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Partnering with students in the evaluation of higher education: reflections from a diverse university
Get PDFThe employment of undergraduate students as partners in research projects has typically focused on teaching, learning and assessment, with students working with academic staff to evaluate their degree courses. In a move away from the norm, a project was designed to capture student voice across the University of Bedfordshire, encouraging collaboration between students from a range of disciplines and research fellows in the Evaluation and Enhancement Team. Recognising students as partners, the project aimed to design research investigating the experiences of minority ethnic students across the university, while simultaneously training the students in research methodologies, ethics and data analysis. In this reflective essay, researchers and undergraduates reflect on the successes and challenges of employing undergraduate students in cross-disciplinary research at a diverse post-1992 university. The article explores the benefits of this type of partnership and offers suggestions for improvements. It emphasises the importance of accessing student voice in such a project
Association between total daily sedentary time and cardiometabolic biomarkers in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Get PDFBackground: Older adults engage in the highest levels of sedentary behaviour across all age groups. Yet, the extent to which sedentary time is associated with cardiometabolic health in older adults is unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined associations between daily sedentary time and cardiometabolic biomarkers in older adults. Methods: Peer-reviewed articles in participants aged ≥60 years that studied the association between daily sedentary time and ≥1 cardiometabolic biomarker were eligible. Five electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Medline, Web of Science and PsycINFO) were searched. Screening, data extraction and study quality were undertaken independently by two reviewers. Meta-analyses were undertaken using random effects models based on correlation and regression coefficients. Methodological quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist. Results: Twenty-eight articles were included with sample sizes ranging from 30 to 62,754 participants. Increasing daily sedentary time was adversely associated with body mass index (Hedge’s g: 0.32; P=0.001), waist circumference (Hedge’s g: 0.45; P<0.001), body fat percentage (Hedge’s g: 0.61; P=0.012) and fat mass (Hedge’s g: 0.30; P=0.018). There were also unfavourably associations with systolic blood pressure (Hedge’s g: 0.37; P=0.047), blood glucose (Hedge’s g: 0.30; P=0.044), triglycerides (Hedge’s g: 0.36; P=0.039) and HDL cholesterol (Hedge’s g: 0.34; P=0.034). Conclusions: Increased daily sedentary time is adversely associated with body composition, systolic blood pressure and blood biomarkers in older adults. Therefore, limiting sedentary behaviour should be considered an important target in this population group for improved cardiometabolic health
Practitioner Agency and Identity in English for Academic Purposes: a book review
No full textReview of Practitioner Agency and Identity in English for Academic Purposes, edited by Alex Ding and Laetitia Monbec, London: Bloomsbury Academic (2024), pp. 244, ISBN: 978-1-3502-6323-9 (hardback), £85.00/$115.00
Beyond movement alone:rethinking health implications of purposeful physical (in)activity, stillness, and rest
No full textPhysical inactivity has become associated with a range of poor health outcomes. Major policy documents have urged actions to decrease physical inactivity at a population level and health promotion campaigns have urged individuals to change their behaviour at a personal level. In this Viewpoint, we challenge the orthodox view, which frames physical activity as solely good and healthy, and inactivity as solely bad and unhealthy. Labelling inactivity as only unhealthy ignores underlying politics and contexts, neglecting the vital role that rest plays in sustaining both wellbeing and the capacity to care for others. To resist, we call for a holistic appreciation of stillness and rest as part of a Dynamic Continuum of Human Movement. A shift in thinking would consider the potential health benefits of stillness as being socially active, mentally active and restorative. We offer policy and practice implications, and encourage the public health community to incorporate an empathetic, inclusive and holistic appreciation of stillness into health promotion messaging
Strategic opportunities of using AI in healthcare industry
No full textBabylon Health is one of the leading companies that are operating in the healthcare sectors of the UK. In 2013, Ali Parsa, a British-Iranian ex-banker, founded healthcare as an information industry that everyone can access. Very recently Babylon Health has started to utilize AI in the healthcare industry by employing advanced algorithms to enhance medical services. As noted by Panesar (2019), their AI-driven applications assist in preliminary diagnostics, offering users personalized health information based on symptoms provided. Babylon's virtual health consultations leverage AI to analyze patient input, aiding in triage and facilitating more efficient healthcare delivery. Additionally, the platform employs machine learning to continuously improve diagnostic accuracy and treatment recommendations. According to Reddy et al. (2019), Babylon Health's AI tools contribute to accessible and timely healthcare by providing on-demand consultations, health monitoring, and relevant medical insights. As noted by Baker et al. (2020), the integration of artificial intelligence supports healthcare professionals in making informed decisions and enables individuals to manage their health proactively. Overall, Babylon Health harnesses AI to augment healthcare accessibility, efficiency, and the quality of patient experiences. Babylon is a healthcare technology company that provides digital health services. Their platform offers telemedicine, allowing users to consult with healthcare professionals through video calls (Davenport and Kalakota 2019a). Additionally, Babylon provides AI-driven health assessments, health monitoring tools, and a digital health subscription service. The company aims to make healthcare more accessible and efficient through the use of technology
