This article provides a critical overview of word and music studies, or musico-literary studies, in Wales. This field of study investigates the relationship between literature and music in its various forms. The scope of this article encompasses critical works published in the second half of the twentieth century in Welsh and aims to discuss the main ideas and works of significance or influence, whilst recognising that it is not possible to refer to each individual publication in a single overview. The field of study in Wales is placed in a critical context with an overview of the main points of interest in the wider discipline, and the article also identifies areas for further research in the field in Welsh.

The aim of this research was to gain insight into the potential risks associated with sport students’ gambling habits. There are a number of common risks associated with gambling, but sport students are subject to additional risks because they play in games that are part of the betting market and they must therefore comply with gambling integrity rules. Using focus groups with male and female rugby and football players we found that gambling was common. We also found that there was a lack of awareness and understanding about how gambling problems might arise. We also found that there was a laissez-faire approach to the gambling integrity rules.

A review of the process of accumulating a positron (antielectron) plasma is presented. Positron sources and techniques to moderate, accumulate and characterise positrons are described, with examples of data collected using the positron beamline at Swansea University. Motivation is given for studying antimatter to explain the composition of the universe, in addition to some historical context. The use of positrons beyond research in fundamental physics is also discussed.

A statistical methodology is presented to model extreme values from non-stationary environmental processes. The methodology is based on a generalized Pareto model for peaks over threshold of the environmental process combined with a Voronoi representation for the variation of extreme value model parameters with multi-dimensional covariates. Bayesian inference using reversible-jump MCMC, incorporating Metropolis-Hastings within Gibbs sampling, is used to estimate the joint posterior distribution of all parameters of the Voronoi representation. The methodology is applied to characterise extreme ocean storm severity with direction and season. The fitted model is validated by comparing the characteristics of data simulated under the model with those of the original sample data. Further, the model is used to estimate the distribution of maxima of peaks over threshold corresponding to return periods much longer than the period of the original data.

Bovine TB (bTB) is one of the main animal health and welfare challenges in Wales and was responsible for the slaughter of 10,974 cattle in Wales between June 2019 and May 2020 (DEFRA, 2020). It is estimated that the disease costs the taxpayer £15 million annually in Wales alone, which includes veterinary costs, compensation to farmers, administrative costs, etc. Furthermore, dealing with the disease has an effect on the mental health of those involved. The link between wildlife and bTB is an obvious one that fuels much debate, but what about the role that the environment plays in nurturing and spreading this disease? There are scientists who have already explored this question by successfully demonstrating at laboratory level that the conditions present in the cow’s environment are favourable for M. bovis. Despite this, research at farm level remains scarce, especially in areas that suffer from chronic cases of bTB. The purpose of this literature review is to summarise the current situation in Wales, and the state of our knowledge regarding environmental bTB.

This article considers the development of Welsh fiction in the 1930s by examining various ideas concerning the nature of realism. Reading the correspondence between Saunders Lewis and Kate Roberts is a means of analysing the ways in which the two authors perceived the essentials of a realist aesthetics. Saunders Lewis’s reaction to the first draft of the novel Traed mewn Cyffion (‘Feet in Chains’) is discussed along with Kate Roberts’s suggestion made while defending the work that ‘pain and monotony’ are relevant in the 1930s and valid literary themes. It is suggested that Kate’s appeal to the work of the Irish novelist Peadar O’Donnell is important in order to understand her aesthetics. The relationship between Traed mewn Cyffion and one of O’Donnell’s novels, Islanders, is then examined.
 

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) rates in classrooms have increased in recent years. Literature has acknowledged the significance of teachers’ attitudes towards ADHD when making referral and intervention decisions (Anderson et al., 2012) and how teachers’ attitudes affect pupil behaviours and outcomes (Rush and Harrison 2008). Teachers need to provide support for these children, yet they often feel ambivalent towards ADHD due to a lack of sufficient knowledge (Alkahtani 2013), conflicting information surrounding the disorder (Dryer, Kiernan a Tyson 2013), different cultural expectations (Moon 2012) and educational systems (Timimi and Radcliffe 2005). This paper provides a review of the literature regarding teacher attitudes towards ADHD, explores limitations in the current literature and the concerns surrounding the measurement of teachers’ attitudes towards ADHD. The paper ends with recommendations for the future.

This study considers how the Roman Catholic Church and the broader Catholic community interacts with the European Union (EU). It outlines the organisational form of the most active Catholic bodies, and sets out how they engage with EU policy processes. The empirical analysis draws on original interviews carried out with practitioners. It demonstrates that the relationship between the Catholic community and the EU operates on three levels – on the diplomatic level, on a partly formalised institutional level and on an informal level – and that an appreciation of all three levels is necessary in order to understand how the Catholic community operates in Brussels. Three sets of consequences are presented and these develop understanding of the role of religion in contemporary governance.

This article explores the reasons for the low number of learners studying through the medium of Welsh and bilingually in the Further Education sector, focusing on vocational learners. It suggests recommendations to improve the situation in the context of the Welsh Government’s target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050. The research is based on semi- structured interviews with staff in schools and Further Education colleges, and on focus groups with Year 11 pupils, in four areas across Wales. The study found that economic, cultural and educational factors influence learners’ choices. The article proposes a language awareness programme as a means of expanding the discourse of Welsh as an instrument of employability and the discourse of the advantages of bilingualism to encompass social advantages.

This article discusses questions that arose during the writing of Gwlad yr Asyn (Donkeyland), a stage play that takes the form of a monologue. The play was written as a Welsh, anti-imperialist response to Shakespeare’s canonical text, The Tempest. The article considers how the tradition of Shakespearian counter-discourse playwriting from a Welsh perspective is generally lacking in Wales, before focusing on the question of what should characterize a Welsh postcolonial play. It is argued that it should convey a ‘double vision’, a perspective which acknowledges that Wales inhabits a legacy of both colonized and colonizer.

Gwerddon Fach publishes short academic articles to give a wide audience a taste of the latest research by leading academics from Wales and beyond

As well as publishing popular versions of longer articles that are published in Gwerddon's own e-journal, people are welcome to contribute short articles of around 600 - 1,000 words about any research that interests a wider audience - whether it's a report on their own and their colleagues' latest research, a response to major discoveries, public policy and current affairs or discussions, a report on the proceedings of an academic conference, or a simple introduction to complex research topics.

If you are interested in contributing an article, please download the guide (see below) and contact Dr Hywel Griffiths, Assistant Editor Gwerddon: hmg@aber.ac.uk.

Website: https://golwg.360.cymru/gwerddon

Gwerddon is a Welsh-medium academic e-journal which publishes research in the Arts, the Humanities and the Sciences twice a year and which conforms to the academic guidelines of the Research Excellence Framework 2014. 

The journal has two main aims, which are to stimulate and encourage first-class academic discussion across as wide a range of subjects as possible through the medium of Welsh and thereby to create a store of scholarly material for the use of research students and academics. Gwerddon is funded by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol.

Website: http://gwerddon.cymru