34028 research outputs found
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Modelling the Thermal Characteristics of a Glasshouse Coupled with a Solar Thermal Heating System
No full textThis chapter presents a thermal modelling study of a glasshouse environment using a multifaceted method that includes the impact of solar irradiance, external temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed, returning the predicted internal air temperature over time. The thermal modelling entails mathematical relationships for predicting the internal temperature, cover (glass) temperature, and floor temperature of a glasshouse by solving a system of ordinary differential energy balance equations characterising the system. External environmental data (wind speed, exterior temperature, soil temperature, and sun radiation) were obtained from around and within an actual glasshouse site. Novel heat shields for the indoor humidity data were designed and used to enhance the accuracy of data collected. Quantification of the deviations between the experimental internal temperature and the model’s predictions shows about 8% deviation on average, signifying a high degree of model fidelity. Based on the results of this chapter, techniques for improved predictions are also discussed; the potential benefits of using complementary transient three-dimensional modelling to track the spatial and temporal behaviour of the actual dynamic glasshouse conditions under high and low temperature offshoots.</p
Co-Seg++: Mutual Prompt-Guided Collaborative Learning for Versatile Medical Segmentation
No full textMedical image analysis is critical yet challenged by the need of jointly segmenting organs or tissues, and numerous instances for anatomical structures and tumour microenvironment analysis. Existing studies typically formulated different segmentation tasks in isolation, which overlooks the fundamental interdependencies between these tasks, leading to suboptimal segmentation performance and insufficient medical image understanding. To address this issue, we propose a Co-Seg++ framework for versatile medical segmentation. Specifically, we introduce a novel co-segmentation paradigm, allowing semantic and instance segmentation tasks to mutually enhance each other. We first devise a spatio-sequential prompt encoder (SSP-Encoder) to capture long-range spatial and sequential relationships between segmentation regions and image embeddings as prior spatial constraints. Moreover, we devise a multi-task collaborative decoder (MTC-Decoder) that leverages cross-guidance to strengthen the contextual consistency of both tasks, jointly computing semantic and instance segmentation masks. Extensive experiments on diverse CT and histopathology datasets demonstrate that the proposed Co-Seg++ outperforms state-of-the-arts in the semantic, instance, and panoptic segmentation of dental anatomical structures, histopathology tissues, and nuclei instances. The source code is available at https: //github.com/xq141839/Co-Seg-Plus.</p
Review of Chris Skidmore, Early Quaker Controversy in Reading: The Minute Books of the Two Reading Monthly Meetings, 1668-1716 (Reading: Berkshire Record Society, 2025)
No full textA book review of a recent publication on a schism in a Quaker meeting in Reading, England.</p
The Performance of Slowness: Patinjapadam in Kathakali
No full textThis chapter is concerned with inquiring into the linkages between slowness of movement and its aesthetic impact on the spectator. It analyzes the key aesthetic convention of patinjapadam, the slow performance of kathakali, the classical dance-drama form from the southern Indian state of Kerala. Such an in-depth discussion of patinjapadam, as this chapter endeavors to undertake, is rarely found in existing scholarly material on kathakali. Yet, patinjapadam remains as a quintessential training tool, a key structural component of kathakali, and a benchmark for an actor to prove their acting skills. The chapter argues that the aesthetic pleasure derived from watching patinjapadam is the cumulative result of a careful combination of appreciating its rhythmicity, musicality, and corporeality. </p
Threshold Spaces: Making Female Monastic Communities in Visgothic-era Baetica
No full textThis chapter uses a case study of female monasticism from the southern Iberian province of Baetica in the sixth and seventh centuries to explore how contemporaries understood the role of boundaries in ascetic formation. The evidence for Baetica, derived mainly from the writings of Isidore and Leander, reflects — and had an influence upon — currents in monastic thinking and practice elsewhere in Iberia and, indeed, across the late antique world. Following an introduction to the sources, the chapter begins with an analysis of Leander’s letter to his sister, before examining Isidore’s more diverse writings about monasticism, which are mainly focused on male institutions but which make occasional passing references to women. I then move on to explore a source from later in the seventh century, the account of a female monastic founder, Benedicta, in the vita of Fructuosus of Braga (d. 665). I argue that a consistent rhetoric of enclosure was undercut by the development of procedures and spaces for the facilitation of movement between supposedly closed ascetic community and the ‘world’. Contact was channelled via a quite circumscribed range of neighbours and approved associates. Such threshold spaces were pivotal to the formation of individual nuns and the community in both a rhetorical and a practical sense, since movement across the monastic boundary was essential if the monastery was to be able to access both the material and human resources that were necessary for its survival.</p
