bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Potentially inappropriate medication use: the Beers Criteria used among older adults with depressive symptoms
Authors: Lee Daphne , Martini Nataly , Moyes Simon , Hayman Karen , Zolezzi Monica , Kerse Ngaire
Published: November 2018

INTRODUCTION: The ageing population means prescribing for chronic illnesses in older people is expected to rise. Comorbidities and compromised organ function may complicate prescribing and increase medication-related risks. Comorbid depression in older people is highly prevalent and complicates medication prescribing decisions. AIM: To determine the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medication use in a community-dwelling population of older adults with depressive symptoms. METHODS: The medications of 191 community-dwelling older people selected because of depressive symptoms for a randomised trial were reviewed and assessed using the modified version of the Beers Criteria. The association between inappropriate medication use and various population characteristics was assessed using Chi-square statistics and logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: The mean age was 81 (±4.3) years and 59% were women. The median number of medications used was 6 (range 121 medications). The most commonly prescribed potentially inappropriate medications were amitriptyline, dextropropoxyphene, quinine and benzodiazepines. Almost half (49%) of the participants were prescribed at least one potentially inappropriate medication; 29% were considered to suffer significant depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale =5) and no differences were found in the number of inappropriate medications used between those with and without significant depressive symptoms (Chi-square 0.005 p=0.54). DISCUSSION: Potentially inappropriate medication use, as per the modified Beers Criteria, is very common among community-dwelling older people with depressive symptoms. However, the utility of the Beers Criteria is lessened by lack of clinical correlation. Ongoing research to examine outcomes related to apparent inappropriate medication use is needed. KEYWORDS: Depression; depressive symptoms; inappropriate prescribing; older adults
Potion or Poison? Magnesium for muscle cramps
Authors: Scahill Shane
Published: November 2018

SUMMARY MESSAGE: The literature is conflicting with regard to the effectiveness of magnesium in the setting of pregnancy-related cramps at rest. Based on supporting data, it is unlikely that magnesium supplementation provides clinically meaningful cramp prophylaxis to older adults. There is no more than anecdotal evidence to support combination magnesium and other vitamins and minerals available over the counter. Magnesium supplementation is generally well tolerated in therapeutic doses, except in renal impairment.
'It's whanaungatanga and all that kind of stuff': Maori cancer patients’ experiences of health services
Authors: Slater Tania , Matheson Anna , Davies Cheryl , Tavite Huia , Ruhe Triny , Holdaway Maureen , Ellison-Loschmann Lis
Published: November 2018

INTRODUCTION: There are unacceptable ethnic differences in cancer survival in Aotearoa/New Zealand. For people with cancer, quality of life and survival are shaped by access to care, but research on Maori access to, and through, cancer care is limited. Internationally, research has shown that primary care plays an important role in providing patient-centred, holistic care and information throughout the cancer care journey. Additionally, Maori health providers provide practical support and facilitate access to all levels of health care. Here we describe the cancer journeys of Maori patients and whanau and identify factors that may facilitate or inhibit access to and through cancer care services. METHODS: Twelve Maori patients affected by cancer and their whanau (family) in the lower North Island took part in face-to-face semi-structured interviews exploring their experiences of cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment, survival and palliative care. FINDINGS: Three key areas were identified that impacted upon the cancer care journey: the experience of support; continuity of care; and the impact of financial and geographic determinants. CONCLUSION: Primary care plays a key role in support and continuity of care across the cancer journey. Alongside interpersonal rapport, a long-term relationship with a primary health provider facilitated a more positive experience of the cancer care journey, suggesting that patients with a ‘medical home’ are happier with their care and report less problems with coordination between services. Positive, longstanding relationships with general practitioners and Maori health providers assisted patients and whanau with the provision and understanding of information, alongside practical support. KEYWORDS: Cancer; family; health services, indigenous; Maori health; primary health care cancer
Potion or Poison? Fish oil for concentration in ADHD
Authors: Scahill Shane
Published: November 2018

SUMMARY MESSAGE: The literature is sparse with regard to the use of fish oil for improved concentration in ADHD. Some studies are further complicated by the use of a combination of fatty acids. One systematic review of 10 trials suggests a modest benefit in ADHD relative to other pharmacological agents. Given the benign safety profile, supplementation with standard pharmacotherapies may be a reasonable suggestion for some families. The caveat here is that more studies are required to make a recommendation for universal administration to all children with ADHD.
Eighteen months of depression: examining the chronic care management of depression with particular reference to Pacific people
Authors: Tutty Susan , Goodyear-Smith Felicity
Published: November 2018

