The Revolving Door of Penal Institutions – A Narration of Lived Experience

Remand to prison whilst awaiting trial can be seen as a short yet indeterminate prison sentence without the judicial sanction of criminal responsibility. Given the increasing reliance on remand as a targeted strategy for crime control it would seem pertinent to consider, not just the statistics of how such a policy plays itself out at the present time, but also to take into account the lived experience of those incarcerated thereby providing a more informed understanding of the long term efficacy of such a strategy. It is not the intention of this paper to make specific policy recommendations, but only to suggest an alternative method for understanding policy implications. This paper uses an ethnographic approach to unstructured interviews with seven people who have extensive prison experience and highlights the impact remand has had, not just on themselves, but on their families as well

An investigation of influences on and dimensions of English university governing body roles

This research addresses two questions: how are English university governing body roles characterised at sector level and how do English university governing body members perceive their roles and why? The analytical framework includes governing body attributes and a range of governance theories. It was conducted at system and institution level. At system level, governing body attribute data were aggregated across 120 English universities, resulting in a new dataset. Relevant documentary evidence and data from thirteen expert informant interviews were thematically reviewed. At institution level, five university case studies were conducted, including interviews with over sixty governors. English university governing body composition has become more homogeneous but member characteristics have become more varied. The majority of governors across at least four cases identified nine governing body roles, aligned to strategy, oversight and support clusters. They also identified six key internal, external and individual influences. Three cross-cutting themes relate to influences; the importance of governing body composition, the emergence of ‘new’ stakeholders and the significance of context. Two pertain to roles. Governors largely agreed regarding their strategy and oversight roles. Views differed amongst governors, and compared to sector expectations, regarding governors’ support roles. A conceptual framework of dimensions of governing body roles is introduced. The first is the degree of integration in the key role areas. The second is the nature of involvement. The third is the level of legitimacy. In addition to testing of this conceptual framework, this research could be broadened to include smaller, specialist universities in England, as well as geographically, across the UK and overseas, particularly in Europe and Australia. It prompts exploration of internal members’ and academic lay members’ contributions to academic governance, how to best codify governing body support roles and stakeholder perceptions of governing bodies

Can social pheromones regulate reproduction in non-social insects?

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Arquitectura, apresentada ao Departamento de Arquitectura da Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra.A Poesia diz, a Arquitetura faz. Uma Cidade que não é cidade. Não há ideias tipológicas, não há referências nem imagens de um passado clássico ou tradicional, não há planos nem alegorias maquinistas. Não há épicas nem grandes retóricas. Não há ruas, não há lotes. No entanto percebe-­‐se um inigualável ar de modernidade. Um laboratório híbrido, surrealista e existencialista onde arquitectos, escultores, poetas e pintores trabalham juntos com a pura ideia de que vida, estudo e trabalho se fundem numa coisa só.Poetry says, architecture does. A city that is not a city. There are no typological ideas, there are no references or images of a classical or traditional past, there are no plans or mechanical allegories. There are not great or epic rhetorics. There are no streets, no allotments. However you perceive an unparalleled air of modernity. A hybrid, surrealist and existentialist lab where architects, sculptors, poets and painters work together with the pure idea that life, study and work merge together

Linear mixed models for genomic selection

We commence by considering the analysis of a single trial. Let y denote the n x 1 vector of (phenotypic) data, where n is the number of plots in the trial

The Ava bracelet for collection of fertility and pregnancy data in free-living conditions: An exploratory validity and acceptability study

