Those who left/are left behind : Schrödinger's refugee and the ethics of complementarity

“Those left behind” was a recurring emphasis of media depictions of the emotions surrounding the departure of those who left Afghanistan. The relationship between “those who left” and “those left behind,” which is characteristic of any context of forced displacement, relates to potentials, compelled by life and death questions. A decision to leave or stay is on the surface a binary choice, defined by the physical impossibility of doing both. The purpose of this paper is to explore how the ethical questions change when placed in a framework of quantum complementarity, by which phenomena, defined by what they are not, are also, in important respects, that which they are not, that is, the polar opposite. The first section develops Schrödinger's thought experiment and problematizes his focus on life and death as physical states of the cat, and the separateness of the observer, as a misrepresentation of the Copenhagen School arguments from which the thought experiment arose, and complementarity in particular. The second section examines the relationship between “those who left,” “those left behind,” and external observers in terms of a duality of matter and consciousness, which is complementary and mutually constituted. The third section examines the liminality that arises from a series of nested “boxes” and the various positions from which the forcefully displaced are observed within a holographic world. The final section then unpacks the ethical implications of quantum complementarity and ungrieved grief as they relate to forced displacement.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The safety paradox : unknown knowns, ungrieved grief and collective agreements not to know

The article is part of a larger project, Mapping the Empire: The Contemporary Legacy of Historical Trauma and Forced Displacement, which has been funded by the U.S. Human Family Unity Foundation through a donation to the University of St. Andrews.The discussion between the developing and developed world in Egypt during COP27 brought the history of colonialism and its impact on climate change to the table, as did the earlier floods in Pakistan. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of unacknowledged grief, shame and guilt, accruing over centuries, on our ability to move forward to a more sustainable future. At stake is not only a question of ‘loss and damage’ for those who have suffered disproportionately in the past and present, but also the need to acknowledge how past practice has set the stage for inequality and climate change in the global future. In this article we develop concepts of unknown knowns and ungrieved grief, and explore the mechanisms by which populations collectively turn away from uncomfortable or shameful truths. The failure to look at the past has transgenerational consequences, as present distractions contribute to an inability to ‘see’ the consequences of past and present action for future generations. The final section explores the safety paradox that arises from the fragmented safety of turning to conflict and war, and a holistic safety that requires grieving for the global whole.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

From charter to culture: implementing an emotional intelligence programme.

In this oral presentation, the researchers spoke about a programme to provide emotional intelligence training to midwives. This programme was introduced in part to address issues identified in the 2022 Culture Matters survey. The presentation also covers a study undertaken to review the success of the programme

The health of working dogs in conservation in Africa

IntroductionDogs are increasingly being employed for conservation purposes worldwide. In Africa, they work in challenging environments with unique health risks which have not been investigated until now.MethodsTo understand the health challenges faced by the dogs, semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants from 14 organisations that used working dogs in their conservation programmes. The data was qualitatively analysed by thematic analysis.ResultsFive themes were generated. Three affective themes influenced how participants responded to the challenges associated with having a successful conservation dog programme. A strong handler-dog attachment, proficient handler training, and the acknowledgement of the challenging environment were pivotal to maintaining dog health. Two themes related to the difficulties in managing these programmes and how veterinary support interacts with the management choices being made.DiscussionTo have healthy conservation dogs, current and future programmes should focus on fostering the handler-dog relationship and provide continuous handler training. The management of conservation dogs’ health should adopt an evidence-based approach. Future research should focus on areas where the evidence base is lacking, particularly in the areas of prevention and treatment of African canine trypanosomiasis. Programmes should develop a good working relationship with a veterinarian that has access to evidence-based veterinary medical information

Investigating the genetic control of plant development in spring barley under speed breeding conditions

Key message: This study found that the genes, PPD-H1 and ELF3, control the acceleration of plant development under speed breeding, with important implications for optimizing the delivery of climate-resilient crops. Abstract: Speed breeding is a tool to accelerate breeding and research programmes. Despite its success and growing popularity with breeders, the genetic basis of plant development under speed breeding remains unknown. This study explored the developmental advancements of barley genotypes under different photoperiod regimes. A subset of the HEB-25 Nested Association Mapping population was evaluated for days to heading and maturity under two contrasting photoperiod conditions: (1) Speed breeding (SB) consisting of 22 h of light and 2 h of darkness, and (2) normal breeding (NB) consisting of 16 h of light and 8 h of darkness. GWAS revealed that developmental responses under both conditions were largely controlled by two loci: PPDH-1 and ELF3. Allelic variants at these genes determine whether plants display early flowering and maturity under both conditions. At key QTL regions, domesticated alleles were associated with late flowering and maturity in NB and early flowering and maturity in SB, whereas wild alleles were associated with early flowering under both conditions. We hypothesize that this is related to the dark-dependent repression of PPD-H1 by ELF3 which might be more prominent in NB conditions. Furthermore, by comparing development under two photoperiod regimes, we derived an estimate of plasticity for the two traits. Interestingly, plasticity in development was largely attributed to allelic variation at ELF3. Our results have important implications for our understanding and optimization of speed breeding protocols particularly for introgression breeding and the design of breeding programmes to support the delivery of climate-resilient crops

Allostatic load as a predictor of grey matter volume and white matter integrity in old age: The Whitehall II MRI study.

The allostatic load index quantifies the cumulative multisystem physiological response to chronic everyday stress, and includes cardiovascular, metabolic and inflammatory measures. Despite its central role in the stress response, research of the effect of allostatic load on the ageing brain has been limited. We investigated the relation of mid-life allostatic load index and multifactorial predictors of stroke (Framingham stroke risk) and diabetes (metabolic syndrome) with voxelwise structural grey and white matter brain integrity measures in the ageing Whitehall II cohort (N = 349, mean age = 69.6 (SD 5.2) years, N (male) = 281 (80.5%), mean follow-up before scan = 21.4 (SD 0.82) years). Higher levels of all three markers were significantly associated with lower grey matter density. Only higher Framingham stroke risk was significantly associated with lower white matter integrity (low fractional anisotropy and high mean diffusivity). Our findings provide some empirical support for the concept of allostatic load, linking the effect of everyday stress on the body with features of the ageing human brain

Assessing the number of users who are excluded by domestic heating controls

This is the pre-print version of the Article. This Article is also referred to as: "Assessing the 'Design Exclusion' of Heating Controls at a Low-Cost, Low-Carbon Housing Development". - Copyright @ 2011 Taylor & FrancisSpace heating accounts for almost 60% of the energy delivered to housing which in turn accounts for nearly 27% of the total UK's carbon emissions. This study was conducted to investigate the influence of heating control design on the degree of ‘user exclusion’. This was calculated using the Design Exclusion Calculator, developed by the Engineering Design Centre at the University of Cambridge. To elucidate the capability requirements of the system, a detailed hierarchical task analysis was produced, due to the complexity of the overall task. The Exclusion Calculation found that the current design placed excessive demands upon the capabilities of at least 9.5% of the UK population over 16 years old, particularly in terms of ‘vision’, ‘thinking’ and ‘dexterity’ requirements. This increased to 20.7% for users over 60 years old. The method does not account for the level of numeracy and literacy and so the true exclusion may be higher. Usability testing was conducted to help validate the results which indicated that 66% of users at a low-carbon housing development could not programme their controls as desired. Therefore, more detailed analysis of the cognitive demands placed upon the users is required to understand where problems within the programming process occur. Further research focusing on this cognitive interaction will work towards a solution that may allow users to behave easily in a more sustainable manner