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Elinor Glyn and her legacy
No full textThis introduction to British Elinor Glyn's life and legacy reviews the cross-disciplinary debate sparked by renewed interest in Glyn by film scholars and literary and feminist historians, and offers a range of views of Glyn's cultural and historical significance and areas for future research. Elinor Glyn was a celebrity figure in the 1920s. In the magazines she gave tips on beauty and romance, on keeping your man, and on the contentious issue of divorce. Her racy stories were turned into films – most famously, Three Weeks (1924) and It (1927). Decades on the ‘It Girl’ remains in common currency, defining the sexy, sassy and alluring young woman. She was beloved by readers of romance, and her films were distributed widely in Europe and the Americas. They were viewed by the judiciary as scandalous, but by others—Hollywood and the Spanish Catholic Church—as acceptably conservative. Glyn has become a peripheral figure in histories of this period, marginalized in accounts of the youth-centred ‘flapper era’. This book reviews the cross-disciplinary debate sparked by renewed interest in Glyn by film scholars and literary and feminist historians, and offers a range of views of Glyn's cultural and historical significance and areas for future research. It features scholarship by Stacy Gillis Annette Kuhn, Nickianne Moody, Caterina Riba and Carme Sanmartí, Lisa Stead, Karen Randell, and Alexis Weedon and includes translated for the first time the intertitles for Márton Garas, 1917 film of Three Weeks, Három hét by Orsolya Zsuppán
Quaternion quasi-Chebyshev non-local means for color image denoising
Get PDFQuaternion non-local means (QNLM) denoising algorithm makes full use of high degree self-similarities inside images to suppress the noise, so the similarity metric plays a key role in its denoising performance. In this study, two improvements have been made for the QNLM: 1) For low level noise, the use of quaternion quasi-Chebyshev distance is proposed to measure the similarity of image patches and it has been used to replace the Euclidean distance in the QNLM algorithm. Since the quasi-Chebyshev distance measures the maximal distance in all color channels, the similarity of color images measured by quasi-Chebyshev distance can capture the structural similarity uniformly for each color channel; 2) For high level noise, quaternion bilateral filtering has been proposed as the preprocessing step in the QNLM algorithm. Denoising simulations were performed on 110 images of landscape, people, and architecture at different noise levels. Compared with QNLM, quaternion non-local total variation (QNLTV), and non-local means (NLM) variants (NLTV, NLM after wavelet threshold preprocessing, and the color adaptation of NLM), our novel algorithm not only improved PSNR/SSIM (peak signal to noise rate/structural similarity) and figure of merit values by an average of 2.77 dB/8.96% and 0.0491 respectively, but also reduced processing time
Can travel advisors influence physical activity in personal travel planning projects using the theory of planned behaviour? A longitudinal study
Get PDFThe objective was to examine the effect of travel advisors (TAs) used in personal travel planning interventions (PTP) on physical activity (PA) in an urban, ethnically diverse residential settings. The study assessed the utility of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to predict both intention and PA associated with “TAs”. A quasi-experimental longitudinal study was conducted with two groups to examine changes in physical activity levels. The methods involved a survey targeted at residents in a PTP targeted area who spoke to a TA (intervention group) and residents who did not (control group). Participants in the intervention group (n = 147) and control group (n = 95) self-reported their PA levels and constructs of the TPB at three time points. The results show that residents who had spoken to a TA reported significantly higher levels of physical activity at each of the three time points. ANOVA”s revealed significant interaction effects for the TPB constructs. The overall conclusion was that those who had spoken to a TA reported more PA at each of the three time points
Playing by white rules of racial equality: student athlete experiences of racism in British university sport
Get PDFInequalities related to racial identity are consistently reported across social institutions, not least education, and sport. These inequalities consistently challenge ‘post-race’ narratives that rationalise racism down to individual prejudices and poor decision-making. This paper presents part of the findings from a wider a twelve-month research project commissioned by British University and Colleges Sport (BUCS) to explore race equality. This wider research privileged the voices of non-White students and staff in an exploration of race and equality in British UK university sport. ‘Non-white’ was chosen as a race identifier to focus on Whiteness, the normalised, raceless power that reproduces itself both knowingly and unknowingly, to ensure racial ‘others’ remain subordinate. This paper presents the findings of the student voices. In this study a research team of academic and student researchers explored the experiences of 38 students across five universities. Generating case studies from each university, the data was analysed from an Intersectional and Critical Race Theory perspective. Two core themes relating to negotiating Whiteness were developed from the data analysis which reflected experiences of university sport as predominantly White spaces; ‘Play by the Rules’ and ‘Keep You Guessing’. Racial abuse was subtle, camouflaged in comments and actions that happened momentarily and hence were implausible to capture and evidence. For incidents to be addressed, evidence had to meet a ‘beyond doubt’ standard. Students were required to consciously negotiate racial bias and abuse to ensure they did not provide a justification for abuse. Navigating racialisation and stereotypes, plus White denial, was additional emotional labour for students. This mechanism of silencing the victim served to normalise racism for both the abused and perpetrator. The conclusion explores potential ways of disrupting these mechanisms of Whiteness in placing students’ welfare at the heart of university sport
Aquaculture 4.0: hybrid neural network multivariate water quality parameters forecasting model
Get PDFThis study examined the efficiency of hybrid deep neural network and multivariate water quality forecasting model in aquaculture ecosystem. Accurate forecasting of critical water quality parameters can allow for timely identification of possible problem areas and enable decision-makers to take pre-emptive remedial actions that can significantly improve water quality management in aquaculture industry. A novel hybrid deep learning neural network multivariate water quality parameters forecasting model is developed with the aid of ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) method, deep learning long-short term memory (LSTM) neural network (NN), and multivariate linear regression (MLR) method. The presented water quality forecasting model (shortened as EEMD-MLR-LSTM NN model) is developed using multivariate time-series water quality sensor data collected from Loch Duart company, a Salmon offshore aquaculture farm based around Scourie, northwest Scotland. The performance of the novel hybrid water quality forecasting model is validated by comparing the forecast result with measured water quality parameters data and the real Phytoplankton data count from the aquaculture farm. The forecast accuracy of the results suggests that the novel hybrid water quality forecasting model can be used as a valuable support tool for water quality management in aquaculture industries
What can we learn from multi-agency meetings to address extra-familial harm to young people?
