Morality, Colour, Bodies: Epistemological and Interpretive Questions of Purity

As contributors to this special edition show in different ways, purity itself is a less stable concept than may first appear. This insight, however, is not always reflected in dominant theory on the topic. Contributions to this special edition are therefore placed in dialogue with a metanarrative regarding the role of purity in Western history, presented by the influential Harvard sociologist Barrington Moore Jr.. In effect, discussion of Moore’s narrative on purity is a way to expose it differently, allowing the reader to reconsider Moore’s claims. In turn, we hope that the special issue’s contributions will be exposed differently in light of work to refine and redefine Moore’s overarching thesis

Women’s leadership as narrative practice: identifying ‘tent making’, ‘dancing’ and ‘orchestrating’ in UK Early Years Services

Purpose – The paper discusses the “narrative practices” utilised by women leading in a small sample of Early Years services in the North East of England. These Early Years settings are presented as an alternative site for studying women's experiences of leadership. It examines the way in which these women use narrative strategies and approaches to work in collaborative, community based services for young children and their families. Design/methodology/approach – The study is drawn from a larger study into narratives of professional identity and their relation to interactional contexts. The study follows an interpretive paradigm, and used narrative and participative methodology and methods to work with a small number of participants purposively sampled from cohorts of the National Professional Qualification in Integrated Centre Leadership (NPQICL). Participants were involved in reflective conversations about their leadership supported by interactive, visual methods in five extended sessions over the course of twelve months. Data from the larger study which related to the theme of “narrative practices” was subsequently coded and interpreted to inform this study. Findings – Data coded as “narrative practices” led to the establishment of three high level categories of narrative practice found in the study. These are summarised in the metaphors of “tent making” (creating and using symbolic and narrative space with others), “skilled dancing” (improvising, and remembering with others) and “orchestration” (reflexive attuning). Data suggests that women involved in the study drew on their experience and values to develop sophisticated narrative practices that were particularly adaptive, ethically sensitive and sustainable – often in spite of “official” masculine leadership cultures. Research limitations/implications – This specific study only draws on narrative accounts of three women leaders in Early Years services and as such is not intended to generate generalizable theory. The intention of the study is to conceptualise women's leadership as narrative practice, and in so doing to direct further study into these practices as aspects of effective leadership. Practical implications – The study develops new ways of conceptualising and interpreting women's leadership practices and opens up opportunities for further study in this field. Access to this material also provides individuals (including women leading in UK Early Years services) and opportunity for reflection on their own leadership practice. Originality/value – This study is unique in using a form of highly participative, reflective methodology to consider women's use of narrative in leadership interactions in the UK Early Years sector. The study is the first in this sector to look at this specific topic using aspects of Ricoeur's (1984) narrative hermeneutics and in so doing generates new questions about women's narrative practices

Improving Sensemaking in Social Work: A worked example with Deleuze and Art

Social Work is all about Sensemaking, but Sensemaking, as we currently know it, is not fit for purpose in Social Work. Developed by Karl E. Weick, Sensemaking describes the process of coming to understand and act in circumstances that are confusing or otherwise problematic. In this article, the author provides a creative and inventive response to the limitations of Sensemaking in Social Work through the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze, and the use of artistic practices. In this article, he presents two stories; firstly, a story about overcoming ‘stuckness’ in a study of English Children’s Centre practitioners, and secondly, a bigger story about the limitations of Sensemaking in Social Work. These two stories are connected by Deleuze, and Art. The author responds to the opportunities presented by Deleuze by creating a series of visual Motifs, which act as idea-objects, used in his Sensemaking. He argues that whilst Social Workers do not need to be artists to make better sense of situations, they can use their own Motifs to better consider materiality, sense and affect in situations

Building student engagement through co-production and curriculum co-design in public administration programmes

Public administration as a field of work and study offers a theoretically rich yet practical tool to enact student engagement and the ideal of students-as-partners: the principles of service co-creation. Public administration, as an interdisciplinary and applied field, promoting and reflecting democratic principles, is a good source of tools for practice. As such we expect it to be particularly suitable for curriculum co-design principles. Our research sets potential benefits and challenges in facilitating a co-designed curriculum for public administration programmes. In doing so we make the case for more co-design and co-production of teaching as a tool to achieve enhanced understanding of these concepts and greater student engagement

The effect of exercise on plasma soluble IL-6 receptor concentration: a dichotomous response

The aim of this article is to review current literature on the response of soluble interleukin-6 receptor to exercise and identify a potential role for sIL-6R in skeletal muscle function. We also provide novel data on the impact of eccentric exercise on circulating levels. The aim of the research study was to investigate changes in plasma concentration of soluble interleukin-6 receptor (sIL-6R) and soluble glycoprotein 130 (sgp130) during recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) up to 72 h and their relationship with delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and muscle function. 18 participants attended the laboratory on 4 consecutive days. On the first day, participants completed 6 sets of 10 repetitions of unilateral eccentric-concentric knee flexions at a test speed of 1.05 rad.s(-1) using a Cybex Isokentic dynamometer to induce muscle damage of the hamstrings. Prior to the eccentric exercise bout and each subsequent morning, following an overnight fast, participants had a venous blood sample taken which was centrifuged immediately and plasma frozen at -80 degrees C until later analysis. Plasma IL-6 and sgp130 were unchanged at any time point during recovery but sIL-6R was significantly reduced at 48 h and 72 h post-exercise (p < 0.05). Plasma sIL-6R was correlated with DOMS at 48 h post EIMD (r = 0.45, p < 0.05) and peak muscle torque at 24 h and 48 h following EIMD (r = -.42; p < 0.05; r = -.57; p < 0.01 respectively). Our novel finding that sIL-6R concentrations are decreased 2-3 days following a single bout of EIMD may reflect a regulatory mechanism controlling the influx of different leukocyte subpopulations into damaged tissue, although this needs to be confirmed by future studies. Our data suggests an association between sIL-6R, perception of pain and reduced peak muscle performance post-EIMD but further investigation is warranted to explore this relationship and implications for exercise performance

