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A Comparative Study Exploring University Withdrawals comparing the UK and Morocco
Get PDFStudents who withdraw from their courses before finishing their studies impact almost all universities in many different contexts. There can be varied reasons for students who leave their courses, ranging from having chosen the wrong course to feelings of not belonging in a course or university institution. To investigate this further we wanted to compare two universities in very different cultural contexts (UK and Morocco) to explore whether there were commonplace factors. Using thematic analysis to analyse the semi-structured interviews and a focus group we found that there were indeed similarities across these different contexts for students who left their courses early. The reasons given included financial reasons, mental and psychological issues, physical challenges and most notably course-related difficulties. We make several recommendations based on our findings that would help students and universities to better support struggling students to have more successful higher education experiences
Critical pedagogy: what makes it happen? Research using an innovative, positive lens bricolage
No full textThis innovative Research Handbook rethinks current paradigms in adult education, providing a toolkit for responding to the challenges and opportunities for adult education and lifelong learning amidst a changing world. Contributing authors analyse key aspects of the field through the lenses of democracy, sustainability, and social justice
Pesticide degradation capacity of a novel strain belonging to Serratia sarumanii with its genomic profile
Get PDFThe extensive use of pesticides in agricultural practices, coupled with the potential for microbial biodegradation of these chemicals, plays a critical role in environmental sustainability. This study aimed to identify microorganisms capable of degrading the most commonly used pesticides in agricultural fields within our region. In vitro screening revealed a microorganism with a broad pesticide degradation spectrum, and whole-genome sequencing further indicated the presence of genomic regions associated with pesticide degradation, a finding that was validated by LC–MS/MS analysis. Detailed genomic analysis, including ribosomal multi-locus sequence typing (rMLST), identified the microorganism as Serratia sarumanii . Our results also demonstrated that the introduction of this strain into the environment not only promoted the degradation of specific pesticides but also enhanced the efficacy of certain other pesticides at low concentrations through a synergistic interaction. To further substantiate the biodegradation capabilities of the strain, LC–MS/MS chromatographic analysis of 25 pesticide-active chemicals confirmed that Serratia sarumanii effectively biodegrades several pesticide active ingredients, including fludioxonil, fenhexamid, pyrimethanil, and spirodiclofen. These findings underscore the biodegradative potential of Serratia sarumanii and its promising application in the bioremediation of pesticide-contaminated soils.
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Diagnostic performance of urinary adipsin as a screening biomarker for pre‐eclampsia
Get PDFObjective
This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of urinary adipsin as a potential biomarker for pre‐eclampsia screening in a low‐resource setting.
Methods
A case–control study was conducted involving 150 pregnant women classified into three groups: 50 healthy pregnancies, 50 high‐risk pregnancies without pre‐eclampsia, and 50 pregnant women clinically diagnosed with pre‐eclampsia. Urinary adipsin concentration was measured with a commercial sandwich ELISA kit. Linear regression was conducted to examine the relationship between urinary adipsin levels and pre‐eclampsia risk, while receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess the diagnostic performance of urinary adipsin.
Results
Urinary adipsin levels were significantly higher in pre‐eclamptic women compared to healthy controls and the high‐risk group (1258.70 ± 342.88 ng/mg Cr vs. 284.16 ± 24.04 ng/mg Cr and 305.15 ± 36.10 ng/mg Cr; P < 0.001). At a cutoff value of 750 ng/mg Cr, urinary adipsin demonstrated a good diagnostic performance, with a sensitivity of 83.6% and a specificity of 88.9%. Combining urinary adipsin with blood pressure measurements significantly improved the predictive performance ( P < 0.001), with 96.7% sensitivity, 91.0% specificity, and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.930. The combination of urinary adipsin, urine protein‐to‐creatinine ratio (uPCR), and blood pressure measurement further enhanced specificity (99.7%) with a sensitivity of 90.5% (AUC = 0.909).
Conclusion
Urinary adipsin showed high sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value in diagnosing pre‐eclampsia. This highlights its potential as a non‐invasive biomarker for pre‐eclampsia screening in low‐resource settings. Routine urinary adipsin assay and blood pressure monitoring could enhance early detection strategies and improve maternal and perinatal outcomes
Anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive ACTion for health and social care
No full textThere have been many prominent cases and issues in the news which have raised the issue of safeguarding as a very important in society today. These cases have emphasised that serious harm that can occur in the absence of appropriate safeguarding. This means that safeguarding is everybody’s business and safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility. This chapter focuses on outlining the difference between a narrow and a wide definition of safeguarding, the significance of this difference and how this is reflected in legislation, key factors that can limit safeguarding issues and concerns, and it details nine actions for effective safeguarding. This provides a clear understanding of what safeguarding is, and also a clear outline of progressive, proactive and preventative actions to limit safeguarding issues and concerns
The importance of anatomy and physiology for health and social care
No full textAnatomy and physiology include the study of basic human functions and processes, such as how we breathe, how we eat, how we walk and how we talk which enable us to live, love and learn. These functions and processes represent the essential core of health and social care, which is providing care that enables people to not only live, but to live well. It is important as a health and social care practitioner to understand these anatomy and physiology functions and processes in order to identify when they are healthy or when they are disrupted. This chapter outlines how and why an understanding of anatomy and physiology makes this possible for you as a health and social care practitioner. It outlines the meaning of anatomy and physiology, and the importance of linking anatomy and physiology together, and three specific beneficial outcomes of understanding of anatomy and physiology for health and social care
The effect of age, sex, peak oxygen uptake, and training on resting and postexercise central blood Pressure Augmentation Index in aerobic trained adults
No full textBACKGROUND: Markers of arterial stiffness including high Augmentation Index (AIx) are associated with cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality and are reduced with exercise training. In trained individuals, the AIx response to peak exercise (exercise delta AIx75 [Ex-AIx75]) may better help identify the effect of age and sex on arterial stiffening compared with conventional resting measures. This study aimed to determine the effect, and contribution of age, sex, peak oxygen (O2) uptake (V̇O2peak), mean weekly training load and lifetime training on resting AIx75, and Ex-AIx75 of healthy aerobic trained adults.
