Experiences of women who elect for a Caesarian section following a previous traumatic birth

The aim of this phenomenological study was to explore women’s experiences of an Elective Caesarean Section (ECS) following a previous Traumatic Birth (TB). Thirteen women who had undergone an ECS following a TB were either interviewed or provided written accounts of their experiences. Data from these sources were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) (Smith, Flowers and Larkin, 2009). Five main themes were identified: ‘cautiously moving forward into the unknown: the drive to reproduce’, ‘attempting to make the unknown known’, ‘the longed for, positive birthing experience’ , ‘a different post-natal experience’ and ‘the interaction of the two experiences’. These findings were considered in relation to previous research; relevant theoretical perspectives were considered including those attached to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Post-traumatic stress reactions may increase during subsequent pregnancy impeding on women’s ability to consider facing another ‘unknown’ natural birth and domineering their decision to elect for a CS. An ECS following a TB may provide women with the controlled experience and high levels of care they long for. Such experiences could be redemptive and have positive outcomes for women’s relationships and wellbeing. These results highlight the importance of providing women in this position with information and choice regarding a subsequent birth. They also stress that prevention of women carrying Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) reactions into their subsequent pregnancies is imperative. Future research would benefit from focussing on the development and trialling of effective screening tools for PTS reactions following birth

Regulating intimate relationships in the European polity: same-sex unions and policy convergence

Since 1989, twenty-three European countries have implemented same-sex union (SSU) laws. We argue that the political processes leading to the adoption of these policies have been shaped by international influences such as policy harmonization, elite lesson-drawing and most importantly by social learning fostered within transnational networks. We examine SSU policies in four West European countries—Germany, Austria, Belgium, and Spain—to illustrate how these international influences and transnational networks have shaped SSU policy outcomes, and argue that the workings of these networks resemble those of the “velvet triangle” policy communities identified by gender scholars

Underperforming policy networks : the biopesticides network in the United Kingdom

Loosely integrated and incomplete policy networks have been neglected in the literature. They are important to consider in terms of understanding network underperformance. The effective delivery and formulation of policy requires networks that are not incomplete or underperforming. The biopesticides policy network in the United Kingdom is considered and its components identified with an emphasis on the lack of integration of retailers and environmental groups. The nature of the network constrains the actions of its agents and frustrates the achievement of policy goals. A study of this relatively immature policy network also allows for a focus on network formation. The state, via an external central government department, has been a key factor in the development of the network. Therefore, it is important to incorporate such factors more systematically into understandings of network formation. Feedback efforts from policy have increased interactions between productionist actors but the sphere of consumption remains insufficiently articulated

Solar Seismology from Space. a Conference at Snowmass, Colorado

The quality of the ground based observing environment suffers from several degrading factors: diurnal interruptions and thermal variations, atmospheric seeing and transparency fluctuations and adverse weather interruptions are among the chief difficulties. The limited fraction of the solar surface observable from only one vantage point is also a potential limitation to the quality of the data available without going to space. Primary conference goals were to discuss in depth the scientific return from current observations and analyses of solar oscillations, to discuss the instrumental and site requirements for realizing the full potential of the seismic analysis method, and to help bring new workers into the field by collecting and summarizing the key background theory. At the conclusion of the conference there was a clear consensus that ground based observation would not be able to provide data of the quality required to permit a substantial analysis of the solar convection zone dynamics or to permit a full deduction of the solar interior structure

Coaching Imagery to Athletes with Aphantasia

We administered the Plymouth Sensory Imagery Questionnaire (Psi-Q) which tests multi-sensory imagery, to athletes (n=329) from 9 different sports to locate poor/aphantasic (baseline scores <4.2/10) imagers with the aim to subsequently enhance imagery ability. The low imagery sample (n=27) were randomly split into two groups who received the intervention: Functional Imagery Training (FIT), either immediately, or delayed by one month at which point the delayed group were tested again on the Psi-Q. All participants were tested after FIT delivery and six months post intervention. The delayed group showed no significant change between baseline and the start of FIT delivery but both groups imagery score improved significantly (p=0.001) after the intervention which was maintained six months post intervention. This indicates that imagery can be trained, with those who identify as having aphantasia (although one participant did not improve on visual scores), and improvements maintained in poor imagers. Follow up interviews (n=22) on sporting application revealed that the majority now use imagery daily on process goals. Recommendations are given for ways to assess and train imagery in an applied sport setting

The 1984 solar oscillation program of the Mount Wilson 60-foot tower

The instrumentation, data, and preliminary results from the summer, 1984, solar oscillation observing program which was carried out using the 60-foot tower telescope of the Mt. Wilson Observatory are described. This program was carried out with a dedicated solar oscillation observing system and obtained full-disk Dopplergrams every 40 seconds for up to 11 hours per day. Between June and September, 1984, observations were obtained with a Na magneto-optical filter on 90 different days. The data analysis has progressed to the point that spherical harmonic filter functions were employed to generate a few one-dimensional power spectra from a single day's observations