Approaches to Late Victorian Poverty – A Re-Examination of the London Charity Organization

This thesis explores philanthropy in the emerging middle class of Victorian England through an examination of the London Charity Organization Society (COS). Poverty was seen as a critical social ailment in need of reform. The prevalence of a new secular morality, combined with the philosophy that local civic action should work in cooperation with government action, resulted in organized private and public charitable involvement to alleviate poverty.

Rules of ministerial recruitment

Women’s recruitment to ministerial office is improving, but our understanding of what determines women’s access to cabinet remains underdeveloped. Comparative studies explain women’s ministerial presence through correlations with country-level socio-economic or political factors. This research uses a feminist institutionalist approach to explain gendered access to cabinets. It uses original data from interviews with former ministers and special advisors to map the rules in use of ministerial recruitment. It demonstrates that that women’s access to ministerial office is facilitated and constrained by three complexes of predominantly informal rules which structure: who is eligible to be chosen (the eligibility pool); how to qualify (specialist or generalist principles); and who selects ministers (the prime minister or the party). By examining the rules of ministerial recruitment in two Westminster democracies, Australia and the UK, the research demonstrates the differences that exist, even in most similar cases, at system level, at party levels, and over time. By identifying the specific complexes of rules which shape women’s access it is possible to identify the rule changes which have been effective in improving women’s ministerial opportunities and suggest future reform strategies which would be most effective in the specific context

Informing mHealth and Web-Based Eating Disorder Interventions: Combining Lived Experience Perspectives With Design Thinking Approaches

Background: App-based interventions designed to prevent and treat eating disorders have considerable potential to overcome known barriers to treatment seeking. Existing apps have shown efficacy in terms of symptom reduction; however, uptake and retention issues are common. To ensure that apps meet the needs and preferences of those for whom they were designed, it is critical to understand the lived experience of potential users and involve them in the process of design, development, and delivery. However, few app-based interventions are pretested on and co-designed with end users before randomized controlled trials. Objective: To address the issue, this study used a highly novel design thinking approach to provide the context and a lived experience perspective of the end user, thus allowing for a deeper level of understanding. Methods: In total, 7 young women (mean age 25.83, SD 5.34, range 21-33 years) who self-identified as having a history of body image issues or eating disorders were recruited. Participants were interviewed about their lived experience of body image and eating disorders and reported their needs and preferences for app-based eating disorder interventions. Traditional (thematic analysis) and novel (empathy mapping; visually depicting and empathizing with the user’s personal experience) analyses were performed, providing a lived experience perspective of eating disorders and identifying the needs and preferences of this population in relation to app-based interventions for eating disorders. Key challenges and opportunities for app-based eating disorder interventions were also identified. Results: Findings highlighted the importance of understanding and identifying problematic eating disorder symptoms for the user, helpful practices for recovery that identify personal values and goals, the role of social support in facilitating hope, and aspects of usability to promote continued engagement and recovery. Conclusions: Practical guidance and recommendations are described for those developing app-based eating disorder interventions. These findings have the potential to inform practices to enhance participant uptake and retention in the context of app-based interventions for this population

Synthetic Lethal Targeting of ARID1A-Mutant Ovarian Clear Cell Tumors with Dasatinib

New targeted approaches to ovarian clear cell carcinomas (OCCC) are needed, given the limited treatment options in this disease and the poor response to standard chemotherapy. Using a series of high-throughput cell-based drug screens in OCCC tumor cell models, we have identified a synthetic lethal (SL) interaction between the kinase inhibitor dasatinib and a key driver in OCCC, ARID1A mutation. Imposing ARID1A deficiency upon a variety of human or mouse cells induced dasatinib sensitivity, both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that this is a robust synthetic lethal interaction. The sensitivity of ARID1A-deficient cells to dasatinib was associated with G1 -S cell-cycle arrest and was dependent upon both p21 and Rb. Using focused siRNA screens and kinase profiling, we showed that ARID1A-mutant OCCC tumor cells are addicted to the dasatinib target YES1. This suggests that dasatinib merits investigation for the treatment of patients with ARID1Amutant OCCC. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(7); 1472-84. Ó2016 AACR.</p

