The Use of Social Media by UK Local Resilience Forums

The potential uses of social media in the field of emergency preparedness, resilience and response (EPRR) are varied and interesting. The UK government have produced guidance documents for its use in the UK EPRR field but evidence of use is poorly documented and appears sporadic. This paper presents the results of a survey of Local Resilience Forums (LRF) in the UK on their use and engagement with social media. The findings suggest that the level of application of social media strategies as emergency planning or response tools varied significantly between the LRFs. While over 90percent of respondents claimed that their LRF used social media as part of their strategy, most of this use was reactive or passive, rather than proactive and systematic. The various strategies employed seem to be linked most strongly to local expertise and the existence of social media ‘champions’ rather than to the directives and guidance emerging from government

Education and lifelong learning research findings No.42/2008: Evaluation of the extended pre-school provision for vulnerable two year olds pilot programme

The University of Strathclyde was commissioned by the Scottish Government to evaluate a pilot programme of extended pre-school provision for vulnerable two year olds. The team gathered both quantitative and qualitative data across the three pilot areas of Glasgow, Dundee, and North Ayrshire. Data were collected from multiple stakeholders- children, parents, preschool centre staff, heads of centres and local authority childcare strategy managers. The overall aim was to build up a coherent picture of the programme's impact by triangulating findings from different methodologies and different informants

Evaluation of the extended pre-school provision for vulnerable two year olds pilot programme: final report

In August 2006 the Scottish Government invited Glasgow, Dundee and North Ayrshire local authorities to take part in a £2 million Extended Pre-School Provision for Vulnerable 2 Year Olds Pilot Programme. The pilot programme was to run for a two year period with the key aim of providing positive preschool experiences one year early for vulnerable children and supporting their parents. Local authorities were encouraged to develop their own models of delivery within the broad aims of the project. A research team from the Department of Psychology, University of Strathclyde, headed by Dr Lisa Woolfson was contracted to carry out an evaluation of the programme in the second year of the pilot. The research study ran from April 2007 to September 2008 and evaluated children who participated in the pilot programme between August 2007 and June 2008, the second year of the pilot programme. Aims We aimed to explore the impact of the extended pilot programme on cognitive, social, emotional and behavioural developmental child outcomes, as well as the impact on participating parents. In addition we aimed to identify recruitment criteria and admission procedures used by the participating local authorities as well as staffing, numbers of children, attendance rates and practical issues around programme set-up and delivery

Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities: Impacts of Advocacy, Organizing, and Civic Engagement in Los Angeles

Analyzes the policy impacts and monetary benefits fifteen Los Angeles County community organizations achieved for marginalized groups with foundation support in 2004-08. Presents effective strategies used and recommends greater roles for local funders

Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities: Impacts of Advocacy, Organizing and Civic Engagement in North Carolina

Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities: Impacts of Advocacy, Organizing and Civic Engagement in North Carolina by Lisa Ranghelli and Julia Craig looks at 2003-2007 data from 13 North Carolina nonprofits, which shows high return on investments and non-monetary gains on a range of issues including poverty, worker rights, education, health care, housing, environment and civil rights

Parents’ views on preparation to care for extremely premature infants at home.

Aim: To gain insight into the post-discharge experiences of parents in relation to the adequacy of preparation for caring for their extremely premature infant at home. Method: A narrative approach was drawn on to facilitate data collection, via face-to-face semi-structured interviews, with fourteen parents of extremely premature infants. Findings: Constant comparative analysis was employed to allow the emergence of five key research themes: Emotional and mental health of parents; uncertain outcomes; on-going health needs of the baby; education needs of health professionals; parental support and preparation for transition home. Conclusion: Parental experience of being discharged home with a premature baby can be emotionally challenging necessitating a range of support mechanisms to assist them to cope with this period of transition

PENENTUAN KANDUNGAN ANTIOKSIDAN TOTAL, TPC DAN TFC PADA REBUSAN DAUN MIANA (Plectranthus scutellarioides (L.) R.Br.), DAUN PUDING HITAM (Graptophyllum pictum (L.) Griff) DAN DAUN SIRIH MERAH (Piper crocatum)

