Category: English

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Andrew Filmer, Senior Lecturer in Theatre and Performance, Aberystwyth University

The relaunching of Glasgow’s famous Citizens Theatre – known locally as the “Citz” – marks the end of a significant seven-year redevelopment project that has seen the people of the city go without a cherished cultural landmark. It also highlights wider trends in how historic theatres are being redeveloped to make them more accessible, socially connected and sustainable while also preserving their heritage.

Extensive work has been done to improve almost all areas of the theatre, from foyer spaces and audience access, to sightlines in the auditorium and technical facilities. The redevelopment makes a feature of the Citizens’ history by revealing previously hidden sandstone walls in the foyer, and restoring its beloved statues of William Shakespeare, Robert Burns and assorted Greek goddesses to their position above the front entrance.

Opened in 1878 as the Royal Princess’s Theatre, the building has been the home of the Citizens Theatre Company since 1945, known for its bold stage productions, its youth and community theatre and participatory arts programmes.

Like many theatres, the Citizens has been continuously adapted over its 147-year history. In 1977 its neoclassical facade was removed following an earlier fire, and in 1989 a new foyer space and studio theatre were added. The current redevelopment, which began in 2018, was undertaken to ensure the building continues to serve the needs of the company and its community in the working-class Gorbals area, south of the river Clyde.

Connection, accessibility, sustainability

The redevelopment and restoration of older theatres such as the Citizens has become important as their social value and anchoring presence in towns and cities has been recognised. And of course it makes better sense environmentally and economically to reimagine and modernise old buildings than construct new ones.

Recent trends in redevelopments such as the Citizens provide insights into our shifting cultural values. Theatres are being renovated and redeveloped to make them more accessible and inclusive, more energy efficient and more flexible, while also keeping their history and heritage at the heart of the project.

Accessibility is a key feature of the redeveloped Citizens, reflecting the importance of the theatre as a place for social connection, community and inclusion. Attention has been focused on connecting the theatre to its urban environment, and improving the physical accessibility of audience spaces through step-free entrances, better circulation and lifts. Audiences will also be able to glimpse views of backstage activities.

Theatres increasingly serve an expanded social role with cafes, bars and spaces for exhibitions, not to mention education and participation programmes. Redesigned foyers signal this spatially, reinvented as public spaces. The Bristol Old Vic, which reopened in 2021, has a substantial new foyer which connects the existing theatre to the street, serves as a social space and can house events and performances.

Energy efficiency measures and lower carbon emissions are another factor in recent redevelopments, reflecting the need to address the climate emergency. According to a 2008 report by the Greater London Authority, around 80% of carbon emissions produced by London’s theatres come from building operation. Lowering energy consumption through energy efficiency measures like insulation, passive ventilation, and lighting controls are increasingly common.

Even relatively modern civic theatres from the late 20th century are hugely inefficient compared with contemporary standards and technologies. Theatr Clwyd in Mold, first opened in 1976 and recently refurbished, has replaced gas heating with air-source heat pumps, solar panels and natural ventilation. The renovated theatre now has “green” walls and roofs and has avoided significant use of concrete in favour of more sustainable materials.

Another feature in redeveloping older theatres is the need to design in flexibility so venues can house multiple types of events and also be adaptable for new art forms and technologies. Regular schedules for maintenance and the gradual upgrade of electrical and mechanical systems are being introduced to avoid less frequent, and more costly, redevelopments.

In July 2022 the Sydney Opera House completed a ten-year renewal programme which has seen significant upgrade of its concert hall. New features including movable wooden acoustic panels, automated systems to change the stage level and sound dampening drapes enable it to better accommodate different musical performances and events.

Theatres play an important role in the social and cultural life of towns and cities. The mix of old and new features in the redeveloped Citizens’ Theatre is a final important aspect which is common to all redevelopment projects. Theatres anchor communities, serving as places of memory and sites for the stories which connect us to each other, to the past and to our possible futures.

The reopening of Glasgow’s most famous theatre reflects how we value accessibility, social connection and sustainability. Theatres are never just performance spaces, but rather places which support our shared cultural life. The decisions we are making in their renewal today reveal a positive vision of the cultural life we want to sustain in the years ahead.

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Andrew Filmer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre reopens: what its seven-year transformation reveals about the future of historic venues – https://theconversation.com/glasgows-citizens-theatre-reopens-what-its-seven-year-transformation-reveals-about-the-future-of-historic-venues-263688

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Graham J Dwyer, Associate Professor of Social Innovation, Trinity College Dublin

The island of Ireland has a moderate climate, with few temperature extremes. Its temperature record is still “only” 33°C – almost every other country has been hotter at some point.

