Siting prisons, sighting communities: geographies of objection in a planning process

This paper reviews the planning process for a Scottish prison located near a former mining village. Analysing the letters of objection submitted by residents offers an opportunity to explore local views about prison and community and to relate these to the unique social and spatial history of the area. The planning process itself structured how residents were able to express themselves and defined what counted as a relevant objection. After deconstructing this process, the paper then restores and uses as a framework for analysis three geographies of objection stripped from local responses to the development proposal: the emotional, temporal, and spatial. Emotional expressions of objection added intensity and gave meaning to claims about the historical decline of the region and also conveyed a deep sense of the proposed building site as a lived space. Particular grounds of opposition—over fear of strangers, the fragility of a local orchid, and the pollution from mining—provide an opportunity to explore the complex nature of place meaning and community identity, ultimately leading to a conclusion that the meaning of place is always in flux. The paper argues that Simmel’s classic concept of the stranger, as the outsider who comes to stay, offers a useful analytic in understanding how the quality of proximal remoteness that prisons and other unwanted developments constitute participates in a constantly evolving sense of the local

The triggering of MHD instabilities through photospheric footpoint motions

The results of 3D numerical simulations modelling the twisting of a coronal loop due to photospheric vortex motions are presented. The simulations are carried out using an initial purely axial field and an initial equilibrium configuration with twist, . The non-linear and resistive evolutions of the instability are followed. The magnetic field is twisted by the boundary motions into a loop which initially has boundary layers near the photospheric boundaries as has been suggested by previous work. The boundary motions increase the twist in the loop until it becomes unstable. For both cases the boundary twisting triggers the kink instability. In both cases a helical current structure wraps itself around the kinked central current. This current scales linearly with grid resolution indicating current sheet formation. For the cases studied 35-40% of the free magnetic energy is released. This is sufficient to explain the energy released in a compact loop flare

Profiling the iron, copper and zinc content in primary neuron and astrocyte cultures by rapid online quantitative size exclusion chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

Metals often determine the chemical reactivity of the proteins to which they are bound. Each cell in the body tightly maintains a unique metalloproteomic profile, mostly dependent on function. This paper describes an analytical online flow injection quantitative size exclusion chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (SEC-ICP-MS) method, which was applied to profiling the metal-binding proteins found in primary cultures of neurons and astrocytes. This method can be conducted using similar amounts of sample to those used for Western blotting (20-150 μg protein), and has a turnaround time of <15 minutes. Metalloprotein standards for Fe (as ferritin), Cu and Zn (as superoxide dismutase-1) were used to construct multi-point calibration curves for online quantification of metalloproteins by SEC-ICP-MS. Homogenates of primary neuron and astrocyte cultures were analysed by SEC-ICP-MS. Online quantification by external calibration with metalloprotein standards determined the mass of metal eluting from the column relative to time (as pg s-1). Total on-column Fe, Cu and Zn detection limits ranged from 0.825 ± 0.005 ng to 13.6 ± 0.7 pg. Neurons and astrocytes exhibited distinct metalloprotein profiles, featuring both ubiquitous and unique metalloprotein species. Separation and detection by SEC-ICP-MS allows appraisal of these metalloproteins in their native state, and online quantification was achieved using this relatively simple external calibration process. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry

"Engaging with birth stories in pregnancy: a hermeneutic phenomenological study of women's experiences across two generations"

BACKGROUND: The birth story has been widely understood as a crucial source of knowledge about childbirth. What has not been reported is the effect that birth stories may have on primigravid women's understandings of birth. Findings are presented from a qualitative study exploring how two generations of women came to understand birth in the milieu of other's stories. The prior assumption was that birth stories must surely have a positive or negative influence on listeners, steering them towards either medical or midwifery-led models of care. METHODS: A Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used. Twenty UK participants were purposively selected and interviewed. Findings from the initial sample of 10 women who were pregnant in 2012 indicated that virtual media was a primary source of birth stories. This led to recruitment of a second sample of 10 women who gave birth in the 1970s-1980s, to determine whether they were more able to translate information into knowledge via stories told through personal contact and not through virtual technologies RESULTS: Findings revealed the experience of 'being-in-the-world' of birth and of stories in that world. From a Heideggerian perspective, the birth story was constructed through 'idle talk' (the taken for granted assumptions of things, which come into being through language). Both oral stories and those told through technology were described as the 'modern birth story'. The first theme 'Stories are difficult like that', examines the birth story as problematic and considers how stories shape meaning. The second 'It's a generational thing', considers how women from two generations came to understand what their experience might be. The third 'Birth in the twilight of certainty,' examines women's experience of Being in a system of birth as constructed, portrayed and sustained in the stories being shared. CONCLUSIONS: The women pregnant in 2012 framed their expectations in the language of choice, whilst the women who birthed in the 1970s-1980s framed their experience in the language of safety. For both, however, the world of birth was the same; saturated with, and only legitimised by the birth of a healthy baby. Rather than creating meaningful understanding, the 'idle talk' of birth made both cohorts fearful of leaving the relative comfort of the 'system', and of claiming an alternative birth

