The digital twinning of Tuvalu: Deep ecology in the age of virtual reproduction

The threat of climate change to nation-states like Tuvalu has led to a novel attempt at digital preservation through virtual reproduction. Tuvalu’s Future Now Project aims to create a ‘digital nation’ in the metaverse. This article critically analyses this state-scale digital twinning from two theoretical lenses. First, drawing on deep ecology, it argues the virtual reproduction substitutes the intrinsic value of Tuvalu’s landscape and culture with instrumental value optimised for digital capitalism’s extractive logic. Second, building on concepts from Benjamin and Baudrillard, it contends that digital twinning subverts the cultural symbolic order through semiotic transformation, rendering the ‘digital nation’ a hyperreal imitation stripped of aura. Rather than preserving sovereignty over disappeared territory, the metaverse reproduction reimagines the state itself as a simulation. While responding to the severe threat of global warming, the project raises critical questions about the politics and value of virtual reproduction

Dancing: The Fox Treads. How Stories, Fairytale and Folklore Containing Elements of Horror Help us to Heal

My novel entitled Dancing: The Fox Treads lies within the genre of psychological and supernatural fiction. The book is a dark fairytale with elements of magic realism and horror exploring themes of loss, grief, motherhood and the dislocation from reality through mental illness. The novel also features unsettling descents into the uncanny that touch upon Japanese folklore, and the relationship between Western and Japanese myth and fairytale is central to my project. The essay explores how stories that embrace horror can also be seen as therapeutic, and therefore beneficial. The exegesis examines the figure of the abject feminine through the cannibalistic themes of fairytales and myth, revealing hidden trauma but also leading to acceptance and healing of the mind. I will investigate the concept of Jungian archetypes, particularly the trickster, the self, the mother and the shadow, and how an acknowledgement of these entities forms an important part in our recovery from mental illness and episodes of PTSD. Whilst looking at creative approaches to writing, I am particularly interested in the mode and genre of magic realism. In order to exhibit the fractured sense of self experienced with the decent into psychosis of the main protagonist, I will examine how magic realism brings the uncanny into the everyday, a process that creates feelings of unease for the reader and yet ultimately leads to a transformation and release of negative emotions and hidden trauma

FedDGA: Federated Multitask Learning Based on Dynamic Guided Attention

The proliferation of privacy-sensitive data has spurred the development of federated learning (FL), which is an important technology for state-of-the-art machine learning and responsible AI. However, most existing FL methods are constrained in their applicability and generalizability due to their narrow focus on specific tasks. This article presents a novel federated multitask learning (FMTL) framework that is capable of acquiring knowledge across multiple tasks. To address the challenges posed by non-IID data and task imbalance in FMTL, this study proposes a federated fusion strategy based on dynamic guided attention (FedDGA), which adaptively fine-tunes local models for multiple tasks with personalized attention. In addition, this article designed dynamic batch weight (DBW) to balance the task losses and improve the convergence speed. Extensive experiments were conducted on various datasets, tasks, and settings, and the proposed method was compared with state-of-the-art methods such as FedAvg, FedProx, and SCAFFOLD. The results show that our method achieves significant performance gains, with up to 11.1% increase in accuracy over the baselines

Embedding Employability in Higher Education Collaborative Project

The "Embedding Employability in Higher Education Collaborative Project" was a sector project designed to help institutions critically reflect on and enhance their employability provision. A core component of this project was the use of LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP), a facilitation methodology that fosters deep engagement, creativity, and narrative construction.The project focused on a range of employability components including competencies and how these can be embedded or aligned with curricula in ways that resonate with students and educators alike. The use of LSP provided a dynamic approach to achieving this goal by facilitating reflection on employability in a structured yet creative manner to help participants.The integration of LEGO® Serious Play® into the project represents a significant step toward reimagining how employability is conceptualised and embedded within curricula.This case study collection looks at the impact of the project on four institutions that took part

Investigating the Genetic Influence on the Pathological Burden of Multiple Sclerosis

