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Understanding the impact of physical activity, resistance training and workplace experiences of women at peri and menopause life stages.
No full textMenopause and perimenopause are natural phases of life that bring about significant physiological changes, including alterations in hormonal levels, bone density, cardiovascular health, and muscle mass. These changes directly affect women’s wellbeing and ability to maintain and benefit from physical activity. Understanding the perspectives of these women and identifying evidence-based strategies is crucial. Despite growing recognition of these health transitions, research has historically neglected the specific needs of this population, leaving a critical gap in tailored interventions and advice.
The symposium showcases the recent work of the Leeds Beckett University Peri-and Post-Menopause Research Team, building on interdisciplinary expertise from the Carnegie School of Sport (CSS), the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), and the Leeds Business School (LBS). This session aims to foster a multidisciplinary dialogue on the intersection of women’s health, physical activity, and workplace experiences during these pivotal life stages
Simulating HTC Measurements for Increased Confidence in Retrofit Performance Predictions
No full textForecasting retrofit performance often relies on building energy models, which can be inaccurate due to differences between predicted and actual performance. This introduces uncertainty to energy and carbon savings estimates. Research suggests that heat loss measurements improve model accuracy and provide more robust evaluations of retrofit effectiveness. Several whole-house heat loss measurement methods have undergone field trials for validation. However, the assessment of these measurements is limited to the specific field trial test conditions. Simulated measurements in a virtual environment could complement field trials by exploring conditions unattainable in real-world settings, increasing confidence in the measurements. This study replicated dynamic whole-house heat loss measurements from field trials in a calibrated energy model using local weather data. Differences of 7% (pre-retrofit) and 26% (post-retrofit) were observed between simulations and field trial results. The differences could be associated with the modelled heat dynamics not reflecting the true thermal behaviour of the house recorded in the field trials with a particular focus on thermal bridging heat loss. This study has shown that for simulations to be used in validating measurements, further work is needed to determine if the dynamic thermal behaviour of buildings can be replicated in simulations
Digital Transformation: A Financial Game‐Changer for Manufacturing
Get PDFThis study examines the organizational change process driven by adopting digital technologies in manufacturing. Using the Context‐Mechanism‐Outcome (CMO) framework and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we analyzed 46 cases from the Chinese manufacturing sector. Our focus was on the internal mechanisms and conditions influencing digital transformation (DT). The findings reveal three distinct DT configuration models: process transformation, large enterprise DT, and platform‐based transformation. Each model highlights unique organizational contexts, constraints, and digital leveraging strategies. These models demonstrate how different contextual factors shape DT approaches, providing insights into how organizations navigate technological transitions. By reframing DT as a dynamic and context‐sensitive process, the study illustrates how traditional manufacturing practices are disrupted and new models are developed. Our findings emphasize aligning DT strategies with organizational goals to enhance implementation success. This research offers actionable guidance for managers, helping them address DT challenges through context‐specific strategies
Improving Survey-based Data Collection for More Effective Domestic Retrofit Evaluations: Perspectives from Occupants and Surveyors
Get PDFEvaluating the performance of domestic retrofits is essential in appraising their success and identifying if they improved the lives of occupants. In the UK, billions of pounds are invested annually in retrofits through policy funding, however, current building regulations do not mandate evaluation, and monitoring requirements are poorly defined. Without agreed standardised protocols or tools, retrofit evaluations remain inconsistent and incomparable, providing little assurance to occupants, landlords, installers, or the government. Post-occupancy evaluation (POE) is a common and well-established form of building performance evaluation (BPE) used in retrofit evaluations; however, it faces challenges in multi-dwelling retrofit schemes.
