An exploration of sarcasm detection in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Amanda K. Ludlow, Eleanor Chadwick, Alice Morey, Rebecca Edwards, and Roberto Gutierrez, ‘An exploration of sarcasm detection in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder’, Journal of Communication Disorders, Vol. 70: 25-34, November 2017. Under embargo. Embargo end date: 31 October 2019. The Version of Record is available at doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2017.10.003.The present research explored the ability of children with ADHD to distinguish between sarcasm and sincerity. Twenty-two children with a clinical diagnosis of ADHD were compared with 22 age and verbal IQ matched typically developing children using the Social Inference–Minimal Test from The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT, McDonald, Flanagan, & Rollins, 2002). This test assesses an individual’s ability to interpret naturalistic social interactions containing sincerity, simple sarcasm and paradoxical sarcasm. Children with ADHD demonstrated specific deficits in comprehending paradoxical sarcasm and they performed significantly less accurately than the typically developing children. While there were no significant differences between the children with ADHD and the typically developing children in their ability to comprehend sarcasm based on the speaker’s intentions and beliefs, the children with ADHD were found to be significantly less accurate when basing their decision on the feelings of the speaker, but also on what the speaker had said. Results are discussed in light of difficulties in their understanding of complex cues of social interactions, and non-literal language being symptomatic of children with a clinical diagnosis of ADHD. The importance of pragmatic language skills in their ability to detect social and emotional information is highlighted.Peer reviewe

Anti-Cancer Drugs: The mitochondrial paradox

A structural motif that is found in two cancer drugs may be responsible for their ability to tackle cancers and for the side-effects caused by the drugs

Biologic Cycling of Silica across a Grassland Bioclimosequence

The dynamics of biologic Si cycling in grassland ecosystems are largely unknown and likely to impact mineral weathering rates regionally and diatom productivity globally; key regulatory processes in the global Si cycle are closely tied to the global carbon cycle. Across a bioclimatic sequence spanning major grassland ecosystems in the Great Plains, soil biogenic silica depth distributions are similar to that of soil organic carbon; however, unlike soil organic carbon, quantities of soil biogenic silica decrease with increasing precipitation, despite an increase in annual biogenic inputs through litterfall across the same gradient. Though comprising only 1–3% of the total Si pool, faster turnover of biogenic Si and annual cycling by grasses should positively impact mineral dissolution. Our results suggest that the largest reservoir of biogenic Si in terrestrial ecosystems resides in soils, and emphasize the potential significance of grasslands in the global biogeochemical cycle of Si

Successful strategies for including adults with an intellectual disability into a research study using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA)

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by RCN in Nurse Researcher on 5 August 2021. The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.Background: Adults with intellectual disabilities are not regularly recruited as participants in health research which may be due to perceptions regarding their inability to participate meaningfully with or without significant support and anticipated difficulty in gaining ethical approval because of issues around consent and mental capacity. This means that the voices of people with an intellectual disability are often missing within health research and their experiences and views are unexplored. Aim: To share successful strategies for accessing, recruiting and collecting data from a purposive sample of adults with an intellectual disability using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Discussion: Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was a person-centred, flexible and creative approach to adopt. Meaningful collaboration with people with intellectual disabilities, their families, carers, advocacy group managers, specialists within intellectual disability services and research supervisors was vital to the success of conducting this study. Practical strategies for including people with an intellectual disability in a study from the perspective of a novice researcher, an outsider to the field of intellectual disability, have been shared. A limitation is that participants were not included in all stages of the research process. Conclusion: Inclusion of participants with an intellectual disability in research studies is important and achievable for healthcare researchers. A framework to support researchers outside of the specialist field of intellectual disabilities has been presented. Implications for practice: Adults with intellectual disabilities often receive poor healthcare and have poorer outcomes which is perpetuated if their input into research is not facilitated. People with intellectual disabilities make valuable contributions to the evidence base; personal views and perceptions of healthcare are important if health services are to meet individual needs

