This paper examines how educators, police and children’s service providers, alongside young people, conceptualise the nature and causes of sexual harm among young people. Drawing on qualitative research conducted in southeast England, we identify four themes: sexual harm as learned behaviour rooted in personal and familial risk factors; normalisation of harmful experiences among girls; neglect and minimisation of boys’ victimisation; and evolving digital terrains of harm. While some participants engaged with structural and cultural explanations, many framed sexual harm through an individualised, risk-focused behaviourist lens. We suggest the emphasis on behaviour within the prevailing use of the term “harmful sexual behaviour” reinforces reductionist perspectives and overlooks interactional, institutional, and socio-cultural dynamics shaping young people’s experiences. Drawing on sexual script theory and post-digital sexual citizenship, we expand the conceptual terrain, advocating for a holistic and inclusive approach situating sexual harm within broader relational and institutional contexts, requiring nuanced, context-sensitive responses.

Non-medical prescribing (NMP) was introduced into the UK healthcare system and other countries to improve patient care and facilitate better access to medicine. However, very few studies have evaluated the cost-effectiveness of the prescribing authorities granted to certain healthcare professional groups. This study aims to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of prescribing by dietitians and therapeutic radiographers in England. A model-based cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted to evaluate the services provided by dietitian and therapeutic radiographer prescribers compared to services delivered by dietitian and therapeutic radiographer non-prescribers in terms of direct and indirect costs and effectiveness outcomes, e.g. quality-adjusted life year (QALY) and patient satisfaction, from the National Health Service (NHS) perspective. Unit costs were obtained from the NHS National Reference Costs 2021-22. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the model parameters. The mean costs associated with NMP were higher for prescribers than non-prescribers due to training costs and consultation time to manage prescriptions. However, these costs were compensated by higher referrals by non-prescribers to other specialists for prescribing. NMP in either profession was perceived as positive by patients. Differences in QALY were not statistically significant among patients managed by prescribers and non-prescribers for either profession. Results were sensitive to the model assumptions and parameters. Our estimates suggest NMP might save £64,269 over five years per dietitian prescriber and £16,570 per therapeutic radiographer prescriber. Despite uncertainties around the cost-effectiveness of NMP, it may save money with minimal or no changes in quality-of-life outcomes for patients being managed by either profession.

Blowflies are amongst the first organisms to arrive at a corpse, their olfactory system attracts these flies to decomposing organic material, where they can feed and deposit their young. It has been accepted that blowflies will regurgitate and defecate as a response to normal feeding behaviours, the resulting stains have been termed fly artefacts. Artefacts have become of interest with the development of techniques to extract DNA from these stains, which have the potential to determine what the blowflies have been feeding on. This information could be of use to forensic casework in cases where the human remains have been removed and only the fly artefacts are available for analysis. The aim of this study was to determine whether artefacts could be differentiated into colour groups for sampling, then to establish whether there is a difference in DNA (food source) quantity between the different groups. Flies were observed depositing artefacts both by eye and through filming, showing that defecated material can be observed in a range of colours (creamy white to deep brown). An artefact sampling colour key was produced to enable a more objective separation of the artefacts into the five colour groups (colourless, very light, light, dark, and very dark) for further analysis. Findings of this study display a correlation between fly artefact colour and the time passed since blowflies ingested food; the longer blowflies were left without porcine liver the lighter the colour of their artefacts became, eventually becoming colourless after a period of 15 days. Adult flies could therefore be collected from a crime scene to enable observation of their artefact, indicating an approximate time since the fly had last ingested food. To determine if there was any advantage in separating the samples for DNA analysis, two real-time PCR DNA assays were developed, one to detect and quantify the food source and blowfly DNA, and the other to detect inhibitors within samples. Very light and light (grouped) artefacts contained the highest mean quantities of DNA (0.62 ng/L and 0.52 ng/L respectively) with no inhibitors detected in any of the colour groups. As the artefacts that gave the best DNA quantities were very light and light, this could make differentiation from blood spatter easier as these are often darker in colour. Based on the findings of this study, a standard operating protocol has been started that can provide guidance for the sampling of artefacts at the crime scene, with scope for further developments identified.

