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COVID-19 lived experiences among informal settlement dwellers in the global south: a scoping review
Get PDFAt the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, significant concerns emerged regarding its potential impact on informal settlements and the ability of dwellers to navigate the challenges posed by the outbreak. A scoping review was conducted to map the existing knowledge to provide a nuanced understanding of the lived experiences of informal settlement dwellers in the global south during the pandemic. Thirty-four studies met the study’s inclusion criteria. Twenty-one (61.8%) studies reported on participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices; 26 (76.5%) discussed the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown, and 19 (55.9%) focused on the support measures provided. Adequate knowledge/information did not necessarily translate to positive attitudes and practices towards COVID-19 preventive behaviours. Some misconceptions about COVID-19 have been reported by 11 (32.4%) studies. Accordingly, dwellers faced socioeconomic, health-related, and physical consequences due to lockdown measures. Interventional assistance (e.g. cash transfers and food aid) to safeguard lives was inadequate and, in some cases, did not reach targeted beneficiaries. Our findings highlight the need to deepen our comprehensive understanding of the COVID-19 risk perception-behaviour nexus and explore why the social protection systems for pandemic response did not reach most dwellers. These could advance developing and implementing cost-effective and socially acceptable pandemic response policies
Hiatus from Old Irish to Modern Scottish Gaelic, Irish and Manx
Get PDFHiatus, or diaeresis, refers to two vowel sounds in adjacent syllables. In addition to highlighting the survival of hiatus from Old Irish texts into Scottish Gaelic, vis-à-vis its absence in Manx and Modern Irish, a further major consideration of the current paper will be an analysis of the percentage survival rate of Old Irish hiatus in modern Scottish Gaelic dialect
Between Sickness and Sin: Models of Male Homosexuality in Northern Ireland c. 1960-1990
Get PDFThe contemporary LGBTQ+ history of Northern Ireland has emerged relatively recently. This article examines two negative models that fed into understandings of male homosexuality between the early 1960s and the end of the 1980s, and some of the discourses that emanated from them. Using contemporary comment, theological and medical writings, and oral history testimonies, this article charts the fortunes of models of ‘sickness’ and ‘sinfulness’. A campaign to secure law reform in the 1970s forced churches to confront the ‘problem’ of homosexuality. I demonstrate the complexity of responses from two major Protestant churches, the tentative emergence of a challenge from radical Christians and how this landscape has been obscured by the notoriety of an infamous fundamentalist campaign. As was the case in England, the notion of homosexuality as a pathology gained traction in Northern Ireland only in the 1950s and 1960s, leading to medical conversion practices, such as aversion therapy, which attempted to ‘cure’ men of same-sex desire. However, discourses conflicted, with regional social conditions resulting in ‘sickness’ co-existing uneasily with ‘sin’. And although it was opposed by a strain of evangelical thought, social conditions fostered by conservative religiosity enabled pathologisation to linger on through the 1980s.<br/
Lessons in circular economy from the Global South towards a new pedagogy for architectural education
Get PDFWestern culture has imposed itself economically, socially and environmentally upon the Global South. The Global North’s economic model has been linear in nature with waste as its ultimate product. This is unsustainable for a finite planet. There is a developing interest in the concept of the circular economy (CE) in which we, as custodians, conserve the earth’s finite resources through prudent production and consumption. Whilst western society is beginning to waken up to the implications of a linear environmental model, images of vast waste tips, in Global South’s expanding cities, polluting the environment, raise concerns for the residents of those cities as well as the mindset of our built environment professionals. Ironically, the Global South has historically understood finite resources. Its culture was circular. ‘Make do and mend’ has been the mantra of indigenous societies and the livelihoods of generations. Yet the imposition of Western economic standards has subjugated this traditional approach and proffered the ambition of commercial consumption and the throw-away society. The re-adoption of a circular approach to building is the only way forward for economies if, globally, the UN sustainable development goals are to deliver an improved society for all. Within the AEC industry this will require a new thinking for practitioners and academics which will generate a new educational pedagogy. Much of this new pedagogy is about lessons learnt and drawing from the mistakes, and engrained thinking, of the past to adopt a holistic approach to design and construction. This paper proposes a new thinking based upon the 10R