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Psychological impact of expatriation experiences on child and adolescent mental health: a narrative synthesis
No full textPurposeGlobalisation and the opening of cross-border work opportunities have led to an increase in individuals relocating from their native country to another for professional reasons, a phenomenon called “expatriation”. A wealth of research has focused on expatriation from an adult perspective, but there is also a growing inter-disciplinary literature on how expatriation is affecting the children of adult expatriates. The purpose of this paper is to synthesise the recent published literature on the psychological impact of expatriation on the mental health of these children and adolescent expatriates.Design/methodology/approachA narrative synthesis approach was adopted in order to synthesise evidence from 12 original, peer-reviewed papers with research relevant to the topic.FindingsFindings indicate a risk of affective disorders as a result of expatriation experiences, and lower emotional stability with increased stress, predominantly for adolescent expatriates. Some maladaptive behaviours, such as over-reliance on digital technologies, are also noted. Positive gains of expatriation centre around personality development domains, such as cognitive flexibility, open-mindedness and empathy.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research can delve further into the mental health of expatriate youths, to inform clinical practice and policy making, as well as help address diagnostic, treatment and prevention issues that this young, developing population may face.Originality/valueThis paper focuses solely on children and adolescent expatriates, that may be under-represented in the wider expatriate literature, and considers the psychological outcomes and the potential risks and benefits of expatriation on their mental health
Flogging Jack Nafte::Corporal Punishment, Imperial Assimilation, and Jewish Whiteness in Pre-Apartheid South Africa
No full textIn this article, I focus on the whip and the body to examine an imperial variety of Jewish assimilation. Empire, I argue, not only provided Jews more diverse opportunities for social mobility and economic and political integration than the nation-state; its variegated categories and racial hierarchies made Jewish whiteness—at any rate, some kind of Jewish whiteness—more attainable than in the imagined ethnic homogeneity of the nation-state. In the imperial space of the Union of South Africa, where they were neither ‘native’ nor ‘English’ or ‘Boer’, Jews could strive to attain whiteness that was relative, flexible, and variegated; unstable, yet more readily negotiable. To this end, I reconstruct The ‘notorious’ trial and controversial flogging sentence imposed in 1929 Transvaal on a Jewish farmer. Classified as ‘European’ and ‘white’ in court records and so reported throughout the British empire, the flogging of Jack Nafte illustrates how individual Jews and Jewish community institutions negotiated different shades of whiteness in imperial settings and the conditions of pre-apartheid South Africa and, in order to contend with the bar of Jewish ‘unassimilability’, devise two pathways to whiteness: one English, the other Afrikaner
Context-Aware Prediction with Secure and Lightweight Cognitive Decision Model in Smart Cities
No full textCognitive networks with the integration of smart and physical devices are rapidly utilized for the development of smart cities. They are explored by many real-time applications such as smart homes, healthcare, safety systems, and other unpredictable environments to gather data and process network requests. However, due to the external conditions and inherent uncertainty of wireless systems, most of the existing approaches cannot cope with routing disturbances and timely delivery performance. Further, due to limited resources, the demand for a secure communication system raises another potential research challenge to protect sensitive data and maintain the integrity of the urban environment. This paper presents a secured decision-making model using reinforcement learning with the combination of blockchain to enhance the degree of trust and data protection. The proposed model increases the network efficiency for resource utilization and the management of communication devices with the alliance of security. It provides a reliable and more adaptive paradigm by exploring learning techniques for dealing with the intrinsic uncertainty and imprecision of cognitive systems. Also, the incorporation of blockchain technology reduces the risk of a single point of failure, malicious vulnerabilities, and data leakage, ultimately fostering trust for urban sensor applications. It validates the incoming routing links and identifies any communication fault incurred due to malicious interference. The proposed model is rigorously tested and verified using simulations and its significance has been proven for network metrics in comparison to existing solutions
Humanistic Therapy for Young People: Client-Perceived Helpful Aspects, Hindering Aspects, and Processes of Change