Penggunaan senyawa antioksidan sebagai obat meningkat seiring dengan bertambahnya ilmu pengetahuan tentang pengaruh negatif radikal bebas terhadap penyakit degeneratif. Senyawa antioksidan dapat melawan radikal bebas yang sebagian besar berasal dari tumbuhan. Penelitian dilakukan untuk mengetahui kandungan antioksidan total, Total Phenolic Content (TPC) dan Total Flavonoid Content (TFC) dari rebusan tanaman obat yaitu Daun Miana (Plectranthus scutellarioides (L.) R.Br.), Daun Puding Hitam (Graptophyllum pictum (L.) Griff) dan Daun Sirih Merah (Piper crocatum). Kandungan antioksidan total ditentukan dengan metode Modified Phenantroline Method (MPM) yang diperoleh pada masing-masing sampel tanaman obat yaitu daun miana sebesar 1,0515 mmol Fe/g DW, daun puding hitam sebesar 0,5204 mmol Fe/g DW dan daun sirih merah sebesar 0,3617 mmol Fe/g DW. Pada penelitian yang telah dilakukan nilai TPC dari ekstrak rebusan daun miana, daun puding hitam dan daun sirih merah berturut-turut adalah 47,0185 mg GAE/g DW, 1,4390 mg GAE/g DW dan 16,3481 mg GAE/g DW. Nilai TFC yang diperoleh berturut-turut yaitu 345,2825 mg QE/g DW, 66,9185 mg QE/g DW dan 73,7595 mg QE/g DW. Berdasarkan kurva kalibrasi diperoleh korelasi antara kandungan antioksidan total dengan TPC menunjukan koefisien korelasi (r)= 0,8535, artinya hubungan antara kandungan antioksidan total dengan TPC memiliki korelasi yang kuat dimana senyawa antioksidan sebagian besar didominasi oleh senyawa fenolik, sedangkan korelasi antara hubungan kandungan antioksidan total dengan TFC memiliki korelasi yang sangat kuat dengan nilai koefisien korelasi (r)= 0,9706 yang menandakan senyawa antioksidan didominasi oleh senyawa flavonoid. Kata kunci: Tanaman obat, Antioksidan, TPC dan TFC

The forgotten mothers of extremely preterm babies : A qualitative study

© 2019 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Nursing Published by John Wiley & Sons LtdAims and objectives: To explore the experiences of mothers of extremely prematurebabies during their Neonatal Intensive Care Unit stay and transition home. Background: Mothers of extremely preterm infants (28 weeks’ gestation or less) experience a continuum of regular and repeated stressful and traumatic events, during the perinatal period, during the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit stay, and during transition home. Method: An interpretive description method guided this study. Ten mothers of extremely premature infants who had been at home for less than six months were recruited via a Facebook invitation to participate in semi‐structured telephone interviews exploring their experiences in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the transition home. The data were examined using a six‐phase thematic analysis approach. The COREQ checklist has been used. Results: Two main themes emerged: (a) things got a bit dire; and (b) feeling a failure as a mother. Participants had a heightened risk of developing a mental disorder from exposure to multiple risk factors prior to and during birth, as well as during the postnatal period in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and their infant's transition to home. Mothers highlighted the minimal support for their mental health from healthcare professionals, despite their regular and repeated experience of traumatic events. Conclusion: The mothers were at high risk of developing post‐traumatic stress symptoms and/or other mental health issues. Of note, study participants relived the trauma of witnessing their infant in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, demonstrated hypervigilance behaviour and identified lack of relevant support needed when their infant was at home. Relevance to Clinical Practice: This study highlights the need for nurses to include a focus on the mothers’ psychosocial needs. Supporting maternal mental health both improves maternal well‐being and enables mothers to be emotionally available and responsive to their extremely preterm infant.Peer reviewe

Work of the NHS England Youth Forum and its effect on health services.

©2018 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.AIM: To examine the role of members of the NHS England Youth Forum (NHSEYF) and the strategies used to influence health service provision for children and young people. METHOD: An evaluative mixed-methods study was commissioned by NHS England and undertaken by the University of Hertfordshire between July 2015 and September 2016. Data collection comprised activity logs, a form of questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews. FINDINGS: The analysis of the activity logs revealed that the young people were undertaking a wide range of activities across England. Seven themes emerged from the interviews: the young people; motivation; commitment; community (the local area as well as a community spirit); knowledge experts; youth workers; and funding. In summary, the members of the NHSEYF were committed to their role and their work was having a positive effect on health service provision. CONCLUSION: The NHSEYF has developed rapidly and successfully. It is enabling the voice of young people to be heard.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Math Difficulties

Math is one of the most important and critical subjects taught nowadays. Though, it tends to be one of the most difficult subjects to master. Many students have trouble with math which only worsens when they reach adulthood. If students do not learn critical basic math, computation, and problem solving skills they struggle in all aspects of their life. Some students have math disabilities such as learning disabled in math or dyscalculia. These disabilities can severely affect their life skills that are necessary for successfully functioning as a part of society and their lives an adult. The purpose of this paper is to explore basic math skills, problem solving, and computation skills associated with math difficulties