Get PDFMulti-agency panel meetings to address extra-familial harm (EFH) are an integral part of the safeguarding landscape. In recent times, there has been a proliferation of such meetings with the aim of creating safety for young people. Yet little is known about what happens in these meetings or what difference they make to lives of young people at risk or experiencing EFH. This chapter is based on 16 meeting observations across three sites. It presents practitioner talk within meetings to illuminate the degree to which they align with the four domains of Contextual Safeguarding and position young people’s perspectives as pivotal to the development of safeguarding responses within extra-familial contexts. It identifies a series of essential features to ensure that meetings move beyond “talking and tasking” and focus on actions that really are ‘actions’ to intervene in contexts of concern rather than over-relying on tasking practitioners to gather more information
A hybrid algorithm for large-scale non-separable nonlinear multicommodity flow problems
Get PDFWe propose an approach for large-scale non-separable nonlinear multicommodity flow problems by solving a sequence of subproblems which can be addressed by commercial solvers. Using a combination of solution methods such as modified gradient projection, shortest path algorithm and golden section search, the approach can handle general problem instances, including those with (i) non-separable cost, (ii) objective function not available analytically as polynomial but are evaluated using black-boxes, and (iii) additional side constraints not of network flow types. Implemented as a toolbox in commercial solvers, it allows researchers and practitioners, currently conversant with linear instances, to easily manage large-scale convex instances as well. In this article, we compared the proposed algorithm with alternative approaches in the literature, covering both theory and large test cases. New test cases with non-separable convex costs and non-network flow side constraints are also presented and evaluated. The toolbox is available free for academic use upon request
UE admittance and contention free resource allocation for interference mitigation in HetNet cognitive femtocells
Get PDFFemtocells are designed to co-exist alongside macrocells providing higher spectrum efficiency, spatial frequency reuse, to name a few. However, when deployed in the two-tier architecture with macrocells, interference is imminent thereby it is necessary to mitigate the inherent co-tier and cross-tier interference. The integration of cognitive radio (CR) in femtocells introduces the ability of femtocells to dynamically adapt to varying network conditions through learning, adapting, and reasoning leading to informed decisions. This paper proposes a joint threshold power based admittance and contention free resource allocation scheme (known as Proposed SA) for interference mitigation in HetNet cognitive femtocells (CF). In the proposed SA, a CF sets a threshold value on the mutual interference between itself and a close-by mobile user equipment (MUE). To mitigate cross-tier interference, a CF classifies MUEs which fall above this threshold value (high interference value) as Undesired MUEs (UMUEs), whereas MUEs which fall below this threshold are classified as Desired MUEs (DMUEs). To mitigate co-tier interference, proposed SA introduces a scheduling engine which employs matching policy attributes and assigns resource blocks (RBs) of unique DMUEs to CFs to avoid any possible contention problems, thus providing improved co-tier interference. System level simulations have been performed to demonstrate working and effectiveness of proposed SA. Key performance indicators including choice of maximum transmit power for MUE, co and cross tier interference mitigation, as well impact of MUE mobility has been investigated. Performance analysis of the Proposed SA has also found that the scheme performs much better in relation to a random spectrum assignment (Random SA) scheme. The proposed SA caters the mobility of the MUEs very well allowing more and more admittance thereby providing improved interference results and making it a viable candidate for Femtocell Access points (FAPs) implementation
The reliability and suitability of strength assessments in frail and pre-frail older adults: recommendations for strength testing in older populations
Get PDFBackground: Lifelong strength is fundamental to physical function, health, and quality of life. Reliable appropriate strength assessment measures for older adults play an important role in effective evaluation of baseline ability and exercise prescription to counter disease and disuse. This study aimed to investigate the within-session reliability of maximal isometric knee extension and flexion, hip abduction and adduction, and handgrip strength measures in frail and pre-frail older adults. Method: The study was conducted at a residential care home in Birmingham, UK. All care home residents aged ≥ 65 years; pre-frail or frail according to the Fried Frailty phenotype criteria; able to speak and read English; not currently involved in any other clinical trial; without severe sensory impairments; and with a predicted life expectancy greater than the trial length were eligible. Maximal isometric lower limb testing was performed using specialised resistance training equipment and a portable measurement device, and grip strength was assessed using a portable dynamometer. All eligible participants attended a single testing session and performed three trials per measure. Peak force measures were obtained for analysis. Within-session reliability for each measure was calculated from repeated-measures analysis of variance, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and coefficients of variation (CV) with 95% confidence intervals. Results: Eleven frail and eleven pre-frail older adults participated in the study. Within-session absolute and relative measures were found to be reliable with the highest overall repeatability indicated between trial 2 and trial 3 for knee extension, hip abduction, and handgrip (CV ≤ 4.65%, ICC ≥ 0.96) with variation evident across all measures, except knee extension, from trial 1 to 2. Conclusions: Overall, maximal isometric strength in frail and pre-frail older adults with no previous testing experience can be measured with good to high reliability within their first testing session. An initial two familiarisation trials followed by two measurement trials is recommended to achieve the highest level of overall repeatability. Trial registration: The trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03141879 on 05/05/2017.</p
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