NHS reforms and the working lives of midwives and physiotherapists

From 2000 the NHS was subjected to a series of far reaching reforms, the purposes of which were to increase the role of the primary care sector in commissioning and providing services, promote healthier life styles, reduce health inequality, and improve service standards. These were seen as requiring a greater leadership role from health professionals, closer and more cooperative working between health professionals, and between health professionals, social services, and community and other service providers. The project surveyed a random sample of midwives and physiotherapists to investigate their perceptions of the effectiveness of the reforms, and their effects on working lives. The predominant perception was that NHS reforms had negatively affected the funding of their services; and had done little to improve service quality, delivery or organisation. Although the potential existed for the reforms to improve services, the necessary resources and required staffing were not made available and the objectives of the reforms were only partially secured by intensifying of work. The downside of this was a deterioration of the sociopsychological wellbeing of midwives and physiotherapists, especially the former, exacerbating the shortage of skilled and experienced. Shortage of staff and the associated increased work burdens were demoralising and demotivating; morale and job satisfaction declined, and job insecurity and labour turnover increased

Aircraft measurements of electrified clouds at Kennedy Space Center. Part 2: Case study: 4 November 1988 (88309)

During the fall of 1988, a Schweizer airplane equipped to measure electric field and other meteorological parameters flew over Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in a program to study clouds defined in the existing launch restriction criteria. A case study is presented of a single flight over KSC on November 4, 1988. This flight was chosen for two reasons: (1) the clouds were weakly electrified, and no lightning was reported during the flight; and (2) electric field mills in the surface array at KSC indicated field strengths greater than 3 kV/m, yet the aircraft flying directly over them at an altitude of 3.4 km above sea level measured field strengths of less than 1.6 kV/m. A weather summary, sounding description, record of cloud types, and an account of electric field measurements are included

Aircraft measurements of electrified clouds at Kennedy Space Center

The space-vehicle launch commit criteria for weather and atmospheric electrical conditions in us at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center (KSC) have been made restrictive because of the past difficulties that have arisen when space vehicles have triggered lightning discharge after their launch during cloudy weather. With the present ground-base instrumentation and our limited knowledge of cloud electrification process over this region of Florida, it has not been possible to provide a quantitative index of safe launching conditions. During the fall of 1988, a Schweizer 845 airplane equipped to measure electric field and other meteorological parameters flew over KSC in a program to study clouds defined in the existing launch restriction criteria. All aspects of this program are addressed including planning, method, and results. A case study on the November 4, 1988 flight is also presented

Aircraft measurements of electrified clouds at Kennedy Space Center, part 3

Flights made by the Special Purpose Test Vehicle for Atmospheric Research (SPTVAR) airplane during a second deployment to Florida during the summer of 1989 are discussed. The findings based on the data gathered are presented. The progress made during the second year of the project is discussed. The summer 1989 study was carried out with the support and guidance of Col. John Madura, Commander of Detachment 11, 2nd Weather Squadron, USAF, at Patrick Air Force Base (PAFB) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The project goals were to develop and demonstrate techniques for measuring the electric field aloft and locating regions of charge during flight within and near clouds; to characterize the electric conditions that are presently identified as a threat to space launch vehicles; and to study the correlation between the electric field aloft and that at Kennedy Space Center's ground-based electric field mill array for a variety of electrified clouds

