The challenges of urban ageing:Making cities age-friendly in Europe

Urban ageing is an emerging domain that deals with the population of older people living in cities. The ageing of society is a positive yet challenging phenomenon, as population ageing and urbanisation are the culmination of successful human development. One could argue whether the city environment is an ideal place for people to grow old and live at an old age compared to rural areas. This viewpoint article explores and describes the challenges that are encountered when making cities age-friendly in Europe. Such challenges include the creation of inclusive neighbourhoods and the implementation of technology for ageing-in-place. Examples from projects in two age-friendly cities in The Netherlands (The Hague) and Poland (Cracow) are shown to illustrate the potential of making cities more tuned to the needs of older people and identify important challenges for the next couple of years. Overall, the global ageing of urban populations calls for more age-friendly approaches to be implemented in our cities. It is a challenge to prepare for these developments in such a way that both current and future generations of older people can benefit from age-friendly strategies

Shrub Responses After Fire in an Idaho Ponderosa Pine Community

Buring at 10-15-year intervals has been recommended in the warm, grand fir (Abies grandis)-myrtle pachistima (Pachistima Lochsa River of northern Idaho (Leege 1979). Spring and autumn burning generally promote sprouting of most shrub species in this community and produce valuable browse (Leege and Hickey 1971, Wright 1978). Fire is also a valuable tool in shrub and timber management in the more xeric ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)-common snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) communities (Davis et al. 1980). Effects of fire on production and mineral content of shrubs in this community have not been documented

Gebruik van de RAND-36 bij zelfstandig wonende ouderen kan leiden tot een onderschatting van de ervaren gezondheidstoestand

De algemene gezondheidstoestand van de bevolking wordt veelal gemeten met de RAND-36 item Health Survey. De afkorting RAND verwijst naar de Amerikaanse onderzoeksorganisatie voor ‘Research and Development’ die de vragenlijst ontwikkelde. In 2012 is door Fontys en partners een longitudinaal veldonderzoek gestart met als doelstelling het in kaart brengen van factoren die van invloed zijn op het gebruik van technologie ter bevordering van het zelfstandig wonen door ouderen. In totaal worden 50 deelnemers van 70 jaar of ouder, vier jaar lang elke acht maanden geïnterviewd. Tevens worden er enkele vragenlijsten afgenomen waaronder twee vragen uit de RAND- 36 waarvan een item luidt: ‘Ik ben net zo gezond als andere mensen die ik ken’. Tijdens dit onderzoek is gebleken dat sommige deelnemers die zichzelf gezonder vinden dan andere mensen die zij kennen, de stelling ontkennend beantwoorden maar daarmee onbedoeld een antwoordcategorie invullen die zich vertaalt in een lagere score voor de ervaren gezondheidstoestand. Het op deze manier invullen van dit item kan daardoor leiden tot een onderschatting van de algemene gezondheidstoestand van ouderen

Correlation dynamics between electrons and ions in the fragmentation of D2_2 molecules by short laser pulses

We studied the recollision dynamics between the electrons and D$_2^+$ ions following the tunneling ionization of D$_2$ molecules in an intense short pulse laser field. The returning electron collisionally excites the D$_2^+$ ion to excited electronic states from there D$_2^+$ can dissociate or be further ionized by the laser field, resulting in D$^+$ + D or D$^+$ + D$^+$, respectively. We modeled the fragmentation dynamics and calculated the resulting kinetic energy spectrum of D$^+$ to compare with recent experiments. Since the recollision time is locked to the tunneling ionization time which occurs only within fraction of an optical cycle, the peaks in the D$^+$ kinetic energy spectra provides a measure of the time when the recollision occurs. This collision dynamics forms the basis of the molecular clock where the clock can be read with attosecond precision, as first proposed by Corkum and coworkers. By analyzing each of the elementary processes leading to the fragmentation quantitatively, we identified how the molecular clock is to be read from the measured kinetic energy spectra of D$^+$ and what laser parameters be used in order to measure the clock more accurately.Comment: 13 pages with 14 figure

Narcissism normalisation: tourism influences and sustainability implications

The concept of narcissism normalisation suggests that individuals and societies are becoming more narcissistic due to various cultural influences. Tourism is reviewed here as one such possible influence. Exploitative, entitled and exhibitionistic tendencies associated with narcissism are wellestablished in tourism. Yet tourism is also an intimate, communal and satisfying activity which may counteract narcissism. Increases in narcissism have significant implications from a sustainable tourism perspective. Narcissism is associated with exploitative and entitled behaviours that over time cause significant harm to those people and landscapes that come into contact with. Narcissism appears to be incompatible with principles of sustainability and the challenges this poses for the industry are reviewed, while the opportunities are also explored. There are signs that narcissism, particularly those aspects relating to exhibitionism, can be co-opted to benefit sustainable development