waste hierarchy. Currently the 3-level hierarchy of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle has been misunderstood and, subsequently, has seen a disproportionate concentration upon Recycling as the main option. However, the energy utilised in the recycling process such as, the manufacture of concrete, steel, glass or aluminium, is significant and ultimately unsustainable. Students need to consider a more holistic approach for evaluating options including refurbishment, re-manufacture, or even ‘do nothing’ which are encapsulated in the 10R waste hierarchy. A 10R approach considers a broader range of options and prompts a step-change in built environment education.In this study, Masters of Architecture students assess the 10R waste hierarchy through CE workshops as part of the professional studies module. A range of case studies are extracted from the student’s studio work and evaluated using the 10R waste hierarchy. This collaborative approach combining the students design work and professional studies, will embed student understanding of CE in developing a client-centric approach for the design of buildings in the Global North.The paper will consider the issues and drivers for a new educational paradigm to ensure Western architectural education is fit-for-purpose and reflects the traditional circular nature of the Global South whilst developing architects of the future.<br/
Nicotinic signaling stimulates glucagon secretion in mouse and human pancreatic α-cells
Get PDFSmoking is widely regarded as a risk factor for type 2 diabetes because nicotine contributes to insulin resistance by desensitizing the insulin receptors in muscle, liver, or fat. Little is known, however, about the immediate regulation of islet hormonal output by nicotine, an agonist of ionotropic cholinergic receptors. We investigated this by imaging cytosolic Ca2+ dynamics in mouse and human islets using confocal microscopy and measuring glucagon secretion in response to the alkaloid from isolated mouse islets. Nicotine acutely stimulated cytosolic Ca2+ in glucagon-secreting α-cells but not in insulin-secreting β-cells. The 2.8- ± 0.5-fold (P < 0.05) increase in Ca2+, observed in >70% of α-cells, correlated well with a 2.5- ± 0.3-fold stimulation of glucagon secretion. Nicotine-induced elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ relied on influx from the extracellular compartment rather than release of the cation from intracellular depots. Metabotropic cholinergic signaling, monitored at the level of intracellular diacylglycerol, was limited to 69% of α-cells versus 94% of β-cells. We conclude that parasympathetic regulation of pancreatic islet hormone release uses different signaling pathways in β-cells (metabotropic) and α-cells (metabotropic and ionotropic), resulting in the fine-tuning of acetylcholine-induced glucagon exocytosis. Sustained nicotinic stimulation is, therefore, likely to attenuate insulin sensitivity by increasing glucagon release
Patient activation and support needs in patients after ICU discharge: A UK survey of critical illness survivors
Get PDFBackground:Understanding the degree to which patients are actively involved, confident and capable of engaging with self-management and rehabilitation could be an initial step in guiding individualised supportive strategies for people after critical illness.Aims:To assess the levels of active involvement with self management among ICU survivors using the Patient Activation Measure (PAM), explore associations between patient characteristics and PAM results, and investigate its relationship with patients’ support needs at key transition points during the recovery process.Methods:Eligible participants received both the PAM and Support Needs After Critical care (SNAC) questionnaires by post. The return of the completed questionnaires was considered as consent to participate. Ethical approval was obtained (17/NI/0236). Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the data and Pearson’s coefficient for correlations between variables.Findings:There were 200 completed PAM and SNAC questionnaires. PAM scores showed that levels of active involvement with self management fell into level 1 (n = 64; disengaged and overwhelmed, low confidence to self manage) and 2 (n = 70; still struggling), with considerably less participants achieving scores in level 3 (n = 51; taking action) and 4 (n = 15; pushing further). Lower patient activation levels were associated with higher support needs (r = −0.16, p = 0.02).Conclusion:We found that patient activation levels are low implying low knowledge, skills and confidence to self-manage after critical illness, and also that patients have support needs at various timepoints during recovery. Future research should focus on a longitudinal study to track changes in activation and support needs in the same patients over time and identify effective strategies to optimise recovery after critical illness
DE-PASS Best Evidence Statement (BESt):A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis on the Effectiveness of Trials on Device-Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour and Their Determinants in Children Aged 5–12 Years: Determinants of Device-Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour in Children: M. Khudair et al.
