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“I was not broken when I joined, I was when I left”: Experiences of powerlessness among women veterans
Get PDFOnce military service is complete, personnel embark on a long metaphorical journey back to civilian life. This transition can be particularly complex for women. Armed forces across the world are currently working to make the military more inclusive for women and to support them in transition and resettlement. However, culture change in the armed forces is not just about policy, it is also about personal experience. This study recruited eight women military service leavers who are registered at a UK charity that provides support for women veterans who are struggling to adjust to civilian life. Interviews and focus groups were conducted and analysed using Thematic Analysis. The analysis explored women’s experiences of powerlessness. Two overarching themes capture the complexity of participants’ accounts. The first theme, Stress in Service, highlights how limited self-governance, an endemic culture of bullying and having nowhere to turn for emotional support converged as sources of stress and exacerbated feelings of powerlessness during participants’ time in the military. The second theme, Long Term Impact of Military Service, captures participants’ understandings of their identity transformations, impact on employment opportunities and their ongoing concerns regarding uninformed medical consent. The analysis shows how rather than an inherent trait possessed by individuals, powerlessness occurs in response to adversity and that responses are differentially shaped by gendered status within the context of the military. The study highlights the need for high-quality women-centric transition services that are aimed to support women and that appreciate the gendered complexities of military life and beyond
Editorial Introduction. The possibilities and limits of dialogue in a world of political populisms: a positional editorial reflection
No full textOn this occasion, this editorial article is a substantive and positional one in relation to the overall theme of this special edition of The Journal of Dialogue Studies which explores and engages with the possibilities and limits of dialogue in a world in which there would appear to be a rising tide of political populisms that have been challenging existing political norms, institutions, and processes.
The movements associated with such populisms have often been led by ‘charismatic’ leaders who make an appeal to ‘ordinary people’ over and against ‘the establishment’, in the process of which they employ contentious and polarising rhetoric which brings serious challenges to social cohesion, civility, and truth in public life.
In pursuing its overall argument, as well as briefly introducing each of the "Articles in This Special Issue", the article has sections which discuss: "Wedge Issues: Economic Distress and Culture Wars"; "Populist Waves of the Age and Some Turning of the Tides?"; Political Visioning, Populist Perspectives, and Progressive Politics".
It concludes that that dialogical engagement informed by intellectual clarity, political incisiveness, and practical wisdom is needed, especially if those populism(s) that are strongly informed by exclusionary approaches to certain groups within a society are actively to be challenged rather than to be indulged in the likely misleading hope that they will simply disappear on their own.
But in recognising and advocating for such possibilities, it also argues that it may be important to differentiate between the attempt – and arguably also the imperative – dialogically to engage with individuals who may have sympathy for or be members of organisations and parties that employ right-wing
populist tropes (and may do so out of a range of experiences, motivations and decisions), and the question of whether, in the public sphere, there are limits to such dialogical engagement and therefore that, while dialogue is likely to be of central importance for the ability of societies to be able to operate in an inclusive and therefore properly democratic way, dialogue is also unlikely to be completely and always sufficient and that, therefore, the defence and preservation of the foundational possibilities of a democratically dialogical inclusive society might, in the public sphere, make it appropriate or even necessary, if not also an imperative, to recognise the limits of dialogue and to adopt a more ‘distanced’ form of engagement as opposition to such organisations and parties.