INTRODUCTION: Primary care is responsible for the 17% of the population with mild to moderately severe mental illness. Total Healthcare Otara (THO), with 49% of its patients of Pacific ethnicity, presents an opportunity to study the primary care management of depression, inclusive of Pacific people. While it had been assumed that Pacific people in New Zealand suffer less mental illness, Te Rau Hinengaro: The New Zealand Mental Health Survey showed this is not the case. AIM: The aim of the study was to examine a Chronic Care Management (CCM) programme for depression in a predominantly Pacific practice. METHODS: A clinical audit of the CCM depression programme used by THO between 31 March 2009 and 30 September 2010. Participants were patients aged 1864 years who scored =15 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Computer templates completed for each consultation, including serial PHQ-9s, were analysed over time and across different ethnic groups. RESULTS: Cook Island Maori patients participated in the CCM depression programme in proportionally greater numbers than their enrolment in THO, while Samoan and Tongan patients participated significantly less. The mean PHQ-9 score fell rapidly over the first few visits and then levelled off, without reaching the normal range. Dropout rate was 60% after the third consultation irrespective of ethnicity or gender. DISCUSSION: There is a need for ethnic-specific research into depression in Pacific ethnic groups. A significant immediate improvement in PHQ-9 on entering the CCM depression programme suggests enrolment is therapeutic. However, further research into the CCM depression programme is needed, particularly the reasons for non-attendance. KEYWORDS: Case management; depression; oceanic ancestry group; Pacific Islands; primary health care
Management of gout in a South Auckland general practice
Authors: Reaves Esther , Arroll Bruce
Published: November 2018

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT: In New Zealand, the highest prevalence of gout is in Maori and Pacific people. Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB) has the highest Maori and Pacific population of any New Zealand District Health Board. A CMDHB study found that a high proportion of patients with gout were also at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. ASSESSMENT OF PROBLEMS: The primary objective was to examine whether the control of gout had changed over time at one clinic. The secondary objective was to assess the management of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with gout at that clinic. RESULTS: The mean serum uric acid level of patients with gout in the practice had risen in comparison with a similar audit carried out in March 2009. This indicates that the control of gout for patients at the practice has worsened over time. Many patients had not had an annual serum uric acid test. STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVEMENT: A repeat uric acid level was scheduled for all patients with gout in the practice, with follow-up appointments to be arranged if the result was abnormal. LESSONS: Gout is often suboptimally managed. Serum uric acid levels may only be tested when a patient presents with an acute attack of gout. Consideration should be given to a minimum of annual serum uric acid levels. Appropriate management of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in this particular cohort is important and should be a particular focus of care. KEYWORDS: Allopurinol; cardiovascular diseases; gout; primary health care; uric acid
The use of bedside ultrasound and community-based paracentesis in a palliative care service
Authors: Landers Amanda , Ryan Bridget
Published: November 2018

INTRODUCTION: There is little information, particularly in New Zealand, on the use of ultrasound to enhance clinical decision-making in a specialist palliative care service. Technological advances have resulted in increasingly portable, user-friendly ultrasound machines that can be used in the home setting to offer convenient access to this treatment option. AIM: To evaluate the clinical use of portable ultrasonography in the management of abdominal ascites in a community palliative care service. METHODS: Patients referred to the Nurse Maude Hospice and Palliative Care Service requiring assessment for abdominal ascites over 12 months were scanned using a newly purchased handheld ultrasound machine. The patients had a variety of diagnoses; the most common diagnosis was ovarian cancer. RESULTS: Forty-one ultrasound scans performed for 32 patients to assess for ascites drainage were recorded. Fluid was identified in 19 assessments and drainage undertaken in 17. Over half the scans were completed at home, allowing nine procedures to be performed safely and conveniently, which reduced time spent at the local hospital. There were no major complications. DISCUSSION: Ultrasonography is a tool that has not previously been utilised in palliative care locally, but has significant potential patient benefits. This novel use of technology also highlighted potential cost savings to the patient and health system, which may be beneficial to other palliative care services in New Zealand. KEYWORDS: Ascites; community health services; palliative care; paracentesis, ultrasonography
Viewpoint: Early childhood caries: a New Zealand perspective
Authors: Bach Katie , Manton David
Published: November 2018

Dental caries, primarily a preventable disease, remains the most common chronic disease of childhood and one of the most common reasons for hospital admissions for children in New Zealand. The most vulnerable children are shouldering the burden of the disease, with Maori and Pacific children having greater experience and severity of dental caries. Early childhood caries has deleterious effects on a childs oral and general health and significant numbers of preschool-aged children experience pain and infection. Early identification by primary health care providers of children at high risk of developing early childhood caries can ensure these children are referred to the appropriate oral health services to receive appropriate and timely management. KEYWORDS: Dental care for children; dental caries; New Zealand; preschool child
Older people's perceptions of prescription medicine costs and related costs: a pilot study in New Zealand
Authors: Tordoff June , Bagge Michael , Ali Farina , Ahmed Samira , Ning Choong Jie , Fu Rowena , Joe Annie , Nishtala Prasad
Published: November 2018