But even somewhere with a relatively pleasant and cool climate isn’t immune to the risks of climate change. Recent severe storms like Floris, Bert, Darragh and Eowyn have brought strong winds, more intense floods and a greater risk of blackouts and eroded coastlines.

It’s too soon to definitively link this extreme weather to climate change, but computer models that simulate the climate decades into the future predict stronger storms and more floods. We are already noticing extreme weather happening at unexpected times of year. The sea level is rising and coastlines are eroding at an alarming rate.

Ireland’s position on the edge of the Atlantic – the very reason for its mild climate – makes it especially vulnerable. Those recent severe storms remind us that climate change is a serious threat to wellbeing and, in the longer-term, survival of human life as we know it.

Environmental threats are economic threats

Around 40% of the Irish population lives within a few miles of the coast. That’s where the ports, airports and other infrastructure Ireland’s small open economy depends on are concentrated. Key industries like tourism, fisheries and aquaculture are particularly exposed to disruption.

Higher seas and stronger storms are particularly economic and social threats, not just environmental threats. As coastal populations grow, risks to homes, businesses and infrastructure will only escalate.

A government opinion tracking initiative has indicated there is no shortage of climate change awareness in Ireland. But awareness alone has not translated into urgent action. Too often, the conversation around climate change gets stuck on the reliability of electric vehicles or whether wind turbines spoil the view. Such debates miss the point and risk fuelling climate scepticism.

Recognising our human selves as the chief perpetrator of climate change is the first step towards real behavioural change. This means moving away from a linear economy of extraction and waste, towards a circular one based on reusing, repurposing and recycling resources wherever possible.

Building resilience

Scientists have an invaluable role to play here. Given the relatively recent recognition that a climate-driven increase in extreme weather is a serious hazard, Ireland now needs a foundation of relevant evidence to ensure it makes the right decisions about living with and adapting to climate change. This must include robust modelling and predictions about what is in store, particularly around storms and rising seas.

Policymakers must translate this into clear strategies for coping with the risk of flooding – from flood defences and storm-resistant infrastructure to better water management during periods of alternating droughts and downpours.

There is some good news, as some communities are showing resilience in action. For instance, a community initiative called the Maharees Conservation Association is leveraging local knowledge to protect the northern peninsula of Dingle in Kerry – one of the first places Atlantic storms slam into. The area is implementing a coastal erosion management plan and the Dingle Hub, a non-profit community enterprise, is working to turn the region into a low carbon society. Also, social entrepreneurs are not only contributing to lower carbon emissions but they are also educating, facilitating and supporting communities in tackling climate change.

The Irish government too has made a statutory commitment to achieve a “climate-neutral” and climate-resilient economy by 2050: a crucial step in a country with one of the larger carbon footprints in the world. Meanwhile local authorities are leading campaigns on circular economies, energy use, and are establishing climate action regional offices to focus on climate change.

Ireland cannot hold back the seas or calm the storms. But it can decide how to respond – through stronger science, smarter policy and, above all, collective responsibility.

As sea levels rise, storms surge and flooding increases there is a need for us all to find ways of being part of climate solutions rather than merely being part of the problem.

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Graham J Dwyer is Co-Director, Trinity Centre for Social Innovation. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is affiliated with the University of Melbourne.

Karen Helen Wiltshire is Professor of Climate Sciences and receives funding from Trinity College Dublin (TCD). She holds the TCD-CRH Chair of Climate Science. She is affiliated with the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Science and the University of Kiel in Germany. She is the Chief Author in the UNEP GEO 07. Chapter 5 Oceans and Coasts.

– ref. Why Ireland’s mild temperatures won’t protect it from the climate crisis – https://theconversation.com/why-irelands-mild-temperatures-wont-protect-it-from-the-climate-crisis-259070

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Shelley Brady, Postdoctoral Researcher in Animal Behaviour, Assistive Technology and Epilepsy, Dublin City University

How is an animal feeling at a given moment? Humans have long recognised certain well-known behaviour like a cat hissing as a warning, but in many cases we’ve had little clue of what’s going on inside an animal’s head.

Now we have a better idea, thanks to a Milan-based researcher who has developed an AI model that he claims can detect whether their calls express positive or negative emotions. Stavros Ntalampiras’s deep-learning model, which was published in Scientific Reports, can recognise emotional tones across seven species of hoofed animals, including pigs, goats and cows. The model picks up on shared features of their calls, such as pitch, frequency range and tonal quality.

