8364 research outputs found
Sort by
Autistic doctors: leveraging insider perspectives to improve healthcare for autistic people
Full text linkoai:openresearch.lsbu.ac.uk:99098Autistic people experience poor healthcare outcomes and reduced life expectancy compared to non-autistic people. Recognition that doctors can be autistic is recent. This thesis presents the first ever series of publications by openly autistic medical doctors, with the intention being to explore the experiences of autistic doctors, and to improve healthcare and quality of life for autistic people. Alongside four original research papers relating to autism, healthcare, and autistic healthcare providers, I present an educational framework which offers a potential solution to the problems identified in my research. Utilising our insider positioning as both autistic people and medical doctors, we leverage our knowledge and perspectives on medicine and medical education to pitch this Autistic SPACE framework to be as accessible as possible to non-specialist medical colleagues. • Doherty M, Neilson S, O’Sullivan J, Carravallah L, Johnson M, Cullen W, Shaw SCK. Barriers to healthcare and self-reported adverse outcomes for autistic adults: a cross-sectional study. BMJOpen. 2022;12:e056904. • Shaw SCK, Carravallah L, Johnson M, O’Sullivan J, Chown N, Neilson S, Doherty M. Barriers to healthcare and a ‘triple empathy problem’ may lead to adverse outcomes for autistic adults: a qualitative study. Autism. 2024;28(7):1746-57. • Doherty M, McCowan S, Shaw SCK. Autistic SPACE: a novel framework for meeting the needs of autistic people in healthcare settings. British Journal of Hospital Medicine. 2023;84(4):1-9. • Shaw SCK, Fossi A, Carravallah LA, Rabenstein K, Ross W, Doherty M. The experiences of autistic doctors: a cross-sectional study. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2023;14:1160994 • Doherty M, Chown N, Martin N, Shaw SCK. Autistic psychiatrists’ experiences of recognising themselves and others as autistic: qualitative study. BJPsych Open. 2024;DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2024.756). The overarching goal of my work is to increase awareness of neurodiversity in medicine and improve healthcare provision and outcomes for autistic people
Exploring the public's beliefs, emotions and sentiments towards the adoption of the metaverse in education: A qualitative inquiry using big data
Full text linkThe metaverse is rapidly reshaping our understanding of education, yet identifying the public's beliefs, emotions and sentiments towards its adoption in education remains largely uncharted empirically. Grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Digital Diffusion Theory (DOI), this paper aims to fill this gap using a big-data approach and machine learning to scrape comments made by social media users on recent popular posts or videos related to adopting the metaverse in education from three prominent social media platforms. The cleaning process narrowed down 11,024 comments to 4277, then analysed them using thematic, emotion and sentiment analysis techniques. The thematic analysis revealed that adopting the metaverse in education evokes a complex range of public beliefs: (1) innovative learning methods; (2) accessibility and inclusion; (3) concerns about quality and effectiveness; (4) technological challenges and the digital divide; (5) the future of work and skills; and (6) privacy and security concerns. Integrating these themes with emotion and sentiment analyses reveals a landscape of a significant portion of neutral sentiments that corroborates enthusiasm attenuated by caution. This careful consideration stresses the urgent need for a balanced approach to adopting the metaverse in education to ensure that resulting educational advancements benefit all learners equitably. As one of the first studies to offer a multidimensional view of the public's beliefs about metaverse education using big data, this research not only contributes to TAM and DOI but also provides critical insights that could inform policy, enhance educational practices and guide future scholarship in this emerging field
Are the key welfare models effective for exotic pet animals?
