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The effectiveness of family interventions for harmful sexual behaviour in young people a systematic review
No full textResearch into the harmful sexual behaviour of young people often cites the importance of family involvement in therapeutic interventions. However, there is little consensus on the nature and effectiveness of this. This systematic review explored the role and effectiveness of family involvement in interventions targeting harmful sexual behaviour. Fifteen studies, published between 2001 and 2021, were identified, and information on research design, theoretical approach, the specific family involvement and measures of effectiveness was extracted and synthesised. Mixed evidence was found to indicate the efficacy of family interventions for this behaviour. For younger children, effective interventions were time-limited to 12 weeks and used an approach of psychoeducation, behavioural, and cognitive-behavioural interventions. For the adolescent samples, the most effective studies employed a multisystemic approach inclusive of some cognitive-behavioural elements. However, studies varied substantially in their quality, outcome measures, and follow-up periods. Implications for the treatment delivery and recommendations for future are presented.</p
'There's No Place Like Home'
No full textThis article discusses how authors such as Olivia Laing and Ivan Vladislavic are positioning homelessness as a form of resistance against “good life” fantasies and neoliberal success narratives (Berlant, 2011). Laing’s quasi-autobiographical novel interweaves multiple narratives of New York residents, including openly queer and homeless artist David Wojnarowicz, to explore the collective isolation of individuals within the confines of a globally interconnected neoliberal metropolis. Laing’s novel redefines our connection to city living and the importance of creating community spaces in the face of mass, systemic, isolation. Similarly, Vladislavic turns to the streets of Johannesburg to create interlacing narratives of South African figures through vignettes. By presenting the “street people” of the novel as a resourceful and supportive counter-cultural group, Vladislavic presents a version of homelessness that centres on reclaiming the streets through a focus on community rather that neoliberal individualism. Consequently, both novels create and empower counter-neoliberal alternative spaces of community for homeless figures and juxtapose them against the expectations of individualism and material success associated with twenty-first century neoliberal living. This article’s primary analysis is informed by work on neoliberalism, psychogeography and urban living and draws on key thinkers such as David Harvey (2014) and Michel De Certeau (1988), alongside Judith Butler and Athena Athanasiou (2013). My research is informed by the wider cultural context of neoliberalism, and overall, explores the depiction of homeless figures in The Lonely City and Portrait with Keys and argues that both novels reclaim the city streets through their depiction of homeless communities by positioning homeless characters as a form of resistance and an alternative to the individualistic nature of twenty-first century neoliberal living.</p
Large wood recruitment in the Tegnas torrent (Italy): The impact of the Vaia storm and the role of the riparian forest structure
No full textThis study investigates large wood (LW) recruitment from the floodplain to the channel in a mountain stream in north-eastern Italy, following the exceptional 2018 flood triggered by the Vaia Storm, a severe windstorm and intense precipitation event. It aims to quantify in-channel LW loads, estimate floodplain-recruited LW volumes, explore the links between hydraulic forcing, sediment balance, lateral connectivity and recruitment and explore the potential of numerical modelling in such a context. The study focuses on a 9.5 km segment of the Tegnas Torrent, a mountain stream with a catchment area of 52 km2. Post-event in-channel LW was quantified through field surveys across sampling segments, while to assess recruitment volumes, a combination of pre- and post-event remote sensing data and 2019 field plots was used to estimate standing volumes and identify trees eroded by flood-induced channel widening. At the reach scale, key variables related to hydraulic forcing, sediment dynamics and lateral connectivity were evaluated, and correlations with LW recruitment were analysed. Finally, a two-dimensional numerical model was applied to simulate and compare the flood-driven erosion and wood recruitment. The total in-channel LW volume was estimated at 496 m3 ± 220 m3, averaging 18 m3 ha−1, which is consistent with values from nearby, although undisturbed, mountain streams. In contrast, 2080 m3 (132 m3 ha−1) of wood was recruited due to lateral channel widening. Our findings revealed that recruitment is influenced by complex factors, with limited correlation to sediment dynamics and hydraulic energy. Wider lateral erosion does not always lead to higher recruitment, as the riparian corridor's forest composition and structure play a key role. The numerical model provided reasonable estimates of channel widening and associated LW recruitment, making it a useful tool for approximating potential flood-induced planform changes. However, for more accurate results, further refinement in vegetation and sediment transport modelling is necessary.</p
