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Extractivism and the engendering of disasters: disaster risk creation in the era of the Anthropocene
Get PDFThis paper argues that extractivist logic creates the environmental conditions that produce ‘natural’ hazards and also the human conditions that produce vulnerability, which combined create disasters. Disaster Risk Creation is then built into the current global socio-economic system, as an integral component not accidental by-product.
As part of the movement to liberate disasters as discipline, practice and field of enquiry, this paper does not talk disasters per se, but rather its focus is on ‘extractivism’ as a fundamental explanator for the anthropogenic disaster landscape that now confronts us.
Applying a gender lens to extractivism as it relates to disaster, further highlights that Disaster Risk Management rather than alleviating, creates the problems it seeks to solve, suggesting the need to liberate gender from Disaster Risk Management, and the need to liberate us all from the notion of managing disasters. Since to ‘manage’ disaster risk is to accept uncritically the structures and systems that create that risk, then if we truly want to address disasters, our focus needs to be on the extractive practices, not the disastrous outcomes.
The fundamental argument is that through privileging the notion of ‘disaster’ we create it, bring it into existence, as something that exists in and of itself, apart from wider socio-economic structures and systems of extraction and exploitation, rather than recognising it for what it is, an outcome/end product of those wider structures and systems. Our focus on disaster is then misplaced, and perhaps what disaster studies needs to be liberated from, is itself
Digital mental health in schizophrenia and other severe mental illness: an international consensus on current challenges and potential solutions
Get PDFBackground: Digital approaches may be helpful in augmenting care to address unmet mental health needs, particularly in schizophrenia and severe mental illness (SMI).
Objectives: An international multidisciplinary group was convened to reach consensus on the challenges and potential solutions in collecting data, delivering treatment and the ethical challenges in digital mental health approaches in schizophrenia and SMI.
Methods: The consensus development panel method was used, with an in-person meeting of two groups: the expert group and the panel. Membership was multidisciplinary, including those with lived experience with equal participation at all stages, and co-production of the consensus outputs and summary. Relevant literature was shared in advance of the meeting and a systematic search of the recent literature on digital mental health interventions in schizophrenia and psychosis was completed to ensure the panel was informed before the meeting with the expert group.
Results: Four broad areas of challenge and proposed solutions were identified: (i) user involvement for real coproduction, (ii) new approaches to methodology in digital mental health, including agreed standards, data sharing, measuring harms, prevention strategies and mechanistic research (iii) regulation and funding issues (iv) implementation in real-world settings (including multidisciplinary collaboration, training, augmenting existing service provision, social and population-focussed approaches). Examples are provided with more detail on human-centred research design, lived experience perspectives and biomedical ethics in digital mental health approaches in SMI.
Conclusions: The consensus agreed on a number of recommendations: (i) a new and improved approach to digital mental health research (with agreed reporting standards, data sharing, and shared protocols) (ii) equal emphasis on social and population research as well as biological and psychological approaches (iii) meaningful collaborations across varied disciplines that have previously not worked closely together (iv) increased focus on the business model and product with planning and new funding structures across the whole development pathway (v) increased focus and reporting on ethical issues and potential harms (vi) organisational changes to allow true communication and coproduction with those with lived experience of SMI.