INTRODUCTION: Older people tend to take more medicines and prescription medicine costs may influence medicine adherence. AIM: The aim of this pilot study was to identify older people's perceptions of prescription medicine costs and related costs in four major cities across New Zealand. METHODS: A questionnaire was administered to people aged 65 years and older visiting pharmacies in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin to identify their perceptions of costs relating to prescription medicines and related pharmacy and general practice services. Data were compared between cities and examined for associations between participants' views on costs and age, sex, income, ethnicity, number of medicines, and monthly cost. RESULTS: Participants (N=107) received a median of five prescription medicines (range 1–15), at a median cost of NZ$8.00 (range 0–55.30). Median part-charges for medicines only partly funded by the government were NZ$6.25 (range 0.60–100.00), and GP consultations ranged from NZ$0–60.00. Of the participants, 89 (83.2%) thought medicine costs and 63 (58.9%) thought GP consultation costs were reasonable. Participants with median monthly medicine costs of NZ$8.33–87.00 more commonly perceived medicines as expensive or very expensive (p=0.001, Fisher's exact test). DISCUSSION: Older people in this study mostly viewed their prescription medicines and related costs as reasonable; however, 17% and 41%, respectively, found medicines costs and GP consultation costs expensive. Larger, in-depth studies across New Zealand are needed to determine the sections of the population that find these costs expensive, and to explore how this might affect medicine adherence. KEYWORDS: Aged; community health services; costs and cost analysis; New Zealand; pharmaceutical preparations
The effects of audit and feedback and electronic referrals on the quality of primary care referral letters
Authors: Corwin Paul , Bolter Tim
Published: November 2018

INTRODUCTION: Appropriate referral from primary care to hospital specialists is a critical component of general practice patient management. This study investigated the quality of such referrals in a group of general practitioners (GPs) and nurses. AIM: To assess whether feedback improves the quality of referral letters from general practice to secondary care and how electronic referrals affect the quality of referral letters. METHODS: All 15 GPs working on the West Coast in New Zealand and the two nurses in this locality who regularly wrote referral letters agreed to participate in the study. For each participant, referral letters to hospital specialists were assessed using a nine-point checklist. Ten consecutive letters were assessed for each participant. Written feedback on referral letter quality was given and a further 10 letters from each participant were assessed five months later. After a further five months, 10 electronic referral letters from each participant were assessed. RESULTS: Feedback to general practitioners and nurses improved the quality of referral letters for participants whose original referral letters were of poorer quality. The average score for referral letters was 81.4% at baseline and this improved to 86.9% after feedback. The introduction of electronic referral letters did not lead to a further improvement in referral letter quality. DISCUSSION: This study demonstrated that feedback to general practitioners and nurses can improve the quality of referral letters to secondary care. The introduction of electronic referral letters as used on the West Coast did not lead to any further improvement in referral quality. KEYWORDS: Hospital referrals; primary health care; quality improvement
Exercise treadmill tests in patients with low cardiovascular risk: are we wasting our time?
Authors: Dixon Sarah , Searle Judy , Forrest Rachel , Marshall Bob
Published: November 2018

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION
The efficacy and cost-effectiveness of exercise treadmill testing for patients with low cardiovascular risk is unclear. This is due to the low incidence of coronary artery disease in this population and the potential for false-positive results leading to additional invasive and expensive investigation.

AIM
To investigate the value of exercise treadmill testing (ETT) as a predictor of coronary artery disease in patients with different levels of cardiovascular risk.

METHODS
An observational study was completed on an outpatient population from a chest pain clinic (n = 529). Cross-tabulations and binary logistic regressions were used to examine relationships between variables.

RESULTS
A negative ETT result was recorded for 72.5% of patients with low cardiovascular risk compared to 54.3% of those with moderate or high risk. Within the low cardiovascular risk group, patients with symptoms atypical for cardiac ischaemia were 11.1-fold more likely to have a negative ETT result. Of the patients with positive or equivocal ETT results, coronary artery disease was subsequently confirmed in only 23.1% of the low cardiovascular risk group compared to 77.2% of those with moderate or high cardiovascular risk.

