Weaving the internet together: Imagined communities in newspaper comment threads

Online newspapers (and other spaces) are increasingly seeking to utilise user-generated content alongside professionally developed material. However, this might leave websites increasingly vulnerable to trolls, who work to disrupt online communications in online spaces. Such behaviour can have serious consequences both in peoples online and offline lives, and for the development of coherent online communities. One means of controlling is through the manipulation of the online space to create social norms of polite behaviour through the founding of ‘imagined communities’ online. Approaching the issue from a discursive psychological perspective, this paper draws upon comments published in two online British newspaper comment sections responding to the publication of an academic article on trolling. Imagined communities are shown to arise irrespective of the presence of the virtual infrastructure to support the development of these imagined communities. Key features of imagined communities identified here are: individuation (as opposed to deindividuation); mutual influence between posters; shared history for both the users and the online space; the use of humour to cement social bonds. Analysis also revealed tensions in posters understanding of online and offline behaviours. This research holds implications for understanding online spaces, and the interactions between users within these spaces.N/

DIY Methods 2023 Conference Proceedings

The act of circulating research through zines invites participants into the “gift economy” of zine culture, where knowledge is shared within a system of reciprocal generosity and pleasure in opposition to hierarchical and capitalist forms of knowledge exchange. As zines cut through the often strict and inaccessible boundaries of traditional, peer-reviewed publications, they also allow for the circulation of research to broader audiences, making knowledge more accessible. As such, academic zines transform research into a gift to be shared amongst unknown peers, while also situating the mobilization of knowledge as care work. And so, while we are excited to receive abstracts around diverse themes and across disciplines, we ask participants to think about knowledge as a gift and research as care work during their zine-making process. How do these visions of knowledge and research mobilization affect how you view your research, others’ research, and/or yourself

Health, education, and social care provision after diagnosis of childhood visual disability

Aim: To investigate the health, education, and social care provision for children newly diagnosed with visual disability.Method: This was a national prospective study, the British Childhood Visual Impairment and Blindness Study 2 (BCVIS2), ascertaining new diagnoses of visual impairment or severe visual impairment and blindness (SVIBL), or equivalent vi-sion. Data collection was performed by managing clinicians up to 1-year follow-up, and included health and developmental needs, and health, education, and social care provision.Results: BCVIS2 identified 784 children newly diagnosed with visual impairment/SVIBL (313 with visual impairment, 471 with SVIBL). Most children had associated systemic disorders (559 [71%], 167 [54%] with visual impairment, and 392 [84%] with SVIBL). Care from multidisciplinary teams was provided for 549 children (70%). Two-thirds (515) had not received an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP). Fewer children with visual impairment had seen a specialist teacher (SVIBL 35%, visual impairment 28%, χ2p < 0.001), or had an EHCP (11% vs 7%, χ2p < 0 . 01).Interpretation: Families need additional support from managing clinicians to access recommended complex interventions such as the use of multidisciplinary teams and educational support. This need is pressing, as the population of children with visual impairment/SVIBL is expected to grow in size and complexity.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Effectiveness of a national quality improvement programme to improve survival after emergency abdominal surgery (EPOCH): a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial

Background: Emergency abdominal surgery is associated with poor patient outcomes. We studied the effectiveness of a national quality improvement (QI) programme to implement a care pathway to improve survival for these patients. Methods: We did a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial of patients aged 40 years or older undergoing emergency open major abdominal surgery. Eligible UK National Health Service (NHS) hospitals (those that had an emergency general surgical service, a substantial volume of emergency abdominal surgery cases, and contributed data to the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit) were organised into 15 geographical clusters and commenced the QI programme in a random order, based on a computer-generated random sequence, over an 85-week period with one geographical cluster commencing the intervention every 5 weeks from the second to the 16th time period. Patients were masked to the study group, but it was not possible to mask hospital staff or investigators. The primary outcome measure was mortality within 90 days of surgery. Analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN80682973. Findings: Treatment took place between March 3, 2014, and Oct 19, 2015. 22 754 patients were assessed for elegibility. Of 15 873 eligible patients from 93 NHS hospitals, primary outcome data were analysed for 8482 patients in the usual care group and 7374 in the QI group. Eight patients in the usual care group and nine patients in the QI group were not included in the analysis because of missing primary outcome data. The primary outcome of 90-day mortality occurred in 1210 (16%) patients in the QI group compared with 1393 (16%) patients in the usual care group (HR 1·11, 0·96–1·28). Interpretation: No survival benefit was observed from this QI programme to implement a care pathway for patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery. Future QI programmes should ensure that teams have both the time and resources needed to improve patient care. Funding: National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research Programme

