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Is coaching really neuro-inclusive? A qualitative study on the experiences of choice and personalisation in a neurodiversity coaching program
Get PDFAutism diagnoses are significantly increasing among working-age populations, compelling companies to harness the unique strengths this population offers by providing appropriate support, such as coaching. However, mainstream coaching favours neurotypical norms and is not always neuro-inclusive. This study addresses this gap by identifying how coaching could be made more inclusive.
Data was collected from 11, hour-long interviews with the participants (autistic young adults and their coaches), and analysed using a thematic analysis approach.
Two overarching themes emerged: (1) the importance of maintaining fundamental coaching practices, such as building trust and rapport, and being client-led, and (2) the role of choice and personalisation in creating an inclusive coaching experience. It was found that identifying the right level of choice for the clients was key to minimising stress and anxiety.
This study employed stringent sampling criteria; thus, the sample size was small and homogenous. Due to autism’s heterogeneity, this limits the transferability of the findings.
As an increasing number of individuals with autism enter the workforce, companies need to find ways to make proven support mechanisms, like coaching, neuro inclusive
‘She didn't know what to do with me’: the experience of seeking community mental health support after spinal cord injury
Get PDFContext/Objectives
Adults with spinal cord injury in the UK do not currently have specialized access to SCI-informed community-based mental health support, despite their elevated risk of mental health decline. The lack of SCI-informed therapeutic support may increase the likelihood of mental health treatment failure. This study sought to qualitatively explore the experience of accessing, or attempting to access, generic (non-SCI-informed) mental health support when living with a spinal cord injury.
Design
Qualitative, exploratory study using thematic analysis.
Setting
Community-based sample in the UK.
Participants
Twenty people with spinal cord injury (10 female, 10 male) were recruited from a UK-based, SCI-specific support charity.
Interventions
Semi-structured interviews (mean length = 83 min, SD = 13.5 min).
Outcome Measures
9-item semi-structured interview schedule, addressing mental health service use.
Results
Three themes were identified: (1) Therapeutic timeliness; (2) A disconnect with standard services; and (3) Successful systems for support. The inpatient-to-outpatient transition represents a critical time window during which mental health is vulnerable to decline, requiring responsive access to mental health services throughout the lifespan. The lack of tailored, SCI-informed mental health services inhibits therapeutic engagement and limits perceived treatment outcomes.
Conclusions
Without SCI-informed care, generic mental health service referrals risk early termination of support and treatment disengagement. Mental health treatment withdrawal is initiated by both patients and their allocated healthcare professionals. This study demonstrates an evident need to develop programs for people with SCI to train as (peer) mental health practitioners, and to develop SCI-specific training modules for mental health care practitioners
An efficient energy-aware video service for smart devices in human-centered multimedia systems
Get PDFNowadays human-centered multimedia (HCM) systems are growing rapidly, and HCM systems are broadly accessible to users over mobile networks. As one of the most important human-centered computing services, video service constitutes the main part of the overall mobile network traffic in an HCM system. However, video service currently faces significant technical challenges. In particular, despite significant improvements in mobile network bandwidth and processor performance, the online video services on smart devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets) are still constrained by limited battery capacity. This contradiction underscores the inadequacies of existing battery energy consumption optimization strategies in dealing with various usage scenarios, especially in meeting the diverse battery-saving needs of online video stream users. In response to this issue, we have proposed an efficient energy-aware adaptive video service scheme. This scheme divides the battery power into different energy levels, and then dynamically adjusts the playing parameters (including the threshold of the warm-up stage, capacity of the video buffer, etc.) according to the energy level, while helping the edge client to flexibly capture and play back the required videos. Based on designed experiments already conducted on the proposed method, the results demonstrate the effectiveness of this method in optimizing energy consumption for video services
Investor emotions and asset prices
No full textWe develop a new emotion-based market-level sentiment indicator to measure the emotional state of the market. Using this aggregate series, we compute firm-level sensitivity to shifts in market-level emotions and find that stocks with high-emotion betas outperform low-emotion beta firms. This performance differential is corrected in about six months. A trading strategy that takes a Long (Short) position in high- (low-) emotion beta stocks generates an annualized alpha of over 6%. This evidence of emotion-based predictability is distinct from the known pricing effects of mood, traditional sentiment measures, economic and policy uncertainty, and tone
Band of blood brothers: exploring visibility management and networking among Twitter users identifying as Filipino men living with HIV
Get PDFThe Philippines continues to grapple with a rising number of HIV cases, particularly among Filipino men who have sex with men. Notably, Filipino men living with HIV (FMLWH) are visible on Twitter (now X), despite Facebook’s dominance in the Philippines. The Twitterverse of FMLWH may be imagined as networked publics, with these users negotiating visibility management in the face of HIV-related stigmas and navigating context collapse in a high-visibility space. In this study, we explore the visibility management practices of Twitter users identifying as FMLWH and subsequently map their network structure. Our mixed-methods approach combined analysis of online trace data from 1447 public Twitter accounts with in-depth interviews conducted with 24 Twitter users. Findings revealed that FMLWH employed a range of visibility management practices on Twitter, including the use of succinct identifiers to disclose HIV status, the maintenance of pseudonymous identities, and a strategic shift from partial to greater visibility when engaging with other FMLWH in private communication spaces. Participants expressed a strong inclination to connect with fellow ‘blood brothers’ and were frequently directed to these users through algorithmic recommendations rather than word-of-mouth. An expansive network comprising 302,934 ‘follow’ ties connected all but two of the 1447 users. Network analysis also showed high reciprocity and short distances between actors. Despite these metrics, a relatively low degree of interconnectedness was found, suggesting that users formed their own smaller pockets of conversation. Overall, FMLWH exhibited a deliberate effort to manage their visibility on Twitter and demonstrated a level of connectivity and engagement that might not naturally occur in real-world settings. Furthermore, the affordances of Twitter facilitated the open disclosure of HIV status, traditionally considered a private and sensitive matter. These findings warrant further investigation into the formation of networked HIV social identities and the emergence of pseudonymous networked counterpublics among FMLWH