And, finally, it concludes that at in at least some circumstances, it might also seem necessary through the rule of law also to place constraints upon their activities, but always within a context in which those so constrained are able, in principle and in practice, to contest such constraints through the reconsideration of relevant evidence in the context of democratically inclusive legal processes
Journalism and ethical praxis: A thematic analysis of journalism ethics across five European countries
Get PDFThe importance of high quality, ethically sound journalism in sustaining a healthy democratic and deliberative public sphere is well established. However, recent trends suggesting a lack of public trust in journalism (Fink, 2019; OECD, 2024) coupled with a range of online challenges to ethically sourced news warrant a closer look at the role that journalism ethics play in the working lives of journalists. This paper provides a thematic analysis of twenty-seven interviews with journalists in five European countries ranked consistently at the top of media freedom rankings, to explore the role of ethical frameworks and codes in their day-to-day practice. Overall, though ethical frameworks appear to play a role in the background in terms of shaping ethical behaviour, our interviewees signal that they are highly valued in terms of guiding their decisions and enhancing their brand (Hanitzsch et al, 2013; Fengler et al, 2015). However, our research also highlights that there is concern about the wider communication environment and declining public trust. We suggest that this is a problem that journalism ethics bodies should address urgently given the widespread penetration of disinformation and misinformation within the news ecology and the concomitant erosion of public faith in mainstream news. The paper concludes by suggesting ways that this might be achieved
Synergistic solar-powered water-electricity generation using a 3D-printed heatsink-like device
Get PDFThe application of solar energy for both power generation and water production is widely regarded as a promising solution for addressing global shortages in electricity and water resources. Solar-driven interfacial evaporation, with its controllable thermal conversion process, has emerged as an ideal platform for simultaneously producing water and energy. Herein, we present an efficient hybrid system for freshwater and thermoelectricity generation, featuring a thermoelectric generator (TEG) embedded in a heatsink-like monolithic nanocellulose aerogel steam generator (SG) constructed via 3D printing. The strategy of cold evaporation cooling (CEC) optimizes the use of waste heat from hybrid modules and environmental energy, while simultaneously minimizing heat conduction losses. This is achieved by improving the energy exchange between the photothermal evaporation module and the thermoelectric generation module, as well as between the cold evaporation surface and the surrounding environment. Consequently, the CEC-induced hybrid system obtains a maximum power density of 0.19 W m−2 and an outstanding water evaporation rate of 2.65 kg m−2 h−1 under 1 sun (AM 1.5G) illumination, which are 365% and 203% higher than those of devices without the CEC effect. The synergistic enhancement of solar-driven evaporation and thermoelectricity sheds light on the development of more efficient and customized solar thermal applications
Opportunities for leadership development in radiography, a scoping review
Get PDFIntroduction
The last decade has seen healthcare experience an exponential growth in terms of technological advancements and patients requiring diagnosis and treatment. Effective leadership is seen as being key in the transformation of services and improvements in patient outcomes. The aim of this scoping review was to identify and evaluate where leadership opportunities exist for the radiographic workforce and how these are supported, valued and actioned.
Method
A systematic search of relevant databases was undertaken. Inclusion criteria included literature from the last twenty years, both diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers, primary and secondary research as well as grey literature. Specific areas discussing leadership opportunities for radiographers were identified and arranged into relevant themes.
Results
Leadership development for radiographers has largely been aligned to clinical roles at the higher levels of practice, or around supporting and empowering students. Confusion between management and leadership is apparent as is the impact of leaders within radiography. Expectations around leadership capabilities are clear at advanced and consultant levels of practice but outside this remit, there has been minimal research undertaken that focuses on specific leadership development opportunities.
Conclusion
The literature outlines the potential for designated leadership development opportunities for radiographers. However, this is clearly limited to very specific areas of the workforce such as those practitioners working at an advanced and consultant level of practice. Current pressures on healthcare services to transform services and support innovative practice, suggest that the potential to develop the wider radiographer workforce through focused leadership development is explored and evaluated further.
Implications for Practice
Limited focal leadership development is evident within the radiography profession. This article seeks to inform future development opportunities for leadership development. Non-clinical leadership development requires further investigation
Characterisation and validation of novel, stable apelin-13 analogues on neurodegeneration in AD.
Get PDFIntroduction: Alzheimer’s disease is characterised by the cognitive decline, neuronal loss linked to oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. There are number of factors involved like lifestyle, genetics, age, and environment. After decades of research there is still no cure for Alzheimer’s. This thesis investigates the neuroprotective role of novel stable peptide apelin-13 analogues on cell survival and cell growth against various stressors induced in SH-SY5Y cells in-vitro.
Methods and results: SH-SY5Y neuronal cells were cultured and treated with the apelin-13 analogues in presence or absence of stressors under controlled condition to evaluate the effects on cell stress response and cell survival pathways. The cells were differentiated with retinoic acid to look at the cell proliferation and neurite extension. The treatments with apelin-13 analogues enhanced the cell viability , proliferation, modulated the oxidative stress and ER markers and promoted neurite outgrowth and differentiation. Furthermore, apelin-13 analogues reduced the pro-apoptotic and ER stress markers and led to increase in autophagy related proteins. The mechanistic study by AMPK knockdown showed that apelin-13 is AMPK dependant.
Conclusion: The result demonstrated that apelin-13 analogues protect against the neurotoxicity and oxidative stress by improving cell viability, proliferation and reducing cell toxicity. The apelin-13 analogues restored the autophagy and moderated the UPR activation via AMPK and PI3K/Akt pathway activation. Although further in-vivo studies are required to validate the results. This study provides new insight to the role of apelin-13 analogues as a therapeutic agent and pave a way for novel intervention targeting neurodegeneration
Slovenian arts therapies conference: the arts therapies routes branches and challenges
No full textThis was my keynote speech at the Slovenian Arts Therapies conference in which I explored:
The Routes and Branches of Our Professions
Conference Themes –
Examples from Arts in Health & Arts Therapies Practice
For Children Adolescents and Families
For Social Inclusion in Community Projects
To Improve Physical and Mental Health
For Older People
The challenges Ahead ..
