Unsettling Boundaries: (Pre-)Digital Fat Activism, Fatphobia, and Enclave Ambivalence

Grounded in public sphere and platform theory, this thesis explores networked fat activism on Tumblr. The platform is often described as an enclave space: it is a welcoming and secluded site where marginalized youths can interact. Yet fatphobic antagonism frequently disrupts Tumblr’s fat activist network. I argue that the presence of fatphobia on a site described in such utopian terms as Tumblr is unsurprising when considering two factors: platform affordances that de-incentivize trolling from “outsiders,” but do not prevent active Tumblr users from interacting with fat activists; and historical conditions that mark fatness as an ideological “threat” that needs to be contained. Rather than do away with the concept of enclaving, which accounts for how marginalized groups distance themselves from dominant publics, this thesis forwards the concept of “enclave ambivalence” to unsettle the neat and clean boundaries of digital activist engagement. I contextualize networked fat activism through an historical account of pre-digital iterations of the movement. It is by evaluating fat activist counterpublic and enclave practices over time that I arrive at the concept of enclave ambivalence. Enclaving in physical spaces provided fat activists the distance from fatphobia that is missing on Tumblr. Still, firm boundaries on group membership and the erasure of difference flattened the complexity of fat embodiment. On Tumblr, there is no stable, singular meaning of “fat activism,” but a set of belief systems that are overlapping yet contradictory. Through a negotiation of the movement’s ambivalence, Tumblr’s fat activists work to improve it. However, the presence of fatphobic antagonism simultaneously strengthens and destabilizes these efforts. By introducing the concept of enclave ambivalence, this thesis maintains that fat activism on Tumblr is neither utterly utopian nor outright toxic—rather, it is messy, fleeting, dynamic, and complex

Political Messaging Over Time: A Comparison of US Presidential Candidate Facebook Posts and Tweets in 2016 and 2020

Political campaigns have a temporal nature, which means that the strategic environment shapes the nature of candidate communication, especially the stages of campaigning—from surfacing to the general election. As social media platforms have matured and political campaigns have normalized their use of those platforms in this decade, this study examines the 2016 and 2020 US presidential campaign communication on Facebook and Twitter using data from the Illuminating project at Syracuse University. Our objective is to explore how the stages of the campaign cycle shape political communication. We also explore social media platforms as additional factors. Moreover, given the distinct and anti-normative communication style of Donald Trump, we examine whether his communication is an outlier relative to his competition in the primaries and the general election, and while a challenger in 2016 and an incumbent in 2020. Our results suggest that campaign messaging changes over the stages of the campaign, with candidates more likely to advocate for themselves during the crowded primaries, and then engage in high volumes of calls to action in the general election. The 2016 posts were substantially more attack-focused than in 2020. There is some evidence to suggest that the global pandemic affected the ways in which campaigns used their social media accounts. Of note, campaigns seem to heavily rely on Facebook for all types of strategic communication, even as the academic community primarily analyzes Twitter. Finally, Trump’s sum-total of his discourse is less negative than Clinton’s in 2016 and more advocacy-focused, overall

A Human-Centered Design Approach to Creating Tools to Help Journalists Monitor Digital Political Ads: Insights and Challenges

Political actors have increasingly incorporated digital advertising into their persuasive efforts. Greater transparency of how political actors are using digital ads is necessary given concerns that they may be using digital ads to suppress voter turnout and spread disinformation and xenophobia. We apply a human-centered design framework to identify the design requirements necessary to create tools that satisfy journalists’ needs for covering digital political ads. Based on interviews with journalists, our findings indicate that they are interested in covering how political actors are using digital advertising as well as reporting on the platforms, such as their policies. Our findings also reveal serious obstacles that impede journalists’ ability to effectively cover digital political advertising. From the currently available tools, journalists we interviewed found it difficult to quickly identify key takeaways that could result in or contribute to stories. Journalists also need information that the most popular technology platforms do not offer. Supporting journalists’ efforts to provide greater transparency of digital political ads will require a collective effort on the part of designers and technology platforms to provide information that journalists need via tools that surface and synthesize this information in a way that satisfies journalists’ professional demands

Clustered randomised controlled trial of two education interventions designed to increase physical activity and well-being of secondary school students: The MOVE Project

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of two interventions in improving the physical activity and wellbeing of secondary school children. Design: A clustered randomised controlled trial; classes, one per school, were assigned to one of three intervention arms or a control group based on a 2x2 factorial design. The interventions were Peer-Mentoring and Participative Learning. Year 7 children (aged 11-12) in the Peer-Mentoring intervention were paired with Year 9 children for six weekly mentoring meetings. Year 7 children in the Participative Learning arm took part in six weekly geography lessons using personalised physical activity and GPS data. Year 7 children in the combined intervention received both interventions, with the Year 9 children only participating in the mentoring sessions. Participants: 1,494 Year 7 students from 60 schools in North-East England took part in the trial. Of these, 43 students opted out of taking part in the evaluation measurements, two moved teaching group and 58 changed school. Valid accelerometry outcome data were collected for 892 students from 53 schools; and wellbeing outcome data were available for 927 students from 52 schools. Main outcome measures The primary outcomes were mean minutes of accelerometer-measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day, and wellbeing as evaluated by the KIDSCREEN-27 questionnaire. These data were collected 6 weeks after the intervention; 12 month follow up is planned. Results: No significant effects (main or interaction) were observed for the outcomes. However, small positive differences were found for both outcomes for the Participative Learning intervention. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the two school-based interventions did not modify levels of physical activity or wellbeing within the period monitored. Change in physical activity may require more comprehensive individual behavioural intervention, and/or more systems based efforts to address wider environmental influences such as family, peers, physical environment, transport and educational policy

