Pedagogy, Culture and Student Wellbeing

Following from the IPPR report Not By Degrees, this session will role of pedagogy and culture in the HE environment. The rise of the zombie academy, the valuing of higher education in future earning potential terms solely and the attainment culture cultivated in compulsory education are creating a toxic environment for both students and staff. A return to a more compassionate pedagogy and the notion that education can transform what it is possible to do and to be could dramatically change the culture of HE for all. This session will discuss these concerns, what it means to be a compassionate pedagogue and identify what changes we would like to see in the current HE rhetoric and culture

Descent Music Festival

I developed the cohesive branding, marketing posts, and merchandise for a proposed music festival that features my favorite EDM artists and integrates culture and community values. For this project, I combined personal experience and research to develop the most effective design strategy for a new festival. The final deliverables include lineup announcement posters, brand guidelines, social media posts, and merchandise mockups. To maximize the festival’s marketing potential, I utilize content marketing and eye-catching social media posts to reach the target audience. The cohesive branding and marketing strategy incorporates consumer buying behavior, color psychology, and current industry trends into strategic and effective content marketing

Factors influencing the variation in GMS prescribing expenditure in Ireland

Background Pharmaceutical expenditure growth is a familiar feature in many Western health systems and is a real concern for policymakers. A state funded General Medical Services (GMS) scheme in Ireland experienced an increase in prescription expenditure of 414 % between 1998 and 2012. This paper seeks to explore the rationale for this growth by investigating the composition (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Group level 1 & 5) and drivers of GMS drug expenditure in Ireland in 2012. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out on the Health Service Executive-Primary Care Reimbursement Service (HSE-PCRS) population prescribing database (n = 1,630,775). Three models were applied to test the association between annual expenditure per claimant whilst controlling for age, sex, region, and the pharmacology of the drugs as represented by the main ATC groups. Results The mean annual cost per claimant was €751 (median = €211; SD = €1323.10; range = €3.27–€298,670). Age, sex, and regions were all significant contributory factors of expenditure, with gender having the greatest impact (β = 0.107). Those aged over 75 (β =1.195) were the greatest contributors to annual GMS prescribing costs. As regards regions, the South has the greatest cost increasing impact. When the ATC groups were included the impact of gender is diluted by the pharmacology of the products, with cardiovascular prescribing (ATC ‘C’) most influential (β = 1.229) and the explanatory power of the model increased from 40 % to 60 %. Conclusion Whilst policies aimed at cost containment (co-payment charges; generic substitution; reference pricing; adjustments to GMS eligibility) can be used to curtail expenditure, health promotional programs and educational interventions should be given equal emphasis. Also policies intended to affect physicians’ prescribing behaviour include guidelines, information (about price and less expensive alternatives) and feedback, and the use of budgetary restrictions could yield savings in Ireland and can be easily translated to the international context

Fluorescent Excitation of Spectral Lines in Planetary Nebulae

Fluorescent excitation of spectral lines is demonstrated as a function of temperature-luminosity and the distance of the emitting region from the central stars of planetary nebulae. The electron densities and temperatures are determined, and the method is exemplified through a detailed analysis of spectral observations of a high excitation PN, NGC 6741, observed by Hyung and Aller(1997). Fluorescence should also be important in the determination of element abundances. It is suggested that the method could be generally applied to determine or constrain the luminosity and the region of spectral emission in other intensively radiative sources such as novae, supernovae, and active galactic nuclei.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures (fig.4 in color), ApJ (in press

The effect of referral to an open-group behavioural weight management programme on the relative risk of normoglycaemia, non-diabetic hyperglycaemia and type 2 diabetes: secondary analysis of the WRAP trial

Aim: To examine the impact of open‐group behavioural weight‐management programmes on the risk of diabetes among those with a body mass index (BMI) of ≥28 kg/m2 and those with non‐diabetic hyperglycaemia (NDH). Methods: This was a secondary analysis of data from the WRAP trial, in which participants (N = 1267; aged ≥18 years, BMI ≥ 28 kg/m2) were randomized to brief intervention (BI; self‐help booklet), a weight‐management programme (WW; formerly Weight Watchers) for 12 weeks, or WW for 52 weeks. We used multinomial logistic regression to examine the effect of intervention group on the risk of hyperglycaemia and diabetes at 12 months in all participants with glycaemic status at both time points (N = 480; 38%) and those with NDH at baseline (N = 387; 31%). We used mixed effects models and linear fixed effects models to examine the effect of intervention group on body weight and HbA1c at 12 months in people with NDH. Results: There was a 61% relative reduction in the risk of NDH at the 12‐month follow‐up (12 weeks vs. BI: relative risk ratio [RRR] = 0.39 [95% CI 0.18, 0.87], P = .021; 52 weeks vs. BI: RRR = 0.38 [95% CI 0.17, 0.86], P = .020). For intervention effects on the risk of diabetes, confidence intervals were wide and overlapped 1 [12 weeks vs. BI: RRR = 0.49 [95% CI 0.12, 1.96], P = .312; 52 weeks vs. BI: RRR = 0.40 [95% CI 0.10, 1.63], P = .199). Participants with hyperglycaemia at baseline in the weight‐management programme were more probable to have normoglycaemia at the 12‐month follow‐up [12‐week programme vs. BI: RRR = 3.57 [95% CI 1.24, 10.29], P = .019; 52‐week programme vs. BI: RRR = 4.14 [95% CI 1.42, 12.12], P = .009). Conclusions: Open‐group behavioural weight‐management programmes can help to prevent the development of NDH in people with overweight and obesity and to normalize glycaemia in people with NDH