The analysis of trace metals in surface waters from Scotland and Wales

188 water samples taken from Scottish and Welsh lakes in 1995/6 have been analysed for a range of trace metals, Hg, As, Se, Be, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, Ag, Cd, Sb, Ba, Tl, Pb, & Bi. At all sites Hg, As, Se, Be, Bi, Pb and Ag were below limits of detection by the ICP-MS. The other elements showed various geographical distributions. In Wales, the south-central region and Anglesey appeared consistently higher and it is suggested that these are due to former mining and contemporary smelting activities respectively. In Scotland, distributions were move diverse although southern and south-west Scotland often appeared to show elevated levels as did sites on Orkney and Shetland. In general, lake sites in the north-west and Hebrides showed lower concentrations. Pnncipal Components Analysis (PCA) was used to try and determine any patterns in the data, but the results were inconclusive. The PC axes explained little of the variability within the data and clusters of sites on the bi-plots show little in common. However, only geographical location was available to be used m the PCA interpretation and it may be that other factors (lake and catchment characteristics, other water chemistry) would help explain the data more fully. The data included in this report are from smgle water samples taken over a short period of time. Therefore, althougl1 the data may show a useful 'snap-shot' of the situation, more information would be available from analyses of the sediment record (to put the data into temporal context) and other substrates where metal accumulation takes place. This would have the advantage of producing a time averaged metal value, but more importantly would mean more values above analytical detection and hence a better idea of metal distribution

The roles and values of wild foods in agricultural systems

Almost every ecosystem has been amended so that plants and animals can be used as food, fibre, fodder, medicines, traps and weapons. Historically, wild plants and animals were sole dietary components for hunter–gatherer and forager cultures. Today, they remain key to many agricultural communities. The mean use of wild foods by agricultural and forager communities in 22 countries of Asia and Africa (36 studies) is 90–100 species per location. Aggregate country estimates can reach 300–800 species (e.g. India, Ethiopia, Kenya). The mean use of wild species is 120 per community for indigenous communities in both industrialized and developing countries. Many of these wild foods are actively managed, suggesting there is a false dichotomy around ideas of the agricultural and the wild: hunter–gatherers and foragers farm and manage their environments, and cultivators use many wild plants and animals. Yet, provision of and access to these sources of food may be declining as natural habitats come under increasing pressure from development, conservation-exclusions and agricultural expansion. Despite their value, wild foods are excluded from official statistics on economic values of natural resources. It is clear that wild plants and animals continue to form a significant proportion of the global food basket, and while a variety of social and ecological drivers are acting to reduce wild food use, their importance may be set to grow as pressures on agricultural productivity increase.</jats:p

Art therapy, arts-based research and transitional stories of domestic violence and abuse

Visual imagery within qualitative research is an established method of gathering data that has parallels to the way in which images are used within art therapy. This paper explores how visual imagery was used to investigate women’s responses to domestic violence and abuse and examines how art therapy principles shaped the development and conducting of that research. Through the use of collage, participants created visual representations of their responses to experiences of domestic violence and abuse. The visual representations were, when combined with spoken words, created stories that reference the past, present and future. The stories created have been termed transitional stories of domestic violence. These stories show that the home has special significance for women as they transition away from domestic violence and plan for their future. The home becomes both a metaphorical and physical manifestation and container of hopes for a harmonious future that often incorporates the desire for the return to the idea of a complete family. This paper will present the findings of the arts-based research conducted, and consider the implications upon art therapy practice of those findings.N

Service user experiences of REFOCUS: a process evaluation of a pro-recovery complex intervention

Purpose: Policy is increasingly focused on implementing a recovery-orientation within mental health services, yet the subjective experience of individuals receiving a pro-recovery intervention is under-studied. The aim of this study was to explore the service user experience of receiving a complex, pro-recovery intervention (REFOCUS), which aimed to encourage the use of recovery-supporting tools and support recovery-promoting relationships. Methods: Interviews (n=24) and two focus groups (n=13) were conducted as part of a process evaluation and included purposive sample of service users who received the complex, pro-recovery intervention within the REFOCUS randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN02507940). Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: Participants reported that the intervention supported the development of an open and collaborative relationship with staff, with new conversations around values, strengths and goals. This was experienced as hope-inspiring and empowering. However, others described how the recovery tools were used without context, meaning participants were unclear of their purpose and did not see their benefit. During the interviews, some individuals struggled to report any new tasks or conversations occurring during the intervention. Conclusion: Recovery-supporting tools can support the development of a recovery-promoting relationship, which can contribute to positive outcomes for individuals. The tools should be used, in a collaborative and flexible manner. Information exchanged around values, strengths and goals should be used in care-planning. As some service users struggled to report their experience of the intervention, alternative evaluation approaches need to be considered if the service user experience is to be fully captured

A systematic review of frameworks for the interrelationships of mental health evidence and policy in low- and middle-income countries

