182 research outputs found
Streamlining plagiarism detection: The role of electronic assessment management
No full textThis paper considers the problem of managing the workload implications of plagiarism detection as part of the larger issue of assessment management and within a holistic approach to educational integrity. It looks specifically at the potential for Electronic Assessment Management (EAM) to provide some of the solutions to this problem. It draws on the work of Mantz Yorke whose research into assessment management calls for the establishment of appropriate structures and mechanisms which support systems that achieve the dual imperatives of efficiency and effectiveness. This paper considers the workload issues related to plagiarism detection under these dual imperatives, looking first at the issue of effectiveness and then turning to consider the issue of efficiency. Finally, it argues for why and how these issues should be taken into account in the procurement of digital plagiarism detection software and how the use of these tools should fit within a rigorous and consistent holistic approach to educational integrity
Learning theories and interprofessional education: a user's guide
No full textThere is increasing interest in the theoretical underpinning of interprofessional education (IPE) and writers in this field are drawing on a wide range of disciplines for theories that have utility in IPE. While this has undoubtedly enriched the research literature, for the educational practitioner, whose aim is to develop and deliver an IPE curriculum that has sound theoretical underpinnings, this plethora of theories has become a confusing, and un-navigable quagmire. This article aims to provide a compass for those educational practitioners by presenting a framework that summarizes key learning theories used in IPE and the relationship between them. The study reviews key contemporary learning theories from the wider field of education used in IPE and the explicit applications of these theories in the IPE literature to either curriculum design or programme evaluation. Through presenting a broad overview and summary framework, the study clarifies the way in which learning theories can aid IPE curriculum development and evaluation. It also highlights areas where future theoretical development in the IPE field is required
Antibacterial CATH-2 Peptide Coating to Prevent Bone Implant-Related Infection
No full textThe development of antibacterial coatings is a promising approach to preventing biofilm formation and reducing the overuse of systemic antibiotics. However, widespread antibiotic use has resulted in antibiotic-resistant bacteria, limiting the efficacy of antibiotic-based coatings. Herein, an antibacterial coating is developed by layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of two polymers namely PDLG (poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide)) and gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) while chicken cathelicidin-2 (CATH-2), a cationic and amphipathic peptide, is loaded between these polymer layers. The electrospray method is used to apply the coatings to achieve efficient peptide loading and durability. The CATH-2 bactericidal concentration ranges are first identified, followed by a study of their cytotoxicity to human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and macrophage cell lines. Later, different LbL electrospray coating assemblies loaded with the optimal peptide concentration are sought. Various coating strategies are investigated to identify an LbL coating that exhibits prolonged and biocompatible CATH-2 release. The resulting CATH-2-coated titanium surfaces exhibit strong antibacterial activity against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria for 4 days and are biocompatible with hMSCs and macrophage cells. This coating can be considered as a versatile delivery system platform for the delivery of CATH-2 peptides while avoiding cytotoxicity, particularly for the prevention of infections associated with implants.Team Peyman TaheriTeam Arjan Mo
Creating a comfortable working environment for cath lab physicians: Design of a body support
No full textThis project is about developing a solution for cath lab physicians. A cath lab physician is a medical doctor, with a background in cardiology, neurology, electro physiology or radiology, who performs cath lab procedures. A cath lab procedure is a minimal invasive procedure in which a catheter is brought into the body of a patient via a small incision. Cath lab physicians suffer from injuries due to the heavy physical workload of their job. The lead apron they wear to protect themselves against the radiation used during the procedures, in combination with long periods of standing, are the main cause of these injuries. An analysis is performed to get more insight in the nature of the injuries and of the environment of the physicians. To start prototyping in an early stage, a short ideation phase took place directly after the analysis. As a result, this phase brought requirements, wishes and concluded with two design directions. A stool with some new features was the best solution. This stool was designed to support the user. The seat will prevent the injuries on the legs while the integrated sternum support reduces the forces in the back muscle. A test was performed to validate the effect of the sternum support. The test shows a reduction between 10% and 15% of the tension in the back muscle. Further research will have to show if the use of the designed solution will actually prevent hernias in the future.Industrial Design EngineeringIndustrial Desig
