12560 research outputs found
Sort by
Reflections on mindfulness and its implications for social justice in the early years
No full textThis chapter explores how principles of social justice can be operationalised through the practice of mindfulness in Early Years settings. It describes how the practice of mindfulness is compatible with more recent conceptualisations in the UK of young children as active agents in their own learning and as having the human right to be encouraged to hold their own opinions and to express them freely. The text draws on the author’s 40 years’ experience as a practitioner and academic to examine how common, yet contested, themes of mindfulness and social justice can inform the creation of pedagogical and reflexive spaces that support Early Years practice in educational settings
Evaluating and selecting deep reinforcement learning models for OptimalDynamic pricing:a systematic comparison of PPO, DDPG, and SAC
No full textGiven the plethora of available solutions, choosing an appropriate Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) model for dynamic pricing poses a significant challenge for practitioners. While many DRL solutions claim superior performance, there lacks a standardized framework for their evaluation. Addressing this gap, we introduce a novel framework and a set of metrics to select and assess DRL models systematically. To validate the utility of our framework, we critically compared three representative DRL models, emphasizing their performance in dynamic pricing tasks. Further ensuring the robustness of our assessment, we benchmarked these models against a well-established human agent policy. The DRL model that emerged as the most effective was rigorously tested on an Amazon dataset, demonstrating a notable performance boost of 5.64%. Our findings underscore the value of our proposed metrics and framework in guiding practitioners towards the most suitable DRL solution for dynamic pricing
Poster 25 | Health and social care professional’s experiences, views and responses of people who use new psychoactive substances in different Mental Health and Addiction Healthcare Services
No full textAbstract New psychoactive Substances (NPS) cause harms to both physical and mental health of people who use NPS (PWUNPS). Healthcare professionals working in mental health and drug and alcohol settings experience daily challenges surrounding the identification of NPS types, related symptoms resulting from NPS. Although a limitation of research exists surrounding how Hcps manage PWUNPS, more research is needed on Hcps views, responses, and experiences across different healthcare services (HCSs) surrounding their engagements with PWUNPS. Sampling Method: Purposive sampling Methods: A Sequential Explanatory Design consisted of 2 phases across three different service type provisions namely statutory, non-statutory and private sectors across five mental health and drug and alcohol HCSs. Phase one survey data explored the responses of 92 Hcps, thus, the results of the survey informed the development of the interview questions for phase 2. Phase 2 explored Hcps experiences and views through 14 semi-structured interviews. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. 92 Hcps took part in the survey across five different HCSs. Most Hcps were female (n=47) in comparison to male Hcps (n=3) and some Hcps (n=2) did not disclose. 45% of Hcps reported no assessment or procedures were in place for PWUNPS and views were predominately neutral towards PWUNPS and engagement experiences were deemed neutral. The phase 2, 14 semi-structured interviews results identified 5 common themes associated with Hcps experiences and responses toward PWUNPS including organisational issues, assessment, stigma, harm minimisation and a symptoms as contributing factors toward Hcps experiences surrounding the management of PWUNPS. Organisational issues impacted the engagements, access and funding toward treating PWUNPS. HCSs need to integrate specific NPS trainings for Hcps across the different HCS sectors is recommended to reduce the harms associated with NPS use. This study demonstrates the potential of implementing newer assessment, policy, and a Harm Minimisation approach toward PWUNPS across different HCS
Routledge handbook of sport, leisure, and social justice
No full textThis is the first book to explore in breadth and in depth the complex intersections between sport, leisure, and social justice. This book examines the relations of power that produce social inequalities and considers how sport and leisure spaces can perpetuate those relations, or act as sites of resistance, and makes a powerful call for an activist scholarship in sport and leisure studies. Presenting original theoretical and empirical work by leading international researchers and practitioners in sport and leisure, this book addresses the central social issues that lie at the heart of critical social science - including racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, religious persecution, socio-economic deprivation, and the climate crisis - and asks how these issues are expressed or mediated in the context of sport and leisure practices. Covering an incredibly diverse range of topics and cases - including sex testing in sport; sport for refugees; pedagogical practices in physical education; community sport development; events and human rights; and athlete activism - this book also surveys the history of sport and social justice research, as well as outlining theoretical and methodological foundations for this field of enquiry. The Routledge Handbook of Sport, Leisure and Social Justice is an indispensable resource for any advanced student, researcher, policymaker, practitioner, or activist with an interest in the sociology, culture, politics, history, development, governance, media and marketing, and business and management of sport and leisure
Airline business models as complex systems: assessing component interdependencies through interpretive structural modelling
Get PDFPurpose: This paper explores the intricate interdependencies among core components of airline business models (BMs). In the airline industry, where BMs are complex systems, a successful BM requires an orchestrated configuration of various components. However, there is a paucity of research in BM literature pertaining to the interrelationships among key components of airline BMs. Design/methodology/approach: Employing interpretive structural modelling, we gathered input from experts in Iran to assess the driving power and dependency of elements within airline BMs. Findings: Our findings highlight the significance of operating environment conditions and competitive market dynamics as pivotal external components shaping the foundational structure. Value proposition, customer relationship management, and process monitoring are crucial linkage components that drive power and dependency. Notably, capturing value is positioned with the highest dependency. Practical implications: We utilised the ISM technique to visualize interdependencies within airline business models, aiding strategic decision-making. Our findings suggest aligning business and operational strategies with market needs ensures effective value creation and capture, maintaining competitive advantage in the airline industry. In addition, our research reveals critical factors affecting value creation and capture, emphasising monitoring the operating environment and competitive market, and strategically managing value propositions and customer relationship initiatives in the airline industry. We advise adapting business models to external changes for sustained growth and recommend regular monitoring of industry trends and customer expectations. Originality/value: Framed within complexity theory, these insights offer valuable perspectives on identifying and situating critical BM components in the airline industry. The practical implications derived from this study serve as strategic tools for airline managers and potential investors to optimise the design of their airline BMs.</p
