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Effect of fiber orientation and layering on shape distortion and mechanical behavior of jute composites
Full text linkPlant fibers provide a biodegradable and sustainable alternative to synthetic reinforcements in polymer composites. However, process-induced shape distortion, which occurs from the residual stresses produced due to varying thermal expansion and complex interaction between the fiber and resin matrix, is a key problem in their use. This research examines the impact of varying stacking sequences and number of layers on the shape distortion of jute/epoxy composites. Jute yarn was impregnated with epoxy resin to make prepreg sheets. These sheets were stacked at different angles and configurations and consolidated to make flat composite sheet using compression molding. Following the post-curing of these composites, a significant curvature was observed in the flat plates, which was quantified in terms of curvature height and radius of curvature. The tensile properties, thermal conductivity and Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE), of the developed composite materials were also evaluated. The findings revealed that the composite with a stacking sequence of [0/90/0] exhibited enhanced tensile strength, reaching 90.077 MPa. Composite featuring a stacking sequence of [0/90/0/90], exhibited the least curvature height and minimal warpage (0.4 mm in longitudinal and 2.2 mm in transverse direction). Additionally, it also exhibited a value of 3.33 × 10−6 for CTE and of 0.0283 W/m·K for thermal conductivity
Trauma-informed support within a dementia helpline:a retrospective framework analysis of call-logs
Full text linkBackground:People with dementia and their caregivers experience significant psychological distress and may be at risk of trauma when coping mechanisms are overwhelmed. Specialist dementia helplines play a vital role by offering immediate support and information, however, little is known about how call handlers account for potential trauma in their responses. This study explored the extent to which trauma-informed principles are evident in the responses provided by call handlers on the UK’s only 24-hour dementia helpline.Objective:To explore the type and nature of calls to the only UK 24-hour dementia helpline and the extent to which trauma-informed principles are evident within helpline staff responses to carers and people with dementia.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 200 anonymised call-logs from Alzheimer Scotland’s 24-hour helpline. Data from call-logs were analysed using framework analysis informed by trauma-informed principles (safety, trustworthiness & transparency, choice, collaboration, and empowerment). Data is also reported by theme frequency and theme strength: theme frequency captured how often each theme appeared across the dataset (expressed as a percentage), while theme strength represented the researcher’s subjective assessment of the theme’s intensity within each call-log, measured on a Likert scale.Results:Most calls (86%) were made during daytime hours by a ‘carer/family member/friend,’ with 'emotional support' and 'carer stress' being the primary reasons for contact. Call-log responses aligned with several trauma-informed principles, with ‘collaboration’ being the most frequent response for daytime calls (69.5%) and 'safety' for night-time calls (79.4%). Across all responses, 'empowerment' emerged as the strongest theme, characterised by empathetic, non-judgmental responses that acknowledged caller strengths. Overall, 'collaboration' (27%) was the most frequently observed theme, reflecting efforts to share knowledge and engage callers with relevant resources. Call handlers tailored their approach based on the caller’s identity, with responses to ‘carers/family/friends’ most frequently displaying collaboration (70.4%). Analysis of calls from individuals seeking information for themselves revealed collaboration and empowerment were the most frequent themes (73.7%).Conclusions:The findings highlight the helpline's role as a critical resource for emotional support for individuals experiencing stress. They also contribute to understanding how a trauma-informed approach can be effectively applied in such interactions. Implications for developing a trauma-informed framework to guide helpline responses, particularly for high-risk groups such as dementia family carers, are explored. Clinical Trial: N/
Breathlessness services and specialist palliative care for advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease:a narrative review
Full text linkChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive condition associated with high distress, functional decline, and reduced quality of life. As the disease advances, palliative care becomes increasingly pertinent to address not only physical symptoms, such as breathlessness, but also the emotional and social challenges experienced by individuals with COPD and their caregivers. Emerging evidence supports the benefits of earlier palliative care integration across the disease trajectory, and there are various models of palliative care for people with COPD. This narrative review synthesizes current evidence on supportive breathlessness clinics and specialist palliative care services for individuals living with COPD. The findings highlight that while supportive services significantly enhance patients’ coping, confidence, and psychological well-being, their availability and integration into routine care remain limited. Interventions that include