159370 research outputs found
Sort by
Promoting social innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals: the role of higher education institutions in Africa
No full textUniversities are increasingly expected to address sustainable development challenges through research, teaching, and ‘third mission’ activities at local, national, and global levels. However, much research has focused on economic aspects, using frameworks like the ‘entrepreneurial university’ and the ‘triple and
quadruple helix’ models, with less attention given to social and environmental impacts and the 'engaged' role of universities. Research on universities in the Global South, especially Africa, is particularly lacking, with African universities' efforts often underrecognized and misunderstood, and subject to persistent negative paternalist and colonial perceptions. This chapter aims to address these issues by critically reviewing the literature on universities, social innovation, and sustainable development. It also
provides an in-depth exploration of the activities, opportunities, and barriers facing African universities, focusing on the University of Cape Town (UCT). South Africa’s extreme inequality drives its
universities to contribute to local development, socio-economic transformation, and the climate transition. Through a social innovation perspective, we present evidence from three UCT initiatives exemplifying social intrapreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and social extrapreneurship. Our findings
highlight the opportunities and challenges African universities face in contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), enriching our understanding of their work beyond traditional research and teaching and emphasizing their role as agents of change
Limited data capture on reproductive medicine use in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: implications for monitoring access
Get PDFThere is very limited evidence around the use of reproductive genetic testing in individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-linked gene variants. This study aimed to identify the use of reproductive genetic testing in these individuals to understand patterns of (under)utilization and to identify barriers to equitable access. Freedom of information requests were sent in January 2025 to the 22 regional clinical genetics centers across the UK around reproductive services for individuals with, or at risk for, ALS and Huntington's disease. Limited data were available with only six trusts answering in full. The data that our study yielded raises significant concerns and inconsistencies regarding clinical recording and reporting of reproductive genetic counseling and testing. The absence of standardized retrievable data limits the ability to assess utilization and may point toward a systemic issue in data capture of reproductive genetic services for individuals at risk of ALS, and by extension, those affected by other genetic conditions
Synergistic modification of soy protein as plant-based molecular emulsifiers by enzymatic hydrolysis and heat-assisted pH shifting
Get PDFThis study developed a synergistic approach combining enzymatic hydrolysis and heat-assisted pH-shifting to
enhance the emulsification-related functionalities of soy protein isolate (SPI), in order to design plant-based
molecular emulsifiers for applications in low-viscosity food emulsions requiring finely dispersed droplets.
Trypsin outperformed pepsin at enhancing the emulsifying-related properties of SPI due to specifically cleaving
peptide bonds, leading to more significant exposure of hydrophobic domains and disruption of protein aggregates. The subsequent alkaline pH-shifting (pH 10) further dissociated protein aggregates and improved the
functional properties of SPI hydrolysates, while acidic pH-shifting (pH 2) caused substantial protein reaggregation and much reduced functionalities. Our results demonstrated that trypsin digestion followed by heatassisted alkaline pH-shifting tailored SPI into high-performance molecular emulsifiers, capable of creating O/
W emulsions with submicron-sized oil droplets (D4,3=0.593 μm) which exhibited excellent storage stability
(D4,3=0.737 μm after 30 days), remarkable thermal resistance (D4,3=0.635 μm after 95 ◦C/60 min heating), and
moderate freeze-thaw stability
Optimisation of adhesive-free high-frequency miniature class IV transducers incorporating single-element piezoelectric plates
Get PDFTissue biopsy under regional anaesthesia requires accurate localisation of the needle tip during penetration through skin and soft tissue. To enhance needle tip visibility in colour Doppler imaging, ultrasonically actuated needle systems based on bolted Langevin transducers have been developed. However, these systems impose design constraints as the needle length must be tuned to the transducer resonance, and their relatively large size limits the suitability for hand-held procedures. Flextensional transducers offer a compact alternative, enabling large displacement with minimal bulk piezoelectric material. This paper presents an optimisation study of three metal shell geometries for class IV miniature flextensional transducers, excited by hard piezoelectric plates to maximise displacement amplification. The transducers employ a negative interference fit between the piezoelectric plate and metal shell, introducing structural pre-stress without bonding or transition mechanisms. Additionally, the dynamic response and power density of the transducers are evaluated for different active materials, including piezoceramics (Pz54) and piezocrystals (Mn:PIN-PMN-PT). Experimental results show that, for identical dimensions, the Mn:PIN-PMN-PT transducer achieves a lower resonant frequency, reduced and near-resistive impedance, enhanced electromechanical coupling, higher mechanical Q, and increased power density compared with the piezoceramic counterpart
Empowering Stakeholders with Participatory Auditing of Predictive AI:Perspectives from End-Users and Decision Subjects without AI Expertise
Get PDFArtificial intelligence (AI) applications have become ubiquitous in their impact on individuals and society, highlighting a crucial need for their responsible development. Recent research has called for participatory AI auditing, empowering individuals without AI expertise to audit AI applications throughout the entire AI development pipeline. Our work focuses on investigating how to support these kinds of auditors through participatory AI auditing tools and processes. We conducted a series of co-design workshops, using two health-related predictive AI applications as examples. Our results show that participants wanted to be part of AI audits, and were insightful in identifying the potential impacts of applications, but needed to be assisted in conducting audits, especially how to measure impacts. Importantly, participants provided examples of impacts not considered in current risk/harm taxonomies. Our findings provide implications for the design of tools and processes to empower everyone to contribute to responsible AI development in the future
Nurturing in Nature: An Evaluation of a Nature-based Group for Parents and Caregivers of Babies and Young Children – A Thematic Analysis and Logic Model
No full textMany parents/caregivers experience mental health challenges during the early years of their child’s life. These difficulties not only have a negative long-term impact on child health and development but also incur a significant cost to society. While nature-based interventions show promise for improving mental health and wellbeing, their potential to support parents/caregivers with young children remains under-researched. This study evaluated a nature-based parent/caregiver support intervention for parents/caregivers with children under five situated within a city-centre museum garden. The intervention jointly focussed on supporting parent/caregiver wellbeing and promoting mindful engagement with nature. Using qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews (n=15), an observation and two workshops to develop a logic model, this study explored the experiences and perspectives of parents/caregivers, facilitators and museum staff regarding the intervention’s perceived impacts and mechanisms of change. The intervention was perceived to promote parent/caregiver wellbeing by providing opportunities to relax and connect with nature, interact with other parents/caregivers and spend time with their children. The evaluation also identified specific characteristics that facilitated these outcomes, including its flexible, free-choice format, a primary focus on parent/caregiver wellbeing and the facilitators' strong interpersonal skills. Furthermore, the intervention fostered relationships between museum staff, facilitators and families, leading to reported improvements in museum staff wellbeing, job satisfaction and sustained family engagement with the museum. This study suggests perceived acceptability of nature-based interventions in museum settings. However further mixed method research is needed to determine intervention effectiveness, for whom and under what conditions
Are some therapists more effective when they deliver one type of therapy versus another?
