Conceptualising decadent technology:a case study of path dependence in radiotherapy

Large-scale investments in health technologies often have limited evidence for effectiveness when first introduced. Nevertheless, professional and public discourses often present the advantages of such investments, with unknown risks, as necessary and entailing significant improvement. Such discourses are evident with the introduction of the Linac Adapted Conebeam Imager (LACI), introduced to improve the accuracy of radiotherapy treatments. From one perspective, the introduction of such technologies can be considered to be decadent since there is limited, if any, evidence of improvement of current standards and procedures, yet they are promoted as the latest and best technologies for solving societal problems. Connecting the concepts of decadence to those of path dependence, through the case of the LACI, enables the exploration of the ‘technical interrelatedness’ of technological changes. Building on the concept of path dependence, it is possible to demonstrate how introducing a closely related technology does not only become a low-risk course of action. Rather change is demanded (but not determined) as well as potential alternative systems being obscured. With decadent technologies, any future changes are not only dependent upon past introductions; but also they create a need for future changes. Such a view demonstrates how these technologies may not necessarily offer any improvements, but rather contribute to the creation of ongoing demand for unproven technologies. As a result they may encourage the introduction of increasingly complex technologies

Walking the Talk: A Guide to Assessment Using the CAPRA Community Problem Solving Model

CAPRA is a community problem-solving model with five stages: C = Clients, A = Analysis, P = Partnership, R = Response, and A = Assessment. CAPRA was the problem-solving method used by the Alaska Native and Technical Resource Center (ANTARC). This guide describes the final stage of the CAPRA model—assessment—including the reasons for conducing an assessment, the documentation needed and why it is needed, and methods for evaluation. Discussion is with a particular focus on assessment methods for community problem-solvers in rural Alaska Native villages. Some background about CAPRA is assumed.What is Assessment? / Why do we do Assessment? / Assessment = Documentation + Evaluation / Documentation / Evaluation / How Do We Deal With those Who Object to Assessment? / What DO We Do With Our Assessment? / Conclusio

Alaska Native Technical Assistance and Resource Center: Final Report

Too often, federal and state justice programs directed at rural, predominately Alaska Native villages do not sufficiently coordinate planning and funding, and are not tailored to fit local cultures and needs. The language and institutional contexts of granting agencies and requests for proposals for grants frame justice problems and their solutions in ways that may or may not relate to the experiences of Alaska Native villages. The Alaska Native Technical Resource Center (ANTARC) was designed as a three-year project to improve village capacity to identify problems and educate the university and granting agencies about the nature of their justice problems and the resources needed to implement solutions. The initial group involved the Justice Center and four rural communities — Gulkana, Kotlik, Wainwright, and Yakutat — with representatives from the communities chosen by village leaders. This report examines ANTARC's evolution, considers its implementation, evaluates the results, and presents recommendations for promoting effective change in Alaska Native villages.Bureau of Justice Assistance, United States Department of Justice Award No. 1999-LB-VX-002Introduction / The Evolution of Antarc / Structure of the Project / Implementation / Evaluating Results / Concluding Recommendations / References / Appendix 1: Proceedings of the March 1999 Antarc Workshop / Appendix 2: Proceedings of the November 1999 Antarc Workshop / Appendix 3: Capra Training Materials / Appendix 4: Evaluation Training Workshop Material

Evaluating Rice Straw as a Substitute for Barley Straw in Inhibiting Algal Growth in Farm Ponds

Algal blooms disrupt aquatic ecosystems and are more common in lakes, ponds, and rivers during the summer months due to nutrient pollution. Livestock production can contribute increased quantities of nutrients to water bodies from runoff of manure. Commonly used mechanical and chemical control methods may have limited success because algae are small and propagate quickly. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) straw has been shown to inhibit the growth of algae as the straw decomposes aerobically in ponds. Therefore, barley represents a natural option for algal biomass control. However, the small amount of barley production in Arkansas limits the availability of barley straw as a solution to control algal blooms locally. Other cereal grain straws may produce similar inhibitory effects during decomposition. Rice (Oryza sativa) is produced in large quantities in Arkansas, making rice straw a locally sourced straw product. The objective of this research was to determine the efficacy of using rice compared to barley straw to inhibit algal growth in freshwater ponds. Data were collected from nine farm ponds, three treated with rice straw, three treated with barley straw, and three without amendment to serve as the experimental control. Dissolved oxygen, pH, nitrate-nitrogen (NO3--N), dissolved phosphorus (P), temperature, and turbidity were measured for 14 weeks from June 12 to September 17, 2018. Algal biomass was measured as chlorophyll-a concentration to evaluate treatment effectiveness over time. Dissolved oxygen was significantly influenced by treatment and time. The NO3--N concentration in ponds treated with rice straw was significantly greater than the control and barley treatment. Chlorophyll-a concentrations were variable, and there were no consistent trends through time within a treatment. More research under controlled conditions to understand impacts of abiotic conditions, microbial and algal community compositions, and mode of action of algal inhibition is required before cereal straw can be a reliable, locally sourced method of algal control in farm ponds

Experienced stigma and its impacts in psychosis: The role of social rank and external shame

