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The role of facial distinctiveness in the prioritisation of targets in disjunctive dual-target face search
No full textTwo experiments explored the search for pairs of faces in a disjunctive dual-target face search (DDTFS) task for unfamiliar face targets. The distinctiveness of the target was manipulated such that both faces were typical or distinctive or contained one typical and one distinctive target. Targets were searched for in arrays of eight faces. In Experiment 1, participants completed a DDTFS block with targets learnt over the block of trials. In Experiment 2, the dual-target block was preceded by two training blocks of single-target trials. Participants also completed the upright and inverted long-form Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT+). The results showed that searching for two typical faces leads to one target being prioritised at the expense of the other. The ability to search for non-prioritised typical faces was associated with scores on the CFMT+. This association disappeared when faces were learnt before completing DDTFS. We interpret the findings in terms of the impact of typicality on face learning, individual differences in the ability to learn faces, and the involvement of capacity-limited working memory in the search for unfamiliar faces. The findings have implications for security-related situations where agents must search for multiple unfamiliar faces having been shown their images
Remarkable lives - Victoria Claire in conversation with Robert Hurst
No full textPurpose - The purpose of this paper is to share Victoria Clare's story. Design/methodology/approach - Victoria wrote a biography of her experiences. Robert then asked a series of questions from the perspective of a mental health academic. Findings - Victoria shared stories from her life, and how her experiences have shaped her life and herself. Research limitations/implications - Narratives such as this give us an overview of only a single person's experiences. However, they allow the person with lived experience to explore their story in depth. Practical implications - What Victoria has written will give readers an insight into her life and experiences. Social implications - There is so much to learn from a story like Victoria's, especially in her approach to creativity. Originality/value - This is Victoria's own unique story. The value of this is apparent upon reading it
Securing IoT Networks with Advanced Threat Detection Through Ensemble Methods
No full textThis paper investigates the use of ensemble learning techniques to enhance the security of Internet of Things (IoT) networks through advanced Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS). Utilizing the CICIoT2023 dataset, the study evaluates four ensemble methods: Ensemble Voting, Random Subspace, Bayesian Model Averaging, and Boosting. The results demonstrate that Random Subspace and Bayesian Model Averaging significantly improve detection accuracy and robustness against various attack types, highlighting their potential in real-world IoT security applications
Performance Optimization of Software-Defined Industrial Internet-of-Things (SD-IIoT)
No full textSoftware-Defined Networking (SDN) offers a centralized network management approach that can effectively address the complex and varied traffic demands characteristic of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) environments by decoupling the control plane from the data plane. The centralized control architecture of SDN necessitates the performance optimization of controllers to manage diverse traffic efficiently within IIoT applications. This paper explores the criteria for selecting controllers in SDN-enabled IIoT (SD-IIoT) environments, utilizing the Less Complex Analytic Network Process (LC-ANP) to establish their prioritization. A ranking system for SD-IIoT controllers is formulated using LC-ANP, and experimental validation of this method underscores its effectiveness in optimizing controller performance. The proposed approach enhances the overall efficiency of SDN-enabled IIoT networks, as evidenced by experimental evaluations measuring delay, throughput, packet loss ratio, and jitter across five different topologies with varying nodes and edges. The experiments indicate an overall increase in the average throughput, and a decrease in delay, jitter, and packet loss ratio. The results also show that the suggested strategy and proposed controller surpass the benchmark controller in complex network topologies. These results confirm the method’s capacity to significantly improve network performance in SD-IIoT applications
Who Counts as Child? Using Child as Method and Fanon to Challenge Figurations of Childhood
