̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Department of Sociology

Black Town & Gown: ̽��ֱ��historical legacy of Black presence in the city of Cambridge

zs332 — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 13:57:10 +0000

̽��ֱ��premiere of Black Town & Gown: ̽��ֱ��historical legacy of Black presence in the city of Cambridge will take place on 28 March from 6.30pm and is hosted by Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH).

Wildlife monitoring technologies used to intimidate and spy on women, study finds

jg533 — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 00:01:44 +0000

Remotely operated camera traps, sound recorders and drones are increasingly being used in conservation science to monitor wildlife and natural habitats, and to keep watch on protected natural areas.

But Cambridge researchers studying a forest in northern India have found that the technologies are being deliberately misused by local government and male villagers to keep watch on women without their consent.

Cambridge researcher Dr Trishant Simlai spent 14 months interviewing 270 locals living around the Corbett Tiger Reserve, a national park in northern India, including many women from nearby villages.

His report, published today in the journal Environment and Planning F, reveals how forest rangers in the national park deliberately fly drones over local women to frighten them out of the forest, and stop them collecting natural resources despite it being their legal right to do so.

̽��ֱ��women, who previously found sanctuary in the forest away from their male-dominated villages, told Simlai they feel watched and inhibited by camera traps, so talk and sing much more quietly. This increases the chance of surprise encounters with potentially dangerous wildlife like elephants and tigers. One woman he interviewed has since been killed in a tiger attack.

̽��ֱ��study reveals a worst-case scenario of deliberate human monitoring and intimidation. But the researchers say people are being unintentionally recorded by wildlife monitoring devices without their knowledge in many other places - even national parks in the UK.

“Nobody could have realised that camera traps put in the Indian forest to monitor mammals actually have a profoundly negative impact on the mental health of local women who use these spaces,” said Dr Trishant Simlai, a researcher on the 'Smart Forests' project in the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s Department of Sociology and lead author of the report.

“These findings have caused quite a stir amongst the conservation community. It’s very common for projects to use these technologies to monitor wildlife, but this highlights that we really need to be sure they’re not causing unintended harm,” said Professor Chris Sandbrook, Director of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s Masters in Conservation Leadership programme, who was also involved in the report.

He added: “Surveillance technologies that are supposed to be tracking animals can easily be used to watch people instead – invading their privacy and altering the way they behave.”

Many areas of conservation importance overlap with areas of human use. ̽��ֱ��researchers call for conservationists to think carefully about the social implications of using remote monitoring technologies – and whether less invasive methods like surveys could provide the information they need instead.

Intimidation and deliberate humiliation

̽��ֱ��women living near India’s Corbett Tiger Reserve use the forest daily in ways that are central to their lives: from gathering firewood and herbs to sharing life’s difficulties through traditional songs.

Domestic violence and alcoholism are widespread problems in this rural region and many women spend long hours in forest spaces to escape difficult home situations.

̽��ֱ��women told Simlai that new technologies, deployed under the guise of wildlife monitoring projects, are being used to intimidate and exert power over them - by monitoring them too.

“A photograph of a woman going to the toilet in the forest – captured on a camera trap supposedly for wildlife monitoring - was circulated on local Facebook and WhatsApp groups as a means of deliberate harassment,” said Simlai.

He added: “I discovered that local women form strong bonds while working together in the forest, and they sing while collecting firewood to deter attacks by elephants and tigers. When they see camera traps they feel inhibited because they don’t know who’s watching or listening to them – and as a result they behave differently - often being much quieter, which puts them in danger.”

In places like northern India, the identity of local women is closely linked to their daily activities and social roles within the forest. ̽��ֱ��researchers say that understanding the various ways local women use forests is vital for effective forest management strategies.

Reference: Simlai, T. et al: ‘ ̽��ֱ��Gendered Forest: Digital Surveillance Technologies for Conservation and Gender-Environment relationships.’ November 2024. DOI:10.17863/CAM.111664

Camera traps and drones deployed by government authorities to monitor a forest in India are infringing on the privacy and rights of local women.

Nobody could have realised that camera traps put in the Indian forest to monitor mammals actually have a profoundly negative impact on the mental health of local women who use these spaces.

