Using a Community Engagement approach to ensure equality of access, experience and outcome from the IAPT programme in the North West of England

This report summarises the findings of seven equality impact assessments carried out by seven community organisations across the North West of England examining the equality issues for specific communities in connection with the roll out of the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Programme (IAPT). In summarising, this report attempts to draw out the common themes that emerged across the individual reports produced by each group and presented to its own local PCT in a way that transferable learning can be usefully shared

Political economy of bioenergy in developing countries: a case study of Punjab, India

Bioenergy projects have been widely promoted across the world since the beginning of the 21st century. These green energy developments are being hailed as a panacea to the energy crisis facing humanity. In the last few years, the global energy sector has been engulfed in a multi-pronged crisis comprising of declining oil reserves, irreversible ecological damage owing to indiscriminate use of fossil fuels as well as widespread energy poverty across many developing countries. Bioenergy imperatives were endorsed as a solution to this multi-dimensional crisis in the global energy sector. It was believed that biofuels would provide an alternative to fossil fuels and also offer a means to solve the issues of energy access and poverty facing many developing countries of the world. A large body of scholars began to promote bioenergy as the “fuel of the future” due to its many desirable properties. However, in recent years a number of sustainability challenges associated with production of bioenergy have emerged. In view of these challenges, it is increasingly uncertain how far bioenergy would provide a sustainable energy alternative. There has been little research on the purported local level benefits of bioenergy projects. This thesis contributes to this critical, yet under researched area by developing an eco-socialist framework to inform sustainable bioenergy imperatives across developing countries. Eco-socialism combines the key principles of Marxism and Ecology. This paradigm of sustainable development is based on the conglomeration of biological egalitarianism with the ideals of social justice. An eco-socialist framework was employed to evaluate the opportunities and constraints of bioenergy developments through in depth case study research. The case study was located in Punjab, India. The case study was based on participatory field based research, employing multiple methods of investigation. The findings from this research aim to provide theoretical generalisations and serve as an “exemplar” on the conduct of people centric bioenergy policies in developing regions of the world

“A Little Flip Goes a Long Way”—The Impact of a Flipped Classroom Design on Student Performance and Engagement in a First-Year Undergraduate Economics Classroom

The flipped classroom is gaining prominence as an active learning pedagogy to engage a new generation of students. However, all courses do not lend themselves to a fully flipped design and instructors are often reluctant to flip lectures due to the additional time and effort involved, especially so in case of technical subjects such as economics. This study experiments with a flipped classroom design in a first-year undergraduate economics course. The research was motivated by the fact that many undergraduate economics students do not engage with traditional lectures. They fail to acquire critical thinking, data handling and reasoning skills, which are thought to be at the core of the economics curriculum. In this flipped classroom format, traditional lectures were substituted with micro-lectures and the remaining class time was devoted to active learning pedagogies including quizzes, group work and student presentations. The full lectures were panopto recorded and put up on the e-learning site, Blackboard. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the flipped classroom format, I compared the final exam scores of students in the flipped classroom with those in the control group, which followed a traditional lecture-based approach. The key results from the analysis revealed that students in the flipped classroom performed better in the final exams vis-à-vis students in the traditional classroom format. Furthermore, students in the flipped classroom format were 1.61 times less likely to fail in the module as compared to students in a traditional classroom format. This format also resulted in better student engagement, more flexibility and enhanced student–tutor interactions within the classroom

Women's status and experiences of mistreatment during childbirth in Uttar Pradesh: a mixed methods study using cultural health capital theory.

BackgroundMistreatment of women in healthcare settings during childbirth has been gaining attention globally. Mistreatment during childbirth directly and indirectly affects health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and the likelihood of delivering in a facility currently or in the future. It is important that we study patients' reports of mistreatment and abuse to develop a deeper understanding of how it is perpetrated, its consequences, and to identify potential points of intervention. Patients' perception of the quality of care is dependent, not only on the content of care, but importantly, on women's expectations of care.MethodsThis study uses rich, mixed-methods data to explore women's characteristics and experiences of mistreatment during childbirth among slum-resident women in Uttar Pradesh, India. To understand the ways in which women's social and cultural factors influence their expectations of care and consequently their perceptions of respectful care, we adopt a Cultural Health Capital (CHC) framework. The quantitative sample includes 392 women, and the qualitative sample includes 26 women.ResultsQuantitative results suggest high levels of mistreatment (over 57 % of women reported any form of mistreatment). Qualitative findings suggest that lack of cultural health capital disadvantages patients in their patient-provider relationships, and that women use resources to improve care they receive. Participants articulated how providers set expectations and norms regarding behaviors in facilities; patients with lower social standing may not always understand standard practices and are likely to suffer poor health outcomes as a result. Of importance, however, patients also blame themselves for their own lack of knowledge.ConclusionsLack of cultural health capital disadvantages women during delivery care in India. Providers set expectations and norms around behaviors during delivery, while women are often misinformed and may have low expectations of care

