I am an academic with eclectic interests. I've spent over ten years working as a social scientist in UK health/medical settings (Social Marketing, Public Health, Genetics, ED). These have been rewarding settings for applying my academic training (Biotechnology, STS and a PhD in Sociology from Egenis) but now I'm returning to my core interest; how people use, produce and communicate information. In addition I'm fascinated by interaction on social media, which means I'm often on twitter/FB poking people with sticks. Address: https://twitter.com/iqholme
Holme, Ingrid, MacAskill , Susan and Eadie, Douglas (2009) Research to develop a communications c... more Holme, Ingrid, MacAskill , Susan and Eadie, Douglas (2009) Research to develop a communications campaign to promote childsmile within local communities stage 2: primary research. Stirling, GB, Childsmile, NHS Health Scotland, 88pp. ... Full text not available from this repository.
Objectives: To a) describe bereavement care providers' experience of demand and type of need ... more Objectives: To a) describe bereavement care providers' experience of demand and type of need for bereavement care during the first year of the pandemic; b) describe the self-assessed impact on care providers; c) identify service adaptations and challenges currently faced. Methods: Data was collected via an online survey of Irish bereavement service workers (n=199) during the 2021 level 5 restrictions enforced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: 47% of respondents noted an increase in the demand for their service, with many reporting higher levels of distress and more complex needs among service users. 47% reported an increase in the emotional impact of the work. Many service providers altered their service provision and/or developed new services, in part, to meet the changing pattern of need. The positive changes and opportunities resulting from the pandemic were also noted, some of which they intended to continue post-pandemic. Conclusion: The pandemic and related restricti...
As with other areas of the social world, academic research in the contemporary healthcare setting... more As with other areas of the social world, academic research in the contemporary healthcare setting has undergone adaptation and change. For example, research methods are increasingly incorporating citizen participation in the research process, and there has been an increase in collaborative research that brings academic and industry partners together. There have been numerous positive outcomes associated with both of these growing methodological and collaborative processes; nonetheless, both bring with them ethical considerations that require careful thought and attention. This paper addresses the ethical considerations that research teams must consider when using participatory methods and/or when working with industry and outlines a novel informed consent matrix designed to maintain the high ethical standard to which academic research in the healthcare arena has traditionally adhered.
Genetic sex -the apparent fundamental biological cause of the two male and female human varieties... more Genetic sex -the apparent fundamental biological cause of the two male and female human varietiesis a 20th century construct. Looking down the microscope, the stained chromosomes are concrete countable entities and lend themselves easily to genetic determinism. As the chromosome composition of a person is generally fixed at the time of conception, when a Yor X-bearing sperm is united with the X-bearing egg, a person’s genetic sex is taken as permanent and unchanging throughout their life. Drawing upon gender theory as well as science and technology studies this thesis explores how our particular construction of the concept of ‘genetic sex’ relies on four features of biological sex (binary, fixed, spanning nature, and found throughout the body) and in addition proposes one unique feature, inheritance. The empirical research is based on an analysis of popular science books as well as two case studies of how genes relate to sex determination and development. The analysis of the metapho...
Irish society went into one of the most stringent lockdowns in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pan... more Irish society went into one of the most stringent lockdowns in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and barring a few weeks, remains highly restricted at time of writing. This has produced a wide range of challenges for those affected by eating disorders, as well as treatment services and Bodywhys, The Eating Disorders Association of Ireland. Current research indicates that COVID-19 has impacted across three key areas—the experience of those with an eating disorder, the experience of service provision, and the impact on the family situation. Drawing on monitoring and evaluation data gathered by Bodywhys, this paper details the challenges faced by those affected by eating disorders in Ireland and how the organisation responded to these challenges, providing support in various forms to people with eating disorders and their families.
States tightly regulate citizens' bodies, their actions, and biological material, including o... more States tightly regulate citizens' bodies, their actions, and biological material, including organs, blood, and gametes, and this political governance involves a complex set of relationships between the state and its citizens. While new technologies persistently redefine family relationships, regulation and legislation are used to hold these fixed and static. Within sperm donation, the recipients transform into parents to form families, while the donor's identity and sexuality are considered to be unaffected by the action of donating sperm or gaining the status of sperm donor. Despite official efforts to sanitize the process, the practice of sperm donation is characterized in some quarters by efforts to evade or outflank the official restrictions on it. This paper explores the circumvention of such control, through examining informal sperm donation occurring outside of state regulation.
Holme, Ingrid, MacAskill , Susan and Eadie, Douglas (2009) Research to develop a communications c... more Holme, Ingrid, MacAskill , Susan and Eadie, Douglas (2009) Research to develop a communications campaign to promote childsmile within local communities stage 2: primary research. Stirling, GB, Childsmile, NHS Health Scotland, 88pp. ... Full text not available from this repository.