Author guidance
No full textoai:openjournals.ljmu.ac.uk:article/43This guide will take the author through the registration and submission process. It also covers the points within the editorial process at which the input from the author is neede
“Sex…is a good thing”: Creating a Space for the Voices of Young Zimbabweans To Shape School-Based HIV Prevention-Orientated Sexuality Education
No full textThere are gaps in research exploring young people’s strategies for school-based HIV prevention-oriented sexuality education (herein referred to as sexuality education), including in African contexts like that of Zimbabwe. Such sexuality education is a fundamental component in the control of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) epidemic. HIV is a sexually transmitted infection that incurs lifelong health problems and, if untreated, leads to death. The issue of young people living with HIV is of global and regional concern, especially for Sub-Saharan Africa. A focus on HIV prevention strategies prioritising young people is paramount. In 2017, individuals aged 15-24 years accounted for approximately 33% of new global HIV infections. In Zimbabwe, of those newly infected in 2017, nearly 32% were young people aged 15-24 years. Sexuality education is a vital policy and societal response that aims to provide health knowledge and advice focused on influencing youth behaviour by encouraging practices and advocacy aimed at safer sex. Despite the high proportion of young Zimbabweans becoming newly infected, there are few examples of young Zimbabweans shaping sexuality education design and delivery. This study focused on sexuality education in secondary schools as this is the main domain for delivery.
The study used participatory action research (PAR), an action-driven methodology suited for collaborating with young people by creating a space for the expression of their experiences and strategies. PAR sought to explore young Zimbabwean designs for a ‘perfect’ school-based sexuality education lesson. The research involved collaboration with eight women and eight men aged 18-24 years from Bulawayo city. Students from Amakhosi Performing Arts Academy were recruited given that they had recent experience of school-based sexuality education, were articulate and expressive. As co-researchers, they took part in shaping the activities, and 10 action-orientated focus group discussions. PAR methods, including drama, poster creation and poetry, were used for self and collective expression.
As young people were recruited from a performing arts background they particularly responded to the use of the drama method. Drama created a collaborative space for animating and making visible the daily realities of their sexual lives in the context of their proposals for school-based sexuality education. Young Zimbabweans recalled experiences of sexuality education lessons as mainly involving authoritarian teaching, especially when talking about sex. This stemmed from a standardised curriculum focused on sexual abstinence and the disease dangers of sex. Yet, co-researchers dramatised sex as “a good thing”, and “natural” to development into adulthood. Using dramatic exaggeration, shock and humour, young people critiqued pro-abstinence teaching as euphemistic, contradictory, and endangering their sexual health as it encouraged “youth [to] do sex [in] hiding”, as “afraid” of being found out, given that their premarital sexual lives are regarded as socially deviant. Co-researchers proposed a perfect sexuality education lesson as one designed by young people, making students feel safe and confident to talk about sex as “good”, pleasurable, and intimate.
Harnessing the real-world and highly contextualised nature of the dramas, a theatre like framework of characters, setting, words, and actions around ‘teacher, student, and lesson content’ was used to structure the data analysis. The study findings, and methodological framework used, have implications for new models of school-based sexuality education in African contexts like that of Zimbabwe. This study joins an emerging impetus of innovative research using PAR to partner with young people to shape sexuality education and other important mechanisms for enhancing health and wellbeing. Findings highlighted the capacity of drama as a youth-driven critical learning tool to reflect on and shape sexuality education. Drama enabled youth voices and provided a space to demonstrate their complex daily realities relevant to sexual health promotion.
