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Access and Participation Plans of universities in England (2020-2024): What do they really say about social mobility?
No full textMake it Right: Regulatory Intervention in Managers’ Misconduct and Corporate Risk
Get PDFRegulatory intervention is important in shaping corporate behaviour, especially in markets with relatively weak property rights. Using a sample of publicly listed companies in China from 2006 to 2021, this study investigates the impact of regulatory intervention in managers’ misconduct on the corporate idiosyncratic risk. Using a difference-in-differences design, we explore the idiosyncratic risk change after inspections of a manager’s misconduct to that of their counterparts who are not involved in misconduct activities. We find that inspections of corporate managers’ misconduct significantly reduce their firms’ risk by reducing investors’ heterogeneous beliefs and improving corporate transparency. This effect is more pronounced in firms with lower levels of information transparency and greater external attention pressure, suggesting that regulatory interventions could improve corporate information environment
Investigating the impact of environmental contaminants on periconceptual environment and early reproductive events
Get PDFThe modern environment in which we live is replete with chemicals that have accumulated to levels that have been proposed to impact various aspects of physiology. The impact of a selection of these environmental contaminants on the physiology of early reproductive events has been investigated. The contaminants investigated include Bisphenols A and S, as well as triclosan and acetamiprid. Firstly, the effect of individual exposure to these contaminants on periconceptual environment was explored, using bovine oviduct epithelial cells (BOEC) cultured in vitro. Using microfluorometric assays and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), it was discovered that pyruvate concentration and amino acids composition in BOEC secretions were sensitive to treatment with these chemicals. Furthermore, the expression of the amino acids transporters was also altered after exposure. Subsequently, the bovine oocyte function and metabolic profile was assessed after exposure to environmental contaminants during in vitro maturation (IVM). The nuclear status, steroid hormone production, energy substrates consumption after IVM, mitochondrial activity, and the pronuclei formation were assessed. Exposure to Bisphenols decreased 17β-oestradiol production and Triclosan increased progesterone production in a non-monotonic pattern. Meanwhile, both steroid hormones remained unchanged in the presence of Acetamiprid. However, Acetamiprid as well as Triclosan affected the metabolic status of pyruvate irrespective of the administrated dose. Furthermore, the mitochondrial activity of oocytes after Triclosan and Acetamiprid exposure was impaired. Finally, pronuclei formation was influenced in the presence of all environmental contaminants. Next, the effects of environmental contaminants on embryo developmental competence and metabolic activity after indirect and direct exposure were assessed. Reduced blastocyst rates and altered energy substrates consumption was observed in embryos derived from chemically exposed oocytes. Altered metabolic activity of embryos was also revealed after direct exposure during cleavage and blastocyst stage of development. The data generated in this work demonstrate the capacity of common environmental contaminants to alter early development at multiple stages in subtle but significant ways. It has been suggested that changes on the environment during the early stages of development could have an impact on the health in later on stages of life. This observation highlights the importance of our findings
Wearables, wayfinding, and data visualisations for distance running
Get PDFData visualisations represent an important source of regulatory information and feedback for competitive and recreational runners alike. However, athletes' embodied or sensory engagements with data visualisations are often ignored by researchers in favour of the cognitive processes underlying their use. The current study addressed this lacuna by conducting interviews with endurance runners who are habitual users of wearables devices, to explore how these athletes intra-act with visualisations to understand, explore, and navigate their performance taskscapes/landscapes. Using ecological dynamics as a theoretical lens, findings revealed that runners dwell (are immersed) with data visualisations to identify wayfinding aids that can be used to inform future practice. Engagements with visualisations were also found to be an embodied experience that enabled runners to contextually interpret data generated by wearables. These findings extend our understanding of ecological dynamics by showing how visualisations help runners identify key affordances and information that they can use to navigate their taskscape and respond to emergent challenges "as they go"
Prevalence of BTK and PLCG2 Mutations in CLL Patients With Disease Progression on BTK Inhibitor Therapy: A Meta‐Analysis
Get PDFFracture toughness of an industrially supplied cancellous bone simulant
Get PDFIntroduction:The human cancellous bone has a hierarchical structure that gives it its unique mechanical properties. The study of the mechanical integrity of bone is crucial in diagnosing and treating condition of bone loss such as osteoporosis. Fracture toughness of human cancellous bone is an important parameter when predicting bone strength. Over the last decade researchers (Cook, 2009) have applied the fracture mechanics calculations on human bone. This study provides us with fracture toughness and compressive strength ofcommercially available SAWBONES cancellous bone simulants. These blocks have wide range of applications in orthopaedic industry such as bone disease research and bone surgery practice. Thus, understanding their mechanical properties may enable us in development of better bone simulants
