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The good, the bad and the ugly – the experiences of social work practice educators in three organisations in England
Full text linkThis article explores the experiences of social work practice educators (PEs) in three organizations in England and focuses on the reasons PEs continue in their role alongside the challenges they encounter. This is important given broader persistent concerns about workforce recruitment and retention within the field of social work. The qualitative findings are categorized into three overarching themes: ‘the Good’, ‘the Bad’ and ‘the Ugly’. The research not only identified the positive reasons why PEs continue to stay in the role and the wider benefits but also highlighted the significant challenges PEs are facing. These include feeling undervalued, a lack of understanding and appreciation of their complex roles, and the considerable time demands of the role alongside the increasing pressures of the ‘day’ job. The article concludes that there is a significant risk that the ‘bad’ and the ‘ugly’ may outweigh the ‘good’, making the issue of retention of PEs even more problematic, which in turn may impact recruitment into social work. The paper suggests ways forward in light of the findings but, concerningly, highlights the fragility of the current system, which appears to rely on goodwil
‘The great River Thames washout’: the impact of seasonality on microplastic abundance
No full textIn the UK, microplastics are considered an emergent contaminant but not pollutants and, at this moment, are not monitored as part of water quality tests. As a result, microplastic abundance within many UK rivers is unknown. This also means that the many factors influencing microplastic abundances within individual rivers, such as seasonality and rainfall, are currently understudied. This study focused on the seasonal impacts, including the effect of rainfall, on microplastic abundance within the surface water of the River Thames. Ten sites in eight areas were sampled along the tidal section of the river, starting at Teddington and ending in Southend-on-Sea. Three litres of surface water were collected monthly at high tide from land-based infrastructure from May 2019 to May 2021. A total of 6657 pieces were identified and recorded throughout this study. However, there was no significant variation between seasons and microplastic abundance, with the mean microplastic abundance along the River Thames ranging from 10.29 ± 4.34 L−1 (spring) to 14.83 ± 7.49 L−1 (autumn). However, there was a substantial difference between MP abundance observed between consecutive seasons in 2019–2021. Fibres were the most abundant throughout, making up 77.1–85.96% of samples in all four seasons. A total of 1041 pieces of suspected microplastic were analysed via Fourier-transform infrared radiation (IR) spectroscopy, of which 176 pieces were not identified. Out of the 41 different polymers identified, the most common were polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (24.5%), polystyrene (PS) (9.8%) and polychloroprene (PCP) (7.69%). Polychloroprene was less observed in the spring months compared to other seasons. This study demonstrates a yearly variation in seasonal microplastic abundance with less MP observed in 2020, suggesting other factors, such as COVID-19, have a more substantial impact on microplastic abundance than environmental factors
Painting: terms and conditions
No full textStemming from a series of lectures and conference organized by the Centre for Research in Visual Culture, University of Nottingham, this essay considers the challenges faced by contemporary painting as it seeks to maintain relevance amidst a plurality of other art mediums
An evaluation of screening by Let’s Talk Reading: A case for further roll-out
No full textExecutive Summary
This report presents the findings of an independent evaluation of Let’s Talk Reading’s (LTR) Irlen Syndrome screening trial, conducted across four primary schools in Ipswich. The evaluation explores the effectiveness of early screening for visual stress and its potential to improve literacy outcomes for children in disadvantaged communities. It also draws on a comprehensive literature review to contextualise the trial within broader research on reading difficulties, early intervention, and educational equity.
Background and Rationale
LTR is a Suffolk-based charity committed to tackling low literacy rates through targeted, community-based interventions. With a focus on the most deprived areas of Ipswich, LTR delivers programmes across the life course from early years to adulthood. This report focuses on their school-age strand, particularly the implementation of Irlen Syndrome screening as a tool for identifying hidden barriers to reading.
Reading is a foundational skill that underpins academic success and lifelong opportunity. However, too many children face challenges in acquiring literacy due to neurodevelopmental conditions such as dyslexia, Irlen Syndrome, developmental language disorder (DLD), ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These conditions often go undiagnosed, particularly in schools serving disadvantaged populations, where access to specialist assessment is limited.
LTR’s screening trial aimed to address this gap by embedding Irlen screening within schools, training staff, and providing immediate support to children identified with visual stress.
Key Findings
From the Literature
• Dyslexia affects around 10% of the population and is characterised by persistent difficulties in phonological processing and decoding. Early identification is critical, yet many children remain undiagnosed due to inconsistent screening practices.
