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A preliminary study looking at the use of mindful compassion and cannabis suppositories for anodyspareunia among men who have sex with men (MSM)
Get PDFResearch on the use of cannabis rectal suppositories for analgesia is limited. Few trials have eval-uated the combined use of mindfulness and cannabis suppositories for anodyspareunia in men who have sex with men (MSM). This preliminary study, including a randomised control trial (RCT) and content analysis, assessed the effectiveness of an online mindful-compassion and cannabis suppos-itory intervention among 52 British MSM (aged 18–50) who predominantly identified as bottoms (recipients of anal sex). Participants were randomly allocated to one of four groups based on whether they were using cannabis suppositories: adjunct cannabis suppository and mindful-compassion (CSMF), cannabis suppository-only (CS), mindful-compassion-only (MF) and care-as-usual/control (CAU). Assessments measuring mindful compassion, sexual functioning, sexual self-efficacy, well-being, and anodyspareunia levels were completed at weeks 0, 4, and 12. Anodyspareunia levels were lower in the CSMF group compared to the other groups (CS/MF/CAU), p = 0.031. Feedback revealed that participants felt mindful compassion potentiated the effects of cannabis suppositories during sexual intimacy, reducing pain and enhancing sexual self-efficacy, sexual functioning, and well-being. This preliminary study warrants larger-scale investigation to establish the role of can-nabis suppositories and mindful compassion in reducing anodyspareunia
The ideational approach to populism: consequences and mitigation. Volume 2
No full textThis book provides a series of specific predictions about the distinct impact of populist ideas.
In this sequel to the first volume, the ideational approach to populism is extended, providing a robust theoretical framework for understanding populism’s consequences and for identifying policies that mitigate its most negative effects. It reaffirms that ideas matter, arguing that an ideational definition of populism leads to more accurate, and sometimes surprising predictions about the impact of populism at multiple levels of analysis. The chapters of this edited volume explore the effect of populist ideas in each of four areas: consequences for state-level institutions, voters, and international relations; and mitigation. The ideational approach encourages us instead to invest in more systematic engagement with populists and pay better attention to our communication skills.
It will be of interest to students and scholars of politics, international relations, social psychology, and political communication
Synthetic data
Get PDFThe rise of data-driven businesses poses a number of significant challenges for contemporary organisations. These include legal and ethical considerations arising from the use of personal data, the growing challenges of information security, and the difficulty managing the volume of data generated in business transactions of different kinds. The exponential growth of data continues unabated with global data volumes reaching 181 zettabytes by 2025, and with 90% of the world’s data generated in the last two years alone. This massive growth can be mainly attributed to data gathered by Internet of Things (IoT) and related sensory devices, in addition to data generated through the human use of digital tools and applications. Given this abundance of real-world data, in what context could synthetic data be necessary? This paper highlights the growing organisational use of synthetic data and explores where and how it can be optimally used. It examines the ethical aspects of synthetic data usage, the need to garner public perception and acceptance, and the key aspects of traceability, accountability and risk mitigation
DRD-UNet, a UNet-like architecture for multi-class breast cancer semantic segmentation
Get PDFStaining of histological slides with Hematoxylin and Eosin is widely used in clinical and laboratory settings as these dyes reveal nuclear structures as well as cytoplasm and collagen. For cancer diagnosis, these slides are used to recognize tissues and morphological changes. Tissue semantic segmentation is therefore important and at the same time a challenging and time-consuming task. This paper describes a UNet-like deep learning architecture called DRD-UNet, which adds a novel processing block called DRD (Dilation, Residual, and Dense block) to a UNet architecture. DRD is formed by the combination of dilated convolutions (D), residual connections (R), and dense layers (D). DRD-UNet was applied to the multi-class (tumor, stroma, inflammatory, necrosis, and other) semantic segmentation of histological images from breast cancer samples stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin. The histological images were released through the Breast Cancer Semantic Segmentation (BCSS) Challenge. DRD-UNet outperformed the original UNet architecture and 15 other UNet-based architectures on the segmentation of 12,930 image patches extracted from regions of interest that ranged in size between 1036×1222 to 6813×7360 pixels. DRD-UNet obtained the best performance as measured with Jaccard similarity index, Dice coefficient, in a per-class comparison and accuracy for overall segmentation
Experiences of geophagy during pregnancy among African migrant women in London: implications for public health interventions
Get PDFThis study explored African migrant women's clay ingestion experiences during pregnancy against a backdrop of health risks warnings in order, to inform public health interventions by the UK Food Standards Agency and Public Health England, now known as the UK Health Security Agency. An interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA) was utilized, and data were collected with a total of 30 participants through individual in-depth interviews and one focus group discussion. Findings showed clay ingestion is a fluid and widely accepted cultural practice among African communities with most participants having been socialized into ingestion during childhood, through family influences and current social networks in their adulthood. Vomiting, nausea, spitting, appetite challenges, and cravings were cited as the main reasons for clay ingestion during pregnancy. With strong claims regarding its effectiveness, clay was ingested every day by most participants, and at times in large quantities despite the potential health risks. This calls for innovative and culturally sensitive public health interventions starting with the inclusion of clay ingestion health risk messages in maternal health nutrition information within antenatal settings. This can be done as part of multilevel interventions informed by life course approaches, which also consider community health messages and an enabling regulatory policy framework focusing on clay sold for human ingestion
Evaluation of an artificial intelligence enhanced application for student wellbeing: pilot randomised trial of the mind tutor
Get PDFThere has been an increase in the number of UK university students disclosing mental health conditions in recent years. This paper describes the evaluation of the Mind Tutor app, an artificial intelligence based wellbeing app specifically designed for first year undergraduate students, which included a chatbot function that guided students to relevant wellbeing content. The content of the app was developed based on data about mental health and wellbeing issues reported by students and focussed on anxiety, low mood, academic study, transition to university and relationships. Two randomised controlled evaluation studies were conducted with N = 177 and N = 240 first year undergraduate students from two UK universities (the second due to delays in development work and difficulties with recruitment in the first trial). The Mind Tutor had no significant impact on student wellbeing. The study suffered from poor recruitment and retention rates. However, further research is warranted to understand factors that may increase engagement and acceptability of app based tools to increase student wellbeing
"My country first": vaccine nationalism in England?