Given the significant growth in cheap and accessible internet enabled mobile phones in Africa, young people will be in a better position to proactively learn, share, and create sexuality knowledge outside the classroom. As user-driven digital spaces gain prominence, formal institutions like that of schools need to explore new opportunities for partnering with young people, blending digital and new style classroom methods, such as drama for sexuality education. Future policy response should be guided by an African youth-centred model of sexuality education as important to HIV prevention
Increasing Consumption of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables: Talanoa Epistemology to Explore Fijian Migrant Youth Ideas
No full textStatement of the problem: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) today can be explained mainly with reference to globalisation and a food system based on a commercial capitalist model rather than a health and wellbeing model, sedentary lives, and other factors such as stress and pollutants. Given this complex situation the response to NCDs needs to be multifaceted including health promotion and prevention associated with healthy foods and food systems. In Fiji, approximately 78% of all deaths and 40% of premature deaths before age 60 are due to NCDs and they are a leading cause of hospitalisation and death (Ministry of Health and Medical Services (Fiji) [MOHMS Fiji], 2016). Overall, efforts at reducing NCDs have been aimed at the reduction of single risk factors or micronutrients, such as reducing sugar and salt, and treatment, but there has been less focus on changing systems and multisectoral approaches towards better health. Although no difference was noted in ethnic background regarding the consumption of fruit, for the consumption of vegetables, it appears that 16% of Indo- Fijians compared to 32% of Indigenous Fijians or 39% of other ethnic groups in Fiji eat less than one serving of vegetables a day. Irrespective of ethnicity, the number of individuals eating the recommended dietary intake of vegetables is below 5% for the entire population.
Methods: Talanoa is a Pacific methodology that is growing in popularity. It is characterised in the Fijian context by the sense of community and sharing which promotes ideas regarding veivukei (lending a helping hand), veilomani (a sense of love and kindness to each other), yalo vata (from the same spirit), and veinanumi (thinking for others). Talanoa is a process involving two or more people whereby there is a storyteller and listeners. Talanoa interviews are used in Pacific research to share knowledge in a culturally appropriate and comfortable way for interviewees and researcher, with the interviewee as storyteller and the researcher as listener. Talanoa interviews were utilised for the purpose of this study. They served to provide an informal space, as it allows for a relaxed sense of discussion not afforded to traditionally formal processes; and the ability to talk with a peer, as the researcher and participants were young Pacifica, which under the right circumstances provides opportunities for more intimate sharing. For the purpose of this study, four talanoa interview sessions where held with five Fijian migrant youth who live in New Zealand and maintain their ties to family and friends by regular visits to Fiji. Participants were asked for their views on the eating of fruit and vegetables within the Fijian community and their suggested strategies for promoting fruit and vegetable eating in Fijian communities.
Findings: Young Fijians agreed that fruit and vegetables are necessary for health and a necessary part of the Fijian diet, suggesting that the benefits of eating fruit and vegetables are known. However, the participants state that the food choices available dictate consumption. Perceived problems included the lack of accessibility of fruit and vegetables in general, higher status given to unhealthy options, limited access to traditional Pacific fruit and vegetables in New Zealand, and a lack of advertising and promotion of fruit and vegetables in Fiji and New Zealand. They proposed strategies to increase fruit and vegetable consumption, which were:
1. Decolonising the relationship with food would involve reinforcing traditional Fijian food and cooking methods, within a food systems approach that supports culture at its core.
2. Using youth as ‘wave-makers’ by utilising the school setting to teach traditional agricultural practices.
3. Creating ‘trends’ through modern marketing techniques which make messages regarding fruit and
vegetable eating more relatable and relevant.
4. A more critical approach to food systems within the Pacific context.
Conclusion: Treatment of NCDs and a focus on individual responsibility is current practice when it comes to addressing NCDs in the Pacific. By considering the strategies suggested by youth as future-forward initiatives, prevention and a systematic approach is provided. Youth recognise the need for system wide change that is multisectoral and modern in application. At a higher-systems level recommendations that are applicable to Fiji and New Zealand include considerations to implement social networking forums led by youth acting as prosumers of health, and advocacy towards policies regarding the cultural application of socio-economic factors that contribute toward NCDs, dialogue regarding the fashions of food, and marketing and advertisement development for the promotion of fruit and vegetables. Fijian culture and protocols require interventions at differing levels. In Fiji, there is the potential to contribute to change by empowering communities. This reflects Fijian cultural values while at the same time allowing for a sense of modern cultural fluidity. However, this by itself will not be sufficient to change the food system. For that to occur there is need for wider and more systemic change involving all actors in society – including government and the private food sector.
