The performance of local authority sports facilities in England during a period of recession and austerity

This paper examines how public sport facilities in England, which are dependent on subsidy from local authorities, have performed during a period of recession and austerity. Using data derived from Sport England's National Benchmarking Service (NBS), we track the changes in a series of key operational performance measures to investigate how local authority sports centres have fared between 2005/06 and 2015/16. Four dimensions of performance are analysed, namely: access; finance; utilisation; and, customer satisfaction. The study includes 1,116 sports centres in the time frame under review. Our results show that the overall financial efficiency of English public sport facilities has improved significantly in the face of a reduction in local authority expenditure on sport and leisure services. There appears to be a business model in the sector that includes outsourcing management and raising activity charges, which has been accompanied by higher levels of customer satisfaction with price-related service attributes and with the overall experience of using a facility. A possible explanation for these findings might be an improved quality of provision and greater customer orientation. At the same time, there appears to be a diminished focus on social inclusion objectives. We therefore conclude that promoting access to public sport facilities for hard-to-reach or disadvantaged groups has been compromised in exchange for the pursuit of financial stability. A key challenge is how to achieve market development whereby new and targeted customers are attracted to these existing facilities

Utilisation of geriatric assessment in oncology - a survey of Australian medical oncologists

© 2018 Elsevier Inc. Introduction: Geriatric assessment (GA) is a multidimensional health assessment of the older person to evaluate their physical and cognitive function, comorbidities, nutrition, medications, psychological state, and social supports. GA may help oncologists optimise care for older patients with cancer. The aim of this study was to explore the views of Australian medical oncologists regarding the incorporation of geriatric screening tools, GA and collaboration with geriatricians into routine clinical practice. Methods: Members of the Medical Oncology Group of Australia were invited to complete an online survey that evaluated respondent demographics, practice characteristics, treatment decision-making factors, use of GA, and access to geriatricians. Results: Sixty-nine respondents identified comorbidities, polypharmacy, and poor functional status as the most frequent challenges in caring for older patients with cancer. Physical function, social supports and nutrition were the most frequent factors influencing treatment decision-making. The majority of respondents perceived value in GA and geriatrician review, although access was a barrier for referral. Such services would need to be responsive, providing reports within two weeks for the majority of respondents. Conclusion: Despite an emerging evidence base for the potential benefits of GA and collaboration with geriatricians, medical oncologists reported a lack of access but a desire to engage with these services

Short-Eared Owl Land-Use Associations During the Breeding Season in the Western United States

The Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) is a species of conservation concern in the western USA, with evidence for declining population sizes. Monitoring of Short-eared Owls is complicated because of their low site fidelity and nomadic movements. We recruited community-science participants to implement a multi-year survey of Short-eared Owls across eight states in the western USA, resulting in a program of sufficient temporal and spatial dimensions to overcome many of the challenges in monitoring this species. We implemented both multi-scale occupancy and colonization/extinction modeling to provide insights into land-cover use, and to identify which cover types supported higher occurrence. Short-eared Owls were associated with native and anthropogenic land-cover types, but site occupancy varied among these categories and at different scales. Native grasslands, marsh/riparian, hay/fallow agriculture, and cultivated croplands were occupied most consistently across years. Occupancy rates differed at different scales (e.g., marsh/ riparian was the only land-cover type positively associated with occupancy at both transect and point scales). Contrary to expectations, native shrubland was negatively associated with occupancy at the point scale, and exhibited low colonization and high extinction rates. Our results suggest that conserving native landscapes in general, and grasslands, marsh, and riparian areas specifically, would benefit Short-eared Owls. Furthermore, Short-eared Owl occupancy was positively associated with hay/fallow land-cover types, suggesting that some nonnative land-cover types can function as Short-eared Owl habitat. Lastly, our results highlight how developing a broad-scale community science survey can inform conservation for a species not well monitored by existing survey programs

CA8 Mutations Cause a Novel Syndrome Characterized by Ataxia and Mild Mental Retardation with Predisposition to Quadrupedal Gait

We describe a consanguineous Iraqi family in which affected siblings had mild mental retardation and congenital ataxia characterized by quadrupedal gait. Genome-wide linkage analysis identified a 5.8 Mb interval on chromosome 8q with shared homozygosity among the affected persons. Sequencing of genes contained in the interval revealed a homozygous mutation, S100P, in carbonic anhydrase related protein 8 (CA8), which is highly expressed in cerebellar Purkinje cells and influences inositol triphosphate (ITP) binding to its receptor ITPR1 on the endoplasmatic reticulum and thereby modulates calcium signaling. We demonstrate that the mutation S100P is associated with proteasome-mediated degradation, and thus presumably represents a null mutation comparable to the Ca8 mutation underlying the previously described waddles mouse, which exhibits ataxia and appendicular dystonia. CA8 thus represents the third locus that has been associated with quadrupedal gait in humans, in addition to the VLDLR locus and a locus at chromosome 17p. Our findings underline the importance of ITP-mediated signaling in cerebellar function and provide suggestive evidence that congenital ataxia paired with cerebral dysfunction may, together with unknown contextual factors during development, predispose to quadrupedal gait in humans

