Differences in presentation of white, black, Asian and oriental ethnic groups in British comic and magazine publications for children

My interest in comics began at about ten years of age. Reading difficulties and a dismissal as stupid by one of my primary school teachers left me believing that reading was beyond my capabilities. One morning when walking reluctantly to school I saw a comic lying in the gutter. Attracted by the bright colours I picked it up, I could not read the title 'Dandy' but the picture stories meant for the first time I could follow a narrative. Quickly I realised that the pictorial content gave me clues to the dialogue presented in the 'bubbles'. Reading for me was a possibility and I soon became addicted to a diet of comics. Unfortunately the racist nature of British society was reflected in those comic strips. Brought up in an environment where there were no visible black faces most of my racial education was from the society around me and the comics I read. I did not realise how deeply ingrained the racial conceptions were until I attempted to draw my own comic strip to amuse two small children for whom I had frequent care. Without thinking I automatically reproduced the same kind of stereotypes to be found in the comics I had read. Soon racial inequalities were to become a central concern in my life. I became conscious of the pervasiveness of racism in society and this consciousness increased as I embarked on a mixed race marriage generally disapproved of in the white dominated society of the early 1950s. My experience as a mother of mixed race children led me to join various anti-racist groups and thus become interested in all aspects of racial injustice. A combination of factors encouraged the undertaking of this research amongst them being, a teacher first, of young children and later of adolescents. A further influence came from the literature I read which encouraged me to write articles on the subject for such magazines as Roots and Youth in society. As a consequence of my past experiences and these articles this research project took shape and I make no apology for the fact that feelings and experiences have entered into the research process. The pre-occupying concern of this research is to investigate the degree of equality in presentations of white, black, Asian and Oriental groups in comics and magazines for children. The central aim is to locate any unjustifiable differences in the presentations. Each of the Chapters in this study attempts to deal with a specific area, related to racism and collectively they attempt to supply evidence to support an argument that presentation of black group characters is mostly concerned with negative portrayals. The opening chapter commences with a declaration of aims and objectives and proceeds with a discussion of the nature of racism followed by theoretical approaches and the general methodology available for analysing comic texts. A standard content analysis is adopted in order to extract the necessary figures involved in the distribution of imagery across the ethnic groups presented in the comic literature. Without this preliminary exercise another important objective of the study would be impossible, that is, to interpret the figures in a more refined, qualitative manner in the hope that some of the subtle details of stereotyping will emerge. Chapter Two reviews the historical development of comics and magazines and the influence of this development on racial imagery. Chapter Three concentrates on the construction of appropriate headings under which to place ethnic groups appearing in the comics in order that they might be analysed by the use of checklists which draw on the common usage of stereotypes, present established checklists, and other literature for children. Chapters Four, Five, Six and Seven focus on the analysis of a number of specific aspects commencing with areas where black Asian and Oriental characters are included and excluded. Chapter Five takes issue with the presentation of principal characters, while chapter Six investigates the reality or otherwise of a number of racial myths. Chapter Seven concerns itself with the distribution and nature of verbal and non-verbal contacts between ethnic groups and Chapter Eight consists of a number of case studies using the original visual comic material in an attempt to illustrate the nature of the racism within the comic sample. The final chapter is a review of the findings from the comics and magazines brought together and conclusions drawn from the data to see if there are a significant number of unfair differences in the presentations of white, black, Asian and Oriental groups. After a brief summary of the major findings the final chapter discusses some of the conclusions and tries to interpret these conclusions within a wide theoretical framework

A case study of stakeholder perceptions of patient held records: the Patients Know Best (PKB) solution

