11237 research outputs found
Sort by
Nursing faculty readiness to teach online: a survey of nursing educators from Saudi Arabia and UK
No full textBackground: Nursing Faculty’s readiness to teach online has been recognized as a critical prerequisite for effective online teaching.Aim: To examine the Nursing Faculty’s level of readiness to teach online among a sample of nursing educators from Saudi Arabia and the UK.Methods: A convenient sample of 152 (46%) Nursing Faculty from five universities across Saudi Arabia and the UK completed Part 2 of The Faculty Readiness to Teach Online (FRTO)’ survey between February – June 2021. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis One-Way Analysis of Variance tests were used to examine the differences in the average median scores of the participants’ responses across selected independent variables.Results: Nursing Faculty from Saudi Arabia universities have scored significantly higher Median score than their British counterparts on the Course Design subscale (z=-2.6, p = 0.01) and Time Management subscale (z=-4.403, p = 0.001), and Nursing Faculty who completed a training course before they can teach online have also scored significantly higher median score than those who didn’t on the same two subscales respectively (X2 = 6.15, df = 2, p = 0.05), (X2 = 12, df = 2, p = 0.002). Female Nursing Faculty scored significantly higher median score than male Nursing Faculty on the Course Communication subscale (z=-2.73,p = 0.006). Moreover, Nursing Faculty who mostly used asynchronous online teaching significantly scored the highest median score on the technical subscale (X2 = 8.64, df = 3, p = 0.03). The number of years of teaching online emerged as a key factor for defining the Nursing Faculty’s level of readiness to teach online. For example, those Nursing Faculty with 6 years and longer of online teaching experience have scored significantly higher median scores on in Course Communication (X2 = 23.4, df = 4, p = 0.00), Time Management (X2 = 13.2, df = 4, p = 0.01) and Technical (X2 = 10.13, df = 4, p = 0.008) subscales compared with those with less than 6 year of online teaching experience. Nursing Faculty across Saudi and British universities who teach on MSc program have scored significantly higher median scores than those who teach on other programs on all four subscales.Conclusion: The Nursing Faculty expressed a high level of competency in teaching online, with significant variations based on socio-demographic parameters. Future research needs to examine the factors that shape the Nursing Faculty’s readiness to teach online.</p
First molecular and phylogenetic characterization of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) and equine herpesvirus-4 (EHV-4) in Morocco
No full textThis study aimed to investigate the molecular prevalence and genetic characterization of EHV-1 and EHV-4 in equid populations in Morocco. A total of 154 equids (114 horses, 9 donkeys, and 31 mules) were sampled, with nasal swabs and tissue samples subjected to multiplex real-time PCR for the detection of EHV-1 and EHV-4. Additionally, an isolate from the tissue of an aborted horse fetus was included in the analysis. A subset of EHV-positive samples underwent virus isolation followed by whole-genome sequencing. PCR assays revealed that 42 samples (27%) tested positive for EHV-4, while only 3 samples (1.94%) were positive for EHV-1. Attempts to isolate the virus from EHV-4-positive samples were unsuccessful. However, virus isolation was successful in an EHV-1-positive nasopharyngeal sample from a donkey. Phylogenetic and molecular characterization reclassified the EHV-1 isolated from the donkey as an EHV-8. Meanwhile, the EHV-1 isolated from the aborted fetal tissue was classified as a clade 1 EHV-1 virus. This study is the first to report the molecular prevalence and genetic characterization of EHV-1 and EHV-4 in equid populations in Morocco, providing valuable insights into the distribution and genetic diversity of these viruses in the region.</p
Mental health care utilization and prescription rates among children, adolescents, and young adults in France
No full textImportance: Amid escalating mental health challenges among young individuals, intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, analyzing postpandemic trends is critical.Objective: To examine mental health care utilization and prescription rates for children, adolescents, and young adults before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.Design, Setting, and Participants: This population-based time trend study used an interrupted time series analysis to examine mental health care and prescription patterns among the French population 25 years and younger. Aggregated data from the French national health insurance database from January 2016 to June 2023. Data were analyzed from September 2023 to February 2024.Main Outcomes and Measures: The number of individuals with at least 1 outpatient psychiatric consultation, those admitted for full-time psychiatric hospitalization, those with a suicide attempt, and those receiving psychotropic medication was computed. Data were stratified by age groups and sex. Quasi-Poisson regression modeled deseasonalized data, estimating the relative risk (RR) and 95% CI for differences in slopes before and after the pandemic.Results: This study included approximately 20 million individuals 25 years and younger (20 829 566 individuals in 2016 and 20 697 169 individuals in 2022). In 2016, the population consisted of 10 208 277 of 20 829 566 female participants (49.0%) and 6 091 959 (29.2%) aged 18 to 25 years. Proportions were similar in 2022. Significant increases in mental health care utilization were observed postpandemic compared with the prepandemic period, especially among females and young people aged 13 years and older. Outpatient psychiatric consultations increased among women (RR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.07-1.20), individuals aged 13 to 17 years (RR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.06-1.23), and individuals aged 18 to 25 years (RR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.03-1.14). Hospitalizations for suicide attempt increased among women (RR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.02-1.27) and individuals aged 18 to 25 years (RR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03-1.12). Regarding psychotropic medications, almost all classes, except hypnotics, increased in prescriptions between 2016 and 2022 for females, with a particularly marked rise in the postpandemic period. For men, only increases in the prescriptions of antidepressants (RR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.06), methylphenidate (RR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.06-1.12), and medications prescribed for alcohol use disorders (RR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.04-1.13) were observed, and these increases were less pronounced than for women (antidepressant: RR, 1.13, 95% CI, 1.09-1.16; methylphenidate: RR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.13-1.18; alcohol use dependence: RR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.08-1.16). Medications reserved for severe mental health situations, such as lithium or clozapine, were prescribed more frequently starting at the age of 6 years.Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, an interrupted time-series analysis found a marked deterioration in the mental health of young women in France in the after the COVID-19 pandemic, accentuating a trend of deterioration that was already observed in the prepandemic period.</p
Connecting classroom and community: innovative approaches to teacher placement curriculum
No full textAs the only university to be newly accredited through the last UK government’s contentious Market Review process in 2022, colleagues at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) have shaped a new undergraduate offer to award Qualified Teacher Status. The development of the BEd (Hons) Primary Education with QTS provided an opportunity to design a brand-new course from scratch...</p
Establishing the liminal-liminoid distinction in organization studies: How individuals pursue a liminoid transition in a social venture incubator
No full textWhile the notion of liminality has improved our understanding of individuals going through transition, its widespread use in a variety of organizational contexts has led to a dilution of the concept’s analytical precision. By analysing ‘liminoid’ transitions we simultaneously widen our field of vision and narrow down the precise meaning of the twin terms liminal and liminoid. Following Turner’s original understanding, ‘liminality’ focuses on a pre-planned change of an individual within a conventional organizational structure, whereas liminoid addresses individuals seeking to make changes to the structure itself from ‘outside’. Through an ethnographic study of individuals in a UK-based social venture incubator, we address the question: what practices do individuals engaged in a liminoid transition adopt? Our analysis suggests venturers deploy five practices: detaching and reorienting, exploring, structuring, compromising, and self-evaluating. We make three contributions. First, our empirical account of individuals’ practices provides a deeper insight into the specific social dynamics that unfold in a liminoid transition. Second, we contribute greater analytical precision and conceptual grounding for theorising liminoid transition processes and practices by detailing their distinguishing features from liminal transitions in terms of motivation, context, and conditions. Third, we contribute by discussing how different degrees of detachment from conventional organizational structures may impact the possibilities for social change and the personal lives of the transitioning individual.</p
Counterinsurgency at a critical juncture
No full textThe Taliban’s 2021 victory – bookending two decades of costly Western campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq – has amplified calls for abandoning counterinsurgency (COIN) as a costly, fruitless and intellectually dangerous undertaking. But while the West may no longer be interested in COIN, COIN is not done with the West; insurgencies and efforts to counter them remain the dominant form of warfare globally, while the legacies of COIN campaigns continue to linger both in conflict-affected settings and within the institutions that took part in them. Rather than abandoning COIN altogether, Western powers continue to support partners facing irregular warfare challenges, leading to a spatial-temporal transformation in how COIN is understood. Facing familiar challenges in these settings, lessons from the past 20 years remain central to contemporary COIN thinking. Meanwhile, so-called ‘Non-Western’ states in the Middle East, Africa and Asia – often over-looked in the counterinsurgency literature – continue to manage long-running insurgent conflicts. How states practice, derive lessons from and prepare for counterinsurgency operations, therefore, remains a theme of central importance in the study of political violence</p
Decision-making processes of young African migrants seeking to enhance their livelihoods in Accra, Ghana
No full textYoung people are increasingly migrating within their own countries and across different countries to enhance their livelihoods. These migrations are often driven by economic factors, with young people seeking to take advantage of opportunities that are less available at their places of origin. At the centre of these migrations are the range of decisions young people go through, which are often not entirely taken by themselves alone. In this context, we explore via a qualitative investigation of young migrants in Accra, Ghana, the decision-making processes these young migrants engaged in to understand the complex system of interactions involved. Data collection employed in-depth interviews and focus group discussions among migrants of 15–24 years from within Ghana, and other neighbouring West African countries, bound together by the ECOWAS Protocol on free movement; namely, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Niger. Our findings reveal that for young migrants, ‘independent’ pre-migration decision means less dependent on household parents but often linked to supportive roles including funds provision by their peers, parents and other close relatives abroad that concretize their final decisions to migrate. Considering the complex decision-making processes young people traverse, our paper broadens the scope of researching young people's migration decision-making architecture in Western Africa to be understood within the context of the New Economics of Migration Theory where migration decisions are more collectively taken to maximize income and employment opportunities while minimizing risks.</p
