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Challenges related to inclusion, special educational needs and disabilities: Supporting hard-of-hearing pupils in a mainstream specifically resourced provision in their physical education lessons
No full textAccording to the Consortium for Research in Deaf Education, there are over 45,000 children and young people in England who are deaf or hard of hearing (HoH). Of these, the majority are in mainstream schools, a few of which have an attached specifically resourced provision (SRP) for pupils who are deaf or HoH. In this chapter, the term HoH is used as it covers a wide range of hearing loss and currently is the term recommended by the government when discussing people with hearing loss. This chapter presents a case study from a mainstream academy in England for pupils aged 11–18 years, with an SRP for pupils who are HoH. However, physical education lessons had not been adapted specifically to support pupils with limited hearing. Feedback from some of the pupils who were HoH reported that they struggled to understand. Further, teachers were concerned that pupils who were HoH may be missing out on high-quality physical education. The chapter then considers a series of interventions which the physical education teachers could focus on – specifically, communication and relationship building, deaf identify and empowerment. The chapter finishes by looking at how these were integrated into the teaching of physical education and their impact on pupils’ learning in the case study school
Evaluation of an Efficient Ring-Based Total Order Protocol in a Fairness-Controlled Environment
Get PDFCrash-tolerant systems rely on total order protocols to ensure consistent request execution across replicated servers. The Logical Clock and Ring (LCR) protocol employs a ring-based, leaderless design that provides a high throughput but suffers latency inefficiencies under a high message concurrency due to its use of vector clocks and a fixed last-process rule for ordering concurrent messages. This paper presents the Daisy Chain Total Order Protocol (DCTOP), an enhanced version of LCR that integrates Lamport logical clocks for message sequencing and introduces dynamic last-process identification based on sender activity to accelerate message stabilisation and delivery. A modified fairness-control mechanism further balances message distribution among processes. The simulation results show that the DCTOP achieves an over 40% latency reduction compared to LCR while maintaining the same fairness and throughput across various cluster configurations
Hot Yoga: A Systematic Review of the Physiological, Functional and Psychological Responses and Adaptations
Get PDFBackground Hot yoga is a collective term used to classify any form of yoga undertaken in warm to hot ambient conditions (≥25°C). This study systematically reviewed the literature concerning hot yoga, with particular focus on acute responses to a single session and identifying prospective health benefits associated with physiological, functional and psychology adaptations following chronic practice.
Methods The review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), with searches performed across two main databases (PubMed and SCOPUS). Studies were included if they met the Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) criteria, were of English language, peer-reviewed, full-text original articles, and using human participants.
Results Forty-three studies investigated the effects of hot yoga (both acute and/or chronic), totalling 942 participants (76% female). The most common method of yoga performed in hot conditions was Bikram (74%), followed by generalised hot yoga (19%), Hatha (5%) and then Vinyasa (2%). Typical session duration ranged 20–90 min and occurred within 30–52°C and 20–60% relative humidity. Hot yoga training interventions consisted of 6–36 sessions, that were completed 2–6 times per week, over 1–16 weeks. Acute hot yoga increased body temperature and heart rate, but not the energetic demands when compared to other forms of non-heated yoga. Chronic hot yoga appeared to elicit cardiometabolic (e.g. body composition, lipid profiles and macrovascular function) and functional adaptations applicable for health (e.g., bone mineral density, balance and flexibility) as well as physical performance (e.g., submaximal exercise thresholds). Adaptations appear to occur without negatively impacting kidney function, nor sleep quality across healthy, sedentary and athletic populations. Hot yoga also presents promising, albeit inconclusive findings concerning the alleviation of psychological and affective disorders, and optimising markers of cognitive function. However, caution is advised as case studies report ill-health following hot yoga practice. Some literature lacks rigorous, high-quality experimental designs and sophisticated measurements that allow for mechanistic investigation.
Conclusion Investigations into hot yoga demonstrate intriguing health and functional benefits. However, claims that hot yoga provides greater health benefits than other forms of yoga or traditional exercise are at present, unsubstantiated. Literature describing beneficial effects of hot yoga are often do not utilise robust experimental designs or methods that facilitate mechanistic insights. Hot yoga warrants further investigation as a tool to improve health and wellbeing. Researchers should consider the highlighted methodological limitations and recommendations to strengthen experimental work within future research
“A million miles from how they used to be”: Understanding conversations from the perspective of people with dementia, family, and professionals
No full textDementia causes conversational difficulties for the person and those close to them due to the ubiquity of language and cognitive problems. Little is known about the experience of conversations from the perspective of people with dementia and their conversation partners (CPs). This study aims to understand experiences of conversations through consultation with people with dementia, those close to them, and dementia professionals, and how people are supported when they experience difficulties communicating. Nine people with a range of dementia diagnoses and six CPs (spouses), all community-dwelling, attended an in-person focus group in one of two locations. Sixteen dementia professionals attended online focus groups. Focus groups were recorded and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes were identified: the impact of conversation changes for the person with dementia and CP, conversation and dementia identity, support for conversation, and conversation and person-centred care. Language and memory changes impacted conversations and relationships. Societal stigma also affected conversations. Support for conversation was perceived to be scarce. The need for education and training to equip families to maintain conversation was emphasised. Supporting conversation was seen as fundamental to maintaining relationships and as a mechanism for professionals to deliver person-centred care
Heading for Burnout: The Early Years Workforce in England post COVID-19
No full textOver recent years there has been a raft of literature drawing attention to the inequity of working conditions for those in the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector in England; however, it remains rare that we have the opportunity to hear the voices of the practitioners telling their own story. Through an online anonymous survey, we gained rich qualitative data from 59 ECEC practitioners in England who discussed feeling disillusionment, injustice and exhaustion; experiences and emotions that were magnified through their experiences during and after the pandemic. In this article we argue that the ECEC sector has reached breaking point, and that immediate action is needed if we are to avoid the loss of a passionate, skilled and dedicated workforce, and if we are to avoid the risk of our most vulnerable children suffering the consequences
Microentrepreneurial commitment and perseverance in local communities during the COVID-19 crisis
No full textPurpose
This paper aims to examine the puzzling performance of microbusinesses during the COVID-19 crisis by drawing on the Pinocchio paradox as a theoretical lens to explain their entrepreneurial commitment (EC) and perseverance in an existential crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
Findings are drawn from a survey of owners and managers of 202 microbusinesses in Northern England during lockdown periods caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
Findings
The sampled microbusinesses remained committed to serving communal needs during the crisis and persevered with high service levels despite the negative implications for the viability of those businesses.
