The causes and circumstances of drinking water incidents impact consumer behaviour:Comparison of a routine versus a natural disaster incident

When public health is endangered, the general public can only protect themselves if timely messages are received and understood. Previous research has shown that the cause of threats to public health can affect risk perception and behaviours. This study compares compliance to public health advice and consumer behaviour during two "Boil Water" notices issued in the UK due to a routine incident versus a natural disaster incident. A postal questionnaire was sent to 1000 randomly selected households issued a routine "Boil Water" notice. Findings were then compared to a previous study that explored drinking water behaviour during a "Boil Water" notice issued after serious floods. Consumers affected by the routine incident showed a significant preference for official water company information, whereas consumers affected by the natural disaster preferred local information sources. Confusion over which notice was in place was found for both incidents. Non-compliance was significantly higher for the natural disaster (48.3%) than the routine incident (35.4%). For the routine incident, compliance with advice on drinking as well as preparing/cooking food and brushing teeth was positively associated with receiving advice from the local radio, while the opposite was true for those receiving advice from the water company/leaflet through the post; we suggest this may largely be due to confusion over needing boiled tap water for brushing teeth. No associations were found for demographic factors. We conclude that information dissemination plans should be tailored to the circumstances under which the advice is issued. Water companies should seek to educate the general public about water notices and which actions are safe and unsafe during which notice, as well as construct and disseminate clearer advice on brushing teeth and preparing/cooking food

Application of Advanced Technologies to Small, Short-haul Air Transports

A study was conducted of the application of advanced technologies to small, short-haul transport aircraft. A three abreast, 30 passenger design for flights of approximately 100 nautical miles was evaluated. Higher wing loading, active flight control, and a gust alleviation system results in improved ride quality. Substantial savings in fuel and direct operating cost are forecast. An aircraft of this configuration also has significant benefits in forms of reliability and operability which should enable it to sell a total of 450 units through 1990, of which 80% are for airline use

From Exclusion to Extremism : The Role of Significance Loss and Identity in the Radicalization Process

The present thesis aims to examine the causal role of social exclusion within theradicalization process and further to explore moderating and mediating factors. In recent years there has been a move away from trying to understand who is at risk of becoming an extremist, to exploring what makes someone at risk. Feelings of exclusion, discrimination and marginalization have all been linked to participation in extremist activities. Yet to date there continues to be very little empirical data exploring the pathway of exclusion to extremism. This thesis plans to establish a causal link between exclusion and radicalization and explore the moderating and mediating factors that can impact this mechanism.Paper I found that social exclusion triggers a desire for recognition and thisfunctions as a pathway to radicalization. Four experiments were conducted andfound that exclusion was a driver of radical ideology in individuals sensitive torejection. Further, the findings of these studies revealed that this effect wasconsistent across different social and political issues.Paper II revealed that the pathway of social exclusion on radical activism arisesvia shifts in ingroup identity. Specifically, the source of exclusion impacted ingroup identity shifts and in turn activism intentions. An online experiment revealed that exclusion by an outgroup (not ingroup) led to increased participation and this effect was fully mediated by ingroup identity. This finding was replicated using an online survey that operationalized exclusion via a measure of perceived discrimination. This demonstrated perceived discrimination by an outgroup, led to increased ingroup identity and in turn increased engagement. As such this study highlighted the impact of group-based exclusion and how this impacts identity levels and activism engagement.Paper III investigated the link between identity and exclusion one step further byadding need-threat to the mediation pathway. A quasi-experimental study revealed that exclusion led to threatened fundamental needs. This in turn drove individuals to identify with a radical group and be more willing to endorse and participate in extremist actions.The findings of the thesis highlight the vulnerability of individuals experiencingsocial exclusion and discrimination in relation to radicalization risk. Theexplanatory pathways described in the thesis help explain this mechanism and thus provide empirical data that can help shape informed counter-extremism strategies

Kinetic and thermodynamic studies of the ligand substitution reactions of the cobalamins