No full textChild as method is a critical and interdisciplinary approach interrogating figurations of childhood that engage, organize, justify (and perhaps even resist) sociopolitical processes. In this article, we start by presenting Child as method as a conceptual and methodological tool for critical research in childhood, education, and psychological studies and then show how it informed discussions of and about childhood in two different projects. The first concerns Legal Gender Recognition in the United Kingdom where a Child as method perspective highlights how the idea of developmentalism is embedded in figurations of childhood. This aligns with age conformities of “being more like adults than children,” while also showing how gender recognition and childhood have been built in opposition to each other. The second project mobilizes Child as method as a conceptual and methodological orientation to critically reflect on the role-played by age assessment practices in migration control in Greece. This highlights how “the child” becomes a trope within forced migration policies and practices, and how “childhood” performs a social condition in which children are represented as victims in state and humanitarian discourse. In doing so, this not only creates a “universalised” notion of childhood but also enacts epistemic violence. Indeed, these discourses mobilize action in the form of age assessment for those young people who do not look or perform like “real children,” establishing, in essence, who is and is not welcomed in the Western territory. The article ends by discussing Frantz Fanon as a critical childhood theorist. It depicts how Fanon’s contribution informs, conceptually and methodologically, the research analytic of Child as method. Together with Child as method, we put forward Fanon’s contribution to critical childhood studies while highlighting Fanon’s call for action from everyone, including children
Aging and Caring: Exploring Older Adults' Motivation for Informal Caregiving to Other Aging Individuals in Nigeria
No full textBackground and Objectives Because of the global population aging, more informal carers become older adults. In Nigeria, the African country with the largest population of adults aged 60 years and older, self-construal rooted in the African collectivist philosophy generally shapes informal caregiving for older adults. However, there is a general paucity of studies on older adults' informal caregiving roles, particularly about their motivations for caregiving. This study explored older adults' motives for informal caregiving to their care recipients in urban Southeast Nigeria.Research Design and Methods This study adopted a hermeneutic phenomenological research design. In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 purposively selected older adults aged 54-88 who were the primary carers of other older adults in the family and community. The collected data were analyzed using van Manen's thematic analysis method, using QSR NVivo 12 software.Results A total of 4 main themes emerged from the participants' responses: reciprocity of kindness, altruism, a sense of moral responsibility, and eagerness for peaceful longevity. The findings generally showed that religion and culture were the latent factors ingrained in these motivations for informal caregiving.Discussion and Implications Although the African philosophy emphasizes altruism, reciprocity seems more prominent in specific traditional African communities, as observed in Southeast Nigeria. It serves as a means to prioritize family members' needs. The findings indicate the need for the government to establish sustainable programs and policies that support older people in their caregiving role. Doing so will enable carers to derive psychosocial gains from informal caregiving and sustain the caregiving culture of Nigeria
Registered nurses' perceptions of nursing associates' professional identity
No full textThe nursing associate (NA) role was introduced in 2017 with a pilot programme of trainees, and in 2019 became regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The role bridges the gap between the healthcare assistant (HCA) and registered nurse (RN), allowing RNs to focus on complex care. With over 9000 NAs on the NMC register and more in training, it is important to understand RN perceptions of the NA professional identity. The findings of a qualitative survey of RNs (n=23) identified the following themes: NMC standards and scope of practice; The 'cheap nurse'; Skills development and progression; A supportive bridging role. Although valued, the role was perceived as a threat, ambiguous and inconsistently implemented. The implications are that the role ambiguity and lack of standardisation need addressing and a clear understanding of these must be articulated for the professions and public alike.The nursing associate (NA) role was introduced in 2017 with a pilot programme of trainees, and in 2019 became regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The role bridges the gap between the healthcare assistant (HCA) and registered nurse (RN), allowing RNs to focus on complex care. With over 9000 NAs on the NMC register and more in training, it is important to understand RN perceptions of the NA professional identity. The findings of a qualitative survey of RNs (n=23) identified the following themes: NMC standards and scope of practice; The 'cheap nurse'; Skills development and progression; A supportive bridging role. Although valued, the role was perceived as a threat, ambiguous and inconsistently implemented. The implications are that the role ambiguity and lack of standardisation need addressing and a clear understanding of these must be articulated for the professions and public alike
Sustainable Adaptation Plan in Response to Climate Change and Population Growth in the Iraqi Part of Tigris River Basin
