Where have all the children gone? Experiences of children, parents and teachers in a changing early childhood education service

This study analyses the experiences of children, parents and teachers in a changing early childhood education (ECE) service in New Zealand. This thesis derived from the researcher’s growing awareness of neo-liberal politics and the institutionalisation of children resulting from social, economic and cultural changes. The researcher’s interest in connecting children within ECE services to the local community outside of the ECE service’s gate was also explored. The study revealed experiences and perspectives from children, families and teachers within one independent, community based, not for profit ECE service that recently underwent changes. Drawing from literature, the thesis acknowledges the changes that have taken place within ECE in New Zealand over the past 20 years. The changes identified within the literature are identified within the historical, economic and social context. The changes include marketisation, competition, the increase of hours and days that young children are placed within ECE services and the government support of families to return to work. The study was based on a social constructionist framework that used a qualitative inquiry research methodology. Perspectives and views were gathered from the head teacher, parents and children at the ECE service utilising the Mosaic approach. The methodological tools included semi structured interviews, walking interviews, a diary of outings collated by the head teacher, children’s auto photography and interviews with the children while viewing their learning journals. The collected data was analysed in relation to the study’s social constructionist framework. The patterns and themes that emerged included marketisation, intrinsic and extrinsic pressures on children, parents and teachers, leadership, changes to the operational structure of the service and curriculum experiences for parents, teachers and children. Foundational to the study are the rights of the child and need for children to have their perspective heard. The Mosaic approach to the methodology utilised within the study raises the perspectives and views of the child giving equitable value to their contribution within the study. The outcome of the study is to propose an ideological framework that could assist in ensuring the child is heard within ECE and that the child is represented within all matters affecting them. This ideological framework aspires to be an underpinning framework that is utilised by ECE leaders and teachers when making decisions on all matters relating to children, their families and the ECE service.

Superplot3d: an open source GUI tool for 3d trajectory visualisation and elementary processing

When acquiring simple three-dimensional (3d) trajectory data it is common to accumulate large coordinate data sets. In order to examine integrity and consistency of object tracking, it is often necessary to rapidly visualise these data. Ordinarily, to achieve this the user must either execute 3d plotting functions in a numerical computing environment or manually inspect data in two dimensions, plotting each individual axis. Superplot3d is an open source MATLAB script which takes tab delineated Cartesian data points in the form x, y, z and time and generates an instant visualization of the object’s trajectory in free-rotational three dimensions. Whole trajectories may be instantly presented, allowing for rapid inspection. Executable from the MATLAB command line (or deployable as a compiled standalone application) superplot3d also provides simple GUI controls to obtain rudimentary trajectory information, allow specific visualization of trajectory sections and perform elementary processing. Superplot3d thus provides a framework for non-programmers and programmers alike, to recreate recently acquired 3d object trajectories in rotatable 3d space. It is intended, via the use of a preference driven menu to be flexible and work with output from multiple tracking software systems. Source code and accompanying GUIDE .fig files are provided for deployment and further development

Potential vector for West Nile virus prevalent in Kent

THE mosquito Culex modestus is considered the main bridge vector of West Nile virus in continental Europe, responsible for transmitting the virus from birds to humans (Balenghien and others 2008). Cx modestus was reported in three nature reserves in north Kent in 2010 (Golding and others 2012) – 60 years after the previous UK report. Isolated specimens were then reported from Dorset and Cambridgeshire (Medlock and Vaux 2012)

Multimodal synergisms in host stimuli drive landing response in malaria mosquitoes

Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria, which affects one-fifth of the world population. A comprehensive understanding of mosquito behaviour is essential for the development of novel tools for vector control and surveillance. Despite abundant research on mosquito behaviour, little is known on the stimuli that drive malaria vectors during the landing phase of host-seeking. Using behavioural assays with a multimodal step approach we quantified both the individual and the combined effect of three host-associated stimuli in eliciting landing in Anopheles coluzzii females. We demonstrated that visual, olfactory and thermal sensory stimuli interact synergistically to increase the landing response. Furthermore, if considering only the fnal outcome (i.e. landing response), our insect model can bypass the absence of either a thermal or a visual stimulus, provided that at least one of these is presented simultaneously with the olfactory stimuli, suggesting that landing is the result of a flexible but accurate stimuli integration. These results have important implications for the development of mosquito control and surveillance tools

Assessing the quality of ReSPECT documentation using an accountability for reasonableness framework.