DISCUSSION
Results show low cardiovascular risk patients are significantly more likely to return negative ETT results, particularly when associated with atypical symptoms. Similarly, positive or equivocal ETTs in this group are significantly more likely to be false positives. This suggests the ETT is not efficacious in predicting coronary artery disease in patients with low cardiovascular risk. Is it therefore appropriate to offer exercise testing to this cohort or should alternative management strategies be considered?
The distribution and frequency of blood lipid testing by sociodemographic status among adults in Auckland, New Zealand
Authors: Exeter Daniel , Moss Lauren , Zhao Jinfeng , Kyle Cam , Riddell Tania , Jackson Rod , Wells Susan
Published: November 2018

INTRODUCTION: National cardiovascular disease (CVD) guidelines recommend that adults have cholesterol levels monitored regularly. However, little is known about the extent and equity of cholesterol testing in New Zealand. AIM: To investigate the distribution and frequency of blood lipid testing by sociodemographic status in Auckland, New Zealand. METHODS: We anonymously linked five national health datasets (primary care enrolment, laboratory tests, pharmaceuticals, hospitalisations and mortality) to identify adults aged =25 years without CVD or diabetes who had their lipids tested in 2006–2010, by age, gender, ethnicity and area of residence and deprivation. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the likelihood of testing associated with these factors. RESULTS: Of the 627 907 eligible adults, 66.3% had at least one test between 2006 and 2010. Annual testing increased from 24.7% in 2006 to 35.1% in 2010. Testing increased with age similarly for men and women. Indian people were 87% more likely than New Zealand European and Others (NZEO) to be tested, Pacific people 8% more likely, but rates for Maori were similar to NZEO. There was marked variation within the region, with residents of the most deprived areas less likely to be tested than residents in least deprived areas. DISCUSSION: Understanding differences within and between population groups supports the development of targeted strategies for better service utilisation. While lipid testing has increased, sociodemographic variations persist by place of residence, and deprivation. Of the high CVD risk populations, lipid testing for Maori and Pacific is not being conducted according to need. KEYWORDS: Cardiovascular disease; healthcare disparities; lipids; socioeconomic status
Viewpoint: Challenges in the doctor - patient relationship: 12 tips for more effective peer group discussion
Authors: Wilson Hamish
Published: November 2018

In New Zealand, almost all general practitioners are members of peer groups, which provide opportunities for both clinical discussion and collegial support. This article proposes that peer groups can also be a useful medium for exploring specific challenges within the doctor–patient relationship. However, the peer group culture needs to be receptive to this particular goal. Structured discussion can help peer group members explore interpersonal issues more thoroughly. KEYWORDS: Balint group; continuing medical education; general practitioners; peer group; physician-patient relationship
Bots increase exposure to negative and inflammatory content in online social systems
Authors: Stella Massimo , Ferrara Emilio , De Domenico Manlio
Published: November 2018

Significance

Social media can deeply influence reality perception, affecting millions of people’s voting behavior. Hence, maneuvering opinion dynamics by disseminating forged content over online ecosystems is an effective pathway for social hacking. We propose a framework for discovering such a potentially dangerous behavior promoted by automatic users, also called “bots,” in online social networks. We provide evidence that social bots target mainly human influencers but generate semantic content depending on the polarized stance of their targets. During the 2017 Catalan referendum, used as a case study, social bots generated and promoted violent content aimed at Independentists, ultimately exacerbating social conflict online. Our results open challenges for detecting and controlling the influence of such content on society.
Precise tracking of vaccine-responding T cell clones reveals convergent and personalized response in identical twins
Authors: Pogorelyy Mikhail V. , Minervina Anastasia A. , Touzel Maximilian Puelma , Sycheva Anastasiia L. , Komech Ekaterina A. , Kovalenko Elena I. , Karganova Galina G. , Egorov Evgeniy S. , Komkov Alexander Yu. , Chudakov Dmitriy M. , Mamedov Ilgar Z. , Mora Thierry , Walczak Aleksandra M. , Lebedev Yuri B.
Published: November 2018

T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire data contain information about infections that could be used in disease diagnostics and vaccine development, but extracting that information remains a major challenge. Here we developed a statistical framework to detect TCR clone proliferation and contraction from longitudinal repertoire data. We applied this framework to data from three pairs of identical twins immunized with the yellow fever vaccine. We identified 600 to 1,700 responding TCRs in each donor and validated them using three independent assays. While the responding TCRs were mostly private, albeit with higher overlap between twins, they could be well-predicted using a classifier based on sequence similarity. Our method can also be applied to samples obtained postinfection, making it suitable for systematic discovery of new infection-specific TCRs in the clinic.
Mechanistic insights into the interactions of NAP1 with the SKICH domains of NDP52 and TAX1BP1
Authors: Fu Tao , Liu Jianping , Wang Yingli , Xie Xingqiao , Hu Shichen , Pan Lifeng
Published: November 2018

