Liberal And General Studies In Further Education: Voices From The ‘Chalk Face’

This paper presents initial findings from research investigating an important but largely neglected facet of the history of Further Education (FE) – the Liberal Studies and General Studies (LS/GS) movement. Drawing on historical documents and interview data from a group of former LS/GS lecturers, the paper provides important insights into some of the key events and initiatives between the 1950s-1980s, which led to the rise and eventual fall of the LS/GS movement, and seeks to capture the voices of those who were involved at the ‘chalk face’. Whilst it is acknowledged that the quality and nature of LS/GS was often variable and that the experiences of both teachers and learners were often uneven, the central argument of the paper is that many of the principles of the LS/GS movement were not only ahead of their time, but are perhaps more relevant to FE today than ever before

Improving the quality of reproductive health care for young people

Nearly 1.7 billion people, about one-third of the world’s total population, are between the ages of 10 and 24, with the vast majority living in developing countries. As they mature, young people are increasingly exposed to reproductive health (RH) risks such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), unintended or early pregnancies, and complications from pregnancy and childbirth. Improving young people’s RH care is key to improving the world’s future economic and social well-being, but young people’s RH needs are often overlooked or viewed through a lens of cultural values that limit care. During the past decade, in part as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, young people and their health needs have been the subject of greater attention worldwide. More health policies and services are becoming “youth friendly.” Some clinics now provide services to young men or offer RH care to young women before they have had their first child. This policy brief focuses on facility-based services for young adults and uses the framework developed by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Maximizing Access and Quality Initiative to illuminate key issues about the quality of reproductive health care

PD-L1 expressing circulating tumour cells in head and neck cancers

Background: Blockade of the PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint pathway is emerging as a promising immunotherapeutic approach for the management and treatment of head and neck cancer patients who do not respond to 1st/2nd line therapy. However, as checkpoint inhibitors are cost intensive, identifying patients who would most likely benefit from anti PD-L1 therapy is required. Developing a non-invasive technique would be of major benefit to the patient and to the health care system. Case presentation: We report the case of a 56 year old man affected by a supraglottic squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). A CT scan showed a 20 mm right jugulodigastric node and suspicious lung lesions. The lung lesion was biopsied and confirmed to be consistent with SCC. The patient was offered palliative chemotherapy. At the time of presentation, a blood sample was taken for circulating tumour cell (CTC) analysis. The dissemination of cancer was confirmed by the detection of CTCs in the peripheral blood of the patient, measured by the CellSearch System (Janssen Diagnostics). Using marker-independent, low-shear spiral microfluidic technology combined with immunocytochemistry, CTC clusters were found in this patient at the same time point, expressing PD-L1. Conclusion: This report highlights the potential use of CTCs to identify patients which might respond to anti PD-L1 therapy

PD-L1 expressing circulating tumour cells in head and neck cancers

Background Blockade of the PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint pathway is emerging as a promising immunotherapeutic approach for the management and treatment of head and neck cancer patients who do not respond to 1st/2nd line therapy. However, as checkpoint inhibitors are cost intensive, identifying patients who would most likely benefit from anti PD-L1 therapy is required. Developing a non-invasive technique would be of major benefit to the patient and to the health care system. Case presentation We report the case of a 56 year old man affected by a supraglottic squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). A CT scan showed a 20 mm right jugulodigastric node and suspicious lung lesions. The lung lesion was biopsied and confirmed to be consistent with SCC. The patient was offered palliative chemotherapy. At the time of presentation, a blood sample was taken for circulating tumour cell (CTC) analysis. The dissemination of cancer was confirmed by the detection of CTCs in the peripheral blood of the patient, measured by the CellSearch System (Janssen Diagnostics). Using marker-independent, low-shear spiral microfluidic technology combined with immunocytochemistry, CTC clusters were found in this patient at the same time point, expressing PD-L1. Conclusion This report highlights the potential use of CTCs to identify patients which might respond to anti PD-L1 therapy

Co-production is everywhere, but is it useful?

