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Try to Look Again:A Phenomenological Study of Recognising Humanness in People Living With Advanced Dementia
Full text linkObjective and Aim: Although maintaining personhood is well-acknowledged as fundamental in providing high quality dementia care, recognition of personhood in advanced dementia keeps challenging formal caregivers. However, research suggests that personhood in advanced dementia may be evident through expressions of humanness in everyday life. Thus, this study aims to explore how personhood in advanced dementia can be recognised as their expressions as existential human beings. Method and Research Design: Following Galvin and Todres' lifeworld-led approach to care, personhood in advanced dementia was explored through the lived experiences of nursing home residents living with the condition. Participant observations with people living with advanced dementia were conducted at two nursing homes as well as semi-structured interviews with the care staff. Ethical Considerations: Process consent was used to assess residents' willingness to participate, and ethical approval was sought and granted by a research ethics committee. Results: Based on a phenomenological analytic method by van Manen, we found expressions of humanness in advanced dementia can be very ambiguous. Our findings can be summarised in four themes conveyed as anecdotes describing how people living with advanced dementia enact their historic agency, seek a sense of embodied homeliness, form and nurture candid relationships, or try to understand the situated presence. Embodied engagement in understanding the lived experiences of care recipients' ambiguous expressed humanness can assist formal caregivers to really see or feel those they care for as existential human beings. Conclusion: Approaching behaviours and utterances in advanced dementia as ways of expressing one's humanness can support formal caregivers' recognition of the personhood of their care recipients. And when such expression becomes incomprehensible, we must try to look again and find the human meaning in them
Chronic low dose <sup>90</sup>Sr contamination in <i>Lemna minor</i>:from transcriptional dynamics of epigenetic regulators to population level effects
Full text linkThe ecotoxicology model plant Lemna minor was exposed for 6 weeks to 90Sr, simulating the dose rates present in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ), in order to understand the effects of chronic low dose ionising radiation exposure. The data suggest that the plant may exhibit temporally variable acclimation responses that can be interpreted as early-, mid-, and long-term phases. Morphological changes included increased area and frond number, while molecular adjustments encompassed variations in pigment levels, glutathione metabolism, and expression modulation of telomerase-related and DNA methylation machinery genes. Physiological parameters and 90Sr uptake remained relatively stable, yet fluctuations indicate a continuous adjustment to the chronic stress, suggesting L. minor’s potential for phytoremediation. The interplay between transcriptional regulation of DNA methylation and the examined endpoints suggests a potential involvement of epigenetic mechanisms in L. minor’s acclimation to chronic low dose-rate 90Sr stress. This work provides knowledge on L. minor’s abiotic stress responses and contributes to our understanding of plant adaptation to low-level ionising radiation (IR). The findings contribute to the development of adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) for L. minor exposed to IR, improving environmental risk assessment approaches
Internationale studerende er her allerede – lad os få flere af dem til at blive
No full textDanmark har brug for arbejdskraft, og mange internationale dimittender vil gerne bidrage. Derfor skal vi blive endnu bedre til at fastholde flere internationale talenter i Danmark
Scientists' Coalition perspectives on articles of the Chair's text
Full text linkThe Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on plastic pollution are United Nations member states who will convene for the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Geneva (INC5.2) 5-14 August, 2025 to negotiate a global plastics treaty. The Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty ('The Scientists' Coalition') is an international network of independent scientific and technical experts who have been contributing robust science to treaty negotiators since INC1 in 2022. The Scientists' Coalition established a series of working groups following INC5.1 in Busan, Korea 25 November - 1 December 2024. Each working group has produced science-based responses to the selected articles of 'the Chair's text' (the latest version of the draft global plastics treaty text). This Letter to the Editor summarises those responses
They Didn't Stay Silent: Exploring Lived Experiences and Activism among survivors of Female Genital Mutilation and Forced Child Marriage
No full textThrough a combination of interviews, podcasts, and public testimonies from survivors, this research explores the lived experiences of women who have survived forced child marriage (FCM) and female genital mutilation (FGM). Using an interpretative phenomenological approach and Social Norms Theory, this research aims to understand how these practices are experienced, justified, and contested.By situating our research in the UK and focusing on migrant communities, we challenge the dominant assumptions that exist about FCM and FGM being only a Global South issue, with our findings showing that these practices are also prevalent in Western societies. These practices are deeply rooted in gender inequality, honor codes, and the control of female sexuality. Additionally, they are sustained by patriarchal norms, social expectations, and intergenerational beliefs. We analyze how survivors experience, navigate, and resist these societal pressures, and how that led them to create change through activism. Through advocacy and sharing their personal stories, they challenge the norms that once silenced them. Our study concludes that survivor-led activism and grassroots implementations are essential to contest these harmful practices. Education, community dialogue, and culturally sensitive interventions are crucial in achieving the desired norms change, as legal reforms alone have been proven to be insufficient. By amplifying survivor voices, we can challenge these deeply rooted norms and work towards a future where all girls and women live free from violence and coercion
The Weakest Voice Is Rarely Heard: A Case Study of Child Participation and Legal Inequality in the Implementation of the Danish Child Act: A Case Study of Child Participation and Legal Inequality in the Implementation of the Danish Child Act
