On the horns of a dilemma: experts as communicators for property-level flood risk adaptation measures

This paper investigates the role of flood risk experts in supporting homeowners to implement property-level flood risk adaption (PLFRA). Homeowners can reduce their flood risks by implementing PLFRA. However, oftentimes they need advice on what sort of and how to implement PLFRA. This means that tailored experts advice is necessary to inform homeowners on such measures. But experience shows that mere information is often insufficient to motivate homeowners to realize measures. This contribution explores the reasons for the ineffectiveness of expert advice by investigating how expert advice responds to homeowners’ rationalities. Based on a case study from Flanders, Belgium, this paper reveals how the relation between experts and homeowners differs related to different rationalities of homeowners. The paper uses Cultural Theory to discuss strategies on how experts, providing advice on property-level risk adaption, could move beyond engineering skills by also using risk communication skills in order to involve homeowners in flood risk governance

Extent and Influence of Recreational Drug Use on Men and Women Aged 15 Years and Older in South Africa

Illicit drug use negatively affects development of human and physical capital of any nation. Huge financial resources are allocated to prevent and curb illicit drug use. The use of these drugs continue to spread across race and age groups, despite application of various control measures. The information provided in this paper contributes towards understanding the extent and influence of illicit drugs use in South Africa. A population-based national HIV prevalence, behaviour and health survey conducted in 2008, incorporated questions on the extent and use of illicit drugs. A multistage random population sample of 15 845 persons aged 15 years or older (58% women and 42% men) was included in the survey. The use of combined illicit drugs excluding cannabis was reported by 1.7% of the 13 119 participants, and including cannabis by 4.3 % of the 13 128 participants. The Coloured men (14.3%) were the most likely to use cannabis, where as the Indian women (0.6%) were the least likely. The urban residents (5.4%) were more likely to report use of any illicit drug including cannabis than rural dwellers (2.5%). Illicit drug use has a high association with illnesses thus call for interventions to address this serious problem. Key Words: Recreational drug use, South Africa, illicit drug use, HIV prevalence surve

Determination of S17(0) from published data

The experimental landscape for the 7Be+p radiative capture reaction is rapidly changing as new high precision data become available. We present an evaluation of existing data, detailing the treatment of systematic errors and discrepancies, and show how they constrain the astrophysical S factor (S17), independent of any nuclear structure model. With theoretical models robustly determining the behavior of the sub-threshold pole, the extrapolation error can be reduced and a constraint placed on the slope of S17. Using only radiative capture data, we find S17(0) = 20.7 +/- 0.6 (stat) +/- 1.0 (syst) eV b if data sets are completely independent, while if data sets are completely correlated we find S17(0) = 21.4 +/- 0.5 (stat) +/- 1.4 (syst) eV b. The truth likely lies somewhere in between these two limits. Although we employ a formalism capable of treating discrepant data, we note that the central value of the S factor is dominated by the recent high precision data of Junghans et al., which imply a substantially higher value than other radiative capture and indirect measurements. Therefore we conclude that further progress will require new high precision data with a detailed error budget.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure published versio

Decay Rate of Triaxially-Deformed Proton Emitters

The decay rate of a triaxially-deformed proton emitter is calculated in a particle-rotor model, which is based on a deformed Woods-Saxon potential and includes a deformed spin-orbit interaction. The wave function of the $I=7/2^{-}$ ground state of the deformed proton emitter $^{141}$Ho is obtained in the adiabatic limit, and a Green's function technique is used to calculate the decay rate and branching ratio to the first excited 2$^{+}$ state of the daughter nucleus. Only for values of the triaxial angle $\gamma$ $<5^{\circ}$ is good agreement obtained for both the total decay rate and the 2$^{+}$ branching ratio.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure

Breakup of the weakly bound 17F nucleus

The breakup of the radioactive 17F nucleus into a proton and 16O is studied for the reaction 17F + 208Pb --> p + 16O + 208Pb at 65 MeV/nucleon. The possibility of using this reaction as a test case for studying dynamical Coulomb reacceleration effects is assessed. It is shown that the reaction is dominated by elastic nuclear breakup (diffraction dissociation).Comment: 17 figures and 8 figure

Alcohol use and problem drinking in South Africa: findings from a national population-based survey

Objective: This study formed part of the South African National HIV, Incidence, Behaviour and Communication (SABSSM) 2008 survey, which included questions assessing the extent of alcohol use and problem drinking among South Africans. Method: A multistage random population sample of 15 828 persons aged 15 or older (56.3% women) was included in the survey. Alcohol use was assessed using the Alcohol Use Identification Test (AUDIT). Tabulation of data for different age groups, geolocality, educational level, income, and population group produced the estimates and associated confidence intervals. The odds ratios for these variables in relation to hazardous or harmful drinking were also computed. Results: Current alcohol use was reported by 41.5% of the men and 17.1% of women. White men (69.8%) were most likely and Indian/Asian women (15.2%) least likely to be current drinkers. Urban residents (33.4 %) were more likely than rural dwellers (18.3%) to report current drinking. Risky or hazardous or harmful drinking was reported by 9%: 17% among men and 2.9% among women. In men, risky drinking was associated with: the 20-54 year age group; the Coloured population group; lower economic status; and lower education. Among women, risky drinking was associated with: urban residence; the Coloured population group; lower education; and higher income. Conclusion: An increase in current, binge drinking and hazardous or harmful drinking prevalence rates was observed from 2005 to 2008 in South Africa. Multilevel interventions are required to target high-risk drinkers and to create awareness in the general population of the problems associated with harmful drinking. Future prospective studies are needed to assess the impact of problem drinking.Key words: Alcohol use; Binge drinking; Hazardous or harmful drinking; Prevalence; National, population-based survey; South Afric

Sports teams as complex adaptive systems: manipulating player numbers shapes behaviours during football small-sided games

Small-sided and conditioned games (SSCGs) in sport have been modelled as complex adaptive systems. Research has shown that the relative space per player (RSP) formulated in SSCGs can impact on emergent tactical behaviours. In this study we adopted a systems orientation to analyse how different RSP values, obtained through manipulations of player numbers, influenced four measures of interpersonal coordination observed during performance in SSCGs. For this purpose we calculated positional data (GPS 15 Hz) from ten U-15 football players performing in three SSCGs varying in player numbers (3v3, 4v4 and 5v5). Key measures of SSCG system behaviours included values of (1) players’ dispersion, (2) teams’ separateness, (3) coupling strength and time delays between participants’ emerging movements, respectively. Results showed that values of participants’ dispersion increased, but the teams’ separateness remained identical across treatments. Coupling strength and time delay also showed consistent values across SSCGs. These results exemplified how complex adaptive systems, like football teams, can harness inherent degeneracy to maintain similar team spatial–temporal relations with opponents through changes in inter-individual coordination modes (i.e., players’ dispersion). The results imply that different team behaviours might emerge at different ratios of field dimension/player numbers. Therefore, sport pedagogists should carefully evaluate the effects of changing RSP in SSCGs as a way of promoting increased or decreased pressure on players