. This participatory study highlighted how problematic toilet policy and practice was compounded by authoritarian cultures in schools, whilst highlighting the possibilities for democratic agency within a ‘pupils as researcher’ project.

Toilets are a problem through all school age groups but especially in disadvantaged schools. This new project extends our innovative “pupils as researchers” research to younger children at a secondary school and a primary school; both schools will be in disadvantaged areas. This study will improve toilet policy and practice through participatory action orientated research with children, thus fostering democratic citizenship at a young age. As we refine our research methods, we co-produce resources for schools to continue this important work.

Dr Matthew Hall

SRG23\231214

Navigating Masculinity among Heterosexual Men Who Dance with Men (MDM)

Independent Scholar

Value Awarded: £9298

Abstract: The proposed study explores heterosexual men who dance with men (MDM) and their experiences negotiating social expectations of masculinity and heterosexuality. It aims to advance broader theoretical understandings of changing contemporary masculinities within social settings specifically centred around heteronormative practices. In doing so, it also aims to generate insights for dance instructors, franchisees and community members invested in LGBTQ inclusivity and de-gendering Swing, a dance traditionally comprising a male ‘leader’ and female ‘follower’. The study will consist of 40 in-depth semi-structured interviews and video elicitation with MDM regarding obstacles and strategies for managing their identities as heterosexual men in these contexts. It focuses specifically on men involved in social Swing dancing (Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, and Modern Jive) and who regularly dance with other men in the role of either 'leader' or 'follower' at social (i.e., non-competitive) dance events and classes.

Dr Daniel Hammett

SRG23\230449

A laughing matter? Newspaper cartoon representations of the end of empire

University of Sheffield

Value Awarded: £9983

Abstract: Adopting a diachronic approach, this project explores the shifting representations of empire, colonialism and post-colonial political relations through the lens of editorial cartoons during a period of decolonisation (1952-1971). Editorial cartoons offer influential commentaries on socio-political issues: individually, these frames offer insights into a particular moment or issue, but read diachronically the evolving depiction of events, places, and peoples offers a deeper insight into the political and social zeitgeist. Through a detailed reading of editorial cartoons in newspapers in Britain (the colonial metropole), Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania and Kenya in the years preceding and following independence this project critically analyses how the end of empire and emergence of independent nations was represented during a period of immense political transition. The project thus provides a detailed and novel historical review of the narratives, stereotypes and perspectives on Britain and its (former) colonies through the ending of empire and realisation of independence.

Dr Adam Harris

SRG23\230044

Interethnic Marriage and Intergenerational Gender Equitable Norms Transmission

University College London (UCL)

Value Awarded: £9982

Abstract: Inequitable gender norms are essential in sustaining gender-based inequalities across the world (Klansen, 2017). Understanding how these norms are formed and reproduced is a key task for scholars of inequality as well as policymakers, especially in developing countries, where gender gaps across different dimensions (e.g., health outcomes, intra-household bargaining power etc.) have been recorded to be larger, on average, compared to the rest of the world (Jayachandran, 2015). Yet, ”relatively little research examines the formation of gender attitudes in developing countries”, pointing to a significant gap in the literature (Dhar, Jain and Jayachandran, 2019). This study investigates the inter-generational transmission of gender norms in Zambia. Importantly it moves beyond the household-as-a-single unit paradigm by investigating how gender norms are transmitted in mix-ethnic households. Of particular importance is how matrilineal women assert relatively more progressive norms. I propose a qualitative, theory building study using focus groups and interviews in Lusaka, Zambia.

Professor Qile He

Co-Applicant: Dr Polina Baranova

SRG23\231185

Multi-stakeholder collaboration for the Net Zero policy agenda: an action-based framework enabling the Net Zero transition

University of Derby

Value Awarded: £9995.13

Abstract: This research seeks to understand the challenges of collaborations that involve multiple stakeholders in the Net Zero (NZ) policy agenda. The agenda calls for stakeholder collaborations to tackle the complex challenges of reshaping local economies towards decarbonisation, yet it is currently vague in offering effective approaches for multi-stakeholder collaboration and partnership. Focusing on the D2N2 (Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire) LEP region, an action-based framework of dynamic multi-stakeholder collaboration for NZ will be developed. This study will deploy stakeholder mapping, comparative case studies and semi-structured interviews, and questionnaire surveys with key stakeholders of the NZ agenda. It will develop the theoretical underpinning of multi-stakeholder collaboration further. It will also generate important policy implications and practical guidelines about the effective collaborations towards the NZ agenda. Such findings will be communicated to key stakeholders through policy briefings, joint events, and high quality research publications.

Dr Mark Hurlstone

Co-Applicant: Professor Ben White and Professor Ben Newell

SRG23\231641

An experimental investigation into the effects of early-warning signals on climate change cooperation

Lancaster University

Value Awarded: £9570

Abstract: The goal of the Paris Agreement is to keep global temperature rise below 2°C. In this agreement, the fear of crossing a dangerous climate threshold is supposed to serve as the catalyst for cooperation amongst countries. However, there are deep uncertainties about the location of the threshold for dangerous climate change, and recent evidence indicates this threshold uncertainty is a major impediment to collective action. There is currently much excitement about generic early-warning signals that may reduce this uncertainty as we get closer to a dangerous climate threshold. Here we outline a catastrophe avoidance experiment in which groups of players must cooperate by investing money from a personal endowment into hypothetical emission abatement to avoid crossing a dangerous threshold, which if crossed triggers catastrophic economic losses for all. The experiment seeks to establish whether, and under what conditions, early-warning signals may trigger action to avoid crossing a dangerous climate threshold.

Dr Simon Huxtable

SRG23\230989

Media Freedom: An International History, 1945 to the Present

Independent Scholar

Value Awarded: £4211.29

Abstract: After 1945, both liberals and communists claimed a monopoly on media freedom. Many liberals argued that only a capitalist system could safeguard media plurality and that governments had no place regulating media messages; communists, meanwhile, claimed that their class-based, internationalist model of media was superior. My project asks how these debates about media freedom unfolded in the international arena in an era of Cold War and decolonization. Drawing on untapped institutional archives and oral histories, my project narrates the history of media freedom after 1945, taking in debates in the UN and UNESCO, attempts to train journalists and create new communications networks after decolonization, and NGO projects to promote independent media after the fall of communism. The project shows how ‘freedom’ became a subject for international debate and a project for post-colonial development, while offering a historical perspective to age-old questions about the meanings and uses of media freedom.

Dr Luu Duc Toan Huynh

Co-Applicant: Dr Kiet Tuan Duong Dr Pham Minh Quan Nguyen

SRG23\232220

Sanctions and Russian firm responses

Queen Mary University of London

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: This research probes into the less explored economic implications of sanctions on Russian firms, focusing on their strategic responses. The study is driven by questions such as "Do sanctions against Russia work?", "How do Russian firms respond to foreign sanctions?", and "How do they reallocate resources under sanctions?" Amidst intensified sanctions post the 2014 Crimea incident and the 2022 Ukraine invasion, Russian firms may demonstrate strategic resilience and adaptation. Studies suggest that these firms could potentially benefit from governmental protection while sanctions might inadvertently burden the imposing countries. This research intends to delve deeper into these dynamics, providing a nuanced understanding of how Russian firms navigate and adapt to the challenging landscape shaped by sanctions, with a particular emphasis on their resilience and resource reallocation strategies.

Dr Edwin Ip

Co-Applicant: Professor Joseph Vecci

SRG23\232050

Equality of Opportunity vs Equality of Outcome: A Novel Preference Elicitation Method

University of Exeter

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: Many important decisions involve uncertain outcomes that may affect people unequally. How people view the fairness of these decisions is vital in understanding people’s behaviour, compliance and support for policymakers and managers. Despite this importance, existing studies that measure preferences for fairness are inadequate and fall short. In this project we design and utilise a simple yet powerful elicitation method to jointly measure how people trade-off between efficiency, equality of opportunities and equality of outcomes and also whether these preferences change depending on the policy environment. We conduct the experiment with representative samples in the UK.

Dr Andra Ivanescu

SRG23\231703

Gaming Censorship: Videogame Content Regulation in the UK

Brunel University London

Value Awarded: £9787.6

Abstract: Controversial aspects of videogames and their effects have been researched extensively, from the long-standing debate about videogame violence to contemporary discussions about addiction and gambling. At the same time, the complex and layered systems of censorship that form a large part of the solution to these perceived ‘problems’, including content rating systems and distribution platform regulations, remain under-researched. This project examines videogame censorship in the UK, looking at the development and evolution of content classification systems, as well as contemporary corporate censorship practices, and how they have both historically reflected and constructed cultural values in relation to ideas of societal risk on national as well as transnational levels. Furthermore, the project explores how gaming communities and independent developers transgressively work against censorship and the pressures of these ideological and institutional frameworks in medium-specific ways, posing questions and challenges that have profound implications for contemporary policy.

Dr David Jeevendrampillai

SRG23\230281

An anthropology of the analogue: Crafting social futures through analogue moon base simulations.

University College London (UCL)

Value Awarded: £3477

Abstract: This pilot ethnographic study of space science activities in Hawaii will ask how future forms of human society are being crafted through space science that anticipates future human societies on the Moon. Analogues simulate future environmental, social, and psychological conditions of living in outer space and have been used for astronaut training since the NASA Apollo missions. The new space age has seen a boom in analogue astronaut training facilities for commercial and non-commercial space travel and as research sites for closed-loop environment systems for Earth application. This pilot will trace how a community is formed in three registers; through its cultivation of an international network of analogue scientists; through the engagements with the local community; and through community and social life in the analogues itself. This will provide data for research proposals on the anthropology of analogues to study of the crafting of future worlds.

Dr Jiao Ji

Co-Applicant: Dr Wei Song and Dr Haofeng Xu

SRG23\231265

Exploring the Link Between Toxic Culture in Banks and Misconduct: Machine Learning Approach

University of Sheffield

Value Awarded: £9070

Abstract: This research proposal investigates the impact of toxic culture in banks on bank misconduct. Despite anecdotal evidence and case studies pointing to the significance of toxic culture in driving misconduct, there is limited empirical research on this topic. We propose utilizing online employee reviews from platforms like Glassdoor to construct a bank toxic culture index using machine learning techniques. This index will capture dimensions of toxic culture, including disrespect, noninclusivity, unethical practices, cutthroat competition, and abusive behaviour. By exploring the potential link between toxic culture and misconduct, this study addresses a critical issue in the heavily penalised banking industry worldwide. Through an interdisciplinary and multilevel approach, it aims to provide timely insights into bank culture and contribute to the development of effective strategies for mitigating bank misconduct risks. The findings will be valuable for regulators, policymakers, and industry professionals striving to prevent misconduct in the financial sector.

Dr Daniel Jolley

Co-Applicant: Dr Laura Blackie

SRG23\230720

The world is an unjust place: The impact of personal adversity on belief in conspiracy theories

University of Nottingham

Value Awarded: £9767.79

Abstract: Victimisation and discrimination due to social identities (e.g., race, sexuality) can be a catalyst for a predisposition to explain the causes of world events as being the result of conspiracies (known as a conspiracy mindset). However, little is known about how experiences of personal adversity more broadly (i.e., adverse life events) predict a conspiracy mindset and the mechanisms that underpin such a link. Our novel project aims to integrate these lines of research to examine whether personal adversity experiences stimulate the perception of injustice in the world and increase conspiracy theorising. We will also explore the consequences of an adversity-inspired conspiracy mindset fostering distrust that may lead to individuals seeking to isolate themselves from others. The results across three high-powered studies (one correlational and two experiments, N = 2,100) will advance the understanding of precursors to conspiracy beliefs by shining an essential spotlight on the role of personal adversity.

Dr Cristina Juverdeanu

SRG23\231248

Post-Brexit intersectional vulnerabilities of immigrant women

Queen Mary University of London

Value Awarded: £9643

Abstract: This project aims to uncover the post-Brexit intersectional vulnerabilities of immigrant women. It first analyses governmental data to ascertain if the EU Settlement Scheme, the application put in place for EEA+ citizens to continue to legally reside in the UK, has disproportionately disadvantaged women in comparison to men. It hypothesizes that women have been rendered more vulnerable by the EUSS, disproportionally obtaining the lesser status (pre-settled) or no status at all because their career trajectories tend to be more discontinuous than those of men. This is complemented by a case study on domestic abuse of immigrant women in West Yorkshire, the county with the highest number of recorded domestic abuse cases in 2022. I aim to uncover the ways in which a precarious immigration status contributes to domestic abuse vulnerability and hypothesize that the fear of being criminalised on immigration grounds constitutes an important barrier to leaving an abuser.

Dr Dimi Kaneva

SRG23\231850

Listening through play-based methods: young children’s experiences of family life in the aftermath of a global pandemic

University of Huddersfield

Value Awarded: £9974

Abstract: Children born in 2020 entered a world drastically different in the face of national lockdowns and unprecedented strain on health services. Two years on, many of these children attend nurseries with the impact on their social development emerging. Settings have renewed focus on building partnerships with parents following a lengthy period of restricted access and communication. However, little is known about how the lives of families with young children have changed since. This project will explore young children’s understanding of family and family practice as daily routines and activities. A novel way of listening to and recording children’s experiences by utilising familiar early years resources and principles of practice is proposed. Sensory exploratory tuff trays will be utilised as a play-based method to elicit and record young children’s views followed by a four-stage data analysis process to emphasise the voice and experience of the child.

Dr Saleema Kauser

SRG23\230416

Exploring Microaggressive Behaviors in the NHS: Experiences, Strategies, and Cultural Contexts

University of Manchester

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: This research proposal aims to investigate micro aggressive behaviour within the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK focusing on the experiences, perceptions and coping strategies of healthcare professional and administrators. Microaggressions, subtle forms of discrimination can have a profound impact on individuals mental well-being and professional development. Despite efforts to promote inclusivity, the negative effects of seemingly innocuous statements and behaviours on individuals’ mental well-being are consistently observed. This study aims to gain an understanding of how individuals in the workplace perceive and interpret hurtful comments or actions directed at them, and the emotional and psychological experiences associated with encountering microaggressions.

By adopting Bourdieu’s theory, the research will explore the broader social and cultural contexts that shape micro-aggressive behaviours, ultimately contributing to the development of interventions and strategies to foster inclusive and supportive work environments within the NHS.

Dr Anthony Kevins

Co-Applicant: Dr Naomi Lightman

SRG23\231164

Balancing Social Care Priorities

Loughborough University

Value Awarded: £9930

Abstract: The COVID-19 crisis has simultaneously increased the prominence of social care in political debates and decreased government capacity to properly finance social programmes. As a result, existing trade-offs in long-term care policy have become even more contentious, with vulnerable groups, including women and minorities, likely to be especially hard hit. Balancing Social Care Priorities (BASCAP) will investigate social care preferences under conditions of scarcity, looking at how diverse citizens balance trade-offs across different policy dimensions (e.g., resource distribution, taxation, service provision). It will also examine spending priorities, approaches to fixing existing inequalities in access, and reactions to different reform goals and attempts to compensate for cuts. BASCAP thus tackles a question that has become central to UK public policy at present: how can governments manage the trade-off between the critical need for high-quality, equitable long-term social care provision and the high financial costs of these measures to citizens?

