\u3ci\u3eHorror Stories\u3c/i\u3e: Informatics, Data and the Collaborative Film

My original goals in this project were to create a new artwork titled Horror Stories and present it publicly on a dedicated URL as well as to identify galleries and new media festivals that may feature this work. Secondary objectives are to develop the artwork\u27s interface and aesthetic appearance, work with a student programmer and student video editor, research open source software for online video content contributions, and participate in a new media artist\u27s residency in Banff for the purpose of producing and testing this artwork amidst a built-in audience of world renowned creative professionals

Is There Really a de Sitter/CFT Duality

In this paper a de Sitter Space version of Black Hole Complementarity is formulated which states that an observer in de Sitter Space describes the surrounding space as a sealed finite temperature cavity bounded by a horizon which allows no loss of information. We then discuss the implications of this for the existence of boundary correlators in the hypothesized dS/cft correspondence. We find that dS complementarity precludes the existence of the appropriate limits. We find that the limits exist only in approximations in which the entropy of the de Sitter Space is infinite. The reason that the correlators exist in quantum field theory in the de Sitter Space background is traced to the fact that horizon entropy is infinite in QFT.Comment: 12 Figures, STIAS Workshop on Quantum Gravit

Men and infant feeding: Perceptions of embarrassment, sexuality, and social conduct in white low-income British men

Copyright @ 2010 The Authors. This is the accepted version of the following article: Henderson, L., McMillan, B., Green, J. M. and Renfrew, M. J. (2011), Men and Infant Feeding: Perceptions of Embarrassment, Sexuality, and Social Conduct in White Low-Income British Men. Birth, 38: 61–70, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-536X.2010.00442.x/abstract.Background:  The views of fathers have been shown to be important determinants of infant feeding decisions, but men’s perceptions of breastfeeding and formula feeding are rarely explored. Our objectives were to address this gap and examine cultural associations and beliefs concerning infant feeding practices among men. Methods:  Five focus groups were conducted with low-income men (n = 28) living in areas of social deprivation in Leeds, northeast of England, and low-income areas of Glasgow, west of Scotland. Participants were white British men, aged between 16 and 45 years, and included fathers, expectant fathers, and potential fathers. Results:  Overarching themes concerning sexuality, embarrassment, and social conduct were identified across all groups. Participants perceived breastfeeding as “natural” but problematic, whereas formula feeding was mainly considered as convenient and safe. Participants without direct experience of breastfeeding assumed that it involved excessive public exposure and attracted unwanted male attention. Underpinning these fears were strong cultural associations between breasts and sexuality and anxieties concerning appropriate gender roles. Conclusions:  In some communities few opportunities may occur to witness breastfeeding, and thus existing fears concerning the activity as attracting predatory male attention remain unchallenged. Perceptions of breastfeeding as a sexual activity and the dominant mass media emphasis on breasts as a sexual site may present additional obstacles to breastfeeding. Antenatal or perinatal education with men should address not only practical issues but also provide advice on tackling problems generated by wider sociocultural issues of sexuality and masculinity

The impact of breastfeeding peer support for mothers aged under 25: a time series analysis

Breastfeeding is known to have positive health benefits for babies and mothers, yet the UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding initiation rates in Europe. Despite national guidance that recommends provision of breastfeeding peer support, there is conflicting evidence regarding its effectiveness, especially in high income countries, and a lack of evidence amongst young mothers. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a breastfeeding peer support service (BPSS) in one UK city in increasing breastfeeding initiation and duration in young mothers. Routinely-collected data were obtained on feeding method at birth, two and six weeks for all 5,790 women aged <25 registered with a local general practitioner and who gave birth from April 2009 to September 2013. Segmented regression was used to quantify the impact of the introduction of the BPSS in September 2012 on the prevalence of breastfeeding at birth, two and six weeks, accounting for underlying trends. Results showed that breastfeeding prevalence at birth and two weeks began to increase month-on-month after the introduction of the BPSS, where previously figures had been static; prevalence at birth increased by 0.55 percentage points per month (95%CI 0.10-1.00, p=0.018) and at two weeks by 0.50 percentage points (95%CI 0.15-0.86, p=0.007). There was no change from an underlying marginally increasing trend in prevalence at six weeks. In conclusion, our findings suggest that a one-to-one breastfeeding peer support service provided by paid peer supporters and targeted at young mothers in the antenatal and postnatal periods may be beneficial in increasing breastfeeding initiation and prevalence at two weeks

