Sanctioning pregnancy:a psychological perspective on the paradoxes and culture of research

Pregnancy provides a very public, visual confirmation of femininity. It is a time of rapid physical and psychological adjustment for women and is surrounded by stereotyping, taboos and social expectations. This book seeks to examine these popular attitudes towards pregnancy and to consider how they influence women’s experiences of being pregnant. Sanctioning Pregnancy offers a unique critique of sociocultural constructions of pregnancy and the ways in which it is represented in contemporary culture, and examines the common myths which exist about diet, exercise and work in pregnancy, alongside notions of risk and media portrayals of pregnant women. Topics covered include: •Do pregnant women change their diet and why? •Is memory really impaired in pregnancy? •How risky behaviour is defined from exercise to employment •The biomedical domination of pregnancy research. Different theoretical standpoints are critically examined, including a medico-scientific model, feminist perspectives and bio-psychosocial and psychodynamic approaches. Table of Contents: Introduction. Cognition and Cognitive Dysfunction. Working and Employment. Dietary Change and Eating. Exercise and Activity. Pregnancy and Risk. Pregnancy Under Surveillance. Concluding Remarks. References/Bibliography. Index.

Thermochemical characterisation of straws and high yielding perennial grasses

The research is concerned with thermochemical characterisation of straws and high yielding perennial grasses. Crops selected for this study include wheat straw (Triticum aestivum), rape straw (Brassica napus), reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) and switch grass (Panicum virgatum). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to examine the distribution of char and volatiles during pyrolysis up to 900 °C. Utilising multi-heating rate thermogravimetric data, the Friedman iso-conversional kinetic method was used to determine pyrolysis kinetic parameters. Light and medium volatile decomposition products were investigated using pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py–GC–MS) up to 520 °C. The 22 highest yielding identifiable cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin biomass markers were semi-quantified taking into consideration peak areas from GC chromatograms. Notable differences can be seen in butanedioic acid, dimethyl ester (hemicelluloses decomposition products), 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (lignin marker) and levoglucosan (intermediate pyrolytic decomposition product of cellulose) content when comparing perennial grasses with straw. From results presented in this study, perennial grasses such as switch grass, have the most attractive properties for fast pyrolysis processing. This is because of the observed high volatile yield content of 82.23%, heating value of 19.64 MJ/kg and the relatively low inorganic content.

Charlemagne’s crusaders: French collaboration in arms, 1941–1945

Military collaboration is one of the least acknowledged aspects of France under the Occupation. Yet from summer 1941 France raised a number of fighting units for Hitler’s armies, each with its distinctive mission and each drawing the Vichy regime deeper into collaboration with Nazi Germany. This article discusses that process and its diverse implications. It shows how the Paris collaborationists used military engagement to pressure the Vichy government into more activist collaboration and explores the divergent perspectives in which this was viewed from Berlin, Paris and Vichy; it considers the mobilising myths, motivations and misapprehensions behind military collaboration; and it identifies some of the anomalies of that collaboration, with its reconceptualising of France and Other, friend and foe, belonging and alienation. Those French ‘patriots’ who fought in German uniform would become effective exiles from a homeland they departed to ‘defend’ only to see it ‘liberated’ by their ‘enemies’. Exposing the divisions and the delusions underlying military collaboration, the article sheds light on conflicting political calculations and shifting allegiances in occupied France.

The contextual evaluation of research on sexually explicit materials

This thesis criticises many psychological experiments on 'pornography' which attempt to demonstrate how 'pornography' causes and/or equals rape. It challenges simplistic definitions of 'pornography', arguing that sexually explicit materials (SEM) are constructed and interpreted in a number of different ways; and demonstrates that how, when and where materials are depicted or viewed will influence perceptions and reactions. In addition, it opposes the overreliance on male undergraduates as participants in 'porn' research. Theories of feminist psychology and reflexivity are used throughout the thesis, and provide a detailed contextual framework in a complex area. Results from a number of interlinking studies which use a variety of methodological approaches (focus groups, questionnaires and content analysis), indicate how contextual issues are omitted in much existing research on SEM. These include the views and experiences participants' hold prior to completing SEM studies; their opinions about those who 'use' 'pornography'; their understanding of key terms linked with SEM (eg: pornography and erotica); and discussions of sexual magazines aimed at male and female audiences. Participants' reactions to images and texts associated with SEM presented in different contexts are discussed. Three main conclusions are drawn from this thesis. Firstly, images deemed 'pornographic' differ through historical and cultural periods' and political, economic and social climates, so 'experimental' approaches may not always be the most appropriate research tool. Secondly, there is not one definition, source, or factor which may be named 'pornography'; and thirdly the context and presentation of materials influence how images are perceived and reacted to. The thesis argues a number of factors influence view of 'pornography', suggesting SEM may be 'in the eye of the beholder'.

