24,210 research outputs found
Mitochondrial DNA transfer: some reflections from the United Kingdom
Recent medical advances and subsequent law reform in the United Kingdom have reignited debate about the ethics of mitochondrial DNA donation and transfer. The potential personal and societal benefits of permitting such practices must be considered against the ethical issues raised by them. It is argued that each objection is defeasible, assuming that safety and efficacy issues can be resolved. A brief description of the new provisions in the UK is provided
The Predictive Approach to Teaching Statistics.
Statistics is commonly taught as a set of techniques to aid in decision making, by extracting information from data. It is argued here that the underlying purpose, often implicit rather than explicit, of every statistical analysis is to establish a set of probability models which can be used to predict values of one or more variables. Such a model constitutes 'information' only in the sense, and to the extent, that it provides predictions of sufficient quality to be useful for decision making. The quality of the decision making is determined by the quality of the predictions, and hence by that of the models used. Using natural criteria, the 'best predictions' for nominal and numeric variables are respectively the mode and mean. For a nominal variable, the quality of a prediction is measured by the probability of error; for a numeric variable, it is specified using a prediction interval. Presenting statistical analysis in this way provides students with a clearer understanding of what a statistical analysis is, and its role in decision making.Statistics, teaching, prediction, probability model, prediction interval.
Constituting Boundaries within Mental Health Care: Tensions, Hierarchies and the Politics of Distribution
Close pairs of galaxies with different activity levels
We selected and studied 180 pairs with dV < 800 km/s and Dp < 60 kpc
containing Markarian (MRK) galaxies to investigate the dependence of galaxies'
integral parameters, star-formation (SF) and active galactic nuclei (AGN)
properties on kinematics of pairs, their structure and large-scale
environments. Projected radial separation Dp and perturbation level P are
better measures of interaction strength than dV. The latter correlates with the
density of large-scale environment and with the morphologies of galaxies. Both
galaxies in a pair are of the same nature, the only difference is that MRK
galaxies are usually righter than their neighbors. Specific star formation
rates (SSFR) of galaxies in pairs with smaller Dp or dV is in average 0.5 dex
higher than that of galaxies in pairs with larger Dp or dV. Closeness of a
neighbor with the same and later morphological type increases the SSFR, while
earlier-type neighbors do not increase SSFR. Major interactions/mergers trigger
SF and AGN more effectively than minor ones. The fraction of AGNs is higher in
more perturbed pairs and pairs with smaller Dp. AGNs typically are in stronger
interacting systems than star-forming and passive galaxies. There are
correlations of both SSFRs and spectral properties of nuclei between pair
members.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with
arXiv:1310.024
Close neighbors of Markarian galaxies. II. Statistics and discussions
According to the database from the first paper, we select 180 pairs with dV <
800 km/s and Dp < 60 kpc containing Markarian (MRK) galaxies. We study the
dependence of galaxies integral parameters, star-formation (SF) and active
galactic nuclei (AGN) properties on kinematics of pairs, their structure and
large-scale environments. Following main results were obtained: projected
radial separation Dp between galaxies correlates with the perturbation level P
of the pairs. Both parameters do not correlate with line-of-sight velocity
difference dV of galaxies. Dp and P are better measures of interaction strength
than dV. The latter correlates with the density of large-scale environment and
with the morphologies of galaxies. Both galaxies in a pair are of the same
nature, the only difference is that MRK galaxies are usually brighter than
their neighbors in average by 0.9 mag. Specific star formation rates (SSFR) of
galaxies in pairs with smaller Dp or dV is in average 0.5 dex higher than that
of galaxies in pairs with larger Dp or dV. Closeness of a neighbor with the
same and later morphological type increases the SSFR, while earlier-type
neighbors do not increase SSFR. Major interactions/mergers trigger SF and AGN
more effectively than minor ones. The fraction of AGNs is higher in more
perturbed pairs and pairs with smaller Dp. AGNs typically are in stronger
interacting systems than star-forming and passive galaxies. There are
correlations of both SSFRs and spectral properties of nuclei between pair
members.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, 2 table
Power and Racialisation: Exploring the Childhood and Educational Experiences of Four Mixed Young People (Who Identify as Having One Black and One White Parent)
This Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis study aims to explore the experiences and understandings of childhood and education of four young people who identify as having a mixed Black and White heritage. The research utilises the theoretical positions of Critical Race Theory and recognises intersectionality. Participants took part in semi-structured interviews, and analysis led to the proposal of a series of âhigher-orderâ superordinate themes across participants. These themes included âThe significance of culture/heritageâ, âMixedness as challenging constructionsâ, âThe significance of intersectionalityâ, âBlackness as problematicâ, âMixedness as an identityâ, âRacialised perceptions in the development of self-identityâ and âThe power of Educational Experienceâ. Implications for practice are explored through Reflecting on Educational Psychology Practice and considering how educational psychology practice might develop through these accounts with reference to specific cultural and ethnic competencies in the British Psychological Society âStandards for the accreditation of Educational Psychology Trainingâ (British Psychological Society, 2019)
ICI optical data storage tape
Optical data storage tape is now a commercial reality. The world's first successful development of a digital optical tape system is complete. This is based on the Creo 1003 optical tape recorder with ICI 1012 write-once optical tape media. Several other optical tape drive development programs are underway, including one using the IBM 3480 style cartridge at LaserTape Systems. In order to understand the significance and potential of this step change in recording technology, it is useful to review the historical progress of optical storage. This has been slow to encroach on magnetic storage, and has not made any serious dent on the world's mountains of paper and microfilm. Some of the reasons for this are the long time needed for applications developers, systems integrators, and end users to take advantage of the potential storage capacity; access time and data transfer rate have traditionally been too slow for high-performance applications; and optical disk media has been expensive compared with magnetic tape. ICI's strategy in response to these concerns was to concentrate its efforts on flexible optical media; in particular optical tape. The manufacturing achievements, media characteristics, and media lifetime of optical media are discussed
Wireworm Control using Fodder Rape and Mustard â evaluating the use of brassica green manures for the control of wireworm (Agriotes spp.) in organic crops
In a field experiment at ADAS Pwllpeiran in 2001, brassica green manures were grown for 6 weeks and dug in before planting King Edward potatoes, to see if they suppressed wireworm in the crop. There was a trend for potatoes grown after mustard to suffer less damage from both wireworms and slugs than potatoes grown after fodder rape or no green manure, but the differences were not significant. Further trials, with longer green manuring periods, are needed to establish if there is a benefit, and whether the breakdown products of brassica green manures are toxic to wireworms
Sociological Knowledge and Transformation at âDiversity Universityâ, UK
This chapter is based on a case study of one UK university sociology department and shows how sociology knowledge can transform the lives of ânon-traditionalâ students. The research from which the case is drawn focused on four departments teaching sociology-related subjects in universities positioned differently in UK league tables. It explored the question of the relationship between university reputation, pedagogic quality and curriculum knowledge, challenging taken-for-granted judgements about âqualityâ and in conceptualising âjustâ university pedagogy by taking Basil Bernsteinâs ideas about how âpowerfulâ knowledge is distributed in society to illuminate pedagogy and curriculum. The project took the view that âpowerâ lies in the acquisition of specific (inter)disciplinary knowledges which allows the formation of disciplinary identities by way of developing the means to think about and act in the world in specific ways. We chose to focus on sociology because (1) university sociology is taken up by all socio-economic classes in the UK and is increasingly taught in courses in which the discipline is applied to practice; (2) it is a discipline that historically pursues social and moral ambition which assists exploration of the contribution of pedagogic quality to individuals and society beyond economic goals; (3) the researchers teach and research sociology or sociology of education - an understanding of the subjects under discussion is essential to make judgements about quality. âDiversityâ was one of four case study universities. It ranks low in university league tables; is located in a large, multi-cultural English inner city; and, its students are likely to come from lower socio-economic and/or ethnic minority groups, as well as being the first in their families to attend university. To make a case for transformative teaching at Diversity, the chapter draws on longitudinal interviews with students, interviews with tutors, curriculum documents, recordings of teaching, examples of student work, and a survey. It establishes what we can learn from the case of sociology at Diversity, arguing that equality, quality and transformation for individuals and society are served by a university curriculum which is research led and challenging combined with pedagogical practices which give access to difficult-to-acquire and powerful knowledge
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