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Did school characteristics affect the uptake of meningococcal quadrivalent vaccine in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom?
Full text linkObjectives
The objective of this study was to assess if school characteristics were associated with the uptake of the meningococcal ACWY (MenACWY) vaccine in Greater Manchester in 2017/18.
Study design
This is an ecological cross-sectional study.
Methods
We analysed data on all 129 schools in seven local authorities in Greater Manchester from the Department for Education and from local child health information systems to determine whether school characteristics, including school type and Ofsted effectiveness score, were associated with vaccine uptake. Schools with no eligible pupils were excluded. We undertook single-variable and multivariable analysis and considered key interactions.
Results
The overall uptake rate was 80.7%, with a median uptake per school of 80.6% (interquartile range, 69.0%–87.4%). Lower vaccination rates were associated with lower overall effectiveness scores (odds ratio [OR]: 3.54, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.00–4.19) and lower numbers of pupils eligible for vaccination (OR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.28–1.51). Schools with a lower percentage of pupils for whom English is a second language and high deprivation were associated with lower uptake (OR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.41–1.78). In addition, community schools (the schools with the most local authority oversight) had lower vaccination rates than other categories of schools.
Conclusions
In this study, uptake rates of the MenACWY vaccine were associated with all five school characteristics considered. Effectiveness scores for schools had the largest association with vaccine uptake, with poorer schools having lower uptake. These characteristics should be used by vaccination providers to prioritise their interventions to increase immunisation rates
Continuing the "Family Names of the UK" project
Full text linkThe first two phases of the “Family Names of the United Kingdom” [FaNUK] project, funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council, set out to explain the origin of all surnames found in Britain and Ireland that had more than 20 bearers in 1881 and/or more than 100 in 2011. The fruits of the first funded phase (2010–2014) were published as The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names
in Britain and Ireland (OUP, 2016). Many surnames had never been explained at all before FaNUK, and given the wealth of new or corrected explanations achieved by the project, and the huge volume of collected and/or e-accessible material now available, deeper analysis is both possible and timely.
The aim of the possible further project that we describe here will be to address the theme of variation in the form of surnames. This situates the project primarily within the fields of English historical sociolinguistics and socioonomastics, while relevant to history and demography. Its scope will be unified by the idea of analysing non-canonical changes in English, specifically the
following five types: variation as an unstandardized consequence of mechanical or acoustic phonetic processes typical of informal speech (such as unstressed vowel reduction); variation of a particular under-studied phonoorthographic type involving vowel length (as in Sim vs. Sime); variation endemic in unstandardized aspects of English orthography (as in Lee vs. Leigh); variation due to analogy with other names or name elements locally or nationally, and with words of the common vocabulary; and any aspects of hypercorrection and spelling-pronunciation not implicitly covered in the above. This will lead naturally to devoting attention to the phonological and orthographical techniques employed in anglicizing names arriving from abroad, thereby linking the present paper to the conference sub-theme of identity and naming.unfundedPaper given to the 28th International Congress of Onomastic Sciences (Helsinki, August 2024
A survey exploring public knowledge of cardiovascular disease prevention in Cheshire, UK
Full text linkBackground: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is considered one of the leading causes of death in the UK, and annual statistical reports show that some areas in the north of England has one of the highest death rates due to CVD in the country.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Cheshire to evaluate public knowledge and determine the most popular methods to receive updated information regarding CVD risk factors.
Results: 269 participants were eventually eligible for the analysis. The overall knowledge score was relatively high (median score = 12/12, IQR = 1); patients with a history of CVD or diabetes mellitus showed a lower level of knowledge compared with healthy individuals (P = 0.007). On the other hand, the internet was the most popular method to receive updated cardiovascular disease information (70% of the sample). Participants showed a tendency to visit official and governmental websites to obtain the needed information, and Google was the most selected platform in all age groups.
Conclusions: There might be a need to invest more time in providing CVD patients with sufficient instructions to ensure their adherence to secondary prevention measures. Also, more time and resources should be invested in developing official and governmental public health websites.This study was funded by Chester medical school, the University of Chester, UK
Predicting stator winding short-circuit faults in induction motors using machine learning: a comparative study
Full text linkThe version of record of this article, first published in [Discover Computing], is available online at Publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10791-026-09984-0Induction motors play a critical role in industrial operations and electric vehicles, yet their reliability is often compromised by stator winding inter-turn short-circuit (ITSC) faults. To mitigate costly downtimes, this study investigates machine learning-based fault detection methods, comparing Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks, and Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs). A benchmark dataset comprising stator current signals, leakage flux, and varying load conditions was employed to train and evaluate the models. While classification across seven fault categories remained challenging, the proposed framework achieved outstanding results in binary classification (healthy vs. faulty). In particular, the LSTM model attained a near-perfect accuracy of 100%, and the PINN model achieved 99.32%, both surpassing the baseline ANN performance of 99.01%. These findings highlight the effectiveness of temporal modeling with LSTM and the added value of incorporating motor physics into PINNs, especially in scenarios with limited data. The results confirm that advanced machine learning models can significantly improve early fault detection, enabling more reliable predictive maintenance and reduced operational costs in industrial systems.unfunde
Novel jet stability evaluating method for DC plasma torch
