Content-aware Location Inference and Misinformation in Online Social Networks

Location inference is of potential use in the area of cybercrime prevention and misinformation detection. Inferring locations from user texts in Online Social Networks (OSN) is a non-trivial and challenging problem with regards to public safety. This work proposes LOCINFER - a novel non-uniform grid-based approach for location inference from Twitter messages using Quadtree spatial partitions. The proposed algorithm uses natural language processing (NLP) for semantic understanding and incorporates hybrid similarity measures for feature vector extraction and dimensionality reduction. LOCINFER addresses the sparsity problem which may be associated with training data following a biased clustering approach where densely populated regions within the data are partitioned into larger grids. The clustered grids are then classi�ed using a logistic regression model. The proposed method performed better than the state-of-the art in grid-based content-only location inference by more than 150km in Average Error Distance (AED) and almost 300km in Median Error Distance (MED). It also performed better than by 24% in terms of accuracy at 161km. It was 400km better in prediction for MED and 250km better in terms of AED. Also proposed is SENTDETECT - a technique that detects and classi�es fake news messages from Twitter posts using extensive experiments with machine learning and deep learning models including those without prior knowledge of the domain. Following a text-only approach, SENTDETECT utilises an additional feature of the word sentiments alongside the original text of the messages. Incorporating these engineered features into the feature vector, provides an enrichment of the vector space prior to the deep learning classi�cation task which utilised a Hierarchical Attention Networks (HAN) in pre-trained word embedding. An emotional word ratio (EMORATIO) was deduced following the discovery of a positive relationship between negative emotional words and fake news posts. Finally, the work aimed to perform automatic detection of misinformation posts and rumors. A lot of work has been done in the area of detecting the truthfulness or veracity of posts from OSN messages. This work presents a novel feature-augmented approach using both text and sentiments in enriching features used during prediction. The end result performed better by up to 40% in Recall and F-Measure over the state of the art on benchmark misinformation PHEME dataset which relied on textual features only. The blend of location inference with misinformation detection provides an e�ective tool in the �ght against vices on social media such as curtailing hate speech propagation, cyberbullying and fake news posts

Analysing the Influence of Macroeconomic Factors on Credit Risk in the UK Banking Sector

Macroeconomic factors have a critical impact on banking credit risk, which cannot be directly controlled by banks, and therefore, there is a need for an early credit risk warning system based on the macroeconomy. By comparing different predictive models (traditional statistical and machine learning algorithms), this study aims to examine the macroeconomic determinants’ impact on the UK banking credit risk and assess the most accurate credit risk estimate using predictive analytics. This study found that the variance-based multi-split decision tree algorithm is the most precise predictive model with interpretable, reliable, and robust results. Our model performance achieved 95% accuracy and evidenced that unemployment and inflation rate are significant credit risk predictors in the UK banking context. Our findings provided valuable insights such as a positive association between credit risk and inflation, the unemployment rate, and national savings, as well as a negative relationship between credit risk and national debt, total trade deficit, and national income. In addition, we empirically showed the relationship between national savings and non-performing loans, thus proving the “paradox of thrift”. These findings benefit the credit risk management team in monitoring the macroeconomic factors’ thresholds and implementing critical reforms to mitigate credit risk

Towards widening participation in post-graduate research: The ASPIRE programme

In recent years, universities in the UK have increased efforts to promote diversity and equality in their institutions. Such efforts include establishing partnerships with schools and colleges in local communities (Russell Group, 2023), creating mentorship programmes (SHU, 2022), attempting to decolonise the curriculum (HEPI, 2020), funding research to address the ethnic minorities awarding gap (OFS, 2021), and providing ringed-fenced scholarships for Black and mixed heritage students (Sucharitkul and Windsor, 2021). These interventions are directly aimed at widening access and participation for under-represented groups. Nevertheless, there remains a significant amount of work to be done in supporting improvements in the progression and outcomes for minoritised students in universities, especially those from Black and mixed-Black ethnic backgrounds

Willingness of in‑patients to Uptake the Vital Contributor Social Health Insurance Program in a Teaching Hospital, Southwest Nigeria

Background: The introduction of the Vital Contributor Social Health Insurance (SHI) Program in Nigeria was to scale up access to healthinsurance and achieve universal health coverage. However, many Nigerian in‑patients still pay out‑of‑pocket for health services. This study aimedto determine Nigerian in‑patients’ willingness to pay for the Vital Contributor SHI Program. Methodology: Across‑sectional analytical study conducted among 133 adult in‑patients and care‑givers of pediatric in‑patients of a tertiary health facility in southwestern Nigeria, not under a health insurance cover, and recruited through a simple random sampling technique. Data were  collected using an interviewer‑administered questionnaire. Willingness to Pay was assessed using the double contingent valuation by the Bidding method. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS version 20 with inference made at P > 0.05. Results: Findings showed a low awareness (42.1%) of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), and much lower awareness of the Vital Contributor Insurance Scheme, (27.1%). A high proportion of the respondents (67.7%) were willing to participate in the scheme, whereas 67.3% of those not willing to participate gave insufficient funds as the reason. The median maximum amount of premium respondents were willing to pay annually was ₦15,000 ($38) and ₦5000 ($12.8) interquartile range. Respondents in the working population (P = 0.032), with some form of education (P = 0.002), having difficulty with paying their medical bills (P = 0.044), who were aware of the Vital Contributor Scheme (P = 0.001) and were  knowledgeable about the NHIS benefits (P = 0.026) were significantly more willing to uptake the Vital Contributor SHI Scheme. Conclusion: Although awareness of the Vital Contributor SHI Scheme is low, the proportion of respondents willing to partake in it is satisfying.  Increased targeted awareness campaigns should improve uptake. Health management organizations should take the lead in the awareness creation process. Keywords: Health insurance, vital contributor social health insurance scheme, voluntary contribution, willingness to pay     &nbsp

