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Analysis of team success based on technical match-play performance in the Australian Football League Women’s (AFLW) competition
Get PDFAn understanding of the effect contextual data may have on key match-play technical performance indicators in the Australian Football League Women’s (AFLW) competition is warranted due to its rapid evolution. To address this, predictive models were fit to determine which technical match-play data, including new contextual information, more accurately predict AFLW match outcomes (win/loss, margin), and what are the most important contexts and technical predictors of team performance? Thirteen random forest models were fit, each with greater data contextual interaction including relative to opposition and harder-to-attain match-play variables, field location, and individual player contributions. Models were assessed by prediction performance on match outcome in a holdout sample and variable importance through Mean Decrease in Gini Index. Effective kicks and entries into attacking locations were important in models. Territory gained, contexts of relative performance to the opposition, and locational information around actions improved prediction. This methodology represents the most in-depth analysis of women’s Australian football technical match-play performance to date. Commentary presented surrounded issues of using aggregated datasets, prediction with match-play success as a dependent variable, and that detailed, process-oriented approaches are needed in future to avoid large assumptions
Creating Data Art: Authentic Learning and Visualisation Exhibition
Get PDFWe present an authentic learning task designed for computing students, centred on the creation of data-art visualisations from chosen datasets for a public exhibition. This exhibition was showcased in the cinema foyer for two weeks in June, providing a real-world platform for students to display their work. Over the course of two years, we implemented this active learning task with two different cohorts of students. In this paper, we share our experiences and insights from these activities, highlighting the impact on student engagement and learning outcomes. We also provide a detailed description of the seven individual tasks that learners must perform: topic and data selection and analysis, research and art inspiration, design conceptualisation, proposed solution, visualisation creation, exhibition curation, and reflection. By integrating these tasks, students not only develop technical skills but also gain practical experience in presenting their work to a public audience, bridging the gap between academic learning and professional practice
Exploring student support, class solidarity and transformative pedagogy: insights from Working Class Academics
Get PDFThis article aims to deepen understanding of the assets within working-class academics (WCA). It is organised into three themes: 1) Class Solidarity, 2) Supporting Students, and 3) A WCA Pedagogy. Within Class Solidarity, the study reveals class unity demonstrated through shared experiences and joint efforts in creating spaces for working-class voices. Supporting Students discusses how WCAs provide unique support, addressing the challenges faced by nontraditional students and aiding in the construction of professional identities. The findings also suggest the possibility of a distinctive WCA pedagogy. This potential approach to teaching includes elements such as incorporating lived experiences, adopting a strengths-based perspective, encouraging the co-creation of knowledge, and integrating social justice principles. These components, if indeed characteristic of WCA teaching methods, could represent a transformative pedagogical framework. However, further comparative research is needed to confirm the extent to which these elements are unique to or more prevalent among WCAs
How not to describe a species: lessons from a tangle of anacondas (Boidae: Eunectes Wagler, 1830)
Get PDFA recent revision of the anacondas (Serpentes: Boidae: Eunectes), with the description of a new species of green anaconda, generated extensive publicity, but also provoked considerable controversy due to inadequacies of the evidence used and errors in nomenclature. We here use the case of this problematic publication to: (i) highlight common issues affecting species delimitations, especially an over-reliance on mitochondrial DNA data, and reiterate best practices; (ii) reanalyse the data available for anacondas to establish the true current state of knowledge and to highlight lines of further research; and (iii) analyse the nomenclatural history and status of the genus. While our analysis reveals significant morphological variation in both green and yellow anacondas, denser sampling and an analysis of informative nuclear markers are required for meaningful species delimitation in Eunectes. Tracing the history of name-bearing types establishes Trinidad as the type locality for Boa murina Linnaeus, 1758 and allows identification of the extant lectotype for the species. Finally, we emphasize the responsibility of both journals and authors to ensure that published taxonomic work meets the burden of evidence required to substantiate new species descriptions and that species are named in compliance with the rules of zoological nomenclature
On the origin of chevron marks and striated grooves, and their use in predicting mud bed rheology
Get PDFUnderstanding of the formative conditions of many sole structures is limited, with chevron marks and striated groove marks being particularly enigmatic. These sedimentary structures are examined here through laboratory modelling. An idealized tool, resembling an armoured mud clast, was dragged through substrates of kaolinite–seawater mixtures of different yield strengths while submerged in seawater. The experiments suggest that armoured mud clasts are the likely tools producing fine striae in striated grooves and, given the common occurrence of striated groove marks in outcrops, that these clasts are more prevalent in deep‐marine settings than previously thought. Chevron marks were observed to form over a narrow range of substrate yield stresses, likely explaining their relative rarity. Furthermore, their form is shown to be a function of substrate rheology, with chevron angle relative to the movement direction of the tool being less in weaker substrates. Moreover, the size of cut chevron