The Next Familiar

Using a speculative design foresight approach, this study explores the rapidly developing area of wearable, implantable and ingestible technologies, and how they might influence us over the next several decades. The authors have combined traditional research methods such as literature review and expert interviews; foresight methods, such as environmental scanning, trends analysis and scenario creation; and narrative, imagery and conjecture to produce an evocative account of future possibilities in the realm of the tools we keep and use close to and inside our bodies

Fatherhood in the context of social disadvantage: Constructions of fatherhood and attitudes towards parenting interventions of disadvantaged men in Scotland

Background: Research on men’s constructions of fatherhood has proliferated over the last three decades, but most studies have focused on middle-class men. There is a need for more research exploring how disadvantaged men conceptualise good fatherhood and relate to changing societal ideals of fatherhood. In addition, parenting interventions are particularly targeted at disadvantaged parents but little is known about how disadvantaged fathers feel about being targeted, and how best to engage them. This study set out to explore disadvantaged UK men’s constructions of fatherhood and attitudes towards parenting interventions. The THRIVE trial taking place in Glasgow, evaluating two antenatal parenting interventions for vulnerable parents, offered an opportunity to investigate these issues. Methods: Thirty-six fathers or fathers-to-be (aged 15-51) were recruited through their partner’s participation in the THRIVE trial or through community organisations working with families in economically-deprived areas. Men participated in in-depth interviews, incorporating elements of repertory grids method. Interviews focused on the men’s upbringings, current circumstances, understandings of good fatherhood, and attitudes towards parenting interventions. Findings: Socially-disadvantaged men’s constructions of good fatherhood were complex and multi-faceted. Men drew on multiple discourses in constructing fathering identities which combined ideas about ‘involved’ fathering with more ‘traditional’ ideas around provision, protection and responsibility. In doing so, these men worked hard to align themselves with socially-acceptable discourses of good fatherhood, demonstrating their awareness of, and engagement with, societally-dominant discourses of modern-day fatherhood. Barriers to the men enacting their visions of good fatherhood centred around: the legacy of their upbringings; difficult relationships with partners and ex-partners; desire to demonstrate an acceptable masculinity; and their disadvantaged circumstances, including the instability of their lives and lack of work. The majority of these men displayed positive attitudes towards attending a parenting intervention. Factors affecting their intentions to attend included: desire to support their partner and feel involved in her pregnancy, perceiving benefits for themselves and their partners, and the belief that the interventions were relevant and appropriate to their needs. Potential barriers were: fear of public scrutiny, perceived lack of information, perceived lack of ‘need’, and notions of acceptable masculinity. Conclusions: Findings suggest that disadvantaged men held normative ideas about good fatherhood but that there were significant challenges facing them in living up to these ideals. Parenting interventions targeting disadvantaged fathers should therefore: capitalise on men’s excitement and commitment to partner and baby in the antenatal period; emphasize the relevance of content to the needs of disadvantaged men; and bear in mind potential barriers such as perceived lack of ‘need’, overcoming social anxieties, and notions of acceptable masculinity

Making education and career decisions : school students' aspirations, attitudes and influences

The study investigated the ways that Year 10 and Year 12 students make education and career decisions, the processes that they draw on in arriving at these decisions, and critical factors that influence their thinking about a range of study and career issues. It was commissioned by the Department of Education, Science and Training and conducted in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. In examining decision-making processes, the study paid particular attention to the influence of Career Advisers, the uptake and reception of Vocational Education and Training in schools, attitudes to traditional trades and school-based New Apprenticeships, and current thinking about teaching as a career. Each of these themes was considered from the perspective of students, parents, Career Advisers and Principals. Importantly, the study examined whether decision-making of this kind was associated with students’ gender, and with the socio-economic and geographical demographics of the schools that students attended. Some of the main findings determined that: • parents are the most significant influence on the formation of students’ career aspirations; • career advisers are less influential but very important in helping students to clarify their options and pathways to achieve them; • 60% of students aimed to go to university and 20% to VET courses (including apprenticeships), reflecting students’ hope of a career in professional occupations; • VET opportunities are not well understood by many students; and • teaching is not a first choice profession for a variety of reasons, especially among males

Traces and spaces of those living on the margins of Milwaukee

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Toward normalising abortion: Findings from a qualitative secondary analysis study

In most settings worldwide, abortion continues to be highly stigmatised. Whilst a considerable body of literature has addressed abortion stigma, what is less commonly examined are ways in which those with experience of abortion describe it in non-negative terms which may resist or reject stigma. Drawing on qualitative secondary analysis of five UK datasets using a narrative inquiry approach, we explore: the use of non-negative language around abortion, potential components of a normalising narrative, and constraints on non-negativity. As such, we present the first empirical UK study to critically examine how a dominant negative abortion narrative might be disrupted

Estimating the effect of intimate partner violence on women's use of contraception: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an important global public health problem. While there is a growing literature on the association between IPV and women's reproductive health (RH) outcomes, most studies are cross-sectional-which weakens inference about the causal effect of IPV on women's RH. This systematic review synthesizes existing evidence from the strongest study designs to estimate the impact of IPV on women's use of contraception. METHODS: We searched 11 electronic databases from January of 1980 to 3 December 2013 and reviewed reference lists from systematic reviews for studies examining IPV and contraceptive use. To be able to infer causality, we limited our review to studies that had longitudinal measures of either IPV or women's use of contraception. RESULTS: Of the 1,574 articles identified by the search, we included 179 articles in the full text review and extracted data from 12 studies that met our inclusion criteria. We limited the meta-analysis to seven studies that could be classified as subject to low or moderate levels of bias. Women's experience of IPV was associated with a significant reduction in the odds of using contraception (n = 14,866; OR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.25, 0.85; I2 = 92%; 95% CII2: 87%, 96%). Restricting to studies that measured the effect of IPV on women's use of partner dependent contraceptive methods was associated with a reduction in the heterogeneity of the overall estimate. In the three studies that examined women's likelihood of using male condoms with their partners, experience of IPV was associated with a significant decrease in condom use (OR: 0.48; 95% CIOR: 0.32, 0.72; I2 = 51%; 95% CII2: 0%, 86%). CONCLUSIONS: IPV is associated with a reduction in women's use of contraception; women who experience IPV are less likely to report using condoms with their male partners. Family planning and HIV prevention programs should consider women's experiences of IPV

Inhibition of CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoprotein complex assembly by anti-CRISPR AcrIIC2

CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune systems function to protect bacteria from invasion by foreign genetic elements. The CRISPR-Cas9 system has been widely adopted as a powerful genome-editing tool, and phage-encoded inhibitors, known as anti-CRISPRs, offer a means of regulating its activity. Here, we report the crystal structures of anti-CRISPR protein AcrIIC2Nme alone and in complex with Nme1Cas9. We demonstrate that AcrIIC2Nme inhibits Cas9 through interactions with the positively charged bridge helix, thereby preventing sgRNA loading. In vivo phage plaque assays and in vitro DNA cleavage assays show that AcrIIC2Nme mediates its activity through a large electronegative surface. This work shows that anti-CRISPR activity can be mediated through the inhibition of Cas9 complex assembly