BACKGROUND: The Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) form, which supports the ReSPECT process, is designed to prompt clinicians to discuss wider emergency treatment options with patients and to structure the documentation of decision-making for greater transparency. METHODS: Following an accountability for reasonableness framework (AFR), we analysed 141 completed ReSPECT forms (versions 1.0 and 2.0), collected from six National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in England during the early adoption of ReSPECT. Structured through an evaluation tool developed for this study, the analysis assessed the extent to which the records reflected consistency, transparency, and ethical justification of decision-making. RESULTS: Recommendations relating to CPR were consistently recorded on all forms and were contextualised within other treatment recommendations in most forms. The level of detail provided about treatment recommendations varied widely and reasons for treatment recommendations were rarely documented. Patient capacity, patient priorities and preferences, and the involvement of patients/relatives in ReSPECT conversations were recorded in some, but not all, forms. Clinicians almost never documented their weighing of potential burdens and benefits of treatments on the ReSPECT forms. CONCLUSION: In most ReSPECT forms, CPR recommendations were captured alongside other treatment recommendations. However, ReSPECT form design and associated training should be modified to address inconsistencies in form completion. These modifications should emphasise the recording of patient values and preferences, assessment of patient capacity, and clinical reasoning processes, thereby putting patient/family involvement at the core of good clinical practice. Version 3.0 of ReSPECT responds to these issues

Capture of high numbers of simulium vectors can be achieved with host decoy traps to support data acquisition in the onchocerciasis elimination endgame

Onchocerciasis elimination is within reach in many countries but requires enhanced surveillance of the Simulium vectors of Onchocerca volvulus. Collection of sufficient numbers of adult Simulium to detect infective O. volvulus larvae is hindered by limited sampling tools for these flies. Here, we tested for the first time the Host Decoy Trap (HDT), an exposure free method previously developed for Anopheles vectors of malaria parasites, as a potential sampling tool for adult Simulium. In three replicates of a randomized Latin square experimental design, the HDT was compared to Human Landing Catches (HLC) and the Esperanza Window Trap (EWT). A total of 8,531 adult S. damnosum sensu lato blackflies (S. squamosum group) were found in catches from the three different trapping methods. The HDT (mean catch 533 ± 111) caught significantly more S. squamosum than the EWT (mean catch 9.1 ± 2.2), a nearly 60-fold difference. There was no significant difference between the HLC (mean catch 385.6 ± 80.9) and the HDT. Larvae indistinguishable from those of O. volvulus were dissected from 2.86% of HDT samples (n=70) and 0.35% of HLC samples (n=285); a single infective third-stage larvae (L3) was found during dissection of a sample from the HDT. Owing to its very high capture rate, which was comparable to the HLC and significantly greater than EWT, alongside the presence of infected flies in its catch, the HDT represents a potentially valuable new tool for blackfly collection in elimination settings, where thousands of flies are needed for parasite screening

General practitioners’ experiences of emergency care and treatment planning in England : a focus group study

