Digital Commons Network^™

The Root Cause Of Perceived Appraisal Politics Using Evidence From The South Korean Public Sector, Jinwoong Yoo, Saeyeon Roh, Mohamed Haddoud, Smita Tripathi

Plymouth Business School

The purpose of this study is to investigate the root causes of Perceived Appraisal Politics (PAP) within the public sector in South Korea. Scholars in the field of Human Resource Management (HRM) have identified the determinants of PAP in an effort to mitigate it. However, the complex interactions among those determinants and root causes have been overlooked. Therefore, we adopt a novel methodology in this study that combines Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) and fuzzy-Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (f-DEMATEL). The findings indicate that the root causes of PAP include the presence of cliques, ambiguity of appraisal policies and goal ambiguity …

Itrusst Consensus On Biophysical Safety For Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation, Jean François Aubry, David Attali, Mark E. Schafer, Elsa Fouragnan, Charles F. Caskey, Robert Chen, Ghazaleh Darmani, Ellen J. Bubrick, Jérôme Sallet, Christopher R. Butler, Charlotte J. Stagg, Miriam C. Klein-Flügge, Seung Schik Yoo, Christy K. Holland, Bradley Treeby, Eleanor Martin, Lennart Verhagen, Kim Butts Pauly

School of Psychology

Transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) is an emerging technology for non-invasive brain stimulation. The International Transcranial Ultrasonic Stimulation Safety and Standards consortium (ITRUSST) has established consensus on considerations for nonsignificant biophysical risk of TUS, drawing upon the literature and established regulations for biomedical devices. Here, we assume the application of TUS to individuals without contraindications, compromised thermoregulation, vascular vulnerabilities, or administered ultrasound contrast agents. In this context, we present a concise yet comprehensive set of levels for nonsignificant risks of TUS application. For mechanical effects, it is non-significant risk if the mechanical index (MI) or the mechanical index for transcranial application …

Comorbidities And Emotions - Unpacking The Sentiments Of Pediatric Patients With Multiple Long-Term Conditions Through Social Media Feedback: A Large Language Model-Driven Study, Temidayo Oluwalade, Hossein Ahmadi, Lin Huo, Richard Sharpe, Shang-Ming Zhou

School of Nursing and Midwifery

ObjectivesThe emotional and psychological challenges faced by children with multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs) remain underexplored. This study aimed to analyze sentiments and emotions expressed by this vulnerable population and their caregivers on social media, assess the effects of comorbidities and the COVID-19 pandemic on emotional well-being.MethodsNarratives from the Care Opinion platform (2008–2023) were analyzed by a model called CoEmoBERT, developed using the large language model, distilroberta-base transformer model. The CoEmoBERT-based sentiment analysis categorized emotions into “Positive”, “Negative”, and “Neutral,” with further refinements into specific emotions such as “Sad,” “Fear”, “Satisfied” etc. through pretraining and transferring process. Comorbidity associations with emotions …

Model Fatigue: Debugging Hector Through Climate Computational Aesthetics, Helen Pritchard, Guillemette Legrand

School of Art, Design and Architecture

In this paper, we document three computational features of the climate model Hector by translating the modalities through which the model predicts climate futures in a game engine. We build upon the computational aesthetics of M. Beatrice Fazi and Matthew Fuller (2016) and suggest additional characteristics of computation to their proposed list. We argue that these computational aesthetics are essential to climate modelling. The three features are time series, couplings and cosmograms, which are based on our practical and theoretical inquiry into Hector’s computation and literacy. We develop a framework that employs two processual methods: translating the model’s operations into …

Post-Doctoral Intensities And Becomings In Writing, Mary Catherine Garland

Professional Services

This experimental poem emerged from thousands of words of prose written after completing a much-loved PhD. With writing often becoming trapped, insisting on circling the same themes, changing from prose to verse has been freeing: releasing academic writing from its usual constraints, enabling something other to emerge.

