Sign of the times : Framing the grievances of the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests

The 2019-2020 Hong Kong (HK) protest movement, which was initially triggered by the HK government’s proposed bill, eventually turned into a prolonged civil resistance. Collective action frames (CAFs), which can bring legitimacy to civil disobedience and mobilise collective actions, were manifested through protest signs that “blossomed” throughout HK. The study examined intertextuality in the expression of grievances of the 2019-2020 HK protests in signs. A total of 246 protest signs from the “Lennon Walls” and social media sources from the 2019-2020 HK protests were collected for analysis of CAFs using qualitative content analysis. The analysis shows three primary CAFs: (1) “unified pro�democracy Hongkongers” which emphasises the solidarity and unity among movement actors to maintain collective actions for the protests; (2) “police brutality” which stresses HK police’s abuses of human rights in order to mobilise the readers to respond in ways that are in favour of the protests; and (3) “conscience before politics” which highlights the importance of having a conscience in view of human rights violations. The study showed that the language of the protest signs marks the target audience and further reinforces the solidarity of Hongkongers to resist the undemocratic government and fight for freedom

Prognosis of sciatica and back-related leg pain in primary care: the ATLAS cohort

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Evidence is lacking on the prognosis and prognostic factors of back-related leg pain and sciatica in patients seeing their primary care physicians. This evidence could guide timely appropriate treatment and referral decisions. PURPOSE: The present study aims to describe the prognosis and prognostic factors in primary care patients with low back-related leg pain and sciatica. STUDY DESIGN: This is a prospective cohort study. PATIENT SAMPLE: The present study included adults visiting their family doctor with back-related leg pain in the United Kingdom. OUTCOME MEASURES: Information about pain, function, psychological, and clinical variables, was collected. Good outcome was defined as 30% or more reduction in disability (Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire). METHODS: Participants completed the questionnaires, underwent clinical assessments, received a magnetic resonance imaging scan, and were followed-up 12 months later. Mixed-effects logistic regression evaluated the prognostic value of six a priori defined variable sets (leg pain duration, pain intensity, neuropathic pain, psychological factors, clinical examination, and imaging variables). A combined model, including variables from all models, examined independent effects. The National Institute for Health Research funded the study. There are no conflicts of interest. RESULTS: A total of 609 patients were included. At 12 months, 55% of patients improved in both the total sample and the sciatica group. For the whole cohort, longer leg pain duration (odds ratio [OR] 0.41; confidence interval [CI] 0.19-0.90), higher identity score (OR 0.70; CI 0.53-0.93), and patient's belief that the problem will last a long time (OR 0.27; CI 0.13-0.57) were the strongest independent prognostic factors negatively associated with improvement. These last two factors were similarly negatively associated with improvement in the sciatica subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides new evidence on the prognosis and prognostic factors of back-related leg pain and sciatica in primary care. Just over half of patients improved at 12 months. Patient's belief of recovery timescale and number of other symptoms attributed to the pain are independent prognostic factors. These factors can be used to inform and direct decisions about timing and intensity of available therapeutic options