10667 research outputs found
Sort by
Community Sentence Treatment Requirement Multisite Report July 2020 – January 2023
Full text linkThis report presents analysis from the Community Sentence Treatment Requirement Multisite Evaluation, completed by the Institute for Public Safety, Crime and Justice
Financial Fair Play and Competitive Balance in European Football: A Long-Term Perspective
Full text linkPurposeThe paper analyzes the effects of financial fair play (FFP) in the competitive balance of European football industry throughout a long-term perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyze the evolution of the competitive balance in the European football industry through a time-series analysis from season 1992/93 to 2018/19.FindingsResults indicate an industry by nature dominated by a few clubs showing a general stationary behavior. FFP has had very little impact in local competitions. Just in some leagues, such as the Spanish, German, and French leagues, we can observe an increase in the imbalance in some indicators, but these results are not very robust. The improvement on the financial situation happens especially in a small group of firms that coincide with the big leagues with a strong European market orientation and strict local financial control standards.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the study covered 17 European Leagues, there are several leagues not accounted for and thus results should be generalized with caution.Practical implicationsThe authors observe heterogeneity of the results of FFP in the competitive balance, associated to how the standard has been implemented in each market. This opens opportunities to study and deepen the local codes and their influence, especially in the recommendations of future financial control standards.Originality/valueThe authors’ main contribution to the literature is to examine the impact of the FFP rules in the competitive balance utilizing a very broad study of 17 European markets with a rich and unusual overview and long-term perspective
The Domestic Compliance System and Compliance Barriers: A UK Child Rights Case Study
Full text linkAn empirical puzzle exists regarding the failure of state parties to comply with international agreements. Offering new empirical insights, this article aims to enhance understanding of non (or weak) compliance with international human rights agreements by state parties. Documentary analysis supplemented with semi-structured interviews is used to explore UK compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Through the empirical case study, the results provide valuable insights into the domestic compliance system and compliance barriers within the under researched human rights sector. The results show that multiple barriers impact compliance within the UK and its four nations, to varying degrees. Differences also exist regarding the extent to which specific barriers emerge within the state and domestic compliance systems. Lastly, the findings provide evidence to support a cyclical model of the domestic compliance system, thereby advancing the current, linear understanding
The Role of the Mass Vaccination Programme in Combating the COVID-19 Pandemic: An LSTM-based Analysis of COVID-19 Confirmed Cases
Full text linkThe COVID-19 virus has impacted all facets of our lives. As a global response to this threat, vaccination programmes have been initiated and administered in numerous nations. The question remains, however, as to whether mass vaccination programmes result in a decrease in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. In this study, we aim to predict the future number of COVID-19 confirmed cases for the top ten countries with the highest number of vaccinations in the world. A well-known Deep Learning method for time series analysis, namely, the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks, is applied as the prediction method. Using three evaluation metrics, i.e., Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), we found that the model built by using LSTM networks could give a good prediction of the future number and trend of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the considered countries. Two different scenarios are employed, namely: ‘All Time’, which includes all historical data; and ‘Before Vaccination’, which excludes data collected after the mass vaccination programme began. The average MAPE scores for the ‘All Time’ and ‘Before Vaccination’ scenarios are 5.977% and 10.388%, respectively. Overall, the results show that the mass vaccination programme has a positive impact on decreasing and controlling the spread of the COVID-19 disease in those countries, as evidenced by decreasing future trends after the programme was implemented
Depoliticization, participation and social art practice : On the function of social art practice for politicization
