Stop churning relationships by avoiding the relationship slide

Previous research has identified a link between romantic relationship formation (sliding vs. deciding) and satisfaction (Clifford et al., 2017; Vennum et al., 2015). During college, the decision to enter and maintain a romantic relationship can play a role in the relationship-churning process among young adults (Brandes & Doron, 2020; Grower & Baldwin-White, 2021). Specifically, some college students may slide into marriage or having kids (Loeb et al., 2020; Priem et al., 2015) due to financial, social, and psychological barriers that keep them from ending an unhealthy relationship (Loeb et al., 2020). To explore the effect of sliding into a relationship further, we conducted a relationship education workshop (N = 12) at a University in the Southeastern United States. We adopted the Love Notes curriculum to create a 45-minute workshop on the topics of self-reflection, communication skills, and relationship conflict management. The goal of the workshop was to increase participants self-awareness of their communication skills when they experience conflict in a relationship. Most participants identified as White females (n = 10; 76.9%), and the average age of the participants was 23.7. 2 The statistical analysis revealed participants confidence in having difficult conversations with romantic partners and their ability to recognize healthy relationships increased as a result of their participation in the workshop. Therefore, relationship education programs on college campuses can help not only develop the communication skills of college students but also positively contribute to their ability to form meaningful and healthy relationships

Monstrous Women in Comics, Samantha Langsdale and Elizabeth Rae Coody (eds) 2020

Review of: Monstrous Women in Comics, Samantha Langsdale and Elizabeth Rae Coody (eds) (2020)Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 295 pp., 35 b&w illustrationsISBN 978-1-49682-763-0, p/bk, $3

Sweden's female-forward creative industries

In April 2022, my research trip to Stockholm, Sweden was funded by the SGSAH and Scottish Funding Council’s Saltire Emerging Researcher Scheme. I spent one month in Stockholm interviewing people about Sweden’s Creative Industries and what made them unique. I also got to experience the unique culture surrounding the creative industries first hand. Because of this, I can offer unique insights into Sweden’s creative industries, including videogames, comics, fanzines and boardgames, from the outside looking in. This was truly a life-changing experience both personally and professionally. I cannot thank everyone who helped me enough. A special thank you to Dr Mirjam Palosaari Eladhari for being my mentor throughout this project and for inspiring me to think of myself as an artist.The main findings from this study include:• Sweden’s unique combination of Culture, Education, Infrastructure, and Investment in the creative industries has led to their continued success;• Though compared to the United Kingdom there is a smaller percentage of women working in the Creative Industries, Sweden’s Creative Industries have more women in leadership positions;• Maternity and paternity leave as well as other forms of social care have contributed to the amount of women staying in Sweden’s Creative Industries;• (Fan)Zines and boardgames are both previous uncredited and integral parts of the Swedish Creative Industries

Sweden's female-forward creative industries

In April 2022, my research trip to Stockholm, Sweden was funded by the SGSAH and Scottish Funding Council’s Saltire Emerging Researcher Scheme. I spent one month in Stockholm interviewing people about Sweden’s Creative Industries and what made them unique. I also got to experience the unique culture surrounding the creative industries first hand. Because of this, I can offer unique insights into Sweden’s creative industries, including videogames, comics, fanzines and boardgames, from the outside looking in. This was truly a life-changing experience both personally and professionally. I cannot thank everyone who helped me enough. A special thank you to Dr Mirjam Palosaari Eladhari for being my mentor throughout this project and for inspiring me to think of myself as an artist.The main findings from this study include:• Sweden’s unique combination of Culture, Education, Infrastructure, and Investment in the creative industries has led to their continued success;• Though compared to the United Kingdom there is a smaller percentage of women working in the Creative Industries, Sweden’s Creative Industries have more women in leadership positions;• Maternity and paternity leave as well as other forms of social care have contributed to the amount of women staying in Sweden’s Creative Industries;• (Fan)Zines and boardgames are both previous uncredited and integral parts of the Swedish Creative Industries

Gamma-Ray Burst Spectral Features: Interpretation as X-ray Emission From A Photoionized Plasma

Numerous reports have been made of features, either in emission or absorption, in the 10 - 1000 keV spectra of some gamma-ray bursts. Originally interpreted in the context of Galactic neutron star models as cyclotron line emission and $e^+ - e^-$ annihilation features, the recent demonstration that the majority of GRBs lie at cosmological distances make these explanations unlikely. In this letter, we adopt a relativistic fireball model for cosmological GRBs in which dense, metal rich blobs or filaments of plasma are entrained in the relativistic outflow. In the context of this model, we investigate the conditions under which broadband features, similar to those detected, can be observed. We find a limited region of parameter space capable of reproducing the observed GRB spectra. Finally, we discuss possible constraints further high-energy spectral observations could place on fireball model parameters.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters Four pages, 2 figure

New routes to CSO sustainability: the strategic shift to social enterprise and social investment

The issue of sustainability is becoming more important for civil society, as non-profits, NGOs, and other civil society organisations (CSOs) face a range of political, regulatory, organisational, and financial challenges. This article focuses on the crucial dimension of financial sustainability and the growing awareness of the importance of accessing alternative sources of funds and developing new funding models. These include accessing social investment, using subsidiary businesses to fund programme work, or developing new social enterprises. The article draws on analysis of the funding environment and specific examples to explore the different dimensions of sustainability, and assess why many CSOs are looking to new funding models and alternative routes to sustainability