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Biodigital technologies and the bioeconomy: the global new green deal?
No full textThis chapter explores the co-incidence of Europe, US and China new green deal policies, together with the international cooperation of many nations, and argus that it seems like a promising intersection of national and global intentions. It introduces the scientific backdrop of these policies, and various biodigital convergences. Based on a range of policy documents, the chapter looks into the emergence of bioeconomy and describes its main features. The conclusion indicates that biodigital convergence and its various implications from biotechnology to bioeconomy seem to promise a Copernican shift in our current way of life. Historicizing this historical shift and comparing it to predictions of a similar magnitude were expected from other technologies, however, it advocates caution. The world is still not in the age of bioeconomy, yet the first signs of the new age of bioeconomy are all around us. Bioeconomy is of great importance for new green deal initiatives, and it is crucial to develop bioeconomy towards a new green age that at last takes sustainability seriously
Enhancing organisational innovation capability – a practice-oriented insight for pharmaceutical companies
No full textThis practice-oriented Insight paper draws on the academic literature, and the authors' experience in the pharmaceutical industry, to identify opportunities to enhance pharmaceutical innovation within a context of changing economic models in healthcare, including increasing R&D and manufacturing costs, and an increasing need to operate holistically (developing both drugs and devices). Specifically, we propose six recommendations for pharmaceutical organisations seeking to innovate effectively in this changing landscape: (1) improve the attention paid to employees' non-technical skills, (2) use a simultaneously top-down and bottom-up approach to innovation that provides on-the-ground support whilst being supported by senior management, (3) empower employees to engage in innovation, (4) address the tendency towards generic rather than adaptive, personalised, change programmes for innovation capability enhancement, (5) focus on specific team enhancements to demonstrate localised change, rather than trying to change a whole organisation's innovation capability at once, and (6) use coaching to embed changes designed to enhance innovation capability
The characteristics of expertise for teaching in higher education
No full textAn extensive literature exists that explores expertise in a wide range of fields and professions. Whilst the specific details of what expertise looks like will vary from domain to domain, there are a number of common features that can be identified which offer a framework for exploring how expertise might be characterised for teaching in higher education. These features can be categorised into three main elements. This chapter briefly introduces these generic elements and suggests how they might be manifest for teaching in higher education. The model of expertise presented includes Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Artistry of Teaching, and Professional Learning, and these headings are used to form the structure of the book as a whole. It is proposed that educational development should be mindful of all of these elements when considering support for those new to teaching and those with more experience. It is also noted that the professional learning aspect of expertise is ignored in institutional output measures of expertise or excellence, but that it is a defining feature distinguishing individuals who have expertise from those with experience. If higher education institutions are to achieve their missions of excellence in education, then they must also foster and enable a culture of professional learning for teaching. Without this active institutional-level commitment, expertise in teaching will only ever be a subculture of the few
What Remains of Us
No full textDeveloped by Sita Calvert-Ennals and writer David Lane in response to extensive cultural and historical research with Korean partners in academia and the arts. It explores the extraordinary temporary reunions of divided family members in North and South Korea who were separated during the Korean War. Inspired by these real-life meetings, where relatives who have not seen each other for 60 years are granted six two-hour meetings across a three-day period before parting all over again, the play follows the story of a North Korean father and South Korean daughter, following their attempts to find a point of connection after a lifetime enduring two completely different regimes. The play has been supported and developed with Doosan Art Center in Seoul, Korea National University of Arts (KNUA), Bath Spa Productions, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Bristol Old Vic, Arts Council England and Judy Owen Ltd. Following extensive interview-led research in Seoul in 2015, the play has been through two research and development periods in the UK and a cultural collaboration between students on the BSU Acting degree and students from KNUA as they created their own contemporary responses to the play’s themes via short films. These films will be shown alongside the production at the Bristol Old Vic
Feminist ethics and research with women in prison
Get PDFIn this article, a new model, An Ethic of Empathy, is proposed as a guide for researchers, particularly new scholars to the discipline. This model emerged from the authors’ concerns regarding the application of ethics to studies that focus on the experience of female offenders in criminal justice systems. The key issue is the vulnerability of incarcerated and post-release women in relationship to the powerful status of social scientist researchers. The complexity of ethics in such research settings necessitates a particular ethical preparation, involving formation, reflection, understanding, commitment, care, and empathy. Three cases are outlined which document the authors’ ethical formations as researchers
A creative computing approach to multimedia humour generation
No full textThe proposed research aims to raise a creative computing approach to multimedia humour generation. In the background of creative computing, the proposed research strives to get the combinational creativity through combining theories and practice about humour from many disciplines. Multimedia humour generation involves studies of humour from the perspective of language, visual mts, music, and software engineering. The proposed research fills the gap of discussing humour generation in a creative multimedia perspective.