The Home Birth Summits: Finding common ground to transform policy and practice

The Home Birth Summits in the U.S. included all home-birth stakeholders to achieve the goal of finding common ground. The nine common ground statements that resulted have begun a transformation of policy and practice. This session will discuss the process of finding common ground and the outcomes that were achieved

How do informal information sources influence women’s decision-making for birth? A meta-synthesis of qualitative studies

Background: Women approach birth using various methods of preparation drawing from conventional healthcare providers alongside informal information sources (IIS) outside the professional healthcare context. An investigation of the forms in which these informal information sources are accessed and negotiated by women, and how these disconnected and often conflicting elements influence women’s decision-making process for birth have yet to be evaluated. The level of antenatal preparedness women feel can have significant and long lasting implications on their birth experience and transition into motherhood and beyond. The aim of this study was to provide a deeper understanding of how informal information sources influence women’s preparation for birth. Methods: Seven electronic databases were searched with predetermined search terms. No limitations were imposed for year of publication. English language studies using qualitative methods exploring women’s experiences of informal information sources and their impact upon women’s birth preparation were included, subject to a quality appraisal framework. Searches were initiated in February 2016 and completed by March 2016. Studies were synthesised using an interpretive meta-ethnographic approach. Results: Fourteen studies were included for the final synthesis from Great Britain, Australia, Canada and the United States. Four main themes were identified: Menu Birth; Information Heaven/Hell; Spheres of Support; and Trust. It is evident that women do not enter pregnancy as empty vessels devoid of a conceptual framework, but rather have a pre-constructed embodied knowledge base upon which other information is superimposed. Allied to this, it is clear that informal information was sought to mitigate against the widespread experience of discordant information provided by maternity professionals. Conclusion: Women’s access to the deluge of informal information sources in mainstream media during pregnancy have significant impact on decision making for birth. These informal sources redefine the power dynamic between women and maternal healthcare providers, simultaneously increasing levels of anxiety and challenging women’s pre- existing ideations and aspirations of personal birth processes. A lack of awareness by some professionals of women’s information seeking behaviours generates barriers to women-centred support, leaving an experience expectation mismatch unchecked

The Flare-energy Distributions Generated by Kink-unstable Ensembles of Zero-net-current Coronal Loops

It has been proposed that the million degree temperature of the corona is due to the combined effect of barely-detectable energy releases, so called nanoflares, that occur throughout the solar atmosphere. Alas, the nanoflare density and brightness implied by this hypothesis means that conclusive verification is beyond present observational abilities. Nevertheless, we investigate the plausibility of the nanoflare hypothesis by constructing a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model that can derive the energy of a nanoflare from the nature of an ideal kink instability. The set of energy-releasing instabilities is captured by an instability threshold for linear kink modes. Each point on the threshold is associated with a unique energy release and so we can predict a distribution of nanoflare energies. When the linear instability threshold is crossed, the instability enters a nonlinear phase as it is driven by current sheet reconnection. As the ensuing flare erupts and declines, the field transitions to a lower energy state, which is modelled by relaxation theory, i.e., helicity is conserved and the ratio of current to field becomes invariant within the loop. We apply the model so that all the loops within an ensemble achieve instability followed by energy-releasing relaxation. The result is a nanoflare energy distribution. Furthermore, we produce different distributions by varying the loop aspect ratio, the nature of the path to instability taken by each loop and also the level of radial expansion that may accompany loop relaxation. The heating rate obtained is just sufficient for coronal heating. In addition, we also show that kink instability cannot be associated with a critical magnetic twist value for every point along the instability threshold

