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“Waka Ŋurrkanhayngu” Regenerating the existence of life: Pathways for Reviving & Strengthening Indigenous Ways of Being-Knowing-Doing to Heal the Source of ‘Natural’ & Social Disasters:Paper presented at Emergency Management Institute Short Course, Joint Centre for Disaster Research, Massey University, 07 March 2024, New Zealand.
No full textA very Arabian Christmas:What the hell was I thinking?
Get PDFOur online editor, Alexandra Marshall, has an excellent piece in the Christmas bumper edition of The Spectator Australia entitled Travels with my Brother. Alexandra’s article reminded me of the rhythm in Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. It also made me think back to two Christmases I spent in the Middle East. I mentioned one New Year’s Eve I spent in a Russian Mafia nightclub in Aqaba, and Alexandra thought it sounded like the start of an interesting article. So here is the result: Part 1 of A Very Arabian Christmas that does for Speccie Christmas articles what Die Hard did for Christmas movies. Part 2 is all downhill from here. But read Alexandra’s article first, it’s brilliant
‘I Don't Know What I'd Do if My Kid Was Being Violent to Me, but These Parents Just Keep Pushing Through’:A Narrative Inquiry of Practitioner Responses to Child to Parent Violence
Get PDFChild to parent violence (CPV) is a serious concern. However, there is a paucity of research exploring practices for supporting families experiencing this violence. Many responses for CPV sit within a criminal justice setting and are underpinned by skill development and psychological approaches. This study is aimed at examining ‘What responses from services, including the conditions that enable responses, are identified as supportive for families experiencing CPV in services?’ Utilising a narrative inquiry methodology, this study analyses interviews with mothers who experience CPV (n = 11) and practitioners who work with CPV (n = 19). Three overarching themes for responding to CPV were found: (1) relatings underpin responses, (2) response-ability and CPV and (3) strategies for addressing CPV. Foundational to all responses is the need for connections between parent and child, worker and family, and worker and worker, with a range of practices to foster connection identified in this study. Practitioners frame the response-ability of the violence varyingly, which makes addressing the violence both possible and impossible. Responses for addressing CPV by practitioners predominantly include psychological based, behaviour based, skills/education based, relationship based and referrals to other services. Recommendations for practice with families experiencing CPV are explored, as are future research and education.</p
Skeletal muscle reactive oxygen species and microvascular endothelial function in age-related hypertension:a study protocol using a microdialysis technique
No full textAbstract: Increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and microvascular endothelial disruptions occur with natural ageing, but often transpire before the detection of cardiometabolic conditions including hypertension. Age-related increases in blood pressure are driven by complex systemic changes with poorly understood integrated mechanisms. The deconditioning experienced by ageing skeletal muscle from mid-life is associated with reduced microvascular blood flow and increased peripheral resistance, suggesting that vasodilatory decrements in the muscle may precede the age-related increases in blood pressure. Structural and functional changes within the vascular and skeletal muscle systems with advancing age can influence redox homeostasis, and vice versa, further compounding microvascular endothelial dysfunction. Therefore, comparisons between the microvascular environments of healthy and hypertensive cohorts can provide insights into the changes that occur during significant periods of functional decline. This comprehensive study protocol describes a microdialysis technique to assess the interactions of microvascular health and functional changes in the muscle, which currently cannot be otherwise addressed. Here, we detail an experimental protocol to simultaneously detect skeletal muscle ROS (H2O2 and indirect O2−), determine nutritive blood flow and assess microvascular endothelial function in response to acetylcholine stimulation. We expect that healthy middle-aged individuals should not have increased ROS generation in the muscle at rest, compared to their hypertensive or older counterparts, but may exhibit perturbed microvascular function. The described technique allows for intricate exploration of microvascular physiology that will provide a critically novel insight into benchmarking potential age-related mechanisms involved in the development of age-related hypertension, and aid in early identification and prevention. (Figure presented.). Key points: Increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and microvascular endothelial dysfunction precede the onset of age-related cardiometabolic and vascular conditions such as hypertension. The profound structural and functional changes that occur within the vasculature and in skeletal muscle from middle age prompt a need to mechanistically explore the microvascular environment in healthy and hypertensive individuals. Using a novel microdialysis technique, we detail an experimental protocol to simultaneously detect skeletal muscle ROS (H2O2 and indirect O2−), determine nutritive blood flow and assess microvascular endothelial function in response to acetylcholine stimulation. With this technique and study protocol, we can reveal functional insights into potential perturbations in ROS generation at rest and the microvascular endothelium, which play important roles in the development of age-related hypertension.</p
Dynamic Effects Analysis in Fractional Memristor-Based Rulkov Neuron Model
No full textMathematical models such as Fitzhugh–Nagoma and Hodgkin–Huxley models have been used to understand complex nervous systems. Still, due to their complexity, these models have made it challenging to analyze neural function. The discrete Rulkov model allows the analysis of neural function to facilitate the investigation of neuronal dynamics or others. This paper introduces a fractional memristor Rulkov neuron model and analyzes its dynamic effects, investigating how to improve neuron models by combining discrete memristors and fractional derivatives. These improvements include the more accurate generation of heritable properties compared to full-order models, the treatment of dynamic firing activity at multiple time scales for a single neuron, and the better performance of firing frequency responses in fractional designs compared to integer models. Initially, we combined a Rulkov neuron model with a memristor and evaluated all system parameters using bifurcation diagrams and the 0–1 chaos test. Subsequently, we applied a discrete fractional-order approach to the Rulkov memristor map. We investigated the impact of all parameters and the fractional order on the model and observed that the system exhibited various behaviors, including tonic firing, periodic firing, and chaotic firing. We also found that the more I tend towards the correct order, the more chaotic modes in the range of parameters. Following this, we coupled the proposed model with a similar one and assessed how the fractional order influences synchronization. Our results demonstrated that the fractional order significantly improves synchronization. The results of this research emphasize that the combination of memristor and discrete neurons provides an effective tool for modeling and estimating biophysical effects in neurons and artificial neural networks