Background: The interrelationships between research evidence and policy-making are complex. Different theoretical frameworks exist to explain general evidence–policy interactions. One largely unexplored element of these interrelationships is how evidence interrelates with, and influences, policy/political agenda-setting. This review aims to identify the elements and processes of theories, frameworks and models on interrelationships of research evidence and health policy-making, with a focus on actionability and agenda-setting in the context of mental health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: A systematic review of theories was conducted based on the BeHeMOTh search method, using a tested and refined search strategy. Nine electronic databases and other relevant sources were searched for peer-reviewed and grey literature. Two reviewers screened the abstracts, reviewed full-text articles, extracted data and performed quality assessments. Analysis was based on a thematic analysis. The included papers had to present an actionable theoretical framework/model on evidence and policy interrelationships, such as knowledge translation or evidence-based policy, specifically target the agenda-setting process, focus on mental health, be from LMICs and published in English. Results: From 236 publications included in the full text analysis, no studies fully complied with our inclusion criteria. Widening the focus by leaving out ‘agenda-setting’, we included ten studies, four of which had unique conceptual frameworks focusing on mental health and LMICs but not agenda-setting. The four analysed frameworks confirmed research gaps from LMICs and mental health, and a lack of focus on agenda-setting. Frameworks and models from other health and policy areas provide interesting conceptual approaches and lessons with regards to agenda-setting. Conclusion: Our systematic review identified frameworks on evidence and policy interrelations that differ in their elements and processes. No framework fulfilled all inclusion criteria. Four actionable frameworks are applicable to mental health and LMICs, but none specifically target agenda-setting. We have identified agenda-setting as a research theory gap in the context of mental health knowledge translation in LMICs. Frameworks from other health/policy areas could offer lessons on agenda-setting and new approaches for creating policy impact for mental health and to tackle the translational gap in LMICs

Exploring Aboriginal People\u27s connection to country to strengthen human-nature theoretical perspectives

Purpose Aboriginal people across Australia have diverse practices, beliefs and knowledges based on thousands of generations of managing and protecting their lands (Country). The intimate relationship Aboriginal people have with their Country is explored in this chapter because such knowledge is important for building insight into the relationship between social and ecological systems. Often in research Aboriginal views have been marginalised from discussions focused on their lands to the detriment of ecosystems and human health. This chapter aims to understand if such marginalisation is evident in Western human&ndash;nature relationship discourses.Approach This chapter provides a critical literature review which examines whether Aboriginal people&rsquo;s diverse understanding of their ecosystems have been incorporated into human&ndash;nature theories using the biophilia hypothesis as a starting point. Other concepts explored include solastalgia, topophilia and place.Findings Critiques of these terminologies in the context of Aboriginal people&rsquo;s connection to Country are limited but such incorporation is viewed in the chapter as a possible mechanism for better understanding human&rsquo;s connection to nature. The review identified that Aboriginal people&rsquo;s relationship to Country seems to be underrepresented in the human&ndash;nature theory literature.Value This chapter emphasises that the integration of Aboriginal perspectives into research, ecological management and policy can provide better insight into the interrelationships between social and ecological systems

An evaluation of gender equity in different models of primary care practices in Ontario

Background: The World Health Organization calls for more work evaluating the effect of health care reforms on gender equity in developed countries. We performed this evaluation in Ontario, Canada where primary care models resulting from reforms co-exist. // Methods: This cross sectional study of primary care practices uses data collected in 2005-2006. Healthcare service models included in the study consist of fee for service (FFS) based, salaried, and capitation based. We compared the quality of care delivered to women and men in practices of each model. We performed multi-level, multivariate regressions adjusting for patient socio-demographic and economic factors to evaluate vertical equity, and adjusting for these and health factors in evaluating horizontal equity. We measured seven dimensions of health service delivery (e.g. accessibility and continuity) and three dimensions of quality of care using patient surveys (n = 5,361) and chart abstractions (n = 4,108). // Results: Health service delivery measures were comparable in women and men, with differences ≤ 2.2% in all seven dimensions and in all models. Significant gender differences in the health promotion subjects addressed were observed. Female specific preventive manoeuvres were more likely to be performed than other preventive care. Men attending FFS practices were more likely to receive influenza immunization than women (Adjusted odds ratio: 1.75, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.05, 2.92). There was no difference in the other three prevention indicators. FFS practices were also more likely to provide recommended care for chronic diseases to men than women (Adjusted difference of -11.2%, CI -21.7, -0.8). A similar trend was observed in Community Health Centers (CHC). // Conclusions: The observed differences in the type of health promotion subjects discussed are likely an appropriate response to the differential healthcare needs between genders. Chronic disease care is non equitable in FFS but not in capitation based models. We recommend that efforts to monitor and address gender based differences in the delivery of chronic disease management in primary care be pursued.Funding for the original study on which this research is based was provided by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care Primary Health Care Transition Fund. The views expressed in this report are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care

Re-storying and visualizing the changing entrepreneurial identities of Bill Gates and Richard Branson.

The storytelling in textual and visual re-constructions of Bill Gates and Richard Branson by their organizations produces entrepreneurial identities bound into particular social power-knowledge relations. Our purpose is to examine how these organizations, and their critics, mobilize storytelling in acts of re-storying (enlivening) or re-narrating (branding a monologic) practices using Internet technologies to invite viewers to frame the world of entrepreneurship. We use visual discourse and storytelling methods to analyze how Microsoft and Virgin Group use various kinds of entrepreneurial images and textual narratives to re-narrate and produce particular brands of capitalism. These organizations' scoptic regimes of representation are contested in counter-visualizing and counterstory practices of external stakeholders. We suggest that the image and textual practices of storytelling have changed as both entrepreneurs court philanthropic and social entrepreneur identity markers. Our contribution to entrepreneurial identity is to apply double and multiple narrations, the appropriation of another's narrative words (or images) into another's narrative, and relate such storytelling moves to visuality