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Living by the Rule:Contemporary Art and the Medieval Monastery
No full textHow might assumptions about contemporary life be unsettled by historical models, specifically the 'Rule’ which underpinned medieval monastic life? And how does the rich visual material culture of that historical model find connections with contemporary art? This unique publication offers a vivid means of staging the encounter between the medieval and the contemporary, with many unexpected resonances sounding between recent works and much earlier objects and texts. Offering new perspectives on extraordinary artworks from monastic contexts, such as the Arundel and Gorleston Psalters, and works in a variety of media by celebrated contemporary artists, including Danh Vo, Elizabeth Price, Richard Wright and Andrea Büttner, Living by the Rule makes a compelling case for looking beyond the chronological tracing of art history
Valuing the labor of women amateur filmmakers and the archivists who preserve their works
No full textThis chapter introduces the collaborative Women in Focus project, involving archivists, historians and feminist scholars committed to improving the visibility of women’s amateur filmmaking in film archives. The project examined how women’s amateur films make their way into archives and are represented in archival catalogues and records. With attention to the undervalued labor of women amateur filmmakers and archivists, the chapter focuses on how feminist interventions into film archiving must be cognizant of both. It details the production of an archival toolkit and the collaborative work with archives in designing and implementing it
The effectiveness of physiotherapy sitting balance treatments on sitting balance outcomes in early sub-acute stroke. A systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textBackground: Difficulties with sitting balance are common after stroke. The ability to sit unsupported is imperative for many daily tasks and correlated to more positive outcomes. There is limited research on “sitting balance” therapeutic interventions and their impact. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to investigate the effectiveness of physiotherapy sitting balance treatments on sitting balance outcomes in people up to 3-months post-stroke. Methods: The PRISMA checklist was followed and the review registered on PROSPERO. Seven electronic databases were searched to October 2023 (updated in January 2025) for studies comparing treatments focussing on sitting balance in adults who had suffered a cerebral stroke in the last three months. Studies were included if treatment was predominantly completed in sitting postures and reported sitting balance outcomes. Studies were assessed for eligibility, and data extraction and risk of bias was completed by two independent reviewers. Results: Data from 16 studies (623 participants) was synthesised narratively. Sitting balance interventions were classified into four main categories: weight shift and reaching; core stability exercises; environmental modifications; and task practice. A random effects meta-analysis conducted on eight studies (342 participants) revealed interventions to be beneficial for sitting balance (primary outcome: mean difference Trunk Impairment Scale 3.02; 95% confidence interval 2.19 to 3.86). Four studies demonstrated low risk of bias; and four showed some concerns. Conclusions: The current sitting balance treatments offered to early sub-acute stroke patients show significant improvements in sitting balance primary outcome. Sitting balance treatments can be categorised into four sub-types, helping to standardise clinical application and ensure consistency in future research
Part 2: Thermal Performance enhancement of Phase Change Materials, 5. Shape stabilized Phase Change Materials: Solving the issue of leakage
No full textOBJECTIVES: 1. Introduce shape-stabilized phase change materials (SSPCMs) 2. Evaluate the limitations of conventional PCMs 3. Explore mechanisms of shape stabilization 4. Assess advantages of SSPCMs over conventional PCMs 5. Highlight SSPCMs' thermal properties and performance This comprehensive analysis explores the fundamental aspects, development mechanisms, and advantageous properties of shape-stabilized phase change materials (SSPCMs) in thermal energy storage applications. The following investigation examines how these innovative materials effectively overcome the limitations of conventional phase change materials (PCMs) while enhancing thermal efficiency and operational reliability across diverse applications
A Qualitative Study Examining the Application of Compression Therapy for Inpatients With Venous Leg Ulcers—Perspectives of Hospital Staff Where It Is Routinely Applied
No full textCompression therapy is the cornerstone, first-line effective evidence-based treatment for healing and managing venous leg ulcers. However, compression therapy is inconsistently applied in hospitals. This paper explores the experiences of a diverse group of clinicians and senior managers applying compression therapy in hospitals across the United Kingdom. A semi-structured qualitative interview study was conducted with 19 participants, drawn from a larger study, who confirmed that their respective hospitals apply compression therapy to inpatients with venous leg ulcers. The interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Analysis generated four key themes: Patients ‘slip through the net’, Prioritisation in Hospital Care, A ‘blind Spot’ within Healthcare System and Motivation to Deliver Care. Patients ‘slip through the net’ refers to inpatients with venous leg ulcers face unequal access to compression therapy both within and between hospitals. Prioritisation in Hospital Care indicates how certain diseases are given greater emphasis within healthcare systems. A ‘blind Spot’ in Healthcare System described failing to implement compression therapy has created a critical underlying ‘blind spot’ within the NHS healthcare systems. Motivation to Deliver Care refers to a deep commitment to providing compression therapy, driven by clinicians' inherent dedication and ethical obligation towards improving patient quality of care. The study identified key challenges influencing the application of compression therapy in acute hospitals despite its routine use. These include the lottery of care, systemic inequities, unclear ownership, interprofessional disputes and organisational priorities. It also demonstrated the significant role of passion, motivation and moral responsibility encouraging clinicians to implement compression therapy despite these systemic barriers
Sea Ice Floe Segmentation in Close-Range Optical Imagery Using Active Contour and Foundation Models
No full textThe size of sea ice floes in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) is a key factor influencing ice coverage, albedo, wave propagation, and ocean–atmosphere energy exchanges. Floe size can be observed by processing visual-range imagery from ships, aircraft, or satellites. However, autonomously capturing floe boundaries remains challenging, particularly due to sea ice heterogeneity, which impairs boundary definition and reduces image clarity. This study evaluates the accuracy of sea ice floe segmentation using the gradient vector flow (GVF) active contour method, the deep learning-based Segment Anything Model (SAM), and a hybrid approach combining GVF and SAM. Methods are evaluated on a representative subset of a large data set of close-range, high-resolution imagery collected from cameras aboard an icebreaker during an Antarctic winter expedition. Spanning a wide range of ice conditions and image clarity in the MIZ, the subset provides a rigorous segmentation test bed. Performance is assessed in terms of floe detection accuracy, size distribution, and ice concentration, with results compared against a manually segmented benchmark. Results indicate SAM, in prompt-driven mode, offers the best balance between accuracy and computational efficiency. Its strong performance in estimating sea ice concentration and detecting floes, while maintaining close agreement with benchmark floe size distributions, makes it suitable for real-time applications and scalable analyses of large imagery data sets. Compared with SAM, the combined SAM-GVF method provides more accurate floe boundary delineation, although at much higher computational cost, and is therefore better suited for analyses requiring precise floe shapes
When climate speaks, who answers? Climate change exposure, environmental disclosure and CEO characteristics in Europe
Get PDFWe study whether firm-specific climate change exposure affects environmental disclosure and how CEO traits influence this relationship. Using data from STOXX Europe 600 firms, we find that higher climate risk leads to higher-quality disclosure. A one-standard-deviation increase in climate change exposure is associated with up to a 28% increase in the disclosure score, relative to the sample average. This effect is stronger for firms with longer-tenured or younger CEOs. Our findings highlight that firm-level climate risk and CEO experience drive environmental transparency, even under Europe’s rigid reporting standards