Effectiveness of a national quality improvement programme to improve survival after emergency abdominal surgery (EPOCH): a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial

BACKGROUND: Emergency abdominal surgery is associated with poor patient outcomes. We studied the effectiveness of a national quality improvement (QI) programme to implement a care pathway to improve survival for these patients. METHODS: We did a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial of patients aged 40 years or older undergoing emergency open major abdominal surgery. Eligible UK National Health Service (NHS) hospitals (those that had an emergency general surgical service, a substantial volume of emergency abdominal surgery cases, and contributed data to the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit) were organised into 15 geographical clusters and commenced the QI programme in a random order, based on a computer-generated random sequence, over an 85-week period with one geographical cluster commencing the intervention every 5 weeks from the second to the 16th time period. Patients were masked to the study group, but it was not possible to mask hospital staff or investigators. The primary outcome measure was mortality within 90 days of surgery. Analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN80682973. FINDINGS: Treatment took place between March 3, 2014, and Oct 19, 2015. 22 754 patients were assessed for elegibility. Of 15 873 eligible patients from 93 NHS hospitals, primary outcome data were analysed for 8482 patients in the usual care group and 7374 in the QI group. Eight patients in the usual care group and nine patients in the QI group were not included in the analysis because of missing primary outcome data. The primary outcome of 90-day mortality occurred in 1210 (16%) patients in the QI group compared with 1393 (16%) patients in the usual care group (HR 1·11, 0·96-1·28). INTERPRETATION: No survival benefit was observed from this QI programme to implement a care pathway for patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery. Future QI programmes should ensure that teams have both the time and resources needed to improve patient care. FUNDING: National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research Programme

Water conservation in rainy Vancouver? Really? : A water conservation and water pollution awareness campaign in conjunction with the society promoting environmental conservation (SPEC)

With Metro Vancouver’s increasing fresh water demand, water conservation is becoming more important as our summers are becoming drier. Through the creation of a water conservation and water pollution prevention outreach campaign, the partnership between three students at the University of British Columbia and Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC) aims to raise awareness in Metro Vancouver and change behaviour related to water consumption through informative visuals and interactive activities. A total of four deliverables have been created to assist SPEC in teaching the public about water quality and water pollution: where water comes from, where water goes after people use it, what not to put down storm drains with and why, and how much water people can save if they conserve during their showers. The four deliverables include: • An info-graphic highlighting Vancouver’s water systems • A How-To-Do-It-Yourself water conservation booklet • A citizen science water quality kit activity • A pollution jar activity that identifies pollutants in local urban waterways The info-graphic poster and water conservation booklet provide answers to how water is brought to our homes and how it is taken away, highlighting the path of water. The info-graphic poster displays a general path of Metro Vancouver's potable water, beginning at the three reservoirs, going through the residential neighbourhoods, and ending at one of the five-wastewater treatment plants (Metro Vancouver, 2015). The accompanying booklet provides additional information on the path water takes, as well as 3 manageable tips on conserving water inside and outside the home. Our visuals were enhanced through the collection and analysis of raw data collected from thirteen participants who tracked their showering habits over a seven-day period. The main finding was that the average adult living in Metro Vancouver from our study consumes approximately 19,000 litres of water annually from showering. The water quality testing kits are an interactive citizen science activity that are available to those who choose to participate, whether from business or community outreach events hosted by SPEC. The idea of the kits is to promote awareness of a few water quality parameters and link that to the potential hazards city pollutants can have on nearby watercourses. For the pollution jar activity, our team chose five pollutants that are common in local storm drain systems; cement, sediment, paint, soap and oil. These pollutants have been incorporated into a pollution mix and match game. Each jar contains one of these pollutants and the objective is to guess which pollutant is in the jar, enabling SPEC to further educate members of the public on how to keep these pollutants from entering storm drains, using an accompanying script. The various deliverables created for this water conservation and water pollution awareness outreach campaign will enhance the educational business- and eco-tours hosted by SPEC.Earth and Ocean Sciences, Department ofScience, Faculty ofUnreviewedUndergraduat

Structures last longer than intentions: creation of Ongomiizwin – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing at the University of Manitoba

