‘The book’s a conversation starter’: a realist exploration of the salutogenic potential of reading for pleasure

\ua9 Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024.Reading for Wellbeing (RfW) is a pilot initiative, aimed at improving mental health and well-being through supporting access and increasing opportunities to read for pleasure. RfW was implemented across six North-East local authorities in England and employed Community Reading Workers to support access to books and reading for targeted populations. The current study used realist methodology to understand context, potential mechanisms of action, acceptability and reported outcomes. Data generation and analysis were conducted iteratively, using focus groups, interviews and observations. The analysis of the collated data highlighted that a positive attitude towards reading and a desire for social connections were significant motivators for engagement with RfW. This paper postulates eight programme theories relating to that context, which describe key mechanisms within RfW linked to engagement with reading, well-being, connections and practice. The paper concludes that previous notions of positivity associated with reading for pleasure enable participants to experience RfW as a positive social encounter. This positive social encounter enhances participants’ multiple resistance resources such as increased sense of self-efficacy and connectedness that could impact on their sense of well-being

Dietary experience modifies horses' feeding behavior and selection patterns of three macronutrient rich diets

Choice feeding is often used to investigate an animal’s nutritional requirements and dietary preferences. A problem with this approach is that animals with long gut transit times, such as the horse, may find it difficult to associate a chosen food with its nutritional consequence when alternative foods are presented simultaneously. One solution is to present foods singly for a period of time before a simultaneous choice session to allow the development of learned associations. This method was used to determine if horse’s voluntary intake and feeding behavior was influenced by the macronutrient composition of the diet. Seven stabled horses, maintained on a low intensity exercise regimen, were allowed, on an ad libitum basis, haylage and 3 isocaloric forage based diets that were rich in 1 of 3 macronutrients (protein, lipid, and hydrolyzable carbohydrate). Initially, diets were presented as a 3-way choice for 5 d (self-selection a [SSa]), then singly (monadic phase) with exposure to each diet for 2 separate periods of 3 d each, and finally again as a choice for 5 d (self-selection b [SSb]). The total amount of trial diet offered differed with trial phase, with 2 to 2.5% of BW during SSa and the monadic phase, increasing to ad libitum access during SSb. To control differences in the total amount of trial diet offered, 2 measurements of voluntary intake were taken at 4 and 22 h postpresentation. Daily macronutrient and energy intakes were estimated from proximate analysis of the trial diets and batches of haylage fed. Feeding behavior was observed over a single 4-h period during both self-selection phases. Horses showed no initial preference after 4 h for any 1 diet during SSa. Following the monadic phase, horses demonstrated a preference for the protein and hydrolyzable carbohydrate rich diets over the lipid rich diet (P < 0.001). Dietary experience modified foraging behavior as the total number of visits to the diets decreased during SSb (P < 0.005). Analysis of 24 -h macronutrient consumption showed that protein and hydrolyzable carbohydrate intake increased during SSb, whereas lipid intake remained constant over both self-selection phases (P < 0.001). These data indicate for perhaps the first time that horses can respond to dietary macronutrient content and that single presentations during choice studies facilitates expression of dietary preferences

Statistical algorithms for a comprehensive test ban treaty discrimination framework

Seismic discrimination is the process of identifying a candidate seismic event as an earthquake or explosion using information from seismic waveform features (seismic discriminants). In the CTBT setting, low energy seismic activity must be detected and identified. A defensible CTBT discrimination decision requires an understanding of false-negative (declaring an event to be an earthquake given it is an explosion) and false-position (declaring an event to be an explosion given it is an earthquake) rates. These rates are derived from a statistical discrimination framework. A discrimination framework can be as simple as a single statistical algorithm or it can be a mathematical construct that integrates many different types of statistical algorithms and CTBT technologies. In either case, the result is the identification of an event and the numerical assessment of the accuracy of an identification, that is, false-negative and false-positive rates. In Anderson et al., eight statistical discrimination algorithms are evaluated relative to their ability to give results that effectively contribute to a decision process and to be interpretable with physical (seismic) theory. These algorithms can be discrimination frameworks individually or components of a larger framework. The eight algorithms are linear discrimination (LDA), quadratic discrimination (QDA), variably regularized discrimination (VRDA), flexible discrimination (FDA), logistic discrimination, K-th nearest neighbor (KNN), kernel discrimination, and classification and regression trees (CART). In this report, the performance of these eight algorithms, as applied to regional seismic data, is documented. Based on the findings in Anderson et al. and this analysis: CART is an appropriate algorithm for an automated CTBT setting

