Navigating relational space

Pastoral counselling is one of the important roles of ministers in Samoa. An emerging ethos of individualism is challenging traditional notions of collectivism in fa’aSamoa (culture and traditions of Samoa). This evolution has been identified and described as the ‘changing Samoan self’. Traditional approaches of counselling employed by ministers in the past must adjust to align with the changes faced by church members today. This thesis presents the voices of 34 Samoan participants living in Samoa that include ministers, minister’s wives, matai (title-holders), New-Zealand born Samoans, church members, and service users of a domestic violence agency. Participants shared their expectations of being counselled as well as counselling others, together with reflections concerning effective and ineffective counselling practices. A Samoan research methodological framework called Tafatolu (three-sides) has been conceptualised and used herein as the methodology for this project. Tafatolu methodological framework involves the synthesis of three key parts that this project considers as valuable to any research—a ‘contemporary academic’ approach to research, a ‘cultural’ approach, and the ‘self’ that represents the researcher’s perspectives and positioning within the project. Collectively, these three parts have assisted this project in the collection and analysis of data that have informed this study. The findings from this research have highlighted the emergence of a changing Samoan self and counselling practices that remain centred upon God. Fetu’utu’una’i le vā, (Navigating relational space) emerged as an applicable approach to pastoral counselling for Samoans today. The enforcement of fetu’utu’una’i le vā has evolved alongside a changing Samoan self, from the use of physical force, to verbal force, excommunication and punishment, to now include conversations through dialogue. The findings from this research have forged a theoretical framework of pastoral counselling for Samoans, presented as a continuum of traditional and contemporary understandings. Recommendations from this research propose pastoral counselling practices that cater for both traditionalists and contemporary Samoans

Non solo pellegrini : Francesi a Roma nella prima età moderna. Qualche esempio e osservazione

Rome, capitale à la fois temporelle des États de l’Église et spirituelle du catholicisme, accueille de nombreux Français, pélerins, diplomates, voyageurs du Grand Tour, vagadonds et personnes en recherche de fortune. Elle est aussi le lieu de cérémonies religieuses et politiques telles que les célébrations de la conversion d’Henri IV. La Ville est alors souvent l’occasion d’émerveillement et d’irritation pour les Français qui la découvrent.Both a temporal capital of the States of the Church and spiritual capital of Catholicism, Rome would welcome a great many French people: pilgrims, diplomats, travellers on the Grand Tour, vagabonds and fortune hunters. It was also the site of religious and political ceremonies such as the celebrations of Henry IVth's conversion. The City was often then an occasion for marvelling or irritation for the French who discovered it

Methylphenidate treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in young people with learning disability and difficult-to-treat epilepsy: Evidence of clinical benefit.

To establish the efficacy and safety of methylphenidate (MPH) treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a group of children and young people with learning disability and severe epilepsy

Auditory processing following infantile spasms: An event-related potential study

OBJECTIVES: To investigate acoustic auditory processing in patients with recent infantile spasms (IS). METHODS: Patients (n = 22; 12 female; median age 8 months; range 5–11 months) had normal preceding development, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and neurometabolic testing (West syndrome of unknown cause, uWS). Controls were healthy babies (n = 22; 11 female; median age 6 months; range 3–12 months). Event-related potentials (ERPs) and psychometry (Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Second Edition, BSID-II) took place at a month following IS remission. RESULTS: Following a repeated pure tone, uWS patients showed less suppression of the N100 at the mid-temporal electrodes (p = 0.006), and a prolonged response latency (p = 0.019). Their novelty P300 amplitude over the mid-temporal electrodes was halved (p = 0.001). The peak of the novelty P300 to environmental broadband sounds emerged later over the left temporal lobe in patients (p = 0.015), the lag correlating with duration of spasms (r = 0.547, p = 0.015). BSID-II scores were lower in patients (p < 0.001), with no correlation to ERP. SIGNIFICANCE: Complex acoustic information is processed poorly following IS. This would impair language. Treatment did not reverse this phenomenon, but may have limited its severity. The data are most consistent with altered connectivity of the cortical acoustic processing areas induced by IS

Quantitative MRI evidence for altered structural remodelling of the temporal lobe in cryptogenic West syndrome

