Self Management and Telehealth: Lessons Learnt from the Evaluation of a Dorset Telehealth Program

Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group

Tamari Lattices and the symmetric Thompson monoid

We investigate the connection between Tamari lattices and the Thompson group F, summarized in the fact that F is a group of fractions for a certain monoid F+sym whose Cayley graph includes all Tamari lattices. Under this correspondence, the Tamari lattice operations are the counterparts of the least common multiple and greatest common divisor operations in F+sym. As an application, we show that, for every n, there exists a length l chain in the nth Tamari lattice whose endpoints are at distance at most 12l/n.Comment: 35page

Post-Disaster Housing Reconstruction in Sri Lanka: What Methodology?

Research methodology is the procedural framework within which the research is conducted. This includes the overall approach to a problem that could be put into practice in a research process, from the theoretical underpinning to the collection and analysis of data. Choice of methodology depends on the primary drivers: topic to be researched and the specific research questions. Hence, methodological perspectives of managing stakeholder expectations of PDHR context are composed of research philosophies, research strategy, research design, and research techniques. This research belonged to social constructivism or interpretivism within a philosophical continuum. The nature of the study was more toward subjectivism where human behavior favored voluntary stance. Ontological, methodological, epistemological, and axiological positioning carried the characteristics of idealism, ideographic, anti-positivism, and value laden, respectively. Data collection comprises two phases, preliminary and secondary. Exploratory interviews with construction experts in the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka were carried out to refine the interview questions and identify the case studies. Case study interviews during the secondary phase took place in Sri Lanka. Data collected at the preliminary stage were used to assess the attributes of power, legitimacy/proximity, and urgency of stakeholders to the project using Stakeholder Circle™ software. Moreover, the data collected at secondary phase via case studies will be analyzed with NVivo 8. This article aims to discuss these methodological underpinnings in detail applied in a post-disaster housing reconstruction context in Sri Lanka

Mechanisms of Metastasis in Colorectal Cancer and Metastatic Organotropism: Hematogenous versus Peritoneal Spread

Metastasis is the major cause of death in patients with colorectal carcinoma (CRC). The most common sites of metastasis are the liver and the peritoneum. Peritoneal carcinomatosis is often considered the end stage of the disease after the tumor has spread to the liver. However, almost half of CRC patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis do not present with liver metastasis. This brings up the question of whether peritoneal spread can still be considered as the end stage of a metastasized CRC or whether it should just be interpreted as a site of metastasis alternative to the liver. This review tries to discuss this question and summarize the current status of literature on potential characteristics in tumor biology in the primary tumor, i.e., factors (transcription factors and direct and indirect E-cadherin repressors) and pathways (WNT, TGF-beta, and RAS) modulating EMT, regulation of EMT on a posttranscriptional and posttranslational level (miRNAs), and angiogenesis. In addition to tumor-specific characteristics, factors in the tumor microenvironment, immunological markers, ways of transport of tumor cells, and adhesion molecules appear to differ between hematogenous and peritoneal spread. Factors such as integrins and exosomal integrins, cancer stem cell phenotype, and miRNA expression appear to contribute in determining the metastatic route. We went through each step of the metastasis process comparing hematogenous to peritoneal spread. We identified differences with respect to organotropism, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, angiogenesis and inflammation, and tumor microenvironment which will be further elucidated in this review. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and contributing factors of metastasis development in CRC has huge relevance as it is the foundation to help find specific targets for treatment of CRC

Behavioral influences on driver crash risks in Ghana: A qualitative study of commercial passenger drivers

Objectives: While there is a growing body of literature on crash risks in the developed world, little is known about how well these models apply to motoring in developing countries, the context in which the majority of road traffic fatalities occur. This qualitative study explores factors perceived to influencinge crash risks for commercial drivers in Ghana. Method: Twenty commercial drivers of varied ages and experience were sampled from 7 major lorry terminals in 3 regions (Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Volta) of Ghana. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Results: The participants identified some issues that are shared with drivers in the developed world, though moderated by the Ghanaian context. These included working pressures (e.g., fatigued driving), speeding, distracted driving and inadequate vehicle maintenance. Other factors identified by the participants are infrequently less frequently considered in research addressing driving behavior in developed countries. These included aggressive competition over passengers and corruption (e.g., improper licensing practices) among others. Conclusion: The findings have implications for building a research base to support the development of road safety policy and interventions in developing countries

Graduates’ Attitudes to Research Skill Development in Undergraduate Media Education

This paper examines the attitudes of graduates employed in different segments of the media industry to the development of research skills during their studies. Qualitative interviews were conducted with ten graduates employed in different jobs approximately one year after graduation to understand how applicable they found generic and media-specific research skills to their employment. The study was conducted as part of a wider project evaluating the application of a systematic framework for research skills development, across whole degree programmes. The interviews demonstrate broad agreement regarding the value of research skills for media employment. However, there were divergent opinions about the need to articulate research skills explicitly and the value of media-specific skill for current employment situations. Interviewees also indicated varying levels of awareness regarding the relevance research skills have across different employment contexts. Therefore, it is important that media-educators understand how their students’ differing career destinations immediately after graduation influence formal and informal evaluations of the quality of their course. We conclude that this educational challenge is best addressed by implementing a consistent framework for research education that improves students’ metacognitive awareness of the transferability of this graduate attribute across multiple industries and career destinations

Identity experiences of black people in the Netherlands

Abstract: In this study, we used the tri-dimensional model of identity and acculturation strategies to explore how black people living in the Netherlands define themselves We used a qualitative survey design in which 14 participants (females = 8; age range 21 to 58) completed open-ended questions about their experiences of being black in the Netherlands Data was analysed using hermeneutic phenomenology in three steps: naive understanding, structural analysis, and comprehensive understanding We derived several main themes: Acceptance; Inclusion; Stereotypes; Social membership; Personspecific characteristics; Separation (Contributors); and Social Status We associated the themes Acceptance, Inclusion, and Separation (Contributors) with acculturation and acculturative strategies The other themes can be connected to the tri-dimensional identity model Social membership and Social status are related to the social and relational aspects of identity, while Person-specific characteristics can be linked to personal identity Lastly, the theme Stereotypes can be related to both acculturation and racism, but also personal identity as it shows how the participants perceive their self-concept to contradict the beliefs that mainstream Dutch society holds about them We conclude that identity construction among the black respondents was reliant on both their ethnic community membership and their membership of the mainstream Dutch community