Get PDFBackground: To combat the high prevalence of physical inactivity among children, there is an urgent need to develop and implement real-world interventions and policies that promote physical activity (PA) and reduce sedentary behaviour (SB). To inform policy makers, the current body of evidence for children’s PA/SB interventions needs to be translated. Objectives: The current systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to identify modifiable determinants of device-measured PA and SB targeted in available intervention studies with randomized controlled trial (RCT) and controlled trial (CT) designs in children and early adolescents (5–12 years) and to quantify the effects of the interventions within their respective settings on the determinants of PA/SB and the outcomes PA and SB. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus and CENTRAL. Studies were considered if they were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled trials (CTs), included children and/or early adolescents (5–12 years; henceforth termed children), measured PA and/or SB using device-based methods and measured PA and/or SB and determinants of PA/SB at least at two timepoints. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for Randomised Trials (RoB2) for RCTs and Risk of Bias in Non-randomised Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) for CTs. The quality of the generated evidence was assessed using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). Robust Bayesian meta-analysis was conducted to quantify the effects of the interventions on the determinants of PA/SB, and the outcomes PA and SB, stratifying by study design, duration of PA/SB measurement, intervention setting and duration of follow-up measurement. Study characteristics and interventions were summarized. Results: Thirty-eight studies were included with a total sample size of n = 14,258 (67% girls). Settings identified were school, family/home, community and combinations of these. The review identified 38 modifiable determinants, spanning seven categories on individual, interpersonal and physical environmental levels, with 66% of determinants on the individual level. Overall, the results indicated trivial-to-moderate effects of the interventions on the determinants of PA and SB, with mostly trivial level of evidence for the presence of an effect (as indicated by a small Bayes factor; BF 10 < 3.00). The exceptions were moderate effects on parental PA modelling in the family/home setting and SB measured during specific parts of the school day. Higher quality of evidence was found in the family/home setting compared with other settings. Discussion: Overall, the results indicated that interventions have neither been effective in modifying the determinants of PA/SB, nor changing the PA/SB outcomes in children. In general, the approach in the current review revealed the breadth of methodological variability in children’s PA interventions. Research is needed to address novel approaches to children’s PA research and to identify potential determinants to inform policy and future interventions. Registration: International prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO): CRD42021282874.</p
The determinants of double energy vulnerability: A geospatial analysis
Get PDFThis paper examines the spatial and social differences in people's lack of access to adequate energy and transport services in the UK. We respond to the need for developing a differentiated understanding of both the drivers and expressions of this ‘double energy vulnerability’ (DEV), while seeking to integrate and analyse relevant information from all four UK nations. Using a variety of statistically representative census and survey datasets, the paper develops a series of multi‐dimensional indices to map transport‐ and energy‐related injustices. This is followed by a cluster analysis to examine broad‐level geographical patterns, and a Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model to explore the spatial variation of vulnerabilities related to contingencies such as income, ethnicity and housing. The paper corroborates the results of previous qualitative studies, and research within selected UK nations, while revealing several unexpected territorial clusters and underpinnings of infrastructural injustice. DEV is shown to disproportionately affect coastal, highland, peripheral and rural regions, with an internal granularity that exhibits high levels of variation within urban and peri‐urban settings
Quantitative Data Quality Assurance, Analysis and Presentation
Get PDFQuantitative data quality assurance is the systematic process and procedures used to ensure the accuracy, consistency, reliability, and integrity of data throughout the research process. Effective quality assurance helps identify and correct errors, reduce biases, and ensure the data meets the standards needed for analysis and reporting. This paper provides an overview of key issues to consider when working with data and reporting findings
Net-Zero Farming: Trigeneration with Carbon Capture and Storage
Get PDFAiming to achieve net-zero farming, this study explores the potential of anaerobic digestion of various biowastes to produce biogas for meeting the energy demands of a dairy farm, including electricity, heating, and cooling. Two options were investigated: Option 1 focuses solely on meeting the farm's energy demand, while Option 2 focuses on a big system that utilizes all available biowastes to produce biogas, with surplus electricity sold back to grid. These options were modelled using ECLIPSE software and evaluated in terms of practicality, environmental impact, and economic viability. Option 2, employing trigeneration, achieved an overall efficiency of 80.0 %, significantly higher than Option 1's 48.4 %. However, the efficiencies of the combined heat and power (CHP) system for Option 1 and 2 were 62.2 % and 81.1 %, respectively, both higher than their corresponding trigeneration. Option 2 also produced a greater annual carbon dioxide offset of 4206 Ton CO 2-eq compared to 299 Ton CO 2-eq for Option 1 by leveraging digestive fertilizers and carbon capture and storage technology (CCS). Finally, it was found that the payback period for Option 1 was projected at 11 years while Option 2 would require 12 years, with anticipated profits of £124,900 and £891,900 for Options 1 and 2, respectively.</p