Social media as an allusion: Hindu activism and digital media

How has digital media impacted Hindu activism in the UK? Here John Zavos explores its role in Sewa Day – an annual day dedicated to social action among Hindu communities and others in Britain. He finds that, influenced by emerging digitally networked social movements, the presence of social media in Sewa Day operates partly as a kind of trope, invoking the idea of a grassroots social movement bringing people together through social media and internet based connections. Much more significant in the actual processes of mobilisation are already existing ‘friends networks’ associated with a range of Hindu nationalist organisations embedded in localities across the country

Sangathan : the pursuit of a Hindu ideal in Colonial India; the idea of organisation in the emergence of Hindu nationalism 1870-1930.

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DX203039 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

The Digambara Jainas of South Maharashtra and North Karnataka since the late 19th century : towards the establishment of collective religious identity and a Digambara Jaina community

This thesis aims at locating the position of the Jainas within the Indian religious landscape. From the second half of the 19th century onwards, novel concepts of collective religious identities and the formation of exclusive communities among religious lines have led to the establishment of the popular image of India's religious landscape as consisting of a Hindu majority and several religious minorities. This model is based on exclusive, often antagonistic religious categories. However, by discussing the position of the Jainas within the framework of India's religious pluralism, the present thesis attempts to question this popular concept. As will be argued, similar to members of other religious traditions, among Jainas too the identity discourse of the intellectual elite has introduced broader supra-locally, supra-caste-based concepts of community. However, this process of collective identity and community formation has not been based on, in Harjot Oberoi's terms, the 'construction of religious boundaries' (1994) between Jainas and Hindus. These `blurred boundaries´ between Hindus and Jainas in the modern Jaina identity discourse defy a concrete positioning of the Jainas within the framework of India's religious landscape.This thesis will begin with the analysis of the late 19th and early 20th century Jaina discourse of Western orientalists and intellectual Jainas, and its impact on the `definition´ of `Jaina values´ and the Jainas as a `community´. Mainly focusing on the regional sub-group of the Digambara Jainas of South Maharashtra and North Karnataka, the research will also discuss the impact of non-middle-class `agents´ in the process of community building among Jainas. In this respect it will be argued that lay-ascetic interaction and the performance of distinct rituals and festivals largely contribute to the establishment of community among Digambara Jainas. The strict practice of Digambara ascetics also adds the element of asceticism to the `Jaina values´, which have been propagated by intellectual lay Jaina individuals and organisations from the early 20th century onwards. These propagated `Jaina values´, most prominently among them ahiṃsā and tolerance, make Jainism the most suitable religion for modern times, and symbolise ancient Indian `values´ in their `purest form´.However, regarding the Jainas as a `community´, this Jaina discourse has remained rather vague and abstract. This vagueness finds its most concrete expression in the still undecided legal status of the Jainas regarding their inclusion among the nationwide religious minorities. In comparison to other Indian religious minority traditions, the Sikhs and Buddhists in particular, the `Jaina case´ suggests a complexity of collective religious identifications in the Indian religious landscape, which defies any fixed model.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Is digital cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia effective in treating sub-threshold insomnia: A pilot RCT

Objective/Background: CBT for insomnia (CBT-I) is useful for many. It is currently unknown if those with sub-threshold insomnia also benefit. Here we assessed whether CBT-I is both feasible and acceptable in participants with sub-threshold insomnia. The primary aims were to evaluate participation rates and treatment acceptability, and to establish an effect size for symptom improvement. Patients/Methods: A total of 199 female participants (Mage 20 ± 5 years) took part. Following baseline assessments, participants were randomly allocated to either a 6-week digital CBT-I intervention or a 6-week session control group receiving puzzles. Additional assessments were performed 3-weeks, 6-weeks, and 6-months later. Results: Participation in each survey wave did not differ between the groups (ps > .140), though adherence to weekly tasks was lower in the CBT-I group, p = .02. Treatment acceptability was high (M (SD) = 33.61 (4.82), range 6 – 42). The CBT-I group showed greater improvement in insomnia symptoms at the end of the intervention compared to the control group (p = .013, d = 0.42), with significant variation in outcome (M = 4.69, SD = 5.41). Sub-threshold participants showed a similar pattern of results, whilst those meeting insomnia criteria showed a smaller between-group difference. CBT-I led to improvements in anxiety, paranoia and perceived stress between baseline and end of intervention. Changes in insomnia symptoms were mediated by cognitions about sleep and somatic pre-sleep arousal. Conclusions: CBT-I provides a benefit even in sub-threshold insomnia. CBT-I may be useful as an early preventative intervention to tackle sleep problems before they manifest as chronic insomnia

The profile of psychiatric symptoms exacerbated by methamphetamine use

Background: Methamphetamine use can produce symptoms almost indistinguishable from schizophrenia. Distinguishing between the two conditions has been hampered by the lack of a validated symptom profile for methamphetamine-induced psychiatric symptoms. We use data from a longitudinal cohort study to examine the profile of psychiatric symptoms that are acutely exacerbated by methamphetamine use. Methods: 164 methamphetamine users, who did not meet DSM-IV criteria for a lifetime primary psychotic disorder, were followed monthly for one year to assess the relationship between days of methamphetamine use and symptom severity on the 24-item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Exacerbation of psychiatric symptoms with methamphetamine use was quantified using random coefficient models. The dimensions of symptom exacerbation were examined using principal axis factoring and a latent profile analysis. Results: Symptoms exacerbated by methamphetamine loaded on three factors: positive psychotic symptoms (suspiciousness, unusual thought content, hallucinations, bizarre behavior); affective symptoms (depression, suicidality, guilt, hostility, somatic concern, self-neglect); and psychomotor symptoms (tension, excitement, distractibility, motor hyperactivity). Methamphetamine use did not significantly increase negative symptoms. Vulnerability to positive psychotic and affective symptom exacerbation was shared by 28% of participants, and this vulnerability aligned with a past year DSM-IV diagnosis of substance-induced psychosis (38% vs. 22%, χ2(df1) = 3.66, p = 0.056). Conclusion: Methamphetamine use produced a symptom profile comprised of positive psychotic and affective symptoms, which aligned with a diagnosis of substance-induced psychosis, with no evidence of a negative syndrome