Get PDFAdding nuance to the between-therapist effect on patient outcomes, research has increasingly demonstrated that a given therapist can differ in their effectiveness depending on who they treat (e.g., patients with different racial/ethnic identities) and/or what they treat (e.g., patients with different presenting problems). This preregistered study examined whether individual therapists are also more or less effective depending on how they treat their patients; that is, delivering one type of therapy versus another. We did so in the context of an individual participant data meta-analysis of clinical trials that compared classes of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic therapy (PDT) for depression. The meta-analytic sample included 30 therapists who were crossed with treatment condition and 492 patients (M = 25.08 patients per therapist; SD = 15.77). Patients completed measures of depression at baseline and posttreatment. Multilevel structural equation models revealed significant variability in the within-therapist treatment condition–outcome association (p < .001), indicating that some therapists were more effective when delivering one treatment over the other. Descriptively, 53% of therapists had similar outcomes across both groups (ds < .20), whereas 47% had at least a small-sized treatment-type strength (ds .20; range = 0.21–0.65). Results inform the personalization of treatment usage to the individual provider’s effectiveness data
'It's really difficult because sometimes you want to be special and different and sometimes you just want to be like everybody else':Including families of children with chromosomal learning disabilities in a longitudinal qualitative cohort study
Get PDFThe UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is considering developing a longitudinal qualitative cohort study of seldom-heard families. This paper presents findings from a scoping study of best practice in qualitative longitudinal research focused on families with a child with a chromosomal learning disability. We conducted in-depth online interviews with twelve parents and identified their views of research participation in relation to recruitment, retention, data collection and ethics. They identified barriers to, and facilitators of, participation in qualitative longitudinal research for themselves and their children. Their views, analysed using template analysis, were used to co-produce a suite of recommendations for the ESRC. All participants welcomed the proposed research and believed that amplifying the voices of families with experience of learning disability could make a tangible difference to their experience and to public understanding of disability
From innovation to adoption: process-oriented holistic modelling for sensory-based assistive technologies in dementia care
Get PDFObjective
To evaluate the design, implementation, and early impact of the Tasty Spoon™ – a hybrid digital–analogue, electrostimulation device intended to restore taste perception in people with dementia – and to identify the organisational and market conditions required for its routine use.
Methods
A ProcessOrientedHolistic (PrOH) Modelling Methodology was applied across four phases:
1. Userneeds assessment through three focus groups (n = 28), semistructured interviews with individuals living with dementia (n = 10), caregivers (n = 5) and healthcare professionals (n = 15).
2. Iterative codesign and lab prototyping, informed by thematic analysis and smallscale electrogustometry studies (n = 15; people with dementia = 10, control = 5).
3. Feasibility testing the prototype in care-home dining routines to explore practicality, user acceptance, and caregiver workload, documented through field notes, post use interviews and caregiver workload diaries.
4. Regulatory and commercial pathway mapping (UKCA/CE precompliance review, 3i stakeholder analysis). Quantitative data were analysed descriptively; qualitative insights were integrated into the PrOH workflow to expose implementation pinchpoints.
Results
PrOH analysis identified three design features that underpinned acceptability – familiar spoon form, automatic activation on contact, and dishwashersafe construction – while highlighting outstanding challenges in cost control, training, and individual differences in taste sensitivity. Participants consistently reported that the Tasty Spoon™ made food ‘taste stronger’ and restored variety to meals they had previously found bland. Our research also highlighted the importance of co-developing ethical procedures in collaboration with people with dementia.
Conclusion
Early, smallscale evidence suggests that a sensoryfocused assistive device can complement existing cognitive and mobility technologies in dementia care by enhancing mealtime enjoyment and easing caregiver burden. Larger, rigorously controlled studies are needed to quantify nutritional and clinical outcomes and to refine personalised stimulation settings before widescale deployment
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Open Research Online? Become a CORE Member to access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard! 👇