1,677 research outputs found
National and Regional Estimates of the Prevalence of Opiate and/or Crack Cocaine use 2008-09: A summary of key findings
<p>This report summarises the results of a follow-up study
to a three year project to estimate the prevalence of
‘problem drug use’ (defined as use of opiates and/or
crack cocaine) nationally (England only), regionally and
locally. The follow-up was carried out two years after the
final sweep of the original project, so could therefore
be considered as ‘sweep 5’. An overview of the national
and regional estimates are presented in this report, as are
comparisons with the estimates produced by the third
(2006-07) sweep of the study. Estimates for 2007-08 are
not available as a study was not commissioned for that
year.</p>
<p>Information about the number of people who use illicit
drugs such as heroin, other opiates or crack cocaine
is key to formulating effective policies for tackling
drug-related harm as these drugs are associated with
the highest levels of harm. It also helps inform service
provision at the local level and provides a context
in which to understand the population impact of
interventions to reduce drug-related harm.</p>
<p>Direct enumeration of those engaged in a largely covert
activity such as the use of class A drugs is difficult
and standard household survey techniques tend to
underestimate the extent of such activity. Indirect
techniques making use of various data sources offer a
more reliable way of calculating prevalence estimates for
the use of opiates and/or crack cocaine. The estimates
presented in this report are derived using two indirect
measurement techniques: the capture-recapture
method (CRC ); and the multiple indicator (MIM ) method.
These methods are described in detail in Hay et al., 2006
and Hay et al., 2007a. Methodological developments
throughout the course of the previous three sweeps are
discussed elsewhere (Hay et al., 2007b, Hay et al., 2008).
The individuals covered by this study were people aged
15 to 64 and resident in each DAT area, and known to
be using heroin, methadone, other opiate drugs or
crack cocaine.</p>
Charges of Exceptionally Twisted Branes
The charges of the exceptionally twisted (D4 with triality and E6 with charge
conjugation) D-branes of WZW models are determined from the microscopic/CFT
point of view. The branes are labeled by twisted representations of the affine
algebra, and their charge is determined to be the ground state multiplicity of
the twisted representation. It is explicitly shown using Lie theory that the
charge groups of these twisted branes are the same as those of the untwisted
ones, confirming the macroscopic K-theoretic calculation. A key ingredient in
our proof is that, surprisingly, the G2 and F4 Weyl dimensions see the simple
currents of A2 and D4, respectively.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figures, LaTex2e, complete proofs of all statements,
updated bibliograph
Sexual offender’s experiences of polygraph testing: a thematic study in three probation trusts
Post-conviction polygraph testing of sexual offenders is controversial and the use of the polygraph as a means of supporting supervision of sexual offenders has only recently been explored. This study quantitatively examined qualitatively offender managers’ and sexual offenders’ views on the mandatory use of the polygraph in a community-based supervision.
Fifteen polygraphed offenders and their 10 offender managers (polygraph group), and 10 non-polygraphed offenders and their ten offender managers (comparison group) were asked about their experiences and perceptions of a mandatory polygraph use. Using thematic analysis, the results provided four main themes: (1) truth detection, (2) perceptions of behaviour change, (3) perceptions of polygraph as part of supervision, and (4) national implementation of polygraph testing.