Ecosystem service provision by road verges

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this record.1. Roads form a vast, rapidly-growing global network that has diverse, detrimental ecological impacts. However, the habitats that border roads (‘road verges’) form a parallel network that might help mitigate these impacts and provide additional benefits (ecosystem services; ES). 2. We evaluate the capacity of road verges to provide ES by reviewing existing research and considering their relevant characteristics; area, connectivity, shape, and contextual ES supply and demand. We consider the present situation, and how this is likely to change based on future projections for growth in road extent, traffic densities and urban populations. 3. Road verges provide a wide range of ES, including biodiversity provision, regulating services (e.g. air and water filtration) and cultural services (e.g. health and aesthetic benefits by providing access to nature), but also displace other habitats and provide ecosystem disservices (e.g. allergens and damage to infrastructure). Globally, road verges may currently cover 270,000 km2 and store 0.015 Gt C year-1 , which will further increase with 70% projected growth in the global road network. 4. Road verges are well-placed to mitigate traffic pollution and address demand for ES in surrounding ES-impoverished landscapes, thereby improving human health and wellbeing in urban areas, and improving agricultural production and sustainability in farmland. Demand for ES provided by road verges will likely increase due to projected growth in traffic densities and urban populations, though traffic pollution will be reduced by technological advances (e.g. electric vehicles). Road verges form a highly-connected network, which may enhance ES provision but facilitate the dispersal of invasive species and increase vehicle-wildlife collisions. 5. Synthesis and applications. Road verges offer a significant opportunity to mitigate the negative ecological effects of roads and to address demand for ES in surrounding ES-impoverished landscapes. Their capacity to provide ES might be enhanced considerably if they were strategically designed and managed for environmental outcomes, namely by optimizing the selection, position and management of plant species and habitats. Specific opportunities include reducing mowing frequencies and planting trees in large verges. Road verge management for ES must consider safety guidelines, financial costs and ecosystem disservices, but is likely to provide long-term financial returns if environmental benefits are taken into account.Natural Environment Research Counci

Triton's surface age and impactor population revisited in light of Kuiper Belt fluxes: Evidence for small Kuiper Belt objects and recent geological activity

Neptune's largest satellite, Triton, is one of the most fascinating and enigmatic bodies in the solar system. Among its numerous interesting traits, Triton appears to have far fewer craters than would be expected if its surface was primordial. Here we combine the best available crater count data for Triton with improved estimates of impact rates by including the Kuiper Belt as a source of impactors. We find that the population of impactors creating the smallest observed craters on Triton must be sub-km in scale, and that this small-impactor population can be best fit by a differential power-law size index near -3. Such results provide interesting, indirect probes of the unseen small body population of the Kuiper Belt. Based on the modern, Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud impactor flux estimates, we also recalculate estimated ages for several regions of Triton's surface imaged by Voyager 2, and find that Triton was probably active on a time scale no greater than 0.1-0.3 Gyr ago (indicating Triton was still active after some 90% to 98% of the age of the solar system), and perhaps even more recently. The time-averaged volumetric resurfacing rate on Triton implied by these results, 0.01 km$^3$ yr$^{-1}$ or more, is likely second only to Io and Europa in the outer solar system, and is within an order of magnitude of estimates for Venus and for the Earth's intraplate zones. This finding indicates that Triton likely remains a highly geologically active world at present, some 4.5 Gyr after its formation. We briefly speculate on how such a situation might obtain.Comment: 14 pages (TeX), plus 2 postscript figures Stern & McKinnon, 2000, AJ, in pres

Fission Product Heating in the Ford Nuclear Reactor

The first five reports in this series were submitted to the US AEC with the application (dated July 12, 1962; December 20, 1962, and March 6, 1963) for Amendment No. 11 to the FNR license for operation at 2 MW, which was approved August 5, 1963.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86113/1/MMPP PML Memo Report No. 5 Feb 1963.PDF-

Absolute Power Measurements of the Ford Nuclear Reactor

Prepared for presentation at the ANS Conference on Reactor Operating Experience at Jackson Lake Lodge, Wyoming, July 28-30, 1965.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86071/1/MMPP JBB FNR Power 1965.PDF-

Calculation of Radiation Dose Rates from Fission Products in the Ford Nuclear Reactor

The first five reports in this series were submitted to the US AEC with the application (dated July 12, 1962; December 20, 1962, and March 6, 1963) for Amendment No. 11 to the FNR license for operation at 2 MW, which was approved August 5, 1963.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86112/1/MMPP PML Memo Report No. 4 Nov 1962.PDF-