Successful UM music graduates to entertain at Alumni Night June 8

Background: Fecal transplants are successful in the treatment of recurrent or refractory Clostridium difficile infections (CDI), but there is no consensus on the best method of instillation. Studies have shown greater success with lower gastrointestinal tract placement, but technical aspects of placement are not validated. Purpose: This review aims to identify common traits and procedural techniques of successful fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) therapy via colonoscopy. Methods: An electronic search was conducted using OVID Medline and PubMed for articles published from January 2010 to January 2016. The primary outcome of interest was cure by FMT placed via colonoscopy. Results: Of the 337 articles reviewed, we included 24 studies, from which 11 case reports were excluded from data analysis. The resultant data included 366 patients (64% female). Point estimate for cure of CDI after FMT for patients over 65 years of age (9%) was 84.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.58–0.96; P \u3c 0.016), cure over the age of 18 with no upper limit specified on age (74%) was 85.4% (95% CI: 0.76–0.91; P \u3c 0.001) and, for those identified strictly as 18–65 years old (17%), cure was 93% (95% CI: 0.83–0.98; P \u3c 0.001). Patients who stopped antibiotics at least 48 hours prior to FMT (37%) had a cure rate of 86% (95% CI: 0.78–0.91; P \u3c 0.001) compared to 95% (95% CI: 0.90–0.98; P \u3c 0.001) in patients who stopped antibiotics at least 24 hours prior to FMT (43%) and 81% (95% CI: 0.53–0.94; P \u3c 0.035) in those who stopped less than 24 hours prior to FMT (15%). In studies that specified use of GoLYTELY® prep prior to colonoscopy (58%), cure was 91% (95% CI: 0.85–0.95; P \u3c 0.001); whereas those using a split 2-L polyethylene glycol prep (21%) had 79% cure (95% CI: 0.61–0.90; P \u3c 0.004). Placement of FMT throughout the colon (6.8%) had 96% cure (95% CI: 0.77–0.99; P \u3c 0.002) versus terminal ileum to cecum placement (59%) at 88% cure (95% CI: 0.78–0.94; P \u3c 0.001) and cecum to ascending colon (28%) at 86% cure (95% CI: 0.63–0.95; P \u3c 0.006). Studies that specified the use of loperamide after FMT (21%) had a cure of 85% (95% CI: 0.63–0.95; P \u3c 0.004). Conclusion: FMT placed by colonoscopy has a role in the cure of recurrent or refractory CDI. Stopping antibiotics 24 hours prior to FMT results in higher percentage cure (95%). Distribution of FMT throughout the colon has better outcomes than FMT instillation at other locations. Effect of loperamide post-FMT placement is not conclusive due to the low percentage of reported use. Prospective studies are recommended to study these factors for confirmation of effects

Evaluation of Reliability-based Fatigue Strain Data Analysis for an Automobile Suspension Under Various Road Condition

This work aimed to analyse fatigue-based reliability for automobile suspension on the basis of the strain load signal from an automobile under operating conditions. Fatigue life was used to ensure the aging of the component, and it was suitable for use for longer than the standard age given. The damage behaviour patterns for each retained edited signal from 100% to 85% were used to predict the fatigue durability of the suspension with a sampling frequency of 500 Hz for various road conditions. The extended global statistics were computed to determine the behaviour of the signal. Accelerated durability analysis was used to remove the low-amplitude cycles, which contributed minimally toward the total damage, by considering the effects of mean stresses. The reliability assessment, hazard rate function and mean time-to-failure (MTTF) based on the retention signal were predicted through fatigue strain data analysis. Changes were observed from a range of below 15% and above 60% of the length of the actual original signals due to the low amplitude. Extended global statistics showed scale parameter of 75 and 94 with an MTTF of 1.25×103 and 1.27×103 cycles. The retention signal loads provide an accurate signal editing technique for predicting fatigue life with good reliability characteristic understanding for the suspension part