An assessment of technology-based service encounters & network security on the e-health care systems of medical centers in Taiwan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Enhancing service efficiency and quality has always been one of the most important factors to heighten competitiveness in the health care service industry. Thus, how to utilize information technology to reduce work load for staff and expeditiously improve work efficiency and healthcare service quality is presently the top priority for every healthcare institution. In this fast changing modern society, e-health care systems are currently the best possible way to achieve enhanced service efficiency and quality under the restraint of healthcare cost control. The electronic medical record system and the online appointment system are the core features in employing e-health care systems in the technology-based service encounters.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study implemented the Service Encounters Evaluation Model, the European Customer Satisfaction Index, the Attribute Model and the Overall Affect Model for model inference. A total of 700 copies of questionnaires from two authoritative southern Taiwan medical centers providing the electronic medical record system and the online appointment system service were distributed, among which 590 valid copies were retrieved with a response rate of 84.3%. We then used SPSS 11.0 and the Linear Structural Relationship Model (LISREL 8.54) to analyze and evaluate the data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The findings are as follows: (1) Technology-based service encounters have a positive impact on service quality, but not patient satisfaction; (2) After experiencing technology-based service encounters, the cognition of the service quality has a positive effect on patient satisfaction; and (3) Network security contributes a positive moderating effect on service quality and patient satisfaction.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>It revealed that the impact of electronic workflow (online appointment system service) on service quality was greater than electronic facilities (electronic medical record systems) in technology-based service encounters. Convenience and credibility are the most important factors of service quality in technology-based service encounters that patients demand. Due to the openness of networks, patients worry that transaction information could be intercepted; also, the credibility of the hospital involved is even a bigger concern, as patients have a strong sense of distrust. Therefore, in the operation of technology-based service encounters, along with providing network security, it is essential to build an atmosphere of psychological trust.</p

Influence of festival attribute qualities on Slow Food tourists’ experience, satisfaction level and revisit intention

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of Slow Food festival attributes on visitors’ overall experience, their satisfaction level and revisit intention. A total of 209 useable questionnaires were collected from visitors at Mold Slow Food Festival and Exploratory Factor Analysis was conducted using AMOS 19.0. A theoretical model representing the relationships among festival attribute qualities, experience quality, satisfaction level and revisit intention is examined using path analysis. With the addition of new paths from programmes to satisfaction and food and other amenities to satisfaction, a revised theoretical model emerged. It indicated that all three festival attribute qualities (programmes, food and other amenities and entertainment) have direct impacts on the visitors’ overall experience and satisfaction; however only the quality of food and other amenities contributed directly to revisit intention of the Slow Food festival

MicroRNAs Differentially Expressed in Postnatal Aortic Development Downregulate Elastin via 3′ UTR and Coding-Sequence Binding Sites

Elastin production is characteristically turned off during the maturation of elastin-rich organs such as the aorta. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small regulatory RNAs that down-regulate target mRNAs by binding to miRNA regulatory elements (MREs) typically located in the 3′ UTR. Here we show a striking up-regulation of miR-29 and miR-15 family miRNAs during murine aortic development with commensurate down-regulation of targets including elastin and other extracellular matrix (ECM) genes. There were a total of 14 MREs for miR-29 in the coding sequences (CDS) and 3′ UTR of elastin, which was highly significant, and up to 22 miR-29 MREs were found in the CDS of multiple ECM genes including several collagens. This overrepresentation was conserved throughout mammalian evolution. Luciferase reporter assays showed synergistic effects of miR-29 and miR-15 family miRNAs on 3′ UTR and coding-sequence elastin constructs. Our results demonstrate that multiple miR-29 and miR-15 family MREs are characteristic for some ECM genes and suggest that miR-29 and miR-15 family miRNAs are involved in the down-regulation of elastin in the adult aorta

Making a Christian Private University Appealing to Prospective Students: The Case of Covenant University

Worldwide, universities are established to train highly skilled manpower that are expected to contribute to the development of their societies. Nigerian universities are expected to contribute to the achievement of the national goals using education as a tool. Before 1993, the provision of university education in Nigeria was a government monopoly. Many people could not be offered admissions into public universities because the existing facilities could not accommodate the deluge of requests. However, private universities have entered into the higher education service provision market. With many of them competing for prospective student enrolment, it is not surprising that some of them have deployed marketing strategies to attract students and make them stand out from the cluttered market. This paper examines how Covenant University, a Christian faith-based university and the acclaimed leader in the private university industry in the country has marketed itself. It found that it uses its product, people, work processes and serene physical location to attract new students. Importantly, it uses its relatively high tuition fees to position itself as the school for the children of the elites