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The big menopause: the word just seems wrong! An interpretative phenomenological analysis of Christian women’s experience of the menopause
Get PDFBackground:
As a universal experience for midlife women, menopause represents a marker of aging and fertility loss that the evidence suggests may have a profound biopsychosocial impact. However, menopause is not well explored in psychological research, particularly in terms of the existential and spiritual questions it may raise for women.
Aim:
To address the gap in research knowledge in terms of understanding how women of faith may utilise their beliefs to make sense of menopause, or conversely, how menopause may challenge women’s experience of their faith at this stage of life.
Method:
A qualitative study investigated the lived experience of six Christian women who were perimenopausal or up to five years postmenopausal. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews and analysed by interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).
Findings:
Three superordinate themes and nine sub-themes emerged, reflecting a sequence where the impact of menopause on identity and sense of self led to efforts to adjust and respond, which for most involved finding perspective through their faith, but this was not without struggle for some. Overall though, participants identified that their faith brought perspective and resilience to the challenges of menopause and most expressed a sense of hope for the future. The implications of the study for clinical practice and further research are discussed
The intricate web: network and rhizome metaphors in hypertext and the web and the epistemic challenge of fake news
Get PDFPurpose:
This article analyses the structure of hypertext and the World Wide Web through the contrasting metaphors of the network and the rhizome and applies that analysis to the epistemic challenge presented by fake news.
Design:
The paper is a critical and theoretical study of the development of concepts in Information Science. It outlines the limitations of the network metaphor and analyses the ways in which it has influenced both the development and critical understanding of the World Wide Web and its wider social and cultural consequences. The paper develops an alternative description of the ontological structure of the Web in terms of interrupted and dissipated energy flows.
Findings:
The paper argues that the Web is better described as a dynamic reorganization of the sociocultural system that has no determinate boundaries, and which is constituted properly in the spaces between technologies, and the spaces between persons.
Originality:
The paper contributes to and extends research into the rhizomic nature of hypertext and the Word Wide Web, and in understanding the role of metaphor in descriptions of hypertext and the web
‘Really putting a different slant on my use of a glass of wine’: patient perspectives on integrating alcohol into structured medication reviews in general practice
Get PDFBackground:
Alcohol is often overlooked in primary care even though it has wide-ranging impacts. The Structured Medication Review (SMR) in England is a new ‘holistic’ service designed to tackle problematic polypharmacy, delivered by clinical pharmacists in a general practice setting. Implementation has been protracted owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores early patient experiences of the SMR and views on the acceptability of integrating clinical attention to alcohol as another drug linked to their conditions and medicines, rather than as a standalone ‘healthy living’ or ‘lifestyle’ question.
Method:
Semi-structured interviews with a sample of 10 patients who drank alcohol twice or more each week, recruited to the study by five clinical pharmacists during routine SMR delivery.
Results:
SMRs received were remote, brief, and paid scant attention to alcohol. Interviewees were interested in the possibility of receiving integrated attention to alcohol within a SMR that was similar to the service specification. They saw alcohol inclusion as congruent with the aims of a holistic medicines review linked to their medical history. For some, considering alcohol as a drug impacting on their medications and the conditions for which they were prescribed, introduced a new frame for thinking about their own drinking.