Key takeaways 1. Co-production is a form of collaboration often between professionals and those usually on the receiving end of their expertise. 2. Co-production seems to be everywhere. Advocates argue that co-production is necessary to respond to contemporary challenges, such as uncertainty, complexity and contestation. But how useful an idea is it? 3. Our work sets out three tentative answers to this question. 1) Co-production now means so many things to so many people, it has lost its distinctiveness and is perhaps not as useful as it could be. 2) Nailing down definitions is less relevant if practitioners and policy-makers are already using the concept in their work, but understanding how and why co-production is used is useful for policy-making. 3) Coproduction is useful in mobilising participation as a step-change towards addressing social challenges. 4. The technical terms for these different ways of answering the question are clarification, elucidation, and provocation. A clarification perspective would judge ‘usefulness’ according to how clear the definitions of co-production are; an elucidation perspective would focus on understanding how co-production is interpreted by different people in different contexts and what this reveals about power dynamics; and a provocation perspective would assess the utility of co-production by how far it has mobilised coalitions for change and produced action on the ground. 5. Our work shows that co-production is in some ways a messy concept, and there is further work to do to define and communicate the distinctiveness of the idea. But its value lies in calling for policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and citizens to come together in ways that inspire change in existing practice to better meet the challenges of the moment

Casting Light on the Distinctive Contribution of Social Work in Multidisciplinary Teams for Older People

The current policy emphasis in adult social care in England is on promoting independence, preventing or delaying the need for more intensive support and the provision of personalised services. However, there is little evidence available on how social workers (SWs) identify and meet the complex needs of older service users in practice. In this article, we present findings from a study of innovative social work practice with older adults in England (2018–2019). We present five case studies of social care and integrated services in which SWs are integral team members. Twenty-one individuals participated in interviews; this included service managers and practitioners with social work backgrounds, and other professionals, including nurses and occupational therapists. Specific practices contributing to innovative service delivery included: the strong demonstration of social work values influencing the practice of multidisciplinary teams; positive risk management; importance of timing and ensuring continuity of relationships; and, the proactive application of legal knowledge to promote older people’s rights. While some of these features can be seen as returning to the ‘heart’ of social work, we argue that they are promising in forging new paths for social work with older people that turn away from more managerialist- and procedurally driven approaches

Symptom profile of postpartum and non-postpartum manic episodes in bipolar I disorder: a within-subjects study

The relationship of postpartum mania to episodes of mania occurring outside the perinatal period among women with bipolar disorder remains controversial. Previous studies have used between-subjects designs to compare the clinical presentations of these episodes meaning the differences, in part, may reflect between-group differences. To overcome this we have undertaken within-subject comparisons of the symptom profile of postpartum and non-postpartum manic episodes in 50 women with DSM-IV bipolar I disorder. For each woman detailed symptom information on a postpartum episode of mania and a comparison non-postpartum manic episode was collected. The occurrence of manic, psychotic and depressive symptoms in these episodes were compared. Postpartum manic episodes had a significantly higher incidence of perplexity and excessive self-reproach. Classic manic symptoms, specifically pressured speech and increased sociability, were significantly less frequent in postpartum manic episodes. Overall there were significantly fewer manic symptoms and significantly more depressive symptoms in the postpartum episodes than in the non-postpartum episodes. The mixed presentation of postpartum manic episodes suggests childbirth may act as a pathoplastic trigger in women with bipolar disorder. The differences in symptom profiles suggests further research is warranted into whether differences in treatment response exist among women experiencing postpartum and non-postpartum manic episodes

Hate crimes against trans people: assessing emotions, behaviors and attitudes towards criminal justice agencies

Based on a survey of 593 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the United Kingdom, this study shows that direct anti-LGBT hate crimes (measured by direct experiences of victimization) and indirect anti-LGBT hate crimes (measured by personally knowing other victims of hate crime) are highly prolific and frequent experiences for LGBT people. Our findings show that trans people are particularly susceptible to hate crimes, both in terms of prevalence and frequency. This article additionally highlights the negative emotional and (intended) behavioral reactions that were correlated with an imagined hate crime scenario, showing that trans people are more likely to experience heightened levels of threat, vulnerability, and anxiety compared with non-trans LGB people. The study found that trans people are also more likely to feel unsupported by family, friends, and society for being LGBT, which was correlated with the frequency of direct (verbal) abuse they had previously endured. The final part of this study explores trans people’s confidence levels in the Government, the police, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in relation to addressing hate crime. In general, trans people felt that the police are not effective at policing anti-LGBT hate crime, and they are not respectful toward them as victims; this was especially true where individuals had previous contact with the police. Respondents were also less confident in the CPS to prosecute anti-LGBT hate crimes, though the level of confidence was slightly higher when respondents had direct experience with the CPS. The empirical evidence presented here supports the assertion that all LGBT people, but particularly trans individuals, continue to be denied equal participation in society due to individual, social, and structural experiences of prejudice. The article concludes by arguing for a renewed policy focus that must address this issue as a public health problem