Using the Light Microscopy Module (LMM) on the International Space Station (ISS), The Advanced Colloids Experiment (ACE) and MacroMolecular Biophysics (MMB)

The Light Microscopy Module (LMM) was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2009 and began science operations in 2010. It continues to support Physical and Biological scientific research on ISS. During 2016, if all goes as planned, three experiments will be completed: [1] Advanced Colloids Experiments with Heated base-2 (ACE-H2) and [2] Advanced Colloids Experiments with Temperature control (ACE-T1). Preliminary results, along with an overview of present and future LMM capabilities will be presented; this includes details on the planned data imaging processing and storage system, along with the confocal upgrade to the core microscope. [1] a consortium of universities from the State of Kentucky working through the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR): Stuart Williams, Gerold Willing, Hemali Rathnayake, et al. and [2] from Chungnam National University, Daejeon, S. Korea: Chang-Soo Lee, et al

No one asked us : Understanding the lived experiences of midwives providing care in the north west suburbs of Melbourne during the COVID-19 pandemic : An interpretive phenomenology

Problem Within the Victorian healthcare system, a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated frequent and ongoing changes to midwifery practice. Background Midwives are a vital workforce at risk of burnout, attrition, and trauma. Emotional consequences of the pandemic for midwives remain largely unknown. Aim To understand the lived experiences of midwives providing care in the north west suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria during the pandemic. Methods Purposive and snowball sampling facilitated the recruitment of eight midwives in the north west suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. Semi-structured interviews were audio recorded and transcribed, occurring via telephone or video between September and October 2020. Interpretive phenomenology was the methodology used, informed by the writings of Heidegger and Gadamer. Findings Insights gleaned from the data embody a range of understandings. The unknown cost of change and adaptation; waves of the virus; balancing risk; telehealth; personal protective equipment; stripping away support; the privilege of abiding by the restrictions; separation, distress, uncertainty; and, professional strength. Discussion Experiences of midwives during the pandemic are characterised by sensations of voicelessness and professional invisibility. Distinctive differences in personal wellbeing and professional satisfaction exist between midwives working with and without continuity of care. Conclusion This paper voices the lived experiences of Victorian midwives, in the midst of an extended lockdown, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Knowledge obtained from this research provides important understandings for leaders, policymakers, and healthcare systems, in planning a long-term response to the pandemic that supports the wellbeing and longevity of a vital workforce

Trauma-Informed Care and Equity in Group Pregnancy Care for Women of Refugee Background: Reflections from the Workforce

For women and families of refugee background having a baby in Australia, trauma-related experiences contribute to maternal and neonatal health inequities. Group Pregnancy Care for women of refugee background is a new model of care that was codesigned with communities of refugee background, to incorporate a trauma-informed approach to care. The aim of this paper is to explore how trauma-informed care is understood by Group Pregnancy Care professional staff. An exploratory descriptive qualitative study involving twenty-three semi-structured interviews with past and present professional staff was conducted. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The results reported in this paper include five themes: acknowledging the universal potential for trauma; accountability to community; practising in trauma-informed ways; how can we determine whether trauma-informed care is happening?; and understanding equity. The analysis showed that GPC staff aimed to practise in trauma-informed ways and understood that their ability to integrate trauma-informed care could improve over time. However, there were times when participants perceived organisation- or structural-level barriers that were incongruous with their understanding of health equity, which created tension and led to feelings for some of being in a ‘battle against the system’. Key individual- and organisation-level factors were identified that assisted with integrating trauma-informed care, including a safe and accessible space to hold the program, strategies to minimise the risk of retraumatisation and burnout, and adequate time to facilitate group processes and support staff to participate in team reflective practises. Understanding trauma-informed care and equity were seen to have important implications for workforce wellbeing and the promotion of refugee maternal and child health

Having a Say in Research Directions: The Role of Community Researchers in Participatory Research with Communities of Refugee and Migrant Background

Research teams in high-income countries often fail to acknowledge the capacity and contributions of Community Researchers. This qualitative exploratory study used decolonising methodology and the Foundation House ‘Refugee Recovery Framework’ to understand Community Researchers’ perceptions and experiences of their role, and how research teams can integrate the knowledge they bring into research. Purposive sampling was used to facilitate the recruitment of eight Community Researchers from five different community groups working in Melbourne, Victoria. Semi-structured interviews lasting forty to sixty minutes occurred between December 2020 and January 2021. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings reported in this paper include eight themes: ‘nothing about us without us’; ‘open the door’; a safe space to share; every step of the way; this does not translate; finding the right way to ask; a trauma-informed approach; and support within the workplace. The knowledge obtained demonstrates that Community Researchers facilitate meaningful participation in research for women, families, and communities of refugee or migrant background. Community Researchers’ presence, knowledge, and skills are vital in establishing culturally safe research practices and developing accessible language to facilitate conversations about sensitive research topics across multiple languages. Community Researchers can make important contributions at all stages of research, including data collection and interpretation

Fertility and social change: the neglected contribution of men's approaches to becoming partners and parents

Attitude survey and interview data are mobilised to address neglect of men's contribution to low fertility and wider social change in families and relationships. Men's attitudes are as relevant as women's to understanding fertility behaviour. However, fertility behaviour can only be understood in the context of a package of changes in gender relations and family life. Data from a random sample of men aged 18–49 surveyed in the Scottish Social Attitudes (SSA) survey 2005/06 are combined with in-depth interviews conducted in 2007 with 75 men aged 25–44 identified through the Scottish Household Survey as not living in co-resident partnership arrangements. Both datasets encompass the age span conventionally associated with having children and men who were the potential partners of women delaying a first child until their 30s. They allow consideration of the impact of social contact with parents and children on men's fertility intentions and how the role of provider features in men's views about parenting. The interviews focus on men who have fallen out of, or have not entered, co-resident partnerships and examine the relationship between partnering and parenting. In combination the data suggest how men act as a complementary or contradictory downward drag on women's fertility and that their role has been underestimated in understanding the package of family change of which low fertility is a part