Conclusions:
Including alcohol in SMRs and changing the framing of alcohol away from a brief check with little meaningful scope for discussion, toward being fully integrated within the consultation, was welcomed as a concept by participants in this study. This was not their current medication review experience
State-of-art technologies to detect the DNA damage and repair in sperm and future outlook
Get PDFSperm provides half of the DNA required to fertilize an egg. If the DNA in sperm is damaged, it may be unable to fertilize the egg, or if fertilization occurs, the resulting embryo may fail to progress normally or properly implant into the uterine lining. Sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) is a measurement used to determine the amount of sperm that have abnormal genetic material and has been becoming widely used in clinic. A DFI above 30% is related to infertility and above 20% is regarded to be suboptimal. Previous study found that in couples with unexplained infertility 26% of men had a DFI of 20% or greater and currently it is estimated that about 5.7% high DFI percentage in the sub-fertility patients. In a recent paper, Farkouh et al, have systematically compared the advantage and disadvantage of the current different methods to evaluate the DNA fragmentation in sperm. Furthermore, the authors used strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats (SWOT) analysis to provide advice on the DFI in the future clinical usage. However, development on more precise and clinically useful biomarker for sperm DNA damage is still a very challenging task and worth of further investigation
International student mobility: a comparative study between Indian and Italian students in London
Get PDFThe aim of this thesis is to explore international student mobility in current times within the changing landscape in higher education in the UK. Although this time period corresponds to increasing international student mobility in the UK, the lived experiences of international students are little known. For this reason, central to the study is the understanding of international students studying and living in a specific UK context, namely Greater London, which is both the region where there is the highest concentration of foreign students in the UK, and one of greatest ones worldwide. In order to construct a more holistic understanding of international student mobility, the study explores some key themes, including: external dimensions (i.e. social, cultural, political, and economic aspects), and more individual dimensions (i.e. psychological, emotional and cognitive aspects). This research is an attempt to bring together these different dimensions to illuminate the complexity and the heterogeneity of international student mobility. In order to provide further understanding of the dimensions encompassing international student mobility, a qualitative approach is adopted. The qualitative design includes repeated interviews with two groups of international students studying in London: a group made of international students from a non-EU country (India), and a group made of international students from a EU country (Italy). In this study repeated interviews with the same informants over a five-year period of time are used to identify themes and changes over time in the informants’ feedback. This thesis represents a contribution to international student mobility’s literature by uncovering international students’ lived experiences and subjectivities. It stresses the importance of seeking to understand international students’ views, perspectives, and the variety of ways they deal with their mobile experiences. The research findings suggest that, although there are some differences between participants, their understanding and the strategies they adopt to cope with their realities, can influence and shape international student mobility
Fiscal deficit and inflation: an empirical measure in view of Pakistan
Get PDFMuch of the literature on macroeconomic issues is devoted to inflation, unemployment, economic growth and budget deficit. This paper contributes by evaluating the relationship of price level with fiscal deficit in case of Pakistan. Fiscal deficit creates more hurdles and narrowing the space for implementing other economic decisions for the betterment of overall economy. Among multidimensional issues of fiscal deficit, inflation is more highlighted in everyday newspapers and political talk shows. During the period of economic downturn, government needs more resources to overcome social and economic problems faced by the society. Presently Pakistan also faces the period of high inflation and trying to ease the negative impact by implementing different social security programs. Expenditures incurred in these policies resulted in fiscal deficit, covered mostly by domestic and international borrowings and high tax rates that in turn may lead to increase inflation. For this purpose, an Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) is applied to time series data time span from 1971 to 2021, collected from various national and international reports and economic issues. The paper concluded that budget deficit and exchange rate are the variables that affect INFL in the short as well as in long-run, whereas MSP has only long run effect on inflation
An energy-efficient multi-channel design for distributed wireless sensor networks
Get PDFThis article discusses the importance of designing an efficient medium access control (MAC) protocol for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) to optimize energy consumption at the data link layer while transmitting high traffic applications. The proposed protocol, EE-MMAC, is an energy-efficient multichannel MAC that reduces energy consumption by minimizing idle listening, collisions, overhearing, and control packet overhead. EE-MMAC utilizes a directional antenna and periodically sleep technique in a multi-channel environment. Nodes exchange control packets on the control channel to choose a data channel and decide the beam direction of the flow. Simulation results show that EE-MMAC achieves significant energy gains (30% to 45% less than comparable IEEE 802.11 and MMAC) based on energy efficiency, packet delivery ratio, and throughput
A meta-analysis of sustainable supply chain practices and performance: the moderating roles of type of economy and innovation
Get PDFPurpose – In recent years, sustainable supply chain practices (SSCP), including corporate social responsibility (CSR), have been recognised as important means of developing firms’ sustainability performance (SP). However, empirical findings on the SSCP–SP interaction are inconsistent and even contradictory. This research presents a quantitative meta-analysis that aims to uncover SSCP–SP interactions based on the correlations found in previously published empirical studies.