Comparative energy analysis of static and automated switching configurations in lead-acid battery systems
No full textThe widespread deployment of lead-acid batteries in energy storage systems necessitates the optimization of circuit configurations to enhance power efficiency. In this study, we experimentally compare static (series/parallel) and automated switching configurations in lead-acid battery systems using 5 Ah and 20 Ah VRLA packs under a constant resistive load. Energy is computed from synchronized voltage–current logs. Across five switching intervals (15–120 min), dynamic operation consistently yields higher energy than static baselines. In 5 Ah tests, the 60-min interval delivered 318.39 Wh (+ 47% vs. best static); in 20 Ah tests, the 90-min interval delivered 706.64 Wh (+ 42% vs. best static; + 59% vs. series). The data indicate an optimal interval of 60–90 min, explained by a balance between diffusion-limited voltage recovery during rest and rate-dependent Peukert losses during discharge. These results demonstrate a simple, low-cost path to enhance energy utilization without changing battery chemistry or capacity, informing storage design for renewable and distributed DC systems. These findings underscore the potential of dynamic switching strategies to enhance battery energy utilization, particularly in renewable energy integration and distributed power management applications. Notably, this study focuses on output energy performance resulting from circuit design variations, without examining the internal electrochemical characteristics of the batteries.</p
The impact of socioeconomic status on the burden of foodborne illnesses: a scoping review in the Middle East and North African region
No full textBackground: Foodborne diseases remain a significant global health concern. Conversely, socioeconomic status represents a crucial predictor of diseases with increased morbidity and mortality rates. This scoping review (ScR) aims to provide an understanding of the impact of socioeconomic status on the occurrence of foodborne illnesses in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.Methodology: Three databases (Medline [PubMed], Web of Science, and Embase) were searched on 24 August 2024, for articles published in English. The population, concept, and context (PCC) framework was adopted in this review.Results: A total of 1,667 records were identified. After removing 530 duplicates, 1,137 records were screened for inclusion. Twelve studies were eligible after excluding records with reasons. Of the 12 studies, 11 were cross-sectional studies and 1 was a case–control in design. The studies were conducted in countries of the MENA region, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, and Iran. Low income was generally associated with higher rates of parasitic infections among populations in Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, and one study in Iran. The relationship between the level of education and infection rates was divergent. In some studies, individuals with lower education levels have shown higher infection rates, as seen in Egypt, Iran, and Qatar; however, other studies found no significant association. Occupation appeared to be less consistently related to infection rates. Food handlers had the highest rates of infection in the UAE, while studies from other regions did not find significant associations. Giardia lamblia (33%) and Blastocystis hominis (26%) were found to be the predominant intestinal parasites in the included studies.Conclusion: This scoping review emphasizes discrepancies between studies on the impact of socioeconomic status affects the rate of intestinal infection. Thus, future research should provide clear definitions and indicators of socioeconomic metrics and address the occurrence of foodborne illnesses in terms of cultural factors, healthcare inequality, and food insecurity.</p
Lessons from the Hologram
No full textThis chapter explores the lessons that scholars of digital cultures can take from the reception of a “new media” of a previous era: the optical hologram. The optical hologram first emerged in the United States in the early 1960s, prompting enthusiastic and outlandish predictions about its future applications, ranging from holographic cinema to virtual architecture. Although the hologram promised new modes of virtual experience, this chapter argues that, paradoxically, its reception has been determined extensively by material constraints. It charts how today viewing holograms is reliant on access to technical equipment and niche expertise, and often leaves art historians and scholars of media attempting to reconstruct the hologram’s aesthetic effects from a legacy of uninstalled equipment, inadequate photographic reproductions and archival documents. Yet, the chapter argues that the resulting inadvertent emphasis on the hologram’s materiality indirectly fueled an engagement with the hologram as a theoretical rather than a technical object. Ultimately, it suggests that artists’ engagement with the old “new media” of the hologram offers valuable insights about the fate that awaits recent digitally-engaged artworks reliant on the contingent infrastructures of software and networked platform ecosystems.</p
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Open Research Online? Become a CORE Member to access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard! 👇