This approach, combining an international expert meeting with PPIE (patient and public involvement and engagement) throughout the process, consensus methodology, discussion, and publication, is a helpful way to identify directions for future research and clinical implementation in rapidly evolving areas, and can be combined with measurements of real-world clinical impact over time. Similar initiatives will be helpful in other areas of digital mental health and similarly fast-evolving fields, to focus research and organisational change and effect improved real-world clinical implementation
Unlikely qualities of writing qualitatively: porous stories of thresholds, in-betweeness and the everyday
Get PDFIn this paper, we seek to intervene in the proposition that there are recognisable or abstract-able modes of doing qualitative writing, and instead affirm that writing from a feminist scholarly perspective is often an embodied, domestic, haptic and serendipitous gesture. Occurring in in-between spaces and moments, in which personal and professional life frequently meld, with porous boundaries, our writing practices appear to talk back rhetorically to the notion of writing qualitatively. What are the qualities of qualitative writing? Within education (our field) quality can seem to masquerade as a measurable, generalizable thing, implying a ‘gold standard’ or that different writing practices or products can or should be compared or ranked. For us, writing is frequently encountered as serendipitous, messy and intricately entwined with daily life at numerous scales. This is not to suggest that writing magically takes shape, but rather it is un-abstract-able from daily routines, situations and energies at local and global scales. In the middle of these situations, writing happens when it takes precedence, at whatever cost that might be to bodies, relationships and domestic schedules. Working with a range of feminist philosophers, we draw the temporal, situated, mattering of writing into focus. This paper engages in non-linear story-telling about the processes of our collaborative writing of this paper. We are particularly inspired by Stewart’s (2007:75) approach to writing to convey moments of ordinary life, which she describes as “a circuit that is always tuned into some little something, somewhere. A mode of attending to the possible and the threatening”. We dwell upon the somethings and the somewheres as a means to draw out the temporal passing by of life in all its messiness, as a piece of writing comes together, tracing moments of shimmering intensity and mundane frustration and distraction throughout the work
On Poisson approximation
Get PDFThe problem of evaluating the accuracy of Poisson approximation to the distribution of a sum of independent integer-valued random variables has attracted a lot of attention in the past six decades. Among authors who contributed to the topic are Prokhorov, Kolmogorov, LeCam, Shorgin, Barbour, Hall, Deheuvels, Pfeifer, Roos, and many others. From a practical point of view, the problem has important applications in insurance, reliability theory, extreme value theory, etc. From a theoretical point of view, the topic provides insights into Kolmogorov’s problem concerning the accuracy of approximation of the distribution of a sum of independent random variables by infinitely divisible laws. The task of establishing an estimate of the accuracy of Poisson approximation with a correct (the best possible) constant at the leading term remained open for decades. We present a solution to that problem in the case where the accuracy of approximation is evaluated in terms of the point metric. We generalise and sharpen the corresponding inequalities established by preceding authors. A new result is established for the intensively studied topic of compound Poisson approximation to the distribution of a sum of integer-valued r.v.s
Some feminist strands and their potential for the performativity of climate regulations: a review
Get PDFThis piece engages with some strands from the literature on the ‘everyday’ [8,9], and also McGregor’s [10] point that climate change impacts can be recorded and victims can be counted. Its key contributions are to present some of the main strands in the literature by way of critique and to suggest some (re)positioning of these ideas as we move into the future. The notion of ‘performativity’ as developed by Butler [11,12,13], is explored. I offer insights into utilising the notion of acknowledging experience [18] and its connection with giving voice to the silenced in the climate debate. The current debate focuses on the language of risk and calculability [19]. I explore how this might be shifted to focus more positively on opportunities rather than risk [20]. Finally, the notions of futures [21,22], anticipation [23] and agency [24], which might advance and enhance our understanding by being reflective and reflexive with regard to climate change are presented
Associations and within-group differences in physical characteristics and golf performance data in high-level amateur players
Get PDFThe aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between a comprehensive physical testing battery and golf performance, as quantified through a variety of previously determined usable metrics from launch monitor data. Twenty-six high level, amateur golfers undertook a series of physical assessments, including: anthropometry measurements, isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP), isometric bench press, countermovement jump (CMJ), seated medicine ball throws for distance, and a seated thoracic rotation test. In addition, golf shot data was recorded in an indoor biomechanics laboratory, with a driver and 6-iron to quantify clubhead speed (CHS), ball speed, carry distance, and smash factor. Pearson’s r associative analysis showed that the strongest relationships between golf shot data was with the isometric bench press for the upper body (r values up to 0.76), and countermovement jump for the lower body (r values up to 0.82). In addition, median split analysis for physical performance data revealed that players who were able to exhibit greater maximal and explosive strength capabilities in the IMTP, isometric bench press and CMJ assessments, had significantly greater CHS (g range = 1.09-1.28; p < 0.05), ball speed (g range = 1.18-1.41; p < 0.05), carry distance (g range = 1.06-1.53; p < 0.05), and smash factor (g range = 0.81-1.17; p < 0.05). These data underscore the importance of superior physical capacity for golfers, especially for maximal force production in both the lower and upper body, as well as explosive force production for the lower body
