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The digital platform assessment matrix: developing a framework for evaluating digital platforms and systems for children and young people’s mental health support
Get PDFPurposeDigital platforms and systems (DPS) are increasingly used as effective resources to help address the mental health needs of children and young people (CYP). However, appropriate assessment tools to evaluate the quality of DPS remain limited. This study aims to develop a comprehensive evaluation framework for DPS that provides access to mental health support for CYP, with the goal of identifying their strengths and weaknesses and promoting best practices.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a four-step multi-method approach comprising: an extensive literature review and content analysis of existing guidelines; the identification of essential qualities and characteristics of effective DPS; consultation with over 50 stakeholders to ensure the applicability of the evaluation framework; and pilot testing on 53 DPS to refine its structure and functionality.FindingsThe resulting evaluation framework, referred to as the digital platform assessment matrix (DPAM), comprises 65 criteria for assessing the functional, technical and social features of DPS. The authors propose both a comprehensive version of the DPAM and a shortened version, allowing for flexible use across different contexts and stakeholder groups. Future testing and iterations are also explored.Originality/valueThe DPAM offers the first comprehensive and operational framework for evaluating DPS that facilitates access to mental health services and resources for CYP in the UK. Its multiple criteria ensure that digital platforms can best serve their users, be compatible with existing health systems and sustainable over time. The DPAM also underpins the development of the new digital platform, which aims to provide CYP with streamlined access to place-based arts initiatives that support their mental health.[No data were created or analysed for this paper
Introduction
No full textThis book emerges from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)-funded project ‘Multispecies Storytelling: More than human narratives about landscape’ (AH/T006188/1), which ran in the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022. The project was driven by a central objective: to explore how multispecies storytelling practices can reshape human understanding of landscape and how this can inform community decision-making and valuation of landscape. The project brought together academic researchers with non-academic collaborators, primarily community organisations and artists, to co-produce knowledge about how shared multispecies environments are inhabited and narrated. The project consisted of interlinked events including conferences, symposia, workshops, and meetings, which were designed not only to generate interdisciplinary discussion but also to directly inform the development of methods and approaches for a subsequent AHRC-funded project: ‘Multisensory multispecies storytelling to engage disadvantaged groups in changing landscapes’ (2020–2023; AH/T012293/1). In this way, the first project functioned both as a space of conceptual experimentation and as a foundation for further applied and participatory research
Vocal attractiveness in homosexual and heterosexual listeners
Get PDFThe voice is a common carrier for a wide range of communicative signals as well as cues to stable attributes of the speaker, such as secondary sexual characteristics. Previous research on heterosexual courtship indicates a preference for voices that exaggerate sex-typical features which speakers may attempt to manipulate by modulating their voices. However, research often excludes homosexual listeners on the assumption that their voice preferences are less aligned with theories of sexual selection. This study investigated voice attractiveness ratings among female and male heterosexual and homosexual participants. Participants rated voices that were either synthetically masculinized/feminized (Experiment 1) or modulated more naturalistically by speakers imitating auditory targets (Experiment 2). We replicate heterosexual preference for voices that exaggerate sexually dimorphic cues. However, including data from homosexual listeners provided a richer context, revealing that all listener groups apart from heterosexual males favoured masculinized voices. Despite differences in how groups responded to voice modulation, there was strong consensus across sexual orientations regarding which unmodulated voice identities were most attractive, highlighting the additive influence of voice features that are unrelated to sexual dimorphism. Our findings demonstrate the added scientific value of widening the inclusivity of voice research
Vocal attractiveness in homosexual and heterosexual listeners
