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Living memory : history and experience in She was like a wild chrysanthemum and The snow flurry
No full textKeisuke Kinoshita was one of the most popular and acclaimed filmmakers active at Shochiku during the early postwar decades. A significant number of his most distinguished films dramatise the recent, remembered past, which, when Kinoshita was at work, stretched back to the Meiji Period (1868-1912). This chapter discusses two films which use romantic melodrama to explore and critique the social and political realities of the recent past. Both Nogiku no gotoki kimi nariki (She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum, 1955) and Kazahana (The Snow Flurry, 1959) concern relationships between young lovers which are thwarted by circumstances. Beyond the moving personal dimensions, they use these narratives to question the more rigid social organisation of the past, and at least implicitly endorse the broadly liberal and individualist project encapsulated by the postwar Japanese constitution
Do soundscapes reflect differences in tropical rainforest habitat quality and bird communities
No full textSoundscape analysis has the potential to provide valuable information on ecological integrity. Acoustic indices quantify characteristics of soundscapes and enable ecological patterns to be inferred. In highly bio-diverse regions where the use of automated signal detection and identification may be limited, acoustic indices could be an alternative method to assess biodiversity and ecological status. To be used as a reliable monitoring technique, a better understanding of the relationships between biodiversity and acoustic indices is needed. Here, I use data from habitat surveys, land use classification from satellite imagery, bird point counts, and audio recordings, from a West African rainforest. I investigate associations between vegetation structure, land use, the avian community and five acoustic indices (Acoustic Complexity Index, Acoustic Evenness, Bioacoustic Index, median of the amplitude envelope, and soundscape saturation). I show that soundscapes reflect differences in the forest protection status and avian community. Compared with community forests, soundscapes in the national park have more rapid changes in sound intensity, more frequency bands simultaneously occupied with sound and more sound energy between 2-8kHz, as evidenced by three acoustic indices. However, these differences are unrelated to the vegetation structure or surrounding land use. Avian community level traits, such as mass and feeding guild, have little effect on the soundscape, although foraging strata is weakly correlated to two indices. Contrary to expectations, lower avian species richness is associated with soundscapes with more temporal variability. These results demonstrate that soundscapes may be influenced by many factors, including those not measured in standard habitat and single-taxa surveys. Additionally, determining the effect of community level traits, of a single taxon, on a soundscape in a biodiverse environment, presents difficulties. This study supports that differences in soundscapes, as quantified by acoustic indices, can reflect ecological differences. However, changes in biodiversity may affect the soundscape in unexpected ways leading to counterintuitive patterns in acoustic indices, thus in biodiverse habitats they must be used and interpreted carefully
Moth communities in restored wet meadows: using a chronosequence to determine temporal variation
No full textEurope’s grassland habitats are among its most ancient and biodiverse. They provide a range of ecosystem services on which society depends, but they are also facing numerous anthropogenic threats. Among the rarest grassland habitats are floodplain meadows which have undergone substantial declines over the previous century. With conservation efforts underway to manage and expand these habitats in the UK, establishing indicator taxa that can be surveyed to monitor the success of these projects at restoring the species community will be a valuable tool. This study has examined the potential of moths for this purpose based on their application in similar habitats. Heath traps with a 12v actinic bulbs were used to sample moths in fields of different ages of restoration over a single season from late April to July. Species were categorised based on their foodplant preferences. Those with foodplants associated with grassland habitats predominantly formed the basis of the analysis. While Shannon diversity and species richness appears to differ significantly between some sites, there is no clear pattern among them of increasing diversity with age since establishment. This result is supported by the lack of significant difference in wingspan or species composition between any of the sites. From these results, it appears species assemblages are heavily influenced by the disturbance regime of mowing and flooding that characterises this habitat. Species that are able to recolonise quickly following disturbance are relatively large-bodied generalists and appear poorly suited to act as indicator taxa in this environment. Further research would benefit from longer term data collection and comparison with similar restorations to assess how widely these results can be extrapolated
Reimagining the Scottish landscape : where is afforestation best for providing ecosystem and biodiversity services?
No full textAfforestation can provide ecosystem services and support biodiversity most optimally when carried out strategically and systematically. Systematic conservation planning can be used as a method of weighing opportunity costs to calculate prime locations where new trees could provide the largest benefit to populations and landscapes. The demand for ecosystem services such as aesthetics, carbon storage and wood production drive these calculations, as well as the political and moral need to sustain biodiversity features. Optimal locations where afforestation would best serve the population are currently not well-known in Scotland, where forestry is largely degraded. Here we show that the prime hotspots for afforestation are predominantly found in the east and partial west of Scotland. We found that areas of productive agriculture, cropland and high soil carbon were optimal places for planting new trees for the need of sequestering carbon, growing timber for wood production, and supporting wildlife in a variety of ways. The latter part of our results describe the best tree species to plant together for the purposes of climate change resilience, protecting forest obligate species and timber production. We anticipate our findings to be a reference point for future tree-planting proposals in Scotland, supporting governmental and corporate decision-making
Healing through art : a thematic synthesis within a quasi-systematic review of art’s impact on adult mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic
Get PDFAim.