Student Number : 9006831D - PhD thesis - School of Chemistry - Faculty of ScienceThe ligand substitution reactions of aquacobalamin are fast and hence the usual inertness of the d6 Co(III) ion has been modified. It is well established that the reactions proceed through a dissociative interchange mechanism; however, previous ligand studies were performed in a KCl medium, which led to the formation of the more substitution-inert chloro complex. The kinetics of aquacobalamin were reinvestigated with the ligands N3–, NO2–, SCN–, S2O32–, OCN– and SeCN– in a NaNO3 medium. The reactions proceeded too rapidly for saturation kinetics to be observed and hence only the second-order rate constants could be obtained. These were corrected for pH and determined as a function of temperature, from which the activation parameters were determined. The donor atom of the ambidentate ligands were investigated and correlations were found between the Mulliken population on the donor atom, the energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) with σ symmetry, and Δ, the enthalpy of activation, and Δ, the entropy of activation, respectively. Good correlations occurred when the donor atoms were taken to be N for SCNII‡kHII‡kS– and NO2–; S for S2O32–; O for OCN– and Se for SeCN–. The effect that changing the environment of aquacobalamin has on its kinetics was observed by determining the rate constants for the reaction of pyridine with aquacobalamin in water and 70% ethanol. The rates were faster in water and the activation parameters obtained for the reaction of aquacobalamin with pyridine in 70% ethanol are larger than they are for the reaction in water. The larger ΔH‡ arises due to less bond formation between pyridine and Co in the transition state and ΔS‡ is larger because it is dominated by the freeing of the coordinated water i.e. bond breaking is the dominant process in the transition state. The effects of a bulkier ligand than water on the kinetics of aquacobalamin were investigated. The temperature dependence of the kinetics of the substitution of I– in iodocobalamin by imidazole, N3– and S2O32– was studied. Despite the increase in size of the departing ligand there is still nucleophilic participation of the incoming ligand in the transition state and hence the reaction still proceeds via an Id mechanism. In order to probe the cis-effect of the corrin in vitamin B12 derivatives, comparative studies were undertaken of the reactions of aquacobalamin and aqua-10-Xcobalamin, X = Cl, NO, NH2, where the H at C10 was replaced with an electron-donating (Cl, NH2) or electron-withdrawing (NO) group. Formation constants were obtained for aquacobalamin and aqua-10-chlorocobalamin for the substitution of coordinated H2O with various anions (N3–, NO2–, SCN–, S2O32–, OCN–, SeCN–) and neutral N-donor ligands (CH3NH3, pyridine, imidazole). The anionic ligands bind more strongly to aqua-10-chlorocobalamin than to aquacobalamin with log K values larger by between 0.10 and 0.63 (average 0.26) larger. The converse is true for the neutral N-donor ligands, where log K is smaller by between 0.17 and 0.3 (average 0.25). Semi-empirical molecular orbital (SEMO) calculations using the ZINDO/1 model on the hydroxo complexes show that charge density is delocalised from the axial donor atom to the metal and Cl. Thus the anionic ligands bind more strongly to aqua-10-chlorocobalamin because of the ability of the metal and the Cl at C10 to accept charge density from the ligand. The cobalt ion in aqua-10-chlorocobalamin is more electron rich than it is in aquacobalamin and so it is less likely to accept further electron density from a neutral axial donor ligand. This results in the stability being lower than that of aquacobalamin. The reaction kinetics of the substitution of H2O in aqua-10-chlorocobalamin were determined for the ligands N3– and pyridine. The reaction proceeds via a dissociative interchange mechanism since saturation was seen for pyridine and not for N3–. The activation parameters, ΔH‡ and ΔS‡, are lower for aqua-10-chlorocobalamin than aquacobalamin and hence it can be deduced that bond breaking between the coordinated water and the cobalt atom is more dominant in aquacobalamin. The rates of reaction are faster for aquacobalamin than they are for aqua-10-chlorocobalamin. SEMO calculations show that as the Co–O bond is stretched, the charge density on Co in aquacobalamin is always lower than that on aqua-10-chlorocobalamin, suggesting that aquacobalamin is a better electrophile towards the incoming ligand, thereby explaining the faster kinetics. Aqua-10-nitrosocobalamin was synthesised and characterised by FAB(MS), NMR and UV-vis spectroscopy. The strongly electron-withdrawing NO group has deactivated the metal ion towards ligand substitution, with neither 1.2 M pyridine nor 0.7 M N3– showing any spectroscopic evidence for the displacement of the axial H2O ligand. This provides further evidence that the electronic structure of the corrin ring can directly influence the ligand-binding properties of the metal. Aqua-10-aminocobalamin was synthesised from aqua-10-nitrosocobalamin but is unstable in solution. Hence, only a preliminary UV-vis study could be undertaken with the compound. This study shows that the shifts in the bands occur towards longer wavelengths than that of aqua-10-chlorocobalamin, suggesting that the amino group at the C10 position donates more electron density to the cobalt centre than the chloro group

The Irony of Ostracism: Can Extreme Political Actions Result From A Process Once Created To Prevent Political Rebellion?

