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Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP) Domestic Homicides and Suspected Victim Suicides 2020-2023 Year 3 Report
Get PDFStimulus Complexity Can Enhance Art Appreciation: Phenomenological and Psychophysiological Evidence for the Pleasure Interest Model of Aesthetic Liking
Get PDFWe tested predictions deriving from Graf and Landwehr’s (2015) “Pleasure-Interest Model of Aesthetic Liking” (PIA Model), whereby aesthetic preferences arise from two fluency-based processes: an initial, automatic, percept-driven default process, and a subsequent, perceiver driven reflective process. One key trigger for reflective processing is stimulus complexity. Moreover, 8 if meaning can be derived from such complexity, then this can engender increased interest and elevated liking. Experiment 1 involved graffiti street-art images, pre-normed to elicit low, moderate and high levels of interest. Subjective reports indicated a predicted enhancement in liking across increasing interest levels. Electroencephalography (EEG) recordings during image viewing revealed different patterns of alpha power in temporal brain regions across interest levels. Experiment 2 enforced a brief, initial image-viewing stage and a subsequent, reflective image-viewing stage. Differences in alpha power arose in most EEG channels between the initial and deliberative viewing stages. A linear increase in aesthetic liking was again seen across interest levels, with different patterns of alpha activity in temporal and occipital regions across these levels. Overall, the phenomenological data support the PIA Model, while the physiological data suggest that enhanced aesthetic liking might be associated with “flow-feelings” indexed by alpha activity in brain regions linked to visual attention and reducing distraction
Systemic Barriers Preventing Farmer Engagement in the Agricultural Climate Transition: A Qualitative Study
Get PDFFarmers and the agricultural sector are facing an uncertain future, due to rapidly changing agricultural policy and a nexus of commercial, environmental and biodiversity challenges brought on by anthropogenic climate change. Balancing the interests of the farming community and natural environment is generating organisational and personal conflict, rather than effective agricultural adaption and a focus on the net zero transition. In this paper, we consider how farmers and the wider farming community can participate in engagement and decision-making for the transition, on their own terms, whilst ensuring social justice for fair and equitable decision-making.
We discuss findings from our research project, that used questionnaires and follow up semi-structured interviews with farmers and farming groups to reveal systemic issues that prevent farmers engaging with the climate transition to net zero during their everyday practice. We highlight the structural relationships that form these barriers and frustrate farmers when designing and implementing farm interventions to agricultural systems during times of transition. Farmers have highlighted barriers to be associated with policy, (uncertain government strategy, landowner bias in government policy and tenancy restrictions, government bureaucracy - particularly environment schemes), commercial (market forces – downward pressure from supermarkets on price points, availability of labour due to seasonal migration restrictions, increasing cost of labour) and interpersonal (succession - uncertain future of the family farm due to limited income). This frustrates the ability of farmers to address climate change through farming practices and undermines the implementation of innovative engagement practices, such as co-produced interventions, in policy and decision-making settings
Exploring the Time Dilation Gameplay in VR, and its Effect on Presence,VR Sickness and Performance
Get PDFThis study explores the effect of Time Dilation Gameplay mechanic in a VR game and its impact on players’ subjective feeling of Presence, symptoms of VR sickness, and to their
gaming performance. A comparative study was conducted using a VR First Person Shooter game prototype under two conditions: Normal Gameplay and with Time Dilation, manipulating the ingame time to almost complete standstill when the player stops moving. The results indicated that players in the Time Dilation Gameplay group experienced high degree of Presence comparable to those playing in Normal Gameplay condition, and yielded relatively lower levels of VR sickness, highlighting the need for further investigation on its potential impact on the domain. The players’ in-game performance between the two conditions was similar, but the Time Dilation mechanic impacted the way they were navigating and spatially exploring the environment, hence, considerations need to be made in the way tasks, levels, and interactions are designed. The main contributions of this paper are: i) insights on how Time Dilation affects players’ feeling of Presence in a VR game; ii) the impact of the mechanic on VR Sickness; and iii) its effect on player performance, providing
valuable information for game developers and designer
People with Intellectual Disabilities, Dysphagia and Post-Covid Syndrome
No full textPeople with Intellectual Disability (ID) were more likely to contract COVID-19 infection and more likely to die from the consequences. However, there is no evidence on the long-term impact of COVID-19 infection in people with ID. Post-Covid Syndrome (PCS) is an established diagnosis that requires specialist clinical support. To date there is no data on how common PCS is in people with ID, or how symptoms present. Dysphagia is identified as a clinical marker because of the known association with PCS, and the clear objective diagnostic criteria applicable through specialist assessment. This investigation presents a cohort of people with ID, who developed dysphagia/worsening of dysphagia post diagnosis with COVID-19. Cases were identified through support from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. Data was collected by electronic survey, including application of the COVID-19 Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale-modified (C19-YRSm). The C19-YRSm is a validated assessment tool for PCS and it's impact upon functional disability. This case series identifies that symptoms consistent with PCS are present in people with ID, post-COVID-19 infection. The risk of diagnostic overshadowing or misdiagnosis is high due to the subjective nature and the quality of PCS symptoms. People with ID who develop PCS may not be readily identified by clinical services and therefore not be accessing the specialist medical support required. Furthermore, changes in behaviour secondary to PCS may lead to unnecessary increased prescribing of psychotropic medication which in itself risks worsening dysphagia. Dysphagia could be an important bellwether to identify PCS in people with ID. [Abstract copyright: © 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Predictors of Life Satisfaction: A Nationwide Investigation in Iran