NDP52 and TAX1BP1, two SKIP carboxyl homology (SKICH) domain-containing autophagy receptors, play crucial roles in selective autophagy. The autophagic functions of NDP52 and TAX1BP1 are regulated by TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1), which may associate with them through the adaptor NAP1. However, the molecular mechanism governing the interactions of NAP1 with NDP52 and TAX1BP1, as well as the effects induced by TBK1-mediated phosphorylation of NDP52 and TAX1BP1, remains elusive. Here, we report the atomic structures of the SKICH regions of NDP52 and TAX1BP1 in complex with NAP1, which not only uncover the mechanistic bases underpinning the specific interactions of NAP1 with the SKICH domains of NDP52 and TAX1BP1 but also reveal the binding mode of a SKICH domain. Moreover, we uncovered that the SKICH domains of NDP52 and TAX1BP1 share a general binding mode to interact with NAP1. Finally, we also evaluated the currently known TBK1-mediated phosphorylation sites in the SKICH domains of NDP52 and TAX1BP1 on the basis of their interactions with NAP1. In all, our findings provide mechanistic insights into the interactions of NAP1 with NDP52 and TAX1BP1, and are valuable for further understanding the functions of these proteins in selective autophagy.
Energy hegemony and maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea: rethinking the regional trans-border cooperation approach
Authors: Adibe Raymond , Nwangwu Chikodiri , Ezirim Gerald E. , Egonu Nnamdi
Published: November 2018

This Briefing argues that Nigeria’s hegemony over energy trade in the Gulf of Guinea maritime domain makes other states’ political commitment to regional trans-border frameworks difficult. It finds that the contradictions of rentier oil governance in Nigeria have implications for the rise in maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea.
Cell migration is negatively modulated by ABCA1
Authors: Ito Shiho , Kioka Noriyuki , Ueda Kazumitsu
Published: November 2018

Temporal and spatial changes of membrane lipid distribution in the plasma membrane are thought to be important for various cellular functions. ATP-Binding Cassette A1 (ABCA1) is a key lipid transporter for the generation of high density lipoprotein. Recently, we reported that ABCA1 maintains an asymmetric distribution of cholesterol in the plasma membrane. Here we report that ABCA1 suppresses cell migration by modulating signal pathways. ABCA1 knockdown in mouse embryonic fibroblasts accelerated cell migration and increased activation of Rac1 and its localization to detergent-resistant membranes. Phosphorylation of MEK and ERK also increased. Inhibition of Rac1 or MEK-ERK signals suppressed cell migration in ABCA1 knockdown cells. Because our experimental conditions for cell migration did not contain cholesterol or lipid acceptors for ABCA1, cellular cholesterol content was not changed. These data suggest that ABCA1 modulates cell migration via Rac1 and MEK-ERK signaling by altering lipid distribution in the plasma membrane.
Interviewing people given a diagnosis of personality disorder in forensic settings
Authors: Willmot Phil , Evershed Sue
Published: November 2018

Extensive histories of complex developmental trauma and insecure attachment are widespread among people given a diagnosis of personality disorder in forensic settings, and are likely to be important predisposing factors that contribute to their offending behavior. In working with this population, it is important to bear this in mind, and helpful to formulate clients’ challenging behaviors as a set of learned responses to perceived threat, or as survival strategies. Such an approach not only makes the interviewing process more effective, it also helps to avoid perpetuating destructive patterns of behavior and relationship between forensic clients and people in authority. We present seven principles for effective interviewing with this population: (a) careful preparation; (b) a constant focus on the therapeutic relationship; (c) providing structure and containment; (d) adopting a flexible approach; (e) managing therapy-interfering behaviors; (f) obtaining supervision; and (g) adopting a whole-team approach.
The role of the audiologist–phoniatrician in performing the dynamic endoscopic study of swallowing. Position statement of the Italian study group on dysphagia (GISD)** This article is based on a previous publication in the journal Acta Otorhinolaryngologica Italica and has been translated in full and republished in Hearing, Balance and Communication in English with permission from Pacini Editore.
Authors: Farneti Daniele , Schindler Antonio , Fattori Bruno , Ruoppolo Giovanni , Simonelli Marilia , Coscarelli Salvatore , Travalca Cupillo Beatrice , Spadola Bisetti Massimo , Nacci Andrea , Genovese Elisabetta , Barillari Umberto , Schindler Oskar
Published: November 2018

This paper expresses the views of a group of experts within the Italian Study Group on Dysphagia (GISD) concerning the role of the Audiologist–Phoniatrician in performing the dynamic endoscopic study of swallowing.
Influences: Russian training
Authors: Sobolevsky Alexander I.
Published: November 2018