This study investigated how ostracism and social exclusion may lead to individuals being more willing to participate in and recommend extreme action against a political cause and/or against an opposing group that is hindering their aims. In addition, it assessed if rejection sensitivity and right-wing authoritarianism moderated this effect. The participants were asked to read an article describing the proposal to implement tuition fees in Sweden and were then either ‘included’ or ‘excluded’ from a group that opposed the fees. If excluded they were placed in an alternative group. They were then asked to indicate how willing they were to participate and recommend extreme action against the fees and against an opposing group. The results indicated that those who were excluded were more willing to participate in and recommend extreme action against the fees and the opposing group. In addition, on some of the dependent variables this effect was moderated by rejection sensitivity and right-wing authoritarianism

TRANSTION METAL MEDIATED CARBON-HETEROATOM AND CARBON-CARBON BOND FORMATION: STUDIES IN MULTICOMPONENT COUPLING REACTIONS AND RING-CLOSING METATHESIS

Pd(PPh3)4 catalytically assembles sulfenamide (PhS-NR2), alkyne, carbon monoxide and diphenyl diselenide in a one-pot four component coupling reaction to yield (Z)-â-selenyl acrylamides. The reaction proceeds in good to excellent yield (60-95%) and is tolerant of a wide range of functional groups on both the nitrogen of the sulfenamide and the alkyne. Moderate selectivities ranging from 4:1 to 7:1 â-selenyl to â-sulfenyl acrylamide have been observed despite the initial concentration of 2:1 selenium to sulfur in the reaction. The chalcogeno selectivity was found to depend directly on CO pressure; increased CO pressure decreased selectivity for selenium over sulfur.The azaselenolation of carbon monoxide by sulfenamide is catalyzed by RhCl(CO)(PPh3)2 to give Se-aryl selenocarbamates. The reaction proceeds in moderate to good yield (71-89%) and exhibits a 9:1 selectivity for the formation of seleno- over thiocarbamate despite the initial 1.4:1 concentration of selenium to sulfur in the reaction. Selectivity is postulated to arise from the more favorable oxidative addition of diphenyl diselenide to rhodium relative to diphenyl disulfide. Also discussed is the effect of several transition metal complexes on the yield and selectivity of the azaselenolation reaction and our attempts to develop a transition metal catalyzed olefin azasulfenylation reaction.Imine-olefin ring-closing metathesis of á,ù imino-olefins with Schrock-type alkylidene complexes, Mo(=CHR)(=NAr)(OR')2 is discussed. Ring-closing proceeded to yield the target substrate 2H-chromene in 63% yield. Mechanistically, it was determined that the reaction operates under kinetic control via initial alkylidene-olefin metathesis followed by ring-closing alkylidene-imine metathesis

A Method for Determining Suspended-Sediment and Trace-Metals Transpiration in the Clark Fork River, Western Montana

Suspended sediments are thought to be an important transport mechanism for toxic trace metals that have been identified in the Clark Fork. Hydrologic data from a network of water-quality stations combined with data simulation will be used to calculate suspended-sediment and trace-metals transport. An ultimate goal of such an investigation might be the development of a predictive model

The Effect of Solvent on the Ligand Substitution Reactions of Aquacobalamin (Vitamin B12a)

The kinetics of the substitution of coordinated H2O in aquacobalamin (H2OCbl+, vitamin B12a) by pyridine (py) were studied as a function of temperature in water and in 70% (v/v) ethanol–water at pH 7.0. Saturation kinetics is observed, in agreement with a dissociative interchange mechanism. The values of ΔH‡ for the rate constant for interchange of H2O and py are 80(2) and 99(8) kJ mol–1 in water and ethanol–water, respectively, while ΔS‡ values are 47(8) and 106(27) J K–1 mol–1, respectively. There is a compensation effect between the two activation parameters which is interpreted in terms of the position of the transition state along the reaction coordinate. The transition state occurs later in an ethanol–water mixture, probably because the outer sphere complex that precedes the ligand exchange is less favoured than in pure water. Despite this compensation, the ligand substitution reaction is slower below about 50°C in the mixed-solvent system than in water. The present results, together with those previously reported by others, suggest that thismaybe a general feature of the ligand substitution reactions ofH2OCbl+ in mixed solvents.KEY WORDS: Vitamin B12a, solvent effects, ligand substitution, inorganic reaction mechanisms

CONCRETE BLOCK PAVING AS A SURFACING MATERIAL FOR CONTAINER STORAGE AREAS

SUMMARY It is now common for containers to be stored five or more high on paved areas in ports. The stresses applied to the pavement through their corner castings are very high and usually lead to damage to all categories of surfacing material. This Paper describes and compares the performance of container handling yards surfaced with pavers with a Heavy Duty Macadam (HDM) (asphalt concrete) roadbase and with a lean concrete roadbase. This paper describes a container storage yard case study where deformation of the HDM roadbase and impact by containers led to damage to those pavers directly beneath the corner castings at a site in the UK. It shows that the damage is significantly greater than that sustained by a similarly loaded pavement which included a lean concrete roadbase instead of the HDM roadbase. This Paper describes the level of damage sustained and proposes an HDM roadbase as a cost effective solution in the case of pavement overlay even taking account of the deformation at the locations of container corner castings and the ensuing maintenance cost. The Paper describes the result of an investigation into the reasons for the deformation of the HDM (asphalt concrete) and suggests that the design of those parts of a heavy duty pavement loaded by containers should be based on the underframe load of the container, not the stress applied through the corner castings