When and how to involve trusted contacts if serious concerns are raised about a student's wellbeing.

The mental wellbeing of university students is of growing concern. HESA (2022) reported 122,530 students with a recorded mental health condition in the UK in 2016/17, whilst the Office for National Statistics reported 319 suicide deaths amongst HE students between 2017 and 2020. Evidence suggests people with mental health issues recover better with social support and most students appear to approve of a university emergency contact scheme (ECS); however many universities have not implemented an ECS. Recent guidance from PAPYRUS 2022, however, is urging universities to develop clear policies on the involvement of trusted contacts when serious concerns are raised about a student's health or safety. This study aims to investigate the relationship between student well-being and social support, and to explore student perspectives on the introduction of an ECS. Students from the Robert Gordon University School of Applied Social Studies (n=113) were recruited via opportunistic sampling and asked to complete a Jisc online survey including the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List shortened version (Cohen et al. 1985), Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (Tennant et al. 2007) and questions about an ECS. Findings indicated a significant positive correlation between mental wellbeing and social support. Most students (96%) supported an ECS, and of those opposed, there were concerns over a loss of agency, worries about identifying a potential contact, or the contact worsening the situation. In terms of the scheme's format, the preferred name was 'Named Trusted Person' (NTP) Scheme, the preferred NTP was parent/guardian or partner, and the preferred contact was Personal Tutor via text/call to mobile phone. Students felt contact should be made after a period of 14 days of disengagement and when there were serious concerns about their mental health, physical health, or personal safety. To conclude, universities should seriously consider the implementation of NTPS to support student wellbeing

Confusion in the courtroom: the effect of confusing questions on eye-witness recall.

This paper examines the influence of confusing questions on the accuracy and confidence of adolescents' recall of a mock crime by answering either simple or confusing questions in written form. One hundred and twenty four adolescents (aged between 13 and 17 years) viewed a brief video of an unusual criminal event and were then asked to complete a question booklet addressing what they had seen. Half of the participants were given four categories of confusing questions (negatives, double negatives, complex syntax, and complex vocabulary - all question types typically used within courtroom examinations); the other half were asked simpler forms of the same questions. The confusing questions did reduce accurate recall of an unusual event. The results also suggested that confusing questions weakened the relationship between confidence and accuracy. Poorly worded questions, exacerbated by repetition, potentially corrupt eyewitness memory and derail investigations. The interaction of retrieval access dynamics with traditionally complicated and intimidating courtroom questioning is also addressed

When, how and why should we involve trusted contacts when serious concerns are raised about a student's well-being?

This study investigates the relationship between mental well-being (MWB) and social support (SS) whilst addressing the paucity of research on students' support for emergency contact schemes (ECSs) and their views on how and when such schemes should be implemented. In total, 113 students recruited via opportunistic sampling completed an online survey including the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List - shortened version (Cohen et al. 1985), Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (Tennant et al. 2007) and questions about ECS. A correlational design used the Pearson product-moment correlation to explore the relationship between MWB and SS. A between-subjects design using independent measures t-test investigated differences in SS and MWB between those with and without a "trusted person" (TP). The preferred name was "Named Trusted Person Scheme" (NTPS), the preferred TP was parent/guardian or partner, and the preferred means of contact was Personal Tutor to mobile phone. Most students (96%) supported the use of an NTPS when serious concerns were raised about mental or physical health, personal safety or student engagement. Those opposed were concerned about a loss of agency, identifying a TP or the TP worsening the situation. MWB was positively correlated with SS, and those with a TP had higher levels of MWB and SS than those without. This study addresses the under-explored area of students' support for ECS, whilst enhancing our understanding of the relationship between MWB and SS especially amongst those without a person they can trust. This research provides valuable insights for universities looking to implement or refine such schemes, with the potential to improve students' MWB, academic achievement and retention by enhancing support

Confessions: consensus in idem?

Examines the law on extra judicial confessions and their admissibility from the point of view of forensic psychology. Discusses the contextual background and identifies three types of false confessions described as voluntary, coerced compliant and coerced internalised. Argues that in the absence of satisfactory psychological techniques to distinguish between genuine and false confessions, and until legal practitioners use any such techniques responsibly, confession evidence should be treated with great care

Alcohol use during pregnancy: an application of the theory of planned behavior.

