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Autism and wellbeing: A preliminary investigation of ‘Flourishing Autism’.
No full textAlthough a plethora of literature and research highlights the benefits of wellbeing and being able to flourish in order to live a long, good, meaningful life of quality, the exploration of these factors among individuals with an Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) has received a dearth of interest. This is especially relevant when evidence of health inequalities for those diagnosed with ASC are of such a degree that premature deaths and decreased longevity are prevalent. Using a Grounded Theory methodology (GTM), the present study aimed at exploring the perceptions and experiences of adults with ASC regarding the concept of flourishing and the experience of wellbeing.The study identified that there are two emerging theoretical categories of ‘Meaning’ and ‘Acceptance’ that are key to the concept of flourishing wellbeing for adults with ASC with a mediating factor of the core category of ‘Environmental Conditions’. These identified categories were then used as the building blocks of a proposed substantive theory of wellbeing for adults with ASC. Findings suggest that the needs of those with ASC to be able to flourish into wellbeing are not dissimilar to those described by theories that are for the general population. However, the nuances and meanings behind the categories are of more importance especially when placed upon the continuum of the environment and how that plays a mediating role.This study’s findings form a basis that would benefit adults WITH ASC, carers, healthcare professionals, social care professionals, teachers, family, friends, and society in general; all those who are committed to ensuring that the life lived by those with ASC is not less rich or healthy than the life of a neurotypical
The Big Five Personality Traits as predictors of life satisfaction in Egyptian college students
No full textSeveral studies have indicated significant relations between the Big Five personality traits and life satisfaction. However, most of these studies have been carried out on Western samples. The present study aimed to explore the Big Five predictors of life satisfaction in an under-studied sample of Egyptian college students (N = 1,418). They responded to a self-rating scale of life satisfaction and the Arabic Big Five Personality Inventory. Both scales have acceptable to good reliabilities and validities. Men obtained significantly higher mean total scores than did women for extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness, whereas women obtained higher mean total scores than did their male counterparts on neuroticism and agreeableness. In both sexes, all the Pearson correlations between the Big Five and life satisfaction were significant and positive except for neuroticism (negative). The strongest correlation with life satisfaction scores was for neuroticism (negative). Principal components analysis extracted two components in both genders which were labelled: “Positive traits”, and “Well-Being versus neuroticism”. Big Five traits accounted for approximately 22% of the variance in life satisfaction scores among men, and 17% in women. Predictors of life satisfaction were low neuroticism, conscientiousness, extraversion, openness (men), low neuroticism and conscientiousness (women). It was concluded that personality traits are important for life satisfaction in the present sample of Egyptian college students. By and large, the relationships observed in Egyptian college students reflect the general pattern observed in other samples
Philosopher, magician and musical scientist Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry (Rainford Hugh Perry)
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The feasibility and acceptability of an online CPD programme to enhance PE teachers’ knowledge of muscular fitness activity
No full textSchools provide an opportunity to enhance muscular fitness of English youth during physical education (PE). Continued professional development (CPD) among teachers may improve muscular fitness activity delivery in schools. This study sought to assess the feasibility and acceptability of an online CPD programme to enhance PE teachers’ knowledge of muscular fitness activity. Methods: Co-production of an online CPD platform was undertaken with five secondary school PE teachers. A quasi-experimental pre-post control group design for the CPD was adopted (CPD group n = 76, control n = 32). Upon CPD completion feedback was solicited for qualitative analysis. Results: Pre-and-post CPD knowledge quiz data were available from 65 participants (55.4% male). The median knowledge quiz change score was significantly higher in the CPD group than in the wait list control group (CPD score vs. control score; U =37, z = −5.96, p < 0.01). Three primary themes reflecting factors associated with the acceptability and feasibility were (1) practical application, (2) support and resources, and (3) knowledge and confidence. Conclusions: Co-production of an online CPD programme can improve knowledge and affect practice. PE teachers that completed the CPD reported the online platform was beneficial to overcoming the limitations of face-to-face CPD such as time and financial constraints and suggested the content covered was beneficial and appropriate to their teaching. Future work is required to establish links between teachers’ learning following CPD, the translation into PE practice and student MF outcome