Ethnic conflict and war crimes in the Balkans:the narratives of denial in post-conflict Serbia

In the years following the fall of Slobodan Milo evic, Serbian social, cultural and political responses to the wars of the 1990s have fallen under intense international scrutiny. But is this scrutiny justfied, and how can these responses be better understood? Jelena Obradovic engages with ideas about post-conflict societies, memory, cultural trauma, and national myths of victimhood and justified war to shed light upon Serbian denial and justification of war crimes - for example, Serbia's reluctant cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Rather than treating denial as a failure to come to terms with the past or as resurgent nationalism, Obradovic argues that the justification of atrocities are often the result of a societal need to understand and incorporate violent events within culturally acceptable boundaries.

Statistical analysis in microbiology:statnotes

This book is aimed primarily at microbiologists who are undertaking research and who require a basic knowledge of statistics to analyse their experimental data. Computer software employing a wide range of data analysis methods is widely available to experimental scientists. The availability of this software, however, makes it essential that investigators understand the basic principles of statistics. Statistical analysis of data can be complex with many different methods of approach, each of which applies in a particular experimental circumstance. Hence, it is possible to apply an incorrect statistical method to data and to draw the wrong conclusions from an experiment. The purpose of this book, which has its origin in a series of articles published in the Society for Applied Microbiology journal ‘The Microbiologist’, is an attempt to present the basic logic of statistics as clearly as possible and therefore, to dispel some of the myths that often surround the subject. The 28 ‘Statnotes’ deal with various topics that are likely to be encountered, including the nature of variables, the comparison of means of two or more groups, non-parametric statistics, analysis of variance, correlating variables, and more complex methods such as multiple linear regression and principal components analysis. In each case, the relevant statistical method is illustrated with examples drawn from experiments in microbiological research. The text incorporates a glossary of the most commonly used statistical terms and there are two appendices designed to aid the investigator in the selection of the most appropriate test.

Fast pyrolysis and nitrogenolysis of biomass and biogenic residues:production of a sustainable slow release fertiliser

The production of agricultural and horticultural products requires the use of nitrogenous fertiliser that can cause pollution of surface and ground water and has a large carbon footprint as it is mainly produced from fossil fuels. The overall objective of this research project was to investigate fast pyrolysis and in-situ nitrogenolysis of biomass and biogenic residues as an alternative route to produce a sustainable solid slow release fertiliser mitigating the above stated problems. A variety of biomasses and biogenic residues were characterized by proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Pyrolysis – Gas chromatography – Mass Spectroscopy (Py–GC–MS) for their potential use as feedstocks using beech wood as a reference material. Beech wood was virtually nitrogen free and therefore suitable as a reference material as added nitrogen can be identified as such while Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS) and rape meal had a nitrogen content between 5.5wt.% and 6.1wt.% qualifying them as high nitrogen feedstocks. Fast pyrolysis and in-situ nitrogenolysis experiments were carried out in a continuously fed 1kg/h bubbling fluidized bed reactor at around 500°C quenching the pyrolysis vapours with isoparaffin. In-situ nitrogenolysis experiments were performed by adding ammonia gas to the fast pyrolysis reactor at nominal nitrogen addition rates between 5wt.%C and 20wt.%C based on the dry feedstock’s carbon content basis. Mass balances were established for the processing experiments. The fast pyrolysis and in-situ nitrogenolysis products were characterized by proximate analysis, ultimate analysis and GC– MS. High liquid yields and good mass balance closures of over 92% were obtained. The most suitable nitrogen addition rate for the in-situ nitrogenolysis experiments was determined to be 12wt.%C on dry feedstock carbon content basis. However, only a few nitrogen compounds that were formed during in-situ nitrogenolysis could be identified by GC–MS. A batch reactor process was developed to thermally solidify the fast pyrolysis and in-situ nitrogenolysis liquids of beech wood and Barley DDGS producing a brittle solid product. This was obtained at 150°C with an addition of 2.5wt% char (as catalyst) after a processing time of 1h. The batch reactor was also used for modifying and solidifying fast pyrolysis liquids derived from beech wood by adding urea or ammonium phosphate as post processing nitrogenolysis. The results showed that this type of combined approach was not suitable to produce a slow release fertiliser, because the solid product contained up to 65wt.% of highly water soluble nitrogen compounds that would be released instantly by rain. To complement the processing experiments a comparative study via Py–GC–MS with inert and reactive gas was performed with cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and beech wood. This revealed that the presence of ammonia gas during analytical pyrolysis did not appear to have any direct impact on the decomposition products of the tested materials. The chromatograms obtained showed almost no differences between inert and ammonia gas experiments indicating that the reaction between ammonia and pyrolysis vapours does not occur instantly. A comparative study via Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy of solidified fast pyrolysis and in-situ nitrogenolysis products showed that there were some alterations in the spectra obtained. A shift in frequencies indicating C=O stretches typically related to the presence of carboxylic acids to C=O stretches related to amides was observed and no double or triple bonded nitrogen was detected. This indicates that organic acids reacted with ammonia and that no potentially harmful or non-biodegradable triple bonded nitrogen compounds were formed. The impact of solid slow release fertiliser (SRF) derived from pyrolysis and in-situ nitrogenolysis products from beech wood and Barley DDGS on microbial life in soils and plant growth was tested in cooperation with Rothamsted Research. The microbial incubation tests indicated that microbes can thrive on the SRFs produced, although some microbial species seem to have a reduced activity at very high concentrations of beech wood and Barley DDGS derived SRF. The plant tests (pot trials) showed that the application of SRF derived from beech wood and barley DDGS had no negative impact on germination or plant growth of rye grass. The fertilizing effect was proven by the dry matter yields in three harvests after 47 days, 89 days and 131 days. The findings of this research indicate that in general a slow release fertiliser can be produced from biomass and biogenic residues by in-situ nitrogenolysis. Nevertheless the findings also show that additional research is necessary to identify which compounds are formed during this process.

