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Performance improvement of time-sensitive fronthaul networks in 5G cloud-RANs using reinforcement learning-based scheduling scheme
Get PDFThe rapid surge in internet-driven smart devices and bandwidth-hungry multimedia applications demands high-capacity internet services and low latencies during connectivity. Cloud radio access networks (CRANs) are considered the prominent solution to meet the stringent requirements of fifth generation (5G) and beyond networks by deploying the fronthaul transport links between baseband units (BBUs) and remote radio units (RRHS). High-capacity optical links could be conventional mainstream technology for deploying the fronthaul in CRANs. But densification of optical links significantly increases the cost and imposes several design challenges on fronthaul architecture which makes them impractical. Contrary, Ethernet-based fronthaul links can be lucrative solutions for connecting the BBUs and RRHs but are inadequate to meet the rigorous end-to-end delays, jitter, and bandwidth requirements of fronthaul networks. This is because of the inefficient resource allocation and congestion control schemes for the capacity constraint Ethernet-based fronthaul links. In this research, a novel reinforcement learning-based optimal resource allocation scheme has been proposed which eradicates the congestion and improves the latencies to make the capacity-constraints low-cost Ethernet a suitable solution for the fronthaul networks. The experiment results verified a notable 50% improvement in reducing delay and jitter as compared to the existing schemes. Furthermore, the proposed scheme demonstrated a significant enhancement of up to 70% in addressing conflicting time slots and minimizing packet loss ratios. Hence, the proposed scheme outperforms the existing state-of-the-art resource allocation techniques to satisfy the stringent performance demands of fronthaul networks
Intermediaries in local schooling landscapes: policy enactment and partnership building during times of crisis
Get PDFDespite the expansion of New Public Management reforms across the globe and complimentary trends of disintermediation, perfor-mance and privatisation, local government authorities in England continue to shape local schooling landscapes. In this paper, we document the role of a local government authority in England in an initiative called ‘Building On’, directed at supporting teachers in the first year of compulsory school to develop and transform their pedagogical practices in response to and following the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on evidence generated from interviews, observations and documentary analysis, we demonstrate that local government personnel performed two important and potentially decisive roles within this initiative: first, as interpreters and translators of policy; and second, as brokers of partnerships and collaborative exchanges. We then illustrate, using the analytic of policy enactment, the contextual dimensions underpinning the role per-formed by local government personnel within the initiativ
When social workers are given dual mandates: child maintenance and the complexities of family situations in the Ghanaian Child Protection System
Get PDFCustodial parents, often single mothers, face challenges regarding child maintenance, including a lack of financial commitments from non-custodial parents for their children’s welfare. The evidence suggests that there is a strong link between child maintenance and poverty as well as other family violence issues. In addition to their primary child and family protection duties, child protection practitioners in Ghana have a mandate to assess child maintenance concerns. This dual responsibility may have the advantage of promoting holistic child and family practices, but it could also negatively impact families when practitioners overly focus on one responsibility at the expense of the other. We sought to understand and show whether families who reported child maintenance concerns to the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development in Ghana experienced challenges beyond child maintenance and whether practitioners identified these primary protection concerns in their assessments. Findings from qualitative in-depth interviews with seventeen parents show that these families experienced domestic violence, marital conflict and child abuse and neglect beyond the scope of a standard child maintenance case. The findings highlight the importance of child protection workers conducting comprehensive family assessments to resolve ‘hidden’ family difficulties when establishing child maintenance arrangements
A peer-led diversionary intervention for veterans in police custody: exploring reasons for non-engagement
No full textUK veterans with complex needs arrested in police custody can access support through pre-charge diversion into treatment and ancillary services. We consider why veterans in police custody disengaged from a peer-led criminal justice diversionary support service in one UK region that adopted a continuous case management approach. Seven hundred and fifty-seven veterans were assessed to have high levels of comorbid health needs and socio-economic harms, with one-quarter (26.7%, n = 202) subsequently disengaging from the service. A logistic regression model using Multivariate Imputation by Chained Equations identified that veterans of a younger age, no-fixed-abode, a history of incarceration, and those from a Royal Navy background were likelier to disengage from the intervention. We conclude that this peer-based diversionary model has some efficacy in maintaining the engagement of a highly complex, comorbid segment of criminally-justice-exposed UK military veterans. The perceived benefits of an integrated peer-based model predicated on continuous case-management techniques are discussed
‘We are not concerned about good grades’: elite Nigerian parents’ consumption of high-quality education as a form distinction
Get PDFBased on a qualitative study of the motivating factors behind the consumption of international schooling by elite Nigerian parents, this article explores what a group of elite parents perceived as the indicators of high-quality education. The findings suggest that these parents did not consider ‘good grades’ as an indicator of high-quality education. Instead, the nationality and race of teachers, and whether a school uses British or Nigerian pedagogy, were perceived as the distinguishing features of high-quality education. Framed within the sociology of education and the sociology of consumption, this paper suggests that these parents’ constructions and consumption of international schooling are distinction strategies that enable them to reinforce inter- and intra-class boundaries. The analysis also reveals a paradox, whereby in attempting to affirm their status as the authentic elites, the parents are complicit in perpetuating the hegemonic discourse of ‘British is best’, even in post-colonial Nigeria
Assessing child maintenance cases in Ghana: what do social workers consider?
