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Written submission for Inquiry: Priorities of the Business and Trade Committee for 2026
No full textWritten submission from Dr Sajad Rezaei (University of Worcester) and Dr Rohit Trivedi (University of Bradford)
Date of submission: 10th November 2025
Inquiry: Priorities of the Business and Trade Committee for 2026 (https://committees.parliament.uk/call-for-evidence/3754/)
This evidence is based on primary data collection methos involving care’s home filed visit, multiple case studies, interviewees with business owners and social care workers of small and micro social care providers. Other stakeholders including clinical mangers, people familiar with primary care were consulted as well. It focuses on the use of emerging technologies within adult social care in England, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) application and its usage among top managements team and workers of small and micro social care providers to improve productivity growth and long-term output per social worker. Therefore, this written evidence suggests policy implication focusing on following questions.
- “How can productivity gains be shared fairly across the economy?”
- “What role should technology, skills, and innovation policy play in boosting long-term output per worker?
Engaging with the 'Generational Bowl': Connecting to those inheriting a world in crisis
No full textAn exploration of a the practical application of a reflection intergenerational practice, considering our connections and environmental responsibility to children near and far, with educators
Take A Break: A Typology Of Immigrant Enterprise Growth Strategies In Non-Traditional Entrepreneurship Settings
No full textPurpose: This study examines how Asian immigrant entrepreneurs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) pursue enterprise growth in a non-traditional, migrant-majority Gulf economy. By integrating the mixed embeddedness perspective with forms of capital and risk orientation, we develop a typology of growth strategies that extends the dominant breakout–breakthrough continuum.
Design/methodology/approach: We conducted 66 semi-structured interviews with first generation immigrant entrepreneurs from China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, and a group of transnational Asians. Using Template Analysis, we explored how variations in human, social and financial capital interact with risk orientation to shape growth choices.
Findings: Four distinct strategies emerged, differentiated by capital configurations, risk propensities and market focus. Breaking Back and Breaking Through, prevalent among South and East Asian entrepreneurs, relied on strong co-ethnic social capital but modest financial and human capital and were concentrated in enclave and low-value-added sectors. Breaking Beyond, typical of transnational Asians from developed economies, and Breaking Out, common among Iranian, Turkish and Afghan entrepreneurs, involved greater financial investment and higher risk taking to serve mainstream and high-value markets.
Originality/value: The study advances immigrant entrepreneurship research by offering a capital–risk typology that extends mixed embeddedness in a Gulf context. It shows that, unlike Western settings where enclaves often signal marginalisation, Dubai’s multicultural and policy driven environment enables diverse strategic pathways. The findings sharpen theory on mixed embeddedness and provide guidance for policymakers on how institutional conditions and visa regimes can foster the growth of immigrant enterprises
Market orientation and servitization in family-owned horticultural enterprises
Get PDFThis research examines how the dimensions of market orientation and servitization influence business performance in German family-owned horticultural SMEs. The research finds that customer orientation and interfunctional coordination positively impact performance, while competitor orientation has a negative effect. While servitization is shown to enhance performance directly, its moderating role in the relationship between market orientation dimensions and business performance is limited and, in one case, detrimental, highlighting a servitization paradox. These findings challenge assumptions about universal benefits of market orientation, underscoring the unique dynamics of family businesses. The study offers strategic insights for enhancing performance and longevity in a sector facing structural changes and contributes to the literature on market orientation and servitization in underexplored family business contexts
Impact of Malaria Infection on the Diagnostic Performance of Adipsin for Preeclampsia in Pregnancy: A Case‐Control Study
Get PDFBackground
Malaria and preeclampsia are major pregnancy‐related complications that share overlapping complement and inflammation‐mediated pathways. Although adipsin has been proposed as a diagnostic biomarker for preeclampsia, its diagnostic performance in the context of concurrent malaria infection remains poorly understood. This study investigated the impact of malaria infection on plasma adipsin levels and evaluated its diagnostic performance for preeclampsia.
Methods
This case‐control study included 200 pregnant women between 20 and 42 weeks of gestation, stratified into four groups: normotensive without malaria, normotensive with malaria, preeclamptic with malaria, and preeclamptic without malaria ( n = 50 per group). Plasma adipsin, C3a, C5a, TNF‐ α , IL‐6, IL‐8 and IFN‐ γ were measured using commercial ELISA kits. Malaria infection was confirmed with Giemsa‐stained blood smears. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 27.0.
Results
Amongst the participants enrolled, malaria infection was present in 50% and preeclampsia in 50% of the sample. Plasma adipsin levels were significantly elevated in malaria‐infected and preeclamptic participants ( p < 0.001), with the highest concentrations observed in participants with coexisting preeclampsia and malaria infection. Plasma adipsin showed strong positive correlations with C5a ( ρ = 0.695), IL‐6 ( ρ = 0.687), and TNF‐ α ( ρ = 0.645), and moderate correlations with malaria parasite density ( ρ = 0.553), IL‐8 ( ρ = 0.475) and C3a ( ρ = 0.437) ( p < 0.001 for all). Multivariable regression showed that preeclampsia and malaria independently elevated plasma adipsin levels, with a significant negative interaction between the two conditions ( p < 0.001). ROC analysis showed reduced diagnostic specificity for preeclampsia in malaria‐infected participants (62.1%, AUC = 0.719, p = 0.02) compared with malaria‐negative participants (87.9%, AUC = 0.823, p < 0.001).