Enhancing home security with pressure mat sensors: a multi-modal IoT approach
Get PDFHome security is a major concern worldwide, and there are various solutions available, but with limitations. This paper proposes a novel security system that overcomes the limitations of current systems by using piezoresistive sensors placed inside a mat to detect intruders with varying levels of pressure intensities. The proposed system incorporates a camera and a CNN algorithm with the EfficientNet model to detect whether the object is a human, and it is equipped with features like an email and SMS notification mechanism, backup battery, and a sophisticated tracking mechanism. The proposed system is highly resilient to tampering or circumvention and outperforms existing security systems in terms of being non-intrusive, providing tracking features for the intruder, and being resistant to blackouts. This paper documents the research, development, testing, evaluation process, and contributions made to address the security challenges by developing an affordable, easy-to-use, and effective home security system
Testing limb symmetry and asymmetry after Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury: 4 considerations to increase its utility
Get PDFAnterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury occurs frequently in sport and surgical reconstruction (ACLR) is often recommended to restore knee joint stability. To guide rehabilitation and determine return to sport readiness, practitioners have used a long-standing practice of calculating the limb symmetry index (LSI) in various functional, biomechanical, and strength tests to compare the injured limb to the non-injured contralateral limb. However, the evidence in support of the LSI calculation to quantify rehabilitation status and return to sport readiness is mixed. We synthesize scientific literature on the LSI calculation and discuss potential reasons for the mixed evidence and limitations. We present four considerations to improve the utility of the LSI calculation including: (1) the importance of establishing the right benchmark of recovery such as the pre-injury contralateral limb or a sport-specific non-injured control benchmark; (2) strategies to manage the high variation in movement asymmetry calculations and the importance of quantifying the intra-subject variability for the component parts of the LSI; (3) the evidence for assessing the movement strategy alongside performance when using the LSI; and (4) how a sport-specific envelope of function can be used to inform post-ACL injury testing that incorporates the LSI
Interprofessional and intraprofessional teamwork and handovers in healthcare: challenges and recommendations from work-based learning
No full textInterprofessional practice is a well-known topic for all public and private health professionals, but there has been limited research on social network analysis in determining the actual configuration of professional networks and their impact on teamwork and patient care. Furthermore, previous interprofessional theories appear limited to specific sectors and are not generalisable. The book’s authors propose novel insiders’ views about collaborative practice as ‘experts’ of the sector, with plenty of applications that can attract healthcare professionals and policymakers aiming to improve integrated care based on Evidence-Based Practice and Practice-Based Evidence.Several aspects of interdisciplinary and interprofessional teamwork appeared as the lever for patient improvement, quality of care, team coordination, and work satisfaction. In practice and education, interprofessional cooperation is the meeting, interacting, learning, communicating and practising of people from two or more different professional backgrounds with the customer as the care centre (Prentice et al., 2015). Additionally, reciprocal communication and comprehension of each professional’s role are believed to lead to better care coordination (Prentice et al., 2015). In this book we focussed our research on healthcare teams in public and private hospitals and healthcare settings where we worked or researched. This book demonstrates how we applied our learning experiences to such groups. Even from our early practice in hospitals and healthcare settings, we have observed that only integrated and interprofessional teams can deliver an adequate quality of care to patients. These last also are part of the interprofessional network, which addresses the central topic of patients’ needs
Energy efficiency optimisation of joint computational task offloading and resource allocation using particle swarm optimisation approach in vehicular edge networks
Get PDFWith the progression of smart vehicles, i.e., connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs), and wireless technologies, there has been an increased need for substantial computational operations for tasks such as path planning, scene recognition, and vision-based object detection. Managing these intensive computational applications is concerned with significant energy consumption. Hence, for this article, a low-cost and sustainable solution using computational offloading and efficient resource allocation at edge devices within the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) framework has been utilised. To address the quality of service (QoS) among vehicles, a trade-off between energy consumption and computational time has been taken into consideration while deciding on the offloading process and resource allocation. The offloading process has been assigned at a minimum wireless resource block level to adapt to the beyond 5G (B5G) network. The novel approach of joint optimisation of computational resources and task offloading decisions uses the meta-heuristic particle swarm optimisation (PSO) algorithm and decision analysis (DA) to find the near-optimal solution. Subsequently, a comparison is made with other proposed algorithms, namely CTORA, CODO, and Heuristics, in terms of computational efficiency and latency. The performance analysis reveals that the numerical results outperform existing algorithms, demonstrating an 8% and a 5% increase in energy efficiency