Introduction: Patients Know Best (PKB) provide a patient portal with integrated, patient controlled digital care record. Patient controlled personal health records facilitate coordinated management of chronic disease through improved communications among, and about patients across professional and organizational boundaries. An NHS foundation trust hospital has used PKB to support self-management in patients with Inflammatory Bowel disease; this paper presents a case study of usage. Methods: The Stakeholder Empowered Adoption Model provided a framework for consulting variously placed stakeholders. Qualitative interviews with clinical stakeholders and a patient survey. Results: Clinicians reported PKB to have enabled a new way of managing stable patients, this facilitated clinical and cost effective use of specialist nurses; improved two-way communications, and more optimal use of outpatient appointments and consultant time. The portal also facilitated a single, rationalised pathway for stable patients, enabling access to information and pro-active support. For patients, the system was a source of support when unwell and facilitated improved communication with specialists. Three main barriers to adoption were identified, these related to concerns over security; risk averse attitudes of users; and problems with data integration. Conclusions: Patient controlled personal health records offer significant potential in supporting self-management. Digital connection to healthcare can help patients to understand their condition better and access appropriate, timely clinical advice

Using Telemedicine in Practice: Implications for Workforce Development

The aim of this article is to present a discussion of the impact of telemedicine on professional practice, and the implications for the workforce. Telemedicine, or the use of video-conferencing for remote consultations between clinician(s) and patients, is now a mature technology. Many pilot studies have taken place, generally showing positive benefits to patients. There is emerging evidence that the impact on staff is more mixed; with concerns about changes to job role, skills development, and poor understanding of the organisational benefits. Evidence also highlights enablers of successful telemedicine implementation, including senior leadership, peer motivation, understanding of patient benefits, and time for safe experimentation. Following a review of qualitative data from four case study telemedicine projects undertaken within the authors’ research group, evidence from published literature is discussed. The four projects explore telemedicine services provided between an acute hospital service and nursing homes (remote assessment of swallowing difficulties), an acute hospital service and home (video-link to renal patients undergoing home dialysis), between a specialist teaching hospital service and a district general hospital (fetal abnormalities ultrasound telemedicine clinic), and a survey of mental health professionals across acute and community services within a locality. The introduction of telemedicine at scale requires an organisational and system-level approach that recognises the specific challenges and issues for the workforce. Education and training need to be provided at all levels. In conclusion: there are significant opportunities to realise the benefits of remote consultations, to improve the patient experience and staff productivity, if workforce issues are addressed

The politics of new atheism: An examination of the aims, impact and validity of the movement within a British context.

As Daniel Dennett wrote in his work 'Breaking the Spell' when talking about religion, somehow the stakes always seem to be higher. Perhaps this is why debates surrounding religion, especially when they enter the public arena, have a tendency to become polemical. One of the unfortunate traits of polemics is that they often succeed in generating more heat than light. Since the emergence of New Atheism there has been very little academic analysis of the movement, certainly there is very little in the form of engagement from either a political or cultural standpoint. And if one takes the view that New Atheism is inherently political (and that's what makes it new) then this becomes a very obvious gap to fill. Hence I chose to undertake this research project under the auspices of a political studies department instead of the perhaps more obvious home of a religious studies department. In the 6 years since I began this research project. New Atheism has come and gone from the bestsellers lists in WH Smiths and Waterstones, making this the ideal time to make a full analysis of the movement and its impact. New Atheism has taken a subject previously believed to be the province of the 'academic' section in bookshops and placed it into the bestseller lists. Hitherto rather dry, dusty looking academic eccentrics like Dennett and Richard Dawkins have become television and internet celebrities. New Atheism is political in its aims and has had a very visible cultural impact; this is why a political and cultural studies thesis should examine it. Although on the surface there would seem little need to add another book-length project to the bulging book shelves on the resurgence of the 'God debate', when one reads most of them, there is very little impartiality. Contributors such as Alister McGrath and John Lennox do not stand outside New Atheism, they 'engage' with New Atheism on a very combative level, making them part of the movement. This then is the very essence of the 'more heat than light' approach. Theologians have engaged with and indeed criticised the atheism in New Atheism. However this is tantamount to reviewing a book when you've only read the prologue (a phrase I shall come back to later). It is for political scientists and cultural historians to engage and analyse the impact of this movement, for it seeks to politicise and influence our minds and our culture; and there has been very little such engagement, certainly on this scale so far, and particularly in relation to Britain. And this brings me onto the second aim of this research project. I did not simply want to look at New Atheism in and of itself; to do so would make this thesis little more than an elaborate literature review. There is urgency in New Atheism, an insistence that there are problems at the heart of our society, problems which if not dealt with promptly will have negative impacts for all of us. I wanted to find out if those claims were true in Britain. New Atheism is not a British movement. It's most famous exponent is from Britain but there is very little in New Atheism which claims to be exclusive to any geographical region. New Atheism is rarely specific in geography when highlighting the problems of religion, Britain seldom features centre stage. Is this because the problems are simply not relevant here, or is it that Britain isn't quite as 'obvious' a target as the Bible Belt of America or the Middle East? Is it true, as some critics of the movement affirm, that New Atheism only picks easy targets like Osama Bin Laden and George W. Bush and uses them to stereotype the rest? This project therefore seeks to answer three questions; 1: What is New Atheism and precisely what impact has it had in Britain? 2: To what extent do its claims about the pernicious influence of religion in public life, reflect religion in Britain ? How? (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)

