How trauma is represented on social media: Analysis of #trauma content on TikTok.

OBJECTIVE: The ways that mental health concepts are represented on social media could have significant implications for lay understandings and behavior. The current article reports an analysis of how trauma is represented on TikTok, one of the world's most popular social media platforms. METHOD: Following a search for content using the hashtag #trauma, 143 videos were subjected to qualitative content analysis to characterize the profiles of their producers, intended function, and trauma-related content. RESULTS: Results show that most videos were produced by young White people, who drew on their personal experience of trauma to generate confessional narratives or raise awareness of trauma. Trauma was most often attributed to childhood adversity or relationship difficulties. A diverse range of behaviors and experiences were positioned as evidence of trauma. CONCLUSIONS: Findings are consistent with prior suggestions that trauma's boundaries are expanding in the form of "concept creep," but also draw attention to the role of humor and irony in social media invocations of the concept. Given the current near-ubiquity of social media consumption, particularly among young people, establishing the implications of exposure to this content should be a priority for future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Lay concepts of trauma in the United Kingdom: Content and predictors.

OBJECTIVE: Readiness among laypeople to classify ordinary adversities as "trauma" may activate cognitive, social, and behavioral patterns that either promote proactive help-seeking or exacerbate mental health difficulties. Clinical understandings of trauma have expanded across recent decades to encompass a wide range of aversive experiences. While some have suggested lay understandings of trauma have expanded in parallel, minimal data directly reveal how the lay public conceptualize trauma. This study sought to establish the range of adversities that laypeople classify as traumatic. METHOD: In an online survey, U.K. participants (N = 214) rated the traumatic nature of 80 adversities, half of which represented prototypical precursors of trauma (e.g., physical assault and sexual abuse), and half of which involved other adversities, not typically invoked in clinical definitions of trauma. RESULTS: Prototypical precursors were judged significantly more traumatic than nonprototypical adversities, but many nonprototypical adversities were also deemed likely to cause trauma (e.g., facial disfigurement or being falsely accused of a crime). Individual variation in the propensity to interpret adversities as traumatic was significantly predicted by participants' age, ethnicity, and political orientation. CONCLUSIONS: This original evidence regarding the content and predictors of lay conceptions of trauma is relevant for sensitive delivery of clinical interventions, tailoring of other supports for populations experiencing adversity, and anticipating social responses to victims of specific adversities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Parenting boys with conduct problems and callous-unemotional traits: parent and child perspectives.

Parenting children with conduct problems (CP) is challenging, yet very little research has examined parenting using both quantitative and qualitative methods, from the perspective of the child and their parent/caregiver, and separately for those with high vs. low levels of callous-unemotional traits (HCU vs. LCU). One hundred and forty-six boys aged 11-16 [Typically developing (TD) n = 31; CP/HCU n = 35; CP/LCU n = 35] and their parents/caregivers completed the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire and provided a written qualitative statement describing their respective experiences of parenting/being parented. Parents/caregivers of CP/HCU boys reported more difficulty with child monitoring and supervision than parents of TD boys. This was echoed in qualitative reports of parents of CP/HCU boys reporting concerns regarding their child's safety. Parents/caregivers of both groups of CP boys reported more inconsistent discipline than parents of TD boys. Parental qualitative descriptions of challenging behavior in CP/HCU boys, and difficulties with setting boundaries and motivating CP/LCU boys, provided further insight to the potential triggers for inconsistent discipline. Qualitative reports from boys with CP indicated that they understood the parenting challenges their parents/caregivers faced. These findings replicate and extend previous work on the associations between parenting and CP. Children with CP/HCU and CP/LCU show some commonalities and differences in their parenting experiences and CP children and their parents/caregivers do not necessarily share all the same perceptions or concerns. CP interventions often involve parent/family engagement and this research highlights the continued importance of examining both parent and child perspectives.

How schools can aid children's resilience in disaster settings: The contribution of place attachment, sense of place and social representations theories.

