A systematic review of the subjective wellbeing outcomes of engaging with visual arts for adults (“working-age”, 15-64 years) with diagnosed mental health conditions

The importance of the visual arts in contributing to the wellbeing of adults with mental health conditions has been little documented beyond some insightful and influential interventions and exploratory studies. Initiatives such as Arts on Prescription projects have, in the UK provided examples of the positive effects that engagement in artistic and creative activity can have, and some of these have been documented in small-scale studies of interventions. Most of the evidence has been perceived as positive but of limited scale. In this context, this review was carried out to examine in a more focused way the ‘subjective wellbeing’ (SWB) outcomes of engagement with the visual arts for adults with a background history of mental health conditions. SWB embraces both the positive and negative feelings that arise in individuals based on their view of the world, how they think about themselves and others, and what they do in the interactions and practices of everyday life. Adult subjects in the studies included in this review were of ‘working-age’ (15-64 years). The focus of the review and the precise research question were agreed at inception sessions of the research team, and in collaborative engagement with stakeholders in the areas of policy, service-delivery, project and evaluation commissioning, and research and scholarship in the spheres of the visual arts and mental health. Published studies from the past 10 years were studied for the review, and their findings synthesised and integrated into an evaluation of the state of knowledge in the field, in terms of the specifics of the research questions. We found that there is limited high-quality evidence, though case studies from the UK have provided important and consistent findings, corroborated by grey literature that has reported on interventions and projects. The review includes published findings based on data on/from 163 participants across four countries – Australia, Sweden, the UK, and the USA. Overall, female respondents outnumbered male respondents. A wide variety of wellbeing measures were used in some quantitative, statistical studies. In-depth interviews dominated the qualitative studies, giving voice to the experiences of individual subjects. The visual arts practices that featured in the studies included forms of painting or drawing, art appreciation with selected art forms, artmaking culminating in an exhibition, and more general creative and craft activities that included visual artefacts such as ceramics or sculpture. Evidence we include from recent unpublished reports (grey literature) was produced by or for visual arts organisations since 2014. Participants in the evaluations were both male and female and were engaged in UK-based arts interventions, many via community arts or ‘Arts on Prescription’ types of intervention. Overall, the evidence available in this review has shown that engagement in the visual arts for adults with mental health conditions can reduce reported levels of depression and anxiety; increase self-respect, self-worth and self-esteem; encourage and stimulate re-engagement with the wider, everyday social world; and support in participants a potential renegotiation of identity through practice-based forms of making or doing. The most effective ‘working ways to wellbeing’ are also confirmed in processes of implementation that ensure provision of secure safe-space and havens for interventions; that recognise the value of non-stigmatising settings; and that support and sustain collaborative facilitation of programmes and sessions. 4 Some negative dimensions of engagement with the visual arts were also identified, including stress and pressure felt to complete activities or commit to artmaking, and the very real fear that the end of an intervention would mean the return to a world of anxiety, decreasing confidence and social isolation. The review shows that for adults starting visual arts activities or programmes, the subjective wellbeing outcomes are, for the majority of participants, positive. This applies to men and women alike across the studies. The most convincing evidence has emerged from focused qualitative research designs, and makes clear that the most effective work in the field continues to lack the necessary resources and infrastructure that would ensure sustainable practices and interventions. Overall, there is some evidence of benefit in a weak field that could be strengthened by fuller monitoring of cohorts to evaluate the long-term effects of participants’ engagement with the visual arts

A systematic review of sport and dance participation in healthy young people (15-24 years) to promote subjective wellbeing

