Unfitness to Plead. Volume 1: Report.

This has been produced along with Volume 2: Draft Legislation as a combined document Presented to Parliament pursuant to section 3(2) of the Law Commissions Act 1965 Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on 12 January 201

Far-UVC (222 nm) efficiently inactivated an airborne pathogen in a room-sized chamber

Funding: We acknowledge the financial assistance of the United Kingdom’s Department for Health and Social Care (2020/092).Many infectious diseases, including COVID-19, are transmitted by airborne pathogens. There is a need for effective environmental control measures which, ideally, are not reliant on human behaviour. One potential solution is Krypton Chloride (KrCl) excimer lamps (often referred to as Far-UVC), which can efficiently inactivate pathogens, such as coronaviruses and influenza, in air. Research demonstrates that when KrCl lamps are filtered to remove longer-wavelength ultraviolet emissions they do not induce acute reactions in the skin or eyes, nor delayed effects such as skin cancer. While there is laboratory evidence for Far-UVC efficacy, there is limited evidence in full-sized rooms. For the first time, we show that Far-UVC deployed in a room-sized chamber effectively inactivates aerosolised Staphylococcus aureus. At a room ventilation rate of 3 air-changes-per-hour (ACH), with 5 filtered-sources the steady-state pathogen load was reduced by 98.4% providing an additional 184 equivalent air changes (eACH). This reduction was achieved using Far-UVC irradiances consistent with current American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists threshold limit values for skin for a continuous 8-h exposure. Our data indicate that Far-UVC is likely to be more effective against common airborne viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, than bacteria and should thus be an effective and “hands-off” technology to reduce airborne disease transmission. The findings provide room-scale data to support the design and development of effective Far-UVC systems.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Institutions and social structures

This paper clarifies the terms "institutions" and "social structures" and related terms "rules", "conventions", "norms", "values" and "customs". Part one explores the similarities between institutions and social structures whilst the second and third parts explore differences. Part two considers institutions, rules, habits or habitus and habituation, whilst part three critically reflects on three common conceptions of social structures. The conclusion comments upon reflexive deliberation via the internal conversation. © The Executive Management Committee/Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2008

The conduct of inquiry in international relations: The view from graduate school

Jackson’s book, The Conduct of Inquiry in International Relations, is most likely to be assigned or recommended in graduate classes addressing the philosophy of science, qualitative methodology, and research design. It might then be useful to ask two graduate students whether this is a good idea. How helpful is yet another book on the meta-theoretical status of International Relations? Our answer to this question has four parts. First, we ask whether and how Jackson’s ordering scheme clarifies debates in IR. Second, we discuss the consequences of the scheme for understanding the state of research in IR. Third, we outline the prescriptive consequences of the scheme for graduate students and our own research. Finally, we present three limitations on the usefulness of Jackson’s book to budding scholars

Local population disappearance follows (20 yr after) cycle collapse in a pivotal ecological species

Populations of the echinoid Paracentrotus lividus have undergone spectacular population fluctuations over the last 40 yr at Lough Hyne, SW Ireland, Censuses in 2000 and 2001, reported here, show no individuals present in the South Basin of Lough Hyne, for what is believed to be, the first time since observations began in the late 1920s. As with many echinoids, R lividus was considered to have a pivotal role in benthic ecology through control of algae by grazing, The discontinuation of P. lividus in South Basin of Lough Hyne is significant for 3 reasons. First, the database was 1 of the longest running censuses of a discrete echinoid population anywhere, Second, some corresponding environmental and population size structure data had been recorded over several decades. Third, P lividus was very important in structuring the shallow benthic community of the oldest marine reserve in Europe

Researching Management Practices:Understanding, Explaining and Improving the Practice of Management

This Workshop addresses theoretical and practitioner challenges in studying management practice. Many organization, strategy and management researchers have commented on the value of the practice-based approach which, drawing on movements in social sciences more generally, has been referred to as 'the practice turn' (Whittington, 2006; Schatzki, Knorr-Cetina, & von Savigny, 2001). While practice is often conceived as bundles of activities, there are significant differences in the conceptions of activities and their connections to one another. Practices are the context of action and are themselves constituted through meaningful action. Thus the study of practices incorporates understanding activities, experiences, presentation (and re-presentation), skills, learning and the materiality of action. However, a rich theoretical background and diverse contributions create conflicting advice for managers and researchers alike. The purpose of this workshop is not to reduce this rich complexity but to enable those in the field to explore the different positions adopted and to discuss where productive dialogues and debates between those positions might be fostered. The workshop is designed to facilitate discussion and mapping activities of the multiple theoretical and practitioner implications. We set out to explore the many approaches associated with different traditions of practice-based research. The workshop will be of interest to those concerned with theory building in practice-based research; the theory-practice interface; and faculty and doctoral candidates seeking research inspiration. The overarching aim is to stimulate dialogue between fields where there is an interest in practice