Twenty-three women officers’ experiences of policing in England::The same old story or a different story?

Our research project was concerned primarily with using a feminist analysis to explore the lived reality of 23 women police officers in England and Wales. We undertook 23 qualitative interviews with our participants and our research straddles four decades of policing practice, which allowed us to explore changes that were seen to have taken place during this period. First, participants discussed their lived reality, which included banter, bullying and harassment for many. Second, and perhaps more surprisingly, at certain times of unrest, riots or threats, some of our participants were provided with opportunities, for example, during the IRA threat, the riot in Toxteth and the miners’ strike. We suggest that examples from our data capture an early disruption of the ‘ideal’ heroic male police officer that Silvestri examines [Silvestri M (2018) Disrupting the ‘heroic’ male within policing: a case of direct entry. Feminist Criminology 13(3): 309–328] whose removal from their normal role during periods of socio-political disorder allowed women officers to leave the gendered division of labour and undertake the heroic police constable role while the men were busy being ‘heroic’ at the source of threat and unrest. We sought to explore changes such as the uniform as a site of protest for some of our officers who challenged an uncomfortable and unfit uniform in the early days, and explained that there were still problems with the kit and design at times. Our findings illustrated that, on the whole, although massive changes had been made, it was a case of the same old story in terms of sexual harassment and banter for female officers and more was required to address these issues, which fits with reviews and studies in both England and Wales and in Australia. Finally, we noted using participants’ words how much many of these women had enjoyed their role within policing in spite of these challenges

The Transition From Intermediate School To High School: Insights From Pasifika Families

This qualitative study examined the interplay between home and school environments across the transition from Primary School (Year 8) to High School (Year 9) for 10 high-achieving Pasifika students and their families. Interview data from the students revealed the important role that their parents played in their education. Drawings completed by the adolescents provided a high form of data illustrating the dynamic between home and school, including the influence of both on learning. Findings revealed strong intergenerational expectations for success from the dual perspectives of parent and their children, based on cultural competency and parental high expectations. The study’s results build upon existing knowledge bases which focus on parent and student strategies for success across the transition to high school, with regard to cultural competency

"Any lady can do this without much trouble ...": class and gender in The dining room (1878)

Macmillan's "Art at Home" series (1876–83) was a collection of domestic advice manuals. Mentioned in every study of the late-nineteenth-century domestic interior, they have often been interpreted, alongside contemporary publications such as Charles Eastlake's Hints on Household Taste (1868), as indicators of late 1870s home furnishing styles. Mrs Loftie's The Dining Room (1878) was the series' fifth book and it considers one of the home's principal (and traditionally masculine) domestic spaces. Recent research on middle-class cultural practices surrounding food has placed The Dining Room within the tradition of Mrs Beeton's Household Management (1861); however, it is not a cookery book and hardly mentions dinners. Drawing upon unpublished archival sources, this paper charts the production and reception of The Dining Room, aiming to unravel its relationships with other contemporary texts and to highlight the difficulties of using it as historical evidence. While it offers fascinating insights into contemporary taste, class and gender, this paper suggests that, as an example of domestic design advice literature, it reveals far more about the often expedient world of nineteenth-century publishing practices

Effects of the ventilatory stimulant, doxapram on human TASK‐3 (KCNK9, K2P9.1) channels and TASK‐1 (KCNK3, K2P3.1) channels

Aims The mode of action by which doxapram acts as a respiratory stimulant in humans is controversial. Studies in rodent models, have shown that doxapram is a more potent and selective inhibitor of TASK-1 and TASK-1/TASK-3 heterodimer channels, than TASK-3. Here we investigate the direct effect of doxapram and chirally separated, individual positive and negative enantiomers of the compound, on both human and mouse, homodimeric and heterodimeric variants of TASK-1 and TASK-3. Methods Whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology on tsA201 cells was used to assess the potency of doxapram on cloned human or mouse TASK-1, TASK-3 and TASK-2 channels. Mutations of amino acids in the pore-lining region of TASK-3 channels were introduced using site-directed mutagenesis. Results Doxapram was an equipotent inhibitor of human TASK-1 and TASK-3 channels, compared with mouse channel variants, where it was more selective for TASK-1 and heterodimers of TASK-1 and TASK-3. The effect of doxapram could be attenuated by either the removal of the C-terminus of human TASK-3 channels or mutations of particular hydrophobic residues in the pore-lining region. These mutations, however, did not alter the effect of a known extracellular inhibitor of TASK-3, zinc. The positive enantiomer of doxapram, GAL-054, was a more potent antagonist of TASK channels, than doxapram, whereas the negative enantiomer, GAL-053, had little inhibitory effect. Conclusion These data show that in contrast to rodent channels, doxapram is a potent inhibitor of both TASK-1 and TASK-3 human channels, providing further understanding of the pharmacological profile of doxapram in humans and informing the development of new therapeutic agents

Identifying Personal Energy and Recovery Patterns and their Impact on Well-being

The study is designed to examine patterns of personal energy expenditure and recovery, and how these patterns are associated with health and well-being. Data will be collected via longitudinal, mixed method survey of a diverse sample of 200 student and non-student adult workers. Measures will include multiple existing tools, including: the Utrecht Work Engagement scale (UWES), Profile of Mood States (POMS), Recovery Experience Questionnaire (REQ), and items from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Worker Well-Being Questionnaire (WellBQ). A variety of analyses are proposed including latent growth curve modeling and time series analysis. Proposed results include identifying “in-sync” and “out-of-sync” patterns of energy levels and quality of recovery that have different impacts on well-being

Engaging in research with Pacific communities as a non-Pacific researcher: reflecting on lessons learnt