We know that taking part in physical activity like sport and dance can bring wellbeing benefits, such as being more satisfied with life and happier, and feeling less anxious and depressed. Most of the evidence is however about adults. This review was carried out to investigate the relationships between subjective wellbeing (SWB) and taking part in sport and dance for healthy young people (15-24 years). Healthy people were defined as those without a condition diagnosed by a health professional. SWB describes wellbeing in terms of the good and bad feelings arising from what people do and how they think. The focus of this review was agreed through on-going collaborative engagement with UK-wide stakeholders representing policy, commissioning and managing, service delivery, and scholars from both academic and non-academic organisations. We examined studies from the past 10 years and found that there is limited good quality evidence, and very little conducted in the UK. The review includes published findings from 977 participants across six countries - China, Korea, India, Turkey, Sweden and the USA. In some studies, participants were predominantly female. A wide variety of wellbeing measures were used. The most common form of sport/dance related activity was based on meditative practices (yoga and Baduanjin Qigong). Other physical activities reported included body conditioning, aerobic exercise, dance training, hip hop dance and sports including volleyball, ice skating, Nintendo Wii Active Games. We included evidence from recent unpublished reports (grey literature) produced by or for sport and dance organisations since 2013. Participants in the evaluations were both male and female with a mean age between 13-24 years and were engaged in UK-based programmes of sport and dance. Findings illustrate that depending on activity type and delivery mode, taking part is associated with wellbeing improvements connected to social connectedness, pleasure, sense of purpose, confidence, interpersonal skills, happiness, relaxation, creative skills and expression, aspiration and ambition. Taking part was also associated with negative wellbeing connected to concerns about competency and capability. Overall, the evidence available in this review suggests that yoga-type activities have the potential to improve subjective wellbeing and that group-based and peer supported sport and dance programmes may promote wellbeing enhancement in youth groups. The evidence in this review provides limited promising findings upon which sport and dance programmes for wellbeing improvement could be developed. The lack of evidence identified in this review does not necessarily mean that wellbeing benefits are not accrued from taking part in sport and dance. There is scope to build evidence on wellbeing outcomes of sport and dance in healthy young people through well-designed, rigorous and appropriate research methods which are underpinned by relevant theory and use established methods of analysis

Spiny spiders and spiny trees: Molecular phylogenetics and biogeographic reconstruction reveal history of recurrent overwater dispersal events, single-island endemics, and new species of Caribbean Micrathena (Araneae: Araneidae)

Elucidating the processes responsible for the provenance of taxon biodiversity on islands can help us to understand macroevolutionary mechanics in addition to specific organismal histories. Current species distributions are a result of an admixture of both abiotic (i.e. geologic) and biotic (i.e. dispersal capability, speciation and extinction rates) factors. The heterogeneous tectonic histories and local ecological differentiation among islands within the Caribbean contribute to high levels of endemicity and diversity. Differential historical biogeographic processes, namely vicariance (physical separation of populations by barriers) or long-distance dispersal, represent hypotheses to explain current distributions of species on islands resulting from colonization followed by radiation and extinction. In the Caribbean, the GAARlandia landbridge, connecting northern South America with the Greater Antilles (emergent 35-33 mya) presents an appealing vicariant explanator for diversity among various animal groups. Spiders epitomize excellent study organisms for phylogeographic analyses due to their high biodiversity, occupation of a wide variety of ecological niches, and high variation in their ability to disperse. This study assesses the evolutionary and biogeographic history of the spider genus Micrathena within the Caribbean to discern the role of long-distance dispersal and vicariance in shaping their distribution and diversity. Through the process several new species were discovered that are here described, adding to our understanding of diversity within the group. Prior work on Micrathena has been limited by relatively poor specimen sampling and resulted in conflicting reports supporting opposing colonization processes and routes. A robust specimen set emphasizing increased sampling on continental mainland areas (Colombia, Florida, plus Genbank mining of data from Brazil and the largest Greater Antilles Islands (Hispaniola, Cuba) was included in our analysis. Multilocus sequence data, ancestral range reconstruction, and biogeographic model testing procedures were integrated to reconstruct an evolutionary history of Micrathena and test the roles of the alternative vicariant (GAARlandia) and long-distance dispersal hypotheses. The history of Micrathena in the Caribbean spans approximately 30 million years beginning in the mid- Oligocene. The genus originates in South America, but Caribbean groups have a newer North American origin and dispersed five times to the Caribbean, supporting a long-distance dispersal hypothesis for colonization and rejecting a GAARlandia colonization route. Our results suggest high endemicity among Caribbean islands. The novel phylogeny highlighted previously uncovered species diversity, and species delimitation along with the primary phylogenetic dataset was used to develop new species hypotheses and descriptions. Three new species are herein described with representatives from Costa Rica, Mexico, and Colombia, and we resurrect M. flavomaculata (Keyserling, 1863) from Hispaniola. As so few specimens (\u3c4) currently represent these species, future sampling will be necessarily undertaken at proximal collection localities to ensure diversity is adequately ascertained. These results spotlight Caribbean Micrathena among Caribbean arachnid groups in that they repeatedly dispersed to the Caribbean despite their profuse spininess, and as having originated in North America

