Alcohol gel ingestion amongst homeless Eastern and Central Europeans in London: assessing the effects on cognitive functioning and psychological health

Background: Intentional consumption of alcohol based hand gels has been reported especially amongst non-UK national, alcohol dependent, homeless individuals in London. Whilst alcohol misuse is known to be associated with impaired cognitive functioning and mental health problems, the effects of additional ingestion of alcohol gel are unknown. Objectives: To explore cognitive and psychological functioning in users who intentionally ingest alcohol gel compared with ethyl-alcohol only misusers and controls. Methods: Male, Central and Eastern European alcohol only misusers, (n=14; mean age 39 years), alcohol gel users (n=14; mean age 43 years) and controls (n=12; mean age 31 years) were recruited from a London Homeless Service during 2013/14. Alcohol misusers, alcohol gel users and controls were compared on the Forwards and Backwards Digit Span Test; Block Design test; Retrospective and Prospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ) and the Hospital and Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS). Results: Alcohol gel users performed significantly worse on the Block Design task (p<0.01) and PRMQ (p<0.01) relative to both alcohol only and control groups, and significantly worse on the digit span relative to controls (p=0.01). Both alcohol misusing groups scored comparatively on digit span backwards (p<0.01), with both groups performing significantly worse than controls. The alcohol gel group reported significantly higher levels of anxiety relative to controls (p=0.02). Conclusions: Whilst there could be constitutional differences between alcohol misusers who additionally abuse alcohol gel, the findings suggest that alcohol gel ingestion may have a greater impact on psychological functioning than traditional alcohol misuse.

On the edge : exploring homeless women's social networks

This thesis aims to uncover the ways that previously homeless women in the Niagara region are able (or unable) to rely on friends, family and service providers in times of crisis (homelessness and poverty). Eleven women were interviewed and their experiences indicate that social networks cannot take the place of comprehensive and inclusive social policy. Time and time again, their stories showed that they were left negotiating the detritus of neo-liberal policies.

"Staying Alive" while "Living the Life" : conceptualizations of risk among homeless youth

Résumé Le but de cette thèse est de comprendre les représentations du risque chez les jeunes de la rue. Plus précisément, elle s’intéresse à appréhender les constructions du risque que font les jeunes de la rue eux-mêmes, d’autant plus que ces jeunes sont définis comme un groupe à risque. Si le risque est plus souvent défini de manière stricte comme le mal éventuel, dans cette étude, il est défini plus largement intégrant l’idée des opportunités et prises de risque. Ancrée dans une perspective double du constructionnisme social et de l’interactionnisme symbolique, cette recherche a exploré les savoirs des jeunes sur les risques qu’ils vivaient dans les contextes observés et la manière dont ils les appréhendaient. Pour y parvenir, cette recherche s’inscrit dans une approche ethnographique pour mieux comprendre le monde des jeunes de la rue, utilisant des méthodes d'observation participante et dévoilée et des entrevues informelles variées. Cette approche globale permet de saisir comment les jeunes définissent leur capacité à estimer, gérer, éviter ou prendre des risques. L’utilisation d’une perspective longitudinale (de un à deux ans) et les relations de confiance bâties avec ces jeunes, ont permis de suivre comment la construction identitaire des jeunes observés a influencé leurs perception du risque et leurs pratiques de débrouillardise. En outre, les liens établis ont permis de révéler les points de vue singuliers des jeunes mais aussi leurs savoirs expérientiels relatifs aux risques. Il s’agit dans cette étude de montrer à partir des théories générales qui définissent nos sociétés comme des sociétés du risque, comment des individus, identifiés comme appartenant à un groupe à risque, définissent et gèrent leurs risques à partir de leur propre expérience et point de vue afin de révéler la diversité et la complexité des expériences et savoirs des jeunes de la rue à l’endroit du risque. En effet, cette thèse montre qu’un ancrage dans une sociologie du risque permet de sortir de l’image de victime ou de déviance associée généralement aux jeunes de la rue mais qu’elle demeure marquée par la promotion de la sécurité légitimant intervention et régulation de la situation des jeunes de la rue tout en ignorant l’expérience même des jeunes. Les discours sur les risques associés à la rue sont alors inscrits dans une logique d’expertise. Cette étude vise à sortir de ces préconceptions des risques pris par les jeunes de la rue pour au contraire s’attarder à comprendre comment se définit le risque à partir du sens que les jeunes accordent et les expériences qu’ils en ont. Mots clés: jeunes itinérants, jeunes de la rue, le risque, à risque, victimisation, déviance, identité.

