The assessment of dog barking noise from kennels

In light of the plethora of guidance documents available for a wide range of noise sources and activities, the absence of a document specific to dog barking is unfortunate, and a glaring omission in the noise guidance library. In the absence of any existing guidance documents, approaches adopted by Noise Consultants and Local Authority EHOs in the British Isles are highly variable, and no emerging trends are readily apparent, apart from widespread misapplication of BS 4142:1997 when assessing impacts. Although the 2014 version of the standard specifically precludes application to domestic animal noise, several interviewed Consultants indicate that they intend to apply same due to the absence of any other guidance. All Consultants interviewed acknowledged the need for a kennel noise guidance document which will allow a consistent approach to be adopted by Consultants and planning authorities alike. Such a document might include guidance on measurement methodology, predictive modelling, noise limits, and advice on kennel design and noise management, and would benefit Planning Departments, Environmental Health personnel, kennel operators and Noise Consultants. It is considered that the derivation of suitable noise limits would require some element of social annoyance studies relating to barking noise, in order to identify (a) a suitable noise descriptor and (b) thresholds of annoyance. A barking noise guidance document may benefit from inclusion of an assessment methodology based on a specified number of barks to be measured, similar to the method set out in the CIEH clay target shooting guidance document.N/

An Amphibious Landing? With Civilian Ships?

If we were directed to make a large amphibious landing anywhere in the world now or in the next few years, the one thing that the Navy and Marines can be sure of is that civilian-manned and civilian-owned ships will be a part of the force

How does New Zealand compare? Some international comparisons of disaggregated unemployment data

This paper describes the underlying pattern of New Zealand's unemployment experience (to the extent that the very limited data permit) and compares it with the pattern in Australia, Norway, the UK and USA. It is shown that although New Zealand's unemployment rate is low by international standards, the distribution of unemployment is more inequitable and that the actual unemployment rates for some sub-groups in New Zealand are approaching, and at times exceeding, unemployment rates for equivalent sub-groups in the other four countries

The concentration of unemployment experience in spells of long donation: An analysis by age and sex

Estimates of the completed duration of unemployment are prepared by the generation life table method. It is found that the duration of unemployment spells increases with age. However younger workers have a higher probability of becoming unemployed. Thus their higher unemployment rate is due to more, but shorter spells of unemployment. The rise in the unemployment rate for males in recent years is primarily due to an increasing duration of unemployment. When we decompose unemployment by length of spell, we find that spells of 13 weeks and longer account for between 70 and 90 percent of all significant unemployment. These results call into question the theoretical base of Government's current employment policy

Self-Set Goals:Autistic Adults Facilitating Their Self-Determination Through Digitally Mediated Social Stories

Background: Personalized and practical support can facilitate autistic adults’ independence and agency and can enable enhanced self-determination while influencing quality of life. Notwithstanding, traditional supports or interventions for autistic adults typically seek to address perceived challenges associated with autism, rather than identify what the autistic person wants support with. In this research, we explored the potential to empower autistic people by attaining their own self-set goals with the support of digitally mediated Social Stories. Methods: We conducted a pre/post quasiexperimental design to investigate the usefulness and effectiveness of digitally mediated Social Stories for autistic adults to support the attainment of their self-set goals. Thirty-three autistic participants self-set goals and self-developed Social Stories using a digital application. We collected closeness-to-goal measures at baseline and after 2 weeks of reading their digitally mediated Social Stories themselves and we compared them with a control condition. We then evaluated the goals participants were interested in. The autistic adults also evaluated the usefulness of the intervention for them. Results: Over 2 weeks, the use of self-set goals, combined with a digitally mediated Social Story, elicited a statistically significant increase in closeness-to-goal ratings with a large effect size. The majority of participants reported that digitally mediated Social Stories were an appropriate and effective form of self-support. Our analysis of the participants’ goals indicated that autistic adults predominantly identified a need for support with increasing nonsocial behaviors. Conclusion: Self-developed digitally mediated Social Stories can effectively support autistic adults in reaching their self-set goals. Digitally mediated Social Stories can support reflection on one’s goals, increase commitment toward goals, break down tasks into meaningful parts, as well as create meaningful predictions for autistic adults. Thus, digitally mediated Social Stories have the potential to empower autistic adults to self-support reaching self-set goals.</p

