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Forgiveness and mental wellbeing: A transnational comparison
Get PDFForgiveness and mental wellbeing were investigated amongst British-European and Nigerian-African samples to compare and determine; (a) similarities and differences in dispositional forgiveness levels between the two populations conducted in terms of their general samples, gender, and age. (b) the difference in mental well-being scores between the two samples. Finally, (c) the relationship between forgiveness and mental wellbeing in both groups.
The Bolton Forgiveness Scale (BFS) and the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale were administered to participants (Nigerian n = 1164, British n = 855). SPSS was used to analyse data; a series of t-test were conducted, Eta squared and Z-value were calculated to determine the magnitude of each significant difference between variables and the magnitude of the difference in the correlation coefficient between variables respectively.
Statistically significant results suggested significant differences in the way and manner dispositional forgiveness is conceptualised and practised within one group relative to the other, whereas non-significant results indicated similarities in forgiveness opinions and practises between the two groups. Overall British sample, men, and those aged 36 to 55, reported higher levels of forgiveness than their Nigerian counterparts. However, Nigerians under the age of 35 reported higher levels of forgiveness than their British counterparts, and there was no statistically significant difference between the forgiveness levels of British and Nigerian women. Furthermore, the British total sample, men, and women, all had higher wellbeing scores than their Nigerian counterparts.
Forgiveness varies according to culture. The findings of the current study suggest that the individualistic/collectivistic cultural arguments long held by some authors may not adequately explain the differences and similarities in forgiveness conceptualization and practise across cultures. As a result, research may focus on a variety of factors such as educational background, income, socioeconomic level, religion, among others. Second, consistent with previous studies, this research suggests that forgiveness is positively related to mental health and wellbeing. Finally, one of the limitations of this study is its exclusive focus on two countries, namely the United Kingdom and Nigeria. Future research could include more countries with both individualistic and collectivistic societies.
This paper, which is the first to examine forgiveness and mental wellbeing in a comparative perspective between British-European and Nigerian-African samples, has made a unique contribution to the forgiveness and mental wellbeing literature and in particular, has provided a solid foundation and resources for future research of a similar nature in Africa, where little or no research had been conducted previously
The importance of starting well: the influence of early career support on job satisfaction and career intentions in teaching
No full textAcross the UK and internationally high rates of attrition among recently qualified teachers has focused attention on strengthening early career support. Policy attention has shifted from recruitment to the issue of sustainability. While the importance of induction is widely recognised, few studies investigate the components of early career support that new teachers deem most effective and the contextual conditions that support professional growth. This article explores the complex relationship between perceptions of pre-service preparation, school context and induction experience on the continuing learning needs, job satisfaction and career intentions of teachers at the end of their first year post-qualification. The analysis draws on 382 survey responses from teachers undertaking statutory induction in primary and secondary schools in the North West of England and Scotland in 2019. The findings suggest that the quality of initial teacher education is the strongest predictor of continuing development needs at the end of induction. High quality preparation has the potential to sustain new teachers across diverse employment contexts and the many challenges of the early career phase
LEAP Online - Get behind the wheel
No full textWhat is the context/ focus of your presentation, and what is its relevance?
Launched in 2017, LEAP Online is an interactive digital resource that supports the promotion of student learning development and information literacy at the University of Bolton. This workshop will focus on the value and impact of LEAP Online’s approach to: blended learning, student support, applied research and supporting staff. Specifically, it will highlight how LEAP Online has fostered collaboration to design and implement new topics to support the diverse makeup of the University of Bolton population and wider community. LEAP Online is continuing to evolve and badge data, together with student feedback, demonstrates its value and how it is embedded in the student journey and the University’s learning and teaching strategy.
What did you do?
The LEAP Online team have, and continue to, foster positive relationships across the University and wider community to develop content and meet the needs of students.
What were the research or activity results / outcomes?
Using both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, this workshop will share badge statistics and feedback to demonstrate how learning analytics can evidence the impact of the support available in LEAP Online to the student learning goals.
What are the main points to take forward in relation to your chosen theme and student success?
