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Free school meals, diet quality and food insecurity in secondary school students: protocol for a multiple-methods study – the CANTEEN study
Get PDFIntroduction Food insecurity is increasing in the UK, impacting choice and diet quality. The current means-tested free school meals (FSM) policy was put in place to address dietary inequalities and food insecurity in school children. In secondary schools, approximately 20% of students who are eligible and registered do not take their FSM. Working across a range of schools that have variable levels of FSM uptake, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the current means-tested FSM policy in UK secondary schools on diet and food insecurity outcomes, understand what factors are associated with uptake and test the potential impact of any proposed policy change.
Secondary schools (n=32) in both Northern Ireland and the Midlands region of the UK are being recruited into the study. Data will be collected from school staff, governors, students and parents via questionnaires, as well as observational data of school eating environments. Qualitative data will be collected in selected case study schools (n=6–8). Multilevel modelling will be undertaken to evaluate the association between FSM uptake and fruit and vegetable intake, overall diet quality and food insecurity in all students. Economic evaluation will be conducted using a cost–utility approach. The effect of policy change will be modelled and school factors associated with FSM uptake explored using multiple methods.
Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been obtained from Queen’s University Belfast Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Research Ethical Committee (MHLS 23_55). Findings will be disseminated to key national and local agencies, to schools through reports and presentations, and to the public through media and open access publications
Understanding early reproductive failure in turtles and tortoises
Get PDFTurtles and tortoises (Order Testudines) are facing an extinction crisis, and ecosystems are at risk of collapsing with the loss of key roles they play. Hatching failure is a crucial barrier to population growth and persistence, but its causes are poorly understood, and it is unknown whether fertilization rates are declining as many populations become smaller and more female-biased. Here, we show that very few studies of turtle and tortoise hatching success consider fertilization rates, and those that do use unreliable methods to determine egg fertility. We also show that studies of hatching success are biased towards marine turtles, as opposed to freshwater and terrestrial species, and wild rather than captive populations. To address the lack of reliable methods for assessing fertilization rates in turtles and tortoises, a microscopy-based method (originally designed for bird eggs) for detecting perivitelline membrane (PVM) bound sperm and embryonic nuclei in the germinal disc of unhatched eggs has been developed and tested (in turtle and tortoise eggs). We demonstrate that this method provides unequivocal evidence of egg fertilization in five different turtle and tortoise species from both captive and wild populations, even after eggs have been left in wild nests for the full incubation period. This methodological approach represents a valuable tool for monitoring egg fertility and embryo survival rates in turtles and tortoises, with the potential to provide important insights into the underlying drivers of reproductive failure in threatened captive and wild populations
A mini-review for identifying future directions in modelling heating values for sustainable waste management
Get PDFGlobal estimations suggest energy content within municipal solid waste (MSW) is underutilized, compromising efforts to reduce fossil CO2 emissions and missing the opportunities for pursuing circular economy in energy consumption. The energy content of the MSW, represented by heating values (HVs), is a major determinant for the suitability of incinerating the waste for energy and managing waste flows. Literature reveals limitations in traditional statistical HV modelling approaches, which assume a linear and additive relationship between physiochemical properties of MSW samples and their HVs, as well as overlook the impact of non-combustible substances in MSW mixtures on energy harvest. Artificial intelligence (AI)-based models show promise but pose challenges in interpretation based on established combustion theories. From the variable selection perspectives, using MSW physical composition categories as explanatory variables neglects intra-category variations in energy contents while applying environmental or socio-economic factors emerges to address waste composition changes as society develops. The article contributes by showing to professionals and modellers that leveraging AI technology and incorporating societal and environmental factors are meaningful directions for advancing HV prediction in waste management. These approaches promise more precise evaluations of incinerating waste for energy and enhancing sustainable waste management practices
Solitary drinkers in Great Britain: How do their sociodemographic characteristics, consumption patterns, and drinking occasions differ from those who drink with others?
Get PDFObjective:
Inequalities in alcohol-related harm may arise partly from differences in drinking practices between population groups. One under-researched practice associated with harm is consuming alcohol alone. We identify sociodemographic characteristics associated with drinking alone and the occasion-level characteristics associated with occasions when people drink alone.
