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Transforming physiotherapy education: exploring co-designed neurological rehabilitation student-led clinics through the dual lens of student and service user perspectives.
Get PDFBackground - Physiotherapy neurological student-led clinics (SLCs) are innovative educational settings where students lead the provision of rehabilitation for patients with neurological conditions, under the supervision of qualified staff. Student-led clinics can offer dual benefits: enhancing student learning through hands-on experience and improving patient access to rehabilitation. This Thesis investigates the student and patient perceptions and experiences of SLCs. Body of work - This Thesis is supported by five papers to form a prospective PhD by public output, which employed a range of methodologies to investigate a physiotherapy neurological rehabilitation SLC from the perspectives of students and patients. A scoping review of the literature base provided the foundation for the research. A unique co-design approach involving students and patients informed the further development of the SLC. This research then explored in-depth, the experiences and perceptions of students and patients attending the SLC. Golden threads of this Thesis were identified by synthesising findings across all five papers. Contribution to knowledge - This Thesis generates new knowledge across several domains. This Thesis provides a collective exploration of the existing evidence base related to physiotherapy SLCs, an aspect previously unaddressed, and it explores three common dimensions or 'golden threads' identified from the findings of the papers. The golden threads that have been identified from this body of work, are: 1) Student -led clinics as a facilitator of student development in clinical and professional skills; 2) Student-led clinics as a person-centred learning environment and; 3) Factors influencing the design and delivery of a physiotherapy SLC for neurological rehabilitation. This research has generated knowledge and provided unique insights into students' and patients' experiences and perceptions of attending a UK neurological physiotherapy SLC. This body of work has demonstrated the feasibility of employing a unique co-design approach with students and to developing the SLC, an aspect which is rarely reported in health professions curricula in the UK. The inclusion of patients with neurological conditions in this research not only contributes to the originality of the research but also adds to the body of knowledge by providing unique insights and perspectives that are often not otherwise represented. This work has illuminated that a neurological physiotherapy SLC can be operated safely and effectively and is a suitable model for skill development. Furthermore, this Thesis demonstrates that neurological rehabilitation may feasibly be conducted at a University-based SLC. SLCs may be able to contribute more to the delivery of practice-based learning experiences in the UK, an aspect which requires further research
New dawn for intersex persons in Kenya: an evaluation of the Intersex Persons Bill 2023.
Get PDFThe saying that it gets darkest just before dawn could not be more accurate in describing the journey of recognition of intersex persons in Kenya. This paper acknowledges the Intersex Bill 2023 as a monumental step towards enhancing the protection of intersex persons in Kenya, who have been marginalised ever since. It opens with a historical and background context, alluding to the fact that intersex persons have always existed, pointing that the mystery and or negative attitude towards intersex persons attributable to, and fuelled by lack of awareness. The discourse identifies and calls out the dimensions of violations of the rights intersex by government institutions including the judiciary, law enforcement organs, hospitals and medical personnels, their own families and the public in general. A closer look at the Bill exposes loopholes and gaps that need to be filled to enhance the level of protection. Even as it advocates for the passing into law of the Intersex Bill 2023, this paper proposes some amendments to the Bill, and reforms in the existing institutional framework that support, condone and or enable the discrimination of intersex persons. Additionally, it suggests capacity building for change in the societal outlook for a progressive society
My body is my piano.
No full textIn this performative keynote presentation, the author explored visibility and the body in relation to performance, sound art and experimental music. The keynote encompassed bits of creative writing, performance, and critical and historical analysis. It featured works by Yoko Ono, Charlotte Moorman, Sanja Ivekovic, Christina Kubisch, Deej Fabyc, Catherine Meynell, Elaine Shemilt, Maria Vedder, Bettina Gruber, Laurie Anderson and Janet Cardiff. During the presentation, the author discussed theoretical approaches by Laura Mulvey, John Berger, Donna Haraway, Paul Preciado, and research by Cathy Lane
Design and application of a new 24-h water sampler for monitoring particulate and dissolved road pollutants.
