Sexuality Law Reform and the Language of Progress: What lies behind statements that equality for lesbian and gay people is inevitable

Equality for lesbian and gay people is increasingly being treated as inevitable. This article questions this sense of inevitability by exploring three possible explanations: (1) a cynical explanation that the language of inevitability is being used as a rhetorical device, (2) a mechanical explanation that the impending equality is an effect of prior causes in time, and (3) a teleological explanation that history is progressing towards its purpose of achieving equality. The article concludes that invocations of inevitability do not stand up to theoretical scrutiny and explores what options are then open to equality activists

An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) investigation of positive psychological change (PPC), including post traumatic growth (PTG)

Positive Psychological Change (PPC) following trauma is a developing field for which there is no standard terminology. The plethora of labels, of which Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) is probably the most common descriptor, arguably masks a significant gap in clinical and theoretical understanding of the phenomenon. One specific gap addressed by this study is PPC following psychological trauma stemming from a Road Traffic Accident (RTA) in which the person involved has subsequently received Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR). To investigate this gap in knowledge, an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach was used and twelve participants recruited via a snowball sampling method. The participants were then interviewed using a Semi-structured Interview Questionnaire (SSIQ) and the interviews were then transcribed for IPA analysis. Key themes that emerged included Navigational Struggle (NS) to describe Negative Psychological Change (NPC), and Network Growth (NG), to describe PPC. At any one post-RTA/EMDR point there was a preponderance of one over the other, however, NS and NG were inseparable and found to co-exist along an NS-NG continuum. In addition, Figurative Language Use (FLU) had a significant role in both NS and NG yet was independent of both and apparently driving change towards the development of NG. Whilst NS and NG were both post-trauma phenomena, FLU seemed to hallmark expansion of memory networks as part of a general maturation process post-RTA. Furthermore, there was evidence that participants were incorporating their traumatic experiences via FLU into the rebuilding of their assumptive worlds. To account for these findings, an extension to Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) – the theory widely accepted to underpin EMDR - is proposed based upon a hypothesised Plasticity of Meaning (PoM), which is observable through FLU. PoM predicts which, why and how memory networks connect resulting in the adaptive processing predicted by AIP. The study’s findings are re-examined in terms of consequential modifications to the clinical use of EMDR. Extensive suggestions for further research are provided

Materiality of research: without end: documents of research by Meghann Hillier-Broadley and Francis Blore

What are the parameters of the academic document? And how can its myriad forms deepen and shape the process of being in research? Ahead of upcoming postgraduate symposium Without End: Documents of Research (University of Northampton, 16 February 2018), Meghann Hillier-Broadley and Francis Blore reflect on the generative potential of the various fragments – from post-it notes to notebooks to highlighted texts – that form the material substances inspiring and driving research

Sustainable development : the adoption of principles of sustainable development by the architecture and construction industry of South Africa.

Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.Sustainable development has been variously defined as: "the simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental quality, and social equity" (Gissen 2002:185), and as society's ability to meet its current needs and fulfil its greatest potential without compromising its ability to address its needs and potentials in the future (WCED 1987). It is a far reaching concept which calls for action by the entire spectrum of society. It implies a focus on more than just financial profits, and is more holistic and systemic than simple environmentalism. Approaches to the subject differ depending on the global context, that is, the North sees the issue as leaning more toward conscientious environmental resource use and rehabilitation, whereas the South sees sustainable development more in terms of providing for the basic needs of the poor, which often takes priority over doing so in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner. Implementation of sustainable development tends to be implemented by governments in a number of ways, firstly by moving the indicators of development away from Gross Domestic Product and toward more holistic indicators such as Quality of Life indicators, in order to internalise factors that are typically considered external to normal economic pricing factors. The implementation of sustainable development into the architecture and construction industry requires architects to be aware of the issues involved and the solutions available. Then clients need to be educated in their role in the process, with particular emphasis on the advantages available to them. These advantages include lower running costs, improved corporate image, and improved worker contentment and productivity. Practical measures for sustainable architectural design are primarily environmental in nature, and include water, energy, and material resource efficiency, as well as indoor environmental quality. These can however, largely be validated in economic terms. Existing literature that are intended as 'design guides', are however, lacking in practical measures in which to implement the more social and economic sides of sustainable development, and for that, the designer needs to look toward various architectural assessment tools, of which South Africa's Sustainable Building Assessment Tool is useful because of the broad scope of its approach. Built examples have demonstrated greatly improved environmental performance in buildings, as well as improved worker and client satisfaction. In terms of architectural quality, they range from offices which look very similar to other 'non-sustainable' offices built in the North, to a more experimental and low-tech approach practiced by a number of architects from the South, which see this approach as an opportunity for a new architectural expression. Sustainable architecture requires acknowledging sustainable development goals from the very start of the project. Following this, the interrelationship between different components of a design is examined, particularly with respect to allowing advantages attained from one component or system to benefit other systems. A holistic approach of concurrently focusing on environmental, social and economic factors will be shown to benefit all of these factors rather than just the one being designed for - for example, environmental interventions can have economic benefits. Because of the wide scope of factors that need to be considered, it will be found that often there are conflicting issues. This can be resolved through analyses such as life-cycle-analysis and value judgments can be made by comparing different solutions

