Echoes in Bosnia and Beyond

As the twentieth anniversary of war in Bosnia—Herzegovina looms, many civilian survivors remain traumatised by the events they experienced and/or witnessed. Following the end of the war, the ensuing social and political upheaval and lack of resources have resulted in chronic emotional issues and mental health problems within the civilian population. Ongoing help has come from a British-based charitable organization—Healing Hands Network—which, since 1996, has provided hands-on therapies in and around Sarajevo to clients referred by local organizations, including the Association of Concentration Camp Victims, the Association of Civil War Victims. Women Victims of War and Mothers of Srebrenica. Some clients have received treatments for many years and the Charity has been looking into how the current or perhaps new interventions might help these clients move on

Twittering away - Is Twitter an appropriate adjunctive tool to enhance learning and engagement in higher education?

Twitter is a social media platform that has been used in teaching and learning. The aim was to explore students’ views of using Twitter as an adjunctive learning tool to provide access to contemporary information, to enhance learning and to generate wider discussion via Twitter backchannel communication. A 17-item Qualtrics questionnaire consisting of open and closed questions was devised specifically for the study. Qualitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data via thematic analysis. Participants were a convenience sample of 44 Level 4 Social Welfare Law students who were invited to engage online with the academic and professional community via Twitter. Eleven (25%) students responded to the questionnaire. Four key themes emerged from the qualitative data: Enhancing knowledge; Building academic and professional networks; Time for twitter and the Need for Twitter training. Despite the limitations, the results suggest that if supported by institutional digital scaffolding and training, twitter may be a useful adjunct to traditional physical learning spaces. Further research is r however required to explore the future pedagogic potential of Twitter.N/

THE IMPACT OF EFT AND MATRIX REIMPRINTING ON THE CIVILIAN SURVIVORS OF WAR IN BOSNIA: A PILOT STUDY

A pilot study was carried out to establish the feasibility and effectiveness of Matrix Reimprinting (MR) in treating post traumatic stress symptoms in civilian survivors of the war in Bosnia. Two Healing Hands Network Centres in Bosnia in Sarajevo and Hadzici. Clients accessing the Healing Hands Network in Bosnia were invited to participate in the pilot study of MR. At the start and end of their treatment, clients were asked to complete a modified version of the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Checklist (PCL-C; Blanchard et al., 1996) at baseline, immediately after the two week MR intervention and then at 4 weeks follow-up. Eighteen clients were included MR pilot study. There was a significant reduction in the mean scores from baseline to immediately post intervention (p = 0.009) and again at the 4 week follow-up (p = 0.005). The size of the immediate effect was sustained at follow-up (p = 0.65). The qualitative analysis (via. an evaluation form at four weeks follow-up) identified the following four themes: Theme 1: Physical and psychological changes Theme 2: The strength to move on and to self-care Theme 3: Rapport with the MR Practitioners Theme 4: Recommending it for others. Despite the limited sample size, significant improvements were shown. The qualitative and quantitative results support the potential of MR as an effective treatment for post traumatic stress symptoms. Further controlled studies are required

Staying put: the impact of the ‘bedroom tax’ on tenants in North Staffordshire

Much has been written and said about the introduction of size criteria in the social rented sector (the ‘bedroom tax’). Indeed, few other changes to the benefits system have provoked so much comment from politicians, journalists, charities, landlords, advice providers and church leaders. Here, Richard Machin, Anna Tsaroucha and Liz Boath describe new research from Staffordshire University examining the impact of the bedroom tax on a group of local housing association tenants

Twittering Away - Is twitter an appropriate adjunctive tool to enhance learning and engagement in Higher Education?

Twitter is a social media platform that has been used in teaching and learning. The aim was to explore students’ views of using Twitter as an adjunctive learning tool to provide access to contemporary information, to enhance learning and to generate wider discussion via Twitter backchannel communication. A 17-item Qualtrics questionnaire consisting of open and closed questions was devised specifically for the study. Qualitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data via thematic analysis. Participants were a convenience sample of 44 Level 4 Social Welfare Law students who were invited to engage online with the academic and professional community via Twitter. Eleven (25%) students responded to the questionnaire. Four key themes emerged from the qualitative data: Enhancing knowledge; Building academic and professional networks; Time for twitter and the Need for Twitter training. Despite the limitations, the results suggest that if supported by institutional digital scaffolding and training, twitter may be a useful adjunct to traditional physical learning spaces. Further research is r however required to explore the future pedagogic potential of Twitter

Exercise as an adjunct treatment for postpartum depression for women living in an inner city—A pilot study

To examine the effectiveness of exercise in the management of postpartum depression, women living in an inner-city, who were diagnosed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (Perinatal Version) (SCID-PN), were randomly assigned to an exercise group (N = 12) or control group (N = 12). A focus group was carried out to explore women's views of the trial. There were no significant differences between the two groups for SCID-PN. Although women who had engaged in the exercise viewed it positively (based on focus group data), low adherence to exercise meant that significant improvements in postpartum depression were not found

Using a modified Delphi Method to develop a new advanced accreditation award (‘Triple A’) in money advice practice

Staffordshire University has delivered the Certificate of Credit in Money Advice Practice (CMAP) in partnership with the Institute of Money Advisers (IMA) and since 2010 and over 1000 money advisers across the United Kingdom have achieved the qualification (Wright et al., 2014). CMAP graduates and employers expressed a need for an advanced specialist accreditation module for experienced money advisers to build on the CMAP. A Delphi study, a consensus method for curriculum design, was carried out to support the new course development. Participants were 13 experts in Money Advice Practice, including CMAP graduates. Three rounds of the Delphi process were carried out and consensus was obtained on course structure and content of modules, assessment, communication & support, professional competencies & skills, fees & duration, entry criteria, induction and materials and benefits of the advanced accreditation. The Delphi technique proved successful in involving experts in the design of a new course. A Feedback/ Feed forward event was also carried out to aid the process and the course is currently being developed

Estimation of Soil Particle Size Distribution using CT Scans

Remote sensing techniques have been applied extensively in geospatial investigations, but their use in measuring soil physical attributes has been far less explored. Soil particle size distributions (PSD) are indispensable in modeling pedological and hydrological processes as well as biodiversity. However, estimation of PSD via gravimetric measurement methods, the standard currently in use, is relatively laborious and time-consuming. This research is a pioneering attempt to estimate soil PSD from computerized tomographic (CT) scans. CT scanners non-invasively penetrate three-dimensional (3D) objects to produce a series of two-dimensional (2D) gray images, where grayscale values express density of internal matter in Hounsfield Units (HU). In this study, a model is developed that associates particle size with HU-derived pixels by first classifying the image with an unsupervised technique and then by hierarchically clustering the classes according to soil horizons. The soil PSD is computed as the relative class frequency of classified pixels. For the type of soil used in this study, Weibull distribution was found to fit all layers at a fine 10 mm scale, but a broader horizon-level analysis found lognormal distribution to perform best (in the absence of Weibull). The PSD estimated from CT scans was insignificantly different from the sieve-analysis measured PSD in each horizon. This novel approach to soil diagnostics could transform future soil particle analyses