Plaything

A collaborative exhibition that explores the visual outcome of two artists sharing and exchanging imagery and visual motifs in order to develop new work, as a kind of conscious 'theft' that counters notions of plagerism , and that deliberately courts 'sameness'. The intention is to relinquish control of who owns the conceptual right to use images or ideas; that these are participatory tropes that are up for grabs.This agreement to a loss of control or authorship was further amplified by a curator selecting work from the studios in order to stage her own version of how she wanted to mix up and present work to create narratives and connections that she wanted to highlight.The issue at stake was whether there might be tipping points, or a share or intervention too far: an artist might suddenly claim ownership of an image at the expense of the other, or distrust an approach to curation that meddles or reframe the artists intentions completely. Conversely, the anticipation might be one of liberation and playfulness

Brief relationship support as a selective suicide prevention intervention: Piloting the Relationship Checkup in veteran couples with relationship and mental health concerns

Introduction: Close relationship problems play a key role in many contemporary theories of suicide. However, the potential of relationship support in suicide prevention is understudied. This study explores the feasibility, safety, acceptability, and promise of utilizing the 3-session Relationship Checkup (RC) in veterans with mental health and romantic relationship concerns. Methods: We conducted a single-arm pilot of telehealth RC in veterans with a positive mental health screen and their romantic partners. Couples completed baseline and post-treatment assessments of study outcomes. Results: Feasibility analyses showed we were able to recruit an elevated-risk sample (30% history of attempts or interrupted attempts), take them through the service (90% treatment completion), and had minimal harm events (no suicidal behavior, no physical harm in arguments). Multimethod acceptability analyses suggested high satisfaction with the program, though some desired more intensive services. Couples reported improvements in relationship functioning, emotional intimacy, thwarted belongingness, depression, and posttraumatic stress. Perceived burdensomeness only improved for identified patients and drinking did not change for either partner. Conclusion: The RC is a feasible, safe, and acceptable strategy for providing relationship support to couples at elevated risk. Although further randomized trials are needed, RC shows promise to reduce relationship-level and individual-level suicide risk factors

Improvements in depressive symptoms following a brief relationship intervention

In the United States, 21 million adults are diagnosed with depression. Couple therapy effectively treats depression, however, couples encounter access barriers. The Relationship Checkup is an assessment and feedback intervention delivered in participants\u27 homes. The current study examines changes in relationship satisfaction and depressive symptoms, and moderators and mechanisms of change in a community sample (N = 85 couples). Changes in depressive symptoms and satisfaction, and the association between changes in satisfaction and depressive symptoms were examined with multilevel modeling. Depressive symptoms (Cohen\u27s d = 0.36) and satisfaction (d = 1.43) improved from baseline to 1-month follow-up, with greater declines in depression (d = 0.44) for those with more severe symptoms. Increases in satisfaction were associated with decreases in depressive symptoms (d = 0.23), and decreases in depressive symptoms were associated with increases in satisfaction (d = 0.33). Individuals with depression and relationship distress may be well served by this intervention. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

Plaything

In the second iteration of Fisher and de Cordova’s on-going collaboration, trains of thought become short stories, which in their interconnectedness create a wider matrix of narratives. Imagery in the form of toys as objects, objects as toys, children’s book motifs and strange landscapes, suggestive of folklore and myth, seems to dwell in the uncanny realm of dreams; closer examination reveals an exploration of sexual identity and the human condition. Taking these signals, the viewer is invited to participate in a private excursion of imagining, or perhaps, instead, to investigate further the artists’ own sub-textual interrogations. The exhibition included sculptures, paintings, prints embroideries and objects, and was partly presented in five glass cabinets

Perceived positive impact of cancer among long‐term survivors of childhood cancer: a report from the childhood cancer survivor study

Objective Investigations examining psychosocial adjustment among childhood cancer survivors have focused primarily on negative effects and psychopathology. Emergent literature suggests the existence of positive impact or adjustment experienced after cancer, as well. The purpose of this study is to examine the distribution of Perceived Positive Impact (PPI) and its correlates in young adult survivors of childhood cancer. Methods 6425 survivors and 360 siblings completed a comprehensive health survey, inclusive of a modified version of the Post‐traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) as a measure of PPI. Linear regression models were used to examine demographic, disease and treatment characteristics associated with PPI. Results Survivors were significantly more likely than siblings to report PPI. Endorsement of PPI was significantly greater among female and non‐white survivors, and among survivors exposed to at least one intense therapy, a second malignancy or cancer recurrence. Survivors diagnosed at older ages and fewer years since diagnosis were more likely to report PPI. Income, education and marital/relationship status appeared to have varied relationships to PPI depending upon the subscale being evaluated. Conclusions The existence and variability of PPI in survivors in this study suggest that individual characteristics, inclusive of race, gender, cancer type, intensity of treatment, age at diagnosis and time since diagnosis, have unique and specific associations with different aspects of perceived positive outcomes of childhood cancer. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/92025/1/pon1959.pd

Evaluation of a Brief Marriage Intervention for Internal Behavioral Health Consultants in Military Primary Care

Military couples face significant challenges to their relationships including demanding schedules, multiple deployments, and frequent moves. Despite the high costs of chronic marital distress, very few military (or civilian) couples seek marriage therapy. The military services and the VA system have implemented collaborative care models in primary care where internal behavioral health consultants are integrated into primary care. Integrated primary care can reduce the stigma of behavioral health services and may increase the odds that couples would seek help earlier. There are no established couple interventions designed for use in primary care. The purpose of this presentation is to describe a program of research focused on adapting and validating The Marriage Checkup (MC) for use in an integrated primary care clinic.https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/urop_celebration/1019/thumbnail.jp

GC13I-0857: Designing a Frost Forecasting Service for Small Scale Tea Farmers in East Africa

Kenya is the third largest tea exporter in the world, producing 10% of the world's black tea. Sixty percent of this production occurs largely by small scale tea holders, with an average farm size of 1.04 acres, and an annual net income of $1,075. According to a recent evaluation, a typical frost event in the tea growing region causes about$200 dollars in losses which can be catastrophic for a small holder farm. A 72-hour frost forecast would provide these small-scale tea farmers with enough notice to reduce losses by approximately 80 USD annually. With this knowledge, SERVIR, a joint NASA-USAID initiative that brings Earth observations for improved decision making in developing countries, sought to design a frost monitoring and forecasting service that would provide farmers with enough lead time to react to and protect against a forecasted frost occurrence on their farm. SERVIR Eastern and Southern Africa, through its implementing partner, the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), designed a service that included multiple stakeholder engagement events whereby stakeholders from the tea industry value chain were invited to share their experiences so that the exact needs and flow of information could be identified. This unique event allowed enabled the design of a service that fit the specifications of the stakeholders. The monitoring service component uses the MODIS Land Surface Temperature product to identify frost occurrences in near-real time. The prediction component, currently under testing, uses the 2-m air temperature, relative humidity, and 10-m wind speed from a series of high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) numerical weather prediction model runs over eastern Kenya as inputs into a frost prediction algorithm. Accuracy and sensitivity of the algorithm is being assessed with observations collected from the farmers using a smart phone app developed specifically to report frost occurrences, and from data shared through our partner network developed at the stakeholder engagement meeting. This presentation will illustrate the efficacy of our frost forecasting algorithm, and a way forward for incorporating these forecasts in a meaningful way to the key decision makers - the small-scale farmers of East Africa

Treewilder

Treewilder is an exhibition of site responsive interventions, sculptures and video work set in Barnwell Country park aiming to encourage visitors to explore the woodland space throughout autumn and winter aspart of the two year Xylophobia season