Get PDFIran is a developing country with low levels of economic development and globalization and is ruled by a theocratic government. To address the lack of national research on well-being in Iran, this retrospective observational study aims to examine life satisfaction and its main determinants among Iranian adults. Using World Gallup Poll data collected between 2006 and 2017, we examined life satisfaction as a cognitive aspect of subjective well-being in relation to various factors. Our results show that income is the strongest predictor of life satisfaction, followed by standard of living, gender, social support, age, negative affect, and education. In developing countries such as Iran, which face significant economic, political, and social challenges, individuals prioritize the satisfaction of basic needs by emphasizing factors such as the socioeconomic status. In contrast, developed countries with established welfare systems may emphasize other values such as social connections and healthy lifestyle behaviors as key factors in life satisfaction. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the determinants of life satisfaction in Iran and provides insights for future research and policy making
SDN-based detection and mitigation of DDoS attacks on smart homes
Get PDFThe adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) has proliferated across various domains, where everyday objects like refrigerators and washing machines are now equipped with sensors and connected to the internet. Undeniably, the security of such devices, which were not primarily designed for internet connectivity, is of utmost importance but has been largely neglected. In this paper, we propose a framework for real-time DDoS attack detection and mitigation in SDN-enabled smart home networks. We capture network traffic during regular operations and during DDoS attacks. This captured traffic is used to train several machine learning (ML) models, including Support Vector Machine (SVM), Logistic Regression, Decision Trees, and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) algorithms. These trained models are executed as SDN controller applications and subsequently employed for real-time attack detection. While we utilize ML techniques to protect IoT devices, we propose the use of SNORT, a signature-based detection technique, to secure the SDN controller itself. Real-world experiments demonstrate that without SNORT, the SDN controller goes offline shortly after an attack, resulting in a 100% packet loss. Furthermore, we show that ML algorithms can efficiently classify traffic into benign and attack traffic, with the Decision Tree algorithm outperforming others with an accuracy of 99%
Novel Approaches to Bypassing the Blood-Brain Barrier for Drug Delivery to Brain Tumors
No full textBrain tumors are a group of heterogeneous diseases arising from abnormally proliferating cells that can negatively impact the eloquent function of this organ. Drug therapies have traditionally not been successful in combating brain tumors, in part due to the physical exclusion of molecules from the brain tissue by the blood-brain/blood-brain tumor barriers (BBB/BBTB). In this chapter, we review the interventions that have been developed to overcome the BBB/BBTB to enable drug delivery to brain tumors. These include microbubble-assisted focused ultrasound, nanoparticular delivery systems, convection-enhanced delivery, osmotic diuretic, gene therapy, radiation, and laser interstitial thermal therapy
Assessing Ethical Behavior and Self-control in Elite Ultimate Championships: A Cross-Sectional Study Using the Spirit of the Game Scoring System
Get PDFIntroduction: Implementing a self-refereeing system presents a unique challenge in sports education, particularly in academic and training settings where officiated sports prevail. However, Ultimate Frisbee stands out by entrusting players with both athlete and referee roles, introducing distinctive ethical complexities. The primary objective of this manuscript is to assess ethical behavior and self-control within the Spirit of the Game (SOTG) Scoring System in Elite Ultimate. To address these, Ultimate employs the (SOTG) scoring system, integral since the sport's inception in the late 1960s. SOTG aims to enhance and evaluate athletes' ethical conduct. This study evaluates SOTG's effectiveness in elite-level Ultimate, analyzing variations across divisions and age groups in three high-level tournaments. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected from five international Ultimate tournaments in 2022. Teams spanned diverse age groups (under 17 to over 50) and divisions (women's, mixed, open). Post-match, teams assessed opponents' SOTG in five domains: Rules knowledge, fouls, fairness, attitude/self-control, and communication. Ratings used a 5-point Likert scale ('poor' to 'excellent'). An overall SOTG score was calculated by aggregating domain scores. Results: Our study consistently revealed high SOTG scores, reflecting strong sportsmanship. "Positive attitude and self-control" consistently ranked highest, while "Knowledge and use of the rules" scored lowest. Divisional differences in SOTG were statistically insignificant. Notably, WMUCC2022 (participants aged 30+) had significantly higher SOTG scores, possibly indicating age-related self-control improvement or evolving sport culture. Lower rules knowledge scores may stem from linguistic translation challenges. Conclusion: Self-refereeing promotes ethical behavior across divisions and age groups. SOTG underscores sportsmanship's importance, fostering a fairer, healthier, and more peaceful world