The Effects of Penicillin on E. Rhusiopathiae Infected Pigeons

Advantage was taken of an opportunity to study the effects of penicillin on Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, the causative organism of swine erysipelas. Owing to the fact that swine cannot readily be infected with erysipelas by artificial methods, pigeons which are highly susceptible to the disease, were selected to serve as experimental animals. It was the purpose of these studies to ascertain whether or not the swine erysipelas bacillus is sensitive to the drug and incidentally to determine the possibility of finding application of penicillin in the treatment of swine

Studies on the Validity of Swine Erysipelas Culture-Vaccines

In countries where vaccination against swine erysipelas has been practiced during the last half century, there is a consensus among veterinarians that the best results are obtained when the live culture-vaccine is not only fresh and highly virulent but is endowed also with a good capacity for growth on artificial culture media. Apparently avirulent culture-vaccines are apt to engender only a transitory immunity or fail altogether. The problem presented by undesirable culture-vaccines was deemed to be of such importance to the swine industry that this Station undertook a series of experiments, to determine what influences might be accountable for the production of inferior vaccination materials

CO2 reduction through low cost electrification of the diesel powertrain at 48V

In order to achieve fleet average CO2 targets, mass market adoption of low CO2 technologies is required. Application of low cost technologies across a large number of vehicles is more cost-effective in reducing fleet CO2 than deploying high-impact, costly technology to a few. Therefore, to meet the CO2 reduction challenge, commercially viable, low cost technologies are of significant interest. This paper presents results from the ‘ADEPT’ collaborative research program which focuses on CO2 reduction through the application of intelligent 48V electrification to diesel engines for passenger car applications. Results were demonstrated on a C-segment vehicle with a class-leading 4-cylinder 1.5 litre Euro 6 diesel engine. Electrification was applied through a high power, high efficiency, switched reluctance belt integrated starter generator (B-ISG) capable of both generation and motoring, and an Advanced Lead Carbon Battery for energy storage. The conventional alternator was replaced with a highly efficient DC-DC converter to supply energy to the 12V system. These technologies enabled powertrain efficiency improvement through the recovery of kinetic energy with regenerative braking and reapplication of the recovered energy through motoring to offset fuel usage. Efficiency was further optimised through application of engine downspeeding and advanced auto-stop strategies to extended engine-off time. Additional electrification was investigated through 48V ancillaries, including water-pump and air-conditioning compressor, and a turbo-compound generator for waste heat recovery from exhaust gas. These technologies have demonstrated a combined CO2 reduction of 10–11% against the conventional vehicle baseline. Additional studies of advanced thermal systems for improved warm-up, and lubrication control for FMEP reduction have also been conducted on this program. These indicate that by applying intelligent electrification to ancillaries a further 3–4% reduction in CO2 is achievable. Overall, this program shows that 48V technologies can achieve CO2 savings with a lower cost per gram CO2 than full hybrid solutions

Treating implicit trauma: a quasi-experimental study comparing the EMDR Therapy Standard Protocol with a ‘Blind 2 Therapist’ version within a trauma capacity building project in Northern Iraq

Psychological trauma is a silent epidemic which presents as a global public health issue, often in the form of post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy is an empirically supported treatment intervention for PTSD and has been used as part of trauma-capacity building, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). For some survivor’s, their trauma experiences cannot be spoken of: they may be alluded to, suggested and though not directly expressed. There are several factors as to why these implicit trauma experiences are ‘unspoken’, for example, when the trauma involves a deep-rooted sense of shame or guilt, a distorted sense of over-responsibility or when to speak of the trauma engenders fear of retribution, reprisal and consequence. This paper will explore the effectiveness of using two protocol variations of EMDR Therapy—standard versus a ‘Blind 2 Therapist’ protocol version as part of a quasi-experimental study which took place in Northern Iraq. The study contains two projects and subsequently tested several hypotheses regarding safety, effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of the ‘Blind 2 Therapist’ protocol within EMDR Therapy. Results indicated support for the B2T protocol intervention with various trauma populations including Yezidi survivors of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)—also known as Daesh

Primary vs. Secondary Antibody Deficiency: Clinical Features and Infection Outcomes of Immunoglobulin Replacement

<div><p>Secondary antibody deficiency can occur as a result of haematological malignancies or certain medications, but not much is known about the clinical and immunological features of this group of patients as a whole. Here we describe a cohort of 167 patients with primary or secondary antibody deficiencies on immunoglobulin (Ig)-replacement treatment. The demographics, causes of immunodeficiency, diagnostic delay, clinical and laboratory features, and infection frequency were analysed retrospectively. Chemotherapy for B cell lymphoma and the use of Rituximab, corticosteroids or immunosuppressive medications were the most common causes of secondary antibody deficiency in this cohort. There was no difference in diagnostic delay or bronchiectasis between primary and secondary antibody deficiency patients, and both groups experienced disorders associated with immune dysregulation. Secondary antibody deficiency patients had similar baseline levels of serum IgG, but higher IgM and IgA, and a higher frequency of switched memory B cells than primary antibody deficiency patients. Serious and non-serious infections before and after Ig-replacement were also compared in both groups. Although secondary antibody deficiency patients had more serious infections before initiation of Ig-replacement, treatment resulted in a significant reduction of serious and non-serious infections in both primary and secondary antibody deficiency patients. Patients with secondary antibody deficiency experience similar delays in diagnosis as primary antibody deficiency patients and can also benefit from immunoglobulin-replacement treatment.</p></div