An additional challenge which has come to prominence more recently is the recognition that food systems in the Pacific need to be sustainable in relation to planet as well as people. This provides a further level of complexity to addressing NCDs in a systems way
Indigenous Young People's Participation in Health Promotion in Their Community: A Participatory Action Research of the Early Marriage and Early Pregnancy Prevention [EMEP] Project of Nepal
No full textIndigenous peoples of Nepal constitute more than one third of the total population, yet they experience marginalization and inequalities in relation to health, education and political participation. Early marriage is one of the traditional practices of Nepali indigenous communities contributing to poverty and the poor health of young people. In some indigenous communities, more than two third of young girls are married before the age of 15 years. The aim of the study was to investigate young people’s participation in the early marriage and early pregnancy prevention (EMEP) project in the highly marginalized Thami indigenous community. The EMEP has been implemented since 2009 with young people as a key stakeholder. Using participatory action research (PAR) the study asked a group of Thami young men and women about their experiences of participating in the project and it explored their recommendations for enhanced participation in future. PAR is a research methodology which involves collaboration with representatives of the population under investigation, with the goal of intervention into a problem. Thami youth in this study viewed their participation in the EMEP project as mostly limited to being recipients of information campaigns. Barriers to participation included high workloads and pressures of work away from home (including migrant work outside Nepal); the delivery of the project mainly through schools; and the lack of priority of the project in the lives of Thami youth, were poverty and lack of education are the major problems they face. Their recommendations for enhanced participation included: provision of financial incentives and skills development and training; and participation of youth in needs’ assessment and project design. Implications for health policy is that marginalised youth such as the Thami have a valuable contribution to make to development, and that it is vital that their needs and views are taken into account when developing strategies. In particular, they stress the importance of addressing the social determinants of their health especially poverty and lack of education.
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In April 2015 Nepal experienced a devastating earthquake which will have a profound effect on development in future. Youth participation will still be an important issue, perhaps more so in face of the changes that will occur as a result of the crisis
Increasing Consumption of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables: Talanoa Epistemology to Explore Fijian Migrant Youth Ideas
No full textStatement of the problem: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) today can be explained mainly with reference to globalisation and a food system based on a commercial capitalist model rather than a health and wellbeing model, sedentary lives, and other factors such as stress and pollutants. Given this complex situation the response to NCDs needs to be multifaceted including health promotion and prevention associated with healthy foods and food systems. In Fiji, approximately 78% of all deaths and 40% of premature deaths before age 60 are due to NCDs and they are a leading cause of hospitalisation and death (Ministry of Health and Medical Services (Fiji) [MOHMS Fiji], 2016). Overall, efforts at reducing NCDs have been aimed at the reduction of single risk factors or micronutrients, such as reducing sugar and salt, and treatment, but there has been less focus on changing systems and multisectoral approaches towards better health. Although no difference was noted in ethnic background regarding the consumption of fruit, for the consumption of vegetables, it appears that 16% of Indo- Fijians compared to 32% of Indigenous Fijians or 39% of other ethnic groups in Fiji eat less than one serving of vegetables a day. Irrespective of ethnicity, the number of individuals eating the recommended dietary intake of vegetables is below 5% for the entire population.
Methods: Talanoa is a Pacific methodology that is growing in popularity. It is characterised in the Fijian context by the sense of community and sharing which promotes ideas regarding veivukei (lending a helping hand), veilomani (a sense of love and kindness to each other), yalo vata (from the same spirit), and veinanumi (thinking for others). Talanoa is a process involving two or more people whereby there is a storyteller and listeners. Talanoa interviews are used in Pacific research to share knowledge in a culturally appropriate and comfortable way for interviewees and researcher, with the interviewee as storyteller and the researcher as listener. Talanoa interviews were utilised for the purpose of this study. They served to provide an informal space, as it allows for a relaxed sense of discussion not afforded to traditionally formal processes; and the ability to talk with a peer, as the researcher and participants were young Pacifica, which under the right circumstances provides opportunities for more intimate sharing. For the purpose of this study, four talanoa interview sessions where held with five Fijian migrant youth who live in New Zealand and maintain their ties to family and friends by regular visits to Fiji. Participants were asked for their views on the eating of fruit and vegetables within the Fijian community and their suggested strategies for promoting fruit and vegetable eating in Fijian communities.
