Science denial and medical misinformation in pandemic times:a psycho-criminological analysis

This study integrates criminological social learning and psychological explanations of individual factors and mechanisms for science denial to offer an individual-level analysis of ‘alternative lifestyle’ subcultural groups in cyberspace in order to understand the assimilation, success and proliferation of potentially dangerous health-related misinformation. Through a rigorous passive online ethnography of two relevant self-identifying ‘alternative lifestyle’ Italian- and English-speaking online communities observed over the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, we observed the unfolding of online narratives and behavioural intentions of criminological and psychological interest. We identified in our data both individual factors and mechanisms for science denial and clues to social learning, and we showed how they interrelate. Furthermore, by looking at the linguistic and visual resources used to shape how participants think through social learning mechanisms, we identified four main narrative frames: informative; oppositional; empathetic; and agency and spirituality. The findings of this study provide a more comprehensive understanding of the reasons for and mechanisms behind medical misinformation online and suggest ways to mitigate the related harms

Increasing communication and engagement through social media during a pandemic: a review and recommendations

Drawing on both international and Scottish research, this brief outlines key findings that relate to police social media use and discusses how this research can provide a framework for police social media use during a pandemic. The brief argues that Covid-19 and other crisis situations make police communication and community engagement a crucial component of police work (even more so than at other times). It also argues that social media provides an excellent avenue to help achieve this communication and engagement

Gyrochronology: TESS Light Curve Analysis

Gyrochronology is the observed correlation between the age of a cool main-sequence star like the Sun and its rotational period. Various methods can be used to determine stellar rotation periods, however NASA’s Kepler mission and NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission provide complementary data for this type of project. Kepler focused on a very small observational field for almost four continuous years, whereas TESS continues to survey the entire night sky for intervals of about one month at a time. Due to this difference in cadence, it is important to compare the resulting rotation periods obtained from these surveys. We have constructed TESS light curves to compare to existing Kepler light curves of the same target stars observed at different epochs. Identifying the conditions under which TESS rotation periods may differ from those derived from the Kepler mission can help identify the random and systematic biases of each data set. This poster presents some preliminary results of this comparison. Support from NSF grants AST-1910396, AST-2108975 and NASA grants 80NSSC22K0622, 80NSSC21K0245, and NNX16AB76G is gratefully acknowledged. *Florida Gulf Coast Universit

Collaborative development of guidelines for teaching sensitive topics in forensic science

Five colleagues from the University of the West of Scotland and Teesside University have come together to develop an engaging presentation on the politics and practices of teaching sensitive topics. Given the absence of resources to guide the teaching of sensitive topics in forensic science, our group collaborated to learn from shared experiences in criminal justice education. The session begins with an introduction to the teaching of sensitive topics and progresses to illustrate examples of how trauma-informed practice might be implemented in forensic science education. We aim to assist forensic science educators in developing support frameworks for the teaching of sensitive topics, prioritising student wellbeing and engagement while also considering the wellbeing of educators. To further this initiative, we invite attendees to participate in a large-scale collaborative exercise to help shape the development of comprehensive guidelines. Together, we can make a significant impact on the future of forensic science education

Alcohol Screening and Brief Interventions for Offenders in the Probation Setting (SIPS Trial): a Pragmatic Multicentre Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Aim - To evaluate the effectiveness of different brief intervention strategies at reducing hazardous or harmful drinking in the probation setting. Offender managers were randomized to three interventions, each of which built on the previous one: feedback on screening outcome and a client information leaflet control group, 5 min of structured brief advice and 20 min of brief lifestyle counselling. Methods - A pragmatic multicentre factorial cluster randomized controlled trial. The primary outcome was self-reported hazardous or harmful drinking status measured by Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) at 6 months (negative status was a score of <8). Secondary outcomes were AUDIT status at 12 months, experience of alcohol-related problems, health utility, service utilization, readiness to change and reduction in conviction rates. Results - Follow-up rates were 68% at 6 months and 60% at 12 months. At both time points, there was no significant advantage of more intensive interventions compared with the control group in terms of AUDIT status. Those in the brief advice and brief lifestyle counselling intervention groups were statistically significantly less likely to reoffend (36 and 38%, respectively) than those in the client information leaflet group (50%) in the year following intervention. Conclusion - Brief advice or brief lifestyle counselling provided no additional benefit in reducing hazardous or harmful drinking compared with feedback on screening outcome and a client information leaflet. The impact of more intensive brief intervention on reoffending warrants further research