The Impact Of Changes In Real Income And The Real Effective Exchange Rate On Trade In Goods And Services, Ioannis Litsios, Tjeerd Boonman, Keith Pilbeam

Plymouth Business School

We use foreign trade data on both imports and exports of goods and services among a group of 15 advanced economies to determine the incomes and price elasticities of demand for exports and imports of goods, services and goods and services combined in the long run. We find that changes in foreign and domestic income have, as expected, a positive long-run impact on the demand for exports and imports, respectively, with the impact of income changes being typically greater on the demand for services than on the demand for goods. We also confirm that a depreciation in the real effective …

Digital Material Passports In The Aec Industry: A Scoping Review And Conceptualisation Of Future Research Challenges, Alejandro Veliz Reyes, Duhan Olmez, Jason Grout, Alexandra Carr

School of Art, Design and Architecture

Material passports (MPs) are datasets designed to track and manage building elements’ lifecycles, including the documentation of provenance, location, or disassembly information. The last few years have seen a growth in MPs development, catalysed by international, national, and regional directives on decarbonisation, data transparency, product labelling, and the need to rethink the reporting of sustainability metrics in the built environment. Recent MP prototypes, however, encompass multiple data architectures and have been implemented across various building typologies, regulatory jurisdictions, and construction processes, resulting in unclear adoption pathways in industry. In response to this challenge, this paper maps this emerging field using …

Letters, Emotions And The Experience Of Separation In The Early Modern World, James Daybell

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Mda-9/Syntenin Promotes Glioma Cell Proliferation And Invasion Via Exosome-Mediated Activation Of The Pi3k-Akt Signaling Pathway, Yanwen Zheng, Xiaoting Yu, Zhaomin Zhong, Ming Li

Peninsula Medical School

Exosomes, lipid bilayer-enclosed extracellular vesicles, transfer bioactive molecules to mediate intercellular communication and tumour progression. Melanoma differentiation-associated gene 9 (MDA-9/Syntenin) regulates exosome biogenesis, but its role in glioma-derived exosomes remains poorly understood, with prior studies focusing primarily on MDA-9's intracellular functions in glioma cells. Here, we investigate MDA-9-mediated exosomal contributions to glioma pathogenesis. We found that MDA-9 is upregulated in glioma tissues, correlating with poor prognosis in glioma patients. Exosomes from MDA-9-overexpressing glioma cells significantly enhanced recipient glioma cell proliferation and invasion compared to controls. Mechanistically, these exosomes activated the PI3K-AKT pathway, upregulating MMP9 and c-MYC to drive cell proliferation …

Reply To The ‘Comment On “Why There Is No Evidence That Pyridine Killed The English Crabs”’, Alex Ford, Mark Fitzsimons, Crispin Halsall

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

We highlight that the commentary by Peters which uses a CREED/CRED risk assessment framework supports the previous government reports that rejected the pyridine hypothesis and considers the previous evidence as unreliable. This reaffirms our conclusions that pyridine didn't kill the Teesside crabs.

Illustration As A Participatory Tool For Diverse(Queering) Discussions On The Climate Crisis: Exploring The Workshop Method, Devon Tipping

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

This practitioner reflection examines the role of illustration within participatory community settings to facilitate diverse and meaningful discussions on the climate crisis. The focus is on leveraging illustration to challenge traditional modes of climate conversation, emphasising tactical and emotional responses to climate engagement through visual methods rather than relying solely on verbal dialogue. This study involved bringing together LGBTQ+ communities within a city on the South-West Coast of England, UK. Through a series of five illustrative workshops, they provided a platform for participants to share their perspectives and experiences, to highlight the often-overlooked connections between LGBTQ+ identity and the climate …

The Volume And Characteristics Of Research On Gastrointestinal Symptoms In ‘Natural’ Peri- And Postmenopause:: A Scoping Review, Naomi Shaw, Rebecca Abbott, Clare Pettinger

School of Health Professions

BACKGROUND: Menopause has been linked to an array of symptoms, often with adverse effects on quality of life, work and relationships. Despite evidence of economic and social impacts, and a growing population of menopausal individuals, there are significant gaps in knowledge regarding menopause. Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in peri- and postmenopause are areas of uncertainty that warrant further investigation.

