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Background Delusions are a significant feature of mental illnesses and can occur in many clinical conditions (Maher, 2001) yet the standard clinical definition (American Psychiatric Association. DSM-5 Task Force, 2013) is highly contentious. Much of the literature holds elements such as bizarren...
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Background Delusions are a significant feature of mental illnesses and can occur in many clinical conditions (Maher, 2001) yet the standard clinical definition (American Psychiatric Association. DSM-5 Task Force, 2013) is highly contentious. Much of the literature holds elements such as bizarreness of content and incorrigibility of belief as defining factors of delusion. However, on closer inspection, delusions are not so easy to pin down. The difficulty in defining delusion is not a new one as “…we are all capable of having convictions and it is a universal human characteristic to hold on to our own mistaken judgements.” (Jaspers, 1963, p.63). Objective I intend to highlight some of the difficulties associated with the definition of delusion and perhaps clarify the phenomenology. Methodology I examine some of the philosophical, psychological and psychiatric literature with regard to the definition of delusion. I also consider my experience of my own mental activity and experiences from my therapeutic work. Results/Conclusion I identify that delusions are a heterogeneous group and that there may be more than one ‘class’ of delusion. I also show that delusions are multi-dimensional with characteristics on a continuum with normal beliefs and that further research is needed to clarify the phenomenology.

The Expert-Performance Approach suggests that in order to gain the most accurate reflection of human behaviour, scientific experiments must employ designs that represent the natural environment as closely as possible. By adopting this approach, the ability to identify expert-novice differences in me...
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The Expert-Performance Approach suggests that in order to gain the most accurate reflection of human behaviour, scientific experiments must employ designs that represent the natural environment as closely as possible. By adopting this approach, the ability to identify expert-novice differences in measures (such as visual ability) is enhanced. Too often in the sporting literature this has been neglected, and may explain why the research on visual differences between athletes and non-athletes is so ambiguous. The present study aims to address this. 60 athletes performed a series of visual and motion tests on a computer. For each test, between 6-9 versions were run, with the response stimulus being modified in each version so that it reflected either the sport of the athlete (associate), an opposing sport (dissociate), or unbiased source (neutral). The results indicate the selective attention, motion perception, and the ability to discriminate direction of motion were all greater in the associate tests than in the dissociate tests. There was no difference in divided attention. These results lend support for the adoption of the Expert-Performance Approach in sports testing. Athletes show superior visual and perceptual functioning for stimuli which reflect their natural environment best.

Even though the first verse in the Holy Quran says explicitly “Read”, each year there are thousands of children in Saudi Arabia who fail to achieve their potential in education due to difficulties in reading, writing and spelling. This study investigates educational provision for learner with litera...
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Even though the first verse in the Holy Quran says explicitly “Read”, each year there are thousands of children in Saudi Arabia who fail to achieve their potential in education due to difficulties in reading, writing and spelling. This study investigates educational provision for learner with literacy skills difficulties in primary schools in Saudi Arabia. It further investigates participants’ perceptions towards the concept of dyslexia as a type of learning disability. This study is significant in the sense that it offers a unique educational perspective on this subject area as it will contribute to improving understanding of educational practices for students with LD/dyslexia in settings of spoken and written Arabic with a view to enhancing academic progress of the individuals with LD/dyslexia. Using an ethnographic case study approach, data have been collected from school staff, academic staff of University, student with LD/dyslexia and their parents. Semi-structured interviews, documents analysis and observations have been used as the principal methods of data collection. Data is being analysed using thematic analysis in order to interpret the relationship between the participants around the policy provision and practices that shape educational experiences of learners with LD/dyslexia in primary schools in Saudi Arabia.

