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Fines for term-time holidays are at record levels – this will further erode trust between parents and schools
No full textAI-Assisted Physiotherapy for Patients with Non-Specific Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Get PDFBackground: Non-specific low back pain (LBP) is a widespread condition with significant impacts on physical activity, muscle strength, psychological well-being, and economic status. Traditional physiotherapy shows variable efficacy, prompting growing interest in AI-assisted physiotherapy for its potential to offer personalized feedback and multidisciplinary care integration. Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate AI-assisted physiotherapy’s effectiveness in reducing pain intensity and functional impairment and improving mental health compared to usual physiotherapy. Method: A comprehensive search strategy was employed across Embase, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases from inception to 30 May 2024. Comparative studies were identified and screened using PICOS criteria. Data extraction involved detailed study characteristics and outcomes, with methodological quality assessed via the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Meta-analyses using random-effects models calculated standardized mean differences (SMDs). Results: Eight studies met the inclusion criteria. Compared to usual physiotherapy, AI-assisted physiotherapy did not demonstrate any statistically significant differences in outcomes across the aspects studied, including pain intensity (SMD = −0.2711, 95% CI: −0.5109 to −0.0313, p = 0.267), functional impairment (SMD = −0.2508, 95% CI: −0.5574 to 0.0559, p = 0.1089), and mental health (SMD = −0.0328, 95% CI: −0.1972 to 0.1316, p = 0.6956). These findings indicate that AI-assisted physiotherapy had no demonstrable additional effect compared to usual physiotherapy for patients with LBP. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to address inter-study heterogeneity, confirming the robustness of these results. Conclusions: While AI-assisted physiotherapy shows potential in managing LBP by providing personalized treatment and feedback, the current evidence does not demonstrate significant advantages over usual physiotherapy. Further large-scale, long-term, and methodologically rigorous randomized controlled trials are necessary to validate these findings, assess their clinical relevance, and explore broader public health applications
Walking Methodologies in the Uplands of the North York Moors National Park
Get PDFAs a research interviewer, walking alongside research participants is a creative methodology that enables researchers to discover more democratic, richer data on places, spaces, and surroundings. This article reflects upon walking methods in National Park landscapes from experiences of working on a social research project, which applied a walking methodology in the North York Moors National Park. From the findings of this project and drawing on walking methods literature, the article argues that walking blurs any cultural–natural divisions and allows the interview to be placed into a natural environment where the interview is influenced and shaped by the landscape. The article contributes to the social sciences by innovatively demonstrating how walking acts as an everyday, collaborative research method which through its multi-sensory interactions is an important approach to understand non-human environments and protected landscapes. Applying a participatory research lens, the article reveals the relationships between walking and routine, heritage, participation, nature, sensory immersion, and identity in a contested environment
Comprehensive Learning of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning - Series 1: Uncover the Mystery of AI and ML for Beginners and Students
No full textThis book provides a comprehensive introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its foundational components, written in a way to guide readers through theoretical concepts and practical applications. It begins by exploring the evolution of AI, delving into its core principles and highlighting its transformative impact across industries such as healthcare, finance, and entertainment. Machine learning is then introduced as a crucial subset of AI, with a detailed examination of its types, including supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning, and their real-world applications.
The chapters take a hands-on approach, covering every step of a machine learning project, from data collection and analysis to model building, fine-tuning, and deployment. Regression and classification techniques are thoroughly explained, with practical examples showcasing their utility in prediction and decision-making tasks. The book also delves into clustering methods in unsupervised learning, shedding light on their role in uncovering hidden patterns in data.
Advanced topics like Natural Language Processing (NLP) and recommender systems are introduced, illustrating their significance in text analysis and enhancing user experiences in industries like e-commerce and media. The book does not shy away from discussing critical ethical challenges in AI, such as bias, transparency, and privacy, urging readers to consider responsible AI development. Finally, the book culminates in a practical guide for building a simple AI application, providing readers with the tools and confidence to embark on their own AI projects
Why work-loading in academia doesn’t work: A post-92 lecturer’s reflection and opinion of the UK Higher Education issue
Get PDFWorkload is one of the most (if not the most) contentious issues within the UK Higher Education Environment. The growth in managerialism, the drive for efficiency, the more for less culture, cuts in real-time funding, marketisation and growth in student numbers and the publish or perish culture have increasingly heaped pressure on academics to do more and more in the time they have available, while maintaining high levels of student satisfaction, student contact hours (teaching) research outputs and take on an increasing administrative burden, both teaching and non-teaching related. The solution has been work-planning or work-loading, dependent on the term used. Ultimately it comes down to managerial attempts to manage what academics do. However, the managerial use of these tools, can be challenged and used to also manage what academics don’t do, or alternatively can resist. This opinion piece considers the breakdown and failure of work-loading in academia and proposes the need to review a system that does not support the needs of the individual academic or the organisation
'Don't forget the juicy fruits': Khat-chewing, diaspora, and identity amongst young British-Somali men in the North of England
Get PDFThis ethnographic study examines how young British-Somali men in Northern England utilise khat-chewing as a cultural practice to negotiate hybrid identities formed by migration, marginalisation, and transnational belonging. Drawing on 18 months of fieldwork, the research reveals how khat consumption within mafrish spaces functions as a ritual of cultural continuity, enabling participants to maintain symbolic ties to Somali heritage while navigating British urban life. These practices challenge binary notions of identity, illustrating how diasporic youth construct fluid, contextual selves that blend Somaliness with Britishness. Khat-chewing emerges as both a coping mechanism and a form of resistance, offering a sense of belonging amid experiences of exclusion, Islamophobia, and racialisation. The study highlights the agency of young migrants in shaping diasporic spaces and identities, contributing to broader debates on hybridity, glocalisation, and the politics of cultural expression in postcolonial Britain
The Fragile Rural Church Hypothesis Post-Pandemic
Get PDFTaking two marks of the fragile church as financial anxiety over maintaining the building and human resource anxiety over replacing key lay leaders, two surveys conducted during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 confirmed higher anxiety among lay people and clergy in rural areas compared with those in other areas. New data from the Church 2024 survey demonstrated that this difference still pertained. In 2024 25% of rural clergy and 17% of rural lay people concluded that their church building is no longer financially viable. In 2024 87% of rural clergy and 58% of rural lay people concluded that key lay people are proving difficult to replace. The vision for a rejuvenating lay-led future needs to be read against this statistical background
Women's Experiences of County Lines-Related Cuckooing in North Yorkshire
No full textThis chapter draws on empirical research into the experiences of women with involvement in county lines in North Yorkshire. Cuckooing, which is often understood as a form of county lines-related exploitation, is an issue of particular concern in this region and women who experienced cuckooing report high levels of sexual exploitation, abuse, and physical violence. The home is often understood as a safe place and cuckooing is particularly destructive as it targets spaces where individuals ought to feel safe. For these women, their homes were constructed as a source of vulnerability when interacting with county lines and are a site of continued insecurity. Although cuckooing is an exploitative practice, some participants initially viewed being cuckooed as preferable to other options for funding their drug dependence. Women were also cuckooed through romantic relationships. Once county lines groups had taken over their homes, participants described a climate of fear and coercion. Interactions between these women and support organisations are complex and plagued by significant barriers, with cuckooed women often being perceived as to blame for their predicament. This chapter concludes with suggestions for opportunities to provide support and mitigate some of the impacts of county lines cuckooing on female victims