This research evaluated the effectiveness of occupancy evaluation surveys in five domestic retrofit projects overseen by a local authority in Northern England between 2022 and 2024. Phase one implemented a retrofit survey taken from the UKGBCs BuildUpon2 Framework. In phases two and three, iterative improvements were made to the survey based on feedback from occupants and surveyors from the previous phases. Five key barriers were identified: resources, technical challenges, surveyor engagement, trust, and accessibility. Addressing these challenges increased the survey response rate from 25% to 98%. The refinements significantly improved the quality and usefulness of the data collected, offering valuable insights for designing robust, easily implementable occupant surveys
A Comparative Analysis of Professional Teacher Standards Across the UK Home Nations of England, Scotland, and Wales
Get PDFThis paper presents a comparative analysis of professional standards for newly-qualified teachers across England, Scotland, and Wales, following the 1999 devolution of educational policies. By aligning national frameworks with UNESCO’s Global Framework of Professional Teaching Standards (2019), this study critically assesses how teacher competencies are articulated within each jurisdiction. Utilizing critical policy analysis and crosswalk methodology, this research offers the first systematic cross-national comparison of professional teaching standards providing novel insights into devolved educational standards. The findings reveal ideological distinctions: England emphasizes measurable outcomes and accountability, Scotland prioritizes holistic development and social justice, while Wales integrates performance metrics with cultural values. These variations influence teacher preparation, professional development, and student outcomes. This study underscores the need for nuanced, context-sensitive policy approaches that support teacher agency and educational quality, fostering a more coherent and informed debate on the future of teacher education in the UK
Barriers and facilitators to implementation of mental capacity legislation in care homes for older adults in the United Kingdom: a mixed-methods systematic review
Get PDFObjective: Mental Capacity legislation defines when a person lacks capacity and subsequently supports individuals to make
as many decisions as possible for themselves. Whilst frameworks exist, care home staff often feel unsupported with insufficient
knowledge and training. This review aimed to understand barriers and facilitators of implementing mental capacity legislation
in care homes for older adults in the United Kingdom.
Methods: A systematic review was conducted and 3041 potentially relevant studies identified, with 13 studies eligible for
inclusion. 11 focused on the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and two on the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000.
Barriers and/or facilitators were extracted and subsequently mapped to the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation model
and Theoretical Domains Framework.
Results: Barriers included poor access to training, low staff confidence and a lack of understanding about using legislation
in context. Conversely, staff reported in-person training using real-life examples, robust organisational policies and processes
and respecting person-centred care were key facilitators. Sense-checking conversations were conducted with care home staff
(n = 18) to interpret findings in the context of current practice.
Conclusions: This review presents complex and multi-faceted barriers preventing the implementation of mental capacity
legislation in care homes for older adults. Whilst care home staff have now started to appreciate the importance of such
legislation, insufficient time, resources and an inability to track staff knowledge prevents effective implementation of the law.
Future research should explore how staff are trained about legislation and identify best practices
Nation-building and the African Cup of Nations: A case study of Cameroon
No full textThe chapter aims to demonstrate how hosting a mega sporting event can put a country in the spotlight and showcase all it has to offer and to sell the nation's brand.
The use of nation branding is important for Cameroon on two fronts, firstly given the backdrop of civil unrest in Cameroon the tournament offered the opportunity to unite the nation. Secondly, hosting the AFCON was significant in relation to global nation branding which seeks to promote positive foreign public opinion of Cameroon
“Quite a pickle”: understanding how consumer sustainability behavior influences willingness to pay for sustainable food products and services
No full textPurpose
This paper examines the relationship between consumers’ perceptions of sustainability in the foodservice industry and willingness to pay, identifying customer satisfaction and loyalty as mediators. The purpose is to establish how foodservice businesses can attract and retain consumers to sustain their performance amid the global market uncertainties and low consumer confidence.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected from 204 diners in the UK foodservice industry to test the study’s hypothesized relationships using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4.
Findings
The findings show no significant relationship between diners’ environmental perceptions and willingness to pay. The findings further show that customer satisfaction and loyalty mediate the relationship between environmental perceptions and willingness to pay. The findings of the conditional analysis reveal that the mediated relationship is moderated by economic sustainability, with distinct economic sustainability conditions identified under which the mediated relationship is most significant.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the current knowledge in sustainability research by establishing whether consumer expressive sustainability behavior translates into a willingness to pay. The paper identifies a set of theoretical and managerial implications to help foodservice businesses and scholars implement sustainability initiatives. These implications relate to conceptualization, theoretical and methodological approaches in sustainability research.
