Barriers and facilitators to social prescribing in child and youth mental health: Perspectives from the frontline

There is growing interest in the role of Social Prescribing (SP) to help promote mental wellbeing and support individuals with mental health difficulties. Yet, implementation of SP to children and young people (CYP) has proved slow and underdeveloped compared with adult populations. Understanding the barriers and facilitators will help key stakeholders to better embed SP for CYP into practice. Using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), a comprehensive, theoretical-led framework, underpinned by 33 behaviour change theories and 128 constructs, perceived barriers and facilitators to SP were investigated. The sample comprised of 11 Link Workers and 9 individuals involved in facilitating SP with CYP, who took part in semi-structured interviews. Transcripts were analysed using a deductive thematic analysis, and themes were coded under each theoretical domain. Overall, 33 barriers and facilitators for SP were identified across 12 domains of the TDF. Under capability, barriers and facilitators were found for knowledge, skills, memory/attention/decision making processes, and behavioural regulation. For opportunity, barriers and facilitators were found for social/professional influences, as well as environmental context and resources. Finally, for motivation, domains covered included: beliefs about consequences, beliefs about capabilities, optimism, motivations/goals, reinforcement, and emotions. Findings suggest that a wide range of barriers and facilitators affect the implementation of CYP SP to improve mental health and wellbeing. Interventions which target different domains related to capability, opportunity and motivation should be developed to better facilitate CYP SP

Proposing Thematic Mapping for Integrated Risk Communication: A study of British & Japanese perspectives in flood-prone communities

Modern flood risk communication continues to lack the input of different stakeholder levels and as a result, there has been an insufficiency to construct communication that is inclusive of all stakeholders. There is also still an absence of consideration of context-specific information that helps to shape the communication crafting process. This study sought to establish the above through the creation of a thematic map (a visual display based on themes), merging top-down and bottom-up approaches to create a clearer picture of important factors for risk communication within the specific contexts being observed. The research team conducted 16 semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 4 different types of stakeholders at 2 rural sites in the UK and 2 rural sites in Japan. The results outlined five key themes that underpin integrated risk communication, establishing the thematic map – Individual Circumstances, Community Structure, Impact Scale, Response Capacity, and Social Barriers. These findings are important in beginning to help conceptualise how current DRR efforts can be enhanced and in presenting an integrated approach to risk communication that helps to reduce unnecessary complexity and inaccessibility. However, further replications of the study are needed at other sites across the world to test the robustness and adaptability of this kind of modelling

Identification of A.I. Generated Deep Fake Video by Higher Education Students

The research regarding Deepfakes has been developing at a faster pace as technology to simplify the process becomes more accessible with the use of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.). Deepfakes are a part of the Fake News area of interest and, as such, have just as much impact on the current era of the Internet as the other parts that make up Fake News. This paper presents a survey of UK University Computer Science students (n=179) and tests their ability to identify a deepfake video using their mobile phone devices. The results of the survey are able to demonstrate, with statistical significance, that educated university students in the field of Computer Science failed to identify Deepfake videos even when altered to the possibility that one of three videos is Deepfaked. In fact, while being altered, the respondents gave equal red flags to all the videos and those who indicated the correct sequence were statistically less accurate than if the guesses were made randomly. This contributes to an increasing call that educating the masses may not be enough in the fight against Fake News

Original Scientific Research Study: An Investigation into the Physiological Profiles of Muay Thai and the Relationships to Striking Performances

The purpose of this study was to observe and identify the physiological profiles of competitive Muay Thai athletes, to further understand what is required to be successful. Muay Thai bouts are set in differing formats, with timings of 3 x 2 minutes, 3 x 3 minutes or 3 x 5 minutes in duration dependant on weight category, fighter experience and tournament rules, with a 1-minute restorative period in between rounds. 24 Muay Thai fighters (21 males, 3 females; age: 26 years ± 6; stature: 1.75m ± 0.11; body mass: 76.30kg ± 16.22; body fat %: 12.88 ± 3.35), with a minimum of five years Muay Thai training and two years competitive experience (20 bouts ± 5) participated in the study. Participants completed a battery of physiological measurements, along with a series of strike performance measures. Correlation coefficients were used to assess the relationship between strike performance and physiological test performance. All striking performances apart from front hand Jab had a large correlation to pull ups, with back squats demonstrating both large and very large correlations with all strikes performed. Jab, rear hand cross and roundhouse strikes identified large correlations with reactive strength index. Right hook predictor variables are able to predict performance, F(6,17) = 4.754, p=0.005. The R² value (.792) suggests the model can explain 63% of the variance in right hook performance. Analysis of the coefficients showed the predictor variable of relative-bench press had a positive and significant influence on right hook impact power (B=2123.15, t = 2.402, p=0.028). Within the fight camp, fighters should be trained with a mixture of aerobic and anaerobic conditioning, with emphasis on strength and explosive strength