Disasters incurred by natural hazards affect young people most. Schools play a vital role in safeguarding the wellbeing of their pupils. Consideration of schools' psychosocial influence on children may be vital to resilience-building efforts in disaster-vulnerable settings. This paper presents an evidence-based conceptualization of how schools are psychosocially meaningful for children and youth in disaster settings. Drawing on Social Representations and Place Attachment Theories, we explore the nature of group-based meaning-making practices and the meanings that emerge concerning school environments in disaster settings. We contribute a novel understanding of how schools may mitigate psychosocial risk for young people by considering how schools are conceptualised at four levels: (1) as physical environment, (2) as social arena, (3) as a place with individual and (4) group-based significance. In each of these domains schools can foster disaster resilience in young people. This paper highlights the evidence concerning the functions of schools beyond their capacity as educational institutions, critically considering their social and physical functions in their communities. This evidence can inform stakeholders involved in disaster resilience building.

From Challenge to Opportunity: Virtual Qualitative Research During COVID-19 and Beyond.

COVID-19 has required researchers to adapt methodologies for remote data collection. While virtual interviewing has traditionally received limited attention in the qualitative literature, recent adaptations to the pandemic have prompted increased discussion and adoption. Yet, current discussion has focussed on practical and ethical concerns and retained a tone of compromise, of coping in a crisis. This paper extends the nascent conversations begun prior to the pandemic to consider the wider methodological implications of video-call interviews. Beyond the short-term, practical challenges of the pandemic, these adaptations demonstrate scope for longer-term, beneficial digitalisation of both traditional and emergent interview methods. Updating traditional interview methods digitally has demonstrated how conversion to video interviewing proves beneficial in its own right. Virtual focus-group-based research during COVID-19, for example, accessed marginalised populations and elicited notable rapport and rich data, uniting people in synchronous conversation across many environments. Moreover, emergent interview methods such as the Grid Elaboration Method (a specialised free-associative method) demonstrated further digitalised enhancements, including effective online recruitment with flexible scheduling, virtual interactions with significant rapport, and valuable recording and transcription functions. This paper looks beyond the pandemic to future research contexts where such forms of virtual interviewing may confer unique advantages: supporting researcher and participant populations with mobility challenges; enhancing international research where researcher presence or travel may be problematic. When opportunities for traditional face-to-face methods return, the opportunity for virtual innovation should not be overlooked.

Remembering the earthquake: intrusive memories of disaster in a rural Italian community.

Background: Disasters can have long-lasting impacts on mental health. Intrusive memories have been found to be common and persistent in the aftermath of earthquakes. Objective: To explore, using diaries, intrusive memories' presence, content, characteristics, and relationship with probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a small rural community exposed to mass destruction and loss of life. Methods: Survivors of the 2016-2017 Central Italy earthquakes (N = 104) were first interviewed to investigate the presence of intrusive memories of the disaster. Those that reported intrusive memories were subsequently asked to complete a 7-day paper-and-pen diary tracking their spontaneous memories of the earthquake events. Results: Twenty months after the earthquakes, 49% (n = 51) of the sample reported having experienced intrusive memories post-earthquake and 38% (n = 39) reported at least one intrusive memory in their diaries. Memories were rated as being distressing, vivid, and experienced as a mixture of images and thoughts. The content of intrusive memories generally focused on sensations and experiences during the earthquake. Other common categories of content were the material environment and physical objects as well as human loss & death. Several memories had a social focus. A minority of memories contained more positive content as well as content from before and after the earthquake. Some participants (28%) experienced repeated intrusive memories of the same content. Memories of participants with and without probable PTSD did not significantly differ on characteristics or content. Conclusions: Intrusive memories can be common, distressing, and persistent occurrences following disasters, even in survivors not suffering from probable PTSD. Highlights: Intrusive memories were common, distressing, and vivid more than 1-year post-disaster.They captured peri-earthquake sensations, material destruction, death, and social interactions.No difference in content or characteristics was found between participants with and without probable PTSD.

