Clinical Legal Education: Human Rights, and Arts and Crafts Cafés

This practice report provides an account of two outreach projects that enabled different community groups, members of staff at Royal Holloway, University of London, and students at Royal Holloway’s Legal Advice Centre, to discuss human rights in an accessible and relatable way, which empowered the delegates, and encouraged open dialogue. At the first event, Royal Holloway and the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association collaborated to host an online Being Human café as part of the Being Human 2020: a Festival of Humanities programme organised and set up annually by the School of Advanced Study, University of London and funded through the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. The café “Afghan Women Small Spaces Café: Sewing Pathways to Human Rights” took place via Zoom. Meeting over Afghan tea and cake, participants - from the public, generally from the Afghan diaspora community and researchers - used mixed participatory methods including artwork, sewing and conversation to explore what everyday habits and material objects tell us about ourselves and each other. Working with these, and other culturally specific lived experiences, Marshall linked her research, on human rights law’s purpose of ensuring universal dignity, equality and rights, to French writer Georges Perec. Following this style of Café, the authors created the Autism Legal Rights Café, in partnership with the Sycamore Trust U.K. At this second event, Marshall’s research on everyday spaces was developed into a short talk about law, everyday spaces, objects and being human at a focused arts and crafts workshop for young women with autism. Particularly during Covid-19 lockdown, it was explored how and why our objects took on a new meaning. This talk included an analysis of Species of Spaces where Perec traced what is truly daily, those everyday habits and material objects of which our lives consist, what goes without saying. Perec claims, although these do not seem to pose any problems, we need to ask what they may tell us about what is important in life, what makes it worth living

identification of hazards and environmental impact assessment for an integrated approach to emerging risks of co2 capture installations

Abstract New and intensified technologies are being defined within the field of Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) and the uptake is set to increase dramatically. This contribution focuses on three representative installations for CCS capture, whose safety and environmental issues might potentially be underestimated based on their presence in other industrial fields, but with different scales and uses. A simplified Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the new hazard identification technique denominated DyPASI (Dynamic Procedure for Atypical Scenarios Identification) were used to identify respectively environmental impact and atypical accident scenarios and add a useful dimension to risk information that can particularly help in determining the best technological options

Social representations of mental illness: A study of British and French mental health professionals.

Based on the theory of social representations, the thesis explores how mental health professionals understand mental illness. The principle data source for this investigation is semi-structured interviews conducted with sixty mental health professionals in Britain and France, two countries currently moving towards community-based care for the mentally ill. Systematic qualitative analysis of these interviews (using QSR-NUDIST) is both grounded in the data and guided by previous research findings, theoretical considerations, and other data sources (policy documents and observations). Research explores how the nature, causes and treatment of mental ill health are represented by professionals, and provides an empirical test of the concept of 'professional social representations'. These are conceived as professional practitioners' representations of the object of their work, which consist of five inter-related elements: practice, theory, professional identities, organisational factors and lay representations. Analysis highlights how, despite their 'expert' status, mental health professionals adopt an agnostic stance and their representations are fraught with uncertainty, questioning and debate. Mental illness is understood as a polymorphous category, broadly divided into 'neuroses' and 'psychoses' and understood in essentially social terms. Thus, various forms of difference, distress and disruption are central themes. Professional practice is conceptualised as a social rather than medical endeavour, which involves eclectic interventions in many aspects of clients' daily lives. The dominant role in France of psychodynamic theories and practices is the only major difference between professionals in France and Britain. With contemporary shifts towards community-based care, practitioners experience added uncertainties and difficulties in renegotiating professional working relationships. The findings suggest that professional social representations serve important compromise functions, helping the practitioner community to reconcile the tensions and conflicting agendas of mental health work, and reflecting the unique role of professionals in the development and circulation of social knowledge. This research extends the scope of application and the conceptualisation of the theory of social representations

Perceptions of Barriers to Using Opioid Analgesics: A Mixed Methods Study

Background:Availability and accessibility of opioids are a worldwide problem. In low-resource settings, such asEthiopia, access to opioids is either limited or nonexistent and legally restricted in health care settings. This studyaimed to identify barriers for the availability and accessibility of opioids in Ethiopian rural and regional health caresettings.Methods:A mixed-method case study design was used. A total of 220 nurses from primary, secondary, and ter-tiary health care settings were invited to participate in a survey of knowledge and practice. For the qualitativeinterview, 38 participants were recruited from educational facilities, health services, and the community acrossa region.Results:Barriers in availability and accessibility of opioid analgesics were expressing pain considered as a sign ofweakness, lack of knowledge, side effect concerns about prescribing morphine, only doctors being authorized toprescribe morphine, lack of foreign currency to import morphine ingredients, and inequity in accessing mor-phine in hospitals and none in rural health care settings.Conclusion:The findings of this study indicate that opioids, particularly morphine, were not consistently avail-able and accessible to all patients in need. Health professionals lacked knowledge about opioids. Strengtheningthe existing pain-free initiatives and improving the type, dose, and supply of morphine could help reduce need-less suffering and enhance access to essential pain medicines for those in need.publishedVersio

Mental Health Disorders in Ultra Endurance Athletes per ICD-11 Classifications: A Review of an Overlooked Community in Sports Psychiatry.