Findings: Young Fijians agreed that fruit and vegetables are necessary for health and a necessary part of the Fijian diet, suggesting that the benefits of eating fruit and vegetables are known. However, the participants state that the food choices available dictate consumption. Perceived problems included the lack of accessibility of fruit and vegetables in general, higher status given to unhealthy options, limited access to traditional Pacific fruit and vegetables in New Zealand, and a lack of advertising and promotion of fruit and vegetables in Fiji and New Zealand. They proposed strategies to increase fruit and vegetable consumption, which were:
1. Decolonising the relationship with food would involve reinforcing traditional Fijian food and cooking methods, within a food systems approach that supports culture at its core.
2. Using youth as ‘wave-makers’ by utilising the school setting to teach traditional agricultural practices.
3. Creating ‘trends’ through modern marketing techniques which make messages regarding fruit and
vegetable eating more relatable and relevant.
4. A more critical approach to food systems within the Pacific context.
Conclusion: Treatment of NCDs and a focus on individual responsibility is current practice when it comes to addressing NCDs in the Pacific. By considering the strategies suggested by youth as future-forward initiatives, prevention and a systematic approach is provided. Youth recognise the need for system wide change that is multisectoral and modern in application. At a higher-systems level recommendations that are applicable to Fiji and New Zealand include considerations to implement social networking forums led by youth acting as prosumers of health, and advocacy towards policies regarding the cultural application of socio-economic factors that contribute toward NCDs, dialogue regarding the fashions of food, and marketing and advertisement development for the promotion of fruit and vegetables. Fijian culture and protocols require interventions at differing levels. In Fiji, there is the potential to contribute to change by empowering communities. This reflects Fijian cultural values while at the same time allowing for a sense of modern cultural fluidity. However, this by itself will not be sufficient to change the food system. For that to occur there is need for wider and more systemic change involving all actors in society – including government and the private food sector.
An additional challenge which has come to prominence more recently is the recognition that food systems in the Pacific need to be sustainable in relation to planet as well as people. This provides a further level of complexity to addressing NCDs in a systems way
Challenges and Barriers Experienced by Women Sex Workers to Accessing HIV/AIDS Services in Chandigarh, Northern India
No full textDespite advances in access to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment services in recent years, the epidemic continues to grow. To make steady gains in achieving the Millennium Development Goals of empowering women by promoting gender-equality to combat HIV/AIDS, it is important to recognize the barriers to HIV/AIDS services which constrain women sex workers from gaining universal access to those services.
The aim of this research was to explore the barriers experienced by women sex workers to accessing HIV/AIDS services in Chandigarh, Punjab. A qualitative descriptive methodology was used to understand barriers as perceived by the women, in conjunction with the social, political and economic contexts which often contribute to women sex workers’ unmet health needs. Data were collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews with seven study participants; including three non-government organisation staff members and four women sex workers. Using thematic analysis based on the data generated from the study participants, findings were organised according to the two domains of data collection: barriers to accessing HIV/AIDS services for women sex workers of Chandigarh; and socio-economic issues related to women sex workers accessing services in Chandigarh.
The key implication from this study suggested that the clandestine nature of sex work in Chandigarh and Punjab has affected the way HIV/AIDS services are delivered. The results revealed that some of the barriers to accessing HIV/AIDS services for women sex workers included the effects of clandestine behaviour resulting in stigma rooted in shame and fear; and constraints related to funding and resources resulting in provision-related disabling factors such as non-availability of trained health care personnel, and lack of medical camps and mobile testing services. Also important to consider was that no research studies were found that were published on women sex workers in relation to HIV/AIDS services in Chandigarh, Punjab.
To enhance sex workers access to HIV/AIDS services, it is important for health workers and policy makers to consider the needs of sex workers by developing local gender-specific and culturally sensitive approaches to better assure requisite behaviour change among the sex workers for HIV/AIDS prevention
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