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On Projective Delineability
Get PDFWe are concerned with Cylindrical Algebraic Decomposition (CAD) and the key concept of delineability which underpins much CAD theory. We introduce a novel concept of projective delineability: a condition that is weaker and easier to guarantee computationally. We prove results on this new concept which can be used to reduce CAD computations
Does board–CEO age similarity affect earnings management? An empirical analysis from M&A contexts
Get PDFThis paper investigates whether CEO–board age similarity has an impact on firms’ earnings management in M&A contexts. We argue that CEO–board age similarity may have an impact on earnings management through two main roles of the board in M&A, i.e., monitoring and advising roles. On the one hand, board–CEO age similarity may improve the quality of the board’s advice on M&A and thus reduce the CEO’s need to manipulate earnings. On the other hand, board–CEO age similarity may trigger friendship, therefore weaken the monitoring function of the board. Using the sample of all share-financed M&A deals in the UK from 2001 to 2018, we find a lower level of earnings management in firms with higher board–CEO age similarity. The evidence thus highlights the importance of the advisory role of the board in M&A. Our findings have an important contribution to the corporate governance literature and also have implications for practice
Development of the ARENA training programme for resilient performance in defense and security settings
Get PDFDefense and Security Personnel (DSP) often have to operate in the presence of stressful demands. Prior research has identified factors and processes associated with DSP being able to perform resiliently in demanding situations and settings. The aim of the present study was to develop a resilient performance training programme for UK defense and security operators. An intervention mapping (IM) method was used to guide the development of the programme. Typically, IM follows six sequential phases. In the present work, these phases were shaped by insights from prior research (e.g. systematic review and end user interviews), the input of a dedicated working group (N = 13) and from practitioner focus groups. During the IM process, the importance of programme flexibility was emphasized by practitioners. As such, the enAbling REsilieNt performAnce (ARENA) training programme was designed to be agile and include both face-to-face training and online learning modules. Theoretical behavior change principles, closely aligned to findings of earlier work on resilient defense and security performance, were used to underpin programme content and delivery. Future research should seek to gather data on the impact of the ARENA programme, in the targeted biological, psychological and social factors that previously been associated with resilient performances.</p
Class participation points and postgraduate business students’ engagement:the case of a UK university
Get PDFThis article seeks to demonstrate how class participation points enhance students’ engagement in response to the increasing quest for pedagogic practices to enhance engagement. This investigation is based on a six-week field study of three tutorial classes of postgraduate business management students and six semi-structured interviews with two students from each tutorial class in a UK university. The findings suggest that class participation points are useful for enhancing student engagement. Additionally, the study uncovers the role of inclusive learning strategies and autonomous support in complementing class participation points for enhancing students’ behavioural, cognitive, and emotional engagement. In particular, while the methods of class participation points, inclusive learning strategies, and autonomous support facilitate students’ behavioural and cognitive engagement, a supportive climate is considered to enhance students’ emotional engagement. The study also identifies other relevant stakeholders who can work with lecturers to facilitate engagement rather than operating in silos.</p
‘Heartbreak Gives Way to Hope After Grieving’:A Critical Analysis of Personal Stories of Pregnancy Loss in the UK Press
Get PDFPregnancy loss continues to occupy an uncomfortable space in public discourse. This article analyses articles in the UK press published between 2013 and 2023 referencing the Baby Loss Awareness Week (BLAW) that focus on narratives of personal experience of pregnancy loss. These narratives sit between the personal and the public, and constitute examples of public grieving that serve a range of purposes, from the expression of continuing bonds with the miscarried or stillborn baby, the desire to share one's experience of loss, and often to the wish to translate this experience into something positive. We draw on Finch's concept of ‘displaying families’, considering how they construct an identity for the baby who never lived and demonstrate continuing bonds with them. By analysing how this ‘identity work’ is made public, we explore how pregnancy loss is presented in public media as a transformative teleological experience for parents
Understanding the experiences of people who have Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and the health professionals who care for them:A grounded theory study
Get PDFUnderstanding the experiences of people who have postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and the health professionals who care for them: a grounded theory study.Background: Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is an under recognised, predominantly female condition. Awareness of this condition has increased due its association with Long-COVID. Understanding experiences informs areas for future study. Research into the experience of POTS is emerging, with no currently published studies including the experiences of health professionals.Aim: This study aimed to understand experiences of POTS, its challenges, and aspects of care from the perspectives of people with the condition and health professionals who look after them.Design: A grounded theory approach was taken to develop a conceptual framework of the experience of POTS conceptualised through a critical realist lens.Setting: This United Kingdom based study included people with POTS from three national health care centres and a diverse range of health professionals.Participants: Theoretical and purposive sampling recruited people with POTS, and snowball sampling recruited health professionals through a United Kingdom charity and arrhythmia nursing network. Health professionals were interviewed from a range of professions including nurses, secondary care consultants, primary care general practitioners, psychologists, physiotherapists, and an occupational therapist.Method: Between September 2021 and September 2022 in-depth online semi-structured interviews were undertaken. Data were thematically analysed. Corbin and Strauss' Grounded Theory methods of constant comparison, memos, and a reflexive journal were used. Analysis moved from first open coding of health professional themes to more focused axial coding, data, and category linking. The study patient and public involvement group informed thematic development and theoretical sampling. The final themes were conceptualised through the critical realism's