Trishant Simlai

Researcher interviewing a local woman in India

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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AI and scholarship: a manifesto

fpjl2 — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 10:39:00 +0000

Two leading academics from the ̽��ֱ��'s School of Humanities and Social Sciences provide a framework that supports scholars and students in navigating generative AI.

Sandi Toksvig OBE takes up the first Q+ Fellowship at Cambridge

jek67 — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 06:47:58 +0000

Sandi Toksvig, the award-winning author, broadcaster, entertainer and founder of the Women’s Equality Party, has been awarded the inaugural Qantabrigian Fellowship for 2023-24, by the LGBTQ+ research programme in Cambridge ̽��ֱ��’s Department of Sociology.

̽��ֱ��Q+ Fellowship enables distinguished Cambridge LGBTQ+ alumni to spend time at the ̽��ֱ�� to conduct a research project or incubate a new idea. ̽��ֱ��goal of the Fellowship is to build stronger links to the distinguished worldwide community of LGBTQ+ Cambridge alumni and to widen participation in the research and teaching activities of the ̽��ֱ��.

As part of her Fellowship, Sandi will be pausing her theatre and broadcasting work for the Michaelmas term to develop a new Mappa Mundi project, with the aim of creating a digital resource documenting women’s position, achievements and struggles across the globe.

Sandi has also been elected to a Bye-Fellowship at Christ’s College, Cambridge for the 2023-2024 academic year and will convene a series of events, workshops and meetings to develop her initiative in partnership with Cambridge academic staff, students and support services.

Sandi Toksvig says: “I’m delighted to be returning to my old stomping ground of Cambridge to lead such an innovative project. This new Mappa Mundi project will be a three-dimensional, interactive view of the globe from a female perspective, with the goal of changing the world by learning to see it differently. It will be story-led, data driven and allow women from all countries to present their stories, their hardships, and their triumphs.”

Q+ founding Director Professor Sarah Franklin says: “ ̽��ֱ��Q+ Fellowship is dedicated to recognising the many extraordinary achievements of Cambridge’s LGBTQ+ alumni over many centuries and across the globe. It also aims to show that building partnerships through research engaging ever more inclusive audiences is an important way we can fulfil the ̽��ֱ��’s core mission. I cannot think of a more inspiring individual to launch both these exciting new initiatives than the brilliant Sandi Toksvig.”

Simon, Lord McDonald of Salford, Master of Christ’s College says: “Sandi Toksvig’s Q+ Fellowship comes at a vital time for both the College and the ̽��ֱ�� communities as we continue to redefine learning, education and knowledge in the digital age. Thinking creatively about how we build publicly-engaged and inclusive college communities is essential to the delivery of world-leading teaching and research, as well as excellence in education and scholarship.”

̽��ֱ��new initiative from the Department of Sociology enables LGBTQ+ alumni to return to Cambridge to pursue research projects.

"This new Mappa Mundi project will be story-led, data driven and allow women from all countries to present their stories."

Sandi Toksvig

Photographer: Graham CopeKoga

Sandi Toksvig, pictured at Christ's College, Cambridge

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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Black British Voices: the findings

fpjl2 — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 05:46:05 +0000

̽��ֱ��largest survey to date of the opinions and attitudes of Black people in Britain has revealed a central split on the question of British pride.

Would you prefer a four-day working week?

fpjl2 — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 06:53:22 +0000

Working a four-day week boosts employee wellbeing while preserving productivity, according to research on a major six-month trial in the UK.

UK policing: psychological damage among officers heightened by bad working conditions

fpjl2 — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 08:50:23 +0000

High levels of trauma-related mental health disorders across UK police forces are partly the result of bad working conditions such as having too little time, sexual harassment, and dealing with difficult situations without support, according to a study led by the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

However, officers who say they feel supported by colleagues, and have a sense of doing meaningful work, had around half the rates of a form of PTSD as the national average for policing staff.

Researchers behind the study say their findings suggest that simple improvements to the working lives of police – scheduled time for support from peers and supervisors, for example – could dramatically reduce the level of psychiatric problems in UK forces.

Sociologists surveyed thousands of police personnel across the country in 2018 and found that 12% showed clinical symptoms of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD), a chronic condition in which repeated trauma exposure causes social disconnection, feelings of worthlessness, and an inability to regulate emotions.

