Entrepreneurial Policing? International Policing Challenges

International police assistance is a global growth industry. Democratic police reform has become a cornerstone of security sector reform within peacebuilding and capacity building programmes. The UK provides police for a wide range of missions across the world. There are challenges in the provision of quality policing services resulting from the fragmented nature of UK police service provision and growing tension between state and corporate providers

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Analysis of the crew equipment subsystem

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA approach features a top-down analysis of the hardware to determine failure modes, criticality, and potential critical (PCIs) items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. The independent analysis results coresponding to the Orbiter crew equipment hardware are documented. The IOA analysis process utilized available crew equipment hardware drawings and schematics for defining hardware assemblies, components, and hardware items. Each level of hardware was evaluated and analyzed for possible failure modes and effects. Criticality was assigned based upon the severity of the effect for each failure mode. Of the 352 failure modes analyzed, 78 were determined to be PCIs

Recovery Plan Awareness Among South Florida Land-Use Decision-Makers

This study identified a challenge for natural resource communication: increasing awareness of species recovery plans among a key audience, local decision-makers. Under the Endangered Species Act, recovery plans are written to conserve threatened and endangered species and their ecosystems. For these plans to be successful, they must be integrated into local land-use decisions. A survey of landuse planners and regulators (N = 59) in the 19 counties of south Florida examined 1) exposure to information about threatened and endangered species, 2) awareness of the South Florida Multi-species Recovery Plan (MSRP), and 3) awareness of local threatened and endangered species. The results indicated decision-makers are receiving relatively little information about threatened and endangered species, have low awareness of the MSRP, and are only moderately aware of which threatened and endangered species occur in their counties. There is a need for better communication with local land-use decision-makers to increase awareness of recovery plans, the information they contain, and how to access them. Decisionmakers also reported being pressed for time, needing information that pertains specifically to their county, and having concerns about the quality of the available information. Recommendations for message strategy include developing condensed versions of the plan, organizing information by county, and providing information to help decision-makers evaluate the utility and limitations of recovery plan information and make appropriate interpretations. Future research should examine how best to communicate with decisionmakers in the context of recovery planning and other agricultural and natural resources issues

Interactive Visualization: Video Walls for Collaborative Research and Discovery (Snapshot of CURVE)

Discusses large-scale video walls in libraries designed for collaboration that can change users’ perspective and reframe and amplify digital content in shared physical spaces. Georgia State University Library’s newly-opened CURVE: Collaborative University Research & Visualization Environment features a 24-by-4.5-foot, high-resolution CURVE interactWall that expands student and faculty access to digital resources, data visualization, and more

Cold tolerance of the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), in Ontario.

We characterized the cold tolerance of natural populations of the Eastern subterranean termite (Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) [Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae]) in southwestern Ontario, Canada. We measured cold tolerance in workers from six colonies of termites established from Pelee Island in Lake Erie, and Point Pelee National Park. The mean critical thermal minimum, at which termites entered chill coma, ranged from 8.1 to 5.7°C. Mean supercooling points (SCP, the temperature at which individuals freeze) ranged from -4 to -4.6°C, and did not differ significantly between colonies, nor was SCP dependent on body size. Individuals survived brief exposure to low temperatures, as long as they did not freeze, but internal ice formation was always lethal, suggesting a freeze avoiding strategy. The LT50 (temperature at which 50% of individuals were killed by a 1 h exposure) was -5.1°C, but all individuals could survive -2°C for at least 72 h. Low temperature acclimation (12°C, 7 d) or hardening (4°C, 2 h) had no impact on the SCP, but acclimation did slightly increase the critical thermal minimum, making the termites less cold tolerant. We conclude that R. flavipes is not particularly cold tolerant, and likely relies on burrowing deep into the soil to avoid exposure to temperature to extremes

Identificación de las larvas de peces mediante MtDNA en la parte sur de la Gran Barrera de Coral, Australia

Planktonic larvae were captured above a shallow coral reef study site on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) around spring-summer new moon periods (October-February) using light trap or net capture devices. Larvae were identified to the genus or species level by comparison with a phylogenetic tree of tropical marine fish species using mtDNA HVR1 sequence data. Further analysis showed that within-species HVR1 sequence variation was typically 1-3%, whereas between-species variation for the same genus ranged up to 50%, supporting the suitability of HVR1 for species identification. Given the current worldwide interest in DNA barcoding and species identification using an alternative mtDNA gene marker (cox1), we also explored the efficacy of different primer sets for amplification of cox1 in reef fish, and its suitability for species identification. Of those tested, the Fish-F1 and -R1 primer set recently reported by Ward et al. (2005) gave the best results.Las larvas estudiadas fueron capturadas en el plancton de una zona coralina somera en la Gran Barrera de Coral en períodos de luna-nueva de la estación primavera-verano (octubre-febrero). Su captura se realizó mediante trampas de luz o redes de plancton. Las larvas fueron identificadas a nivel de género o especie por la comparación de un árbol filogenético de especies de peces tropicales marinas usando datos de la secuencia HVR1 del DNA mitocondrial. El análisis adicional demostró que, para una misma especie, la variación de la secuencia HVR1 era típicamente 1-3%, mientras que entre especies del mismo género la variación fue de hasta 50%, apoyando la conveniencia del uso del HVR1 para la identificación a nivel específico. Dado el interés mundial actual en el “código de barras genético” y en la identificación de especies usando otro marcador genético de DNA mitochondrial, el cox1, se exploró también la eficacia de diversos “primers” para la amplificación del cox1 en peces de los arrecifes, y su conveniencia para la identificación específica. De los “primers” probados, el Fish-F1 y el -R1 set recientemente reportado por Ward et al. (2005) dieron los mejores resultados

