Measuring the impact of the Capital Card®, a novel form of contingency management, on substance misuse treatment outcomes:A retrospective evaluation

Background The Capital Card, developed by WDP, is a digital innovation which acts as a form of contingency management, and aims to significantly improve service user outcomes. WDP is a substance misuse treatment provider commissioned by local authorities across the UK to support service users and their families affected by addiction. The Capital Card, much like commercial loyalty cards, uses a simple earn-spend points system which incentivises and rewards service users for engaging with services e.g. by attending key work sessions, Blood Borne Virus appointments or group-work sessions. The Spend activities available to service users are designed to improve overall wellbeing and build social and recovery capital, and include activities such as educational classes, fitness classes, driving lessons, and cinema tickets. Methods and findings We compared successful completion rates of 1,545 service users accessing one of WDP’s London based community services over a two-year period; before and after the Capital Card was introduced. Client demographics (age, sex and primary substance) were controlled for during the analysis. Once client demographics were controlled for, analysis showed that clients with a Capital Card were 1.5 times more likely to successfully complete treatment than those who had not had the Capital Card (OR = 1.507, 95% CI = 1.194 to 1.902). Conclusions The results of this initial evaluation are of particular interest to commissioners and policy makers as it indicates that the Capital Card can be used effectively as a form of contingency management to enhance recovery outcomes for service users engaging in community-based substance misuse services

“Initially, We Were Just Names on a Computer Screen”: Designing Engagement in Online Teacher Education

This paper describes a research project that investigated the process of redesigning a fully-online unit, in order to enhance undergraduate Education students’ engagement in their learning. This redesign was guided by the development of an Engagement Framework, which presents five elements of engagement that are distinct yet interrelated. The results of this redesigned unit indicate that this Engagement Framework has the potential to offer unit developers and instructors a strong pedagogical and theoretical foundation for enhancing engagement in online learning. This paper provides a description of the Engagement Framework, the processes undertaken in redesigning a fully-online unit, the findings, and several emerging understandings related to the Framework and student engagement more broadly

An exploratory study of the lived experience of being an intelligence analyst

Since the World Trade Centre terror attacks of 2001 the intelligence domain has grown rapidly. In keeping with this growth has been a significant increase of scholarly interest in the domain. The intelligence literature is dominated by research into the failures of the discipline, organisational structure and the politics of intelligence. The intelligence analyst is a critical component of the intelligence domain yet is remarkably absent from the intelligence literature. This research seeks to address that imbalance by examining the lived experience of the analyst operating in the law enforcement intelligence domain. To this end, interpretive phenomenology was employed to understand the meanings attributed to analysts’ subjective experiences in order to identify enablers and barriers that impact their crucial function in law enforcement. A purposive sample of eight analysts participated in in‐depth, semi structured interviews. Transcripts were subjected in interpretive phenomenological analysis, which revealed two superordinate themes: Self and Work/Home Divide. These referred to internal and external factors that impacted upon participants’ functioning, some of which may have a negative impact on psychological wellbeing while others are relevant to efficient functioning within the workplace. Two subthemes being communication and internal conflict are discussed in depth

An Exploratory Study of the Lived Experience of Being an Intelligence Analyst

Since the World Trade Centre terror attacks of 2001 the intelligence domain has grown rapidly. In keeping with this growth has been a significant increase of scholarly interest in the domain. The intelligence literature is dominated by research into the failures of the discipline, organisational structure and the politics of intelligence. The intelligence analyst is a critical component of the intelligence domain yet is remarkably absent from the intelligence literature. This research seeks to address that imbalance by examining the lived experience of the analyst operating in the law enforcement intelligence domain. To this end, interpretive phenomenology was employed to understand the meanings attributed to analysts’ subjective experiences in order to identify enablers and barriers that impact their crucial function in law enforcement. A purposive sample of eight analysts participated in in‐depth, semi structured interviews. Transcripts were subjected in interpretive phenomenological analysis, which revealed two superordinate themes: Self and Work/Home Divide. These referred to internal and external factors that impacted upon participants’ functioning, some of which may have a negative impact on psychological wellbeing while others are relevant to efficient functioning within the workplace. Two subthemes being communication and internal conflict are discussed in depth

Autophagy coordinates chondrocyte development and early joint formation in zebrafish