Sobolevsky reflects on his unique scientific upbringing in Russia.
Hispanic Caribbean Sexiles
Authors: Martinez-Reyes Consuelo
Published: November 2018

From the countryside to the city, from the city to foreign lands, people who challenge heteronormative notions of gender and sexual practices have left their place of origin in search for freedom of expression for ages. Despite this, it was only in the late 1980s to early 1990s that migration studies scholars started to look at the role of sexuality within migratory patterns, probably due to historical facts such as the civil rights movements, new trends within feminism (i.e., Third World feminism), the birth of fields that spur on intersectional approaches (such as cultural and LGBTQ studies), and most importantly, the AIDS pandemic and the way it “traveled” around the world, particularly affecting sexual and racial minorities.

Whereas exile is often understood as a legal or political category, sexile may come detached from official institutions and yet still imply an individual’s undesired uprooting from his or her nation state. Building on the scholarship of David William Foster, Arnaldo Cruz-Malavé, José Quiroga, and others, Puerto Rican academic and author Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes was the first to put into circulation the implications of sexual practices and identities for migratory patterns within Latin American literary studies. But it was Puerto Rican sociologist Manolo Guzmán who coined the neologism “sexile” to refer to emigration caused by one’s sexual orientation.

While the practice is, in a sense, a timeless and global phenomenon, it is more common for residents of the Caribbean due to the region’s colonial history. The effects of extended colonialism and its constant cultural contact with previous colonizing empires, as well as neocolonialist socio-economic structures in place at present and common to the geographical zone as a whole, make its development differ from that of other Latin American countries, which obtained independence in the early 19th century. Thus, many of its inhabitants look to move to places such as the United States or Spain, which have commonly influenced their sexual imaginaries, seeking a friendlier environment than that of a region contestably referred to as one of the most homophobic places on earth.
Transpacific Spaces and (East and Southeast) Asian Canadian Literature
Authors: Leow Joanne
Published: November 2018

(East and Southeast) Asian Canadian literature has consistently been preoccupied with the transpacific: from its lived spaces, its imagined ones, and its hybrid literary constructions. This body of literature includes narratives of arrival, autobiographical texts, historiographic novels, magical realist fiction, and experimental poetry. While these texts have usually been read through historical frameworks, thinking through them spatially enables us to understand and trace the alternate geographies of mobility, belonging, and cultural change beyond the project of the Canadian nation. These texts are predicated on transnational spaces of commerce and labor, trauma and resistance, refuge and liminality, and mobility and materiality. They reflect and produce the complex and overlapping trajectories of communities and individuals from East and Southeast Asia. From fictions of Chinatown to testimonies of racist dispersal and exclusion, refugee narratives to speculative decolonial futures, Asian Canadian literature has shaped both rural and urban Canadian spaces and their transnational and local textures. Thinking through the transpacific spaces in the literature points to the ways in which racist and exclusionary policies have shaped the landscapes and social spaces of the nation whether through immigration laws or forcible dispossession and internment. Yet, it also gives rise to the possibilities of new collectivities and communities within and beyond the nation-state. In the face of unequal globalization and movements of labor and capital, this mode of analysis points to possible indigenous and diasporic solidarities and place-making. Contemporary texts from Asian Canadian writers also evince a consciousness of Canadian bioregions and the confrontation of extraction economics that allows for a discussion of intersectionality in the context of environmental humanities and ecocriticism.
The War on Terror and South Asian American Narrative Representation
Authors: Sudhakar Anantha
Published: November 2018

The social and political conditions actuated by 9/11 have been a major catalyst for new literature, television and film about South Asians and Muslims in America. Stemming from a 2001 speech by then-president George W. Bush, the concept of the “War on Terror” has served to rationalize the domestic regulation of Muslims, while also validating the need for US imperialist and capitalist expansion. Where US government discourse highlights first-person narratives that figure America as a benevolent global protector of freedom and democracy, South Asian American fictional and non-fictional narratives posit critiques of Islamophobia and the US security state. Spanning a breadth of genres and styles, including the paradigmatic 9/11 novel, the bildungsroman, comedic satire, dramatic monologue, magic realism, documentary film, and urban fiction, South Asian American literature and media highlight narratives of interfaith and cross-racial solidarity. The imaginary worlds of these texts confront the injustices of US imperialism and the global War on Terror for Muslim communities both in the United States and abroad. At the same, South Asian American representation engaged with the impacts of post-9/11 politics and society has enriched understanding of the complex lived experiences of Pakistani and Bangladeshi Americans, as well as those of Indian Americans who are Muslim or trace their ancestry to the Sikh-majority state of Punjab. By centering the perspectives of those communities most affected by detention, xenophobia, and surveillance, post-9/11 South Asian American literature and media reveal how the exigencies of history produce new forms of narrative and cultural practice.
Slavoj Žižek and Communication Studies
Authors: McDonald Robert
Published: November 2018