Potential economic impacts from improving breastfeeding rates in the UK

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.RATIONALE: Studies suggest that increased breastfeeding rates can provide substantial financial savings, but the scale of such savings in the UK is not known. OBJECTIVE: To calculate potential cost savings attributable to increases in breastfeeding rates from the National Health Service perspective. DESIGN AND SETTINGS: Cost savings focussed on where evidence of health benefit is strongest: reductions in gastrointestinal and lower respiratory tract infections, acute otitis media in infants, necrotising enterocolitis in preterm babies and breast cancer (BC) in women. Savings were estimated using a seven-step framework in which an incidence-based disease model determined the number of cases that could have been avoided if breastfeeding rates were increased. Point estimates of cost savings were subject to a deterministic sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Treating the four acute diseases in children costs the UK at least £89 million annually. The 2009-2010 value of lifetime costs of treating maternal BC is estimated at £959 million. Supporting mothers who are exclusively breast feeding at 1 week to continue breast feeding until 4 months can be expected to reduce the incidence of three childhood infectious diseases and save at least £11 million annually. Doubling the proportion of mothers currently breast feeding for 7-18 months in their lifetime is likely to reduce the incidence of maternal BC and save at least £31 million at 2009-2010 value. CONCLUSIONS: The economic impact of low breastfeeding rates is substantial. Investing in services that support women who want to breast feed for longer is potentially cost saving

Understanding gendered influences on women's reproductive health in Pakistan: Moving beyond the autonomy paradigm

Recent research and policy discourse commonly view the limited autonomy of women in developing countries as a key barrier to improvements in their reproductive health. Rarely, however, is the notion of women's autonomy interrogated for its conceptual adequacy or usefulness for understanding the determinants of women's reproductive health, effective policy formulation or program design. Using ethnographic data from 2001, including social mapping exercises, observation of daily life, interviews, case studies and focus group discussions, this paper draws attention to the incongruities between the concept of women's autonomy and the gendered social, cultural, economic and political realities of women's lives in rural Punjab, Pakistan. These inadequacies include: the concept's undue emphasis on women's independent, autonomous action; a lack of attention to men and masculinities; a disregard for the multi-sited constitution of gender relations and gender inequality; an erroneous assumption that uptake of reproductive health services is an indicator of autonomy; and a failure to explore the interplay of other axes of disadvantage such as caste, class or socio-economic position. This paper calls for alternative, more nuanced, theoretical approaches for conceptualizing gender inequalities in order to enhance our understanding of women's reproductive wellbeing in Pakistan. The extent to which our arguments may be relevant to the wider South Asian context, and women's lives in other parts of the world, is also discussed

Reflections on Teaching and Learning in Field Education: A Teacher-Scholar Model

The purpose of this brief article is to report an innovative attempt to promote high quality field education utilizing Specialized Field Education Units (SFEUs) while overcoming both the internal and external barriers noted above. This approach, an integrated field unit using a teacher-scholar model, has been implemented for the past five years by the joint field education programs of the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro BSW and MSW programs. The results have been a higher level of full-time engagement in field education by full-time tenure-track faculty members, high student success as measured by achievement of CSWE competencies, and higher rates of faculty publication and funding for research programs

Designing digital texts for beginner readers: performance, practice and process

This illustrated chapter describes the role of research in typography and graphic communication and in information design, that is relevant to the design and use of materials for children’s reading. By ‘design’ in this context we mean ‘typography’ (which is the visual organisation of type and pictures on paper or screen), and ‘process’ (the ways in which design is developed in order to make sure that what is designed works for its intended reader group). We summarise issues that designers consider when they are producing reading materials for beginning and emerging readers, including the constraints imposed by technology. We suggest ways of engaging with users of e-books so that their needs can be considered. We conclude by summarising the typographic parameters that are likely to benefit children’s reading

Tenuous Place in History

This study seeks to ascertain whether the Chicago Daily Defender’s coverage of the December 4, 1969 assassination of Mark Clark and Fred Hampton represents a prevailing pattern among black newspapers or an aberration in the black media’s treatment of the infamous event. Moreover, we wish to determine how the black press coverage differed from that of the mainstream media. The study proceeds with a brief synopsis of the police actions taken on that fateful December morning, after which the data and methodological design of the study are presented and followed by an analysis of the findings. We then offer a biographical capsule of Mark Clark’s life and activism; heretofore, largely overlooked in the scholarly narratives of the raid. Finally, the study concludes with a discussion of the sources contributing to Clark’s near erasure from the annals of history