National evaluation of Diplomas: cohort 1 - the second year

The introduction of Diplomas for 14-19 year olds represented a major innovation in educational opportunity for young people in England. The Diplomas are being offered at three levels and across 14 subjects and have been implemented in three phases (from September 2008, 2009 and 2010). Following the establishment of the Coalition government in May 2010, a number of changes to the implementation and delivery of the Diploma qualification were introduced. The Minister of State for Schools announced that development of new Diplomas in science, humanities and languages, which were due to be introduced from September 2011, would be discontinued. Additionally the Diploma entitlement, whereby all young people within an area would be able to access any of the Diploma subjects, would be removed and that the decision about which Diploma subjects would be available to students would in future be made by schools and colleges. Moreover, it was decided that the Gateway application process whereby consortia (of schools, colleges, training providers, employers and Higher Education Institutes (HEIs)) had previously submitted an application to the Department for Education (DfE) for each Diploma subject they wanted to offer would no longer be required for provision commencing from 2012. Other changes included the freedom for institutions to decide whether or not they wanted to work collaboratively to provide Diploma provision

Integrating a sense of coherence into the neonatal environment

Background: Family centred care (FCC) is currently a valued philosophy within neonatal care; an approach that places the parents at the heart of all decision-making and engagement in the care of their infant. However, to date, there is a lack of clarity regarding the definition of FCC and limited evidence of FCCs effectiveness in relation to parental, infant or staff outcomes. Discussion: In this paper we present a new perspective to neonatal care based on Aaron Antonovksy’s Sense of Coherence (SOC) theory of well-being and positive health. Whilst the SOC was originally conceptualised as a psychological-based construct, the SOCs three underpinning concepts of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness provide a theoretical lens through which to consider and reflect upon meaningful care provision in this particular care environment. By drawing on available FCC research, we consider how the SOC concepts considered from both a parental and professional perspective need to be addressed. The debate offered in this paper is not presented to reduce the importance or significance of FCC within neonatal care, but, rather, how consideration of the SOC offers the basis through which meaningful and effective FCC may be delivered. Practice based implications contextualised within the SOC constructs are also detailed. Summary: Consideration of the SOC constructs from both a parental and professional perspective need to be addressed in FCC provision. Service delivery and care practices need to be comprehensible, meaningful and manageable in order to achieve and promote positive well-being and health for all concerned

Governance Challenges of AI-enabled Decentralized Autonomous Organizations: Toward a Research Agenda

The emergence of novel applications using distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) has gathered pace since the introduction of Bitcoin and the subsequent release of the Ethereum platform for decentralized applications (dApps). Such decentrally governed DLT systems are accelerating the displacement of intermediaries in regulated contexts such as the financial system and challenging the efficacy of governance regimes that have conventionally levered governance controls on identifiable, accountable decision-makers. The governance challenges of DLT systems are exacerbated by the arrival of digital autonomous organizations (DAOs) that use on-ledger decision-making mechanisms to further displace or eliminate human decision-makers. When DAOs are augmented with artificial intelligence (AI), their potent combination of computational power and access to large on-platform data sets and resources, signals a significant disruption to conventional institutional, regulatory, and legal governance regimes. This paper discusses the governance challenges of AI-enabled DAOs and presents a research agenda to address these challenges

New Audiences for the Arts: The New Audiences Programme Report

This 269 page report gives a detailed overview of a £20 million funding programme ‘New Audiences’, designed to foster new practice in audience development by arts organisations in England. It was the culmination of a five-year scheme which supported 1200 audience development initiatives across the country. Glinkowski was one of a team of seven researchers who compiled the report: ACE Research Officers, Clare Fenn, Adrienne Skelton and Alan Joy compiled the statistical information for the report appendices; the main body of the report, from Executive Summary to Conclusions, was written by a team of three consultant researchers, Glinkowski, Pam Pfrommer and Sue Stewart, working under the supervision of the ACE Head of New Audiences, Gill Johnson. The report was a summary, compilation and interpretation of key themes emerging from the material contained within around 1150 evaluations of projects funded by the £20 million ‘New Audiences’ programme during the 5-year period from 1998-2003. The interpretative work and writing up was undertaken collaboratively by the consultant researchers and Glinkowski’s particular input was to the Executive Summary; Introduction; General Audiences; Disability; Social Inclusion; Rural; Older People; General Findings; and Conclusion sections of the report. He was also the principal author (although in keeping with ACE practice on advocacy material, not formally credited) of the ‘New Audiences Advocacy Document’ (ISBN 0728710331), produced in conjunction with the main report with introduction by Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State, Department of Culture, Media and Sport and Peter Hewitt, Chief Executive of Arts Council England. The full report is published online, with a companion volume summarising all projects undertaken within the ‘New Audiences’ programme. Additionally, Glinkowski was commissioned to contribute case studies to the ‘New Audiences’ website (http://www.newaudiences.org.uk/index.php), including 'Open Studios/Artists Presentation Research' (http://www.newaudiences.org.uk/project.php?id=680)

