bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association between exercise frequency with renal and cardiovascular outcomes in diabetic and non-diabetic individuals at high cardiovascular risk
Authors: Böhm Michael , Schumacher Helmut , Werner Christian , Teo Koon K. , Lonn Eva M. , Mahfoud Felix , Speer Thimoteus , Mancia Giuseppe , Redon Josep , Schmieder Roland E. , Sliwa Karen , Marx Nikolaus , Weber Michael A. , Laufs Ulrich , Williams Bryan , Yusuf Salim , Mann Johannes F. E.
Published: January 2022

Background

Guidelines recommend physical activity to reduce cardiovascular (CV) events. The association between physical activity and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) with and without diabetes is unknown. We assessed the association of self-reported physical activity with renal and CV outcomes in high-risk patients aged ≥ 55 years over a median follow-up of 56 months in post-hoc analysis of a previously randomized trial program.

Methods

Analyses were done with Cox regression analysis, mixed models for repeated measures, ANOVA and χ2-test. 31,312 patients, among them 19,664 with and 11,648 without diabetes were analyzed.

Results

Physical activity was inversely associated with renal outcomes (doubling of creatinine, end-stage kidney disease (ESRD)) and CV outcomes (CV death, myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure hospitalization). Moderate activity (at least 2 times/week to every day) was associated with lower risk of renal outcomes and lower incidence of new albuminuria (p < 0.0001 for both) compared to lower exercise levels. Similar results were observed for those with and without diabetes without interaction for renal outcomes (p = 0.097–0.27). Physical activity was associated with reduced eGFR decline with a moderate association between activity and diabetes status (p = 0.05).

Conclusions

Moderate physical activity was associated with improved kidney outcomes with a threshold at two sessions per week. The association of physical activity with renal outcomes did not meaningfully differ with or without diabetes but absolute benefit of activity was even greater in people with diabetes. Thus, risks were similar between those with diabetes undertaking high physical activity and those without diabetes but low physical activity.

Clinical trial registration: http://clinicaltrials.gov.uniqueidentifier:NCT00153101.
Endoscopic resection as an independent predictive factor of local control in patients with T1bN0M0 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma treated with chemoradiotherapy: a retrospective study
Authors: Miyazaki Tomohiko , Myojin Miyako , Hosokawa Masao , Aoyama Hidefumi , Okahara Satoshi , Takahashi Hiroaki
Published: January 2022

Background

Although chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is one of the curative treatments for thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) with submucosal invasion, the risk of local recurrence after CRT remains a clinical problem. This retrospective study aimed to analyze the predictive factors for local recurrence after CRT.

Methods

Ninety-one patients with clinical or pathological (c/p) T1bN0M0 thoracic ESCC who underwent CRT from 2004 to 2017 in our institution were analyzed retrospectively. Sixty-three patients were diagnosed with pathological T1b after undergoing initial endoscopic resection (ER) and treated with additional CRT; meanwhile, 28 patients were clinically diagnosed with T1b and underwent definitive CRT. We investigated the predictors of disease–specific survival (DSS) and local recurrence–free survival (LRFS) by performing univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results

The median observation period was 59.8 months. The 5-year DSS and LRFS rates were 84.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 76.1–92.5) and 87.1% (95% CI: 79.1–95.1), respectively. The multivariate analysis revealed no significant predictors associated with DSS. On the contrary, ER (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.11, 95% CI: 0.02–0.48, p = 0.003) and tumor length (HR: 6.78, 95% CI: 1.28–36.05, p = 0.025) were recognized as independent predictive factors for LRFS. During follow-up, recurrence was observed in 18 patients (19.8%). With regard to the patterns of relapse, local recurrence was the most common in 11 patients, and salvage ER was performed in 9 of 11 patients.

Conclusions

ER and tumor length were independent predictive factors for LRFS. Our study suggested that performance of ER prior to CRT improved the local control in patients with c/p T1bN0M0 ESCC. In addition, most of the patients who experienced local recurrence were treated with salvage ER, which contributed to preserving the organs.
Dermal microfilariae of dogs, jackals and cats in different regions of Iran
Authors: Sazmand Alireza , Bahiraei Zahra , Nemati Farzad , Annoscia Giada , Bezerra-Santos Marcos Antonio , Nayebzadeh Hassan , Salemi Amir Masoud , Mousavi Seyed Mahmoud , Sadjjadi Seyed Mahmoud , Otranto Domenico
Published: January 2022

Background

Due to the complexity of retrieving skin-dwelling microfilariae, filarioids of dogs presenting dermal microfilariae (e.g.Cercopithifilariaspp.,Onchocerca lupi) are relatively unknown compared toDirofilariaspp.andAcanthocheilonemaspp.whose microfilariae circulate in the blood. AlthoughCercopithifilariaspp. andO. lupifilarioids are distributed worldwide, there is a paucity of information on their occurrence in Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate these filarioids in a large population of dogs from different regions of Iran.

