Marketing library services at University College Chester

This is the author's PDF version of an article published in Sconul newsletter© 2004. It is available online at http://www.sconul.ac.uk/publications/newsletter/31/4.pdfThis article discusses how library services at University College Chester had reviewed their marketing strategy and sought to develop more visually attractive and user-friendly guides and publications

Taking the pain out of network induction: Using INFORMS to induct new first year students

This is the authors' PDF version of an article published in Sconul newsletter© 2003. It is available online at http://www.sconul.ac.uk/publications/newsletter/30/8.PDFIn September 2003, Learning Resources at University College Chester used the JISC-funded INFORMS tutorial for student induction into the computer network. The article comments on how the INFORMS computer induction tutorial was developed at Chester, how it was used, and plans for future developments

Impact of human papillomavirus-related genital diseases on quality of life and psychosocial wellbeing: results of an observational, health-related quality of life study in the UK

Background: Data on the psychosocial burden of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related diseases other than cervical cancer are scarce. The objectives of this study were to measure and compare the psychosocial burden and the impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of HPV-related lower genital tract diseases and genital warts (GW) using several generic and disease-specific instruments. Methods. Overall, 842 individuals with normal cervical cytology (n = 241), borderline nuclear abnormalities and/or mild dyskaryosis (n = 23), cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)1 (n = 84), CIN2/3 (n = 203), vulval intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN)2/3 (n = 43), GW (n = 186) and a history of GW (non-current) (n = 62) were included. The generic European Quality of Life Index Version 5D (EQ-5D) questionnaire was completed by patients with GW and VIN2/3. Sexual functioning was evaluated using the Change in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire (CSFQ). Psychosocial impact was measured in women using the HPV Impact Profile (HIP) questionnaire. HRQoL was assessed using a GW-specific questionnaire, the Cuestionario Especifico en Condilomas Acuminados (CECA) (completed by patients with GW and history of GW). For each instrument, scores were compared between groups using the Student's t-test. In addition, utility loss due to GW and VIN2/3 was evaluated by comparing mean EQ-5D scores weighted by age and sex with the UK general population normal values. Results: A significant psychosocial impact was found in women diagnosed with HPV-related genital diseases, particularly in those with GW. The health state of younger adults with GW was significantly impaired compared with UK normal values (mean EQ-5D index score 0.86 vs 0.94, p < 0.001 for 18-24-year-olds; 0.87 vs 0.93, p = 0.030 for 25-34-year-olds). VIN2/3 was found to have a significant negative impact on sexual functioning, and women with VIN2/3 had a highly impaired health state compared with women in the UK general population (weighted mean EQ-5D index score 0.72 vs 0.89, p < 0.001; weighted mean Visual Analogue Scale score 62 vs 85, p < 0.001). Conclusions: HPV-related lower genital tract lesions and GW significantly impair psychosocial wellbeing and HRQoL. The psychosocial aspects of HPV-related diseases need to be considered when evaluating the potential benefit of HPV vaccination. © 2013 Dominiak-Felden et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

“The Best or the Rest”: An exploration of UK Rugby Union coaches’ team selection decisions

Coaches play a crucial yet complex role in sport, including selecting players for games - a key decision many coaches regularly make. Despite this, little is known about why or how coaches make team selection decisions. The purpose of this thesis, therefore, is to investigate rugby union coaches’ team selection decisions, with specific reference to the cues (pieces of information) they use. Chapter 1 provides the context and rationale for this thesis. Chapter 2 comprises a systematic review which reveals the only study that has investigated coaches’ team selection decisions directly (by asking coaches), and the 15 studies that examined the differences between selected and non-selected players after selection had occurred. Given the small number of studies found in the systematic review, Chapter 3 contains a narrative literature review which summarises the cues that could influence coaches’ judgements and decisions made on their athletes while viewing them. Through a longitudinal interview study, Chapter 4 portrays the large number of diverse cues six rugby union coaches reported using to make team selection decisions and how this information changed dramatically from pre-season to post-season interviews. In Chapter 5, a case study of five rugby union coaches working within the same coaching team revealed the breadth and variety of the cues the coaches reportedly used to make team selection decisions, the processes these coaches went through (“the best or the rest” selection strategy), and how the power relationships among the coaching team impacted their selection decisions. This study also found through visual and audio observations of the head coach that most selection cues were only stated in one training session, suggesting an absence of a clear, long-term selection strategy. Chapter 6 provides coaches with a practical overview of the key results of this thesis and the implications for their coaching practices. Finally, Chapter 7 concludes this thesis by summarising the key findings and making several future recommendations for researchers and coaches

Pregnancy, birth, and mothering behind bars: A case study of one woman\u27s journey through the Ontario criminal justice and jail systems