The objective of this research was to apply the theory of planned behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1988, 1991) to alcohol use during pregnancy. Of the pregnant women (N=130) who participated in the study, over one third reported consuming alcohol (34.8%), and the greatest proportion were drinking 2 to 4 times per month (16.4%). Binary logistic regression was conducted, and the full TPB model was able to distinguish between drinkers and abstainers, explaining 57.1% to 77.1% of the variance in drinking behavior. The TPB provides insight into reasons behind the behavior and can be usefully applied, both as a screening tool to identify pregnant women drinking during pregnancy and as an avenue for intervention work

Dose Effect of Whey Protein on Gut Hormone Responses in Pre-Diabetics and Type 2 Diabetics

GLP-1 and GIP have been shown to increase following a 50 g dose of whey protein prior to a high glycemic load in type 2 diabetics. However, this increase is reduced in diabetics compared to healthy individuals. Pancreatic polypeptide (PP) and peptide tyrosine tyrosine (PYY) also increase, while ghrelin decreases after the consumption of whey protein; however, it is not known if a similar hormone response occurs with a lower dose of whey protein prior to a glycemic load or if there is a dose effect. Our hypothesis was that 20 g and 30 g of whey protein would increase GLP-1, GIP, PP, and PYY and decrease ghrelin in a dose dependent manner. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of two different doses of whey protein ingested 30 min prior to a 50 g OGTT on gut hormone and incretin response. METHODS: Nine diabetic and pre-diabetic participants (n=9, mean ± SD; age: 64.3 + 8.1 yrs.; BMI: 29.4 + 6.0 kg/m2; HbA1c: 6.4 + 0.6%) completed three trials. The randomly assigned trials consisted of: ingestion of 250ml of water (CON); 250 ml of water + 20 g whey (20g); 250ml of water + 30 g whey (30g), prior to completing a 50 g OGTT. Blood was collected at -30, 0, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 min for the measurement of GIP, GLP-1, ghrelin, PP, and PYY. The whey protein was administered immediately following the -30 min and the 50 g OGTT began immediately after the 0 min blood draw. Metabolites were measured using multiplex fluorescent detection. One-way repeated measure ANOVA was used for statistical analysis for each dependent variable (P \u3c 0.05). RESULTS: 20g and 30g of whey protein significantly increased incremental area under the curve (AUC) of GIP 32% and 38% compared to CON. 30g significantly decreased ghrelin AUC -13.9% and -20% compared to 20g and CON. 30g significantly increased PP AUC 28% compared to CON only. There were no differences in ghrelin and PP AUC between 20g and CON. There were no significant differences for GLP-1 and PYY between all trials. CONCLUSION: 30 g of whey protein prior to a glucose challenge increased secretion of GIP and PP and decreased ghrelin in type 2 and pre-diabetics. There seems to be a dose effect relationship between whey, ghrelin, and PP. 30 g of whey preload may induce insulinotropic and satiety effects from GIP, PP, and ghrelin responses in type 2 and pre-diabetics

Opportunities for Competency Support of Virginia Cooperative Extension Professionals at the Colleague Stage

This study focused on the professional development needs of Cooperative Extension agents and specialists with between four and seven years of experience, placing them roughly within the colleague career stage. Data were collected through focus groups and validated through member checking and the use of a modified World Café approach. A research team collaborated, increasing the reliability of the findings through intentional reflection in the development of the findings. Areas of competency strength and weakness vary for agents and specialists, and specific topic areas within competencies vary. While many of the emergent competencies identified in this study fit within the competency framework of Harder et al. (2011) and previous competency studies, more specific topic areas were identified. However, the top priorities identified for professional development focus included communication, educational design, leadership, and budget and fiscal management. Attention to these areas can increase the ability of these professionals to work more effectively and productively. Providing professional development in areas of need for both agents and specialists can support the development of collegiality within the Extension organization. Supporting professionals in this stage of their career growth will position them well for advancing to additional career stages within Cooperative Extension

Surveillance guidelines for disease elimination: a case study of canine rabies

Surveillance is a critical component of disease control programmes but is often poorly resourced, particularly in developing countries lacking good infrastructure and especially for zoonoses which require combined veterinary and medical capacity and collaboration. Here we examine how successful control, and ultimately disease elimination, depends on effective surveillance. We estimated that detection probabilities of <0.1 are broadly typical of rabies surveillance in endemic countries and areas without a history of rabies. Using outbreak simulation techniques we investigated how the probability of detection affects outbreak spread, and outcomes of response strategies such as time to control an outbreak, probability of elimination, and the certainty of declaring freedom from disease. Assuming realistically poor surveillance (probability of detection <0.1), we show that proactive mass dog vaccination is much more effective at controlling rabies and no more costly than campaigns that vaccinate in response to case detection. Control through proactive vaccination followed by 2 years of continuous monitoring and vaccination should be sufficient to guarantee elimination from an isolated area not subject to repeat introductions. We recommend that rabies control programmes ought to be able to maintain surveillance levels that detect at least 5% (and ideally 10%) of all cases to improve their prospects of eliminating rabies, and this can be achieved through greater intersectoral collaboration. Our approach illustrates how surveillance is critical for the control and elimination of diseases such as canine rabies and can provide minimum surveillance requirements and technical guidance for elimination programmes under a broad-range of circumstances