Reflexivity: Interviewing Women and Men Formerly Addicted to Drugs and/or Alcohol

This article considers how one researcher used reflexivity in two research projects. Qualitative research often involves a consideration of sensitive topics, one which may include research with individuals formerly addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. However, there is little in the literature that focuses directly on such experiences for researchers in this field; that is, a consideration of how a researcher might use reflectivity while interviewing those formerly addicted to substances. Exploring the following themes, I highlight how I reflected on the experiences that my participants (25 women and 25 men) revealed about their stories of their addiction and recovery processes: (1) my personal characteristics and my background work; (2) the importance of documenting power balance or power imbalance in my research; (3) documenting the unexpected; and (4) reflecting on the impact of my interviews/field notes

Attachment Matters for All - An Attachment Mapping Exercise for Children's Services in Scotland

As part of the first phase of the Looked After Strategic Implementation Group (LACSIG), the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) undertook research into care and permanence planning for younger children in care.1 They focused on 100 children all aged under four years old when they first came to the attention of services and examined how long it took from that point to achieve permanence. For over 90% of children this process took longer than two years and more than half had still not achieved a permanent placement four years after first contact with services. Several children had also experienced multiple placements, with transitions between carers often occurring at critical developmental points. The research highlighted the negative impact on long-term outcomes of such continued disruption of children’s attachments

Eating behaviours and the workplace: the role of socioeconomic and sociodemographic characteristics

The overall aim of the research described in this thesis is to explore the role of socioeconomic status (SES) (defined in terms of education, salary, and job grade) and demographic and personal factors (including age, weight, number of dependants, and gender) in relation to the eating behaviours of employees, and to explore barriers and facilitators to healthy eating in the workplace. The purpose of examining these issues in the workplace is to better enable practitioners to develop interventions designed to assist workers in the adoption of healthy eating behaviours. The thesis opens, in Chapter 1, with an introduction to these concepts and consideration of their role in providing a focus for targeted workplace interventions to promote healthy food-related behavioural choices. Chapter 2 shows that the vast majority of academic research on relations between SES and eating behaviours is based on community samples. Little is known about such relations in occupational samples. This is an important knowledge gap because with many people spending more than half of their daily waking hours at work, the workplace represents an ideal location for the promotion of healthy eating choices. In response to the knowledge gap identified above, the overall aim of this investigation is to examine relations between three indices of SES (education, salary band, and grade), plus demographic and personal factors (age, gender, number of dependants, and Body Mass Index (BMI)) and eating behaviours in a large public sector employee sample. Five specific eating behaviours are considered: Consumption of a healthy, well-balanced diet, fruit consumption, vegetable consumption, eating past the point of being full, and cost of food influencing purchasing behaviour. Analyses were carried out on data from the Stormont Study, an organisation-wide health-focused employee survey conducted in 2012 (Time 1) and 2014 (Time 2) in the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS). The Stormont Study methodology is presented in Chapter 3. A descriptive epidemiology based on cross-sectional analyses of data collected at T1 and T2 is presented in Chapter 4. These analyses identified the importance of demographic factors, in addition to the measures of SES in relation to eating behaviours. To explore relations between SES and eating behaviours, cross-sectional, prospective, and longitudinal analysis was carried out in Chapter 5. Relations between SES and eating behaviours were observed in all three analyses – however only grade and education reached significance in the longitudinal analysis. The demographic variables significantly contributed to the statistical model in all three analyses; age and BMI produced consistently significant relationships with nearly all eating behaviours across all three sets of analysis. Chapter 6 explores the extent to which eating behaviours differed between age groups and BMI categories, to understand if interventions may benefit from demographic tailoring for high risk groups. In light of findings from the quantitative studies, and to better inform interventions to improve eating behaviours in the workplace, a qualitative study, in Chapter 7, was conducted in 2017, within a higher SES management group, in a large organisation that had recently been privatised after many decades in public ownership. The findings of the quantitative studies were explored with participants, in addition to asking them to consider the barriers and facilitators to eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, and their perceptions of the role of the employer in promoting healthy eating. Thematic saturation was reached upon completion of 15 interviews. Five main themes were identified, each containing multiple sub-themes: (1) knowledge, (2) behaviour, (3) access, (4) workplace culture and (5) responsibility (government and organisational responsibilities). Workplace culture was seen as a barrier to healthy eating, and therefore initiatives designed to modify work culture may prove effective as a means by which to promote healthy eating in the organisational setting. Chapter 8 considers the research as a whole and the application of findings to workplace health promotion practice. Strengths and limitations of the investigation are discussed and recommendations made for future study