Working on a hypothesis that there is an iterative feedback model of operant conditioning in studio practice, this research undertakes field research to look at the practice of contemporary visual artists’ use of Social Media as a way of self-promotion. Using art based qualitative research methods, I interviewed and examined 4 contemporary visual artists who share work on Social Media platforms to see if their use of Social Media effects a change in behaviour within the studio environment. This research falls within the methodology of my own visual art practice and as such creates a framework for this project. My artworks Control Models, 2021 - 2023, exhibited December 2021, Basement Gallery, Bedford, and Propaganda Models, 2017, exhibited at 292 New Messages, Luton June 2018 form the basis for my critical reflection of my own work. I interrogate my own practice as well as others by looking at how the personal application of an artist’s methodology and the iterative feedback model affected by operant conditioning impact each other. This thesis seeks to identify how much the use of Social Media within the context of a contemporary arts practice impacts the arts practice itself. To define this the thesis examines: the theoretical writing in the area of Social Media; the structure of Social Media in the current social context; artists’ use of Social Media applications as both an artists’ medium and self-promotion through a survey; the thoughts of a small focus group of artists though self-reflexive autoethnography and the use of the researcher and artists’ own arts practice. The research includes theoretical research into ‘Flow’ as defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, applied to my own practice and that of other self-defined contemporary artists, to examine how the ‘Flow’ of creative practice can be impacted by the use or awareness of Social Media in the studio space. Using these means, I offer conclusions on the level of impact Social Media has on artists’ practice.

Care-experienced young people typically negotiate the transition to adulthood at a younger age than their peers in the general population and with less reliable access to support. Concerns have been raised that Covid 19 exacerbated the challenges they faced and widened the ‘care-gap’. The paper employs a relational wellbeing approach to explore young people's wellbeing and experiences of ‘having enough’, ‘being connected’ and ‘feeling good’ in the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic. It presents three case examples and draws on data from 32 interviews with young people in England, to explore the impact that the presence or absence of ‘family-like’ ties had on the extent to which needs were met. Findings illuminated that feeling ‘connected’ did not ‘prevent’ fluctuations in ‘having enough’ or ‘feeling good’ (or less bad), but strong relational ties did assist young people as they navigated precarious times. For some, institutionally arranged care arrangements evolved, making way for deepening connections and the emergence of ‘family-like ties’, which were mutually supportive. For those living alone, or in transitional placements and who lacked a network of support during Covid 19, its absence was keenly felt. Young people's accounts also serve to reinforce the importance of professionals being attentive to who matters to them and taking their wishes and feeling into account in decision-making processes.

The article belongs to the Special Issue The Embodiment of LGBTQ+ Inclusive Education. The latest Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education, and Health Education (RSHE) Draft Guidance seeks to reduce the inclusion of LGBT themes in English schools. Additionally, the Gender Questioning Draft Guidance for Schools and Colleges and the Cass Review overlook the rights of trans and non-binary young people, further intensifying the heated debates surrounding their lives. In response, the author draws upon research conducted in a primary school in Greater London in 2021, when statutory RSHE, including LGBT content, was first introduced. The research aimed to understand how teachers felt about teaching RSHE and to collaborate with them to enhance pupil learning within and beyond the RSHE curriculum. This paper critiques lesson observations and teachers’ reflections on their lessons using a Framework for Sexuality Education and Queer Theory. The researcher’s call to rethink how RSHE is taught should not be taken to mean it should not be taught. To the contrary, the findings suggest a need for the school to broaden its curriculum, teaching methods, and strategies to become a truly ‘LGBT-inclusive’ environment. However, the paper also illuminates the apprehensions these primary school teachers experienced, which in turn influenced pedagogical decisions. The article concludes by recommending specific whole-school approaches and effective pedagogical practices for RSHE in the school, which could be beneficial to other primary school settings. Effective teaching of LGBT themes requires clear support for educators, especially within the complexity of a primary school setting and given the changing political and social climate.