OBJECTIVES: Following JBI guidance, this scoping review aimed to systematically map research on GI symptoms in 'natural' peri- and postmenopause, exploring the volume and conduct of research, and variables investigated that could influence symptom experience.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Studies assessing GI symptoms (constipation, …

Correcting For The Inflated Adult Population Denominator In An English Nationwide Health Care Cohort: Database Analysis Study, Sudhir Venkatesan, Mark Joy, Gavin Jamie, Debasish Kar, Robert Williams, Xuejuan Fan, Wilhelmine Meeraus, Ruby S.M. Tsang, Kathryn S. Taylor, Sylvia Taylor, F. D. Richard Hobbs, Sneha N. Anand, Chris Robertson, Simon De Lusignan

Peninsula Medical School

Background:Electronic health care databases are widely used for epidemiological studies. However, they may contain inactive records of individuals no longer participating in the health care system. These inactive records create a methodological challenge as they systematically appear as unexposed with no recorded outcomes. Given the widespread health care system engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic, the English National Health Service (NHS), which hosts a national pandemic planning and research dataset with linkage to COVID-19 vaccination and emergency care data, makes it an ideal setting to identify the extent of overrepresentation due to inactive health care records and assess ways to mitigate …

Fragile Balance: Managing Bone Health In People With Intellectual Disability And Epilepsy, An English Multi-Site Study, Rohit Shankar

Peninsula Medical School

BackgroundPeople with intellectual disability (ID) experience poorer health outcomes than the general population, with epilepsy and polypharmacy contributing to further risks. Bone health is a neglected area, despite the established association between antiseizure medications (ASMs), especially those cautioned by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and reduced bone mineral density. We aimed to evaluate prescribing practices, fracture risk, and bone health management in adults with ID and epilepsy attending specialist ID services.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted across three English specialist ID epilepsy services between August 2021–August 2022. Data were collected from case-note review, including ASM prescribing, falls …

Newspapers And Schooling: A Comparative Field Analysis Of England And Germany, Christian Herzog, Peter Kelly

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

This study establishes a field analytic approach for investigating and comaparing the influence of the print news media on educational politics in England and Germany. We identify cases from each country where national, regional and local newspapers act as intermediaries between actors engaged in discussions about schools and then subject these to field analyses focused on the form and content of press coverage. This allows us to identify in each country the role of newspapers as sites of political debate, as political actors and as shapers of public opinion.

Multi-Year Tracking Of European Sea Bass Shows Large-Scale Connectivity, Summer Site Fidelity, And Repeatability In Migration Timing, Jena E. Edwards, Allert I. Bijleveld, Anthonie D. Buijse, Peter Davies, Alice E. Hall, Jeroen Huisman, Inge Van Der Knaap, Melanie P. Meijer Zu Schlochtern, Jan Reubens, Emma V. Sheehan, Thomas Stamp, Hendrik V. Winter

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Movement data are essential to the effective conservation and management of migratory species. European sea bass, an ecologically and economically important migratory species in the northeast Atlantic, has expanded its range northward in recent decades. However, the dynamics of its large-scale and seasonal movement patterns across much of its range remain poorly understood. Notably, increasing sea bass abundance in the Wadden Sea, amidst widespread population declines across its broader range, highlights the potential significance of seasonal habitats for the species’ overall stability. We used acoustic telemetry to explore the importance of northern summer foraging grounds for sea bass, including examination …

Unraveling Historical Carbon Records Of Zostera Marina Seagrass Meadows: High-Resolution Analysis, Dating, And Methodological Evaluation Of Deep Sediment Cores, Jessica A. Cramp, Jodie K. Fisher, Geoff E. Millward, Siân E. Rees, William Blake, Mark Parry, Martin J. Attrill