The grief cycle: investigating the influence of cycling on grief outcomes in individuals who have experienced a bereavement
Get PDFBackground: There is a lack of research that investigates the influence of physical activity on grief outcomes. This research aimed to examine the influence of cycling on grief outcomes in individuals who have experienced a bereavement. Method: Semi-structured interviews with 14 participants (n = 8 males; age M = 47.5 years) who engaged in cycling behaviour and had experienced a bereavement. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to guide analysis. Results: Four key themes were generated, providing: an 1) Embodied experience of cycling, within the 2) Cycling community, helping to provide support, alongside the 3) Nature connectedness, which led to 4) Post traumatic growth, following bereavement. Conclusion: Evidence suggest that cycling can provide an opportunity for a physical challenge, an immense connection to nature and a community of support from likeminded individuals. These therapeutic qualities of cycling should be considered for future interventions and adds novel findings to the area of cycling, bereavement and grief
I reflect, therefore I am!:exploring the use of a voluntary online reflective journal as a learning tool among postgraduate dental students
Get PDFIntroduction: Reflection is widely used in all aspects of teaching and learning in dental education and makes a fundamental part of all learning activities for dental students. However, reflective tasks are often used with a clear purpose, for example in completing e-portfolios or dealing with critical incidences. This study explores the use of an optional online journal that Postgraduate (PG) dental students were encouraged to use as part of their own development. Aim: to explore how PG dental students perceive the use of optional online journals. Materials and Methods: data were collected via an anonymous questionnaire that included a word pool, Likert scale statements and free text comment sections (Appendix 1). Results: 31 students (93%) responded to the questionnaire with high focus on the usefulness of the journal showing 58% selecting “connecting with tutors” and 41% selecting “keeping track” of own learning and progress. The word “reflection” was selected by 87% of participants when describing the use of the journal. Some participants, 29%, considered the journal as “added pressure”, and 41% felt it was “extra work” as the journal, although voluntary, presented an added task to complete. All students made at least one entry on the online journal. Discussion and Conclusion: The use of an optional online journal can be a useful tool in establishing connection between dental students and their tutors. Some postgraduate dental students valued the benefits of reflective journal without it being linked to assessments. Some concerns were reported around the time constraints as well as the added work related to taking part in such activity
Effects of urban land-use planning on housing prices in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Get PDFChiang Mai is an emerging tourism-oriented city in Thailand. The booming tourism industry during the past decades has triggered significant expansion in its urban land area, resulting in a large number of newly-built residential communities appearing on unplanned land. In this study, we used multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR)-based hedonic price analysis to investigate 4624 housing transactions from 524 residential communities in Chiang Mai. This showed that the recent land-use planning in Chiang Mai has had unusual effects on housing prices; specifically, the effects of accessibility to hospitals, primary and secondary schools, green parks, and shopping malls could be ignored, demonstrating that local residents were well satisfied with land-use planning for high-quality medical and education sources and good living environments throughout the whole of Chiang Mai, and that no more land-use planning and investment on these facilities was needed. However, limited bus routes were only used for tourism and could not provide convenient routes for local residents, leading to their negative effects on housing prices in downtown areas, so the local government should lower the bus stop density in downtown areas and strengthen the transportation links between downtown areas and suburbs. Our study will not only support the urban land planning department of Chiang Mai to optimize residential communities and nearby facilities, but can also provide insights into housing price formation mechanisms in similar tourism-oriented cities in Thailand and beyond
Which MPs get elevated to the House of Lords?
Get PDFUsing logistic regression and a dataset of 816 MPs who sat in the UK House of Commons between 1997 and 2019, we analyse which MPs get elevated to the upper chamber. Drawing on literatures concerning progressive political ambition, the UK Parliament and the wider nature of the British state, we test hypotheses concerning loyalty, expertise and nepotism. We find evidence to support all three but expertise in the form of frontbench experience and, for those MPs without such experience, loyalty appear to be the most important factors driving elevation. Our research has implications for debates surrounding House of Lords reform
Probing action potentials of single beating cardiomyocytes using atomic force microscopy
Get PDFThis paper presents a method for using atomic force microscopy to probe action potentials of single beating cardiomyocytes at the nanoscale. In this work, the conductive tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM) was used as a nanoelectrode to record the action potentials of self-beating cardiomyocytes in both the non-constant force contact mode and the constant force contact mode. An electrical model of a tip–cell interface was developed and the indentation force effect on the seal of an AFM conductive tip–cell membrane was theoretically analyzed. The force feedback of AFM allowed for the precise control of tip–cell contact, and enabled reliable measurements. The feasibility of simultaneously recording the action potentials and force information during the contraction of the same beating cardiomyocyte was studied. Furthermore, the AFM tip electrode was used to probe the differences of action potentials using different drugs. This method provides a way at the nanoscale for electrophysiological studies on single beating cardiomyocytes, neurons, and ion channels embedded within the cell membrane in relation to disease states, pharmaceutical drug testing and screening
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage University of Bedfordshire Repository? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!