Dr Prabin Khadka

SRG23\231936

How does Public Opinion Influence State and Non-State Political Elites' Attitudes toward Peace Settlements? Experimental Evidence from South Sudan

University of Essex

Value Awarded: £9960

Abstract: Does learning citizens’ preferences for peace provisions in ongoing conflicts affect how political elites react toward the ongoing peace settlements? While previous research has looked at how political elites can shape public opinion (albeit not necessarily in the direction they want) during peace settlements, this study looks at how mass opinion can affect settlement content and implementation even in the absence of a referendum, and thus can have important implications for settlement success. Our research design uses a fully randomized survey experiment in South Sudan, which is undergoing a peace process, and aims to survey 800 political elites from both the South Sudanese government (state) and the opposition (non-state) in five different regions. Our expectation is that when political elites are informed about public opinion, they are more likely to align in line with those of the citizens than those who did not receive any information.

Dr Masood Khodadadi

SRG23\230744

The role of regenerative tourism in fostering a sustainable future for small heritage sites in post-industrial towns

University of the West of Scotland

Value Awarded: £8718

Abstract: This study aims to explore the potential of regenerative tourism as a means of revitalizing small post-industrial heritage sites in Scotland, specifically in the towns of Paisley, Greenock, and Clydebank. Deindustrialization in the late 20th century resulted in the loss of industry and community networks, leading to a crisis in Europe's industrial areas. While efforts to transition post-industrial areas into new spaces of production have been stalled or slow, tourism presents a potential avenue for development. Small heritage sites in post-industrial towns provide a unique study setting as they can provide unique experiences for visitors while promoting sustainable tourism practices that benefit local communities and the environment. The study will use qualitative research methods such as interviews with stakeholders, participant observations, and focus groups with local community residents. The findings can provide valuable knowledge transferable to other regions and countries facing similar challenges in revitalizing local communities through sustainable tourism.

Dr Jessica Kingston

Co-Applicant: Dr Joe Barnby and Dr Lyn Ellett

SRG23\231240

The Recognising and Understanding Suspicious Thoughts (TRUST) in adolescence project

Royal Holloway, University of London

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: There is growing concern about paranoia in the daily lives of young people. Paranoia-the exaggerated belief that others intend to cause you harm-is common and problematic in teenagers, negatively impacting on friendships, self-esteem, and well-being. So far, there are no theoretical models of adolescent paranoia, which are important for helping teenagers, parents/carers, schools, and clinicians better understand these experiences and how to reduce them. This project tests when and why recent (last 12-months) exposure to adverse life experiences (ALEs) enhances paranoia in adolescents. In a representative UK adolescent sample, study 1 tests whether ALEs increase paranoid thoughts following social exclusion because it triggers negative self and other beliefs. Further, using novel computational modelling methods, we test whether this occurs when cognitive flexibility is low, but not high. Study 2 extends this, by testing how well this model predicts paranoia as it arises in the daily lives of adolescents.

Professor Caroline Knowles

SRG23\232153

China Cities: exploring the China up your street

Independent Scholar

Value Awarded: £9052

Abstract: China Cities is a research project that will provide the underpinning for a trade book. I will investigate how circumstances in China shape our streets and our cities in the UK and in other places too along the Belt Road Initiative (BRI), as London is now connected by rail to the city of Yiwu. This project pieces together the built and human fabrics of the China up your street and by doing so gain insights into what is unfolding at at a geopolitical level. Ground into the city landscapes of everyday life, China Cities will suggest that new urban forms are emerging; trails of incomplete, abandoned, repurposed and sometimes derelict city-place-making. This is a story about money, abandonment, and ruins; a dark and untold tale of global urbanism, supported by eager local officials in the UK, that leads to China’s door.

Dr Georgina Krebs

Co-Applicant: Dr Benedetta Monzani

SRG23\230598

The Identification and Psychological Treatment of Body Dysmorphic Disorder in Youth: Understanding and Enhancing Clinical Practices

University College London (UCL)

Value Awarded: £9670.97

Abstract: Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is common, typically emerges during teenage years, and can have a devastating impact. However, existing data suggest that the condition often goes undiagnosed and untreated. This study will quantitatively examine diagnostic and treatment decision-making among clinicians working in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) within the National Health Service (NHS). Five hundred clinicians will complete an online survey, and will be randomly allocated to receive a vignette of either a cisgender male or female teenager with BDD. We will examine: clinicians’ accuracy in identifying BDD from the vignette and whether this varies by the young person’s sex; psychological treatments recommended; and whether clinician characteristics are associated with diagnostic and treatment decisions. Findings will be used to inform the development of a series of brief training videos to promote accurate diagnosis and treatment of BDD in youth.

Dr Rama Kummitha

SRG23\231538

Hybrid organizing: A case of Barefoot College

University of Essex

Value Awarded: £9710

Abstract: Non-profit organisations with a social mission are increasingly adopting a commercial agenda. Combing social and commercial missions allow these hybrid organisations to generate additional income, so that they can invest more resources in social value creation. However, such a novel combination generates complexity as dominant internal and external social actors may resist the adoption of a commercial mission and question its legitimacy. Although extant literature offers strategies to overcome these concerns, organisations continue to experience tensions in moving to a hybrid model. Barefoot College, a non-profit social organization that works in over 96 countries, adopted a commercial mission in 2015. However, within five years, internal conflicts due to strong local embeddedness forced the organization to abandon its commercial agenda. In this research, I propose to study the causes and consequences of this conflict.

Dr Richmond Odartey Lamptey

SRG23\231586

Gender Lens Investors and stakeholders as enablers of women-led businesses to develop entrepreneurial and SME resilience to achieve SDGs

University of Greenwich

Value Awarded: £9975

Abstract: Recent evidence from literature show that impact investment fund managers adopting gender lens investing (GLI) play catalytic role in enabling women-owned SMEs to create dual outcomes aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). There is however paucity of studies to explore and understand how women-led SMEs develop entrepreneurial resilience (psychological capital, social resource access and adaptive responses) to survive and bounce back in resource constrained context with deteriorating macro-environment and global risk factors. This project advances literature by adopting a qualitative research method and seeks to explore how women-led businesses develop entrepreneurial resilience towards realizing the SDG 1 and 5 in agribusiness, education and services sectors. Drawing on institutional theory, impact investing and entrepreneurial resilience literature, the study seeks to answer one major question: How do women-owned SMEs develop entrepreneurial resilience to realize SDG 1 and 5.Policy and development implications emerge.

Dr Joe Lane

Co-Applicant: Dr Stephen Billington

SRG23\230704

Who wants to be a millionaire? Failure and bankruptcy in the pursuit of innovation during the First Industrial Revolution

University of Reading

Value Awarded: £9751.9

Abstract: History often remembers the most successful inventors, but rarely those who failed. This survivorship bias toward successful inventors skews our understanding of why those inventors were so successful when others were not, potentially providing misleading interpretations concerning the incentive to innovate during periods of technical change. Our project aims to bridge this gap, by examining English bankruptcy and debtors prison records of inventors who held patents during the First Industrial Revolution, 1760-1830. By revealing the causes and extent of failure, we will be able to further our understanding of what differentiates successful and unsuccessful invention as we face the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Dr Daniel Lassiter

SRG23\231535

Pragmatic effects on truth and probability judgment

University of Edinburgh

Value Awarded: £9708.74

Abstract: Research in experimental pragmatics and psychology of reasoning relies heavily on judgments of truth and probability. While it is traditionally assumed that these judgments reflect the literal, "at-issue" meaning of statements, there is evidence that "not-at-issue" meanings (e.g., conversational implicature) may influence truth-value judgments, especially when conversationally relevant. This project is the first to investigate the extent to which various types of non-at-issue meaning affect both truth and probability evaluations, and how relevance affects each. In two experiments, we will compare classic pragmatic meaning types such as presupposition and implicature to coherence relations, a pervasive type of discourse-level pragmatics whose importance has only recently been widely recognized. We will also draw out theoretical and methodological implications of these findings for current debates in both experimental pragmatics and the psychology of reasoning.

Dr Katiuscia Lavoratori

SRG23\232132

Global value chain re-organisation: investigating the reshoring phenomenon in Europe before and after COVID-19 disruptions

University of Reading

Value Awarded: £9959.81

Abstract: The project aims to understand the reshoring phenomenon in the UK and other European countries, in the pre and post COVID-19 pandemic period. Over the past 20 years, companies have been able to fine-slice their value chain activities and locate them in the best possible places to access local resources, thanks to the advancement in information and communication technologies. Recent global disruptions (e.g., COVID-19; Ukraine war; Suez Canal blockage) have called for shorter and more "regional" value chains, to increase flexibility and reduce the costs of managing geographically dispersed value chains. Part of the current debate has been devoted to the relocation of activities, previously offshored, back to the company's home country, i.e., reshoring. However, there is still little understanding of the “size” of the phenomenon in the main European economies, the impact of COVID-19 on reshoring decisions, and the effects that these decisions can have on the local economy.

Dr Mary Lawhon

SRG23\230861

Governing infrastructures of the future: Understanding the changing role of the state in off-grid sanitation in eThekwini

University of Edinburgh

Value Awarded: £9980

Abstract: What is the role of the state in off-grid infrastructure? States have long owned sewers and sewage treatment plants, as well as provided legal frameworks. How states should engage with off-grid sanitation remains contested and unclear. Globally, there are already more off- than on-grid households, and the growth of off-grid sanitation is outpacing the expansion of sewer connections. Off-grid sanitation, however, includes many designs and relations, creating challenges for modern states: uniform, connected systems are easier to regulate, subsidize, and monitor. This research will examine changing narratives about, and practices of, the state in eThekwini, widely characterised as a ‘global leader’ in off-grid sanitation. Here, the role of the state is shifting from provider and rule-maker towards facilitator of many kinds of ownership, technologies, material flows as well as social and economic relations. Research will build on established relationships, enabling insights into the politics of infrastructure in and beyond eThekwini.

Dr Linda Lee

Co-Applicant: Dr Soheon Kim

SRG23\230203

The formation of destination attachment and its role in destination loyalty

University of Essex

Value Awarded: £9980

Abstract: Tourists who are attached to a destination are valuable because they engage in desirable behaviours, including pro-environmental behaviour and repeat visits. The consequences of destination attachment have been studied, but the formation process remains elusive. While previous research demonstrates a link from destination attachment to destination loyalty, it has mostly focused on repeat intention of tourists rather than actual repeat tourists, which limits their validity.

Addressing these research gaps, this research aims to explore the formation process of destination attachment, including (a) the role of destinations, and (b) the underlying emotional and psychological processes of repeat tourists. It encompasses two qualitative interview studies: with destination marketing organisations (DMOs) and with repeat international tourists. Nature-based destinations are chosen for their potential for high destination attachment and their particular interest among international tourists since the pandemic. The findings provide insight to marketing and tourism scholars, destination authorities, tourism industry, and government.

Dorothy Lehane

SRG23\231755

Exploring the restorative and creative potential of subterranean environments: Virginia's Luray Caverns and Iceland's Katla Ice and Raufarhólshellir Lava Caves.

Independent Scholar

Value Awarded: £6792.91

Abstract: I am applying for a grant to explore Virginia's Luray Caverns and the Katla ice and Raufarhólshellir Lava caves. The 37-note stalacpipe organ and distinctive ice and lava formations will be documented respectively. This project will showcase how subterranean environments have inspired humans, encouraging a shift in societal values towards a greater appreciation for rest, reflection, and the beneficial connections between humans and the natural world, which enhance our emotional and creative well-being. This grant will enable the production of a creative publication, cave performances, and a website, drawing upon philosophies of time, solitude, burial, ritual, gestation, and dwelling, while presenting the restorative power of caves and their ability to inspire creativity and contemplation. These outputs will connect with ongoing debates in eco-inactivity, ecocriticism, archaeology, and spatial theory, captivating audiences to think more about the cultural significance, resonance and relevance of our subterranean world.

Dr Margaret Leighton

SRG23\231209

Impact of performance feedback on student study habits and grades

University of St Andrews

Value Awarded: £8388.67

Abstract: High quality performance feedback can increase effort and help individuals identify areas for personal improvement; however, if not designed and delivered appropriately it can instead demotivate and discourage. In this study we experimentally vary the quality of feedback provided to students on their term-time performance in a large first year undergraduate module. We will vary the specificity of feedback, as well as whether it is delivered framed by generic positive messaging. We hypothesise that more specific feedback will help students target their study effort towards areas of relative weakness; meanwhile feedback framed with positive messaging will be better received and will lead to greater effort provision than feedback without such framing. Using detailed administrative data on date, duration and nature of student interactions with online module platforms, as well as grades on the final exam, we will evaluate the impact of different feedback qualities on effort and performance.

Dr Rennan Lemos

SRG23\231449

Object metamorphosis in colonial Nubia: Exploring the transformation of Egyptian-style material culture in Egypt's colony through scientific analysis (16th-11th century BCE)

University of Cambridge

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: Recent archaeologies of New Kingdom colonial Nubia (16th to 11th centuries BCE) have focused on the cultural interactions between Egyptians and Nubians especially in cemeteries, which provide most of the available evidence. Burials at various sites offer opportunities to investigate how Egyptian and Nubian cultural patterns blended, resulting in new types of “entangled” objects. The investigation of funerary customs also reveals further aspects of complex mixtures of Egyptian and Nubian cultural practices, including Nubian body deposition styles accompanied by typical Egyptian-style objects. My previous research revealed how Egyptian-style material culture created different social contexts in the Nubian colony, including the use of foreign Egyptian objects to convey suppressed Nubian identities in a colonial situation. This project aims to understand the nature of the alternative meanings created by transformed/subverted Egyptian-style objects in Nubia through scientific analyses, which allows us to reach the micro-level of cultural interactions beyond previous typological studies.

Dr Rachel Leow

SRG23\232135

Reframing Asian migration and diaspora, c. 1300s-2000s

University of Cambridge

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: This collaborative project aims to reframe the history of Asian migration since 1300s, to offer a historically grounded alternative to current collections of migration studies, many of which tend to be sociological and contemporary, or overly oriented to immediate policy imperatives. My co-editor and I have secured a book contract and seed funding to convene over thirty major scholars across a wide range of historical subfields to examine foundational questions central to the study of Asian migrations and their global impact, in a non-Eurocentric framework. We seek additional funding to support this trans-Atlantic collaboration. Widening the lens on historical mobilities in Asia, our volume will argue that precolonial and colonial histories of mobility should impact our understanding of migration today, and that a focus on migrations in Asian contexts fundamentally calls into question conventional concepts like "diaspora", "migrant", "immigrant" and "refugee”, and necessitates a different politics.