Similar Levels of X-linked and Autosomal Nucleotide Variation in African and non-African populations of Drosophila melanogaster

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Levels of molecular diversity in Drosophila have repeatedly been shown to be higher in ancestral, African populations than in derived, non-African populations. This pattern holds for both coding and noncoding regions for a variety of molecular markers including single nucleotide polymorphisms and microsatellites. Comparisons of X-linked and autosomal diversity have yielded results largely dependent on population of origin.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In an attempt to further elucidate patterns of sequence diversity in <it>Drosophila melanogaster</it>, we studied nucleotide variation at putatively nonfunctional X-linked and autosomal loci in sub-Saharan African and North American strains of <it>D. melanogaster</it>. We combine our experimental results with data from previous studies of molecular polymorphism in this species. We confirm that levels of diversity are consistently higher in African versus North American strains. The relative reduction of diversity for X-linked and autosomal loci in the derived, North American strains depends heavily on the studied loci. While the compiled dataset, comprised primarily of regions within or in close proximity to genes, shows a much more severe reduction of diversity on the X chromosome compared to autosomes in derived strains, the dataset consisting of intergenic loci located far from genes shows very similar reductions of diversities for X-linked and autosomal loci in derived strains. In addition, levels of diversity at X-linked and autosomal loci in the presumably ancestral African population are more similar than expected under an assumption of neutrality and equal numbers of breeding males and females.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We show that simple demographic scenarios under assumptions of neutral theory cannot explain all of the observed patterns of molecular diversity. We suggest that the simplest model is a population bottleneck that retains an ancestral female-biased sex ratio, coupled with higher rates of positive selection at X-linked loci in close proximity to genes specifically in derived, non-African populations.</p

How might partner selection be improved by corporates to address material sustainability issues? A case study of Northumbrian Water Ltd.

Appropriate partner selection is a crucial concern for businesses who want to address material sustainability issues through cross-sector partnerships. However, the current research on materiality analysis and partner selection is still in the nascent stage of development. This paper contributes to understanding partner selection by corporates through an in-depth exploration of the business's selection of nonprofit organisation (NPO) partners, based on case study research of Northumbrian Water Ltd. (NWL), a UK private sector organisation providing water supply and sewerage services. Using the evidence from this study, we propose a framework for the selection of partners based on the prospective impact of cross-sector partnerships on material sustainability issues. Our paper also provides a useful toolkit for businesses to evaluate these prospective impacts. The framework demonstrates how materiality with respect to sustainability issues can be assessed both reactively and proactively, and how this assessment can better inform the partner selection process by corporates. This understanding of how materiality is assessed and partners are selected in practice is supported by a context specific exemplar and contributes to knowledge and practice of materiality analysis as well as cross-sector partnerships

Effects of an mHealth intervention for community health workers on maternal and child nutrition and health service delivery in India: protocol for a quasi-experimental mixed-methods evaluation.

INTRODUCTION:Millions of children in India still suffer from poor health and under-nutrition, despite substantial improvement over decades of public health programmes. The Anganwadi centres under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) provide a range of health and nutrition services to pregnant women, children &lt;6 years and their mothers. However, major gaps exist in ICDS service delivery. The government is currently strengthening ICDS through an mHealth intervention called Common Application Software (ICDS-CAS) installed on smart phones, with accompanying multilevel data dashboards. This system is intended to be a job aid for frontline workers, supervisors and managers, aims to ensure better service delivery and supervision, and enable real-time monitoring and data-based decision-making. However, there is little to no evidence on the effectiveness of such large-scale mHealth interventions integrated with public health programmes in resource-constrained settings on the service delivery and subsequent health and nutrition outcomes. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:This study uses a village-matched controlled design with repeated cross-sectional surveys to evaluate whether ICDS-CAS can enable more timely and appropriate services to pregnant women, children &lt;12 months and their mothers, compared with the standard ICDS programme. The study will recruit approximately 1500 Anganwadi workers and 6000+ mother-child dyads from 400+ matched-pair villages in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The primary outcomes are the proportion of beneficiaries receiving (a) adequate number of home visits and (b) appropriate level of counselling by the Anganwadi workers. Secondary outcomes are related to improvements in other ICDS services, and knowledge and practices of the Anganwadi workers and beneficiaries. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:Ethical oversight is provided by the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects at the University of California at Berkeley, and the Suraksha Independent Ethics Committee in India. The results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and analysis data will be made public. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER:ISRCTN83902145