"Deindustrialisation and Popular Music: Punk and ‘Post-Punk’ in Manchester, Düsseldorf, Torino and Tampere" Giacomo Bottà (2020)
No full textReview of: Deindustrialisation and Popular Music: Punk and ‘Post-Punk’ in Manchester, Düsseldorf, Torino and Tampere, Giacomo Bottà (2020) London: Rowman and Littlefield, 222 pp
ECDSA based water bodies prediction from satellite images with UNet
No full textDetection of water bodies from satellite images plays a vital role in research development.It has a wide range of applications like the prediction of natural disasters, detecting drought and flood conditions. There were few existing applications that focused on detecting water bodies that are becoming extinct in nature. The dataset to train this deep learning model is taken from Kaggle.It has two classes namely water bodies and masks. There is a total of 2841 sentinel-2 satellite images with corresponding 2841 masks. Additionally, the present work focuses on using UNet, Tensorflow to detect the water bodies. It uses a Nadam optimizer to reduce the losses. It also finds best-optimized parameters for the activation function, a number of nodes in each layer. This proposed model achieves integrity by embedding a security feature Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA). It generates a digital signature for the predicted area of water bodies which helps to secure the key and the detected water bodies while transmitting in a channel. Thus the proposed model ensures the performance accuracy of 94% which can also work the same for edge detection, detection in blurred and low-resolution images. The model is highly robust
Combined power generation and electricity storage device using deep learning and internet of things technologies
No full textIn microgrids, residential customers play a significant part in the operation. An alternative to client administration should be to utilize smart houses to deal with demand and implement demand responsiveness measures. A power generation and electricity storage device (PGESD) for next-generation technologies is proposed in this article. The current research provides an intelligent home load control system that promotes reaction to demand thinking about this circumstance. The technology is adapted to scenarios where users can charge fluctuating electric power and transmit microgeneration devices.The suggested system utilizes deep learning technology and a fuzzy logic model for better computation and lesser complexity. The choice process involves monitoring environmental information, power production, and battery storage. This article proposes a next-generation power generation and electricity storage device (PGESD). To create Smart Buildings and Microgrids, the proposed system employs technologies and techniques that have become increasingly important. With a precision and accuracy ratio of 89% and 92%, respectively, the proposed PGESD method yields precise numerical results
‘A place where I am always welcome’: A thematic analysis of what belonging to Alcoholics Anonymous means to its members.
No full textThe purpose of this study is to explore what belonging to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) means to its international membership. The aim is to gain a collective view of the opinions held by those accessing the services offered by AA globally. This paper focuses on the study of AA entirely from the perspective of its members, without being attentive to the AA approach to recovery, or the 12-step programme it advocates. An online survey was distributed as a link on Facebook groups accessed by members of AA. Responses (N=182) were received from members accessing AA services in 11 different countries. These were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings convey a positive message for what belonging to AA means, demonstrating that members accomplish more than sobriety and sustained abstinence.They develop a positive outlook, feel connected and accepted into a unique community, that offers a platform for achieving personal and spiritual growth
Graduate employability in Ghana: embedding social enterprise skills within the higher education framework
No full textLevels of unemployment and environmental challenges make social entrepreneurship and social enterprise very important for the sustainability of society. Higher education has played a fundamental role in driving entrepreneurship and innovation in local, national, regional, and global contexts. The authors of this article explore the state of the legislative framework in Ghana, as well as social enterprise education, stakeholder engagement, models and challenges. The methodology applied for this paper is concept mapping, enabling the critical exploration of the relevance of social enterprise in the context of higher education, and demonstrating how it could practically serve as a panacea to rising youth unemployment. This research concludes by making a case for including social enterprise in the higher education curriculum