Exploring Non-Governmental Organisation Delivered Peer-Led HIV Services and Interventions in England: A Critical Review
No full textA thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Lincoln for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Practice Portfolio in Health and Social Care.Thesis Summary: This thesis comprises a portfolio of work and a critical review. It presents three interconnected studies linked through their exclusive focus on utilising peer-led services and interventions in the field of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) medicine. The thesis focuses on two evaluations of peer-led services for adults living with HIV, and one peer-led intervention that supported knowledge diffusion of, and increased uptake of, an HIV prevention medicine (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis or PrEP) for adults in England.Thesis Aims: The studies presented in the accompanying portfolio seek to explore the current impact of non-governmental organisation delivered, peer-led services and interventions, both in supporting adults living with HIV, and in the prevention of HIV in adults in England.Thesis Objectives:To document examples of peer-led services and interventions in the care, management, and prevention of HIV in adults, delivered by non-governmental organisations in England.To describe the design and delivery of those services and interventions.To explore the impact of those services and studies on service users, service staff, and (where relevant) the National Health Service (NHS).To provide evidence of the need for non-governmental organisation-delivered peer-led HIV services and interventions in England.To reflect on the achievements and learning arising from independent evaluation of the services and interventions.Contribution to Knowledge: The portfolio contributes to knowledge, practice, and policy by demonstrating the impact that adult-focused peer-led services and interventions in England, contribute to improving the wellbeing of people living with HIV, and in diffusing knowledge about HIV PrEP, to people who are least likely to know about it. Additionally, the portfolio of work demonstrates that peer support may help to reduce the impact of social determinants of health and social inequalities faced by people living with HIV, particularly those belonging to marginalised groups. Furthermore, this thesis presents two original implementation frameworks, designed by the candidate for inclusion in this thesis, which support the future development and delivery of peer-led HIV services and interventions for adults in England.</p
Teacher Attitudes Towards and Awareness of Adolescent Gambling Behaviour in the Republic of Ireland
No full textIntroduction: The prevalence of Irish adolescent gambling is increasing with one quarter of 15-18-year-olds gambling at least once a year. There is little research on Irish adolescent gambling and teacher awareness thereof and this study aimed to fill this gap.Methods: Eighty-eight teachers in Ireland answered questions regarding their awareness and attitudes about adolescent gambling. Teachers were asked about their perception of the severity of gambling compared to other adolescent issues, their confidence in addressing gambling and the frequency of conversations about gambling with students.Results: Logistic regression and Cochran’s-Q test of association results show that Irish teachers were likely to view adolescent gambling as significantly less serious of an issue compared to other adolescent high-risk behaviours. Teachers were significantly less likely to converse frequently with students about gambling in comparison to other high-risk behaviours, were significantly less confident in their abilities to address student gambling problems when compared to discussing adolescent alcohol problems, and perceived gambling behaviour as less problematic than other risky behaviours. Most teachers reported that their school either did not have, or they did not know of, any form of gambling prevention programme within the school.Conclusions: Irish teachers show moderate awareness of adolescent gambling, with higher accuracy than UK counterparts in identifying problem gambling among younger cohorts. However, low confidence, limited training, and scarce prevention programmes highlight gaps in addressing this issue. Collaboration with external organisations and curriculum enhancements are essential to foster prevention and support student wellbeing.</p