Review of Martin, C.G.,? Milton among the Puritans: The Case for Historical Revisionism
No full textReview of Martin, C.G.,? Milton among the Puritans: The Case for Historical Revisionism(Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2010), pp. xvii + 360. ISBN 9781409408567</p
From the grain to galactic scale; Milky-Way neutral hydrogen and terrestrial zircon oxygen support coupling of astrophysical and geological processes over deep-time
No full text Neutral hydrogen (HI) is crucial for mapping spiral galaxies, including the Milky Way, through its 21 cm emission line, revealing features hidden by dust and gas. However, much of the Milky Way remains uncharted due to the Solar System’s position within the galactic disc. Here we present the first analysis comparing zircon oxygen isotope kurtosis, a terrestrial deep time record, with HI density variations along the Solar System’s galactic orbit. Significant correlations between Earth’s magmatic zircon oxygen isotope kurtosis and HI density in spiral arms suggest astrophysical influences on Earth’s crustal evolution. Peaks in HI density near the Scutum-Centaurus and Perseus spiral arms are consistent with the hypothesis that periodic disruptions of the Oort cloud during galactic arm crossings increased impact rates on Earth. These elevated impact fluxes may have contributed to more variable magmatic petrogenesis, as recorded by zircon oxygen isotopes, a proxy sensitive to the depth of crustal melting and the degree of interaction with surface-derived water.These results provide new insights into the interplay between galactic-scale processes and Earth’s geological history, arguing for consideration of astrophysical drivers of planetary evolution.</p
Instigating father-inclusive practice interventions with young fathers and multi-agency professionals: the transformative potential of qualitative longitudinal and co-creative methodologies
No full textInterdisciplinary social sciences literature on the value and significance of engaged fatherhood and father-inclusive approaches to practice for enhanced family outcomes have begun to reach a consensus. Yet there has been less attention to how research knowledge about fatherhood, including that which is co-produced with and for fathers, can be more effectively translated and embedded in practice and policy contexts. This article elaborates on a cumulative, empirically driven process that has established new relational ecologies between young fathers, multi-agency professionals and researchers. It illustrates how these ecologies, supported by longitudinal and co-creative research combined, are driving societal transformations through knowledge exchange and the instigation of new father-inclusive practice interventions that address the marginalisation of young fathers. The methodologies, including the co-creation of the Young Dads Collective and its impacts on young fathers and multi-agency professionals, are evaluated, confirming them as powerful and productive mechanisms for embedding father-inclusive practices within existing support and policy systems.</p
Understanding late HIV diagnosis and testing in rural and coastal communities in the UK: A rapid systematic review
No full textBackground: Late HIV diagnosis remains a significant public health challenge in rural and coastal areas of the UK, where limited healthcare access, social stigma, and low awareness exacerbate delays in testing. Early diagnosis is crucial in preventing progression to AIDS, saving lives, and reducing healthcare burdens. Understanding the barriers to timely HIV testing is essential to improving public health outcomes in underserved communities.Aim of the study: This review aimed to identify barriers to HIV testing and diagnosis in rural, remote, and coastal communities, exploring contributing factors such as geographical isolation, healthcare infrastructure, and social stigma. Key research questions were: What are the barriers to timely HIV testing in rural and coastal areas, and how can they be addressed to improve early detection and healthcare outcomes?Methodology: The systematic review included studies published between 2014 and 2024. Overall, 6465 studies were screened, 116 met the eligibility criteria, and 8 were included in the final review. Qualitative and quantitative research was included, and key criteria included adults or adolescents aged 15 or over from rural and coastal areas of the UK and studies reporting on late diagnosis and testing of HIV infections.Results: The review found that primary barriers included: 1) Geographic isolation: long travel distances to healthcare facilities for treatment and testing. 