Natural conditions and adaptive functions of problem-solving in the Carnivora

Physical problem-solving paradigms are popular for testing a variety of cognitive abilities linked with intelligence including behavioral flexibility, innovation, and learning. Members of the mammalian order Carnivora are excellent candidates for studying problem-solving because they occupy a diverse array of socio-ecological niches, allowing researchers to test competing hypotheses on the evolution of intelligence. Recent developments in the design of problem-solving apparatuses have enhanced our ability to detect inter-specific and intra- specific variation in problem-solving success in captive and wild carnivores. These studies suggest there may be some links between variation in problem-solving success and variation in urbanization, diet, and sociality

Mental Trauma, Colonial Mimicry, and Internalized Racism in Tsitsi Dangarembga\u27s the Book of Not

Tsitsi Dangarembga’s second novel in her Nervous Conditions trilogy, The Book of Not (2006) emphasizes the disabling nature of colonial domination and terror through pain and violence inflicted on the body and the mind. Through the use of Frantz Fanon’s colonial and post-colonial theory and Homi Bhabha’s concept of colonial mimicry the critical nature of Tambudzai—the main protagonist—position in the novel becomes apparent. Just as the title suggests, the novel becomes a book of negation and unbecoming as Tambudzai tries to find her place as a woman in Southern Rhodesia while attending a European colonial institution while war rages just beyond the boundaries of the manicure lawns of the convent school. While she struggles with the internalized racism and constant rejection, she is also in a perpetual state of fight of flight as she tries to keep herself alienated from her community. Tambudzai does not rebel like Nyasha in the first novel, nor is she docile like Lucia—Tambudzai chooses the path of least resistance with detrimental consequences pertaining to her loss of identity, subjectivity, and personhood. Her sense of wellbeing, or unhu, is torn apart and she ultimately becomes pieces of a whole like her sister Netsai

Chapter 19 Max Ritvo’s Precision Poetry

This essay reads Max Ritvo’s poetry through a chronology of precision biomedicine: imaging, diagnosis, and treatment. Ritvo’s construction of a patient-consumer avatar in his poetry reflects his position at a biomedical frontier, while poetic form becomes a way of retrieving bodies from a logic of substitution and surrogacy

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Une course sans répit : l’évolution des paramètres des candidats à la résidence en oto-rhino-laryngologie – chirurgie cervico-faciale au fil du temps