Methods

From October 2018 to September 2020, skin biopsies were obtained from dogs housed in shelters (n = 557) and privately owned dogs (n = 26) in seven provinces of Iran (Hamedan, Kermanshah, Yazd, Mazandaran, Khuzestan, Lorestan, Esfahan), as well as from three road-killed jackals (Canis aureus) and three cats (Felis catus) in Hamedan province. The skin biopsies were first soaked in saline solution at room temperature overnight, and examined for dermal microfilariae under the microscope. Positive skin specimens and sediments were tested by PCR for a 304-bp region of the mitochondrial cytochromecoxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene and amplicons were sequenced.

Results

Microfilariae ofCercopithifilariaspp. were found in skin biopsies of 32 of the 583 (5.5%) dogs tested, with infection rates of up to 25% in Kermanshah. No microfilariae were recovered from skin biopsy samples collected from dogs in Khorramabad and Ahvaz, nor from the examined jackals and cats. None of the privately owned dogs were found to be infected. Morphologic and morphometric characteristics of the microfilariae were consistent withC. bainae. Eighteen skin samples were positive for thecox1 gene, of which 15 sequences showed a nucleotide identity of 100% and three of 93.4% with the reference sequence ofC. bainaeavailable in GenBank (haplotype I; GenBank accession number: JF461457).

Conclusions

The data from this study broadens current knowledge on the geographical distribution ofC. bainaein dogs in Middle Eastern countries. Further studies on different wild canine species in the country (e.g. jackal, fox, wolf) could provide further information on the epidemiology of these filarioids. A particular focus should be put on zoonoticO. lupigiven the reports of its presence in human patients from this country.

Graphical Abstract
Microbial composition in Hyalomma anatolicum collected from livestock in the United Arab Emirates using next-generation sequencing
Authors: Perveen Nighat , Muzaffar Sabir Bin , Vijayan Ranjit , Al-Deeb Mohammad Ali
Published: January 2022

Background

Hyalomma anatolicum is a widely distributed tick species that acts as a vector transmitting tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) in livestock. Such pathogens affect the health of livestock and consequently reduce their productivity. Knowledge about the microbial communities (pathogens and endosymbionts) of ticks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is scarce. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to quantify microbial diversity in H. anatolicum using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology.

Methods

Hyalomma anatolicum ticks were collected from livestock in the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah in the UAE during 2019. DNA was extracted from 175 male ticks sampled from livestock (n = 78) and subjected to NGS. The 16S rRNA gene was analyzed using the Illumina MiSeq platform to determine the bacterial communities. Principal coordinates analysis (PCA) was performed to identify patterns of diversity in the bacterial communities.

Results

Twenty-six bacterial families with high relative abundance were identified, of which the most common were Staphylococcaceae, Francisellaceae, Corynebacteriaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Moraxellaceae, Bacillaceae, Halomonadaceae, Xanthomonadaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, Enterococcaceae, Actinomycetaceae and Streptococcaceae. The diversity of the microbial communities in terms of richness and evenness was different at the three study locations, with the PCA showing clear clusters separating the microbial communities in ticks collected at Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah. The presence of bacterial families harboring pathogenic genera showed that H. anatolicum could pose a potential threat to livestock and food security in the UAE.

Conclusions

The study is the first to document important data on the microbial communities associated with H. anatolicum in the UAE. This knowledge will facilitate a better understanding of the distribution pattern of microbes in livestock ticks in the UAE and, ultimately, will aid in deciphering the relationships between microbes and in the exploration of potential factors towards developing effective management strategies.

Graphical Abstract
Patterns of deer ked (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) and tick (Ixodida: Ixodidae) infestation on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the eastern United States
Authors: Poh Karen C. , Evans Jesse R. , Skvarla Michael J. , Kent Cody M. , Olafson Pia U. , Hickling Graham J. , Mullinax Jennifer M. , Machtinger Erika T.
Published: January 2022

Background

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) host numerous ectoparasitic species in the eastern USA, most notably various species of ticks and two species of deer keds. Several pathogens transmitted by ticks to humans and other animal hosts have also been found in deer keds. Little is known about the acquisition and potential for transmission of these pathogens by deer keds; however, tick-deer ked co-feeding transmission is one possible scenario. On-host localization of ticks and deer keds on white-tailed deer was evaluated across several geographical regions of the eastern US to define tick-deer ked spatial relationships on host deer, which may impact the vector-borne disease ecology of these ectoparasites.

Methods

Ticks and deer keds were collected from hunter-harvested white-tailed deer from six states in the eastern US. Each deer was divided into three body sections, and each section was checked for 4 person-minutes. Differences in ectoparasite counts across body sections and/or states were evaluated using a Bayesian generalized mixed model.

Results

A total of 168 white-tailed deer were inspected for ticks and deer keds across the study sites. Ticks (n = 1636) were collected from all surveyed states, withIxodes scapularis(n = 1427) being the predominant species. Counts ofI. scapularisfrom the head and front sections were greater than from the rear section. Neotropical deer keds (Lipoptena mazamae) from Alabama and Tennessee (n = 247) were more often found on the rear body section. European deer keds from Pennsylvania (allLipoptena cervi,n = 314) were found on all body sections of deer.