Poly(I:C) induces intense expression of c-IAP2 and cooperates with an IAP inhibitor in induction of apoptosis in cancer cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is increasing evidence that the toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) is an interesting target for anti-cancer therapy. Unfortunately, most laboratory investigations about the impact of TLR3 stimulation on human malignant cells have been performed with very high concentrations - 5 to 100 μg/ml - of the prototype TLR3 ligand, poly(I:C). In a previous study focused on a specific type of human carcinoma - nasopharyngeal carcinoma - we have shown that concentrations of poly(I:C) as low as 100 ng/ml are sufficient to induce apoptosis of malignant cells when combined to a pharmacological antagonist of the IAP family based on Smac mimicry.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This observation prompted us to investigate the contribution of the IAP family in cell response to poly(I:C) in a variety of human malignant cell types.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We report a rapid, intense and selective increase in c-IAP2 protein expression observed under stimulation by poly(I:C)(500 ng/ml) in all types of human malignant cells. In most cell types, this change in protein expression is underlain by an increase in c-IAP2 transcripts and dependent on the TLR3/TRIF pathway. When poly(I:C) is combined to the IAP inhibitor RMT 5265, a cooperative effect in apoptosis induction and/or inhibition of clonogenic growth is obtained in a large fraction of carcinoma and melanoma cell lines.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Currently, IAP inhibitors like RMT 5265 and poly(I:C) are the subject of separate therapeutic trials. In light of our observations, combined use of both types of compounds should be considered for treatment of human malignancies including carcinomas and melanomas.</p

Doing diversity: intercultural understanding in primary and secondary schools

Doing Diversity: Intercultural understanding in primary and secondary schools1 was a three year, multi-method programme of research involving intensive work in 12 diverse profile schools in Melbourne, Victoria, that examined the facilitators and impediments to the intercultural capabilities described in the Victorian and Australian curricula for students and schools

Parental influences on children's eating behaviour and characteristics of successful parent-focussed interventions

Parental reports suggest that difficulties related to child-feeding and children's eating behaviour are extremely common. While 'fussy eating' does not pose an immediate threat to health, over the long-term, consumption of a poor diet can contribute to the development of a range of otherwise preventable diseases. In addition, the stress and anxiety that can surround difficult mealtimes can have a detrimental impact upon both child and parental psychological wellbeing. Since parents have a great influence over what, when, and how much food is offered, feeding difficulties may be preventable by better parental awareness. The aim of this review is to describe how parental factors contribute to the development of common feeding problems, and to discuss the merits of existing interventions aimed at parents/primary caregivers to improve child-feeding and children's eating behaviour. The potential for different technologies to be harnessed in order to deliver interventions in new ways will also be discussed

eHealth interventions for family carers of people with long term illness: A promising approach?

Family carers of people who have long term illness often experience physical and mental health morbidities, and burden. While there is good evidence to suggest that carers benefit from psychosocial interventions, these have primarily been delivered via face-to-face individual or group-formats. eHealth interventions offer a novel, accessible and self-paced approach to care delivery. Whether these are effective for carers' wellbeing has been little explored. This paper reports the first comprehensive systematic review in this area. A total of 78 studies, describing 62 discrete interventions, were identified. Interventions commonly aimed to promote carers' knowledge, self-efficacy, caregiving appraisal, and reduce global health morbidities. Interventions were offered to carers of people with a wide range of long term illness; dementia has been the most researched area, as reported in 40% of studies. Clinical and methodological heterogeneity in interventions precluded meta-analyses, and so data were analysed narratively. The most popular approach has comprised psychoeducational interventions delivered via an enriched online environment with supplementary modes of communication, such as network support with professionals and peers. Overall, carers appreciate the flexibility and self-paced nature of eHealth interventions, with high rates of satisfaction and acceptability. More studies using robust designs are needed to extend the evidence base