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Investigating the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on coastal communities in East Sussex, UK:a qualitative analysis
No full textObjective COVID-19 led to significant economic and psychosocial impacts on individuals and their local communities. This research aimed to investigate the psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on a diverse range of individuals living in coastal areas in East Sussex, UK, including adverse, unexpected and positive outcomes. Design/Setting This cross-sectional qualitative study used semistructured interviews conducted remotely between December 2020 and March 2021, referred to as the third lockdown. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Thematic analysis was used to identify, describe, and analyse themes and patterns within the data. Participants Purposive sampling was used to recruit 25 participants living in East Sussex, to include a range of ages (above 18 years), genders, race/ethnicities, identities (eg, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or intersex) and social backgrounds. Results The pandemic was described as a significant life-changing event, with people saying their plans had changed ‘overnight’ and that their life was ‘on hold’ or it had lost its ‘infrastructure’ during the pandemic. Immediate changes to social lives, education, future plans, work, and housing were evident. These changes were felt particularly by those shielding (due to underlying health conditions) and people placed in emergency accommodation. Significant areas of impact were around family, friends, leisure, mental health, health-related behaviours, and employment. Some participants reflected on positive impacts around an increased sense of well-being or the restrictions affording time and flexibility to re-engage with their families. Adverse impacts around reduced friendship groups and the disruption to family life were often mitigated by developing strategies that helped adapt to new situations. Conclusions Residents of coastal areas in East Sussex were impacted widely and differentially. Both positive and challenging impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic were experienced unequally, potentially exacerbating health inequalities in coastal communities who were already at risk. Long-term strategies should consider the vulnerabilities of people living in coastal areas in planning for future health crises
Horror and Comics
No full textHorror and Comics investigates the evolution of these two forms by analysing a range of approaches and traditions. International contributors explore how multiple aspects of comics have fed into the depiction and development ofhorror across many subgenres. Horror has informed the development of comics across multiple periods, places and genres – from broadsheets to newspaper strips, weeklies and contemporary graphic novels – in reciprocal promptingsto innovate both form and content. This volume re-examines and re-energises established concepts, from abjection to otherness to closure, and applies them to diverse texts, contexts, authors and audiences
Low-income consumers coping strategies to tackle marketplace exclusion:a developing country perspective
Get PDFColossal income inequalities and a lack of opportunities for low-income groups commonly characterise developing countries. These barriers prevent low-income consumers from fulfilling their basic needs and cause them exclusion from the marketplace. The present study explored how low-income consumers cope with marketplace exclusion and the consequences of their coping strategies. Data was gathered through in-depth interviews with 30 low-income consumers of a developing country. The findings illustrate that low-income consumers address marketplace exclusion by utilising personal, social, and market resources. The utilisation of personal and social network resources sometimes enabled participants to effectively tackle their resource constraints and marketplace exclusion. However, coping through market resources frequently exacerbated their powerlessness. Based on the findings, we provide policy implications for enhancing economic empowerment and promoting marketplace inclusion among low-income consumers
Land Actuator:Fiji Arts Council Exhibition of LAGI2025 shortlisted entries,Suva, Fiji
Get PDFSubmission shortlisted and selected for exhibition at the Fiji Arts Council, Suva, Fiji. Exhibition opening 6th November 2025. The Land Actuator by Maria Sol Meyer, Sarah Stevens, Hugo Mulder, Carlos Lora, and Sol Macchiavello (Argentina) incorporates semi-transparent solar photovoltaic modules, compressed earth brick cisterns, and fog harvesting to produce 135 MWh of electricity and 3.7 million liters of filtered water. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou
Exploring the skin mycobiome in intensive care patients:a pilot study on fungal diversity from axillary and groin swabs
Get PDFThe skin mycobiome is a largely unexplored component of the human microbiome, especially in critically ill patients. Fungal colonisation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) may be influenced by underlying comorbidities and hospital-related risk factors, potentially impacting patient outcomes. This pilot study aimed to characterize the diversity and abundance of skin fungi in ICU patients during their first week of hospitalization. A total of 35 ICU patients were recruited and divided into two groups: Group 1 (patients with 1–2 comorbidities and ICU risk factors) and Group 2 (patients with more than 2 comorbidities and ICU risk factors). Bilateral axillary-groin swabs were collected on admission day (D1) and after one week of ICU stay (D8) for fungal identification. Culture-based methods and MALDI-TOF MS were initially used, followed by Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2) sequencing via the Illumina MiSeq platform for in-depth analysis of fungal communities. Fungal diversity and relative abundance were assessed using standard alpha and beta diversity metrics. Culture and MALDI-TOF MS identified only Candida spp., suggesting limited diversity. ITS2 sequencing revealed that Candida (69.3%) was the most prevalent genus, followed by Penicillium (10.3%) and Cladosporium (4.0%), with Malassezia being rare (0.7%). Diversity analysis indicated a relatively stable fungal community throughout the first week (ANOSIM, p = 0.499), with no significant changes in species richness or community structure. By Day 8, Candida spp. represented 79.9% and 78.9% of the mycobiome in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. Preliminary data suggest that the ICU skin mycobiome is dominated by Candida spp. and exhibits low fungal diversity. These findings provide foundational insight into the skin mycobiome of critically ill patients and underscore the need for further research to elucidate its clinical significance and potential role in patient management
The opportunities AI offers to higher education and the graduates of the future
No full textHigher education professionals who have embraced Generative Artificial Intelligence have already identified many ways in which it can enhance learning for students and support academic educators.The progressive technology offers an excellent opportunity for higher education institutions to recalibrate their activities, by reducing the time needed on more straightforward or repetitive tasks while simultaneously supporting the development of higher skills for the graduates of the future – including writing and research skills, generating new ideas and data analysis.This project intends to collate and share existing best practice examples of Gen AI usage and inspire new, innovative ways to use it within classrooms across different types of institutions and discipline
Collective making as resistance?:The contemporary appeal of See Red Women’s Workshop
Get PDFRecent exhibitions have shown a strong engagement with the work of earlier creative collectives including See Red Women’s Workshop, the feminist poster-making collective which ran from 1974 to 1990. A book about See Red’s work was published in 2016 and the group had a central place in Tate’s celebrated exhibition Women in Revolt, a survey of the artistic engagements of the Women’s Liberation Movement in Britain. I consider why there has been a revived focus on See Red and other peers who worked as collaborative makers and attribute it to an identification with the themes at the heart of See Red’s work, which have continuing relevance, including domestic inequalities and the impact of social isolation on people’s lives and the strong contemporary interest in strategies for protest
The National Care Service:A Victim of Elite Class Struggle
No full textDespite years of negotiation between the Scottish Government, Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs), unions and local authorities, the National Care Service had barely gotten past the ideas-board stage before it was scrapped by Maree Todd MSP at the end of January. As the Glasgow Disability Alliance pointed out in response to its publication, the Bill fudged questions of who was responsible for what in the proposed system, and how its rules would be enforced. The Bill also left its relationship to other legislation intolerably unclear. It guaranteed little more than a government committee in an already bloated bureaucracy, patiently awaiting empowerment by secondary legislation.If we are to succeed in our next attempts to bring a nationalised and user-friendly care service onto the agenda, our strategy must begin from a clear explanation of how the NCS coalition collapsed, and a precise understanding of our opponents’ interests, incentives, and capacities. What follows is a provisional sketch for such an explanation