Parameterization of x-ray production in laser-produced plasmas

A simple and algebraically tractable model is developed for the efficiency of x-ray production in a certain spectral region by laser driven plasmas. The model is used as a interpolation/extrapolation device for experimental and theoretical results from three different target concepts. These tests indicate that it is of use in its intended capacity. Certain relationships between independent parameters and scaling laws also result from this construction. Most notable among these is the prediction that the efficiency for producing line radiation in a certain narrow energy range scales like the inverse square of this energy

Cross sections for electron and photon processes required by electron-transport calculations

Electron-transport calculations rely on a large collection of electron-atom and photon-atom cross-section data to represent the response characteristics of the target medium. These basic atomic-physics quantities, and certain qualities derived from them that are now commonly in use, are critically reviewed. Publications appearing after 1978 are not given consideration. Processes involving electron or photon energies less than 1 keV are ignored, while an attempt is made to exhaustively cover the remaining independent parameters and target possibilities. Cases for which data improvements can be made from existing information are identified. Ranges of parameters for which state-of-the-art data are not available are sought out, and recommendations for explicit measurements and/or calculations with presently available tools are presented. An attempt is made to identify the maturity of the atomic-physics data and to predict the possibilities for rapid changes in the quality of the data. Finally, weaknesses in the state-of-the-art atomic-physics data and in the conceptual usage of these data in the context of electron-transport theory are discussed. Brief attempts are made to weight the various aspects of these questions and to suggest possible remedies

Shrub Responses After Fire in an Idaho Ponderosa Pine Community

Buring at 10-15-year intervals has been recommended in the warm, grand fir (Abies grandis)-myrtle pachistima (Pachistima Lochsa River of northern Idaho (Leege 1979). Spring and autumn burning generally promote sprouting of most shrub species in this community and produce valuable browse (Leege and Hickey 1971, Wright 1978). Fire is also a valuable tool in shrub and timber management in the more xeric ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)-common snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) communities (Davis et al. 1980). Effects of fire on production and mineral content of shrubs in this community have not been documented

CURRENT STATUS OF CALCULATIONS AND MEASUREMENTS OF ION STOPPING POWER IN ICF PLASMAS

En fusion inertielle conduite par les ions, on éprouve actuellement la nécessité de perfectionner les modèles de ralentissement. L'évolution des recherches montre que les lois d'échelle approchées ne sont plus suffisantes pour extrapoler les modèles actuellement utilisés. On se propose de prédire, à 10 % près, les parcours ioniques dans les cibles ICF. On expose le modèle du gaz d'électrons libres, ainsi que les profils de densité de charge atomique du type Hartree-Fock-Slater pour déterminer l'ionisation moyenne I (Z,q,E) d'une cible d'électrons. Cette méthode est systématiquement explorée afin de mettre en évidence les insuffisances de la physique sous-jacente, particulièrement pour de faibles vitesses des projectiles. Des modèles alternatifs sont également développés par d'autres auteurs à la Sandia. Des mesures expérimentales de pouvoir d'arrêt, amplifié dans les plasmas de fusion, ont été observées dans le domaine 0,3 TW/cm2 au Naval Research Laboratory. Les expérimentateurs de la Sandia étendent actuellement ces données à des états d'ionisation plus élevée et à des cibles à Z plus grand, avec l'aide de l'accélérateur PROTO-I (1,2 TW/cm2).More precise stopping power models for use in ICF target design need to be developed. The light ion beam ICF program is now moving into a phase where "ad hoc" scaling of certain key physics parameters in the stopping power models is no longer sufficient. Our goal is to predict ion ranges in ICF targets to within about 10-20%. A verified stopping power model is also essential in diagnosing target irradiation intensities ; such data can only be inferred by target response. Presently, our area of primary concern involves calculating the stopping power of the bound electrons of partially ionized atoms. One bound electron stopping power model that we are investigating uses the local oscillator model along with Hartree-Fock-Slater atomic charge density profiles to calculate I (Z,q,E), a generalized average ionization potential for the target electrons. This method is being studied systematically to look for deficiencies in the underlying physics model, especially at low projectile velocities. Another procedure uses the Generalized Oscillator Strength model to calculate the bound electron stopping. Experimental measurements of enhanced stopping power in ICF plasmas at the 0.3 TW/cm2 level have been reported by the Naval Research Laboratory. Further experiments at Sandia are aimed at extending this data base both to higher ionization states and to higher-Z targets using a 1.2 TW/cm2 proton beam on the PROTO-I accelerator