Objectives Experienced stigma is detrimental to those who experience psychosis and can cause emotional distress and hinder recovery. This study aimed to explore the relationship between experienced stigma with emotional distress and recovery in people with psychosis. It explored the role of external shame and social rank as mediators in these relationships. Design A cross‐sectional design was implemented. Methods Fifty‐two service users were administered a battery of questionnaires examining experienced stigma, external shame, social rank, personal recovery, positive symptoms, depression, and anxiety. Correlation and multiple regression analysis were conducted on the data. Where appropriate, mediation analysis was employed to explore social rank and external shame as mediatory variables. Results Experienced stigma was significantly related to shame (social rank and external shame), positive symptoms, emotional distress (depression and anxiety), and personal recovery. The impact of experienced stigma on depression was mediated by external shame. Social rank was a mediator between experienced stigma and personal recovery only. Conclusion People with psychosis who have experienced stigma are likely to experience emotional distress and be inhibited in their recovery. This was found to be partly mediated by external shame and low social rank. Clinical approaches to stigma need to target these as potential maintenance factors

Physiological Effects of Chronic Copper Exposure to Rainbow Trout (\u3cem\u3eOncorhynchus Mykiss\u3c/em\u3e) in Hard and Soft Water: Evaluation of Chronic Indicators

Effects of chronic copper exposure on a suite of indicators were examined: acute toxicity, acclimation, growth, sprint performance, whole-body electrolytes, tissue residues, and gill copper binding characteristics. Juvenile rainbow trout were exposed for 30 d to waterborne copper in hard water (hardness = 120 μg/L as CaCO3, pH = 8.0, Cu = 20 and 60 μg/L) and soft water (hardness = 20 μg/L as CaCO3, pH = 7.2, Cu = 1 and 2 μg/L). Significant acclimation to the metal occurred only in fish exposed to 60 mg/L, as seen by an approx. twofold increase in 96-h LC50 (153 vs 91 μg Cu/L). Chronic copper exposure had little or no effect on survival, growth, or swimming performance in either water hardness, nor was there any initial whole-body electrolyte loss (Na+ and Cl-). The present data suggest that the availability of food (3% wet body weight/day, distributed as three 1% meals) prevented growth inhibition and initial ion losses that usually result from Cu exposure. Elevated metal burdens in the gills and livers of exposed fish were measures of chronic copper exposure but not of effect. Initial gill binding experiments revealed the necessity of using radiolabeled Cu (64Cu) to detect newly accumulated Cu against gill background levels. Using this method, we verified the presence of saturable Cu-binding sites in the gills of juvenile rainbow trout and were able to make estimates of copperbinding affinity (log Kgill=Cu) and capacity (Bmax). Furthermore, we showed that both chronic exposure to Cu and to low water calcium had important effects on the Cu-binding characteristics of the gills

Corrosion-Related Accidents in Petroleum Refineries: Lessons learned from accidents in EU and OECD countries

Petroleum refineries are generally acknowledged to be high hazard sites due to the nature of petroleum products and the processing technologies that produce them in the current era. For the most part, however, the risks are well-known and refinery operators have applied considerable knowledge and resources over the past decades to control and minimize risk potential. Nonetheless, major accidents in refineries tend to regularly occur with impacts not only on human health and the environment, but also in many cases on social and economic well-being. A recurring cause of accidents in petroleum refineries is well-known to be corrosion. This report studies corrosion-related accidents in refineries within the European Union (EU) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), comparing accident occurring before and after 2000 and with the view to providing insights into recent causal trends and identifying lessons learned that could influence prevention strategies in future. The report highlights process and equipment conditions and potential risk management failures that were cited in 99 different corrosion-related accidents occurring between 1965 and 2008. In particular, the study provides some evidence to confirm concerns among experts in both government and industry that the risk of corrosion failures causing major accidents in EU and OECD countries remains a strong area of concern. The aim of this analysis is to aid particular inspectors by providing a concise summary of refinery corrosion hazards and examples of how they have been manifested in past accidents. The findings may be also useful to operators in renewing aspects of their risk management strategy or training personnel on how to recognize and evaluate potential corrosion risks.JRC.G.6-Security technology assessmen

Vegetation database of Great Britain: Countryside Survey

This paper describes the vegetation database created as part of the Countryside Survey (CS) of Great Britain (GIVD ID EU-GB-003) which was established to monitor ecological and land use change in 1978 (http://www.countrysidesurvey.org.uk). The sample design is based on a series of stratified, randomly selected 1 km squares, which numbered 256 in the 1978 survey, 500 in the 1990 survey, 569 in the 1998 survey and 591 in the 2007 survey. Stratification of sample squares was based on predefined strata (called land classes) which have been derived from a classification of all 1 km squares in Britain based on their topographic, climatic and geological attributes obtained from published maps. A series of vegetation plots were located within each 1 km square using a restricted randomisation procedure designed to reduce aggregation. Linear features (road verges, watercourse banks, hedges, arable margins and field boundaries) and areal features (fields, unenclosed land and small semi-natural biotope patches) were sampled. Linear plots were 1 x 10 m laid out along a feature whilst unenclosed land and small biotopes were sampled using 2 m x 2 m plots. Larger randomly-placed plots were nested 14 m² plots with an inner nest of 2 m x 2 m. Within each 1 km Countryside Survey sample square the land cover and all landscape features were mapped and each parcel of land (and vegetation plot) has been assigned to a Broad Habitat/EUNIS habitat type. This database of vegetation plots is a very useful resource. The data is freely available from the website, however, there are restrictions on the release of the spatial location of the plots. There is now a considerable time-series of plots within the database going back to 1978 representing different habitat types and landscape features that can be analysed to determine changes in vegetation metrics (e.g. Ellenberg scores) and individual species. Vegetation changes can be linked to environmental drivers and the spatial scale (across GB) is sufficiently large to analyse gradients in most driving variables