Rolling the Dice on Piracy

Through a single case study utilising archival evidence and a digital artefact review, this research investigates the publisher Wizard of the Coast’s responses to digital piracy via changes to their business model and digital strategy. In response to the loss of revenue via illegally circulated PDF’s of their core content for the role playing game system Dungeons and Dragons, Wizard of the Coast stopped the sale of all forms of digital content—restricting the Dungeons and Dragons product to physical copies only. Comparative sales analysis of two editions of Dungeons and Dragons and their competitor Pathfinder, showcases a strong correlation between unrestricted availability of online content and improved sales performance. A further comparison of Wizard of the Coast’s recent digital content platform for Dungeons and Dragons analyses the factors in presenting digital content necessary to encourage a “willingness to pay” in the selected audiences. A combination of a complete content catalogue, personalisation and community features, access to free content samples or tiers, and the continued improvement in service quality are all identified in Wizard of the Coast’s digital platform DnDBeyond, with an increase in physical sales following its debut

BITING LANGUAGE AND FIGHTING FRIENDS: SARCASM IN CONVERSATION

This thesis examines sarcasm in written dialogues between friends. Previous studies have shown that the use of irony “mutes” a negative message, compared to a direct, literal counterpart (Dews & Winner, 1995). It is plausible, however, that with blatant aggressive sarcasm the negative communication would override any possible muting. We used a realistic conversational format that differs from traditional context building vignettes with sarcastic punch-lines. Male and female participants read the same dialogues between male-male and female-female friends and provided ratings of their impressions. Additionally, the participants were asked to produce continuations of the conversation. We find that muting effects exist in blatantly aggressive sarcastic dialogue compared to non-sarcastic equivalents. Additionally, the production task revealed no differences in the use o f sarcasm, countering the oft-cited prediction that males use more sarcasm than females. However, in line with some of the speculations on gender, female interlocutors within the dialogue were perceived more negatively when using sarcasm compared to male interlocutors in the same conditio

Learning About Development at A-Level

Young people’s interest in development issues has been the focus of numerous studies but there has been little research that looks at the impact of learning of a specific educational course. This research paper looks at the impact of studying A-level World Development on young people in England and Wales. It summarises the outcomes of research by Bowes in 2011 and a further survey in 2012 with students who have completed the course. This study looks specifically at the relevance, effectiveness and impact of the course on students. The evidence suggests that the A-level is popular and seen as relevant to young people’s lives and views about the world. Both teachers and students state that the themes discussed are up-to-date and accessible to study. In terms of effectiveness of the course overall, there is evidence of understanding of the key issues in development, although the priorities given to particular themes varied from school and college. Programmes and projects on learning about development have often been promoted because there is an assumption that mere engagement with these themes has an impact on young people’s learning in terms of changing their behaviour and attitudes towards taking action to reduce global poverty. The evidence from this research shows a complex picture of impact with the emphasis appearing to be more on the social and moral aspects of development than the political. The research indicates positive changes in perceptions of global poverty and inequality in the world, but less so on the more social and political aspects. There is evidence that studying the A-level has had an impact upon the students’ future learning in higher education with Geography and Development Studies becoming more popular. The first full World Development A-level began in 2008 so the examination is still relatively new. The sample taken for this study and the research by Bowes covered a relatively small number of students. However, what is clear from this research is that an A-level of this type can play an important contribution in deepening a young person’s learning and understanding about development and that it is a subject that is seen as popular and relevant to their lives

Cobble substrate in a surface bypass reduces bypass acceptance by common roach Rutilus rutilus

Historically, ecological engineered solutions for fish passage across anthropogenic barriers in rivers has mainly focused on facilitating upstream passage for long-migrating diadromous fish, such as salmonids. More recently, passage solutions have shifted their focus to a more holistic ecological perspective, allowing passage for species with different swimming capacity, both upstream and downstream. This experiment investigated whether the addition of cobble in the passageway of a surface bypass could facilitate downstream movement of a cyprinid fish, the common roach Rutilus rutilus. Surface bypasses were constructed in large experimental flumes and roach were released into the flumes and monitored for bypass passage using PIT-telemetry through 11-h night-trials. Behavior was scored using four continuously-recording video cameras at the bypass construction. There was a negative effect of substrate-treatment on the passage rate through the bypass. The majority of the fish in the No substrate treatment had successfully passed within 4 h, while a lesser proportion of the fish in the Substrate treatment had done so (additional fish in the latter treatment passed later in the trials). Fish exposed to cobble substrate in the bypass passageway showed more avoidance-like behaviors at the ramp section of the bypass and tended to return back upstream more often than the fish in the no-substrate control trials. When reaching the passageway, the substrate-exposed fish expressed no behaviors that could be indicative of reduced passage success, as compared to controls. We conclude that passage was not hindered by the presence of cobble substrate, but passage was delayed due to avoidance behavior at the bypass ramp when cobble substrate was present. Based on these results, the addition of cobble substrate in a surface bypass cannot be recommended as a measure to facilitate the downstream passage performance of the common roach through surface bypasses

