SPARC 2018 Internationalisation and collaboration : Salford postgraduate annual research conference book of abstracts

Welcome to the Book of Abstracts for the 2018 SPARC conference. This year we not only celebrate the work of our PGRs but also the launch of our Doctoral School, which makes this year’s conference extra special. Once again we have received a tremendous contribution from our postgraduate research community; with over 100 presenters, the conference truly showcases a vibrant PGR community at Salford. These abstracts provide a taster of the research strengths of their works, and provide delegates with a reference point for networking and initiating critical debate. With such wide-ranging topics being showcased, we encourage you to take up this great opportunity to engage with researchers working in different subject areas from your own. To meet global challenges, high impact research inevitably requires interdisciplinary collaboration. This is recognised by all major research funders. Therefore engaging with the work of others and forging collaborations across subject areas is an essential skill for the next generation of researchers

Breast cancer management pathways during the COVID-19 pandemic: outcomes from the UK ‘Alert Level 4’ phase of the B-MaP-C study

Abstract: Background: The B-MaP-C study aimed to determine alterations to breast cancer (BC) management during the peak transmission period of the UK COVID-19 pandemic and the potential impact of these treatment decisions. Methods: This was a national cohort study of patients with early BC undergoing multidisciplinary team (MDT)-guided treatment recommendations during the pandemic, designated ‘standard’ or ‘COVID-altered’, in the preoperative, operative and post-operative setting. Findings: Of 3776 patients (from 64 UK units) in the study, 2246 (59%) had ‘COVID-altered’ management. ‘Bridging’ endocrine therapy was used (n = 951) where theatre capacity was reduced. There was increasing access to COVID-19 low-risk theatres during the study period (59%). In line with national guidance, immediate breast reconstruction was avoided (n = 299). Where adjuvant chemotherapy was omitted (n = 81), the median benefit was only 3% (IQR 2–9%) using ‘NHS Predict’. There was the rapid adoption of new evidence-based hypofractionated radiotherapy (n = 781, from 46 units). Only 14 patients (1%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during their treatment journey. Conclusions: The majority of ‘COVID-altered’ management decisions were largely in line with pre-COVID evidence-based guidelines, implying that breast cancer survival outcomes are unlikely to be negatively impacted by the pandemic. However, in this study, the potential impact of delays to BC presentation or diagnosis remains unknown

A comprehensive method for evaluating and reducing risk factors for project implementation

Risk analysis has been broadly used to make assessments for many business sectors. Consequently, risk-based decision-making is a dynamic practice that should be deliberated when a list of projects and restrictions are being assessed. Risk management practices are comprehensive in recognizing and evaluating all potential risks. Risk management events as well as risk evaluation assist the project managers to achieve the related risks factors and take applicable arrangements in decreasing the degree of significant risks thus give a significant contribution to a manageable enhancement. It is needed to create a technique and system to assess evaluate as well as manage risk elements effectively in advance. A questionnaire-based survey approach was chosen in the study to investigate risk factors allocated to manufacturing companies in Malaysia. Survey questions were adopted from previous works with slight amendments, pre-tested, and weighed for validity and reliability. Four key risk factors sets: project scope and organization, project management, business/financial, and operational, with 89 specified risk sources/ causes processes were considered in the model. The likelihood of occurrence of each risk factors was assessed by respondents with the use of a 5-grade Likert scale. This approach was used to quantify risk elements, and use them to estimate the overall project risk. The collected data has been analysed through SPSS. Results showed that more consideration was observed for Operational risk factors with respect to occurrence and influence. The proposed of this risk assessment model is developed based on the use of situational factors to predict project risks. As a result, a questionnaire based software was developed to fit the process of evaluation and reducing risk factors before and during implementation of projects execution phase. In this research, by suggesting a comprehensive risk based decision making model, the effective agents of resource impact in the process of risk identification, plan and control during financial global crisis have be identified and also identification of the effective criteria and sub-criteria in each of the identified agents. The software with a high ability of modelling and analyzing risks of the projects which is most suitable for industrial application was developed. The method, was be ready to use by the industrial practitioners for the successful completion of their projects, and also indirectly improves manufacturing project management practices, and as a result minimizes losses and increases profitability

Join the Club! The Role of Institutional Ties in Nuclear Proliferation

Convention Theme: The Politics of International Diffusion: Regional and Global Dimension

Credible Allies and Common Enemies: A Three Player Model of Nuclear Development

Convention Theme: Power, Principles and Participation in the Global Information Ag