2) Limited healthcare resources: a shortage of HIV testing services in rural areas. 3) Social stigma: cultural factors discouraging HIV testing. 4) Lack of targeted education: Insufficient HIV awareness campaigns in rural settings.Conclusions: Overcoming these barriers requires targeted public health initiatives that are culturally appro?priate and tailored to the place-based needs of rural communities. Comprehensive education and training for health and social care professionals in geographically isolated and peripheral populations could significantly improve early HIV diagnosis, treatment, and care.</p
Weather and climate extremes in a changing Arctic
No full textWeather and climate extremes are increasingly occurring in the Arctic. In this Review, we evaluate historical and projected changes in rare Arctic extremes across the atmosphere, cryosphere and ocean, and elucidate their driving mechanisms. Comparison of probability density functions pre- and post-2000 highlights clear shifts in the mean and extreme distributions. Indeed, the frequency and amplitude of extremes consistently increased since the turn of the 21st century, with probability increase by 20.0% for atmospheric heatwaves; 76.7% for Atlantic layer warm events; 83.5% for sea ice extent loss; and 62.9% for Greenland Ice Sheet melt extent. These changes can be explained using a ‘pushing and triggering’ concept, representing interplay between external forcing and internal variability: long-term warming destabilizes the climate system and ‘pushes’ it to a new state, allowing subsequent variability associated with large-scale atmosphere-ocean-ice interactions and synoptic systems to ‘trigger’ extreme events over different timescales. The apparent increase in extremes ~2000. Ongoing anthropogenic warming is expected to further increase the frequency and magnitude of extremes, such that probability increases by 72.6% for atmospheric heatwaves; 68,7% for Atlantic layer warm events; and 93.3% for Greenland Ice Sheet melt rate at the end of this century. A summer ice-free would occur in the mid century. Future research should prioritize the development of physically based metrics, enhance high-resolution observation and modelling capabilities, and improve understanding of multiscale Arctic climate drivers.</p
HIV/STI Data at Different Geographic Scales - Lincolnshire Local Perspective
No full textPresentation as part of an HIV/STI Data workshop in collaboration with the HPRU UCL.Workshop run by Anne Presanis from the MRC Biostatistics Unit, University of Cambridge, School of Clinical Medicine.Presentation on HIV/STI Data at Different Geographic Scales - Lincolnshire.</p
Counting with Confidence: Accurate Pest Monitoring in Water Traps
No full textAccurate pest population monitoring and tracking their dynamic changes are crucial for precision agriculture decision-making. A common limitation in existing vision-based automatic pest counting research is that models are typically evaluated on datasets with ground truth but deployed in real-world scenarios without assessing the reliability of counting results due to the lack of ground truth. To this end, this paper proposed a method for comprehensively evaluating pest counting confidence in the image, based on information related to counting results and external environmental conditions. First, a pest detection network is used for pest detection and counting, extracting counting result-related information. Then, the pest images undergo image quality assessment, image complexity assessment, and pest distribution uniformity assessment. And the changes in image clarity caused by stirring during image acquisition are quantified by calculating the average gradient magnitude. Notably, we designed a hypothesis-driven multi-factor sensitivity analysis method to select the optimal image quality assessment and image complexity assessment methods. And we proposed an adaptive DBSCAN clustering algorithm for pest distribution uniformity assessment. Finally, the obtained information related to counting results and external environmental conditions is input into a regression model for prediction, resulting in the final pest counting confidence. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study dedicated to comprehensively evaluating counting confidence in counting tasks, and quantifying the relationship between influencing factors and counting confidence through a model. Experimental results show our method reduces MSE by 31.7% and improves R² by 15.2% on the pest counting confidence test set, compared to the baseline built primarily on information related to counting results.</p