Dying to Go Green: The Introduction of Resomation in the United Kingdom

In an age where concern for the environment is paramount, individuals are continuously looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint—does this now extend to in one’s own death? How can one reduce the environmental impact of their own death? This paper considers various methods of disposing the human body after death, with a particular focus on the environmental impact that the different disposal techniques have. The practices of ‘traditional’ burial, cremation, ‘natural’ burial, and ‘resomation’ will be discussed, with focus on the prospective introduction of the funerary innovation of the alkaline hydrolysis of human corpses, trademarked as ‘Resomation’, in the United Kingdom. The paper situates this process within the history of innovative corpse disposal in the UK in order to consider how this innovation may function within the UK funeral industry in the future, with reference made to possible religious perspectives on the process

Alkaline Hydrolysis: The Future of British Death-Styles

This research traces funerary change in a rapidly changing social world and principally concerns the introduction of alkaline hydrolysis (AH) as a new funerary custom in the United Kingdom (UK). It is the first full study of AH in the British context, completed in early 2023, on the cusp of AH’s introduction for the first time in the UK. Framed by the global climate crisis, the thesis considers the historical, sociocultural, and worldview context of contemporary Britain in order to assess how British death-styles may soon shift to become more sustainable in line with sustainable lifestyles. The thesis traces funerary change over the last three centuries in the UK, considers how funerary activities fit within the environmental discourse, and assesses how British worldviews influence choice of funeral. Presenting findings from currently unique fieldwork in the USA, the research examines how AH may be offered as a funerary option in the contemporary British context. By considering the levels of British popular awareness of funerary innovations, including practices associated with funerary ‘waste’ and the availability of different funerary options, the research proposes how better public education of funerary innovations may occur. Ultimately, the thesis argues that life- and death-styles are increasingly aligning in the contemporary British context, framed by contemporary environmental concern and the influence of personal worldview. The research argues that contemporary British funerary choices are dictated by a diverse range of considerations and thus religious worldviews can no longer be described as overarchingly having the most permeating influence on British funerary choices. As such, as an environmental alternative to contemporary burial and cremation practices, the research argues that AH is likely to be adopted in the UK as an environmental and economical form of body disposal, primarily by those who currently choose cremation for non-religious reasons

Interventions to reduce suicides at suicide hotspots: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: 'Suicide hotspots' include tall structures (for example, bridges and cliffs), railway tracks, and isolated locations (for example, rural car parks) which offer direct means for suicide or seclusion that prevents intervention. METHODS: We searched Medline for studies that could inform the following question: 'What interventions are available to reduce suicides at hotspots, and are they effective?' RESULTS: There are four main approaches: (a) restricting access to means (through installation of physical barriers); (b) encouraging help-seeking (by placement of signs and telephones); (c) increasing the likelihood of intervention by a third party (through surveillance and staff training); and (d) encouraging responsible media reporting of suicide (through guidelines for journalists). There is relatively strong evidence that reducing access to means can avert suicides at hotspots without substitution effects. The evidence is weaker for the other approaches, although they show promise. CONCLUSIONS: More well-designed intervention studies are needed to strengthen this evidence base.Australian Government Department of Health and AgeingUK National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care for the Southwest Peninsul

How groups react to disloyalty in the context of intergroup competition: Evaluations of group deserters and defectors

Groups strongly value loyalty, especially in the context of intergroup competition. However, research has yet to investigate how groups respond to members who leave the group or join a competing outgroup. Three studies investigated groups' reactions to defectors (Experiment 1) and deserting members (Experiments 2 and 3). Experiment 1 used a minimal group paradigm to demonstrate that defectors trigger a stronger derogation of ingroup deviants than outgroup deviants vis-à-vis normative members. Experiments 2 and 3 compared group members' responses to defection versus desertion from minimal and self-assigned groups, respectively. Experiment 3 also explored an explanation for the evaluations of disloyalty. Across studies, participants evaluated normative ingroup members more positively than defectors and deserters. Outgroup deserting and defecting members were evaluated similarly. Derogation of ingroup as compared to outgroup targets emerged only for defectors. In addition, Experiment 3 demonstrated that negativity toward the outgroup was related to stronger derogation of disloyal targets. Negative outgroup attitudes trigger stricter criteria for responding to disloyalty. Directions for future research are discussed

Transformação para um modelo de aconselhamento empoderador: vozes dos consultores e professores