Results suggest several benefits to mandatory polygraph testing as a support for supervision, including offenders making more high-risk disclosures, motivating offender honesty, and aiding offenders’ compliance with licence conditions
On-Orbit Validation of a Framework for Spacecraft-Initiated Communication Service Requests with NASA's SCaN Testbed
We design, analyze, and experimentally validate a framework for demand-based allocation of high-performance space communication service in which the user spacecraft itself initiates a request for service. Leveraging machine-to-machine communications, the automated process has potential to improve the responsiveness and efficiency of space network operations. We propose an augmented ground station architecture in which a hemispherical-pattern antenna allows for reception of service requests sent from any user spacecraft within view. A suite of ground-based automation software acts upon these direct-to-Earth requests and allocates access to high-performance service through a ground station or relay satellite in response to immediate user demand. A software-defined radio transceiver, optimized for reception of weak signals from the helical antenna, is presented. Design and testing of signal processing equipment and a software framework to handle service requests is discussed. Preliminary results from on-orbit demonstrations with a testbed onboard the International Space Station are presented to verify feasibility of the concept
Symmetries of the Kac-Peterson Modular Matrices of Affine Algebras
The characters of nontwisted affine algebras at fixed level define
in a natural way a representation of the modular group . The
matrices in the image are called the Kac-Peterson modular
matrices, and describe the modular behaviour of the characters. In this paper
we consider all levels of , and for
each of these find all permutations of the highest weights which commute with
the corresponding Kac-Peterson matrices. This problem is equivalent to the
classification of automorphism invariants of conformal field theories, and its
solution, especially considering its simplicity, is a major step toward the
classification of all Wess-Zumino-Witten conformal field theories.Comment: 16 pp, plain te
Lie group weight multiplicities from conformal field theory
Dominant weight multiplicities of simple Lie groups are expressed in terms of
the modular matrices of Wess-Zumino-Witten conformal field theories, and
related objects. Symmetries of the modular matrices give rise to new relations
among multiplicities. At least for some Lie groups, these new relations are
strong enough to completely fix all multiplicities.Comment: 12 pages, Plain TeX, no figure
Automorphism Modular Invariants of Current Algebras
We consider those two-dimensional rational conformal field theories (RCFTs)
whose chiral algebras, when maximally extended, are isomorphic to the current
algebra formed from some affine non-twisted Kac--Moody algebra at fixed level.
In this case the partition function is specified by an automorphism of the
fusion ring and corresponding symmetry of the Kac--Peterson modular matrices.
We classify all such partition functions when the underlying finite-dimensional
Lie algebra is simple. This gives all possible spectra for this class of RCFTs.
While accomplishing this, we also find the primary fields with second smallest
quantum dimension.Comment: 32 pages, plain Te
Fivebranes and 4-manifolds
We describe rules for building 2d theories labeled by 4-manifolds. Using the
proposed dictionary between building blocks of 4-manifolds and 2d N=(0,2)
theories, we obtain a number of results, which include new 3d N=2 theories
T[M_3] associated with rational homology spheres and new results for
Vafa-Witten partition functions on 4-manifolds. In particular, we point out
that the gluing measure for the latter is precisely the superconformal index of
2d (0,2) vector multiplet and relate the basic building blocks with coset
branching functions. We also offer a new look at the fusion of defect lines /
walls, and a physical interpretation of the 4d and 3d Kirby calculus as
dualities of 2d N=(0,2) theories and 3d N=2 theories, respectivelyComment: 81 pages, 18 figures. v2: misprints corrected, clarifications and
references added. v3: additions and corrections about lens space theory,
4-manifold gluing, smooth structure
The charges of a twisted brane
The charges of the twisted D-branes of certain WZW models are determined. The
twisted D-branes are labelled by twisted representations of the affine algebra,
and their charge is simply the ground state multiplicity of the twisted
representation. It is shown that the resulting charge group is isomorphic to
the charge group of the untwisted branes, as had been anticipated from a
K-theory calculation. Our arguments rely on a number of non-trivial Lie
theoretic identities.Comment: 27 pages, 1 figure, harvmac (b
Abusive supervision in commercial kitchens:Insights from the restaurant industry
This mixed-method study investigates how abusive supervision and bullying impact job satisfaction and turnover intentions among employees in an environment plagued by ingrained incivility: commercial kitchens. Underpinned by social learning theory, we draw from 832 survey responses and 20 in-depth interviews to explore the extent to which supervisory abuse and workplace bullying negatively impact employee perceptions of their working environment while also investigating positive alternatives therein (e.g., authentic leadership and encouragement of creativity). Results suggest that, despite day-to-day challenges posed by abusive leadership, a strong sense of camaraderie and passion for kitchen work stimulated a commitment to the job. Accordingly, the study concludes that the inherently creative nature of commercial kitchen work and the personalities of fellow staff played a significant role in retaining employees. It thus highlights the complexity of food service employee retention and suggests that a holistic understanding of both leadership dynamics and intrinsic motives is essential
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