home visits, personalized approaches, and peer interaction are particularly valued by people with COPD and are associated with reduced distress and improved self-management. Moreover, interpersonal connection and regular empathetic contact with healthcare professionals emerged as central therapeutic mechanisms. Despite these promising outcomes, many studies face methodological limitations, including small sample sizes, a lack of condition-specific focus, and challenges in evaluating psychosocial impacts. Specialist palliative care remains underutilized in COPD populations, and access is often delayed or absent compared to people with malignant diseases. Integrating respiratory and palliative expertise in flexible, community-based services offers a promising direction to improve quality of life and end-of-life care for this underserved population. To ensure equitable care, future efforts should prioritize timely access to supportive care, greater integration with respiratory services, and the inclusion of people with COPD in palliative care planning and research. Future research should focus on inclusive and patient-centered approaches which explore how to sustainably deliver patient-centered and multidisciplinary support across care settings
Managing through complexities:opportunities and challenges for rural female entrepreneurs in Bangladesh
Full text linkThis present chapter explores the contextual realities of rural female entrepreneurship in Bangladesh, a topic that remains underdeveloped in current research. It discusses the everyday challenges faced by women entrepreneurs and highlights the sociocultural and institutional dynamics that shape their business experiences. Using field data drawn from interviews with women operating in Dhaka, Rangpur and Khulna City, the study sheds light on how rural context influences entrepreneurial motivation, behaviour and outcomes. The authors identify a range of constraints including gender norms, financial exclusion and weak institutional support, which collectively impact the entrepreneurial journeys of these women. Central to the authors’ contribution is the recognition of women’s resilience and adaptive strategies in navigating these barriers. The study adds to the growing discourse on gender and entrepreneurship by presenting a more nuanced understanding of rural female entrepreneurship in South Asia
AI-powered precise diagnosis and automated nail disease detection using a fused CNN-CapsNet model
Full text linkNail disease classification is a crucial task in dermatology, aiding in the early diagnosis and treatment of various conditions. In this study, we leverage an open-access dataset from Kaggle containing 3,835 images and apply data augmentation techniques, expanding the dataset to 11,505 images to improve model generalization. We propose a CNN-based deep learning model and evaluate its performance on the augmented dataset. To further enhance classification accuracy, we fuse the proposed CNN model with a Capsule Network (CapsNet), leveraging its ability to capture spatial hierarchies and complex relationships between image features. Both models are trained and evaluated, followed by a visualization of classification results. The fused CNN-CapsNet model outperforms the standalone CNN model, achieving an overall accuracy of 98.5%, demonstrating precise and secure AI-powered nail disease diagnosis, ensuring model robustness. This research highlights the advantages of combining CNNs with Capsule Networks for improved medical image analysis and classification
‘You’re a warrior, right?’:the manosphere, podcasts, and the strongman politics of Donald Trump in the 2024 United States Presidential election
Full text linkIn the run up to the 2024 United States Presidential Election, President Donald Trump, in continuing his disapproval, disavowal, and eschewing of 'mainstream media’' increasingly turned to influencers and podcasters as mediums through which to speak to his followers and prospective voters. A core feature of this strategy were alternative media platforms not immediately related to the political sphere, but to sport related podcasts and 'bro influencers' that cater to a predominantly male audience - such as UFC Unfiltered and The Joe Rogan Experience. Trump’s efforts to fit within a media landscape where the capacities of sporting, fitness, and ‘body building’ subcultures (re)produce deviant masculinities also endorsed conservative and authoritarian political movements. This paper presents a discursive and contextual analysis of Trump’s podcast appearances in the 2024 election cycle. We explore the growing inter-relationship between gender, masculinities, sport, and 'the manosphere' - the loose constellation of reactionary, anti-feminist and misogynistic movements often propagated in digital spaces by online influencers, reactionary conservative politics and, more specifically, Trumpism. We argue that within Trumpism, alternative sport and fitness media become sites whereby discourses of deviant and ‘alpha’ masculinity and the male body are constructed and activated as resources for political capital. We conclude by considering the importance of sport and leisure – such as the fitness and sporting subcultures embodied in conservative politics and the digital ecosystems through which they proliferate - in (re)shaping political movements in a digital age
Beyond romantic resistance:anti-capitalist aesthetics in narrative cinema