Get PDFWhile one of the key responsibilities of social services in Ghana is to conduct maintenance arrangements so that the nonresident parent is committed to making financial contributions to the well-being of the child, little is known about what informs social workers’ assessments in child maintenance cases. The aim of this study was to determine what social workers consider when undertaking child maintenance assessments. A qualitative practice research study was conducted with 13 social workers and 12 parents involved in a child maintenance case with three agencies of the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development in Ghana. The study showed that corroborating the existence of nonpayment for maintenance in the family is the first step in assessing other factors, such as the parent’s income, occupational status and maintenance amount. Even after the maintenance amount was decided upon, social workers were often unable to follow-up on nonresident parents to ensure that they complied with the maintenance arrangements. Given that no assessment instrument exists in Ghana for addressing child maintenance cases, the study’s findings can provide useful information that can aid in the development of an instrument or framework to assist social workers in their assessments
Advancing critical data and AI literacies through authentic and real-world assessment design using a data justice approach
Get PDFThe development of critical data and artificial intelligence (AI) literacy has become a key focus in current discussions in Higher Education, thus it is necessary to develop and advance capacity building, reflectiveness and awareness across disciplines to critically address the possibilities and challenges presented by data and AI. In this paper, through an integrative use of the literature and the review of case studies and best practices in authentic and real world design, we propose a model that develops and enables critical data and AI literacies grounded in citizenship, civic responsibilities, and human centred values, rethinking how we develop knowledge and understanding in our disciplines, and also, in the value of our disciplines to society. The principles of data justice, which acknowledges the growing influence of data, its gathering, and use in society, promoting shared perspectives on how societal problems should be comprehended and addressed.These can provide a useful framework for authentic and real-world assessment design, bridging professional and discipline related knowledge with critical data and AI understanding in alignment with civic and citizenship literacies to examine the challenges we face by the impact of data AI on our societies and democracies. Our exploratory approach examines the relationship between authentic and real-world assessment design and critical data and AI literacy, using data justice as a catalyst for reflection and action to promote a deeper understanding of data and AI ethics through assessment practices that enable educators and students to confidently navigate the complex world of data and AI
Paediatric oncology physiotherapy in Africa: International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) Global Mapping Programme
Get PDFAbstractChildhood cancer treatment in Africa has a dramatically increasing patient population resulting in greater rehabilitation needs. The International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) mapped childhood cancer services in Africa including access to physiotherapy. Irrespective of income classification, just over two‐thirds of countries in Africa reported having access to physiotherapy services in paediatric oncology sites. There is a lack of knowledge about African childhood physiotherapy services. Research is needed to understand the rehabilitation needs of these children/adolescents and how to meet their needs in a globally equitable and sustainable way
Fundamentals of Radiographic Positioning and Anatomy
No full textFundamentals of Radiographic Positioning and Anatomy offers student radiographers a user-friendly guide to all the most common X-ray examinations and the correct patient positioning for each projection. The result is an indispensable handbook that promises more practical value and usability than any current textbook on the market.
Fundamentals of Radiographic Positioning and Anatomy readers will also find:
Line-drawings and radiographic images throughout to illustrate patient positioning and resultant images
Coverage of anatomical regions including thoracic cavity, shoulder girdle, spine, and more
Simple, logical organisation to maximise utility
Fundamentals of Radiographic Positioning and Anatomy is ideal for students and educators in diagnostic radiography, as well as recently qualified radiographers looking for a handbook-sized reference