In what way does a specialist parenting programme impact on adoptive parents’ perception of their capacity to parent?

"Adoption Matters is a specialist voluntary adoption agency which operates in the north-west of England and north east Wales. In 2009, in recognition of the increasing challenges presented by children currently being placed for adoption, many of whom have a history of abuse, trauma or neglect, the agency developed a specialist parenting programme to assist adoptive parents in meeting children’s needs. This research focuses on testing how effective the programme was in enhancing the adoptive parents’ skill and confidence in parenting and, more specifically, whether it helped them in the development of their relationship with the child." - Page 3

Lincolnshire exercise referral evaluation

This document reports on evaluation work completed by the University of Lincoln through the School of Sport and Exercise Science. It examines data stored on the Lincolnshire Sports Partnership’s parachute system regarding patients attending Lincolnshire’s Exercise Referral (ER) Programme, a service funded by Public Health. The analysis was in response to specific questions determined by exercise practitioners, the Lincolnshire Sports Partnership and Public Health Lincolnshire. Data was analysed via a number of statistical methods including Chi-squared and Logistic Regression. The data spanned a period of 3.5 years and included all patients in the database starting a 12-week ER programme between 10th March 2009 through to 22nd August 2012. There were 6637 eligible patients, of which 62.3% completed a 12-week ER programme. Headline findings from the evaluative research identified; 1) There was a significant relationship between those patients who completed the referral programme and a reduction in body mass index (BMI); 2) Those patients completing nine or more (out of 12) weeks of the referral programme were significantly more likely to complete. The number of sessions within a week did not influence completion; 3) There was a significantly increased likelihood for those patients who pay for exercise referral to complete the programme. This was regardless of the deprivation score of their home postcode and 4) There was no significant relationship between the way a referral is initiated and a patient completing a referral programme. More than half of these data were missing; however, hence the validity of this finding is impaired. These findings were used to generate recommendations regarding the data that is currently collected via the parachute system and the processes that are employed by the ER programmes

Bacteria in Solitary Confinement

Research in my laboratory is supported by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council grant BB/J016985/1

Electron transport and light-harvesting switches in cyanobacteria

Work in this field in the author’s laboratory was funded by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council grants BB/G021856/1 and BB/J016985/1 and the European Commission through a Marie Curie Fellowship to Lu-Ning Liu (FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IEF254575) and the Marie Curie ITN Control of light-use efficiency in plants and algae – from light to harvest (HARVEST)

METHODS FOR QUANTIFYING THE VARIABILITY IN DATA

Variability in movement affects statistical significance and is important for interpreting data. The aim of this study was to compare methods for quantifying variability, and to use these in assessing the effect of ‘pain’ in the right leg on the running technique of one male English First Division footballer. The player’s sagittal plane movements were filmed while running on a treadmill at 3.58 m.s-1. The variability in 3 strides was quantified using standard deviation, confidence intervals (95%CI) and root mean square difference (RMSD). The kinematics of the left and right legs of the player were different, but did not contain different amounts of variability (e.g. RMSD of both knees at heel strike = 1.2°). To estimate variability the preferred techniques are: 95%CI for n = 1 as the only available; RMSD for small n; normalised techniques only when means are similar. The variability of the player’s movements in other planes and at faster speeds should be explored in future

The Latest NFL Fumble: Using Its Commissioner as the Sole Arbitrator

The National Football League (NFL) is the governing body of professional football in America and is led by Commissioner Roger Goodell who acts as the chief executive of the NFL overseeing all 32 NFL teams. Amongst his vast powers includes resolving disputes with “full, complete, and final jurisdiction to arbitrate any dispute between any player, coach, and/or other employee of any member of the League (or any combination thereof) and any member club or clubs.” The Commissioner’s ability to make binding decisions in these disputes is diminished by a clear conflict of interest. This must be changed. This Note will analyze the Commissioner’s bias, explore how other professional sport leagues handle arbitration claims, and provide future recommendations for NFL players and employees

Factors affecting the rehabilitation and release of adult badger (Meles meles) casualties

Free-ranging wildlife casualties are commonly presented to veterinary surgeons who have a professional responsibility for their immediate care and welfare. This thesis reports why 123 badgers (Meles meles) were presented to a wildlife rescue centre and veterinary hospital in Somerset, and the factors influencing their release to the wild. The seasonality and demographics of admissions were greatly affected by the ecology of the badger. Common reasons for presentation included road traffic accidents and the presence of conspecific bite wounds. Clinical triage and diagnostic tests, including blood biochemistry and haematology and radiography, identified both primary and concurrent clinical problems. Bite wounds occurred most commonly in male animals found in buildings but only impacted upon release when present with another disease. M. bovis infection diagnosed in four badgers created potential zoonotic risks whilst the badgers were in captivity and ethical issues associated with potential disease transmission to cattle, although all were identified on clinical examination; none was released. Approximately one third of badger casualties were released after a period of veterinary treatment and rehabilitation, the remaining animals were euthanased for welfare reasons although a small number died unexpectedly; body condition score was the best prognostic indicator for release. This study provides information and guidance regarding the clinical examination, treatment and care of badgers presented to veterinary surgeons

The clubhead and hand planes in golf draw and fade shots.

Swing planes in golf have become a popular area of research. Cochran and Stobbs (1968) examined the motion of the clubhead and hands qualitatively. Subsequent quantitative analyses have included investigations of the planarity of the whole club (Coleman & Anderson, 2007) and clubhead (Shin, Casebolt, Lambert, Kim, & Kwon, 2008). The aim of this study was to investigate the motion of the clubhead and hands in the downswing quantitatively, and to compare these motions for the fade and draw (as suggested by Coleman and Anderson, 2007). In conclusion, both the clubhead and hand planes in the late downswing were found to differ significantly in relation to the target line between the draw and fade shots. Greater differences were found between golfers, rather than between shots, in the relationship between the clubhead and hand motion during the downswing. Nevertheless, further detailed analysis is warranted of how the motions around impact – especially the clubface orientation – differ between the two types of shot