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Organisational factors associated with healthcare workforce development, recruitment, and retention in the United Kingdom: a systematic review
Get PDFAims: To synthesise evidence regarding organisational practice environment factors affecting healthcare workforce development, recruitment, and retention in the UK. Methods/data sources: A systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and PsycINFO yielded ten relevant studies published between 2018 and 2023 and conducted in the UK (the last search was conducted in March 2023). Adhering to The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, two independent reviewers conducted screening, sifting, and data extraction, applying the quality assessment tool for risk of bias. Results: Results highlight key factors associated with staff intention to leave/turnover/retention: workplace challenges, aggression, moral distress, on-the-job embeddedness, leadership involvement, organisational support, and flexible shift patterns. Notably, aggression from colleagues, including clinical staff but not interdisciplinary personnel, has a more detrimental impact on staff intention to leave than aggression from patients. Conclusion: The complex and context-dependent impacts of these organisational factors on the UK healthcare workforce underscore the need for tailored interventions. The review acknowledges limitations, including bias from excluding qualitative studies, a small pool of included studies, and nurse overrepresentation
Examining the role of family, media, peers in young caucasian men’s understandings of body dissatisfaction: a thematic analysis using the Tripartite Influential Model and Social Comparison Theory
Get PDFThis study explores the factors contributing to body dissatisfaction among young Caucasian men. It focuses on family, peers, and media influences, addressing a gap in the literature that rarely integrates men’s experiences. The research draws on the Tripartite Influence Model and Social Comparison Theory, using thematic analysis to examine semi-structured interviews with eight participants aged 20–21. The research considers participants’ sexual orientation and country of origin when analysing the data. The findings show that family, peers, and the media positively and negatively shape body dissatisfaction among participants. Positive familial support can enhance body image, while negative comments from family members and peers exacerbate dissatisfaction. Social media was found to often reinforce unattainable body standards. The research contributes to the limited literature on men’s body dissatisfaction by expanding the application of the Tripartite Influence Model and Social Comparison Theory to this population. The study underscores the need for greater societal awareness and a more inclusive approach to body image research that considers diverse ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations. We argue that more attention needs to be paid to men’s body dissatisfaction, as men are often excluded from these discussions. This study provides valuable insights into the dynamics of male body image, offering a foundation for future research and societal discourse on this often-overlooked issue
‘More than just a physical condition’ - recognising the educational and emotional needs of children and young adults with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Get PDFAdvances in medical care have seen children and young people with rare and life shortening conditions, living longer. This is the case for those living with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, whose life expectancy has doubled over the last few decades from around 20 to 40 years. Improving care has tended to focus on the physical aspects of the condition, rather than on wider psycho-social needs, such as social, cultural, psychological, educational and emotional needs. Individuals with DMD are likely to have higher rates of neurodivergence and mental health diagnoses, and this, coupled with increased life expectancy, requires an urgent focus on how schools and colleges support the non-physical needs of pupils with DMD. We discuss existing research on DMD and education, before reporting findings from a small-scale mixed-methods study that explored parents views of their children’s experiences in education and that of two adults living with DMD. The findings revealed three main themes: lack of understanding of non-physical needs; lack of support and under-resourced systems; and strategies that work - a hopeful approach. We conclude that established educational and emotional aspects of DMD are often unacknowledged in schools and that ableism and societal assumptions about lifespan can affect education provision
Spatial scales matter in designing buffer zones for coastal protected areas along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway
Get PDFCoastal protected areas are increasingly threatened by urbanization, posing significant risks to wetland biodiversity. Consequently, the recognition of buffer zones as essential for reducing anthropogenic impacts on protected areas has grown. However, limited monitoring and research efforts have been directed towards areas beyond protected sites, despite their interconnectedness. In this study, we focused on waterbirds as ecologically important wetland species to provide evidence of the significance of monitoring and managing buffer zones. By integrating remotely sensed parameters and 3-year monthly waterbird surveys in and around the Mai Po Inner Deep Bay Ramsar Site of Hong Kong, a key stopover of the East Asian Australasian Flyway, we mapped waterbird occurrences for all and different waterbird guilds during winter and summer using random forest models. We found that suitable habitats were predominantly found within protected areas, yet ardeids, large wading birds, ducks and grebes also relied on buffer zones. Waterbird occurrences were influenced by the spatial extent of suitable habitats, with variations observed across different guilds and seasons. In the study area, maintaining at least 40 % open water within an 800-meter radius of key habitats better supports diverse waterbird guilds and should inform the design of waterbird-friendly landscape profiles for protected areas and their buffer zones. Our findings reinforce the significant contribution of protected coastal wetlands to waterbird conservation and highlight the growing importance of spatially relevant buffer zones in facilitating a gradual transition between protected and urbanized areas in supporting waterbird diversity amidst coastal developments
Chromosomal-level genome assembly of the long-spined sea urchin Diadema setosum Leske, 1778)
