Taking the plunge

Megan Beech and Graham Stone, University of Huddersfield, explain the launch of 'Fields', a new taught-student research journal, and talk about how and why it was decided to take the plunge

Publishing undergraduate research: linking teaching and research through a dedicated peer reviewed open access journal

In 2015, the University of Huddersfield Press launched Fields: the journal of Huddersfield student research. The journal was developed with two key purposes: ensuring that high quality student research was made available to a broader audience and inspiring students to work to the highest standards by considering the potential of their work for impact in the wider world. The existing literature is reviewed regarding the growth of student research journals, as well as some of the benefits these journals can offer to students. The institutional rationale for Fields is outlined and the process of setting up a multidisciplinary open access student research journal is discussed. The outcomes of an evaluation are presented with particular focus to lessons learned and future developments to improve support for authors. The experience of the project team will be useful to universities and university presses considering strategies for supporting students to develop research for publication/dissemination

Vulnerability of Resource Users in Louisiana’s Oyster Fishery to Environmental Hazards

Knowledge of vulnerability provides the foundation for developing actions that minimize impacts on people while maximizing the sustainability of ecosystem goods and services. As a result, it is becoming increasingly important to determine how resource-dependent people are vulnerable to environmental hazards. This idea is particularly true in coastal Louisiana, USA, where the current era of rapid land loss has the potential to undermine oyster fisheries. However, little is known about how such environmental change might differentially affect resource users and stakeholders. We examined social components of vulnerability to environmental hazards using indicators of susceptibility and adaptive capacity within the oyster fishery of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. Specifically, we used structured interviews to compare three resource-user roles: oyster fishers, oyster fishers/lease owners, and oyster lease owners only. Results indicated that oyster fishers/lease owners were highly dependent and thus susceptible to changes in the fishery because of high levels of occupational identity. These same people, however, were the most adaptable to change, which was reflected in their willingness to learn about new practices and evolve over time. Higher susceptibility in this group was offset by an increased ability to adapt, cope, and respond to changes in the environment. In contrast to these findings, oyster fishers that did not own any portion of a lease or business in which they operated were bad at coping with change and frequently held negative or fatalistic views on financial planning. These attributes made them the most vulnerable to environmental hazards. Overall, the most vulnerable participants in the Terrebonne Parish oyster fishery were those with low to moderate levels of personal and financial buffers and trust, coupled with high occupational identity and a low motivation to change. Local policy actions that target these attributes are likely to be the best entry points to reducing the vulnerability of stakeholders to hazards

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

Key Issue - How to share and discuss your research successfully online

When I first started working in the field of online dissemination of academic research, about four years ago, I asked a lot of questions around why it is important to share your work online. Over the years, my questions have now shifted away from ‘Is this an important thing to do?’ (Yes, it is), to ‘How can we do this important activity well?’ As I work with researchers at the University of Huddersfield across all disciplines, one of the first things I learnt was that the success of online dissemination and promotion requires different tools, methods and approaches depending on the subject area covered and the aims of the researcher. That said, there are certain central tenets that, if applied in a tailored way to your online activities, will help you to expand and engage your networks more successfully. I am going to cover five of these, and apply them broadly across a range of online platforms that you might be considering using

Dickens and the Making of His Readings

This thesis analyses and reappraises the prompt copies that Dickens made for his public readings. In many ways, my thesis expands upon the work of Philip Collins and Malcolm Andrews who have offered the most substantial scholarly engagements with Dickens’s readings. The work of these scholars has largely focused on the performances themselves and the final received version of each reading, rather than the revising and drafting process through which these readings came into being. My thesis offers an alternative approach to Dickens’s readings, arguing that our understanding of them is enhanced by sustained engagement with the complex and lively textual processes which produced the performances. In doing so, this thesis has three major contentions. Firstly, I contend that examining the reading texts and Dickens’s process of adapting them for performance enables us to encounter Dickens as a different kind of writer than we find elsewhere in his oeuvre. Secondly, I argue that Dickens’s readings offer a prime example of Dickensian adaptation showing the author in the process of negotiating reading, performance, and adaptation. Finally, this thesis argues that engaging with the reading prompt copies as texts that lie at the intersection of adaptation, composition, and revision studies reveals an under-examination within these wider fields of the concept of self-adaptation. I offer close readings of Dickens’s self-adaptation within the prompt copies for the readings. I situate these recorded practices in the broader context of other annotated performance texts from the period, such as theatrical promptbooks. I also chart the publication of Dickens’s reading texts during the course of his tours, discussing how print and text affected how audiences witnessed his performances. I study examples of audience annotators who recorded their experiences of witnessing the readings and often unknowingly reflected Dickens’s own annotation practices. My thesis offers a critical reassessment of Dickens’s readings, viewing them as an extension of rather than a distraction from his literary craftsmanship.AHR

Urinary Catheterization in Infants: When It’s Knot so Simple

Pediatric fever is one of the most common presenting complaints to emergency departments (ED). While often due to a viral illness, in young children without a source the most common bacterial infection is pyelonephritis. For this reason, when no focal source can be identified a urinary specimen is recommended. In young children who are unable to urinate on demand, a straight catheter is required to obtain a sterile specimen. This is generally a benign procedure and is performed frequently in EDs. We report a case of a young girl who underwent straight bladder catheterization and was subsequently found to have a retained catheter that had become knotted in the bladder. This case report highlights a rare complication of this common procedure and describes the technique required to remove the catheter. An understanding of these issues may avoid the need for transfer to a pediatric facility or for subspecialty consultation

Working with your research community

This session will provide practical advice and top tips for working with your research community, including: building relationships and trust; understanding Open Access and bibliometrics and translating the needs of a research group into achievable marketing and communication outcomes that can be measured for their success and impact

Urinary Catheterization in Infants: When It’s Knot so Simple

Pediatric fever is one of the most common presenting complaints to emergency departments (ED). While often due to a viral illness, in young children without a source the most common bacterial infection is pyelonephritis. For this reason, when no focal source can be identified a urinary specimen is recommended. In young children who are unable to urinate on demand, a straight catheter is required to obtain a sterile specimen. This is generally a benign procedure and is performed frequently in EDs. We report a case of a young girl who underwent straight bladder catheterization and was subsequently found to have a retained catheter that had become knotted in the bladder. This case report highlights a rare complication of this common procedure and describes the technique required to remove the catheter. An understanding of these issues may avoid the need for transfer to a pediatric facility or for subspecialty consultation