Design/methodology/approach – Based on the main and moderating variables and selection criteria, 64 sample studies were selected after a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.
Findings – The findings confirm a positive correlation (0.438) between SSCP and SP. The results also reveal various critical moderators identified through meta-regression.
Practical implications – This study provides insights for operations managers and policymakers regarding the significance of control variables (e.g. ISO certification, type of economy, innovation approach, data collection method) on the relationship between SSCP and SP for business operations. This research uncovers the impacts of ISO regulations and proposed hypotheses through the lens of the natural resource-based view (NRBV) and institution-based view (IBV).
Originality/value – This research is unique in that it provides a systematic view of the SSCP–SP interaction, validates the results through a theoretical lens (NRBV and IBV) and generalises the results by evaluating the moderation effects via checking prior literature
The role of graduate recruitment in the employability agenda: a qualitative case study of undergraduate business education at a London Russell Group university
Get PDFThe main aim of the study was to investigate the extent to which business education enabled graduates at a London Russell Group university to successfully gain employment in competitive roles at large corporate employers. The fieldwork was conducted in 2021 using a case study methodology comprising of qualitative interviews with six module leaders, four university support staff and seven graduate recruiters, combined with secondary qualitative analysis of 26 National Student Survey responses, module specifications and other documents/ websites. At the time, graduate employment was increasingly being seen as the principal meaning of higher education, to generate economic growth and enable social mobility. Increasing tuition fees, combined with the removal of student recruitment controls, resulted in universities competing for students, with an emphasis on graduate career outcomes. The number of academic studies seeking to conceptualise employability and understand the needs of employers has increased considerably over the last 25 years, in line with the shift in government policy. However, empirical research has been too often positioned from the perspectives of students, academics or employers, rather than attempting to gain a holistic, integrated understanding of graduate recruitment as part of the wider employability agenda. This is the gap in the literature which this study seeks to address. The study draws on an educational and sociological theoretical lens, including Bourdieu’s conceptual tools of habitus and social & cultural capitals, Becker’s human capital theory, Foucault’s technologies of the self, and Young’s analysis of meritocracy. The empirical findings of the study reveal that the role of human capital may be a diminishing factor in graduate employment and, instead, it is the accumulation of social and cultural capital that are frequently the differentiating factors in the complex and hyper-competitive recruitment arena. The study contributes to the academic knowledge of sociology in higher education principally through the discovery that while existing research focuses on accessing university as a solution in itself for social mobility, discrimination is being shifted from university admissions to graduation, where social inequalities are being exacerbated in the recruitment arena. To overcome these barriers, less privileged students are required to play the game, reconstructing their identities to conform to the expectations of employers. For these students there is a possibility, albeit challenging, to gain a foothold in the elite capitalist class, via a conscious and intentional strategy of symbolic capital accumulation, developed by the individual and scaffolded by business school pedagogical interventions. The study’s contribution to policy and practice builds on this point, arguing that by maximising exposure to members of the dominant class in field-specific scenarios at university, less privileged students have the potential to beat the ruling elite at their own game. To accumulate social and cultural capital, Page 3 of 246 pedagogic strategies rooted in experiential learning and reflective practice are critical for graduates to successfully transition from students to quasi-professionals. The propelling power of privilege remains a major advantage, but this study presents a conceptual pathway for business schools to enable their students to level the playing field and achieve graduate employment
Impact of oil prices on stock market performance