Dr Elizabeth L'Estrange

Co-Applicant: Professor Joan E. McRae

SRG23\230689

New Voices in the ‘Woman Question’: An Edition of the Poetry of Anne de Graville (c. 1490-1540)

University of Birmingham

Value Awarded: £9988

Abstract: In the 1520s, the French noblewoman Anne de Graville gave a pro-feminine spin to two popular male-authored works, the ‘Livre de Thezeo’ (based on Boccaccio’s ‘Teseida’) and the ‘Rondeaux’ (based on Chartier’s ‘Belle dame sans mercy’). In doing so, she entered into the literary debate known as the ‘querelle des femmes’ (the ‘woman question’) launched in France a century earlier by Christine de Pizan to defend women from misogynistic tropes circulating in French literature. Recent research shows that Anne developed Christine’s legacy of promoting women into the sixteenth century yet her works are only available in outdated and out-of-print French-language editions. Working from a feminist ethic, this project will revisit all extant manuscripts to produce the first critical edition of Anne’s works with an English translation, widening access for scholars and students and allowing for a more holistic study of late-medieval women’s own approach to the defence of their sex.

Dr Rachel Lichtenstein

SRG23\231770

Unlocking previously hidden histories of Yiddish culture via the Yiddish magazine Loshn un Lebn (1941-1981)

Manchester Metropolitan University

Value Awarded: £9949.6

Abstract: This research examines previously unknown histories of Yiddish culture across Europe and in London by translating material from Loshn un Lebn (Language & Life) into English for the first time. This celebrated Yiddish literary magazine, printed by Narod Press in London, and edited by the Polish-born Yiddish poet Avram Nachum Stencl (1897-1983) ran from 1941-1981, making it the longest running foreign language journal in the U.K. Loshn un Lebn featured Stencl’s own poems, essays, and extensive memoirs alongside a wealth of work by other Yiddish writers and poets, including stories and articles on various political, social, and literary topics. Collectively the content in these magazines reveals knew information on a vast range of subjects, places and personalities connected to Yiddish literature and life. The translations produced by this proposed project will be shared with national and international archives, via a website, and in a monograph authored by Rachel Lichtenstein.

Dr Ruth Lightbody

SRG23\232222

It takes a village: The role of parent and baby groups in creating community wellbeing and resilience

Glasgow Caledonian University

Value Awarded: £6655

Abstract: Parent/carer and baby groups (PCBG) provide parents/guardians with much needed support and serve as vital routes for knowledge exchange and social capital (Owen and Anderson 2017). These processes help individuals to develop social networks, leading to increased connectedness with, and within, one’s community – a ‘sense of belonging’ (South et al. 2020). It is widely understood that connectedness and sense of belonging is a contributing factor to resilience and wellbeing (Blum 2005, Chaskin 2018). Thus far these groups have received very little attention within academia despite the vital role they play in communities which suggests that their value has been underestimated. By providing important insights into the value of PCBG, this research aims to understand the role of parent groups as a vehicle for building long term community resilience and wellbeing. The research will inform and influence policy and practice on postnatal support and early-years settings.

Dr Jaime Lindsey

Co-Applicant: Dr Joanna Harwood and Dr Samantha Davey

SRG23\231832

Exploring the Experiences of Child Sexual Abuse Survivors in the Family Court

University of Reading

Value Awarded: £9828

Abstract: The research explores the voice of the child in private family law cases concerning allegations of child sexual abuse (‘CSA’). The overarching aim of this research will be to draw on first-hand insights into the experience of children who had disclosed CSA during or in relation to private family court proceedings to provide recommendations for reform of family court practice based on the data collected. The project fills a gap in the existing literature by directly hearing the voice of the child in family proceedings through narrative interviews. The project has been co-produced with our project partner, the Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse (CARA).

Dr Chenyan Lyu

Co-Applicant: Professor Chendi Zhang and Dr PU Yang

SRG23\231923

Assessing Substitution or Complementarity Between Carbon Market and Green Bond Market

University of Exeter

Value Awarded: £9990.4

Abstract: This research project investigates the relationship between the green bond market and the carbon market, aiming to understand their dynamics and potential benefits for investors and regulated entities. The exponential growth of green markets underscores their crucial roles in sustainable finance and addressing climate challenges. Further exploration is needed to determine whether they act as substitutes or complements and their implications for risk management and financial strategies. The findings will inform market design decisions and offer practical implications for regulated entities to optimize their financial approaches. Dissemination of the research outcomes through academic publications and conferences will contribute to the field of sustainable finance. This research contributes to the understanding of green finance instruments and their role in addressing the climate challenge, informing product and market design decisions. Ultimately, it advances knowledge on the dynamics between carbon and green bond markets and their impact on addressing environmental goals.

Dr Noemi Magugliani

SRG23\230576

Reclaiming the law: A global mapping of (strategic) litigation against border violence

University of Kent

Value Awarded: £9312

Abstract: Legal actions before judicial, quasi-judicial and non-judicial bodies against border violence targeting migrants have increased significantly in recent years across the world. The increase in strategic litigation has mirrored the expansion of, and developments in, States’ border control practices enacted through, as well as outside of, the law. While early strategic litigation cases relied extensively on ‘traditional’ international human rights law, more recent cases reveal a pattern of diversification of legal arguments (e.g., use of tort law, criminal law, and administrative law) – as well as novel human rights framings, including e.g., enforced disappearances. This project aims at mapping border violence-related strategic litigation cases through the creation of a global database of legal actions at domestic, regional, and international levels, and at evaluating cases’ trajectories across such levels to provide novel insights into the way in which strategic litigation is conducted and the law reclaimed as a tool of protection.

Dr Guljira Manimont

Co-Applicant: Dr Hyoje Kim and Professor Juliet Memery

SRG23\231629

Produced, purchased but never consumed: an investigation into the effectiveness of mixed-grade produce packaging in reducing ugly food waste

Bournemouth University

Value Awarded: £9745.2

Abstract: Imperfect or ugly produce is a common source of food waste due to retail and consumer preferences for aesthetically pleasing foodstuffs. One potential solution to address this is mixed-grade produce packaging, which combines imperfect and perfect produce in a single package. Offering this product mix has the potential to reduce waste at the retail level by marketing produce that may be overlooked by consumers. Additionally, when priced and positioned correctly, it can increase consumers' purchase and consumption of imperfect produce.

This research project addresses societal challenges related to food waste by exploring consumers' behaviours around purchasing and consuming mixed-grade produce and offers an alternative packaging solution. To do this, it will investigate the effectiveness of the two packaging solutions through multiple experimental studies and in-depth interviews. Findings will be translated into practical insights for practitioners in developing effective interventions and sustainable packaging solutions for food waste in the supply chain.

Dr Moritz Marbach

SRG23\230464

Internal Migration and Politics: Data and Evidence Review

University College London

Value Awarded: £9960

Abstract: While within-country migration is a common social phenomenon in most countries, Political Science research still knows surprisingly little about its effects on political behaviour and aggregate political outcomes such as election outcomes. This project will systematize the existing knowledge on the political effects of internal migration and compile inventories of existing survey and regional data in order to examine the political effects of internal migration in Europe. The project will deliver a systematic literature review to enable the development of new research programmes that address existing knowledge gaps. It will also deliver data inventories to facilitate the planning of secondary data analysis and primary data collection instruments in new research programmes.

Dr Heather Marsden

Co-Applicant: Dr Kook-Hee Gil

SRG23\231030

Interpreting prosody in a second language: an experimental study of cross-linguistic influence in the acquisition of Korean prosody

University of York

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: Prosody, which includes speech properties such as intonation and stress, can be used to distinguish between different meanings of potentially ambiguous sentences. This project investigates how the ability to use prosody for disambiguation is acquired in a second language (L2). We focus on how the first language (L1) influences prosodic disambiguation of questions in L2 Korean. The L1s in our study, Mandarin, Japanese, and English, differ from Korean in terms of either question prosody, question grammar, or both. Using a prosody interpretation experiment, we aim to discover the relative effects of L1 prosody and L1 grammar on L2 Korean prosodic disambiguation ability, and whether these effects change in relation to the L2 learners’ amount of exposure to Korean. The results will provide novel data to augment the relatively small existing database on L2 prosodic disambiguation, and will contribute to theories of L1 influence in L2 and multilingual acquisition.

Dr Clara Martinez-Toledano

SRG23\230181

Inflation and Political Preferences

Imperial College London

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: The aim of this research is to examine the effects of inflationary episodes on political attitudes. To study this question, I plan to build a new database on inflation measures, political and socio-economic outcomes at the national level for 150 Western and non-Western democracies since 1900 until the present day. To quantify the effects of inflationary episodes on political attitudes, I will exploit cross-country variation in inflation levels and assess whether inflationary episodes lead to more or less political polarization by analyzing how political preferences vary across income or education groups. To study the causal impact of inflation on political attitudes, I plan to focus on inflationary episodes originated by oil price shocks, which tend to be exogenous to the underlying economic and political conditions of the country. Taken together, these analyses will shed new light on the real consequences of inflation on political outcomes and political instability.

Professor Yaron Matras

SRG23\230142

The Dom langauge of Aleppo

Independent Researcher

Value Awarded: £8770

Abstract: The Dom are a non-territorial, traditionally peripatetic minority in the Middle East. They speak a cluster of closely related languages of Indo-Aryan stock. They display both morphological archaism and the effect of multiple language contact layers. Only the Domari language of Jerusalem has received extensive attention in academic literature. Other descriptions of Dom languages are fragmented.The Dom of Aleppo left Syria at the beginning of the civil war and are now scattered in communities in Turkey, North Africa and Western Europe. It is not unlikely that their language will not be passed on to future generations. The project will document the variety of the Dom tribes who were settled in Aleppo until 2012, drawing on the assistance of a native speaker collaborator, pilot materials collected since 2022 and a network of contacts with speakers.

Professor Steven Matthews

SRG23\230543

Enhancing the modern and contemporary poetry archive

University of Reading

Value Awarded: £9881

Abstract: The project will consider the specific issues raised around the archiving, curation, and public presentation of modern poetry archives by focusing upon the case study of the papers and artefacts of the British poet Peter Robinson (b. 1953) recently acquired by Special Collections, University of Reading. The archive itself allows readers to deepen knowledge of Robinson’s literary career, but raises a particular focus, given Robinson's interests, upon the relation between translation and creativity. It also sheds light on the impact of the digital transition in the period from the mid-1980s on creative writing, and the archival challenges of such hybrid deposits. By employing a relevantly-qualified post-doctoral researcher from the early stage of scoping the archive, to work alongside the professional team of cataloguers at Special Collections, the project will enable a documented account of archiving a translator and poets literary remains.

Professor David Matthews

SRG23\231746

The Hidden Medieval Revival

University of Manchester

Value Awarded: £5031

Abstract: This project aims to provide a multi-volume anthology of original sources for the revival of interest in the Middle Ages in the long nineteenth century in Britain (c.1790s-1914). The revival is a well-known phenomenon seen in art, literature, architecture, and politics; prominent texts include Pugin's *Contrasts* (1836) and Ruskin's *Stones of Venice* (1853). But there is a vast amount of uncollected material, more difficult of access. I have been commissioned by Routledge to produce an anthology of such sources, typically to be found in newspapers, journals, and private papers. The aim is to complement Routledge's other primary source collections (eg, *The Great Exhibition: A Documentary History*; *The Urban Working Class in Britain, 1830-1914*), in order to extend and deepen our understanding of what exactly it was that nineteenth-century people saw in medieval culture, why many thought it important to revive it - and why some emphatically did not.

Dr Max Mauro

SRG23\231698

Young second-generation journalists in Italian media. Challenging dominant narratives of belonging?

Bournemouth University

Value Awarded: £4630

Abstract: This study aims to document the experience of young (under 35) “second-generation” journalists in the media industry in Italy. Through semi-structured interviews with reporters, writers and broadcasters, and media text analysis, the present study will provide the first investigation of issues of ethnic diversity and social inclusion in Italian media. This is a novel area of research in a country which only started to receive consistent flows of immigration in the late 1980s. The main participants in the study are the first generation of journalists/media professionals with an immigrant background.

While providing important insights in the way the media landscape is evolving in a country central to immigration debates in Europe, this study will also illuminate patterns of diasporic media which are meaningful and important beyond Italy. It will show how the nation-state represents a limited frame for the observation and understanding of the workings of media and national identity.

Dr Irini Mavrou

Co-Applicant: Professor Andrea Revesz

SRG23\231049

Language and moral judgements: (Eye)Tracking emotions and decisions. (Acronym: bLaME)

University College London

Value Awarded: £9935.04

Abstract: Every day we face countless situations that require us to make appropriate decisions. Some decisions are of little importance, while others may lead to feelings of guilt, shame, depression, or anger. This project investigates the link between language, emotion, and moral reasoning by taking an innovative methodological approach and using both classical (i.e. unlikely to happen) and real-life moral dilemmas. The project will triangulate psycholinguistic (eye-tracking, keystroke-logging), linguistic (emotional vocabulary, text analysis), and qualitative (content analysis) methods to investigate emotional intensity and decision-making in bilinguals when they read and write about ethical situations in their two languages and making moral judgements. It will also evaluate bilingual writers’ behaviours (speed fluency, pausing, revision) when expressing their emotions and justifying their moral decisions. The ultimate goal is to promote interdisciplinary conversations in the fields of moral psychology, bilingualism and second language acquisition and to inform theories of moral judgement and language pedagogy.

Dr Ellen McHugh

Co-Applicant: Dr Emma Wainwright

SRG23\230408

New spaces of free food provision: geographies of welfare, need and support among university students

Brunel University London

Value Awarded: £9866.86

Abstract: In 2019-20, 2.5% of UK households (700,000) used a foodbank, and between April 2022 and March 2023, up to 3 million emergency food parcels were distributed. With the cost-of-living crisis, new and more visible users of foodbanks and free food provision have emerged, including university students. As part of ‘everyday austerity’ that intersects in the relational spaces where people live, meet, and study, we examine the drivers, practices and experiences of university free food provision. Informed by literatures on welfare support, austerity and student geographies, this research seeks to: map university free food provision; critique the wider politics of inequality driving this; examine the everyday temporality and spatiality of student free food use. The study will be conducted across English universities and involve photovoice capture and narrative interviews with students receiving free food. Semi-structured interviews with university personnel involved in food provision will contextualise localised implementation and use.

Dr Danny McNally

SRG23\231839

Critical and creative geographies of flooding in Morpeth, UK

Teesside University

Value Awarded: £9860

Abstract: The severity of global flooding is rapidly increasing. We critically need alternative ways to think about and manage this crisis. This project engages with this challenge through the development and critical evaluation of a new interdisciplinary and creative methodology called the ‘River Studio’ – a collaboration between artists, flood, and urban practitioners, and those affected by flooding to use art-based approaches to explore flood knowledge grounded in the experience of people and places. Building on my expertise on geographies of participatory art and the built environment, the project will evaluate the critical ability of art practice in creating new flood knowledges through a series of pilot ‘River Studio’ workshops in Morpeth (UK) to establish and refine this methodology. The project will critically investigate the extent to which this experimental approach creates new knowledge and understanding of the relationships between embodied knowledge, place, flooding, and flood risk management.

Professor Tim Meese

SRG23\231412

The role of binocular stereopsis in building our three-dimensional perceptions of the world: it's not the king but the underpin

Aston University

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: The world is three-dimensional, but the images that dance across the backs of our eyes are flat and two-dimensional. The building of a three-dimensional visual representation by the brain involves (i) the small image differences across the two eyes (binocular disparity) for which specialist neural mechanisms are well-known and (ii) monocular cues like those used by artists in their paintings. We have designed immersive scenes in our virtual reality room (a CAVE) in which we can manipulate these cues independently and found that pictorial cues alone can produce an immersive 3D experience (monocular stereo). So then, what are the binocular mechanisms for? We develop our virtual reality experiments here to test the idea that they help anchor and scale the more valuable pictorial cues. Based on experimental observations of the related mathematical properties of defocus blur (Meese et al, 2023), we expect that the process will appear crude but effective.

Dr Imko Meyenburg

Co-Applicant: Dr Stefan Kesting

SRG23\231800

Mapping and Developing Ethics Reasoning in Economics Graduates

Anglia Ruskin University

Value Awarded: £9360

Abstract: Preparing students for employment not only in terms of required professional ‘hard’ skills, but also in ethical decision-making ‘soft’ skills is considered of upmost importance in the face of a growing complacency towards societal inequalities, injustices, as well as climate disaster and ecological breakdown. The project therefore aims to inform/develop the teaching of ethical decision-making skills in UK economics curricula in the context of professional practices economics graduates will be exposed to in their future employment. In order to achieve this aim, the project will be split into two phases: Phase 1 will explore the ethical issues and general professional practices in selected UK industries that represent the predominate private sector destination for economics graduates in the UK, while Phase 2 will develop an experimental design explore the ability of current final year economics students in participating UKHE institutions to reflect upon and discuss the professional practices’ ethical issues.

Dr Allison Moore

SRG23\230014

War in Ukraine: the experiences of families of disabled children who have remained in Ukraine during the current crisis

Edge Hill University

Value Awarded: £9339.34

Abstract: This proposal outlines a qualitative investigation into the everyday experiences of parents and caregivers of disabled children in Ukraine, with a specific focus on the challenges they face in providing care within the context of the current war. The planned research builds upon a photo-voice research project, conducted in Spring 2023, that raised important questions about voice, agency and equity. In order to gather a representative sample, interviews will be conducted across all 25 oblasts (regions) of Ukraine. The ultimate objective of this research is to stimulate academic and public discourse around the inclusion of disabled individuals and their caregivers in post-conflict recovery programmes, both at the national and international levels. As such, this research has the potential to identify how families/carers of disabled children and disabled people generally can be supported during the conflict and be included in post-conflict reconstruction programmes.

Professor Candida Moss

Co-Applicant: Professor Tim Whitmarsh

SRG23\230146

Beyond the Codex: The Invention of the Christian Book

University of Birmingham

Value Awarded: £9959.04

Abstract: In grand histories of human progress, the rise of the codex and the decline of the book roll in the early centuries of the Common Era is one of the pivotal moments that irrevocably changed how people read and accessed information. In the fields of classics, theology, and book history the codex’s growth is intertwined with and linked to the rise of Christianity. This interdisciplinary project brings together conversations in the study of early Christianity with those in classics to reexamine this question from an entirely new angle. It explores how attentiveness to the social locations of early Christians, the physical burdens and technological aspects of book work, genres like letter writing, and the connections between material form and identity might augment conventional histories of Christianity and the book.

Dr Rohan Mukherjee

SRG23\232006

Assessing the Effect of Democratic Decline on Alliances in World Politics

London School of Economics and Political Science

Value Awarded: £9195

Abstract: What happens to an alliance between two democracies when one member experiences a crisis of democracy or an outright slide into authoritarianism? Research on the so-called democratic difference in international relations has shown that democracies fight fewer wars with each other, but little is known about how democracies behave within alliances with each other. Realpolitik reasoning would suggest that national interests trump values in such situations. However, scholars of the ‘democratic peace’ argue that domestic institutions and values do make a difference in external relations, implying that a change of this nature would cause problems for bilateral relations. Through archival research, I plan to investigate these contending hypotheses in the United States response to the suspension of democracy in two Asian countries in the mid-1970s: the Philippines, an ally, and India, a non-ally. The primary output of this project will be a research article submitted to the journal Security Studies.

Dr Benjamin Mulvey

Co-Applicant: Dr Marta Moskal and Dr Marta Moskal

SRG23\231008

Housing precarity in the social transitions of international students

University of Glasgow

Value Awarded: £9956.5

Abstract: The accelerating crisis of housing access, quality and security in Scotland, alongside the broader cost-of-living crisis, is reshaping university students’ experiences and life course transitions broadly in a range of largely negative ways. International students are particularly affected through due to their vulnerability to its effects, given their distance from support networks, lack of UK-based guarantors required by many landlords, and status as non-citizens in the United Kingdom. This project aims to contribute in a policy-relevant way (1) to understanding the extent and nature of both housing and financial precarity among international students in context of two major Scottish cities and (2) to improving understandings of how international students experience financial precarity, and how this in turn shapes broader social transitions in the host country and beyond.

Dr Ipek Mumcu

SRG23\231217

Unveiling Transparency: Understanding the Effects of Gender Pay Gap Reporting Policy in the UK

University of Exeter

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: I propose to study how the implementation of the gender pay gap transparency policy in the UK changes the behaviour of employers and employees, specifically focusing on labour market mobility and movement across firms. The main objective is to uncover the mechanisms that impact employment patterns and decisions within firms subject to gender pay gap reporting requirements. The project has three specific objectives: (1) conducting analysis to understand mechanisms using available secondary data on firm and employee earnings, (2) assessing the feasibility of expanding the research questions by including primary data sources, and (3) exploring whether workers are responsive to different levels of information and whether there is a more effective way of reporting the gender pay gap figures. The goal of the project is to build upon the existing literature on gender pay gap reporting and provide valuable insights for evidence-based policies aimed at reducing this gap.

Professor Rachel Murphy

Co-Applicant: Professor Leiping Bao

SRG23\231845

Childhood during School Holidays in China

University of Oxford

Value Awarded: £9772.08

Abstract: This project will explore the daily lives and educational experiences of 12-14-year olds who are based in Shanghai, China, during the two-month summer holidays. It will examine similarities and differences between and among children in urban middle-class families and migrant working-class families. The context for this project is the Xi administration’s 2021 ‘double reduction policy’, which incorporates a reduction in children’s homework and a ban on for-profit extra-curricular educational services on weekends and holidays. Coinciding with this policy is the accelerated infiltration of AI Edtech, and e-monitoring and communication technologies into homes across China, transforming families’ media ecologies. By exploring children’s experiences of their families’ holiday-time child-raising repertoires - their practices, knowledges and beliefs - in this changing context, this project will provide fresh insights into how social class affects children's lives, and into how the mundane is implicated in reproducing broader structurally produced socio-economic and educational inequalities intergenerationally.

Dr Annette Naudin

SRG23\230562

Equality and Diversity: Connecting historical activities to contemporary cultural policy

Birmingham City University

Value Awarded: £9744

Abstract: We have had over 100 years of equality and diversity in the UK but, connections between past initiatives and current policies are often unclear. For instance, as Jolly (2021) argues, ideas developed by the Women's Liberation Movement have continued relevance and potential impact. This research seeks to make historical links between current concerns with diversity and equality in the arts, and activities linked to the Women's Liberation Movement from the mid 1980s, in Birmingham, UK. The project explores a newly acquired collection of archival materials, donated by Barbara Webster, head of the Women's Unit (1984-87) at Birmingham City Council. Through oral history podcasts, an exhibition of the archive and a Roundtable discussion, this research project will enhance and add context to Barbara's archive. Furthermore, it will highlight the significance of the work done by the Women's Unit, ensuring that their voices and legacy continues to be heard.

Dr Alex Neads

SRG23\230634

Protecting democracy or promoting authoritarianism? Understanding the impact of international competition of military assistance in West Africa

Durham University

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: The provision of military training and equipment by one country to the armed forces of another is known as military assistance. Western approaches to military assistance have recently undergone a profound transformation, eschewing military institution-building in favour of short-term, small-scale training known as Security Force Assistance (SFA). Western democracies continue to present military assistance as a means to promote both national interests and democratic values, securing likeminded partners through the diffusion of professional military standards. Yet, in existing research, the kind of short-term, small-scale training activities typified by SFA are seen as the least effective form of military assistance. This project explains the contradiction between established theory and emerging practice by examining one under-explored factor: the impact of international competition on the provision of military assistance. It examines the impact of competition on the conduct and effectiveness of Western military training, assessing implications for democracy and stability in West Africa.

Dr Andrew Neal

SRG23\231686

A history of threats: mapping changing security issues and their conceptualisations in national security documents globally

University of Edinburgh

Value Awarded: £3204.73

Abstract: This project makes an important new contribution to security studies, offering novel new means and metrics for analysing public national security documents based on automated semantic content analysis. Since 1998, the number of states publishing these documents has risen from 1 to 94, yet no one has fully analysed this phenomenon or used it to generate global insights into the changing nature of national security. In response, this project analyses the first and only comprehensive corpus of these documents (recently collected by the PI) using an innovative new methodology based on natural language processing technologies developed by the project IT consultant. With this unique data and method, we will (1) map the changing security issues identified by states in their top-level public security documents over the past 25 years, and (2) analyse the varied and changing conceptualisation of these issues as threats, risks, priorities, etc.

Dr Maayan Niezna

SRG23\231868

Work as a site of agency and a site of exploitation

University of Liverpool

Value Awarded: £9935.1

Abstract: ‘Modern slavery’ has received growing attention within the UK, with the Modern Slavery Act (MSA) introduced as a new framework to address the worst forms of labour exploitation. While labour exploitation is central to the MSA framework, there is insufficient understanding within the modern slavery discourse of what it means. This research will address this gap, and explore different perceptions of work as a site of agency and a site of exploitation, to inform the understanding of extreme labour exploitation, including modern slavery. The project will compare different official understandings to existing social understandings of these phenomena, which will be obtained from interviews with (1) migrant workers in precarious jobs; (2) recognised victims of modern slavery, and (3) law enforcement officials. The participants’ responses will then be compared to the framing of labour exploitation in existing laws and policies, particularly the MSA, the Immigration Act 2016 and related policies.

Dr Gavin Nobes

Co-Applicant: Dr Martin Doherty

SRG23\231617

Outcome-based moral judgement and the aetiology of aggression

University of East Anglia

Value Awarded: £9969.24

Abstract: Most adults judge actions according to agents’ intentions. A small proportion, however, tend to evaluate actions on their outcomes. In the proposed research we will examine causal relations between outcome-based judgement and aggressive behaviour. Pilot data indicate remarkably strong, previously unnoticed associations between the two. Our first objective is to examine a wide range of judgements and behaviours using substantial representative samples. Second, we will investigate possible causes of these associations by testing for mediation by theory of mind, executive functions, hostile attributions and criminal thinking. This research will shed new light on the role of moral judgement in the aetiology of antisocial behaviour, and its potential for use in mitigating aggression.

Dr Nuruzzaman Nuruzzaman

SRG23\231277

Do purpose-driven corporations make the World a better place? An Evaluation of the 2019 Business Roundtable's Statement

University of Manchester

Value Awarded: £6975.5

Abstract: Through its reports on the future of corporations, the British Academy has advocated for the declaration of corporate purpose, defined as the expression by which a business can contribute solutions to societal and environmental problems. The British Academy's affiliated scholars argue that the declaration of corporate purpose serves as a hypothetical social contract between firms and society, which is expected to put pressure on firms to prevent their socially irresponsible activities. Skeptics, on the other hand, argue that the declaration of corporate purpose is just a symbolic impression management to please the public and therefore will not reduce firms' misbehavior significantly. However, there is little empirical evaluation of how the declaration of corporate purpose influences firms’ misbehavior. This study aims to empirically evaluate the relationship between corporate purpose and corporate social irresponsibility and the boundary conditions of such relationship by using the 2019 Business Roundtable's statement as a quasi-experiment.

Dr Tim Obermeier

Co-Applicant: Dr Piotr Denderski

SRG23\231796

Inequality and the Role of Work Hours: Understanding the Determinants of Work Hours Choices

University of Leicester

Value Awarded: £9614

Abstract: Income inequality is the result of both dispersion in hourly wages (reflecting e.g. occupation or seniority) and the number of work hours. For example, working part-time drastically reduces earnings and has also been shown to limit future career progression. In this project, we want to better understand people's work hours choices by studying two previously under-researched aspects, using unique administrative labour market data from the Netherlands. First, we want to study labour market frictions in the work hours choice by examining differences between desired and actual work hours. Preliminary analysis suggests that a substantial fraction of workers is unhappy with their work hours and our project aims to analyse the causes and policy implications of this fact. Second, we want to study how specific early-career health shocks, such as Multiple Sclerosis, have a dynamic impact on individuals' career by reducing their capacity to remain in full-time work.

Dr Paul O'Connor

SRG23\231468

Older Skateboarders in the UK

University of Exeter

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: The recent boom in skateboarding has largely been a focus on youth development. Overlooked in this discussion is the impact of skateparks on the health and wellbeing of older skateboarders. Skateparks across the country have become vibrant community spaces for older people to forge friendships and keep fit at their own pace. This research seeks to capture these stories and raise awareness of the need for sport and community provision to be directed not solely toward youth, but to also address the needs and health determinants of older skateboarders in accessible and pleasurable co-use spaces. To capture these stories this research performs an ethnographic and audio-visual tour of older skateboarders in the UK. Using photo and video documentation and semi-structured interviews this project develops a specific and innovative methodology of ‘skateboarding ethnography’. This research seeks to add context to the role of lifestyle sports and active ageing in the UK.

Dr Gabriel Oliveira Pereira

SRG23\231293

Fissures in Algorithmic Seeing: Bottom-up Resistance to Computer Vision Algorithms

London School of Economics and Political Science

Value Awarded: £8975

Abstract: Through empirical research, this project critically examines how activists contest Computer Vision. The project is grounded on the emerging field of “critical algorithm studies,” thus understanding algorithms as a sociotechnical issue. The empirical research engages with activism against one specific form of Computer Vision, Automated Number Plate Readers, and across two different countries: UK and Brazil. Through this study, the project leads to the development of a framework for informing more just and humane AI by considering algorithmic resistance. By exploring how different actors create fissures in the operation of algorithmic seeing from the bottom-up, this research contributes to current debates on the role of agency in the algorithmic society. Beyond this scholarly contribution, the engagement with such alternative approaches to CV will inform the responsible development of AI as well as the public debate around the societal implications of such emergent technologies.

Dr Carina O'Reilly

SRG23\231519

Building police-community trust in Boston: a pilot of a community-led panel project

University of Lincoln

Value Awarded: £5217.5

Abstract: Police in the small coastal town of Boston, Lincolnshire face unique challenges. With eight major languages spoken, including English, police can struggle to engage with newer migrant communities and build public confidence. This project will pilot a community-led neighbourhood panel to work in tandem with the police, based around an identified ‘hotspot’, through which local residents can feel heard and have a voice in determining local police priorities. The project will also support a programme of activities aimed at engaging the wider community, and building ‘linking capital’ via the panel between residents and the police. This research will establish the capacity of community-led panels to facilitate confidence in local policing; and is timely given the current crisis of legitimacy in the UK police service. It also addresses a gap in knowledge on police engagement with recent immigrant communities from Eastern Europe, and could influence national and international community policing strategies.