Developing Wellbeing skills in the classroom: The PEAS project: Positive Education Actions in Schools

Teachers today do not only have to develop disciplinary skills but are also asked to promote psychosocial competences in their classrooms. However, there is no established psychosocial skills instructional support, so they often lack the adequate and specific material to do so, nor is there a common ground in Swiss teacher-training to reflect on this topic. Positive Education in Action in School (PEAS) is an international and multilingual project involving the three linguistic regions of Switzerland and is conducted by the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland and the University of Teacher Education, Wallis, in collaboration with the University of East London. This contribution will focus on the presentation of a jointly soon-to-be published handbook for the implementation of positive psychology in schools, as well as an online platform and a new future CAS for teachers. The book, the platform and the course draw on the newest research results and evaluated practices, to promote the sharing of tools, procedures and materials specific for teachers, significantly contributing in that way to the instructional support and disciplinary innovation in the field of Positive Education

Marriage, the Law and Pluralism in Ghana

Marriage plays a central role in the conception and idea of family in African societies. As a consequence of the plural legal system in Ghana, there are three types of marriage: Civil, Customary and Islamic. This chapter will examine the impact of pluralism and the extent to which it determines the nature of marriage and its consequences. Notwithstanding this plurality, customary marriages remain the norm with the attendant effects on divorce and intestate succession. Despite some attempts at reform, the law(s) on marriage highlight the tensions between traditional and contemporary conceptions of marriage. The legal regulation of marriage serves to illustrate the limitations of the law, and the challenges this may pose in regard to its recognition and application

Role of Human Factors in Fall from Height Fatalities in the UK Construction Industry

Globally, fall from heights remains incessant in the construction industry with recent statistics revealing that about 65% of fatalities are directly linked to fall from height in the UK construction industry. Moreover, the problem is exacerbated by the persistent and reoccurring nature of falls from height in the construction industry. Yet, research about the contemporary roles of human factors vis-à-vis falls from height across high-risk industries is scarce. Aim: The study aims to provide a robust analysis regarding the role of human factors in fatalities caused by falls from height in the UK construction industry. Research question: What is the relationship between human factors and persistent falls from height incidents in the construction industry? Method: Mixed research methods (Qual-Quan) concept and phenomenological research strategy were adopted for a better understanding of the research variables. The study relied on HSE archived data and data obtained through a response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request sent to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) UK for 10 years data on fall accidents in the UK construction industry. Also, a semi-structured interview was conducted with professionals in high-risk industries for better insight into the study. Result: The initial findings of the research show a range of human contributory factors such as workers fatigue, mental slips, hastiness, organisational pressures, etc are responsible for persistent falls among workers. Conclusion: The study findings reveal that 75% of falls from height cases in the UK construction industry are caused by human factors and it further underscores the significant role human factors play in falls from height incidents. Other findings from the study suggest that the use of bespoke and modernised airbag PPE by construction workers has the potential to significantly mitigate the effects of falls from height. The study is part of an ongoing PhD research that seeks to develop a conceptual framework aimed at managing dysfunctional safety practices among workers in the UK’s high-risk industries

‘The International Style’ multilingual three-dimensional grammar and hybrid designs

The present paper describes a multilingual shape grammar to recreate the work of three designers that preconized the ‘International Style’. This is a top-down three-dimensional formulation. Whilst most grammars are monolingual and univocal, this work creates a multilingual formulation within the same artistic movement. Typically, a grammar describes a family of design solutions. These are helpful mechanisms to describe patterns that can be used for analysis or design exploration. This multilingual three-dimensional parametric grammar allows the independent recreation of original designs from three designers and hybrid solutions. Shape grammar's difficult application can be linked to its evaluation process. The original contribution of the study lies in the use of quantitative and qualitative methods for grammar evaluation, using Principal Components Analysis and user questionnaires. The PCA provides a pragmatic analysis, and the questionnaires an intuitive reading. Together they corroborate the results which are discussed using hybrids that assist in delineating parametric spaces