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In this presentation we analyze mommy blogs from India as symptomatic of the limitations, potential, and revolutionary possibilities of Digital Maternal Cultures, which demonstrate "the material transformations that the electronic age has brought about" (Raley 2004), as evoked in the CFP for DH2023.

This presentation reports on a case study investigating how NaturalLanguage Processing, a field that applies computational methodssuch as Machine Learning to human-written texts, can supportthe measurement and evaluation of gender biased languagein archival catalogs. Working with English descriptions from thecatalog metadata of the University of Edinburgh’s Archives, wecreated an annotated dataset and classification models that identifygender biases in the descriptions. Conducted with archival data,the case study holds relevance across Galleries, Libraries, Archives,and Museums (GLAM), particularly for institutions withcatalog descriptions in English. In addition to bringing NaturalLanguage Processing (NLP) methods to Archives, we identifiedopportunities to bring Archival Science methods, such as CulturalHumility (Tai, 2021) and Feminist Standpoint Appraisal (Caswell,2022), to NLP. Through this two-way disciplinary exchange,we demonstrate how Humanistic approaches to bias and uncertaintycan upend legacies of gender-based oppression that mostcomputational approaches to date uphold when working with dataat scale.

This paper reflects critically on the results of a vulnerability assessment process at the household and community scale using a quantitative vulnerabilities and capacities index. It validates a methodology for a social vulnerability assessment at the local scale in 62 villages across four agro-ecological/livelihood zones in Sindh Province, Pakistan. The study finds that the move from vulnerability narratives to numbers improves the comparability and communicational strength of the concept. The depth and nuance of vulnerability, however, can be realised only by a return to narrative. Caution is needed, therefore: the index can be used in conjunction with qualitative assessments, but not instead of them. More substantively, the results show that vulnerability is more a function of historico-political economic factors and cultural ethos than any biophysical changes wrought by climate. The emerging gendered vulnerability picture revealed extremes of poverty and a lack of capacity to cope with contemporary environmental and social stresses.

Most infectious diseases are unequally distributed between male and female subjects. This sex dimorphism is confirmed by epidemiologic studies which suggest an increased number of male septic patients, while, due to the class age of septic patients, an overrepresentation of female patients would be expected. Lifestyle, recreational activities, professional exposition and access to care are plausible reasons for this dimorphism. However, biological differences should be carefully considered, particularly the weight of X-linked variability and the role of sex hormones. Animal models clearly show that clinical response to infection is more exuberant in males than in females. This is partly explained by an attenuation of the inflammatory response by female sex hormones. However, the translation from experimental studies to the bedside remains challenging as a result of confounding factors like age, hormone changes and response to treatment. Keywords: Bacteria, estradiol, gender, infection, sex

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) patients might experience unique difficulties and barriers to treatment of chronic diseases related to their sexual orientation. Thus, we investigated concerns experienced by LGBT patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). We conducted a web-based survey using a multi-choice questionnaire published in an Italian social-network (www.smsocialnetwork.com) for MS patients. The survey investigated: socio-demographic factors, lifestyle habits, MS-related health status and LGBT specific issues (e.g. friendliness to their sexual orientation and eventual homophobic behaviors in the MS Center). Among MS patients willing to use psychological services, LGBT patients were associated with a smaller number of psychological consultations, compared to heterosexuals (Coeff.=-0.449; p < 0.001; 95% CI=-0.682 to -0. 217). LGBT patients were more likely to change MS Center, compared to heterosexuals (OR=2.064; p=0.046; 95% CI=1.011-4.212). The number of MS Center changes was associated with MS Center friendliness (p=0.037; rho=-0.229) and with the occurrence of homophobic behaviors (p=0.036; rho=0.234). LGBT MS patients more frequently changed MS Center and had a reduced use of psychological services, compared to heterosexuals. The attitude towards LGBT MS patients might affect resource utilizations and LGBTs health status.