Tweet for behavior change: Using social media for the dissemination of public health messages

Background: Social media public health campaigns have the advantage of tailored messaging at low cost and large reach, but little is known about what would determine their feasibility as tools for inducing attitude and behavior change. Objective: The aim of this study was to test the feasibility of designing, implementing, and evaluating a social media–enabled intervention for skin cancer prevention. Methods: A quasi-experimental feasibility study used social media (Twitter) to disseminate different message “frames” related to care in the sun and cancer prevention. Phase 1 utilized the Northern Ireland cancer charity’s Twitter platform (May 1 to July 14, 2015). Following a 2-week “washout” period, Phase 2 commenced (August 1 to September 30, 2015) using a bespoke Twitter platform. Phase 2 also included a Thunderclap, whereby users allowed their social media accounts to automatically post a bespoke message on their behalf. Message frames were categorized into 5 broad categories: humor, shock or disgust, informative, personal stories, and opportunistic. Seed users with a notable following were contacted to be “influencers” in retweeting campaign content. A pre- and postintervention Web-based survey recorded skin cancer prevention knowledge and attitudes in Northern Ireland (population 1.8 million). Results: There were a total of 417,678 tweet impressions, 11,213 engagements, and 1211 retweets related to our campaign. Shocking messages generated the greatest impressions (shock, n=2369; informative, n=2258; humorous, n=1458; story, n=1680), whereas humorous messages generated greater engagement (humorous, n=148; shock, n=147; story, n=117; informative, n=100) and greater engagement rates compared with story tweets. Informative messages, resulted in the greatest number of shares (informative, n=17; humorous, n=10; shock, n=9; story, n=7). The study findings included improved knowledge of skin cancer severity in a pre- and postintervention Web-based survey, with greater awareness that skin cancer is the most common form of cancer (preintervention: 28.4% [95/335] vs postintervention: 39.3% [168/428] answered “True”) and that melanoma is most serious (49.1% [165/336] vs 55.5% [238/429]). The results also show improved attitudes toward ultraviolet (UV) exposure and skin cancer with a reduction in agreement that respondents “like to tan” (60.5% [202/334] vs 55.6% [238/428]). Conclusions: Social media–disseminated public health messages reached more than 23% of the Northern Ireland population. A Web-based survey suggested that the campaign might have contributed to improved knowledge and attitudes toward skin cancer among the target population. Findings suggested that shocking and humorous messages generated greatest impressions and engagement, but information-based messages were likely to be shared most. The extent of behavioral change as a result of the campaign remains to be explored, however, the change of attitudes and knowledge is promising. Social media is an inexpensive, effective method for delivering public health messages. However, existing and traditional process evaluation methods may not be suitable for social media

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Feasibility Study of Social Media for Public Health Behaviour Changes

Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have been shown to function as effective social sensors that can “feel the pulse” of a community. The aim of the current study is to test the feasibility of designing, implementing and evaluating a bespoke social media-enabled intervention that can be effective for sharing and changing knowledge, attitudes and behaviours in meaningful ways to promote public health, specifically with regards to prevention of skin cancer. We present the design and implementation details of the campaign followed by summary findings and analysis

Towards widening participation in PGR: the Aspire Model

In recent years, universities in the UK have increased efforts to promote diversity and equality in their institutions. Such efforts include establishing partnerships with schools and colleges in local communities (Russell Group, 2023), creating mentorship programmes (SHU, 2022), attempting to decolonise the curriculum (HEPI, 2020), funding research to address the ethnic minorities awarding gap (OFS, 2021), and providing ringed-fenced scholarships for Black and mixed heritage students (Sucharitkul and Windsor, 2021). These interventions are directly aimed at widening access and participation for under-represented groups. Nevertheless, there remains a significant amount of work to be done in supporting improvements in the progression and outcomes for minoritised students in universities, especially those from Black and mixed-Black ethnic backgrounds

Give me a hand, and I will thrive: how personalised mentorship is helping Black students progression

This paper examines personalised mentorship's disruptive role in enabling Black students' progression in the academy and industry. It focuses on the Accomplished Study Program in Research Excellence (ASPIRE), a unique intervention and an innovative approach designed to provide mentorship and well-being to Black and Black heritage students and improve their graduate outcomes and access to doctoral study. Drawing from the evaluation data of the first cohort of the programme and the broader literature on the attainment gap and underrepresentation of Black students in higher education, the paper examines the extent to which participation in ASPIRE leads to improved work-readiness of Black students to access doctoral level study and acquire jobs in the industry through personalised mentorship