The strategic narration of future identity during times of crises: evidence from the European Commission

What kind of Europe the EU seeks to be, how it perceives itself and how it seeks to enact this Europe is a highly contentious issue and has powerful political stakes attached to its construction and realisation. This paper is specifically interested in how crises can constitute a compounded and expanded space for agency of political actors to forge identity narratives of the future. This paper draws on speeches by EC officials from 16 July 2019 to 7 July 2020, while coding along four analytical markers for crises as identified by Filip Ejdus (2020, p. 2, italics in original): “existence, finitude, relations and autobiography”. This article finds that while actors seek to create space for political agency by writing a moment of existential (external) crises to the EU’s project, they appear less equipped to use this moment politically. In this way, they co-construct a space potentially open to political creativity, but fail to fill this space with political creativity as to the future of the autobiographical narrative

Aquatic community response to volcanic eruptions on the Ecuadorian Andean flank: evidence from the palaeoecological record

Aquatic ecosystems in the tropical Andes are under increasing pressure from human modification of the landscape (deforestation and dams) and climatic change (increase of extreme events and 1.5 °C on average temperatures are projected for AD 2100). However, the resilience of these ecosystems to perturbations is poorly understood. Here we use a multi-proxy palaeoecological approach to assess the response of aquatic ecosystems to a major mechanism for natural disturbance, volcanic ash deposition. Specifically, we present data from two Neotropical lakes located on the eastern Andean flank of Ecuador. Laguna Pindo (1°27.132′S–78°04.847′W) is a tectonically formed closed basin surrounded by a dense mid-elevation forest, whereas Laguna Baños (0°19.328′S–78°09.175′W) is a glacially formed lake with an inflow and outflow in high Andean Páramo grasslands. In each lake we examined the dynamics of chironomids and other aquatic and semi-aquatic organisms to explore the effect of thick (> 5 cm) volcanic deposits on the aquatic communities in these two systems with different catchment features. In both lakes past volcanic ash deposition was evident from four large tephras dated to c.850 cal year BP (Pindo), and 4600, 3600 and 1500 cal year BP (Baños). Examination of the chironomid and aquatic assemblages before and after the ash depositions revealed no shift in composition at Pindo, but a major change at Baños occurred after the last event around 1500 cal year BP. Chironomids at Baños changed from an assemblage dominated by Pseudochironomus and Polypedilum nubifer-type to Cricotopus/Paratrichocladius type-II, and such a dominance lasted for approximately 380 years. We suggest that, despite potential changes in the water chemistry, the major effect on the chironomid community resulted from the thickness of the tephra being deposited, which acted to shallow the water body beyond a depth threshold. Changes in the aquatic flora and fauna at the base of the trophic chain can promote cascade effects that may deteriorate the ecosystem, especially when already influenced by human activities, such as deforestation and dams, which is frequent in the high Andes

Identifying the participant characteristics that predict recruitment and retention of participants to randomised controlled trials involving children : a systematic review

Background Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are recommended as the ‘gold standard’ in evaluating health care interventions. The conduct of RCTs is often impacted by difficulties surrounding recruitment and retention of participants in both adult and child populations. Factors influencing recruitment and retention of children to RCTs can be more complex than in adults. There is little synthesised evidence of what influences participation in research involving parents and children. Aim To identify predictors of recruitment and retention in RCTs involving children. Methods A systematic review of RCTs was conducted to synthesise the available evidence. An electronic search strategy was applied to four databases and restricted to English language publications. Quantitative studies reporting participant predictors of recruitment and retention in RCTs involving children aged 0–12 were identified. Data was extracted and synthesised narratively. Quality assessment of articles was conducted using a structured tool developed from two existing quality evaluation checklists. Results Twenty-eight studies were included in the review. Of the 154 participant factors reported, 66 were found to be significant predictors of recruitment and retention in at least one study. These were classified as parent, child, family and neighbourhood characteristics. Parent characteristics (e.g. ethnicity, age, education, socioeconomic status (SES)) were the most commonly reported predictors of participation for both recruitment and retention. Being young, less educated, of an ethnic minority and having low SES appear to be barriers to participation in RCTs although there was little agreement between studies. When analysed according to setting and severity of the child’s illness there appeared to be little variation between groups. The quality of the studies varied. Articles adhered well to reporting guidelines around provision of a scientific rationale for the study and background information as well as displaying good internal consistency of results. However, few studies discussed the external validity of the results or provided recommendations for future research. Conclusion Parent characteristics may predict participation of children and their families to RCTs; however, there was a lack of consensus. Whilst sociodemographic variables may be useful in identifying which groups are least likely to participate they do not provide insight into the processes and barriers to participation for children and families. Further studies that explore variables that can be influenced are warranted. Reporting of studies in this field need greater clarity as well as agreed definitions of what is meant by retention

