Effects of Straw Residues on Soil Erosion (Rainfall).

The objectives of this study were to determine the effects on interrill erosion and runoff of: (1) various rates of surface straw, (2) various rates of incorporated straw, and (3) various rates of incorporated straw over two levels of surface straw. A randomized block design, a completely randomized block design and a 4 x 2 factorial using a randomized block design was used for objectives 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Grenada silt loam soil was placed in a 0.91 by 0.91-m soil pan with a central 0.46 by 0.46-m test area. The soil pan was on 2.5% slope. Simulated rainfall at 64 mm/hr was applied in a series of runs for each treatment. The series of runs consisted of an initial 60-minute dry run followed in 24 hours by two 30-minute runs ( wet and very wet runs) separated by a 30-minute interval without rainfall. Increasing rates of surface straw from 0 to 8 t/ha resulted in decreased rates of soil loss, but caused little change in runoff. These was insufficient evidence to conclude that incorporated straw affected any changes in either soil loss or runoff for any level of surface straw. Incorporated straw had no effect on runoff or soil loss in this study because of the surface sealing of the Grenada silt loam soil. Research was limited to the interrill component of the erosion process. Future research should include studies on the effects of incorporated straw on rill erosion

Residential energy efficiency in times – analysis of modelling approaches and impacts on energy policy

The TIMES energy system model has been used for informing energy and climate change policies in several countries and regions around the world. The type and scope of the studies varies, but many works consider (at least briefly) energy efficiency in their findings. However, very few include explicit energy efficiency scenarios and/or direct analysis of energy efficiency improvements. The studies that consider explicitly energy efficiency scenarios (in some cases in combination with other type of scenarios such as emission reduction targets) show significant differences on the modelling approach taken, potentially affecting the results and the impact policy decisions. Moreover, a direct comparison between energy efficiency modelling approaches in TIMES has not been developed yet. The work developed in this paper aims to provide insight on this issue, analysing the implications of different energy efficiency modelling approaches in TIMES, and discussing best practices on informing energy efficiency policy. Three types of residential energy efficiency scenarios are analysed using the UK TIMES model, all of them with the objective of reducing 10% of energy consumption on residential heating. Results show that these energy efficiency scenarios, which are in theory equivalent, produced different results, suggesting that the modelling approach taken can significantly impact the outcomes of the model. Also, not all energy efficiency scenarios performed as expected. In one of the scenarios, other user constraints (which are common to all the analysed scenarios) limited the amount of conservation technologies available, so the expected energy savings were lower than in other cases. Therefore, the outcomes obtained show the importance of not solely relying on a particular scenario or model for policy analysis, as this might lead to partial views or suboptimal solutions

A Content Analysis and Comparison of Two Peaks of Newspaper Reporting During a Suicide Cluster to Examine Implications for Imitation, Suggestion, and Prevention

Background: During 2007–2008, media attention focused on a cluster of youth suicides in the UK. There were two peaks (P1, P2) in the volume of newspaper reporting of the deaths. The number of possible suicides was greater than expected at the time of the first peak but not at the time of the second. Aims: To explore any differences in the content of the reporting peaks and to consider implications for imitation and prevention. Method: A content analysis of two peaks of newspaper reporting was conducted. Results: There were 204 articles in P1 (December 27, 2007 to February 19, 2008) and 157 in P2 (February 20, 2008 to March 15, 2008). Four main themes were identified: individual stories; possible causes; features of reporting of the cluster; and educating and informing the public. P1 articles more frequently contained: explicit details of method; photographs of the deceased, and contained more characterization of individuals. Limitations: The focus was on print media, future studies should incorporate online and social media content. Conclusion: The findings provide some support for the hypothesis of a process of suggestion initiated by sensationalist reporting in P1. This contributes to the evidence base of the role of the press in suicide imitation and prevention, highlighting the importance of care when reporting suicides

Work-worlds colliding: Self-reflexivity, power and emotion in organizational ethnography

