Interdisciplinary Approaches to Emotions in Politics and International Relations

The ‘emotional turn’ within the social sciences and humanities attracts increasing scholarly attention. Political Science, traditionally emphasising the ‘rational’ public sphere rather than the ‘emotional’ private sphere, has increasingly questioned this dichotomisation, identifying broader political concepts and practices. The international political process—frequently characterised by widespread distrust, populist campaigns and extreme rhetoric—necessitates addressing and examini

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Emotions in Politics and International Relations

The ‘emotional turn’ within the social sciences and humanities attracts increasing scholarly attention. Political Science, traditionally emphasising the ‘rational’ public sphere rather than the ‘emotional’ private sphere, has increasingly questioned this dichotomisation, identifying broader political concepts and practices. The international political process—frequently characterised by widespread distrust, populist campaigns and extreme rhetoric—necessitates addressing and examini

C-GLOVES: An evaluation of the effectiveness of compression gloves in arthritis: a feasibility study : Hand assessment manual and glove treatment protocol 13.8.13v2

The C-Gloves compression glove feasibility study evaluated the effects of compression gloves on hand pain, stiffness, joint swelling, finger flexion, grip ability, grip strength and hand function. This manual includes the: inclusion/ exclusion criteria; glove treatment protocol; glove instruction sheet for patients; and protocols for conducting all assessments. These included: hand joint circumference (wrist, MCPs and PIP joints) using a Jobskin® tape measure; finger flexion measured using a 15cm ruler from the lateral nail fold to distal wrist crease (2nd=5th digits); and the Grip Ability Test (GAT). The latter was adapted for the right and left hands and the test procedure further standardised, including the use of the GAT MAT. The GAT MAT template is also located in the www.usir.salford.ac.uk depository and can be freely download

FINITE H-DIMENSION DOES NOT IMPLY EXPRESSIVE COMPLETENESS

Accepted versio

Inflammatory or rheumatoid arthritis patients’ perspectives on the effect of arthritis gloves on their hand pain and function (A-GLOVES TRIAL) : a qualitative study

Background: Arthritis (compression) gloves are frequently provided to people with inflammatory (IA) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the NHS, to help reduce swelling and alleviate hand pain by providing compression and improving circulation. However evidence for their effectiveness is limited.[1] Objectives: Nested within a randomised controlled trial (RCT) testing the effectiveness of intervention (compression) gloves with control gloves (fitted at least one size too big) in people with RA and IA, this qualitative study aimed to explore patients’ perspectives on the effect of the arthritis gloves on their hand pain and function. Methods: Once randomised, participants were provided joint protection and hand exercise booklets and fitted with either the intervention or the control glove(s) by a trained occupational therapist.[2] Both gloves had similar thermal qualities but control gloves did not apply compression. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 participants, purposively selected from each group (n=20) following 12 weeks of glove wear. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed by three researchers using thematic analysis with a critical realist perspective. Results: Participants’ perspectives on the effects of the arthritis gloves had three emergent sub-themes. These were: Usage: both groups predominantly used the gloves for activities such as wearing them outdoors to keep hands warm, night-time wear to help with sleep, and doing light domestic activities (e.g. dusting). Gloves were not used for cooking or washing-up or for personal activities of daily living (e.g. toileting, grooming) “What didn’t help as such, obviously was with washing etc. and toileting because I had to keep taking them off and putting them back on again”; Symptomatology: while some reported that gloves helped to keep their “hand pain in check” others said that gloves had no effect on their hand pain or that they’d found “it’s made them worse”. Participants from both groups frequently mentioned the warmth element of the gloves, as a positive attribute to help with their symptoms; Aesthetics: participants had opposing views on the appearance of the arthritis gloves. Some felt that the intervention gloves “look a bit ugly with the seams outside” or stated that they “would not want to wear that colour” but did not think they were obtrusive. Most noticeably, patients seemed to view the arthritis gloves as ordinary everyday gloves, rather than a medical device “if it was cold I wore them outside”. Conclusions: Trial participants reported experiencing similar effects from wearing either the intervention or control gloves, with varied perspectives on whether or not gloves affected hand pain and/or function. Overall, patients did not reflect on the compressive but rather the thermal qualities of the gloves, as warmth was the main effect perceived. References: Hammond, et al. Clin Rehabil 2016 30:213–24 Prior, et al. Rheum 2017(Supp1) Acknowledgements: This project was funded by the NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Programme (PB-PG-0214–33010). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health

A qualitative evaluation of occupational therapy-led work rehabilitation for people with inflammatory arthritis : perspectives of therapists and their line managers

Introduction: Occupational therapy-led work rehabilitation for employed people with inflammatory arthritis and work problems was piloted in five hospitals in the United Kingdom. This qualitative study explored the views of participating occupational therapists and their line managers about the work rehabilitation training received and conducting the intervention, with particular focus on the structured interview used, the Work Experience Survey – Rheumatic Conditions. Method: Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with occupational therapists (n¼9), followed by telephone interviews with their line managers (n¼2). Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed by three researchers to maximize validity. Results: The main themes emerging from the occupational therapists’ interviews were: varying levels of prior knowledge and experience of work rehabilitation, initial concerns about the feasibility of a lengthy work assessment in practice and increased confidence in delivering work rehabilitation as the study progressed. The line managers’ interviews generated themes around the positive impact of the work rehabilitation training the occupational therapists received, and changes in their practice. Conclusion: The Work Experience Survey – Rheumatic Conditions was considered a good choice of work assessment which can be implemented in practice. Once therapists had provided the work intervention several times, their confidence and skills increase

Tetraphenolate niobium and tantalum complexes for the ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone

Reaction of the pro-ligand α,α,α′,α′-tetra(3,5-di-tert-butyl-2-hydroxyphenyl-p-)xylene-para-tetraphenol (p-L¹H₄) with two equivalents of [NbCl₅] in refluxing toluene afforded, after work-up, the complex {[NbCl₃(NCMe)]₂(μ-p-L¹)}·6MeCN (1·6MeCN). When the reaction was conducted in the presence of excess ethanol, the orange complex {[NbCl₂(OEt)(NCMe)]₂(μ-p-L¹)}·3½MeCN·0.614toluene (2·3½MeCN·0.614toluene) was formed. A similar reaction using [TaCl₅] afforded the yellow complex {[TaCl₂(OEt)(NCMe)]₂(μ-p-L¹)}·5MeCN (3·5MeCN). In the case of the meta pro-ligand, namely α,α,α′,α′tetra(3,5-di-tert-butyl-2-hydroxyphenyl-m-)xylene-meta-tetraphenol (m-L²H₄) only the use of [Nb(O)Cl₃(NCMe)₂] led to the isolation of crystalline material, namely the orange bis-chelate complex {[Nb(NCMe)Cl(m-L²H₂)₂]}·3½MeCN (4·3½MeCN) or {[Nb(NCMe)Cl(m-L²H₂)₂]}·5MeCN (4·5MeCN). The molecular structures of 1–4 and the tetraphenols L¹H₄ and m-L²H₄·2MeCN have been determined. Complexes 1–4 have been screened as pre-catalysts for the ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone, both with and without benzyl alcohol or solvent present, and at various temperatures; conversion rates were mostly excellent (>96%) with good control either at >100 °C over 20 h (in toluene) or 1 h (neat)