Professor Marina Orsini-Jones

Co-Applicant: Professor Lynette Jacobs and Professor Rebeca Finardi

SRG23\231301

Female Voices in the Third Space: Researching Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in South-North Collaborative Online International Learning

Coventry University

Value Awarded: £9913.29

Abstract: This study aims to research the evolving field of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) in Higher Education (HE) through a Global South-North research project, focusing on female voices. COIL is defined as a collaborative online teaching and learning approach with international partners that fosters intercultural dialogue. This research project will evaluate a model of South-North COIL previously co-designed by the applicants against data generated through interviews with female stakeholders based in HE institutions in four different continents. The research aims to further the understanding of digital inclusion and equality in HE. It investigates COIL as a Third Space that promotes substantive equality and supports the integration of pluralistic perspectives and citizenship attributes in HE curricula. In particular it seeks to decenter the conceptualisation of ‘Internationalisation of the Curriculum (IoC)’ and open up ‘otherwise’ ways of knowing, being and relating through a decolonial lens that builds on knowledge produced by women.

Dr Ioannis Papadakis

Co-Applicant: Professor Richard Kneller

SRG23\230905

IP Uncertainty and Trade

University of Sussex

Value Awarded: £9996

Abstract: Innovation plays a crucial role in raising income levels. Therefore, policies that support investment in the production of new ideas, goods, and services are of great importance. Intellectual property (IP) protection can offer both direct benefits, such as increased incentives for innovation, as well as indirect benefits, such as incentives to increase exports. However, there is a prevailing perception that IP protections primarily favour large established firms, which can reduce the overall innovation and exports by preventing competition. This leads to a pressing need for policies that extend these protections to smaller firms. We will provide empirical evidence leveraging a series of reforms implemented between 2010 and 2013, which improved access to the IP court system for small firms. This will contribute for the first time in the literature insights on the indirect effects of IP reforms in the UK, a country already known for its high IP protection.

Dr Anthony Paraskeva

Co-Applicant: Professor Mark Byron

SRG23\231308

Modernism’s Gilded Mirror: The Influence of Byzantium on Modernist Aesthetics

Roehampton University

Value Awarded: £7940

Abstract: This project explores the influence of Byzantium on Modernist literature and art. Byzantium plays a pivotal role in key aspects of Modernist aesthetics, yet its influence is entirely overlooked. As the inheritor of classical wisdom and the conservator of philosophy, art, architecture and literature, Byzantium plays a dual role for a range of English, Greek, Italian, and Russian Modernist writers and artists. It serves as a reservoir of experimental artistic methods ranging from impressionism to abstraction. It also functions as a familiar source of political and aesthetic themes facing the West in the twentieth century, such as cosmopolitanism and polyglot sophistication on one hand, and cultural decline and social fragmentation at the mercy of emergent nationalist forces on the other. This influence particularly resonates today, in a time of nationalist and imperial irredentism and contested reclamation of historical and cultural traditions.

Dr Sang-Bum Park

SRG23\230618

Internationalization and CSR Decoupling: An Inverted U-Shaped Relationship Moderated by Socioemotional Wealth Endowment

University of Bradford

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: Prior studies present conflicting arguments regarding the impacts of internationalization on corporate social responsibility (CSR) decoupling, which refers to the gap between adopted CSR policies and their implementations or outcomes. Some scholars contend that internationalization curbs CSR decoupling because it induces firms to avert decoupling, which can aggravate their liabilities of foreignness. In contrast, other researchers argue that internationalization rather precipitates CSR decoupling because it increases inconsistencies between policies conceived at the headquarter and practices conducted at foreign subsidiaries. In this study, we reconcile these seemingly incompatible theoretical perspectives and concomitant empirical results in the literature on internationalization and CSR decoupling by establishing an integrated view. The focus of our arguments lies in the moderating role of the socioemotional wealth (SEW) endowment of family businesses in this relationship. We argue that SEW endowment of the firm strengthens the inverted U-shaped relationship between internationalization and CSR decoupling.

Dr Sarah Parkhouse

SRG23\230971

Lived Religion in Late Antique Egypt: Places, Objects, Bodies

University of Manchester

Value Awarded: £9849.1

Abstract: This project develops a new perspective on the religious history of late antique Egypt, centering places, objects, and bodies rather than doctrinal codes or Western-centric taxonomies. It prioritises embodied, emplaced practices that engage material objects, working from the innovative premise of ‘lived religion’ that understands that such practices do not map onto classifications such as Christian, Jewish, and pagan. The funding will bring together an international and interdisciplinary group of experts on religion in late antique Egypt not simply to discuss research papers in a traditional manner but to participate in embodied research including sensory engagement and object making. This will facilitate novel and nuanced perspectives on the subject matter and encourage cross-methodological dialogue. The papers and discussion will result in an edited volume that will examine historically situated and focused examples of polysemous religious practices, as well as contribute to broader theoretical perspectives regarding lived historical religion.

Dr Sadie Parr

Co-Applicant: Dr Lindsey McCarthy

SRG23\231528

A qualitative study of lived experience support work with multiply disadvantaged adults

Sheffield Hallam University

Value Awarded: £9999

Abstract: Finding ways to better support people who are multiply disadvantaged is a policy and practice priority. The Government’s £64 million Changing Futures programme (2021–2024) speaks to this agenda. At the heart of efforts to change the ‘system’ of support for those individuals who face multiple disadvantage is a commitment to the inclusion of people with ‘lived experience’ in the workforce. Yet ‘lived experience’ is an ambiguous term with robust evaluative evidence of its benefits in service delivery scarce. The research addresses this knowledge gap, offering insight into the role of experiential expertise as described by those engaged in the work. It will comprise 60 interviews with lived experience practitioners, service users, service coordinators, and ‘professional’ care workers. The research represents a particularly timely contribution as experiential support has become a taken for granted ‘good’ and nationalised through government policy, outwith a solid evidence base to support such a move.

Dr Frances Pheasant-Kelly

SRG23\230140

Cuts and Controversy in Pre-Code Hollywood Horror: The Case of James Whale's Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein

University of Wolverhampton

Value Awarded: £5694

Abstract: The research addresses the cuts and controversy associated with James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and aims to consider how the Hays Code affected the films' aesthetics and reception before and after its formal application in 1934. Thomas Doherty (1999; 2007) contends that the period 1930-1934, known as the Pre-Code era, marked a period of lax censorship. Doherty’s claims echo those of earlier scholar, Raymond Moley (1945), who likewise declared that the Pre-Code era lacked adherence to the Hays Code. However, in his study of Pre-Code cinema, Richard Maltby asserts that cuts were made to Hollywood films prior to 1934 (2003). This research considers Whale’s two films through textual analysis of previously deleted scenes as well as archival material to track changes in filming restrictions. It traces a trajectory of censorship that influenced the respective films’ aesthetics, thus supporting Maltby’s (2003) claims regarding Pre-Code restrictions.

Dr Andrew Phemister

SRG23\232005

Democracy and the boycott: popular action and liberal reaction, 1880-1927

Newcastle University

Value Awarded: £4170

Abstract: The project examines the emergence and development of the practice of boycotting. Taking a transnational perspective, the research will consider the intellectual impact of social and economic ostracism on the idea of popular political participation. The structured use of boycotts, as well as the term itself, emerged during the Irish Land War (1879-1882), attracting huge controversy among political commentators on both sides of the Atlantic over the subsequent decades. Boycotting threatened the stability of the existing economic order and the authority of the state, yet offered no obvious avenues for legal redress along familiar liberal principles. Yale’s William Graham Sumner, America’s foremost classical liberal, revealingly described it as ‘the severest trial to which our institutions have yet been put’. The project will show how boycotting destabilized prevailing conceptions of individualism, rational autonomy, and property, and, in turn, how it helped to reshape the relationship between liberalism and democracy.

Dr Sara Polo

SRG23\230739

Boundaries of exclusion: The diffusion of border walls in a globalizing era

University of Essex

Value Awarded: £9774.4

Abstract: Border walls are a defining feature of contemporary border politics. At the end of the Cold War there were 15 walls. Today there are over 70, mostly built in the last two decades. Putatively, these walls should protect countries from threats such as cross-border terrorism and illegal migration. In practice, they often fail to do so. What explains the continuing construction of border walls despite high costs and dubious effectiveness? Challenging conventional explanations, this project argues that domestic politics and contagion processes play a crucial role. It examines how specific ethnic geographies, domestic nationalism, and transnational policy emulation interact to produce border walls as a dysfunctional but socially powerful response to perceived out-group threats. Through cross-national quantitative analysis of two new integrated datasets of walls, leaders, public opinion, and transnational linkages, using econometric and network models, this project provides novel and timely evidence on the origins of extreme border policies.

Dr Tamara Popic

Co-Applicant: Dr Alexandru Moise

SRG23\232120

Public Responses to Austerity in Healthcare: The Role of Ideology & Government Rhetoric

Queen Mary University of London

Value Awarded: £9997.12

Abstract: Despite the growing body of literature examining public responsiveness to social policies, we have limited comparative knowledge of (i) how citizens respond to austerity in healthcare, (ii) which individual characteristics moderate their responses, and (iii) how government’s rhetoric shapes citizens’ reactions to austerity. The lack of knowledge exists because past research relied on health expenditure to measure austerity and used static models of healthcare attitudes. This research project aims to examine dynamic public responsiveness to policies introducing austerity in healthcare in the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 28 European countries between 2008 and 2016. Relying on the existing dataset of austerity measures in healthcare, we will: (i) gather data on government’s narratives to explain these measures to the public, (ii) merge and analyse the newly collected data with existing data on attitudes toward healthcare, and (iii) produce research outputs that will be disseminated to academic and non-academic audiences.

Dr Caroline Potter

SRG23\231180

Germaine Tailleferre, neoclassical pioneer

Independent Scholar

Value Awarded: £2158

Abstract: Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983) is now remembered largely because she was a member of the French group of composers known as Les Six in the late 1910s and early 1920s. However, her musical career lasted until the end of her long life and she was a prolific composer, writing in many genres and often for adventurous instrumental combinations. Tailleferre spoke little about her musical style, though she did on occasion state that 'a certain return to classicism' was characteristic of her music. This project will contribute to a short book that will tell the fascinating story of Tailleferre’s life and long career and, most significantly, explore her musical style in the context of the contemporary French scene. Her role in the development of neoclassicism in France has been severely underestimated and will be the focus of this research project.

Dr Aidan Power

SRG23\231078

“An Anthropocene History of Cinematic Flight”

University of Exeter

Value Awarded: £3959.81

Abstract: Jeff Bezos in space. The evacuation of Kabul. Ryanair Flight 4978 diverted to Minsk. 2021 alone provided multiple examples of precarious flight in the age of ecological breakdown. Flight has always been an intensely cinematic event; witness the Apollo 11 space launch, the fall of Saigon, the Hindenburg disaster, or Amelia Earhart landing in Southampton. Such high-profile instances of flight are intensely dialectical, serving as sites of hope and fear that emphasise gaps between mobility and stasis, private and public, and coloniser and colonised that crystallise hegemonic assumptions at key moments in human history. Such moments take on renewed resonance in the Anthropocene epoch, as large tracts of the earth become uninhabitable, and flight becomes ever more stratified. An Anthropocene history of flight in cinema would connect such events, positing that they represent staging posts on an alternative timeline that is hidden in plain sight.

Dr Fatima Rajina

SRG23\230380

Jummah aesthetics: British Muslim men and their sartorial choices

De Montfort University

Value Awarded: £9999.57

Abstract: This research will develop and prepare a photographic exhibition to consider a broader understanding of the sartorial choices made by Muslim men for Jummah, Friday prayers. The research will merge the work of the PI (2018; 2024), looking at Muslim men's dress choices in East London from her PhD work, pushing back against the hyper-focus on British Muslim women and their dress choices as well as the stereotype that British Muslim men are primarily seen as terror suspects. The PI’s previous work explored the sartorial choices made by men and found that many were unsure or even confused about how to respond to such questions because they had never been asked about their dress choices. The project will take place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, where the PI will work collaboratively with a local social documentary photographer, Rehan Jamil, and East London Mosque, which will host the exhibition.

Dr Sterling Rauseo

Co-Applicant: Dr Myrtle Emmanuel and Dr Andrew Hansen-Addy

SRG23\231913

An investigation into the underemployment experiences of university STEM graduates in the UK.

University of Greenwich

Value Awarded: £9924

Abstract: The problem of underemployment of university graduates have gained increasing attention, with the policy of moving university access from elite to mass education. University to Work Transition (UWTT) challenges are intensified for ethnic minorities in the UK, where pre-COVID data indicate that a graduate employment gap exists between white and BAME graduates, and has doubled for Black men, Pakistani and Bangladeshi women. Connected to the studies of underemployment and UWTT is graduate employability (an outcome of HE education) and career boundary theory i.e. constraints on employability success. While the premise behind employability is built upon the individual agency, and skills and competency development, the question remains as to whether employability theory is enough to address the poor graduate outcomes in the UK and across the globe. This project will investigate STEM graduates experiences of dealing with the impact of underemployment and engage with stakeholders on the problem and solutions.

Dr Matthias Reiss

SRG23\230460

Reeducation through Tourism? Rethinking the Captivity Experience in the United States during World War II

University of Exeter

Value Awarded: £3550

Abstract: The project provides a new perspective on the much-discussed re-education programme for the more than 371,000 German prisoners of war (POWs) in the United States during World War II. Most POWs were excited to come to America where they enjoyed excellent living conditions during the war. The U.S. War Department firmly believed that experiencing American society, landscape, and “democratic air” would de-nazify the enemy. It started a re-education programme to show and teach America to the prisoners, but this project argues that this approach was counterproductive. Many POWs conceptualised captivity in the United States as a temporary and often enjoyable tourist experience which they could not have afforded as civilians, and which had little or no relevance for their post-war life. Tourism not only provided a template to describe captivity without suffering in a land of abundance untouched by war, but also a mode of seeing the United States.

Professor Shuang Ren

Co-Applicant: Dr Soumyadeb Chowdhury

SRG23\232090

Legitimising digital sustainability through stakeholder communication

Queen's University Belfast

Value Awarded: £9700

Abstract: The exponential growth of digital technologies has sparked extensive discussions and debates on their impact on the economy, society, and environment. The convergence of the digital imperative with sustainability is a new phenomenon, known as digital sustainability, emphasising long-term environmental and social well-being. However, opinions differ on the effectiveness of digital developments in sustainability pursuits. In light of this confusion, a crucial question arises: Is digital sustainability a valid approach for organisations to pursue? This research will explore the legitimacy perspective and examine how organisations can effectively communicate their digital sustainability efforts to build legitimacy with stakeholders. By incorporating moral foundations and frameworks, different communication strategies will be analysed using scholarly literature and data collected from business managers in the UK and France and scholars across the world. The findings and proposed framework will provide valuable insights into influencing stakeholder legitimacy considerations in relation to digital sustainability endeavours of organisations.

Dr Ryan Rholes

SRG23\232211

Experimental Evidence On the Link Between Consumption and Expectations

University of Oxford

Value Awarded: £9920.62

Abstract: This project investigates whether and how people's economic decisions depend on their expectations of future inflation. The idea that expectations drive decisions is vital in economic theory and policy. For example, this relationship is at the heart of how macroeconomics relates household behavior to the aggregate economy and why most central banks work so hard to manage inflation expectations. However, existing evidence on the relationship is tenuous, with many prominent studies providing conflicting evidence. This conflicting evidence is likely due to important methodological and data limitations. We overcome both using a consumption experiment deployed to a large and representative population. Our participants will make consumption and savings decisions as they would in real life and earn real money based on their decisions. We study how their decisions respond to exogenous changes in inflation expectations, inflation uncertainty, whether goods are durable, and whether consumption requires borrowing.