The current feedstocks used to produce biodiesel are unviable to replace the diesel consumption because of the land used in their cultivation and one proposed solution is the use of algae which have a higher productivity per area. With this in mind, the total superficial area (water and land) requir...
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The current feedstocks used to produce biodiesel are unviable to replace the diesel consumption because of the land used in their cultivation and one proposed solution is the use of algae which have a higher productivity per area. With this in mind, the total superficial area (water and land) required to produce algae biodiesel for three specific cases – EU, US, and Brazil – was calculated based in: future diesel and biodiesel demand, current biodiesel production, international policies and targets, and specific data of algae productivity in several scenarios from the literature. The study indicates that productivity effects significantly the results and the current commercial cultivation at open ponds are not viable for scale up, so a minimum of productivity needs to be achieved. Microalgae cultivated in photobioreactors and macroalgae present a great potential and their capability to be located offshore is an advantage. In light of this, it was concluded that it is possible to reach the targets required by policies and replace diesel fuel using the current available area locally in the studied cases.

Cycling is a healthy and sustainable activity. However balance and bike handling skills are of crucial importance to avoid falling off the bike, crashing into obstacles and to prevent injuries. With the increase in cycling popularity this aspect becomes extremely important. However there is no objec...
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Cycling is a healthy and sustainable activity. However balance and bike handling skills are of crucial importance to avoid falling off the bike, crashing into obstacles and to prevent injuries. With the increase in cycling popularity this aspect becomes extremely important. However there is no objective system available to assess handling skills. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to develop a test battery that will enable assessing the level of bike handling skills. We tested 14 novice and 14 expert cyclists under laboratory conditions while riding a bike in a straight line. The results showed that based on the lateral deviation of the bike and the amplitude of steering we can determine the level of one’s bike handling skills. All monitored parameters were also found to be very reliable. Therefore we now have a simple and reliable tool to measure the level of expertise in bike handling. This has high practical value as we can use this protocol for assessing the effectiveness of different interventions to improve bike handling in children and commuters, but also to adapt the bikes to the cyclists’ skill level, and consequentially improve cycling road safety.

This study aims to investigate Muslim women’s rights of obtaining the top rank religious position, from Mutahhari’s perspective. Mutahhari (1919-1979) was one of the contemporary prominent Shia philosopher and theologian who changed the traditional style of discussion from specialized jurisprudence ...
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This study aims to investigate Muslim women’s rights of obtaining the top rank religious position, from Mutahhari’s perspective. Mutahhari (1919-1979) was one of the contemporary prominent Shia philosopher and theologian who changed the traditional style of discussion from specialized jurisprudence to a socio-rational argument. As a result of his new approach to the question of women’s position, he brought novel interpretations suggesting that women could objectively take part in socio-political activities and occupy top-ranking religious authority. Mutahhari’s idea on women’s right to issue fatwas suffered a wave of criticism from the religious authorities that continues today. A substantial proportion of the prominent religious authorities exclude women from this domain. The poster examines Mutahhari’s methodology in the use of the primary religious texts of the Qur’an and hadith traditions. In this process, some of the key concepts of women’s intellect, faith and justice (idalat) in the Qur’an and aḥādīth will be scrutinized. Then it will be concluded that, in Mutahhari’s thinking men and women share equality of right in obtaining high rank religious authority and there is no reason to confine the right of issuing fatwa to men’s authority only.

Ageing may have an impact on a variety of physical and health related aspects. In particular cognitive ageing may reflect decline in executive functioning, memory and speed of information processing (Glisky, 2007) as well as fluid intelligence (Salthouse, 2004). The present study assessed whether c...
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Ageing may have an impact on a variety of physical and health related aspects. In particular cognitive ageing may reflect decline in executive functioning, memory and speed of information processing (Glisky, 2007) as well as fluid intelligence (Salthouse, 2004). The present study assessed whether cognitive training aimed to improve attention in children - Computerised Progressive Attention Training (CPAT; Shalev et al., 2007), can be used to improve symptoms of cognitive ageing (as well as motor control) in older adults. Participants were randomly assigned to either the control or experimental group. For the experimental group CPAT was used during 3 consecutive weeks for three 1-hour sessions each week. For the control group widely available computer games were used for the same duration and frequency. Both groups were assessed before and immediately after the 3-week intervention on motor and visual attention related tasks. Contrasting the two groups’ performance on these tasks revealed substantial differences following training. Participants in the experimental group were faster and less erratic and showed improved performance in untrained tasks including a general improvement in speed of processing. Increased measures of wellbeing were also apparent. Results provide initial evidence to support the efficacy of attention training in older adults.

