Abraham Lincoln: The Observations of John G. Nicolay and John Hay

Lincoln According to his Secretaries In this slim collection a distinguished editor and biographer presents eleven brief excerpts from the ten-volume Abraham Lincoln: A History, by his devoted secretaries John G. Nicolay and John Hay. The introduction, Nicolay and Hay: Court Histor...

Back to school – but for how long?

his month marks the most peculiar, unknown and apprehensive start to an academic year in decades, with children returning to school in the UK dividing opinion to say the least.But should parents have been put in a position where they had to make the decision to send their children back to school? Is returning to school what is best for children’s futures, as well as their mental health? Are we trying to return to ‘normal’ too soon and what impact could a second spike have on schools once again

Changes in seed dispersal processes and the potential for between-patch connectivity for an arid land daisy

Dispersal is a major and critical process in population biology that has been particularly challenging to study. Animals can have major roles in seed dispersal even in species that do not appear specifically adapted to animal-aided dispersal. This can occur by two processes: direct movement of diaspores by animals and modification of landscape characteristics by animals in ways that greatly influence dispersal. We exploited the production of large, persistent dispersal structures (seed heads, henceforth) by Erodiophyllum elderi (Asteraceae), a daisy from arid Australia, to further understand secondary dispersal. Seed head dispersal on and off animal tracks in eight E. elderi patches was monitored for 9.5 months by periodically recording the location of marked seed heads. Sites were located inside a reserve that excludes sheep but not kangaroos, and in a nearby area with both kangaroos and sheep. The distance moved and likelihood of seed head movement was higher in areas with sheep, and especially along animal tracks. There was clear evidence that seed heads were channeled down animal tracks during large rainfall events. Seed head dispersal away from patches occurred to a limited extent via their physical contact with sheep and potentially via wind dispersal. Thus, the advantages of this study system allowed us to demonstrate the two postulated effects of herbivores on dispersal via direct movement of seed heads, and two distinct indirect effects through landscape modification by herbivores from the creation of animal tracks and the denudation of vegetation.Louise M. Emmerson, José M. Facelli, Peter Chesson, Hugh Possingham, and Jemery R. Da

In pursuit of best practice : Benchmarking tools and processes for the management of hazardous substances in the workplace

Many organisations now strive to achieve excellence in various aspects of occupational health and safety. Benchmarking of the techniques and approaches of other organisations is becoming a popular way of bridging gaps and seeking to achieve high levels of performance. There exist many sources of guidance in the form of external and internal standards, regulations, codes of practice, publications by professional institutions and similar. However, there are clear shortfalls in terms of tools and processes needed to identify areas of opportunity and to overcome barriers to the efficient transfer of ideas and techniques from one enterprise to another. This is true for all organisations, but particularly so for small/medium sized facilities with limited resources and expertise. This study has sought to develop and test new tools and processes to make benchmarking activity and the transfer of technology, ideas and approaches more efficient and meaningful. It has drawn heavily from state-of-the-art management theory and has sought to establish the linkage between the people factor, the workplace environment factor and the organisation of work factor as they contribute to workplace health and safety performance. It has used qualitative inquiry methodologies and an approach based on personal contact and insight, as expressed by Patton (1990, p. 46), to generate data. The fieldwork component of the study was conducted at eight mining, mineral processing and related industry sites within Western Australia. The subject of the study was the facility\u27s processes and practices in regard to the management of hazardous materials. This was chosen partly because chemical-induced injury and disease remain a significant problem for workers in industry (Winder, 1999b, p. 168) and partly because of its complexity and degree of difficulty. Data collection was based on the three qualitative inquiry methods, namely in-depth, open-ended interviews with the Site Manager and the Site Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Professional, direct observation and review of written documents. Also tested was the assumption that if the materials developed during the study can be applied successfully in the area of hazardous materials, then other less complex areas under the OHS umbrella could be approached with confidence. There is potential for the tools and processes developed and evaluated in this work to be used widely in the transfer of best practice, that is, to be deployed beyond the hazardous substances focus of this study and beyond the Mining Industry of Western Australia. Study outcomes and the new materials that have been generated will assist with the selection of benchmarking partners and will help to identify pockets of excellence for focused attention. This will encourage and assist organisations to take steps towards identifying and implementing Industry best practice in the element of interest. There is potential for study outcomes to impact positively on OHS practices within many organisations - and thereby to reduce the personal and societal cost of injury and illness outcomes associated with the use of hazardous materials at work

Will travelling ever be the same again?

It’s no surprise that the travel industry has experienced a global plummet as a result of COVID-19. As we know, when lockdown was first announced back in March, we were unsure of what impact staying indoors for the foreseeable future was going to have on sectors and industries across the world.The travel industry was forced to come to a total halt, in order to attempt to stop the virus’ international spread. Billions of pounds has been wasted, companiesare struggling to sort rebooking and reimbursements of holidays, many within the sector have lost their job and no one truly knows what the future holds for the industry

Will Coronavirus finally kill Britain’s high street?

The future of the high street has looked gloomy for a long time, far before the Coronavirus pandemic. The onset of the virus has only made it more difficult for retailers to ‘bounce back’

A one-group parametric sensitivity analysis for the graphite isotope ratio method and other related techniques using ORIGEN 2.2

Several methods have been developed previously for estimating cumulative energy production and plutonium production from graphite-moderated reactors. The Graphite Isotope Ratio Method (GIRM) is one well-known technique. This method is based on the measurement of trace isotopes in the reactor’s graphite matrix to determine the change in their isotopic ratios due to burnup. These measurements are then coupled with reactor calculations to determine the total plutonium and energy production of the reactor. To facilitate sensitivity analysis of these methods, a one-group cross section and fission product yield library for the fuel and graphite activation products has been developed for MAGNOX-style reactors. This library is intended for use in the ORIGEN computer code, which calculates the buildup, decay, and processing of radioactive materials. The library was developed using a fuel cell model in Monteburns. This model consisted of a single fuel rod including natural uranium metal fuel, magnesium cladding, carbon dioxide coolant, and Grade A United Kingdom (UK) graphite. Using this library a complete sensitivity analysis can be performed for GIRM and other techniques. The sensitivity analysis conducted in this study assessed various input parameters including 235U and 238U cross section values, aluminum alloy concentration in the fuel, and initial concentrations of trace elements in the graphite moderator. The results of the analysis yield insight into the GIRM method and the isotopic ratios the method uses as well as the level of uncertainty that may be found in the system results