Orphan worms and, homeless parasites enhance bilaterian diversity

Microscopic endoparasites belonging to the Phylum Myxozoa provide a striking example of how much there is still to be learned about the diversity of the Metazoa. Recent research on myxozoans has provided new insights into evolution within the Bilateria, revealing unparalleled levels of morphological simplification associated with parasitism, a home for an orphan worm, and a hypothesis of the endosymbiotic origin(s) for extrusible intracellular organelles in myxozoans and cnidarians. In addition, discovery of the source of a devastating disease of salmonid fish has enabled researchers to identify two ancient clades within the Myxozoa, and has exposed new mysteries concerning myxozoan life-cycle evolution and evolutionary diversification. This plethora of new insights exemplifies the fundamental value of studying obscure organisms.

The relationship between well-being, future planning and intentions to utilise intervention programmes: what can be learned from homeless service users?

There has been an increasing interest in the impact of individual well-being on the attitudes and actions of people receiving services designed to offer support. If well-being factors are important in the uptake and success of service programmes it is important that the nature of the relationships involved is understood by service designers and implementers. As a contribution to understanding, this paper examines the impact of well-being on the uptake of intervention programmes for homeless people. From the literature on well-being a number of factors are identified that contribute towards overall well-being, which include personal efficacy and identity, but also more directly well-being can be viewed as personal or group/collective esteem. The impact of these factors on service use is assessed by means of two studies of homelessness service users, comparing the implementation of two research tools: a shortened and a fuller one. The conclusions are that the factors identified are related to service use. The higher the collective esteem – esteem drawn from identification with services and their users and providers – and the less that they feel isolated, the more benefits that homeless people will perceive with service use, and in turn the more likely they are to be motivated to use services. However, the most important factors in explaining service use are a real sense that it is appropriate to accept social support from others, a rejection of the social identity as homeless but a cultivation of being valued as part of a non-homeless community, and a positive perception of the impact of the service.

Exploring homeless people’s use of outreach services: applying a social psychological perspective

A number of critiques have been published drawing attention to the gaps in research methods applied to issues surrounding homelessness and service utilisation in Britain. This paper discusses the use of social identity, a theory drawn from the field of applied social psychology, and synthesises it with the pathways model, thereby providing a framework to further explore service utilisation. The synthesised framework was used to predict the uptake of outreach services in a prospective study of 121 homeless people in a major UK city. In general, homeless people's use of intervention services was affected by the extent to which they identified with the support services themselves. The study demonstrates the central role of social identity in understanding service utilisation patterns, and shows the importance of applying fresh techniques to fine-tune our understanding of uptake in the long term.

The role of efficacy and well-being in guiding the use of education and training services by young homeless mothers

This paper builds on previous work applying the concept of well-being to the field of housing. It uses the concepts of self-esteem, efficacy and social identity to explore the situations of a group of young homeless mothers. In particular, it focuses on the impact of well-being factors, among others, in understanding the uptake of education and training services. The paper concludes by arguing that well-being issues are crucial for housing agencies and others who want to engage with young homeless people.

"We Are All Homeless Wanderers". Transculturality and Modernism in the Works of Edith Södergran, Elias Canetti, Henry Parland and Marguerite Duras

This article investigates the notion of transculturality and applies it to four modernist authors of the 20th century: Edith Södergran, Elias Canetti, Henry Parland and Marguerite Duras. The concept of transculturality is used to reach a better – or at least different – understanding of the selected writers and their respective body of work.

Screening for chlamydia trachomatis : barriers for homeless young people

Objective: The study explored homeless young people's knowledge and attitudes of Chlamydia trachomatis (Chlamydia) and its screening.

Design: Semi-structured interviews using focus groups.

Setting: An inner city clinic for homeless young people.

Subjects: Homeless young people aged 16-26 years.

Outcomes: Perceptions of Chlamydia and its screening.

Results: 19 males and 6 females aged 16-26 years participated. Content analysis confirmed a lack of knowledge, prior education and misinformation about Chlamydia and barriers to being screened. Ideas for informing young people about Chlamydia included advertising on billboards, in free newspapers, and improved school sex education programs.

Conclusions: Homeless young people have poor knowledge of Chlamydia and its screening and barriers to the screening process. Culturally-specific education and health promotion programs and services are needed.