Get PDFThe voice is a common carrier for a wide range of communicative signals as well as cues to stable attributes of the speaker, such as secondary sexual characteristics. Previous research on heterosexual courtship indicates a preference for voices that exaggerate sex-typical features which speakers may attempt to manipulate by modulating their voices. However, research often excludes homosexual listeners on the assumption that their voice preferences are less aligned with theories of sexual selection. This study investigated voice attractiveness ratings among female and male heterosexual and homosexual participants. Participants rated voices that were either synthetically masculinized/feminized (Experiment 1) or modulated more naturalistically by speakers imitating auditory targets (Experiment 2). We replicate heterosexual preference for voices that exaggerate sexually dimorphic cues. However, including data from homosexual listeners provided a richer context, revealing that all listener groups apart from heterosexual males favoured masculinized voices. Despite differences in how groups responded to voice modulation, there was strong consensus across sexual orientations regarding which unmodulated voice identities were most attractive, highlighting the additive influence of voice features that are unrelated to sexual dimorphism. Our findings demonstrate the added scientific value of widening the inclusivity of voice research
The effect of sodium bicarbonate mini-tablets in a carbohydrate hydrogel on prolonged high-intensity cycling performance and metabolism in acute normobaric hypoxia
Get PDFPurpose: Hydrogen cation (H+) accumulation is exacerbated in hypoxia. Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) ingestion can reduce fatigue associated with high-intensity exercise performance by counteracting H+ ion accumulation. The present study aimed to determine the effect of 0.3 g·kg− 1 NaHCO3 mini-tablets in a carbohydrate hydrogel on 40 km cycling time trial (TT) performance in trained male cyclists in acute hypoxia. Methods: Fourteen trained male cyclists completed a ramp test to determine VO2Peak. After, in a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover study, participants completed three 40 km cycling TTs (1 x familiarisation, 2 x experimental) in acute hypoxia (16.7 ± 0.2 FiO2). Each experimental TT followed 90 min after the ingestion of 0.3 g·kg− 1 BM NaHCO3 or an appearance-matched placebo. Results: After NaHCO3 ingestion, 40 km cycling TT performance was improved by 1.2% in comparison to placebo (t = 3.84, p = 0.02, g = 0.19). Additionally, NaHCO3 ingestion raised blood pH (f = 48.47, p = < 0.001, pη2 = 0.79) and blood HCO3− (f = 64.13, p = < 0.001, pη2 = 0.84) pre-exercise and throughout the TT. Aggregated gastrointestinal symptoms (GIS) were minimal, and did not differ between conditions (NaHCO3, 110 AU; Placebo, 119 AU; z = 0.38, p = 0.71, r = 0.10). Conclusion: The present study suggests that 0.3 g·kg− 1 NaHCO3 can enhance 40 km cycling TT performance in acute hypoxia, likely a result of improved buffering capacity. Cyclists competing at altitude could consider the ingestion of this form of NaHCO3 to minimise the deleterious effects of acute hypoxia.</p
The effect of sodium bicarbonate mini-tablets in a carbohydrate hydrogel on prolonged high-intensity cycling performance and metabolism in acute normobaric hypoxia
Get PDFPurpose: Hydrogen cation (H+) accumulation is exacerbated in hypoxia. Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) ingestion can reduce fatigue associated with high-intensity exercise performance by counteracting H+ ion accumulation. The present study aimed to determine the effect of 0.3 g·kg− 1 NaHCO3 mini-tablets in a carbohydrate hydrogel on 40 km cycling time trial (TT) performance in trained male cyclists in acute hypoxia. Methods: Fourteen trained male cyclists completed a ramp test to determine VO2Peak. After, in a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover study, participants completed three 40 km cycling TTs (1 x familiarisation, 2 x experimental) in acute hypoxia (16.7 ± 0.2 FiO2). Each experimental TT followed 90 min after the ingestion of 0.3 g·kg− 1 BM NaHCO3 or an appearance-matched placebo. Results: After NaHCO3 ingestion, 40 km cycling TT performance was improved by 1.2% in comparison to placebo (t = 3.84, p = 0.02, g = 0.19). Additionally, NaHCO3 ingestion raised blood pH (f = 48.47, p = < 0.001, pη2 = 0.79) and blood HCO3− (f = 64.13, p = < 0.001, pη2 = 0.84) pre-exercise and throughout the TT. Aggregated gastrointestinal symptoms (GIS) were minimal, and did not differ between conditions (NaHCO3, 110 AU; Placebo, 119 AU; z = 0.38, p = 0.71, r = 0.10). Conclusion: The present study suggests that 0.3 g·kg− 1 NaHCO3 can enhance 40 km cycling TT performance in acute hypoxia, likely a result of improved buffering capacity. Cyclists competing at altitude could consider the ingestion of this form of NaHCO3 to minimise the deleterious effects of acute hypoxia.</p