Posttraumatische und depressive Symptomatik bei Asylsuchenden

Kröger C, Frantz I, Friel P, Heinrichs N. Posttraumatische und depressive Symptomatik bei Asylsuchenden. PPmP - Psychotherapie · Psychosomatik · Medizinische Psychologie. 2016;66(09/10):377-384.Hintergrund und Ziel: Zurzeit gibt es eine große Zahl an Flüchtenden, die aus (Bürger-)Kriegsgebieten nach Deutschland kommen. Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war es, das Ausmaß posttraumatischer und depressiver Symptomatik bei Asylbegehrenden abzuschätzen. Methode: In der Landesaufnahmestelle Niedersachsen, Standort Braunschweig, wurden 280 erwachsene Flüchtlinge (88,2% Männer) im Sommer 2015 mit der Unterstützung von Dolmetschern befragt. Die Daten wurden nach Herkunftsregionen (Balkanstaaten, Naher Osten, Nordafrika, Restafrika) kategorisiert. Als Screening-Instrumente wurden die Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale-8 (PDS-8) und der Patient-Health-Questionnaire (PHQ-9) eingesetzt. Werden die Grenzwerte von 12 in der PDS-8 bzw. von 15 im PHQ überschritten, liegt mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit eine PTBS bzw. eine Depression vor. Ergebnisse: Die Teilnehmer berichteten insgesamt von einer hohen Anzahl potentiell traumatischer Ereignisse (72,5% von Kriegserlebnissen; 67,9% von gewalttätigen Angriffen; 51,4% von einem anderen sehr belastenden Ereignis; 50,0% von Foltererfahrungen; 47,9% von Gefangenschaften; 11,1% von sexuellen Übergriffen), wobei Mehrfachangaben möglich waren. Die Prävalenzraten für eine mögliche PTBS lagen bei 16,1% (Balkanstaaten), 20,5% (Naher Osten), 23,4% (Restafrika) und 28,1% (Nordafrika); die Raten für eine mögliche Depression variierte zwischen den genannten Herkunftsregionen mit 17,9, 35,9, 28,1 und 24,0%. Schlussfolgerungen: Im Vergleich zur deutschen Allgemeinbevölkerung lagen in dieser Stichprobe von Asylbegehrenden die Häufigkeiten von traumatischen Erfahrungen und die Prävalenzraten einer möglichen PTBS deutlich höher; für Depression galt dies mit Einschränkung nicht. Die Integration bei betroffenen Asylsuchenden dürfte aufgrund der gesundheitlichen Beeinträchtigungen erheblich erschwert sein, z. B. im Hinblick auf das Erlernen der deutschen Sprache und die Aufnahme von Bildungs- oder Berufsangeboten

The Clitic-Affix Distinction, Historical Change, and Scandinavian Bound Definiteness Marking

In the literature on grammaticalization, it is generally assumed that there are two categories of bound elements, clitics and affixes, and that a development from the former to the latter is an example of gram-maticalization. Frequently, this development in form is assumed to be associated with a change in function. In this paper, we argue that a simple dichotomy between clitic and affix does not do justice to the variation found between bound elements, nor to the changes they undergo over time. We also argue that changes in form are not always accompanied by a change in function. We illustrate our discussion with the history and current distribution of definiteness marking in Scandinavian.