The sanctuary of Dodona is located at the middle of a valley, between the imposing mountains of Tomaros and Manoliassa, a few miles away from the modern city of Ioannina at Epirus. Dodona was the oldest oracle of Ancient Greece and the religious and political center of the Epirotic tribes. The sanct...
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The sanctuary of Dodona is located at the middle of a valley, between the imposing mountains of Tomaros and Manoliassa, a few miles away from the modern city of Ioannina at Epirus. Dodona was the oldest oracle of Ancient Greece and the religious and political center of the Epirotic tribes. The sanctuary was dedicated to Zeus Dodonaios and his wife Dione and the cult focused mainly on the sacred oak tree (ΦΗΓΟΣ). The archaeologists found a vast number of offerings, such as tripods, weapons, bronze statues etc. The presentation aims to shed light on these offerings and discuss the unique character of the cult practices as it can be seen from the archaeological and historical evidences. Moreover, it outlines important religious, political, social, and spatial factors that shaped the reputation of the oracle and affected drastically its fate and its course through time. The primitive cult practices, which survived and formed within the context of the Archaic and Classical Antiquity, played a major role on the identity of the sanctuary. This identity can be decoded through some silent witnesses: the Votive Offerings.

Light Field, or Plenoptic, imaging is an exciting new technique where a user can capture 3-D information about a scene in a single acquisition. By placing a microlens array (thousands of tiny lenses) in between a conventional camera's main lens and image sensor, we can split rays which would have me...
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Light Field, or Plenoptic, imaging is an exciting new technique where a user can capture 3-D information about a scene in a single acquisition. By placing a microlens array (thousands of tiny lenses) in between a conventional camera's main lens and image sensor, we can split rays which would have met on a single pixel onto different pixels, storing the direction which the ray has come from. By knowing where rays have come from, we can use computational techniques to produce different images from the captured data. This means we can change viewpoint, aperture, and focus after an image has been taken. We can produce an image with everything in focus or a 3-D reconstruction, all from a single acquisition. This technology has many potential benefits in normal photography, and also biomedical imaging techniques such as microscopy. However it is difficult to design, implement, and optimise. Therefore, simulation software has been created so that plenoptic designs and applications can be explored without committing to build and calibrate a system. This will enable advances in biomedical imaging techniques and light field rendering methods to be explored without the need for a physical plenoptic system.

Introduction: Stress triggers psychological and biological responses that, among the general public, are perceived to be intimately linked. However, few studies have directly examined the relationship between actual and perceived psychological and biological stress responses. Study 1: Partici...
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Introduction: Stress triggers psychological and biological responses that, among the general public, are perceived to be intimately linked. However, few studies have directly examined the relationship between actual and perceived psychological and biological stress responses. Study 1: Participants (N = 276) completed a 10-minute mental arithmetic stressor while heart rate (HR) was recorded at baseline and during stress. Participants graphed their perceived HR and task stressfulness. Areas under the curve (AUC) for stressfulness and perceived HR were significantly related (p < .001) while neither AUCs for perceived HR nor task stressfulness were related to actual HR AUC. Study 2: High school students (N=180) reported, in response to a 10-minute mental arithmetic stressor, levels of perceived control, somatic anxiety, perceived threat and stressfulness. HR was measured at baseline and during stress and HR reactivity was calculated (stress-baseline). Again, stressfulness was related to increased somatic anxiety (p < .001) but neither was related to HR. Increased perceived stressfulness was found to result from an increased level of perceived threat caused by a perceived loss of control. Conclusion: Results suggest that the accepted notion that stress should cause increases in HR is not always true indicating dissociation between psychological and physiological stress responses.

Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the primary causes of mortality in the South Asian population. The Pakistani community have an elevated risk of developing it and other associated illnesses. Individual health is a consequence of personal lifestyle and social-networks influenced by...
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Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the primary causes of mortality in the South Asian population. The Pakistani community have an elevated risk of developing it and other associated illnesses. Individual health is a consequence of personal lifestyle and social-networks influenced by socioeconomic and cultural environments. These social-networks can act as a resource for information and support, or social capital. Objectives How does perceived social capital affect members of the Pakistani community when determining lifestyle choices related to CVD prevention? Methodology Recruitment included: posters, social media, word of mouth (snow-balling), contacting 3rd sector organisations and advertising in community centres and business districts. Forty-two interviews were carried out (22 women, 20 men aged 18-70 years) from an array of occupational backgrounds (students, unemployed, consultant surgeons, taxi drivers, teacher, retail assistant etc.). Results and Conclusions Preliminary findings indicate informal networks and advertising mediums act as an effective platform for engaging with populations traditionally interpreted as “hard to reach”. Culturally sensitive materials can facilitate the data collection process as participants build confidence and rapport with the researcher to discuss lifestyle choices at length.

Muslim violent extremism has claimed the lives of countless individuals. The phenomenon has spread across the world and seems only to be gathering pace. The cause(s) of Muslim violent extremism have been the subject of much research. As a result, programmes to counteract this radical threat and ...
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Muslim violent extremism has claimed the lives of countless individuals. The phenomenon has spread across the world and seems only to be gathering pace. The cause(s) of Muslim violent extremism have been the subject of much research. As a result, programmes to counteract this radical threat and safeguard communities from the risk of mass violence have been developed and applied. One would argue this has been done so on a seemingly trial and error basis; as the repercussions of current intervention programmes have only sought to stigmatise and isolate Muslim communities. This study seeks to understand the cause(s) of Muslim violent extremism by conducting a narrative analysis of the rhetoric employed by violent extremists. The purpose is to identify theological arguments of radical recruiters and isolate points of convergence across different extremist groups. In order to do so speeches of influential terrorist leaders will be analysed. Convicted UK terror suspects will also be interviewed in order to identify similarities in narrative. Theological aspects of respective narratives will then be subject to understanding their potential impact upon cognitive behaviour and if theological stimuli influences individual actions. The research findings will contribute towards developing a theoretical framework for a credible intervention programme.

Background: Air pollution related risks on health are often reported using percentages. Hence, a 1% increase in mortality risk per 10 unit increase in pollution compares two days say with 2 and 12 units; the days need not be sequential. But a change from 2 to 12 could follow different patterns―incre...
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Background: Air pollution related risks on health are often reported using percentages. Hence, a 1% increase in mortality risk per 10 unit increase in pollution compares two days say with 2 and 12 units; the days need not be sequential. But a change from 2 to 12 could follow different patterns―increase by 2 units each day for 5 days, all in one go over 1 day, etc. As conventional studies don’t take into account such variation in exposure pattern, our study aims to assess its impact on risk estimates. Methods: Using data on particulate pollution (PM) from London we defined exposure patterns on each day by counting number of 1-Positive changes in PM between successive days (delta) 2-PM peaks 3-Delta peaks for the week just before the mortality day. We then investigated the association between PM and mortality accounting for exposure patterns. Results: For a 10 unit increase in PM, the percentage increases in mortality (with 95% confidence interval) were 1.81(1.21–2.41), 6.46(3.55–9.45) and 2.28(0.8–3.78) for number of positive deltas≥4, PM10 peaks=3 and delta peaks=3 respectively. These were well above conventional estimate, 0.82(0.45–1.18), which ignored exposure patterns. Conclusion: Allowing for exposure patterns could influence risk estimates.