Eating behaviours and the workplace: the role of socioeconomic and sociodemographic characteristics

The overall aim of the research described in this thesis is to explore the role of socioeconomic status (SES) (defined in terms of education, salary, and job grade) and demographic and personal factors (including age, weight, number of dependants, and gender) in relation to the eating behaviours of employees, and to explore barriers and facilitators to healthy eating in the workplace. The purpose of examining these issues in the workplace is to better enable practitioners to develop interventions designed to assist workers in the adoption of healthy eating behaviours. The thesis opens, in Chapter 1, with an introduction to these concepts and consideration of their role in providing a focus for targeted workplace interventions to promote healthy food-related behavioural choices. Chapter 2 shows that the vast majority of academic research on relations between SES and eating behaviours is based on community samples. Little is known about such relations in occupational samples. This is an important knowledge gap because with many people spending more than half of their daily waking hours at work, the workplace represents an ideal location for the promotion of healthy eating choices. In response to the knowledge gap identified above, the overall aim of this investigation is to examine relations between three indices of SES (education, salary band, and grade), plus demographic and personal factors (age, gender, number of dependants, and Body Mass Index (BMI)) and eating behaviours in a large public sector employee sample. Five specific eating behaviours are considered: Consumption of a healthy, well-balanced diet, fruit consumption, vegetable consumption, eating past the point of being full, and cost of food influencing purchasing behaviour. Analyses were carried out on data from the Stormont Study, an organisation-wide health-focused employee survey conducted in 2012 (Time 1) and 2014 (Time 2) in the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS). The Stormont Study methodology is presented in Chapter 3. A descriptive epidemiology based on cross-sectional analyses of data collected at T1 and T2 is presented in Chapter 4. These analyses identified the importance of demographic factors, in addition to the measures of SES in relation to eating behaviours. To explore relations between SES and eating behaviours, cross-sectional, prospective, and longitudinal analysis was carried out in Chapter 5. Relations between SES and eating behaviours were observed in all three analyses – however only grade and education reached significance in the longitudinal analysis. The demographic variables significantly contributed to the statistical model in all three analyses; age and BMI produced consistently significant relationships with nearly all eating behaviours across all three sets of analysis. Chapter 6 explores the extent to which eating behaviours differed between age groups and BMI categories, to understand if interventions may benefit from demographic tailoring for high risk groups. In light of findings from the quantitative studies, and to better inform interventions to improve eating behaviours in the workplace, a qualitative study, in Chapter 7, was conducted in 2017, within a higher SES management group, in a large organisation that had recently been privatised after many decades in public ownership. The findings of the quantitative studies were explored with participants, in addition to asking them to consider the barriers and facilitators to eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, and their perceptions of the role of the employer in promoting healthy eating. Thematic saturation was reached upon completion of 15 interviews. Five main themes were identified, each containing multiple sub-themes: (1) knowledge, (2) behaviour, (3) access, (4) workplace culture and (5) responsibility (government and organisational responsibilities). Workplace culture was seen as a barrier to healthy eating, and therefore initiatives designed to modify work culture may prove effective as a means by which to promote healthy eating in the organisational setting. Chapter 8 considers the research as a whole and the application of findings to workplace health promotion practice. Strengths and limitations of the investigation are discussed and recommendations made for future study

Intersecting Challenges: Mothers and Child Protection Law in BC

This paper is concerned with how courts in British Columbia adjudicate applications by the state to remove children permanently from their parents, usually their mothers. Overwhelmingly, these cases are about single mothers who experience mental disability and addiction, domestic violence, and poverty. Indigenous women are over-represented in our sample. The intergenerational effects of the child protection system also are clear as many of the mothers in our study were themselves raised in state care. The paper highlights the degree to which judges blame women for the precarious circumstances in which they live, which are often a product of austerity measures adopted by states. Courts describe these circumstances as being a function of poor “lifestyle choices”, thus obscuring the role of the state in protecting women from violence, providing safe housing and supporting mothers and children with disabilities. Particularly troubling is the finding that courts are appear to be more willing to sever the relationship between mothers and their children where those children are themselves identified as having “special needs”. Judges are quick to assume that a child will be “better off” in state care even in the face of evidence that the child protection system in British Columbia has woefully failed both children and their mothers