No full textThis qualitative study aimed to establish aspects of humanistic therapy that young people (13-16 years old) perceived as helpful and hindering, and to test a novel method for identifying perceived processes of change. A "medium q" thematic analysis was conducted followed by a coding-based "process of change analysis." Participants were 50 young people in London schools who experienced moderate or severe emotional symptoms and had participated in up to 10 sessions of a school-based humanistic intervention. Participants were predominantly female and ethnically heterogeneous. Therapist qualities most often perceived as helpful were affiliative in nature. Unhelpful therapist activities were silences and a lack of input. Young people described feeling free to talk and open up. Helpful outcomes included feeling unburdened, gaining insight, and improving relationships. "Getting things off their chest," "Advice and guidance," "Modeling relationships," and "insights to behavior change" were identified as specific processes of change in over 50% of young people. Approximately one-third felt hindered by a lack of therapist input, silences, or not feeling able to open up or trust. These findings indicate the potential value of an active, "process guiding" stance in humanistic therapy. Our process of change analysis has potential for identifying perceived change mechanisms in therapy. This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [grant reference ES/M011933/1]. Anonymized qualitative interview transcripts are available on request to the First Author/Chief Investigator. Quantitative, participant-level data for the ETHOS study (with data dictionary), and related documents (e.g., parental consent form), are available via the ReShare UK Data Service (reshare.ukdataservice.ac.uk/853764/). Access requires ReShare registration
Improving the Employability andWellbeing of Care-Experienced Young People:Initial Findings from the I-CAN Project
No full textBackground: Care-experienced young people face an elevated risk of experiencingdisadvantages across manifold domains, including health, housing, education, and employment. There is a dearth of accessible interventions targeted at this population to help them navigate the ‘cliff-edge’ transition to adulthood and improve their life chances.The 8-week I-CAN programme was designed to address the provision gaps and support care-experienced young people’s learning, personal development, and progression. Methods: A mixed methods design was used as part of a pilot evaluation study. The participants were n = 11 care-experienced young adults (three males; eight females); aged 19–30 years,M = 22 (3.17). The data collection methods comprised programme statistics, well-validated, self-reported questionnaires, and a focus group with I-CAN programme recipients. Results: The integrated quantitative and qualitative findings showed tentative support for the effectiveness of the I-CAN programme, with the majority of care-experienced young adults transitioning to a confirmed progression route (training, education, or employment) after completing the programme. The findings cautiously suggest that alongside proposedlearning outcomes, the recipients benefited in terms of their personal development (mental wellbeing and positive self-image and empowerment). Some candidate core ‘ingredients’ or factors that had facilitated positive programme outcomes were also identified. Conclusions: Future research should focus on integrating theoretical, outcome, and process issues, and refining the I-CAN theory of change
Reinforcing inclusion: Arts teachers' micro-adaptations for students with SEND.
No full textThe article focuses on the qualitative research examining how arts teachers implement micro-adaptations to support the inclusion of students with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in a boys' secondary school. It highlights the importance of adaptive teaching, which emphasizes meeting diverse student needs through spontaneous, in-the-moment decisions rather than pre-planned tasks. The findings reveal that teachers effectively capitalized on students' strengths and scaffolded skill-based tasks, thereby reinforcing inclusive practices. The study underscores the need for further exploration of teachers' reflective practices to enhance support for students with SEND
Exploring the Role of AI and Teacher Competencies on Instructional Planning and Student Performance in an Outcome-Based Education System
No full textThe rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has transformed traditional teaching methodologies, particularly within Outcome-Based Education (OBE), in higher education. Based on the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model and the OBE system, this present study investigates how teachers perceive AI applications, specifically ChatGPT, in enhancing instructional design and student performance. The research develops a new AI-based instructional planning model, incorporating AI ChatGPT capabilities, teacher competencies, and their direct and indirect effects on student outcomes. This study employs quantitative research design using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to validate the proposed model. Data were collected from 320 university teachers in Pakistan using a structured survey distributed through WhatsApp and email. Findings from the direct path analysis indicate that AI ChatGPT capabilities significantly enhance instructional planning (β = 0.33, p < 0.001) and directly impact student performance (β = 