A cross-case comparison of the trauma and orthopaedic hospital experiences of adults with intellectual disabilities using interpretative phenomenological analysis

© 2020 The Authors. Published by Wiley. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.693Aim: To present the cross-case comparison component of a qualitative study exploring and describing the experiences of adults with an intellectual disability who have received trauma and orthopaedic hospital care for musculoskeletal conditions or injuries in the United Kingdom. Design A qualitative, exploratory study was conducted using 1:1 semi-structured interviews to describe the lived experiences of trauma and orthopaedic hospital care from the perspectives of people with intellectual disabilities and a carer of a person with profound and multiple intellectual disabilities. The data was analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research guidelines were applied. Results: There were common and interconnected experiences across the five participants: Communication challenges; lack of person-centred care; issues related to pain management; lack of confidence in hospital care; the valuable support and expertise of carers; incompetence of hospital staff and isolation and loneliness. Discussion: Although adults with intellectual disabilities are seldom included as participants in health research studies, their unique experiences provided valuable insights and informs the evidence base in relation to trauma and orthopaedic hospital care. Conclusions: This study revealed poor quality and unsafe trauma and orthopaedic hospital experiences as described by people with intellectual disabilities and a carer. Health care providers, commissioners and staff require urgent education and training to ensure that a person-centred approach, incorporating reasonable and achievable adjustments, is implemented to meet the currently unmet needs of adults with intellectual disabilities

The voices of people with an intellectual disability and a carer about orthopaedic and trauma hospital care in the UK: An interpretative phenomenological study

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Elsevier in International Journal of Orthopaedic and Trauma Nursing on 07/11/2020, available online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijotn.2020.100831 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.Introduction People with intellectual disabilities (PWID) have a greater prevalence ofmusculoskeletal conditions and injuries than the general population. Orthopaedic andtrauma hospital care has not been investigated with this group who seldom have theirvoices heard or their experiences valued and interpreted. Aim To understand theorthopaedic and trauma hospital experiences from the perspective of PWID. Methods A qualitative approach, focusing on peoples’ lived experiences, was utilised. Apurposive sample of five participants was recruited and one-to-one, semi-structuredinterviews were undertaken. Analysis of the interviews employed an interpretative phenomenological analytical framework. Findings There were communicationchallenges, a lack of person-centred care, issues with pain management, a lack ofconfidence in hospital care, valuable support and expertise of carers, incompetence ofhospital staff and isolation and loneliness. Discussion and conclusions There weresignificant shortcomings as PWID and a carer perceived they were unsupported andreceived poor care. Recommendations for practice: Person-centred care is neededalong with specific education and training, including close liaison with the experts byexperience – PWID, their carers as well as the specialists in intellectual disability

Critical Social Research as a ‘Site of Resistance’: Reflections on Relationships, Power and Positionality

This paper creates an opportunity for the authors to reflect on our collective efforts to create a space within the academy through which we can actively support communities and groups who are challenging injustice. Herein we consider the potential role of the academic in supporting sites of political or legal struggle, how we work to, with and within groups or communities attempting to resist State power. What is evident is the importance of reflexivity, considering and articulating our position, as a guiding principle. The issues we examine here are connected to our wider network beyond our collective work or institution. In attesting to the virtues of critical social research, we draw upon our experiences particular our ongoing work with, and contributions to, the Hillsborough and JENGbA justice campaigns. When considered together this activity reveals a number of emergent themes which give shape to our approach in contributing to ‘sites of resistance’. We understand these spaces to be the intersections where State power and its impact on the lives of those who experience injustice is revealed. The site is then both a physical space of meeting, but could also be conceptualised as a conscious space where, by coming together, individuals, families, supporters, critical lawyers and academics, and other stakeholders make sense of the injustice together. Through this collective awakening the group can draw strength and generate strategies to challenge State power. It is in these spaces that resistance can be developed, nurtured and discussed. The principles for discussion within this paper include: ‘being there’, ‘bearing witness’ and acknowledging injustice, of our relationships to marginalised communities and powerful institutions, and the significance of positionality (Scraton, 2007). Our aim then, is to work within collective organisations in order to expose and counter the hegemonic narratives and silencing processes through research informed interjection as opposition (Hall 1986; Mathiesen, 2004). By actively disrupting these discourses we can contribute to a process of rehumanising the ‘Other’, where the complex and historically situated relationships between communities, institutions and the State can be exposed (Scott, 2013)

An integrative review of the hospital experiences of people with an intellectual disability: Lack of orthopaedic and trauma perspectives.