No full textSpecialet undersøger, hvordan intentionerne i Barnets Lov omsættes i kommunal praksis, når det gælder inddragelse af børn og unge under 18 år med betydelig og varigt nedsat fysisk eller psykisk funktionsevne eller indgribende kronisk eller langvarig lidelse i sociale myndighedssager. Undersøgelsen bygger på en flerstrenget metode med kvalitative interviews, dokumentanalyse og kvantitative data og analyserer spændet mellem lovens rettighedsbaserede ambitioner og den oplevede virkelighed i sagsbehandlingen. Med afsæt i teoretiske modeller fra Lipsky, Lundy, Arnstein og Hart belyses børns deltagelsesmuligheder og de strukturelle, juridiske og faglige forhold, der former graden af reel indflydelse. Analysen viser, at selvom børnesamtaler gennemføres oftere end tidligere, tillægges barnets perspektiv sjældent afgørende vægt i den endelige afgørelse. Børneinddragelsen begrænses ofte af tidspres, metodefrihed og manglende fælles standarder, hvilket fører til stor praksisvariation og retlig ulighed – særligt for børn og unge med betydelig og varigt nedsat funktionsevne eller langvarige lidelser. Den kvantitative dokumentation viser høje omgørelsesprocenter, stigende sagstal og lav implementeringsgrad, hvilket samlet set svækker retssikkerheden. Interviewanalysen viser desuden, at sagsbehandlere efterlyser specialiserede redskaber, tværfaglig sparring og organisatorisk understøttelse, hvis børneinddragelse skal være meningsfuld og systematisk. En central barriere for barnets mulighed for medbestemmelse og reel indflydelse er fraværet af partsstatus for børn og unge med betydelig og varigt nedsat fysisk eller psykisk funktionsevne eller langvarig lidelse i sager om handicapkompenserende ydelser. Da disse sager er placeret under kapitel 8 i Barnets Lov og ikke betragtes som egentlige børnesager, opnår børnene ikke de rettigheder, der gælder for andre børn fra det fyldte 10. år – herunder aktindsigt, klageadgang og krav om vægtning af barnets udsagn. Det betyder, at barnet formelt kan inddrages, men uden garanti for, at dets perspektiv får betydning for afgørelsen. Specialet konkluderer, at intentionen om børneinddragelse ikke kan realiseres uden strukturel understøttelse og retlig ligestilling for målgruppen. Der er behov for, at børn og unge med betydelig og varigt nedsat funktionsevne eller langvarige lidelser tildeles partsstatus på linje med andre børn fra det fyldte 10. år, samt at der udvikles specialiserede metoder og organisatoriske rammer, der understøtter deltagelse som en integreret del af sagsforløbet. Først når børns stemmer – også de svage, stille og komplekse – reelt får betydning, kan Barnets Lov leve op til sit formål om at sætte barnet først.This thesis investigates how the intentions of the Danish Child Act (Barnets Lov) are implemented in municipal practice regarding the participation of children and young people under the age of 18 with significant and permanent physical or mental impairments or with chronic or long-term conditions in social welfare cases. The study is based on a multi-method approach, combining qualitative interviews, document analysis and quantitative data, and explores the gap between the Act’s rights-based ambitions and the lived realities of casework. Drawing on theoretical models by Lipsky, Lundy, Arnstein, and Hart, the analysis examines children's opportunities for participation and the structural, legal, and professional factors shaping the extent of their actual influence. The findings show that although child interviews are conducted more frequently than before, the child's perspective rarely carries decisive weight in the final decision. Participation is often constrained by time pressure, methodological discretion, and the lack of shared standards, resulting in considerable variation in practice and legal inequality—especially for children with significant and permanent impairments or long-term conditions. Quantitative data reveal high appeal reversal rates, increasing case numbers, and low implementation levels, all of which weaken legal safeguards. Interview data further indicate that caseworkers call for specialised tools, interdisciplinary collaboration, and organisational support to ensure meaningful and systematic child participation. A key barrier to the child’s ability to influence decisions is the absence of legal party status for children and young people with significant and permanent impairments or long-term conditions in cases concerning disability-related support. These cases fall under Chapter 8 of the Child Act and are not recognised as formal child protection cases. As a result, children do not receive the same rights as other children from the age of 10—including access to case files, the right to appeal, and the obligation to consider the child’s views. Thus, children may be formally involved in these cases, but there is no guarantee that their perspective will impact the outcome. The thesis concludes that the ambition of child participation cannot be realised without structural support and legal equality for this group. There is a need to grant children with significant and permanent impairments or long-term conditions party status equal to that of other children from the age of 10, and to develop specialised methods and organisational frameworks that embed participation as an integral part of the case process. Only when children’s voices—including the quiet, complex, and vulnerable—truly matter, can the Child Act fulfil its purpose of putting the child first
The Role of Identity in Resocialisation: A Critical Realist Analysis of Structural Conditions, Communities of Practice, and Methodological Challenges
No full textThis thesis investigates how identity shapes the resocialisation of current and former prisoners in Denmark, applying a critical realist framework. Drawing on theoretical perspectives from Maruna through redemption scripts and identity change, Lave & Wenger’s communities of practice, and Honneth’s theory of recognition, the study explores how structural conditions, institutional norms, and social relationships affect the opportunities for identity change. The analysis is based on qualitative interviews with experts who work within the field, highlighting how social recognition, trust, and participation in meaningful communities are essential to enabling desistance from crime. A key challenge addressed in the thesis concerns the restricted access to the prison environment, which might reflect broader trends of institutional closure and control that limit researchers’ ability to engage directly with prisoners. These barriers, shaped by concerns over security, scientific relevance and risk management, illustrate how institutional structures not only shape identity processes but also influence which perspectives become visible in research. The findings demonstrate that resocialisation is not just an individual task but is deeply conditioned by institutional logics and social structures that can either support or hinder identity change. The thesis concludes that effective resocialisation strategies must adopt a holistic and relational approach, addressing both individual motivation and the broader structural and relational barriers that affect opportunities for sustainable change
