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Cross-border policing cooperation under UK–EU agreements: policing the post-Brexit Irish border
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Evaluation of a workshop to develop dental undergraduates' behaviour change conversation knowledge and skills
No full textThe General Dental Council’s Safe Practitioner framework of behaviours and outcomes for dental professional education outline the need for dental undergraduates to learn evidence-based approaches to clinical practice. The Dental RECUR Brief Negotiated Interview (DR-BNI) is an effective oral health behaviour change intervention that draws upon psychological frameworks of disease prevention, behaviour change science, and patient-facing communication skills. Training in this approach involves developing participants’ knowledge of childhood caries, and confidence applying personalised preventive advice to clinical practice via supervised role-play.This study explored the effectiveness of a DR-BNI training workshop on developing dental undergraduates’ behaviour change conversation knowledge and confidence. Seventeen participants completed a pre-post evaluation which assessed their knowledge of DR-BNI-related topics and confidence in applying relevant skills to clinical practice.Participants’ knowledge of all topics including the development of dental caries in children, motivational interviewing, and behaviour change theory significantly increased following the workshop. Participants’ confidence in applying skills for delivering a behaviour chance conversation with a dental patient also significantly increased.The DR-BNI represents a useful model for developing dental undergraduates’ behaviour change conversation knowledge and confidence
Internal and external antecedents of AI adoption in SMEs: A technology-organisation-environment framework perspective
No full textContinuous aperture array (CAPA)-based secure wireless communications
No full textA continuous aperture array (CAPA)-based secure communication system is investigated, where a base station (BS) equipped with a CAPA transmits signals to a legitimate user under the existence of an eavesdropper. For improving the secrecy performance, the artificial noise (AN) is employed at the BS for the jamming purpose. We aim at maximizing the secrecy rate by jointly optimizing the information-bearing and AN source current patterns, subject to the maximum transmit power constraint. To solve the resultant non-convex integral-based functional programming problem, a channel subspace-based approach is first proposed via exploiting the result that the optimal current patterns always lie within the subspace spanned by all users’ channel responses. Then, the intractable CAPA continuous source current pattern design problem with an infinite number of optimization variables is equivalently transformed into the channel-subspace weighting factor optimization problem with a finite number of optimization variables. A penalty-based successive convex approximation method is developed for iteratively optimizing the finite-size weighting vectors. To further reduce the computational complexity, we propose a two-stage source current patterns design scheme. Specifically, the information-bearing and AN patterns are first designed using the maximal ration transmission (MRT) and zero-forcing (ZF) transmission, respectively. Then, the remaining power allocation is addressed via the one-dimensional search method. Numerical results unveil that 1) the CAPA brings in significant secrecy rate gain compared to the conventional discrete multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO); 2) the proposed channel subspace-based algorithm outperforms the conventional Fourier-based approach, while sustaining much lower computational complexity; and 3) the two-stage ZF-MRT approach has negligible performance loss for the large transmit power regime
Insect-based biofuels and animal feed additives: a sustainable energy and agricultural solution for Africa's future
No full textAfrica generates millions of tons of organic waste annually from various sources, including agriculture, industry, restaurants, and households. Unfortunately, much of this waste is improperly disposed of, leading to significant environmental challenges. This mismanagement can be attributed to the absence or inefficiency of regulatory bodies like Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA). Even where such institutions exist, they often lack the capacity or authority to enforce sustainable waste management policies effectively. At the same time, one of the long-standing issues facing the continent is the lack of reliable and sustainable energy sources. In response to this, there has been increasing interest in exploring the potential of organic waste for biofuel production, such as biodiesel and biogas. Insects are being seen as a promising solution to facilitate these processes. In addition to their role in breaking down organic waste, the residual byproducts from biofuel production can be repurposed as animal feed additives. This dual use helps reduce competition for land between food crops and animal feed. Insect-based biofuel and animal feed production is a rapidly emerging field, and Africa has a unique advantage: both the organic waste and the insects required for this process are readily available. With climate change and food security becoming urgent concerns, this innovative approach offers a sustainable solution to address these challenges. By harnessing these opportunities, Africa can not only tackle its energy, waste management, and food security issues but also lead the way in the development of insect-based technologies, offering long-term benefits to the continent
The New Note
No full textThis scored and improvised work brings artist Vivienne Griffin together with musician Úna Monaghan for a harp-based, experimental live performance. Griffin has built a device that allows the harp to self play, expanding their practice in experimental score composition and musical dialogue. Monaghan performs with a harp and computer. Together, the duo merge harp, electronic distortion, motors, and the programming software Max MSP to create a sonic exploration of contrasts: melody in tension with noise, and meditative repetition
Decolonising refugee integration paradigms: visions for a new politics of inclusion and participation in Europe and beyond (Introduction to Special Issue)
No full textThis special issue introduces a decolonial approach to refugee integration, critically examining conventional paradigms that sustain colonial legacies in Europe and beyond. Through interdisciplinary contributions, we interrogate the concept of integration, exploring its limitations and the need for systemic transformation. Emphasising the shared yet complex contexts of Northern Ireland and the broader island of Ireland, we advocate for an inclusive, reciprocal model of integration rooted in feminist, intersectional, and decolonial ethics. This issue brings forth diverse perspectives, methodologies, and case studies that collectively challenge exclusionary practices, stressing the importance of participatory and community-centred approaches that honour the agency and cultural contributions of displaced communities. By advancing a decolonial lens, we propose a vision for integration as a space of mutual exchange, respect, and justice, urging policy reforms that address both historical and contemporary injustices
Residual headway’ of Degrange’s Five General Accounts in nineteenth-century Italian accounting practices: Insights from a case study
No full textDuring the Italian post-Unification period from 1861, Italian accounting scholarship experienced a ‘golden age’. The contributions of scholars such as Francesco Marchi, Giuseppe Cerboni and Fabio Besta promoted accounting in Italy to the rank of science. During this flourishing period of new theories and approaches, previously adopted accounting systems were maintained in some businesses’ accounting practices and, for a certain period, were taught in professional schools. This applied particularly to the eighteenth-century accounting practices, such as the ‘Five General Accounts’ system introduced by Edmond Degrange. Using an institutional theory lens, this study explores the case of Rossi & Gagliardi, a Sicilian textile trader, who, despite newer accounting theories and systems promoted by Italian scholars, maintained a Five General Accounts system in a ‘residual headway’ scenario. A longitudinal analysis of its account books and other information sources from 1870 to 1917 reveals key factors for the maintenance of the Five General Accounts in an adapted form. Within the neo-institutionalist history theory of accounting, a classification of the degree of institutional pressures for change/adaptation of accounting systems is developed and used
Researching the third sector: reflections and directions from an ‘old hand’
No full textThis article is principally an agenda-setting piece based on a personal-critical reflection from someone who has a long history of being involved in the third sector as both a researcher and as someone who has been engaged in steering its governance processes (regarding policy and regulation development). It highlights key third-sector research that has featured in FAM since its inception in 1985 (“reflections”) and outlines research ideas (“directions”) as an encouragement to researchers to focus on third-sector organizations (TSOs). It argues that theoretically based, empirically grounded, rigorous research and critical reflection in the third sector are vitally important, having the potential to contribute to the protection, health, and growth of the valuable social capital that is generated by TSOs.<br/