• Irlen Syndrome is a perceptual processing disorder that affects visual comfort and reading fluency. While the evidence base is mixed, many children report significant improvements with coloured overlays or tinted lenses.
• Other developmental conditions, including DLD, ADHD, ASD, and DCD, can also impact reading through deficits in attention, language, and executive function.
• Socioeconomic disadvantage is a major predictor of poor literacy outcomes. Children from low-income households are less likely to receive early intervention and more likely to attend under-resourced schools.
• Early screening and intervention are consistently shown to improve reading outcomes and reduce long-term educational and economic disparities.
From the Screening Trial
• High prevalence of Irlen Syndrome: Of the 88 children screened, 77 (87%) were identified as experiencing visual stress. This validates staff concerns and highlights the extent of undiagnosed need.
• Immediate support provided: All identified children received overlays, information for families, and access to further diagnostic services. Schools were given funding to purchase coloured paper and overlays.
• Equity in access to lenses: LTR fully funded tinted lenses for 15 children, partially funded 2 more, and supported families in accessing alternative funding.
• Capacity building: Seven school staff members were trained as screeners, and all schools received whole-staff awareness training, embedding sustainable capacity for future screening.
• Positive feedback: Schools and families reported improvements in reading engagement, comfort, and confidence. While qualitative, these outcomes suggest meaningful educational impact.
• Targeted support in high-need schools: The trial focused on schools with high levels of SEND, FSM, and EAL, demonstrating the model’s potential to promote educational equity.
Conclusions
The findings from both the literature and the trial converge on a clear conclusion: early, targeted screening for reading-related conditions is essential to improving literacy outcomes, particularly in disadvantaged communities. The trial has shown that Irlen screening can be implemented effectively and sustainably within schools, with modest investment and strong staff engagement.
However, the broader landscape of screening in the UK remains fragmented. There is no national strategy for the systematic identification of dyslexia, Irlen Syndrome, or related conditions. This contributes to significant disparities in access to support and undermines efforts to close the attainment gap.
LTR’s model offers a scalable, cost-effective blueprint for addressing this gap. By embedding screening within schools, training staff, and providing immediate support, LTR has demonstrated how early intervention can remove hidden barriers to learning and promote long-term educational success
Research Art Lab
No full textResearch Art Lab is inspired by the creative spirit of invention that took place on Orford Ness in the twentieth century. Throughout the 2025 season, eleven artists are using this building as a temporary studio laboratory to experiment and test new ways of working based on active research around Orford Ness.
The artists work in a range of media including drawing, sculpture, painting, installation, film, photography, text and performance. Their activities draw on archival sources and field research such as: early camouflage techniques and colour palettes from World War I that were tested on the Ness; contemporary botanical drawings and coded compositions from commonly flora found on the shingle and marshland; drawings and contact photographic prints made from recording trajectories of found materials.
The Research Art Lab programme activates the Power House into a live working creative space, making public the process of developing and testing work that often takes place behind closed doors. Here you can see the process of creative research and experimentation as it happens rather than as a finished outcome.
Each of the Research Art Laboratory artists draws on the legacy of the Ness, its Research Laboratories and as a site for experimentation and improvisation. Instead of experiments into defence and destructive forces, we hope that the artists will prompt new ways for us to look at, question and understand the heritage, shifting landscape and ecology around us.
