Safeguarding children under Covid-19: What are we learning?

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 287-293
Author(s):  
Jenny Pearce ◽  
Chris Miller
Keyword(s):  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Original Material ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Community Of Learning ◽  
Criminal Exploitation ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
On Line ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify and share learning about safeguarding children under Covid-19 drawn from a series of webinars held by the Association of Safeguarding Partners (www.theASP.org.uk). The learning is relevant for health, police, local authority and other relevant safeguarding agencies and includes sharing information about both the challenges and opportunities presented during the Covid-19 pandemic. By creating a webinar lead community of learning, lessons can be drawn that will help safeguard children during the remaining of the pandemic and during the release of lockdown as it emerges. Design/methodology/approach This paper summarises themes from discussions within three webinars run by The Association of Safeguarding Partners (TASP) (www.theASP.org.uk). Each webinar was attended by between 60 and 80 participants, sessions involving presentations and discussions on topics such as “managing safeguarding reviews at a distance”, “the impact on early years’ provision” and “how work with families and children has changed with remote working methods”. With the participants’ consent, webinars were recorded, and these can be viewed on www.theasp.co.uk. Webinars were supported by an on-line programme: “meeting sphere” capturing comments in a “chat” facility and providing capacity for participants to collectively code comments into themes. Findings Findings from the webinars note concerns about continuing and undetected abuse of children within and outside of the home; about the changing nature of criminal exploitation; and about the strains created by social distancing on children in families experiencing problems with poor mental health, drug and alcohol misuse and domestic abuse. Findings include some important lessons, including the discovery of innovative ways of working, the rapid collation of data across partnerships and about different methods of engaging with children, young people and families. Findings include suggestions about the impact of changes on the future safeguarding of children. Originality/value There is little published discussion of the implications of Covid-19 on practitioners working on safeguarding children. While some research is emerging, there have been few opportunities for practitioners to listen to emerging practice ideas under Covid-19 or to discuss in an informal context how to address the new and emerging problems in safeguarding children. This think piece contains original material from webinars held with safeguarding children practitioners and is valuable for those working to safeguard children during and post Covid-19.

scholarly journals DANNP: an efficient artificial neural network pruning tool

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. e137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona Alshahrani ◽  
Othman Soufan ◽  
Arturo Magana-Mora ◽  
Vladimir B. Bajic
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Training Data ◽  
Classification Problems ◽  
Link Type ◽  
On Line ◽  
Pruning Algorithms ◽  
Artificial Neural ◽  
The Impact

Background Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are a robust class of machine learning models and are a frequent choice for solving classification problems. However, determining the structure of the ANNs is not trivial as a large number of weights (connection links) may lead to overfitting the training data. Although several ANN pruning algorithms have been proposed for the simplification of ANNs, these algorithms are not able to efficiently cope with intricate ANN structures required for complex classification problems. Methods We developed DANNP, a web-based tool, that implements parallelized versions of several ANN pruning algorithms. The DANNP tool uses a modified version of the Fast Compressed Neural Network software implemented in C++ to considerably enhance the running time of the ANN pruning algorithms we implemented. In addition to the performance evaluation of the pruned ANNs, we systematically compared the set of features that remained in the pruned ANN with those obtained by different state-of-the-art feature selection (FS) methods. Results Although the ANN pruning algorithms are not entirely parallelizable, DANNP was able to speed up the ANN pruning up to eight times on a 32-core machine, compared to the serial implementations. To assess the impact of the ANN pruning by DANNP tool, we used 16 datasets from different domains. In eight out of the 16 datasets, DANNP significantly reduced the number of weights by 70%–99%, while maintaining a competitive or better model performance compared to the unpruned ANN. Finally, we used a naïve Bayes classifier derived with the features selected as a byproduct of the ANN pruning and demonstrated that its accuracy is comparable to those obtained by the classifiers trained with the features selected by several state-of-the-art FS methods. The FS ranking methodology proposed in this study allows the users to identify the most discriminant features of the problem at hand. To the best of our knowledge, DANNP (publicly available at www.cbrc.kaust.edu.sa/dannp) is the only available and on-line accessible tool that provides multiple parallelized ANN pruning options. Datasets and DANNP code can be obtained at www.cbrc.kaust.edu.sa/dannp/data.php and https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1001086.

scholarly journals Safeguarding adults practice and remote working in the COVID-19 era: challenges and opportunities