INTRODUCTION Although research suggests that exercise benefits mental health, psychiatric disorders have been acknowledged in the ultra-endurance-athlete population. At present, the mental-health consequences of high-volume training associated with ultra-endurance sports are not well understood. METHODS We conducted a narrative review summarizing primary observations about mental disorders per ICD-11 criteria in ultra-endurance athletes using a keyword search in Scopus and PubMed. RESULTS We identified 25 papers discussing ICD-11-classified psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and schizophrenia in ultra-endurance athletes. DISCUSSION Although evidence is limited, available papers indicate that there is a sizable incidence of mental-health issues and composite psychopathological vulnerabilities in this community. We contend that ultra-endurance athletes may represent a different, though similar, demographic than elite and/or professional athletes, as they often engage in high-volume training with similarly high motivation. This can have regulatory implications, which we also highlight. CONCLUSION Mental illness in ultra-endurance athletes is an underrepresented topic in sports medicine, though psychiatric disorders may be especially prevalent in this population. Further inquiry is necessary to inform athletes and healthcare practitioners about the possible mental-health implications associated with participation in ultra-endurance sports

Palliative care in Ethiopia’s rural and regional health care settings: a qualitative study of enabling factors and implementation challenges

Palliative care is limited in Ethiopia, particularly in rural areas, where more than 78% of the population live. Current initiatives and research are focused on urban settings and are primarily donor dependent. This study aims to explore the status of palliative care, enabling factors and implementation challenges in Ethiopia’s rural and regional health care settings. Methods A qualitative regional case study was conducted with health professionals drawn from different health care settings, academic institutions and included health planners and practitioners. Focus groups were conducted with rural community members and face- to face- individual interviews were conducted with health professionals working in numerous roles as well as academic leaders. Results Participants indicated that despite a few leaders being aware of the inclusion of palliative care in the Ethiopia national policies and guidelines, palliative care is not, integrated into the existing health care system. Other participants responded that palliative care is not well integrated into the undergraduate and postgraduate courses except for limited content in the diploma and a few postgraduate courses. Participants described the challenges for palliative care implementation as follows: many lacked awareness about palliative care; and chronically ill patients other than those with HIV received inadequate care, limited to physical care, some pain management, and psychosocial support rather than comprehensive palliative care. In addition, some participants perceived that palliative care was not within the remit of their service, so families and patients were forced to seek alternative or informal care, including from traditional healers. Conclusions: Enablers for the improvement of palliative care access in rural and regional health care were identified, including better integration of palliative care into the national health care plan and guidelines; palliative care content in university and college courses; and use of mobile phone technology to facilitate care. And policy makers and responsible stakeholders could consider the palliative care implementation in rural and regional health care settings through a combination of home, community and facility-based models.publishedVersio

Social work practices: report of the national evaluation

An independent evaluation was commissioned by the Department for Education (formerly the Department for Children, Schools and Families) to:1. analyse the advantages and disadvantages of the overall Social Work Practice concept, and the specific benefits (or otherwise) of the different models employed and any lessons for alternate models;2. identify the impact of SWP pilots on children, their carers and their families;3. discover the impact of the SWP model on the children's social care workforce;4. identify the impact of SWP pilots on statutory child care social work in the hostlocal authorities and on the work of other agencies

Pathology of chronic achilles-tendon injuries in athletes

Overuse tendon conditions have traditionally been considered to result from an inflammatory process and were treated as such. Microscopic examination of abnormal Achilles-tendon tissues, however, reveals a non-inflammatory degenerative process. The histopathology found in surgical specimens in patients with chronic overuse Achilles tendinopathy and those with Achilles-tendon rupture are reviewed. Seminal studies suggest that so-called tendinitis is a rare condition that might occur occasionally in the Achilles tendon in association with a primary tendinosis. These data have clinical implications and require a review of the traditional classification of pathologies seen in tendon conditions, The authors recommend that nomenclature be based on histopathological findings rather than traditional hypothesis. <br /

Early childhood predictors of toddlers\u27 physical activity: longitudinal findings from the Melbourne InFANT program

Background:&nbsp;Young children are at risk of not meeting physical activity recommendations. Identifying factors from&nbsp;the first year of life which influence toddlers&rsquo; physical activity levels may help to develop targeted intervention&nbsp;strategies. The purpose of this study was to examine early childhood predictors of toddlers&rsquo; physical activity across&nbsp;the domains of maternal beliefs and behaviours, infant behaviours and the home environment.&nbsp;Methods: Data from 206 toddlers (53% male) participating in the Melbourne InFANT Program were collected in 2008&ndash;2010 and analysed in 2012. Mothers completed a survey of physical activity predictors when their child was 4- (T1) and&nbsp;9- months old (T2). Physical activity was assessed by ActiGraph GT1M accelerometers at 19- months (T3) of age.Results: One infant behaviour at T1 and one maternal belief and two infant behaviours at T2 showed associations with&nbsp;physical activity at T3 and were included in multivariate analyses. After adjusting for the age at which the child started&nbsp;walking and maternal education, the time spent with babies of a similar age at 4-months (&beta; = 0.06, 95% CI [0.02, 0.10])&nbsp;and the time spent being physically active with their mother at 9-months (&beta; = 0.06, 95% CI [0.01, 0.12]) predicted&nbsp;children&rsquo;s physical activity at 19-months of age.&nbsp;Conclusions: Promotion of peer-interactions and maternal-child co-participation in physical activity could serve as a&nbsp;health promotion strategy to increase physical activity in young children. Future research is required to identify other&nbsp;early life predictors not assessed in this study and to examine whether these factors predict physical activity in later life&nbsp;stages.</div