Full text linkThe Five Freedoms, Five Domains, Five Welfare Needs, and other similar models or principles, are key aspirational or outcome-led frameworks aimed at safeguarding animals under human custodianship, and are widely used in legislation, guidance documents, and protocols. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of these animal welfare models as intended protections. Our study considered three informational tiers of relevance for guidance: Tier 1, key welfare models and principles governing legislation; Tier 2, formal secondary guidance; and Tier 3, welfare outcomes. We conducted a literature review of key welfare models, as well as reports of persistent animal welfare problems associated with exotic pets, and collated available examples of relevant legislation and their implementation. Of the 91 studied regions that adopted animal welfare models, the following were directly or closely aligned with: Five Freedoms n = 64, Five Welfare Needs n = 26, Five Domains n = 1. We identified the following numbers of welfare concerns for animals kept in trade and private home situations: invertebrates n = 21, fishes n = 27, amphibians n = 26, reptiles n = 43, birds n = 22, mammals n = 43. Despite the frequent adoption of one or other model or principle, animal welfare concerns and problems were regularly identified in relation to both commercial and home environments across all animal classes. We recommend that animal welfare is assigned priority over traditional pet selling or keeping practices through the adoption of modernised animal welfare models, underpinned by evolving scientific knowledge and precautionary principles, that aim to promote animal-centric preferred life quality
Life cycle assessment and economic analysis of Reusable formwork materials considering the circular economy
Full text linkEconomic development and population growth have impacted on fossil-based energy consumption, contributing to environmental pollution. Adopting circular economy research is more pressing than ever to ease pressure on the environment and the economy. Evaluating the best construction materials is not new. To date, many researchers have assessed materials using various criteria. Formwork differs from other construction materials in terms of serviceability and reusability. These materials may be reused multiple times (from 7 to around 50 times). This raises the question of which material is the best from a sustainability perspective. In this paper we have evaluated four of the most widely-used formwork materials used in the construction of buildings in
Malaysia. These include plastic, steel, plywood and timber. Evaluations of life cycle assessment (LCA), embodied
energy, and life cycle cost (LCC) were conducted from cradle to cradle. For a single use of formwork, timber is best in all categories except human non-carcinogenic toxicity. However, when 50 reuses are considered for the same wall a completely different result arises. In the environmental category, steel formwork produces the lowest emissions and impact in all categories except global warming potential (GWP). Plastic formwork has the lowest carbon emissions. In terms of embodied energy and cost, plastic formwork presents the best option being approximately 20% lower than steel formwork. Because of the inconsistency in the results for LCA, embodied energy, and LCC for 50-cycles of usage, a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) tool was used to normalize the results. The MCDM shows that plastic formwork is an ideal choice for sustainability among the alternatives
considered
Detached From Humanity: Artificial Gestation and the Christian Dilemma
Full text linkThe development of artificial womb technology (AWT) is continuing to proceed and raises important ethical and theological questions for Christians. While there has been extensive secular discourse on artificial wombs in recent years, there has been minimal Christian engagement with this topic. There are broadly two primary uses of artificial womb technology: first, ectogestation, which is a form of enhanced neonatal care, where only some of the gestation period takes place in an artificial womb, and second, ectogenesis, where the entire period of gestation occurs in an artificial womb. It is plausible that some form of ectogestation in the latter weeks or months of pregnancy could be possible within a decade or so, while ectogenesis for humans remains far more speculative. Ectogestation is likely to significantly reduce maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality, and so there is a strong prima facie case for supporting its development. Ectogenesis, however, may bring several challenges, including the further commodification of children, and the potential pathologizing of pregnancy and childbirth. Its long-term effects on those created through this process are also unknown. If it becomes ubiquitous, we may also find the central theological significance of pregnancy and birth diminished. The dilemma for Christians is that the development of seemingly unproblematic ectogestation is likely to normalize the use of artificial gestation, and, in time, pave the way for ectogenesis
Nanostructured ZnO-CQD Hybrid Heterostructure Nanocomposites: Synergistic Engineering for Sustainable Design, Functional Properties, and High-Performance Applications