To synthesise evidence on how both structured art therapy and informal creative engagement supported adult mental well-being during COVID-19-related isolation, and to evaluate their applicability across diverse populations and contexts.
Method.
A quasi-systematic review of qualitative studies from CINAHL, PsycInfo, and PubMed (2020–2024), analysed through thematic synthesis.
Results.
Analysis of seven studies identified five key themes: (1) emotional processing and expression through symbolic creation, (2) adaptive communication and nonverbal connection, (3) communal support and collective meaning-making, (4) empowerment and regaining agency, and (5) transformation of trauma into post-traumatic growth. Marginalised groups—including isolated elderly individuals, disabled adults, and low-income families—benefited significantly from both formal art therapy and informal artistic activities, which addressed barriers such as limited mobility, communication challenges, and social disconnection.
Discussion.
Art-based interventions demonstrate potential as scalable, low-resource tools for mental health support, particularly for individuals experiencing isolation or other forms of vulnerability, such as disability or displacement. However, equitable implementation requires hybrid delivery models and cultural adaptation. While qualitative findings highlight art’s capacity to externalise distress and sustain connection, methodological constraints (small homogenous samples) necessitate mixed-methods validation of long-term outcomes.
Conclusion.
Integrating art into public health frameworks could mitigate isolation-related psychological harm, particularly for marginalised groups. Future research should prioritise cross-cultural adaptation of interventions, community-led co-design, and studies that examine how social factors like disability, income, and cultural context intersect to shape the effectiveness of art-based mental health support
Disability and disability sport on the BBC and Channel 4 : analysing the audience reception and production processes of mediated disability sport in the UK
No full textThis chapter focuses on audience and media professionals’ perceptions of the televised content relating to disability and disability sport broadcast on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), a free-to-air public service broadcaster, and Channel 4, a mainstream commercial television broadcaster, in the United Kingdom. This chapter investigates whether Channel 4 portrays disability in shows which are designed to be laughed at or laughed with, given that Channel 4 has the United Kingdom broadcasting rights to the coverage of both the Summer and Winter Paralympics. The chapter draws upon questionnaires completed by 24 members of the public with a disability, and interviews with five media professionals whose line of work covers disability. The findings from the questionnaire element of the data collection process illustrate that those participants (with a visible or invisible disability) mostly feel best represented by factual programmes. However, the analysis also found that the participants feel that, when disabilities are shown in the media, it is predominantly done so to entertain. These findings are complemented with analysis of interviews with media professionals from both Channel 4 and BBC, whose line of work covers disability which suggest that, whilst change is happening regarding media portrayals of disability, the consensus is that this change is a marathon and not a sprint. We therefore contend that the two broadcasters show disability and disability sport differently, drawing upon contrasting theories—the medical model of disability, the social model of disability, and crip theory—illustrating mediated stereotypes of disability and the impact of ‘inspiration porn’ and this ‘unconscious’ negative representation this has on the viewer
Laryngeal reinnervation vs type I thyroplasty in unilateral vocal fold paralysis (VOCALIST) : a randomized feasibility study
Get PDFObjectives.
We wished to determine the feasibility of performing a multi-centre phase III randomized controlled trial that compares laryngeal reinnervation to type I thyroplasty for adults with unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) in the UK.
Methods.
A feasibility study was designed; 27 participants were recruited at three UK sites. Trial procedures mirrored those intended for a full-scale trial. We assessed recruitment rates, acceptability of randomization, and dropout rates and conducted a qualitative study to understand the recruitment processes. Participants were followed up for up to 12 months to assess optimal outcome measures for the definitive trial covering voice, swallowing, and overall quality of life. A qualitative study was run in parallel with the quantitative clinical trial.
Results.
Recruitment was successful with 23 patients with UVFP randomized to reinnervation (n = 12) and thyroplasty (n = 11). 96% (n = 22) of participants accepted the treatment to which they were allocated, of which 17 received their intervention before the study end date. The qualitative study identified minor recruitment challenges that could be addressed through in-trial training. The set of subjective and objective voice, swallowing, and quality of life outcome measures used demonstrated a responsiveness to change following interventions.
Conclusion.
The results from this study have provided us with the assurance that conducting an adequately powered randomized controlled clinical trial of laryngeal reinnervation versus type I thyroplasty for adults with UVFP in the UK is feasible in terms of conduct, recruitment, outcome measurement, and completion.
Level of Evidence: 2.
Trial Registration: ISRCTN9020173
WFPC7001: An Introduction to Managing Practice Quality (M1 Support Day English)
No full textSupport day materials (English) from module 1; An Introduction to Managing Practice Quality
