Energy Projects in Milton Keynes: Energy Consultative Unit Progress Report 1976-1981

The Energy Consultative Unit was a joint Open University/MKDC body set up by Professor Jake Chapman, founder of the OU Energy Research Group. This report describes the work carried out on energy-related projects in Milton Keynes over the period 1976-1981, many of them involving the Open University. After a short explanation of how energy is used in the UK, the report introduces the Energy Consultative Unit projects and summarises the main conclusions drawn from the Unit's work. It then describes the projects on which the Unit has worked and summarises other energy projects under way in the new city. It does not go into the projects in detail, but there are a number of technical reports available for people who want to study them in more depth, and these are listed in the back of the report. The projects represent the work of a considerable number of people and a list of acknowledgements, indicating who should be contacted for further information, is also set out at the back of the report

Quantitative Analysis of Disparities in Juvenile Delinquency Referrals

Minority youths in Anchorage are referred to the Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) for delinquent behavior at rates much higher than white youths. This report, presenting the first findings from an extended examination of extended examination of race, ethnicity, and juvenile justice in Anchorage, provides a broad overview of the level of disproportionate minority contact in the Alaska juvenile justice system and examines whether disproportionate minority contact occurs (1) for all minority youth, (2) for both males and females, (3) for both youth referred for new crimes and youth referred for conduct or probation violations, and (4) throughout the Municipality of Anchorage or in specific geographical areas within the Municipality of Anchorage. By developing a detailed understanding of the scope of disproportionate minority contact, we become much better prepared to identify its causes and to develop promising evidence-based solutions. The sample in this analysis includes 1,936 youths who resided in Anchorage and were referred to DJJ in Anchorage during fiscal year 2005 for new crimes, probation violations, or conduct violations.National Institute of Justice Grant No. 2005-IJ-CX-0013Table and Figures / Acknowledgments / Executive Summary / Quantitative Analysis of Disparities in Juvenile Delinquency Referrals / Sample and Data / Geographic Data / Census Data / Juvenile Justice Data / Analysis / Results / Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Composition of Referred Youth / Disproportionate Minority Contact in Anchorage / Rates of Referral by Census Tract / Disproportionate Minority Contact by Census Tract / Disproportionate Minority Contact by Census Tract, for All Minority Youth / Disproportionate Minority Contact by Census Tract, for Black Youth / Disproportionate Minority Contact by Census Tract, for Native Youth / Disproportionate Minority Contact by Census Tract, for Asian Youth / Disproportionate Minority Contact by Census Tract, for Pacific Youth / Disproportionate Minority Contact by Census Tract, for Other Minority Youth / Disproportionate Minority Contact by Census Tract, for Multiracial Youth / Disproportionate Minority Contact by Census Tract, for Hispanic Youth / Summary of DMC Analyses by Census Tract / Summary and Conclusion / Appendices A. Technical Notes on Relative Rate Indices B. Technical Notes on Relative EB Rate Indices C. Type of Analysis by Census Trac

An exploration of student nurses’ experiences and development in non-judgementality, through the analysis of the learning of sexuality in preparatory adult nurse education

Background This research explores student nurses’ understanding of non-judgementality, their experiences and their ability to be non-judgemental and tolerant of the diversity in sexuality and nursing. The researcher wanted to know how teachers can develop nurses who meet the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) expectations of non-judgementality in relation to sexuality (NMC, 2015, updated 2018). The study was conducted after the introduction of a module on sexuality for a cohort of second-year nursing undergraduates at a higher education institution in England. The two-week module on sexuality and nursing was developed and implemented for an undergraduate year. It comprised two taught days of theory and discussion, online reading and multiple-choice assessment. Its aim was to increase awareness in nursing students of the importance of patients’ sexuality to their emotional and physical health and to encourage discussion on any anxieties surrounding the subject area. In this study, student nurse participants were asked to join an online discussion group during the teaching, and then, whilst in clinical placement, to complete a digital diary. Methodology A pluralistic methodology was used that incorporated narrative and psychodynamic theories. Data collection In 2016/17, 27 students were recruited to participate in the study. A range of methods were used to collect data: online discussion groups, digital diaries and face-to-face interviews. Three groups participated in online discussions: Group 2 had two participants and Group 3 five, whilst Group 5 had no participants. As a result, only two groups of data were obtained. Eight digital diaries were completed and three interviews conducted. Data analysis Data were analysed using the narrative theories of Labov and Braun and Clarke and the psychodynamic theory of Michael Balint. Findings This research reveals the experiences of student nurses in becoming non-judgemental when caring for patients and their sexuality. I will describe several factors that constrain and enable this journey: 1. Student nurses’ own backgrounds, which are diverse, shape how they meet/deal with the challenge. 2. Student nurses observe/witness judgemental practices towards sexuality in their mentors and other nurses that challenge their own, developing non-judgementality. 3. These experiences raise emotional challenges for the student nurse and their development towards non-judgementality