marks, characterized by a narrow central cut, bears no relationship to the size of the incising tool, but rather reflects a substrate with a low yield stress that is sufficiently mobile to close behind the tool. In contrast, interrupted chevron marks, characterized by a distinct central groove, reflect greater substrate strength. Striated grooves without chevrons formed at the highest yield stresses simulated in the experiments. The relationship between tool mark type and yield stress, in combination with changes in chevron angle, enables these sole structures to be utilized as indicators of palaeosubstrate rheology. The conditions required to preserve such features include a prolonged period of bed consolidation, flow bypass and lack of bioturbation. Given changes in seafloor communities and bioturbation over time and their impact on substrate rheology, particularly during the early Palaeozoic, the present work supports the idea that the frequency of these sole structures likely changed over geological time
Metabolomic profiles of stony coral species from the Dry Tortugas National Park display inter- and intraspecies variation
Get PDFCoral reefs are experiencing unprecedented loss in coral cover due to increased incidence of disease and bleaching events. Thus, understanding mechanisms of disease susceptibility and resilience, which vary by species, is important. In this regard, untargeted metabolomics serves as an important hypothesis-building tool enabling the delineation of molecular factors underlying disease susceptibility or resilience. In this study, we characterize metabolomes of four species of visually healthy stony corals, including Meandrina meandrites, Orbicella faveolata, Colpophyllia natans, and Montastraea cavernosa, collected at least a year before stony coral tissue loss disease reached the Dry Tortugas, Florida, and demonstrate that both symbiont and host-derived biochemical pathways vary by species. Metabolomes of Meandrina meandrites displayed minimal intraspecies variability and the highest biological activity against coral pathogens when compared to other species in this study. The application of advanced metabolite annotation methods enabled the delineation of several pathways underlying interspecies variability. Specifically, endosymbiont-derived vitamin E family compounds, betaine lipids, and host-derived acylcarnitines were among the top predictors of interspecies variability. Since several metabolite features that contributed to inter- and intraspecies variation are synthesized by the endosymbiotic Symbiodiniaceae, which could be a major source of these compounds in corals, our data will guide further investigations into these Symbiodiniaceae-derived pathways. IMPORTANCE: Previous research profiling gene expression, proteins, and metabolites produced during thermal stress have reported the importance of endosymbiont-derived pathways in coral bleaching resistance. However, our understanding of interspecies variation in these pathways among healthy corals and their role in diseases is limited. We surveyed the metabolomes of four species of healthy corals with differing susceptibilities to the devastating stony coral tissue loss disease and applied advanced annotation approaches in untargeted metabolomics to determine the interspecies variation in host and endosymbiont-derived pathways. Using this approach, we propose the survey of immune markers such as vitamin E family compounds, acylcarnitines, and other metabolites to infer their role in resilience to coral diseases. As time-resolved multi-omics datasets are generated for disease-impacted corals, our approach and findings will be valuable in providing insight into the mechanisms of disease resistance.</p
What is the most effective method of delivering Making Every Contact Count training? A rapid review
Get PDFThe Making Every Contact Count MECC programme encourages staff to have opportunistic brief behaviour change conversations with service users. It uses the day-to-day interactions that healthcare professionals, or those within other organisations, including the not-for-profit sector have with people, to support them in making positive changes to their physical and mental health, and wellbeing. The aim of this review is to assess which elements or types of MECC training, or comparable interventions, are most effective and preferred by those who would implement MECC in practice. The review included evidence available up until June 2024. 11 studies were included. These all focused on healthcare organisations and included health care or public health professionals, with two also including trainees who worked in a local authority. There was consistent evidence that training increased both trainee confidence and use of MECCrelated techniques immediately following training. There was some evidence that despite a slight reduction, these improvements were at least maintained up to one year later. There was no evidence on the longer-term effect, other than an indication that refresher training would be appreciated. There was also no evidence assessing whether improvements in trainee confidence and competence had any impact on service user behaviour change and outcomes. There was an indication that face-to-face training was preferred to online training. Barriers to MECC training attendance included a feeling that there was not enough time, and a lack of managerial support. Barriers to MECC utilisation included a feeling that there was not enough time, a lack of organisational and managerial support, a fear of upsetting patients, and a lack of awareness of downstream support services to refer service users to following healthy behaviour conversations. The evidence indicated that barriers to MECC training and utilisation could be overcome via provision of information about downstream support services, and improved organisational and managerial support for both attendance at MECC training and its use in practice. Further research is needed. This should include research into the impact from MECC on patient behaviour and eventual outcomes, and how these change following training
Visualisation Design Ideation with AI: A New Framework, Vocabulary and Tool
