scholarly journals Researching the Researchers: The Impact of Menstrual Stigma on the Study of Menstruation

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lara Owen

Menstruation has been historically stigmatised through a variety of strategies cross-culturally, including silencing and marginalisation. Such stigmatisation has affected the inclusion of menstruation as a topic of research across disciplines, reproducing stigma through a lack of research and new knowledge. I set out to discover more about the perceived nature and impact of such stigmatisation on the professional experience of menstrual researchers. The research cohort was a group of nine scholars from humanities and social science disciplines, living and working in the UK, USA and Russia, who came together in 2020 for a two year project to research menstrual history, activism, politics, education and culture in order to better understand the Scottish context of legislation to 'end period poverty'. I was also a member of this group and this paper is structured through an autoethnographic enquiry. My qualitative research was interview-based using online video meetings. My data shows that the perceived impact of menstrual stigma on academic research has altered, with older researchers experiencing more barriers in the early stages of their careers than younger ones do now. However, menstrual researchers still experience challenges they consider to be stigma-related in publishing menstrual research, in obtaining permanent positions centred on their specialisation, and in attracting long-term and large-scale funding. This research shows how entrenched stigma can lead to a feedback loop of victimisation that is difficult to escape from, and suggests that academics working on stigmatised topics may need specific types of institutional support in order to progress, publish and flourish.

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
James T Walker ◽  
Ammon Salter ◽  
Rita Fontinha ◽  
Rossella Salandra

Abstract The marked increase in the use of metrics, such as journal lists, to assess research has had a profound effect on academics’ working lives. While some view the diffusion of rankings as beneficial, others consider their diffusion as a malicious development, which further acerbates a tendency towards managerialism in academia, and undermine the integrity and diversity of academic research. Using data from a large-scale survey and a re-grading of journals in a ranking used by Business and Management UK scholars—the Academic Journal Guide—as a pseudo-experiment, we examine what determines negative and positive perceptions of rankings. We find that the individuals who published in outlets that were upgraded were less hostile to the ranking than those who did not benefit from these changes, and that individuals were also less hostile to the ranking if outlets in their field had benefited from re-grading in the new list. We also find that the individuals who published in outlets that were upgraded were more positive to the ranking than those who did not benefit from these changes, and that individuals were also more positive to the ranking if outlets in their field had benefited from re-grading in the new list.


Coronaviruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yam Nath Paudel ◽  
Efthalia Angelopoulou ◽  
Bhupendra Raj Giri ◽  
Christina Piperi ◽  
Iekhsan Othman ◽  
...  

: COVID-19 has emerged as a devastating pandemic of the century that the current generations have ever experienced. The COVID-19 pandemic has infected more than 12 million people around the globe and 0.5 million people have succumbed to death. Due to the lack of effective vaccines against the COVID-19, several nations throughout the globe has imposed a lock-down as a preventive measure to lower the spread of COVID-19 infection. As a result of lock-down most of the universities and research institutes has witnessed a long pause in basic science research ever. Much has been talked about the long-term impact of COVID-19 in economy, tourism, public health, small and large-scale business of several kind. However, the long-term implication of these research lab shutdown and its impact in the basic science research has not been much focused. Herein, we provide a perspective that portrays a common problem of all the basic science researchers throughout the globe and its long-term consequences.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
D Panatto ◽  
P Landa ◽  
D Amicizia ◽  
P L Lai ◽  
E Lecini ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Invasive disease due to Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) is a serious public health problem even in developed countries, owing to its high lethality rate (8-15%) and the invalidating sequelae suffered by many (up to 60%) survivors. As the microorganism is transmitted via the airborne route, the only available weapon in the fight against Nm invasive disease is vaccination. Our aim was to carry out an HTA to evaluate the costs and benefits of anti-meningococcal B (MenB) vaccination with Trumenba® in adolescents in Italy, while also considering the impact of this new vaccination strategy on organizational and ethics aspects. Methods A lifetime Markov model was developed. MenB vaccination with the two-dose schedule of Trumenba® in adolescents was compared with 'non-vaccination'. Two perspectives were considered: the National Health Service (NHS) and society. Three disease phases were defined: acute, post-acute and long-term. Epidemiological, economic and health utilities data were taken from Italian and international literature. The analysis was conducted by means of Microsoft Excel 2010®. Results Our study indicated that vaccinating adolescents (11th year of life) with Trumenba® was cost-effective with an ICER = € 7,912/QALY from the NHS perspective and € 7,758/QALY from the perspective of society. Vaccinating adolescents reduces the number of cases of disease due to meningococcus B in one of the periods of highest incidence of the disease, resulting in significant economic and health savings. Conclusions This is the first study to evaluate the overall impact of free MenB vaccination in adolescents both in Italy and in the international setting. Although cases of invasive disease due to meningococcus B are few, if the overall impact of the disease is adequately considered, it becomes clear that including anti-meningococcal B vaccination into the immunization program for adolescents is strongly recommended from the health and economic standpoints. Key messages Free, large-scale MenB vaccination is key to strengthening the global fight against invasive meningococcal disease. Anti-meningococcal B vaccination in adolescents is a cost-effective health opportunity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 16-21
Author(s):  
Laurence P. Madin

