In recent years, there have been increasing calls for the development and growth of the biosocial as a paradigm through which to tackle complex problems. The use of birth cohorts, mixed methods frameworks, and interdisciplinary work are common in biosocial research. However, these practices are also theoretically and practically complex due to epistemic, methodological, and academic challenges – particularly for early career researchers (ECRs) who face time constraints, funding limitations, and disciplinary expectations.

This paper draws on lessons from the experiences of ECRs in biosocial research by reflecting on theoretical heterogeneity, the necessity of translation and negotiation across disciplines and methodologies, and the practicalities of funding, collaboration, and dissemination. Throughout, the paper discusses strategies to overcome common challenges and provide suggestions for fellow ECRs and those interested in biosocial ECR training and development. The paper highlights the importance of strong networks with senior biosocial researchers and peers, the value of practical support, and the importance of formal and informal learning opportunities. The authors call for the enthusiasm for biosocial research to be matched with investment in the development and support for ECRs.

Prisons are susceptible to outbreaks. Control measures focusing on isolation and cohorting negatively affect wellbeing. We present an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a large male prison in Wales, UK, October 2020 to April 2021, and discuss control measures.

We gathered case-information, including demographics, staff-residence postcode, resident cell number, work areas/dates, test results, staff interview dates/notes and resident prison-transfer dates. Epidemiological curves were mapped by prison location. Control measures included isolation (exclusion from work or cell-isolation), cohorting (new admissions and work-area groups), asymptomatic testing (case-finding), removal of communal dining and movement restrictions. Facemask use and enhanced hygiene were already in place. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and interviews determined the genetic relationship between cases plausibility of transmission.

Of 453 cases, 53% (n = 242) were staff, most aged 25–34 years (11.5% females, 27.15% males) and symptomatic (64%). Crude attack-rate was higher in staff (29%, 95% CI 26–64%) than in residents (12%, 95% CI 9–15%).

Whole-genome sequencing can help differentiate multiple introductions from person-to-person transmission in prisons. It should be introduced alongside asymptomatic testing as soon as possible to control prison outbreaks. Timely epidemiological investigation, including data visualisation, allowed dynamic risk assessment and proportionate control measures, minimising the reduction in resident welfare.

The Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities (ABRF) members typically work in cores (shared resources) or in support of them. ABRF's mission is to define excellence for shared resources worldwide. While our vision is to accelerate breakthroughs in scientific discovery, ABRF is committed to advancing the integration of technologies, education, communication, and reproducible research in the operations of shared scientific resources worldwide. Our members support best practices, research excellence, and reproducibility in scientific discovery. ABRF promotes a collaborative community that cultivates professional development and technological innovation. This document outlines a number of things about ABRF, including ABRF's mission and value statements, examples of its research groups and activities, an example of an ABRF outreach program to inform and guide the scientific community about optimization of shared resources nationwide, and an example of an international outreach and collaborative program with like-minded colleagues and organizations in Africa.

We present the development of a regional dementia strategy in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. We worked with stakeholders in a regional health authority to develop a dementia strategy. We conducted interviews with persons with dementia and their care partners (n = 26) and health care administrators and policy makers (n = 33); and administered a priority-setting survey (n = 64). Both participant groups identified provider compassion, professionalism, and care in the early stages of dementia as system strengths. Both groups also highlighted a need for more integration and coordination, a need for more person-centred care, support for care partners, and more flexibility in the provision and receipt of services. The highest-ranked priorities were improving care partner support, improving access to care, and improving system-wide quality. We integrate these strengths, needs, and priorities in a strategic framework, “Whole Person, Whole Journey”. Organizations developing a dementia strategy may use this framework as a springboard for their own work.

Tropical land cover change has negatively affected numerous migratory bird populations. Forest restoration can augment migrant wintering habitat. However, almost no information exists about factors that influence migrant use of tropical restoration sites. We sampled migrant birds in young restoration sites in Costa Rica from February 2006 to April 2008 to determine how vegetation height, planting design, season, and landscape forest cover influenced capture rates of four declining species. We also documented total numbers of migratory species and individuals captured in each planting design treatment; each site had a control treatment where seedlings were not planted, an island treatment where seedlings were planted in patches, and a plantation treatment where seedlings were planted to cover the entire area. Sites varied in landscape forest cover within 500 m buffers. Three out of four focal species were captured significantly more often in plantation treatments than island or control treatments. Two of the four species showed seasonal patterns and one species was captured more often in high-vegetation sites. Greater numbers of species and individuals were captured in plantation treatments compared to island and control treatments. The plantation planting design increased migrant use more quickly than the island planting design. When resources are available, we recommend planting plantation-style to rapidly increase the value of restoration sites to a range of species, particularly those that use woody vegetation. When resources are more limited, planting islands may be a cost-effective, although not as ecologically effective, alternative that supports a diversity of migrant species compared to unplanted controls.

The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty requires that past and present work sites be cleaned up unless removal would result in greater adverse environmental impact than leaving the contaminant in its existing location. In the early 1990s Australia began the documentation of contaminated sites associated with its research stations, which resulted in an extensive record of contamination at abandoned stations and waste-disposal sites. Currently the technical capability to remediate these sites does not exist because of environmental challenges that are unique to the cold regions. Investigations indicate that clean-up operations in the past have proceeded without adequate precautions and without effective monitoring. To address these problems, three research priorities have been identified to assist meeting international and national obligations to clean up these sites. They are: understanding contaminant mobilisation processes; development of ecological risk assessment for use in monitoring and setting priorities; and development of clean-up and remediation procedures. This study provides sufficient information to guide the completion of a clean-up at Casey Station and to indicate how other similar sites should be managed. The next stage is to develop the theory into an operational plan to include detailed protocols for clean-up, monitoring, site remediation, and management of the waste stream from site to final repository. To achieve this, the Australian Antarctic Division has established a contaminated sites taskforce to facilitate the transition from research and development of techniques to implementation of suitable clean-up options.

African artists cannot and do not choose their subject matter, says critic Tejumola Olaniyan. “They are, on the contrary, chosen by their subjects.” While that liberates artists from the “heavy burden of a head-scratching search for what on earth to create their art about,” Olaniyan observes, it also imposes “the much heavier burden of how on earth to fashion from that surfeit of ‘what’ an imaginative sublimation worthy of the label ‘art.’ This has been the contemporary African artist's greatest challenge, more so than artists in other climes.”1

Loren Kruger's Post-Imperial Brecht: Politics and Performance, East and South is an impressive transnational study of Brechtian theatre that is notable for its simultaneous breadth and depth. Kruger takes us far beyond nationalist frameworks, which have long dominated theatre studies. She also avoids the common pitfalls of “global” and comparative studies: sweeping generalizations that flatten historical specificity are not to be found in this book's 400 richly footnoted pages. Post-Imperial Brecht provides a precise and detailed study of the transnational flow of Brecht's ideas and plays between West and East Germany, and between Germany and South Africa, from the 1930s to the present.