While organizational ethnographers have embraced the concept of self-reflexivity, problems remain. In this article we argue that the prevalent assumption that self-reflexivity is the sole responsibility of the individual researcher limits its scope for understanding organizations. To address this, we propose an innovative method of collective reflection that is inspired by ideas from cultural and feminist anthropology. The value of this method is illustrated through an analysis of two ethnographic case studies, involving a ‘pair interview’ method. This collective approach surfaced self-reflexive accounts, in which aspects of the research encounter that still tend to be downplayed within organizational ethnographies, including emotion, intersubjectivity and the operation of power dynamics, were allowed to emerge. The approach also facilitated a second contribution through the conceptualization of organizational ethnography as a unique endeavour that represents a collision between one ‘world of work’: the university, with a second: the researched organization. We find that this ‘collision’ exacerbates the emotionality of ethnographic research, highlighting the refusal of ‘researched’ organizations to be domesticated by the specific norms of academia. Our article concludes by drawing out implications for the practice of self-reflexivity within organizational ethnography

Self-reported Physical Activity and Objective Aerobic Fitness: Differential Associations with Gray Matter Density in Healthy Aging

Aerobic fitness (AF) and self-reported physical activity (srPA) do not represent the same construct. However, many exercise and brain aging studies interchangeably use AF and srPA measures, which may be problematic with regards to how these metrics are associated with brain outcomes, such as morphology. If AF and PA measures captured the same phenomena, regional brain volumes associated with these measures should directly overlap. This study employed the general linear model to examine the differential association between objectively-measured AF (treadmill assessment) and srPA (questionnaire) with gray matter density (GMd) in 29 cognitively unimpaired community- dwelling older adults using voxel based morphometry. The results show significant regional variance in terms of GMd when comparing AF and srPA as predictors. Higher AF was associated with greater GMd in the cerebellum only, while srPA displayed positive associations with GMd in occipito-temporal, left perisylvian, and frontal regions after correcting for age. Importantly, only AF level, and not srPA, modified the relationship between age and GMd, such that higher levels of AF were associated with increased GMd in older age, while decreased GMd was seen in those with lower AF as a function of age. These results support existing literature suggesting that both AF and PA exert beneficial effects on GMd, but only AF served as a buffer against age-related GMd loss. Furthermore, these results highlight the need for use of objective PA measurement and comparability of tools across studies, since results vary dependent upon the measures used and whether these are objective or subjective in nature

Assessing the impacts of large EV penetration in the UK : analysis of network investments and changes in fuel use

The electrification of transport has been identified as a key policy area, which has multiple implications on the energy system, the economy, and the environment. Focusing on electric vehicles (EV), several examples of studies analysing the impact of a large scale penetration of EVs can be found in the literature. However, these studies usually focus only on the implications for the electricity network. Therefore, the challenge is to understand how the expected rollout of EVs affects the energy system in different dimensions, within and beyond the electric sector. With the aim of identifying wider impacts of a large rollout of EVs in the UK and to inform effective analysis of energy policy, we use the UK TIMES model to implement four different EV charging scenarios, varying on the timing (i.e. ‘smartness’) of the charge and the location on where it happens. We conclude that ‘dumb’ and decentralised charging will require considerably larger investment on the network than the ‘smart’ and centralised counterparts. The location and ‘smartness’ of EV charging it is, therefore, an important consideration to mitigate potential negative impacts on the power system and to reduce energy and fuel costs for the final consumer. Moreover, we have found that a shift of emissions occurs from the transport to the electric sector. These results show the importance of following a whole system approach in energy policy analysis, to maximise the effectiveness of policies and to avoid carbon leakage

Aging, Aerobic Activity and Interhemispheric Communication

Recent studies have shown that during unimanual motor tasks, aging adults show bilateral recruitment of primary motor cortex (M1), while younger adults show a suppression of the ipsilateral motor cortex. Additional work has indicated that increased bilateral M1 recruitment in older adults may be deleterious when performing some motor tasks. However, higher levels of physical fitness are associated with improved dexterity and fitness may mitigate the loss of both inhibitory and excitatory communication in aging adults. The goal of this study was to assess dexterity and interhemispheric motor communication in physically fit and sedentary middle-age (40–60 years) right handed participants using tests of hand deftness and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). To behaviorally assess the influence of interhemispheric communication on motor performance, participants also perform the coin rotation deftness task while maintaining pinch force with the opposite hand (bimanual condition). We correlated these behavioral measures with the ipsilateral silent period using TMS to assess interhemispheric inhibition. Our results show that the middle-aged adults who were physically fit had better dexterity of their right hand (finger tapping and peg-board). When performing the coin rotation task the fit group had no between hand differences, but the sedentary group’s left hand performance was inferior to the their right hand. We found that better dexterity correlated with ipsilateral silent period duration (greater inhibition) thereby supporting the postulate that fitness improves interhemispheric motor communication