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Taiwan Lives: A Social and Political History
No full textFrom a cradle of Austronesian expansion to the dynamic economic powerhouse and successful democracy it is today, Taiwan is layered in colonial histories. In Taiwan Lives, Niki J. P. Alsford presents a comprehensive examination of the island nation’s rich and complex past, told through the life stories of those who have lived it.
A merchant, an exile, an activist, a pop star, a doctor, and a president are just some of the twenty-four individuals whose lives populate this people's history of Taiwan. Ranging across time, social strata, ethnicity, and political alliance, these tales offer snapshots of historical eras and illustrate the interwoven fabric of colonialism. Chapters can be read in sequence or individually. With clear and accessible prose, Taiwan Lives is ideal for undergraduate course use
Recovery in elite youth basketball players: The responsiveness of the psychophysiological measurements and the role of testosterone concentration
No full textThis study investigated the recovery responses to the Total Quality Recovery (TQR), Well-Being questionnaire (WBQ), and Heart Rate (HR) responses to Submaximal Running Test (SRT), and the influence of salivary testosterone concentration (TEST) on these responses in 25 elite youth (U15) male basketball players. TQR, WBQ, and HR measurements were assessed after 48 hours of rest (T1), 24 hours after the 1st day of training (T2) and 24 hours after the 2nd day of training (T3). Salivary sampling was conducted at T1 and T3. A significant decrease was observed for TQR (F = 4.06; p = 0.01) and for WBQ (F = 5.37; p = 0.008) from T1 to T3. No difference among the three-time points was observed for HR and HR Recovery, and the TEST concentration did not influence the results. These results show that TQR and WBQ are sensitive to acute transient alterations in training loads (TL) and may be utilized to monitor recovery in elite youth basketball players. The HR related measurements presented limited responsiveness, and the TEST seems not to influence the recovery of these players who are competing at highest performance level
Biomolecular interactions between Plasmodium and human host: A basis of targeted antimalarial therapy
Get PDFMalaria is one of the serious health concerns worldwide as it remains a clinical challenge due to the complex life cycle of the malaria parasite and the morphological changes it undergoes during infection. The malaria parasite multiplies rapidly and spreads in the population by changing its alternative hosts. These various morphological stages of the parasite in the human host cause clinical symptoms (anemia, fever, and coma). These symptoms arise due to the preprogrammed biology of the parasite in response to the human pathophysiological response. Thus, complete elimination becomes one of the major health challenges. Although malaria vaccine(s) are available in the market, they still it contains to cause high morbidity and mortality. Therefore, an approach for eradication is needed through the exploration of novel molecular targets by tracking the epidemiological changes the parasite adopts. This review focuses on the various novel molecular targets
Radicalisation Across the Community and Forensic Units: A Systematic Literature Review on the Psychology of Violent Extremism
No full textOver the past years, research has fostered a deeper understanding of radicalisation, with scholars agreeing that a universal psycho-social pathway towards extremist violence can be assumed (Borum, 2012; Sageman, 2008), determined by a variety of factors (King & Taylor, 2011). However, the literature relating to preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) often relates to the psychological escalation of individuals only within the community. Little is known about radicalisation in secure forensic settings like prisons or forensic hospitals, leading authors like Mulcahy et al. (2013) to frame prisons as so-called “breeding grounds for terrorists” (Mulcahy et al., 2013, p. 4). Adding to the challenges in these settings is the fact that risk factors relevant to extremist violence appear to overlap considerably with risk factors for general violence (e.g., Dhumad et al., 2020). Nevertheless, more recently Silke et al. (2021) reviewed 29 publications from 2017 onwards and found that prisons can serve as a disruption to the pathway, in fact aiding rehabilitation efforts. With tentative insight into the wider rehabilitation system (Christmann, 2012; Feddes & Gallucci, 2015), empirical evidence becomes arguably more inconclusive when exploring radicalisation in forensic hospitals. This is due to the unclear role of mental health issues and protective factors in the development of violent extremism (e.g., Gill & Corner, 2017)
Effective Teaching in a Humanities and Languages Foundation Year: Lessons Learned from Teaching During a Pandemic
Get PDFThis paper will explore key research around Foundation year entry at a large Northwest university in England, UK and explore what makes effective provision. It will share lessons learned during Covid-19 from student feedback from a Humanities, and Languages foundation year. There is some research around what makes for a successful foundation year. This has not had the attention it deserves, and there are still only a few papers based in the UK context. The paper explores and discusses key aspects that make a foundation entry programme successful. Furthermore, the paper explores the experiences of students from non-traditional backgrounds, (or with non-standard qualifications), and how they can underperform in comparison to students with more traditional academic backgrounds, i.e., those that have successfully passed standard Advanced Levels. In relation to non-traditional students, a good Foundation Year can help improve the outcomes for these students, and offer them opportunities to be as successful – or indeed more successful – than traditional entry students
Variation of flammability and smoke toxicity of upholstered furniture composites with fire retardant treatment
Get PDFSince the 1980s, mass market upholstered furniture sold in the United Kingdom has incorporated flame retardant chemicals to meet regulatory flammability requirements. However, UK fire deaths remain comparable with similar European countries which have no such regulations. Quantitative measures of the effect that different chemical flame retardants additives have on the flammability and smoke toxicity of UK regulatory-compliant upholstered furniture remain limited. It has been shown that most fatal fires involve upholstered furniture; most fire deaths result from toxic gas inhalation; gas phase flame retardants increase the toxicity of smoke; and the fall in fire deaths over the last 30 years is the same in countries with and without furniture flammability regulations. Moreover, the presence of certain flame retardants in furniture is a significant obstacle to any meaningful end-of-life processing.