Get PDFThe study investigates the impact of oil prices on stock market performance in ten countries, including Canada. The volatility in oil prices and the accompanying swings in stock market performance raised the question of what, if any, is the relationship between these variables. The research seeks to address six strands of the phenomenon. The study evaluates the impact of oil prices on stock performance at the stock market’s aggregate and sector market levels. It establishes the effects of macroeconomic variables on stock market performance. Furthermore, it evaluates the role of the business cycle in the oil price shocks and stock market interface. Lastly, it examines the influence of oil prices on stock market performance in net oil-importing and oil-exporting countries. The empirical investigation uses monthly data from January 2003 to December 2020 and quarterly data from 1990Q1 to 2020Q4. Primary and secondary data were analysed using statistical tools and econometric modelling. The investigation employs the impulse response function, EGARCH and Markov switching models. The thesis concludes that the relationship between oil prices and stock market performance is time-varying, asymmetrical, heterogeneous and complex as several sector or country-specific factors drive the relationship. Specifically, the findings suggest that the response of the stock market sectors to oil price shocks differs substantially, depending on their degree of oil dependence and multiple transmission mechanisms. The findings further indicate that stock returns-generating processes in a net oil-exporting country like Canada exhibited a high degree of persistence in conditional variance, and the modelling of asymmetry was positive. Positive shocks from macroeconomic variables impact the country’s stock market more than negative shocks of the same magnitude. Two structural breaks are identified in the Canadian economy between 1990 and 2020. The data was further divided into two subsamples to reflect the two possible states for an economy, the bear and bull periods. Empirical analysis revealed that GDP, exchange rate, inflation rate, interest rate, and oil prices are significant drivers of the country’s stock market performance in economic contraction. During the expansion era, all the variables considered in the study, excluding GDP, significantly drive stock market performance. Hence, oil prices and stock market relationships tend to improve more during the economic expansion period than during the contraction era. Further analysis affirmed that the impact of oil price shocks is only significant in the top two net oil-importing countries. These findings convey information that guides policymakers in formulating macroeconomic policies, investors and portfolio managers in risk diversification relating to decision-making and investment strategies. The study investigates the impact of oil prices on stock market performance in ten countries, including Canada. The volatility in oil prices and the accompanying swings in stock market performance raised the question of what, if any, is the relationship between these variables. The research seeks to address six strands of the phenomenon. The study evaluates the impact of oil prices on stock performance at the stock market’s aggregate and sector market levels. It establishes the effects of macroeconomic variables on stock market performance. Furthermore, it evaluates the role of the business cycle in the oil price shocks and stock market interface. Lastly, it examines the influence of oil prices on stock market performance in net oil-importing and oil-exporting countries. The empirical investigation uses monthly data from January 2003 to December 2020 and quarterly data from 1990Q1 to 2020Q4. Primary and secondary data were analysed using statistical tools and econometric modelling. The investigation employs the impulse response function, EGARCH and Markov switching models. The thesis concludes that the relationship between oil prices and stock market performance is time-varying, asymmetrical, heterogeneous and complex as several sector or country-specific factors drive the relationship. Specifically, the findings suggest that the response of the stock market sectors to oil price shocks differs substantially, depending on their degree of oil dependence and multiple transmission mechanisms. The findings further indicate that stock returns-generating processes in a net oil-exporting country like Canada exhibited a high degree of persistence in conditional variance, and the modelling of asymmetry was positive. Positive shocks from macroeconomic variables impact the country’s stock market more than negative shocks of the same magnitude. Two structural breaks are identified in the Canadian economy between 1990 and 2020. The data was further divided into two subsamples to reflect the two possible states for an economy, the bear and bull periods. Empirical analysis revealed that GDP, exchange rate, inflation rate, interest rate, and oil prices are significant drivers of the country’s stock market performance in economic contraction. During the expansion era, all the variables considered in the study, excluding GDP, significantly drive stock market performance. Hence, oil prices and stock market relationships tend to improve more during the economic expansion period than during the contraction era. Further analysis affirmed that the impact of oil price shocks is only significant in the top two net oil-importing countries. These findings convey information that guides policymakers in formulating macroeconomic policies, investors and portfolio managers in risk diversification relating to decision-making and investment strategies