Brave art: Scottish identity and stand-up comedy

Stand-up comedy remains a prevalent form of entertainment in Scotland, with comedians drawing sell-out crowds, and comedy making up the biggest section of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival programme. Moreover, stand-up comedy is recognised by many academics as a form of social commentary that can affirm or subvert cultural norms, or at the very least, provide a social thermometer that tells us what is going on in society. Research on Scottish stand-up comedy can therefore shed a light on how contemporary Scottish identity is constructed and understood. Yet, despite its popularity and potential social significance, few studies have focused on Scottish comedy to date, and none have chosen to analyse Scottish stand-up comedy specifically. The present research addresses this gap and uses discourse analysis to understand how Scottish stand-up comedy articulates representations of contemporary Scottish and British identities. The data for this study includes live comedy performances at the Edinburgh Fringe as well as interviews with stand-up comedians to gain a deeper insight. The findings show that Scotland is largely framed as a postcolonial nation with distinct values (inclusive, left-wing, egalitarian), particularly in comparison to ‘Brexit’ England. Despite this emphasis on civic nationalism, there are intersectional differences in how people experience Scottish identity, particularly for Scots positioned outside traditional white, heterosexual masculinity, who have to work harder to belong. The Edinburgh Fringe brings to the fore questions of belonging and exclusion as Scots make up a relatively small proportion of the comedy offering. Yet, the Fringe is also identified as a carnivalesque space with subversive potential. By disrupting the taken for granted, and highlighting possibilities for change, Scottish stand-up comedians at the Fringe engage in the political work of (de-)constructing the boundaries of identity and belonging

Doctors in the making: Overcoming the challenges of transition

The PhD journey is, for many students, formative training into the world of academia. It is here that scholars gain a deeper understanding of the technical as well as the social aspects of their discipline, and where they gain the knowledge required to conduct sound research (Golde, 1998; Golde and Dore, 2001; Meschitti and Carassa, 2014). This pivotal educational phase is quite distinct from other stages in higher education. One of the main challenges at this level is the individualistic narrative of the PhD (McAlpine et al., 2012). Doctoral candidates often feel isolated as they navigate their new role as doctoral student and academic professional (Golde, 1998; Meschitti and Carassa, 2014). In order to promote successful socialisation, we advocate here for student-led transition support that is facilitated by the Higher Education Institution (HEI). Such an initiative should function not as formal induction, but as a peer-learning social space that fosters the development of Communities of Practice (Wenger, 1999, 2010)

AUTOMATED COLLECTION OF QUALITY-OF-LIFE DATA: TOUCH-SCREEN COMPUTER SYSTEMS IN PATIENTS WITH IMMUNE DISEASES

AUTOMATED COLLECTION OF QUALITY-OF-LIFE DATA: TOUCH-SCREEN COMPUTER SYSTEMS IN PATIENTS WITH IMMUNE DISEASES Claúdia Ribeiro1,2,3, Augusta Silveira4,3, Isabel Silva4, Catarina Ribeiro4, Carlos Vasconcelos2,3 1UCP, 2HSA/CHP, 3ICBAS/UP, 4UFP e 5HSMF. Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP), Porto. Hospital de Santo António, Centro Hospitalar do Porto (HSA/CHP), Porto. Instituto Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto (ICBAS/UP), Porto. Universidade Fernando Pessoa (UFP), Porto. Hospital Santa Maria da Feira (HSMF), Porto. Background The increase of technological knowledge and methodology has allowed the practice of redirecting epidemiological research, particularly in the field of chronic disease. Although capable of controlling the accumulation of events and constraints imposed by the treatment can lead to a drastic change in quality of life (QoL) of subjects progressed to varying degrees of disability and death. In this perspective the Quality of Life Related to Health (HRQOL) has taken a leading role and its evaluation is indispensable in Medicine. Aim The aims of this study were (1) analyze the importance of HRQOL assessment as a tool for health promotion and a way of measuring the effectiveness of interventions in daily practice in patients with coexisting chronic immune system (PCSI), (2) evaluation of alternative methods for the automated collection of data on HRQOL and development of an electronic interface in sample of 320 patients, (3) creating a database to ascertain the epidemiological profile of PCSI, and identification of socio-economic, demographic and clinical data of these individuals, (4) using the QoL indicator as a predictor in decision treatment and use the preferences of patients. Methods A total of 473 patients with chronic diseases of the immune system, which were applied Graffar Index, SF-36v2, a demographic questionnaire and identification of clinical variables. Results The results of this investigation suggest that the demographic, socio-economic and clinics are associated with significant differences in QoL cumulative and chronic complications associated with different pathologies. The results verified the existence of significant correlations between the different diagnoses, duration of disease and therapy. In general, patients who have chronic diseases of the immune system such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, scleroderma, Bechet's disease, Sjögren's syndrome or infection with human immunodeficiency virus 1 or 2 showed a worse QoL than the general population. The derivations of preferences from the SF-36v2 exhibit strong correlations with the preferences measured with the SF-6D. Conclusions This suggests that both the application of the SF-36v2 as the SF-6D can be important sources of preferences to implement measures in economic evaluation in healthcare. HRQL can and should be integrated into immune clinical practice. The translation of graphical results given to the clinician at the beginning of the consultation, favors the rapid analysis of global values of the patient's HRQL. This assessment can be an excellent diagnostic tool to be used routinely in clinical practice or assisting in disease management and therapeutic decision making. Apresentador: Cláudia Ribeiro, Médica Dentista. Doutoranda, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