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 415-427
Author(s):  
Ann Anka ◽  
Helen Thacker ◽  
Bridget Penhale
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
The Body ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Policy Guidance ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This exploratory paper aims to examine the literature on the impact of COVID-19 on safeguarding adults practice. Design/methodology/approach A literature search was carried out in recently published articles to locate literature relating to COVID-19 and safeguarding adults in the UK and internationally. This included policy guidance and law, to describe the existing knowledge base, gaps in practice and areas that may require further research. Findings The findings suggest that measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic gave rise to remote working and virtual safeguarding practice. The findings highlight the need for empirical research into the impact of virtual safeguarding adults assessments and effective ways to support the needs and outcomes of those who may be at risk of or experiencing abuse and neglect while shielding, socially isolating or when working in an environment where social distancing is required. Research limitations/implications The paper is based on a review and analysis of published documents and not on other types of research. Originality/value Little is known about effective safeguarding adults practice in the era of shielding, self-isolation, social distancing and remote working. The paper adds to the body of knowledge in the field.

A scheduling methodology for dealing with uncertainty in construction projects

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 1064-1078 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Elena Bruni ◽  
Patrizia Beraldi ◽  
Francesca Guerriero ◽  
Erika Pinto
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Quantitative Methodology ◽  
Project Schedule ◽  
Deterministic Method ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Probabilistic Information ◽  
Analysis Process ◽  
On Line ◽  
Schedule Reliability ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to address the problem of scheduling under uncertainty in construction projects. The existing methods for determining a project schedule are based on assumption of complete knowledge of project parameters; but in reality there is uncertainty in construction projects, deriving from a multitude of context‐dependent sources and often provided as outcome of a risk analysis process. Thus, classical deterministic analysis might provide a schedule which is not sufficiently protected against possible disruptions.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative methodology is developed for planning construction projects under uncertainty aimed at determining a reliable resource feasible project schedule by taking into account the available probabilistic information to produce solutions that are less sensitive to perturbations that occur on line. The methodology relies on a computer‐supported system that allows to identify, analyze and quantify the schedule reliability and the impact of possible disruptions on the duration of the project.FindingsIt is found that the proposed methodology can exploit more information about the uncertain parameters than the commonly‐used deterministic method, and it provides an improved understanding of the schedule reliability in presence of uncertainty. The schedule generated with a classical deterministic method sets a completely unrealistic planned project delivery date of about 1,250 days, with a probability around 50 per cent to be exceeded. This behavior can be very unsatisfactory for construction projects for which high penalties are usually associated to heavy due date violations.Originality/valueThis paper presents an approach for robust scheduling of construction project problem under uncertainty. We provide a tool able to support managers in developing a workable and realistic project schedule to be used as a guideline for project control and monitoring.

You can laugh at everything, but not with everyone

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany Morisseau ◽  
Martial Mermillod ◽  
Cécile Eymond ◽  
Jean-Baptiste Van Der Henst ◽  
Ira A. Noveck
Keyword(s):  
Emg Activity ◽  
Group Affiliation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Facial Electromyography ◽  
On Line ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Outgroup Derogation ◽  
Politically Active ◽  
Ingroup Favoritism

This paper explores the impact of group affiliation with respect to the on-line processing and appreciation of jokes, using facial electromyography (EMG) activity and offline evaluations as dependent measures. Two experiments were conducted in which group affiliation varied between the participant and each of two independent (recorded confederate) speakers whose described political profiles were distinguished through one word: “Right” versus “Left.” Experiment 1 showed that jokes were more highly evaluated and that associated EMG activity was more intense when it was later determined that the speaker was a member of the listener’s ingroup rather than outgroup. In an effort to determine whether these parochial effects can be isolated to ingroup favoritism as opposed to outgroup derogation, Experiment 2 paired a joke-teller described as politically active (either from the right or the left) with one who was described as politically neutral. These more subtle comparisons suggest that the parochial effects observed in our joke understanding paradigm are mediated, at least in part, by the presence of an outgroup member.

scholarly journals The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on drug service provision in European prisons