Originality/value
The paper fills an important gap in understanding why microbusinesses, which contribute significantly to the UK and other national economies, continued to serve their local communities during the COVID-19 crisis despite the financial risk of this activity. The paper’s principal contribution is in understanding the role of EC and perseverance, underpinned by local network ties, in enabling microbusinesses to remain active during an economic crisis to serve unmet needs and to compensate for lost business. State policies are proposed to assist microbusinesses and communities in anticipating and supporting their needs in and beyond future crises
Identifying genetic differences between bipolar disorder and major depression through multiple genome-wide association analyses
Get PDFBackground
Accurate diagnosis of bipolar disorder (BPD) is difficult in clinical practice, with an average delay between symptom onset and diagnosis of about 7 years. A depressive episode often precedes the first manic episode, making it difficult to distinguish BPD from unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD).
Aims
We use genome-wide association analyses (GWAS) to identify differential genetic factors and to develop predictors based on polygenic risk scores (PRS) that may aid early differential diagnosis.
Method
Based on individual genotypes from case–control cohorts of BPD and MDD shared through the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, we compile case–case–control cohorts, applying a careful quality control procedure. In a resulting cohort of 51 149 individuals (15 532 BPD patients, 12 920 MDD patients and 22 697 controls), we perform a variety of GWAS and PRS analyses.
Results
Although our GWAS is not well powered to identify genome-wide significant loci, we find significant chip heritability and demonstrate the ability of the resulting PRS to distinguish BPD from MDD, including BPD cases with depressive onset (BPD-D). We replicate our PRS findings in an independent Danish cohort (iPSYCH 2015, N = 25 966). We observe strong genetic correlation between our case–case GWAS and that of case–control BPD.
Conclusions
We find that MDD and BPD, including BPD-D are genetically distinct. Our findings support that controls, MDD and BPD patients primarily lie on a continuum of genetic risk. Future studies with larger and richer samples will likely yield a better understanding of these findings and enable the development of better genetic predictors distinguishing BPD and, importantly, BPD-D from MDD
The Act of Settlement 1701
No full textFor those concerned with the law and legal profession, the Act of Settlement 1701 may be best known for establishing security of tenure for judges and thus ensuring that senior judges could not be dismissed simply because they had earnt the displeasure of the monarch. Whilst the statutory protection of judicial independence is and remains significant and was, of course, an important issue for those drafting the legislation, it was the succession to the English Crown that was the chief concern in the final years of William III’s reign. This chapter will consider why and how Parliament sought to legislate to amend the order of succession, to exclude Catholics from the throne, and to disinherit the natural successor to James II, his son Prince James Edward. Significantly, the Act of Settlement assured a Protestant monarchy, the Hanoverian accession, and in turn, led to the creation of the office of Prime Minister, the development of cabinet government, and the constitutional monarchy. It is an Act that continues to discriminate against Catholics, as a Catholic still cannot become monarch. Nonetheless, despite its clear discriminatory language, it is apparent that the Act of Settlement has played a pivotal role in securing judicial independence and ensuring meaningful security of tenure for judges and the development of the rule of law. Thus, it is a ‘leading work’ in British constitutional history
The Effect of Organizational Factors on the Mitigation of Information Security Insider Threats
Get PDFInsider threats pose significant challenges to organizations, seriously endangering information security and privacy protection. These threats arise when employees with legitimate access to systems and databases misuse their privileges. Such individuals may alter, delete, or insert data into datasets, sell customer or client email addresses, leak strategic company plans, or transfer industrial and intellectual property information. These actions can severely damage a company’s reputation, result in revenue losses and loss of competitive advantage, and, in extreme cases, lead to bankruptcy. This study presents a novel solution that examines how organizational factors such as job satisfaction and security, organizational support, attachment, commitment, involvement in information security, and organizational norms influence employees’ attitudes and intentions, thereby mitigating insider threats. A key strength of this research is its integration of two foundational theories: the Social Bond Theory (SBT) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The results reveal that job satisfaction and security, affective and normative commitment, information security training, and personal norms all contribute to reducing insider threats. Furthermore, the findings indicate that employees’ attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms significantly influence their intentions to mitigate insider threats. However, organizational support and continuance commitment were not found to have a significant impact