The analysis showed that negative calls tended to be more mid to high frequency, while positive calls were spread more evenly across the spectrum. In pigs, high-pitched calls were especially informative, whereas in sheep and horses the mid-range carried more weight, a sign that animals share some common markers of emotion but also express them in ways that vary by species.

For scientists who have long tried to untangle animal signals, this discovery of emotional traits across species is the latest leap forward in a field that is being transformed by AI.

The implications are far-reaching. Farmers could receive earlier warnings of livestock stress, conservationists might monitor the emotional health of wild populations remotely, and zookeepers could respond more quickly to subtle welfare changes.

This potential for a new layer of insight into the animal world also raises ethical questions. If an algorithm can reliably detect when an animal is in distress, what responsibility do humans have to act? And how do we guard against over-generalisation, where we assume that all signs of arousal mean the same thing in every species?

Of barks and buzzes

Tools like the one devised by Ntalampiras are not being trained to “translate” animals in a human sense, but to detect behavioural and acoustic patterns too subtle for us to perceive unaided.

Similar work is underway with whales, where New York-based research organisation Project Ceti (the Cetacean Translation Initiative) is analysing patterned click sequences called codas. Long believed to encode social meaning, these are now being mapped at scale using machine learning, revealing patterns that may correspond to each whale’s identity, affiliation or emotional state.

In dogs, researchers are linking facial expressions, vocalisations and tail-wagging patterns with emotional states. One study showed that subtle shifts in canine facial muscles correspond to fear or excitement. Another found that tail-wag direction varies depending on whether a dog encounters a familiar friend or a potential threat.

At Dublin City University’s Insight Centre for Data Analytics, we are developing a detection collar worn by assistance dogs which are trained to recognise the onset of a seizure in people who suffer from epilepsy. The collar uses sensors to pick up on a dog’s trained behaviours, such as spinning, which raise the alarm that their owner is about to have a seizure.

The project, funded by Research Ireland, strives to demonstrate how AI can leverage animal communication to improve safety, support timely intervention, and enhance quality of life. In future we aim to train the model to recognise instinctive dog behaviours such as pawing, nudging or barking.

Honeybees, too, are under AI’s lens. Their intricate waggle dances – figure-of-eight movements that indicate food sources – are being decoded in real time with computer vision. These models highlight how small positional shifts influence how well other bees interpret the message.

Caveats

These systems promise real gains in animal welfare and safety. A collar that senses the first signs of stress in a working dog could spare it from exhaustion. A dairy herd monitored by vision-based AI might get treatment for illness hours or days sooner than a farmer would notice.

Detecting a cry of distress is not the same as understanding what it means, however. AI can show that two whale codas often occur together, or that a pig’s squeal shares features with a goat’s bleat. The Milan study goes further by classifying such calls as broadly positive or negative, but even this remains using pattern recognition to try to decode emotions.

Emotional classifiers risk flattening rich behaviours into crude binaries of happy/sad or calm/stressed, such as logging a dog’s tail wag as “consent” when it can sometimes signal stress. As Ntalampiras notes in his study, pattern recognition is not the same as understanding.

One solution is for researchers to develop models that integrate vocal data with visual cues, such as posture or facial expression, and even physiological signals such as heart rate, to build more reliable indicators of how animals are feeling. AI models are also going to be most reliable when interpreted in context, alongside the knowledge of someone experienced with the species.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that the ecological price of listening is high. Using AI adds carbon costs that, in fragile ecosystems, undercut the very conservation goals they claim to serve. It’s therefore important that any technologies genuinely serve animal welfare, rather than simply satisfying human curiosity.

Whether we welcome it or not, AI is here. Machines are now decoding signals that evolution honed long before us, and will continue to get better at it.

The real test, though, is not how well we listen, but what we’re prepared to do with what we hear. If we burn energy decoding animal signals but only use the information to exploit them, or manage them more tightly, it’s not science that falls short – it’s us.

Shelley Brady does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Can AI teach us how animals think? – https://theconversation.com/can-ai-teach-us-how-animals-think-263545

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rose Marroncelli, Lecturer, Nottingham Trent University

During the 2000s and 2010s, Topshop was a fashion powerhouse – an icon of the British high street. A combination of music, make-up and the latest fashions allowed the retailer to thrive in popularity. And high profile celebrity collaborations with model Kate Moss and singer Beyoncé also raised Topshop’s profile in a crowded retail market.

The retailer was renowned for being “cool”, fostering design collaborations with up-and-coming designers, including JW Anderson, Marques’ Almedia and Christopher Kane. The models which fronted campaigns were also “it girls”, such as models Lily Cole and Cara Delevinge and actor Kate Bosworth.