A realist approach to understanding alliancing within Local Government public health and social care service provision’

Background: Within the current context of continued austerity and post pandemic recovery, it remains important that Local Government services address the increasing needs of residents as cost-effectively as possible. Alliancing, whereby services work collaboratively focusing on the ‘whole-system’, has gained popularity as a tool with the potential to support collaborative whole systems approaches. This synthesis aims to identify how alliancing can be successfully operationalised in the commissioning of public health, wider NHS, and social care related services. Methods: A realist literature synthesis was undertaken in order to identify underlying generative mechanisms associated with alliancing, the contextual conditions surrounding the implementation and operationalisation of the alliancing approach mechanisms, and the outcomes produced as a result. An iterative approach was taken, using a recent systematic review of the effectiveness of Alliancing, online database searches, and grey literature searches. Results: Three mechanistic components were identified within the data as being core to the successful implementation of alliances in public health and social care related services within Local Government: (1) Achieving a system level approach; (2) placing local populations at the heart of the system; and (3) creating a cultural shift. Programme theories were postulated within these components. Conclusions: The alliancing approach offers an opportunity to achieve system-level change with the potential to benefit local populations. The realist synthesis approach taken within this study has provided insights into the necessary contextual and mechanistic factors of the Alliancing approach, above and beyond effectiveness outcomes typically collected through more conventional evaluation methodologies

A realist approach to understanding alliancing within Local Government public health and social care service provision

Background Within the current context of continued austerity and post-pandemic recovery, it remains important that Local Government services address the increasing needs of residents as cost-effectively as possible. Alliancing, whereby services work collaboratively focusing on the ‘whole-system’, has gained popularity as a tool with the potential to support collaborative whole systems approaches. This synthesis aims to identify how alliancing can be successfully operationalised in the commissioning of public health, wider National Health Service (NHS) and social care-related services. Methods A realist literature synthesis was undertaken in order to identify underlying generative mechanisms associated with alliancing, the contextual conditions surrounding the implementation and operationalisation of the alliancing approach mechanisms, and the outcomes produced as a result. An iterative approach was taken, using a recent systematic review of the effectiveness of Alliancing, online database searches, and grey literature searches. Results Three mechanistic components were identified within the data as being core to the successful implementation of alliances in public health and social care-related services within Local Government: (i) Achieving a system-level approach; (ii) placing local populations at the heart of the system; and (iii) creating a cultural shift. Programme theories were postulated within these components. Conclusions The alliancing approach offers an opportunity to achieve system-level change with the potential to benefit local populations. The realist synthesis approach taken within this study has provided insights into the necessary contextual and mechanistic factors of the Alliancing approach, above and beyond effectiveness outcomes typically collected through more conventional evaluation methodologies

Technical Note: Updated durability/composition relationships for Hanford high-level waste glasses

This technical note presents empirical models developed in FYI 995 to predict durability as functions of glass composition. Models are presented for normalized releases of B, Li, Na, and Si from the 7-day Product Consistency Test (PCT) applied to quenched and canister centerline cooled (CCC) glasses as well as from the 28-day Materials Characterization Center-1 (MCC-1) test applied to quenched glasses. Models are presented for Composition Variation Study (CVS) data from low temperature melter (LTM) studies (Hrma, Piepel, et al. 1994) and high temperature melter (HTM) studies (Vienna et al. 1995). The data used for modeling in this technical note are listed in Appendix A