Method for processing clay ceramic materials

A method of forming bricks, tiles, and the like by treating clay, shale or other clay ceramic raw materials containing pyrite is disclosed. Such clay, ceramic raw materials may be ground, and then mixed with an oxidizer in a pre-oxidation step to disperse the oxidizer within the clay to expose the maximum amount of clay surface to the oxidizer. One oxidizer that may be used is an aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide. Clay is shaped into clay products and then heated to elevated temperatures. Pyrite within the clay is oxidized, thereby removing sulfur-containing compounds such as sulfur dioxide from the clay. The application of the invention may assist in preventing efflorescense by ensuring complete or nearly complete removal of pyrite from products oxidation treatment and subsequent firing at elevated temperatures. Similarly, by enhancing the oxidation of pyrite, faster firing cycles may be possible which facilitates reduced fuel consumption and faster process time

How does New Zealand compare? Some international comparisons of disaggregated unemployment data

This paper describes the underlying pattern of New Zealand's unemployment experience (to the extent that the very limited data permit) and compares it with the pattern in Australia, Norway, the UK and USA. It is shown that although New Zealand's unemployment rate is low by international standards, the distribution of unemployment is more inequitable and that the actual unemployment rates for some sub-groups in New Zealand are approaching, and at times exceeding, unemployment rates for equivalent sub-groups in the other four countries

Effective digital support for autism: digital social stories

Social Stories™ is one of the most popular interventions for autistic children and has been researched extensively. However, effectiveness data has been gathered mainly through single-participant designs which generate outcomes which can lack generalizability and social validity. Stories Online For Autism (SOFA) is a digital application which supports the development and delivery of Social Stories in a real-world setting and has the potential to contribute toward furthering (1) Social Stories research and (2) research on digital applications for autism by gathering large data sets from multiple participants. Three data sets (N = 856) were gathered through the SOFA app and were analyzed to investigate three key variables: What predicted closeness-to-goal of the Social Stories (as rated by an adult/parent/guardian, n = 568); the child’s comprehension of the Social Stories (assessed by story comprehension questions, n = 127); and the child’s rating of the enjoyability of the Social Stories (n = 161). A merged data set then investigated correlations between these three key variables. Age range (≤15), gender, autism diagnosis, and the child’s level of language understanding were the potential predictors for these three key variables. Regression analysis indicated that parental closeness-to-goal ratings for their children were highest for children who were younger and more verbal. Regression analysis also indicated that older children scored higher in comprehension assessment, and autistic children rated the Social Stories as more enjoyable. Closeness-to-goal, comprehension scores and enjoyment ratings did not significantly correlate with each other. This is the largest study of Social Stories effectiveness, which was enabled through the collection of data through a digital app from multiple participants. The results indicate that digital social stories are particularly effective for younger verbal children. While this was the case for all children, it was particularly true for autistic children and female (and gender-diverse) children. For the first time, the gathering of large digital data sets has highlighted that while digital Social Stories can be effective for autistic males, they can be more effective for autistic females and gender-diverse autistic individuals. Thus, the SOFA app can support the investigation of the factors which influence Social Stories outcomes that are generalizable and with high social validity

A rule-based theoretical account of social stories to address the double empathy problem

Social Stories™ (SS) is one of the most popular and researched interventions for autistic children. To date, research that focuses on outcomes has been prioritized over the investigation of the psychological mechanisms that inform the intervention. In this article we consider theoretical accounts proposed thus far which could underpin SS. We argue that mechanisms that are based on social deficit theories lack validity, and propose a rule-based theoretical account to inform a strengths-based approach toward conceptualizing the mechanisms that underpin SS. We apply this account to the ‘double-empathy problem’ to propose that SS can be adapted to involve all parties in the development and delivery of SS support by adopting a rule-based perspective. We use the example of systemizing (the drive to analyze and explore systems in terms of ‘if-and-then’ rules), which is proposed to be a relative autistic strength, as a form of rule-based thinking that can provide a theoretical account of SS and a framework to address the double-empathy problem.peer-reviewe