Introduction: Permanent disability in multiple sclerosis (MS) is primarily driven by neuronal and axonal loss. While genome-wide association (GWAS) studies have begun identifying genetic variants associated with the clinical course of MS, the variants underpinning pathological severity have not been described. Understanding these novel variants and their influence on the clinical course of MS can be used to further develop our knowledge of this heterogenous disease.Aims: To uncover genetic variants and describe the expression of mapped genes that associate with the pathological severity of MS.Methods: Using data from an integrated GWAS expression quantitative trait loci COLOCation (eQTL COLOC) analysis of progressive MS (n = 310), we investigated the association between gene variant status and neuron density, extent of demyelination and retrospectively determined clinical milestones. In situ hybridisation (ISH) revealed gene expression and localisation in a subset of MS and controls (n = 20).Results: Previously described variant rs7289446 (SEZ6L) was not associated with quantitative measures of neuron density, demyelination or clinical outcomes. A 2nd variant mapping to DYSF:CYP26B1 (rs7564433), which represents the first GWAS validated mapped gene (rs10191329), was associated with higher neuron density, lower demyelination, slower disease progression and an older age at death in heterozygote allele carriers (p < 0.05). Independent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), mapping to PCSK5 and COMMD10, genes not previously linked to MS, were associated with increased neuron density in the thalamus, pons (p < 0.05; PCSK5) and frontal cortex (p <0.05; COMMD10), specifically among heterozygous carriers. The average age of onset was 4.6 yrs lower in COMMD10 major allele carriers compared to heterozygotes.COMMD10 and PCSK5 neuronal and glial expression was elevated in normal MS grey matter (GM) compared to control and lesion GM.Summary: We describe gene variants that associate with neuron density and show the altered expression of mapped genes in MS. Our findings provide insights into biological mechanisms underlying MS severity, offering potential opportunities for targeted therapies and personalised MS care

Military Supply Chain Logistics and Dynamic Capabilities: A Literature Review and Synthesis

Military supply chain logistics (MSCL) managers have pioneered innovation and thought in supply chain management (SCM). Given the ongoing conflicts and escalating international tensions of our world today, understanding the unique attributes and capabilities that shape MSCL management is imperative for navigating the broader international trade landscape. MSCL managers develop and employ unique capabilities that allow them to dynamically balance efficiency, responsiveness, and agile deployment while handling sudden surges during conflict-driven disruptions. This literature review and synthesis offer insights into the evolution of MSCL and highlight its exceptional relevance to navigating the current global trade environment by integrating the findings with relevant business theories. The synthesis of MSCL's distinctive capabilities not only clarifies its importance in military operations but also provides valuable insights for business logistics and other sectors within broader SCM environments

Talking to Marilyn

Talking to Marilyn is a hybrid novel, deliberately crossing genres, combining the Gothic, a tiny dash of historical novel, mystery and biography. It began as a creative response to the life and work of Elisabeth Inglis-Jones – a Welsh woman writer who, until recently, has long been out of print. However, it is also a fictional examination of the lives of three women, years apart, highlighting the expectations of gender, and the ways they fight to overcome those expectations. My essay explores the role gender played in the lives of Elisabeth Inglis-Jones and Marilyn Monroe. It is a fictional account of their lives, based on some four years of research undertaken into the personal and professional aspects of the women they were. The third protagonist, Beth Jordan, is a fictional character, partly based on my own memoir. Fiction is only made stronger by the use of real people, real life, real events. The resulting hybrid genre represents an original contribution to knowledge, both in terms of the years of original research conducted and the form the novel takes

Application of Exercise Snacks across Youth, Adult and Clinical Populations: A Scoping Review

BackgroundInterest in ‘exercise snacks’ has increased, yet a comprehensive and holistic review of this novel concept is lacking. We aimed to map global research on ‘exercise snacks’, across youth, adult and clinical populations through a scoping review.MethodsA systematic search was conducted in six databases. Grey literature searches were also conducted. Studies whereby participants were prescribed a structured bout of intense exercise dispersed across the day, or the exercise was explicitly defined as a form of ‘snacks’, in any setting were included. We used the Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template (CERT) to assess the completeness of exercise descriptions. Data were recorded into spreadsheets, then descriptively analyzed and summarized in graphic form.ResultsThe 45 publications meeting our inclusion criteria represented 33 original studies. These 33 studies enrolled a total of 1118 participants, with a median sample size of 24. Studies were categorized as either acute (n = 12) or chronic (n = 21) trials with both trial types performed across a wide range of participant ages (range 8.7 to 78 years) but mostly conducted on healthy adults and older adults. The majority of studies (20/33) defined the concept as ‘exercise snacks’, with study context being predominantly the laboratory or home. A wide variety of exercise modes (e.g., cycling, stair climbing, body weight exercises) and comparator conditions (e.g., moderate intensity continuous exercise, prolonged sitting, non-exercise controls) were used. ‘Exercise snack’ intensity was prescribed more frequently than it was reported, and, of the available data, mean intensity was estimated at 76.9% of maximal heart rate and 5.2 Arbitrary Units (AU) on the Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) CR10 scale. Study outcome measures were predominantly cardiovascular, metabolic, muscular, and psychological, with studies mostly adhering to the CERT, though there was underreporting of detail for the exercise provider, motivation strategies, adverse events and intervention fidelity.ConclusionThe ‘exercise snack’ concept is being increasingly used to cover an array of exercise models. The most common protocols to date utilize body weight exercises or stair climbing. We recommend ‘exercise snacks’ terminology is consistently used to describe protocols whereby short, purposeful structured exercise is dispersed throughout the day. Future studies should provide detailed descriptions of their ‘exercise snacks’ model, through exercise and adverse event reporting checklists