Pain relief in labour: a qualitative study to determine how to support women to make decisions about pain relief in labour

Background Engagement in decision making is a key priority of modern healthcare. Women are encouraged to make decisions about pain relief in labour in the ante-natal period based upon their expectations of what labour pain will be like. Many women find this planning difficult. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how women can be better supported in preparing for, and making, decisions during pregnancy and labour regarding pain management. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 primiparous and 10 multiparous women at 36 weeks of pregnancy and again within six weeks postnatally. Data collection and analysis occurred concurrently to identify key themes. Results Three main themes emerged from the data. Firstly, during pregnancy women expressed a degree of uncertainty about the level of pain they would experience in labour and the effect of different methods of pain relief. Secondly, women reflected on how decisions had been made regarding pain management in labour and the degree to which they had felt comfortable making these decisions. Finally, women discussed their perceived levels of control, both desired and experienced, over both their bodies and the decisions they were making. Conclusion This study suggests that the current approach of antenatal preparation in the NHS, of asking women to make decisions antenatally for pain relief in labour, needs reviewing. It would be more beneficial to concentrate efforts on better informing women and on engaging them in discussions around their values, expectations and preferences and how these affect each specific choice rather than expecting them to make to make firm decisions in advance of such an unpredictable event as labour

Male gays in the female gaze: women who watch m/m pornography

This paper draws on a piece of wide-scale mixed-methods research that examines the motivations behind women who watch gay male pornography. To date there has been very little interdisciplinary research investigating this phenomenon, despite a recent survey by PornHub (one of the largest online porn sites in the world) showing that gay male porn is the second most popular choice for women porn users out of 25+ possible genre choices. While both academic literature and popular culture have looked at the interest that (heterosexual) men have in lesbian pornography, considerably less attention has been paid to the consumption of gay male pornography by women. Research looking at women's consumption of pornography from within the Social Sciences is very focused around heterosexual (and, to a lesser extent, lesbian) pornography. Research looking more generally at gay pornography/erotica (and the subversion of the ‘male gaze’/concept of ‘male as erotic object’) often makes mention of female interest in this area, but only briefly, and often relies on anecdotal or observational evidence. Research looking at women's involvement in slashfic (primarily from within media studies), while very thorough and rich, tends to view slash writing as a somewhat isolated phenomenon (indeed, in her influential article on women's involvement in slash, Bacon-Smith talks about how ‘only a small number’ of female slash writers and readers have any interest in gay literature or pornography more generally, and this phenomenon is not often discussed in more recent analyses of slash); so while there has been a great deal of very interesting research done in this field, little attempt has been made to couch it more generally within women's consumption and use of pornography and erotica or to explore what women enjoy about watching gay male pornography. Through a series of focus groups, interviews, and an online questionnaire (n = 275), this exploratory piece of work looks at what women enjoy about gay male pornography, and how it sits within their consumption of erotica/pornography more generally. The article investigates what this has to say about the existence and nature of a ‘female gaze’

Real-time detection of content polluters in partially observable Twitter networks

9th International Workshop on Modeling Social Media (MSM 2018) Applying Machine Learning and AI for Modeling Social Media.Content polluters, or bots that hijack a conversation for political or advertising purposes are a known problem for event prediction, election forecasting and when distinguishing real news from fake news in social media data. Identifying this type of bot is particularly challenging, with state-of-the-art methods utilising large volumes of network data as features for machine learning models. Such datasets are generally not readily available in typical applications which stream social media data for real-time event prediction. In this work we develop a methodology to detect content polluters in social media datasets that are streamed in real-time. Applying our method to the problem of civil unrest event prediction in Australia, we identify content polluters from individual tweets, without collecting social network or historical data from individual accounts. We identify some peculiar characteristics of these bots in our dataset and propose metrics for identification of such accounts. We then pose some research questions around this type of bot detection, including: how good Twitter is at detecting content polluters and how well state-of-the-art methods perform in detecting bots in our dataset.Mehwish Nasim, Andrew Nguyen, Nick Lothian, Robert Cope, Lewis Mitchel