Full text linkThe version of record of this article, first published in Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, is available online at Publisher’s website: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11090-025-10634-4.The jet stability of a DC plasma torch affects not only the service life of the torch but also processing consistency in industrial applications. To evaluate both instantaneous and longstanding jet stabilities of a plasma torch, a novel jet stability evaluation method has been developed in this study. The collected raw signals were first analyzed using the fast Fourier transform and filtered with identified characteristic frequencies. Based on the filtered signals, a 200 ms sliding window method was employed to evaluate the relative fluctuation of arc voltage in terms of both longstanding and instantaneous jet stabilities of the plasma torch. The results show that: (1) the proposed method can effectively evaluate both instantaneous and longstanding jet stability of a DC plasma torch; (2) the arc voltage and arc current signals contain a characteristic frequency, which is strongly influenced by the gas flow rate; (3) the laminar plasma torch operates stably at an arc current of 90 A, and its longstanding jet stability improves with increasing gas flow rate. The findings and proposed method provide informative guidance to those interested in the improvement of plasma jet stability and processing consistency.The authors appreciate the supports of the Scientific Research and Innovation Team Program of Sichuan University of Science and Technology (No. SUSE652A004), the Luzhou City Science and Technology Plan Project (No.2024JYJ004) and the Key Laboratory of Mechanical Structure Optimization & Material Application Technology of Luzhou (No.SCHYZSA-2025-01)
Re-claiming the past by re-living in the present: The ≠Khomani San Living Museum and the restoration of dignity in the Southern Kalahari
Full text linkThis article critiques dominant development frameworks by examining the ≠Khomani San of the Southern Kalahari, who despite winning one of South Africa's largest post-Apartheid land claims, remain marginalised and impoverished. Mainstream approaches continue to frame their future through Eurocentric binaries of “traditional” and “modern,” forcing the community to navigate imposed categories that fracture social cohesion and commodify identity. Development framed as economic progress reproduces the very marginalisation it seeks to overcome. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, we analyse the ≠Khomani San Living Museum as an act of resistance to developmentalist logics, a resistance that unsettles the epistemic hegemony of development discourses. The Museum is symbolic of the need for an alternative that builds collective action for emancipation, rooted in a reclamation and reconnection with the past as well as dignity and social cohesion for the future. The museum demonstrates that development projects must centre reparative justice, dignity, and the restoration of social fabric to be meaningful for historically dispossessed communities.N/
Handbook on lived experience in the justice system
No full textThis is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge in [Handbook on lived experience in the justice system] on [11/12/2025], available online: http://www.routledge.com/Handbook-on-Lived-Experience-in-the-Justice-System/Dum-Fader-LeBel-Wright/p/book/9781041016052The launch of the Experience for Justice Collective represents a significant milestone in the evolution of initiatives influenced by Convict Criminology in the UK. It challenges the traditional representation of incarcerated individuals within the discipline of criminology by introducing a broader spectrum of voices and more collaborative efforts. Drawing inspiration from Beth Weaver's (2022, p18) notion of 'epistemic participation', this chapter explores the emerging activities of the collective. We emphasise the need to dismantle traditional barriers to knowledge creation and cultivate richer, more inclusive criminological conversations. By embracing the first-hand accounts of those affected by the criminal justice system, Experience for Justice (E4J) champions an approach to criminology that underlines the critical role of personal experiences in the field. We explore how our voices, vulnerabilities and strengths are developing through the combinations the collective approach encourages. The chapter demonstrates our aim to create alternative narratives, build supportive networks and advocate for individuals with experience of the criminal legal system.Imagining possible futures: Activating lived experience in criminal justice | Funder: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI
Seen and unseen: Identity, place, and resolution in post-conflict Northern Ireland. How using the praxis of photography, book arts, and constructed textiles can give voice to memory and experience
No full textThis research project sets out to explore how the experience of living through a traumatic event can occur in a vacuum of non-recognition – the unseen. My research uses an autoethnographic methodology to explore my experience of growing up through the period known as the Troubles, or conflict, in Belfast, Northern Ireland (1968 – 1998). It draws on the tropes of photography, constructed textiles, and the practice of book arts, and how that practice potentially creates and informs representation and memory.
As a working-class Protestant female, navigating both a fractured family environment as well as witnessing a society in conflict, I demonstrate how a well- documented event can have untold narratives. The representation and narrative of the period of the Troubles in Northern Ireland were from a very male and media focused perspective. The narrative of this thesis unfolds through a process of autoethnographic reflection, exploration of what memory can mean, alongside a developing creative practice as a contribution to knowledge in this research study.
Exploring the interconnection between book arts, textiles, and photography, my practice explores how the witnessing of such events can lead to reparation and post-conflict recovery from trauma, allowing the unseen to be seen and acknowledged. The concept of witnessing or bearing witness to an experience in this context enables a therapeutic engagement, it is not as a witness to a scene but a witness to the impact of the experience. The term witnessing takes on a humanitarian meaning of acknowledgment and is much more than the act of seeing. Nancy Goodman (2012, p. 3) notes that ‘Witnessing is a powerful force that allows massively traumatic experiences to become known and communicated.’
With the development of my practice in this research, I layer memories, experience, and social observation to navigate these themes in the work. The material structures of photography, book arts, and related stitching of both paper and textiles, bring these elements together in a tangible form to give voice to this exploration.Thesis deposited following repository upgrade (2nd to 23rd February 2026). Exam board date: 18th March 2026
Community, Cholera, Chapel and Children: The History of Chester Royal Infirmary’s Surviving Stained-glass Windows
No full textThe installation of two sets of stained-glass windows at Chester Royal Infirmary in the early twentieth century represent one of the ways in which Florence Nightingale’s suggested improvements to the lives of patients could be achieved through attractive and colourful objects in the hospital environment. Generations of patients were thus able to benefit from these artefacts until the closure of the hospital in 1994 and the removal of the windows from the original building. Four of these windows were installed at the University of Chester’s Wheeler Building (formerly County Hall) as a community project in 2023. Background research was undertaken to piece together the stories behind these windows and the many people involved, who themselves contributed to the hospital, city and beyond in many different ways. Therefore, this article explores the history behind the windows and their time as popular features of this key medical institution, which provided care for Chester’s patients for over 230 years
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