Abstract The widely recognized need for large-scale transition from fossil to renewable energy sources has led to renewed effort to obtain metals needed for battery-based electric transportation and other functions. A potential source of some of these metals is the deposits of polymetallic nodules on the deep seafloor. If mining of these deposits proceeds in the coming decade, the enterprise creates an opportunity for extensive, long-term oceanographic research in the mining locations. The need to monitor environmental effects of mining activity can best be met with a near-continuous presence of a research platform in the vicinity. The platform could be a ship or potentially a semi-submersible platform like those used in the offshore oil industry. Such a facility might be supported by a consortium of mining companies and also provide opportunities for academic research in ocean and climate science.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Lambert ◽  
Dean Wilkinson

Purpose The outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus and subsequent COVID-19 illness has had a major impact on all levels of society internationally. The extent of the impact of COVID-19 on prison staff and prisoners in England and Wales is unknown. Testing for COVID-19 both asymptomatic and symptomatic, as well as for antibodies, to date, has been minimal. The purpose of this paper is to explore the widespread testing of COVID-19 in prisons poses philosophical and ethical questions around trust, efficacy and ethicacy. Design/methodology/approach This paper is both descriptive, providing an overview of the widespread testing of COVID-19 in prisoners in England and Wales, and conceptual in that it discusses and argues the issues associated with large-scale testing. This paper provides a discussion, using comparative studies, of the issues associated with large-scale testing of prisoners across the prison estate in England and Wales (120 prisons). The issues identified in this paper are contextualised through the lens of COVID-19, but they are equally transferrable to epidemiological studies of any pandemic. Given the prevalence of COVID-19 globally and the lack of information about its spread in prisons, at the time of writing this paper, there is a programme of asymptomatic testing of prisoners. However, there remains a paucity of data on the spread of COVID-19 in prisons because of the progress with the ongoing testing programme. Findings The authors argue that the widespread testing of prisoners requires careful consideration of the details regarding who is included in testing, how consent is gained and how tests are administered. This paper outlines and argues the importance of considering the complex nuance of power relationships within the prison system, among prisoner officers, medical staff and prisoners and the detrimental consequences. Practical implications The widespread testing of COVID-19 presents ethical and practical challenges. Careful planning is required when considering the ethics of who should be included in COVID-19 testing, how consent will be gained, who and how tests will be administered and very practical challenges around the recording and assigning of COVID-19 test kits inside the prison. The current system for the general population requires scanning of barcodes and registration using a mobile number; these facilities are not permitted inside a prison. Originality/value This paper looks at the issues associated with mass testing of prisoners for COVID-19. According to the authors’ knowledge, there has not been any research that looks at the issues of testing either in the UK or internationally. The literature available details countries’ responses to the pandemic rather and scientific papers on the development of vaccines. Therefore, this paper is an original review of some of the practicalities that need to be addressed to ensure that testing can be as successful as possible.


Author(s):  
Amitava Banerjee ◽  
Michail Katsoulis ◽  
Alvina G. Lai ◽  
Laura Pasea ◽  
Thomas A. Treibel ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundCoronavirus (COVID-19) poses health system challenges in every country. As with any public health emergency, a major component of the global response is timely, effective science. However, particular factors specific to COVID-19 must be overcome to ensure that research efforts are optimised. We aimed to model the impact of COVID-19 on the clinical academic response in the UK, and to provide recommendations for COVID-related research.MethodsWe constructed a simple stochastic model to determine clinical academic capacity in the UK in four policy approaches to COVID-19 with differing population infection rates: “Italy model” (6%), “mitigation” (10%), “relaxed mitigation” (40%) and “do-nothing” (80%) scenarios. The ability to conduct research in the COVID-19 climate is affected by the following key factors: (i) infection growth rate and population infection rate (from UK COVID-19 statistics and WHO); (ii) strain on the healthcare system (from published model); and (iii) availability of clinical academic staff with appropriate skillsets affected by frontline clinical activity and sickness (from UK statistics).FindingsIn “Italy model”, “mitigation”, “relaxed mitigation” and “do-nothing” scenarios, from 5 March 2020 the duration (days) and peak infection rates (%) are 95(2.4%), 115(2.5%), 240(5.3%) and 240(16.7%) respectively. Near complete attrition of academia (87% reduction, <400 clinical academics) occurs 35 days after pandemic start for 11, 34, 62, 76 days respectively – with no clinical academics at all for 37 days in the “do-nothing” scenario. Restoration of normal academic workforce (80% of normal capacity) takes 11,12, 30 and 26 weeks respectively.InterpretationPandemic COVID-19 crushes the science needed at system level. National policies mitigate, but the academic community needs to adapt. We highlight six key strategies: radical prioritisation (eg 3-4 research ideas per institution), deep resourcing, non-standard leadership (repurposing of key non-frontline teams), rationalisation (profoundly simple approaches), careful site selection (eg protected sites with large academic backup) and complete suspension of academic competition with collaborative approaches.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taha Sezer ◽  
Abubakar Kawuwa Sani ◽  
Rao Martand Singh ◽  
David P. Boon