Obese individuals face increasing levels of prejudice and discrimination. In addition, some individuals internalise society’s anti-fat attitudes and stereotypes. Both internalised and societal stigmas have been associated with poorer health outcomes, independent of BMI. In this online study, 379...
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Obese individuals face increasing levels of prejudice and discrimination. In addition, some individuals internalise society’s anti-fat attitudes and stereotypes. Both internalised and societal stigmas have been associated with poorer health outcomes, independent of BMI. In this online study, 379 overweight or obese adults (88% female, average age 37.6 years, average BMI 36.8) from social media sites related to health, fitness, weight-loss, and plus-size fashion completed online questionnaires about stigma and health outcomes. Nasty comments from family, friends, co-workers or total strangers were the most common form of stigma, but over 80% had received inappropriate comments from doctors, and over one in four had experienced weight-based discrimination in an employment setting. More than one in ten had been physically attacked because of their weight, some more than once. Women experienced significantly more stigma than men, even after controlling for BMI. Both experienced and internalised stigma were associated with more disordered eating behaviours, poorer self-esteem, worse body image, and a greater restriction on public activities such as exercising: however, the effects of internalisation appear to be even greater than those of actual stigma experiences. Focusing future interventions on reducing internalisation of ubiquitous anti-fat messages may improve health outcomes in overweight individuals.

The benefits of the inclusion of girls and girls with disability in mainstream education in Tanzania have been well documented, yet it is this demographic which remain the most at risk of exclusion (Lewin and Little, 2011). Quantitative research has demonstrated some success for the government’s tar...
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The benefits of the inclusion of girls and girls with disability in mainstream education in Tanzania have been well documented, yet it is this demographic which remain the most at risk of exclusion (Lewin and Little, 2011). Quantitative research has demonstrated some success for the government’s target of all children to be enrolled in primary education, regardless of gender or disability. However, qualitative research “is recommended to complement, confirm and contradict statistics” (Okkolin, Lehtomäki, Bhalalusea, 2010) in order to divulge and analyse contributory factors to inequalities in the education of girls and girls with disabilities. The research aims to expand this current state of knowledge by employing Action Research as a qualitative methodology, interviewing a sample of Tanzanian teachers to seek their constructions and perceptions of ‘inclusion’, ‘girls’ and ‘girls with disability’. The analysis of these constructions will contribute to a context sensitive, socio-cultural understanding of disability, inclusion and gender issues. This understanding will raise contributory factors to inequalities and promote informed inclusive action in the contexts in which it is conducted. It will also contribute to the wider analysis of the success of the inclusive agenda for girls and girls with disabilities in Tanzania schools.

Individuals can be classified as having Type D, ‘distressed’, personality which is characterised by a tendency to experience negative emotions and to hide these emotions during social interaction. Type D personality has been linked to heart disease. A potential mechanism behind this association is l...
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Individuals can be classified as having Type D, ‘distressed’, personality which is characterised by a tendency to experience negative emotions and to hide these emotions during social interaction. Type D personality has been linked to heart disease. A potential mechanism behind this association is large blood pressure, heart rate and hormone (cortisol) responses to stress. Previous studies examining stress responses in Type D individuals have reported mixed findings, potentially due to the social aspect of the stress task. The present study, therefore, examined whether blood pressure, heart rate and cortisol responses in 130 Type D and non-Type D students differed according to a social-evaluative or non-social version of the stress task. Within the social stress condition individuals with Type D personality had the greatest blood pressure, heart rate and cortisol stress responses (p < .05). Further, within the non-social stress condition, Type D individuals appeared to demonstrate lower stress responses. This study is important in highlighting individuals with Type D personality only have large physical stress reactions under socially stressful conditions, and this may lead to heart disease.