Socially assistive robots for people with dementia: systematic review and meta-analysis of feasibility, acceptability and the effect on cognition, neuropsychiatric symptoms and quality of life

BACKGROUND: There is increasing interest in using robots to support dementia care but little consensus on the evidence for their use. The aim of the study is to review evidence about feasibility, acceptability and clinical effectiveness of socially assistive robots used for people with dementia. METHOD: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, CINHAL, IEEE Xplore Digital Library, and EI Engineering Village from inception to 04 -02-2022 - included primary studies assessing feasibility, acceptability, or effectiveness of socially assistive robots for people with dementia. Two independent reviewers screened studies for eligibility, and assessed quality. Narrative synthesis prioritized higher quality studies, and random-effect meta-analyses compared robots with usual care (UC) or active control (AC) immediately after the intervention (short-term; ST) or long-term (LT) on cognition, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and quality of life. FINDINGS: 66 studies and four categories of robots were eligible: Companion robots (Pet and humanoid companion robots), telepresence communication robots, homecare assistive robots and multifunctional robots. PARO (companion robot seal) was feasible and acceptable but limited by its weight, cost, and sound. On meta-analysis, PARO had no ST or LT compared to UC or AC over 5-12 weeks on agitation (ST vs UC, 4 trials, 153 participants: pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) 0.25; -0.57 to 0.06; LT vs UC; 2 trials, 77 participants, SMD =-0.24; -0.94, 0.46), cognition (ST vs UC, 3 trials, 128 participants: SMD= 0.03; -0.32, 0.38), overall neuropsychiatric symptoms (ST vs UC, 3 trials, 169 participants: SMD= -0.01; -0.32, 0.29; ST vs AC, 2 trials, 145 participants: SMD =0.02, -0.71, 0.85), apathy (ST vs AC, 2 trials, 81 participants: SMD= 0.14; 0.29, 0.58), depression (ST vs UC, 4 trials, 181 participants; SMD= 0.08; -0.52, 0.69; LT vs UC: 2 trials, 77 participants: SMD =0.01; -0.75, 0.77), anxiety (ST vs UC: 2 trials, 104 participants, SMD= 0.24; -0.85, 1.33) and quality of life (ST vs UC, 2 trials, 127 participants: SMD=-0.05; -0.52, 0.42; ST vs AC: 2 trials, 159 participants, SMD =-0.36, -0.76, 0.05). Robotic animals, humanoid companion robots, telepresence robots and multifunctional robots were feasible and acceptable. However, humanoid companion robots have speech recognition problems, and telepresence robots and multifunctional robots were often difficult to use. There was mixed evidence about the feasibility of homecare robots. There was little evidence on any of these robots' effectiveness. CONCLUSION: Although robots were generally feasible and acceptable, there is no clear evidence that people with dementia derive benefit from robots for cognition, neuropsychiatric symptoms, or quality of life. We recommend that future research should use high quality designs to establish evidence of effectiveness

Investigations on the Studland Circles by the Dorset Alum and Copperas Industries Project

Archaeological investigations carried out on behalf of the Poole Harbour Heritage Project examined as series of undated earthworks, known as the Studland Circles, on the South Haven peninsula, Studland. A suggestion that these earthworks were associated with the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century alum and copperas industry in Poole Harbour prompted their exploration as part of the Dorset Alum and Copperas Project. A total of 112 earthwork circles were recorded on Studland Heath and Greenlands Farm. Geophysical and earthwork survey was undertaken on a sample study area on Studland Heath and a single earthwork circle was examined in detail, through excavation and geoarchaeological analyses. This earthwork was shown to have a simple bank built of turf and sand stripped from the interior. No evidence for any activity was recovered from the interior to suggest its function. The earthwork was constructed on a layer of windblown sand, which may be related to sand dune development from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Therefore, it is likely that the earthworks date to the post-medieval period. Although no evidence was recovered for the function of the earthwork circles, an industrial or agricultural function is most probable

Investigations on the South Shore of Brownsea Island by the Dorset Alum and Copperas Industries Project

Archaeological investigations carried out on behalf of the Poole Harbour Heritage Project initially identified a possible seventeenth-century copperas works on the south shore of Brownsea Island as part of a project researching the Dorset Alum and Copperas industries. The remains of a rectangular brick-lined ‘tank' and brick surface exposed by coastal erosion were excavated and fifteen test pits were dug in the surrounding area to discover other associated features. Both structures were constructed of late-eighteenth- or early-nineteenth-century bricks. The bricks in the tank appear to be reused and include specialised gutter bricks. A series of earthworks, a large clay pit and a sand pit were recorded. Historic maps suggest that all these features formed part of a brickworks of late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century date, rather than part of the seventeenth-century copperas works