Research Art Lab is part of the Power House project, a long-term creative art lab led by University of Suffolk researchers and artists Jane Watt and SE Barnet in collaboration with the National Trust Orford Ness
An evaluation of the services offered by Restitute: well-being, confident parenting & caring and physical health
Full text linkDifferences in pupil size during self-reported experiences of disgust, sadness, fear, anger, and happiness
Full text linkPrevious research has found pupil dilation associated with stimuli pre-assigned as positive and negative in their emotional valence; however, it is not yet clear how self-rated experiences of specific emotions may correlate with differences in pupil size. Using a novel methodology across two studies, 200 participants were presented with emotionally engaging images and sounds and then rated the extent to which they felt happy, sad, angry, fearful, and disgusted in response to these. Data were analyzed using linear mixed effects models to examine whether the participant’s own emotion ratings predict pupil size. In 2 studies using standardized images and sounds, and varied 30-s audio clips, in trials with higher self-reported disgust and sadness there was a consistent relationship with pupil dilation. Disgust was most often the strongest predictor of pupil dilation. This effect emerged ∼2 s after stimulus onset and remained present throughout stimulus presentation. Happiness had a weaker effect on pupil dilation and fear was associated with a late pupillary response. Anger was associated with pupil constriction, but only in Study 2. The present approach finds the most consistent relationship between pupil dilation and self-rated disgust and sadness, compared to other negative emotions. The findings thus suggest that measures of pupil size warrant further investigation as a potential indicative psychophysiological correlate of self-reported emotions, with implications for distinguishing negative emotions, such as disgust from anger
Antibiotic use among university students in malaria therapy and its implications for antimicrobial resistance in Nigeria: a quantitative cross-sectional study
Full text linkBackground: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health crisis, driven partly by inappropriate antibiotic use. In Nigeria, malaria remains highly prevalent and often mismanaged with antibiotics, particularly in presumed malaria-typhoid co-infections. This study examined patterns of antibiotic use in malaria treatment among university students, highlighting implications for AMR. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduates purposively selected from 12 universities across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. Data were collected via validated online questionnaires (February–March 2025) and analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, logistic regression, and Spearman correlation (SPSS v26). Results: Of 646 respondents, > 97% demonstrated general antibiotic knowledge, yet 27.6% misidentified chloroquine as an antibiotic. While 94.6% correctly recognised antibiotics for bacterial infections, about one-fifth believed they were effective against fungal, parasitic, or viral diseases. Despite 84.7% AMR awareness, 49.1% reported using antibiotics for malaria treatment. Misuse was highest in the Northeast (62.3%), Northwest (63.7%), and South-South (32.9%). In the Northeast, key drivers included prior experience (35.4%), pharmacist advice (29.9%), and peer influence (28.0%), while only 6.7% followed physician prescriptions. Misuse correlated with the belief that antibiotics treat all illnesses (rs = 0.329, p < 0.001). Nearly half (49.5%) accessed antibiotics without prescriptions. Conclusions: High AMR awareness contrasts with persistent misuse of antibiotics for malaria, reflecting misconceptions, regional disparities, and weak regulation. Targeted education, stricter antibiotic controls, and improved diagnostics are urgently needed to curb AMR in Nigeria
I was never there: the pan optics of surveillance
No full textThis paper is an exploration of surveillance through the paradigm of my artistic research and practice. Referencing and adopting facets of Debord’s definition of the spectacle I study imagery made with CCTV cameras. These observations, made from afar, watch the seemingly inconsequential, the everyday and moments of transient beauty. The resulting body of images forms an artistic dialogue between myself, CCTV cameras and my digital wanderlust. Although made as aesthetic artefacts the trajectory of this work challenges critical geography and surveillance capitalism, offering new values and interpretations through a form of optical poetry
Nursing and midwifery education
No full textThis chapter explores how nursing and midwifery education remain gendered professions, with women dominating the workforce yet facing barriers to leadership and academic recognition. Despite professionalisation, societal expectations continue to position these roles as ‘women’s work,’ reinforcing patriarchal hierarchies that limit career progression.
Historical analysis highlights how nursing and midwifery evolved from informal caregiving roles to regulated professions while remaining subordinate to male-dominated medical fields. The transition to degree-level education has sparked debates over whether academic training undermines traditional caring responsibilities. The chapter examines how structural inequalities, including the sticky floor and glass ceiling, prevent women from advancing into senior roles in both healthcare and academia.
The chapter calls for structural and cultural change to address these inequalities. A feminist re-examination of nursing and midwifery education is needed to ensure women are not just central to healthcare but also hold decision-making power.
Using Acker’s Theory of Gendered Organisation, the chapter examines the transition from clinical practice to academia, where nursing and midwifery lecturers reform their professional identity, whilst providing much of the same emotional labour with students as they may have done with patients and women in clinical roles. It questions whether nursing and midwifery education are distinct from other academic fields due to the regulatory and pastoral demands arising from practice exposure. By addressing these tensions, the chapter calls for systemic changes, improved student and educator support and better resource allocation to bridge the divide between academia and clinical practice.
This chapter situates the importance of this book within a broader political and economic context, addressing the impact of neoliberal marketisation on higher education and healthcare, the casualisation of the (largely female) workforce, and the growing rollback of women’s rights globally. We explore the intersections of gender, race, and class in shaping professional experiences before acknowledging our own positionalities and the challenges of curating diverse perspectives while striving for authenticity and cohesion