Teamwork, Professional Identities, Conflict, and Industrial Action in Nigerian Healthcare

Purpose: Modern healthcare is delivered by teams of multidisciplinary professionals. Conflicts have been widely reported between these professionals in Nigeria. Furthermore, the health system is frequently crippled by industrial actions by trade unions representing these professionals. This study aimed to shed light on the complexities of factors perceived to cause workplace conflicts, including the extent to which these are thought to link to industrial action. Materials and methods: Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted with nurses, doctors, and medical laboratory scientists who work in multiprofessional settings giving a total of 41 participants. Results were analyzed within the framework of the social identity theory. Results and conclusions: The dominant themes that emerged as barriers to teamwork include professional hierarchy, role ambiguity, and poor communication. At the same time, the health sector leadership and remuneration were the main themes concerning industrial actions. The salience of professional identities was also demonstrated, providing a link between interprofessional conflict in the workplace and competitive industrial actions by trade unions representing health professionals. The implications for educational and clinical practice and the need for interprofessional education are discussed

Selective gas sorption studies in metal-organic frameworks

This thesis describes the synthesis and characterisation of several new metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). These frameworks have subsequently been used in gas sorption experiments to determine the selective adsorption of various guests. Chapter 1 An introduction to MOFs and the current research, including a description of the synthesis and characterisation process, various applications and some known MOFs from the literature. A general experimental techniques section is included describing the various techniques used in this research. Chapter 2 A series of isostructural Cu(II) frameworks, NOTT-150 – 153, have been synthesised containing different functional groups. The four functional groups (CH3, NH2, OH and COOH) have been chosen to investigate how they affect the selective adsorption of CO2 over other gases. The polarity of the functional groups is a key factor as the protons can form hydrogen bonds to guest molecules in the framework. The lone electron pairs on some of the functional groups also contribute to the selective adsorption of CO2 by binding to the C atom to form a T-shaped interaction. The selectivity of CO2 adsorption has been studied against CH4 and N2 at 298 and 273 K, with a specific focus on how each group binds to individual CO2 molecules, and the strength of these interactions, to determine the best functional group for CO2 selectivity. Chapter 3 Group II MOFs are rare in the literature due to their tendency to form dense 2D layered structures. A series of 3D MOFs containing Group II metal ions that feature 1D porous channels have been synthesised. NOTT-408(Ca) and NOTT-410(Ba) were synthesised with a tolyl-2,4,6-tribenzoate linker, and are stable to desolvation and exhibit permanent porosity upon activation. The porous frameworks are utilised in gas sorption experiments to determine which metal centre, Ca(II) or Ba(II), has the propensity for greater selective adsorption of CO2. Gas sorption experiments were performed at 298 and 273 K over a pressure range of 0 – 1 bar to determine the selective adsorption of CO2 over CH4 and N2; and both frameworks were compared to the selectivity exhibited in a Mg(II) MOF, Mg-MOF-74. Chapter 4 The MOFs synthesised in Chapters 2 and 3 were used to determine the selective adsorption of C2-hydrocarbons over CH4. The NOTT-150 – 153 series of frameworks have shown a small increase in selectivity depending on the choice of functional group. The lone electron pairs on the NH2 and OH functional groups interact with unsaturated C2-hydrocarbons, increasing their selective adsorption. The COOH functional group partially fills Cage A within the structure making diffusion through the pores more difficult for larger molecules. This is best shown in the selective adsorption of C2H2 vs CH4 which is significantly higher in NOTT-153 (191.9 at zero loading and 298 K), than in the other frameworks. NOTT-408(Ca) and 410(Ba) have shown good selectivity for the C2-hydrocarbons due to the narrow pore channels within the frameworks

Doctoral Supervision: A Best Practice Review

Unlike taught classroom-based degree courses, doctoral degrees in the UK are normally only, or mainly, focused upon a single intensive research study into a specific topic. Such degree courses facilitate the development of students into highly specialist autonomous researchers capable of independent thought. Typically, a blend of support is provided to each doctoral student which consists of an elective development program of research methods learning opportunities alongside dedicated supervisor support from one or more academic members of staff called “supervisors”. It is the expectation that each supervisor will act as a guide and mentor for the doctoral student, thereby enabling them to successfully complete their program of research. We recommend that the following dimensions of good supervisory practice should be considered, i.e., selecting the right doctoral student, considering the supervisor-doctoral student relationship, understanding the power dynamics between supervisor and doctoral student, integrating doctoral students into the research culture, protecting the mental health of doctoral students, supervising doctoral students, training supervisors, mentoring doctoral students, and assisting doctoral students to complete their studies