Ongomiizwin – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing at the University of Manitoba’s Rady Faculty of Health Sciences (RFHS) was launched in June of 2017 with a mandate to provide leadership and advance excellence in research, education and health services to achieve health and wellness for Indigenous peoples and to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action within the Faculty. The RFHS Reconciliation Action Plan has five broad themes: (1) Honoring traditional knowledge systems and practices, (2) Safe learning environments and professionalism, (3) Student support, mentorship and retention (4) Education across the spectrum and 5) Closing the gap in admissions. Community engagement is the focus of our work. Learners and practicing clinicians are grounded in the knowledge of ongoing colonial harms, engaged in critical self-reflection on one’s own biases and trained to confront anti-indigenous racism in health care. This alignment is changing the health human resource landscape in northern Manitoba and beyond

The NASSS (Non-Adoption, Abandonment, Scale-Up, Spread and Sustainability) framework use over time: A scoping review protocol

Scoping revie

Description and psychometric properties of the CP QOL-Teen: a quality of life questionnaire for adolescents with cerebral palsy

To assess the measurement properties of a new QOL instrument, the Cerebral Palsy Quality of Life Questionnaire-Teen (CP QOL-Teen), in adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 13-18 years, examining domain structure, reliability, validity and adolescent-caregiver concordance. Based on age, 695 eligible families were invited to participate by mail. Questionnaires were returned by 112 primary caregivers (71.8% of questionnaires sent). 87 adolescents aged 12-18 years also completed the questionnaires. CP QOL-Teen, generic QOL instruments (KIDSCREEN, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory), functioning (Gross Motor Function Classification System) and a condition-specific instrument (PedsQL-CP) were used. Principal components analysis produced seven scales: wellbeing and participation; communication and physical health; school wellbeing; social wellbeing; access to services; family health; feelings about functioning. Cronbach's alphas for the derived scales ranged from 0.81 to 0.96 (primary caregiver report) and 0.78 to 0.95 (adolescent report). Test-retest reliability (4 weeks) ranged from 0.57 to 0.88 for adolescent self-report and 0.29 to 0.83 for primary caregiver report. Moderate correlations were observed with other generic and condition specific measures of QOL, indicating adequate construct validity. Moderate correlations were observed between adolescent self-report and primary caregiver proxy report. This study demonstrates acceptable psychometric properties of both the adolescent self-report and the primary caregiver proxy report versions of the CP QOL-Teen

Building Bridges: Insights for Developing a Comprehensive Peer Advocacy Model for Multiple Complex Needs in Stockton-on-Tees

Background and Aims: As Stockton-on-Tees endeavours to address the challenges faced by its residents with multiple complex needs, a pilot initiative has been developed to enhance support for these individuals through peer advocacy. The present study aimed to gather insights into stakeholders’ and peer advocates’ expectations for the multiple complex needs peer advocacy pilot. Recognising the potential of peer advocacy to bridge service gaps and foster a more empathetic, inclusive collaborative network, this study sought to inform the pilot’s development with actionable insights, grounded in the lived experiences and professional expertise of those closest to the community’s needs.Method: This study employed a participatory research approach, with three peer advocates acting as peer researchers and assisting with data collection and interpretation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted online with 11 stakeholders and 13 peer advocates, aiming to capture a broad spectrum of perspectives on the planned peer advocacy model. Participants, selected through purposive and convenience sampling, included individuals actively engaged in or closely connected to the support services sector within Stockton-on-Tees. Data analysis followed an inductive thematic approach, allowing for an in-depth exploration of expectations, perceived challenges, and recommendations for the pilot.Results: The study revealed a strong consensus on the value of peer advocacy in enhancing service access and user engagement, with empathy and lived experience highlighted as key components of effective support. Anticipated challenges included service accessibility, mental health support gaps, and the need for a holistic, integrated service model. Stakeholders and peer advocates alike emphasised the importance of continuous innovation and community engagement in addressing the evolving needs of individuals with complex challenges.Recommendations: To optimise the pilot’s impact, recommendations arising from these findings include expanding peer advocacy training, developing integrated service models, enhancing community and family engagement, implementing ongoing evaluation mechanisms, and advocating for policy and funding support. These recommendations aim to ensure the pilot is well-equipped to provide comprehensive, person-centred support, reflecting the collaborative vision of a transformed support culture in Stockton-on-Tees.Conclusions: This study highlights the central role of peer advocacy in reimagining support for Stockton-on-Tees’s most vulnerable residents. By harnessing the insights of stakeholders and peer advocates, the pilot can offer a model of support that is not only responsive and inclusive but also committed to empathy, understanding, and sustainable change. The findings and recommendations from this study provide a foundation for the pilot, guiding its strategic development and implementation towards achieving transformative outcomes for individuals with multiple complex needs