Get PDFRoad pollution is a threat to aquatic ecosystems globally. Road runoff contains a mixture of particulate (e.g. tyre and road wear particles (TRWPs), road lining paint fragments and microplastics) and ‘dissolved’ pollutants (e.g. leached tyre and plastic additive chemicals). There is a lack of sampling approaches, however, for collection of particulate and dissolved pollutants which avoids transport of large volumes of water needed for particulate analysis and minimises sample contact with plastic materials. Therefore, the aim was to develop a new stainless-steel 24-h portable sampler for in situ isolation of particulates from a large sample volume (> 10 L) and simultaneous collection of water for additive chemical analysis. This was achieved using readily available materials (battery powered peristaltic pump, stainless-steel refuse vessel, sieves etc.) and at 50 µm in length were 25.5, 13.7 and 2.0 particles/L for TRWPs, paints and microplastics, respectively, with most (89%) in the 50–99-µm size range. Five additive chemicals were also determined in the collected water (1H-benzotriazole, 5-methylbenzotriazole, hexamethoxymethylmelamine, 1,3-diphenylguanidine and 1-cyclohexyl-3-phenylurea) at concentrations up to 0.18 µg/L. This new sampler has demonstrated to be effective for the simultaneous monitoring of particulate and dissolved road pollutants in water. Its ease of construction, limited plastic usage and low cost make it an attractive alternative to existing sampling methods for monitoring road pollution
Separation and analysis of methicillin-sensitive and resistant Staphylococcus strains using vancomycin-modified magnetic nanoparticles.
No full textMulti-resistant bacterial strains pose a serious threat in the hospital environment. Management of nosocomial infections requires completely new approaches. Vancomycin (Vanco) is a known antibiotic for the treatment of serious infections, including those caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains. Nanomedicine brings new possibilities, including targeting using surface modifications of nanoparticles (NPs). Superparamagnetic iron oxide NPs (SPIONs) are synthetic nanomaterials with unique magnetic properties that are widely used in nanomedicine. They are primarily used in diagnostic imaging, targeted drug delivery, and therapy. Minimal inhibition concentration was determined to be 150 µg/mL. For the purpose of this study, SPIONs were modified with chitosan and then purified on a magnet. After washing with buffer, the particles were modified with Vanco (100 µg/mL). The stability of modified NPs was verified by Vanco analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography. Bacterial cultures were grown reproducibly in a pure medium. Subsequently, antibacterial activity was monitored by growth curves (S. aureus) that were measured at 450 nm/540 nm for 24 h, repeated in four cycles. The results were evaluated as the area under the growth curves. The study provides initial insights into the effects of newly synthesized NP variants on S. aureus
Socio-technical challenges of grid transmission for wind energy: are there prospects for floating offshore wind?
Get PDFGlobally, countries are decarbonising their energy generation to accelerate opportunities to achieve net zero, improve energy security, affordability and sustainability. Offshore and onshore wind energy plays an integral role in the energy mix and have been embraced in developing countries with energy innovation like floating offshore wind expanding the potential for clean energy solutions. However, the realisation is reliant on energy infrastructure (including transmission and distribution) and its interaction with the society. But developing countries context is a peculiar one where the energy infrastructure is inadequate resulting in low energy access hence, making incorporation of a newer energy source more complex. Despite these challenges, existing research in the domain have not adequately explored the sociotechnical interactions and implication for floating offshore wind from a developing countries perspective. Nigeria, which sets out to achieve 30GW of renewable electricity by 2030 but remains unfulfilled with no progress made by developers, is used as a case study. This study considers the socio-technical interactions of including the transmission and distribution systems issues inhibiting wind developers. Finding suggests that the grid transmission and distribution are integral for development of offshore and onshore wind and future consideration for floating offshore wind. This study proposes that it is crucial for a quadrant approach combining technological, economic, social and policy measures (TEPS) to surmount these issues
Health and social inequalities: the "long" consequences of Covid 19 and implications for community nurses.
No full textRecognition that health inequalities exist is not new. Over 50 years ago (1980) the Black Report identified differences in mortality rates between lower and higher social groups. Inequalities and low uptake in accessing health, and especially preventive services, was identified in lower social groups (Gray 1982). Are we any further forward in addressing the outcomes of the Black Report, largely ignored by successive governments, or are we further away than ever
Destabilising the home: place making, dark tourism and the spectral.
