On Get Out and the Problem of Racialized Aliveness

In this short article, I explore Jordan Peele’s 2017 film Get Out as a compelling illustration of racialization as an attack on human “aliveness.” I argue that Peele’s film, a new kind of zombie narrative, urges psychosocial transformation not only through the radically inventive acts of its creatively resurrected protagonist, Chris, but also through its own subversive collaboration with the spectator.     

‘Look at What We Made’: communicating subcultural value on London’s Southbank

ABSTRACT

This article sets out key findings of an interdisciplinary Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded project that uses Long Live Southbank’s (LLSB) successful campaign to retain London’s Southbank Undercroft for subcultural use – skateboarding, BMXing, graffiti art, etc. – as a case study to generate discussions about young people’s experiences and engagements with (sub)cultural heritage and political activism. At the heart of this inquiry is the perceived contradiction between the communicative practices of subcultures and social protest movements: the former typically understood to be internally oriented and marked by strong boundary maintenance, and the latter, to be successful, to be externally oriented to a diverse range of publics. In explaining the skaters/campaigner’s negotiation of this contradiction, we look to the inclusive and everyday concepts of ‘inhabitant knowledge’ [Ingold, T., 2000 Ingold, T., 2007. Lines: a brief history. London: Routledge.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]. The perception of the environment: essays in livelihood, dwelling and skill. London: Routledge], ‘vernacular creativity’ [Burgess, J., 2009. Remediating vernacular creativity: photography and cultural citizenship in the Flickr photosharing network. In: T. Edensor, D. Leslie, S. Millington, and N. Rantisi, eds. Spaces of vernacular creativity: rethinking the cultural economy. London: Routledge, 116–126] and ‘affective intelligence’ [Van Zoonen, L., 2004. Imagining the fan democracy. European journal of communication, 19 (1), 39–52]. In eschewing the exclusionary and contestatory language of (post)subcultural and spatial theories, this article proposes new frameworks for thinking about the political nature of young people’s bodily knowledge and experiences, and the implications of this for the communication of (sub)cultural value.     

In search of innovation: A national qualitative analysis of child welfare recruitment and retention efforts

This national qualitative study explores recruitment and retention strategies within state child welfare agencies and the perceived effectiveness of these strategies. The study includes a national review of 50 state child welfare websites, and qualitative interviews with 18 individuals in 13 states. The findings highlight agencies' identification and investment of similar types of recruitment and retention efforts; yet agencies still grapple with elevated turnover rates despite continued efforts. This article comprehensively explored national utilized and underutilized strategies that have been employed to help alleviate child welfare recruitment and retention challenges. Further, mechanisms for overcoming and promoting innovation to understand the effectiveness of child welfare recruitment and retention strategies are addressed.     

Floral abundance and richness drive beneficial arthropod conservation and biological control on golf courses

Urban Ecosystems - Golf courses are among the largest, most ubiquitous highly maintained urban green spaces in the U.S. Although their primary function is recreation, a large portion of golf course...     

Adult protection and ‘intimate citizenship’ for people with learning difficulties: empowering and protecting in light of the No Secrets review

The government are consulting on the introduction of legislation to give professionals powers to enter the homes of ‘vulnerable adults’ where abuse is suspected and remove the ‘victim’ without their consent . This article considers the consequences of such legislation for the ‘intimate citizenship’ of people with learning difficulties who have capacity to consent to sexual relationships. Proposals of the consultation are considered in terms of their practical relevance, finding that changes can be made with better guidance, resources, policy implementation and a sound evidence base for adult protection. A case is made that proposals contravene human rights, mental capacity laws and the ethos of personalisation, increasing the focus on risk in practice. An ecological model of vulnerability is supported, which offers an approach that can prevent sexual abuse through empowerment without the need for new legislation.