Conclusions

The distributions of ticks and deer keds on white-tailed deer were significantly different from each other, providing the first evidence of possible on-host niche partitioning of ticks and two geographically distinct deer ked species (L. cerviin the northeast andL. mazamaein the southeast). These differences in spatial distributions may have implications for acquisition and/or transmission of vector-borne pathogens and therefore warrant further study over a wider geographic range and longer time frame.

Graphical Abstract
Multimodal molecular imaging evaluation for early diagnosis and prognosis of cholangiocarcinoma
Authors: Liu Jiong , Ren Wen Xiu , Shu Jian
Published: January 2022

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is an aggressive and lethal malignancy with limited therapeutic options. Despite recent advances in diagnostic imaging for CCA, the early diagnosis of CCA and evaluation of tumor invasion into the bile duct and its surrounding tissues remain challenging. Most patients with CCA are diagnosed at an advanced stage, at which treatment options are limited. Molecular imaging is a promising diagnostic method for noninvasive imaging of biological events at the cellular and molecular level in vivo. Molecular imaging plays a key role in the early diagnosis, staging, and treatment-related evaluation and management of cancer. This review will describe different methods for molecular imaging of CCA, including nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance imaging, optical imaging, and multimodal imaging. The main challenges and future directions in this field are also discussed.
A presumptive association between obsessive compulsions and asymmetric temporal lobe atrophy: a case report
Authors: Paranhos Thiago , Lucas Tiago , de Salles Antonio , Moll Jorge , de Oliveira-Souza Ricardo
Published: January 2022

Background

The relatively isolated atrophy of the temporal lobes leads to a clinical radiological pattern, referred to as the temporal variant of frontotemporal dementia. While semantic dementia and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia are classically related to this syndrome, the logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia has been less commonly reported. This case report aims to give a pictorial description of a case in which a patient with asymmetric temporal lobe atrophy presented with the logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia and complex rituals of cleanliness.

Case presentation

We report on the case of a 68-year-old, right-handed White woman with complex rituals and progressive speech impairment. The obsessive–compulsive rituals represented an exacerbation of lifelong preoccupations with cleanliness and orderliness that were praised by her relatives. Neuropsychological assessment revealed a striking impairment of language and memory, with relative sparing of tool-use praxis and visuospatial skills. Magnetic resonance imaging and18fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography scans showed bilateral asymmetrical temporal lobe atrophy and hypometabolism. A year later, she was still able to entertain conversation for a short while, but her vocabulary and fluency had further declined. Praxis and visuospatial skills remained intact. She did not experience pathological elation, delusions, or hallucinations. The disease followed a relentless progression into a partial Klüver–Bucy syndrome, abulia, and terminal dementia. She died from acute myocardial infarction 8 years after the onset of aphasia. The symptoms and their temporal course supported a diagnosis of logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia due to asymmetric temporal variant frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

Conclusions

This report gives a pictorial description of a temporal variant of frontotemporal dementia in a patient who presented with worsening of a lifelong obsessive–compulsive disorder and logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia.
Right-lateral offset associated with the most recent earthquake on the Ikeda fault of the Median Tectonic Line, southwest Japan, revealed by ground-penetrating radar profiling
Authors: Patria Adi , Kimura Haruo , Kitade Yoshihiro , Tsutsumi Hiroyuki
Published: January 2022

The Median Tectonic Line (MTL) is an arc-parallel strike-slip fault that accommodates much of the arc-parallel component of the oblique convergence of the Philippine Sea and Eurasian plates at the Nankai Trough. The MTL in Shikoku is one of the fastest-slipping faults in Japan, with a late Quaternary right-lateral slip rate of 5–10 mm/yr. To estimate the right-lateral slip amounts of the past faulting events on the MTL, we acquired 2D and pseudo-3D ground-penetrating radar (GPR) sections across the ENE-trending Ikeda fault of the MTL in eastern Shikoku. We conducted the GPR surveys at the Higashi-Miyoshi site, where two terrace riser offsets mark the active fault trace. The 2D lines were about 28–64 m long, and the pseudo-3D data were sized 20 m × 30 m with a 0.5-m inline spacing. We used 50 MHz GPR antennas and conducted wide-angle measurements to estimate the electromagnetic wave velocity. We identified three paleochannels on the final depth-converted GPR sections, and two of them are deflected by the fault. A paleochannel at 0.6–1.4 m depth is observed on all inline sections of the pseudo-3D GPR data. We built a 3D model of this paleochannel and estimated the right-lateral and vertical displacements of ~ 3.5 m and ~ 0.5 m, respectively. This paleochannel offset is probably caused by the most recent surface-rupturing earthquake on the Ikeda fault, which may be the 1596 Keicho-Fushimi earthquake. This study demonstrates the usefulness of the GPR surveys to identify geological features displaced laterally and vertically by the most recent surface-rupturing earthquake.
Supporting a decision for metro station restoration based on facility assessment: application to Cairo metro stations
Authors: Mohamed Walaa M.
Published: January 2022