Supercharging teaching and learning practical skills within AI-enabled interactive technologies
Get PDFThis chapter examines the integration of AI-enabled interactive technologies
into higher education, focusing on their potential to develop practical skills
required for contemporary work environments. Drawing upon qualitative methods
and illustrative examples from immersive virtual reality, conversational AI
systems, and digital human avatars, the chapter explores how these tools support
simulation-based learning, iterative practice, and personalised feedback. While the
findings offer valuable insights into design considerations, pedagogical frame-works, and implementation strategies, they are not intended to be generalised due
to the study’s methodological approach, sample size, and the specific institutional
context in which the data were collected. Limitations of the study are primarily
contextual and include the absence of longitudinal data, which restricts the ability
to assess long-term impacts. Nonetheless, the chapter contributes to ongoing
debates on the evolving role of universities in preparing graduates for the work-place and provides evidence-informed guidance for educators seeking to adopt
these technologies in a sustainable and scalable manner
Middle-Late Bronze Age hoards and hoarding practices in south-east and west Wales
No full textThis thesis investigates the deposition of Middle-Late Bronze Age hoards (c. 1550-800
BC) and hoarding practices in south-east and west Wales. For over 150 years, hoards have
provided a leading source of evidence for life in the European Bronze Age, with particular
interest directed towards interpreting why they were buried. While the motivations behind
the deliberate and permanent placement of metal objects within the ground remain a
concern within concluding discussions, this thesis advocates an approach that focuses first
of all on understanding what, when, and how things were buried together at a variety of
different scales.
The results of this thesis are presented in three papers, each structured at a different scale.
The first paper (Griffiths 2023) examines the practice of hoarding across Britain and
Northern Ireland, drawing on a substantial dataset of 385 hoards (containing approximately
7210 objects) reported on between 1997-2021. As well as providing a timely and necessary
review of recent Bronze Age hoard finds reported as treasure and through the Portable
Antiquities Scheme, this paper also highlights regions whose archaeological datasets for
this period have been especially significantly transformed by these recent discoveries,
including south-east and west Wales. The second and third papers (Griffiths 2025;
Griffiths et al. under review) pay close attention to the typo-chronology and biographies of
Middle-Late Bronze Age metalwork in south-east and west Wales, based on a
comprehensive dataset of 102 hoard finds and 478 single finds (totalling 1429 metal
objects). The former outlines this evidence at a regional scale, offering insight into the
chronological and cultural significances of the metalwork record, exploring themes of
artefact production, manipulation, destruction, and selection. The latter is a select case
study of a recently discovered hoard from Portskewett Community, Monmouthshire, that
was subject to a detailed geophysical survey and archaeological excavation of the hoard
still buried in-situ; it highlights the relationship between this deposit of metalwork, an
Early Bronze Age burnt mound, and the watery character of this specific location. Value in
studying this material across different scales, broad, regional, and local, is demonstrated,
highlighting the potential of this approach for understanding the meaning and importance
of Bronze Age metalwork
The acute and chronic effects of oyster mushroom intervention on cognition, mood, metabolism and inflammation in healthy older adults
Get PDFAgeing involves a progressive deterioration in physiological and behavioural functions,
often associated with chronic, low-grade inflammation. Given the limited success of current
pharmacological treatments for age-related declines, dietary interventions are gaining
attention. Edible mushrooms- including oyster mushroom- have attracted interest for their
neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties. However, their effects on cognition and
mood in humans remain underexplored.
This thesis combined interrogation of epidemiological data and clinical trials, to evaluate
mushrooms’ role in supporting cognitive and mental health in a UK cohort aged 40-92 years old. An epidemiological study, using EPIC-Norfolk data, revealed that mushroom consumers
outperformed non-consumers, across multiple cognitive domains, in a dose-dependent
manner, with highest scores among those consuming one or more portions (45g) per week.
Subsequently, an intervention study assessed acute effects (up to 6-hours) of three OM doses
in dried form- 4.70g (OM0.5), 9.39g (OM1) and 18.78g (OM2), equivalent to 40g, 80g and
160g of fresh OM respectively- compared to placebo (OM0), in participants 60-80 years old. Results showed that OM helped maintain Positive Affect (PA) and Mental Fatigue (MF)
throughout the day, compared to declines in PA and increases in MF, observed following
OM0. OM also significantly lowered postprandial nitrite, NADPH oxidase 2 and inducible
nitric oxide synthase, compared to OM0.
Finally, a 12-week trial in participants 60-80 years-old, using the OM1 dose consumed 4
times weekly, showed reduced anxiety, improved delayed word recall and recognition on a
RAVLT task, and reduced NADPH oxidase 2 and cyclo-oxygenase 2, compared to baseline.
By the end the trial, OM intake lowered sadness, shyness and anxiety, and enhanced episodic
memory, compared to placebo.
Together, this research provides evidence that mushrooms, notably OM, may support
cognitive function and mood during ageing, potentially through anti-inflammatory
mechanisms