Characterization of Spatial Coherence of Synchrotron Radiation with Non-Redundant Arrays of Apertures

We present a method to characterize the spatial coherence of soft X-ray radiation from a single diffraction pattern. The technique is based on scattering from non-redundant arrays (NRA) of slits and records the degree of spatial coherence at several relative separations from one to 15 microns, simultaneously. Using NRAs we measured the transverse coherence of the X-ray beam at the XUV X-ray beamline P04 of the PETRA III synchrotron storage ring as a function of different beam parameters. To verify the results obtained with the NRAs additional Young's double pinhole experiments were conducted and show good agreement.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, 42 reference

Austerity and the lives of people with learning disabilities. A thematic synthesis of current literature

The Financial Crisis of 2008 resulted in many western economies implementing cuts in health and social care. This systematic review provides a holistic picture of the impact of austerity policy on the lives of people with learning disabilities (LD) and the collateral effects on the people who support them. Our review suggests that in the current climate of economic austerity, available funding to support people with LD is no longer aligned to their care needs. Cuts in disability services have adversely affected the well-being both of people with LD and their informal carers. Individuals with LD have lost social support and are experiencing increased social isolation. Heightened demands on family carers’ time have negatively influenced their wider roles, including parental functioning, and labour market participation. Our review provides the foundations for further discourse and research on the effects of austerity on people with LD and their family carers

An explanation of the underdevelopment of China’s service sector from the perspective of demand

The share of the service sector in China is significantly lower than that in most countries at the same level of income. Figures reveal that an insufficiency in both consumer and producer demand may be one of the reasons. We find that the demand insufficiency mainly stems from high consumer preferences for saving and China’s export-oriented trade structure. These excessive saving tendencies limit consumer demand for service products and thus hamper the development of consumer services in China. The rapid development of the processing trade also impedes the interrelation between the domestic manufacturing and service industries, reduces the effective demand for local producer services from the manufacturing industry, and ultimately restricts the growth of the producer service industry in China

Quality of medical training and emigration of physicians from India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Physician 'brain drain' negatively impacts health care delivery. Interventions to address physician emigration have been constrained by lack of research on systematic factors that influence physician migration. We examined the relationship between the quality of medical training and rate of migration to the United States and the United Kingdom among Indian medical graduates (1955–2002).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We calculated the fraction of medical graduates who emigrated to the United States and the United Kingdom, based on rankings of medical colleges and universities according to three indicators of the quality of medical education (a) student choice, (b) academic publications, and (c) the availability of specialty medical training.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Physicians from the top quintile medical colleges and of universities were 2 to 4 times more likely to emigrate to the United States and the United Kingdom than graduates from the bottom quintile colleges and universities.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Graduates of institutions with better quality medical training have a greater likelihood of emigrating. Interventions designed to counter loss of physicians should focus on graduates from top quality institutions.</p

United Kingdom Fund Managers and Institutional Investors’ Attitudes Toward Japanese Equities

This article explores UK fund managers and institutional investors' attitudes toward Japanese equities. We find a declining home bias of UK pension funds vis-à-vis Japanese equities since the early 1990s. However, for the most part, this decrease is a reflection of Japan's decreasing equity market and gross domestic product weights. Only in the 2000s did UK pension funds increase their Japanese equity holdings slightly. While our informants showed a comparatively high degree of variance in opinions about market factors, certain macro and institutional factors—namely, economic growth, deflation, demographics, and corporate governance—were rated high as explanatory factors for an overall low enthusiasm in Japanese equities. Our discussion confirms that these factors appear to make investments in Japan comparatively less attractive