Slavoj Žižek stands as one of the most influential contemporary philosophical minds, stretching across a wide variety of fields: not just communication and critical/cultural studies, but critical theory, theology, film, popular culture, political theory, aesthetics, and continental theory. He has been the subject (and object) of several documentaries, become the source of a “human megaphone” during Occupy Wall Street, and become, while still living, the subject of his own academic journal (the International Journal of Žižek Studies). Žižek’s theoretical claim to fame, aside from his actual claim to fame as a minor “celebrity philosopher,” is that he weaves together innovative interpretations of G. W. F. Hegel, Karl Marx, and Jacques Lacan to comment on a variety of subjects, from quantum physics to Alfred Hitchcock films to CIA torture sites. While there are as many “Žižeks” as there are philosophical problem-spaces, Žižek proposes an essential unity within his project; in his work, the triad Hegel-Marx-Lacan holds together like a Brunnian link—each link in the chain is essential for his project to function. Further, his intentionally provocative work acts as a counterweight to what he views as the dominant trends of philosophy and political theory since the 1980s—postmodernism, anti-foundationalism, deconstruction, vitalism, ethics, and, more recently, speculative realism and object-oriented ontology.
Judith Butler and Communication Studies
Authors: Jenkins Fiona
Published: November 2018

Judith Butler is one of the most important contemporary critical theorists. Best known for her influential concept of gender as performance and her critique of the idea of natural binary sexual difference, Butler also develops a critical perspective on wider issues arising from the idea that “being is doing,” insisting on the many alternate possibilities of lives that can always be “done” differently. In this context Butler develops a complex account of what it is to be a subject and revises some basic philosophical assumptions regarding how to think about moral deliberation. Butler displaces the assumption that the human subject is responsible only on the condition of being autonomous in order to reconceptualize subjects as beings thrown into a world of interdependency and cohabitation. Butler characterizes us as part of “precarious life,” beings whose exposure to desire, loss, and grief is constitutive of our existence, but who nonetheless find agency within a critical relation to constituting social norms and through building more generous public worlds.

It is helpful to understand the rich engagement that Butler’s work has with the philosophical perspectives in the background of these ideas, from the Hegelian criticism of abstract universalism to genealogy, deconstruction, queer and feminist theory, speech act theory, and the psychoanalytic account of subject formation, as well as the interlocutors who have become increasingly important in Butler’s recent work, including Levinas, Benjamin, and Arendt. These engagements ground a distinctive ethical and political approach that Butler brings to bear on contemporary and urgent questions, central to which is how alterity is engaged with. With a focus on how lives become “intelligible” as those of the kinds of beings that are recognized and find protection in law, Butler contributes rich insights into contemporary political phenomena. In particular, she describes how only certain lives appear as valuable in public discourses, while others lives and deaths become a matter of indifference, tracking the role of images and rhetoric in enforcing such differences. In demonstrating how state violence is bound up with this differentiation between “grievable and ungrievable lives,” Butler draws out a complex account of the relationship between violence, law, and justice. There are clear continuities between Butler’s earliest and latest work in the exploration of these issues, based in her methodological commitments to practices of critique and genealogy.
Critical Audience Studies
Authors: Shaw Adrienne , Sender Katherine , Murphy Patrick
Published: November 2018

Critical audience studies is the branch of media research primarily concerned with what people do with the media they consume, rather than on the supposedly negative effects of media on people. Critical audience studies has long drawn on “ethnographic ways of seeing” to investigate the everyday uses of media in myriad contexts. This area of audience research has had to define who and what constitutes “an audience,” where audiences are located, and how best to understand how people’s lives intersect with media. Changes in media production and distribution technologies have meant that texts are increasingly consumed in transnational and transplatform ways. These changes have disrupted historical distinctions between producers and audiences. Critical cultural approaches should be considered from a largely qualitative perspective and look at feminist and global reception studies as foundational to the understandings of what audiences might be and how to study them. Taking video game players as a boundary example, we need to reconsider how contemporary media forms and genres, modes of engagement, and niche and geographically dispersed media publics affect audiences and audience research: what, or who, is an audience, how can we understand it, and through what methods might we research it now?
Labor, Culture, and Communication
Authors: May Steven K.
Published: November 2018

Within the field of communication, scholars have argued that the work organization has become the central institution in modern society, often eclipsing the state, family, church, and community in power. Organizations pervade modern life by providing personal identity, structuring time and experience, influencing education and knowledge production, and directing news and entertainment. In the work context of the early 21st century, it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between our public and private lives, work and family, labor and leisure. Work—and its related institutions—has come to dominate our lived experiences as employees, family members, and citizens.

