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186 days in teaching:a month-by-month guide to being a secondary teacher
No full text186 Days in Teaching provides a month-by-month roadmap for the school year, helping secondary teachers quickly adapt to new environments, accomplish the many tasks expected of them and excel in roles that might be unfamiliar or outside their initial training. The book covers all aspects of teaching and learning as well non-teaching responsibilities, ensuring you know exactly what is coming up and how to prepare for it successfully. By offering practical advice, research-based strategies and evidence-informed approaches, this guide helps teachers navigate the annual cycle of school life while building the necessary skills and knowledge to remain adaptable and accelerate their careers. Key topics include retaining autonomy, curriculum design, pastoral care and effective communication. Drawing on well-known theories of community practice, it empowers teachers to become active agents in shaping their school's ethos and teaching practices. With a focus throughout on your well-being and job satisfaction, this is essential reading for all secondary teachers, especially those new to the profession, aiming to build a fulfilling, sustainable career in a diverse education landscape.</p
Sarcopenia, obesity, or both: what is the dominant variable of the associated risks of sarcopenic obesity?
Get PDFBackground and objective: Sarcopenic obesity (SO), obesity, and sarcopenia have been related to adverse events in older adults, raising the question about the role of each component in the risk associated with SO. The objective of this manuscript is to evaluate the role of sarcopenia, obesity, and its interaction in the risks (frailty, disability, mortality) associated with sarcopenic obesity. Research Design and Methods: Data from the Toledo Study of Healthy Aging (TSHA) were used. This is a cohort-based study composed of community-dwelling adults ≥65 years. Obesity (Body Mass Index-BMI ≥30) and sarcopenia (the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health-FNIH criteria, standardized to our population) were assessed at baseline. Frailty, through the Frailty Phenotype (FP) and the Frailty Trait scale-5 (FTS5), and disability (Katz Index) were evaluated at baseline. Mortality, frailty, and disability were assessed at follow-up. Logistic (odds ratio, OR) and Cox (hazard ratio, HR) regression models were computed to assess the associations. Results: A total of 1 538 (74.73 years, 45.51% men) individuals were included. Cross-sectionally, SO, sarcopenia, and obesity were significantly associated with the risk of frailty and disability. Longitudinally, Sarcopenia was associated with all the adverse events (ORs/HRs ranged from 1.41 to 4.14, p-value < .05); whereas SO [FP, OR (95% confidence interval—CI): 4.27 (2.05, 8.93); FTS5, OR (95% CI): 6.14 (3.58, 10.51), p-value < .001] and obesity [FP, OR (95% CI): 3.10 (1.95, 4.94), p-value < 0.001; FTS5, OR (95% CI): 2.26 (1.17, 4.35), p-value 0.015] was only associated with incident frailty. Sarcopenia added risk to obesity for frailty (FP and FTS5) whereas obesity only did for frailty (FTS5) in sarcopenic individuals. The interaction between sarcopenia and obesity was not associated with any outcome.</p
Relevance of STIM/Orai Calcium Entry System Hyperactivation in Human Prostate Contractility in Benign Prostate Hyperplasia
Get PDFBenign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) is characterized by prostate enlargement and dynamic alterations contributing to development of lower tract urinary symptoms (LUTS). Prostate hypercontractility has been proposed to contribute to BPH-related LUTS. The aim was to evaluate the effects of inhibiting stromal interaction molecule (STIM)/Orai calcium entry system on adrenergic and neurogenic contractions in prostate (HP) and bladder neck (HB) strips from BPH patients. Effects of STIM/Orai inhibition on adrenergic and neurogenic contractions of HP from organ donors (ODs) without BPH were also evaluated. HP and HB strips were obtained from 20 patients with BPH undergoing radical prostatectomy and from six OD at the time of organ collection for transplantation. Tissues were functionally evaluated for isometric tension recording. STIM-1, Orai1, and Orai3 protein expressions were determined in prostate tissues. STIM-1 was also localized by immunofluorescence in prostate sections. Norepinephrine-induced and neurogenic contractions were significantly reduced by STIM/Orai inhibition with YM-58483 (20 µM) in HP from BPH patients but not in tissues from ODs. STIM/Orai inhibition failed to significantly modify contraction of HB from BPH patients. Protein expression of STIM-1 was significantly elevated in HP from BPH patients. Functional contribution of STIM/Orai system to contractile tone is relevant in prostate when BPH is present, probably related to increased expression of STIM-1. Inhibition of STIM/Orai could have therapeutic implications for the management of BPH patients by alleviating prostatic hypercontraction.</p
Exploring the impact of dark kitchens on community quality-of-life: the role of local biopolitics, disposition, integrity, and lobbying
Get PDFThis study examines residents’ perceived impact of dark kitchens on community Quality-of-Life. A Community Engagement Theory-based research model is developed, including Gentrification, Local Biopolitics, Disposition and Integrity as antecedents, while perceived Lobbying for/against dark kitchens is used as a moderator. A survey is administered to 1827 US adults via Amazon Mechanical Turk. After controlling for Lobbying, the results indicate that Local Biopolitics, Disposition and Integrity positively related to better perceptions of Quality-of-Life, thus pointing that in large urban areas, dark kitchens may become an important player in meal provision. Furthermore, the findings reveal how trust in dark kitchens and positive Disposition towards them can significantly enhance residents’ perceived community impact, specifically when high levels of Lobbying are perceived too. These findings also suggest that while dark kitchens can enhance community well-being through responsible practices and positive public engagement, the role of Lobbying introduces complexity, potentially undermining trust in these businesses. The study underscores the need for balanced regulation and community involvement to maximize the benefits of dark kitchens in urban settings