Get PDFThis article asks what the main factors are that influence the expression of vaccine nationalism among the population of England. The analysis is based on data collected in 2021 as part of the project entitled World Problem, National Solutions. A set of logistic regressions test to what extent (1) personal experiences of the pandemic and respondents’ vulnerability, (2) perceived threat from other nations, (3) political identities and attachment to nationalist ideology, and (4) pride in national achievement at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic affect a sample of adult respondents in England to express a form of vaccine nationalism. The results show that vaccine nationalism is not affected by personal experiences or nationalist ideology. The main impact on vaccine nationalism among the population comes from their political orientation and pride in national achievement during the pandemic
Connected Communities: supporting inclusive recovery in London. Final report
Get PDFThis report presents findings from the Connected Communities project (2021-2023), which investigated how participatory aspirations enshrined in the 2020 London Recovery Programme (by London Councils and the Mayor of London), particularly the commitment to community engagement, have been interpreted and implemented in three municipal contexts. The report positions the strategic commitments made by the three municipal actors to their residents along the spectrum of public participation, and outlines how place, and the institutional actors’ interpretations and views shape municipal organisations’ approach to community engagement in urban regeneration
Gadzikano, Romano ciacipen, czyli w stronę dekolonizacji badań romologicznych
Get PDFNiniejszy zeszyt "Studiów Migracyjnych Przeglądu-Polonijnego" ma szczególny charakter z niejednego powodu. Jest to pierwszy numer w historii pisma, od prawie 50. lat stymulującego naukowe dyskusje wokół migracji, transnarodowości i etniczności, poświęcony w całości polskim Romom. Na stronie "Studiów Migracyjnych – Przeglądu Polonijnego" czytamy, że czasopismo „kontynuuje tradycje Przeglądu Polonijnego, który ukazał się po raz pierwszy w 1975 roku z inicjatywy ówczesnego Komitetu Badania Polonii PAN. Od samego początku Przegląd Polonijny […] był pismem interdyscyplinarnym, w którym dzieje i przemiany funkcjonowania skupisk polonijnych analizowano w kontekście szeroko rozumianych procesów migracji i stosunków etnicznych”. Studia migracyjne w Polsce (zarówno czasopismo, jak i obszar badań naukowych) wywodzą się wprost ze studiów polonijnych (diasporycznych). Migracje z Polski zostały opisane w licznych tomach, od prac Thomasa i Znanieckiego począwszy, poprzez artykuły naukowe w czołowych czasopismach migracyjnych. Polki i Polacy proszą o azyl, jeżdżą na saksy, pracują na zmywaku w Londynie. Polki i Polacy tęsknią za krajem, dla nich powstają polskie sklepy oraz polskie misje katolickie, celebrują w polski sposób święta, wchodzą w związki mieszane, integrują się (bądź nie) ze społeczeństwem kraju docelowego budując różne formy przynależności i transnarodowe formy życia rodzinnego. Powstają kolejne teksty na temat edukacji drugiego pokolenia polskich migrantów w szkołach, artykuły o podtrzymywaniu polskich tożsamości i o złożoności relacji w transnarodowych rodzinach. W tych wszystkich jakże potrzebnych dyskusjach, umyka często fakt, że z Polski migrują nie tylko etniczni Polacy, ale też mniejszości. Stąd polscy Romowie są w tych dyskusjach nieobecni, chociaż od dekad, wraz z innymi współobywatelami i współobywatelkami, zasilają szeregi migrantów za chlebem, wyjeżdżających na saksy, azylantów, uchodźców, migrantów przed i po-akcesyjnych
Magic and materialism: fortune telling and the culture of enchantment, 1919-1939
No full textThis article examines the popular visual and material culture of divination and the depiction of Romani fortune-tellers in Britain from 1919 to 1939. It is concerned with how popular culture, particularly material culture marketed to and consumed by working people, was permeated with narratives of magic and occultism (especially those of ‘luck’ or ‘fortune’) in the interwar period. It also explores some of the ways in which enchantment was woven into everyday life through the means of material consumption. Drawing on the Mass Observation project, which observed the lives of working-class people from ‘Worktown’ (Bolton) on holiday in Blackpool, it explores contemporary debates about the role of popular occultism in a society increasingly defined by narratives of modernity and materiality. This study considers magazines and free gifts marketed at and consumed by young women and girls and how these cheaply made and ephemeral objects were perceived as enchanted through their association with divination. It looks at the depiction of the Romani fortune-teller as part of this mass-produced culture of fortune-telling and explores how the Romanichal were positioned and othered as figures of both fantasy and fear. It also considers how the figure of the Romani was deployed to create a sense of ancestral authenticity in an age when authority was increasingly conferred through narratives of modernity and science