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This paper examines the extent to which 3D printed children's prostheses function as enabling technology. The focus lies on the experiences of children with upper limb body differences using 3D printed prostheses in the context of (posthuman) cyborg theories.

This article is based on several years of field research applying a grounded theory approach. (Health) technology and the body are examined with special regard to the vulnerability of the technology user who is, also, the technology designer. Taking these children's particular vulnerability and sensitivity into account, the method of “cultural probes” was further developed applying distributed socio-(bio-)technical probes, which conceive soma design as the matter of a socio-material world.

It was shown that the e-NABLE device is not only a socially enabling somatechnic but can itself be limiting, vulnerable and painful for children due to its materiality. The somatechnical construction of children's bodies and identities are presented as heroic figures, which, in part, produces and experiences a corporeal being that is based on and identifies with these heroes and heroines – but may not always be in the interests of children with disabilities. In order to meet these children's needs, the author argues in line with crip technoscience that 3D printed prostheses should be co-developed with (and specifically for) them.

This paper is the first of its kind to consider the daily lives of children with 3D printed prostheses and their experiences as knowers and makers of such. This paper adds to the body of knowledge in the field of crip technoscience and enabling technologies.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon 10.1108/JET-02-2022-0017

The religious tradition of male circumcision has come increasingly under attack across a number of European states. While critics of the practice argue that the problem is about children’s rights and the proper relationship between secular and religious traditions, Jews tend to see these attacks within the longer history of attempts to assimilate and remake them according to the norms of the majority. Using the 2012 German legal controversy concerning the issue as my vantage point, I explore how contemporary criticism of male circumcision remains entangled with ambivalence toward Judaism and the Jews as the “other.” Through a close reading of the arguments, I show how opponents use the seemingly neutral language of universal human rights to (re)make Jewish difference according to the norms of the majority. I conclude by arguing that such an approach to this issue runs the risk of turning Jews once again into strangers at a time when cultural anxieties are troubling European societies.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate excess body weight and abdominal obesity in relation to selected psychosocial characteristics such as self-perception, self-esteem and anxiety, in primary school children.

A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 528 students 10-12 years of age, randomly selected, from the area of Athens, Greece. The Greek versions of the self-perception profile for children (SPPC) and the state-trait anxiety inventory for children (STAI-C) questionnaires have been used to determine the children’s self-perception/self-esteem and the status of anxiety, respectively. Standard anthropometric measurements were also taken. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to test for possible linear correlations between data variables. One-way ANOVA and independent t-test were used to determine statistically significant differences between the means of children’s body mass index (BMI) – abdominal obesity groups. For multiple comparisons, Bonferroni post-tests were run.

Overweight and obese children and children with abdominal obesity had lower scores in all of the domains of SPPC self-perception, the SPPC global self-esteem and the STAI-C anxiety levels in comparison to normal weight children. BMI and abdominal obesity correlated negatively with each one of the five domains of the SPPC self-perception (p < 0.001) and the SPPC global self-esteem (p < 0.001) and positively with the STAI-C anxiety levels (p < 0.005). One-way ANOVA and independent t-test revealed statistically significant differences between the means of children’s BMI and abdominal obesity groups in all the domains of SPPC self-perception (p < 0.001), the SPPC global self-esteem (p < 0.001) and the STAI-C anxiety levels (p < 0.005). There were no gender differences in the psychometric characteristics assessed in this study.

Primary school children with excess body weight and abdominal obesity have increased anxiety levels and they score lower in key psychosocial characteristics, in comparison to normal weight children.