Health professionals' perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to providing smoking cessation advice to women in pregnancy and during the post-partum period : a systematic review of qualitative research

Background: Reducing smoking in pregnancy is a policy priority in many countries and as a result there has been a rise in the development of services to help pregnant women to quit. A wide range of professionals are involved in providing these services, with midwives playing a particularly pivotal role. Understanding professionals' experiences of providing smoking cessation support in pregnancy can help to inform the design of interventions as well as to improve routine care. Methods: A synthesis of qualitative research of health professionals' perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to providing smoking cessation advice to women in pregnancy and the post-partum period was conducted using meta-ethnography. Searches were undertaken from 1990 to January 2015 using terms for maternity health professionals and smoking cessation advisors, pregnancy, post-partum, smoking, and qualitative in seven electronic databases. The review was reported in accordance with the 'Enhancing transparency in reporting the synthesis of qualitative research' (ENTREQ) statement. Results: Eight studies reported in nine papers were included, reporting on the views of 190 health professionals/ key informants, including 85 midwives and health visitors. The synthesis identified that both the professional role of participants and the organisational context in which they worked could act as either barriers or facilitators to an individual's ability to provide smoking cessation support to pregnant or post-partum women. Underpinning these factors was an acknowledgment that the association between maternal smoking and social disadvantage was a considerable barrier to addressing and supporting smoking cessation Conclusions: The review identifies a role for professional education, both pre-qualification and in continuing professional development that will enable individuals to provide smoking cessation support to pregnant women. Key to the success of this education is recognising the centrality of the professional-client/patient relationship in any interaction. The review also highlights a widespread professional perception of the barriers associated with helping women give up smoking in pregnancy, particularly for those in disadvantaged circumstances. Improving the quality and accessibility of evidence on effective healthcare interventions, including evidence on 'what works' to support smoking cessation in disadvantaged groups, should therefore be a priority

Validation du « Hunt Squash Accuracy Test » pour évaluer la performance des joueurs dans l'exécution de leurs coups

This study examined the validity of the Hunt Squash Accuracy Test (HSAT) for predicting within-game shot performance and tournament rank. Shots from eight male junior squash players performing the HSAT and tournament match-play were analysed. A typical-error analysis from repeated trials showed the HSAT to be very reliable (1.82%). HSAT rank had significant correlations (p < 0.05) to tournament rank (r = 0.98) and tournament shot success (r = 0.95). HSAT score showed significant correlations to the percentage of winning shots during match-play (r = 0.88). HSAT shots with significant correlations to successful match-play shots were backhand-drive (r = 0.92) and backhand-volley (r = 0.97). These results suggest the HSAT is a valid method of assessing the accuracy and performance of junior squash players. It could potentially be used to track shot improvements and predict match-play performance

A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF SQUASH SHOT ACCURACY

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the Hunt Squash Accuracy Test (HSAT) for predicting within-game performance on specific shot types. A correlation analysis compared the accuracy of specific shots during tournament match-play to the accuracy of the corresponding shot type in the HSAT. The correlation of the overall HSAT score against tournament rank was significantly large (0.95), as were the total % shot accuracy (0.90), total % backhand (BH) accuracy (0.94) and total % forehand (FH) accuracy (0.77) correlations. The only specific HSAT shot types with significantly large correlations to the corresponding match-play shots were; BH straight drive (0.92) and BH straight volley (0.97). The remaining shot types; boast, volley-drop and drops all showed non-significant correlations on both the BH and FH sides

Holographic aberration correction: optimising the stiffness of an optical trap deep in the sample

We investigate the effects of 1st order spherical aberration and defocus upon the stiffness of an optical trap tens of μm into the sample. We control both these aberrations with a spatial light modulator. The key to maintain optimum trap stiffness over a range of depths is a specific non-trivial combination of defocus and axial objective position. This optimisation increases the trap stiffness by up to a factor of 3 and allows trapping of 1μm polystyrene beads up to 50μm deep in the sample.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt