Normal Enough? Tools to Aid Decision Making

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Neil H. Spencer, Margaret Lay and Lindsey Kevan de Lopez, ‘Normal enough? Tools to aid decision making’, International Journal of Social Research Methodology, Vol. 20(2): 167-179, 2017, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2016.1155379. Published by Taylor & Francis.When undertaking quantitative hypothesis testing, social researchers need to decide whether the data with which they are working is suitable for parametric analyses to be used. When considering the relevant assumptions they can examine graphs and summary statistics but the decision making process is subjective and must also take into account the robustness of the proposed tests to deviations from the assumptions. We review the contemporary advice on this issue available to researchers and look back to the roots of hypothesis testing and associated work undertaken by eminent statisticians since the 1930s. From this we create a set of flow charts to give researchers tools they can use to make decisions in a more objective manner.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

THE \u27ENTENTE\u27 OF THE NARRATOR: A POET SPEAKS TO HIS AUDIENCE IN CHAUCER\u27S VERSIONS OF THE DIDO AND AENEAS LEGEND

In Book I of The House of Fame and in The Legend of Dido in The Legend of Good Women, Geoffrey Chaucer offers his versions of the classical love story of Dido and Aeneas. Each story is told through the voice of a well-developed narrator who regularly interrupts his narration to speak to an audience addressed in the poem. This study investigates the relationships between the narrator and his addressed audience and the narrator and his text. It further suggests ways in which Chaucer sought to explore the potential of the English poet through the creation of a poet/narrator who interjects a high degree of personal expression into his work. Narrator Geffrey is first considered as a dramatic character within the poem: a speaker with his own personality who is not autobiographically associated with Geoffrey Chaucer. As Geffrey is a dreamer, attention next centers on the question of how the dream vision frame itself might have prepared a listener for the idea of personal authorship in a poetic work. Textual analysis of Geffrey\u27s versions of the Dido and Aeneas legend follows, focusing on the ways he presents his ideas about love and literature. Discussion is supported by comparison of the Chaucerian stories to their French and Latin sources: in particular, The Aeneid, Epistola Dido Aeneae, and The Roman d\u27Eneas. This analysis reveals that the genius of Chaucer\u27s created narrator lies in the degree to which Geffrey comes alive in the text as both a self-conscious poet and an active participant in the poem. It is this dual role within and without the text that differentiates Chaucer\u27s Dido and Aeneas narrator from other fourteenth-century narrators. The study concludes that Chaucer appears to be moving away from older notions of the poet as giver of received knowledge towards a more modern view of the poet as one who makes personal experience and opinions part of the fabric of literature

Cardiovascular benefits of lycopene : fantasy or reality?

Acknowledgements F. T. and S. M. are grateful for support from the Scottish Government (Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Services). Financial Support F. T. and L. F. M. received funding from the UK Food Standard Agency for tomato and lycopene-related researchPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Senior Recital, Margaret O. Mayes, mezzo-soprano

The presentation of this senior recital will fulfill in part the requirements for the Bachelor of Music degree in Performance. Margaret O. Mayes studies voice with Kenneth Wood and receives vocal coaching from Melanie Kohn Day

Survey to identify research priorities for primary care in Scotland during and following the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVES: To identify research priorities for primary care in Scotland following the COVID-19 pandemic.DESIGN: Modified James Lind Alliance methodology; respondents completed an online survey to make research suggestions and rank research themes in order of priority.SETTING: Scotland primary care.PARTICIPANTS: Healthcare professionals in primary care in Scotland and members of primary care patient and public involvement groups. 512 respondents provided research suggestions; 8% (n=40) did not work in health or social care; of those who did work, 68.8% worked in primary care, 16.3% community care, 11.7% secondary care, 4.5% third sector, 4.2% university (respondents could select multiple options). Of those respondents who identified as healthcare professionals, 33% were in nursing and midwifery professions, 25% were in allied health professions (of whom 45% were occupational therapists and 35% were physiotherapists), 20% were in the medical profession and 10% were in the pharmacy profession.MAIN OUTCOMES: Suggestions for research for primary care made by respondents were categorised into themes and subthemes by researchers and ranked in order of priority by respondents.RESULTS: There were 1274 research suggestions which were categorised under 12 themes and 30 subthemes. The following five themes received the most suggestions for research: disease and illness (n=461 suggestions), access (n=202), workforce (n=164), multidisciplinary team (MDT; n=143) and integration (n=108). One hundred and three (20%) respondents to the survey participated in ranking the list of 12 themes in order of research priority. The five most highly ranked research priorities were disease and illness, health inequalities, access, workforce and MDTs. The disease and illness theme had the greatest number of suggestions for research and was scored the most highly in the ranking exercise. The subtheme ranked as the most important research priority in the disease and illness theme was ‘mental health’.CONCLUSIONS: The themes and subthemes identified in this study should inform research funders so that the direction of primary healthcare is informed by evidence

Survey to identify research priorities for primary care in Scotland during and following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives To identify research priorities for primary care in Scotland following the COVID-19 pandemic. Design Modified James Lind Alliance methodology; respondents completed an online survey to make research suggestions and rank research themes in order of priority. Setting Scotland primary care. Participants Healthcare professionals in primary care in Scotland and members of primary care patient and public involvement groups. 512 respondents provided research suggestions; 8% (n=40) did not work in health or social care; of those who did work, 68.8% worked in primary care, 16.3% community care, 11.7% secondary care, 4.5% third sector, 4.2% university (respondents could select multiple options). Of those respondents who identified as healthcare professionals, 33% were in nursing and midwifery professions, 25% were in allied health professions (of whom 45% were occupational therapists and 35% were physiotherapists), 20% were in the medical profession and 10% were in the pharmacy profession. Main outcomes Suggestions for research for primary care made by respondents were categorised into themes and subthemes by researchers and ranked in order of priority by respondents. Results There were 1274 research suggestions which were categorised under 12 themes and 30 subthemes. The following five themes received the most suggestions for research: disease and illness (n=461 suggestions), access (n=202), workforce (n=164), multidisciplinary team (MDT; n=143) and integration (n=108). One hundred and three (20%) respondents to the survey participated in ranking the list of 12 themes in order of research priority. The five most highly ranked research priorities were disease and illness, health inequalities, access, workforce and MDTs. The disease and illness theme had the greatest number of suggestions for research and was scored the most highly in the ranking exercise. The subtheme ranked as the most important research priority in the disease and illness theme was 'mental health'. Conclusions The themes and subthemes identified in this study should inform research funders so that the direction of primary healthcare is informed by evidence