Get PDFThis paper introduces an innovative framework for visualisation design ideation, which includes a collection of terms for creative visualisation design, the five-step process, and an implementation called VisAlchemy. Throughout the visualisation ideation process, individuals engage in exploring various concepts, brainstorming, sketching ideas, prototyping, and experimenting with different methods to visually represent data or information. Sometimes, designers feel incapable of sketching, and the ideation process can be quite lengthy. In such cases, generative AI can provide assistance. However, even with AI, it can be difficult to know which vocabulary to use and how to strategically approach the design process. Our strategy prompts imaginative and structured narratives for generative AI use, facilitating the generation and refinement of visualisation design ideas. We aim to inspire fresh and innovative ideas, encouraging creativity and exploring unconventional concepts. VisAlchemy is a five-step framework: a methodical approach to defining, exploring, and refining prompts to enhance the generative AI process. The framework blends design elements and aesthetics with context and application. In addition, we present a vocabulary set of 300 words, underpinned from a corpus of visualisation design and art papers, along with a demonstration tool called VisAlchemy. The interactive interface of the VisAlchemy tool allows users to adhere to the framework and generate innovative visualisation design concepts. It is built using the SDXL Turbo language model. Finally, we demonstrate its use through case studies and examples and show the transformative power of the framework to create inspired and exciting design ideas through refinement, re-ordering, weighting of words and word rephrasing
Needs for Care, Service Use and Quality of Life in Dementia: 12-Month Follow-Up of the Actifcare Study in Portugal
Get PDFntroduction: The intermediate stages of dementia are relatively under-researched, including in Portugal. The Actifcare (ACcess to TImely Formal Care) EU-JPND project studied people with mild-moderate dementia, namely their needs, access to and use of community services (e.g., day centers, home support). In our baseline assessment of the Portuguese Actifcare cohort, the unmet needs of some participants would call for formal support, which was not always accessible or used. We now report the main results of the 12-month follow-up, analyzing changes in needs, service (non)use, quality of life and related variables.Methods: This was a longitudinal, observational study using a convenience sample of 54 dyads of people with dementia and their family carers. Our main outcomes were the Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly (CANE) and the Resources Utilization in Dementia. Clinical-functional, quality of life, psychological distress and caregiving-related assessments were also used.Results: At follow-up, the cognitive and functional status of people with dementia declined (p < 0.001), and their neuropsychiatric symptoms increased (p = 0.033). Considering CANE interviewers’ ratings, the total needs of people with dementia increased at follow-up (p < 0.001) but not the unmet needs. Quality of life was overall stable. The use of formal care did not increase significantly, but informal care did in some domains. Carers’ depressive symptoms increased (p = 0.030) and perseverance time decreased (p = 0.045). However, carers’ psychological distress unmet needs were lower (p = 0.007), and their stress and quality of life remained stable.Conclusion: People with dementia displayed complex biopsychosocial unmet needs. Their cognitive-functional decline over one year was not accompanied by a corresponding increase in any pattern of unmet need, nor of service use. Reliance on informal care (namely supervision) may have contributed to this. Caregiving-related outcomes evolved according to different trends, although stability was almost the rule. Primary carers were even more present at follow-up, without an apparently heavier toll on their own needs, burden, and quality of life. Overall, this longitudinal study comprehensively assessed Portuguese community-dwelling people with dementia. Despite the lack of generalizability, participants’ needs remained overall stable and partly unmet over one year. Longer follow-up periods are needed to understand such complex processes
Heat recovery and water reuse in micro-distilleries improves eco-efficiency of alcohol production
Get PDFThe number of micro-scale spirit distilleries worldwide has grown considerably over the past decade. With an onus on the distillery sector to reduce its environmental impact, such as carbon emissions, opportunities for increasing energy efficiency need to be implemented. This study explores the potential environmental benefits and financial gains achievable through heat recovery from different process and by-product streams, exemplified for a Scotch whisky distillery, but transferrable to micro-distilleries worldwide.The eco-efficiency methodology is applied, taking into account both climate change and water scarcity impacts as well as economic performance of alcohol production with and without heat recovery. A Life Cycle Assessment, focusing on climate change and water scarcity, is combined with a financial assessment considering investment costs and the present value of the savings over the 20-year service life of the heat recovery system.The proposed heat recovery systems allow carbon emission reductions of 8–23% and water scarcity savings of 13–55% for energy and water provision for 1 L of pure alcohol (LPA). Financial savings are comparatively smaller, at 5–13%, due to discounting of the future savings – but offer a simple payback of the investment costs in under two years. The eco-efficiency of the distillery operations can be improved through all proposed heat recovery configurations, but best results are obtained when heat is recovered from mashing, distillations and by-products altogether. A sensitivity analysis confirmed that the methodology applied here delivers robust results and can help guide other micro-distilleries on whether to invest in heat recovery systems, and/or the heat recovery configuration.Uptake should be enhanced through increased information and planning support, and in cases where the distillery offers insufficient heat and water sinks to use all pre-warmed water, opportunities to link with a heat sink outside the distillery are encouraged. A 10% reduction in heating fuel use through heat recovery has the potential to save 47 kt of CO2 eq. or £7.4 M per annum in United Kingdom malt whisky production alone, based on current fuel types used and current prices (2021)