Reading Isolation, Writing Loneliness; Book Groups and Creative Practice in Prison
No full textThis article discusses the need for discursive reading and creative writing practices aimed towards capable readers in prisons. It contends that prison book groups, particularly those with an embedded creative writing component and themed in considered ways - here “isolation” and “loneliness”- should be taken seriously to encourage incarcerated people to address their current circumstances and engage with the world around them. We argue that such initiatives should not shy away from reading materials presumed to be uneasy, as reading focused on themes of “isolation” and “loneliness”, distressingly pertinent to a prison context, may prove valuable materials for critical discussion and creative production. Conducting fieldwork at two prisons in the UK, revealed that challenging the protocols of reading as a presumed isolated experience, combined with reading materials and writing prompts that explore the complexities of being alone, can support skill development, self-development and ultimately wellbeing
Unfit for Labour: Histories of disability and ill-health in the Victorian prison
No full textThis chapter explores the experiences of, and policies toward, disabled prisoners and prisoners with long-term health conditions in a historical context. How did prison administrators deal with such populations? The population of the modern prison reflected the social problems outside prison, and therefore, debilitating childhood illnesses, workplace accidents, and war would have resulted in offenders being drawn from such populations. Drawing on archival materials and using case studies of individual prisoners, the chapter brings to light the policies toward prisoners and their experiences of prison as they navigated the system. Prison authorities were at pains to ensure that ‘malingerers’ were not able to mitigate the severity of the regime, though, ultimately, they did come to recognise that some prisoners were unable, for varying reasons, to cope with the full rigour of penal servitude
Special educational needs and disabilities of children in custody: A systematic review of international research
No full textThe United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNRC) was introduced to guarantee the rights of all children to an education and to ensure that the imprisonment of children is used as a last resort and that children who are detained are treated with humanity. However, children who are imprisoned are disadvantaged in both respects. Research shows that providing and improving education in custody helps to reduce the possibility of recidivism and high crime rates in young offenders. This review, drawing on evidence from 18 papers, focuses on the education of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in custodial settings. In England, although the legal rights of children with SEND are outlined in the Children and Families Act 2014 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice, this review demonstrates that these rights are not upheld. This systematic literature review analyses 18 papers from predominantly, but not exclusively, England and Wales. The results indicate that both the education and youth justice systems globally are disabling and criminalising children through processes that, often unintentionally, label, stigmatise, isolate, neglect and harm children with SEND. We propose an original international framework to support the assessment of SEND of children in custody, and an original international inclusion framework for leaders in custodial settings. Both frameworks, we suggest, will help prison leaders to better identify and support children with SEND who are being held in custody, thus underscoring the significance of our research
Migration delays at head-of-tide weirs are a function of tidal cycles and river flows in anadromous twaite shad Alosa fallax
No full textRiverine barriers can have significant negative impacts on the spawning migrations of anadromous fishes, with barriers of low passage efficiency limiting access to upstream spawning areas. Even fish that pass a barrier can be negatively affected via migration delays and energetic costs. The spawning migrations of 74 twaite shad Alosa fallax were tracked at two head-of-tide weirs on a bifurcated channel in the River Severn’s upper estuary, western England, to test how barriers in tidal areas can affect river entry and incur migration delays. Although the weirs had a combined passage efficiency of 98.9%, median passage time was 19.8h, with the longest passage time being 16.8days, and those passing fastest being relatively large fish that approached during spring tides and higher river flows. A higher proportion of fish approached and passed the weir on the larger channel that generally had the dominant flow, yet the weir on the other channel had the higher probability of passage, with the effect of elevated river levels being less important, and individuals approaching this weir were less delayed. With river level being a function of the cyclical nature of the lunar and daily tidal cycles, temporal variation in passage efficiencies was predictable. As the environmental conditions that stimulated the entry of fish into the upper estuary were largely unrelated to the conditions facilitating weir passage, there was a high potential for migration delays at these barriers that potentially incurred considerable energetic costs