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Extending Reasonable Adjustments: A Renewed Tool for Creating Inclusive Workplaces?
No full textExtending employers’ duties to make reasonable adjustments to all protected grounds could be a transformative tool for advancing substantive equality, challenging workplace norms, and creating positive and proactive approaches to equality. However, despite legislative reform across jurisdictions, it appears unlikely that existing provisions are adequately framed to realise this transformative potential. This article argues that the individualised and reactive framing of duties to make reasonable adjustments will likely mean they fall short of their full transformative potential. As well as extending the duty to all protected grounds, a more proactive approach to the duty is required to meaningfully advance substantive equality
Experiences of self-harm, suicidal ideation and mental health care among autistic youth
No full textAutistic youth experience high rates of self-harm and suicidal ideation, and substantial barriers to adequate mental health care. Research suggests that mental health services may not meet the needs of autistic individuals, though autistic youth experiencing self-harm and suicidal ideation are underrepresented in this literature. The present study aimed to explore experiences of self-harm, suicidal ideation and mental health care among a sample of autistic youth recruited through two Australian government-funded youth mental health services. Online interviews with seven autistic participants aged 15-23 years were transcribed and thematically analysed using a reflexive approach. Four themes and two subthemes were generated: (1) social rejection as risk, and connection as protection; (2) overwhelming emotions can lead to self-harm and hinder help-seeking; (3) feeling (mis)understood and (in)adequately accommodated by clinicians (comprising two subthemes related to poor understanding and accommodation of autism within mental health services); and (4) safety planning can feel like a box-ticking exercise. These findings highlight the importance of social connectedness as a protective factor against self-harm and suicidal ideation for autistic youth, and the necessity of improving understanding and accommodation of autism in mental health care settings and suicide interventions.Lay abstractAutistic people under the age of 25 experience high rates of self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Previous research has found that mental health care provided by professionals like psychologists might not meet the needs of autistic people. However, this research has usually focused on autistic adults, so less is known about the experiences of younger autistic people. In this study, we spoke with seven autistic young people aged between 15 and 23 years, and asked about their experiences of self-harm, suicidal thoughts and mental health care. Many participants had experienced social rejection or bullying, which contributed to their self-harm and suicidal thoughts. However, positive relationships with family, friends and others were a source of support when they were struggling. Self-harm was described as a way to cope with strong negative emotions, but many participants found it hard to talk about or describe those emotions, which made it difficult to get support. The help they received from psychologists for their self-harm and suicidal thoughts was impacted by how well the psychologist understood autism, and whether they were willing to accommodate the participants' individual needs and preferences. Participants had created suicide safety plans as part of the mental health care they received, but many felt like they had to do this just for the sake of doing it, rather than creating a plan that was truly helpful
Polymedia within constraints: Negotiating smartphone usage among socioeconomically marginalized older female adults in the Global South
No full textRevisiting polymedia within the ageing context, this research unfolds dynamics experienced by marginalized older groups in the Global South when navigating an increasingly complicated media landscape on smartphones. While polymedia shifts the focus from individual media platforms to an integrated media environment that can potentially expand communicative opportunities, existing discussions on this socio-technological transformation tend to neglect the role of user agency, particularly in socially constrained contexts such as marginalized ageing. Giving a voice to socioeconomically restricted older female adults in the Global South, this research illuminates their engagement with polymedia is contingent upon the intersection of individual ageing experiences as well as uneven social structures and the lack of policy support for digital inclusion in a broader context. The findings highlight their contextualized strategies to make sense of polymedia, revealing their evolving understanding of nuances in media affordances and how they develop their unique media preferences. Simultaneously, the diverse constraints limiting their exploration of polymedia can sometimes transform theoretical communicative opportunities into obstacles, leading to a loss of control within the polymedia environment
A comparative study of CIBSE TM65 and alternative methods for quantifying embodied greenhouse gas emissions of HVAC equipment
No full textImprovements in energy efficiency of building services systems, in particular, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, have been at the forefront of efforts to reduce the environmental impacts attributed to the building sector. These developments suggest that the environmental impacts of the raw material extraction, production, transportation and end-of-life stages of building services products are becoming more critical from a life cycle perspective. However, the embodied effects of building services systems are often excluded from building-level life cycle assessment (LCA) studies, owing to their complexity in terms of materials and supply chain processes. To address this gap, the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) published a document called Technical Memorandum 65 (TM65) to provide guidance on estimating the embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of building services systems at the product-level when detailed information in the form of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) is not available. While applicable to a wide range of products, the reliability of the results obtained from the quantification methods proposed in TM65 needs further examination, given their simplicity. This study aims to compare the embodied GHG emissions of HVAC equipment quantified using the methods proposed in TM65 with an alternative approach. For the product and repair stages, the embodied GHG emissions estimated using the TM65 methods were lower than those from the alternative approach. In contrast, for the use phase, the TM65 methods yielded higher embodied GHG emissions. These differences are related to the choice of life cycle inventory approach as well as assumptions about refrigerant leakage scenarios