Antecedentes: Los desastres pueden tener impactos duraderos en la salud mental. Se ha descubierto que los recuerdos intrusivos son comunes y persistentes después de los terremotos.Objetivo: Explorar, a través de diarios, la presencia, el contenido, las características de memorias intrusivas y la relación con la probabilidad de trastorno de estrés postraumático (TEPT) en una pequeña comunidad rural expuesta a destrucción masiva y pérdida de vidas.Método: Primero se entrevistó a los sobrevivientes de los terremotos de Italia central del 2016­2017 (N = 104) para investigar la presencia de recuerdos intrusivos del desastre. A aquellos que reportaron recuerdos intrusivos se les pidió posteriormente que completaran un diario con papel y lápiz por 7 días registrando sus recuerdos espontáneos de los eventos del terremoto.Resultados: Veinte meses después de los terremotos, el 49% (n = 51) de la muestra informó haber experimentado recuerdos intrusivos posteriores al terremoto y el 38% (n = 39) informó al menos un recuerdo intrusivo en sus diarios. Los recuerdos se calificaron como angustiosos, vívidos y experimentados como una mezcla de imágenes y pensamientos. El contenido de los recuerdos intrusivos generalmente se centró en sensaciones y experiencias durante el terremoto. Otras categorías comunes de contenido fueron el entorno material y los objetos físicos, así como la pérdida y muerte humana. Varios recuerdos tenían un enfoque social. Una minoría de recuerdos contenía más contenido positivo, así como contenido de antes y después del terremoto. Algunos participantes (28%) experimentaron recuerdos intrusivos repetidos del mismo contenido. Los recuerdos de los participantes con y sin TEPT probable, no diferían significativamente en características o contenido.Conclusiones: Los recuerdos intrusivos pueden ser experiencias comunes, angustiosas y persistentes después de los desastres, incluso en sobrevivientes que no sufren de TEPT probable.

How the home features in young adults' representations of loneliness: The impact of COVID-19.

Loneliness is a rapidly growing problem globally and has attracted a great deal of attention in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Young adults, and in particular, those residing in deprived areas are currently the loneliest group in the United Kingdom. Utilizing a novel-free association technique, young adults' experiences of loneliness were explored both prior to (n = 48) and during (n = 35) the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on social representations theory, a thematic analysis revealed that many young adults associated the experience of loneliness with their homes. Therefore, this comparative study aims to investigate how the home features in young adults' representations of loneliness, prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic using a systematic qualitative methodology. Three salient themes emerged from the data in both periods: 'The Lonely Home,' 'The Socially Connected Home' and 'The Safe, Peaceful, Authentic Home'. 'The Lonely Home' and 'The Socially Connected Home' emerged as a dialogical antimony. Representations of home were similar across the two periods; however, there were some notable differences. In particular, the themes 'The Socially Connected Home' and 'The Safe, Peaceful, Authentic Home' were less frequently mentioned by the during-COVID-19 sample where the 'The Lonely Home' was more frequently mentioned by the during-COVID-19 sample. Overall, discussion of the home was more negatively valenced in the during-COVID-19 sample compared to the pre-COVID-19 sample. This comparative, exploratory study alerts us to the nature of the role that home plays in exacerbating or ameliorating loneliness both prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The causes of loneliness: The perspective of young adults in London's most deprived areas.