Final Report: Anchorage Disproportionate Minority Contact Study

This project examined disproportionate minority contact in Anchorage, Alaska. It was designed to provide a more nuanced understanding of disproportionate minority contact at the referral stage (when law enforcement officers refer youth to the Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice). To do so, we relied on community involvement and utilized different statistical techniques to examine the geography and development of disproportionate minority contact. Researchers partnered with practitioners from the Anchorage Disproportionate Minority Contact Initiative to structure the research process and to interpret and disseminate results. Geographic analyses were conducted to examine where the highest levels of disproportionate minority contact were occurring and longitudinal analyses were conducted to examine at what age disproportionate minority contact began. These analyses provided an understanding of disproportionate minority contact that was obscured when examining relative rate indices. Geographic analyses, for example, revealed high levels of disproportionate minority contact for Pacific youth (a group that would have traditionally been ignored because of its ‘small population’). Longitudinal analyses revealed that disproportionate minority contact began at age 13. Although relative rate indices are useful to identify broad patterns in disproportionate minority contact, they are less useful to drive action. We overcame this limitation with strong community partnerships and different statistical methods for disproportionate minority contact research. In the end, practitioners and researchers used data and research to develop strategic plans to reduce disproportionate minority contact.National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Grant No. 2005-IJ-CX-0013I. Disproportionate Minority Contact Table 1. Summary of National Relative Rate Indices, 2005 Figure 1. National Relative Rate Indices for Arrest Stage: 1990-2005 Figure 2. National Relative Rate Indices for Referral Stage: 1990-2005 Table 2. Summary of Relative Rate Indices for FY05 Table 3. Relative Rate Indices by Race Table 4. Relative Rate Indices by Race, Gender, and Type of Referral / II. Community Involvement Table 5. Strategies and Objectives for Anchorage DMC Initiative / III. Geography of Disproportionate Minority Contact Figure 3. Census Tracts in Municipality of Anchorage Table 6. Composition of Census Tracts by Race Figure 4. EB Rates of Referral by Race Table 7. EB Rates of Referral by Race Figure 5. Relative EB Rate Indices by Race Table 8. Distribution of Relative EB Rate Indices by Race Table 9. Descriptive Statistics for Relative EB Rate Indices by Race Figure 6. Minority Group with Highest Relative EB Rate Index / IV. Development of Disproportionate Minority Contact Table 10. Total Number of Charges for Anchorage Cohort, Age 10-17 Table 11. Age at First Charge for Anchorage Cohort Table 12. Racial Composition of Cohort and Population At-Risk Table 13. Bayesian Information Criterion Statistics Table 14. Predicted Average Referral Rates Table 15. Characteristics of Developmental Trajectories Figure 7. Predicted Average Referral Rates: Five-Group Model Table 16. Demographic Composition of Developmental Trajectories Figure 8. Predicted Group Membership Probabilities by Rac

D Branes and Textures

We examine the flavor structure of the trilinear superpotential couplings which can result from embedding the Standard Model within D brane sectors in Type IIB orientifold models, which are examples within the Type I string framework. We find in general that the allowed flavor structures of the Yukawa coupling matrices to leading order are given by basic variations on the "democratic" texture ansatz. In certain interesting cases, the Yukawa couplings have a novel structure in which a single right-handed fermion couples democratically at leading order to three left-handed fermions. We discuss the viability of such a ``single right-handed democracy'' in detail; remarkably, even though there are large mixing angles in the u,d sectors separately, the CKM mixing angles are small. The analysis demonstrates the ways in which the Type I superstring framework can provide a rich setting for investigating novel resolutions to the flavor puzzle.Comment: 23 pages, references adde

Introducing Asymmetric Separability in the FAST Multistage Demand System

This paper determines the set of parametric restrictions required to maintain flexibility under asymmetric weak separability for the flexible and separable translog (FAST) multistage demand system. Because there is not a unique set of parametric restrictions that ensures separability and the values of the unconditional price and expenditure elasticities depend on the parametric restrictions imposed, the appropriateness of a chosen set of parametric restrictions should be tested empirically. An empirical example that illustrates how the choice of parametric restrictions affects the estimation results and the functional form of the price and expenditure elasticities is provided.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,