As more people come under the direct or indirect control of the carceral nation state, it is important to analyze those systems and bodies that contribute to its construction and conservation. Moreover, it is necessary to assess the ability of these social institutions to meet the needs of the individuals under their supervision, as well as to establish a standard of care to which operators of jails, prisons, and other carceral facilities may be held accountable. Criminalized women represent an acutely marginalized segment of the prison population whose distinct gendered needs have been habitually overlooked. The present study aims to better understand the experiences and needs of incarcerated women across Canada, with a particular focus on the unique lived realities of pregnant and post–natal prisoners. This research project provides an in–depth case study and qualitative analysis of one first–time mother’s journey through the Canadian criminal justice and penal systems, as well as the subsequent systemic responses and framing of her experience. The dominant themes that emerged through a qualitative interview with Julie Bilotta and an analysis of all publicly available documents related to her case include (but are not limited to): state regulation of marginalized women and motherhood, institutional and interpersonal power relations, and notions of public transparency and institutional accountability. Finally, the study’s findings are situated within the context of broader socioeconomic and political trends that intersect to shape the lived realities of criminalized and incarcerated women and mothers across Canada and elsewhere

UK Youth Sport Coaches and Coaching Efficacy: an Exploration into the Perceived Development of Coaching Ability

The current study has three purposes. Firstly, to explore coaches’ perceptions of their abilities in leading athletes to success and what experiences have influenced their perceived competence (or game strategy efficacy). Secondly, to investigate the relationship between winning and development within the developmental youth sport context. Lastly, to discover whether the conclusions from previous studies apply to youth sport coaches within the UK. A new methodological approach called interpretive description was applied to gather data. Interpretive description is an approach that is characterised by creating meaning (knowledge) through the interchange between researcher and participant and extending a form of understanding that is of practical importance to the applied disciplines (Thorne, 2008). Data obtained highlighted sources and outcomes of coach efficacy within the UK developmental youth sport context, which both supported previous findings and identified novel features specific to this context. Also, results demonstrate coaches’ views on the relationship between winning and success is within this context, which challenges common notions surrounding the concept. Future research efforts should seek to build upon the current research to improve coaches’, sport programmers and researchers’ understandings of the relationship between the UK developmental youth sport context and coaching efficacy

Mutually Assured Construction: Æthelflæd’s burhs, Landscapes of Defence and the Physical Legacy of the Unification of England, 899-1016

This thesis examines the physical legacy left by the unification of the Kingdom of England during the tenth century, and seeks to redress the way in which the Kingdom of Mercia is often overlooked or discounted in the traditional historical narrative. It principally examines the means by which Æthelflæd of Mercia extended political and military control over the West Midlands, both in terms of physical infrastructure and through ‘soft’ power in terms of economic control and material culture. It uses landscape archaeology, artefactual and textual evidence to compare Mercia with its ally, Wessex, and assess the different means by which Æthelflæd of Mercia and her brother Edward the Elder were able to consolidate and expand their territory, the physical infrastructure they established in order to defend it, and the ways in which these sites developed in response to the changing political, military and economic climates of the later tenth century. It will assess why some defensive sites developed into proto-urban settlements while others disappeared, and the extent to which this was a conscious or planned process. This thesis seeks to overturn the idea that burhs constructed in Mercia were insignificant or unplanned ‘emergency’ sites and instead were part of a sophisticated network of landscapes of defence, reflecting a significant level of manpower and logistical investment on the part of the Mercian state. It will furthermore seek to explore the ways in which the Mercian state supported such a network, how sites were chosen, constructed, maintained and garrisoned, and the impact these sites had both on the local population, in terms of patterns of settlement and material culture, and on the wider political scale

Understanding context in knowledge translation: a concept analysis study protocol

AimTo conduct a concept analysis of clinical practice contexts (work environments) that facilitate or militate against the uptake of research evidence by healthcare professionals in clinical practice. This will involve developing a clear definition of context by describing its features, domains and defining characteristics.BackgroundThe context where clinical care is delivered influences that care. While research shows that context is important to knowledge translation (implementation), we lack conceptual clarity on what is context, which contextual factors probably modify the effect of knowledge translation interventions (and hence should be considered when designing interventions) and which contextual factors themselves could be targeted as part of a knowledge translation intervention (context modification).DesignConcept analysis.MethodsThe Walker and Avant concept analysis method, comprised of eight systematic steps, will be used: (1) concept selection; (2) determination of aims; (3) identification of uses of context; (4) determination of defining attributes of context; (5) identification/construction of a model case of context; (6) identification/construction of additional cases of context; (7) identification/construction of antecedents and consequences of context; and (8) definition of empirical referents of context. This study is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (January 2014).DiscussionThis study will result in a much needed framework of context for knowledge translation, which identifies specific elements that, if assessed and used to tailor knowledge translation activities, will result in increased research use by nurses and other healthcare professionals in clinical practice, ultimately leading to better patient care.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111196/1/jan12574.pd

Solid-state Marx based two-switch voltage modulator for the On-Line Isotope Mass Separator accelerator at the European Organization for Nuclear Research

A new circuit topology is proposed to replace the actual pulse transformer and thyratron based resonant modulator that supplies the 60 kV target potential for the ion acceleration of the On-Line Isotope Mass Separator accelerator, the stability of which is critical for the mass resolution downstream separator, at the European Organization for Nuclear Research. The improved modulator uses two solid-state switches working together, each one based on the Marx generator concept, operating as series and parallel switches, reducing the stress on the series stacked semiconductors, and also as auxiliary pulse generator in order to fulfill the target requirements. Preliminary results of a 10 kV prototype, using 1200 V insulated gate bipolar transistors and capacitors in the solid-state Marx circuits, ten stages each, with an electrical equivalent circuit of the target, are presented, demonstrating both the improved voltage stability and pulse flexibility potential wanted for this new modulator