METHODS: One hundred healthy aerobic trained adults (49 women, 51 men, being 48 younger [18-30 years], 52 older [40-60 years]) underwent non-invasive measurements of AIx75 at rest and post peak cycling exercise.
RESULTS: Resting AIx75, and Ex-AIx75 were significantly higher (P<0.001) in the older group compared to the younger group. Peak O2 uptake made the largest unique contribution to resting AIx75 (P<0.001), followed by age, height, and sex. None of the variables made a significant unique contribution to Ex-AIx75.
CONCLUSIONS: In healthy aerobic trained adults, while age and sex are unique contributors of resting AIx75, V̇O2peak makes the largest unique contribution. Therefore, increasing V̇O2peak should be a primary component to consider for individuals who want to reduce their risk of CV events
Drill, physical exercises, and outdoor games in English elementary schools, c.1870–1902, with particular reference to Birmingham
Get PDFThis article focuses on the development of physical education, broadly defined, for children in elementary schools in the late nineteenth century, with particular reference to the city of Birmingham, England. From 1871, schools were encouraged to incorporate military drill into the taught curriculum for children aged three to thirteen. Later, other forms of physical exercise were permitted and these were actively developed and promoted by the Birmingham School Board. In addition, from the 1880s, gymnastics, swimming, and outdoor games, especially team games, were increasingly available as extra-curricular activities. While extending the possibilities of physical education, these activities remained heavily dependent on external providers, such as the Physical Exercises Committee and the Birmingham Athletic Institute, and the voluntary efforts of teachers working out of school hours. Birmingham’s experience is set within the wider context of curricular change in elementary schools across England and Wales more generally. The discussion is informed and shaped by recent doctoral research (Felstead, 2023) on the pursuit of moral objectives in elementary education, especially the idea that children should acquire the habit of cheerful obedience which would serve them well in school and in adult life
2025 Sharing Information on Progress (SIP) Report: Worcester Business School
No full textWorcester Business School aligns to the University’s Sustainability Mission that seeks to promote principles of sustainability and social responsibility in their broadest sense. Through teaching, research and knowledge exchange activities the University promotes sustainable communities, services and use of physical resources. Within this University-wide Sustainability Mission, Worcester Business School works to be a responsible, sustainable and ethical business school (our vision) and to inspire all partners in our learning community to have a positive impact on their lives and the lives of others (our values)
From Abuse to Unity: National Belonging, and the 2018 Durmaz Affair in Swedish Football
No full textSwedish athletes from ethnic minority backgrounds have increasingly reported experiences of everyday racism and discrimination in sport, with a recurring theme being the questioning of their national identity and authentic "Swedish-ness." These experiences reflect broader patterns of right-wing populism and anti-immigration sentiment in contemporary Sweden, which increasingly permeate sporting contexts. Through qualitative news frame analysis, this article examines the case of Jimmy Durmaz following Sweden's 2018 FIFA World Cup match against Germany. Post-match, Durmaz received an avalanche of online abuse targeting his ethnic origin and questioning his legitimacy to represent Sweden. This incident prompted a national outcry against racism and xenophobia, with print media and the national team mounting a unified anti-racist response. Drawing on the theoretical framework of civic and ethnic nationalism, we demonstrate how the Durmaz case reveals the conditional and performative nature of multicultural acceptance in Swedish sport, where athletes' belonging becomes contingent upon sporting success and conformity to civic ideals. The analysis shows how sporting disappointment, occurring amidst increasingly normalised anti-immigration discourse, activated latent ethnic nationalist anxieties that questioned Durmaz's authentic "Swedish-ness" despite his birth in Sweden and long-standing national team contributions. The swift civic nationalist counter-mobilisation by teammates, media, and political leaders illustrates ongoing tensions between competing conceptions of nationhood in contemporary Sweden. While contemporary Swedish society shows few signs of declining anti-immigration sentiment in either youth or adult sport, the nationwide unified response to such attitudes demonstrates possibilities for collective cultural resistance against exclusionary nationalism. This case illuminates how sporting events can serve as both catalysts for xenophobic backlash and sites of anti-racist solidarity, reflecting broader tensions over national identity and belonging in contemporary European societies