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Exploring Routine Sight Testing And The Management Of Eye Disease By Primary Care Optometrists In England, UK
Get PDFPrevious research has reported that inequalities exist in uptake of NHS sight tests in relation to socio-economic status, and that community optometric services have potential to improve system efficiency.
The current research found inequalities in sight test outcome related to socio-economic status and the type of practice that a patient visits (multiple, or independent). Patients attending multiples were more likely to receive a ‘new or changed prescription’ relative to ‘no prescription’ compared to patients that attended independent opticians (36-71% more likely). Those living in the least deprived areas were also less likely to receive a new prescription (1-12%) and those aged <16 years were less likely to be referred (9%). The study examining the need for a Minor Eye Condition Service in Leeds and Bradford found it would produce theoretical cost savings, whilst maintaining high patient satisfaction. Subsequently, a MECS was commissioned in Bradford. The study attempting to collect data from MECS across all areas of England found that data is not routinely collected, or shared. The limited data available typically showed that 73-83% of patients were retained in optometric practice with 12-18% receiving a hospital referral. A prospective evaluation of a COVID urgent eye care service found that teleconsultations frequently did not resolve patients’ eye problems (27%). These telephone consultations failed to detect some serious conditions such as scleritis, wet macular degeneration, retinal detachment.
The results from the thesis support the view that the current method of delivering eye care in England is contrary to the public health interest
Role of Smart Cities in Creating Sustainable Cities and Communities: A Systematic Literature Review
No full textYesSmart cities can help in achieving UN SDG. This research carries out a comprehensive analysis of the role of smart cities on creating sustainable cities and communities, which is one of 17 UN sustainable goals. Current research focuses on number of aspect of sustainable environment such as renewable and green energy, energy efficiency, environmental monitoring, air quality, and water quality. This study provides a valuable synthesis of the relevant literature on smart cities by analysing and discussing the key findings from existing research on issues of smart cities in creating sustainable cities and communities. The findings of this study can provide an informative framework for research on smart cities for academics and practitioners
Magnetic moments at Ness of Brodgar
Get PDFYesThe magnetic analysis of material from the Ness of Brodgar has formed part of the research programme at
the site, with annual collection of samples, since 2012.1 Primarily concerned with dating and with the refinement
of site chronologies, magnetic analysis is also being used to address questions regarding the nature of
resource exploitation and the use of space within buildings. This chapter presents the results of the research
undertaken so far and highlights the areas that are likely to prove informative in future
Is the pen mightier than the sword? Exploring urban and rural health in Victorian England and Wales using the Registrar General Reports
Get PDFYesIn AD 1836, the General Register Office (GRO) was established to oversee the national system of civil registration in England and Wales, recording all births, deaths and marriages. Additional data regarding population size, division size and patterns of occupation within each division permit urban and rural areas (and those with both urban and rural characteristics, described here as ‘mixed’) to be directly compared to each other. The annual Reports of the Registrar General summarize the collected data, including cause of and age at death, which is of particular value to historical demographers and bioarcheologists, allowing us to investigate demographic patterns in urban and rural districts in the nineteenth century.
Overall, this paper aims to highlight how this documentary evidence can supplement osteological and paleopathological data to investigate how urbanization affected the health of past populations. It examines the data contained within the first Registrar General report (for 1837-8), in order to assess patterns of mortality of diverse rural, urban, and mixed populations within England and Wales at a point in time during a period of rapid urbanization. It shows that urban and mixed districts typically had lower life expectancy and different patterns in cause of death compared to rural areas. The paper briefly compares how the documentary data differs from information regarding health from skeletal populations, focusing on the city of London, highlighting that certain age groups (the very young and very old) are typically underrepresented in archeological assemblages and reminding us that, while the paleopathological record offers much in terms of chronic health, evidence of acute disease and importantly cause of death can rarely be ascertained from skeletal remains.This research was funded by the Royal Society of London (Grant Reference IES\R1\180138) and supported by the University of Bradford and SUNY Plattsburgh
How does business analytics contribute to organisational performance and business value? A resource-based view
Get PDFYesPurpose – The purpose of this article is to identify how the organisations are able to improve their business value through acquisition of business analytics capabilities and by improving their performance.