Autophagy is a catabolic process responsible for the removal of waste and damaged cellular components by lysosomal degradation. It plays a key role in fundamental cell processes, including ER stress mitigation, control of cell metabolism, and cell differentiation and proliferation, all of which are essential for cartilage cell (chondrocyte) development and survival, and for the formation of cartilage. Correspondingly, autophagy dysregulation has been implicated in several skeletal disorders such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. To test the requirement for autophagy during skeletal development in zebrafish, we generated an atg13 CRISPR knockout zebrafish line. This line showed a complete loss of atg13 expression, and restricted autophagic activity in vivo. In the absence of autophagy, chondrocyte maturation was accelerated, with chondrocytes exhibiting signs of premature hypertrophy. Focussing on the jaw element, autophagy disruption affected joint articulation causing restricted mouth opening. This gross behavioural phenotype corresponded with a failure to thrive, and death in homozygote atg13 nulls within 17 days. Taken together, our results are consistent with autophagy contributing to the timely regulation of chondrocyte maturation and for extracellular matrix formation

Evaluation of a prototype tool for communicating body perception disturbances in complex regional pain syndrome

Patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) experience distressing changes in body perception. However representing body perception is a challenge. A digital media tool for communicating body perception disturbances was developed. A proof of concept study evaluating the acceptability of the application for patients to communicate their body perception is reported in this methods paper. Thirteen CRPS participants admitted to a 2-week inpatient rehabilitation program used the application in a consultation with a research nurse. Audio recordings were made of the process and a structured questionnaire was administered to capture experiences of using the tool. Participants produced powerful images of disturbances in their body perception. All reported the tool acceptable for communicating their body perception. Participants described the positive impact of now seeing an image they had previously only imagined and could now convey to others. The application has provided a novel way for communicating perceptions that are otherwise difficult to convey

Aspects of alcohol use disorder affecting social cognition as assessed using the Mini Social and Emotional Assessment (mini-SEA)

Background Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is associated with problems with processing complex social scenarios. Little is known about the relationship between distinct AUD-related factors (e.g., years of problematic drinking), aspects of cognitive function and dysfunction in individuals diagnosed with AUD, and the relative impact these may have on social cognition. Aims To explore differences in social cognition between a group of participants diagnosed with AUD and controls, using a clinical measure, the Mini Social and Emotional Assessment (mini-SEA). The mini-SEA was used to evaluate social and emotional understanding through a facial emotional recognition task and by utilising a series of social scenes some of which contain a faux pas (social error). Methods Eighty-five participants (individuals with AUD and controls) completed demographic questions and a general cognitive and social cognitive test battery over three consecutive days. Results Between group analyses revealed that the participants with AUD performed less well on the faux pas test, and differences were also revealed in the emotional facial recognition task. Years of problematic alcohol consumption was the strongest predictor of poor ToM reasoning. Conclusion These results suggest a strong link between AUD chronicity and social cognition, though the direction of this relationship needs further elucidation. This may be of clinical relevance to abstinence and relapse management, as basic social cognition skills and ability to maintain interpersonal relationships are likely to be crucial to recovery

Atypical histiocytosis in red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris)

Four red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) were subjected to necropsy examination over a 3-year period as part of a broader surveillance study. The squirrels presented with cutaneous, subcutaneous and/or internal swellings and nodules that consisted microscopically of sheets of atypical round cells and multinucleated giant cells. There was moderate anisokaryosis with rare mitoses. Nuclei ranged from oval to indented or C-shaped and some were bizarre, twisted or multilobulated. Many giant cells also had a bizarre morphology, with anisokaryosis within individual cells. Giant cell nuclei were often multilobulated, ring-shaped or segmented. Affected internal organs varied depending on the squirrel, but included lymph node, kidney, intestinal tract and lungs. Representative lesions from each of the four squirrels were negative for acid-fast organisms. Formalin-fixed tissues from all four squirrels and ethanol-fixed tissue from one animal were negative for Mycobacterium by polymerase chain reaction. Immunohistochemically, the majority of mononuclear and multinucleated giant cells in all four squirrels strongly expressed vimentin and class II molecules of the major histocompatibility complex. Otherwise, the atypical mononuclear and multinucleated cells were negative for CD3, Pax-5, Mac387, CD18 and E-cadherin. Based on the combination of cellular morphology, arrangement and immunophenotype, a novel form of atypical histiocytosis is considered most likely in these squirrels, although the exact origin and triggering factors remain uncertain