Reenactment and/as Political Form: Winter Soldiers Then and Now

En 2008, les Vétérans d’Irak contre la Guerre (IVAW) témoignent des réalités du terrain de la Guerre contre la Terreur lors de “Winter Soldier Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations.” “Winter Soldier II” (WSII), comme les médias l’ont appelé, a été créé sur le modèle de l’”Enquête Winter Soldier” de 1971 organisée par les Vétérans du Vietnam contre la Guerre (VVAW). Proposant un reenactment de la forme politique de la Nouvelle Gauche pour formuler des revendications dans et pour le présent, le Winter Soldier II nous propose de faire des parallèles entre l’”avant” et le “maintenant” en utilisant de façon stratégique la forme du témoignage introduite par VVAW en 1971. Mais le reenactment révèle les critiques qui peuvent (et ne peuvent pas) être faites par cette forme politique en 2008, étant donné les particularités du présent. En examinant les développements distincts des discours du genre et de la sexualité pour critiquer les logiques genrées du militarisme “avant” et “maintenant”, on observe l’importance de ces discours dans la réévaluation de la vie quotidienne dans les Etats-Unis de la guerre froide par les membres de VVAW ainsi que leurs limites pour donner un sens aux conditions de citoyenneté du 21e siècle.In 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) testified to the on-the-ground realities of the War on Terror at “Winter Soldier Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations.” “Winter Soldier II” (WSII), as the media called it, was modeled on the 1971 “Winter Soldier Investigation” (WSI) organized by Vietnam Veterans Against in the War (VVAW). As a reenactment of a New Left political form to make claims in and for the present, WSII demands that we draw parallels between “then” and “now” by making strategic use of the testimonial form introduced by VVAW in 1971. But it also reveals the critiques that can (and cannot) be made in and through this political form in 2008, given the particularities of the present. Examining the distinct deployments of discourses of gender and sexuality to critique the gendered logics of militarism “then” and “now,” reveals both their importance to VVAW members’ reappraisal of everyday life in cold-war America as well as their limits in making sense of the conditions of citizenship in the 21st century

National research on the postgraduate student experience:Case presentation on postgraduate student diversity (Volume 2 of 3)

This is volume two of a set of three case studies that explore the postgraduate student experience. The theme of this case study is postgraduate student diversity and is based on experiences derived from student engagement breakfasts, interviews, and focus groups with 366 people across the stakeholder groups of postgraduate students, educators, and university executives from 26 institutions. The case studies constitute part of the output from the project, Engaging postgraduate students and supporting higher education to enhance the 21st century student experience

National research on the postgraduate student experience: Case presentation on the first year postgraduate student experience (volume 1 of 3)

Also titled: First year postgraduate student experience "This is volume one of three volumes of case studies to enhance the postgraduate student experience. The theme of this case study is: First year postgraduate student experience The other two case studies in this series are: Volume 2 - Postgraduate student diversity Volume 3 - Career development and employability This case presentation on the first year postgraduate student experience is based on experiences derived from student engagement breakfasts, interviews, and focus groups with 366 people across the stakeholder groups of postgraduate students, educators, and university executives from 26 institutions." - from p.

National research on the postgraduate student experiences:Case presentation on career development and employability (Volume 3 of 3)

Also titled: First year postgraduate student experience "This is volume three of three volumes of case studies to enhance the postgraduate student experience. The theme of this case study is: First year postgraduate student experience The other two case studies in this series are: \ud Volume 1 - First year postgraduate student experiences\ud Volume 2 - Postgraduate student diversity\ud This case study presentation on career development and employability is based on student engagement breakfasts, interviews and focus groups with 366 people across the stakeholder groups of postgraduate students, educators and university executives from 26 Australian institutions" - from p.

Airborne chemical sensing with mobile robots

Airborne chemical sensing with mobile robots has been an active research areasince the beginning of the 1990s. This article presents a review of research work in this field,including gas distribution mapping, trail guidance, and the different subtasks of gas sourcelocalisation. Due to the difficulty of modelling gas distribution in a real world environmentwith currently available simulation techniques, we focus largely on experimental work and donot consider publications that are purely based on simulations

Understanding barriers and facilitators to palliative and end-of-life care research: a mixed method study of generalist and specialist health, social care, and research professionals

Background: Palliative care provision should be driven by high quality research evidence. However, there are barriers to conducting research. Most research attention focuses on potential patient barriers; staff and organisational issues that affect research involvement are underexplored. The aim of this research is to understand professional and organisational facilitators and barriers to conducting palliative care research. Methods: A mixed methods study, using an open cross-sectional online survey, followed by working groups using nominal group techniques. Participants were professionals interested in palliative care research, working as generalist/specialist palliative care providers, or palliative care research staff across areas of North West England. Recruitment was via local health organisations, personal networks, and social media in 2022. Data were examined using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Results: Participants (survey n = 293, working groups n = 20) were mainly from clinical settings (71%) with 45% nurses and 45% working more than 10 years in palliative care. 75% were not active in research but 73% indicated a desire to increase research involvement. Key barriers included lack of organisational research culture and capacity (including prioritisation and available time); research knowledge (including skills/expertise and funding opportunities); research infrastructure (including collaborative opportunities across multiple organisations and governance challenges); and patient and public perceptions of research (including vulnerabilities and burdens). Key facilitators included dedicated research staff, and active research groups, collaborations, and networking opportunities. Conclusions: Professionals working in palliative care are keen to be research active, but lack time, skills, and support to build research capabilities and collaborations. A shift in organisational culture is needed to enhance palliative care research capacity and collaborative opportunities across clinical and research settings.NIH