Conclusion
Plasmodium falciparum infection significantly alters plasma adipsin levels, reducing its diagnostic specificity for preeclampsia. Malaria‐adjusted reference thresholds may be necessary when considering adipsin as a biomarker in endemic regions
Development of a Triage Tool for Stratification and Referral of Women at Risk of Preeclampsia in Low-Resource Antenatal Settings: A Prospective Cohort Study
Get PDFBackground and Aims
Preeclampsia remains a leading cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality globally, with high incidence and case fatality rates in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Early identification of at-risk women is critical, yet many predictive models require laboratory or imaging resources that are unavailable in resource-limited settings. This study aimed to develop a points-based clinical triage tool for preeclampsia risk stratification using routinely collected antenatal care (ANC) data.
Methods
A prospective cohort study of 703 pregnant women attending ANC was conducted, with retrospective extraction of baseline clinical data. Maternal sociodemographic characteristics, obstetric history, blood pressure (BP) measurements, and proteinuria screening results were analysed. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of preeclampsia, and model performance was evaluated using discrimination, calibration, and internal bootstrapping. A weighted scoring system was derived from regression coefficients, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to determine optimal cut-off values for risk stratification.
Results
A five-component clinical triage tool for risk stratification of preeclampsia was developed. The tool incorporates maternal age (≥ 35 years), nulliparity, elevated blood pressure (≥ 140/90 mmHg), family history of preeclampsia, and dipstick proteinuria (≥ + 1), generating a total risk score ranging from 0 to 18. Based on the risk score, women were categorised into low risk (0–10 points), moderate risk (11–15 points), and high risk (≥ 16 points) groups. The incidence of preeclampsia increased across these categories, from 5.1% in the low-risk group to 30.2% among women classified as high risk. At the high-risk threshold (≥ 16 points), the tool demonstrated good discriminatory performance (AUC = 0.83), with a sensitivity of 78.3% and a specificity of 83.3% for identifying women who subsequently developed preeclampsia.
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that a simple, points-based clinical triage tool using routinely collected antenatal data has potential for stratifying preeclampsia risk
The Impact of Synaesthesia on Inclusive Teaching and Learning: A Systematic Literature Review
No full textSynaesthesia is a neurodevelopmental phenomenon involving consistent, involuntary cross-modal sensory experiences. Though well-documented in cognitive neuroscience, its implications for educational practice remain underexplored. This systematic narrative literature review investigates how synaesthesia may impact children’s learning and inform inclusive classroom pedagogy. Using Xiao and Watson’s (2019) review typology and the PRISMA framework for study selection, 23 studies were synthesised across four key themes: (1) cognitive and perceptual advantages, (2) educational impacts and learning strategies, (3) developmental trajectory, and (4) broader cognitive and personality profiles. Findings indicate that synaesthetes often display enhanced memory, associative learning, and creativity, traits that could be leveraged in classroom contexts. However, challenges arise when educational materials conflict with individual perceptual mappings. Despite these findings, current pedagogical guidance and intervention strategies for synaesthetic learners are scarce. The review underscores a need for greater professional awareness and tailored educational approaches aligned with the neurodiversity framework. It concludes that synaesthesia, while often overlooked, holds significant potential for informing strengths-based and inclusive education
Applying the Grounded Delphi Method to Identify Consensus: Finding Consensus within Sustainability Managers Regarding the Corporate Sustainable Transformation Process
No full textThe Grounded Delphi Method is an effective research design for building expert consensus and developing new theoretical insights in situations where knowledge is emergent or fractured. The method is particularly useful when the research seeks to explore complex, ill-defined issues through the structured views, opinions, and perspectives of experts. Unlike traditional Delphi studies, which often focus on forecasting or prioritization, the Grounded Delphi Study integrates principles of Grounded Theory, specifically qualitative coding techniques such as open, axial, and selective coding into the Delphi process. This enables the generation of thematic categories from qualitative data in the first round, which are then refined and validated in subsequent rounds to achieve consensus. This case study details how the Grounded Delphi Method was utilized to build consensus as to sustainability managers’ understanding of the corporate sustainable transformation process and their responsibilities and barriers in this process. To achieve this, qualitative data was collected through online questionnaires during two rounds of data collection. Through the discussion of the application of the Grounded Delphi Method, this case details the method’s strengths, including its ability to build consensus by fostering deep understanding through iterative engagement; to maintain participant anonymity to reduce bias; and to encourage reflective feedback. However, the method also presents challenges, including combining the subjectivity of qualitative interpretation with the objectivity required to measure consensus. Researchers must also carefully manage sampling, design of data collection rounds, participant retention between rounds, and data analysis to maintain methodological rigor
'Strange matters': Silviu Purcarete's absurdist Macbett (2007, 2021)
No full textThis chapter argues that absurdist aesthetics provides the lens through which to see Shakespeare in post-traumatic theatre (as distinct from the post-dramatic). Focusing on Silviu Purcărete’s staging of Eugene Ionesco’s Macbett (2007 and 2021), it explores how the dynamics between the Shakespeare–Ionesco encounter has been echoing in staging Macbeth in Romania. This ‘theatricality of political and social criticism … in absurdist idiom’ which emerged as a necessary form of double-talk during the Cold War has ‘metamorphosed after communism into a highly elaborate aesthetics in which critical perspectives were deeply embedded’ (Shevstova & Innes 2013:112). Instead of losing its currency post-1989 (Billington 2007), it continues to have traction, at least east of Berlin, three decades on – and, with the Cold War having entered new stages since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it looks like both the ‘work’ and its ‘reception’ have a lot more work to do yet