Discursive constructions of youth cancer: findings from creative methods research with healthy young people

Purpose: As part of work to understand the experiences of young people who had cancer we were keen to examine the perspectives of peers who share their social worlds. Our study aimed to examine how cancer in young people, young people with cancer, and young cancer survivors are represented through language, metaphor, and performance. Methods: We generated data using creative activities and focus group discussions with three high school drama classes, and used Foucauldian discourses analysis to identify the discursive constructions of youth cancer. Results: Our analysis identified two prevailing discursive constructions: youth cancer as an inevitable decline towards death and as overwhelming personhood by reducing the young person with cancer to ‘cancer victim’. Conclusions: If we are to understand life after cancer treatment and how to support young people who have been treated for cancer, we need a sophisticated understanding of the social contexts they return to. Discourses shape the way young people talk and think about youth cancer; cancer as an inevitable decline towards death and as overwhelming personhood are key discursive constructions that young people draw on when a friend discloses cancer. Implications for cancer survivors: The way cancer is constructed shapes how friends react to and relate to a young person with cancer. These constructions are likely to shape challenging social dynamics, such as bullying, that many young cancer survivors experience. 2 Awareness of these discursive constructions can better equip young cancer survivors, their family and health professionals, negotiate life after cancer. Keywords: cancer; survivorship; return to school; young people; representations; discourse analysis; creative methodsAustralian Research Council’s Linkage Projects funding scheme (Project Number LP0883632

Manifesto on Art, Design and Social Science - Method as Speculative Event.

Proposes that techniques from art and design can be used within social science research as part of a speculative methodology. Provides a set of heuristic principles for speculative method, characterizing it as processual, performative, playful, promising and propositional. Keywords: speculative, method, art, design, social science, researchn/

Australian’s Knowledge and Perceptions of Direct-to-Consumer Personal Genome Testing

Background: As direct-to-consumer personal genome testing (DTC-PGT) is increasingly available in Australia, knowledge of Australian’s perceptions and attitudes towards his technology is needed in order to assess the (potential) impact it might have on the Australian public and health care system. Aims: To explore the knowledge and perceptions of direct-to-consumer personal genome testing (DTC-PGT) in an Australian sample. Methods: An online survey asking about knowledge and perceptions of DTC-PGT, undertaken between October 2011 and April 2012, of 270 Australian residents. Results were analysed using SAS. Results: Our study found limited consumer knowledge of, and interest in pursuing DTC-PGT in Australia. 93% of respondents correctly identified DTC-PGT as available to consumers directly, but only 40% correctly identified its availability in Australia. When asked about the content and value of the information DTC-PGT provides, the majority of respondents indentified that DTC-PGT could provide information about one’s health and/or ancestry (82% and 74%). Additionally, respondents indicated they believed this information to be equally important as non-genetic information about one’s ancestry and health. Conclusion: While few respondents expressed an intention to pursue DTC-PGT (27%), the majority of people, irrespective of whether they wished to pursue it or not, believed that genetic information was as important as non-genetic information in regards to their health and their ancestry. The value ascribed to genetic information suggests genetics plays a role in people’s lives and at this time, further qualitative research could explore the ways in which people might use and understand the genetic information provided by DTC-PGT. Keywords: predictive genetic testing, consumer health information, ethical issues, survey methodolog

Parents as Advocates for the Psychosocial Survival of Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer

Many young people with cancer have a parent or parents who care for them during their hospitalisation and treatment, and remain an important part of their lives after the ‘crisis’ has passed and young people have moved into survivorship. This qualitative study explored the impact of cancer diagnosis, treatment and survival during adolescence and young adulthood on the practice and experiences of parenting. We conducted focus groups with a total of 22 parents of young people diagnosed with various cancers between the ages of 11 and 19 years old. The results indicated that parents advocated for their offspring in different ways at different points of the cancer journey. Parents used their parental knowledge of their offspring to secure a medical diagnosis and treatment, developed medical knowledge to advocate for appropriate treatment within the medical system, and then used parental and medical knowledge to advocate for their offspring’s successful psychosocial survival. In this final point in the journey, parents entered social worlds from which they would normally be absent and some went to great lengths to ensure their offspring were not socially disadvantaged. Key Words: Adolescent, Young Adult, Parent, CancerAustralian Research Council's Linkage Projects funding scheme (project number LP0883632

Manifesto on Art, Design and Social Science - Method as Speculative Event.

Proposes that techniques from art and design can be used within social science research as part of a speculative methodology. Provides a set of heuristic principles for speculative method, characterizing it as processual, performative, playful, promising and propositional. Keywords: speculative, method, art, design, social science, researchn/

The effect of lameness before and during the breeding season on fertility in 10 pasture-based Irish dairy herd

Background: The effects of lameness on fertility have been documented frequently but few data are available from seasonally breeding, pasture-based herds (such as those used in Ireland) where cows are housed during the winter months but managed at pasture for the remainder of the year. This study determined the prevalence of lameness in a group of 786 cows in 10 pasture-based Irish dairy herds before, during and after the breeding season and assessed the relationship between lameness and the reproductive performance in these herds through serial locomotion scoring during the grazing period. Results: Lameness prevalences of 11.6 % before, 14.6 % during and 11.6 % after the breeding season were found and these compared favourably to results from housed cattle and are similar to other studies carried out in grazing herds. A Cox proportional hazards model with locomotion score as time varying covariate was used. After controlling for the effect of farm, month of calving, body condition score at calving, body condition score loss after calving and economic breeding index, cows identified as lame during the study were less likely to become pregnant. Cows lame before the earliest serve date but no longer lame during the breeding season, cows becoming lame after the earliest serve date and cows identified lame both before and after this date were respectively 12 %, 35 % and 38 % less likely to become pregnant compared to cows never observed lame during the study. However, these findings were only significant for cows becoming lame after the earliest serve date and cows lame both before and after the start of breeding. Conclusions: This study found that the reproductive efficiency was significantly (p 0.05) lower in these animals compared to cows never diagnosed as lame. In addition to lameness status, nutritional status and genetics were found to influence the reproductive performance in pasture-based Irish dairy herds

Why Asia Needs Comparative Psychology: Applications in Canine-Human, and Equine-Human Interactions

This article provides a brief history and description of comparative psychology and provides perspectives about the current state of comparative psychology and unique research opportunities in Asia. An argument is made for why comparative psychology is needed in Asia and practical, teaching, and other aspects and applications are discussed. The application of comparative psychology in equine-human and canine-human interactions and therapies are highlighted