Firstly, the concept of the humour degree is raised to serve as the bridge between the humour and computing technologies.
Secondly, the humour degree of textual humour is calculated. Humour oriented lexical features are utilised as measures to reveal the possibility of a lexicon, including ambiguity, colloquialism, slang, popularity, scope and common.
Thirdly, the humour degree of pictorial humour is calculated. Colour, as an important representative tool in the artistic expression, is focused on in the analysis. The novelty degree is reflected by the colour distance percentage, colour number percentage, and colour area difference percentage, and the amusement degree is by the psychological feeling percentage, the association percentage, and the distribution.
Fourthly, the humour degree of musical humour is calculated. The novelty degree is calculated with the neighbour note distance percentage, neighbour note pitch difference percentage, and note variety percentage. The amusement degree is calculated with the psychological feeling percentage, the association percentage and the distribution.
Finally, after the calculation of the humour degree of the above three media of humour, the humour degree of the multimedia humour is calculated.
In summary, the proposed research conducts the multimedia humour generation with designated humour degree in the background of Creative Computing
Conceptualising and measuring mindfulness during worship and prayer: scale development and initial validation of the Mindfulness during Worship Scale (MWS)
Get PDFObjective:-
To propose a three-factor framework for conceptualising and measuring mindfulness during worship, and to develop and validate a new scale using existing scales of mindfulness and spirituality.
Methods:-
A shortlist of scale items was developed and administered online to 521 Christians from the United Kingdom in three independent studies.
Results:-
The studies confirmed a three-factor structure of the new 15-item Mindfulness during Worship Scale (MWS) with an overall internal reliability range of α = 0.81–0.87: a) concentration during worship, which contains reverse-scored items capturing the tendency for attention to slip towards unrelated activities during worship, b) presence during worship, which includes items relating to an increased awareness to thoughts and feelings as they relate to the engagement of worship, and c) absorption during worship, which includes items relating to an increased feeling of awareness and absorption in worship. Concurrent validity was confirmed, as the total MWS and subscale scores were positively associated with existing measures of mindfulness (FFMQ-15 and MAAS) and spirituality (ISS). Moreover, worship frequency predicted higher scores on all three MWS subscales, higher Scripture reading frequency predicted greater focus on religious thoughts during worship, and regular meditation practice was associated with a greater absorption during worship. The frequency of performing communal religious activities was not associated with mindfulness during worship.
Conclusions:-
The MWS is the first scale that measures mindfulness specifically within the context of worship and prayer, and can be used within any religious community that engages in prayers
Eastern European parents' experiences of parenting a child with SEN in England
Get PDFParenting a child with Special Educational Needs (SEN) presents numerous challenges for families. For immigrant parents, these challenges can be particularly difficult to overcome when faced with structural, cultural and linguistic barriers. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of eight Eastern European immigrants parenting a child with SEN in England. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and a data-driven thematic analysis of a series of interviews was carried out. The study identified two key themes: (a) embarking on an unpredicted journey and (b) navigating through challenges. The analyses highlight discrepancies in partnership working between parents and educators and shortcomings in advice that professionals provided to these parents, potentially placing pupils and their families at a disadvantage. The implications for educational psychologists (EPs) and other professionals working with Eastern European parents raising a child with SEN are also discussed