Exploring how comorbidities, ageing and intimacy intersect with sexual behaviour: A qualitative interview study with older people in a coastal and rural community
No full textBackground: Sexual behaviour encompasses biological, psychological and social elements and good sexual health is essential to wellbeing. Within rural and ageing populations, understanding what impacts sexual behaviour is critical to supporting positive sexual experiences. An ageing population contributes to more people having health issues, yet the impact on sexual behaviour is under researched. Coastal and rural towns often experience higher deprivation, limiting access to health services, yet little is understood about the impact on sexual health.Aim of the study: This study aimed to examine the influence of comorbidities, ageing and intimacy on sexual behaviour in a rural and coastal population.Methodology: Nineteen in-depth semi-structured life history interviews were conducted with adults over 65 in an east coast Lincolnshire rural coastal town. Analysis of the data used deductive thematic analysis with a specific focus on sexual behaviour in this setting.Results: Older adults encounter numerous health issues affecting their sexual health and that of their partners. Many seek sexual relationships and experiences though participants’ attitudes varied. Handholding and cuddling are valued expressions of intimacy. Some felt modern society allowed more openness to talk about sexual health and behaviour whilst others experienced ageism and discrimination. Geographically, lack of service provision and digital illiteracy may reduce access to health services.Conclusions: Many older adults are still sexually active but experience difficulty discussing sexual health with healthcare providers. Healthcare providers should avoid age-related prejudice and initiate sexual health discussion when addressing apparently unrelated health concerns. Policy makers and healthcare providers should seek to develop accessible services for rural and coastal populations and to provide support for older adults with accessing digital tools.</p
Gender Diversity: Equality, diversity and inclusion in UK Higher Education
No full textPeople with gender diversity regardless of if they are transgender, non-binary or intersex often experience educational and employment marginalisation due to health issues, medical malpractice, social exclusion and discrimination on grounds such as gender identity, presentation and disability.Although they are somewhat covered by the Equality Act 2010, a few Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have begun to develop additional policies to support them. This research about an overlooked population is especially timely due to the rise of the far right with an increase in discriminatory practices worldwide and because the United Nations passed an historic international resolution In April 2024 to address the discrimination, harmful practices and injustices faced by intersex people.The research will address the issues that people with gender diversity face in accessing HE, participating in HE education, and working in HEIs. It will use a conceptual framework of post structural policy analysis to reveal the level of visibility of gender diverse people in HEIs.This is a mixed methods approach using a literature and policy review, followed by a surveys of HEI stakeholders.The overall goal is to provide policy makers and practitioners with knowledge about gender diverse people’s access to higher education and employment within HEIs, as a basis for shaping evidence-based interventions to promote their inclusion and social justice.</p
Pushing back against a gendered working environment: Experiences of women prison governors in England and Wales
No full textThe health and wellbeing of people living and working in prisons has been a consistent point of interest for decades. Most research about people working in prisons has focused on prison officers, with little exploration of the senior leaders employed in these environments. Working with the Prison Governor’s Association (PGA), the main trade union for prison governors and operational managers in England and Wales, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 63 members to gain a deeper understanding of their health and wellbeing (Harrison et al., 2024; Harrison and Nichols, 2023; Nichols et al., 2024; Smith et al., 2022; Smith, 2023; Smith et al., 2025). The interviews took place remotely in 2021, during which governors were asked to describe their health and wellbeing, the support mechanisms they had access to and their engagement with them, and how they felt about their role. The extensive data captured from these interviews were analysed and organised into themes for our initial report. This culminated in the main finding that the health and wellbeing of governors was not good. The report was shared with the Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) to help shape their support responses. While the data collection for this research took place during the Covid-19 pandemic, participants were keen to express that the issues raised were exacerbated by, rather than symptomatic of, the pandemic.</p