Full text linkKitchen’s Film, Negation and Freedom offers a compelling analysis of Romanticism’s political legacy in cinema, but its conceptual and historical scope remains limited by the absence of feminist perspectives. Engaging with the historiography of women’s cinema and the gendered aesthetics of film production would not only enrich Kitchen’s framework but also expand the possibilities for understanding cinematic resistance in more inclusive and transformative ways. While Kitchen’s study contributes meaningfully to debates on cinema and critique, it remains incomplete without engaging the gendered politics of film history and theory. A feminist intervention would not only recover marginalized voices but also reframe the very terms of artistic and political negation
The environmental crisis and social work in practice:creating spaces to explore awareness in the social work profession in Scotland
Full text linkIn September 2023, the UN Secretary-General announced that the world is in ‘climate breakdown’, echoing concerns of activists and scientists, calling for the global community to act with a sense of urgency. This article, reports on the findings from empirical research using art-based research methods to create space for discussion with seventeen social worker practitioners based in the Northeast of Scotland. The aim was to examine front line social workers’ understanding of environmental changes and how these changes affected their work with service users. The interviews demonstrated that social workers widely acknowledged the relevance of these issues. However, they expressed concerns about how to address them in the context of their already extensive workload and other professional pressures. Additionally, there was a perceived lack of preparedness within the profession regarding how to respond to these challenges in the future, leading to uncertainty about social work’s role in this area. The evidence provided in this research paper will benefit policymakers, social work practitioners, and social work educators when developing plans to improve the profession’s state of preparedness for climate change
Exploring Scottish addiction services:provider-based stigma, addiction aetiology beliefs, treatment bias, and burnout among addiction treatment providers
Full text linkBackground Drug related deaths continue to increase in Scotland. Many barriers to addiction treatment exist and are often related to poor provider-client relationships possibly caused by stigma, burnout and differentiating beliefs and attitudes among addiction treatment providers. This study investigated the prevalence of provider-based stigma (PBS) including four stigma variants (dangerousness, blame, social distance, fatalism) and its relationship to burnout, job satisfaction, attitudes towards addiction treatment approaches, and beliefs regarding addiction aetiology in a sample of addiction treatment providers. MethodsCross-sectional online survey was completed by 64 addiction treatment providers currently working in Scotland. Online survey was comprised of validated and adapted measures, extensive statistical analysis was conducted, including ANOVAs and Regressions to examine the outcomes of interest. Results Over 30% of participants had elevated scores on PBS variants dangerousness and blame and these were found to predict higher acceptance of abstinence-based treatments, and lower endorsement of harm reduction approaches (dangerousness: b = 0.41, p <.001; blame: b = 0.23, p = 0.010). Burnout was high in this sample, and PBS variant blame predicted higher client-related burnout (b = 7.35, p = 0.009). Moreover, the belief in the disease model predicted higher acceptance of abstinence-based treatments (b = 0.30, p <.001), whereas belief in the psychosocial model predicted higher acceptance of harm reduction-based treatments (b = -0.25, p = 0.008). Lastly belief in the disease model predicted higher scores on dangerousness (b = 0.19, p = 0.016) and fatalism (b = 0.29, p = 0.002) PBS variants. Conclusions The findings from this study provide insights for policy and addiction treatment improvements. Efforts to alleviate addiction treatment providers stigmatising attitudes, especially perceptions of people who use drugs as dangerous, blameworthy, and incapable of recovery are needed. Interventions and policy improvements need to include stigma reduction workshops and consider addiction treatment providers attitudes and beliefs to limit treatment bias, stigma and burnout to foster better relationships between clients and the workers who support them.<br/
The ‘laboratory school’ as a traded service:travelling practices of professional learning
Full text linkTransnational markets in professional learning are expanding rapidly. The commodification of standardised pedagogical models within these markets raises concerns about teachers’ capacity to exercise contextually responsive professional judgement. Drawing on policy mobilities scholarship, this comparative case study examines a university-led ‘laboratory school’ network spanning thirty-four public and private schools in England, the United States, China and India (2020-2022). The signature practice of collaborative peer review using instructional rounds was promoted as a transferable model across diverse settings. Network mapping documented reach and engagement, while eighteen semi-structured leader interviews explored the rationale for network entry, the conditions mediating enactment, and the locally-generated theories of action that emerged. The findings demonstrate how the same practice was differentially understood across settings, complicating assumptions about pedagogical practices travelling intact across borders