Optimising Rigor in Focus Group Analysis: Using Content/Thematic and Form/Structural Approaches to Understand British Somali’s Experiences of Policing in London

There is evidence that focus groups are useful to explore issues with socially marginalized groups, notably when participants have shared particular experiences. Focus groups have the methodological potential to highlight group norms and processes, and to illuminate the social and cultural contexts in which individual agency takes place. However, an often cited concern about focus groups is researchers’ inadequate description of the analytical process which then affects the usefulness and credibility of the findings and rigor in analysis. In this article we address this concern and offer an analytical framework which takes account of the content (themes) and form (structure) of focus group data. Framed within an interpretivist paradigm, our analysis is driven by a theoretical interest in how race/ethnicity as social positions shape young British Somali men’s individual and shared experiences of policing in London

Interrogating the prevention approach of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 for people with mental health needs who are homeless

Rates of homelessness and poor mental health present significant challenges across the globe. In this article, we explore how these intersecting issues have been addressed in Wales through Part 2 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 through a paradigm shift towards a prevention model. This article reports findings from a study (conducted between 2016 and 2018) which evaluated the processes and impacts of the Act against the backdrop of welfare reform and systemic changes taking place in Wales and the UK. Using new evidence, we offer a critical examination of how homelessness prevention policy operates in practice and how social values and power affect policy implementation. We offer new evidence of the translation of policy into practice through the experiences of two stakeholder groups: people with mental health needs and service providers. In doing so, we offer a critique of how policy and practice could be modified to improve outcomes for homeless people with implications for prevention policy in Wales and in other contexts and different welfare regimes

Negotiating the challenges of ageing as a British migrant in Spain

There has been a proliferation of research on lifestyle migration, including studies of older people who move from Northern to Southern European countries in retirement. This body of research has generally focused on ‘third age’ retirees who exercise mobility to improve their quality of life and to achieve optimal ageing, and these healthy and active migrants are yet to face the challenges associated with the fourth age. In this paper we focus on how retirees in both the third and fourth ages of life experience and exercise mobility and how some experience the transition from ‘young old’ to ‘old old’ age in Spain. Whilst the third age is characterised by new opportunities and activities, the fourth age is a time of decreasing mobility, dependence and bodily decline. We bring together narrative interview data from two separate studies undertaken with older British people in Spain to examine three main issues: first we uniquely unravel how the experiences and identities of retired migrants change in response to the ageing body; second, we explore the strategies deployed by retired migrants to manage the fourth age; and third, we explicate how lifestyle migration as a theoretical category captures the experiences of migrants in their fourth age. This paper therefore presents an original contribution to knowledge by exploring how lifestyle migrants transition from the third to the fourth age, in particular how they negotiate bodily decline and decreasing mobility. We indicate that ageing represents an important structural context that both enables and restricts opportunities and experiences of mobility

Developing age-friendly communities in an emergent post-pandemic world: Phase 1 Stakeholder Focus Group Summary Report

This summary report details an overview of the interim findings from the 'Developing age-friendly communities in an emergent post-pandemic world' research project. The work is funded by The Dunhill Medical Trust and is being completed by a partnership led by the University of Salford with Inspiring Communities Together and Manchester Metropolitan University.The work investigates the legacy impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on older people’s social connections and aims to develop evidence-based recommendations on how older people can continue to be supported in place.This report presents a summary of the findings from Phase 1, which comprised a series of focus groups and interviews with key community stakeholders, groups, and service providers. These were organisations from across the City of Salford that either support older people, provide community services that include older people or develop policies that support older people

Experimental evaluation of adaptive maximum power point tracking for a standalone photovoltaic system

The adaptability of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of a solar PV system is important for integration to a microgrid. Depending on what fixed step-size the MPPT controller implements, there is an impact on settling time to reach the maximum power point (MPP) and the steady state operation for conventional tracking techniques. This paper presents experimental results of an adaptive tracking technique based on Perturb and Observe (P&O) and Incremental Conductance (IC) for standalone Photovoltaic (PV) systems under uniform irradiance and partial shading conditions. Analysis and verification of measured and MATLAB/Simulink simulation results have been carried out. The adaptive tracking technique splits the operational region of the solar PV’s power–voltage characteristic curve into four and six operational sectors to understand the MPP response and stability of the technique. By implementing more step-sizes at sector locations based on the distance of the sector from the MPP, the challenges associated with fixed step-size is improved on.The measured and simulation results clearly indicate that the proposed system tracks MPP faster and displays better steady state operation than conventional system. The proposed system’s tracking efficiency is over 10% greater than the conventional system for all techniques. The proposed system has been under partial shading condition has been and it outperforms other techniques with the GMPP achieved in 0.9 s which is better than conventional techniques