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Montanari ◽  
Robert Teltzrow ◽  
Sara Van Malderen ◽  
Roberto Ranieri ◽  
José Antonio Martín Peláez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Treatment ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Prison Population ◽  
Health Staff ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Containment Measures ◽  
On Line ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to describe the impact of the COVID-19 containment measures on the provision of drug treatment and harm reduction services in European prisons in15 countries during the early phase of the pandemic (March –June 2020). Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a mixed method research approach that triangulates different data sources, including the results of an on-line survey, the outcome of a focus group and four national case studies. Findings The emergence of COVID-19 led to a disruption in prison drug markets and resulted in a number of challenges for the drug services provision inside prison. Challenges for health services included the need to maintain the provision of drug-related interventions inside prison, while introducing a range of COVID-19 containment measures. To reduce contacts between people, many countries introduced measures for early release, resulted in around a 10% reduction of the prison population in Europe. Concerns were expressed around reduction of drug-related interventions, including group activities, services by external agencies, interventions in preparation for release and continuity of care. Practical implications Innovations aimed at improving drug service provision included telemedicine, better partnership between security and health staff and an approach to drug treatment more individualised. Future developments must be closely monitored. Originality/value The paper provides a unique and timely overview of the main issues, challenges and initial adaptations implemented for drug services in European prisons in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Geomorphic response of a mountain gravel-bed river to an extreme flood in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-116
Author(s):  
Dina M. Fieman ◽  
Mikaël Attal ◽  
Stephen Addy
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Change ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Difference Threshold ◽  
Lateral Migration ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Extreme Flood ◽  
Supplementary Material ◽  
Career Research ◽  
The Impact

This study uses the 2015 ‘Storm Frank’ flood on the River Dee, Aberdeenshire, to assess the impact of extreme events on river dynamics. The Storm Frank flood (>200 year recurrence interval) caused significant local morphological change that was concentrated in the middle portion of the 140 km long river and overall net degradation that primarily occurred through lateral adjustment processes. Although the flood did not cause widespread change in channel planform, morphological change at the reach scale (<1 km) was significant. Bank scour resulted in channel expansion and lateral migration as well as widespread aggradation on existing gravel beds. The HEC-RAS and CAESAR–Lisflood models were used to determine the impact of morphological changes from the Storm Frank flood on a series of future hypothetical floods. The results show that inundation is highly influenced by the degree of morphological change for moderate floods, but not for high magnitude ones. In-channel scour and bank erosion can lead to an increase in channel capacity, thereby decreasing inundation. Conversely, where conveyance capacity is decreased by aggradation, flood risk inherently increases. The impact of these changes was great for a five-year return period flood, but minimal for a magnitude flood comparable to that of Storm Frank. Our modelling results also reveal that the inundation model is sensitive to the grain size and channel bed roughness input parameters, as these parameters impact flow discharge and flood hydraulics. Accurate determination of sediment parameters and degree of morphological change is therefore critical in flooding modelling and flood hazard management.Supplementary material: Peak discharge and rainfall during the 2015 Storm Frank storm, parameters used in the hydrological model CAESAR–Lisflood and sediment budget statistics of each DEM of difference threshold are available at: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4847946Thematic collection: This article is part of the Early Career Research collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/SJG-early-career-research

The impact of inequality on mental illness: thematic analysis on clinical notes

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Brenisin ◽  
Elizabeth Akinwande ◽  
Aile Trumm ◽  
Kieran Breen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Clinical Notes ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The concept of inequality can be described as not being treated equally to everyone else in society. While previous studies have explored the concept of inequality and its impact on mental illness, these have been primarily quantitative. The details of experiences and potential impacts of inequalities by patients prior to admission into secure care have not been investigated comprehensively using a qualitative approach, which will identify individualised factors that may contribute to the development of mental ill-health. This study aims to explore whether those with multiple disadvantages are at greater risk of developing mental illness. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study of patients’ clinical notes upon admission to a secure in-patient facility was conducted using a thematic analytical approach to investigate the key inequalities reported by patients with mental health problems. The topic of inequality was examined by assessing the clinical notes of 21 patients who were under treatment at the time of the study. Findings The majority of patients experienced multiple inequalities which impacted negatively on their mental health status. Three main themes that were identified were – a disrupted living environment, disturbed childhood and the importance of support. The thematic analysis has shown that the majority of the patients were exposed to numerous societal disadvantages in association with challenging life events in their early years and these have impacted significantly on their subsequent well-being. Practical implications When assessing the background to mental illness, it is important to gain a deep understanding of many inequalities that patients have faced prior to them developing their condition and, in particular, how these have combined to initiate the clinical manifestation. The study highlights the importance of raising awareness of how being treated unfairly, whether based on protected or non-protected characteristics, can contribute towards people becoming disadvantaged in society and ultimately making them more vulnerable to the development of mental health difficulties. Results of the study may inform the future use of inequalities as an integral component in the development of trauma-informed care. Originality/value This is the first study, to the authors’ knowledge, to consider intersectionality and admission to mental health units by adopting qualitative approach, specifically by reviewing patients’ clinical notes.