The brand’s success, however, did not prove sustainable. In 2020, its owner, the Arcadia group, entered administration and all physical stores closed shortly thereafter. The brand’s reputation was further damaged by allegations of financial mishandling surrounding its owner, Sir Philip Green. Green was also accused of poor treatment towards Arcadia staff, but has always denied any unlawful behaviour.

The online retailer, Asos, acquired Topshop in 2021 and continued to sell its clothes online. However, in 2024, Asos sold a 75% stake of the Topshop brand, in order to repay debts. The majority is now owned by Danish company, Bestseller.

Changing consumer shopping habits, predominantly the rise in online shopping, contributed to Topshop’s downfall. But Topshop was not the only high street retailer that struggled to keep up in the digital age. In recent years, Debenhams, Ted Baker and in mid-August Claire’s have all gone into administration. House of Fraser has also announced multiple store closures. With an ever increasing number of empty units on the high street, the news that Topshop is planning a return, with physical stores, may come as a surprise to some.

Topshop’s relaunch

In August, Topshop returned to the runway with its first catwalk show for seven years, in Trafalgar Square. The show was deemed a success, and “the comeback show of the year”, according to critics including Rolling Stone. Demonstrating the brand’s ability to embrace the digital era, a “see-now, buy-now” approach let audiences shop for pieces instantly. The catwalk show set the backdrop for the relaunch, and Michelle Wilson, managing director of Topshop and Topman, then confirmed to BBC News that standalone stores would be returning to the high street.

Can this high street plan be a success? The same struggles exist as they did when Topshop closed all physical stores in 2020. High rents and running costs remain a challenge, and the popularity of online shopping continues to grow.

Online brands such as Temu and Shein offer the latest styles at low prices. This is known as “ultra-fast fashion”, and appeals to younger consumers.

However, research has suggested that gen-Z are becoming sensitive to the issue of unsustainable production practices, which are widely reported at both brands. It may be the case that in an increasingly digital world, there remains a need for physical retail spaces, where consumers can touch garments and interact with their peers.

Global market research firm, Mintel, notes how successful retail spaces are evolving to provide more than just products; this is known as experiential retail. This includes creating spaces for socialising, learning and community events. Gymshark is an example of an online active-wear brand that followed these retail recommendations when opening its flagship store in Regent Street, London, in 2023. In addition to garments, the Regent Street store offers gym classes, running clubs and personal training sessions..

Can Topshop create a new physical space which consumers will want to pay repeat visits? The original consumer base from the 2000s and 2010s have now grown up, and are in a different life phase. However, research has shown that consumers can display strong emotional connections with retro brands, which may work for Topshop.

A successful return to the high street will hinge on its ability to balance nostalgia with innovation. Reviving emotional connections with its original audience while resonating with gen-Z will be crucial. If the brand can combine the latest fashions with sustainability, experiential retail and digital integration, it does have the potential to thrive once more.

Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

Rose Marroncelli does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Topshop’s return to the high street must appeal to gen-Z to succeed – https://theconversation.com/topshops-return-to-the-high-street-must-appeal-to-gen-z-to-succeed-263567

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kyoko Murakami, Lecturer in psychology, University of Westminster, London, University of Westminster

To mark 80 years since the end of the second world war, a group of ten Japanese people whose fathers and grandfathers once fought against the British travelled to the UK to mark victory over Japan day (VJ day). The story of their ancestors is one that is often forgotten. These men fought during the Burma campaign between 1942 and 1945 – one of the most brutal but often overlooked episodes of the war.

The Burma Campaign Society’s (BCS) Japan branch hope to shed light on this episode by fusing personal memory with national histories. Their efforts are not only about remembering Japan’s past, but also about confronting the complex legacy of their families’ roles in it.

The Burma campaign was a gruelling battle between the Japanese imperial army and Allied forces, predominantly British, Indian, Chinese and American troops. Fought in then Burma, now Myanmar, it was marked by some of the toughest conditions of the war, fighting through disease-ridden jungles, during torrential monsoons across near-impossible terrain. For the men who fought there, it was a struggle for survival in one of the most hostile battlefields of the war.

On Friday August 15, the BCS group attended the national commemorative ceremony, Remembering VJ Day 80 Years On, at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. The group, aged from 12 to 78, paid their respects and forged connections with surviving British veterans and descendants of the fallen in Burma. Their work is personal: each member can trace their lineage to soldiers who served, and in some cases died, in Burma. The purpose of their visit is to extend to the UK their work of “irei” – a Japanese word which means to console the spirits of the fallen; to pray for the repose of their souls for those who made the ultimate sacrifice in war.