AUTOMATED COLLECTION OF QUALITY-OF-LIFE DATA: TOUCH-SCREEN COMPUTER SYSTEMS IN PATIENTS WITH IMMUNE DISEASES

AUTOMATED COLLECTION OF QUALITY-OF-LIFE DATA: TOUCH-SCREEN COMPUTER SYSTEMS IN PATIENTS WITH IMMUNE DISEASES Claúdia Ribeiro1,2,3, Augusta Silveira4,3, Isabel Silva4, Catarina Ribeiro4, Carlos Vasconcelos2,3 1UCP, 2HSA/CHP, 3ICBAS/UP, 4UFP e 5HSMF. Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP), Porto. Hospital de Santo António, Centro Hospitalar do Porto (HSA/CHP), Porto. Instituto Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto (ICBAS/UP), Porto. Universidade Fernando Pessoa (UFP), Porto. Hospital Santa Maria da Feira (HSMF), Porto. Background The increase of technological knowledge and methodology has allowed the practice of redirecting epidemiological research, particularly in the field of chronic disease. Although capable of controlling the accumulation of events and constraints imposed by the treatment can lead to a drastic change in quality of life (QoL) of subjects progressed to varying degrees of disability and death. In this perspective the Quality of Life Related to Health (HRQOL) has taken a leading role and its evaluation is indispensable in Medicine. Aim The aims of this study were (1) analyze the importance of HRQOL assessment as a tool for health promotion and a way of measuring the effectiveness of interventions in daily practice in patients with coexisting chronic immune system (PCSI), (2) evaluation of alternative methods for the automated collection of data on HRQOL and development of an electronic interface in sample of 320 patients, (3) creating a database to ascertain the epidemiological profile of PCSI, and identification of socio-economic, demographic and clinical data of these individuals, (4) using the QoL indicator as a predictor in decision treatment and use the preferences of patients. Methods A total of 473 patients with chronic diseases of the immune system, which were applied Graffar Index, SF-36v2, a demographic questionnaire and identification of clinical variables. Results The results of this investigation suggest that the demographic, socio-economic and clinics are associated with significant differences in QoL cumulative and chronic complications associated with different pathologies. The results verified the existence of significant correlations between the different diagnoses, duration of disease and therapy. In general, patients who have chronic diseases of the immune system such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, scleroderma, Bechet's disease, Sjögren's syndrome or infection with human immunodeficiency virus 1 or 2 showed a worse QoL than the general population. The derivations of preferences from the SF-36v2 exhibit strong correlations with the preferences measured with the SF-6D. Conclusions This suggests that both the application of the SF-36v2 as the SF-6D can be important sources of preferences to implement measures in economic evaluation in healthcare. HRQL can and should be integrated into immune clinical practice. The translation of graphical results given to the clinician at the beginning of the consultation, favors the rapid analysis of global values of the patient's HRQL. This assessment can be an excellent diagnostic tool to be used routinely in clinical practice or assisting in disease management and therapeutic decision making. Apresentador: Cláudia Ribeiro, Médica Dentista. Doutoranda, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

Thermal treatment of superconductor thin film of the BSCCO system using domestic microwave oven

In this work, we report the preparation of a superconductor thin film of the BSCCO system using a good quality powder with nominal composition Bi_{1.8}Pb_{0.4}Sr_2CaCu_2O_x which was thermally treated using a domestic microwave oven (2.45 GHz, 800 W). This film was grew on a single crystal of LaAlO_3(100) substrate and exhibited a crystalline structure with the c-axis perpendicular to the plane of the substrate. An onset superconducting transition temperature was measured at 80 K.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure