140 research outputs found
Youth unemployment, community violence, creating opportunities in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: a qualitative study
Background: Tanzania has consistently shown in recent decades to have a high overall crime rate. Although its homicide rate is moderate, Dar es Salaam has an unusually high amount of community violence; more than half of all homicides were due to lynching and vigilantism. Most of these homicides were a reaction to petty theft of purses, cell phones, and domestic meat animals. Employment is hypothesized to decrease petty theft and the resulting homicidal community violence. The objective of this research is to characterize appropriate interventions.Methods: In-depth interviews took place with proxy respondents of youth who had been killed through community violence. Most respondents were relatives of youth killed by community violence or youth who had directly experienced community violence. A focus group was held with at risk youth.Results: “Lack of employment” was the largest node in terms of number of references and sources. It is reported with “Business Ability” and “Normal Life”. Occupational categories for uneducated youth in Dar es Salaam are: formal employment, agriculture, petty business, and day labour. Stealing, begging and emigration occur when other options have failed. Suggestions for decreasing death by community violence fell into three categories, all to do with employment: employment creation, working with youth in groups, and creating a supportive environment for small enterprises.Conclusions: Productive occupations are needed, including the revivification of traditional natural resource based industries such as fisheries and forestry. The physical and legal environment must be made conducive for “self-employed non-agricultural workers”. To optimize potential effectiveness, rigorous experimental research should be conducted, to facilitate humane, equitable, and environmentally sound scale up of youth employment opportunities
Role of isospin dependent mean field in pion production in heavy ion reactions
The importance of a isospin dependent nuclear mean field (IDMF) in regard to
the pion production mechanism is studied for the reaction at 1
GeV/nucleon using the Quantum Molecular Dynamics (QMD) model. In particular,
the effect of the IDMF on pion spectra and the charged pion ratio are analyzed.
It is found that the inclusion of a IDMF considerably suppresses the low
pions, thus, leading to a better agreement with the data on pion spectra.
Moreover, the rapidity distribution of the charged pion ratio appears to be
sensitive to the isospin dependence of the nuclear mean field.Comment: 16 pages, using RevTex, 6 PS-Figure
Delta excitation in K^+-nucleus collisions
We present calculations for \Delta excitation in the (K^+,K^+) reaction in
nuclei. The background from quasielastic K^+ scattering in the \Delta region is
also evaluated and shown to be quite small in some kinematical regions, so as
to allow for a clean identification of the \Delta excitation strength. Nuclear
effects tied to the \Delta renormalization in the nucleus are considered and
the reaction is shown to provide new elements to enrich our knowledge of the
\Delta properties in a nuclear medium.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, LaTe
N N bar,Delta bar N, Delta N bar excitation for the pion propagator in nuclear matter
The particle-hole and Delta -hole excitations are well-known elementary
excitation modes for the pion propagator in nuclear matter. But, the excitation
also involves antiparticles, namely, nucleon-antinucleon, anti-Delta-nucleon
and Delta-antinucleon excitations. These are important for high-energy momentum
as well, and have not been studied before, to our knowledge. In this paper, we
give both the formulas and the numerical calculations for the real and the
imaginary parts of these excitations.Comment: Latex, 3 eps file
Securing recruitment and obtaining informed consent in minority ethnic groups in the UK
Background: Previous health research has often explicitly excluded individuals from minority
ethnic backgrounds due to perceived cultural and communication difficulties, including studies
where there might be language/literacy problems in obtaining informed consent. This study
addressed these difficulties by developing audio-recorded methods of obtaining informed consent
and recording data. This report outlines 1) our experiences with securing recruitment to a
qualitative study investigating alternative methods of data collection, and 2) the development of a
standardised process for obtaining informed consent from individuals from minority ethnic
backgrounds whose main language does not have an agreed written form.
Methods: Two researchers from South Asian backgrounds recruited adults with Type 2 diabetes
whose main language was spoken and not written, to attend a series of focus groups. A screening
tool was used at recruitment in order to assess literacy skills in potential participants. Informed
consent was obtained using audio-recordings of the patient information and recording patients'
verbal consent. Participants' perceptions of this method of obtaining consent were recorded.
Results: Recruitment rates were improved by using telephone compared to face-to-face methods.
The screening tool was found to be acceptable by all potential participants. Audio-recorded
methods of obtaining informed consent were easy to implement and accepted by all participants.
Attrition rates differed according to ethnic group. Snowballing techniques only partly improved
participation rates.
Conclusion: Audio-recorded methods of obtaining informed consent are an acceptable
alternative to written consent in study populations where literacy skills are variable. Further
exploration of issues relating to attrition is required, and a range of methods may be necessary in
order to maximise response and participation
Quantum-Statistical Correlations and Single Particle Distributions for Slowly Expanding Systems with Temperature Profile
Competition among particle evaporation, temperature gradient and flow is
investigated in a phenomenological manner, based on a simultaneous analysis of
quantum statistical correlations and momentum distributions for a
non-relativistic, spherically symmetric, three-dimensionally expanding, finite
source. The parameters of the model emission function are constrained by fits
to neutron and proton momentum distributions and correlation functions in
intermediate energy heavy-ion collisions. The temperature gradient is related
to the momentum dependence of the radius parameters of the two-particle
correlation function, as well as to the momentum-dependent temperature
parameter of the single particle spectrum, while a long duration of particle
evaporation is found to be responsible for the low relative momentum behavior
of the two-particle correlations.Comment: 20 pages + 5 ps figures, ReVTeX, uses psfig.sty, the description is
extended to include final state interactions, phenomenological evaporation
and to fit intermediate energy heavy ion proton and neutron spectrum and
correlation dat
Investigation of Zero-Sound Dispersion Equation in the Complex Plane of Frequency
The known solutions to the zero-sound dispersion equation are considered as
placed on the physical and unphysical sheets in the complex plane of frequency.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure
Uncertainty and correlation analysis of lead nuclear data on reactor parameters for the European Lead Cooled Training Reactor
Integrating cancer survivors' experiences into UK cancer registries: design and development of the ePOCS system (electronic Patient-reported Outcomes from Cancer Survivors)
BACKGROUND: Understanding the psychosocial challenges of cancer survivorship, and identifying which patients experience ongoing difficulties, is a key priority. The ePOCS (electronic patient-reported outcomes from cancer survivors) project aims to develop and evaluate a cost-efficient, UK-scalable electronic system for collecting patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), at regular post-diagnostic timepoints, and linking these with clinical data in cancer registries. METHODS: A multidisciplinary team developed the system using agile methods. Design entailed process mapping the system's constituent parts, data flows and involved human activities, and undertaking usability testing. Informatics specialists built new technical components, including a web-based questionnaire tool and tracking database, and established component-connecting data flows. Development challenges were overcome, including patient usability and data linkage and security. RESULTS: We have developed a system in which PROMs are completed online, using a secure questionnaire administration tool, accessed via a public-facing website, and the responses are linked and stored with clinical registry data. Patient monitoring and communications are semiautomated via a tracker database, and patient correspondence is primarily Email-based. The system is currently honed for clinician-led hospital-based patient recruitment. CONCLUSIONS: A feasibility test study is underway. Although there are possible challenges to sustaining and scaling up ePOCS, the system has potential to support UK epidemiological PROMs collection and clinical data linkage
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