LEAP Online is continuing to evolve and there are high aspirations to develop innovative and engaging content for all University students. It is firmly believed that success is measured in the provision of: consistent, inclusive, high-quality learning development content and resources, which are appropriate for the University’s multi-disciplinary boundaries. To that end, the development of LEAP Online should be collaborative and involve the whole University to help ensure student success
“Piece of Mind” and “Wellbeing Town” : engaging service users in the development of a wellbeing game
No full textThe long-term implications of COVID-19 for wellbeing are predicted to be both significant and enduring. Data from previous epidemics indicates long-term detrimental effects are more pronounced among particular demographics, including individuals with pre-existing mental health conditions. The Mental Health Independent Support Team (MhIST) is a charitable organisation offering a range of free-at-the-point-of-contact services via self-referral for a range of mental health and wellbeing concerns, both with and without diagnosis. Since March 2020, the organisation noted significant rises in demand for services. Serious games and their active involvement in eliciting rapid positive behavioural change is associated with their emergence as a key learning tool, with effects transferable to the real world. While a growing number of gamified interventions exist for a range of mental health diagnoses, their presence in the domain of positive psychology is more limited. The chapter reports two studies conducted to enhance the development of an educational game for adult wellbeing
The Ghanaian perspective: an interim report illustrating the value of social enterprise to young people
No full textReport commissioned by the British Council
Evaluating the effects of strategic planning on IT Higher Education in Saudi Arabia by the perspective of students
Get PDFAccording to the main strategic document in Saudi Arabia, Strategic Vision 2030, one of commitments is to continue
investing in education so that young people are equipped for the jobs of the future. Currently, in Saudi Arabia there is
no clear picture about the influence of that proclaimed strategical focus to the reality in public education, specifically
in IT studies. Based on an empirical investigation in IT universities in Saudi’s capital city Riyadh, this paper reveals
characteristics of the IT studies and its alignment to the job market needs, from the perspective of students. The research is
conducted among students at the final years in public universities with IT department in Riyadh. Primary data is obtained
by on-line survey, individual interviews and focus group discussions. Research findings showed that strategic planning
decisions made by public authorities during previous years strongly influenced the part of the higher public education of
information technology in Universities in Riyadh. It confirmed that large investments in education have yielded results in
a high students’ satisfaction with: a) faculty equipment (education tools, libraries and computing facilities); b) computer based labs where research and hands-on activities are performed and c) the high level of applicability of the knowledge
and skills gained during the study. Graduated students are flexible and ready to accept the job either in private or public
organisation, with flexible working options or as lifetime employments. However, there are still low interests of students
to build own business through entrepreneurial activities and they are relatively low interested to study, build career and
live outside of Riyadh and other big cities in the country. According to student’s opinions, there is space for modernization
and innovation of the study curriculum through the use of interactive software applications and e-learnin
Applying the principles of health promotion in nursing practice
Get PDFHealth promotion is a relatively new concept that is grounded in the definition of health proposed in 1946 by the World Health Organization. The thinking behind health promotion departs from the biomedical model of health and considers how biological, psychological and social factors interact to affect the health and health outcomes of individuals, communities and population groups. An accurate and in-depth understanding of what health means to people and how health is experienced enables healthcare professionals, planners and policymakers to develop and deliver health promotion interventions that prevent suboptimal health and address health inequalities. This article describes the concepts, frameworks and models that underpin health promotion and discusses the different types of health promotion interventions that can be applied in nursing practice
The effect of combined atmospheric plasma/UV treatments on improving the durability of flame retardants applied to cotton