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs during chemotherapy for preservation of ovarian function and fertility in premenopausal early breast cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of individual patient-level data

Purpose The role of temporary ovarian suppression with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa) during chemotherapy as a strategy to preserve ovarian function and fertility in premenopausal women remains controversial. This systematic review and meta-analysis using individual patient\u2013level data was conducted to better assess the efficacy and safety of this strategy in patients with early breast cancer. Methods The trials in which premenopausal women with early breast cancer were randomly assigned to receive (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy alone or with concurrent GnRHa were eligible for inclusion. Primary end points were premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) rate and post-treatment pregnancy rate. Disease-free survival and overall survival were secondary end points. Because each study represents a cluster, statistical analyses were performed using a random effects model. Results A total of 873 patients from five trials were included. POI rate was 14.1% in the GnRHa group and 30.9% in the control group (adjusted odds ratio, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.26 to 0.57; P, .001). A total of 37 (10.3%) patients had at least one post-treatment pregnancy in the GnRHa group and 20 (5.5%) in the control group (incidence rate ratio, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.06 to 3.15; P = .030). No significant differences in disease-free survival (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.72 to 1.42; P = .999) and overall survival (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.42 to 1.06; P = .083) were observed between groups. Conclusion Our findings provide evidence for the efficacy and safety of temporary ovarian suppression with GnRHa during chemotherapy as an available option to reduce the likelihood of chemotherapy-induced POI and potentially improve future fertility in premenopausal patients with early breast cancer

Structural Requirements for Dihydrobenzoxazepinone Anthelmintics:Actions against Medically Important and Model Parasites: Trichuris muris, Brugia malayi, Heligmosomoides polygyrus, and Schistosoma mansoni

Nine hundred million people are infected with the soil-transmitted helminths Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm), hookworm, and Trichuris trichiura (whipworm). However, low single-dose cure rates of the benzimidazole drugs, the mainstay of preventative chemotherapy for whipworm, together with parasite drug resistance, mean that current approaches may not be able to eliminate morbidity from trichuriasis. We are seeking to develop new anthelmintic drugs specifically with activity against whipworm as a priority and previously identified a hit series of dihydrobenzoxazepinone (DHB) compounds that block motility of ex vivo Trichuris muris. Here, we report a systematic investigation of the structure–activity relationship of the anthelmintic activity of DHB compounds. We synthesized 47 analogues, which allowed us to define features of the molecules essential for anthelmintic action as well as broadening the chemotype by identification of dihydrobenzoquinolinones (DBQs) with anthelmintic activity. We investigated the activity of these compounds against other parasitic nematodes, identifying DHB compounds with activity against Brugia malayi and Heligmosomoides polygyrus. We also demonstrated activity of DHB compounds against the trematode Schistosoma mansoni, a parasite that causes schistosomiasis. These results demonstrate the potential of DHB and DBQ compounds for further development as broad-spectrum anthelmintics

Substantial cooling effect from aerosol-induced increase in tropical marine cloud cover

With global warming currently standing at approximately +1.2 °C since pre-industrial times, climate change is a pressing global issue. Marine cloud brightening is one proposed method to tackle warming through injecting aerosols into marine clouds to enhance their reflectivity and thereby planetary albedo. However, because it is unclear how aerosols influence clouds, especially cloud cover, both climate projections and the effectiveness of marine cloud brightening remain uncertain. Here we use satellite observations of volcanic eruptions in Hawaii to quantify the aerosol fingerprint on tropical marine clouds. We observe a large enhancement in reflected sunlight, mainly due to an aerosol-induced increase in cloud cover. This observed strong negative aerosol forcing suggests that the current level of global warming is driven by a weaker net radiative forcing than previously thought, arising from the competing effects of greenhouse gases and aerosols. This implies a greater sensitivity of Earth’s climate to radiative forcing and therefore a larger warming response to both rising greenhouse gas concentrations and reductions in atmospheric aerosols due to air quality measures. However, our findings also indicate that mitigation of global warming via marine cloud brightening is plausible and is most effective in humid and stable conditions in the tropics where solar radiation is strong

Yoga jam: remixing Kirtan in the Art of Living

Yoga Jam are a group of musicians in the United Kingdom who are active members of the Art of Living, a transnational Hindu-derived meditation group. Yoga Jam organize events—also referred to as yoga raves and yoga remixes—that combine Hindu devotional songs (bhajans) and chants (mantras) with modern Western popular musical genres, such as soul, rock, and particularly electronic dance music. This hybrid music is often played in a clublike setting, and dancing is interspersed with yoga and meditation. Yoga jams are creative fusions of what at first sight seem to be two incompatible phenomena—modern electronic dance music culture and ancient yogic traditions. However, yoga jams make sense if the Durkheimian distinction between the sacred and the profane is challenged, and if tradition and modernity are not understood as existing in a sort of inverse relationship. This paper argues that yoga raves are authenticated through the somatic experience of the modern popular cultural phenomenon of clubbing combined with therapeutic yoga practices and validated by identifying this experience with a reimagined Vedic tradition