Method:
A cross-sectional analysis of one-week drinking diaries collected between 2015 and 2019 was conducted using event-level data on 271,738 drinking occasions reported by 83,952 adult drinkers in Great Britain. Our two dependent variables were a binary indicator of reporting at least one solitary drinking occasion in the diary-week at the individual-level and a binary indicator of drinking alone at the occasion-level (event-level).
Results:
Individual-level characteristics associated with solitary drinking were being a man (OR 1.88, 95%CI [1.80,1.96]), aged over 50 (OR 2.60, 95%CI [2.40,2.81]), not in a relationship (OR 3.39, 95%CI [3.20, 3.59]), living alone (OR 2.51, 95%CI [2.37, 2.66]), and a high-risk drinker (OR 1.54, 95%CI [1.52,1.59]). Occasion-level characteristics associated with solitary drinking were that they were more likely to occur in the off-trade (OR 3.08, 95%CI [2.95,3.21]), Monday-Thursday (OR 1.36, 95%CI [1.27,1.47]), and after 10pm (OR 1.36, 95%CI [1.27,1.47]) controlling for geographic region and the month the interview took place.
Conclusions:
Characteristics of solitary drinking largely align with characteristics we associated with drinking problems. Those who partake in at least one solitary drinking occasion are overall more likely to consume alcohol at risky levels, however, the number of drinks consumed in each occasion was lower during a solitary drinking occasion
Gradient speech change during intervention for school-aged children and adults with cleft palate ± lip
Get PDFGradient speech change, where speech sound production develops in a broadly step-wise fashion towards the standard adult form, is a well-recognised phenomenon in children developing typical speech, but is much less studied in speakers with developmental speech sound disorders. Instrumental techniques, such as electropalatography (EPG), may be useful for identifying gradient speech change and may supplement phonetic transcription in important ways. This study investigated whether gradient speech change occurred in six participants with cleft palate +/- lip undergoing intervention within a usage-based phonology framework (2/6 participants with speech distortions; 4/6 with pattern-based speech substitutions; combined total of 25 speech sounds targeted for intervention). Participants received weekly therapy in a hospital setting and were aged 10 – 27 years. Gradient speech change with target speech sounds was examined using EPG analysis which was undertaken after every fifth session of therapy. Presence of gradient change was determined by visually examining EPG palatograms and EPG indices for target speech sounds across successive EPG test points. This study found gradient speech change occurred in 22/25 target sounds over the course of intervention. This gradient change occurred for both speech distortions and pattern-based speech substitutions. The remaining 3/25 target sounds showed categorical change. Usage-based phonology was suggested as a theory with potential for explaining gradient speech change, with both typical and atypical speech, and with speech distortions and pattern-based speech substitutions. This finding adds to other research showing the objective data provided by instrumental techniques, such as EPG, may be a valuable complement to phonetic transcription
A comparative analysis of senior civil servants’ involvement in media management
Get PDFThis article offers results of a comparative case study into how pressures from the media translate into the involvement of senior civil servants (SCSs) in media management and how this is reflected in differentiated ways in politico-administrative relationships. It offers tentative explanations for these differences through the lens of ‘public service bargains’. Based upon a qualitative analysis of documents and 62 interviews with SCSs and advisers in Denmark, Sweden and the UK, the research found that: (i) media management, in some countries, generates an extension and an amplification of the normative expectations towards SCSs’ involvement in media management; (ii) this is accompanied by a revitalisation of the reflections from SCSs to balance their responsiveness to the minister with anonymity and neutrality when involved in media management; (iii) an extensive formal politicisation seems to curb pressures on SCSs’ anonymity and neutrality and their involvement in media management. These findings improve our knowledge of SCSs’ involvement in media management by raising crucial questions about the political neutrality of administrators, tendencies towards politicised governance and (more) interventionist political staffers – amid intensified pressures from the media on governments
Reliability Assessment of Power Supply Systems Integrated with Renewables for Electric Road System
