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I Poems and Polyvocality: Experiences of Using a Combined Qualitative Creative Analysis Technique to Strengthen the Voices of Research Participants and Aid Reflexivity
No full textWe are colleagues at the University of Central Lancashire who studied together in the same cohort for our Doctorates in Education. Whilst we conducted studies in quite different areas, and used different primary data analysis techniques, we both independently decided to incorporate an additional phase of data analysis using techniques drawn from feminist ethicist and psychologist Carol Gilligan’s Listening Guide (1993) to construct I poems to strengthen the voices of the people who took part in our research. We have since used this combined approach in several other projects and feel that it has enhanced our approach to data analysis.
In this chapter we present our experiences of taking ownership of our research and allowing ourselves to be creative through use of this combined qualitative data analysis approach. We will provide examples of the procedure to illustrate our creative analytic process as we constructed I poems to balance the presentation of the collective experience via a thematic approach, with a preservation of individual experiences. We believe that combining different data analysis approaches can complement each other and provide additional dimensions to analysis and findings. We will also demonstrate how the use of I poems can deepen researcher reflexivity
Metabolomic changes in tear fluid following zinc biofortification in the BiZiFED nutritional study: a feasibility study
Get PDFBackground: Biofortified Zinc Flour to Eliminate Deficiency in Pakistan (BiZiFED) is a nutritional research program that evaluates the impact of consuming zinc biofortified wheat flour on zinc status and associated health outcomes of vulnerable communities in northwest Pakistan. Measuring zinc status from blood samples is fraught with problems. This feasibility study evaluated whether metabolite changes in tear biofluids could be used to understand zinc status.
Methods: Zinc deficiency is particularly prevalent amongst the female population in Pakistan. Therefore, a crossover trial was developed in which 25 women of reproductive age received standard, wheat flour, and another 25 received zinc-biofortified wheat flour for 8 weeks. At the end of this period, the nutritional intervention was switched between the groups for another 8 weeks. Tear biofluid was collected using Schirmer strips at baseline and after 8 and 16 weeks. Metabolomic analysis was conducted using the MxP® Quant 500 kit on the tear biofluid from a subset of the study participants.
Results: Two metabolites had a significantly negative correlation with plasma zinc concentration: tiglylcarnitine and valine. Compared to baseline metabolite concentrations, acetylcarnitine, glutamine, two lysophosphatidylcholines (lysoPC a C16:0 and lysoPC a C18:1), and four sphingomyelins (SM (OH) C16:1, SM C16:0, SM C16:1, and SM C24:0) were all significantly decreased post-zinc intervention, whilst a ceramide (Cer(d18:1/18:0) was significantly increased.
Conclusion: These results highlight the potential of using tear biofluids as an alternative source for metabolomic biomarkers, both for the assessment of the zinc status of individuals enrolled in nutritional studies and for indicating physiological changes that arise from nutritional supplementation
The Constituents of Successful Group Musical Improvisation: Insights from within the developing practice of the Cold Bath Street band.
Get PDFWhat do musicians need to know and do, beyond applying a base vocabulary of technical music knowledge through their instrument, in order to undertake successful group improvisation? This research lives within music improvisation and music improvisation pedagogy. Specifically, it contributes original insights of use to developing improvisers and educators working with musicians from rock and pop backgrounds. Existing texts offer advice on the theories and practice of free improvisation but beyond genre guides giving stock phrases there is little provided to articulate functionality in these fields.
Building on approaches proposed by Stephen Nachmanovitch and David Borgo, operating under a self- determined definition of successful group improvisation, the researcher worked within the same group of developing improvisers for three years utilising a method combining practical workshops, recordings, discussions, interviews, contextual research and researcher reflection. Linked audio recordings serve to inform and illustrate the discussion. The study illuminates from within the practice, leading to an answer proposed in the form of constituent factors. Though specific and subjective, its findings provide an expectedly complex constituent makeup: A supportive working environment and broad agreement on remit were foundational. Active-listening, rapid and continuous creative and compositional decision-making operated in tandem with the ability to control the instrument to a high expressive level and to a point where it is second nature. After identifying points of clear commonality and differentiation with the act of pre-composing, the research further states that working with pitch was particularly difficult for the players and introduces a six-step ‘Offers System’ designed to aid their development.
The research concluded that to be successful the players must thrive within the nature of the activity, valuing communal creative interaction in the moment over the importance of any resulting product, navigating the unknown with confidence built through experience, embracing the flux, risk and ‘mistakes’ inherent to the form whilst guiding their imaginative explorations with the musical-thinking of Edwin Gordon’s audiation
‘Minor-Attracted People’: Attitudes toward people attracted to prepubescent children and the impact on professionals.