Issues of diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of public discourse and policy initiatives. Media and product lines have recently faced scrutiny for not being inclusive of difference. We conducted a content analysis of books intended for the tween (ages 8–12) girl. More specifically, these books were from the preeminent tween girl company, American Girl. A company perhaps best known for their line of dolls and historical fiction books, American Girl also publishes advice books with the intention of addressing a range of topics pertinent to the tween girl. Since the company strives to appeal to all girls, the authors analyzed these advice books for images and messages of racial, religious, ability, and sexuality difference in an effort to identify who American Girl’s American girl truly is. The findings of this chapter revealed an overall lack of diversity in the American Girl advice books in not only images but also messages. Images of White girls were more common than those of non-White girls, and any representation of religious, ability, or sexuality difference was minimal. Analysis of the content of the messages also revealed few mentions of difference, and categorization of the books suggested an emphasis on relationships with other people and bodies/appearance as important. It is apparent from this analysis that American Girl’s American girl is White, able-bodied, religiously ambiguous (though presumably Christian), and heterosexual. The need for American Girl to be fully inclusive of diversity across all their product lines is apparent.

Three events of significance to this country took place in 1899 – the British Food Journal was launched, Australia retained the Ashes, and the Boer War hostilities commenced. If challenged on the order of their importance, cricketers and Empire‐builders may be excused their preference. However, looking at it purely from the standpoint of pro bono publico, the dispassionate observer must surely opt for the birth of a certain publication as being ultimately the most beneficial of the three.

Breast cancer is a type of cancer affecting the health of women in many countries. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of breast cancer and its treatment procedures on the quality of life.

The study was carried out in Hacettepe University Oncology Hospital and The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire and Breast Cancer Module were used.

It was found that 29.8 per cent of the patients were in phase 4 of the disease, 86.8 per cent already had an operation while 84.1 per cent had chemotherapy. There were statistically significant differences between the levels of the life quality for pain dimension in the symptom scale, body image dimension in the module functional scale, sexual function dimension in the module functional scale, arm symptoms dimension in module symptom scale and age groups; the levels of life quality for dyspnoea dimension in the symptom scale, anorexia dimension of the symptom scale, financial difficulties dimension of the symptom scale and the duration of the disease; the levels of life quality for fatigue dimension in the symptom scale, diarrhea dimension in the symptom scale and the phase of the cancer; the levels of life quality for physical functionality dimension in the functional scale, constipation dimension in the symptom scale and receiving chemotherapy. In the light of the findings, attempts to improve health and creation of different behaviours are important for life quality.

This is original research that sheds light on life quality issues for women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Having a baby is a sensitive matter and the child's body occupies a relevant space within the imaginary and the concerns of the intentional, biomedicalized contemporary reproducers. Besides, the myth of ‘the perfect child’ claims specific moral injunctions about making bodies since the body conveys social recognition codes both through flesh or genetic matrix and embodied practices. So, having a child with an unexpected ‘defective’ body becomes a stressful challenge for the reproductive experience of the intentional parent(s). In any case, both parent(s) and biomedical professionals enact a hierarchization among the ‘damaged’ materials of the child's body based on the perceived and/or the classified degree of physical or mental abnormality, on its behavioural embodiments and on the possibility to re-order, fix and control the (biosocial) disorder of an abnormal unable and/or undisciplined body.

Based on recent investigations on reproduction and disability in two regions of Italy, this essay comparatively investigates the experiences of two associations of parents with asthmatic and ADHD children.

Specifically, I tried to explore how parents of children with misleading bodies emotionally, practically and morally face their unexpected reproduction, and if and how they are being entrapped in or resist the pressure of neuro-biomedical governance, schooling disciplining techniques and social blame. I tried to articulate some suggesting concepts, such as ‘delegate biopolitics’ and ‘discursive surveillance’ (Memmi, 2008), and ‘self-constraint behaviours’ (Elias, 1998), in order to analyze ethnographic material.

Can one describe the ‘natural’ process of pregnancy as ‘harm’, even when negligently brought about? What does that harm consist of? Offering a contextual analysis of the English judiciary's characterisation of wrongful pregnancy, this paper demonstrates from a feminist perspective that the current construction of pregnancy as a ‘personal injury’ is deeply problematic. Forwarding an alternative account, this paper argues for law to embrace a richer notion of autonomy that will better resonate with women's diverse experiences of reproduction, and articulate the importance of autonomy in the reproductive domain: notably, women gaining control over their moral, relational and social lives.