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The associations among childhood trauma, loneliness, mental health symptoms, and indicators of social exclusion in adulthood: A UK Biobank study
Get PDFAims: Childhood trauma has been associated with adult psychosocial outcomes linked to social exclusion. However, the strength of these associations in the general population is unknown. The emergence of the UK Biobank, with rich phenotypic characterisation of the adult population affords the exploration of the childhood determinants of adult psychopathology with greater statistical power. The current study aims to explore 1) the associations between childhood trauma and social exclusion in adulthood and 2) the role that self-reported loneliness and symptoms of distress play in the associations.
Methods: An analysis of 87,545 participants (mean age=55.68[7.78], 55.0% female, 97.4%white) enrolled in the UK Biobank. Childhood trauma as determined by CTS-5. Current loneliness and symptoms of anxiety (GAD-7) and depression (PHQ-9) were also entered in analyses. Outcomes were ‘limited social participation’, ‘area deprivation’, ‘individual deprivation’ and ‘social exclusion’ from a previously determined dimensional measure of social exclusion in the UKBiobank.
Results: Hierarchical multiple regression models indicated small associations between childhood trauma and social exclusion outcomes, explaining between 1.5% and 5.0% of the variance. Associations weakened but remained significant when loneliness, anxiety, and depression were entered in the models, however anxiety symptoms demonstrated a negative association with ‘individual deprivation’ and ‘social exclusion’ in the final models. Depression was most strongly associated with ‘individual deprivation,’ ‘area deprivation’ and ‘social exclusion’ followed by childhood trauma. Loneliness was most strongly associated with ‘limited social participation.’
Conclusions: Experiences of childhood trauma can increase the propensity for adulthood social exclusion. Loneliness and symptoms of depression attenuate but do not eliminate these associations. Anxiety symptoms have a potentially protective effect on the development of ‘individual deprivation’. Findings add to the growing body of literature advocating for trauma-informed approaches in a variety of settings to help ameliorate the effects of childhood trauma on adult psychosocial outcomes. Further research, however, is required
Consensus Tracking and Containment in Multiagent Networks With State Constraints
Get PDFThe ability of tracking is an important prerequisite for multiagent networks to perform collective activities. This article investigates the problem of containment for a weighted multiagent network with continuous-time agents under state constraints. The network is composed of uninformed and informed agents, where the latter receive external inputs. A new general class of distributed nonlinear controllers is designed for accomplishing both containment and consensus tracking, where the state of each agent is required to stay in its desired convex constraint set. We show that, by using matrix analysis, convex analysis, and Lyapunov theory, all agents eventually converge to the convex hull formed by the external inputs while they obey their constraints during the transience. No relationship is assumed between the convex hull and the intersection of all constraint sets. The consensus tracking problem with a single external input is also solved under this framework. As a generalization, we tackle the multiscaled constrained containment problem, where agents can specify their desired buffer zones by either zooming in or zooming out the convex hull. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the theoretical results
Unemployed Workers’ Centres (1978–): Spatial Politics, “Non-Movement”, and the Making of Centres
Get PDFThis paper revisits the histories of Unemployed Workers’ Centres to consider the politicisation of unemployment in the UK. Drawing upon archive material and over 50 oral histories, it considers the emergence of centres as a response to a crisis of increasing unemployment and retrenchment of the welfare state. The paper indicates how Asef Bayat’s concept of “non-movement” proves useful for capturing a wider sphere of labour organising, moving beyond more conventional spaces and actions. This approach critically revisits the role of centres in conversation with emerging work in labour geography and social movements studies around the fostering of solidarities. It reveals tensions around their making, whilst also stressing the potential of seemingly small acts when held alongside campaigns. Revisiting this repertoire of activity reveals the persistence of trade union engagements with communities beyond the workplace, as well as a critical insight into the politics of space in forging such alternatives
Forecast of the Trend in Sales Data of a Confectionery Baking Industry Using Exponential Smoothing and Moving Average Models
Get PDFStarch-containing foods such as bread, pastries, and cakes are usually baked at a moderately high temperature in an oven. When these products are later exposed to room temperature, the associated gelatinized starch begins to harden which causes retrogradation and molecular realignment. Due to this circumstance, manufacturers need to have a fairly accurate estimate of products demand in order to determine the precise amount of baking powder and additives for use in their production so as not to incur losses in their business arising from the stale and consequentially unsalable products. This research was therefore focused on selecting the best forecasting model using a prominent confectionery firm in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria as a case study. The study was based on 24-week operational period sales data collected from the company. The moving average model and the exponential smoothing model were the two forecasting models considered in this research. The data obtained was thoroughly reviewed and the results of the forecasting models were compared. The most effective model was the exponential smoothing model as it produced the lowest mean absolute percentage error on the average of 3.7347 for the cumulative days of sales under review as against the 15.1713 for the moving average model. However, the exponential smoothing model was considered the best forecasting model for minimizing forecasting error in this study
