What impact - if any - does working outdoors have on the therapeutic relationship?

This research investigated therapist's experiences of how working outdoors in nature impacts on the therapeutic relationship. Although outdoor therapy has emerged as a significant practice (McLeod, 2013; Mind, 2013), very little research had been done on what impact it might have on the therapeutic relationship. Given the importance of the therapeutic relationship (Norcross, 2011), this was identified as an area worth investigating

Material choices for fibre in the Neolithic: an approach through the measurement of mechanical properties

Studies of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Europe have focused on plants and animals exploited for food. However, the exploitation of plants for fibres underwent a significant change with the addition of domestic flax as a fibre crop. While the technology of flax fibre processing is increasingly understood by archaeologists, its material value as a fibre crop in comparison to indigenous fibre is less well explored. We examine the mechanical properties of flax and two indigenous fibres (lime bast, willow bast), by testing fibre strips for tensile properties and discuss the results in the light of material choices in these periods

The Wisdom of the Body: Embodied Knowing in Eco-Paganism

Although embodied knowing is fundamental to our experience, no previous study has detailed its role in a specific spiritual group. This thesis offers a new model of embodied situated cognition, and develops an embodied hermeneutics which uses Focusing in phenomenological research. I apply these tools to the first detailed ethnography of Eco-Paganism to reveal powerful processes of connection which have considerable significance for religious studies and ecopsychology. Chapters 2 and 3 survey the literature on Eco-Paganism and embodied cognition. Chapter 4 uses the latter to synthesise a model of embodied situated cognition which I call the 'enactive process model', because it draws primarily on enactivism (inter alia, Varela et al., 1991), and Gendlin's process philosophy (Gendlin, 1997). Current research shows that key aspects of cognition are situated and embodied (inter alia, Varela et al., 1991), such that we often think with place (inter alia, Preston, 2003). This raises epistemological questions which I address in a discussion of embodied philosophy in Chapter 5. I then explain my embodied hermeneutics methodology, and the practical application of the Focusing Interview technique, in Chapter 6. My fieldwork autoethnography, Chapter 7, provides an intuitive, felt understanding of life on a road protest site, and is followed by ethnographies of urban and protest site Eco-Paganism in Chapters 8 and 9. Chapter 10 discusses six processes which create a sense of connection to the organic environment, which include the felt sense (Gendlin, 1981) and the wilderness effect (Greenway, 1995). I conclude that a type of wilderness effect can catalyze the emergence of a complex 'nature based' spirituality amongst site Eco-Pagans, while a less intense form affects urban Eco-Pagans. Eco-Pagans sometimes use these processes of connection to think with a place. The processes of connection and thinking with place are fundamental to embodied situated knowing in Eco-Paganism, and help explain many of its distinctive aspects. By demonstrating the importance of embodied situated knowing in Eco-Paganism, I highlight the potential for further research into processes of connection and the impact of different physical spaces on religious practice in general

Weak solutions to Allen-Cahn-like equations modelling consolidation of porous media

We study the weak solvability of a system of coupled Allen--Cahn--like equations resembling cross--diffusion which is arising as a model for the consolidation of saturated porous media. Besides using energy like estimates, we cast the special structure of the system in the framework of the Leray--Schauder fixed point principle and ensure this way the local existence of strong solutions to a regularised version of our system. Furthermore, weak convergence techniques ensure the existence of weak solutions to the original consolidation problem. The uniqueness of global-in-time solutions is guaranteed in a particular case. Moreover, we use a finite difference scheme to show the negativity of the vector of solutions.}{Weak solutions; cross--diffusion system; energy method; Leray--Schauder fixed point theorem; finite differences; consolidation of porous medi

Empirical evidence for the differential impact of gambling outcome on behaviour in electronic gambling: implications for harm-minimisation strategies

There is large uncertainty surrounding Electronic Gambling Machines (EGMs) and their potential contribution towards disordered gambling. As a result, gambling authorities have called for investigations assessing the efficacy of measures aimed towards increasing player protection during electronic gambling. Losses, compared to equivalent gains, have been shown to have greater impact on emotion and behaviour in a wide array of human experiences outside of gambling. If this is found in electronic gambling, and if losses negatively impact gambling behaviour, e.g. by facilitating loss-chasing behaviours, this supports the use of measures aimed at early detection of losses to prevent problematic gambling behaviours escalating. Thirty participants took part in a repeated-measures experiment, where they gambled on the outcome of a computer-simulated EGM. The series of wins and losses were manipulated by the experimenter to induce winning and losing streaks. Participants gambled at a significantly faster speed, a higher average stake size, and an overall higher betting intensity in the loss condition compared to the win condition, demonstrating losses as having a negative impact on within session gambling behaviour during electronic gambling. The use of algorithmic software to detect losing streaks during EGM play, which triggers gambling harm-minimisation strategies accordingly, thus, receives empirical support

Restorative practice and behaviour management in schools: discipline meets care.

The history of restorative practices in New Zealand schools is directly related to projects such as the Suspension Reduction Initiative (SRI) and the more recent Student Engagement Initiative (SEI); thus the origins of restorative practices in schools are linked with behaviour management and school discipline. During the same period, teachers' work has become more complex: They are working with an increasingly diverse range of students, which in turn requires epistemologically diverse teaching and relationship-building approaches to ensure maximum participation for all. Teachers are looking for new and better ways to interact with students in their classrooms, and those responsible for disciplinary systems are looking to restorative practice for new ways to resolve the increasing range and number of difficulties between teachers and students, students and other students, and between the school and parents. Restorative practices (RP) are currently seen as a way of achieving all this, so they carry a huge burden of hope. Relationship skills are a key competency in the new curriculum, and the philosophy of restoration offers both a basis for understanding and a process for putting this agenda into practice. In effect, it means educating for citizenship in a diverse world, including teaching the skills of conflict resolution. If we accept this philosophy, the curriculum for teacher education will require significant changes in what students are taught about behaviour and classroom management

Vascular-Promoting Therapy Reduced Tumor Growth and Progression by Improving Chemotherapy Efficacy

In this issue of Cancer Cell, Wong and colleagues describe a novel approach of increasing the number of functional blood vessels in tumors using a low-dose therapy regimen of Cilengtide and Verapamil. This method enhanced Gemcitabine delivery, uptake, and metabolism within tumor cells to reduce tumor growth and progression