three layers of experience.Results: Forty-four participants were included, 19 people with POTS and 25 health professionals. Three core themes were found: 1) A challenging condition, 2) POTS healthcare provision - services by accident not design, and 3) The need to validate experiences. Health professionals experienced challenges in their clinical self-efficacy. POTS care was driven by individual human agency and interpersonal relationships. People with POTS took individual responsibility for their self-management but were impacted by gender inequalities, a medical model prioritising guidelines, and a poor evidence-base.Conclusion: This is the first qualitative study to explore both people with POTS and health professional experiences of looking after people with this condition. Findings identified: 1) a need for empowering both people with POTS and health professionals through shared care and decision making, 2) the requirement for a system wide recognition of POTS to move the landscape away from one of individual responsibility, and 3) the need to develop the evidence-base.Registration: Health Research Authority (IRAS: 281284). First recruitment: 13/09/2021
Swarm Intelligence-Based Algorithm for Workload Placement in Edge-Fog-Cloud Continuum
Get PDFThis paper addresses the workload placement problem in the edge-fog-cloud continuum. We model the edge fog-cloud computing continuum as a multi-agent framework consisting of networked resource supply and demand agents. Inspired by the swarm intelligence behavior of the ant colony optimization, we propose a workload scheduler for the arriving demand agents to increase local resource utilization and reduce communication costs without relying on a centralized scheduler. Like the ants, the demand agents will release pheromones on the resource agent to indicate the available resources. The next arriving demand agent will most probably choose a neighbor, following the pheromone value and communication cost. The framework’s performance is evaluated in terms of local resource utilization, dependency on fog and cloud, and communication cost. We compare these metrics for the ant-inspired algorithm with random and greedy algorithms.The simulation results reveal that the proposed algorithm inspired by swarm intelligence can increase resource utilization at the edge and reduce the dependency on higher layers, while also decreasing the communication cost for the task of resource allocatio
Exploring rural school students’ perceptions, willingness, motivations, and concerns regarding greywater treatment and reuse in southern Peru:social acceptance; sustainable greywater management; water recovery; water scarcity; rural communities
Get PDFWater scarcity affects water availability in Peruvian rural schools without piped systems, yet the perspectives of rural students on school greywater treatment and reuse are mainly unexplored. This study explores students’ perceptions, willingness, and concerns from three rural schools in Pichihua, Socco, and Yanaca (Apurimac Region, Peru) regarding greywater treatment and reuse. Using semi-structured questionnaires answered by 167 secondary students, the study found frequent water shortages (57% weekly) affecting hygiene and sanitation. There was high acceptance for greywater treatment systems (88%), significantly influenced by age and gender (p < 0.05). Students supported reusing treated greywater for handwashing (86%), cleaning (73.2%), garden watering (69%), and toilet flushing (65%). Over half were willing to use treated water for handwashing if it was pathogen-free (51.6%) and high quality (47.7%). Main concerns involved health risks (36%) and water appearance (28%). Recommendations included training on greywater treatment (40%) and regular quality assessments (35%) to mitigate concerns. This study shows that implementing a greywater treatment system is socially feasible for addressing water shortages in rural schools. The findings can help water technology developers create strategies to enhance benefits and reduce risks of reusing treated greywater while supporting policy development for water reuse in rural communities
Unraveling-induced entanglement phase transition in diffusive trajectories of continuously monitored noninteracting fermionic systems
Get PDFThe competition between unitary quantum dynamics and dissipative stochastic effects, as emerging from continuous-monitoring processes, can culminate in measurement-induced phase transitions.Here, a many-body system abruptly passes, when exceeding a critical measurement rate, from a highly entangled phase to a low-entanglement one. We consider a different perspective on entanglement phase transitions and explore whether these can emerge when the measurement process itself is modified, while keeping the measurement rate fixed. To illustrate this idea, we consider a noninteracting fermionic system and focus on diffusive detection processes. Through extensive numerical simulations, we show that, upon varying a suitable unraveling parameter —interpolating between measurements of different quadrature operators— the system displays a transition from a phase with area-law entanglement to one where entanglement scales logarithmically with the system size. Our findings may be relevant for tailoring quantum correlations in noisy quantum devices and for conceiving optimal classical simulation strategies
Determining Excellence Factors in Nursing and Midwifery (DEFINE):Report
Get PDFIntroduction and MethodsThe Midlands Regional Excellence Network (MREN) meet bi-monthly as a ‘community of practice’ with representatives from each of the 11 Integrated Care Systems in the region, with the purpose of sharing learning and exploring a collective approach to Excellence. The NHS England Midlands Regional Team, with funding and sponsorship from the CNO for England’s Policy and Strategy Unit from the NHS England national team, commissioned University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust via the MREN to undertake a research study into Nursing and Midwifery Excellence. A mixed-methods approach including literature review, survey, interviews, and metrics was selected to explore Excellence in acute and non-acute provider settings using an evidence-based behavioural framework (COM-B) to understand key factors to success.Findings1. The following themes were identified as the six pillars underpinning Excellence:➢ Shared professional decision-making➢ Local accreditation➢ Meaningful recognition➢ Distributed leadership➢ Continuous quality improvement➢ Research and innovation2. Non-acute providers starting on their Excellence journey demonstrated culturalreadiness for change and transferability of the six pillars.3. Professional leadership and organisational culture emerged as key factors in creatingconditions for behavioural change and continuous improvement.4. Results demonstrated a positive impact on workforce metrics through improvedworkforce stability index rates and reduced leaver rates for nurses and midwives.RecommendationsRecommendations for future research opportunities include exploring:➢ Experiences of patients and families, through care quality and improved outcomes➢ Transferability into additional health and social care settings➢ Impact of Excellence on workforce including recruitment, retention, and successionplanning➢ Impact of Excellence on productivity and efficienc