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Inspecting the links: knowledge, evidence and value in healthcare. [Editorial]
No full textSince its inception, the Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice has been all about providing a forum for serious, critical interdisciplinary debate regarding matters of practical importance in healthcare.1 Through early editions focussing on issues in health management, quality and audit,2-4 and the numerous thematic editions focussing on evidence-based healthcare5-9 we have given authors the opportunity to challenge dominant ideas and to raise pertinent questions that they feel are not being discussed elsewhere
Olivier Messiaen: A Critical Biography
No full textThis groundbreaking biography offers fresh perspectives on the life, ideas and music of French twentieth-century composer, organist and ornithologist Olivier Messiaen. Drawing on previously unexplored sketches and archival material, Robert Sholl seamlessly combines elements of biography, musicology, theology, philosophy, psychoanalysis and aesthetics to present a nuanced perspective on Messiaen’s work. This book examines the profound impact of Messiaen’s devout Catholicism, which found expression through his work as a church organist, his engagement with birdsong, his interaction with Surrealism and his influence on major musical figures of the latter twentieth century. Unlike previous biographies, this book also considers the perspectives of Messiaen’s contemporaries and students, providing a comprehensive understanding of his life and artistic legacy
Reconfiguring dramaturgies of place: Local authority event management during the COVID-19 pandemic
Get PDFThis chapter details the findings from interviews with local authority event managers in the UK from June–August 2021, the summer during which England began a phased exit from lockdown. More than having to adjust their working structures to accommodate the immediate and changing responses to government guidelines, I argue that the COVID-19 pandemic urged event managers to reflect on inclusive and sustainable practices for the future in their use of public space in outdoor arts programming. Their tactical responses involved reconfiguring dramaturgies of place, which meant rethinking and restructuring the formats and templates of their previous practices within their local areas. These included experimenting with different interpretations of traditional performance elements such as the space, scale, time, proximity, and audience engagement. Such practices called for an attuned understanding of their own histories, geographies and place-making strategies to curate an arts and culture programme that is community driven and ecologically sensitive. This research makes a case for local authorities to mobilize the city’s creative spirit to collaboratively deliver innovative solutions tailor-made for their own specific localities
Proportional-fair uplink resource allocation with statistical QoS provisioning for RAN slicing
No full textThis paper investigates the uplink resource allocation issue for radio access network (RAN) slicing with a focus on three primary fifth generation (5G) use cases, namely ultra-reliable low-latency communications (uRLLC), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and massive machine-type communications (mMTC). Most of the existing resource allocation schemes for RAN slicing were designed to address the use cases in downlink communications. However, these schemes are not applicable to the uplink RAN slicing, even though the primary use cases also entail stringent requirements in the uplink. To this end, we aim to develop a new, fairness-aware uplink resource allocation scheme for RAN slicing, catering to the three 5G use cases. Firstly, we formulate a new uplink resource allocation optimization problem that maximizes a sum logarithmic utility for ensuring proportional-fair effective capacity distribution and resource allocation among RAN slices, subject to the distinct quality of service (QoS) requirements of the uRLLC, eMBB and mMTC slices. Then, an efficient, hierarchical resource allocation framework is then proposed to solve the problem deterministically, whereby resource block assignment is first performed at the base station via a demand-oriented greedy algorithm, followed by power allocation using a bisection method at individual user equipment. Results show that the proposed scheme outperforms the baseline schemes with fairness and QoS provisioning performance gains of up to 44.3% and 19.17% respectively
Sustainable Behaviour Changes Among Employees: A Guide for Tourism, Hospitality and Events Industries
Get PDFFostering sustainable practices within the workplace is a growing priority for businesses in the tourism, hospitality, and events industries, as emphasised by organisations such as UKHospitality. Employees in these sectors play a crucial role in shaping customer perceptions and experiences. By adopting eco-conscious behaviours, they can significantly enhance a company’s reputation and contribute to a lasting competitive advantage.
This guide is designed to empower businesses in the tourism, hospitality, and events industries to nurture a culture of sustainability among their employees. It provides actionable ideas and strategies derived from focus groups* with industry managers, employees, and future workforce entrants, as well as a review of relevant literature.
Developed as part of a Knowledge Exchange initiative led by academics from the University of West London, this guide addresses the unique needs and challenges faced by businesses in the tourism, hospitality, and events sectors. It aims to equip these businesses with strategies to inspire positive change and drive sustainable practices within their organisations
OBSESSIVE-Compulsive Disorder in Children and Young People with Intellectual Disabilities
Get PDFChildren and young people with intellectual disabilities are at increased risk of developing mental health issues. They experience a diverse range of co-occurring psychiatric conditions including anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), at a rate that is equivalent to or higher than their peers without intellectual disabilities. However, although the mental health needs of children and young people with intellectual disabilities may be significant and functionally impairing, they are frequently not identified and therefore go untreated. OCD in children and adolescents is a highly debilitating disorder that consists of repetitive, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and distressing, time-consuming ritualistic behaviour (compulsions).
