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How is theory used to understand and inform practice in the alternative provision sector in England: Trends, gaps and implications for practice
Get PDFThis article examines how theory features in the research literatures concerning the English alternative (education) provision (AP) sector. Despite increasing interest over the past decade in how AP can (re)engage school-aged young people in learning, there has been no comprehensive review of the theoretical ideas used to understand, analyse, and inform practice in the sector. This article presents a framework for categorising the literature on AP, which refer to theory. This framework is of international relevance and can be used by researchers who are seeking to understand the state-of-knowledge on AP in their own contexts. Applied to the English context, this framework demonstrates trends and gaps in the ways theory is used to frame and understand the sector by researchers and practitioners. The framework highlights a shortage of published research which seeks to understand how practitioners in English APs understand, and use, theoretical ideas, concepts, and frameworks to inform their work with young people. We also find that theories drawn from psychological and therapeutic orientations are more common than those drawing on socio-political framings. We reflect on the causes and implications of these trends and gaps and conclude with suggestions for future research to better understand them
Building a framework for dynamic organisational capabilities in Design for Safety (DfS) for Malaysian construction organisations
Get PDFPurpose – Despite the growing construction subject of Design for Safety (DfS) in Malaysia, little effort has been made to understand the construction organisational DfS capability in a dynamic environment. This study aims to propose a framework for dynamic DfS capabilities for construction organisations in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative research methodology was employed for this study. Data were gathered from three hundred and six (306) practitioners from diverse construction organisations, including Government Agencies, Consultants, Contractors, and Developers in Malaysia using an online questionnaire survey during four online DfS webinars. Descriptive and inferential analysis, as well as content analysis techniques, were utilized to analyse the collected data.Findings – Analysis of the survey data showed that all six key DfS organisational capability elements identified in the literature, which the respondents were required to assess have a strong influence on determining the DfS capabilities of construction organisations. The elements ranked as most influential include 1) DfS knowledge of the designer; 2) DfS experience of the designer; 3) Top management's commitment to DfS; 4) Design risk management; and 5) Project review. Based on these findings, a framework for dynamic DfS organisational capabilities is proposed. This framework incorporates four essential capabilities—Sensing, Learning, Integrating, and Coordinating, and is anchored by the aforementioned six key elements as foundational to deriving value from DfS practices.Practical implications – The proposed DfS organisational capabilities framework will facilitate construction organisations' focus on the dynamic environment while striving for successful DfS practice in construction projects. Originality/value – This study extends the DfS literature in the construction context by providing deeper insights into the conceptualisation of dynamic DfS organisational capabilities where DfS regulatory framework is still evolving. This study also highlights organisations' importance in perceiving and prioritising their abilities to sense changes, learn and internalise new competencies, integrate resources, and coordinate activities, reflecting their unique strategic focuses and operational needs toward DfS practice
“Change needs to start at home”: A reflexive thematic analysis of girl athletes’ and coaches’ experiences of body image in New Delhi, India
No full textDespite the physical, psychological, and social health benefits of sport participation, multiple barriers keep girls and women on the margins of sport in India. Further, body image concerns are implicated globally as a hindrance to sports engagement among adolescents but are rarely acknowledged in India. Due to a lack of research, the unique restrictions to sport participation faced by girls in India are yet to be understood. Drawing on the Sociocultural Theory of Body Image, this study explored the intersection of body image and sports from the perspectives of Indian athletes and coaches. Twelve athletes (girls aged 11–17 years; football n = 6, netball n = 6) and six coaches (football n = 3, netball n = 3) from New Delhi, India, participated in semi-structured focus groups. Reflexive thematic analysis was used and we formulated three themes: 1) “To Do What We Love, We Must Struggle”; 2) “What Will People Say?”; and 3) “Hold On To Your Power, Be You”. The themes provide a nuanced understanding of the experiences of athletes and coaches on and off the playing field. The findings shed light on several individual and systemic factors, such as harassment, societal norms, feelings of empowerment, and internalising appearance ideals, that impact girls’ engagement with sport in New Delhi, India. Methods to improve sports engagement, discrepancies between athlete and coach perspectives, and recommendations for sports organisations to combat body image concerns and improve sports uptake among girls in an Indian setting are discussed
Assessment approaches for hemiplegic shoulder pain in people living with stroke - A scoping review
Get PDFBackground Hemiplegic shoulder pain (HSP) is reported in up to 40% of people with stroke. Causes of HSP are often multifactorial. To inform appropriate treatment, reliable/valid assessments are critical. The aim of this scoping review was to collate assessment approaches used in studies where the primary outcome was HSP, and to identify how frequently each assessment approach was used.Methods A systematic search, including studies from 2000-2023 was conducted of the MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, Biomed Central, and Cochrane Library databases, with four key terms used: “assess”, “stroke”, “pain” and “shoulder”. All primary studies published in English language fulfilling the reviews inclusion criteria were included. Six reviewers extracted the data. Results A total of 29 assessment methods for HSP were identified from 124 studies. The common assessments were: Visual Analogue Scale (n=75,60%), Passive Range of Movement (n=65,52%), Fugl-Meyer Assessment (n=32,26%), glenohumeral subluxation (n=30, 24%) and Numerical Rating Scale (n=27,22%). ConclusionA wide range of assessment approaches was identified for HSP, and some are used more than others. A fully comprehensive assessment that considers different aspects of pain including severity and timing, functioning, and the psychological burden, is needed in this area of practice to be able to guide appropriate treatment