Audit tenure, auditor specialization and audit report lag

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 490-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mai Dao ◽  
Trung Pham
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Audit Report ◽  
Industry Specialization ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Firm ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Auditor Industry Specialization ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the association between audit firm tenure and audit report lag (ARL) and the impact of auditor industry specialization on the association between audit firm tenure and ARL. Design/Methodology/Approach – Using Habib and Bhuiyan’s (2011) method of measuring auditor industry specialization, the authors examine the sample of 7,291 firm-year observations from 2008 to 2010. Findings – The authors find that auditor industry specialization (regardless of city-level, national-level and joint city- and national-level industry specialization) weakens the positive association between ARL and short audit firm tenure, suggesting that auditor industry specialization complements the negative effect of short audit firm tenure on ARL. Originality/value – First, the authors add to the literature by answering the question of whether hiring industry auditor specialists is an effective way to shorten ARL created by short audit tenure. The authors provide some evidence that the concern of short audit tenure leading to longer ARL is reduced by hiring an industry-specialized auditor. Prior research mainly focuses on identifying the determinants of ARL without going further to find out which are the effective ways to reduce the audit delay. Second, their findings can somehow resolve the debate on whether audit firm rotation should be mandatory. A new auditor’s lack of knowledge of clients’ business operations during the early years of audit engagements results in longer ARL, which eventually influences the clients’ financial performance. The authors' result suggests the firms can reduce this adverse consequence by hiring an industry-specialized auditor. Finally, their findings may provide helpful information to firms in selecting external auditors, public accounting firms in selecting a differentiation strategy and regulators in mandating audit firm rotation.

The influence of the ASEAN economic community on the future of the management accounting profession

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-611
Author(s):  
Desi Adhariani
Keyword(s):  
Soft Skills ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Accountants ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
National Leaders ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
Asean Economic Community ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Training

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of Indonesian management accountants (MAs) regarding the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) – ASEAN economic community (AEC), an integration initiative in Southeast Asia, and its impact on their profession. More specifically, this study presents the perceptions on Indonesian MAs’ capabilities for facing challenges and opportunities in the AEC era, as well as identifies skills needed and training or development programmes that could support the achievement of qualification standards. Design/methodology/approach A survey was distributed and administered by using a convenience sampling method, resulting in 191 valid responses. The respondents’ answers were then analysed quantitatively using the descriptive and regression analysis. Findings It was revealed that the top skills needed in the AEC era, as identified by respondents, are soft skills, technical accounting capabilities and language skills. Language capabilities and soft skills were deemed as the most lacking, and training in these areas is considered important. Skill and knowledge upgrades are needed to reap the benefits of the opportunities offered by AEC to Indonesian businesses, especially among professional accountants who will join a bigger market not limited by borders. Research limitations/implications Findings from this study can guide executives and national leaders in developing the capacity and capability of Indonesian MAs to face competition in the ASEAN region. Originality/value Although research on the AEC has been conducted in previous studies, analysis of the impact on the MA cohort has not been much explored, which creates the research gap this study wishes to fill.

scholarly journals Mobile word of mouth (m-WOM): analysing its negative impact on webrooming in omnichannel retailing

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Flavian ◽  
Raquel Gurrea ◽  
Carlos Orús
Keyword(s):  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Information Source ◽  
Product Category ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to analyse the influence of mobile word of mouth (m-WOM), received at the physical store, which “challenges” the consumer's preferences in a webrooming experience. The impacts of the social relationship between the sender and the receiver of the m-WOM and product category (electronics versus fashion accessories) are examined.Design/methodology/approachAn online experiment was carried out which manipulated the presence and type of challenging m-WOM, and product category, in a 3 × 2 between-subjects factorial design. The participants were 204 consumers recruited through a market research agency. Their perceptions about the helpfulness of the m-WOM, and their product preferences and choices, were analysed.FindingsReceiving in-store m-WOM was perceived as helpful by webroomers and affected their preferences and choices. For electronics online reviews posted by anonymous customers were more influential than friends' opinions, whereas the opposite was the case with fashion accessories. The trustworthiness and expertise of the m-WOM source may explain the effects of m-WOM.Practical implicationsm-WOM entails challenges and opportunities for retailers in the omnichannel era. The findings suggest that allowing customers to access m-WOM may be beneficial; however, retailers must consider the type of m-WOM that may be most suitable for their businesses. Recommendations for referral and review sites are also offered.Originality/valueThis study examines the impact of challenging m-WOM on shopping experiences, combining online, mobile and physical channels. The results revealed the importance of the information source and product category in the determination of consumers' perceptions of helpfulness, preferences and choice.

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