No full textClimate change and population growth play crucial roles in the planning of future water resources management strategies. In this paper, a balancing between projected water resources and water demands in the Iraqi Part of the Tigris River Basin (TRB) was evaluated till the year 2080 based on RCPs 2.6, 4.5 and 8.5 and population growth. This paper examined a sustainable adaptation plan of water resources in the TRB considering three scenarios; (S1) as no change in the current strategy, (S2) as improved irrigation efficiency and (S3) as improved irrigation and municipal water use efficiency. The results showed a decline in streamflow will occur in the range from 5 to 18.4% under RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5, respectively. The minimum increase in water demand is expected for RCP 2.6 (maximum increase for RCP 8.5) by 51.8 (208.2), 9.9 (42) and 1.2 (7)% for the municipal-industrial, irrigation and environmental water demands, respectively, compared with the RP. The main finding indicated that S1 is the worst scenario, with water stress in four provinces, especially on the warmest RCP. Whereas, under S2 and S3 conditions, water stress can be eliminated. Increasing ambition towards adaptation becomes obligatory for developing sustainable water sources, supporting water food securities and increasing resilience towards climate change
Addiction recovery stories: Ceri Pimblett in conversation with Lisa Ogilvie
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine recovery through lived experience. It is part of a series that explores candid accounts of addiction and recovery to identify important components in the recovery process. Design/methodology/approach: The G-CHIME model comprises six elements important to addiction recovery (growth, connectedness, hope, identity, meaning in life and empowerment). It provides a standard against which to consider addiction recovery, having been used in this series, as well as in the design of interventions that improve well-being and strengthen recovery. In this paper, a first-hand account is presented, followed by a semi-structured e-interview with the author of the account. Narrative analysis is used to explore the account and interview through the G-CHIME model. Findings: This paper shows that addiction recovery is a remarkable process that can be effectively explained using the G-CHIME model. The significance of each component in the model is apparent from the account and e-interview presented. Originality/value: Each account of recovery in this series is unique and, as yet, untold
An empirical study on the impact of effective digital customer journey management on customer satisfaction in the Nigerian Islamic banking sector
No full textThis study examines the relationship between digital customer journey management andcustomer satisfaction in the Nigerian Islamic banking system. The study is guided by aconceptual framework that reflects a comprehensive and holistic account of consumers' cross-channel interactions and employs a mixed-methods approach using interviews and self-administered questionnaires to collect data from Jaiz Bank customers. Empirical evidence wasgathered from a multistage sampling methodology, and the findings showed that digitaltouchpoints make a substantial contribution to the relevance of selection variables, customerperception, and overall level of satisfaction.This study examines the relationship between digital customer journey management andcustomer satisfaction in the Nigerian Islamic banking system. The study is guided by aconceptual framework that reflects a comprehensive and holistic account of consumers' cross-channel interactions and employs a mixed-methods approach using interviews and self administered questionnaires to collect data from Jaiz Bank customers. Empirical evidence wasgathered from a multistage sampling methodology, and the findings showed that digitaltouchpoints make a substantial contribution to the relevance of selection variables, customerperception, and overall level of satisfaction. Data were collected via interviews and self-administered questionnaire surveys using a triangulation (mixed-method) research method. Thequantitative data were analysed using Ordinal Regression Analysis and the Spearman RankOrder Correlation, while the qualitative data were analysed using the thematic analysis approachthrough NVivo.The customer journey framework investigates how customers interact with Islamic bankingproducts across their omni-channel customer journeys and attempts to pinpoint at what point inthe journey this interaction takes place. The findings of this study indicate that digitaltouchpoints make a substantial contribution to variances in the relevance of selection variables,customer perception, and overall level of satisfaction. Customers of Jaiz banks ranked thecharacteristics associated with the service stage of the customer journey as the most importantcriteria, followed by purchase, awareness, consideration, loyalty, and advocacy stages. Most of those who participated in the survey stated that they were satisfied with Jaiz Bank. Youngercustomers and those with a higher level of education had a more positive attitude towards digitalcustomer journey management.Overall, this study highlights the importance of digital customer journey management in theNigerian Islamic banking sector and its impact on customer satisfaction. This study providesinsights into how Islamic banks can improve their digital touchpoints to enhance their customerexperience and satisfaction. It also contributes to the empirical literature on relationshipmarketing and customer behaviour in the Nigerian Islamic banking sector