Background. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) affects approximately 250,000 people in the UK. The condition varies in severity causing long-term physical and cognitive fatigue which is not alleviated by rest. Whilst the pathology is not understood, recent evidence suggests metabolic abnormalities may be associated with the manifestation of symptoms, particularly involving the metabolism of glucose and energy production. The use of ketone bodies as an alternative energy substrate may be beneficial to people with ME/CFS, in order to by-pass the glycolytic pathway, enhance energy production and reduce fatiguing outcomes. Study Design and Methods. Using a pragmatic collective case study with repeated measures methodology we investigated the feasibility of following a ketogenic diet and potential effects of the high fat, low carbohydrate diet on response to physical activity in people with ME/CFS (n=3) and healthy controls (n=3) using a submaximal exercise stress test both with and witho…
Recent scholarship has argued that the concept of highbrow culture is undergoing radical changes, both in content and modes of appropriation. We introduce a new layer to this debate by bringing to the fore the format of the cultural product, distinguishing between “live” cultural products (concerts, exhibitions, live shows) and “recordings” (distributable items such as books or music albums). Using culture sections of newspapers (The Guardian, Le Monde, ABC, El País, Helsingin Sanomat, Dagens Nyheter) from 1960 to 2010 (n=11,775) we ask what role the format of the cultural product plays for the highbrow/non-highbrow trajectories over time. We show that highbrow coverage faces a relative decline, mostly explained by the expanding non-highbrow arts coverage. Moreover, coverage on live events decreases, while coverage of recordings grows. This trend reflects the highbrow/non-highbrow divide, revealing that the “decline of the highbrow” phenomenon is under closer scrutiny a “decline of the highbrow live event”.
We are faced with an ageing population whose longer lives need to be lived well. Extant marketing scholarship has largely neglected older consumers’ behavior in relation to the social media realm and its influence on well-being. This two-stage qualitative study investigates subjective well-being, exploring whether and how sharing photos on social media increases the dimensions of self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth. The findings indicate that photo-sharing is a powerful behavior in augmenting older consumers’ well-being as it enables individual self-reflection, self-representation and transforms the individual experience into a collective one. Contributions include; that photo-sharing acts as a bridge in creating, reinforcing but also breaking bonds among older consumers, also a tension exists between the desire for autonomy and the need for relationships with others, and finally that the digital self exists as a component of…
Purpose. To develop an in-depth understanding of how survivors of acquired brain injury (ABI) experience fatigue and how fatigue affects everyday life. Materials and methods. We conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 16 adults with ABI fatigue, recruited from support groups in south east UK. Interviews were analysed using the frameworks method. Results. We developed four themes: experiencing fatigue in the context of everyday activities, struggling to make sense of fatigue, coping with fatigue, adjusting social participation in the context of fatigue. Fatigue was comprised of mental, physical, generalised and motivational fatigue. Balancing fatigue against participation in daily activities was influenced by coping strategies and social support. Opportunities to socialize or participate in meaningful activities provided incentives for participants to push through their fatigue. Conclusions. This study highlights complex interactions that potentially mitigate the impact of fatigue on everyday life. …
This article applies social network analysis (SNA) as a methodological tool to investigate University-Industry (U–I) dynamism within the context of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. It examines the roles multiple stakeholders should play in enhancing an up-to-date curriculum in higher education institutions (HEIs). Based on stakeholder theory, participants were categorised into real stakeholders, stakewatchers and stakekeepers. Drawing from documentary evidence and 28 semi-structured interviews, three main themes emerged from thematic content analysis: (1) curriculum dynamism and the need for curriculum modification, (2) tutor-practitioner interaction and (3) issues surrounding U-I dynamism. Findings revealed that the present curriculum is not in tandem with current industry requirements, and the level of interactivity between the industry stakeholders and universities is low, thus having a knock-on effect on the dynamicity of the HEI curriculum. Further tests revealed that industry stakeholders occupy the p…
Urban utility cycling is being promoted widely due to various health, social, economic and environmental benefits. This study seeks to identify and rank which municipal-level policies and other factors are most influential in increasing cycling as a means of everyday transport and improving the real and perceived cycling safety in car-oriented urban centres. This is achieved by identifying the key factors thought to influence cycle use and by establishing a hierarchy of effectiveness of municipal cycling policies. Data was collected through interviews with a panel of experts who also completed a Delphi study, a technique rarely used in cycling policy research, to collect and compare expert opinions to predict the outcomes of policies and external factors. Policies and external factors were scored in a theoretical policy framework according to their perceived relative influence on cycling levels and cycling safety. The results reinforce previous findings in the literature but allow for generalisation in car-or…
Since the 1990s Higher Education has had a critical role in the process of integration of transformative pedagogies to promote interdisciplinary competences for sustainable development. In spite of the wide recognition of the impact of these transformative pedagogies, their integration in traditional learning programmes is often neglected. This paper focuses on an advanced training on Energy Efficiency in Historic Heritage, as a part of an Erasmus+ programme Strategic Partnership project, funded by the European Commission which was implemented between 2014 and 2016, involving five European Countries. The scope of this project was to investigate on complex interactions between social and physical science concerning the integrated project about urban sustainability and preservation. An experimental approach founded on the combined use of cognitive mapping technique and meaningful learning activities in an interdisciplinary context was adopted. Two experiences, for trainers and learners, were carried out in orde…
Women’s domestic work is largely deemed to be a ‘labour of love’ and lacking any value outside the private family. This reflects an ‘ideology of domesticity’, whereby women’s natural place is deemed to be in an imagined private sphere. In this article, I examine the status of housework in the context of asserting property rights in the home upon relationship-breakdown. Using Valverde’s legal chronotope as a lens, I argue that the ideology of domesticity is not merely present in legal discourse, but also takes on material form through the spatiotemporal ordering of the home. Housework is spatially and temporally concealed behind the powerful veneer of the imagined ideal family home, with corresponding invisibility in the law. For domestic work to be acknowledged, the individual often has to demonstrate that her work transgresses boundaries between private and public. However, as I argue, this transgression is particularly difficult for women, who remain spatiotemporally anchored in the home.
Commentary on: McGill, D E., Volkening, D.A., Wasserman, R.M., Anderson, B.J., and Laffel, L.M. (2019). Text-message responsiveness is associated with HbA1c benefit in teenagers with Type 1 diabetes. Diabetic Medicine. Diabet Med. 2019 May;36(5):600-605. doi: 10.1111/dme.13929.