Subway stations play a significant role in big cities today. This research aims to develop an integrated system that makes the best use of the budgets allocated for the rehabilitation of Cairo metro stations, based on stations condition assessment. The main problem is the lack of accurate assessment and decision-making optimization tools for Cairo metro stations condition. This, in turn, adversely affects the stations selected for rehabilitation and, thus, the misdirection (non-optimal) of the budgets allocated to the development of these stations. The appropriate methods and techniques of collecting and analyzing data are applied. They were collected from the reviewed literature concerning subway station facility management systems, as well as experts in the field. Data collection was followed by the analytic hierarchical process (AHP) and linear programming/integer programming and ended with the selection of stations prior to restoration or maintenance depending on the available budget or capital program. This system would be helpful in subway stations facilities decision-making by the concerned authorities like NAT (National Authority of Tunnels) or Cairo Metro Co. This system was applied to a sample of Cairo metro stations and concluded with some results. The first of them is reducing and optimizing the great allocated budgets by using the developed model. Another result is that the most important factors influencing the evaluation of the metro station are the structure, architecture, and hydromechanics, respectively.
VfoldMCPX: predicting multistrand RNA complexes
Authors: Zhang Sicheng , Cheng Yi , Guo Peixuan , Chen Shi-Jie
Published: January 2022

Multistrand RNA complexes play a critical role in RNA-related biological processes. The understanding of RNA functions and the rational design of RNA nanostructures require accurate prediction of the structure and folding stability of the complexes, including those containing pseudoknots. Here, we present VfoldMCPX, a new model for predicting two-dimensional (2D) structures and folding stabilities of multistrand RNA complexes. Based on a partition function-based algorithm combined with physical loop free energy parameters, the VfoldMCPX model predicts not only the native structure but also the folding stability of the complex. An important advantage of the model is the ability to treat pseudoknotted structures. Extensive tests on structure predictions show the VfoldMCPX model provides improved accuracy for multistranded RNA complexes, especially for RNA complexes with three or more strands and/or containing pseudoknots. We have developed a freely accessible VfoldMCPX web server at http://rna.physics.missouri.edu/vfoldMCPX2.
Welcome message from the new Editor-in-Chief
Authors: Degtjarenko Polina
Published: January 2022

The Editorial Board would like to thank all the authors who have submitted their manuscripts to FCE. I do appreciate the indispensable contribution of the reviewers, editors, and colleagues who helped with production of FCE fasc. 58: Johan Asplund, Pawel Czarnota, Janusz Czerepko, Edit Farkas, Paolo Giordani, Nils Gronberg, Beata Guzow-Krzemińska, Ernestas Kutorga, Nele Ingerpuu, Inga Jüriado, Ulla Kaasalainen, Kerry Knudsen, Urmas Kõljalg, Martin Kukwa, Piret Lõhmus, Robert Lücking, Liis Marmor-Ohtla, Diāna Meiere, Rolands Moisejevs, Jurga Motiejūnaitė, Anders Nordin, Maarja Öpik, Kadri Pärtel, Kadri Põldmaa, Tiina Randlane, Annu Ruotsalainen, Peedu Saar, Andres Saag, Anton Savchenko, Rodney D. Seppelt, Harrie Sipman, Jörgen Sjögren, Liga Strazdina, Irina Stepanchikova, David Svoboda, Ave Suija, Lars Söderström, Arne Thell, Andrei Tsurykau, Gennadi Urbanavichus, Kai Vellak, Richard Zander, Harald Zechmeister, and Mikhail Zhurbenko. We are also grateful to Ivo Volt, Aive Maasalu and Ülle Ergma from University of Tartu Press for the technical support.
Obstrucción de la acción climática en la extrema derecha española: La enmienda de Vox a la Ley de Cambio Climático y su representación en prensa.
Authors: Moreno Jose A. , Thornton Gina
Published: January 2022

Aunque vivimos un momento crucial en el que la ciencia del clima nos insta a tomar medidas contundentes para mitigar el cambio climático, existe un contramovimiento que obstaculiza la adopción de políticas climáticas. En Europa, hay partidos de extrema derecha que se han alineado con el contramovimiento climático. Esta investigación pretende examinar el discurso sobre el cambio climático del partido de extrema derecha español Vox, así como la recepción en la prensa de las ideas del partido sobre el tema. Este trabajo analiza la enmienda a la totalidad del Proyecto de Ley de Cambio Climático y Transición Energética (121/00019) presentada por Vox el 17 de junio de 2020 en el Parlamento español. El estudio consiste en un examen de los encuadres contrarios a la acción climática siguiendo la tipología de Almiron et al. (2020). A esta investigación le sigue un análisis crítico del discurso de la cobertura de esta enmienda en la prensa española. Este análisis de prensa permite conocer si los periodistas recibieron la propuesta de Vox de forma crítica y se alinearon con el consenso científico, si informaron de forma neutral, o si apoyaron sus ideas. Los resultados incluyen una reproducción de los manidos argumentos negacionistas del cambio climático difundidos por grupos de interés contrarios a la acción climática en Europa y los Estados Unidos. Este trabajo también identifica una reacción crítica de la prensa española a la enmienda de Vox, a pesar de la existencia de algunos textos que informan de forma neutral sobre la propuesta.
Androcentrism and conservatism within climate obstructionism. The case of the think tank CLINTEL in The Netherlands.
Authors: Moreno-Soldevila Mayte
Published: January 2022

