8383 research outputs found
Sort by
Development of a reliable and valid kata performance analysis template
Get PDFAbstract
With the new kata evaluation procedure, examination of the underpinning features of successful kata
performance appears warranted.The purpose of the study was to create a valid and reliable analysis template for the assessment of the movement characteristics of competitive kata. Following the creation, and scrutiny, of action variables and operational definitions, three observers were provided with the operational definitions of the performance indicators, example kata clips and instructions detailing the method of ‘tagging’ using a
computerized analysis software. Intra- and inter-rater reliability assessment and median sign tests, and Cohen’s Kappa coefficient were conducted. There were no significant differences (p ˃ 0.05) between the observer’s and analyst’s test-retest observations for all the performance indicators. The intra-rater reliability was found to be “almost perfect” in all raters (LA K = 0.99 [95% CI: 0.98-0.99]; PA K = 0.94 [95% CI: 0.93-0.95]; KR K = 0.94 [95% CI: 0.93-0.95]) and the inter-rater Kappa coefficients were moderate (K = 0.55 ± 0.05). This study has demonstrated that a novel performance analysis template yields reliable observations of the key movements during kata and the procedures could therefore be used to objectively appraise features of successful performance
The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, Media Engagement and Public Benefit
No full textThis article examines the recent engagement with media by the closed Christian sect,
the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (pbcc). Historically the pbcc have been reluctant to engage with mainstream media, preferring instead to keep their own council. However, the rejection by the Charity Commission for England and Wales of an
application by a pbcc trust for charitable status proved to be a catalyst for significant
and sustained media engagement. The concept of mediatization is utilised as a metaprocess to frame the way the pbcc engaged with media in order to demonstrate how
they provide ‘public benefit’ to the wider community, which was crucial to the successful gaining of charitable status
Trends in Scientific Publishing on Sustainability in Higher Education
Get PDFIt is widely acknowledged that research and publications in peer reviewed journals offer important metrics in describing the academic outputs of higher education institutions on one hand, and their societal impacts on the other. Peer review is a well-tested method for quality control and has been successfully deployed over many decades in academic journals worldwide. But despite the fact that publications on matters related to sustainable development offer solid evidence of academic activity and excellence, there is a dearth of literature in this field. In order to address this need, the European School of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR) and the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP) have undertaken the World Survey on Sustainability Publishing and Research in Higher Education (WSSSP-HEI). The paper has two main aims. The first is to document and showcase trends in scientific publishing on matters related to sustainable development. The second aim is to contribute to a greater understanding of this rapidly growing field, by describing the latest developments and the role played by some of the journals active in this area. Consistent with these aims, this paper focuses on publications on sustainability in higher education, describes the methods used in the study and some of its results. It can be seen that despite the intrinsic value of research on sustainable development in higher education as a whole, and of publications in this field in particular, such practices are not as widely developed as one could expect. This paper discusses the possible reasons and also outlines some measures via which higher education institutions may be able to take more advantage of the many opportunities that publishing on sustainability offers to them
An experimental and computational investigation of pressurised anaerobic digestion
Get PDFThe aim of this work is to gain a greater understanding of the effect of headspace pressure on biogas production from anaerobic digestion. This is important to improve the energy content of the biogas i.e., increase the methane content and therefore reduce the need for upgrading to scrub out carbon dioxide. In addition, headspace pressure can potentially be used to provide energy for mixing and gas sparging, thereby removing the need for mechanical agitation.
In this work, an existing computational model was adapted to investigate its prediction of the variation of biogas production as headspace pressure is increased above atmospheric. The simulation results were accompanied with experimental work using periodic venting of sealed laboratory bottles. The headspace pressure was inferred from the weight loss during venting to
atmosphere.
In addition, a fully instrumented, pressurised digestor system was designed and constructed in which headspace pressure could be measured directly. Experiments were conducted with headspace pressures of up to 3.4 barg. The biogas that accumulated in the headspace during the digestion process was sampled periodically to determine its composition. The results showed that
biogas produced at higher pressures has a higher methane content. A mass balance for the headspace sampling process, which assumed no gas was released from the liquid during sampling, was compared to experimental measurements. This led to the discovery that the effective Henry’s constant for the solubility of carbon dioxide could be an order of magnitude lower in digestate than the known value for pure water.
Both the adapted model and the laboratory-scale experiments showed that as the headspace pressure increases, the production rate of biogas decreases. The adapted model also gives slightly higher methane content for higher pressure.
The model was then used to estimate the specific growth rates of bacteria used in the laboratory-scale experiments and the agreement was not good, which indicates further changes to the model are needed.