Multiple Capitals Disclosure in European Companies’ Integrated Reports: The Role of Organisational Complexity
Get PDFThis paper examines the association between organisational complexity and the extent of multiple capital disclosure in European companies’ integrated reports. The study uses content analysis to collect data from 81 European companies that adopted the integrated reporting framework for the period 2014–2020. We proxy the extent of multiple capital disclosure by an aggregate score of natural, human, social, intellectual, manufactured, and financial capital disclosure. We analyse two forms of organisational complexity: industrial (related to the different product segments) and geographical (linked with conduction operations beyond the domestic market). The results show that industrial complexity has a significant positive association with the extent of multiple capitals disclosure, whereas geographical complexity has an insignificant positive relationship. The study concludes that organisational complexity explains the variability in the extent of multiple capitals disclosure
The late Holocene introduction of Juglans regia (walnut) to Cyprus
Get PDFThe island of Cyprus has a long history of human impacts, including the introduction of more than 250 plant species. One of these introduced species is Juglans regia (walnut), which is considered a naturalised non-native (introduced in last 500 years). Here we report the earliest occurrence of Juglans regia pollen grains from a sedimentary deposit on Cyprus. The pollen recovered from the Akrotiri Marsh provides an earliest introduction date of 3,100-3,000 cal yr BP. This Bronze Age occurrence of Juglans regia is sporadic. However, by 2,000 cal yr BP the pollen signal becomes more persistent and indicates that introduction or expansion of Juglans regia was highly likely in the Roman period. We integrate our new results with younger pollen occurrences of Juglans regia on Cyprus, the archaeobotanical record and documentary evidence to provide an overview of this archaeophyte. Our findings show that, following the conventions of the Flora of Cyprus, Juglans regia should be reclassified from naturalised non-native to indigenous
Farming intensification in Northern Ireland – a state-corporate environmental harm?
Get PDFFood production may involve serious harms that lie beyond traditional definitions of crime and are not statutorily proscribed. One example of a criminologically under-researched source of harms is intensive farming. Taking a case study of rising intensive pig farming in Northern Ireland, this paper innovatively applies the state-corporate crime framework to analyse the catalysts for environmental and social harm in the country, expanding the knowledge of complex relationships between political and economic actors from a green criminological perspective and further advancing the agenda of ‘greening’ of state-corporate crime (Bradshaw, 2014). It concludes that a state-corporate symbiosis supports and reinforces a market-oriented, profit-driven model of farming that prioritises efficiency and ultimately leads to ‘lawful but awful’ intensification
Beyond growth management: A review of the wider functions and effects of urban growth management policies
Get PDFUrban growth management policies (UGMPs), which include green belts and urban growth boundaries seek to prevent urban sprawl in neighbouring peri-urban and rural landscapes. However, the wider social, environmental, and economic impacts these policies have on the landscapes they govern is unclear and contested. This paper undertakes a structured review of academic literature in Scopus investigating these wider UGMPs functions, impacts and effects beyond urban sprawl. A systematic key word search and a two-stage sieving process of the global literature identified 115 relevant academic publications across disciplines. This review found a diverse range of social and environmental functions of UGMPs zones, including as ecological corridors, sinks for climate regulation and recreational landscapes. Mixed methods and interdisciplinary studies are lacking, but multiple ecosystem services provided by UGMP zones were found in limited examples. However, cultural ecosystem services were rarely assessed alongside regulating and provisioning services and multiple ecosystem services have not been explicitly studied in US and English UGMP zones. Conversely, UGMPs are shown to have complex economic effects on land and housing markets, as well as creating contentious spaces. Currently, these findings are largely location based, making it hard to distinguish between site-specific and cross-cutting effects and functions, presenting a potential challenge for policy makers. To better understand the value of these zones to society and unlock their potential as multifunctional opportunity spaces in addressing climate, biodiversity and health challenges, more holistic and interdisciplinary research is needed into UGMP zones
The Rebus guided tour: Edinburgh, UK
No full textThis short chapter explores ‘dark destinations’ associated with crime fiction. It focuses on Ian Rankin’s Rebus detective novels, set in Edinburgh, and the guided tour of Edinburgh that is inspired by the novels. In doing this, the chapter reflects on the portrayal of urban life, crime and policing in the novels and tour
Auxeticity of monolayer, few-layer, vdW heterostructure and ribbon penta-graphene
Get PDFUsing molecular statics simulations, we specifically focus on investigating the negative Poisson's ratio of the monolayer, few-layer, van der Waals, and ribbon penta-graphene. As a result, we provide evidence to show that the Poisson's ratio is the combination of bond stretching and angle rotating mechanism. The auxeticity of monolayer penta-graphene is due to the dominance of bond stretching. However, the significant effect of the angle rotating mechanism causes the enhancement of the in-plane Poisson's ratio of few-layer penta-graphene. Furthermore, the elongation of interlayer bonds results in a negative out-of-plane Poisson's ratio in few-layer penta-graphene. The strong dependence of Poisson's ratio on stacking configuration and number of layers was found. We also show that the van der Waals interaction slightly enhances the auxeticity of heterostructure penta-graphene. Finally, we discuss the significant effects of warped edges on the auxeticity of penta-graphene ribbons