‘We are different, but we are not really that different’:An insight into the challenges encountered by career leaders when supporting disabled students in English mainstream and specialist classrooms
Get PDFFor over 10 years, schools have been responsible for providing career support to all young people. In order for schools to be able to deliver career support in the classroom, the career leader role was introduced as part of the Education Act 2011. With increasing numbers of disabled students attending mainstream school, a key challenge encountered is ensuring that the support provided is inclusive and accessible to all young people. This article provides an overview of a case study which brought together eight educational professionals working across mainstream and specialist provisions. It was hoped that by providing space for these educational practitioners to share practice, they could both reflect on their own experiences and identify ways to develop more inclusive practice when providing career support to young disabled people. As with many of the professionals working within the current English education system, the career leaders demonstrated their commitment to ensuring all young people have opportunities to successfully transition from school; however, they find themselves constrained by a system that is not working. This article therefore highlights some key recommendations for addressing the barriers that are encountered when supporting young people to successfully transition from school
Coordinating and subordinating conjunctions in five genres across the history of English
Get PDFThis article analyses the frequency of three clause-level coordinating conjunctions, and, but and or, in addition to a wide range of subordinating conjunctions across the Transhistorical Corpus of Written English (TCWE). This resource includes five genres covering seven centuries: sermons and statutes dating from the fifteenth to twenty first centuries, personal letters dating from the fifteenth to twentieth centuries, and emails and Whatsapp messages dating from the twenty-first century. The study engages with three key developments in the history of English: the increase in the inventory of subordinators between 1500 and 1700, the development of expository and non-expository registers in English between 1650 and 1990 observed by Biber (1995, 2001), and the increase in colloquialization moving into the Present Day English period. It finds that there is more substantial genre-conditioned variation in relation to all three developments than has previously been acknowledged. Its results also contribute to knowledge about shifts in the generic conventions of English sermons and statutes over time, and language use within email and instant messaging, most notably a preference for causal as over because in the instant messaging sample
Measures of identity in adolescents/young adults with long-term physical health conditions: A systematic review
No full textObjective: We identified and evaluated measures of identity used with adolescents/young adults aged 16–24 years living with long-term physical health conditions (LTC-P), focusing on the conceptualisation, development, and psychometric properties of measures. Review funded by Sir Halley Stewart Trust and the University of Bath. Review protocol: https://osf.io/bhkze. Methods: Five databases (APA PsychNET, PubMed, Web of Science, SCOPUS, CINAHL) were searched. Studies were included if they were peer-reviewed, reported participants aged 16–24 with LTC-P, and used a quantitative identity measure. Psychometric properties and risk of bias were evaluated using COSMIN quality criteria, and content validity was reviewed narratively. Data analysis and synthesis followed COSMIN methodology for reviews.Results: Thirty-eight papers met inclusion criteria, involving 9,663 participants and 16 identity measures. Across the papers, identity was defined and conceptualised in varied ways. Only three measures; the Illness Identity Questionnaire (IIQ), Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS), and Identity Motives Scale (IMS), were used in multiple studies and assessed for psychometric quality. Evaluated properties included structural validity, internal consistency, measurement invariance, and construct validity. The IIQ and DIDS were tentatively recommended for use. The IMS was rated as needing further validation due to limited content validity. Conclusions: The IIQ and DIDS may be appropriate when their conceptual focus aligns with research objectives. Remaining measures should be used cautiously; many lack developmental or condition-specific relevance. Future identity measure development should integrate lived experience, expert input, and rigorous psychometric testing to ensure tools are both meaningful and fit for purpose in target populations