Building the next model for intervention and turnaround in poorly performing local authorities in England

This paper examines the design and implementation of the two recent models or strategies adopted for the intervention and turnaround of poorly performing local authorities in England in the two distinct periods of 2002–2008 and 2011–2015. The first was integral to the Comprehensive Performance Management regimes, while the second was developed under the Sector Led Improvement regime. The intention is not to determine which regime has, or had, the most merit or inadequacies, but rather to synthesise knowledge and identify areas that could be improved as policy and practice moves forward, particularly in the light of the recent general election in the UK. The paper finds that both models have merits as well as weaknesses, dependent upon context and policy priorities. It provides a review of when and where alternative models should be used, and a contribution to the development of the next regime. This, the authors contend, should have a greater emphasis on achieving more appropriate levels of public assurance than the current model is providing

Theorising lifestyle drift in health promotion: explaining community and voluntary sector engagement practices in disadvantaged areas

The past two decades have seen an increasing role for the UK community and voluntary sector (CVS) in health promotion in disadvantaged areas, largely based on assumptions on the part of funders that CVS providers are better able to engage ‘hard-to-reach’ population groups in services than statutory providers. However, there is limited empirical research exploring CVS provider practices in this field. Using ethnographic data, this paper examines the experiences of a network of CVS providers seeking to engage residents in health-promoting community services in a disadvantaged region in the North of England. The paper shows how CVS providers engaged in apparently contradictory practices, fluctuating between an empathically informed response to complex resident circumstances and (in the context of meeting externally set targets) behavioural lifestyle approaches to health promotion. Drawing on concepts from figurational sociology, the paper explains how lifestyle drift occurs in health promotion as a result of the complex web of relations (with funders, commissioners and residents) in which CVS providers are embedded. Despite the fact that research has revealed the impact of targets on the work of the CVS before, this paper demonstrates more specifically the way in which monitoring processes within CVS contracts can draw providers into the neoliberal lifestyle discourse so prevalent in health promotion

What Do the Public Want from Libraries, 2010

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.This is a mixed methods data collection. The main purpose of the research was to understand what users and non-users of public libraries want from the service. Although detailed data exist on the level and frequency of public library use across the population, there was less information on how people regard the quality of service, and on their reasons for using or not using public libraries. If the library service is to retain existing users and encourage new visitors, it is vital to understand the expectations and experiences of the public, irrespective of whether people currently use public libraries or not. The study aimed to provide an up-to-date picture of what the public wants and values in library services, and help leaders to make decisions about the future development of the service. The data were collected in two different phases: Qualitative: This consisted of a series of focus groups across England with a diverse range of people who had differing attitudes to public libraries. These groups examined all aspects of people's relationships with local public libraries and crucially allowed the researchers to explore many issues not covered satisfactorily by existing data. Quantitative: This took the form of a telephone survey with a representative sample of the adult population of England. This phase's principal focus was to corroborate the findings from the qualitative phase and identify further reasons behind usage or not of libraries and the factors that would encourage people to visit libraries more often. Further information is available on the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council's (MLA) Research Evidence Resources website.Main Topics:Qualitative: The focus groups explored themes such as current use of library services, awareness of the range of services, experience of and satisfaction with the current offer, motivations for use and non-use, barriers to greater use, changing patterns of usage over time and likelihood of future usage, suggestions for improvements, perceptions of the value of library services as a public service and to the wider community. Quantitative research: The telephone questionnaire consisted of attitudinal 'closed' questions which focused on people’s experience of using libraries, reasons for using/not using libraries and testing views about what might encourage people to use libraries more. There were also a number of demographic questions which were asked in order to control the profile of respondents and analyse the data by different demographic groups (e.g. by age or ethnicity)

IoT device identification - Upstairs

Upstairs measurements of the 868 MHz ISM band. The transmitter devices are placed in a room a floor above the measurement setup. Frequency: 863-870 MHz (center 866,5 MHz) Sample Frequency: 10 MSPS Date of measurement: 15 November 2018 Location: Connectivity Lab, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7C, Aalborg University, Denmar

IoT device identification - Same room

Same room measurements of the 868 MHz ISM band. The transmitter device and receiver are placed in the same room. Frequency: 863-870 MHz (center 866,5 MHz) Sample Frequency: 10 MSPS Date of measurement: 15 November 2018 Location: Connectivity Lab, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7C, Aalborg University, Denmar

IoT device identification dataset

This is the main record in the IoT device measurements connected to the paper "Identification of IoT Devices using Experimental Radio Spectrum Dataset and Deep Learning". This is a connecting dataset that references all the actual data. The records are split because of the large size of the dataset. The records containing the data are found at the following DOIs: Raw data Other room: 10.5281/zenodo.3646427 Upstairs: 10.5281/zenodo.3641580 Same room: 10.5281/zenodo.3638163 Background measurement: 10.5281/zenodo.3638139 Multi user data (No fading): 10.5281/zenodo.3754210 Multi user data: 10.5281/zenodo.3753003 Cut and dimensionality reduced measurements: 10.5281/zenodo.3752981 Common parameters for all the measurements: Frequency: 863-870 MHz (center 866,5 MHz) Sample Frequency: 10 MSPS Date of measurement: 15 November 2018 Location: Connectivity Lab, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7C, Aalborg University, Denmar

IoT device identification - Multi user data

Artificial multi user observations generated as described in the associated paper Section III. Frequency: 863-870 MHz (center 866,5 MHz) Sample Frequency: 10 MSPS Date of measurement: 15 November 2018 Location: Connectivity Lab, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7C, Aalborg University, Denmar