A narrative exploration of the lived experience of pastoral staff employed in social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) secondary schools to gain a deeper understanding of the psychological impact of their work

This study aimed to explore how the experiences of working in social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) secondary schools impacts the psychological wellbeing of pastoral staff. Psychological wellbeing is a complex concept, widely used in the literature, despite the absence of an agreed definition. Extant literature has predominantly focused on teachers and pastoral staff working with pupils with SEMH needs in mainstream schools. Whilst these studies provide insight, they do not explore the experiences of pastoral staff in SEMH secondary schools. Five participants, recruited from schools in the Northwest of England, took part in face-to-face narrative interviews, conducted via video conferencing. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. As narrative research can be complex, with themes often interwoven and conflicting within stories, a two-stage analytic approach was used. The first stage focused on each individual narrative, preserving it as a whole story. The second stage involved analysis across the five narratives, identifying common themes. Both stages used Fraser’s (2004) seven stage approach, enabling long sections of narrative to be broken down into themes, whilst preserving the nuances within and across narratives. The first stage of analysis identified numerous themes specific to each participant, the second stage identified three themes common across the narratives: ‘It’s a struggle,’ ‘My emotionally dirty work’ and ‘Protecting myself’. This is the first study to explore the psychological impact of working in SEMH secondary schools, from the perspective of pastoral staff. Findings extend the conceptualisation of psychological wellbeing, encompassing feeling good, functioning effectively and the role of coping mechanisms. Findings have policy and practice implications; defined professional standards, appropriate training, and tailored supervision. An ‘ethos of care’ within SEMH schools could mitigate against the impact of struggles and work perceived as emotionally dirty

The geology of the Ballina Syncline

In early Visean times subsidence began in the Ballina area, and a basin of sedimentation developed whose form and nature were largely controlled by the caledonoid structural lines of the basement. During the first phase of deposition most of the sediments which entered the basin were derived from the north-west, and accumulated in a large delta. Sedimentation and subsidence were greatest near Ballycastle where about 2,000 feet of sandstones, siltstones, shales and limestones are preserved. At Dromore West and Keenagh only a few hundred feet of deltaic deposits occur, and farther east, at Skreen only a few tens of feet. The beds of this delta are referred to the Carboniferous Sandstone. The fauna which they contain indicates a Visean age, probably C2S1. The beds succeeding the deltaic sediments are referred to the Ballina Limestone, and are a series of bedded limestones with thin shale partings. The lateral variation in the thickness of the deltaic beds suggests that the Ballina Limestone facies spread northwestwards when the rate of supply of terrigenous material tb the delta diminished. A sandy-oolitic facies of the Ballina Limestone which occurred near what is now the Ox Mountains Range suggests that a contemporary anticlinal axis was located there. The fauna of the Ballina Limestone consists mainly of corals and brachiopods, and these indicate a lower Visean age, also probably C2S1. Armorican earth movements caused the development of faults and folds in a pattern which was in large measure controlled by the Caledonoid structures of the underlying rocks. Structurally the Ballina Syncline is an area of Carboniferous rocks preserved by downthrow between large faults. In the western part folding is slight, but the rocks have been dislocated by large faults. In the east there are several folds, usually broad with low dips, but occasionally with dips as steep as 5

Development of a risk assessment tool to assess the significance of septic tanks around freshwater SSSIs. Phase 1 – Understanding better the retention of phosphorus in the drainage fields

The findings contained within this report have allowed Natural England to refine and implement a risk assessment methodology for septic tanks, which was developed through a previous project with CEH (NECR170)

Methanotrophy potential versus methane supply by pore water diffusion in peatlands

International audienceLow affinity methanotrophic bacteria consume a significant quantity of methane in wetland soils in the vicinity of plant roots and at the oxic-anoxic interface. Estimates of the efficiency of methanotrophy in peat soils vary widely in part because of differences in approaches employed to quantify methane cycling. High resolution profiles of dissolved methane abundance measured during the summer of 2003 were used to quantify rates of upward methane flux in four peatlands situated in Wales, UK. Aerobic incubations of peat from a minerotrophic and an ombrogenous mire were used to determine depth distributions of kinetic parameters associated with methane oxidation. The capacity for methanotrophy in a 3 cm thick zone immediately beneath the depth of nil methane abundance in pore water was significantly greater than the rate of upward diffusion of methane in all four peatlands. Rates of methane diffusion in pore water at the minerotrophic peatlands were small (?mol l?1 methane, indicating that precipitation events can impact methane distributions in pore water. Further work is needed to characterise the kinetics of methane oxidation spatially and temporally in different wetland types in order to determine generalized relationships for methanotrophy in peatlands that can be incorporated into process-based models of methane cycling in peat soils