Enhanced deep learning for robust stress classification in sows from facial images
Get PDFStress in pigs poses significant challenges to animal welfare and productivity in modern pig farming, contributing to increased antimicrobial use and the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study involves stress classification in pregnant sows by exploring five deep learning models: ConvNeXt, EfficientNet_V2, MobileNet_V3, RegNet, and Vision Transformer (ViT). These models are used for stress detection from facial images, leveraging an expanded dataset. A facial image dataset of sows was collected at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the images were categorized into primiparous Low-Stressed (LS) and High-Stress (HS) groups based on expert behavioural assessments and cortisol level analysis. The selected deep learning models were then trained on this enriched dataset and their performance was evaluated using cross-validation on unseen data. The Vision Transformer (ViT) model outperformed the others across the dataset of annotated facial images, achieving an average accuracy of 0.75, an F1 score of 0.78 for high-stress detection, and consistent batch-level performance (up to 0.88 F1 score). These findings highlight the efficacy of transformer-based models for automated stress detection in sows, supporting early intervention strategies to enhance welfare, optimize productivity, and mitigate AMR risks in livestock production
High-fidelity numerical analysis of the interaction between the unsteady flow and the blade structure oscillation of a marine current turbine
Get PDFMarine current energy is a promising renewable resource due to its predictability. However, marine current turbines face unsteady loading, which can influence the turbine performance. This study models the interaction between the unsteady flow and blade oscillation using a coupled computational fluid dynamics–finite element analysis method. A nonlinear frequency domain solution method is proposed and extensively validated. Results show that blade oscillation impacts the hydrodynamic and hydroelastic performance of the blade and increases thrust, torque, and power coefficients by 5.5 times compared to a rigid blade case. The frequency domain solution method accurately predicts performance while reducing the computation time to only 2.5 hours
Product Design for Students
No full textProduct Design for Students covers the basic concepts and processes intrinsic to professional industrial product design: from design research to the initial design concept, through design for manufacture, sustainable production, distribution, marketing and recycling of the product at the end of its life. Concept generation techniques, design process methodologies, the use of design thinking, user-centred design and co-design, design for sustainable production, materials and manufacturing process selection, quality control, design for recycling, marketing and distribution are all covered at an introductory level. Case studies and examples from transport design, consumer product design and service design projects are all included in this book
Explainable AI in tabular medical data: A path to trustworthy healthcare decisions
Get PDFAccurate diagnosis of kidney disease is essential, as it remains a major health concern affecting individuals across all age groups. Early detection is critical to ensuring timely and effective treatment. With the advancement of deep learning, powerful models now offer end-to-end learning capabilities, extracting relevant patterns directly from complex medical data. These models significantly improve diagnostic precision and support clinical decision-making. However, as deep learning models like ANN, CNN, and LSTM become more complex, the need for interpretability has become increasingly important. The trade-off between model performance and transparency remains a persistent gap in the healthcare domain. To address this concern, the present article uses three black-box models to predict the existence of kidney stones. The models were trained using a dataset of unbalanced kidney stones that was first preprocessed using established methods to increase accuracy and balance. Then ANN, CNN, and LSTM models were used, yielding outstanding accuracies of 97 %, 96 %, and 98 %, respectively. To enhance the interpretability of these black-box models, three XAI technique were applied individually to each model which are Saliency Maps, Ablation, and Permutation Feature Importance. These methods successfully identified the most influential features contributing to the predictions which are Serum Creatinine (sc) and Hemoglobin (hemo). The model's interpretability and high accuracy lay the groundwork for energy-efficient, trustworthy AI applications in 6G-based medical ecosystems. The results demonstrate that combining deep learning with XAI enables both high predictive performance and meaningful model transparency. This integration addresses the critical need for interpretable AI in healthcare and contributes to the development of reliable clinical decision support systems
Through craft we connect: Planning for sustainability and climate action
Get PDFThe theme of this issue raises a number of aspects of climate change and sustainability education that indicate they are not ‘easy’. If they were, perhaps we would not be in the current global crisis. It is imperative when teaching about such issues that, despite the severity of the situation, hope and possibility are woven into our teaching
A study of using the Living Well with Dementia for Couples and Families approach in the NHS
No full textTo date we have created the adapted LivDem-Families manual and training package. We then conducted a small study in which the manual was used by a trained and experienced Clinical Psychologist with four couples or families and a second small study where health care workers were trained and delivered the intervention to two couples. Thus, we now need to see whether this intervention and the associated training package is feasible and acceptable in an NHS setting. If this research suggests LivDem-Families is indeed feasible and acceptable in the NHS, it has the potential to improve the health and wellbeing of people living with dementia and their families, as they are supported to come to terms with the diagnosis and find ways to cope now and in the future