Graduate music therapists’ experiences of using the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music as a form of supervision: A creative process for exploring work-based issues, professional identity, and personal wellbeing
No full textMusic therapy graduates experience significant challenges as they transition into the workforce, including feelings of isolation, overwhelm, and low professional confidence. Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) as a form of supervision offers flexible, creative opportunities for deep internal personal and professional exploration. However, research has not explored GIM as a form of supervision with music therapy graduates. This study explored the experiences of four music therapy graduates who participated in semi-structured interviews following a series of six GIM sessions as a form of supervision. Interview data were examined using thematic analysis. Findings revealed a central theme of “Emerging Professional Identity,” which recognised internal and professional transitions. Five interrelated sub-themes contributed to the central theme: (a) Experiential – acknowledging the client role and supervisor modelling; (b) Creative Processing – a unique opportunity to explore the professional self through music listening and drawing; (c) Personal Work - recognising the complexity of personal issues impacting the professional self; (d) Transforming – exploring individual ways of being a music therapist as opposed to doing music therapy; (e) Reflexivity – described as deep awareness of interpersonal dynamics within therapeutic relationships. The process of GIM as a form of supervision offered a creative space using music and drawing to explore previously unconscious issues influencing practice, gain personal and professional insights, and experience music therapy as a client. Findings suggest that GIM as form of supervision supports music therapy graduates to integrate their personal and professional selves and could complement traditional talking-based supervision
Dialetheism and the A-theory
No full textAbstract
According to dialetheism, there are some true contradictions. According to the A-theory, the passage of time is a mind-independent feature of reality. On some A-theories, the passage of time involves the movement of the present. I show that by appealing to dialetheism, one can explain why the present moves. I then argue that A-theorists should adopt this explanation. To do this, I defend two claims. First, that the dialetheic explanation is an improvement on the only other explanation available for why the present moves and, second, that adopting the explanation is better than leaving the motion of the present unexplained. Assuming that A-theorists should adopt the best available version of their view, it follows that they should adopt a dialetheic explanation of why time passes
Synchrotron X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy for Characterising Pigments in Seventeenth-century Persian Illuminated Manuscripts
No full textIdentifying materials and techniques is an essential aspect of research related to the historical, artistic, and conservation issues in illuminated manuscripts. This study used synchrotron-based scanning X-ray fluorescence microscopy (SXFM) to investigate three seventeenth-century illuminated Persian manuscripts from The University of Melbourne Manuscripts Collection. This non-destructive and high-sensitivity method provided micron-resolution maps of the elements in the study area, which identified the artist’s palette by considering the dominant elements. Distribution of a particular element provided insight into the paint application methods or subsequent intervention in the area. Gold mapping detected genuine gold in the gilded areas and distinguished the application of liquid gold from gold leaf. The study identified lead in bright red and white, copper and zinc in green, arsenic and sulphur in yellow, mercury in red, and calcium and potassium in blue, suggesting the application of red lead, lead white, malachite or verdigris, orpiment, cinnabar, and natural ultramarine. The ultramarine-hued areas in one of the manuscripts also showed high potassium counts that may relate to the processing of the pigment. Elemental mapping also depicted retouching and interference in drawings, as well as trace elements related to processing methods or primary mineral sources
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Recent-onset atrial fibrillation: challenges and opportunities
No full textAtrial fibrillation (AF) is increasingly diagnosed early, close to its first occurrence due to: (i) increased public awareness with self-screening; (ii) health care initiatives including population screening and opportunistic case finding; and (iii) increased use and surveillance of implantable cardiac devices. At its onset, AF is often low burden, and cardiovascular co-morbidities may be absent or at an early stage. Thus, the management of recent-onset AF has become an issue of growing importance. Professional guidelines have traditionally focused on anticoagulant thromboprophylaxis, generally recommending a cautious approach to rhythm control, and priority has been given to rate control to alleviate symptoms. In recent guidelines, the importance of managing lifestyle and co-morbidities has increased. The AF-SCREEN collaboration proposes that a vigorous approach to active management of recent-onset AF may be warranted. This includes addressing co-morbidities and promoting healthy lifestyles to prevent the emergence or progression of AF and associated cardiovascular disease, as well as the initiation of active rhythm control ± anticoagulation to prevent AF-related morbidity and mortality, including stroke and heart failure (HF). Intuitively, intervention early after AF onset would be beneficial since lifestyle and co-morbidity management, plus rhythm control and anticoagulation, are important contributors to improved outcomes in patients with established AF, but robust evidence is lacking for recent-onset AF. There is a delicate balance between achieving favourable outcomes such as preventing strokes, HF and AF progression vs the complications and potential adverse effects of interventions. Given the serious long-term consequences, innovative approaches are necessary to determine the value and risks of initiating active therapy very early in the course of AF. More data are needed to guide the best management of recent-onset AF, bearing AF burden in mind. Long-term studies using large national databases linked to electronic medical records and rhythm monitoring devices offer excellent opportunities. Shorter-term studies focusing on reducing AF burden to slow AF progression and studies focusing on outcomes such as HF could be used in both randomized clinical trials and observational cohort studies