This article describes the process of transforming an educational organization that offers consultancies to support inclusion of students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). It reports the perspectives of the consultants who helped create and implement the changes, as well as the teachers who received orientation. A traditional model of consultation was transformed into an empowered model, which aimed to build teacher capacity and encourage innovation. Results of the study suggest that changes in educational practice led to an improvement in the treatment of children and youth with ASD, and both participants and consultants were empowered.Este artículo describe el proceso de transformación de una organización educativa que ofrece consultoría para la inclusión de alumnos con trastornos del espectro autista. Relata las perspectivas de los consultores que han ayudado a crear e implementar los cambios y de los maestros que recibieron las directrices. Un modelo tradicional de consultoría se convirtió en un modelo de empoderamiento y pretende promover la capacidad del profesor y fomentar las innovaciones. Los resultados de este estudio sugieren que los cambios en la práctica pedagógica condujeron a una mejora en la atención del niño/joven con autismo y que se fortalecieron los participantes y los consultores.Este artigo descreve o processo de transformação de uma organização educacional que oferece consultoria para a inclusão de estudantes com transtornos do espectro do autismo. Ele relata as perspectivas dos consultores que contribuíram para criar e implementar as mudanças e as dos professores que receberam as orientações. Um modelo tradicional de consultoria transformou-se em um modelo empoderador e teve como objetivo promover a capacidade do professor e encorajar inovações. Resultados deste estudo sugerem que mudanças na prática pedagógica conduziram a uma melhoria no atendimento da criança/jovem com autismo e que tanto os participantes quanto os consultores tornaram-se empoderados

The general population cohort in rural south-western Uganda: a platform for communicable and non-communicable disease studies.

The General Population Cohort (GPC) was set up in 1989 to examine trends in HIV prevalence and incidence, and their determinants in rural south-western Uganda. Recently, the research questions have included the epidemiology and genetics of communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to address the limited data on the burden and risk factors for NCDs in sub-Saharan Africa. The cohort comprises all residents (52% aged ≥13years, men and women in equal proportions) within one-half of a rural sub-county, residing in scattered houses, and largely farmers of three major ethnic groups. Data collected through annual surveys include; mapping for spatial analysis and participant location; census for individual socio-demographic and household socioeconomic status assessment; and a medical survey for health, lifestyle and biophysical and blood measurements to ascertain disease outcomes and risk factors for selected participants. This cohort offers a rich platform to investigate the interplay between communicable diseases and NCDs. There is robust infrastructure for data management, sample processing and storage, and diverse expertise in epidemiology, social and basic sciences. For any data access enquiries you may contact the director, MRC/UVRI, Uganda Research Unit on AIDS by email to [email protected] or the corresponding author

Alkaline hydrolysis and its affordances

First introduced as a funerary option in the early twenty-first century but initially limited to North America, the reach of alkaline hydrolysis (AH) is now growing year on year, with the number of US states, Canadian provinces and other countries around the world introducing legislation to permit its use regularly increasing. While AH has largely been framed as an environmental alternative to cremation, the reasons for its appeal stretch far beyond this ‘selling point’. Arguably more pertinent reasons for its appeal are grounded in the new ritual-symbolic opportunities that AH affords. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in the United States of America in 2022, this paper discusses some of the reasons why AH has been chosen and explores how the innovative possibilities it offers may bolster its appeal as its availability becomes more widespread. Amongst other reasons explored in this paper, my research found that the choice of AH has been driven by four key motivations, grounded in the perception of AH as an environmental, gentle, water-based and natural choice

An assessment of the relative influence of pain coping, negative thoughts about pain, and pain acceptance on health-related quality of life among people with hemophilia

Many people with hemophilia are affected by chronic arthritic joint pain as well as acute bleeding pain. In this cross-sectional study, 209 men with hemophilia A or B completed the Hemophilia Pain Coping Questionnaire (HPCQ), the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ), and the RAND 36-item Health Survey (SF-36), a measure of health-related quality of life. Multiple regression was used to test the influence of active pain coping, passive adherence coping, and negative thoughts about pain (HPCQ scales), and activity engagement and pain willingness (CPAQ scales), on physical and mental components of quality of life (SF-36 PCS and MCS scales), taking account of age, hemophilia severity, use of clotting factor, and pain intensity. Pain intensity was the main influence on physical quality of life and negative thoughts was the main influence on mental quality of life. Activity engagement and pain willingness had small but significant influences on physical and mental quality of life. Pain willingness also moderated and partly mediated the influence of pain intensity on physical quality of life, and activity engagement and pain willingness mediated the influence of negative thoughts on mental quality of life. Negative thoughts moderated and partly mediated the influence of pain intensity on mental quality of life. There was no evidence that active pain coping influenced quality of life. The findings suggest that quality of life in hemophilia could potentially be improved by interventions to increase pain acceptance and reduce negative thoughts about pain, especially among those with less severe pain.Haemophilia Society UK; Institute for Health Policy and Research, London Metropolitan University