A promising Start? The Local Network Fund for Children and Young People: Interim Findings from the National Evaluation

This is a summary of the interim evaluation report of the National Evaluation of the Local Network Fund (LNF) for Children and Young People. It is based on data gathered during the first phase of the evaluation (between October 2002 to December 2003). A final report of the National Evaluation will be available early in 2005. A consortium of research organisations, led by the University of Hull and including BMRB Social Research, The University of York and the University of Sheffield were commissioned in August 2002 by the-then Children and Young People’s Unit (CYPU) to carry out the evaluation

Pressure monitoring of Special Nuclear Material containment

All Magnox Nuclear Reactors are now in the process of decommissioning and nearly all Magnox spent fuel has been reprocessed, producing uranium and plutonium and small volumes of highly radioactive waste. The recovered plutonium is stored in specialist containers in secure facilities while the government reaches a decision on possible re-use or disposal, following the completion of technical studies. There is potential for the containment to become pressurised over time due to alpha decay and radiolysis of the plutonium, and highlights the need for continuous monitoring to assess the integrity of the containment. This paper presents a new technique of interpreting the internal pressure of the containment by understanding the change in the vibrational response of the outer containment wall for different internal pressures. Electromagnetic acoustic transducers have been used to excite the outer containment wall in a non-contact and non-destructive manner, and capture the changes in the resonant frequency response of the system for different internal pressures

SPARCL: SPectra Analysis and Retrievable Catalog Lab

SPectra Analysis and Retrievable Catalog Lab (SPARCL) at NOIRLab's Astro Data Lab was created to efficiently serve large optical and infrared spectroscopic datasets. It consists of services, tools, example workflows and currently contains spectra for over 7.5 million stars, galaxies and quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey. We aim to eventually support the broad range of spectroscopic datasets that will be hosted at NOIRLab and beyond. Major elements of SPARCL include capabilities to discover and query for spectra based on parameters of interest, a fast web service that delivers desired spectra either individually or in bulk as well as documentation and example Jupyter Notebooks to empower users in their research. More information is available on the SPARCL website (https://astrosparcl.datalab.noirlab.edu).Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, Conference Proceedings for ADASS 2023 (Astronomical Data Analysis Software & Systems XXXIII

On lions, impala, and bigraphs: modelling interactions in physical/virtual spaces

While HCI has a long tradition of formally modelling task-based interactions with graphical user interfaces, there has been less progress in modelling emerging ubiquitous computing systems due in large part to their highly contextual nature and dependence on unreliable sensing systems. We present an exploration of modelling an example ubiquitous system, the Savannah game, using the mathematical formalism of bigraphs, which are based on a universal process algebra that encapsulates both dynamic and spatial behaviour of autonomous agents that interact and move among each other, or within each other. We establish a modelling approach based on four perspectives on ubiquitous systems—Computational, Physical, Human, and Technology—and explore how these interact with one another. We show how our model explains observed inconsistencies in user trials of Savannah, and then, how formal analysis reveals an incompleteness in design and guides extensions of the model and/or possible system re-design to resolve this

Estimating direct rebound effects for personal automotive travel in Great Britain

Direct rebound effects result from increased consumption of cheaper energy services. For example, more fuel-efficient cars encourage more car travel. This study is the first to quantify this effect for personal automotive travel in Great Britain. We use aggregate time-series data on transport activity, fuel consumption and other relevant variables over the period 1970-2011 and estimate the direct rebound effect from the elasticity of vehicle kilometres with respect to: a) vehicle fuel efficiency (km/MJ); b) the fuel cost of driving (£/km); and c) road fuel prices (£/MJ). We estimate a total of 54 models, paying careful attention to methodological issues and model diagnostics. Taking changes in fuel efficiency as the explanatory variable, we find no evidence of a long-run direct rebound effect in Great Britain over this period. However, taking changes in either the fuel cost of driving or fuel prices as the explanatory variable we estimate a direct rebound effect in the range 10% to 27% with a mean of 18%. This estimate is consistent with the results of US studies and suggests that one fifth of the potential fuel savings from improved car fuel efficiency may have been eroded through increased driving. We also show how the normalisation of distance travelled (per capita, per adult or per driver) affects the results obtained

Political Cleavages within Industry: Firm level lobbying for Trade Liberalization ∗

[Work in Progress] Existing political economy models rely on inter-industry differences such as factor endowment or factor specificity to explain the politics of trade policy-making. However, this paper finds that a large proportion of variation in U.S. applied tariff rates in fact arises within industry. I offer a theory of trade liberalization that explains how product differentiation in economic markets leads to firm-level lobbying in political markets. I argue that while high product differentiation eliminates the collective action problem exporting firms confront, political objections to product-specific liberalization will decline due to less substitutability and the possibility of serving foreign markets based on the norms of reciprocity. To test this argument, I construct a new dataset on lobbying by all publicly traded manufacturing firms after parsing all 838,588 lobbying reports filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. I find that productive exporting firms are more likely to lobby to reduce tariffs, especially when their products are sufficiently differentiated. I also find that highly differentiated products have lower tariff rates. The results challenge the common focus on industry-level lobbying for protection

Management of Fracture Risk in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): Building a UK Consensus Through Healthcare Professional and Patient Engagement

Introduction: Osteoporosis and bone fractures are common in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality. Current national guidance on COPD management recommends addressing bone health in patients, however, does not detail how. This consensus outlines key elements of a structured approach to managing bone health and fracture risk in patients with COPD.Methods: A systematic approach incorporating multifaceted methodologies included detailed patient and healthcare professional (HCP) surveys followed by a roundtable meeting to reach a consensus on what a pathway would look like.Results: The surveys revealed that fracture risk was not always assessed despite being recognised as an important aspect of COPD management by HCPs. The majority of the patients also stated they would be receptive to discussing treatment options if found to be at risk of osteoporotic fractures. Limited time and resource allocation were identified as barriers to addressing bone health during consultations. The consensus from the roundtable meeting was that a proactive systematic approach to assessing bone health should be adopted. This should involve using fracture risk assessment tools to identify individuals at risk, investigating secondary causes of osteoporosis if a diagnosis is made and reinforcing non-pharmacological and preventative measures such as smoking cessation, keeping active and pharmacological management of osteoporosis and medicines management of corticosteroid use. Practically, prioritising patients with important additional risk factors, such as previous fragility fractures, older age and long-term oral corticosteroid use for an assessment, was felt required.Conclusion: There is a need for integrating fracture risk assessment into the COPD pathway. Developing a systematic and holistic approach to addressing bone health is key to achieving this. In tandem, opportunities to disseminate the information and educational resources are also required

Reflecting on loss in Papua New Guinea

This article takes up the conundrum of conducting anthropological fieldwork with people who claim that they have 'lost their culture,' as is the case with Suau people in the Massim region of Papua New Guinea. But rather than claiming culture loss as a process of dispossession, Suau claim it as a consequence of their own attempts to engage with colonial interests. Suau appear to have responded to missionization and their close proximity to the colonial-era capital by jettisoning many of the practices characteristic of Massim societies, now identified as 'kastom.' The rejection of kastom in order to facilitate their relations with Europeans during colonialism, followed by the mourning for kastom after independence, both invite consideration of a kind of reflexivity that requires action based on the presumed perspective of another