An Examination of the Indices of Deprivation - North Cumbria Area.

Intro: A presentation of data from the Indices of Deprivation for the North Cumbria Area Methods: Secondary analysis of the Indices of Deprivation Findings: Examination of higher-level data (i.e. county and district) illustrated how analyses across larger areas can obscure the existence of deprivation at the local level. As such, data for Cumbria County Council suggests it to be a relatively comfortable area with only moderate levels of deprivation. Analysis of lower-level (LSOA) data revealed a range of deprivation levels in North Cumbria and suggested some polarisation between and within LSOAs. This was apparent on the main domains for income and employment. Two domains stood out from the others due to the distribution of rankings being skewed towards most deprived; these are the domains for education, training and skills, and health deprivation and disability. Conclusions: The Indices of Deprivation reveal concentrations of deprivation in North Cumbria. However, more localised, pocket deprivation is remains hidden due geographically large and polarised LSOAs

‘Teleswallowing’: a case study of remote swallowing assessment

Purpose: Telemedicine has enabled speech and language therapists (SLTs) to remotely assess swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) experienced by nursing home residents. The new technique, “teleswallowing”, was designed by the Speech and Language Therapy Service at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It allows prompt assessment, avoiding potential risks of aspiration pneumonia, malnutrition, poor rehabilitation, increased hospital stays and reduced quality of life (Hinchey et al., 2005; Langmore et al., 1998). The purpose of this paper is to report on a second pilot of teleswallowing and the concomitant adoption study. Design/methodology/approach: The adoption study employed qualitative methods, including consultations with senior managers, semi-structured interviews with nursing home matrons/managers and nurses, two focus groups and semi-structured interviews with SLTs. The project clinical lead kept an activity log, which was used to estimate resource savings. Findings: Over a three-month period, six SLTs and 17 patients in five nursing homes participated in teleswallowing assessments. Teleswallowing benefited both patients and participating nursing homes. Better use of therapist time and cost savings were demonstrated and evidence showed that the service could be successfully scaled up. Despite this, a number of barriers to service transformation were identified. Originality/value: This is the first implementation of teleswallowing in the UK, but it has been used in Australia (Ward et al., 2012). The approach to engaging stakeholders to understand and address barriers to adoption is novel. The value lies in the lessons learned for future innovations

