Homelessness and Sofa-Surfing: Everyday Belonging, Mobilities, Identities and Morals in Hidden Spaces of Welfare

This paper advances existing work on the geographies of homelessness by considering the phenomenon of sofa-surfing—defined as the practice of living in a host\u27s home, without a right to reside, in the absence of more permanent accommodation—as a distinctive, and until recently somewhat hidden, form of homelessness. Examining sofa-surfing is important as it recognises the varied and intersecting spatial, temporal and mobility characteristics of vulnerable populations, often thought to be living at the margins of homelessness. Across the globe, the significant increase in sofa-surfing since the 2010s, coupled with the unique, and frequently hidden, movements between ‘host’ homes, and the interrelationships that exist between sofa-surfers and hosts, makes sofa-surfing an essential lens through which to interpret the diverse geographies of 21st Century homelessness. To achieve this, we draw together work from a range of global contexts that examine the roots of stigmatised homeless identities and punitive public policies, alongside studies of homeless mobilities and performative homeless identities, to help understand the complex precarities associated with feelings of dislocation and (not) belonging. Investigating patterns of sofa-surfing mobilities alongside sofa-surfers’ fluid performative identities matters, and this paper provides new ways of understanding how such unique interactions impact sofa-surfers’ felt capacities to belong within and between sofa-surfing spaces

Sofa-Surfing: The Cartographies of Young People Utilising Host-Dependent Shelter.

In 2016, 35% of UK young people (16-25 years) reported having sofa-surfed in the past. Past research highlights that spaces where people sofa-surfing stay are often tenuous, short-lived and worsen over time, reducing mental health, educational attainment, and the ability to find work (McLoughlin, 2013; Albanese et al., 2018). However, a study has not elucidated how young people’s preferences, identities, experiences, and access to support create highly varied sofa-surfing geographies and outcomes. This study examined young people's different geographical experiences and outcomes of sofa-surfing. Specifically, I outline key sofa-surfing experiences centred on uses of space, mobility, and identity (cartographies) and the flows between these cartographies across time. Finally, I theorised the motivational capacity of imagined futures (termed more-than-homeless future identities) to assist an exit from homelessness. Young people (n=41) who had sofa-surfed for three days or more in the last two years were contacted via gatekeepers and interviewed at homeless charities or via Zoom or telephone between September 2020 and August 2021. A two-stage thematic analysis was conducted on transcribed interview data in NVivo. The young people inhabited six cartographies: Seeking Home, Seeking Intimacy, Overstaying, Those Who Wander, Short-Term Sofa-Surfing, and finally, Exiting after Longer-Term Homelessness. There are five flows: Secure, Wandering-Intimacy, to Supported, Overstaying, Collapse to Supported, Secure to Secure, Holding Tightly to Home and an Uprooted Flow. In the main, these cartographies and flows captured experiences driven by young people's changing needs for independence or dependency combined with the availability of (un)caring hosts. The motivational capacity of young people's imagined futures also depended on experiencing past trauma. In conclusion, my cartographies, flows, and futures outline the different geographical experiences and outcomes of sofa-surfing by young people. I recommend implementing tailored support, seven-day sofa-surfing backup plans and sofa-surfing agreements. Future research should explore the experiences of hosts and older sofa-surfers and the relationship between sofa-surfing and attachment style

Are China and Russia on the Cyber Offensive in Latin America and the Caribbean? A Review of Their Cyber Capabilities and the Implications for the U.S. and its Partners in the Region

“This report explores the current military cyber structures and operations of China and Russia in order to postulate how both countries could conduct cyber operations in Latin America and the Carribean, and their motivations for doing so. We look at key actors in each state to provide an overview of current capabilities, and use the DIME (diplomacy, information, military, economics) framework to assess how they might use cyber and information capabilities in pursuit of national objectives in the region