Dr Helen Ringrow

Co-Applicant: Dr Charlotte Boyce and Dr Stephen Pihlaja

SRG23\231740

Young Women and Body Image: Using linguistic analysis and historical sources to co-create a media literacy toolkit

University of Portsmouth

Value Awarded: £9826.2

Abstract: This pilot project will gather and analyse narratives of how 14-19 year old girls navigate media content relating to body image, working with The Girls’ Network in Portsmouth (which supports the development of girls from the least advantaged backgrounds). Using this information, we will work with participants to co-create a media literacy toolkit that equips girls with the linguistic analysis skills and knowledge to negotiate potentially harmful content. By introducing participants to historical media content about body image, we will encourage participants to situate current issues around body image in their social, cultural and historical context, and assess the impact of such contextualisation: does it alter the language girls use to discuss media imagery?

Dr Gary Rivett

SRG23\231748

A Social and Administrative History of Religious Reform in the English Revolution

York St John University

Value Awarded: £8073.3

Abstract: During the English Revolution, Parliament attempted significant religious reforms. National legislation created bodies like the Westminster Assembly to enact a new religious settlement. However, the realisation of this settlement ultimately had to occur in England’s parishes. Gradually, Parliament became dependent upon the Committee for Plundered Ministers to pursue its ambition of reforming the ministry, especially through clerical ejections and financial maintenance. Despite its significance no single history of this Committee exists. Most accounts are partial and disconnected, prohibiting broader perspectives on its activities and long-lasting impact on early modern religious life and social relations. Combining materials from local and national archives, this project emphasises the Committee’s reliance upon parochial surveillance of the clergy and its integration into the administrative and judicial infrastructure of the early modern information state. This analysis creates a new framework for understanding entanglements between central Parliamentary policy and provincial experiences of religious reform in mid-seventeenth-century England.

Dr Karen Roehr-Brackin

SRG23\230787

Explicit and implicit language learning aptitude in older adults

University of Essex

Value Awarded: £9997.12

Abstract: Language learning aptitude refers to the specific human capacity of learning new languages successfully and with ease. It has been studied widely in younger adults and adolescents, but as yet we know relatively little about it in older adults. With ageing populations across the world, older adults make up an increasingly larger share of language learners, whether for professional or leisure purposes, or as a consequence of migration. This project will investigate the abilities, preferences and needs of healthy third-age language learners aged 60+. We will examine the role of aptitude for explicit (conscious) and implicit (non-conscious) learning in the context of explicit and incidental language instruction, as well as the role of biographical factors in this equation: prior language learning experience, occupational status, and learners’ self-concepts of their own abilities. The project will derive valuable implications for both language learning theory and teaching practice with regard to older adults.

Dr Jami Rogers

SRG23\232199

American drama in Britain: a cultural history

Independent Scholar

Value Awarded: £9900

Abstract: This project seeks to interrogate the importance of American drama to the British theatrical canon, a genre that has played an integral part in shaping British identity since the early twentieth century. It has two objectives: the first is to map productions of American drama staged in professional theatre venues throughout Britain from the 1920s to the present day. The second objective is to use the amassed data to create a cultural history of American drama in Britain. The main research questions this project will attempt to answer are: “Why is American drama relevant to the British theatrical canon?” and “Does American drama inform contemporary debates in British society?” These two objectives – data collection and a cultural history – will interweave to determine American drama’s growing importance to British theatrical repertoires over the course of a century.

Professor Phillip Rothwell

Co-Applicant: Professor Juan Jose Adriasola

SRG23\231325

Remarginalized Voices: Literacy Legacies of Progress in Angola and Chile

University of Oxford

Value Awarded: £4116

Abstract: As part of a longer, collaborative, research project that compares the experiences and literary production of late twentieth-century women from Angola and Chile, a pilot series of workshops will be held involving contemporary women's voices from journalism, diplomacy and writing in order to assess the subversive legacies in multiple fields of literary work by women who were marginalised in the immediate aftermath of radical, progressive change. The workshops aim to be methodologically pioneering by foregrounding the contemporary influence beyond the literary sphere of principally women's works of fiction rejected by newly established, male-dominated cultural mainstreams at the time they were written. The theoretical implications of the project will be published in an extended article in English. A review of the methodological approach will be published in Spanish, and will inform a subsequent series of workshops to be held in Santiago de Chile.

Dr Javier Sajuria

Co-Applicant: Dr Noam Titelman and Dr Lisa Zanotti

SRG23\231235

Political Realignment in Democracy: the Social Identity Link

Queen Mary University of London

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: We know from election studies which demographic characteristics best predict vote choice, but we know far less about how citizens perceive their political similarity to one another in terms of these characteristics and how this perception affects (i) mistrust in political representatives, (ii) resentment towards liberal democracy, (iii) affective polarization, and (iv) anti-establishment sentiment. This gap in the literature relates to an under-studied link between social and political cleavages and social identification, which is key for understanding patterns of democratic backsliding. This project aims to examine this link and its political effects on a cross-national level through the use of survey experiments. We propose to (i) further develop and test new measures of social identification and perceptions of political similarity employing modified conjoint experiments (ii) develop new survey instruments to test the link between perceptions of political similarity and political outcomes, (iii) produce academic outcomes outlining our results.

Dr Rahul Sambaraju

SRG23\230512

Caste-gender intersections and autonomy in adolescent girls and boys in an urban slum in India.

University of Edinburgh

Value Awarded: £7118.18

Abstract: We know that a sense of self-efficacy or autonomy is central to current and future well-being. For many who are marginalized, this sense is compromised and can potentially disrupt possibilities for well-being and fulfilment. This is particularly the case for those individuals who face marginalization owing to their membership in various social categories. This project aims to develop practices for understanding and engaging with how such marginalized individuals make sense of their membership in various social groups and the consequences of this for their understandings of autonomy. The project will initiate a longer-term engagement with issues and concerns for adolescent girls and boys in urban slums in India through an examination of how they make sense of gender-roles and its intersections with social categories like caste, class, and urban displacement. The focus is specifically on how intersections of belonging to various social groups informs their understandings of autonomy.

Dr Barbara Santi

SRG23\230906

Sanctuary: An exploration of the Mousehole Wild Bird Hospital's legacy through collaborative filmmaking.

Independent Researcher

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: Mousehole Wild Bird Hospital (MWBH) will be 100 years old in 2028. This celebrated and unique hospital perched on the Cornish cliffs was established by sisters Dorothy and Phyllis Yglesias, who dedicated their lives to saving birds. The hospital became famous, especially during the Torrey Canyon disaster in 1967, when over 8,000 oiled sea birds passed through MWBH. In today's climate emergency and Avian flu outbreak, the sisters' founding principles and ethos are more relevant than ever.

In my research, I examine the role that place, community, the environment, and the filmmaker play in bringing a fractured, isolated village together. Through a film-by-practice methodology, the research investigates how documentary filmmaking, audio-visual archives, and community engagement might enable novel ways of raising broader questions relating to Cornish culture and the narratives of place. The study builds on my ongoing research of cultural identity and the relevance of community in globalised society.

Dr Sudipta Kiran Sarkar

Co-Applicant: Dr Hyerhim Kim

SRG23\232166

Proximity tourism; investigating its capabilities in decarbonisation, augmenting personal wellbeing and socio-economic revitalisation in the UK

Anglia Ruskin University

Value Awarded: £9986.2

Abstract: Decarbonisation of travel and societal wellbeing have become some of the critical issues facing the present times. In the context of tourism, these two issues have great significance. On the one hand, travel for tourism has resulted in high carbon emissions; on the other hand, tourism plays a key role in improving societal wellbeing. In light of this premise, this project will endeavour to probe into proximity tourism (also referred to as staycations, which involves travelling to less heeded destinations close to home), in terms of firstly, decarbonising tourism and secondly, augmenting personal wellbeing in the context of the UK. This project will also focus on the socio-economic implications of proximity tourism in terms of, firstly, the democratisation of tourism experiences for the socio-economically marginalised and, secondly, for local and regional economic development that includes the sector that offers staycation experiences and services.

Professor Kerrie Schaefer

Co-Applicant: Dr Sarah Elizabeth Holcombe

SRG23\231789

Resourceful Acts: Producing Cultural Livelihoods On Resource Extraction Frontiers

University of Exeter

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: This project examines how theatre and performance practices, both live and digital, can support First Nations peoples whose lands are appropriated for use by resource extraction industries often in exchange for financial compensation in the form of community benefit packages. Indigenous scholars remind us that jobs in and commercial entrepreneurialism alongside mining industries are critical to the development of First Nations communities, particularly in remote areas where multiple levels of government have failed to address economic and social disadvantage (hence the notion of ‘the failed state of remote Australia’). This project asks to what extent cultural production, drawing on cultural assets and community aspirations, can augment economic development through the creation of cultural livelihoods and community economy. In summary, how might theatre and performance practices resource the imagination and creation of post-extractive futures for First Nations peoples residing on resource extraction frontiers?

Professor Anna Sergi

Co-Applicant: Dr Adam Masters

SRG23\231199

HOnour DynaSTies (HO.ST.): intergenerational changes, recognition, and reputation in cross-border organised crime families.

University of Essex

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: Organised crime families, envisioned as career criminal dynasties or family-based criminal organisations, are also shaped by reputation within circles of recognition, both internal and external to the family. Our hypothesis is that the more successful such families are at their recognition and their reputation, the more they succeed in exploiting criminal opportunities across generations and places. HOST will explore how criminal families experience intergenerational changes while striving to maintain reputation and recognition. The case study will be based on Italian mafia families in Australia, especially the ‘ndrangheta, mindful of their connections abroad. The ‘ndrangheta – honoured society - is the collective name of mafia-type groups which originated in Calabria, Italy. These dynasties are successful drug importers while, at times, maintaining close-knit ties across countries up to the fourth generation. The research will be supported by Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, Antimafia Prosecution Directorates in Calabria, Interpol Cooperation Against the ‘Ndrangheta.

Dr Maxine Sharps

Co-Applicant: Dr Helen Coulthard and Dr Sanne Raghoebar

SRG23\231064

The role of physical cues as heuristics in the decision-making process for plant-based food choices in adults

De Montfort University

Value Awarded: £9751.29

Abstract: Plant-based diets have important health and environmental benefits, and increasing the number of people consuming meat-reduced diets is crucial. Hollands et al (2016) proposed that decisions can be considered non-conscious if people are not aware of the link between a stimulus and their response. Non-conscious decision-making processes mainly rely on heuristics which are mental shortcuts that help people to make decisions. Physical cues (i.e. food wrappers) may act as heuristics and have been shown to influence eating behaviour. However, research has not examined whether physical cues act as heuristics and activate non-conscious decision-making for plant-based vs. meat foods. We propose three studies using established experimental methods in a novel and innovative way to examine whether physical cues act as heuristics and activate non-conscious decision-making processes for familiar vs. unfamiliar plant-based snacks and main meals. We will also examine whether social norms may be an underlying mechanism for the decision-making process.

Professor Lisa-Marie Shillito

Co-Applicant: Dr Robert Collins

SRG23\231148

Fuelling the northern Frontier: landscape impacts of fuel extraction in the Hadrian’s Wall region c AD 0 to AD 500

Newcastle University

Value Awarded: £9923.64

Abstract: To date, focused, site-based studies have attempted to assess the environmental impact of the Roman army and Hadrian’s Wall, but no large-scale study of the environmental archaeological record has been undertaken. This project will be the first to assess the environmental impact of Hadrian’s Wall and the Roman army in the long durée, from the late pre-Roman Iron Age to initial military presence in the region, throughout the occupation of the Wall, and into the early post-Roman early middle ages. It will consider specifically the use of fuel and how the extraction of wood, coal and other resources altered the landscape. The intensity of these practices can be measured through an extensive programme of pollen analysis from peat cores across Cumbria and Northumberland, with simultaneous assessment of new, rich ‘on site’ assemblages of archaeobotanical and archaeological data from new excavations along Hadrian’s Wall over the past five years.

Dr Olivier Sibai

Co-Applicant: Dr Laetitia Mimoun

SRG23\230588

Brand purposing: a history of branding moralization

Birkbeck, University of London

Value Awarded: £9303

Abstract: Many marketing managers today believe that it is necessary to develop purpose-led brands, i.e., brands whose identities, strategies, and actions achieve a social impact. This differs from the narrower role given to brands 20 years ago, which was to deliver benefits to consumers such as guarantee of quality or social status. We aim to explain why and how the dominant discourse on the role of brands has evolved from delivering individual benefits to having a positive societal impact. To this end, we will develop a historical study of branding practice from 2000 to 2023, based on interviews with marketing professionals and archival data. This research will help brand managers, market activists, and regulators make brands more ethical market actors. It furthers past work from the British Academy on corporate purpose and the future of the corporation, by exploring its thriving manifestation in the realms of marketing and branding.

Dr Jaspal Singh

SRG23\231090

Global Patwa: Raciolinguistic appropriations of Jamaican language features in British, German and Indian Reggae Cultures

Open University

Value Awarded: £9965.36

Abstract: To confront racism and improve race-relations in contemporary multicultural societies, there is an urgent need for empirical research that critically investigates the role of language in the construction of race. Focusing on the case of Global Patwa (i.e., linguistic appropriations of Jamaican Englishes by non-Jamaican reggae performers), the proposed research develops the emerging field of raciolinguistics and provides novel and nuanced understandings of the continued effects of colonialism and emerging south-south relationships across the postcolony. The findings raise critical awareness of race and racism and inform about the implications of using racially marked language in global spaces.

Professor Amy Claire Smith

Co-Applicant: Professor Armand Marie Leroi

SRG23\231875

Testing Beazley: Verifying the existence of early Classical Athenian vase painters

University of Reading

Value Awarded: £9994.4

Abstract: This project seeks to put the 'Beazley method' of connoisseurial attribution of ancient Greek black- and red-figure vases to particular artists – on a scientific footing. For more than a century, John D Beazley and followers have employed a method based on anatomical renderings to attribute 200,000+ vases and fragments to thousands of artists otherwise unknown. While these attributions underpin the art and archaeology of ancient Greece, Beazley and his followers rarely recorded the evidence for their attributions and left their methods largely unexplained. Focusing on red-figure painters from ca. 530-450 BCE, this project tests his method using data and machine learning techniques. We bring statistical rigour therefore to the study of one of the greatest bodies of art from antiquity. Our results and the open data and methods we develop, moreover, will have important implications for the study of vase painting and art history as a whole.