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Understanding long-term carbon storage in temperate seagrass habitats is crucial for assessing their role as a “nature-based” climate solution. However, many studies often use shallow cores, low-resolution analyses, and inconsistent methodologies, limiting the ability to infer large-scale carbon storage potential. This study presents the first high-resolution carbon analysis of temperate seagrass sediments to 3 m depth and provides first estimates of sediment and carbon accumulation rates for UK subtidal meadows. Three sediment vibrocores were collected from a subtidal Zostera marina meadow at Drakes Island, Plymouth Sound, UK. High-resolution sampling at 1 cm intervals in the upper meter, and every 5 …

Parental And Staff Experiences Of Participation In The Report-Bpd Feasibility Study: Insights From An Embedded Qualitative Research, Wisam Muhsen, Ana Guillot-Lozano, Jos M. Latour

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Highlights: What are the main findings? Parents exhibited a clear understanding of the study’s aims and procedures and expressed confidence in its safety, whereas healthcare professionals displayed inconsistent awareness. Both parents and staff valued participation, highlighted emotional and logistical challenges in the neonatal unit environment, and offered practical suggestions to improve future neonatal research engagement. What are the implications of the main findings? Sustained, multi-directional communication is essential to maintain staff engagement and ensure consistent understanding across all research stakeholders. Embedding family-centred, emotionally supportive strategies—such as structured reflective tools and timely feedback—can enhance ethical recruitment, retention, and data quality in …

Beyond The Diagnosis: Creativity, Compassion, And Clinical Insight In Dental Education, Casper Jonker, Lambert Sofia, Sema Halis, Leah Harper, Wendy Smith

Peninsula Dental School

No abstract provided.

Radiome: An Automated Home-Based Radio, Music Playlist, And Diary Reminder System: Report On Recruitment, Music Compilation, And Listening, And Preliminary Testing Of Heart Rate Activated Music, Alexander Street, Paul Fernie, Jorg Christfried Fachner, Patrizia Di Campli San Vito, Nicolas Farina, Ming Hung Hsu, Leonardo Muller, Stephen Brewster, Sube Banerjee, Alexis Kirke, Hari Shaji, Paulo Itaborai, Eduardo Reck Miranda

Peninsula Medical School

Background: One of the leading reasons for early admission to a care home in dementia is the escalation of neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS), and music listening can help regulate these symptoms.Aims: RadioMe was a project designed for people living at home with dementia to build a system to help them maintain the highest quality of life there for as long as possible, with three functional components: 1. Streaming radio; 2. Providing pre-recorded spoken diary reminders; 3. interrupting the radio with pre-compiled playlists when a wrist-worn heart rate (HR) monitor detects stress. This article reports on the first two stages of this …

On The Ecological Impact Of Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers In Europe: Early Holocene (Mesolithic) And Last Interglacial (Neanderthal) Foragers Compared, Anastasia Nikulina, Anhelina Zapolska, Maria Antonia Serge, Didier M. Roche, Florence Mazier, Marco Davoli, Elena A. Pearce, Jens Christian Svenning, Dave Van Wees, Ralph Fyfe, Katharine Macdonald, Wil Roebroeks, Fulco Scherjon

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Recent studies have highlighted evidence of human impact on landscapes dating back to the Late Pleistocene–long before the advent of agriculture. Quantifying the extent of vegetation transformations by hunter-gatherers remains a major research challenge. We address this challenge by comparing climate-based potential natural vegetation cover with pollen-based vegetation reconstructions for the Last Interglacial and the Early Holocene. Differences between these datasets suggest that climate alone cannot fully explain the pollen-based vegetation patterns in Europe during these periods. To explore this issue, we used an upgraded version of the HUMan impact on LANDscapes (HUMLAND) agent-based model (ABM), combined with a genetic …

Supporting Men As Fathers: The Value Of A Uk Community Dads’ Project During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Ian Blackwell, Rebecca Carter Dillon

