Contact at all costs?: Domestic violence child contact and the practices of the family courts and professionals

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awaarded by Brunel UniversityThis thesis explores the practices and perceptions of the courts and professionals in child contact proceedings where domestic violence is an issue and the implications of this for mothers, with particular reference to Practice Direction 12J which establishes the framework for best practice to be followed in such proceedings. In-depth interviews were undertaken with 29 family lawyers and Cafcass officers covering a broad geographic and demographic area, and the reported cases to which the Practice Direction applies were reviewed. The resulting data were analysed utilising discourse analytic and qualitative approaches, drawing on a feminist poststructuralist approach and also insights from autopoietic theory. It was found that the ‘presumption of contact’ and an acontextual, legalistic approach to domestic violence reinforce each other and have a powerful normative influence on professional and judicial perceptions and practices. Dominant parental subjectivities of ‘implacably hostile mothers’ and ‘safe family men’ continue to resonate with many courts and professionals, who focus on promoting contact rather than safeguarding mothers and children. Despite more judges and professionals gaining a broader understanding of the coercively controlling nature of domestic violence, only recent, very severe physical violence warrants the holding of fact-finding hearings on disputed allegations and provides sufficiently ‘cogent’ reasons for family lawyers to support mothers in opposing contact and for courts to refuse contact. The notion that domestic violence is morally reprehensible and a significant failure in parenting, and that women’s desires for safety, wellbeing and autonomy are morally legitimate, finds very little expression. This study concludes that in order to regain a valid and authoritative voice for women in current family law we need to expose and disrupt law’s construction of the ‘scientific truth’ about children’s welfare, the dominant parental subjectivities to which it gives rise, and the ‘safe haven’ of law’s ideal post-separation family

Skin Preparation for Preventing Infection Following Cesarean Section

Abstract Cesarean section (c-section) is becoming a popular option with 32.8% of the population choosing a surgical procedure over a vaginal delivery. Due to the increase of c-sections, infection rates have risen to a rate of 5.4 infections per 100 c-section operations. Surgical site infections are a large risk for any person having an invasive procedure. In our review of literature, we searched for the most advanced methods to reduce the risk of surgical site infections. We searched for various articles comparing iodine and chlorhexidine and found 14 articles that fit our inclusion criteria. The inclusion criteria consisted of any literature that included information about surgical site infections, c-sections and preoperative skin preparation methods, along with literature related to iodine or chlorhexidine. Our exclusion criteria consisted of studies done prior to 2004 and articles that focused on intra-operative or post-operative preventative care. The review of literature was limited by three factors: (1) Multiple articles from other countries have researched chlorhexidine and iodine, but were not specific to the United States (2) Limited overlapping research topics between c-sections and surgical site infections (3) The results of the review of literature were not able to be tested. After studying and comparing the articles, the results showed that chlorhexidine is the most advanced antiseptic for preventing a surgical site infection after a c-section. Based on the review of literature, recommendations for the use of chlorhexidine should be enforced in hospitals that use iodine. Keywords: c-section infection, c-section pre-op, iodine vs. chlorhexidine, iodine preoperative care, iodine skin care, chlorhexidine vs. iodine, skin antiseptics, iodine as antiseptic, chlorhexidine and infection, skin pre

Health-related experiences of family court and domestic abuse in England: A looming public health crisis

Domestic abuse is known to be harmful to victim-survivor mothers’ well-being, and women are disadvantaged by gender-biased systems in England. Less is known, however, about victims’ experiences with family court specifically in relation to their mental and physical health. Interviews with 45 mothers were conducted to explore these experiences. Two main themes are presented here: (1) physical and mental health experiences associated with family court proceedings and (2) parental alienation allegations as a weapon to trap, silence, and pathologise mothers. From these themes, a conceptual framework was developed: Court and Perpetrator Induced Trauma (CPIT). These findings may have global significance for services and practitioners who work with mothers exposed to family court

[Abstract] A re-examination of value co-creation in the age of interactive service robots: a service logic perspective

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'Swim, swim and die at the beach’:family court and perpetrator induced trauma (CPIT) experiences of mothers in Brazil