Young adults are currently the loneliest demographic in the UK and other Western countries, yet little is known about how they see the causes of their loneliness. Thus, the objective of this study is to explore the subjective causes of loneliness among young adults (18-24 years old), particularly those of lower socio-economic status (SES) who are in employment, renting and living in the most deprived areas, since they are the loneliest in the UK. Utilising a free association technique and thematic analysis, and embedded in a phenomenological framework, the subjective causes of loneliness in a matched sample of 48 young adults in the four most deprived boroughs of London are found to cluster around five themes: The Feeling of Being Disconnected, Contemporary Culture, Pressure, Social Comparison and Transitions Between Life Stages. Disconnection arises from feeling one does not matter, is not understood or is unable to express oneself. Challenges pertaining to social media and materialism in contemporary culture contribute to loneliness as does pressure associated with work, fitting in and social comparison. Social media play a major role in exacerbating these experiences. Finally, transitions between life stages such as breakups, loss of significant others and transitory stages to do with education and employment are felt to cause loneliness. The findings suggest potential avenues for loneliness reduction.

Intrusive memories following disaster: Relationship with peritraumatic responses and later affect.

Cognitive theories of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suggest that intrusive memories result from disrupted information processing during traumatic memory encoding and are characterized by fear, helplessness, and horror at recall. Existing naturalistic studies are limited by the absence of direct comparisons between specific moments that do and do not correspond to intrusive memories. We tested predictions from cognitive theories of PTSD by comparing peritraumatic responses during moments experienced as intrusive memories versus distressing moments of the same traumatic event from the same individual not experienced as intrusive memories. A further comparison was with highly distressing moments experienced during the same event by individuals without intrusive memories. We utilized a psychometrically generated model to distinguish different peritraumatic reactions. Moments experienced as intrusive memories were characterized by higher peritraumatic distress, immobility, cognitive overload, and somatic dissociation when compared both to distressing moments from the same individual that did not intrude and to the most distressing memories of individuals without intrusions. Exploratory analyses indicated that at recall, intrusive memories were characterized by higher levels of primary traumatic emotions such as anxiety, fear, and helplessness in comparison with nonintrusive memories. Findings from this novel naturalistic design support predictions made by cognitive theories of PTSD and have implications for research and preventative interventions targeting intrusive memories. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Young Adults' Experience of Loneliness in London's Most Deprived Areas.

Young adults (16-24 years old) are currently the loneliest group in Western countries. In particular, young adults of lower socio-economic status (SES) living in the most deprived areas are loneliest in the United Kingdom. This mixed-methods study explored the experience of loneliness among this under-explored demographic in London. Using a novel free association technique, the experience of loneliness was found to be characterized by: a sense of isolation, negative emotions and thoughts, coping and a positive orientation to aloneness. An exploration of these themes revealed that: one can feel isolated or excluded even when surrounded by people; the experience of loneliness is accompanied by a set of interrelated feelings and thoughts like rumination; and technological and/or non-technological outlets can be used to cope. Social media play both a positive and negative role in loneliness, and loneliness is not always experienced negatively. The quantitative data indicated that this sample was lonely. By providing insight into young adults' loneliness, the findings indicate what types of interventions are likely to diminish it.

The structure of peritraumatic reactions and their relationship with PTSD among disaster survivors.

Peritraumatic reactions such as fear, psychic and somatoform dissociation, tonic immobility, data-driven processing, and mental defeat are important in the etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, current measures of such reactions overlap conceptually and do not clearly identify distinct peritraumatic processes. It is not known which processes are uniquely associated with PTSD. We investigated the factor structure of six standard peritraumatic measures and their relationship with the four Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) PTSD symptom clusters. Measures were administered to 308 earthquake survivors with high levels of exposure to traumatic events. Items comprising the six measures were investigated using exploratory structural equation modeling, which identified five peritraumatic response factors. Items from most measures loaded on multiple factors. Mental defeat and somatoform dissociation significantly predicted all PTSD symptom clusters. Cognitive overload significantly predicted intrusions, avoidance, and alterations in arousal and reactivity. Immobility significantly predicted intrusions and avoidance, whereas distress significantly predicted negative alterations in cognition and mood and alterations in arousal and reactivity. Because of the key role such reactions play in the development of PTSD, the findings are likely to benefit the study of etiological mechanisms, the prediction of those at greatest risk, and the design of preventative interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Connecting with strangers in the city: A mattering approach.

