Middle-class Offenders as Employees – Assessing the Risk:A 35-year Follow-up

A 35-year follow-up of a series of 317 middle-class offenders in England and Wales suggests that the dangers of employing offenders may be more limited than expected. Although 40% were subsequently convicted, only 8% were subsequently convicted of offenses that directly and adversely affected an employer. This work should challenge the “exaggerated fears” of employers. Interestingly, variables which normally predict subsequent criminal activity made no impact in trying to predict offenses against an employer

Defendable, Persuasive, and Insightful Budget Analysis Methods

As universities adopt budgeting models and concepts borrowed from business, libraries are pressured to assess and justify their budgets using the most persuasive and defendable methods possible. Attendees will learn innovative assessment techniques which allow for a rational examination of library funding across institutions. The numerous approaches, including linear regression (with results with high correlation coefficients), can be readily replicated and allow libraries to assess the resources of their system in comparison to demand indicators for their university

Investigating thermostable DNA polymerases for PCR-based applications

PhD ThesisThermostable DNA polymerases are essential components of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a technique widely applied across the entire biosciences. The work presented in this thesis improves understanding of the function and properties of these enzymes with the aim of developing improved formulations for biotechnological applications. The accuracy with which polymerases replicate DNA is essential for their application in PCR. A plasmid-based DNA polymerase fidelity assay, based on a gapped plasmid template containing the lacZα gene, has been developed. This technique, a marked improvement on previous methods, enables straightforward determination of any polymerase’s fidelity. The functions of two loops in archaeal family-B DNA polymerases, located in the thumb domain responsible for double-stranded DNA binding, have been elucidated, revealing a role in the control of polymerase and proof-reading exonuclease activities. Site-directed mutagenesis, combined with kinetic and binding experiments, was used for this purpose. The family-B DNA polymerase from the archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus has low processivity, limiting its ability to amplify long stretches of DNA. The processivity of this enzyme was increased by changing a number of amino acids to those observed in the more processive polymerase from Thermococcus kodakarensis. Several mutants have been identified with increased processivity and improved performance in PCR. Reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) typically requires the use of a mesophilic reverse transcriptase to generate cDNA from RNA, which is then amplified by a thermostable DNA polymerase in PCR. Through the use of compartmentalised self-replication (CSR) and rational design, generation of a DNA polymerase with reverse transcriptase activity capable of single tube RT-PCR was attempted

Developing Measures of Severity and Frequency of Reconviction

This report examines the scope for focusing on the seriousness and frequency of recidivism and presents methodology for determining how to measure offence seriousness, and how to measure frequency of offending. It also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of combining these two measures into a combined seriousness/frequency score. However, one needs to recognise that the task of providing alternative measures of recidivism is not simply a technical exercise, for there are both philosophical and practical issues to confront. Hence, while the main body of the report focuses largely on the feasibility of producing the alternative measures and provides some solid evidence of developing these approaches (sections 3-5), the philosophical issues – which embrace definitional, conceptual and moral concerns – are not overlooked (see section 2). Furthermore, some of the practical issues of introducing these measures are recognised in the final section (section 6). First, however, what are the stated aims and objectives of the work

City of Toil

Fictional account of women and factory life in the 1890s