Gender-based violence (GBV) and Domestic Violence (DV) are prevalentin Brazil. There are growing concerns globally regarding theweaponisation of the pseudo-concept ‘Parental Alienation’ (PA) inthe family courts against women. Additionally, a lack of understandingof mothers’ family court and health-related experiencesindicated a need to explore this topic further. A qualitative studywas conducted with thirteen mothers who are victims of DomesticViolence and have been accused of PA. Mothers reported a range ofharmful health experiences, delineated here under the conceptualframework of Court and Perpetrator Induced Trauma (CPIT). Sixthemes are presented, which encapsulate a range of harmfulactions, behaviours and circumstances (ABCs) that surround thesemothers and their responses to these ABCs. Multiple physical healthconditions were reported as associated with family court proceedings.This included maternity problems, musculoskeletal, autoimmune,and respiratory conditions and a broad range of mentalhealth implications including suicide and other trauma responses.Human rights violations, the weaponisation of ‘Parental Alienation’and inherently misogynistic and oppressive justice systems in Brazilwere also reported. Urgent measures and further research are nowneeded to investigate causal links between harm to health and thefamily courts and to strengthen human rights protection forwomen and child victims in Brazil and beyond

Species Tropism of Chimeric SHIV Clones Containing HIV-1 Subtype-A and Subtype-E Envelope Genes

AbstractTo analyze HIV-1 genes in a nonhuman primate model for lentivirus infection and AIDS, recombinant SIV/HIV-1 (SHIV) clones were constructed from two HIV-1 subtype-A isolates (HIV-1SF170 and HIV-1Q23–17 from individuals in Africa) and two HIV-1 subtype-E isolates (HIV-19466 and HIV-1CAR402 from AIDS patients in Thailand and Africa), respectively. These four SHIV clones, designated SHIV-A-170, SHIV-A-Q23, SHIV-9466.33, and SHIV-E-CAR, contain envelope (env) genes from the subtype-A or -E viruses. Interestingly, SHIV-A-170, SHIV-A-Q23, and SHIV-9466.33 were restricted for replication in cultures of macaque lymphoid cells, whereas SHIV-E-CAR replicated efficiently in these cells. Additional studies to define the block to replication in macaque cells were focused on the subtype-E clone SHIV-9466.33. A SHIV intragenic env clone, containing sequence-encompassing V1/V2 regions of HIV-1CAR402 and V3/V4/V5 regions of SHIV-9466.33, infected and replicated in macaque lymphoid cells. These results indicated that the sequence-encompassing V1/V2 region of HIV-19466 was responsible for the block of the SHIV-9466.33 replication in macaque cells. Analysis of viral DNA in acutely infected macaque cells revealed that SHIV-9466.33 was blocked at a step at/or before viral DNA synthesis, presumably during the process of virion entry into cells. In a fluorescence-based cell–cell fusion assay, fusion pore formation readily took place in cocultures of cells expressing the SHIV-9466.33 env glycoprotein with macaque T-lymphoid cells. Taken together, these results demonstrated that the block of SHIV-9466.33 replication in macaque cells is at an early step after fusion pore formation but before reverse transcription

Re-examining value co-creation in the age of interactive service robots

Re-examining value co-creation in the age of interactive service robot

A system for phenotype harmonization in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program

Genotype-phenotype association studies often combine phenotype data from multiple studies to increase statistical power. Harmonization of the data usually requires substantial effort due to heterogeneity in phenotype definitions, study design, data collection procedures, and data-set organization. Here we describe a centralized system for phenotype harmonization that includes input from phenotype domain and study experts, quality control, documentation, reproducible results, and data-sharing mechanisms. This system was developed for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program, which is generating genomic and other -omics data for more than 80 studies with extensive phenotype data. To date, 63 phenotypes have been harmonized across thousands of participants (recruited in 1948–2012) from up to 17 studies per phenotype. Here we discuss challenges in this undertaking and how they were addressed. The harmonized phenotype data and associated documentation have been submitted to National Institutes of Health data repositories for controlled access by the scientific community. We also provide materials to facilitate future harmonization efforts by the community, which include 1) the software code used to generate the 63 harmonized phenotypes, enabling others to reproduce, modify, or extend these harmonizations to additional studies, and 2) the results of labeling thousands of phenotype variables with controlled vocabulary terms.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

COVID-19 shines a light on health inequities in communities of color: a youth-driven photovoice inquiry

This manuscript reports on a youth-driven health assessment engaging youth of color in identifying community health priorities during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Photovoice, a participatory visual ethnographic health assessment strategy, was used to explore the question: What does health or healthiness mean to you and/or your community? Youth captured images that represented their priorities. The photos were discussed using the SHOWed framework and analyzed thematically. Four themes related to community health were identified. Additionally, youth captured their narrative of COVID-19 as "a revealing force that highlights systemic inequities, driving individuals and communities to both cultivate their resilience and take healthcare into their own hands in response to government and policy level failures." Youth are acutely aware of the historical and structural inequities that create multi-level barriers to healthcare access. Health inequities existed long before the pandemic, but the current crisis requires us to examine ways to transform the healthcare landscape moving forward.UL1 TR001430 - NCATS NIH HHSPublished versio