Body size and symbiotic status influence gonad development in \u3cem\u3eAiptasia pallida\u3c/em\u3e anemones

Pale anemones (Aiptasia pallida) coexist with dinoflagellates (primarily Symbiodinium minutum) in a mutualistic relationship. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of these symbionts in gonad development of anemone hosts. Symbiotic and aposymbiotic anemones were subjected to light cycles that induced gametogenesis. These anemones were then sampled weekly for nine weeks, and gonad development was analyzed histologically. Anemone size was measured as mean body column diameter, and oocytes or sperm follicles were counted for each anemone. Generalized linear models were used to evaluate the influence of body size and symbiotic status on whether gonads were present and on the number of oocytes or sperm follicles produced. Body size predicted whether gonads were present, with larger anemones being more likely than smaller anemones to develop gonads. Both body size and symbiotic status predicted gonad size, such that larger and symbiotic anemones produced more oocytes and sperm follicles than smaller and aposymbiotic anemones. Overall, only 22 % of aposymbiotic females produced oocytes, whereas 63 % of symbiotic females produced oocytes. Similarly, 6 % of aposymbiotic males produced sperm follicles, whereas 60 % of symbiotic males produced sperm follicles. Thus, while gonads were present in 62 % of symbiotic anemones, they were present in only 11 % of aposymbiotic anemones. These results indicate that dinoflagellate symbionts influence gonad development and thus sexual maturation in both female and male Aiptasia pallida anemones. This finding substantiates and expands our current understanding of the importance of symbionts in the development and physiology of cnidarian hosts

Intersecting Challenges: Mothers and Child Protection Law in BC

This paper is concerned with how courts in British Columbia adjudicate applications by the state to remove children permanently from their parents, usually their mothers. Overwhelmingly, these cases are about single mothers who experience mental disability and addiction, domestic violence, and poverty. Indigenous women are over-represented in our sample. The intergenerational effects of the child protection system also are clear as many of the mothers in our study were themselves raised in state care. The paper highlights the degree to which judges blame women for the precarious circumstances in which they live, which are often a product of austerity measures adopted by states. Courts describe these circumstances as being a function of poor “lifestyle choices”, thus obscuring the role of the state in protecting women from violence, providing safe housing and supporting mothers and children with disabilities. Particularly troubling is the finding that courts are appear to be more willing to sever the relationship between mothers and their children where those children are themselves identified as having “special needs”. Judges are quick to assume that a child will be “better off” in state care even in the face of evidence that the child protection system in British Columbia has woefully failed both children and their mothers

Measurement of ventilation and cardiac related impedance changes with electrical impedance tomography

Introduction Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) has been shown to be able to distinguish both ventilation and perfusion. With adequate filtering the regional distributions of both ventilation and perfusion and their relationships could be analysed. Several methods of separation have been suggested previously, including breath holding, electrocardiograph (ECG) gating and frequency filtering. Many of these methods require interventions inappropriate in a clinical setting. This study therefore aims to extend a previously reported frequency filtering technique to a spontaneously breathing cohort and assess the regional distributions of ventilation and perfusion and their relationship. Methods Ten healthy adults were measured during a breath hold and while spontaneously breathing in supine, prone, left and right lateral positions. EIT data were analysed with and without filtering at the respiratory and heart rate. Profiles of ventilation, perfusion and ventilation/perfusion related impedance change were generated and regions of ventilation and pulmonary perfusion were identified and compared. Results Analysis of the filtration technique demonstrated its ability to separate the ventilation and cardiac related impedance signals without negative impact. It was, therefore, deemed suitable for use in this spontaneously breathing cohort. Regional distributions of ventilation, perfusion and the combined ΔZV/ΔZQ were calculated along the gravity axis and anatomically in each position. Along the gravity axis, gravity dependence was seen only in the lateral positions in ventilation distribution, with the dependent lung being better ventilated regardless of position. This gravity dependence was not seen in perfusion. When looking anatomically, differences were only apparent in the lateral positions. The lateral position ventilation distributions showed a difference in the left lung, with the right lung maintaining a similar distribution in both lateral positions. This is likely caused by more pronounced anatomical changes in the left lung when changing positions. Conclusions The modified filtration technique was demonstrated to be effective in separating the ventilation and perfusion signals in spontaneously breathing subjects. Gravity dependence was seen only in ventilation distribution in the left lung in lateral positions, suggesting gravity based shifts in anatomical structures. Gravity dependence was not seen in any perfusion distributions