The evidence that social relationships are associated with well-being is so strong that it is taken as a 'fact' (Kushlev et al., 2018, Journal of Research in Personality, 74, 124). The bulk of the existing evidence derives from research examining social relationships with close others, such as family, romantic partners, and friends (Dolan et al., 2008, Journal Economic Psychology, 29, 94; Li & Kanazawa, 2016, British Journal of Psychology, 107, 675). However, less is known about how connecting with strangers is associated with well-being, how such connections are represented by people, and what motivates people's desire to connect with strangers. This study aims to examine representations and motivations for social connectedness with strangers in contemporary British cities. To do this, an interview study of 52 city-dwellers living in Britain's two largest cities, London and Birmingham, was conducted. The Grid Elaboration Method (GEM) (Joffe & Elsey, 2014, Review of General Psychology, 18, 173), a free association and interview technique, was applied. Thematic analysis revealed that representations of strangers vacillate between 'good' and 'bad', are built upon the 'self/other' thema, are shaped by the contextual factors place, time, and technology, and are motivated by a desire to 'matter'. This work makes a key contribution to the study of social connectedness in cities and can inform effective urban policy.

Feelings, Thoughts, and Behaviors During Disaster.

Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors during traumatic events, that is, peritraumatic reactions, are key to post-trauma psychopathology development. Qualitative research is required to investigate whether existing quantitative methods capture the range and complexity of peritraumatic reactions as described by survivors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 104 earthquake survivors. Participants reported experiencing various peritraumatic reactions (M = 21, range = 6-43). The survivors' accounts confirmed presence and overall phenomenological characteristics of commonly studied peritraumatic reactions such as dissociation, distress, mental defeat, and immobility. In addition, novel and understudied reactions were identified: cognitive overload, hyperfocus, and emotion regulation, as well as positive affect. Finally, a number of cross-cutting phenomena were identified such as the social nature of many reactions and survivors evaluating their reactions as difficult to put into words. These findings have implications for the conceptualization of peritraumatic reactions, for trauma-focused psychotherapeutic interventions, and for the wellbeing of disaster survivors.

Earthquakes, attributions, and psychopathology: a study in a rural community.

Background: Attributions of both cause and blame form part of the diagnostic criteria for PTSD in DSM-5. Most work on attributions and psychopathology has focused on survivors of interpersonal violence and the two types of attribution have not been investigated together in natural disaster contexts. Previous work has identified that attributions to God's role may be associated with survivors' mental health following disasters. We studied the relation between attributions to God and other actors/entities in a rural community with high levels of religiosity that had suffered extensive damage and loss of life due to a series of earthquakes. Methods: A sample of survivors (N = 127) was assessed for degree of earthquake exposure, resource loss, attributions of cause and blame for the earthquake damage, and psychopathology three months after a series of major earthquakes in Italy. Results: Nature and chance were associated with higher cause than blame attributions whereas the State, the municipality, building firms, and the mafia were associated with higher blame than cause attributions. Additionally, both cause and blame attributions towards God and chance were positively correlated with PTSD and psychological distress symptoms. These associations remained significant while controlling for degree of earthquake exposure, resource loss, gender, age, and education. Conclusion: The current study supports the role played by cognitions about the cause of traumatic events, as introduced into the PTSD diagnosis in DSM-5, and extends this to blame of other entities such as God and chance following disasters.