The results show that the rate of biogas production reduces as the headspace pressure increases but the rate of decrease is not very steep. This same trend was also displayed for yeast fermentation, which was also studied as another
model process for pressurised biological gas production. The variation of the rate of 2 evolution with pressure was also used to infer the concentration of dissolved 2 within the fermenting yeast cells. Finally, turning attention back to anaerobic digestion processes for energy, it is encouraging that at the relatively modest elevation of pressure required for sparging to give mixing (less than 0.5 barg), the reduction in biogas evolution is small. This small penalty might therefore be offset in a production scale system by the reduced costs of mixing and increased methane content of the biogas
How to persuade and influence people: The art of effective geographical debate
Get PDFThis document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a published work that appeared in final form in Journal of Geography in Higher Education. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2021.1904215This article supports students to prepare to participate in a debate. We consider thorough preparation as the foundation for effective debate. Here we provide guidance on one approach to preparing as effectively as possible. We outline this before considering three key elements to this method of preparation: 1) substance: your knowledge and understanding of the debate topic; 2) style: how to present your points clearly and succinctly; and 3) persuasion: how through both substance and style you effectively persuade people of your argument. We conclude by summarising the key points raised in this guide and identifying how they apply to other assignment contexts. The discussion that follows uses the debate topic ‘Should an additional charge be applied to all single-use plastics?’ to demonstrate the approaches we suggest
Social Work Students sharing practice learning experiences: Critical reflection as process and method.
Get PDFThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Practice on 14/04/2021, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/09503153.2021.1902973This paper offers a commentary regarding the centrality of critical reflection in social work before discussing a research project drawing on a sample of ten social work students as they approached the end of their social work training in one English university. The original intention of the research was to focus solely on students’ perceptions of critical reflection, but when
using a more reflexive approach, we identified that participants utilised the focus groups as an opportunity to discuss their practice learning experiences per se before considering and discussing critical reflection. Most students were placed in child protection social work teams and discussed how they felt unprepared for such a fast-paced and stressful environment.
Participants felt that the expectations some practitioners had of students were unrealistic, and not always commensurate with the Professional Capabilities Framework. Students highlighted the use of practice scenarios in developing their knowledge and skills particularly when considering their application of critical reflection. This study highlights the significance of adequate preparation for practice and argues for a more focused agenda for future research exploring the culture of learning, including those factors that inhibit students sharing their concerns as well as the training needs of educator
Development and usability testing of a web-based psychosocial intervention for women living with metastatic breast cancer: Finding My Way-Advanced
Get PDFThe final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11764-021-01019-5Purpose: Women living with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) face significant distress and unmet needs, yet few resources have been developed for this population. The current study aimed to develop and evaluate the usability of Finding My Way-Advanced (FMW-A), a web-based self-guided psychosocial program for women with MBC.
Methods: FMW-A was co-designed through (a) adapting an efficacious online program for people with curatively treated cancer, and (b) receiving iterative rounds of input and feedback from a multidisciplinary co-design team including consumers, clinicians and academics. A think-aloud protocol was then implemented to test the usability of the resulting 6-module prototype, with women living with MBC accessing up to three modules with an interviewer sitting along-side. Participants were recruited until saturation of themes occurred. Data were analysed thematically.
Results: Participants (n=8) were, on average, 65.3 years old, mostly partnered (n=5), retired (n=6), post-secondary school educated (n=6), with non-dependent children (n=7). Feedback fell into 6 themes. Positive feedback about FMW-A summarised the supportive and informative nature of the programme, supplemented by comments about broadly relatable content. However, one size clearly did not fit all: within themes, diverging experiences emerged regarding navigability, worksheets and layout. Participants noted that having/making time for the intervention would be important to program engagement.
Conclusions: Usability testing indicated participants found content helpful and relatable, and identified significant pragmatic improvements to be made prior to further testing.
Implications for cancer survivors: The development of FMW-A represents an important step in providing acceptable resources to support women living with MBC
G-Codes, self-dual G-Codes and reversible G-Codes over the Ring Bj,k
Get PDFIn this work, we study a new family of rings, Bj,k, whose base field is the finite field Fpr . We study the structure of this family of rings and show that each member of the family is a commutative Frobenius ring. We define a Gray map for the new family of rings, study G-codes, self-dual G-codes, and reversible G-codes over this family. In particular, we show that the projection of a G-code over Bj,k to a code over Bl,m is also a G-code and the image under the Gray map of a self-dual G-code is also a self-dual G-code when the characteristic of the base field is 2. Moreover, we show that the image of a reversible G-code under the Gray map is also a reversible G2j+k-code. The Gray images of these codes are shown to have a rich automorphism group which arises from the algebraic structure of the rings and the groups. Finally, we show that quasi-G codes, which are the images of G-codes under the Gray map, are also Gs-codes for some s.AAM archived and VoR uploaded to CR 24/05/202
Transformation hidden in the sand; a pluralistic theoretical framework using sand-tray with adult clients
Get PDFThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Creativity in Mental Health on 14/06/2021, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2021.1936738Jungian sandplay predominates the existing literature on sand-tray therapy. Although there is a small volume of literature on alternative approaches of using sand-tray with adults, most primarily focuses on children and adolescents. The study aimed to establish a sand-tray therapy framework to be utilized by practitioners who are not Jungian trained and intend to use this intervention with adult clients. The grounded theory (Strauss and Corbin, 1990, 1998) multiple case study involved six client-participants receiving six sand-tray therapy sessions. The pluralistic model established incorporates inter-relational and intra-psychic dimensions. Concepts include phenomenological shift and two sand-tray specific mechanisms of phenomenological anchor and phenomenological hook, aiding ‘edge of awareness’ and unconscious processing. In this study, pluralistic sand-tray therapy was deemed successful based on improved CORE-10 clinical scores and the various participant feedback collected
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage ChesterRep? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!