Background: There has been an increasing number of Canadian medical graduates who have gone unmatched in the residency selection process. Medical students have been engaging in extracurricular activities outside the formal curriculum which may help to distinguish themselves from their peers in the selection process. To understand how competitiveness in residency selection shapes applicant demographic characteristics and behaviours, this study set out to explore the demographic characteristics and prevalence of reported extra-curricular activities by applicants to Canadian Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery (OTL-HNS) residency across time. Methods: A retrospective, descriptive study reviewed specific sections of the curriculum vitae (CV) of applicants to OTL-HNS programs in Canada.  These sections were self-reported, and included research productivity, involvement in volunteer and leadership activities, membership in associations, and honours or awards granted.  Data was quantified and analyzed descriptively. Results: Between 2013 to 2017, a total of 267 applicants reported a median of 12.6 research publications, 9.6 volunteer activities, six leadership activities, six association memberships and 9.8 honours/awards. Applicants were younger over time, with proportions of applicants over 30 years old decreasing from 56% in 2013 to 9% in 2017. Conclusion: Applicants to Canadian OTL-HNS residency programs are reporting consistently high numbers of extracurricular activities and were of increasingly younger ages. Medical students are investing significant time and energy to pursue these activities which are above and beyond the formal curriculum, possibly contributing to decreased diversity in applicants for competitive residencies, increasing the likelihood of misrepresentation in residency applications, and likely contributing to medical student burnout.Contexte : De plus en plus de diplômés en médecine canadiens demeurent non jumelés à l’issue du processus de sélection des résidents. Certains font des activités hors programme afin de se distinguer de leurs pairs dans le processus de sélection. Pour comprendre comment la compétition dans la sélection de résidents influence les caractéristiques démographiques et les comportements des candidats, cette étude visait à explorer l’évolution des caractéristiques démographiques et la prévalence d’activités hors programme déclarées par les candidats à la résidence en oto-rhino-laryngologie – chirurgie cervico-faciale (ORL-CCF) à travers le temps. Méthodes : Dans le cadre d’une étude rétrospective et descriptive, nous avons parcouru des sections pertinentes du curriculum vitae (CV) des candidats aux programmes d'oto-rhino-laryngologie et chirurgie cervico-faciale au Canada. Ces sections étaient auto-déclarées et comprenaient les activités de recherche, la participation à des activités de bénévolat et de leadership, l'appartenance à des associations et les prix et distinctions obtenus. Les données ont été quantifiées et analysées de manière descriptive. Résultats : Entre 2013 et 2017, un total de 267 candidats ont déclaré une médiane de 12,6 publications de recherche, 9,6 activités de bénévolat, 6 activités de leadership, 6 adhésions à des associations et 9,8 prix et distinctions. Au fil du temps, on observe que les candidats sont de plus en plus jeunes ; ainsi, la proportion de candidats âgés de 30 ans et plus a diminué de 56 % en 2013 à 9 % en 2017. Conclusion : Les candidats aux programmes de résidence en ORL-CCF au Canada déclarent d’une année à l’autre un nombre élevé d'activités hors programme et sont de plus en plus jeunes. Les étudiants en médecine investissent beaucoup de temps et d'énergie dans ces activités qui vont au-delà du programme d'études officiel. Cela pourrait nuire à la diversité des candidats aux programmes de résidence fortement contingentés, augmenter la probabilité de fausses déclarations dans les demandes de résidence et probablement contribuer à l'épuisement professionnel des étudiants en médecin

Hidden in the Middle : Culture, Value and Reward in Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics - the so-called shotgun marriage between biology and computer science - is an interdiscipline. Despite interdisciplinarity being seen as a virtue, for having the capacity to solve complex problems and foster innovation, it has the potential to place projects and people in anomalous categories. For example, valorised 'outputs' in academia are often defined and rewarded by discipline. Bioinformatics, as an interdisciplinary bricolage, incorporates experts from various disciplinary cultures with their own distinct ways of working. Perceived problems of interdisciplinarity include difficulties of making explicit knowledge that is practical, theoretical, or cognitive. But successful interdisciplinary research also depends on an understanding of disciplinary cultures and value systems, often only tacitly understood by members of the communities in question. In bioinformatics, the 'parent' disciplines have different value systems; for example, what is considered worthwhile research by computer scientists can be thought of as trivial by biologists, and vice versa. This paper concentrates on the problems of reward and recognition described by scientists working in academic bioinformatics in the United Kingdom. We highlight problems that are a consequence of its cross-cultural make-up, recognising that the mismatches in knowledge in this borderland take place not just at the level of the practical, theoretical, or epistemological, but also at the cultural level too. The trend in big, interdisciplinary science is towards multiple authors on a single paper; in bioinformatics this has created hybrid or fractional scientists who find they are being positioned not just in-between established disciplines but also in-between as middle authors or, worse still, left off papers altogether

Yeast:One cell, one reference sequence, many genomes?

The genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae – brewer’s or baker’s yeast – was the first eukaryotic genome to be sequenced in 1996. The identity of that yeast genome has been not just a product of sequencing, but also of its use after sequencing and particularly of its mobilization in scientific literature. We ask “what is the yeast genome?” as an empirical question by investigating “the yeast genome” as a discursive entity. Analyzing publications that followed sequencing points to several “yeast genomes” existing side-by-side: genomes as physical molecules, digital texts, and a historic event. Resolving this unified-yet-multiple “genome” helps make sense of contemporary developments in yeast genomics such as the synthetic yeast project, in which apparently “the same” genome occupies multiple roles and locations, and points to the utility of examining specific non-human genomes independent of the Human Genome Project