Wellbeing of Women

Each morning, one wakes as the same person who slept. This familiarity obscures its strangeness: every atom in the brain has been replaced many times since childhood. The brain present today shares no material particle with the brain present forty years ago. What physical principle explains this continuity? Here I present three hypothetical thought experiments—perfect revival, perfect copy, and simultaneous multiplication of physically identical brains—that expose a logical trilemma for any framework identifying consciousness solely with brain structure or information processing. Analysis suggests that Global Neuronal Workspace Theory, Integrated Information Theory, and Orchestrated Objective Reduction each face difficulties resolving this trilemma. I therefore propose a quantum-informational model in which consciousness includes a non-copyable identity carrier (\Psi-I) coupled to an evolvable mental pattern (\Psi-G) through bidirectional interaction with the spatiotemporal structure of neural electromagnetic fields generated by voltage-gated ion channels. \Psi-G records volitional neural activity and exerts weak probabilistic bias on sodium and potassium channel kinetics. The model generates six falsifiable predictions with quantitative thresholds. The most direct—that action potentials from conscious neurons will show 0.5-3 \mathrm{mV} deviations from Hodgkin-Huxley waveforms—is testable within months using existing patch-clamp techniques. Four additional predictions address the finite and conserved nature of \Psi-I complexes, including demographic constraints and testable consequences of the multiplication thought experiment. A conceptual analogy to quantum teleportation is noted as a mathematical formalism, not a physical claim. This framework offers a testable approach to the Subjective Binding Problem while generating immediately testable hypotheses.

This paper synthesizes a wide range of knowledge on the role of sex/gender in Learning and Development (L&D) and applies Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model to propose a research agenda for advancing women’s equity in L&D. The paper highlights how the learning and development of women are historically, culturally and socially constrained by gendered environments, norms, expectations, opportunities, and barriers. The analysis is based on a systematic-narrative hybrid literature review of a wide range of research and contributions on sex/gender in L&D. The paper argues L&D is part of a system that perpetuates inequities for women. The paper proposes a future research focus on the impact of women’s embodied transitions, the role of sex/gender in situated L&D proximal processes and outcomes, intersectionality and diversity within the category women and supporting women’s agency in L&D research and practice. The proposed research agenda is envisioned as a collaborative undertaking between scholars and practitioners.

For over a century, physics has pursued a unified description of nature linking quantum mechanics, relativity, and cosmology, yet consciousness—our direct window into existence—remains unaccounted for. This review proposes that consciousness continuity is not an emergent accident of neural complexity but a quantum informational invariant, conserved across transformations of its physical substrate. Grounded in the empirical absence of “zombie” organisms and extended through a synthesis of quantum information theory, cosmological logic, and the author’s previous Two-Particle Quantum Bonding Hypothesis (TPQBH), the framework introduces a Quantum Informational Bonding (QIB) mechanism operating within a universal Hilbert space. This mechanism preserves an identity parameter (𝓘₍C₎) analogous to conservation laws in physics. The resulting cosmological model implies an infinite, centre-less universe and a unidirectional arrow of time emerging from informational continuity. The theory reframes the “hard problem” of consciousness as a missing symmetry in fundamental physics—one connecting subjective experience, information, and spacetime structure.

Citizen science is gaining attention as an approach to involving communities in gathering data and contributing to decision-making in public health. Stakeholders interested in citizen science have identified a need for support in applying these approaches and in obtaining evidence of their value. However, there have been few attempts to evaluate citizen science approaches within policy and practice contexts in public health. Within this protocol paper, we outline an approach to evaluating stakeholder-led citizen science projects that focuses on fostering innovation and building capacity in the use of citizen science approaches by these stakeholders. We will use developmental evaluation, which focuses on ongoing reflection and adaptation, to guide the development and delivery of four stakeholder-led citizen science projects in public health. We will employ a multiple embedded case study design, using surveys and interviews, observations of project meetings, reflective journaling, and document review to gather perspectives from a range of stakeholders across the four projects. Data will be synthesised to explore how projects using citizen science approaches operate within policy and practice contexts, including the barriers and facilitators to their application, the circumstances under which they are most useful, and the impacts of these approaches. A developmental approach to evaluation will enable us to build capacity in the use of citizen science approaches by sharing insights and learnings as project teams navigate their individual projects. We hope that this paper will stimulate further discussion about the application and evaluation of citizen science approaches in public health and beyond.

This chapter examines the industrial relations and workplace challenges associated with increasing remote work in Australia. First, the chapter reports on responses obtained from 11 in-depth interviews with human resource and industrial relations practitioners to assess the support and barriers for continuing and or increasing the uptake of remote work post COVID-19. It then examines the Australian industrial relations framework to determine its support of extending flexible work arrangements for a wider scope of workers.

This chapter introduces a comprehensive evaluation of an art therapy group for adults experiencing depression and describes a novel method of an in-depth exploration of the therapeutic process and identification of therapeutic factors particularly relevant to depression. Therapy process mapping is introduced as a method of visualising the moments of change across therapy timeline. The chapter further guides through the therapy process and highlights the emerging tension between the tendency to withdraw and the need to relate. How this tension emerged and how art therapy may transform the energy for the benefit of clients is discussed.

RRH: Rural and Remote Health. Published article number: 4095 - Using a community engagement process to explore how using an iterative approach and implementing user-driven designs may assist in the prevention of Lyme Borreliosis in Highland

Current government policy emphasises professional accountability, Best Value, evidence-based practice and outcomes for users and carers. In this context, being able to demonstrate the effectiveness of routine practice is increasingly important. This article considers the key issues in collecting information about the outcomes of equipment and adaptations. These include: the assessment of the full range of outcomes; the timing of data collection; the use of standardised and individualised measures; and linking outcomes to interventions. Three approaches to evaluating the outcomes of equipment and adaptations are distinguished: functional status measures; health status or quality of life measures; and indirect approaches. Examples of each approach are provided and their strengths and limitations discussed. Previous work on the outcomes of equipment and adaptations has neglected the perspectives of carers and the impact of service delivery (service process outcomes); further work on these areas is needed to ensure that all the outcomes of equipment and adaptations are fully evaluated.