Scholars who focus on the relationship between labor, culture, and communication explore how organizations significantly influence our lives in ways that often go unnoticed or, at the least, are taken for granted. They have studied how, over time, workers have developed naturalized assumptions about how work should function and what role it should play in our lives. For example, many of our cultural institutions—and related public policies—are organized around logics that prioritize work over other realms of life (e.g., developing welfare to work programs, rehabilitating prisoners to be “productive” citizens, shifting university education to job-related training, reducing unemployment insurance to motivate workers). At the same time, a broader consideration of work’s significance is particularly relevant when scholars take into account the values associated with what counts as productive activity. Culturally, the public has developed a range of discursive colloquialisms such as a “real job” to account for legitimate/illegitimate forms of work and have also created presumed claims like “It’s just a job” to justify a range of actions at/through work. Historically, a wide range of scholars have sought to come to terms with cultural understandings and practices of work. While some scholars have explored the discursive manifestations of work, others have studied its material conditions. Only recently, however, have scholars attempted to integrate the seeming bifurcation of these two realms of work-related research. Scholars now seek to reconcile the ways in which broader, cultural discourses that shape an understanding of work are interdependent with the concrete, specific material experience of labor.
Progressive Social Movements and the Internet
Authors: Jackson Sarah J.
Published: November 2018

Because of the field’s foundational concerns with both social power and media, communication scholars have long been at the center of scholarly thought at the intersection of social change and technology. Early critical scholarship in communication named media technologies as central in the creation and maintenance of dominant political ideologies and as a balm against dissent among the masses. This work detailed the marginalization of groups who faced restricted access to mass media creation and exclusion from representational discourse and images, alongside the connections of mass media institutions to political and cultural elites. Yet scholars also highlighted the ways collectives use media technologies for resistance inside their communities and as interventions in the public sphere.

Following the advent of the World Wide Web in the late 1980s, and the granting of public access to the Internet in 1991, communication scholars faced a medium that seemed to buck the one-way and gatekeeping norms of others. There was much optimism about the democratic potentials of this new technology. With the integration of Internet technology into everyday life, and its central role in shaping politics and culture in the 21st century, scholars face new questions about its role in dissent and collective efforts for social change. The Internet requires us to reconsider definitions of the public sphere and civil society, document the potentials and limitations of access to and creation of resistant and revolutionary media, and observe and predict the rapidly changing infrastructures and corresponding uses of technology—including the temporality of online messaging alongside the increasingly transnational reach of social movement organizing. Optimism remains, but it has been tempered by the realities of the Internet’s limitations as an activist tool and warnings of the Internet-enabled evolution of state suppression and surveillance of social movements. Across the body of critical work on these topics particular characteristics of the Internet, including its rapidly evolving infrastructures and individualized nature, have led scholars to explore new conceptualizations of collective action and power in a digital media landscape.
Digital Cultures and Critical Studies
Authors: Hjorth Larissa
Published: November 2018

The digital is now an integral part of everyday cultural practices globally. This ubiquity makes studying digital culture both more complex and divergent. Much of the literature on digital culture argues that it is increasingly informed by playful and ludified characteristics. In this phenomenon, there has been a rise of innovative and playful methods to explore identity politics and place-making in an age of datafication.

At the core of the interdisciplinary debates underpinning the understanding of digital culture is the ways in which STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and HASS (Humanities, Arts and Social Science) approaches have played out in, and through, algorithms and datafication (e.g., the rise of small data [ethnography] to counteract big data). As digital culture becomes all-encompassing, data and its politics become central. To understand digital culture requires us to acknowledge that datafication and algorithmic cultures are now commonplace—that is, where data penetrate, invade, and analyze our daily lives, causing anxiety and seen as potentially inaccurate statistical captures.

Alongside the use of big data, the quantified self (QS) movement is amplifying the need to think more about how our data stories are being told and who is doing the telling. Tensions and paradoxes ensure—power and powerless; tactic and strategic; identity and anonymity; statistics and practices; and big data and little data. The ubiquity of digital culture is explored through the lens of play and playful resistance. In the face of algorithms and datafication, the contestation around playing with data takes on important features. In sum, play becomes a series of methods or modes of critique for agency and autonomy. Playfully acting against data as a form of resistance is a key method used by artists, designers, and creative practitioners working in the digital realm, and they are not easily defined.