Research emphasises the benefits and limitations of in-group bonding ties for migrants, yet it typically overlooks the hierarchical variations within such ties. Drawing on social network data gathered by Shin (2022) from North Korean refugees in London and the foundational conceptualisation of horizontal and vertical ties developed by Ryan (2016), this study responds to calls for closer attention to differences of status, hierarchy, and resource distribution within migrant and refugee networks. Using quantitative and qualitative network analysis, we examine how North Korean refugees differentiate in-group members based on perceived status, identifying the individual and relational factors associated with higher-status recognition. The observed hierarchical structure reveals significant internal diversity within an ostensibly homogeneous ethnic group and shows that vertical and horizontal ties offer a powerful lens for analysing the structure and meaning of relationships within migrant networks. Rather than assuming resources flow freely within co-ethnic networks, this paper advances understanding of what motivates higher-status individuals to share, or refuse to share, valuable resources with co-ethnics and fellow refugees.
This paper investigates how social value is operationalised in urban regeneration and how digital reporting platforms shape the measurement and governance of social sustainability. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with UK social value professionals and a resident survey conducted within the Elephant and Castle regeneration programme in London, the study examines how platform-based systems translate procurement commitments into auditable performance categories. These systems embed predefined classification schemas, proxy valuation metrics and rule-based validation procedures that structure how outcomes become visible and comparable across projects. The findings indicate that digital reporting platforms enhance oversight and inter-project benchmarking but prioritise outcomes that align with measurable procurement indicators. Employment generation, apprenticeships and local procurement expenditure dominate reported performance, while relational and place-based outcomes, such as trust, belonging and neighbourhood continuity, remain marginal. Reporting requirements generate substantial evidencing burdens across supply chains, may introduce data distortions through proxy-based and threshold-led reporting, and can concentrate engagement at early project stages, limiting sustained community influence and creating technical barriers to participation. The analysis highlights how digital reporting platforms can operate as governance infrastructures within smart city environments, shaping what is prioritised, funded and recognised as credible impact. The findings provide practical insights for the design of more inclusive and proportionate digital accountability systems for sustainable local development.
Purpose Artificial intelligence (AI) is embedded with different aspects of social, economic, political, cultural, religious and technological lives of individuals and their everyday ideological interactions. Ideology continues to be the core of technological innovations and transformations. Therefore, AI is not free from ideological engagements. The paper outlines 11 level of conceptual framework to locate ideological foundations of AI. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper which follows the critical methodological tradition of Critical Discourse Analysis, particularly focusing on the concept of ideological interdiscursivity as outlined in the works of Algam and Jameel (2025), to analyse, understand, conceptualise and explain the ideological foundations of AI. Findings Through this multi-dimensional analysis, the paper constructs an ideological foundation and conceptual linkage between AI and ideology, offering an 11-level conceptual framework to critically understand the capitalist ideological undercurrents embedded within AI. Research limitations/implications The paper constructs an ideological foundation of AI to critically analyse and locate the capitalist ideological undercurrents embedded within contemporary AI systems. In terms of future research, the paper offers an 11-level framework for understanding and analysing the interplay between AI and ideology across local, regional, national and international contexts. Practical implications In terms of policy implications, practical applicability and relevance, this paper situates itself within the domain of AI governance, ethics and policymaking, with a focus on the ethical and rational use of AI for the greater social good. Social implications The essentialist and emancipatory dimensions of AI, along with its ideological foundations, are central not only to understanding the power structures and ideologies shaping AI's trajectory but also to developing inclusive, people-centred AI policies that prioritise the well-being of humans, animals and the planet. This calls for a vision of emancipatory and human-centred AI – an AI that truly serves humanity. Originality/value This paper argues that AI interacts with ideology under two broad categories: essentialist and emancipatory aspects of AI. The essentialist aspects of AI come from its use value based on everyday functionality and requirements, whereas the emancipatory aspect of AI comes from its potential for the progressive transformation of society and the empowerment of individuals. Under these two broad categories, this paper explores the interactions between AI and ideology across 11 distinct but interrelated conceptual levels: abstraction, belief, critique, domination, facilitation, identity, integration, interpretation, process and power.
This study aimed to determine whether relationship satisfaction, well-being, masturbation, and sexual self-efficacy mediated the relationship between peri/menopausal symptoms and sexual function among individuals in age-gap or similar-age relationships. One hundred and fifty peri- or post-menopausal participants, aged 25 and over, took part in an online cross-sectional survey that featured questionnaires measuring perceived menopausal symptoms, sexual self-efficacy, well-being, relationship satisfaction, age-gap relationships, and demographic information. The total and direct effect of orgasms on reducing overall peri/menopausal symptoms was significant. Masturbation involving sex toys mediated the relationship between orgasms and peri/menopausal symptoms. Additionally, there was a total and direct effect of sexual satisfaction on peri/menopausal symptoms, mediated by relationship satisfaction and well-being. Higher levels of sexual functioning, particularly sexual arousal and desire, alongside lower levels of peri/menopausal symptoms, including local and sexual symptoms, were reported among those in age-gap relationships with partners at least 7 years younger. Participants in consensual non-monogamous relationships reported higher levels of orgasms and lower menopausal symptoms compared to those in monogamous relationships. Despite the small sample size, this area warrants further exploration to develop suitable psychosexual interventions to support sexual functioning and manage menopausal symptoms among peri/menopausal individuals in diverse relationships.
This paper addresses the role of the invention of tradition in early library history writing and its influence on the subsequent discourse. 'The invention of tradition' is a phrase coined by Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger to describe cultural practices that appear traditional but which are of comparatively recent innovation. Examples include neo-classical civic architecture, the symbolic construction of national identities, and the adoption of anachronistic rituals in essentially modern institutions. Hobsbawm and Ranger argue that invented traditions have an important social function in helping to foster cohesion, legitimising authority structures, and cementing social values by rooting contemporary institutions and social practices in a factitious past. This paper argues that early library history writing can be understood as an invented tradition that acted to validate the social function of libraries by appeal to the distant historical past. While library history lacks ritualistic and ceremonial aspects, it displays a similar ideological function in securing an ostensibly novel social institution against the authority of tradition. It first discusses the nature of invented traditions and their relevance to library history. The paper then analyses library history writing between 1859 and 1914, and its influence on subsequent library discourse. Finally the paper analyses the specific tension in the nineteenth century that gave rise to the invented tradition of early library history writing. The paper predominantly addresses the development on library services in Britain.