Background: Emergency Care and Treatment Plans are recommended for all primary care patients in the United Kingdom who are expected to experience deterioration of their health. The Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) was developed to integrate resuscitation decisions with discussions about wider goals of care. It summarises treatment recommendations discussed and agreed between patients and their clinicians for a future emergency situation and was designed to meet the needs of different care settings. Our aim is to explore GPs’ experiences of using ReSPECT and how it transfers across the primary care and secondary care interface. Methods: We conducted five focus groups with GPs in areas being served by hospitals in England that have implemented ReSPECT. Participants were asked about their experience of ReSPECT, how they initiate ReSPECT-type conversations, and their experiences of ReSPECT-type recommendations being communicated across primary and secondary care. Focus groups were transcribed and analysed using Thematic Analysis. Results: GPs conceptualise ReSPECT as an end of life planning document, which is best completed in primary care. As an end of life care document, completing ReSPECT is an emotional process and conversations are shaped by what a ‘good death’ is thought to be. ReSPECT recommendations are not always communicated or transferable across care settings. A focus on the patient’s preferences around death, and GPs’ lack of specialist knowledge, could be a barrier to completion of ReSPECT that is transferable to acute settings. Conclusion: Conceptualising ReSPECT as an end of life care document suggests a difference in how general practitioners understand ReSPECT from its designers. This impacts on the transferability of ReSPECT recommendations to the hospital setting

Visual and thermal stimuli modulate mosquito-host contact with implications for improving malaria vector control tools

Malaria prevention relies on mosquito control interventions that use insecticides and exploit mosquito behavior. The rise of insecticide resistance and changing transmission dynamics urgently demand vector control innovation. To identify behavioral traits that could be incorporated into such tools, we investigated the flight and landing response of Anopheles coluzzii to human-like host cues. We show that landing rate is directly proportional to the surface area of thermal stimulus, whereas close-range orientation is modulated by both thermal and visual inputs. We modeled anopheline eye optics to theorize the distance at which visual targets can be detected under a range of conditions, and experimentally established mosquito preference for landing on larger targets, although landing density is greater on small targets. Target orientation does not affect landing rate; however, vertical targets can be resolved at greater distance than horizontal targets of the same size. Mosquito traps for vector control could be significantly enhanced by incorporating these features

Vector compositions change across forested to deforested ecotones in emerging areas of zoonotic malaria transmission in Malaysia

In lowland areas of Malaysia, Plasmodium knowlesi infection is associated with land use change and high proportions of the vector Anopheles balabacensis. We conducted a 15-month study in two Malaysian villages to determine the effect of habitat on vector populations in understudied high-altitude, high-incidence districts. Anopheles mosquitoes were sampled in human settlements, plantations and forest edges, and screened for Plasmodium species by PCR. We report the first An. donaldi positive for P. knowlesi. This potential vector was associated with habitat fragmentation measured as disturbed forest edge:area ratio, while An. balabacensis was not, indicating fragmented land use could favour An. donaldi. Anopheline species richness and diversity decreased from forest edge, to plantation, to human settlement. Greater numbers of An. balabacensis and An. donaldi were found in forest edges compared to human settlements, suggesting exposure to vectors and associated zoonoses may be greater for people entering this habitat

Aedes aegypti oviposition-sites choice under semi-field conditions

Vector control is still the recommended approach to avoid arbovirus outbreaks. Herein, we investigate oviposition preferences of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) females under a semi-field structure Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For that, in Experiment 1, we used two settings: ‘Single items’, which included as containers drain, beer bottle, bucket, car tyre, water tank, and a potted Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii) in a saucer with water, or ‘Multiple containers’, as an urban simulation, in which one drain, two additional beer bottles, and an extra plant pot saucer were added. Experiment 2 (sensory cues) used five variations of potted plant, each one varying in the range of sensory cues known to attract gravid females to oviposition containers. Our results indicate that gravid Ae. aegypti prefer to oviposit close to the ground and in open water containers with organic compounds from plant watering. Domestic large artificial containers containing tap water received significantly fewer eggs, except for the car tyre, which exhibited as many eggs as the potted plant. We also show that visual (potted plant shape) and olfactory clues (odour of the plant or from water containing organic matter) were equally attractive separately as were these stimuli together