Antecedentes: las atribuciones de causa y culpa forman parte de los criterios diagnósticos para el TEPT en el DSM-5. La mayor parte del trabajo sobre atribuciones y psicopatología se ha centrado en los sobrevivientes de violencia interpersonal y los dos tipos de atribución no se han investigado juntos en contextos de desastres naturales. Trabajos previos han identificado que las atribuciones al papel de Dios pueden estar asociadas con la salud mental de los sobrevivientes luego de los desastres. Estudiamos la relación entre las atribuciones a Dios y otros actores/entidades en una comunidad rural con altos niveles de religiosidad que habían sufrido daños extensos y pérdida de vidas debido a una serie de terremotos.Métodos: Una muestra de sobrevivientes (N = 127) fue evaluada respecto del grado de exposición al terremoto, la pérdida de recursos, las atribuciones de causa y culpa del daño del terremoto y la psicopatología tres meses después de una serie de grandes terremotos en Italia.Resultados: la naturaleza y el azar se asociaron con una mayor atribución de causa que culpa, mientras que el Estado, el municipio, las empresas de construcción y la mafia se asociaron con una mayor atribución de culpa que causa. Además, las atribuciones de causa y culpa hacia Dios y el azar se correlacionaron positivamente con TEPT y síntomas de alteración psicológica. Estas asociaciones se mantuvieron significativas al controlar por grado de exposición al terremoto, pérdida de recursos, género, edad y educación.Conclusión: El estudio actual respalda el rol que juegan las cogniciones sobre la causa de eventos traumáticos, como se introdujo en el DSM-5 para el diagnóstico de TEPT, y extiende esto a la culpabilización de otras entidades como Dios y el azar luego de los desastres.

The Fix-it face-to-face intervention increases multihazard household preparedness cross-culturally.

Vulnerability to natural disasters is increasing globally1-3. In parallel, the responsibility for natural hazard preparedness has shifted to communities and individuals4. It is therefore crucial that households increase their preparedness, yet adoption of household preparedness measures continues to be low, even in high-risk regions5-8. In addition, few hazard-preparedness interventions have been evaluated longitudinally using observational measures. Therefore, we conducted a controlled intervention with a 12-month follow-up on adults in communities in the United States and Turkey that focused on improving household earthquake and fire preparedness. We show that this Fix-it intervention, involving evidence-based, face-to-face workshops, increased multihazard preparedness in both cultures longitudinally. Compared to baseline, the primary outcome-overall preparedness-increased significantly in the intervention groups, with more improvement in earthquake preparedness in the Turkish participants and more improvements in fire preparedness in the US participants. High baseline outcome expectancy and home ownership predicted overall preparedness change in both intervention groups longitudinally, implying that a sense of agency influences preparedness. An unintended consequence of observation is that it may increase preparedness, as even the control groups changed their behaviour. Therefore, observation of home preparatory behaviours by an external source may be a way to extend multihazard preparedness across a population.

Stigma in science: the case of earthquake prediction.

This paper explores how earthquake scientists conceptualise earthquake prediction, particularly given the conviction of six earthquake scientists for manslaughter (subsequently overturned) on 22 October 2012 for having given inappropriate advice to the public prior to the L'Aquila earthquake of 6 April 2009. In the first study of its kind, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 earthquake scientists and the transcribed interviews were analysed thematically. The scientists primarily denigrated earthquake prediction, showing strong emotive responses and distancing themselves from earthquake 'prediction' in favour of 'forecasting'. Earthquake prediction was regarded as impossible and harmful. The stigmatisation of the subject is discussed in the light of research on boundary work and stigma in science. The evaluation reveals how mitigation becomes the more favoured endeavour, creating a normative environment that disadvantages those who continue to pursue earthquake prediction research. Recommendations are made for communication with the public on earthquake risk, with a focus on how scientists portray uncertainty.

Living with conduct problem youth: family functioning and parental perceptions of their child.