Combining STEM and LOTE education: the SI Cube

The use of metric and SI units is an integral part of the mathematics and science curricula. Too often, students rote-learn lists of units, names, prefixes, and conversion factors. This memorisation is contrary to models of learning, in which the learning activity should be customised to the way that individual students learn most effectively, or at least, learn more effectively. The use of physical objects, which can be manipulated, helps students to relate to the concepts being learned by being able to visualise a concrete example of the concept as well as engaging the tactile sense (Dunn & Dunn, 1993; Dunn & Griggs, 2000; Gardner, 1993; Kolb, 1984; Markova & Powell, 1992; McInerney & McInerney, 1998). A 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm “SI Cube”, which helps students learn SI units, has previously been developed (Lim, 2011). Students can physically handle and manipulate the SI Cube, which also helps them to have a better appreciation of volume. A LOTE (language other than English) version of the SI cube is presented. This has been used to teach Japanese in a science and mathematics context to primary and secondary school students

The effect of stress on the expression of the amyloid precursor protein in rat brain

AbstractThe abnormal processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) is a pivotal event in the development of the unique pathology that defines Alzheimer's disease (AD). Stress, and the associated increase in corticosteroids, appear to accelerate brain ageing and may increase vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease via altered APP processing. In this study, rats were repeatedly exposed to an unavoidable stressor, an open elevated platform. Previous studies in this laboratory have shown that a single exposure produces a marked increase in plasma corticosterone levels but animals develop tolerance to this effect between 10 and 20 daily sessions. Twenty-four hours after stress, there was an increase in the ratio of the deglycosylated form of APP in the particulate fraction of the brain, which subsequently habituated after 20 days. The levels of soluble APP (APPs) tended to be lower in the stress groups compared to controls except for a significant increase in the hippocampus after 20 days of platform exposure. Since APPs is reported to have neurotrophic properties, this increased release may represent a neuroprotective response to repeated stress. It is possible that the ability to mount this response decreases with age thus increasing the vulnerability to stress-induced AD-related pathology

Thermodynamic Phase Diagram of the Quantum Hall Skyrmion System

We numerically study the interacting quantum Hall skyrmion system based on the Chern-Simons action. By noticing that the action is invariant under global spin rotations in the spin space with respect to the magnetic field direction, we obtain the low-energy effective action for a many skyrmion system. Performing extensive molecular dynamics simulations, we establish the thermodynamic phase diagram for a many skyrmion system.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex, 2 postscript figure

Is adrenalectomy necessary during unilateral nephrectomy for Wilms Tumor? A report from the Children\u27s Oncology Group.

PURPOSE: To determine whether performing adrenalectomy at the time of nephrectomy for unilateral Wilms tumor impacts clinical outcome. METHODS: We reviewed information on all patients enrolled on National Wilms Tumor Study-4 and -5. Data were abstracted on patient demographics, tumor characteristics, surgical and pathologic status of the adrenal gland, and patient outcomes. The primary endpoints were intraoperative spill and five-year event-free survival (EFS) in patients who did or did not undergo adrenalectomy. RESULTS: Of 3825 patients with complete evaluable data, the adrenal was left in situ in 2264 (57.9%) patients, and was removed completely in 1367 patients (36.7%) or partially in 194 patients (5.2%). Of the adrenal glands removed, 68 (4.4%) contained tumor. Adrenal involvement was more common in patients with stage 3 (9.8%) than stage 2 disease (1.9%; p \u3c 0.0001). After controlling for stage and histopathology, five-year EFS was similar whether or not the adrenal gland was removed (p = 0.48), or involved with tumor (p = 0.81); however, intraoperative spill rates were higher in patients undergoing adrenalectomy (26.1% vs 15.5%, p \u3c 0.0001), likely due to larger tumor size or technical factors. No patient had clinical evidence of adrenal insufficiency or tumor recurrence in the adrenal gland during follow-up (median 9.9 years). CONCLUSIONS: Sparing the adrenal gland during nephrectomy for unilateral Wilms tumor was not associated with a higher incidence of intraoperative spill and was associated with a similar oncologic outcome, on a per-stage basis, with cases where the adrenal was removed. Thus, adrenalectomy should not be considered mandatory during radical nephrectomy for Wilms tumor