This thesis outlines the findings of a four-and-a-half-year study focusing on clinical supervision and the supervisory relationship. This professional doctorate is rooted in my experience as a systemic family therapist, trainer, and supervisor. Clinical supervision is widely recognised as fundamental to the professional development of individuals in the helping professions, and there is a consensus that the supervisory relationship is central to effective supervision. Despite the existing research on clinical supervision and the supervisory relationship, there is a notable gap in the literature regarding the essential factors that supervisors and supervisees consider necessary for good supervision, particularly how they perceive themselves to contribute to these factors. This study aims to better understand the key elements identified by supervisors and supervisees that foster a positive supervisory dynamic and the actions they take to co-create this relationship. Two main research questions guide the research: *What factors are considered essential for a ‘good’ clinical supervisory relationship? *What steps do supervisors and supervisees take to co-create a 'good' clinical supervisory relationship? I employed a reflexive collaborative methodology within a qualitative research framework to explore these questions. The reflexive aspect acknowledges my influence as a researcher, recognising the limitations of my perspective and the inevitability of my subjectivity. Reflexivity allows me to consider my position, its implications, my knowledge, my interpretations and my own reflective processes. The collaborative approach emphasises that my research is a partnership with the participants, the literature and the supervisees I work with, recognising that cultural and social discourses shape knowledge and that all voices contribute equally valid interpretations. Eleven research conversations with fifteen supervisors and supervisees were recorded, watched, and listened to, and the transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Six factors were identified as essential in supervision: availability, clarity, disclosure, feedback, power and contextual consciousness. However, these factors do not exist in isolation; they are framed by the meaning-making processes of the participants, informed by their reflectivity and reflexivity. Through a deeper understanding of the critical role that reflectivity and reflexivity play in learning, I argue that these concepts are essential tools for practitioners and ethical imperatives in practice and for learning. I advocate a structured use of reflectivity, critical reflectivity, and reflexivity, which has led to the creation of a model that organises these concepts. This model, the reflect/xivity pendulum, three strolls with an emphasis on reflectivity, critical reflectivity and reflexivity, each consisting of ten steps, is a new model that contributes to the field of life-long learning for practitioners in the helping professions.

The traditional method of one size fits all for network resource allocation no longer works for various vertical with the limited available network resource to meet the increasingly rise in demand for diverse requirements to satisfy network quality of service (QoS), quality of experience (QoE) and service level agreements (SLA). The complexity of allocating various network resources to each vertical as required and on-demand has been a major challenge with the flexible 5G network. This research examined existing studies on network slicing, which serves as an enabler for 5G and aim to identify and solve the challenge with efficiently allocating the limited network resource to orchestrate the 5G network slices on-demand. It also investigated the existing challenges of managing current cross domain network resources in an enterprise network with dynamic and unstructured network slice requirements and then proposes a framework to efficiently orchestrate the network slice to meet the varying latency, data rate, mobility, and reliability needs thereby reducing capital and operational expenditure. In this study, the proposed advanced machine learning (ML) algorithm pipeline model designed for optimised sub-slicing of 5G network slice dynamically on demand, re-learning, and service function chaining to orchestrate bespoke network slice is called the Enhanced Subslice Model (eSS). This study further proposes a smart and novel end-to-end adaptive resource management framework which is defined as ONSSO. This proposed framework comprises of functions ranging from the analysis of the diversified network service on a network, to the implementation of the proposed ML-based eSS model which incorporates a series of supervised machine learning algorithms as well as the LazyPredict module to find and suggest the best-fit model, to the making of intelligent decisions for the specific network data environment being monitored in real time or analysed with historical data. It also includes functions ranging from implementing caching to improve the user experience and performance of orchestration right through to employing reinforcement learning techniques for admission control, as well as predicting future network traffic data pattern thereby ultimately adapting slice configurations in real-time and efficiently orchestrating alternative best fit bespoke network slices. This ONSSO is designed to enable and optimise processes within a newly proposed vertical called Enterprise Company Network as a Service (CNaaS) which is based on an industry 4.0 smart company. The integration of the ONSSO into CNaaS provides a scalable and optimised solution to network sub-slicing orchestration in an enterprise network. This CNaaS was ultimately used as a case study in validating the model through simulations conducted using python with MATLAB and Simulink, where different network parameters were analysed under varying conditions. These simulations enabled the identification of optimised resource allocation strategies across multiple slices, considering factors such as latency, bandwidth, and energy efficiency. Results from the MATLAB simulation demonstrate that the proposed model significantly enhances the flexibility and scalability of network subslice orchestration for dynamic and adaptive network management in future mobile networks. When compared with traditional static orchestration methods, the sub-slicing of the network slice with the proposed machine learning-based pipeline exhibited improvements in resource utilisation, enhancing QoS and QoE for end-users and reduced the risk of denial of service. This research offers a novel approach to network slice orchestration, with potential applications in various sectors such as smart cities and autonomous vehicles. The proposed model not only contributes to the ongoing development of 5G and 6G networks but also provides a foundation for future research on adaptive network management. This research aims to initiate discussion on the new suggested concept of enhanced subslice as well as robotic process automation of network slice orchestration, provide the foundation for the application model which application programming interface can be built upon and spur development on true fully automated self-organising network slice orchestration.