Parenting children with conduct problems (CP) is challenging, yet very little is known about the impact of the child's behaviour on family functioning or how parents of children with CP perceive their child. The aim of this research was to examine whether families with children with CP and high vs. low levels of callous-unemotional traits (HCU vs. LCU) experience differences in family functioning and parental perceptions. One hundred and one parents/caregivers of boys aged 11-16 [Typically developing (TD) n = 31; CP/HCU n = 35; CP/LCU n = 35] completed the McMaster Family Assessment Device, measuring multiple domains of family functioning. Parents/caregivers also completed a written statement describing their child, used for qualitative analysis. Families with CP/HCU children had poorer affective involvement than TD (p = 0.00; d = - 1.17) and CP/LCU (p = 0.03; d = - 0.62) families. Families with CP/HCU children showed significantly poorer general family functioning (p = 0.04; d = - 0.63) and more poorly defined family roles (p = 0.005; d = - 0.82) than families with TD children. Qualitative analyses indicated that parents/caregivers of CP/HCU children characterised them as having a dichotomous personality and being superficially charming. CP/LCU children were characterised as cheeky and endearing, with parents reporting good rapport. Families with CP/HCU children presented with specific difficulties in affective involvement and parents described challenges which were in line with the child's specific presentation of lack of empathy and shallow affect. These findings may be used to help clinicians identify targets for family interventions.

Dataset of the livability performance of the city of Birmingham, UK, as measured by its citizen wellbeing, resource security, resource efficiency and carbon emissions.

This data article presents the UK City LIFE1 data set for the city of Birmingham, UK. UK City LIFE1 is a new, comprehensive and holistic method for measuring the livable sustainability performance of UK cities. The Birmingham data set comprises 346 indicators structured simultaneously (1) within a four-tier, outcome-based framework in order to aid in their interpretation (e.g., promote healthy living and healthy long lives, minimize energy use, uncouple economic vitality from CO2 emissions) and (2) thematically in order to complement government and disciplinary siloes (e.g., health, energy, economy, climate change). Birmingham data for the indicators are presented within an Excel spreadsheet with their type, units, geographic area, year, source, link to secondary data files, data collection method, data availability and any relevant calculations and notes. This paper provides a detailed description of UK city LIFE1 in order to enable comparable data sets to be produced for other UK cities. The Birmingham data set is made publically available at http://epapers.bham.ac.uk/3040/ to facilitate this and to enable further analyses. The UK City LIFE1 Birmingham data set has been used to understand what is known and what is not known about the livable sustainability performance of the city and to inform how Birmingham City Council can take action now to improve its understanding and its performance into the future (see "Improving city-scale measures of livable sustainability: A study of urban measurement and assessment through application to the city of Birmingham, UK" Leach et al. [2]).

How the Public Engages With Brain Optimization: The Media-mind Relationship.

In the burgeoning debate about neuroscience's role in contemporary society, the issue of brain optimization, or the application of neuroscientific knowledge and technologies to augment neurocognitive function, has taken center stage. Previous research has characterized media discourse on brain optimization as individualistic in ethos, pressuring individuals to expend calculated effort in cultivating culturally desirable forms of selves and bodies. However, little research has investigated whether the themes that characterize media dialogue are shared by lay populations. This article considers the relationship between the representations of brain optimization that surfaced in (i) a study of British press coverage between 2000 and 2012 and (ii) interviews with forty-eight London residents. Both data sets represented the brain as a resource that could be manipulated by the individual, with optimal brain function contingent on applying self-control in one's lifestyle choices. However, these ideas emerged more sharply in the media than in the interviews: while most interviewees were aware of brain optimization practices, few were committed to carrying them out. The two data sets diverged in several ways: the media's intense preoccupation with optimizing children's brains was not apparent in lay dialogue, while interviewees elaborated beliefs about the underuse of brain tissue that showed no presence in the media. This article considers these continuities and discontinuities in light of their wider cultural significance and their implications for the media-mind relationship in public engagement with neuroscience.

The social aetiology of essentialist beliefs.

This commentary highlights the importance of attending to the sociocultural contexts that foster essentialist ideas. It contends that Cimpian & Salomon's (C&S's) model undervalues the extent to which the development of essentialist beliefs is contingent on social experience. The result is a restriction of the model's applicability to real-world instances of essentialism-fuelled prejudice and discrimination.