Tourism and the horizons of becoming: the gestation of an ongoing posthuman / post-qualitative inquiry agenda
No full textWomen entrepreneurs as cultural custodians in tourism: a social feminism theory perspective
Get PDFThis study, grounded in social feminism theory, examines how women entrepreneurs in Cyprus use tourism enterprises to preserve and transmit cultural knowledge. Drawing on 26 semi-structured interviews, the research examines how participants balance economic goals with cultural responsibilities. The analysis identifies five interrelated themes, cultural identity, integration, advocacy, collaboration, and resilience, that inform a conceptual framework explaining how entrepreneurial agency is shaped by gendered social roles and expectations. By positioning women entrepreneurs as agents of transformative change, this study extends social feminism theory to include the preservation and transmission of cultural knowledge as a critical dimension of entrepreneurial agency. By linking entrepreneurship to cultural stewardship, the study offers insights into how women deal with structural constraints while engaging in locally meaningful forms of sustainability. These findings offer implications for policymakers and development practitioners who seek to support gender-responsive, culturally rooted entrepreneurship in marginalised tourism contexts
Virtual reality provides an eyewitness experience that is similar to real life
Get PDFTraditional methods used for presenting to-be-remembered events in eyewitness memory research are often criticized for lacking scientific rigor. Videos lack ecological validity, and though staged live events are realistic, they lack experimental control. Virtual reality (VR) has been proposed as a promising alternative, offering immersive realism in a controlled environment. In this study, 141 participants viewed an event either live, on video, or in VR. Presence, emotional experience, heart rate, and recall were compared across groups, and it was seen that the VR experience was highly similar to the live-event group. The video group reported significantly lower presence, ecological validity, and heart rate changes compared to the VR group. These findings suggest that VR can offer a highly realistic witness experience while maintaining experimental control, making it a valuable tool for eyewitness memory research
Safeguarding equity, access and inclusion in IELTS: a comprehensive review and audit of special arrangements offered to IELTS test-takers with accessibility requirements
No full textSpecial arrangements are designed for test-takers with a disability or who need specific access arrangements to take an exam. They enable all IELTS test-takers to sit an accessible version of the test and for their performance to be assessed fairly. The aim of this review was to audit these special arrangements against some of the research literature on special educational needs and in light of what is currently considered good policy and practice. It also elicited stakeholder attitudes, perceptions and experiences of the existing testing accommodations and, where appropriate, made recommendations to IELTS for the future
Bus-based sensor deployment for intelligent sensing coverage and k-hop calibration
Get PDFDrive-by sensing is a promising concept that employs public transport as a mobile sensing platform to achieve high spatio-temporal coverage for urban sensing tasks. At the same time, the low-cost nature of mobile IoT sensors necessitates their more frequent calibration to ensure data accuracy and reliability. Manual or lab-based calibration of a large number of mobile sensors may no longer be feasible and thus new approaches for automatic calibration are needed. Most prior work on optimal mobile sensor deployment focuses on coverage aspect without considering the sensor calibration. In this study, we present a joint approach for optimising the placement of bus-based sensors for maximising the total unique sensing area and combining the optimal reference sensors geo-placement for maximising k-hop calibrate requirements on the selected routes. A metric-based system developed in our model uses geographical set operations which includes both spatial and temporal joins to quantify the contribution of each bus route and rank them accordingly. We formulate the coverage optimisation problem as a mixed integer linear program (MILP) solve it with a greedy algorithm, and demonstrate this method’s potential using real-world bus-transit data from Toronto, Canada and Manchester, UK. Our approach involves a metric-based system which quantifies each bus route unique coverage contribution for determining an optimal set of bus routes and bus stops for bus-based and reference sensor deployment, to minimise sensor network costs and maximise spatio-temporal coverage. The comparison with a random baseline algorithm indicates that our method outperforms in terms of deployment and coverage efficiency. Our results also include the potential of our weighted method in improving drive-by sensing for air quality monitoring by comparing it with a separate benchmark scheme with different criteria
Insider, outsider:participating observer on a LGBTQ+ leadership development programme
No full textDr Alex Baird returns to explore their insider/outsider identities when researching an LGBTQ+ leadership programme.LGBTQ+ leadership has often been overlooked in leadership and leadership development theory and practice. As a scholar of LGBTQ+ leadership, I was excited to hear about the United Kingdom's first LGBTQ+ leadership development programme in Higher Education (HE) at a university in the East of England. I knew accessing the rare programme presented the opportunity for me, as a researcher, to que(e)ry leadership and leadership development in UK HE using interviews and observations.The programme consisted of three formal workshop days interspersed with individual mentorship which took place between September 2022 and May 2023. Programme members included both academic and professional staff (10 mentees who applied to the programme, seven mentors including one of the programme co-leaders, and the second programme co-leader). Workshops were supported by four external facilitators
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