Complex PTSD often leads to 'burnout' and substance abuse. In fact, 90% of police workers in the original survey study ̽��ֱ��Job, ̽��ֱ��Life had experienced trauma, and one in five of these reported symptoms of either PTSD or C-PTSD.

Now, the same team of researchers have analysed survey data provided by 12,248 serving police officers to determine the working conditions and on-the-job situations with the strongest links to Complex PTSD. ̽��ֱ��latest findings are published in the journal Policing.

Trauma detailed by officers with probable levels of Complex PTSD based on the survey screening included dealing with fatal car accidents, rapes, homicides, suicides – including of children – and drug overdoses.

Exposure to physical violence made little difference to rates of C-PTSD, nor did long working hours.

However, officers who described it as “very difficult” to take time away from the job for personal or family matters had C-PTSD rates over 50% higher than the UK-wide average for police.

Those who described their relationship between work and personal life as “not fitting well at all”, some 15% of police officers in the study, had twice (24%) the average policing rates of C-PTSD.

One officer suffering with probable C-PTSD described how what you see “impacts on your life outside of work”, offering the example of cases involving dead children that “make you anxious about your own children's wellbeing. To a degree you lose your innocence.”

Another C-PTSD sufferer said “it is a given and accepted” that the job means exposure to trauma, and describes the occupational health team in their force as “brilliant” but few in number. “They are only able to put 'sticky plasters' on, and send the officers back out,” the officer said.

Police officers who described never having enough time to “get the job done” had almost double the rates of C-PTSD as the average across UK forces, 22% compared to 12%, as did officers who reported experiencing sexual harassment – whether from the public or colleagues.

Officers who said they could never rely on the help and support of colleagues were most likely to suffer with Complex PTSD, with over 43% displaying symptoms, but such claims were relatively rare.

One detective with C-PTSD symptoms recounted dealing with sexual abuse cases as the sole investigating officer. “Little or no support from management. Victims hanging all their hopes and pressures on me.”

By contrast, C-PTSD rates were just 7% among those who said they could always rely on colleagues, and just 6% among those who say they regularly get a feeling of a job well done, with researchers claiming that a sense of meaningful work may provide a 'protective effect' mentally.

“Our research shows that the debilitating psychological misery often caused by trauma exposure isn’t an inevitable part of the difficult job of policing, it is exacerbated by poor working conditions,” said Prof Brendan Burchell, lead author from Cambridge’s Department of Sociology.

̽��ֱ��team also conducted analyses beyond individual officers to compare forces, revealing a strong link between “wor' intensity' – those forces with more officers reporting a lack of time to effectively police – and increased rates of Complex PTSD.

Of 18 anonymised UK police forces, the one with the highest reported time constraints among officers had C-PTSD rates of 29%, well over double the average for the overall policing population.

“Severe austerity cuts since 2010 leading to a marked reduction in police numbers without a decrease in the demands of the job inevitably creates more time pressure for remaining officers,” said Burchell.

“Single-crewing, shift work and fewer resources mean that time for encouraging words between colleagues or space for officers to acknowledge their traumatic experiences are few and far between.”

One officer with probable C-PTSD described being “single crewed” at a rural location for a year, with nearest support almost an hour away. Another spoke of going from a shift team of five to working alone. “My coping strategy of being around colleagues who had been to the same fatal accident or suicide was taken away from me.”

Cambridge co-author Dr Jessica Miller, who is also director of research for Police Care UK, the charity that funded the research, added: “ ̽��ֱ��police forces reporting the best working conditions had much lower rates of PTSD. Modest investments to improve their working conditions could see significant reductions in psychological problems among police officers.”

Nationwide study of over 12,000 officers suggests rates of trauma-induced disorder Complex PTSD are exacerbated by factors such as too little time and support, and lack of say over working hours.

̽��ֱ��debilitating psychological misery often caused by trauma exposure isn’t an inevitable part of the difficult job of policing

Brendan Burchell

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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Sociology student’s essay wins the Bridgetower Prize

cg605 — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 13:06:10 +0000

There is a room at Trinity Hall which is like many other rooms at Colleges across Cambridge. It is oak panelled, and has a view looking out over a manicured courtyard. It’s named after George Bridgetower and there is a portrait of the musical prodigy on the wall.