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Elsevier in International Journal of Orthopaedic and Trauma Nursing on 29/07/2020, available online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijotn.2020.100795 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.Aims To review the empirical literature relating to the orthopaedic and trauma hospital experiences of people with intellectual disabilities (PWID). Design: An integrative review was conducted following the steps advocated by Whittemore and Knafl (2005). Primary research studies from 2007- 2020 which included the hospital experiences of adults with intellectual disabilities were reviewed. Data sources: The literature searches were undertaken in 2014, 2015, 2018 and May 2020. Review Methods: The following electronic databases were searched: Academic Search Complete, Nursing and Allied Health, British Nursing Index and RCN Library archive, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) Psychological Information Database (PsychINFO), the Cochrane Collaboration Database and Google Scholar. Results: Despite the high prevalence of musculoskeletal problems for adults with intellectual disabilities, the review found no specific literature related to orthopaedic or trauma hospital experiences. Nine studies related to PWIDs’ experiences of general hospital care were included. Conclusion: There is a gap in the empirical literature relating to orthopaedic or trauma hospital experiences of PWID. General hospital experiences of adults with an intellectual disability were poor overall

Brief Coping Strategy Enhancement for distressing voices: an evaluation in routine clinical practice

Background – hearing voices can be a common and distressing experience. Psychological treatment in the form of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp) is effective, but is rarely available to patients. The barriers to increasing access include a lack of time for clinicians to deliver therapy. Emerging evidence is suggesting that CBTp delivered in brief forms can be effective and offer one solution to increasing access. Aims – we adapted an existing form of CBTp, Coping Strategy Enhancement (CSE), to focus specifically on distressing voices in a brief format. This intervention was evaluated within an uncontrolled study conducted in routine clinical practice. Methods - This was a service evaluation comparing pre-post outcomes in patients who had completed CSE over four sessions within a specialist outpatient service within NHS Mental Health Services. The primary outcome was the Distress scale of the Psychotic Symptoms Rating Scale – Auditory Hallucinations (PSYRATS-AH). Results – data were available from 101 patients who had completed therapy. A reduction approaching clinical importance was found on the PSYRATS distress scale post-therapy when compared to the baseline. Conclusions – the findings from this study suggest that CSE, as a focussed and brief form of CBTp can be effective in the treatment of distressing voices within routine clinical practice. Within the context of the limitations of this study, brief CSE may best be viewed as the beginning of a therapeutic conversation and a low-intensity intervention in a stepped approach to the treatment of distressing voices

Simulation of vibrationally resolved absorption spectra of neutral and cationic polyaromatic hydrocarbons

The identification of the carriers of the absorption features associated with the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) is a long standing problem in astronomical spectroscopy. Computational simulations can contribute to the assignment of the carriers of DIBs since variations in molecular structure and charge state can be studied more readily than through experimental measurements. Polyaromatic hydrocarbons have been proposed as potential carriers of these bands, and it is shown that simulations based upon density functional theory and time dependent density functional theory calculations can describe the vibrational structure observed in experiment for neutral and cationic naphthalene and pyrene. The vibrational structure arises from a small number of vibrational modes involving in-plane atomic motions, and the Franck-Condon-Herzberg-Teller approximation improves the predicted spectra in comparison with the Franck-Condon approximation. The study also highlights the challenges for the calculations to enable the assignment in the absence of experimental data, namely prediction of the energy separation between the different electronic states to a sufficient level of accuracy and performing vibrational analysis for higher lying electronic states