The Good, The True and the Beautiful: Imagining an Ethico-political Future for the Philosophy of Religion

This article argues that the future of philosophy of religion is ethical and political. Much of the current sense of dissatisfaction felt by both critics and practitioners of philosophy of religion can be traced to a perceived lack of relevance, a problem exacerbated by the diminishing, yet persistent, divide between Anglo-American and Continental approaches. A philosophy of religion that is committed to the Platonic ideals of Goodness, Truth and Beauty offers an ethical and political imaginary that has the potential to make philosophy of religion able to consider the most urgent problems of our age. It is argued here that the work of Pamela Sue Anderson, Douglas Hedley and Mark Wynn encapsulates these Platonic ideals and shows how the philosophy of religion can model itself as truth seeking, innovative and transformative

Patients, carers and nurses : collaborators in development of a new model of nursing care for older persons in the acute care setting

Globally the population is ageing and as a consequence people are living longer with multiple chronic conditions. A range of factors, including decreased lengths of hospital stay and a greater focus on community based care, has led to an increasing acuity of patients admitted to acute care settings, many with complex care needs. To date, models of nursing care in acute settings have been configured to focus on acute, procedural care and do not meet the unique needs of the older person. In order to ensure optimal health outcomes of older hospitalised people, nursing care needs to be responsive to the priorities and needs of patients and their families. This study sought to collaboratively develop a model of nursing care with nurse clinicians to improve the care of older people in the acute care setting. Model development was driven by an action research framework, using evidence-based principles and a comprehensive needs assessment. A three phased, mixed method design was embedded within the overarching conceptual and philosophical framework of action research. The first phase of the study comprised a needs assessment and allowed appraisal of the needs of patients as perceived by patients, carer’s and nurses, this was performed using the Caring Activity Scale [CAS]. Qualitative data and semi-structured interviews added depth to the survey data and qualified responses by confirming that patients thought that nurses did the best they could within a culture of busyness, while patients strived to maintain and sustain their own independence. Managing the discharge process and carer burden arose mainly from the carer semi-structured interviews only. Data revealed significant differences between patients, carer’s and nurses in relation to priority and satisfaction with care. Patients did not place a large importance on discharge care which contrasted with the focus of nursing initiatives. During the subsequent phases of the study a collaborative approach, using action research principles, was used to develop and implement a model of nursing care. A key feature of this model was the introduction of a team structure with a focus on patient centred care. Significant differences were identified in the pre model and post model patient groups in relation to satisfaction with care, with the post model group more satisfied than the pre group model group. Further, improvements in functional status and medication knowledge were demonstrated among patients cared for under the new model. This study has demonstrated that developing a model of care appropriate to the needs of patients, carer’s and nurses can be achieved through the use of action research principles. Study data illustrates the importance of collaboration, empowerment and change management principles in driving clinical improvement and patient satisfaction with care. The findings also underscore the importance of promoting and educating patients and carers as well as nurses about the importance of discharge planning to optimise post-discharge health outcomes

Dynamic Reduction of Scientific Data Through Spatiotemporal Properties

Improvements in High-Performance Computing (HPC) has enabled researchers to develop more sophisticated simulations and applications which solve previously intractable problems. While these applications are critical to scientific innovation, they continue to generate even larger quantities of data, which only worsens the existing I/O bottleneck. To resolve this issue, researchers use various forms of data reduction. Currently, researchers have access to many different types of data reduction. These include methods such as data compression, time-step selection, and data sampling. While each of these are effective methods, data compression algorithms and data sampling methods do not leverage the temporal aspect of the data, and time-step selection is prone to missing critical abrupt changes. With this in mind, we develop our spatiotemporal data sampling method. In this thesis, we develop a spatiotemporal data sampling method that leverages both the spatial and temporal properties of simulation data. Specifically, our method compares corresponding regions of the current time-step with that of the previous time-step to determine whether data from the previous time-step is similar enough to reuse. Additionally, this method biases more rare data values during the sampling process to ensure regions of interest are kept with higher fidelity. By operating in this manner, our method improves sample budget utilization and, as a result, post-reconstruction data quality. As the effectiveness of our method relies heavily on user input parameters, we also provide a set of pre-processing steps to alleviate the burden on the user to set appropriate ones. Specifically, these pre-processing steps assist users in determining an optimal value for the number of bins, error threshold, and the number of regions. Finally, we demonstrate the modularity of our sampling process by demonstrating how it works with any different internal core sampling algorithm. Upon evaluating our spatiotemporal sampling algorithm, we find it is capable of achieving higher post-reconstruction quality than Biswas et al.’s non-reuse importance-based sampling method. Specifically, we find our method achieves a 31.3% higher post-reconstruction quality while only introducing a 37% degradation in throughput, on average. When assessing our pre-processing steps, we find they are efficient at assisting users in determining an optimal value for the number of bins, error threshold, and the number of regions. Finally, we illustrate the modularity of our sampling method by showing how one would swap the core sampling algorithm. From our evaluation, we find our spatiotemporal sampling method is an effective choice for sampling simulation data

Modeling the Cosmos: Transformative Pedagogy in Science and Religion

This article reflects on the classroom pedagogy promoted by Christopher Southgate and its implications for the science-theology conversation. It highlights several important aspects of Southgate’s pedagogy. The use of models of God, humanity and cosmos emphasize relationality while encouraging the synthesizing of ideas. The promotion of holism in theological reflection is vital for nurturing students to become theologians themselves through the active re-evaluation of key doctrines and ideas. An emphasis on ethical considerations reinforces synthesis between theology, science and ethics, and is vital for perspective transformation. These aspects of Southgate’s teaching should be recognized as vital for promoting intellectual independence, partnership and theological transformation, all of which are essential to good science and theology pedagogy