Observations of cold dust in nearby elliptical galaxies

Spectral energy distribution (SED) analyses that include new millimeter to far-infrared (FIR) observations obtained with continuum instruments on the Nobeyama and James Clerk Maxwell Telescopes and the Infrared Space Observatory are presented for seven nearby (<45 Mpc) FIR-bright elliptical galaxies. These are analyzed together with archival FIR and shortwave radio data obtained from the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED). The radio to infrared SEDs are best-fitted by power law plus graybody models of dust residing in the central galactic regions within a 2.4 kpc diameter and with temperatures between ~21 and 28 K, emissivity index simeq2, and masses from ~1.6 to 19 × 105 M☉. The emissivity index is consistent with dust constituting amorphous silicate and carbonaceous grains previously modeled for stellar-heated dust observed in the Galaxy and other nearby extragalactic sources. Using updated dust absorption coefficients for this type of dust, dust masses are estimated that are similar to those determined from earlier FIR data alone, even though the latter results implied hotter dust temperatures. Fluxes and masses that are consistent with the new FIR and submillimeter data are estimated for dust cooler than 20 K within the central galactic regions. Tighter physical constraints for such cold, diffuse dust (if it exists) with low surface brightness will need sensitive FIR to submillimeter observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope, SCUBA2, or ALMA

Opening up the unfamiliar and enabling new pathways for movement and becoming: Through, in, and beyond attachment

The philosophy of Deleuze and Guattari opens up vast potential to disrupt and explore some of the confines of attachment theory when considering the development of enchantment, wishful, and magical thinking in childhood. Through connection with the use of the fairy-tale, the authors seek to illuminate and illustrate the lines of flight, which activate resistance against the universalism of attachment theory and linear process of child development. In using the classic tale of Peter Pan as metaphor, and by applying Deleuzian philosophy and mythology, we aim to expand current thinking about the nature of childhood. By translating text into visual meaning, thus creating a lens with which to view an alternative pathway for child development, the complexity of the spatio-temporality of relationships as a contemporary adjunct to attachment theory, is materialised to produce an affective picture of the non-linear dimension and process of development in children. This affective genre illuminates the embodied and sensory aspects of ‘becoming’ which challenges a reductionist view of relationships. In doing so, this allows a ‘state change’ that enables professionals and scholars to see see differently

Learning through mess: Sensemaking visual communication practices in a UK multidisciplinary applied health study

This article addresses the challenges and opportunities associated with the development of new visual communication practices and outputs, using an example of such work conducted in a UK interdisciplinary applied health project. Reflecting on his role as co-researcher and practice as a visual ethnographer in the study, the author argues that new visual communication practices may emerge from ‘mess’ and even ugliness. In the case discussed, the author comes to terms with mess and elements of failure as potential phenomena of learning through a process of Sensemaking (see Weick’s Sensemaking in Organizations, 1995), by applying innovative visual methods to the approach. Through his version of visual Sensemaking, the author identifies a set of principles to inform innovation in collaborative, interdisciplinary visual communication

Antenatal telephone support intervention with and without uterine artery Doppler screening for low risk nulliparous women: a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: The number of routine antenatal visits provided to low risk nulliparous women has been reduced in the UK, acknowledging this change in care may result in women being less satisfied with their care and having poorer psychosocial outcomes. The primary aim of the study was to investigate whether the provision of proactive telephone support intervention (TSI) with and without uterine artery Doppler screening (UADS) would reduce the total number of antenatal visits required. A secondary aim was to investigate whether the interventions affected psychological outcomes. METHODS: A three-arm randomised controlled trial involving 840 low risk nulliparous women was conducted at a large maternity unit in North East England. All women received antenatal care in line with current UK guidance. Women in the TSI group (T) received calls from a midwife at 28, 33 and 36 weeks and women in the telephone and Doppler group (T + D) received the TSI and additional UADS at 20 weeks’ gestation. The main outcome measure was the total number of scheduled and unscheduled antenatal visits received after 20 weeks’ gestation. RESULTS: The median number of unscheduled (n = 2.0), scheduled visits (n = 7.0) and mean number of total visits (n = 8.8) were similar in the three groups. The majority (67%) of additional antenatal visits were made to a Maternity Assessment Unit because of commonly occurring pregnancy complications. Additional TSI+/–UADS was not associated with differences in clinical outcomes, levels of anxiety, social support or satisfaction with care. There were challenges to the successful delivery of the telephone support intervention; 59% of women were contacted at 29 and 33 weeks gestation reducing to 52% of women at 37 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Provision of additional telephone support (with or without UADS) in low risk nulliparous women did not reduce the number of unscheduled antenatal visits or reduce anxiety. This study provides a useful insight into the reasons why this client group attend for unscheduled visits. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN6235458