0.20, p < 0.001). Teacher competencies also play an important role in instructional planning (β = 0.37, p < 0.001) and student performance (β = 0.16, p = 0.020). The indirect path analysis reveals that instructional planning mediates the relationship between AI ChatGPT capabilities and student performance (β = 0.160, p < 0.001), as well as between teacher competencies and student performance (β = 0.180, p < 0.001). The R-square values indicate that instructional planning explains 41% of its variance, while student performance accounts for 56%. These findings provide theoretical contributions by extending AI adoption models in education and offer practical implications for integrating AI tools in teaching. This study emphasizes the need for professional development programs to enhance educators’ AI proficiency and suggests policy recommendations for AI-driven curriculum development
Exploring a Blockchain-Empowered Framework for Enhancing the Distributed Agile Software Development Testing Life Cycle
No full textRevolutionizing distributed agile software testing, we propose BCTestingPlus, a groundbreaking blockchain-based platform. In the traditional distributed agile software testing lifecycle, software testing has suffered from a lack of trust, traceability, and security in communication and collaboration. Furthermore, developers’ failure to complete unit testing has been a significant bottleneck, causing delays and contributing to project failures. Introducing BCTestingPlus, a transformative blockchain-based architecture engineered to overcome these challenges. This framework integrates blockchain technology to establish an inherently transparent and secure environment for software testing. BCTestingPlus operates on a private Ethereum blockchain network, offering superior control and privacy. By implementing smart contracts on this network, BCTestingPlus ensures secure payment verification and efficient acceptance testing. Crucially, it aligns development and testing teams toward shared objectives and guarantees equitable compensation for their efforts. The experimental results and findings conclusively show that this innovative approach demonstrates that BCTestingPlus significantly enhances transparency, bolsters trust, streamlines coordination, accelerates testing, and secures communication channels for all parties involved in the distributed agile software testing lifecycle. It delivers robust security for both development and testing teams, ultimately transforming the efficiency and reliability of distributed agile software testing
CoAAST: Engaging Communities in Coastal Kenya Through Aural Memory Archives
No full textThe coastal region of Mombasa, Kenya, holds significant cultural heritage representing centuries of interaction among diverse cultures. However, this heritage is under threat due to environmental degradation and economic pressures. The CoaAST project (Coastal Aural Archive of Spaces & Time),funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council through the network Rising from the Depths, and conducted in collaboration between Bournemouth University and the National Museums of Kenya, aimed to explore the intangible cultural heritage of coastal communities through an aural archive. TheCoaAST project was part of the broader Rising from the Depths network, which aimed to utilize marine cultural heritage to cultivate sustainable social, economic, and cultural benefits across East Africa. Funded by the UK Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) through the Arts and Humanities ResearchCouncil Network Plus scheme from 2017 to 2021, the CoaAST project stimulated ethical, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth while building social cohesion in coastal regions. By working with young children from around Mombasa, the community acquired, created, and curated a collection ofaudio memories through generational interactions. This archive is designed to prompt a dialogue on shared cultural memory and the Anthropocene, accessible to the public. This dialogue is deeply rooted in the rich oral traditions of the Mijikenda tribes, where storytelling, ceremonies, and council gatheringsplay a crucial role in communal memory and identity preservation
Bridging Agility and Automation: Enhancing Model-Driven Engineering with LLMs in Scrum
Get PDFBy concentrating on high-level models that simplify design and automate coding, Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) assists developers in tackling challenging software projects. However, in projects that are dynamic and fast-paced, its rigid procedures may seem cumbersome. Scrum and other agile methods provide the necessary flexibility, but integrating them with MDE can be challenging because modeling frequently requires labor- intensive manual work. To make MDE more agile within Scrum, we suggest utilizing Large Language Models (LLMs), which allows these intelligent tools to take care of tasks like building models or checking their accuracy. Through a case study on a ticket reservation system, we show how LLMs can speed up modeling and make sprints more adaptable. While hurdles like ensuring LLMs get domain details right or syncing them with tools like Papyrus remain, our approach paves the way for combining precision of MDE with responsiveness of Agile, with plans to test it on larger, more complex systems