This chapter reviews the current knowledge of causative factors and mechanisms underpinning OCD, as well as assessment and evidence-based treatment of the disorder. Issues concerning differential diagnosis are highlighted, indicating challenges related to distinguishing OCD from repetitive behaviours in other conditions such as autistic spectrum disorders, and genetic syndromes associated with intellectual disability. In recent decades, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has become well established as the primary choice of treatment for OCD, and its development for use with children and young people, besides its application in modified versions within the field of Intellectual Disability, are discussed. Particular issues regarding pharmacological therapeutic interventions, in addition to the central importance of psychoeducation and family support, are underscored in the final part of the chapter
Analysing user experience of dynamic group formation (DGF) in intelligent tutor collaborative learning (ITSCL) using aspect-based sentiment analysis
Get PDFDynamic group formation is a crucial component of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL). It encourages students to collaborate in flexible, adaptive groups, which can improve learning results and promote collaborative abilities. As a result, this conference publication aims to evaluate the user experience of dynamic group formation in Intelligent Tutoring Supported Collaborative Learning (ITSCL), an intelligent tutoring collaborative learning system. The evaluation is essential for understanding the impact of this feature on user satisfaction and learning outcomes and can inform the design of more effective and user-friendly ITSCL systems. The authors present the user-experience evaluation of dynamic group formation in Intelligent Tutoring Supported Collaborative Learning (ITSCL). We conducted a user-experience experiment using an online questionnaire to gather user feedback on questions related to the user-experience paradigm and then employed an aspect-based sentiment analysis approach to extract user-experience centric aspects and emotions from user comments. The results demonstrate that the dynamic group formation feature of ITSCL positively impacts the user experience, and users reported satisfaction with the system's flexibility, adaptability, and interactivity. Moreover, our analysis provides a deep understanding of the aspects and emotions that are crucial to the user experience and can inform the design of future ITSCL systems
Evolution of Soil Pore Structure and Shear Strength Deterioration of Compacted Soil under Controlled Wetting and Drying Cycles
Get PDFThis study investigates the evolution of soil pore structure and shear strength deterioration in compacted clayey soil under controlled wetting and drying (wd) cycles, which are expected to become more frequent due to climate change. Thirty soil samples were compacted at optimal moisture content and 90% maximum dry density. These samples were then subjected to 0, 1, 5, 10, and 15 controlled wd cycles from saturation to the wilting point, and volumetric changes were recorded during each cycle. After the wd treatment, the soil samples were scanned using X-ray computed tomography (CT) at 50 μm resolution and then sheared under unconsolidated–undrained and consolidated–undrained conditions in a triaxial test. Significant shrinkage and swelling of soil samples were observed during wd cycles, with average volumetric strain fluctuating between +12% at saturation and −5% at the wilting point. X-ray CT visualisation and analysis revealed higher porosity, more prominent pores, and increased pore length in soil samples with increasing wd cycles. Both undrained and effective soil shear strength markedly decreased with increasing wd cycles. CT-derived macroporosity and pore length were significant predictors of the soil’s undrained and effective shear strength when exposed to wd cycles. The findings emphasise the considerable impact of climate change, specifically wd cycles, on clayey soil, highlighting the need for consideration in the design of earth-based infrastructure
A critical review for the impact of anaerobic digestion on the sustainable development goals
Get PDFAnaerobic Digestion (AD) technology emerges as a viable solution for managing municipal organic waste, offering pollution reduction and the generation of biogas and fertilisers. This study reviews the research works for the advancements in AD implementation to effectively impact the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, the study critically analyses responsible waste management that contributes to health and safety, elevating quality of life in both rural and urban areas and, finally, creates a map of AD outputs onto all 17 SDGs. Finally, the assessment employs the three sustainability pillars (i.e., economic, environmental, and social perspectives) to examine the direct and indirect links between AD and all 17 UN SDGs. The findings reveal substantial progress, such as poverty reduction through job creation, bolstering economic growth (SDGs 1, 8, 10, 12), enhancing agricultural productivity (SDG 2), advancing renewable energy usage and diminishing reliance on fossil fuels (SDG 7), fostering inclusive education and gender equality (SDGs 4, 5, 9), combating climate change (SDG 13), transforming cities into sustainable and harmonious environments (SDGs 11, 16, 17), and curbing environmental pollution (SDGs 3, 6, 12, 14, 15). Nonetheless, the study highlights the need for further efforts to achieve the SDG targets, particularly in part of liquid and solid fertilisers as the AD outputs
Continuation and Desperation in Contemporary Multi-Season Television Drama
Get PDFThis paper examines how multi-season drama serials, including those characterised as ‘quality’ or ‘complex’ television, deliver their continuation across multiple seasons. It proposes ‘desperation’ as a distinctive storytelling modality in which continuation itself and the narrative means by which continuation is managed are self-consciously brought to the fore, charting how this is deployed by many shows which use season-long stories and/or stories which run for the lifetime of the show. Dramas derived from literary sources are examined alongside those where original narratives are drafted while they are already underway, and the relationship between continuation, seriality, adaptation, and literary/story-telling models is considered. Finally, through discussion of ‘show bibles’ and ‘pitch bibles’ it contends that continuing dramas effectively adapt themselves through the manner in which earlier seasons generate models and possibilities for those that follow