Risks and benefits of selective (re)presentation of interviewees' talk:some insights from discourse analysis

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the quality of evidence collected during interview. Current UK national guidance on the interviewing of victims and witnesses recommends a phased approach, allowing the interviewee to deliver their free report before any questioning takes place, and stipulating that during this free report the interviewee should not be interrupted. Interviewers, therefore, often find it necessary during questioning to reactivate parts of the interviewee's free report for further elaboration. Design/methodology/approach: The first section of this paper draws on a collection of police interviews with women reporting rape, and discusses one method by which this is achieved - the indirect quotation of the interviewee by the interviewer - exploring the potential implications for the quality of evidence collected during this type of interview. The second section of the paper draws on the same data set and concerns itself with a particular method by which information provided by an interviewee has its meaning "fixed" by the interviewer. Findings: It is found that "formulating" is a recurrent practice arising from the need to clarify elements of the account for the benefit of what is termed the "overhearing audience" - in this context, the police scribe, CPS, and potentially the Court. Since the means by which this "fixing" is achieved necessarily involves the foregrounding of elements of the account deemed to be particularly salient at the expense of other elements which may be entirely deleted, formulations are rarely entirely neutral. Their production, therefore, has the potential to exert undue interviewer influence over the negotiated "final version" of interviewees' accounts. Originality/value: The paper highlights the fact that accurate re-presentations of interviewees' accounts are a crucial tool in ensuring smooth progression of interviews and that re-stated speech and formulation often have implications for the quality of evidence collected during significant witness interviews. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Patients' and physicians' experiences of atrial fibrillation consultations and anticoagulation decision-making:a multi-perspective IPA design

OBJECTIVE: To explore patients' and physicians' experiences of atrial fibrillation consultations and oral anticoagulation decision-making. DESIGN: Multi-perspective interpretative phenomenological analyses. METHODS: Participants included small homogeneous subgroups: AF patients who accepted (n=4), refused (n=4), or discontinued (n=3) warfarin, and four physician subgroups (n=4 each group): consultant cardiologists, consultant general physicians, general practitioners and cardiology registrars. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Transcripts were analysed using multi-perspective IPA analyses to attend to individuals within subgroups and making comparisons within and between groups. RESULTS: Three themes represented patients' experiences: Positioning within the physician-patient dyad, Health-life balance, and Drug myths and fear of stroke. Physicians' accounts generated three themes: Mechanised metaphors and probabilities, Navigating toward the 'right' decision, and Negotiating systemic factors. CONCLUSIONS: This multi-perspective IPA design facilitated an understanding of the diagnostic consultation and treatment decision-making which foregrounded patients' and physicians' experiences. We drew on Habermas' theory of communicative action to recommend broadening the content within consultations and shifting the focus to patients' life contexts. Interventions including specialist multidisciplinary teams, flexible management in primary care, and multifaceted interventions for information provision may enable the creation of an environment that supports genuine patient involvement and participatory decision-making.

In the name of the father, son, and grandson:succession patterns and the Kim dynasty

This paper seeks to understand North Korea’s Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Il to Kim Jong Un’s hereditary transition by proposing a comparative analysis of several dictatorship families. The paper utilizes totalitarian successions in Nicaragua with García and Debayle, in Haiti with the Duvalier family, in Syria with the al-Assads, in Azerbaijan with the Aliyevs, in Congo with the Kabilas in order to draw parallels and difference with the North Korea. Eventually, North Korea’s control over information and its management of myths are highlighted as factors that have enabled the country’s hereditary transition, though new patterns of domestic governance might lead to a different political environment over the Korean peninsula.