The burning behaviour and smoke toxicity of nine upholstered furniture composites using a range of flame retardant technologies were assessed in the cone calorimeter. The total heat release (THR) varied from 46 MJ m−2 to 68 MJ m−2, the time-to-ignition (tti) from 8 s to 105 s, and peak heat release rate (pHRR) from 230 kW m−2 to 430 kW m−2. The composite filled with PET showed the longest tti while the expandable graphite fabric on the FR-foam showed the lowest pHRR. The composite with the Br-FR fabric and the FR-foam had the shortest tti, the greatest smoke, the second highest CO and the highest HCN yield. The composite with the non-FR fabric and the PET filling had the longest tti. For all the fabrics, the transition from non-FR to FR foam resulted in significant increases in the smoke, CO and HCN, except CO of Br-FR and FR-foam was slightly lower than non-FR foam.
Smoke toxicity predictions show that the use of gas phase flame retardants in both the fabrics and fillings of upholstered furniture contributes to the high proportion of smoke-related fire casualties. The work shows that the smoke toxicity of upholstered furniture can be reduced by using condensed phase FRs, such as expandable graphite, or less flammable materials, such as polyester wadding. The regulatory component tests which focus on ignitability have been shown to be ineffective at assessing the fire safety of composites representative of furniture as sold. The alternative approach of assessing heat release and smoke toxicity, as described here, would improve the fire safety of furniture while reducing reliance on additive flame retardants acting in the gas phase
Consultation to Adoptive Parents and Adoption Professionals in Child and Adolescent Mental Health: Findings From a Quality Improvement Project Analysis
Get PDFThe mental health vulnerability of children and young people in foster and adoptive families is well recognised, which has led to the development of dedicated posts and care pathways in mental health care provision. This article reports on learning resulting from local quality improvement work in a single child and adolescent mental health service team. This work was concerned with the ‘front door’ of access to care for these groups and specifically addresses initial consultations with adoptive parents and adoption professionals, reporting findings from an analysis of reports from consultations undertaken over a 13-month period between April 2021 and May 2022. The analysis highlights that support can be sought by these parents and professionals for diverse issues relating to mental health which is also indicative of a high level of need amongst children and young people involved with specialist mental health provision. The analysis also has wider implications for practice in demonstrating the benefits of attending to clinical data to contribute meaningfully to practice-based scholarship in this type of specialist setting
A pilot study: Exploring suicidal ideation among non-offending adults with sexual attraction to minors, through their online forum posts
Get PDFSummary
An emerging field of research seeks to understand the experiences of non-offending adults who experience sexual attraction towards children. Research indicates that this largely hidden population can experience significant mental ill health and suicidal ideation, yet are reluctant to seek professional mental health support. Furthermore, mental ill health has been identified as a factor that can increase the likelihood of offending. This study, undertaken by a social work practitioner researcher, aimed to assist in understanding suicidality factors within this population, and to identify how statutory mental health services could be developed for this client group, thus contributing to child protection and suicide prevention agendas. A qualitative analysis was undertaken of data gathered from an online forum used by adults who have sexual attraction towards children, and are committed to non-offending. The data related to forum members’ experiences of suicidality, and key themes were identified through thematic analysis.
Findings
The study found that a pattern of suicidal ideation commonly appears to manifest and identified risk and protective factors that can influence suicidality. The benefits of peer support and the strengths and limitations of professional support were also identified.
Applications
The findings from this study contribute to an improved understanding of this client group for mental health practitioners. The findings also lay the foundation for further investigations, to inform the development of mental health services to facilitate improved outcomes for this client group, and for child protection
Conceptual and methodological considerations to the negative footprint illusion: a reply to Gorissen et al. (2024)
Get PDFWhen asked to estimate the carbon footprint of a bundle of relatively low carbon footprint items and relatively high carbon footprint items, people typically report a lower value compared to estimating the high carbon footprint items alone. This finding is called the negative footprint illusion and suggests people report the average rather than sum of the combined items’ carbon footprint. In a recent paper by Gorissen et al. (2024), the authors claimed that people are immune to this illusion if the question is framed differently. Specifically, they found that estimates of the environmental friendliness of a set comprising a burger (high carbon footprint) and an organic apple (low carbon footprint) was higher than for a set comprising the burger alone, whereas no difference was found between the two sets when participants were asked to estimate how environmentally damaging they were. Using larger item categories wherein the degree of the items’ environmental impact is clearly communicated, here we show it does not matter whether participants are required to estimate how friendly or damaging the items are. The roles of attribute substitution, dependent variables, and independent variables (stimulus characteristics) in modulating the negative footprint illusion is discussed