Innovations and challenges in social media discourse analysis
No full textInnovations and Challenges in Social Media Discourse Analysis provides a key introduction to the analysis of everyday discourse on social media platforms.Outlining the challenges involved in the study of social media discourse that includes social interaction, relationality, intersubjectivity, and intermodality, this book takes a social semiotic approach to offer a useful reconceptualisation of existing tools and introduces new methodologies to help those studying in this area. Drawing on a range of corpora that feature tweets, Instagram photos, YouTube comments, and emoji, this book is essential reading for students studying modules on discourse analysis and language and media.</p
Caregiver Involvement in Psychotherapy for Young People With Borderline Personality Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder Features:A Systematic Review
No full textCaregivers of young people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) or BPD features experience significant burden and distress and often lack effective coping strategies. A family environment of pervasive invalidation can contribute to the disorder and work against effective coping. Consequently, some psychotherapy interventions for young people with BPD or BPD features aim to incorporate caregivers in treatment to varying degrees. This review synthesised results of existing studies that included caregivers in psychotherapy alongside their young person and that examined caregiver outcomes using quantitative measures. The review and literature search were conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Searches of five databases returned a total of 2988 articles, of which 10 met inclusion criteria and only two of which were RCTs. Seven used a dialectical behaviour therapy approach, two used brief psychoeducation, and one was an online social group. Articles examined changes in caregivers regarding treatment feasibility and satisfaction, emotion communication, perceived knowledge of BPD and caregiver mental health, burden and stress. Although there are few studies and results are limited by considerable methodological limitations, results suggest that including caregivers in treatment alongside young people, even in a brief capacity, may improve caregiver outcomes on several measures. Inclusion of caregivers is conceptually particularly pertinent for BPD for young people, and this review reveals important clinical implications and clear future research directions.</p
Artificial Intelligence System Development: Common Enabling Themes from Case Studies
Get PDFArtificial Intelligence (AI) System Development (SD) is an important area of focus for organisations. It offers opportunity for improved product and service delivery including reducing delivery times and improvement in quality. AI SD also presents organisations with uncertainty, and key challenges which must be effectively managed.In this paper, we present the commonly discussed themes enabling effective AI SD using data collected from 12 case studies. The findings provide useful information which organisations can use to improve their AI SD processes by identifying the changes that would enable them to develop more effective AI systems. The common themes highlight challenges such as cultural issues, inadequate processes, and poor-quality data. We argue that organisations can improve the effectiveness of their AI systems, meaning develop AI systems that improve their products and services, by reflecting on and applying these themes
Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals for the Management of Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Postmenopausal Women
Get PDFCardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death in women and risk of development is greatly increased following menopause. Menopause occurs over several years and is associated with hormonal changes, including a reduction in estradiol and an increase in follicle-stimulating hormone. This hormonal shift may result in an increased risk of developing abdominal adiposity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, vascular dysfunction, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), and metabolic syndrome (MetS). Furthermore, with the onset of menopause, there is an increase in oxidative stress that is associated with impaired vascular function, inflammation, and thrombosis, further increasing the risk of CVD development. Despite the harmful consequences of the menopause transition being well known, women in premenopausal, perimenopausal, and postmenopausal stages are unlikely to be enrolled in research studies. Therefore, investigations on the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic disease in middle-aged women are still relatively limited. Whilst lifestyle interventions are associated with reduced CVD risk in this population sample, the evidence still remains inconclusive. Therefore, it is important to explore the effectiveness of early intervention and potential therapeutic approaches to maintain cellular redox balance, preserve endothelium, and reduce inflammation. Glycine, N-acetylcysteine, and L-theanine are amino acids with potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity and are identified as therapeutic interventions in the management of age-related and metabolic diseases. The benefits of the intake of these amino acids for improving factors associated with cardiovascular health are discussed in this review. Future studies using these amino acids are warranted to investigate their effect on maintaining the vascular health and cardiovascular outcomes of postmenopausal women.</p
The interpretation-use argument– the essential ingredient for high quality assessment design and validation
Get PDFThere is increasing interest in health professions education (HPE) in applying argument-based validity approaches, such as Kane’s, to assessment design. The critical first step in employing Kane’s approach is to specify the interpretation-use argument (IUA). However, in the HPE literature, this step is often poorly articulated. This article provides guidance on developing the IUA using a worked example involving a workplace performance assessment tool. In developing the IUA, we have drawn inspiration from approaches used in the discipline of language assessment to situate the inferences, warrants and assumptions in the context of the assessment tool. The worked example makes use of Toulmin’s model of informal logic/argumentation as a framework to structure the IUA and presents Toulmin diagrams for each inference such that the reader can connect the argument chain together. We also present several lessons learned so the reader can understand the issues we grappled with in developing the IUA. A well laid out IUA allows the argument to be critiqued by others and provides a framework to guide collection of validity evidence, and therefore is an essential ingredient in the work of assessment design and validation.</p