Objective To evaluate the validity and acceptability of the Ava bracelet for collecting heart rate, sleep, mood, and physical activity data among reproductive-aged women (pregnant and nonpregnant) under free-living conditions. Methods Thirty-three participants wore the Ava bracelet on their non-dominant wrist and reported mood and physical activity in the Ava mobile application for seven nights. Criterion validity was determined by comparing the Ava bracelet heart rate and sleep duration measures to criterion measures from the Polar chest strap and ActiGraph GTX3 + accelerometer. Construct validity was determined by comparing self-report measures and the heart rate variability ratio collected in the Ava mobile application to previously validated measures. Acceptability was evaluated using the modified Acceptability of Health Apps among Adolescents Scale. Results Mean absolute percentage error was 11.4% for heart rate and 8.5% for sleep duration. There was no meaningful difference between the Ava bracelet, ActiGraph, and construct a measure of sleep quality. Compared to construct measures, Ava bracelet heart rate variability had a significant low negative correlation (r:−0.28), mood had a significant low positive correlation (r : 0.39), and physical activity level had a significant low (rlevel of physical activity: 0.56) to moderate positive correlation (rMET−minutes/week: 0.71). The acceptability of the Ava bracelet was high for fertility and low for pregnancy tracking. Conclusion Preliminary evidence suggests the Ava bracelet and mobile application estimates of sleep and heart rate are not equivalent to criterion measures in free-living conditions. Further research is needed to establish its utility for collecting prospective, subjective data throughout periods of preconception and pregnancy

Inclusion for Cultural Education in Museums, Audio and Touch Interaction

Inclusive access to culture for all people in institutions, such as museums, is an important issue specified in French laws and is also recognized internationally. This article investigates inclusion of blind and partially blind visitors in museums. The pilot study conducted involves blind, partially blind, and sighted people and observes their perception of audio descriptions and different tactile representations within a museum. 12 participants were asked to experience three different conditions for 3 scenes of the Bayeux Tapestry using inclusive and co-created audio descriptions, simplified swell paper representations, and high relief representations. Overall, a high level of interest was found across all conditions, with multimodality through audio and tactile stimulus found to have enriched participants’ experience. However, more guided tactile exploration would be better. From participants’ feedback, some observations have emerged which could be explored for the development of new technologies to better respond to museum visitors’ expectations

Decisions to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by male cancer patients: information-seeking roles and types of evidence used

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is increasingly popular with cancer patients and yet information provision or discussion about CAM by health professionals remains low. Previous research suggests that patients may fear clinicians' 'disapproval' if they raise the subject of CAM, and turn to other sources to acquire information about CAM. However, little empirical research has been conducted into how cancer patients acquire, and, more importantly evaluate CAM information before deciding which CAM therapies to try.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Qualitative study, comprising semi-structured interviews with 43 male cancer patients of varying ages, cancer type and stage of illness, 34 of whom had used CAM. They were recruited from a range of NHS and non-NHS settings in Bristol, England.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>As a result of the lack of CAM information from health professionals, men in this study became either 'pro-active seekers' or 'passive recipients' of such information. Their main information resource was the 'lay referral' network of family, friends and acquaintances, especially females. 'Traditional' information sources, including books, magazines, leaflets and the media were popular, more so in fact than the internet. Views on the internet ranged from enthusiasm or healthy scepticism through to caution or disinterest. CAM information was generally regarded as 'empowering' as it broadened treatment and self-care options. A minority of participants were information averse fearing additional choices that might disrupt their fragile ability to cope. There was general consensus that CAM information should be available via the NHS, to give it a 'stamp of approval', which combined with guidance from informed health professionals, could help patients to make 'guided' choices. However, a small minority of these men valued the independence of CAM from the NHS and deliberately sought 'alternative' information sources and treatment options.</p> <p>Men were selective in identifying particular therapies to use and sceptical about others, basing their choices on forms of 'evidence' that were personally meaningful: personal stories of individuals who had been helped by CAM; the long history and enduring popularity of some therapies; the plausibility of the mechanism of action; a belief or trust in individual therapies or their providers; scientific evidence. Scientific evidence ranked low in the men's personal decision-making about CAM, while it was recognised as important for NHS support for CAM.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These male cancer patients valued the support and guidance of 'trusted individuals' in making choices about CAM. Trusted health professionals could also play a significant role in helping patients to make informed choices. Any such dialogue must, however, acknowledge the different standards of evidence used by patients and clinicians to evaluate the benefits or otherwise of CAM therapies. Such open communication could help to foster an environment of mutual trust where patients are encouraged to discuss their interest in CAM, rather than perpetuate covert, undisclosed use of CAM with its attendant potential hazards.</p