Within the climate countermovement, neoliberal think tanks have played a predominant role in both the United States and Europe. There are links between climate obstructionism and ideologies such as conservatism and the extreme right; androcentrism, patriarchal worldviews and industrial masculinities, and whiteness and xenosceptic ideologies. This research takes as a case study the Dutch think tank CLINTEL, which, despite having been founded in 2019, has managed to get a declaration against the climate emergency to members of the European Parliament, which has been signed by climate action contrarians from all over the world. This paper analyses the contrarian framings present in this declaration based on the typology established by Almiron et al. (2020). In addition, this research makes a gendered discursive analysis of the discussion about this statement in a forum of the European Parliament, where CLINTEL met with members of the far-right Dutch party Forum van Democratie (FvD), part of the European Conservatives and Reformists group. The study on CLINTEL's statement shows that the think tank uses similar frames as other European denialist think tanks. Its climate declaration has a significant gender bias, with an overwhelming over-representation of men among the signatories. This, together with the discursive analysis of its discussion with members of the European Parliament, is a contribution to the emerging line of research on industrial masculinities and climate change obstructionism. This paper provides information on the think tank CLINTEL, helping to fill a knowledge gap on the climate change countermovement in the Netherlands.
Un conflicto desarmado. Experiencias de autoría en el video musical gallego contemporáneo: Expériences de la paternité dans le vidéoclip galicien contemporain.
Authors: Tenreiro Cibrán
Published: January 2022

En las dos últimas décadas algunas voces han aplicado el concepto de autoría al vídeo musical. Igual que sucedió con el cine, esto genera un conflicto, ya que se identifica un trabajo de carácter industrial como un medio de expresión individual, pero esta expresión choca con las limitaciones derivadas de las exigencias de la industria discográfica. En este artículo abordamos la cuestión de la autoría en el videoclip desde algunas experiencias en Galicia, un sistema cultural periférico en el que varios condicionantes del formato en el ámbito mainstream (en el que se centra habitualmente el estudio del videoclip) desaparecen.
Compact Formulations for Split Delivery Routing Problems
Authors: Munari Pedro , Savelsbergh Martin
Published: January 2022

Split delivery routing problems are concerned with serving the demand of a set of customers with a fleet of capacitated vehicles at minimum cost, where a customer can be served by more than one vehicle if beneficial. They generalize traditional variants of routing problems and have applications in commercial and humanitarian logistics. Previously, formulations involving only commonly used arc-based variables have provided only relaxations for split delivery variants, as the possibility of visiting customers more than once introduces modeling challenges. The only known compact formulations are based on variables indexed by vehicle or by visit number and perform poorly when using general-purpose integer programming software. We present compact formulations that avoid the use of these types of variables and that can model split delivery routing problems with and without time windows. Computational experiments demonstrate their superior performance over existing compact formulations. We also develop a branch-and-cut algorithm that balances the efficiency derived from a relaxed formulation with the strength derived from one of the proposed formulations and demonstrate its efficacy on a large set of benchmark instances. The algorithm solves 95 instances to proven optimality for the first time and improves the best known lower and/or upper bound for many other instances.
Hidden Laws
Authors: Woodward-Burns Robinson
Published: January 2022

The United States is home to the world’s oldest national constitution. Stability defines the document. Americans have never convened to replace the Constitution and rarely amended or fundamentally reinterpreted the document. What explains the American Constitution’s longevity?
This book proposes that state constitutional revision resolves national constitutional controversies. With lower barriers to amendment and replacement, the American state constitutions invite reform, addressing national constitutional controversies. This state constitutional reform discourages national constitutional revision and quiets conflict between the branches of the national government, guiding American political development.
The book elaborates this claim using original datasets of all 12,000 proposed federal constitutional amendments and all 411 state constitutional revision bodies from 1776-2020. Using detailed, chronological case studies from the Revolution to the present, the book shows that state constitutionalism guides national politics. This frequent, popular revision grants the state constitutions a democratic legitimacy that the national Constitution lacks.
Providence and the Invention of American History
Authors: Koenig Sarah
Published: January 2022

