People Like Me Don’t Belong in Places Like This. Creating and Developing a Community of Learners beyond the Prison Gates

It is widely accepted that individuals with criminal convictions experience multiple disadvantage and deprivation, and, as a result, are considered least likely to progress to higher education (Unlock, 2018). The risk-adverse nature of higher education application processes further compound such disadvantage, even though there is no evidence to suggest that screening for criminal convictions increase campus safety (Centre for Community Alternatives, 2010). Drawing upon ethnographic data, the discussion critically reflects upon the development of one situated Learning Together initiative based within a University in the north-west of England. In doing so, the discussion highlights a series of emerging opportunities and competing contradictions that span over three key developmental areas: creation, progress and maintenance. We anticipate that the findings will go some way in opening up a wider debate about the sustainability of initiatives that seek to create dynamic educational partnerships between the higher education sector and criminal justice system more broadly

Engineering Coexistence

A response to the issues raised by the English GM coexistence consultation

Improved performance of marron using genetic and pond on using genetic and pond management strategies

Marron (Cherax tenuimanus) are the highest valued freshwater crayfish farmed in Australia. This project addressed the need to increase the profitability of commercial marron farms by improving growth rates and pond management strategies.https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/fr_frcr/1002/thumbnail.jp

BRAND PRICE POSITIONING STRATEGY AND SALES TURNOVER OF FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN RIVERS STATE NIGERIA

The study investigated the relationship between brand price positioning strategy and sales turnover of food and beverage manufacturing firms in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector in Rivers State, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive research design. Data were drawn through questionnaires from 66 small-scale operators, 40 medium-scale operators making a total of 106 food and beverage manufacturing Entrepreneurs in the SMEs sector in Rivers State, and 384 customers of the said firms. The data collection instrument was validated by experts drawn from Entrepreneurship, Marketing, and Statistics and thereafter subjected to a reliability test using the Cronbach Alpha test which gave an average coefficient value of 0.764. A combination of descriptive and inferential statistical tools was employed to analyze the data with the aid of SPSS (version 21.0). The descriptive tools employed were tables, frequencies, percentages, mean, and standard deviation while Pearson Product Moment correlation analysis constituted the inferential tools employed for data analysis. The study findings revealed that brand price positioning strategy was critical in determining the outcome of sales turnover. It was found to have significant predictive capabilities on sales turnover. In conclusion, brand price positioning strategies had a significant statistical influence on sales turnover by food and beverage manufacturing  SMEs in Rivers State. Precisely, 37.5%, changes in sales turnover were significantly predicted by brand price. Therefore, this study advocated the adoption of a brand price positioning strategy that will enhance the affordability of their products in the marketplace

Predictors of cognitive impairment in patients with substance use disorder in Kiambu County, Kenya

Cognitive impairments induced by substance use contribute to poorer treatment outcomes among patients with substance use disorder (SUD). Neuropsychological assessments are often neglected during patient evaluation in SUD treatment programs owing to the fact that they require extensive time for evaluation and are resource intensive. This inattention is likely to compromise comprehensive treatments which would offer better prognosis for such patients undergoing treatment for SUD. The main objective of this study was to determine predictors of neuro cognitive disorders (NCD) in patients with substance use disorders enrolled in rehabilitation centres in Kiambu County, Kenya. A cross-sectional design was adopted and data collected between Oct-23 to Jan 2024, covering a total of 250 patients aged 18-65 years that consented to participate in the study. Consecutive non-probability sampling technique was deployed in the recruitment of the respondents into the study. A self-rated questionnaire was developed for data collection whereas the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) Tool was employed in the screening for cognitive impairment. The prevalence of cognitive impairment was 34.8% (Prevalence per primary substance showed alcohol=37%, cannabis=22%, and khat=22%). Age (Coefficient=0.0852, P=0.013 CI= 0.018-0.152), education (Coefficient=0.0783, P<0.008 CI= 0.021-0.139), and anxiety disorder (Coefficient=0.4286, P<0.001 CI= 0.317-0.540) were found to be significantly associated with neurocognitive disorders at multivariate analysis. This shows that it is important to screen for cognitive impairments during early treatment stages considering the high prevalence rate. This will enhance the choice of treatment course and maximize on treatment outcomes

Elm Farm Research Centre Bulletin 82 February 2006

Regular newsletter with technical updates from the Organic Advisory Service Issue covers: organic sector payments, dietary health choices, avian influenza vaccination, tradable quotas, feeding cities, sewage sludge, organic aquaculture, organic poultry, biodiversity and productivity research, organic winter wheat varieties, linking farmers and scientists, Interreg Project, RAFAEL energy use greenhouse gas emissions food and farming

Cloud Computing and Virtualization: The “Entrepreneur without Borders” Workbench for 21st Century Enterprise Development

Norbert Weiner, one of the true great minds of the 20thcentury once said “Progress imposes not only new possibilitiesfor the future but new restrictions.” (1) Like Charlie Chaplinbefore him brilliantly exhibited in his marvelous silent film,Modern Times, technology must become our servant and notour master. One of the major complaints we often hear of laterevolves around just how absorbing technology has become interms of consuming our time and energy

Elm Farm Research Centre Bulletin 79 July 2005

Regular newletter from Elm Farm Research Centre (EFRC)covering research, technical and policy articles, views and comment

Access Control for IoT: A Survey of Existing Research, Dynamic Policies and Future Directions

Internet of Things (IoT) provides a wide range of services in domestic and industrial environments. Access control plays a crucial role in granting access rights to users and devices when an IoT device is connected to a network. However, many challenges exist in designing and implementing an ideal access control solution for the IoT due to the characteristics of the IoT including but not limited to the variety of the IoT devices, the resource constraints on the IoT devices, and the heterogeneous nature of the IoT. This paper conducts a comprehensive survey on access control in the IoT, including access control requirements, authorization architecture, access control models, access control policies, access control research challenges, and future directions. It identifies and summarizes key access control requirements in the IoT. The paper further evaluates the existing access control models to fulfill the access control requirements. Access control decisions are governed by access control policies. The existing approaches on dynamic policies’ specification are reviewed. The challenges faced by the existing solutions for policies’ specification are highlighted. Finally, the paper presents the research challenges and future directions of access control in the IoT. Due to the variety of IoT applications, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for access control in the IoT. Despite the challenges encountered in designing and implementing the access control in the IoT, it is desired to have an access control solution to meet all the identified requirements to secure the IoT