Get PDFApplication of a combined atmospheric plasma/UV laser to cotton fabrics impregnated with selected non-durable flame retardants (FRs) has shown evidence of covalent grafting of the latter species on to cotton fibre surfaces. As a result, an increase in their durability to water-soaking for 30 min at 40 °C has been recorded. Based on previous research plasma gases comprising Ar80%/CO220% or N280%/O220% were used to pre-expose cotton fabric prior to or after FR impregnation to promote the formation of radical species and increased –COOH groups on surface cellulosic chains, which would encourage formation of FR-cellulose bonds. Analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermal analysis (TGA) suggested that organophosphorus- and nitrogen- containing flame retarding species in the presence of the silicon-containing molecules such as 3-aminopropyltriethoxy silane (APTS) resulted in formation of FR-S-O-cellulose links, which gave rise to post-water-soaking FR retentions > 10%. Similarly, the organophosphorus FR, diethyl N, N bis (2-hydroxyethyl) aminomethylphosphonate (DBAP), after plasma/UV exposure produced similar percentage retention values possibly via (PO).O.cellulose bond formation, While none of the plasmas/UV-treated, FR-impregnated fabrics showed self-extinction behaviour, although burning rates reduced and significant char formation was evident, it has been shown that FR durability may be increased using plasma/UV treatments
Hash-based deep learning approach for remote sensing satellite imagery detection
Get PDFShip detection plays a crucial role in marine security in remote sensing imagery. This paper discusses about a deep learning approach to detect the ships from satellite imagery. The model developed in this work achieves integrity by the inclusion of hashing. This model employs a supervised image classification technique to classify images, followed by object detection using You Only Look Once version 3 (YOLOv3) to extract features from deep CNN. Semantic segmentation and image segmentation is done to identify object category of each pixel using class labels. Then, the concept of hashing using SHA-256 is applied in conjunction with the ship count and location of bounding box in satellite image. The proposed model is tested on a Kaggle Ships dataset, which consists of 231,722 images. A total of 70% of this data is used for training, and the 30% is used for testing. To add security to images with detected ships, the model is enhanced by hashing using SHA-256 algorithm. Using SHA-256, which is a one-way hash, the data are split up into blocks of 64 bytes. The input data to the hash function are both the ship count and bounding box location. The proposed model achieves integrity by using SHA-256. This model allows secure transmission of highly confidential images that are tamper-proof
Decoupled voltage sensitivity analysis for cluster-oriented smart grid operations
Get PDFThe power systems of today use “smart grids” to improve grid operations and energy
efficiency. State-of-the-art technologies and advanced control mechanisms have meant the
renewable energy sources (RESs) can now be increasingly integrated into power grids. The
grid integration of the RESs makes power generation more sustainable but concurrently
causes bidirectional energy flow. This can lead to imbalances between phases. Instability
during grid operations is consequently concerned, such as overcurrent in power lines and
over/under bus voltages. In the power systems, distribution grids are especially affected, since
they were not originally designed to handle power generation. The traditional grid operation,
which is a centralised architecture, is therefore impractical for smart grids. Accordingly, an
active distribution network is required.
In this thesis, an impedance network model and a method for decoupled voltage sensitivity
analysis are proposed. Their key contribution to the academic community in the field of smart
grids is to enable distributed steady-state analysis based on a clustering power systems
approach (CPSA), resulting in decentralised active operations in distributed areas of the smart
grids. The voltage sensitivity analysis proposed in this thesis examines the response of voltage
magnitude and angle in relation to bus current in sequence systems, active power, and reactive
power. The results from the analysis therefore indicate that there are impacts between buses in
term of the voltage magnitudes, which can be further used for power management and voltage
regulation.
The proposed analysis method is derived from a mathematical description of complex bus
voltage, based on the proposed impedance model. It requires only measurement data gathered
from the phasor measurement unit, without the information from grid topology. The required
measurement data consist of bus voltages, bus currents, and the line currents of the connecting
line between the distributed areas. As the foundation of the proposed method, first, the
impedance model for each distributed area is determined from the measurement data. Only
bus impedances between buses of concern are produced in this step. The impedance model is
further used together with the measured voltage of the concerned bus in the sensitivity
analysis. The proposed analysis method is devised to deal with both balanced and unbalanced
grid conditions.
The accuracy of the proposed analysis method was verified by simulations in three case
studies. The results from the first two case studies demonstrated the accurate voltage
sensitivity analysis in all selected grid cases under the balanced and unbalanced grid
conditions, including the case of the measurement errors up to the maximum of 1% total
vector error. Use of the outcome from voltage sensitivity analysis for regulating voltage
profile was then examined in the third case study. Once verification was achieved, the proposed analysis method enabled decoupled voltage sensitivity analysis by using only the measurement data. This makes the proposed method suitable for further use in smart grids.
Further research is recommended, which should give consideration to possible additional
measurement errors, dynamic characteristics of the power grid, and the implementation of the proposed method