In 1847, Protestant missionary Marcus Whitman was killed after a disastrous eleven-year effort to evangelize the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest. By 1897, Whitman was a national hero, celebrated in textbooks, monuments, and historical scholarship as the “Savior of Oregon.” But his fame was based on a tall tale — one that was about to be exposed. This book traces the rise and fall of Marcus Whitman's legend, revealing two patterns in the development of American history. On the one hand is providential history, marked by the conviction that God is an active agent in human history and that historical work can reveal patterns of divine will. On the other hand is objective history, which arose from the efforts of Catholics and other racial and religious outsiders to resist providentialists' pejorative descriptions of non-Protestants and nonwhites. The book examines how these competing visions continue to shape understandings of the American past and the nature of historical truth.
The Making of Oliver Cromwell
Authors: Hutton Ronald
Published: January 2022

Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658) — the only English commoner to become the overall head of state — is one of the great figures of history, but his character was very complex. He was at once courageous and devout, devious and self-serving; as a parliamentarian, he was devoted to his cause; as a soldier, he was ruthless. Cromwell's speeches and writings surpass in quantity those of any other ruler of England before Victoria and, for those seeking to understand him, he has usually been taken at his word. This book untangles the facts from the fiction. Cromwell, pursuing his devotion to God and cementing his Puritan support base, quickly transformed from obscure provincial to military victor. At the end of the first English Civil War, he was poised to take power. The book reveals a man who was both genuine in his faith and deliberate in his dishonesty — and uncovers the inner workings of the man who has puzzled biographers for centuries.
Using city foresight methods to develop city visions
Authors: Dixon Timothy J. , Tewdwr-Jones Mark
Published: January 2022

This chapter helps offer a practical guide on how city visions can be developed through participatory-based foresight methods, and how new projects and experiments can help to transform cities and lead to a sustainable (and smart) future. This is a fundamental part of what is termed ‘urban futures’ and recognises complexity and the need to manage a transition to a shared and desirable future. The chapter looks in more detail at what ‘city foresight’ really means in practice, what is meant by a ‘city vision’ and how such a vision can be developed with a range of techniques, including visioning and backcasting. To do this, the chapter draws on our own research, working on Reading 2050 and Newcastle 2065 city visioning projects, but also examines other examples of how foresight activities can help frame city visions in different contexts internationally.
‘The people awoke awake’: observations from Beirut’s walls in the 17 October moment
Authors: Dakessian Arek , Hassani Célia , Shmaitilly Sarah
Published: January 2022

In this chapter we reflect on street art in Beirut during the October 17 revolutionary moment, when a decades-long accumulation of social, political and economic ills culminated in unprecedented and sustained protest across Lebanon. Through our engagement with a series of murals, stencils and graffiti that emerged on Beirut’s walls around October 17, as well as numerous scribbles by anonymous citizens around these more formal works of art and on random public surfaces, we argue that street art might have mediated the formation of citizen subjectivities by ‘making public’ conversations, contestations and reflections previously restricted to the private and intimate spaces of home and family.
Medical governance and governing the healthcare assemblage
Authors: Davy Zowie
Published: January 2022

This chapter looks at a range of medico-legal policies in order to draw distinctions between international and UK contexts in relation to patient centredness, autonomy, bodily integrity and self-determination. Here we will observe institutional lines of flight. The chapter explores the development of medical governance, particularly (but not exclusively) in the UK, to understand whether the relational field and all its relevant parts implicated in the medical-patient-policy assemblage continue to be fit for purpose in assigning a sex/gender at birth. From this we can ask whether sex/gender assignments have a medical purpose and what challenges can be levelled at the practice in light of human rights declarations surrounding the rights of people in relation to bodily integrity, autonomy and self-determination. This detour into medico-legal policy domains will also point to the ways that trans, sex/gender expansive and intersex people are treated differently to cis sex/gender people in many parts of the world, and continue to be unnecessarily pathologized. This chapter simply highlights that all bodies are affected and affect differently the ethical arguments about bodily integrity, autonomy and self-determination.
Sleepless in Seoul: understanding sleepless youth and their practices at 24-hour cafés through neoliberal governmentality
Authors: Lee-Caldararo Jonghee
Published: January 2022

In this chapter, Jonghee Lee-Caldararo explores shows how transformational impacts of neoliberalisations, austerities and economic crises are felt at intimate, bodily scales. Through research with young people at a selection of Seoul’s ‘24hr cafés’, the chapter argues that a highly competitive neoliberalised education system in South Korea, coupled with anxieties about post-recessionary unemployment and job insecurity, have led to ‘laziness’ being stigmatised. In this context, the chapter shows how sleeplessness, chronic fatigue, anxiety and stress have come to be normalised bodily conditions for many young people. This is evidenced by the preponderance of ‘24hr cafés’ in Seoul, where many young people regularly study, work and doze through the night, in lieu of going to bed. This haunting chapter, vividly evokes the way in which neoliberalisations, austerities and economic crises are lived and deeply -felt as personal, corporeal conditions, every day and every-night.
The undeserving poor and the happy poor: interrelations between the politics of global charity and austerity for young people in Britain
Authors: Judge Ruth Cheung
Published: January 2022