Two years ago, BCS members held “irei-sai”, memorial services, in Tokyo and other locations in Japan, inviting British veterans and family members to join with Japanese and dignitaries from former allied countries.

In the special VJ Day 80th anniversary ceremony this year, BCS members prayed on British soil for the repose of the souls of the victims. They did so at the memorials and monuments including the Burma memorial, Chindit memorial and Thai Burma railway memorial.

Participating in the VJ Day ceremony was emotional for all concerned. BCS members were initially apprehensive about attending the historic ceremony as citizens of the former foe. They did not know what to expect or how the British would treat them.

Takuya Imasato (47) said he wanted his child to experience how the war is interpreted and commemorated in Britain. He commented that: “I did not feel any bitterness or animosities toward us.”

Another of the Japanese descendants at the ceremony, Hiroaki Fujimori (64), said some of the British people there approached him and shook hands, hugged him or even kissed him on the cheek: “I felt an overwhelming send of welcome and kindness.”

Colonel Yoshiaki Himeda (56), of the Japanese Self Defence Force, said the ceremony was quite different from what he was used to in Japan: “I was so surprised to experience a ceremony that was inclusive, acknowledging the diversity of Britain.” He continued, “It is as if a symbolic wall of the foe or friend quickly dissolved when I, in JDF uniform, saluted the military personnel and veterans in uniforms or with medals. There was more of a silent recognition, we were both children of men who endured something terrible.”

The chairperson of BCS, Akiko Macdonald (74), who lives in the UK, said she was delighted with how the visit went. “Until now, I felt like I was alone, leading the society’s work of irei in the UK with the UK Burma veterans. My father survived, but in his post-war years, he suffered from the survivor’s guilt and PTSD like those who repatriated to Japan. In postwar Japan, if one returns home alive, he is not a war hero and is made to feel ashamed.”

Intercultural dialogue

Many BCS members grew up with fragmented stories, often whispered about, but rarely discussed openly in postwar Japan. Wartime service, especially in campaigns marked by atrocities, was long treated with silence. Families often avoided the topic, torn between pride in their relatives’ endurance and discomfort over Japan’s imperial ambitions.

Showing me a photograph of her father, who, in his later years, trained to be a Burmese Buddhist monk, Yoshiko Fujiwara (70) reflected on the meaning of her irei work. She told me: “I accompanied my father, who worked tirelessly to achieve reconciliation and the reconstruction of Myanmar, helped build memorials and kept a detailed record of my father’s involvement in the battles. I felt duty-bound to succeed in his legacy of irei and to share the facts and personal memories.”

“We cannot change what happened, but we can listen, remember, and share. If my father fought in the atrocious conditions of Burma, perhaps our task is to fight against forgetting and to pay respect to those sacrificed for us,” Fujiwara explained. She told me his loss was huge for her family and that they knew little about what he experienced during his campaign. “Now, as his descendants, we feel it is our duty to tell the story – not to glorify, nor to be ashamed, but to understand and have dialogues.”

Bob White, the curator of the Kohima Museum in York told me how Burma is rarely mentioned in history books, which tend to focus on larger battles in the pacific. “My father, a British Burma veteran, spoke very little about his own experience in Burma. What makes these descendants’ work so valuable is that they bring in personal testimony – letters, diaries, memories passed down – that humanise an otherwise forgotten front,” he explained.

BCS’s irei journey remains committed to its mission. Yoshihiro Sekiba (75), whose father fought as an army doctor in Burma, wants to set up a scheme for a UK-Japan student exchange. BCS chair Akiko Macdonald is hoping to build on this historic attendance at the VJ Day commemoration in the UK, creating an archival learning centre in Japan that will allow descendants worldwide to upload family documents and testimonies related to the campaign. The aim is to make the Burma Campaign not just a footnote in history books, but a living, shared memory.

As the world marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, the voices of descendants of those who fought are reminders that conflict echoes across generations. It’s not distant history, but exists as stories that continue to shape identity, reconciliation, and the fragile pursuit of peace.

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Kyoko Murakami, PhD works for the University of Westminster. She is affiliated with the Burma Campaign Society.

– ref. Remembering the second world war’s Burma campaign with the descendants of Japanese fighters on the 80th anniversary of VJ day – https://theconversation.com/remembering-the-second-world-wars-burma-campaign-with-the-descendants-of-japanese-fighters-on-the-80th-anniversary-of-vj-day-263699