Researching Masculinity and Violence in Sri Lankan Politics: Subject Construction as Methodology

This article discusses a research methodology study which worked with young men – members of a formerly armed Tamil group in Sri Lanka, now struggling to survive in electoral politics. Study participants had security concerns which made a conventional ethnographic approach problematic. An alternative methodology was needed, offering a contextualised analysis of events that could capture the background, political persuasion and motivations of actors without actually revealing specificities of personal identity and geographic location. The research sought to analyse the context of Tamil militancy, the changing dimensions of Tamil masculinity, and the way in which combat training transformed notions of selfhood and political dissent among young Tamil men. There was an activist element to the project, aiming to open up a discursive space which would enable participants to interrogate their own political praxis in a supportive environment, allowing them to conceive new ways of acting out their political rages. In this, it had partial successes and some failures

A global agenda for advancing freshwater biodiversity research

Global freshwater biodiversity is declining dramatically, and meeting the challenges of this crisis requires bold goals and the mobilisation of substantial resources. While the reasons are varied, investments in both research and conservation of freshwater biodiversity lag far behind those in the terrestrial and marine realms. Inspired by a global consultation, we identify 15 pressing priority needs, grouped into five research areas, in an effort to support informed stewardship of freshwater biodiversity. The proposed agenda aims to advance freshwater biodiversity research globally as a critical step in improving coordinated actions towards its sustainable management and conservation.Peer reviewe

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

A discursive analysis of the construction of Afrophobia in TimesLive, News24 and Independent Online in South Africa, 2019 - 2022.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Immigration has become a global phenomenon where nearly half of the world‘s populations are refugees, migrants or asylum seekers. However, the representation of black African migrants has not been fair and balanced leading to studies outlining the negative representation of migrants in the media. Previous scholarship has explored how such reporting could be deemed xenophobic. This study is specifically interested in the phenomenon of Afrophobia, defined as fear of black people or systematic discrimination against people with African ancestry (Dube, 2019). This study explores the representation of black African migrants in Timeslive, News24 and IOL news sites and how the reporting language may be used in the construction of Afrophobic sentiments. The study utilises content analysis to gather data. A total of 66 news articles were purposively selected from the three news sites. The data is grouped according to emerging themes: illegality, undocumented migrants, job takers, criminals and drug dealers. Critical discourse analysis is used to analyse the discursive portrayal of black African migrants. The focus of the analysis is on how Afrophobia is problematised and transformed into a discursive crisis through the construction of anti-immigrant themes. Representation theory and post-colonial theory conceptually guide this study. Although the findings of this study generally support earlier studies which argue that the media representation of black Africans is negative, the critical discourse analysis also revealed sympathetic representations available in the news. The study‘s unique contributions are that it explores the Afrophobic sentiments manifested as prejudices and stereotypes, and systemic discrimination faced by foreign nationals in South Africa, through the online news as they are depicted as criminals, drug dealers and illegal or undocumented people, blamed for social ills in South Africa. It also reveals positive reporting where black African migrants are portrayed as entrepreneurs, employing the local population and adding value to the economy. However, the negative homogenous reporting of black African migrants is still prevalent

The good, the bad and the balanced: a critical analysis of the representation of the black African migrants in the South African Daily News and Daily Sun newspapers, 2016- 2017.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The number of black African migrants in South Africa keep rising and currently stands at around two million despite the xenophobic attacks (Statistics South Africa's 2011). The post-apartheid era in South Africa has witnessed an influx of both permanent and temporary African and Asian migrants (Enigbokan et al. 2015: 3). The representation of black African migrants in the press remains contested, with some studies acknowledging the dominance of a negative and biased portrayal of Black African migrants in the press (Danso and McDonald 2001). This paper analysed how black African migrants are represented in some of the dominant newspapers in Durban, South Africa. Content and critical discourse analyses were used to examine the keywords, tone and metaphors in newspaper articles to identify how black African migrants are represented. Stories about refugees, immigrants, foreigners and asylum seekers were selected for analysis across 40 news articles in the two newspapers. Data were analysed using a two-step process of content analysis and critical discourse analysis. The research findings from this study indicate that black African migrants in the two newspapers are presented using more negative than positive metaphors. One of the critical findings of this study is the negative association of black African migrants with ‘illegality’, ‘drug dealing’ and ‘crime’. The study noted a few newspaper reports on the successes of migrants. The press tends to cover more of the gory activities of the black African migrants. This study analysed the linguistic character of newspaper content pertaining to black African migrants during the period 2016 – 2017. It then identified significant patterns that are consistent with extant literature on media constructions of migrants and the migration debate. Overall, the study established that black African migrants are portrayed negatively in most news articles

The Clinical Utility of the Heparin Neutralization Assay in the Diagnosis of Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) remains diagnostically challenging. Immunoassays including PF4/heparin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) have high sensitivity but low specificity. Whether the heparin neutralization assay (HNA) improves the diagnostic accuracy of the PF4/heparin ELISA for HIT is uncertain. In this study, to assess its clinical utility and evaluate whether it improves the diagnostic accuracy for HIT, we implemented HNA in conjunction with PF4/heparin ELISA over a 1-year period. A total of 1194 patient samples were submitted to the laboratory for testing from December 2015 to November 2016. Heparin neutralization assay alone is a poor predictor for HIT, but it has high negative predictive value (NPV): Cases with %inhibition &lt;70% are always negative for serotonin release assay. It improves the diagnostic positive predictive value (PPV) of ELISA without compromising sensitivity: ELISA optical density (OD) ≥1.4 alone has a sensitivity of 88% (14/16) and a PPV of 61% (14/23); with HNA %inhibition ≥70%, the sensitivity remains 88% (14/16) and PPV is 82% (14/17). 4Ts score correlates with ELISA OD and predicts HIT; the predictive accuracy of 4Ts score is further improved by HNA. Interestingly, HNA %inhibition of &lt;70% correlates with low 4Ts scores. Based on its high NPV, HNA has the potential to facilitate more timely and accurate HIT diagnosis. </jats:p