Get PDFWith the rapid expansion of urban road networks and the increasing ownership of vehicles in many countries and regions, the greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions from road travels have become a global concern. The introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) with dynamic charging into road systems, which is defined as electric road systems (ERSs), has been widely recognized as a viable solution to address this problem. This paper presents a comprehensive study on the reliability of power supply systems integrated with renewables for ERS (ERS-PSRs), which interface with both road traffic and power networks. First, a brief introduction to the charging modes of EVs demonstrates the coupling of the two networks. A simplified traffic model is then built, based on which the reliability indices of the system considering the influence of the dynamic charging and static charging modes of EVs are proposed. Further, a simplified trip chain based Monte Carlo reliability assessment method of ERS-PSRs is proposed. Case studies based on the IEEE Roy Billinton Test System (RBTS) show that the dynamic charging mode of EVs can not only effectively balance the supply and demand of the power network at different time (shaving peaks and filling valleys), but also significantly improve the reliability of ERS-PSRs. The case studies also examine the effects of the ratio of EVs with dynamic charging, wind generation penetration rate, additional wind power, and battery energy storage systems (BESSs) on the reliability of ERS-PSRs
Im/mobility as a form of gender-based violence: the case of transnationally abandoned wives in India
Get PDFTransnational marriage abandonment (TMA) of women is a growing form of violence reported across India and South Asia. The spouse, most commonly a husband, lives and works in a foreign country and exploits the advantages derived from his citizenship or visa status to exercise coercion and control over the immigrating wife. TMA takes different forms, including when a woman is left behind with the in-laws while waiting for the husband to provide visa sponsorship for her migration. Such women are vulnerable to financial precarity, isolation and domestic violence from in-laws, may be dispossessed from their marital home and served with ex parte divorces.
Drawing on life-history interviews with 35 ‘never-migrant’ women conducted between 2013 and 2016, and subsequent policy and legal developments in India and the UK, this article seeks to unpack the gendered dimensions of im/mobility within TMA. Women’s immobilisation results from state migration policies, legal obstacles, patriarchal socio-cultural norms and purposive actions by husbands and their families to perpetually defer visa sponsorship and extract labour and/or money from women. Our findings indicate that immobilisation is a key facet of violence against women and legal responses to TMA must utilise a gender-based violence framework that can incorporate immobilised ‘never-migrant’ women
Productivity growth and regional reindustrialisation: UK evidence
Get PDFThe re-emergence of industry – a process known as ‘reindustrialisation’ – has been widely acknowledged, especially in the United States and Europe. However, there are unanswered questions about the extent of any recent industrial revival in the UK. We present new evidence on reindustrialisation within and across UK regions. Our measures of reindustrialisation reveal that most regions outside London have reindustrialised to some extent. Furthermore, we explore regional reindustrialisation-growth patterns within the context of the UK’s longstanding spatial divide in productivity. Our results highlight that manufacturing can still be a dynamic force in the UK economy when supported by appropriate regional policies
Corporations and the cost of living crisis: Corporate involvement in UK food charity
Get PDFAs a range of actors respond to poverty in the cost of living crisis, this paper addresses a long-standing blind spot in social policy analysis by examining the role that corporations are playing in voluntary responses in the UK. To do this the paper introduces theories of corporate power to extend approaches to researching mixed economies of welfare, which have traditionally looked at the role of commercial entities principally in terms of their role alongside other actors in the welfare state. Building on existing food charity research, which has explored the dynamics and implications of corporate-food charity relationships, this paper applies theories of corporate power to an analysis of the food charity related activities of the top 20 leading food retailers and casual dining brands in the UK. The analysis reveals how UK corporations exercised instrumental, structural and discursive forms of power to influence policy, set agendas and norms within food and charity systems and frame issues of food charity and hunger. The paper illustrates how a corporate power framework can add important layers to social policy analyses of mixed economies of welfare, by introducing a focus not just on operational aspects of corporate involvement, but also on the impact these corporations might be having on policy, how they are shaping the structure of welfare and the drivers of poverty through agenda setting in their markets, and the ways in which corporations influence public perceptions of social policy issues and how best to respond to them
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