An investigation into the perspectives and experiences of physically active adults during the COVID-19 pandemic
Get PDFContemporary physical activity (PA) strategies emphasise the PA needs of sedentary and inactive groups, with less emphasis placed on physically active groups. Understanding the needs of physically active groups is important in helping people to keep active. This study investigated the perspectives and experiences of physically active adults (‘Actives’) during the COVID-19 pandemic, including their PA levels, barriers and facilitators to/for PA, the strategies they deployed to keep active and their experiences of the messaging of Government health and PA guidelines. Following recruitment, thirteen in depth semi-structured interviews were undertaken with adult men and women who reported meeting the UK Chief Medical Officer’s PA guidelines before the COVID-19 pandemic commenced. Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis identified five key themes and related sub-themes: (I) PA participation; (II) barriers to PA participation, including overcrowding of the PA space, conflict between different groups and negative mental health; (III) facilitators for PA, including place/residence, rural location, social support and good mental wellbeing; (IV) strategies to keep active, including improvisation, substitution of PA mode, scheduling PA, social support and goal setting; (V) guidance and messaging on the health guidelines, including PA promotion for strength and balance, mental health and where to receive information on PA. This study provides valuable insights for PA promotion for Actives at an unprecedented time
Mitigating fuel station drive-offs using AI: YOLOv8 OCR and MOT history API for detecting fake and altered plates
Get PDFFuel station drive-offs, wherein the drivers simply drive off without paying, are a major issue in the UK (United Kingdom) due to rising fuel costs and financial hardships. The phenomenon has increased greatly over the last few years, with reports indicating a substantial increase in such events in the major cities. Traditional prevention measures such as Avutec and Driveoffalert rely primarily on expensive infrastructure and blacklisted databases. Such systems typically involve costly camera installation and maintenance and are consequently out of the budget of small fuel stations. These conventional approaches also fall short regarding real-time recognition, particularly regarding first-time impostors using fictitious plates, which represent an increasingly significant proportion of such forgery. This research presents an AI (Artificial Intelligence)-driven detection system using the MOT (Ministry of Transport) History API (Application Programming Interface) to scan in real-time at gas stations to recognize and prevent such fraud. The system integrates various state-of-the-art technologies to offer a foolproof system. Using the latest YOLO (You Only Look Once) model to recognize number plates and EasyOCR (Optical Character Recognition) to recognize characters, the system correctly reads license plates in various environmental conditions like lighting, viewpoint, and weather conditions. This approach minimizes the utilization of expensive camera systems and employs cheaper ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) gear, availing existing installed surveillance cameras on filling stations. The system operates with a basic web-based application to notify operators of stolen vehicles in real-time, enabling them to react immediately. Real-world testing achieves 84% success with CCTV (Closed-Circuit Television) images, depicting its real-world applicability. The results indicate that the AI-driven solution offers a monumental leap compared to current practices, giving fuel stations a cost-effective and efficient means of reducing financial loss from drive-off incidents
The perpetual cycle of racial bias in healthcare and healthcare education: a systematic review
Get PDFObjectives: This systematic review aimed to identify and categorise racial bias in healthcare and education, evaluate their impact on healthcare practitioners, students, and patients, and explore strategies to reduce these biases and improve health equity.
Method: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines to investigate racial bias in healthcare and healthcare education. Databases searched included PubMed, Cochrane, EMBASE, CINAHL. Identification of additional papers was completed by employing backward and forward snowballing techniques. Rigorous interprofessional multi-reviewer screening and data extraction processes were performed. Thematic analysis was conducted inductively and collaboratively refined, with disagreements resolved through discussion and a third reviewer confirming resolutions as an additional quality assurance measure.
Results: From an initial pool of 1,634 records, 45 studies were included in the final review. The studies employed various designs, primarily cross-sectional, with most conducted in the United States of America. Five themes emerged: disparities in healthcare access and/or provision, perceived discrimination and/or medical mistrust, provider bias and/or stereotyping, disparities in education and training, and healthcare literature disparities.
Conclusions: The findings suggest significant racial disparities across multiple medical specialties, including maternal and infant healthcare, chronic disease management, and emergency care. The review also highlights the underrepresentation of racial minorities in medical imagery and educational materials, contributing to implicit bias and inadequate training for healthcare providers. Overall, the five identified themes appear interconnected, forming a self-reinforcing cycle of racial bias in healthcare and education.
PROSPERO Registration number: CRD42024518475