In this chapter, Ruth Cheung Judge explores how politics of charity in the global South intersect with politics of austerity in young people’s lives in the global North. Through rich qualitative research with young people from low-income UK backgrounds undertaking volunteering trips to sub-Saharan Africa, the chapter examines the different imaginaries of poverty circulating between these contexts. In particular, the chapter highlights the prevalence of imaginaries of the supposed ‘grateful, happy poor’ of the global South vis-à-vis the supposed ‘undeserving poor’ of UK urban neighbourhoods. The chapter insists that contemporary pressures on young people to adopt aspirational, responsible subjectivities under neoliberal austerity often constitutes a stigmatisation of lived poverty in diverse settings. The chapter thus calls for further research which adopts a multi-site, multi-scalar approach transcending either nation-state- or locally- scaled analyses.
‘My aim is to take over Zane Lowe’: young people’s imagined futures at a community radio station
Authors: Wilkinson Catherine
Published: January 2022

In this chapter, Catherine Wilkinson critiques the prevalence of individualised notions of aspiration in austerity UK. Through participant observation and qualitative research at a community youth radio station, the chapter considers the nature and content of young people’s imagined futures. The chapter provides a close engagement with the variously witty, moving and hopeful aspirations of young people in this setting, witnessing the fabulous richness of young people’s own ‘storied selves’ and futures. However, the chapter is critical of the emphasis on individualisation within neoliberal and austerity contexts, arguing that the fulfilment of ‘possible selves’ is relational and contingent on social and community bonds rather than solely the actions and desires of individuals. In particular, the chapter movingly outlines the direct impacts of austerity cutbacks of community support mechanisms for young people’s aspirations and orientations to the future.
Disputing the economization and the de-politicization of ‘social’ investment in global social policy
Authors: Bonvin Jean-Michel , Laruffa Francesco
Published: January 2022

This chapter highlights the question and limits of neoliberalism. It analyzes the ‘social’ investment (SI) perspective (focused on human capital formation) taking hold in global social policy discourses and the policy proposals advocated by international institutions like the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as regional actors like the EU and the European Commission (EC) and UN Regional Commissions like the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). With this growing worldwide development, they also sense the growing economization and de-politicization of the social. The chapter first reviews the problems with the SI perspective before introducing the capability approach. It then describes social policy as an essential precondition for an effective democracy, and investigates the implications of treating welfare reform itself as a political–democratic matter. The chapter aims to highlight the differences of this conception with the SI perspective on social policy.
Ageing sustainably
Authors: Walker Alan
Published: January 2022

This chapter investigates the implications of the major demographic shifts in global population age structures in relation to the thorny question of social sustainably. The chapter first presents the scope of global ageing, as well as its causes and the closely related transformations in family structure and epidemiology. It then examines the relationship between ageing and sustainability discourses, which reveals the heavy emphasis on the economic dimension, with the exclusion of the environmental and social ones. The chapter ultimately discusses a strategy to manage ageing sustainably at macro, meso and micro levels. However, as the chapter argues, this would require concerted collective action of a kind that, until the COVID-19 pandemic, had fallen out of favour politically in many parts of the world.
The political challenges to governing global migration and social welfare
Authors: Koning Edward A.
Published: January 2022

This chapter analyzes how immigration affects the politics of redistribution in Western democracies. It holds that the challenges of reconciling migration and welfare are aggravated by the political process. Migration raises complicated questions about the portability of social security arrangements and differentiation in social rights extension. The chapter then shifts to investigate the policy challenge that migration poses to the welfare system. It shows that news media frequently depict immigrants as a drain on the system. The chapter also pays attention to public opinion and shows that while the number of people who believe that immigrants are a leech on the system seems to be in decline, the sentiment is nevertheless having a larger impact on election outcomes. The chapter then turns to party politics, and argues that the increasing success of parties that run on a platform favouring extreme solutions and displaying hostility towards immigrants has produced a climate that discourages constructive and disinterested policy proposals.
Bringing in ‘the social’: an intersectional analysis of global crises and welfare
Authors: Williams Fiona
Published: January 2022

This chapter shows how an intersectional approach can excavate the ‘social’ in social policy analysis, not only at national and local/interpersonal scales but at global scales too. It focuses on the forces at the global scale that have shaped the development of post-financial crisis (austerity) welfare and the global pandemic of COVID-19, which should be understood in terms of the intersections between the crises of global financialised capitalism, of care, of ecology and of racialized transnational mobilities. In elaborating this framework, the chapter seeks to extend the application of intersectionality to social policy, and, in line with this, to bring ‘the social’ into a political economy analysis of neoliberal welfare. The chapter displays the transformatory alternatives to neoliberal welfare and neoliberalizing policy processes.
History and Memories of the Domestic Violence Movement
Authors: Hague Gill
Published: January 2022

