What the Print Media Tell Us About Agricultural Biotechnology: Will We Remember?

Consumer/Household Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Housing Construction Cycles and Interest Rates

Housing investment is one of the most cyclical components of GDP. Much of that cyclicality stems from the sector’s sensitivity to interest rates, but it is also possible that construction lags generate intrinsic cyclicality in this sector. Although the housing sector is generally considered to be more interest-sensitive than the economy as a whole, the degree of this sensitivity seems to vary between countries and through time. In this paper, we model the housing markets in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada using a structural three-stage least-squares system. We document the variations in the housing sector’s cyclicality and sensitivity to movements in interest rates, and attempt to determine the underlying causes of these differences.cycles; housing construction; interest rates

Performance measurement for the strategic management of healthcare estates

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the role of performance measurement in current practices for strategic management of health-care estates. Design/methodology/approach The research adopts a constructivist grounded theory approach, combining different methodologies of a pan-European qualitative questionnaire, interviews with international health-care providers and a case study of National Health Services (NHS) Scotland. Here, documentation analysis, observations and in-depth interviews involving NHS stakeholders were undertaken. Findings The analysis shows evidence that measuring estate performance has limited value for individual NHS boards regarding strategic decisions related to long-term planning and investment. This was due to design issues and the prioritisation of clinical delivery, which contribute to the neglect of the estate as a consideration in long-term strategic planning. This misalignment results in a tool which is valuable for accountability but which is less helpful to NHS boards in shaping future decisions around the estate. Practical implications Responding to a gap in understanding of the application of performance measurement in the context of health-care estates, this research provides three recommendations to promote a more effective and relevant performance measurement system. These actively recognise the importance of the estate within strategic decision-making as helping to inform the long-term planning and management of the estate within the individual NHS boards. Originality/value This paper shows the current role of performance measurement for the strategic management of health-care estates and identifies issues related to its applicability and value. </jats:sec

The perceptions of teaching staff about their work with Gypsy, Roma, Traveller children and young people

Building on a small body of research, the present study explores the perceptions of teaching staff about their work with Gypsy, Roma, Traveller (GRT) children and young people. Specifically the research is concerned with participants’ views about the relationship between GRT children and schools in relation to attainment, social inclusion, the GRT culture and lifestyle and wider systemic factors. Existing literature and research about the educational experiences of GRT children and young people is explored. Situated within a critical realist epistemology, the present study utilises semi-structured interviews with 13 members of teaching staff across five schools in Greenshire County Council (pseudonym). Transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis following the model proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006). Six superordinate themes (educational outcomes; barriers to education; GRT parents; social inclusion; cultural dissonance and inclusive practices) were identified. Findings are explored in relation to previous research. One key finding concerns the views participants expressed about GRT children’s reports of bullying or racism. Implications for practice and future research are considered

THE CHARACTERIZATION OF GROUND ICE DEPOSITS USING GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR TECHNIQUES

This study explores the capabilities of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in the task of characterizing ground ice and the role this instrument can play in understanding the geomorphology of the cryosphere. The first article investigates the dielectric permittivity of ground ice using on-ice common-midpoint (CMP) GPR surveys conducted over massive stratified segregation ice, non-stratified segregation ice, and polygon ice wedges located on Ellesmere and Devon Islands, Nunavut. In comparison with ice cores, it was found that the dielectric permittivity of ground ice is most influenced by the volumetric ice content. This relationship appears to follow a modified complex refractive index (CRIM) dielectric mixing model. The second study applies the Brewster angle of incidence method to determine the dielectric permittivity of ground ice using endfire CMP surveys conducted atop the active layer. This method was able to predict dielectric permittivities within one dielectric unit of those established in the first article

Inverse techniques: problems in optics and gas sensing

In this thesis, two, seemingly different, classes of problems are discussed: locating gas sources from downwind gas concentration measurements and designing diffractive optics (i.e. computer generated holograms), which on illumination will produce a desired light beam in the far field. The similarity between these problems is that they are both “inverse problems” and we discuss the use of inverse techniques to solve them. In many instances within science, it is possible to calculate accurately a set of consequences which result from defined events. In most cases, however, it is math- ematically impossible to analytically calculate the unique set of events which led to the observed consequences. Such problems are termed “inverse problems”. Taking the example of gas dispersion, one sees that a known source leads to a calculable set of downwind concentrations. However, given a single concentration measurement it is impossible to distinguish a specific source and location from a larger, more distant source that would have given the same measured concentration. This is an example of the same consequence resulting from two, or more, different events. Key to solving inverse problems are iterative algorithms which randomly trial different possible events to find those which best describe the observed consequences. Such algorithms use a search method to postulate possible events, apply a forward model to calculate the anticipated consequences and then use a cost function to compare the postulated with the known consequences. The process is iterated until the optimum value of the cost function is found, at which point the current set of postulated events are taken to be the best estimate of the real events. In this thesis I apply similar iterative algorithms to solve the two classes of problem. The current demand on the world’s oil resources have encouraged the development of new prospecting techniques. LightTouch is one such solution which is discussed in this thesis and was developed with Shell Global Solutions. LightTouch uses the fact that oil reserves, through microseepages, leak hydrocarbons to their surface. Detection of these hydrocarbons can indicate the presence of oil reserves. LightTouch measures Ethane to sub-part-per-billion sensitivity at multiple positions across a survey area. Locating the source of the Ethane from the sparse downwind concentration measurements is an inverse problem and we deploy algorithms of the type discussed above to locate the Ethane sources. The algorithm is written in LabView and the software, Recon, is currently used by Shell Global Solutions to solve this problem. In appendix B the Recon user interface is shown. We investigate both the impact of choice of cost function (chapter 3) and forward model (chapter 4), which in this inverse problem is a gas dispersion model, on the algorithm’s ability to locate the gas sources. We find that the choice of cost function is more important to the success of the algorithm than the choice of forward model. Optical tweezers trap and manipulate particles with light beams. In order to manipulate the particles in a desired way it is necessary for the shape and position of the light beam to be controlled. One way of achieving a desired light beam is to use a spatial light modulator (SLM) which displays a phase pattern (referred to as a computer generated hologram), off which the light is diffracted. Calculating the phase pattern which will result in the desired light beam is an inverse problem and is referred to as holographic light shaping. The forward model in this case is a Fourier transform. In this thesis we use an algorithm similar to that used to solve the gas location problem and the Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm to calculate phase patterns with applications in optical tweezers. Within an optical tweezers system the highest trap resolution (the smallest distance between neighboring traps) that can be achieved is conventionally dictated by the diffraction limit. In this thesis we investigate two possible ways of beating the diffraction limit: superresolution and evanescent waves. In chapter 5 we investigate the application of inverse techniques to calculating phase patterns which produce superresolution optical traps. We calculate theoreti- cally the improvements to both relative trap stiffness and trap resolution using the superresolution optical traps. Although both are improved it comes at a cost to trap strength. In chapter 7 we simulate evanescent wave fields and demonstrate shaping three dimensional evanescent optical traps. Similar light shaping techniques are used in chapter 6 to shape light beams which after being disturbed will self-reconstruct

Lessons from Europe: governance of health care providers

Successive UK and European governments have believed that granting a hospital the ability to make its own strategic or financial decisions will secure the quality, innovation and productivity required to improve health care delivery