Full text linkThe purpose of this article is to explore how the process of depoliticization occurs in neoliberal governance, with the aim of identifying approaches to counter its control over the way we live together. Depoliticization is a process of neoliberal political and social organization that undermines democracy. An instance of how depoliticization happens is through a lack of accountability in the way that government devolves responsibility through non-governmental agencies or quangos. Arts Council England is a quango with an increasingly instrumental policy agenda. Arts-based participation is being fostered through policy agendas; art projects that are funded in this arrangement are expected to promote social inclusion or audience engagement. While this is superficially laudable, a reduced gap between state policy objectives and commissioned artistic outcomes sees artworks utilized as interpretive publicity for policy objectives. In this way, the funding of the arts can be considered as part of the wider process of depoliticization. Yet, we argue, contra much of the depoliticization literature with its formalist understandings of power, that politics is not limited to the actions and non-actions of the state alone and can be radically understood as an everyday process. In this conception of politics, we conclude that certain forms of art practice, those that employ social praxis and critical citizenship through critical pedagogical and participatory methods, can perform a politicizing function and thus potentially reshape democracy in more emancipatory ways
The Adoption of Robotic Process Automation Considering Financial Aspects in Beef Supply Chains : An Approach towards Sustainability
Full text linkSustainable beef production is a global challenge in present times. This research paper aims to investigate the financial risks and barriers in the adoption of robotic process automation (RPA), which has emerged as a strategic catalyst for achieving sustainability in the beef sector. Beef manufacturers constantly strive to achieve sustainability and a competitive advantage in order to gain enhanced beef productivity at low operational costs. There is a gap in the research, as there is a lack of knowledge about the financial aspects, barriers, and challenges influencing the RPA adoption process in the beef supply chain. To bridge this gap, secondary research is used to extract statistical data and information relevant to the RPA adoption process in beef supply chains, considering financial aspects. This study utilises a simulation method adopting a process model created in previous research and analyses different scenarios based on financial parameters using values or variables in Simul8 software. The scenario analysis allows for the identification of financial risks in the adoption of RPA and evaluates the simulation results from a sustainability perspective. The scenario analysis highlights the financial risks and barriers in the adoption of RPA in beef supply chains through process simulation, using financial parameters as a basis. KPI values, income statements, and carbon emission reports are generated to evaluate the main bottlenecks at various beef supply chain stages, thus allowing business users to conduct a thorough cost analysis. Successful adoption of RPA can lead to reduced supply chain complexity, thus improving financial and operational efficiency, which results in increased beef productivity, quality, and shelf life. This study is extremely important as it assesses scenarios from a sustainability perspective and contributes to academic knowledge and professional practice. It provides a process model to support the financial and ethical decision-making of managers or stakeholders, while helping the beef sector adopt RPA with greater ease. The process model can be adopted or modified according to the financial circumstances and individual requirements of business users. Furthermore, it provides decision-makers with the knowledge to eliminate or prevent financial barriers, thus advancing and accelerating the adoption of RPA. Robust adoption of RPA assists beef supply chains in gaining higher productivity at reduced costs, thus creating sustainable value
Sexual Violence: Challenges in Changing Campus Culture
Full text linkSexual violence is a widespread issue on UK campuses. While not a new research concern, universities have only recently begun to respond, despite being key sites for action. While they have a duty of care for students, a gap often exists between legal requirements, experiences and university responses. Our research triangulates student perceptions, experiences, support-seeking and reporting preferences, with academic, support staff and university manager perspectives of sexual violence within campus spaces. This chapter provides a new commentary of our research, summarising our challenges, practical recommendations, experiences and successes in changing policy within UK HEI. Our findings suggest sexual violence is prevalent, but many barriers to disclosure lead to low reporting rates, with students not knowing where to seek support, lacking faith in existing mechanisms, or relying on a hierarchy of severity in determining ‘acceptable’ behaviour. While ‘Consent’ related interventions create consent conversations on campus and address difficulties young people have in negotiating consent, practices vary. Initiatives are viewed as an add-on to programme curricula, with poor attendance and limited evaluation. Perceptions of prevalence vary because university managers can be detached from frontline student-facing staff experiences. When support structures are not in place, staff seek informal disclosure or support routes, which is further compounded by a blurring of responsibility between Universities and external support services. We will argue that sexual violence is a pressing issue but, within changing HE landscapes, will remain a low priority without joined