This book is a one-off history of the women’s domestic violence movement in the UK with some international and global content. It celebrates transformative women’s activism on violence against women from the 1960s on. Interviews with activists, practitioners and abuse survivors provide reflection on this inspiring movement of social change for women, shaped by a generation of pioneering activists. The book is illustrated with memories, anecdotes and memoir, and with poems celebrating women’s activism. It also reflects on the movement challenging rape and sexual violence. It presents an analysis of the radical early politics of the domestic violence refuges and Women’s Aid in terms of the empowerment of women, collective working and attempting to break down differences between women providing and using services. This particular history is almost lost from view and the book aims to recall and celebrate it. Further, it details the challenges of the Black women’s movement and the development of specialist services for Black, minority ethnic and refugee (BMER) women. Legal, strategy and policy developments are outlined. Also covered are cutbacks, the difficulties of seeking funding within competitive commissioning frameworks and attacks on the sector in recent years, disproportionately experienced by BMER projects. The discussions include attention to harmful practices like ‘honour’-based violence, FGM and forced marriage. The book also discusses international activism on domestic violence, the relevance of shelters/refuges across the world and trans-national women’s partnerships. It outlines the development of feminist research on violence against women. Projects, campaigns and key activists are honoured throughout.
Introduction
Authors: Hague Gill
Published: January 2022

This introductory chapter describes the aims and parameters of the book, a history of the women’s domestic violence movements in the uk and internationally, written in a non-academic, easy-to-read style. the book aims to capture the diversity, passion and vision of the women’s struggle to take on domestic violence from the late 1960s to date. the chapter defines domestic violence and violence against women. it describes how the book records this unique history as a participant analysis, written by an ‘insider’ to the movement. the book has had input from many women’s activists, making it at least the beginning of a collective effort. the whole draws on interviews, memoir, memories, poems and some anecdotes. the chapter begins the book’s trajectory with a look at the wider social movements from which the women’s movements arose.
As time went on: the movements on domestic violence and harmful practices grow
Authors: Hague Gill
Published: January 2022

The movements on domestic violence and abuse expanded as time went on. This chapter brings the discussion of domestic violence services from the late 1980s to the 2020s. It discusses the challenges thrown up by the growth of domestic violence services as time went on and the evolution of accepted definitions. It debates, the development of specialist BMER services (including the Asian Women’s Resource Centre, Brent, and Southall Black Sisters) and services for abused women from other diverse communities. The chapter charts the development of Women’s Aid in the 2000s and of projects in the wider movement like Refuge, AVA, SafeLives and Justice for Women. It discusses the development of attention to harmful practices, like FGM, forced marriage and ‘honour’-based violence, and the struggles against them.
Expanding the movements, gaining the evidence: feminist research and transnational action
Authors: Hague Gill
Published: January 2022

This chapter looks at the pioneering development of activist-based feminist research methods on violence against women. This type of research is often characterised by collaboration as a principle and making something new in terms of robust research in the service of the domestic violence movement. The centres subsequently set up by feminist researchers include the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU), London, and the Violence Against Women Research Group (now Centre for Gender and Violence Research), Bristol. The chapter discusses the work since 1985 of the BSA Violence against Women Study Group. It concludes with a discussion of trans-national feminist action, research and partnerships which avoid the inappropriate imposition of Western ideas. The chapter highlights the deep humanity and humility required to make such partnerships work. It concludes with an example of participatory action research in Uganda and a tribute to the work of the Ugandan organisation, Mifumi, including a poem honouring especially the women from Ugandan villages involved.
End word
Authors: Hague Gill
Published: January 2022

The final chapter briefly sums up the book and the achievements that have been made in challenging domestic violence, even though there is still so far to go. It includes a quote from esteemed elder in the movement, Jalna Hanmer. Describing the movement against violence against women as building a tapestry to which groups, services and activists contribute (a metaphor originally developed by Liz Kelly), the book ends with a call for us all to add our shining threads to this tapestry.
The containment of democratic innovation: reflections from two university collaborations
Authors: Webb David , Mallo Daniel , Tardiveau Armelle , Emmerson Caroline , Pardoe Mark , Talbot Marion
Published: January 2022

This chapter reflects on variations in practice across two instances of street activism in the west end of Newcastle. Both projects shared with the Big Society agenda concerns for local democratic renewal and the foregrounding of community-centred knowledge, as well as an operating context marked by mainstream service retrenchment and piecemeal opportunities for civic funding. However, they also illustrate spatial variations including neighbourhood affluence, level of dependence on the local state and the strength of anchor institutions. The case studies are presented as a microcosm of broader challenges posed by the Big Society, explored longitudinally across a period of deepening austerity. They question the limits which austerity places on social innovation and the implications these may have for the civic university agenda in the future.
Conclusion: hope in an age of austerity and a time of anxiety
Authors: Shucksmith Mark , Davoudi Simin , Todd Liz , Steer Mel
Published: January 2022

The final chapter returns to some key questions in the light of these empirical accounts of social renewal. What role can civil society play in response to neoliberalism and austerity, and should this be a source of hope or despair? What can we learn about the role of academia and the civic university in helping communities to thrive in turbulent times? Finally, what will emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic? Civil society’s actions are important building blocks for recovery, hope and renewal, but much depends on which framing narrative will emerge and dominate after the crisis.