The effect of public understanding on kerbside recycling scheme performance

Kerbside recycling performance depends on a combination of factors including scheme design, operation, householder participation and the quality of that participation. The level of public understanding of what kerbside recycling schemes expect from them can have a significant effect on the quality of participation and on overall scheme performance. This is because even when participation rates are high, scheme performance can be reduced by poor separation efficiency of targeted materials and the putting out of non-targeted materials for collection. This paper examines research conducted in two regional recycling initiatives within the UK which demonstrate the need for measurement of public understanding and awareness to be taken into account along side other aspects of scheme performance. Only when attitudinal data are fully integrated with observational measures of participation and scheme yield can scheme improvements and promotional activity be effectively planned

Reputation and commitment in two-person repeated games

Game Theory;Repeated Games

Gradualism and Irreversibility.

This paper considers a class of two-player dynamic games in which each player controls a one-dimensional variable which we interpret as a level of cooperation. In the base model, there is an irreversibility constraint stating that this variable can never be reduced, only increased. It otherwise satisfies the usual discounted repeated game assumptions.GAMES ; PUBLIC GOODS ; COOPERATION

Nurses' views of using computerized decision support software in NHS Direct

Background. Nurses working in NHS Direct, the 24-hour telephone advice line in England, use computerized decision support software to recommend to callers the most appropriate service to contact, or to advise on self-care. Aims. To explore nurses' views of their roles and the computerized decision support software in NHS Direct. Methods. Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with 24 NHS Direct nurses in 12 sites. Findings. Nurses described both the software and themselves as essential to the clinical decision-making process. The software acted as safety net, provider of consistency, and provider of script, and was relied upon more when nurses did not have clinical knowledge relevant to the call. The nurse handled problems not covered by the software, probed patients for the appropriate information to enter into the software, and interpreted software recommendations in the light of contextual information which the software was unable to use. Nurses described a dual process of decision-making, with the nurse as active decision maker looking for consensus with the software recommendation and ready to override recommendations made by the software if necessary. However, nurses' accounts of the software as a guide, prompt or support did not fully acknowledge the power of the software, which they are required to use, and the recommendation of which they are required to follow under some management policies. Over time, the influence of nurse and software merges as nurses internalize the software script as their own knowledge, and navigate the software to produce recommendations that they feel are most appropriate. Conclusions. The nurse and the software have distinct roles in NHS Direct, although the effect of each on the clinical decision-making process may be difficult to determine in practice

Maximizing the Strength of Fused-Deposition ABS Plastic Parts

Fused-Deposition (FD) creates parts using robotic extrusion of set.D.i-liquid .polymer fiber, which molecularly bonds with neighboring fibers via thermal-dlffuslo.n bonding. T~e strength ofthe. part depends on the bulk polymer strength, themesostructure ~flber layout, vOid geom~try, extent of fiber bonding), and thefiber-t~-fiber ~ond strength. The ~nfluence of these factors on the mechanical strength of FD-ABS.plasttc parts IS reported.along with the.FD process variable settingsfor maximum strength. Substantial increases in transverse strength are achieved at the optirnal settings and additional increases can be achieved by post..fabrication annealing. Keywords: Stratasys, fused-deposition, ABSplastic, functional parts, strength, mesostructure, polymer diffusion.Mechanical Engineerin

Estudio técnico-económico de una planta desaladora de agua de mar por ósmosis inversa

En el següent escrit: Estudi técnic-económic d’una planta desaladora d’aigua de mar per osmosis inversa, es pretén donar al lector una idea del procés d’Osmosis Inversa; el qual, ja el podríem ubicar dins dels processos de separació per membranes. Es pretén que aquesta idea sigui el més pràctica possible, sense deixar de banda els aspectes teòrics corresponents, però descartant aquells que, encara tenir relativa importància, l’únic que se aconseguiria amb el seu estudi, seria ampliar el contingut de l’anomenat projecte sense aportarnos això cap benefici relacionat amb l’essència del tema, com es la desalació d’aigua de mar per osmosis inversa. Es per aquest motiu que l’estudi que segueix, es divideix en cinc volums. El primer recull tots els aspectes teórico-práctics, on el lector pot trobar els diferents processos de separació per membranes, les consideracions sobre l’aigua i tot el relacionat amb el fonament fisico-químic que ens pertoca, o sia, la ósmosis inversa: definicions, conceptes bàsics, procés, membranes, etc. L’aspecte pràctic al que ens referim ve reflexat en petits sub-apartats, tals com: neteja eficaç de les membranes, o en seccions posteriors, en petits apartats on es donen recomanacions pràctiques, de instal•lació i inclòs de fabricació d’aparells per postratament. El volum segon és una descripció detalla de l’instal•lació, on s’estudia des de la presa d’aigua de mar fins l’obtenció d’aigua producte, nomenant-se tots els equips, vàlvules, bombes, filtres, etc., que l’aigua travessa en el seu procés. Els tres volums restants corresponen al aspecte més tècnic, on es mostren, por ordre: càlculs, plànols i pressupost o memòria econòmica

Evolution of electronic and ionic structure of Mg-clusters with the growth cluster size

The optimized structure and electronic properties of neutral and singly charged magnesium clusters have been investigated using ab initio theoretical methods based on density-functional theory and systematic post-Hartree-Fock many-body perturbation theory accounting for all electrons in the system. We have systematically calculated the optimized geometries of neutral and singly charged magnesium clusters consisting of up to 21 atoms, electronic shell closures, binding energies per atom, ionization potentials and the gap between the highest occupied and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals. We have investigated the transition to the hcp structure and metallic evolution of the magnesium clusters, as well as the stability of linear chains and rings of magnesium atoms. The results obtained are compared with the available experimental data and the results of other theoretical works.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures, 3 table

Aspects of Axion Phenomenology in a slice of AdS_5

Motivated by multi-throat considerations, we study the phenomenological implications of a bulk axion in a slice of AdS_5 with a large extra dimension: k~0.01 eV, kR > 1. In particular, we compare axion physics with a warped geometry to axions in flat compactifications. As in flat compactification scenarios, we find that the mass of the axion can become independent from the underlying Peccei-Quinn scale. Surprisingly, we find that in warped extra dimensions the axion's invisibility, cosmological viability, and basic phenomenology remain essentially unaltered in comparison to axions in flat compactifications.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figure