A New Classification Of UK Local Authorities Using 2001 Census Key Statistics

The 2001 Census has been successfully administered and the Census Organisations are currently engaged in processing the returns. A very large and rich dataset will be produced for the 58,789,194 people of the UK. The Census Area Statistics, for example, delivers 190 tables containing about 6 thousand unique counts relating to the characteristics of the UK population, for output areas and all higher geographies. This paper represents the first results of a project that aims to develop, in collaboration with the Office for National Statistics, a set of general purpose classifications at different geographic scales, including households, neighbourhoods, wards, local authorities and to link the classifications at different levels together. The paper reports on the methods used and results of a classification of the UK’s 434 Local Authorities, using the Key Statistics released in February 2003. This initial classification and description of methods will feed into the ONS/GROS/NISRA project to classify Local Authorities for the whole UK. Further data or digital versions of the classification system are available on request

‘All the corridors are the same’: a qualitative study of the orientation experiences and design preferences of UK older adults living in a communal retirement development

Environments need to be designed such that they support successful orientation for older adults and those with dementia who often experience marked difficulties in their orientation abilities. To better understand how environments can compensate for decreasing orientation skills, voice should be given directly to those experiencing dementia to describe how they find their way and to understand their design preferences. This study explored the navigational experiences and design preferences of older adults with memory difficulties living in a retirement development. In-depth semi-structured interviews with 13 older adults experiencing memory difficulties were conducted. All participants were residents of one retirement development in the United Kingdom. Questions began broadly, for example, to describe their experiences of navigating in their living environment, before discussing any specific navigation difficulties in detail. Thematic analysis identified three main themes: highlighting environmental design that causes disorientation, strategies to overcome disorientation, and residents’ suggestions to improve the design. The design suggestions were particularly informative, heavily focusing on the importance of having memorable and meaningful spaces which were favoured more than signage as an orientation aid. The findings demonstrate the need to consider environmental design to support orientation for those with memory difficulties. Of particular importance is the use of meaningful and relevant landmarks as orientation aids which can additionally stimulate conversation and increase wellbeing. Given the range of suggestions in dementia-friendly design guidelines aimed to support orientation, it is crucial to speak directly to those living in different environments to learn how they find their way around and what design works in their environment

Absolute identification by relative judgment

In unidimensional absolute identification tasks, participants identify stimuli that vary along a single dimension. Performance is surprisingly poor compared with discrimination of the same stimuli. Existing models assume that identification is achieved using long-term representations of absolute magnitudes. The authors propose an alternative relative judgment model (RJM) in which the elemental perceptual units are representations of the differences between current and previous stimuli. These differences are used, together with the previous feedback, to respond. Without using long-term representations of absolute magnitudes, the RJM accounts for (a) information transmission limits, (b) bowed serial position effects, and (c) sequential effects, where responses are biased toward immediately preceding stimuli but away from more distant stimuli (assimilation and contrast)

Genomics and proteomics: a signal processor's tour

The theory and methods of signal processing are becoming increasingly important in molecular biology. Digital filtering techniques, transform domain methods, and Markov models have played important roles in gene identification, biological sequence analysis, and alignment. This paper contains a brief review of molecular biology, followed by a review of the applications of signal processing theory. This includes the problem of gene finding using digital filtering, and the use of transform domain methods in the study of protein binding spots. The relatively new topic of noncoding genes, and the associated problem of identifying ncRNA buried in DNA sequences are also described. This includes a discussion of hidden Markov models and context free grammars. Several new directions in genomic signal processing are briefly outlined in the end

The Dynamics of Music and Culture in Traditional Ibibio Society of Nigeria

This paper examines the degree of inter-relationship between music and culture with a view to establishing that there can be no thought of culture particularly in a typical African community without reference to music. The paper focuses on the extent to which musical recreation is an integral aspect of the life style of the traditional Ibibio. The analysis also considers the way social relations and social institutions are integral to the music. It concludes by stating that since the cultural landscape in Africa as a whole is experiencing serious erosion due to modernity, we should wake up and preserve our heritage for generations yet unborn.Keywords: Music, Culture, Recreation, Inter-relationship, Transformatio