More Faculty of Health Research

This paper presents a study of a community dads’ project during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were gathered via a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and by attending eleven on-line Conversation Cafés. Men described how the project supported and affirmed their fathering practices as they were able to speak with other father figures about their challenges, to celebrate the rewards of parenting, and to socialise with others. Participants described how their confidence was enhanced and their identity as a father was validated through successful solo parenting activities, opportunities to bond with their child, by creating shared memories, and by being playful and physically …

Occurrence Of Delphinids Off Egmont Atoll, Chagos Archipelago: Detection, Characterisation, And Temporal Variability Of Vocalisations, Udayanga Sampath, Clare B Embling, Danielle V Harris, Tom B Letessier, Isha Shyam, Simon N Ingram, M F M Fairoz, Samina Sharmin Rouf, Asha De Vos

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Passive acoustic monitoring techniques are useful for studying vocally active marine species, particularly in remote and difficult to access areas. In this study, three months of acoustic recordings were collected off Egmont Atoll, Chagos Archipelago in the central Indian Ocean to detect, characterise, and investigate temporal variability of delphinid whistles. A subsample (3.6% of the total dataset) was used to manually annotate whistles and test automated whistle detectors. Higher frequency whistles (6-25 kHz, n = 126) were manually classified into six categories: upsweep (56%), convex (19%), downsweep (13%), concave (5%), sine (4%), and constant frequency (3%). An automated whistle detector …

Height And Phytotelm Size Affect The Invertebrate Communities Of Epiphytic Bromeliads In The Amazon Rainforest, Xaali O'Reilly-Berkeley, Alex Pazmiño-Palomino, Andrea Hidalgo-Cárdenas, Sofía I. Trujillo-Regalado, Hannah Mossman, Jennifer K. Rowntree, Richard F. Preziosi

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Tank bromeliads are found in rainforests across the Neotropics and harbour diverse invertebrate communities between their leaf axes. Various factors influence the invertebrate species richness and differences in composition in bromeliad phytotelmata, most notably, habitat size. However, there has been little work on invertebrate communities in bromeliads in western Amazonia or at different heights in the canopy. We collected 63 epiphytic bromeliads (Aechmea hoppii (Harms) L.B.Sm, A. nidularioides L.B.Sm) on the eastern edge of the Tropical Andes Biodiversity Hotspot in Ecuador and explored which biological and physical variables explained the differences in invertebrate composition among bromeliads. We extracted a total …

User Behaviour Prediction In E-Commerce Using Logistic Regression, Wei-Wen Lee, Noramiza Hashim, Shaymaa Al-Juboori

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

From a psychological perspective, human behaviourreflectsunderlyingthoughtsand decision-making patterns, for example, consumer behaviour may correlate with the purchase decisions. In the fast-evolving e-commerce industry, predicting user behaviouris essential for enhancing marketing strategies, improving customer experiences, and increasing sales. However, traditional heuristic (e.g.market basket analysis) approaches to analysebuyer behaviour are often rigid and fail to adapt to complex consumer interactions. This research work develops a predictive model that analysesuser behaviour based on data such as historical purchasing patterns and demographic attributes. Based on a review of previous studies, Logistic Regression (LR) is utilized as theprimarymachine learning algorithm to estimate the likelihood of …

Wave Impacts On Vertical Cliffs: Insights From Laboratory Experiments And Field Observations, Yaxiong Shen, Colin N. Whittaker, Catriona F. Thompson, Alison C. Raby, Adam P. Young, Mark E. Dickson

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Many engineered and natural coastal structures suffer frequent damage from wave impacts. Motivated by field observations of wave impacts on coastal cliffs, we undertake controlled physical experiments with synchronised measurements of wave properties and their impacts on a vertical structure representing a cliff. Laboratory experiments using focused wave groups show that, in the investigated scenarios, large impacts occur within a relatively narrow phase range (−30° to 35°), covering ∼20% of the full phase range. Our irregular wave experiments indicate that ∼30% of waves break onto or near the cliff face, although not all these breaking waves result in large impacts. …