From Womb to Neighborhood: A Racial Analysis of Social Determinants of Psychosis in the United States.

The authors examine U.S.-based evidence that connects characteristics of the social environment with outcomes across the psychosis continuum, from psychotic experiences to schizophrenia. The notion that inequitable social and economic systems of society significantly influence psychosis risk through proxies, such as racial minority and immigrant statuses, has been studied more extensively in European countries. While there are existing international reviews of social determinants of psychosis, none to the authors' knowledge focus on factors in the U.S. context specifically-an omission that leaves domestic treatment development and prevention efforts incomplete and underinformed. In this review, the authors first describe how a legacy of structural racism in the United States has shaped the social gradient, highlighting consequential racial inequities in environmental conditions. The authors offer a hypothesized model linking structural racism with psychosis risk through interwoven intermediary factors based on existing theoretical models and a review of the literature. Neighborhood factors, cumulative trauma and stress, and prenatal and perinatal complications were three key areas selected for review because they reflect social and environmental conditions that may affect psychosis risk through a common pathway shaped by structural racism. The authors describe evidence showing that Black and Latino people in the United States suffer disproportionately from risk factors within these three key areas, in large part as a result of racial discrimination and social disadvantage. This broad focus on individual and community factors is intended to provide a consolidated space to review this growing body of research and to guide continued inquiries into social determinants of psychosis in U.S. contexts

From Womb to Neighborhood: A Racial Analysis of Social Determinants of Psychosis in the United States

The authors examine U.S.-based evidence that connects characteristics of the social environment with outcomes across the psychosis continuum, from psychotic experiences to schizophrenia. The notion that inequitable social and economic systems of society significantly influence psychosis risk through proxies, such as racial minority and immigrant statuses, has been studied more extensively in European countries. While there are existing international reviews of social determinants of psychosis, none to the authors' knowledge focus on factors in the U.S. context specifically-an omission that leaves domestic treatment development and prevention efforts incomplete and underinformed. In this review, the authors first describe how a legacy of structural racism in the United States has shaped the social gradient, highlighting consequential racial inequities in environmental conditions. The authors offer a hypothesized model linking structural racism with psychosis risk through interwoven intermediary factors based on existing theoretical models and a review of the literature. Neighborhood factors, cumulative trauma and stress, and prenatal and perinatal complications were three key areas selected for review because they reflect social and environmental conditions that may affect psychosis risk through a common pathway shaped by structural racism. The authors describe evidence showing that Black and Latino people in the United States suffer disproportionately from risk factors within these three key areas, in large part as a result of racial discrimination and social disadvantage. This broad focus on individual and community factors is intended to provide a consolidated space to review this growing body of research and to guide continued inquiries into social determinants of psychosis in U.S. contexts

Comparison of the effects of sibutramine and other monoamine reuptake inhibitors on food intake in the rat

1. The effects of the potent 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, SNRI), sibutramine, on the cumulative food intake of freely-feeding male Sprague-Dawley rats during an 8 h dark period were investigated and compared to those of the selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitor (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, SSRI), fluoxetine; the selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, nisoxetine; the 5-HT and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors, venlafaxine and duloxetine; and the 5-HT releaser and 5-HT reuptake inhibitor, (+)-fenfluramine. 2. Sibutramine (3 and 10 mg kg(−1), p.o.) and (+)-fenfluramine (1 and 3 mg kg(−1), p.o.) produced a significant, dose-dependent decrease in food intake over the 8 h dark period. These responses became apparent within the first 2 h following drug administration. 3. Fluoxetine (3, 10 and 30 mg kg(−1), p.o.), and nisoxetine (3, 10 and 30 mg kg(−1), p.o.) had no significant effect on food intake during the 8 h dark period. However, a combination of fluoxetine and nisoxetine (30 mg kg(−1), p.o., of each) significantly decreased food intake 2 and 8 h after drug administration. 4. Venlafaxine (100 and 300 mg kg(−1), p.o.) and duloxetine (30 mg kg(−1), p.o.) also significantly decreased food intake in the 2 and 8 h following drug administration. 5. The results of this study demonstrate that inhibition of 5-HT and noradrenaline reuptake by sibutramine, venlafaxine, duloxetine, or by a combination of fluoxetine and nisoxetine, markedly reduces food intake in freely-feeding rats and suggest that this may be a novel approach for the treatment of obesity