Dr Hanqun Song

Co-Applicant: Professor Emily Ma

SRG23\231956

Embedding humanoid robots in job design: Impact on service employees’ decent work and well-being at work

University of Essex

Value Awarded: £9760

Abstract: A growing trend of implementing humanoid service robots to replace or co-work with human employees has been observed in service organisations (De Keyser & Kunz, 2022). However, there is a lack of research on how such changes may influence human employees. In particular, how to creatively embed humanoid robots into the delivery of services and job designs to create a decent work environment while enhancing human employees’ well-being at work has not been researched. Decent work has become a universal objective and has been included in major human rights declarations (International Labour Organization, 2022), and it is consistent with Goal 8 of the 2030 Agenda by United Nations (United Nations, 2023), calling for the promotion of sustained and inclusive economic growth. To address the gap, this project aims to investigate this important topic and to contribute to knowledge creation and dissemination, providing valuable implications for both academy and industries.

Dr Sureyya Sonmez Efe

SRG23\232038

Understanding Refugee women's Experiences of Maternal Health Services in Türkiye

University of Lincoln

Value Awarded: £7938

Abstract: Studies suggest a difference between refugee women and native women in receiving maternal-care, which limits refugee women's fundamental human right to healthcare. Literature confirms the need for a more in-depth exploration of this issue. This timely and original project will address this critical gap in understanding and promoting the fundamental right of refugee women to essential maternal-care. A human rights lens will be uniquely applied and advanced. The project employs a qualitative approach to (a) capture and analyse the refugee women's lived experiences of the Turkish healthcare system and (lack of) access to maternal care; (b) explore healthcare providers' perspectives and experiences in providing maternal care to refugee women; (c) understand policymakers' perspectives and knowledge on maternal care for refugee women. The project will employ in-depth interviews Critical Incident Analysis, participant observation and participatory photo-elicitation methods, in healthcare centres/clinics in Türkiye. The evidence will shape current healthcare systems/delivery in Türkiye/internationally.

Professor James Stark

SRG23\230297

The National Collection of Type Cultures: Standardising, Classifying and Sharing Microbes, 1920-1980

University of Leeds

Value Awarded: £9996

Abstract: How do scientists know that the microorganisms which they study are the same no matter where they are in the world? Where do they even source these experimental microbes from? This project will provide the first comprehensive history of the National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC): the oldest currently operating repository of standardised bacterial strains in the world. Despite its centrality to modern scientific practice the NCTC has not been the subject of any specialist historical investigation. Drawing on a wealth of unstudied archival material held at the NCTC itself the project will explore and explain the reciprocal influence between the NCTC and twentieth century microbiology, providing the first such account of a national reference collection and laying the groundwork for a major revision of the history of bioscience. It will result in academic journal articles as well as a new dataset of historical microbial strains and an interdisciplinary workshop.

Professor Jon Stobart

SRG23\231905

Household auctions and the recirculation of goods in the British Caribbean, c.1780-1820

Manchester Metropolitan University

Value Awarded: £7620

Abstract: The houses of Jamaica’s planters and merchants contained an array of European and Asian goods which tied them into global networks of goods and ideas. Whilst this shared material culture is familiar, less is known about the processes through which household goods were acquired and particularly how they were recirculated through public auctions following death or bankruptcy. Household auctions are increasingly recognised as important economic and social events in Britain and North America, but remain largely unexplored in the Caribbean. This project will address this lacuna, using household auctions to explore the acquisition and consumption practices and domestic material culture of Jamaica’s largely white elite, c.1780-1820. It draws on newspaper advertisements, inventories, and personal papers to analyse how auctions were organised, the quantity and type of goods recirculated through them, the networks sellers and buyers, and the extent to which they facilitated the social and racial transfer of goods.

Dr Katerina Strani

Co-Applicant: Dr Anna Szczepaniak-Kozak and Dr Marion Winters

SRG23\231153

Online Discourse On Ukrainians In The UK And Poland: A Comparative Study

Heriot-Watt University

Value Awarded: £9914.08

Abstract: This project builds on a previous BA-funded study on hate speech against Ukrainians in Poland before the Russian invasion (PPHE210314). Our proposed study will compare online discourse on Ukrainians in the UK and Poland through corpus-assisted discourse studies (CADS; Baker, 2020) from a socio-cognitive perspective (van Dijk 2017; Aluthman 2018).

Based on large text collections, our study will use concordance, collocation and keyword analysis, together with sentiment analysis, to identify linguistic and discursive strategies used to portray Ukrainians in two different languages and sociopolitical contexts. While we would expect that the sentiment towards Ukrainians would now be (more) positive, our previous research has found that hateful strategies and tropes against this group persist despite their plight and the ensuing international outcry (Jaszczyk-Grzyb 2023). Our study will contribute to understanding the mechanisms and strategies of online hate speech, to improve monitoring of online communication and the development of effective counterspeech.

Dr Tinashe Takuva

SRG23\231125

The Planning Drought: The Evolution of Urban Water Crises in Zimbabwe, 1890 to 1945

University of Edinburgh

Value Awarded: £9530

Abstract: This study seeks to explore the evolution of urban water crises in colonial Zimbabwe (then called Southern Rhodesia). In Southern Rhodesia, water crises manifested in water rationing, water budgeting and water disputes in different towns, with various pieces of legislation such as the Towns Management Ordinance of 1894, the Order in Council of 1898, Water Ordinance of 1914, Water Act of 1927 governing its access and utilisation by different sectors like agriculture, mining, industry and household. Within this framework, this research seeks to examine the origins, evolution and impact of urban water scarcity in Southern Rhodesia between 1890 and 1945. Current scholarship on urban water crises focuses on the city of Bulawayo alone because of its location in a drought-prone region and its marginalisation by the post-independence government. This study presents a national case of the subject, making it a unique contribution to the history of water governance in Zimbabwe.

Dr Vito Tassiello

SRG23\230463

The Psychology of Delegation: Why We Let Others Make Our Decisions for Us

Liverpool John Moores University

Value Awarded: £3291.43

Abstract: People make more than 35,000 decisions each day. From easy and independent decisions, such as what toothpaste to use in the morning, to more complicated decisions, such as what car to buy. In certain cases, however, people can leave others to make decisions for them, such as a partner choosing a restaurant, waiters deciding on menu choices, or even companies providing recommendations (such as Netflix’s ‘Play Something’ option). Decision-making research has so far investigated how individuals make decisions, but it has omitted investigation of the delegation of decision-making to others. Through a series of online experiments, this research aims to investigate under what circumstances individuals tend to delegate more and the psychological mechanisms behind this delegation in the tourism field. The comprehension of this will provide a greater understanding of individual decision making, helping practitioners design better consumer experiences, avoiding uncomfortable psychological conditions for consumers and improving business performance.

Dr Avram Taylor

SRG23\231985

Jewish Activism and Anglo-Jewish Identity in Cold War Britain: The Campaign for Soviet Jewry

Northumbria University

Value Awarded: £8906.48

Abstract: One of the most significant forms of Jewish activism during the postwar era was generated by the international campaign to support Soviet Jews who were denied permission to emigrate to Israel and were subsequently persecuted by the state. It was also part of the wider politics of the Cold War and concerns over human rights abuses. The campaign in Britain was influential in shaping Jewish identity and politics. This research will focus on places in which sustained activism promoted both ‘activist’ and ‘establishment’ wings of the campaign, which generated conflict and division within the Jewish community. This was particularly marked in Glasgow, London and Manchester. The imaginative protests of the activists attracted media attention, which the establishment wing struggled to control. The distinctiveness of this research is its focus on three representative case studies, which will enable it to examine Jewish identity and political activism at a local level.

Dr Maria - Emmanouela Terlektsi

Co-Applicant: Dr Aglaia Lila Kossyvaki

SRG23\230771

Evidencing good practice in supporting deaf children with autism

University of Birmingham

Value Awarded: £9986

Abstract: Deaf children and children with autism can face difficulties in language, socio-emotional regulation, confidence and academic performance impacting on school and social inclusion. There is paucity of evidence on how the inclusion of children with a dual diagnosis of deafness and autism is facilitated and supported in mainstream settings and the proposed study aims to bridge this gap. The study will consist of two phases and build on the methodology used by Powers et al. (1999, 2001) in the review of good practice in deaf education employing a purposive stratified sampling strategy. The first phase will employ a survey with educational professionals and parents and the second phase will consist of 6 illuminative case studies nominated in the questionnaires by the stakeholders. The study will not only identify good practice in supporting inclusion of children with deafness and autism but will also empower stakeholders to have a voice in research.

Dr Carmen Ting

Co-Applicant: Ms Flavia Ravaioli

SRG23\231258

The life and afterlife of the Adès collection of medieval Persian ceramics

University of Cambridge

Value Awarded: £9972

Abstract: This project seeks to bridge the gap in narratives and approaches between art history, archaeology and museological practice in the study of museum objects using the Adès collection of medieval Persian glazed ceramics as case study. It will capitalise on the availability of state-of-the-art analytical tools in archaeological and conservation science, unprecedented access to materials both in the UK and Iran and support from national and international research networks. A biographical approach is adopted by the project in reconstructing the life and afterlife of the Adès pieces, highlighting the people and agency involved in the journey. Our approach is expected to contribute to the development of the emerging field of heritage science, while the results will inform a new, decolonised interpretation of medieval Persian ceramics. The proposed work will provide capacity building opportunities for scholars in Iran, where resources for research are scarce.

Dr Edward Tolhurst

Co-Applicant: Professor Peter Kevern

SRG23\230980

How can the personhood of dementia care workers be supported?

Staffordshire University

Value Awarded: £5432.5

Abstract: This research will evaluate the experience of paid care workers who support people with dementia. It will enable the investigation of how care workers can be supported within their working roles. It will also consider how well-equipped care workers feel to support people with dementia. To obtain in-depth insights into the topic, interviews will be undertaken with 10 paid care staff who support people with dementia. Two interviews will be undertaken with each participant, with them asked to reflect on their care practice between these two interviews. This study is distinctive as the personal needs of paid care staff have been overlooked in research. To ensure people with dementia are well supported, it is vital to consider the wellbeing of those who are responsible for the direct delivery of care. Evidence from this research will be applicable to a breadth of care contexts, and relevant to policymakers, practitioners and researchers.

Dr Jack Tomlin

Co-Applicant: Mr Nicholas Graeme Neil Hunter and Dr Sarah Markham

SRG23\231335

‘The ENGAGE Study’: A co-produced interview study of forensic mental health patients’ engagement in care using a procedural justice theoretical framework

University of Greenwich

Value Awarded: £8857.65

Abstract: Research in criminal justice settings, such as prisons and courts, has shown that interactions between individuals and people in authority can be improved by applying procedural justice principles. People who experience procedurally fair interactions are more likely to be satisfied with decisions, follow the law, attend appointments and engage and collaborate with authorities.

Forensic mental health services provide care for people with mental health needs who have committed a crime or are at high risk of harm. This study will investigate whether we can use procedural justice principles to improve patient engagement in their care. We will use a qualitative Grounded Theory methodology to conduct semi-structured interviews with 20 forensic patients and 20 members of staff. Data will be analysed using Constant Comparative Analysis. The project will be co-produced by people with lived experience and will last 24 months.

We will develop new theoretical insights and make recommendations for practice.

Dr Eleni Tsougkou

Co-Applicant: Dr João S. Oliveira

SRG23\232063

Marketing for Peace: Investigating why, when, and how brands decide to become activists for peace

University of Strathclyde

Value Awarded: £9969

Abstract: This project, building on stakeholder and communication theories, aims to investigate why and how managers decide to engage in peace brand activism [PBA (i.e., take a stand advocating for peace or the end of a conflict)]. This is important, due to a knowledge gap related to brand activism for peace, as well as brand activism from a managerial point of view. Specifically, this project will explore the motivation behind PBA, and why and how managers choose which PBA initiatives to implement and disclose on social media. We will collect our data through interviews with brand managers and analyse it through thematic analysis. Funding is sought to employ a research associate to help with the various stages of the project. We will disseminate our findings through a conference, a publication, and a multi-stakeholder knowledge exchange event. We also seek funds to bring the research team together to host this event.

Professor Melissa Tyler

Co-Applicant: Dr Daniela Pianezzi

SRG23\230643

Grave matters: An affective ethnography of cemeterial work

University of Essex

Value Awarded: £8532

Abstract: What does it feel like to work in an abject place in which workers are surrounded by death and grieving? This research combines philosophical writing on grieving with sociological and geographical analyses of emotional labour and abject space to show what we can learn about the meaning and nature of dirty work by studying lived experiences of working in a distinctive workplace: a cemetery. The project’s multiple case-study approach provides unprecedented insight into lived experiences of work in different types of cemeteries in the UK and Italy, examining what it feels like, and means, to work in a distinctive place that is associated with death and grieving. Through the analysis of texts, photographs, videos, poetic/creative writing and primary interview data, the study will shed light on how abject spaces are experienced, providing insight into a socially and culturally significant, yet under-researched, group of workers, and work places.

Dr Davide Vampa

SRG23\230264

Exploring the Emergence of New Territorial Divides after Devolution: An Analysis of the Socio-Political Gap between Capital Cities and Peripheral Areas in Scotland and Wales

Aston University

Value Awarded: £9985

Abstract: Devolution has produced significant changes in the British political landscape. The Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly (later Parliament/Senedd) have been granted substantial powers in several policy areas. While devolution has provided a significant opportunity for greater local representation, it has also contributed to the creation of new 'centres of power', which in turn may have led to new regional disparities and tensions within Scotland and Wales. Most political and academic commentary has focused on the divide between London (and the South-East) and the rest of the UK, which devolution processes have sought to address. This project aims to explore the possible replication of ‘centre-periphery’ dynamics within Scotland and Wales. To assess the existence of a socio-political gap between the capital cities and peripheral regions of the two nations, a new survey will be distributed to a representative sample of 1,000 respondents and interviews will be conducted with party representatives.

Dr Petya Ventsislavova Petrova

Co-Applicant: Professor Thomas Simon Baguley

SRG23\230033

eScootReady: Assessing and Training E-Scooter Riders' Awareness of Potential Hazards and Risks

Nottingham Trent University

Value Awarded: £9373.56

Abstract: The introduction of e-scooters was intended to promote sustainable transportation by encouraging a shift away from individual car use. However, their safety has been called into question due to number of incidents recorded worldwide since their introduction. The most frequent cause for these incidents is thought to be user error. This project will investigate the reasons for these incidents and possible strategies to effectively mitigate them. Poor hazard perception and risk calibration skills are among the most prevalent reasons for making mistakes while driving cars, and both depend on experience. Since e-scooters are a relatively new mode of transportation, it is likely that riders have underdeveloped hazard perception and risk calibration skills. This project will adapt methods we have developed in car drivers to evaluate the hazard perception and risk calibration skills of e-scooter riders, whether they are related to collision rates, and investigate whether training can enhance these skills.

Dr Pauline Vorjohann

Co-Applicant: Professor Steffen Huck

SRG23\230681

Fake news and information transmission

University of Exeter

Value Awarded: £9940

Abstract: We present a theoretical model to investigate how the presence of fake news affects the transmission of information from media outlets to economic agents. Our model allows us to study how an agent’s trust in media reports adjusts to the risk of being exposed to fake news. Furthermore, we are able to identify to what extent the presence of fake news has a negative spillover on the possibilities for a legitimate outlet to credibly transmit information. Our preliminary results suggest that even if fake news is rare, its presence can have a substantial negative impact on the possibilities for information transmission. Strikingly, this negative impact is significantly alleviated if agents are behaviourally biased in how they update beliefs in response to news reports. To put our theoretical predictions to the test, we run a laboratory experiment.