up, campus-wide approach, driven by university managers, to embed long-term, cultural changes. Key words: sexual violence, consent, universities, spaces, culture Dr Kimberley M. Hill is an Associate Professor in Psychology at The University of Northampton and Deputy Subject Lead. Kimberley is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. Her research expertise involves promoting health and preventing health risk in young people. As a National STEM Ambassador, Kimberley is dedicated to improving access to and dissemination of psychological knowledge. Dr Melanie Crofts is an Associate Professor in Law at De Montfort University and the Director and Vice Chair of the Northamptonshire Rights and Equality Council. Melanie is a Fair Outcomes Champion for the Decolonising DMU project and her research expertise focuses on equality, diversity and discrimination in Higher Education. She is also a consultant trainer for the Football Association and sits on the Intersectionality Athena Swan Governance Committee subgroup for AdvanceHE
Innovative approach using ultrasonic-assisted laser beam machining for the fabrication of ultrasensitive carbon nanotubes-based strain gauges
Full text linkHere, we present for the first time a novel process based on the simultaneous implementation of ultrasonic vibrations (USVs) and laser beam machining (LBM) to fabricate ultrasensitive strain gauges fabricated from polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) nanocomposites. The results clearly showed that ultrasonic-assisted laser cutting reduces the surface electrical resistance up to 2.5 kΩ, while laser cutting alone is able to reduce the surface electrical resistance down to 3 kΩ towards the best conditions. Microscopic studies confirm that USVs reduce the wrapping of PMMA chains around CNTs and intensify the mechanism of electrons transfer through tunneling by improving the dispersion degree of CNTs on the surface. It was found that the prepared sample using USVs with an 80 W laser power and the beam motion velocity of 35 mm/s presented the best performance for detecting small strains. The sensing properties of the generated sample were characterized in the strain range of 0–1.2%. At 1.2% strain, the relative resistance changes were 27.04%, indicating the gauge factor is higher than 20 for the fabricated strain gauge, which is about 8 times higher than the best similar samples reported previously
Global prevalence of sleep disorders during menopause: a meta-analysis
Full text linkBackground Sleep disorders are conditions that have long-term effects on health, quality of sexual function, productivity at work, and overall quality of life. Considering that reports on menopausal sleep disorders are heterogeneous, the aim of this research was to determine the global prevalence of sleep disorders during menopause by meta-analysis. Methods PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, WoS, ScienceDirect, and Embase databases were checked with suitable keywords. All screening stages of articles were reviewed based on PRISMA and their quality was determined based on STROBE. Data analysis, examination of heterogeneity, and publication bias of factors affecting heterogeneity were performed in CMA software. Results The overall prevalence of sleep disorders among postmenopausal women was 51.6% (95% CI: 44.6–58.5%). The upper prevalence of sleep disorders was among postmenopausal women at 54.7% (95% CI: 47.2–62.1%). The upper prevalence of sleep disorders in the same population category was related to restless legs syndrome with a prevalence of 63.8% (95% CI: 10.6–96.3%). Conclusion In this meta-analysis, sleep disorders during menopause were found to be common and significant. Therefore, it is recommended that health policymakers offer pertinent interventions in relation to the health and hygiene of sleep for women in menopause
“It’s ok not to know what I want to do”: An exploration into the aspirations of Early Childhood Studies students
Full text linkThe importance of embedding employability skills in English Higher Education has received increased attention since the introduction of tuition fees and employers claiming that graduates lack the necessary skills for the workforce. This paper considers how these employability skills align with students’ aspirations, when there is uncertainty around their career trajectory, an area that appears unexplored in current literature. Using an interpretative approach this small-scale study (n=25) sought views of first year students within an HE institution in the East Midlands of England. This paper reports on students’ career aspirations and motivations for studying, and working in, the field of Early Childhood, at the commencement of their studies. Through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, students reflected on their aspirations and motivations to follow this degree trajectory. This paper purports that students embark on this degree with a generic interest in working with children but are uncertain about career directions. They welcome the breadth of opportunities the degree could lead to. It is therefore argued that “it’s ok not to know what I want to do”. It is the role of academic and professional staff to embed a breath of opportunities for exposure to the range of career pathways available
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage NECTAR? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!