Changes in dietary patterns and body composition within 12 months of liver transplantation

Background: Cardiometabolic risk factors are increasing in liver transplant recipients (LTR). Influencing dietary factors have not been assessed. The aim of this observational study was to assess changes in weight, metabolic function, dietary intake and eating behaviours in the first year after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Methods: Consecutive recruitment of 17 patients (14 males) awaiting OLT at a single tertiary hospital. Dietary intake, food behaviours and anthropometry were recorded at baseline, and 6 and 12 months posttransplant. Results: By 12 months, patients had gained on average 7.3% of body weight. The prevalence of overweight or obesity increased from baseline 53% to 77% (P=0.001). By 6 months, 65% (n=11/17) of patients had altered glucose metabolism. Dietary intake was consistent with a Western-style dietary pattern with high saturated fat. Over half of the patients (69%, n=11/16) reported low to no depressive feelings and rated their self-esteem as good (53%, n=9/16). The Power of Food Scale increased between pre and post-transplant, indicating a stronger appetitive drive. Conclusions: Weight gain occurs early post-transplant, with significant metabolic dysfunction present within 6 months, however is not associated with significant psychological distress. Early dietary intervention designed to limit weight gain and target cardiometabolic health is recommended for this unique patient population

Dietary Pattern, Hypertension and Cognitive Function in an Older Population: 10-Year Longitudinal Survey.

There is a paucity of studies that have explored the association between dietary pattern and cognitive function, and whether there is an interaction between dietary pattern and hypertension in relation to older people's cognitive functioning. We analyzed data from the China Health and Nutrition (CHNS) survey. Dietary data have been collected since 1991, and cognitive function interview data were collected between 1997 and 2006. We analyzed ten years of data, including 4,847 participants with 10,658 observations (aged ≥55 years). Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify dietary patterns. Cognitive function measures include cognitive global scores and verbal memory scores. Linear mixed models were used to investigate the association between dietary patterns, hypertension and cognitive function. Three dietary patterns were identified by factor analysis, named "Traditional Chinese," "Protein-rich," and "Starch-rich" dietary pattern. A Protein-rich dietary pattern (high intake of milk, eggs and soymilk) was significantly associated with higher cognitive global scores and verbal memory scores, while the starch-rich dietary pattern (high intake of salted vegetable and legumes) was significantly associated with lower cognitive global and verbal memory scores. In addition, we found that participants with hypertension were independently associated with significant low cognitive function. The study reinforces the importance of diet in preventing cognitive decline among the older population. Identification of older populations who had hypertension should be targeted in intervention studies to maintain their cognitive health

Integrating the PCC4U Modules into a New Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum: The UNDA –Sydney Experience

Introduction (from Power Point Presentation) Why integrate palliative care concepts into an undergraduate nursing course? - Do generalist nurses need this specialist knowledge? - Why not a single, discreet palliative care unit? - When should these concepts be introduced

Hospital service use in the last year of life by Indigenous Australians who died of heart failure or cardiomyopathy : a linked data study

Background: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience disproportionate rates of heart failure. However, information regarding their use of hospital services in the last year of life is poorly delineated to inform culturally appropriate end-of-life health services. Objectives: To quantify hospital service use in the last year of life of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who died of heart failure or cardiomyopathy in Queensland, Australia. Methods: A subgroup analysis of a larger retrospective linkage study using administrative health data in Queensland, Australia. Individuals that identified as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person from their first hospital admission in the last year of life, who died of heart failure or cardiomyopathy from 2008 to 2018, were included. Results: There were 99 individuals, with emergency department presentation/s recorded for 85 individuals. Over 50% of individuals presenting to the Emergency Department were from regional areas (n = 43, 51%). The 99 individuals had a total of 472 hospital admissions, excluding same day admissions for haemodialysis, and 70% (n = 70) died in hospital. Most admissions were coded as acute care (n = 442, 94%), and fewer were coded as palliative care (n = 19, 4%). Median comorbidities or factors that led to hospital contact = 5 (interquartile range 3–9). Conclusion: Acute care hospital admissions in the last year of life by this population are common for those who died of heart failure or cardiomyopathy. Multimorbidity is prevalent in the last year of life, underscoring the importance of primary health care, provided by nurses and Indigenous health workers

Co-production of an educational package for the universal human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme tailored for schools with low uptake:A participatory study protocol

AIM: To co-produce with young people an educational package about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that is tailored to increase vaccine uptake in schools and populations with lower uptake. INTRODUCTION: Persistent infection with HPV can result in cancers affecting men and especially women. From September 2019, the English-schools-based HPV vaccination programme was expanded to include young men (in addition to young women) aged 12-13 years. Some young people attending schools with lower uptake of the vaccine have unmet information needs. We hypothesise that mechanisms to address information needs and increase young people's autonomy in consent procedures will result in higher uptake. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The Medical Research Council's framework for development and evaluation of complex interventions will inform intervention development. Recruitment of young people aged 12-15 years and key stakeholders (National Health Service commissioners, school staff, immunisation nurses and youth workers/practitioners) will be facilitated through existing links with healthcare organisations, schools and youth organisations in areas with lower uptake of the HPV vaccination programme. The proposed research will comprise three phases: (1) a rapid review of adolescent immunisation materials and preliminary qualitative interviews with young people and key stakeholders, (2) theory development and co-production of HPV vaccine communication materials through an iterative process with young people and (iii) testing delivery mechanisms and acceptability of the educational package in four schools with lower uptake. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The University of Bristol's Faculty of Health Sciences and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine's Research Ethics Committees provided approvals for the study. A dissemination event for young people and key stakeholders and webinar with the National Immunisation Network will be organised. The study findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at conferences. Recommendations for a future larger scale study will be made