Design/Methodology/Approach – With the help of literature survey, along with standard resource-based view framework, a conceptual model has been developed. These have been statistically tested by collecting the data using the survey questionnaire from 306 selected respondents from various service sector and product based organisations in India. To analyse the data we have used partial least square based structural equation modelling.
Findings – The study highlights that by the help of data acquisition and tool acquisition as two vital components, the acquisition of business analytics capabilities could improve the business value of the organisation by strengthening its organisational performance. The findings of this research also indicated that acquisition of business analytics capabilities has a significant influence on organisation’s business process performance and business decision, which in turn significantly influence organisational performance. And, organisational performance eventually positively influences its business value. The model was found to provide an explanative power of 71%.
Research Implication – The proposed research model can provide effective recommendations to the management of the organisations to realise the importance of acquisition of effective business analytics capabilities to eventually improve the business value of the organisation.
Originality/Value – No specific studies, as yet, have analysed the effects of acquisition of business analytics capabilities for improving organisational performance mediated through business process performance and business decision. Therefore, this research has explored the distinctive effort to empirically validate this understanding
Microscopic Sampling of Dentine and Bone Collagen: Development of Sampling Methods for Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Analysis
No full textSampling methods for dentine and bone collagen have been evolving for several
decades. Incremental dentine collagen sampling and bone collagen sampling
have been limited by the available technology throughout that time. As the
technology for isotope ratio mass spectrometry analysis improves, the sampling
methods should improve as well. This research focused on developing a new
incremental dentine collagen sampling method and bone collagen microsampling
method for stable isotope analysis. This research aimed to increase the
temporal resolution of incremental dentine collagen sampling and provided
sequential collagen sampling from bone collagen for stable carbon and nitrogen
isotope analysis while limiting the destructive nature of bioarchaeological
analysis. It was determined that the temporal resolution for incremental analysis
could be reduced to approximate three months, opposed to the nine months
found in other sampling methods. It was also determined that detailed isotopic
data could be obtained from bone collagen when sampling the microstructures.
The increased amount of isotopic data from the bone collagen was an
improvement on the commonly used bulk collagen sampling. This research can
be utilised to answer several of the questions that archaeologists have been
asking about past populations. Isotopic analysis using the methods developed in
the research can provide a more detailed observation of the diet and health of past populations.
In addition, the developed methods for bone and dentine collagen reduced the amount of tissue
subjected to destructive analysis
Do Young Children Consider Similarities or Differences When Responding to Referential Questions?
