Is crime analysis at the heart of policing practice? A case study

Following the introduction of National Intelligence Model (NIM) in 2004, this paper explores whether crime analysis has been integrated into policing practice. Fieldwork was conducted in one UK police force with both analysts and police officers. Findings from the analysis of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions suggest that while crime analysis is acknowledged as being central to the business of everyday policing, police officers’ general lack of understanding of how analysts work and their capability leads to underutilisation of their skills. The research uncovered knowledge and process gaps, deepened by cultural constraints, budget cuts and resource reallocations, which inhibited incorporation of analysis into the heart of policing practice. Findings also indicated that analysts lack the resources, time, and sometimes, motivation to undertake sophisticated analysis, and often feel frustrated when officers’ opinions override analytical wisdom. The paper argues that at least in the UK, better training and cultural change are necessary for creative utilisation of analytical resources and for bridging the knowledge and process gaps in the organisation

Challenges with using estimates when calculating ART need among adults in South Africa

Background. The Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) collects information annually on HIV/AIDS service provision and estimates service needs in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM).Methods. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) data from the Department of Health and Statistics South Africa (SSA) mid-year population estimates were used to approximate the ART need among adults in the CTMM.Results. According to SSA data, ART need decreased dramatically from 2010 to 2011 and was lower than the number of adults receiving ART. Although the noted difference was probably due to changes in the calculations by SSA, no detailed or confirmed explanation could be offered.Conclusions. We provide a constructive contribution to the discussion regarding the use of model-derived estimates of ART need

Sensitivity of an Ultrasonic Technique for Axial Stress Determination

In machine assembly it is often required that bolts used to fasten machine parts be installed with specific design preloads. Because it is inconvenient to measure preload directly, preload specifications are usually based on some more easily measured quantity with which the level of preload may be correlated. Most often this quantity is the torque to be applied to the bolt at installation. Studies by Blake and Kurtz [1] and Heyman [2] have shown that when bolts are torqued into place, the fraction of applied torque which translates into useful preload is small and widely variable. This is so because the large majority of applied torque is absorbed in overcoming friction in the bolt’s threads and at the underside of the bolt’s head. Consequently, even though the torque to install different bolts may be identical, small variations in frictional conditions from one installation to the next can result in large variations in preload. The unreliability of torque as an indicator of preload has been the motivating factor behind the development of a number of alternate methods of measurement [2–5]

Measuring aerosol size distributions with the aerodynamic aerosol classifier

The Aerodynamic Aerosol Classifier (AAC) is a novel instrument that selects aerosol particles based on their relaxation time or aerodynamic diameter. Additional theory and characterization is required to allow the AAC to accurately measure an aerosol's aerodynamic size distribution by stepping whilst connected to a particle counter (such as a Condensation Particle Counter, CPC). To achieve this goal, this study characterized the AAC transfer function (from 32 nm to 3 μm) using tandem AACs and comparing the experimental results to the theoretical tandem deconvolution. These results show that the AAC transmission efficiency is 2.6 to 5.1 times higher than a combined Krypton-85 radioactive neutralizer and Differential Mobility Analyzer (DMA), as the AAC classifies particles independent of their charge state. However, the AAC transfer function is 1.3 to 1.9 times broader than predicted by theory. Using this characterized transfer function, the theory to measure an aerosol's aerodynamic size distribution using an AAC and particle counter was developed. The transfer function characterization and stepping deconvolution were validated by comparing the size distribution measured with an AAC-CPC system against parallel measurements taken with a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), CPC and Electrical Low Pressure Impactor (ELPI). The effects of changing AAC classifier conditions on the particle selected were also investigated and found to be small (<1.5%) within its operating range

Generators for the hyperelliptic Torelli group and the kernel of the Burau representation at t = -1

We prove that the hyperelliptic Torelli group is generated by Dehn twists about separating curves that are preserved by the hyperelliptic involution. This verifies a conjecture of Hain. The hyperelliptic Torelli group can be identified with the kernel of the Burau representation evaluated at t = −1 and also the fundamental group of the branch locus of the period mapping, and so we obtain analogous generating sets for those. One application is that each component in Torelli space of the locus of hyperelliptic curves becomes simply connected when curves of compact type are added

Chewing gum benefits sustained attention in the absence of task degradation.

OBJECTIVES: The present study examined the effect of chewing gum on sustained attention and associated changes in subjective alertness. METHODS: In a within-participants design, 20 participants completed an extended version of the sustained attention response task (SART: Robertson et al., 1997), both with and without chewing gum. Self-rated measures of alertness, contentedness, and calmness were taken before and after the SART. RESULTS: Chewing gum was associated with improved attentional task performance. This finding was not contingent upon a general decrease in attentional performance and was apparent at all stages of the task. Subjective measures of alertness, contentedness, and calmness were higher following the chewing of gum. Changes in sustained attention co-varied with subjective alertness. DISCUSSION: The effects of chewing gum on attention and alertness are consistent with past literature and were not contingent on declines in attention. Additionally, we found evidence that gum-induced changes in self-rated alertness and attention are related. We found no support for the proposition that chewing gum can impair attention due to the division of resources

Changing social contracts in climate-change adaptation

Risks from extreme weather events are mediated through state, civil society and individual action 1 , 2 . We propose evolving social contracts as a primary mechanism by which adaptation to climate change proceeds. We use a natural experiment of policy and social contexts of the UK and Ireland affected by the same meteorological event and resultant flooding in November 2009. We analyse data from policy documents and from household surveys of 356 residents in western Ireland and northwest England. We find significant differences between perceptions of individual responsibility for protection across the jurisdictions and between perceptions of future risk from populations directly affected by flooding events. These explain differences in stated willingness to take individual adaptive actions when state support retrenches. We therefore show that expectations for state protection are critical in mediating impacts and promoting longer-term adaptation. We argue that making social contracts explicit may smooth pathways to effective and legitimate adaptation

First Recorded Mating Flight of the Hypogeic Ant, Acropyga epedana, with its Obligate Mutualist Mealybug, Rhizoecus colombiensis

On 26-July, 2005 a mating aggregation of Acropyga epedana Snelling (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) was observed in the Chiricahua Mountains in south-eastern Arizona. This is the first record of a mating flight of A. epedana, the only nearctic member of this pantropical genus. Mating behavior was observed, newly mated queens were collected, and a complete colony was excavated. New information is reported on the natural history and mating behavior of the species. The identity of a mealybug mutualist, Rhizoecus colombiensis (Homoptera: Rhizoecinae) is confirmed. Reproductive females participating in flights all carried mealybugs between their mandibles, indicating a vertical transfer of mealybugs with their ant hosts. No captured foundresses survived long in captivity, most likely due to the death of their mealybugs. The colony excavated had a single queen, though polygyny is common in the genus. Nearly all workers within the nest were heavily parasitized by mites, although males or gynes were not parasitized. These natural history observations are discussed with regard to this poorly understood mutualistic relationship between Acropyga ants and their mealybug partners