Objectives: To a) describe bereavement care providers' experience of demand and type of need ... more Objectives: To a) describe bereavement care providers' experience of demand and type of need for bereavement care during the first year of the pandemic; b) describe the self-assessed impact on care providers; c) identify service adaptations and challenges currently faced. Methods: Data was collected via an online survey of Irish bereavement service workers (n=199) during the 2021 level 5 restrictions enforced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: 47% of respondents noted an increase in the demand for their service, with many reporting higher levels of distress and more complex needs among service users. 47% reported an increase in the emotional impact of the work. Many service providers altered their service provision and/or developed new services, in part, to meet the changing pattern of need. The positive changes and opportunities resulting from the pandemic were also noted, some of which they intended to continue post-pandemic. Conclusion: The pandemic and related restricti...
As with other areas of the social world, academic research in the contemporary healthcare setting... more As with other areas of the social world, academic research in the contemporary healthcare setting has undergone adaptation and change. For example, research methods are increasingly incorporating citizen participation in the research process, and there has been an increase in collaborative research that brings academic and industry partners together. There have been numerous positive outcomes associated with both of these growing methodological and collaborative processes; nonetheless, both bring with them ethical considerations that require careful thought and attention. This paper addresses the ethical considerations that research teams must consider when using participatory methods and/or when working with industry and outlines a novel informed consent matrix designed to maintain the high ethical standard to which academic research in the healthcare arena has traditionally adhered.
Genetic sex -the apparent fundamental biological cause of the two male and female human varieties... more Genetic sex -the apparent fundamental biological cause of the two male and female human varietiesis a 20th century construct. Looking down the microscope, the stained chromosomes are concrete countable entities and lend themselves easily to genetic determinism. As the chromosome composition of a person is generally fixed at the time of conception, when a Yor X-bearing sperm is united with the X-bearing egg, a person’s genetic sex is taken as permanent and unchanging throughout their life. Drawing upon gender theory as well as science and technology studies this thesis explores how our particular construction of the concept of ‘genetic sex’ relies on four features of biological sex (binary, fixed, spanning nature, and found throughout the body) and in addition proposes one unique feature, inheritance. The empirical research is based on an analysis of popular science books as well as two case studies of how genes relate to sex determination and development. The analysis of the metapho...
Irish society went into one of the most stringent lockdowns in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pan... more Irish society went into one of the most stringent lockdowns in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and barring a few weeks, remains highly restricted at time of writing. This has produced a wide range of challenges for those affected by eating disorders, as well as treatment services and Bodywhys, The Eating Disorders Association of Ireland. Current research indicates that COVID-19 has impacted across three key areas—the experience of those with an eating disorder, the experience of service provision, and the impact on the family situation. Drawing on monitoring and evaluation data gathered by Bodywhys, this paper details the challenges faced by those affected by eating disorders in Ireland and how the organisation responded to these challenges, providing support in various forms to people with eating disorders and their families.
States tightly regulate citizens' bodies, their actions, and biological material, including o... more States tightly regulate citizens' bodies, their actions, and biological material, including organs, blood, and gametes, and this political governance involves a complex set of relationships between the state and its citizens. While new technologies persistently redefine family relationships, regulation and legislation are used to hold these fixed and static. Within sperm donation, the recipients transform into parents to form families, while the donor's identity and sexuality are considered to be unaffected by the action of donating sperm or gaining the status of sperm donor. Despite official efforts to sanitize the process, the practice of sperm donation is characterized in some quarters by efforts to evade or outflank the official restrictions on it. This paper explores the circumvention of such control, through examining informal sperm donation occurring outside of state regulation.
Being radical in feminist thought: countering a reductive and deterministic biological manifesto.... more Being radical in feminist thought: countering a reductive and deterministic biological manifesto. Abstract Genetic sex is often understood in a deterministic and reductive way; acting as an essential marker true sex, as if sex were a philosophical 'natural kind' (see Dupré, 2002). Feminism is seen as having contentious history which such ideas however this paper argues that the ontological focus of the particular feminisms must be taken into account. The paper examines the splitting of two research fouces; sex development from sex determination, and sex determination from gender development. Reviewing the existing social science work in this area, and drawing on the examples of sex testing in the Olympics and David Reimer, the paper seeks to make visible the complex nature of social scientists seeking to engage with the fast moving research within genetics and genomics.
States tightly regulate citizens' bodies, their actions, and biological material, including organ... more States tightly regulate citizens' bodies, their actions, and biological material, including organs, blood, and gametes, and this political governance involves a complex set of relationships between the state and its citizens. While new technologies persistently redefine family relationships, regulation and legislation are used to hold these fixed and static. Within sperm donation, the recipients transform into parents to form families, while the donor's identify and sexuality are considered to be unaffected by the action of donating sperm or gaining the status of sperm donor. Despite official efforts to sanitise the process, the practice of sperm donation is characterised in some quarters by efforts to evade or outflank the official restrictions on it. This paper explores the circumvention such control, through examining informal sperm donation, occurring outside of state regulation. (words 129)
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