Full text linkHybrid nanocomposites integrating nanostructured zinc oxide (ZnO) and carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with designed heterostructures possess exceptional optical and electronic properties. These properties hold immense potential for advancements across diverse scientific and technological fields. This review article investigates the synthesis, properties, and applications of ZnO-CQD heterostructure nanocomposites. Recent breakthroughs in fabrication methods are examined, including hydrothermal, microwave-assisted, and eco-friendly techniques. Key preparation methods such as sol-gel, co-precipitation, and electrochemical deposition are discussed, emphasizing their role in controlling heterostructure formation. This review analyses the impact of heterostructures on optical and electronic properties, such as fluorescence, photoluminescence, and photocatalytic activity. Synergistic interactions between ZnO and CQDs within heterostructures are highlighted, demonstrating how they lead to substantial performance improvements. Applications of ZnO-CQD heterostructures span solar cells, LEDs, photodetectors, water purification, antimicrobial treatments, gas sensing, catalysis, biomedical imaging, drug delivery, environmental sensing, and energy storage. Insights are provided into refining synthesis methods, enhancing characterisation techniques, and broadening the application landscape. Challenges like stability are addressed, along with strategies for optimised performance and practical implementation. This comprehensive review offers a thorough understanding of ZnO-CQD heterostructure nanocomposites, emphasising their significance within materials science and engineering. By addressing core concepts and future directions, it lays a foundation for continued innovation in this dynamic field
Irish referendum: how the Catholic church shaped Ireland’s constitution to define the status of women
Full text linkThis short piece highlights the influence of Catholic Social Teaching on the wording of Article 42.1, the 'woman in the home' clause ahead of a national referendum to amend the Irish Constitution on 8 March 2024
How European Human Rights Law Will Reshape U.S. Business
Full text linkIn recent years several European states have enacted human rights due diligence laws, culminating in the imminent EU-wide Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.
This article provides a comprehensive analysis of these laws and explores their potential impact on U.S. businesses. Human rights due diligence emerges from the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (2011) and was originally conceived as a voluntary means by which corporations could demonstrate that they proactively monitor and manage potential human rights abuses within their corporate group and supply chains. Since 2017, European states have begun enacting binding human rights due diligence laws. These laws are innately extraterritorial in nature, designed to ensure that corporations that operate in the European market comply with human rights standards throughout their value chain, including through their suppliers and business partners. The emergence of European due diligence laws will thus impact U.S. businesses and industries: an estimated 10,000 U.S. businesses will be directly affected, and far more will have to comply as a result of supplying or partnering with EU-based firms. The effect on U.S. business could be dramatic, particularly with major divergences between the EU and United States in relation to labor law and other legal regimes. The article analyzes how U.S. businesses will be affected, what businesses may need to do, and how divergent legal regimes may be addressed. It further discusses options for the U.S. Government to take a proactive approach to the European incursion on U.S. law and business in the interest of protecting rights while providing business certainty
Xenograft recipients and the right to withdraw from a clinical trial
Full text linkPre-clinical xenotransplantation research using transgenic pigs has begun to show some promising results and could one day offer a scalable means of addressing the organ shortage. While it is a fundamental tenet of ethical human subject research that participants have a right to withdraw from research once enrolled, several scholars have argued that the right to withdraw from xenotransplant research should be suspended because of the public health risks posed by xenozoonotic transmission. Here, we present a comprehensive examination and critical evaluation of the claim that xenotransplant recipients should be required to waive their right to withdraw from lifelong bio-surveillance. We conclude that, if xenotransplantation requires participants to waive their right to withdraw, then clinical trials may not be justifiable given the ethical and legal obstacles involved with doing so. Consequently, if clinical trials are permitted with a right to withdraw, then they may pose a significant existential and public health risk
Shipping Cost Uncertainty, Endogenous Regime Switching and the Global Drivers of Inflation
Full text linkThe recent Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted global supply chains and led to large increases in shipping costs. This paper first provides shipping cost mean and uncertainty measures by using the endogenous regime switching model with dynamic feedback and interactions developed by Chang et al. (2023). The uncertainty indicator measures overall risk in the shipping market and is shown to represent a useful addition to the existing set of economic and financial uncertainty indices. Both the shipping cost mean and uncertainty measures are then included in structural VAR models for the US, the UK and the euro area to examine the pass-through to headline CPI, core CPI, PPI and import price inflation vis-à-vis other global and domestic shocks. The results suggest that shipping cost uncertainty shocks have sizeable effects on all inflation measures and are characterised by a stronger pass-through than that of other domestic or global shocks. Unlike the latter, they also affect significantly core CPI inflation. These findings imply that shipping cost mean and uncertainty should also be considered by policymakers when assessing the global drivers of inflation