Originality/value
This study enhances the understanding of how consumers’ perceptions of sustainability contribute to willingness to pay and the competitiveness of foodservice businesses. It enables targeted marketing by segmenting consumers based on their sustainability views
Integrating explainable AI with clinical features to enhance ADHD diagnostic understanding
No full textIntroduction: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults remains challenging to diagnose accurately, with over- and under-diagnosis common due to reliance on subjective clinical judgement. Although machine learning (ML) tools have shown promise in improving diagnostic accuracy, their limited transparency restricts clinical adoption. Existing research rarely integrates broad clinical, substance-use, and quality-of-life measures into a unified predictive framework, nor does it systematically compare explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) outputs with traditional statistical analyses.
Methods: We retrospectively analysed 786 anonymised adult assessments (January 2019–December 2024) from a UK specialist mental health service. The dataset included demographics; validated symptom scales (MDQ, GAD-7, PHQ-9, CAARS, DIVA); substance-use screens (AUDIT, DAST); and EQ-5D-3L quality-of-life indices. An XGBoost classifier was trained using a stratified split and evaluated on the held-out test set. Model interpretability was examined using SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP). SHAP attributions were triangulated with traditional exploratory analyses, including Pearson correlation matrices and Welch’s t-tests, to validate feature relevance and identify interaction effects.
Results: The model achieved 77% accuracy and an AUC-ROC of 0.82. CAARS ADHD Raw scores and DIVA adulthood inattentiveness emerged as the strongest predictors of ADHD diagnosis. SHAP analysis revealed important interaction patterns, including depressive symptom severity (PHQ-9) amplifying the predictive contribution of ADHD symptom scales. Age and gender moderated key feature effects, suggesting demographic variability in symptom expression. Traditional EDA confirmed the statistical significance of these predictors while highlighting complementary linear associations, supporting the robustness of the SHAP-derived explanation profiles.
Discussion: Integrating multimodal clinical features with transparent ML methods provides interpretable, clinically aligned insights into adult ADHD diagnosis. The combined SHAP–EDA approach identifies actionable thresholds, clarifies differential feature contributions, and highlights the importance of comorbidity and demographic context in diagnostic evaluation. These findings support a patient-centred, data-driven framework for improving diagnostic consistency in clinical practice. Future work should focus on multi-site validation and temporal analyses to assess generalisability and stability of feature influences over time
Influential Factors when Making Decisions About Dementia Medications in Memory Assessment Services; a Focused Ethnography and Interview Study
Get PDFBackground
Discussing pharmaceutical treatment for dementia is challenging because of variation in disease progression, lack of curative treatments, and communication difficulties. Research in the context of dementia suggests shared decision making is limited, this study examined how dementia medications are discussed in practice.
Methods
Focused video/audio ethnography of clinical appointments (n = 14), semi-structured interviews with patients/supporters (n = 23) and clinicians (n = 5) were employed to examine communication practices.
Results
Two themes developed; Framing and understanding of information in the context of uncertainty explores how uncertainties around risks and benefits are understood. ‘Not worth the risk’ or ‘nothing to lose’ presents how patients/supporters and clinicians balance individuals’ contexts/perceived risks/benefits. In the absence of certainty around potential benefits, risk often informed decision-making, particularly for frailer or more vulnerable patients.
Conclusions
Clinicians should be aware of their influence on decision-making and be cognisant of the way that they frame opinions, which are largely based on clinical experience. Prescribers would benefit from a standardised information source which enables them to describe the likelihood and magnitude of benefits and side effects in a universal way. Accessible information for patients and relatives about the same is also recommended. Patients and relatives make their decisions to take medications in the context of relative uncertainty about the likelihood of benefits, with risk playing a pivotal role in decision making for some
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