A key challenge for the cross-cultural researcher is how to maintain authenticity in the stories of participants, paying careful attention to any inherent power imbalances. In this article, we share our respective experiences of conducting research with Pacific students and their families in Aotearoa New Zealand as non-Pacific researchers. We discuss tensions we encountered regarding power and positionality, highlighting the importance of engaging with Pacific perspectives and methodologies to help counter these tensions. In our respective studies, we aimed to promote the voices of our participants and conduct research which prioritised Pacific values. We further appreciated that we must not let our own research agenda override the needs of our participants. We explain why we believe these ideas to be so important and draw tentative conclusions on ways to engage in research with Pacific families based on what we have learnt. The data presented from our respective studies highlight our approaches and present some of the challenges, as well as our efforts to engage in reciprocal, respectful relationships with our participants and their families. We hope that, in sharing our reflections, we may offer some useful insight to other researchers embarking on a similar journey to us

Home-based reach-to-grasp training for people after stroke: study protocol for a feasibility randomized controlled trial

BackgroundThis feasibility study is intended to assess the acceptability of home-based task-specific reach-to-grasp (RTG) training for people with stroke, and to gather data to inform recruitment, retention, and sample size for a definitive randomized controlled trial. Methods/designThis is to be a randomized controlled feasibility trial recruiting 50 individuals with upper-limb motor impairment after stroke. Participants will be recruited after discharge from hospital and up to 12 months post-stroke from hospital stroke services and community therapy-provider services. Participants will be assessed at baseline, and then electronically randomized and allocated to group by minimization, based on the time post-stroke and extent of upper-limb impairment. The intervention group will receive 14 training sessions, each 1 hour long, with a physiotherapist over 6 weeks and will be encouraged to practice independently for 1 hour/day to give a total of 56 hours of training time per participant. Participants allocated to the control group will receive arm therapy in accordance with usual care. Participants will be measured at 7 weeks post-randomization, and followed-up at 3 and 6 months post-randomization. Primary outcome measures for assessment of arm function are the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) and Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT). Secondary measures are the Motor Activity Log, Stroke Impact Scale, Carer Strain Index, and health and social care resource use. All assessments will be conducted by a trained assessor blinded to treatment allocation. Recruitment, adherence, withdrawals, adverse events (AEs), and completeness of data will be recorded and reported. DiscussionThis study will determine the acceptability of the intervention, the characteristics of the population recruited, recruitment and retention rates, descriptive statistics of outcomes, and incidence of AEs. It will provide the information needed for planning a definitive trial to test home-based RTG training. Trial registrationISRCTN: ISRCTN5671658

The clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of ablative therapies in the management of liver metastases: systematic review and economic evaluation

Background: Many deaths from cancer are caused by metastatic burden. Prognosis and survival rates vary, but survival beyond 5 years of patients with untreated metastatic disease in the liver is rare. Treatment for liver metastases has largely been surgical resection, but this is feasible in only approximately 20–30% of people. Non-surgical alternatives to treat some liver metastases can include various forms of ablative therapies and other targeted treatments.Objectives: To evaluate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the different ablative and minimally invasive therapies for treating liver metastases.Data sources: Electronic databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE and The Cochrane Library were searched from 1990 to September 2011. Experts were consulted and bibliographies checked.Review methods: Systematic reviews of the literature were undertaken to appraise the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of ablative therapies and minimally invasive therapies used for people with liver metastases. Studies were any prospective study with sample size greater than 100 participants. A probabilistic model was developed for the economic evaluation of the technologies where data permitted.Results: The evidence assessing the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of ablative and other minimally invasive therapies was limited. Nine studies of ablative therapies were included in the review; each had methodological shortcomings and few had a comparator group. One randomised controlled trial (RCT) of microwave ablation versus surgical resection was identified and showed no improvement in outcomes compared with resection. In two prospective case series studies that investigated the use of laser ablation, mean survival ranged from 41 to 58 months. One cohort study compared radiofrequency ablation with surgical resection and five case series studies also investigated the use of radiofrequency ablation. Across these studies the median survival ranged from 44 to 52 months. Seven studies of minimally invasive therapies were included in the review. Two RCTs compared chemoembolisation with chemotherapy only. Overall survival was not compared between groups and methodological shortcomings mean that conclusions are difficult to make. Two case series studies of laser ablation following chemoembolisation were also included; however, these provide little evidence of the use of these technologies in combination. Three RCTs of radioembolisation were included. Significant improvements in tumour response and time to disease progression were demonstrated; however, benefits in terms of survival were equivocal. An exploratory survival model was developed using data from the review of clinical effectiveness. The model includes separate analyses of microwave ablation compared with surgery and radiofrequency ablation compared with surgery and one of radioembolisation in conjunction with hepatic artery chemotherapy compared with hepatic artery chemotherapy alone. Microwave ablation was associated with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of £3664 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained, with microwave ablation being associated with reduced cost but also with poorer outcome than surgery. Radiofrequency ablation compared with surgical resection for solitary metastases < 3 cm was associated with an ICER of –£266,767 per QALY gained, indicating that radiofrequency ablation dominates surgical resection. Radiofrequency ablation compared with surgical resection for solitary metastases ? 3 cm resulted in poorer outcomes at lower costs and a resultant ICER of £2538 per QALY gained. Radioembolisation plus hepatic artery chemotherapy compared with hepatic artery chemotherapy was associated with an ICER of £37,303 per QALY gained.Conclusions: There is currently limited high-quality research evidence upon which to base any firm decisions regarding ablative therapies for liver metastases. Further trials should compare ablative therapies with surgery, in particular. A RCT would provide the most appropriate design for undertaking any further evaluation and should include a full economic evaluation, but the group to be randomised needs careful selection.Source of funding: Funding for this study was provided by the Health Technology Assessment programme of the National Institute for Health Research