An evaluation of the National Health Service [NHS] England Youth Forum

This report may be reproduced for the purposes of private research and study; in addition, excerpts may be included in professional journals or conference presentations as long as acknowledgement is given and there is no association with advertisingMore than five decades ago the Platt Report (Ministry of Health, 1959) recommended that hospitalised children needed to be treated differently to adults. It took until the 1980s for evidence to emerge that healthcare staff were beginning to implement Platt’s recommendations; Davies (2010) attributes this long awaited change of approach to a new generation of practitioners and a renewed focus from the Government that acknowledged the distinct needs of children and young people. In the early 1990s James and Prout (1990) produced work to suggest that children should not be viewed as passive recipients of care but should be recognised as having their own voice, referred to as the “emergence of children’s voice” (Hallett and Prout, 2003: 1)Final Published versio

ECONOMIC VALUATION OF SOME WETLAND OUTPUTS OF MUD LAKE, MINNESOTA-SOUTH DAKOTA

The objective of this study was to estimate some economic values of Mud Lake, a managed, lacustrine wetland on the Minnesota-South Dakota border. Several outputs of Mud Lake were identified and an economic value was estimated for each. Flood control was valued at approximately $440 per acre, based on dollar damages prevented; water supply, using public utility revenues, was valued at$94 per acre; fish/wildlife habitat, recreation, and aesthetics were valued at about $21 per acre using the Contingent Valuation Method; and corrective expenditures were used to evaluate water quality at a negative per acre value of$180. When capitalized at 6 percent, the estimated total annual value of these four outputs is $6,250 per acre. These values can assist managers and policy makers in making decisions regarding the opportunity costs of Mud Lake management options or of wetland alterations or preservation. These snapshot values of Mud Lake "at the margin" are estimated under the assumption that all other wetlands and water resources in the region are unchanged.wetland, outputs, economic valuation, flood control, water supply, water quality, recreation, aesthetics, fish/wildlife habitat, contingent valuation method, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

Accessing Capital for Rural Grocery Stores

The presenter discusses the key ingredients of advising to secure financing, what to be aware of when trying to access capital, and challenges to accessing capital. Assess, plan, and execute your plan to access capital with guidance from this presentation

Business Transition

This presentation provides information on the key pieces of business transition. First, assess exit readiness of the business, then plan and execute the plan that you have made. This presentation details the steps involved to ensure that your business will transition successfully

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

Genetic analysis of inherited retinal diseases in indigenous Southern African populations

Background: Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) constitute a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous conditions which cause degeneration of retinal photoreceptor cells and result in visual impairment. Characterisation of the genetic basis of IRD is not only beneficial for the affected families, but also contributes towards understanding of the disease pathobiology. Investigations into the molecular basis of IRDs have been ongoing in South Africa (SA) for over 30 years, however the evaluation of reported genetic mutations has yielded low returns in certain populations. Indigenous southern Africans comprise a unique population group with distinct genetic diversity, providing a valuable resource for genetic discoveries; nonetheless, this population remains largely underrepresented in genomic studies. The aim of this investigation was to characterise the underlying genetic mutations in a cohort of indigenous African IRD patients. Methods: The IRD registry in the Division of Human Genetics (University of Cape Town) was reviewed for causative mutations. Subsequently, upon identifying a mutation underlying Usher Syndrome in two indigenous African patients, an assay was designed to screen for this mutation in probands with different IRDs (n=170) and controls (n=51), and haplotype analysis was performed on mutation-positive individuals. The registry review additionally served to identify a suitable cohort for the application of next generation sequencing (NGS) technology. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed on genomic DNA samples from 56 individuals from 16 families. The WES data analysis strategy involved prioritisation of variants in reported and candidate IRD genes. Rare, co-segregating, pathogenic, exonic or splice variants were validated by Sanger sequencing. Custom TaqMan assays were designed to screen seven mutations, identified by WES, in 193 unrelated indigenous African probands with IRDs. Results: A homozygous founder mutation, c.6377delC in MYO7A, was identified in 43% of the indigenous African patients with Usher syndrome, which is the most common cause of deaf-blindness. Targeted WES data analysis of all known IRD genes resulted in identification of the underlying genetic defects in six distinct genes (RHO, PRPF3, PRPF31, ABCA4, CERKL, and PDE6B) in six families. Taqman screening revealed four additional probands with identical homozygous mutations in CERKL and PDE6B. An X-linked gene (RP2) mutation was subsequently identified in an affected family with semi-dominant retinitis pigmentosa. Supplementary analysis of the X-linked RPGR ORF15 mutation hotspot (not adequately covered by WES) identified two mutations in three families. A novel IRD gene, IDH3A, was found in one family by analysis of 22 putative candidate genes. The large number of variants in the remainder of the indigenous African exomes presented considerable challenges for identification of additional novel genes. Discussion: The results of this project have important implications for IRD molecular diagnostic services in SA. Using WES, a genetic diagnosis was obtained for ±73% of the indigenous African cohort, and ±70% of the causative mutations identified were novel. This outcome emphasises the superiority of NGS-based approaches over genotyping-based microarrays which screen for IRD mutations previously reported in other (mainly European-derived) populations. The unexpected identification of mutations in known X-linked genes in four families highlighted key considerations for IRD WES analysis. Cascade screening of mutations identified in this study, across larger cohorts of unrelated probands, revealed the genetic cause of IRD in additional cases and the number of indigenous African families in the registry with a genetic diagnosis was effectively doubled. Members of these families can now opt for diagnostic, carrier, or predictive testing of familial mutations. Finally, the information obtained from this research contributes towards a better understanding of the genetic architecture of IRDs in SA

Effects of Disability Disclosure and Acknowledgment on Ratings of Interviewees with Visible Disabilities

While some authors stress the benefits of disclosing one\u27s disability prior to the interview in order to eliminate interviewer surprise, attention-related research suggests that such disclosure is likely to result in self-focused thinking by the interviewer, reducing the ability to judge performance accurately. Similarly, verbal acknowledgment of a visible disability during an interview has been predicted to reduce interviewer anxiety, yet some authors contend that acknowledgment is a violation of the rules of interviewing and adds to discomfort. The present research addressed the question: What are the effects of an applicant\u27s pre-interview disability disclosure and disability acknowledgment during the interview? Using a selection simulation, Study 1 (n=109) examined the effects of both disability disclosure and acknowledgement on post-interview ratings. Study 2 (n=126) isolated disability disclosure prior to the interview and examined only its pre-interview effects. Study 1 results revealed a main effect of disclosure for males, such that they rated the applicant as more anxious when she disclosed than when she did not. A disclosure x acknowledgment interaction indicated that the personality of the applicant who disclosed prior to the interview was rated more positively by male interviewers when she did not acknowledge during the interview, as compared to when she acknowledged. A second interaction revealed that for both male and female participants, the applicant who did not disclose received more favorable communication skills ratings when she acknowledged at some point during the interview, as compared to not acknowledging