A systematic literature review of the patient hotel model

Background The patient hotel model was developed in Northern Europe as a response to increased demand for health and wellbeing services. According to current literature the patient hotel model is a concept of care provision which combines non-acute hospital care with hospitality to afford patients/guests increased satisfaction and security whilst benefitting from evidenced based care. Objective(s) This paper evaluates the concept of the patient hotel model. It presents the findings of a systematic review of existing literature evaluating the benefits such a model can bring to healthcare services and reports on the efficacy in terms of cost to health service providers, and health outcomes to patients/guests. The authors' aimed to complete a meta-analysis of the data, but were unable to, due to the diversity in the descriptions, service provisions, and client group. Design The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement was used to conduct and report this systematic review. In order to focus the research question, the PICO (Population; Intervention; Comparison and Outcome) framework was used to develop a strategy in literature searching, to ensure systematic rigor. Data sources/review methods Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, OVID MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were used to search for randomized controlled trials, quasi experimental studies, quantitative and qualitative studies conducted between January 1st 2008 and August 9th, 2018, published in a peer reviewed journal in English or which provided an abstract in English. Citation searches and hand searches were also conducted. Results 8,693 papers were retrieved and from abstract screening 68 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility by applying an inclusion and exclusion criteria. Seven articles were retained for quality assessment. Methodological rigor was appraised using accepted criteria for the evaluation of research. On appraisal, one systematic review, one Randomized Clinical Trial, two qualitative studies, one quantitative survey, one retrospective analysis of services, and one comparative analysis paper were included for data synthesis. The functionality of the patient hotel model differed across the six countries that reported on them in the included studies, from oncology care, medical care, post-acute rehabilitation and perioperative care. The studies included in this review broadly focused on the themes of patient experience and/or cost, with the intention of informing future service provision. Studies relating to cost efficacy looked at the potential financial savings which could be realized through adopting the patient hotel model. The appraised studies found positive benefits of adopting the patient hotel model, both in terms of cost and patient satisfaction. One study explored the role of nurses in a patient hotel. Conclusions The lack of consistent definition, diversity in the descriptions, service provisions, and client groups meant that the results could only be systematically reviewed and not synthesized into a meta-analysis. The inconsistencies in labeling and description also have implications for the review process, as studies adopting more abstract classification of the patient hotel model may not have been included in the review. On balance, the appraised evidence appears to suggest that there are positive benefits to patients, nurses and healthcare providers. However further research of greater rigor is needed to provide a better understanding of these outcome measures. Implications for rehabilitation Patient hotels have particular relevance to the field of rehabilitation as they have a strong ethos of promoting self-care and independence, facilitated through greater freedom and family involvement. The patient hotel model has the potential to impact healthcare provision on the global stage, but there is no universal definition, making evidence evaluation difficult.The patient hotel model combines the concepts of health and hospitality and could potentially provide a cost-effective alternative to healthcare, with positive outcomes for patient experience as well as patient health. There is a need to explore new systems of care delivery which provide increased patient satisfaction, and a seamless continuum of care at the acute and primary care interface. This paper examines the patient hotel model of care, and its merits in terms of care provision, patient satisfaction and service efficiency, contributing to the embryonic literature in this field

Challenges to implementing the new homelessness prevention agenda in Wales

Devolution presented an opportunity for the Welsh Government to introduce changes to housing and homelessness policy, and the subsequent homelessness reforms are seen as one of the best examples to date of the Welsh Government using its powers. However, devolved governments in small countries face a number of challenges in terms of realising their housing policy ambitions. In this article we argue that there is inevitable dissonance between the policy behind the Welsh Government legislation (prevention) and practice (implementation) associated with structural challenges (for example austerity and budget restrictions, Welfare Reform and the availability of affordable accommodation). In response we propose a number of actions the Welsh Government might undertake to attempt to mitigate such structural challenges which also resonate in the English context where welfare retrenchment and homelessness prevention policies operate simultaneously

Rethinking Preventing Homelessness amongst Prison Leavers

The Wales (Housing) Act 2015 introduced a preventative approach to addressing homelessness that impacted on prison leavers in Wales. Since the same changes will take effect in England from October 2018, this paper provides early insight into how new preventative duties have been implemented in Wales. Drawing on interviews with 114 stakeholders and 75 prison leavers, we report that the promise associated with a preventative agenda is presently not fully realised. We contend that resettlement activity might be improved if it was better incentivised and facilitated inside the prison wall. However, we also suggest the time has come for more radical options to be pursued to address homelessness amongst prison leavers. We argue against short prison sentences, which are so often causative of homelessness, and for providers of probation services to be better incentivised and resourced to take a more active role in meeting accommodation needs

Performance improvement of perturb and observe maximum power point tracking technique for solar PV applications

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020. The renewable energy market has increased significantly over the last decade, and the solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation is becoming important in many countries globally with a particular interest in the field of distributed electric power generation. A regular and accurate examination and evaluation of the photovoltaic system performance and efficiency are very essential in the sense that they provide vital information of the system’s quality evaluation for the users, installers, as well as the manufacturers. The maximum power point of a solar panel varies with the irradiation and temperature and the control algorithms are commonly used for the maximization of the power extraction from PV arrays known as maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms. Perturb and Observe (P&O) algorithm is one of the popular techniques frequently used due to its easy implementation and low cost. The MPPT technique is mainly used for obtaining the maximum power from the solar PV module and conversion circuit to the load and improving the power quality of PV power generation for grid connection. Perturb and Observe maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is extensively used in charge controllers for extracting maximum power from photovoltaic (PV) module irrespective of irradiance, temperature and load variation. The standard P&O MPPT technique has drawbacks bordering on fast convergence time to a maximum power point, poor system response to fast-changing irradiance and steady-state oscillation with a fixed step size. This chapter discusses the detailed operation and implementation of an improved P&O algorithm technique to resolve the various challenges of the standard P&O algorithm. This technique segments the operational region of the PV array into four operating sectors based on the sector location from the maximum power point (MPP), step size modifications are implemented. Furthermore, the critical comparison is made between the new P&O method and the standard P&O method. Finally, the hardware implementation of both MPPT algorithms is discussed in order to evaluate their performance and efficiency. The measured results show that the average efficiency of the proposed system is 96.89% which is more than 4% higher than the standard system