Promoting a positive and cohesive research culture for postgraduate researchers

Research culture, as a substantive influencer in overall student experience for postgraduate researcher (PGRs), requires improvements across the UK Higher Education sector. This is highlighted in consecutive AdvanceHE Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) findings, with over a third of responding PGRs reporting dissatisfaction with their experience of research culture (AdvanceHE 2019). Research culture is the least positively experienced core area across the seven areas measured which also includes, supervision, resources, progress and assessment, responsibilities, research skills and professional development. The aim of this research is to explore ways in which higher education institutions can actively create and influence positive research cultures for their PGRs who are working across a range of disciplines. This poster outlines the research background, objectives research design and anticipated contribution to knowledge

Three-dimensional model study of the Arctic ozone loss in 2002/2003 and comparison with 1999/2000 and 2003/2004

We have used the SLIMCAT 3-D off-line chemical transport model (CTM) to quantify the Arctic chemical ozone loss in the year 2002/2003 and compare it with similar calculations for the winters 1999/2000 and 2003/2004. Recent changes to the CTM have improved the model's ability to reproduce polar chemical and dynamical processes. The updated CTM uses σ-θ as a vertical coordinate which allows it to extend down to the surface. The CTM has a detailed stratospheric chemistry scheme and now includes a simple NAT-based denitrification scheme in the stratosphere. In the model runs presented here the model was forced by ECMWF ERA40 and operational analyses. The model used 24 levels extending from the surface to ~55km and a horizontal resolution of either 7.5° x 7.5° or 2.8° x 2.8°. Two different radiation schemes, MIDRAD and the CCM scheme, were used to diagnose the vertical motion in the stratosphere. Based on tracer observations from balloons and aircraft, the more sophisticated CCM scheme gives a better representation of the vertical transport in this model which includes the troposphere. The higher resolution model generally produces larger chemical O3 depletion, which agrees better with observations. The CTM results show that very early chemical ozone loss occurred in December 2002 due to extremely low temperatures and early chlorine activation in the lower stratosphere. Thus, chemical loss in this winter started earlier than in the other two winters studied here. In 2002/2003 the local polar ozone loss in the lower stratosphere was ~40% before the stratospheric final warming. Larger ozone loss occurred in the cold year 1999/2000 which had a persistently cold and stable vortex during most of the winter. For this winter the current model, at a resolution of 2.8° x 2.8°, can reproduce the observed loss of over 70% locally. In the warm and more disturbed winter 2003/2004 the chemical O3 loss was generally much smaller, except above 620K where large losses occurred due to a period of very low minimum temperatures at these altitudes

Maternal mental health research in Malawi: Community and healthcare provider perspectives on acceptability and ethicality

Maternal mental health (MMH) is recognised as globally significant. The prevalence of depression and factors associated with its onset among perinatal women in Malawi has been previously reported, and the need for further research in this domain is underscored. Yet, there is little published scholarship regarding the acceptability and ethicality of MMH research to women and community representatives. The study reported here sought to address this in Malawi by engaging with communities and healthcare providers in the districts where MMH research was being planned. Qualitative data was collected in Lilongwe and Karonga districts through 20 focus group discussions and 40 in-depth interviews with community representatives and healthcare providers from January through April 2021. All focus groups and interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim (in local languages Chichewa and Tumbuka), translated into English, and examined through thematic content analysis. Participants' accounts suggest that biopsychosocial MMH research could be broadly acceptable within the communities sampled, with acceptability framed in part through prior encounters with biomedical and public health research and care in these regions, alongside broader understandings of the import of MMH. Willingness and consent to participate do not depend on specifically biomedical understandings of MMH, but rather on familiarity with individuals regarded as living with mental ill-health. However, the data further suggest some ‘therapeutic misconceptions’ about MMH research, with implications for how investigations in this area are presented by researchers when recruiting and working with participants. Further studies are needed to explore whether accounts of the acceptability and ethicality of MMH research shift and change during and following research encounters. Such studies will enhance the production of granular recommendations for further augmenting the ethicality of biomedical and public health research and researchers' responsibilities to participants and communities