Problem. Childbearing women from socio-economically disadvantaged communities and minority ethnic groups are less likely to access antenatal care and experience more adverse pregnancy outcomes. Background. Group antenatal care aims to facilitate information sharing and social support. It is associated with higher rates of attendance and improved health outcomes. Aims. To assess the acceptability of a bespoke model of group antenatal care (Pregnancy Circles) in an inner city community in England, understand how the model affects women’s experiences of pregnancy and antenatal care, and inform further development and testing of the model. Methods. A two-stage qualitative study comprising focus groups with twenty six local women, followed by the implementation of four Pregnancy Circles attended by twenty four women, which were evaluated using observations, focus groups and semi-structured interviews with participants. Data were analysed thematically. Findings. Pregnancy Circles offered an appealing alternative to…
The impact of memory loss on the self in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is poorly understood. Previous research is mixed on whether episodic or semantic memories are most important for supporting identity. The present study examined autobiographical memories cued by self-images (e.g. I am a father) and non-self-related cues in 16 AD patients and 29 healthy older adults. The AD group generated fewer self-images and memories compared to controls, but demonstrated similar temporal organization of self-cued memories. In both groups, self-images were supported by semantic memories that were temporally clustered around times of identity-formation. These self-supporting memories are proposed to form a scaffold to support the self and may persist the longest in AD, as opposed to memories from early adulthood per se. In both AD and control groups, self-images cued more semantic memories than non-self-relevant cues, further suggesting that semantic autobiographical memories play a fundamental role in supporting the self. The…
Diatoms are photoautotrophic unicellular algae and are among the most abundant, adaptable and diverse marine phytoplankton. Their ability to synthesise lipid as a storage compound (20%-50% dry cell weight) makes them a potential sources of biofuel and high-value commodities such as ω fatty acids. However, diatoms have unique features in their biochemistry as compared to higher plants and hence, there is a prior need to understand diatom metabolism to enable physiological and genetic manipulation, and improve their strains. The present work involves construction and analysis of genome scale metabolic models (GSMs) of Phaeodactylum tricornutum, a model diatom, the characterisation of physiological properties and the identification of the potential strategies to optimise the lipid production. GSMs were constructed based on a previously published model and metabolic databases, and were analysed using structural modelling techniques to understand the metabolic responses at different environmental and physiologica…
Men’s contact teamsports, such as football, have historically been understood as a hostile environment for sexual minorities (Hekma, 1998; Parker, 1996; Pronger, 1990). In recent years, however, academic research has documented how teamsports have become increasingly progressive for gay athletes (Anderson, 2011; Anderson & McGuire, 2010; Magrath, Anderson & Roberts, 2015). As has been argued elsewhere in this collection (see Chapter 1 & Magrath & Cleland, Chapter XYZ), high levels of inclusivity have been especially evident in research on football (e.g. Adams, 2011; Adams & Anderson, 2012; Gaston, Magrath & Anderson, 2018; Magrath, 2017a, 2017b, 2018; Magrath, Anderson & Roberts, 2015; Roberts, Anderson & Magrath, 2017). In this chapter, we aim to investigate the inclusive nature of the teammates of the second active professional footballer to come out, Anton Hysèn. This was a unique opportunity as, historically, the majority of professional athletes wait until their retirement to announce their sexuality (e…
Papers relating to 1970 Booker Prize judges, including general correspondence/comments on entries
Eight publications are presented in this thesis with the first published in 2001 and the last in 2018, all are peer reviewed. This body of work is drawn from a wider contribution to pedagogic research and together the papers constitute a coherent programme of study. The papers trace a research journey developed over seventeen years that focuses on how assessment and feedback are both conceptualised and practised within higher education, with a particular emphasis on how students ‘come to know’ what is being sought in assessment in terms of academic standards and the attributes of high quality work. The papers are both conceptual and empirical. The research journey is divided into three main phases. The first phase of papers challenge objectivist assumptions of assessment, and thereby how academic standards and attributes of quality can be best shared with learners (papers 1, 2 and 3). These papers focus on improving learner achievement through enhancing their understanding of academic standards and the attr…
This thesis explores and examines reciprocity between art practice, active participation, and traced memories of displacement. I review the significance of the active participation of the viewer with artwork which embodies personal experiences of war and displacement, with the aim of promoting what David Abram calls ‘sensorial empathy’ (1996). At the outset I formulated my hypotheses which I list below, along with their related questions: A. The first hypothesis infers that active participation is a tool that can be utilised as a form of communication to imply, indirectly, experienced situations of conflict and displacement. To test this, the following questions are raised: A1. How can the phenomenon of active participation, requiring the haptic perception, inform or affect the experience of embodied artwork? A2. How can an object embody an experience of displacement or conflict? B. The second hypothesis proposes that active participation of the viewer with artwork can help promote or facilitate sensorial emp…