ASL Champ!: A Virtual Reality Game with Deep-Learning Driven Sign Recognition

We developed an American Sign Language (ASL) learning platform in a Virtual Reality (VR) environment to facilitate immersive interaction and real-time feedback for ASL learners. We describe the first game to use an interactive teaching style in which users learn from a fluent signing avatar and the first implementation of ASL sign recognition using deep learning within the VR environment. Advanced motion-capture technology powers an expressive ASL teaching avatar within an immersive three-dimensional environment. The teacher demonstrates an ASL sign for an object, prompting the user to copy the sign. Upon the user's signing, a third-party plugin executes the sign recognition process alongside a deep learning model. Depending on the accuracy of a user's sign production, the avatar repeats the sign or introduces a new one. We gathered a 3D VR ASL dataset from fifteen diverse participants to power the sign recognition model. The proposed deep learning model's training, validation, and test accuracy are 90.12%, 89.37%, and 86.66%, respectively. The functional prototype can teach sign language vocabulary and be successfully adapted as an interactive ASL learning platform in VR.Comment: 36 pages, 9 figure

What do we need to know to safely store CO2 beneath our shelf seas? Stakeholder workshop report

This report summarises the content and discussion of an Agile Initiative workshop held at the University of Oxford on March 1st 2024, discussing “what do we need to know to safely store CO2 in our UK continental shelf seas?

Screening and brief interventions for hazardous and harmful alcohol use in primary care: a cluster randomised controlled trial protocol

A large number of randomised controlled trials in health settings have consistently reported positive effects of brief intervention in terms of reductions in alcohol use. However,although alcohol misuse is common amongst offenders, there is limited evidence of alcohol brief interventions in the criminal justice field. This factorial pragmatic cluster randomised controlledtrial with Offender Managers (OMs) as the unit of randomisation will evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different models of screening to identify hazardous and harmful drinkers in probation and different intensities of brief intervention to reduce excessive drinking in probation clients. Ninety-six OMs from 9 probation areas across 3 English regions (the NorthEast Region (n = 4) and London and the South East Regions (n = 5)) will be recruited. OMs will berandomly allocated to one of three intervention conditions: a client information leaflet control condition (n = 32 OMs); 5-minute simple structured advice (n = 32 OMs) and 20-minute brieflifestyle counselling delivered by an Alcohol Health Worker (n = 32 OMs). Randomisation will be stratified by probation area. To test the relative effectiveness of different screening methods all OMs will be randomised to either the Modified Single Item Screening Questionnaire (M-SASQ) orthe Fast Alcohol Screening Test (FAST). There will be a minimum of 480 clients recruited into the trial. There will be an intention to treat analysis of study outcomes at 6 and 12 months postintervention. Analysis will include client measures (screening result, weekly alcohol consumption,alcohol-related problems, re-offending, public service use and quality of life) and implementation measures from OMs (the extent of screening and brief intervention beyond the minimum recruitment threshold will provide data on acceptability and feasibility of different models of brief intervention). We will also examine the practitioner and organisational factors associated with successful implementation.The trial will evaluate the impact of screening and brief alcohol intervention in routine probation work and therefore its findings will be highly relevant to probation teams and thus the criminal justice system in the UK

Fundamental constructs in food parenting practices: a content map to guide future research

Although research shows that “food parenting practices” can impact children’s diet and eating habits, current understanding of the impact of specific practices has been limited by inconsistencies in terminology and definitions. This article represents a critical appraisal of food parenting practices, including clear terminology and definitions, by a working group of content experts. The result of this effort was the development of a content map for future research that presents 3 overarching, higher-order food parenting constructs – coercive control, structure, and autonomy support – as well as specific practice subconstructs. Coercive control includes restriction, pressure to eat, threats and bribes, and using food to control negative emotions. Structure includes rules and limits, limited/guided choices, monitoring, meal- and snacktime routines, modeling, food availability and accessibility, food preparation, and unstructured practices. Autonomy support includes nutrition education, child involvement, encouragement, praise, reasoning, and negotiation. Literature on each construct is reviewed, and directions for future research are offered. Clear terminology and definitions should facilitate cross-study comparisons and minimize conflicting findings resulting from previous discrepancies in construct operationalization