&lt;p&gt;Groundwater heat pumps (GWHP) are an environmentally friendly and highly efficient low carbon heating technology that can benefit from low-temperature groundwater sources lying in the shallow depths to provide heating and cooling to buildings. However, the utilisation of groundwater for heating and cooling, especially in large scale (district level), can create a thermal plume around injection wells. If a plume reaches the production well this may result in a decrease in the system performance or even failure in the long-term operation. This research aims to investigate the impact of GWHP usage in district-level heating by using a numerical approach and considering a GWHP system being constructed in Colchester, UK as a case study, which will be the largest GWHP system in the UK. Transient 3D simulations have been performed pre-construction to investigate the long-term effect of injecting water at 5&amp;#176;C, into a chalk bedrock aquifer. Modelling suggests a thermal plume develops but does not reach the production wells after 10 years of operation. The model result can be attributed to the low hydraulic gradient, assumed lack of interconnecting fractures, and large (&gt;500m) spacing between the production and injection wells. Model validation may be possible after a period operational monitoring.&lt;/p&gt;


Author(s):  
Stuart Aveyard ◽  
Paul Corthorn ◽  
Sean O’Connell

The long-term perspective taken by The Politics of Consumer Credit in the UK affords fresh evidence on a number of significant historical debates. It indicates that Britain’s departure from pathways followed in other European consumer credit markets was not simply a by-product of neo-liberalism’s influence on late-twentieth-century governments. It has also allowed us to offer important contributions on questions such as the impact of political ideologies over policymaking, the validity of a right–left framework for analysing politics, the extent to which a post-war consensus existed (and was broken after 1979), and the question of how adept British political parties were in exploiting the emergence of a more affluent electorate....


Author(s):  
Andrew Defty ◽  
Hannah White

This chapter considers the UK Parliament's use of external evidence in the scrutiny of policy and legislation. Throughout the nineteenth and most of the twentieth century, Members of Parliament (MPs) drew on their professional experience outside of Parliament to provide informed scrutiny of government policy and legislation. Since the latter part of the twentieth century, however, there has been a significant increase in opportunities for Parliament to draw on external evidence. Today, external evidence occupies a central place in Parliament's scrutiny and legislative functions. The chapter first examines how select committees scrutinize policy and administration, making a distinction between written evidence and oral evidence, before discussing the impact of evidence-taking on the legislative process for draft bills that are subject to scrutiny by public bill committees. It also describes formal mechanisms by which evidence and expertise are drawn into Parliament.


2007 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thecla Damianakis ◽  
Laura M. Wagner ◽  
Syrelle Bernstein ◽  
Elsa Marziali

ABSTRACTTwo challenges facing nursing-home care today are understanding the concept of quality of life as it relates to cognitively impaired residents and finding effective ways to ensure that it is achieved. Canadian director Allan King's documentary, Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company, filmed at Baycrest, captures a method for enhancing the quality of life of six cognitively impaired residents. While the film suggests an intervention model implemented by volunteers, there are challenges unique to institution-based programs (i.e., the recruitment and retention of volunteers). One of the challenges is the fear that volunteers may experience when interacting with the cognitively impaired. We conducted a pilot study of a model for training volunteers to provide friendly visiting and evaluated the impact on the participating residents. Observational accounts of volunteer–resident interactions and seven volunteer interviews were analysed and yielded several themes—(a) relationship building, (b) contribution of the environment, (c) preserving personhood, (d) resident-centred presence and the quality of the moment—and several themes related to the volunteers' role and their perceived impact on the residents. Discussed are the implications for volunteer programs in long-term health care settings.


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