Your turn: experiments in narrative and play

Carson and Miller’s artists’ book, 'The Exquisite Fold', utilises the book as a site for play and storytelling. Both acts are interpretative; they are ways through which both child and adult attempt to understand the world that surrounds them. In 'Your Turn' the process of making 'The Exquisite Fold' is explored in terms of both its content and its very particular physical construction. Through this examination the ideas that underpin the book are drawn out; the potential for the book to be played with (particularly as a place to play with narrative) and, in turn, the impulse to uncover meaning through narrative and play

Behavioural synchrony between fallow deer <i>Dama dama</i> is related to spatial proximity

BackgroundAnimals living in social groups can benefit from conducting the same behaviour as other group members. If this synchronisation is achieved by copying the behaviour of other individuals, we would expect synchrony to be more likely when pairs of individuals are close together.ResultsBy comparing the behaviour of a focal individual with its nearest, second nearest and third nearest neighbour and a control individual, we show that pairings of fallow deer Dama dama are more likely to be active or inactive at the same moment in time if they are closer together. We also demonstrate that synchronisation in the group happens more often than would be expected by chance.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that there is a relationship between the synchronisation of behaviour and the spatial proximity of individuals. Spatial proximity is likely to be an important influence on how likely individuals are to be synchronised, although care needs to be taken to separate social and environmental influences on individual behaviour.</p

Star Clusters in Virgo and Fornax Dwarf Irregular Galaxies

We present the results of a search for clusters in dwarf irregular galaxies in the Virgo and Fornax Cluster using HST WFPC2 snapshot data. The galaxy sample includes 28 galaxies, 11 of which are confirmed members of the Virgo and Fornax clusters. In the 11 confirmed members, we detect 237 cluster candidates and determine their V magnitudes, V-I colors and core radii. After statistical subtraction of background galaxies and foreground stars, most of the cluster candidates have V-I colors of -0.2 and 1.4, V magnitudes lying between 20 and 25th magnitude and core radii between 0 and 6 pc. Using H-alpha observations, we find that 26% of the blue cluster candidates are most likely HII regions. The rest of the cluster candidates are most likely massive (>10^4 Msol) young and old clusters. A comparison between the red cluster candidates in our sample and the Milky Way globular clusters shows that they have similar luminosity distributions, but that the red cluster candidates typically have larger core radii. Assuming that the red cluster candidates are in fact globular clusters, we derive specific frequencies (S_N) ranging from ~0-9 for the galaxies. Although the values are uncertain, seven of the galaxies appear to have specific frequencies greater than 2. These values are more typical of ellipticals and nucleated dwarf ellipticals than they are of spirals or Local Group dwarf irregulars.Comment: 46 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables, accepted by AJ. Higher quality PS version of entire paper available at http://www.astro.washington.edu/seth/dirr_gcs.htm

Gendered nationalism : the gender gap in support for the Scottish National Party

Recent major surveys of the Scottish electorate and of Scottish National Party (SNP) members have revealed a distinct gender gap in support for the party. Men are markedly more likely than women to vote for the SNP and they comprise more than two-thirds of its membership. In this article, we use data from those surveys to test various possible explanations for the disproportionately male support for the SNP. While popular accounts have focused on the gendered appeal of recent leaders and on the party’s fluctuating efforts at achieving gender equality in its parliamentary representation, we find much stronger support for a different explanation. Women are less inclined to support and to join the SNP because they are markedly less supportive of its central objective of independence for Scotland. Since men and women barely differ in their reported national identities, the origins of this gender gap in support for independence presents a puzzle for further research

#DryByChristmas: A patient and public involvement study on women's engagement with humorous pelvic floor muscle training digital nudges on social media

Introduction: Patient and public involvement (PPI) is essential for women's health research. Little is known about how women engage with humorous social media and behavioural health messaging targeting pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT). This PPI aimed to understand how women engage with a humorous social media campaign encouraging PFMT. The study findings will influence the co-design of a digital intervention to support women's adherence to PFMT. Methods: The Guidance for Reporting Involvement of Patients and the Public Version 2 short form was used to report the study's findings. The study examined public engagement with a humorous social media campaign encouraging PFMT in women. A healthcare professional and comedian ran the campaign following the national guidelines for engagement in PFMT. Instagram analytics gave insight into the demographics of the public who engaged, how they engaged and the most popular content. The behaviour change techniques (BCTs) used in the digital nudges that generated the highest levels of engagement were analysed using the Capability Opportunity Motivation Behaviour Change Wheel. Results: The majority (96%) of the population showing the highest levels of engagement were women aged 35–44 years and were based in the United Kingdom (77%). The Instagram account saw an increase in engagement by 12% over the 3-month campaign, with 22,032 users seeing digital nudges and 2645 engaging with the digital nudges. The preferred way of engaging was using Likes (9723). The common themes in the digital nudges that generated the highest levels of engagement were BCTs associated with the ‘social influences’ theoretical domain framework that targeted the core behaviour opportunity. Conclusion: The study findings suggest humour may improve women's engagement with online PFMT programmes; however, more rigorous research is required to better understand diverse women's experiences of humorous online PFMT nudges. Future studies may use PFMT mobile apps instead of social media to capture true user engagement and adherence to PFMT more accurately. The insights gained from the study will be taken forward to co-design a digital behavioural intervention as part of a larger study. Public Contribution: Members of the public were involved in the co-design of a digital health intervention that will be trialled as part of a larger research study. The public was involved using the social media platform Instagram. Public engagement with a humorous social media campaign to encourage women to engage with pelvic floor exercises was captured using Instagram analytics, for example, the timing of engagement

The use of mobile health to deliver self-management support to young people with type 1 diabetes: a cross-sectional survey

Background: Young people living with type 1 diabetes face not only the challenges typical of adolescence, but also the challengesof daily management of their health and evolving understanding of the impact of their diagnosis on their future. Adolescence isa critical time for diabetes self-management, with a typical decline in glycemic control increasing risk for microvascular diabetescomplications. To improve glycemic control, there is a need for evidence-based self-management support interventions thataddress the issues pertinent to this population, utilizing platforms that engage them. Increasingly, mobile health (mHealth)interventions are being developed and evaluated for this purpose with some evidence supporting improved glycemic control. Anecessary step to enhance effectiveness of such approaches is to understand young people&rsquo;s preferences for this mode of delivery.Objective: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to investigate the current and perceived roles of mHealth in supportingyoung people to manage their diabetes.Methods: Young adults (16-24 years) with type 1 diabetes in Auckland, New Zealand, were invited to take part in a survey vialetter from their diabetes specialist.Results: A total of 115 young adults completed the survey (mean age 19.5 years; male 52/115, 45%; European 89/115, 77%),with all reporting they owned a mobile phone and 96% (110/115) of those were smartphones. However, smartphone apps fordiabetes management had been used by only 33% (38/115) of respondents. The most commonly reported reason for not usingapps was a lack of awareness that they existed. Although the majority felt they managed their diabetes well, 63% (72/115) reportedwanting to learn more about diabetes and how to manage it. A total of 64% (74/115) respondents reported that they would beinterested in receiving diabetes self-management support via text message (short message service, SMS).Conclusions: Current engagement with mHealth in this population appears low, although the findings from this study providesupport for the use of mHealth in this group because of the ubiquity and convenience of mobile devices. mHealth has potentialto provide information and support to this population, utilizing mediums commonplace for this group and with greater reach thantraditional methods