The Use Of Social Prescribing And Community-Based Wellbeing Activities As A Potential Prevention And Early Intervention Pathway To Improve Adolescent Emotional And Social Development: A Systematic Mapping Review, Siobhan B. Mitchell, Lucy Cartwright, Alex Gude, Alison Bethel, Harriet Hunt, Jane R. Smith, Daniel Hayes, Marcello Bertotti, Paul Jarvis-Beesley, Vashti Berry, Kerryn Husk

Peninsula Medical School

BACKGROUND: Social prescribing (SP) initiatives which aim to connect individuals to community-based assets have received increased research and policy attention, however schemes have mostly centred on adults. There is little research examining how social prescribing might work for children and young people (CYP), and specifically, what pathways into social prescribing look like for this group.

METHODS: We conducted a systematic mapping review to understand what social prescribing pathways look like for CYP. Searches were carried out in February 2022. We reviewed published journal articles and grey literature on pathways for CYP accessing activities or services in the community. We synthesised …

Plio-Quaternary Coastal Uplift Along The Western Iberian Margin: Insights From Dated Marine Terraces (Peniche, Portugal), M Gouveia, Pp Cunha, A Martins, Martin Stokes, A Gomes, Christophe Falguères, Pierre Voinchet, Jean-Jacques Bahain, Telom Pereira, Silvério Figueiredo, Qingfeng Shao, Olivier Tombret

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

This study presents a detailed geomorphological and geochronological analysis of a marine terrace staircase developed into the Peniche Peninsula (Portugal), a rocky headland of Jurassic carbonate bedrock located in the central sector of the Western Iberian passive margin. The marine terrace levels are described morphologically and sedimentologically, but also dated using ESR and U-Series methodologies. The marine terrace staircase comprises six emerged levels ranging from 4 m (above mean sea level, asl) (Tm6) to 24–28 m asl (Tm1), inset into a summit wave-cut platform at 29–45 m asl (Pm). The marine terrace sediments are composed of rounded boulders to cobbles …

Comparative Responsiveness Of Preference-Based Health-Related Quality Of Life, Social Care, And Well-Being Measures In The Context Of Multiple Sclerosis, Elizabeth Goodwin, Amy Heather, Nia Morrish, Jenny Freeman, Kate Boddy, Sarah Thomas, Jeremy Chataway, Rod Middleton, Annie Hawton

School of Health Professions

Objectives: To provide evidence on the responsiveness of social care and well-being preference-based measures (PBMs) compared with health-related quality of life PBMs in the context of multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: The ICEpop CAPability measure for Adults (ICECAP-A) and Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT) were completed online in September 2019, March 2020, September 2020, via the UK MS Register. Responses were linked to EQ-5D-3L and MS Impact Scale-8 Dimensions (MSIS-8D) values, and to MS Walking Scale-12, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Fatigue Severity Scale scores. Responsiveness was assessed in relation to minimal important differences on MS Walking Scale-12, …

An Exploration Of The Career Choices Of Nursing And Midwifery Students In A Uk University: A Survey, Kevin Hambridge, Frazer Underwood, Gosia Bettache, Matt Carey, Mohamed Eid, Lisa Burrows, Christian Brailsford, Rachel Tims

School of Nursing and Midwifery

AbstractBackground:There is a worldwide shortage of nurses, so an increase in the supply of graduating nurses is needed. Little is known about nursing students' career choices and the reasons why certain jobs, specialties and locations are chosen. Gaining a better understanding of these choices could help healthcare employers to plan the nursing workforce of the future.Aims:The study explored the career choices of nursing and midwifery students.Methods:A convenience sample of 163 final-year nursing, midwifery and nursing associate students responded to an online survey exploring career choices.Findings:Most students (87.1%; n=142) had secured their first job, with the vast majority staying in the …