Customer-centric AI: conversational technologies, personalization, and ethical innovation
No full textArtificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how businesses engage with customers, with conversational technologies like chatbots and voice assistants enabling more responsive and personalized experiences. By leveraging data-driven insights, organizations can tailor interactions to individual preferences, enhancing satisfaction and loyalty. However, this shift toward hyper-personalization also raises ethical concerns related to privacy, transparency, and algorithmic bias. Addressing these challenges is essential to fostering responsible innovation that respects user autonomy while maximizing the benefits of AI. As AI continues to evolve, placing the customer at the center of technological development is key to building trust and long-term value in digital interactions. Customer-Centric AI: Conversational Technologies, Personalization, and Ethical Innovation explores the transformative impact of AI on customer engagement, focusing on how technologies are reshaping marketing, service, and personalization strategies. It addresses the ethical implications of AI-driven interactions, highlighting issues of privacy, transparency, and trust in digital environments. Covering topics such as conversational AI, customer service, and social media, this book is an excellent resource for marketing professionals, customer experience and service managers, business leaders and strategists, AI developers, data scientists, graduate and postgraduate students, policymakers, researchers, and more
Provoking unstable and evasive ChatGPT behaviour with anti-chain-of-thought: Japanese rock song lyrics case, a year later
No full textConsiderably attention has been directed towards assessing the capabilities of ChatGPT and other Large Language Models (LLMs) in various aspects such as syntax accuracy, factual correctness, comprehensive world understanding, ethical alignment, common sense, and formal logical reasoning. However, the bulk of the research has primarily focused on analyzing "statically"generated texts, where only a single interaction between a human and LLMs was documented. More sophisticated methodologies involving open-ended discussions or debates between humans and LLMs yield far more intriguing outcomes. These reveal flawed rhetorical patterns, including circular arguments, self-contradictions, topic evasion, inconsistency, and a blend of passive aggression with attempts to please the human disputant. In this paper, we present an original observation of such behaviour occurring during a ChatGPT dialogue session centred around the translation of Japanese song lyrics
Growth of InAs quantum dots on the modified GaAs surface by using in-situ multi-pulsed laser shooting
No full textIn this work, we subjected the GaAs substrate to in-situ irradiation by 10 laser pulses with 30 second interruption among each pulse at a temperature of 500℃ without As flux. Then the substrate was annealed at the same temperature for 5 minutes under As flux. We have respectively prepared a series of samples corresponding to different pulse energies (1mJ-8mJ). At the very low energy stage (1-2mJ), oval islands elongated along [-110] can be observed on the surface. At the medium energy stage (2-4mJ), the oval islands will become larger and meanwhile some very narrow nano grooves (elongated along [110]) will appear at the center of the island. At the high energy stage (4-8mJ), the islands will become larger and the grooves will widen into nano holes. The whole structure almost looks like a nano ring with a nano hole at the center. Then, we conducted a study of InAs quantum dot growth on these obtained nano structures. The results show all the InAs quantum dots strictly grow surrounding the oval islands or in the nano holes after the deposition of 2.2ML InAs at 500℃. So these structures can effectively serve as the preferential nucleation sites for quantum dots
A vision for XR immersion in cricket experience and training
No full textThe authors' research covers several fields across computing, human-computer interaction (HCI), creative technologies, game development, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), one of the high priority projects is outlined in this document. This project focuses on measuring an extended reality (XR) game's immersion and its potential in serious games (games beyond entertainment purpose). For example, a cricket entertainment game can be played in a living room by holding the motion controllers. Whereas a traditional cricket game must be played in an academy inside the nets by holding the real cricket bat which is motion tracked with maximum level of accuracy of a shot being played to award score or simulate the outcome of the action. Extended reality applications are predominantly made for the entertainment gamification purpose. However, there are potential to be used for a serious purpose due to its immersion with the advanced interactions in these technologies because of the involvement of the motion in the Gamification. Hence, this vision paper discusses the authors' vision for three upcoming years into researching XR aids for cricket experiences
Organizational culture, digital transformation, and product innovation
Get PDFThis research fills a knowledge gap by introducing a new conceptualization of digital transformation through a multidimensional digital transforming capability. It further examines the influence of four cultural types on this capability and its subsequent impact on product innovation. Empirical findings reveal that adhocracy, followed in descending order of influence by clan, market, and hierarchy cultures, is positively related to digital transforming capability, which in turn is positively related to product innovation in terms of new product newness, meaningfulness, and performance. Additionally, new product newness and meaningfulness each positively mediate the effect of digital transforming capability on new product performance
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