Objective: To explore the structure-function relation of the temporal lobe in newly diagnosed West syndrome of unknown cause (uWS). / Methods: Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (3D structural MRI and diffusion tensor imaging, DTI) was analysed by voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and tractbased spatial statistics (TBSS) in 22 patients and healthy age-matched controls. The electrophysiological responsiveness of the temporal lobe was measured using the N100 auditory event-related potential (ERP) to a repeated 1000Hz tone. Neurocognitive function was assessed using the Bayley scales of infant development II (BSID-II). Tests followed first-line treatment with Vigabatrin (17) or high dose oral prednisolone (5). / Results: Total temporal lobe volume was similar in patients and controls. Patients had a smaller temporal stem (TS) [p < 0.0001] and planum temporale (PT) [p = 0.029] bilaterally. TS width asymmetry with a larger right-sided width in controls, was absent in patients [p = 0.033]. PT asymmetry was present in both groups, being larger on the right [p = 0.048]. VBM grey matter volume was increased at the left temporal lobe (superior and middle temporal gyri, the perirhinal cortex and medial temporal lobe) [p<0.005, family wise error-corrected]. VBM grey matter volume correlated with the duration of infantile spasms. [Pearson’s R = - 0.630, p = 0.009] DTI metrics did not differ between patients and controls on TBSS. Patients’ mean BSID-II scores were lower [p<0.001] and their auditory N100 ERP attenuated less than controls’ [p = 0.002]. / Significance: The functional networking and white matter development of the temporal lobe are impaired following infantile spasms. Treatment may promote structural plasticity within the temporal lobe following infantile spasms, manifest as increased grey matter volume on VBM. It remains to be investigated further whether this predicts patients’ longterm cognitive difficulties

Evaluar el consentimiento a través de signos externos. Tres casos de locura, repulsa y amor ante el Tribunal de la Rota Romana (1579-1619)

How can it be assumed that an individual is incapable of giving consent or does not give it freely? This article analyses three cases handled by the Tribunal of the Roman Rota between 1579 and 1619: the case of a nun from the monastery of Odivelas (Portugal) suffering from mental disorders, and two demands for nullification of marriage based on the grounds of duress exerted by immediate family; the case of Doña Antonia Portocarrero y Cárdenas, of the diocese of Seville, married to Don Felipe de Guzman y Aragón; and the case of Manuel de Meneses and Branca de Baredo of the diocese of Coimbra. The testimonies on file relate the words and actions of the main parties involved, revealing affects and intentions. Auditors embarked on a complex operation to translate this information into the language of the law, in the light of legal experts’ theories on individual responsibility and the nature of violence or constraints that may alter freedom of consent. Yet this also encompassed social practices and representations in which individual behaviours exist. This study illustrates the contrast between judges’ know-how in assessing the absence of consent regarding marriage or religious profession and the fact that these notions were not taken into account regarding consent to baptism.¿Cómo puede concluirse que un individuo es incapaz de dar su consentimiento o que no lo da libremente? Este artículo analiza tres casos tratados por el Tribunal de la Rota Romana entre 1579 y 1619: el caso de una monja del monasterio de Odivelas (Portugal) que padecía trastornos mentales, y dos demandas de nulidad de matrimonio motivadas por la coacción ejercida por la familia inmediata; el caso de Doña Antonia Portocarrero y Cárdenas, de la diócesis de Sevilla, casada con Don Felipe de Guzmán y Aragón; y el caso de Manuel de Meneses y Branca de Baredo, de la diócesis de Coimbra. Los testimonios registrados relatan las palabras y acciones de las partes implicadas, revelando afectos e intenciones. En estos procesos, los auditores emprendieron una compleja operación de traducción de dicha información al lenguaje legal, apoyándose en el ejemplo de expertos juristas y sus teorías sobre la responsabilidad individual y la naturaleza del tipo de violencia o coacción necesaria para alterar el libre consentimiento. Sin embargo, es necesario tener en cuenta que estas situaciones abarcaban también las prácticas sociales y representaciones en las que todo comportamiento individual se ven inmerso. Este estudio ilustra el contraste entre la pericia de los jueces a la hora de evaluar la ausencia de consentimiento en relación al matrimonio o la profesión de fe, y el hecho de que estas nociones no eran tenidas en cuenta a la hora de estimar el consentimiento para el bautismo