Get PDFMinor-Attracted People (MAPs) have been found to experience higher stigma, negative attitudes, and misconceptions than other populations affecting their propensity to seek and find suitable treatment (Heron et al., 2021; Jahnke et al., 2015a; Jahnke & Hoyer, 2013; Jahnke et al., 2015b; Jara & Jeglic, 202; Stiels-Glenn, 2010). This research project aims to promote a better understanding of the attitudes, stigma and misconceptions towards MAPs and the impact of offence (offending, non-offending) and offence type (contact, non-contact), as well as the use of the terminology MAP among a sample of the public and professionals. Additionally, the purpose of this project is to provide insights into the associative stigma experienced by therapy providers working with MAPs, if any. The data for this project was collected through a systematic review of the literature using a Narrative Synthesis as well as through open-ended questions from a panel of experts using the Delphi method. The attitudes towards MAPs were found to be punitive by the public but more accepting by professionals. The level of stigma toward MAPs was found to be less in the professional sample than in the public. Misconceptions were found to exist in both samples. The terminology MAP was found to be useful and less stigmatising by therapy providers. Therapy providers reported that they experience stigmatisation due to their work with MAPs. These findings indicate the need for more specific training about minor-attraction and support for professionals, to enable more treatment opportunities available for MAPs. Additionally, the need for further research regarding the associative stigma experienced by professionals working with MAPs including different professional groups has been identified. Furthermore, the gap in the literature regarding the significance of the offence type (contact or non-contact) in influencing people’s attitudes, stigma, and misconceptions towards MAPs, remains and has been highlighted
Health and Wellbeing of Cypriot Pupils. The Need for Change and Physical Education Teachers to Embrace Physical Literacy in the Curriculum
No full textThe chapter presents a situational review of Cyprus’ Physical Education (PE) provision in respect to its attempts to improve the health, wellbeing and life chances of children and young people. We first present the worldwide challenge to children’s health, that is the lack of their physical activity, and then describe the Cyprus school system and PE offer that is tasked with addressing this worldwide challenge. Physical Literacy (PL) is then presented as the theoretical and practical concept by which teachers and schools can achieve real change in Cyprus. We then describe our efforts to investigate PE teachers’ current philosophies, their knowledge of PL, and their willingness and perceived ability to make meaningful change in their practice in order to improve children’s health and cultivate physical literacy. Results demonstrate there is strong motivation for change built upon dissatisfaction with the present curriculum implementation and school organisation. Finally, a body of work is outlined which could offer our profession the evidence base on which to justify our call to action to embrace PL in PE. The promotion of these research projects can provide a framework for all countries to collect the data which will finally provide the leverage needed to force governments to reconsider their PE provision and help teachers make the changes that are so desperately needed
Online Learning and Pedagogy in Further Education: Frameworks for Successful Implementation
Get PDFThe quest to improve education through the integration of technology has been deliberated for many years, including governments and policy makers dating back to the formation by the Department for Education (DfE) of the National Council for Educational Technology (NCET) in 1967. Bespoke to the Further Education (FE) sector was the Further Education Learning Technology Action Group (FELTAG) that was set up in January 2013 to advance the use of technology in FE, releasing a report in 2014 with key recommendations for the sector. For all the support across the sector from the Education and Training Foundation (ETF), JISC and the Association for Learning Technology (ALT), and the education technology strategy released by the Department for Education in 2019, the use and critical debate of technology in education became more prominent at the onset of Covid-19.
This programme of research as part of a Professional Doctorate (Prof D) aimed to ensure that the primary research carried out impacted directly on professional practice. Aligned to this aim was the philosophy of pragmatism and the action research methodology, enabling the research to be contextualised and grounded in practice. Moreover, pragmatism enabled scope to utilise the most appropriate approaches to finding the answers to clearly defined research problems with action research supporting key stakeholders and practitioners to contribute and enhance practices through simultaneous research and action. In addition, interpretivism was crucial for both understanding reality through the experiences of the participants, understanding and making sense of real-world complexities, and also in enabling me as a researcher to interpret findings and reflect through the action research cycles, in acceptance of my own passions, beliefs and principles as grounded in the process as both a learner and researcher throughout the entirety of this Prof D.
Three primary research studies were carried out in total. The first research study focused on the initial explorations into remote learning as a response to Covid-19, with data collected through a survey. Research study two focused on gaining a better understanding of what constitutes effective online practices with data collected through two focus groups. Finally, research study three via the expert interview method proved essential in consolidating knowledge and enhancing professional practices.
A pragmatic research philosophy in combination with an action research approach ensured that the requirements of the Professional Doctorate (Prof D) to influence both practice and the generation of knowledge were met, with the research findings from each study leading to tangible outputs to practice. These outputs included the development of a digital development programme; a college-wide vision and strategy for the use of technology; the implementation of non-judgmental approaches to the observation of online delivery; and a range of continuing professional development (CPD) that balances the fundamentals of technology with the fundamentals of how we learn. Pleasingly, the outputs of the research did also impact positively on key performance outcome data the college is judged against, further emphasising the importance of the research.
To conclude, my journey through this Prof D has resulted in me developing as a researcher, and this development will underpin institutional initiatives and strategies in my future endeavours and working practices. The use of reflexivity was also pertinent for developing my approach to research, enabling me to reflect on a multitude of decisions throughout, shaping both the research and me as a researcher. During this Prof D, I was promoted to a Principal position, with greater strategic autonomy. I now know that my foundational pillars defined and shaped through this Prof D will influence the policies, strategies and processes I put in place in the future regarding research at an institutional level
Medical Crowdfunding in India: The Need for a Strong Legal Enforcement System
Get PDFIn India, poor health insurance coverage and high out-of-pocket expenditure especially for chronic and rare genetic/life-threatening diseases is a reality. People who use medical crowdfunding as an option to meet medical expenditures and the sudden growth of new fundraising platforms are significant developments in healthcare. The digital platforms in fundraising and the multitude of transactions they perform are increasing in the country and have a significant impact on the health sector and the rights of the patients which points toward the need for more effective regulation. In the absence of sector-specific legislation and government guidelines, the paper summarizes the growth of medical crowdfunding in India, identifies the challenges, and reiterates the need for effective legal enforcement systems
Eye-Movement Methodology Reveals a Shift in Attention from Threat to Neutral Stimuli with Self-Reported Symptoms of Social Anxiety across Children, Adolescents and Adults
Get PDFThe current study used an eye-movement remote distractor paradigm (RDP) to examine the relationship between self-reported symptoms of social anxiety in children (9-11-year-olds), young adolescents (12-14-year-olds) and adults (18-43-year-olds) on saccade latencies to identify a target and saccadic errors to task irrelevant distractor angry, neutral and happy face stimuli. Distractor stimuli were presented at the same time, and either at the centre of the display, or at a contralateral parafoveal or peripheral location to the target. The presence of face distractors was associated with increased saccadic errors (indicating selective attention to task-irrelevant stimuli) and slower saccade latencies to identify a target. Saccadic errors decreased between age groups and saccade latencies and were greatest in the adolescent group. Symptoms of social anxiety in children were associated with increased saccade latencies in the presence of angry and neutral (versus happy) faces suggesting avoidance of these emotion expressions in this age group. In contrast, symptoms of social anxiety in adolescents and adults were respectively linked with longer latencies for neutral (versus angry), and neutral (versus happy and angry) faces, indicating an increasing salience of neutral faces in adulthood. The results support the proposition that neutral faces represent ambiguous and potentially negative stimuli for individuals who experience elevated social anxiety. Collectively, they fit with previous research that has questioned the role of neutral faces as non-emotional control stimuli in attention research and anxiety
Theoretical Analysis and Numerical Investigation of Atrium Fire Engineering Design Principles
Get PDFIn the project described in this thesis, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used comparatively with the traditional calculation approach to predict smoke behaviour in tall and long atrium geometries in order to review the empirical correlations used to this day. It is demonstrated that the empirical correlations specified in the regulations, design guides, and handbook for the industry, which were based on theory and experiments done for more than 30 to 45 years before, may not be applicable nowadays to large volumes and high atriums.
A number of correlations exist, related to cross-sectional area and height. Particular focus is made in one of the most widely used correlations for smoke mass flow rate and height defined in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The constant, 0.28 used in NFPA 92: 2021 for smoke layer height applied in atrium design based on cross-sectional area is evaluated. A parametric study and the limits of applicability of the correlation are investigated by numerical analysis. A wide range of geometric characteristics, i.e., height, width, Sectional Aspect Ratio (SAR) and Plan Aspect Ratio (PAR) are investigated.
Based on the results of the current investigation, new constants are proposed to be used, namely 0.25 and 0.24 for 20-30 m and 40 m tall atrium respectively.
For long atriums, results from empirical equations for rectangular-base long atriums with different PAR have also been compared with a series of numerical simulations.
New constants 0.25 and 0.27 seem to better fit the numerical results for 10-20 m and 30-40 m long atriums. A simple table is presented for use by practitioner designers.
Current thesis results indicate that the constant is not universally applicable to atriums that are particularly high or long, and new correlations are applied with the aim of being used by fire safety engineers.
Some new results are also presented on the development of stratification in taller atria. There is an existing formula for this, valid for small atria, based upon the oxymoron of a temperature gradient. It was found that velocity profiles can identify where stratification will occur, and this influences the design strategy, such as not extracting gas above this height because it is not smoke
The Irish and the Preston Lock-Out, 1853–1854
Get PDFThe Irish have long featured as a central element in British social and labour history, but an idea still prevails that it was as strike breakers rather than strike makers that they influenced British industrial relations. The great Preston strike of 1853–1854 appears to have had a crucial role in cementing that idea and the role of Irish ‘knobsticks’ became a central, as well as a very visual component, of that dispute. The story of the ‘half alive and half dead’ impoverished Irish who arrived in Preston in March 1854 seems ideally suited to the famous images produced of the lock-out and knobstick figures, but they obscure as much as they illustrate. This paper examines the role of the Irish in broader perspective between the years of the Lune Street massacre of 1842 and the close of the strike in 1854 as a series of disputes in which people from Ireland featured on both sides, and where attitudes towards the strike, strikers and strike breakers were complex, dynamic and left enduring legacies