Get PDFYesYoung children often struggle with referential communications because they fail to
compare all valid referents. In two studies, we investigated this comparison process. In
Study 1, 4- to 7-year-olds (N=114) were asked to categorize pairs of objects according
to their similarities or differences, and then identified a unique quality of one of the
objects by responding to a referential question. Children found it easier to judge the
differences between objects than similarities. Correct judgments of differences
predicted accurate identifications. In Study 2, 4- to 5-year-olds (N=36) again
categorized according to similarities or differences, but this time were asked for verbal
explanations of their decisions. Recognition of differences was easier than recognition
of similarities. Explanations of errors were either: a) ambiguous; b) color error: c)
thematic (creative imaginative explanations). Children offered thematic explanations
when they failed to recognize similarities between objects, but not for errors of
difference
Social distancing enhanced automated optimal design of physical spaces in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic
Get PDFNoAs the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, manually enhanced ad-hoc solutions have helped the physical space designers and decision makers to cope with the dynamic nature of space planning. Due to the unpredictable nature by which the pandemic is unfolding, the standard operating procedures also change, and the protocols for physical interaction require continuous reconsideration. Consequently, the development of an appropriate technological solution to address the current challenge of reconfiguring common physical environments with prescribed physical distancing measures is much needed. To do this, we propose a design optimization methodology which takes the dimensions, as well as the constraints and other necessary requirements of a given physical space to yield optimal redesign solutions on the go. The methodology we propose here utilizes the solution to the well-known mathematical circle packing problem, which we define as a constrained mathematical optimization problem. The resulting optimization problem is solved subject to a given set of parameters and constraints - corresponding to the requirements on the social distancing criteria between people and the imposed constraints on the physical spaces such as the position of doors, windows, walkways and the variables related to the indoor airflow pattern. Thus, given the dimensions of a physical space and other essential requirements, the solution resulting from the automated optimization algorithm can suggest an optimal set of redesign solutions from which a user can pick the most feasible option. We demonstrate our automated optimal design methodology by way of a number of practical examples, and we discuss how this framework can be further taken forward as a design platform that can be implemented practically.University of Bradford's COVID-19 Response Fund, the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (Computer Science National Program) under grant #TIN2017-89275-Rof the Agencia Estatal de Investigacion and European Funds (AEI/FEDER, UE
Design of an environmentally friendly fuel based on a synthetic composite nano-catalyst through parameter estimation and process modeling
Get PDFYesIn this paper, oxidative desulfurization (ODS) process is studied for the purpose of removing the sulfur components from light gas oil (LGO) via experimentation and process modeling. A recently developed (by the authors) copper and nickel oxide based composite nano-catalyst is used in the process. The ODS experiments are conducted in a batch reactor and air is used as an oxidizer under moderate operation conditions. Determination of the kinetic parameters with high accuracy is necessary of the related chemical reactions to develop a helpful model for the ODS operation giving a perfect design of the reactor and process with high confidence. High conversion of 92% LGO was obtained under a reaction temperature of 413 K and reaction time of 90 min for synthesized Cu Ni /HY nano-catalyst. Here model based optimization technique incorporating experimental data is used to estimate such parameters. Two approaches (linear and non-linear) are utilized to estimate the best kinematic parameters with an absolute error of less than 5% between the predicted and the experimental results. An environmentally friendly fuel is regarded the main goal of this study, therefore the optimization process is then employed utilizing the validated model of the prepared composite nano-catalyst to get the optimal operating conditions achieving maximum conversion of such process. The results show that the process is effective in removing more than 99% of the sulfur from the LGO resulting in a cleaner fuel
Artificial intelligence in radiography: Where are we now and what does the future hold?
No full textNoThis paper will outline the status and basic principles of artificial intelligence (AI) in radiography along with some thoughts and suggestions on what the future might hold. While the authors are not always able to separate the current status from future developments in this field, given the speed of innovation in AI, every effort has been made to give a view to the present with projections to the future.
AI is increasingly being integrated within radiography and radiographers will increasingly be working with AI based tools in the future. As new AI tools are developed it is essential that robust validation is undertaken in unseen data, supported by more prospective interdisciplinary research. A framework of stronger, more comprehensive approvals are recommended and the involvement of service users, including practitioners, patients and their carers in the design and implementation of AI tools is essential. Clearer accountability and medicolegal frameworks are required in cases of erroneous results from the use of AI-powered software and hardware. Clearer career pathways and role extension provision for healthcare practitioners, including radiographers, are required along with education in this field where AI will be central.
With the current growth rate of AI tools it is expected that many of the applications in medical imaging will continue to develop to more accurate, less expensive and more readily available versions moving from the bench to the bedside. The hope is that, alongside efficiency and increased patient throughput, patient centred care and precision medicine will find their way in, so we will not only deliver a faster, safer, seamless clinical service but also one that will have the patients at its heart.
AI is already reaching clinical practice in many forms and its presence will continue to increase over the short and long-term future. Radiographers must learn to work with AI, embracing it and maximising the positive outcomes from this new technology