The phenomenon of street children in Pakistan is complex and multifaceted, deeply intertwined with social and cultural dynamics. Previously, the topic has not been examined through a comprehensive lens. Therefore, this PhD project was designed to thoroughly investigate the phenomenon, from exploring the lived experiences of street children to proposing targeted interventions for the future. The project is structured into three progressive studies, each building on the findings of the previous one. Study 1 was exploratory, involving interviews with 25 street children in Lahore, Pakistan, to understand the reasons they end up on the streets. Through narrative analysis, seven themes were identified, leading to three core narratives: "Born in Poverty," "Parental Illness/Death," and "Working while Attending School." The findings suggest that street life is primarily a consequence of factors such as poverty, an inadequate education system, abuse, or the need to escape adverse conditions. These factors are understood through the lenses of cultural and socioeconomic perspectives. Study 2 was quantitative and assessed common mental health symptoms among street children compared to their school-attending peers. The study involved 116 street children and 116 school-going children, using measures to evaluate mental well-being, trauma, and relationships. The results showed significant differences, with street children exhibiting greater vulnerability to poor mental health outcomes. Study 3 incorporated grounded theory to engage directly with the target population (street children), their parents, the general public, and stakeholders to determine the needs for a potential intervention. The results yielded that a holistic approach is necessary to address the multifaceted issues faced by street children in Pakistan. This approach would integrate financial, psychological, social, and educational support to ensure long-term sustainability. In conclusion, this PhD project highlights important theoretical and practical implications for policymakers and provides a foundation for addressing the needs of street children in the local context of Pakistan. The research underlines the urgency of developing informed, culturally sensitive policies and interventions that address both the immediate and long-term needs of street children.

When studying scholarly literature relating to textual reproductive influence and tradition, one contemplates an arguably omnipresent question relating to whether the creative process central to the established discourse on “influence” is a preliminary or subsequent matter. Harold Bloom (1973), in his seminal work The Anxiety of Influence, is arguably inconclusive on this matter, arguing for the importance of preceding literary work and its synthesis with the dynamics of the present, while experiencing something of simultaneous re‑interpretation of text. This creates an originality but is determined by extant materials that inform the organic development of literary form, focusing on acknowledging the influence of antecedent rather than a post‑creative adjustment, as well as a central focus on textual, rather than human, characteristics (Bloom xx). This chapter explores the possibility that the “anxiety of influence” may be more accurately considered a physical and metaphysical developmental aspect of creativity that is solely applied after creative inception. Thus, utilizing some sociological theories of “late‑modernism” and the philosophical approaches of Henri Bergson and Gilles Deleuze relating to the understanding of creativity, I will seek to develop a theory of creative phases that involve both understanding creation and the subsequent application of intertextual influence and intersectional dynamics of individual biographical identity of authors and their prospective critical audiences.