Aniqsaaq (To Breathe): Study protocol to develop and evaluate an Alaska Native family-based financial incentive intervention for smoking cessation

Background Alaska Native and American Indian (ANAI) communities in Alaska are disproportionately affected by commercial tobacco use. Financial incentive interventions promote cigarette smoking cessation, but family-level incentives have not been evaluated. We describe the study protocol to adapt and evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of a remotely delivered, family-based financial incentive intervention for cigarette smoking among Alaskan ANAI people. Methods The study has 3 phases: 1) qualitative interviews with ANAI adults who smoke, family members, and stakeholders to inform the intervention, 2) beta-test of the intervention, and 3) randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating intervention reach and effectiveness on verified, prolonged smoking abstinence at 6- and 12-months post-treatment. In the RCT, adult dyads (ANAI person who smokes [index participant] and family member) recruited throughout Alaska will be randomized to a no-incentives control condition (n = 328 dyads) or a 6-month incentive intervention (n = 328 dyads). All dyads will receive cessation support and family wellness materials. Smoking status will be assessed weekly for four weeks and at three and six months. Intervention index participants will receive escalating incentives for verified smoking abstinence at each time point (maximum $750 total); the family member will receive rewards of equal value. Results A community advisory committee contributed input on the study design and methods for relevance to ANAI people, particularly emphasizing the involvement of families. Conclusion Our study aligns with the strength and value AIAN people place on family. Findings, processes, and resources will inform how Indigenous family members can support smoking cessation within incentive interventions.Ye

"Monstrous and indefensible"? Newspaper accounts of sexual assaults on children in nineteenth-century England and Wales

This material has been published in Women's Criminality in Europe, 1600–1914 edited by Edited by Manon van der Heijden, Marion Pluskota, Sanne Muurling, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108774543. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution or re-use. © 2020 Cambridge University Press.Popular crime reportage of sexual violence has a long history in England. Despite the fact that from the 1830s onwards newspapers and periodicals – and sometimes even law reports – were increasingly liable to skim over the reporting of sexual offences as ‘unfit for publication’, this does not mean that such reportage vanished entirely. Instead, certain linguistic codes and euphemisms were invoked to maintain a respectable discourse. Given the serious problems with gaps in the surviving archival record for modern criminal justice, newspapers remain an essential tool for understanding the history of sexual violence in nineteenth century England and Wales. Using keyword searches in digitized newspaper databases such as the British Newspaper Archive and Welsh Newspapers Database, this chapter examines the continuities and changes in the reporting of sexual violence against children between 1800 and 1900, and explores what these euphemisms and elisions reveal about attitudes to gender and crime in nineteenth-century England and Wales.Peer reviewe

Gender and release from imprisonment: Convict licensing systems in mid to late 19th century England

This paper draws on the research undertaken into the lives and prison experiences of around 650 male and female convicts who were released on licence (an early form of parole) from sentences of long term imprisonment (three years to life) in England in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. Our project confirmed the patterns of offending seen in other studies of female and male offending, namely, that women were committed to periods of long-term imprisonment overwhelmingly for crimes of larceny and sometimes low-level violence (or their criminal backgrounds indicated this type of low-level disorderly behaviour) and only in the minority for crimes of serious interpersonal violence. Similarly, the majority of men were also committed to the convict system for larceny. Yet how male and female offenders were treated by the prison licensing system did differ significantly. The vast majority of all prisoners, male and female, were released early on licence from their prison terms, even those who had committed very serious offences. All licences had several conditions in them and licence-holders were free so long as they met these conditions. Any breach of the above conditions meant that the individual would be returned to prison to serve out the remainder of their sentence.However, a proportion of female offenders were released slightly earlier than their male counterparts, though not directly into the community but on a conditional licence to Female Refuges. Out of the 288 women researched in our project, 200 of them were released in this manner; under further confinement in a refuge. Women stayed in such refuges for on average between six and nine months, before their final release was then approved by the Directors of the Convict Prisons