Service user and staff acceptance of fetal ultrasound telemedicine

Objective We present qualitative findings from interviews with frontline clinicians and service users of a fetal telemedicine service. Methods Semi-structured interviews with clinical stakeholders and service users were conducted, undertaken as part of a service evaluation. Data collection was undertaken by different teams, using interview schedules aligned to independent evaluation aims. Data were subjected to thematic analysis. Results Sonographers reported four main challenges: delivering a shared consultation; the requirement to resist scanning intuitively; communications during the scan; and restricted room space. Notwithstanding, all clinicians reported that participating women were accepting of the technology. Service users reported few concerns. The main benefits of fetal telemedicine were identified as upskilled staff, increased access to specialist support and improved management of complex pregnancies. Convenience was identified as the main benefit by service users, including savings in time and money from not having to travel, take time off work, and arrange childcare. Conclusions Service users and clinical stakeholders were accepting of the service. Service users reported satisfaction with communications during the consultation and awareness that telemedicine had facilitated local access to clinical expertise. Whilst clinical stakeholders reported challenges, the iterative nature of the evaluation meant that concerns were discussed, responded to, and overcome as the pilot developed. Clinical stakeholders’ perception of benefits for service users encouraged their acceptance. Moreover, the evaluation established that fetal ultrasound telemedicine is a viable method to access expertise safely and remotely. It provided demonstrable evidence of a potential solution to some of the healthcare challenges facing rural hospitals

The introduction of a fetal ultrasound telemedicine service: quality outcomes and family costs

Introduction: The complexity of fetal medicine (FM) referrals that can be managed in a district general hospital (DGH) is dependent on the availability of specialist ultrasound expertise. Telemedicine can effectively transfer real-time ultrasound images via video-conferencing. We report the successful introduction of a fetal ultrasound telemedicine service. Methods: All women referred for FM consultation from the linked DGH were seen via a weekly telemedicine service, excluding cases where invasive testing was anticipated. Image and audio quality were rated (using a 5 point scale) following each consultation. Women referred for their first appointment were asked to complete a questionnaire following the consultation. Figures presented are median [range]. Results: 80 women had a telemedicine consultation between October 2015 and September 2016. 37 cases were new referrals because of fetal anomaly (n = 17), exclusion of abnormal placental invasion (n = 11), small-for-gestational-age (n = 7) and prior history of fetal anomaly (n = 2) and 43 cases were follow-up consultations. Median gestation was 29 [13–36] weeks. Image quality was of sufficient quality to achieve the aims of the consultation in 79 cases with an image score of 4 [3–5] and audio score of 5 [3–5]. Journey to the telemedicine consultation was 20 [4–150] minutes in comparison to an estimated journey time of 238 [120–450] minutes to the FM centre. Estimated family costs for attendance at the FM centre were £95 [20–555]. Conclusion: We have demonstrated that a fetal ultrasound telemedicine service can be successfully introduced and used to provide high quality consultations

Health Inequalities in Cumbria - Initial analyses of Survey Responses.

Intro: The Centre for Research in Health and Society (CRiHS) at University of Cumbria wanted to understand the most pressing health inequalities in Cumbria and the factors driving in order to target our research agenda. Methods: Short, online consultation with variety of Cumbrian stakeholders (49 responses). Findings: Inequity in healthcare is apparent in Cumbria; respondents reported uneven access to mental health services, secondary care, ambulance and emergency services as well as differences in commissioning practices across the county. Inequity in health was also reported which was caused by the synergetic effects of multiple (upstream and downstream) factors upon individuals. Conclusions: The provision of healthcare in Cumbria is challenging, as is tackling the wider determinants of health. There is a need for health and wellbeing eco-systems to combine actions at all levels and across sectors, for example, health services (front line, managerial, commissioning), local authorities, local business and VCFSE, together with the development of participation structures for community engagement

Living well in north Cumbria

Dr Elaine Bidmead (University of Cumbria) & Dr Jo Wildman (Newcastle University) led this workshop at the LOC in the Lakes Conference on health inequalities. Despite the NHS's 'free at the point of delivery' system, horizontal inequities exist in healthcare utilisation. Poverty-proofing of healthcare settings identifies barriers faced by people living in poverty. This workshop will give you the opportunity to contribute towards research, and to begin the co-design of a ‘poverty proofing toolkit’. The conference was hosted by CLIC (Cumbria Learning and Improvement Collaborative) and sponsored by the Academic Health Science Network