Get PDFThe long-spined sea urchin Diadema setosum is an algal and coral feeder widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific that can cause severe bioerosion on the reef community. However, the lack of genomic information has hindered the study of its ecology and evolution. Here, we report the chromosomal-level genome (885.8 Mb) of the long-spined sea urchin D. setosum using a combination of PacBio long-read sequencing and Omni-C scaffolding technology. The assembled genome contains a scaffold N50 length of 38.3 Mb, 98.1% of complete BUSCO (Geno, metazoa_odb10) genes (the single copy score is 97.8% and the duplication score is 0.3%), and
98.6% of the sequences are anchored to 22 pseudo-/chromosomes. A total of 27,478 gene models have were annotated, reaching a total of 28,414 transcripts, including 5,384 tRNA and 23,030 protein-coding genes. The high-quality genome of D. setosum presented here is a valuable
resource for the ecological and evolutionary studies of this coral reef-associated sea urchin
Chromosomal-level genome assembly of golden birdwing Troides aeacus (Felder & Felder, 1860)
Get PDFThe golden birdwing Troides aeacus (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae), a significant species in Asia, faces habitat loss due to urbanization and human activities, necessitating its protection. However, the lack of genomic resources hinders our understanding of their biology and diversity, and
impedes our conservation efforts based on genetic information or markers. Here, we present the first chromosomal-level genome assembly of T. aeacus using PacBio SMRT and Omni-C scaffolding technologies. The assembled genome (351 Mb) contains 98.94% of the sequences anchored to 30 pseudo-molecules. The genome assembly has high sequence continuity with contig length N50 = 11.67 Mb and L50 = 14, and scaffold length N50 = 12.2 Mb and L50 = 13. A total of 24,946 protein-coding genes were predicted, with high BUSCO score completeness (98.8% and 94.7%
of genome and proteome BUSCO, respectively. This genome offers a significant resource for understanding the swallowtail butterfly biology and carrying out its conservation
For Folk Sake
No full textFOR FOLK SAKE at The Cut is the debut curatorial endeavour by artists Rebecca Riess and Alexander Costello, with selected work by 34 artists, including established household names and national award winners alongside unrepresented artists, and artists working under the radar.
Jane Watt exhibits a new video installation: Trying to hold on to it which comprised an intimate video projection of the artists cupped hands trying and failing to hold sand. This was projected into a small bucket of sand.
FFS is an exhibition and curatorial concept deliberately pulling together work by artists from across the breadth and depth of Suffolk, from Lowestoft to Leiston, Saxmundham to Sudbury, Diss and everywhere in between, as a means to link up, unite and celebrate the dynamic and diverse artist practices that populate and lift the cultural landscape of the county, all under one roof
Gordon Cullen’s serial vision: a cinematic urban theory
No full textGordon Thomas Cullen was born in Bradford on 9 August 1914 and was educated in part as an artist, at the London School of Arts and Craft, and later as an architect, at the Regent Street Polytechnic. In 1933, Cullen joined the architectural office of Raymond McGrath and since then, he had a long and varied career, working in collaboration with several firms and local authorities as an illustrator, designer, and urban planner and consultant (Gosling 1996; Gosling et al. 1994).
Cullen gained international attention and recognition for his drawings and for his role as assistant editor of The Architectural Review (AR) in the 1950s and ‘60s, promoting the Townscape campaign together with Hubert de Cronin Hastings, Nikolaus Pevsner, and several other British scholars and architects (Aitchison 2012: 621–42).1 During his life, Cullen produced a tremendous number of sketches, drawings, notes, writings, diagrams, and photos (Montes Serrano, Alonso Rodríguez 2015).
All these materials are now held at the University of Westminster Gordon Cullen Archive and potentially demonstrate Cullen’s enormous effort in developing a complex urban theory, beyond his appointments as illustrator or consultant; as sustained in (Orillard 2012: 731), ‘More in-depth studies of Cullen’s archives […] need to be undertaken’
Genome assembly of the edible jelly fungus Dacryopinax spathularia (Dacrymycetaceae)
Get PDFThe edible jelly fungus Dacryopinax spathularia (Dacrymycetaceae) is wood-decaying and can be commonly found worldwide. It has found application in food additives, given its ability to synthesize long-chain glycolipids, among other uses. In this study, we present the genome
assembly of D. spathularia using a combination of PacBio HiFi reads and Omni-C data. The genome size is 29.2 Mb. It has high sequence contiguity and completeness, with a scaffold N50 of 1.925 Mb and a 92.0% BUSCO score. A total of 11,510 protein-coding genes and 474.7 kb repeats accounting for 1.62% of the genome) were predicted. The D. spathularia genome assembly generated in this study provides a valuable resource for understanding their ecology, such as their wood-decaying capability, their evolutionary relationships with other fungi, and their unique biology and applications in the food industry
Co-production within academic constraints: a case study evaluation
Get PDFCo-production in research offers the potential for multiple benefits, including amplifying the voices of the marginalised, reducing power inequalities between academic researchers and co-researchers outside of academia, increased likelihood of impact, and improvement in the research process. But alongside increased interest in co-production, there is increased awareness of its contextual constraints. Key amongst these are institutional orthodoxies in academia, including time-limited, project-based research and precarious employment for junior researchers. To examine how the potential benefits of co-production can be achieved within the constraints of current academic systems, a case study project was assessed against a documented set of expectations for the co-production of research with older adults. The case study was a research project conducted with seven almshouse communities in England on the topic of social resilience. The wider almshouse communities—staff, trustees, and residents—were involved in co-production. The assessment concluded that co-production led to rich data and deep understanding. Co-production aided the development of skills and experiences of the co-researchers, resulted in changes in practice, and challenged power differentials, albeit in limited ways, but could not ensure the sustainability of relationships or impact. Key elements for effective co-production included the approach to and governance of the project, the formation of a Residents Advisory Group, and planning for the limited commitment that individuals and organisations outside of academia may be able to contribute to research