Invisibility in billiards

The question of invisibility for bodies with mirror surface is studied in the framework of geometrical optics. We construct bodies that are invisible/have zero resistance in two mutually orthogonal directions, and prove that there do not exist bodies which are invisible/have zero resistance in all possible directions of incidence

The influence of alcohol industry-sponsored “Gulder Ultimate Search” reality television series on the drinking behaviors of Nigerian youths

Background: Alcohol consumption among youths and its related problems are increasing in Nigeria. Whilst one of the reasons for this is due to the marketing activities of the transnational alcohol corporations, there are no written national alcohol control policies that regulate alcohol marketing in Nigeria. Methods: This article draws on in-depth interviews with 31 Nigerian university students (aged 19–23 years) to explore the extent to which the “Gulder Ultimate Search” (GUS) reality television show influences alcohol consumption amongst GUS contestants, television audiences and those who participate in GUS promotional activities. Results: The results show that GUS was very popular amongst students and their knowledge of the reality show was high, to the extent that they were able to identify the particular alcohol company that sponsors the reality television program, the number of contestants that compete for the prizes in each season, and what can be won by the contestants or television viewers. GUS influences the drinking behaviors of contestants because one of the criteria for participation is to present 10 or more recently used “cans” of “Gulder beer” during the screening exercise. GUS also appears to influence the drinking behaviors of television viewers and those who participate in promotions due to product placement, direct advertisements and promotional activities that accompany the “Fan-Based Edition” aspect of GUS. Conclusion: Overall, GUS is a disguised marketing strategy to promote brand awareness, and to increase sales and consumption. Alcohol control policies that regulate event sponsorship and promote public health should be implemented in Nigeria

Promissory identities: sociotechnical representations & innovation in regenerative medicine

The field of regenerative medicine (RM) is championed as a potential source of curative treatments and economic wealth, and initiatives have been launched in several countries to facilitate innovation within the field. As a way of examining the social dimensions of innovation within regenerative medicine, this paper explores the sociotechnical representations of RM technologies in the UK, and the tensions, affordances and complexities these representations present for actors within the field. Specifically, the paper uses the Science and Technology Studies-inspired notions of ‘technology identity’ and ‘development space’ to examine how particular technologies are framed and positioned by actors, and how these positionings subsequently shape innovation pathways. Four developing RM technologies are used as case studies: bioengineered tracheas; autologous chondrocyte implantation; T-cell therapies; and a ‘point-of-care’ cell preparation device. Using these case studies we argue that there are particular identity aspects that have powerful performative effects and provide momentum to innovation projects, and we argue that there are particular stakeholders in the UK RM landscape who appear to have considerable power in shaping these technology identities and thus innovation pathways

Media practice and new approaches to mise-en-scene and auteur theory in broadcast radio

This PhD by Published Work aims to present a coherent programme of original radio research practice produced by the author and placed in an appropriate academic context that explores new approaches to mise-en-scène and auteur theory. The research methodology employs an interrogation of traditional definitions of mise-en-scène and auteur and then reframes and adopts redefinitions of these theories when used to contextualise broadcast radio. The portfolio consists of the scripts and broadcast recordings of a set of five original BBC Radio 4 plays, and includes reference to a set of related academic publications and conference papers in which critical reflection about the media and creative practice of writing the plays took place. The work draws on approaching four decades of experience as a professional freelance writer and performer. The practice-based research focuses on explorations of the inter-relationships between the form, content and production of the five original radio dramas he was commissioned to write. All of the plays were broadcast by BBC Radio 4, the major public service arena available for radio drama in the United Kingdom, from 2000 to 2012. These years constituted a period of significant change in creative and administrative protocols at the BBC, and form the context for exploration of auteur innovations. The dramas achieved considerable critical attention attracting favourable reviews and provoking public debate. For example, Bell in the Ball (2010) prompted a discussion concerning writing about disability on the BBC’s In Touch programme (2010). It is a significant marker of their quality that a number of the plays have been repeated on various BBC Radio channels, as well as broadcast overseas. As part of the critical interrogation of the author’s media and creative practice, excerpts of the plays have also been included in academic papers presented at national and international conferences

Violence is rare in autism : when it does occur, is it sometimes extreme?

A small body of literature has suggested that, rather than being more likely to engage in offending or violent behaviour, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may actually have an increased risk of being the victim rather than the perpetrator of violence (Sobsey et al., 1995). There is no evidence that people with ASD are more violent than those without ASD (Im, 2016). There is nevertheless a small subgroup of individuals with ASD who exhibit violent offending behaviours and our previous work has suggested that other factors, such as adverse childhood experiences, might be important in this subgroup (Allely et al., 2014). Fitzgerald (2015) highlights that school shootings and mass killings are not uncommonly carried out by individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, with frequent evidence of warning indicators. The aim of the present review is to investigate this in more detail using the 73 mass shooting cases identified by Mother Jones (motherjones.com) in their database for potential ASD features. This exercise tentatively suggests evidence of ASD in six of 73 included cases (8%) which is ten times higher when compared to the prevalence of ASD found in the general population worldwide (motherjones.com). The 8% figure for individuals with ASD involved mass killings is a conservative estimate. In addition to the six cases which provide the 8% figure, there were 15 other cases with some indication of ASD. Crucially, ASD may influence, but does not cause, an individual to commit extreme violent acts such as a mass shooting episode

Breaking up is hard to do...but even harder when it comes to friends

Newspaper article based on findings from a Mass Observation Project directive about the 'ups and downs' of friendship, which forms part of the Critical Associations research project at Realities, part of the National Centre Research Methods

Explaining Romanian labor migration: from development gaps to development trajectories

While migration scholars often neglect the national and transnational relations of production and exchange within which labor migration occurs, international political economists tend to treat labor migration as a mere side effect of transnational capitalism. By contrast, this article considers the constitutive role that post-socialist transformations and the EU integration played in shaping the various patterns of intra-European east–west labor migration since 1989. We argue that labor migration was not driven by development differentials between the west and the east as such, but rather by the particular type of development the latter adopted after the fall of communist regimes and by the way post-socialist countries were integrated in transnational circuits of production and exchange. We are sustaining our claims by a comparative assessment across time of the articulations between the different modes of production and different labor migration patterns during different stages of Romania's post-socialist transformation. This historical comparison enables us to insulate the influence of changing levels of development and modes of production on labor migration because our focus on a single country is keeping the influence of other national institutional factors constant