Dr Athanasios Vostanis

Co-Applicant: Dr Jill Bradshaw

SRG23\230886

Using Precision Teaching to train key word sign language skills to professionals working in learning disability services.

University of Kent

Value Awarded: £9995.11

Abstract: Individuals with learning disabilities may experience difficulties communicating through conventional language methods, leading them to rely on augmentative and alternative communication systems such as Key Word Signing (KWS). To effectively support these individuals, staff members need to be proficient in KWS to model, prompt, and provide feedback. However, studies suggest that they often know fewer signs than the individuals they support, leading to limited opportunities for meaningful communication. Therefore, it is necessary to provide effective training programmes that can improve staff members' KWS knowledge and fluency. Precision Teaching, a system that emphasizes functional mastery sustained over time, could be particularly useful in teaching KWS to staff members. By developing fluent signing skills, staff members could communicate confidently through KWS in various settings, even after extended periods of no practice. This would lead to better support for individuals with learning disabilities, improving their communication skills and quality of life.

Dr Helen Wadham

Co-Applicant: Dr Nora Schuurman and Professor Alex Franklin

SRG23\231313

Transitions and Transformations in the Rehabilitation, Retraining and Rehoming of Racehorses

Manchester Metropolitan University

Value Awarded: £8781.05

Abstract: This pilot project will explore spatial transitions and relational transformations experienced by animals as a result of interventions in their lives by humans. It will inform a full funding proposal to explore situations where animals are deemed to be “out of place.” Our concern is with the actions undertaken to transition the animals to more appropriate spaces and relations, and the transformations these actions may cause the animals, including how they are subsequently engaged with and cared for by humans. This pilot study will focus specifically on the practices of rehabilitating, retraining and rehoming ex-racehorses as leisure horses. The case of rehomed racehorses serves as an example of interventions, in the form of interspecies care practices, that bring the animals into contact – or out of contact – with humans and space in a different way than before, often with significant material and welfare implications for the animals concerned.

Professor Robert Ward

Co-Applicant: Dr Paul Rauwolf

SRG23\231390

New Insights into Team Decision-Making: Knowledge, Problem-Solving, and Collective Intelligence

Bangor University

Value Awarded: £8371.41

Abstract: This study takes a cognitive and knowledge-based approach to the performance of small teams (3-4 people). We build on the notion of "collective intelligence" (Woolley et al, 2010), which computes a general factor for team performance entirely analogous to the general factor for individual performance identified by Spearman (1904). We focus on one of the most important distinctions in intelligence research, the difference between fluid tasks requiring novel problem-solving, and crystallised tasks utilizing specific knowledge. We take a previously unexplored perspective to examine how knowledge distribution within teams affects these task types. We introduce new measures, like team synergy and efficiency, to capture team performance dynamics. We also propose exploratory analyses on how a team's knowledge diversity may influence task performance. The research aims to illuminate the interplay between team structure, task type, and performance, and we illustrate this in the context of a real-world example.

Dr Edmund Wareham Wanitzek

Co-Applicant: Professor Lyndal Roper

SRG23\230968

Visualising the Destruction of Convents and Monasteries during the German Peasants’ War

Royal Holloway, University of London

Value Awarded: £9747.62

Abstract: During the German Peasants’ War of 1524-5, the greatest popular uprising in Western Europe before the French Revolution, hundreds of convents and monasteries were plundered, seized and even destroyed. The Peasants’ War, which happened in the early years of the Reformation, was driven by an intense anticlericalism; and in particular, by a hatred of monastic institutions. But the sheer scale of their destruction has never been calculated in quantitative or geographic terms. Our hypothesis is that the Peasants’ War and the attendant destruction of monastic property did more to undermine monasticism than the Reformation itself. Digitally mapping the results enables us to see its extent for the first time. To test our hypothesis, we are systematically studying the course, nature, and geographical spread of the destruction. We will produce an online database and digital, interactive map which will allow users to visualise this.

Dr Lyndon Way

Co-Applicant: Dr Stephen McLoughlin and Dr Irem Inceoglu

SRG23\230179

How to regain a democracy

University of Liverpool

Value Awarded: £7680.81

Abstract: This project examines how authoritarian populism can be challenged. Globally, there has been a rise in authoritarian populism, characterised by elites who react to globalisation, liberalism and modernity as threats to national culture and identity. Turkey’s President Erdoğan is an authoritarian populist who is being challenged presently, one of these challenges being oppositional mayoral victories in 2019, including that of Ekrem İmamoğlu in Istanbul. In 1994, when elected as Istanbul's mayor, Erdoğan was praised for being inclusive, democratic and progressive, as was the case with İmamoğlu in 2019. Being Istanbul’s mayor is a proven pathway to national politics, evident in Erdoğan’s and İmamoğlu’s career paths (president and vice-presidential candidate in 2023 respectively). We analyse Erdoğan’s and İmamoğlu’s mayoral campaign speeches to determine how each resembles, differs from, and challenges discourses of authoritarian populist politicians. We will disseminate our findings to international audiences of activists, academics and politicians.

Dr Niall Whelehan

SRG23\231344

The 'Conquest of the Desert': Irish and British migrants and colonial violence in nineteenth-century Argentina.

University of Strathclyde

Value Awarded: £4068.5

Abstract: This new study of settler colonialism in nineteenth-century Argentina examines how first and second generation Irish and British immigrants engaged in the violent campaign of indigenous subjugation labelled the 'Conquest of the Desert' (1878-85). Using archival and digital sources, it focusses on two aspects of settler colonial violence. 1): It analyses, for the first time, how elite families in Irish and British communities received kidnapped indigenous children from the Argentine army during the campaign to work as domestic servants in their homes. Notices of baptismal ceremonies in contemporary newspapers reveal participation in this practice. 2): It explores how Irish and British settlers expanded their estates by acquiring lands made available because of the displacement and killing of Mapuche people. Excavating new knowledge about these processes enables the examination of the roles of British and Irish migrants in what historians now consider a genocidal campaign of colonisation.

Dr Ashley Woodfall

Co-Applicant: Dr Cynthia Carter

SRG23\231745

Children’s Public Service Media: What Children Understand by it and What it Means to Them

Bournemouth University

Value Awarded: £6214

Abstract: Public service media (PSM) made for UK children is in a state of flux. Children are engaging with media in new ways - moving away from ‘traditional’ PSM offerings - whilst the policy and funding conditions for UK produced children’s PSM have become more challenging.

This UK focussed project will look to air the voices of children - generally left out of dialogue and decisions on PSM made for them. It will ask children (5-12 year-olds) how they engage with and what they understand by children’s PSM; the value they place on UK produced children’s PSM; and what they might want from it. The central aim of the project is to bring children into public debates on PSM, so as to better inform understanding and policy. It will also act as a pilot study for further research into the wider value to children and society of UK produced children’s PSM.

Professor Dominic Wring

Co-Applicant: Professor David Deacon

SRG23\231976

National News Reporting of the 2024 UK General Election

Loughborough University

Value Awarded: £9688.6

Abstract: This research will provide a systematic and independent analysis of mainstream media reporting of the forthcoming UK General Election. These broadcast and print news organizations remain prominent opinion formers, despite the growing emergence of social and other on-line media, because they provide vital information to voters and help frame and evaluate the credibility of the rival electoral contenders. Additionally, debates about the editorial standards and performance of the key media are now matters of considerable political debate and concern. The project will measure the extent of national news engagement and interest in the campaign and journalists' evaluations of the strategies and credibility of the main electoral contenders. Of particular interest will be the media responses in terms of their reporting of the rival politicians and policy options put before the British electorate in an election whose outcome is the subject of considerable speculation.

Dr Resul Umit Yazici

SRG23\230020

Gendered Interactions in Parliament

Durham University

Value Awarded: £9704.34

Abstract: Does gender affect how members of parliament talk to each other? While parliaments have historically been male-dominated, more women are being elected to these institutions around the world at every election. Although decades of research shows that elected men and women have distinct representative styles, we still do not know how these different kinds of representatives behave on occasions when they communicate with each other in parliament. Adapting the Communication Accommodation Theory to the discipline of political science, this project is based on the expectation that these interactions to be gendered. Analysing question-and-answer dyads in the UK House of Commons between 1992 and 2024, it will therefore investigate how members of parliament alter their speech while addressing men or women in parliament. Such gender-biased alterations of speech can have repercussions for both descriptive representation and substantive representation, through perpetuating gender stereotypes, reinforcing inequalities, and contributing to communication power imbalances.

Dr Yan Ying

SRG23\232049

Our Memory in Your Language: Translating Taiwan’s Museums in Transition

University of Leicester

Value Awarded: £9116

Abstract: This project investigates the contemporary role of translation in and for Taiwan’s museums in a critical historical and political juncture, as Taiwan is re-discovering and re-narrating many forms and aspects of its memory. Set against the broad background of Taiwan’s national museums, the project develops two case studies—the National Museum of Taiwan Literature and the National Museum of Taiwan History—to map translation in Taiwan’s national museums as sites of memory.

The project reverses the perception of translation in museums as transparent, subordinate and optional. Instead, it views translation as a performative act in staging secondary yet essential narratives that are important to the shaping of a museum as a site of memory. Charting Taiwan’s museums as public spaces of many voices in different languages and modalities engaged in dynamic interaction, it will bring into view the impact of the narratives created in and through translation.

Dr Mary Alice Young

SRG23\231658

A Voice for the Voiceless: Decolonising and Rewriting Legal Frameworks in Caribbean Organised Crime Control

University of the West of England, Bristol

Value Awarded: £10000

Abstract: Activities characterised as ‘organised crime’ in the 21st Century Caribbean, include the trafficking of commodities and smuggling of people. These activities date back to the 1500s - as do Western, British, efforts to control these activities. Current legal frameworks to control organised crime in developing ex-colonies e.g., Jamaica, are grounded in Western efforts (such as United Nations treaties), yet they fail to recognise the unique challenges these countries face. The applicant's previous research shows that Jamaican law enforcement is frustrated with the West's narrow focus on, and preoccupation with, drug trafficking. Organised crime today is more diverse, complex, and challenging than in previous decades and firearms and people smuggling are the top priority for national and regional law enforcement. In summary, Western constructs of crime control in Jamaica and other ex-UK colonies are not fit for purpose. The project will deliver real-world impact and decolonise antiquated legislation through evidence-informed solutions.

Dr Wenjuan Zeng

Co-Applicant: Dr Debabrata Ghosh

SRG23\232079

Do organizations’ risk perception and governance impact digital transformation? An experimental approach in the UK Manufacturing Sector.

University of Essex

Value Awarded: £9796.8

Abstract: Prior studies have shown how exogenous environmental factors influence the digitalization process. However, little attention has been paid to the underlying decision-making process, which may reveal the endogenous tipping point of digital transformation decision-making that turns intention into action. This study challenges the prevailing understanding of organizations’ digital transformation as a reactive response to external factors and proposes an alternative view that presents it as a proactive decision determined by the organization’s risk perceptions and its level of governance. Our study proposes that organizational digital transformation can be regarded as a rational decision and examine how organizations evaluate risks, moderated by their governance, leading to digitalization. We will use scenario experiments to study the phenomenon empirically to uncover the underlying relationships. Our goal is to enhance the understanding of the complex dynamics of an organization’s digital transformation in the manufacturing industry.

Binru Zhao

Co-Applicant: Dr He He and Dr Ayan Orujov

SRG23\230764

The Impact of Bank Branch Closures on Local SMEs and Employment: Evidence from the UK

Bangor University

Value Awarded: £9963.98

Abstract: As the banking sector continues to evolve, physical bank branches are being replaced by digital channels at a significant pace. This swift shift raises urgent questions about the impact on face-to-face banking services, particularly for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). We aim to scrutinize the effects of these branch closures on SMEs' ability to secure credit and investment, with an additional focus on the impact on local employment levels, as indicated by local job postings. By constructing and utilizing an innovative UK Bank Branch Exposure Index (BBEI) and employing empirical methodologies, we will methodically examine these dynamics. Simultaneously, we will explore the potential of alternative channels in mitigating the adverse effects of branch closures. We aim to generate valuable insights into the transformation of the financial landscape. The findings of our research are expected to inform policy decisions, promoting financial inclusion and enhancing support for UK SMEs and local employment.

Dr Yang Zhao

SRG23\231781

Detecting Illegal Insider Trading with Machine Learning

University of Liverpool

Value Awarded: £9402.84

Abstract: Individuals including top managers and directors trade shares of the firm they serve. Such transactions are known as insider trading. In some cases, insider transactions involve exploiting price sensitive information and potentially lead to excessive profits. This type of insider trading effectively takes advantage of other investors, causing detrimental impacts on the liquidity, efficiency, and reputation of the financial market. Insider transactions based on insider information are prohibited, and those found guilty are severely punished. Regulatory authorities allocate substantial resources and time to the detection and prevention of illegal insider trading, although the task is becoming progressively difficult. In this project, I aim to provide an interdisciplinary solution to the detection of illegal insider trading. Based on recent advances in finance (insider trading patterns and insider networks) and computer science (machine learning models for identification and prediction), I develop a system that identifies illegal insider trading accurately and efficiently.

Dr Isaac Ziaba

SRG23\231804

Mediating Transnational Mining Disputes in Africa. The Ghanaian Case.

London School of Economics and Political Science

Value Awarded: £9985

Abstract: There is increasing evidence that resource-rich developing countries solemnly protect licensed transnational mining companies against all forms of encroachment by illegal miners. However, between 2017 and 2020, a mining dispute emerged between an illegal Chinese mining company (Shaanxi) and a licensed Australian mining company (Cassius) in Gbane, Ghana. Surprisingly, the state encouraged the illegal mining company to obtain a mining license but evicted the licensed mining company by failing to renew its license. I will investigate this outcome by garnering and interrogating qualitative field evidence under the primary hypothesis that the networks between transnational mining companies and elite and social groups at different levels of the state can impact political decisions over access to mineralised lands. The findings will provide critical insights into how competing elite and social groups in resource-rich developing countries harness divergent networks with foreign business actors in ways that drive economic policy decisions and outcomes.

Professor Patrick Zuk

Co-Applicant: Professor Helen Margaret Fenwick

SRG23\231223

Understanding Offence: delimiting the (un)sayable

Durham University

Value Awarded: £9849.45

Abstract: This project, which will be hosted by Durham University's Institute of Advanced Study, aims to deepen understanding of the phenomenon of offence and the complex challenges that it presents to society. It assembles a multi-disciplinary team of 30 personnel from across the humanities and social sciences, providing a unique opportunity to advance research on an issue of far-reaching importance.

It has three overarching objectives:

- to analyse the complexities inherent in attempting to formulate normative definitions of unacceptably offensive speech and behaviour that can secure general agreement in diverse multi-cultural societies and underpin effective legal and other regulatory frameworks;

- to review critically prevalent notions of the harm caused by offence and the difficulties attendant on evidencing claims of harm;

- to appraise the practical challenges of regulating offensive speech and behaviour in the modern world and of addressing the problems that they cause.

BA/Leverhulme Trust Small Research Grants 2023

Funded by

Sign up to our email newsletters

Follow us

Visiting Us