Get PDFGhosts, hauntings and the spectral are intrinsically linked to sites of dark tourism. Supernatural stories commonly emerge in places connected with tragedy, death and the macabre, forming spectral geographies in which the past and present intertwine. Visiting places of supernatural significance has long been of interest to tourists, however, in the last two decades a considerable 'ghost-hunting' subculture has emerged alongside commercial events and tourist attractions dedicated to engaging visitors with spectral possibilities. As a result, places associated with ghost folklore including private homes, hotels, and heritage buildings, have become popular travel destinations due to their supernatural associations. Film and television media are often credited with the popularisation of haunted places; however, more recently web-based and social media platforms have become spaces for promoting, reporting, and sharing paranormal experiences. In this paper, we explore the construction of spectral geographies, specifically haunted houses, through online narratives. By drawing upon textual analysis of both marketing and online reviews we analyse two cases, 30 East Drive and The Ancient Ram Inn, and explore how these private homes have been transformed into sites of dark tourism through digital storytelling and discourse. Through our analysis we consider how personal experience, intertextuality, and uncanny signifiers contribute to a form of placemaking through digital media and storytelling, experiential consumerism and an evolving spiritual quest culture
Digital divides in nursing students: an exploration of the relationship between self-perceived digital competencies and digital barriers.
Get PDFIn the context of Higher Education nursing education, digital competencies are increasingly recognised as a necessary skillset, within a continuously evolving healthcare professional landscape. This study sought to explore nursing students’ digital competencies and to further understand the digital literacy gaps and barriers they encounter for both learning and future work. The research involved a cross sectional, discipline-based empirical study of nursing students' self-assessed digital competencies via a questionnaire survey, which collected quantitative and qualitative data from a total of five hundred and fifty-three students. The study explored the role of demographics (age, urban/rural geographical location of growing up, study year, learning disabilities (neurodiversity) and experiences of digital divides (e.g., access, contextual and behavioural barriers) play on students' digital competencies and outcomes. Students' digital competencies were found at intermediate level with younger and first year students self-assessing higher. Significant differences were identified between students who had encountered digital barriers/divides and those who had not, with the former, self-reporting lower digital competencies. Students with learning disabilities reported complex support needs for processing and organizing digital information and for productivity. Almost all the individual digital competencies items assessed had strong statistical correlations between them. The research offers key recommendations for academic libraries for the on-going, evolving exploration of students' digital competencies and for the need to follow tailored, discipline-related, holistic, practice-based and curriculum embedded approaches to students' digital skills development and support. It provides novel insights into digital competencies development for nursing students and particularly those who experience digital divides
Blind sonar image quality assessment via machine learning: leveraging micro- and macro-scale texture and contour features in the wavelet domain.
Get PDFIn subsea environments, sound navigation and ranging (SONAR) images are widely used for exploring and monitoring infrastructures due to their robustness and insensitivity to low-light conditions. However, their quality can degrade during acquisition and transmission, where standard SONAR image processing techniques can hardly produce high-quality outcomes. An effective image quality assessment (IQA) method can assess their usefulness and aid to develop refinement techniques by identifying the degradation issues, ensuring the reliability of SONAR data. Existing methods often fail to account for degradations from noise, distortion, and resolution changes simultaneously. To address this challenge, we propose a new blind quality assessment method that measures the overall quality of SONAR images by quantifying both the perceptual and utility qualities using the micro- and macro-scale texture and contour features derived from the wavelet domain. By combining the local binary pattern (LBP) micro-scale texture features with the proposed histograms of Schmid Gabor-like edge maps as macro-scale features, a support vector regression model is learned to map from these features to subjective quality scores. Extensive experiments have demonstrated the superiority of our method over existing SONAR IQA techniques on distorted and reconstructed super-resolution side-scan, acoustic lens, and forward-looking SONAR images. Specifically, our method achieves Pearson's and Spearman's correlation metrics of 0.8616 and 0.8541, respectively, for distorted SONAR images, demonstrating improvements of 4.69% and 4.8%. For reconstructed super-resolution SONAR images, our method attains correlation metrics of 0.9415 and 0.9408, reflecting improvements of 0.8% and 1.6% over the second-best method, respectively. To facilitate ease of access, a comprehensive list of key abbreviations and their full names is provided in Table A.9 in the Appendix section. The source code of the proposed method will be shared at https://github.com/hfarhaditolie/BSIQA
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