Cabinet collective responsibility: how it works, and why it survives

During the referendum campaign – just as in 1975 – Cabinet ministers have been allowed to dissent from the government’s pro-Remain position. Chris Malone examines why the suspension of Cabinet collective responsibility is such a significant moment in British political history, and the ways in which ministers habitually reconcile their individual positions with the collective line. Despite the ‘blue-on-blue’ attacks of recent weeks, they will likely revert to the fiction of internal consensus when the campaign is over

Data mining using rule extraction from Kohonen self-organising maps

The Kohonen self-organising feature map (SOM) has several important properties that can be used within the data mining/knowledge discovery and exploratory data analysis process. A key characteristic of the SOM is its topology preserving ability to map a multi-dimensional input into a two-dimensional form. This feature is used for classification and clustering of data. However, a great deal of effort is still required to interpret the cluster boundaries. In this paper we present a technique which can be used to extract propositional IF..THEN type rules from the SOM network’s internal parameters. Such extracted rules can provide a human understandable description of the discovered clusters

Caring Calls: A Weekly Phone Call Intervention and the Correlation with Loneliness in Rural Dwelling Adults

Purpose: This pilot study’s aim was to examine the impact of weekly phone calls from interprofessional students on loneliness in rural dwelling adults. Design: A pretest and posttest quasi-experimental design was utilized. Setting: The intervention was based in southeastern Minnesota, although the participants could have lived anywhere. Zoom for Healthcare © was utilized, and students were able to make the phone calls from their homes, therefore, no travel was necessary. Subjects: The subjects were rural dwelling adults (over the age 18 years old). Intervention: Interprofessional students made weekly social phone calls to rural dwelling adults over ten weeks. Measures: The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale was used to compare the level of loneliness prior to the intervention to after the intervention. Results: A Wilcoxon non-parametric test was conducted to analyze results. The overall average of the scores was -0.39, showing there was a decrease in loneliness over the ten weeks among participants, although not statistically significant (p = 0.25) Conclusion: Although there was a decrease in loneliness among the participants, the sample size was small, and the results were not statistically significant. More research is needed on this topic to determine if phone calls from students can decrease loneliness in rural-dwelling adults

Perspectives of applied collaborative sport science research within professional team sports

The purpose of the study was to examine the perspectives of both academics and practitioners in relation to forming applied collaborative sports science research within team sports. Ninety-three participants who had previously engaged in collaborative research partnerships within team sports completed an online survey which focused on motivations and barriers for forming collaborations using blinded sliding scale (0-100) and rank order list. Research collaborations were mainly formed to improve team performance (Academic: 73.6 ± 23.3; Practitioner: 84.3 ± 16.0; ES = 0.54, small). Academics ranked journal articles importance significantly higher than practitioners (Academic: Mrank = 53.9; Practitioner 36.0; z = -3.18, p = .001, p < q). However, practitioners rated one-to-one communication as more preferential (Academic: Mrank = 41.3; Practitioner 56.1; z = -2.62, p = .009, p < q). Some potential barriers were found in terms of staff buy in (Academic: 70.0 ± 25.5; Practitioner 56.8 ± 27.3; ES = 0.50, small) and funding (Academic: 68.0 ± 24.9; Practitioner: 67.5 ± 28.0; ES = 0.02, Trivial). Both groups revealed low motivation for invasive mechanistic research (Academic: 36.3 ± 24.2; Practitioner: 36.4 ± 27.5; ES = 0.01, trivial), with practitioners have a preference towards ‘fast’ type research. There was a general agreement between academics and practitioners for forming research collaborations. Some potential barriers still exist (e.g. staff buy in and funding), with practitioners preferring ‘fast’ informal research dissemination compared to the ‘slow’ quality control approach of academics

New approaches to mapping and managing palaeochannel resources in the light of future environmental change : a case study from the Trent Valley, UK

Abandoned river channels may provide rich primary sources of palaeoenvironmental and cultural information elucidating landscape evolution, climate change, vegetation history and human impact, especially since the beginning of the Holocene epoch. However, although potentially an important resource, palaeochannels are not often recorded systematically and only rarely enjoy robust statutory protection (in the UK as Sites of Special Scientific Interest). In consequence, it is challenging to mitigate and manage this important geoarchaeological resource effectively within the UK planning framework. Whilst palaeochannels have long been recognised on aerial photographs and historic maps, the advent of airborne laser scanning (Lidar) and other remote-sensing technologies has provided a hitherto unforeseen opportunity to record such landforms and related features at a catchment scale. This paper provides a case study from the Nottinghamshire reach of the Trent Valley, where a desk-based methodology that is now being extended across the entire catchment has been developed for recording, geospatially locating and defining the attributes of observed palaeochannels. After outlining the methodology, we consider how this approach to resource management can aid archaeological research and future heritage management, especially in the light of predicted climate and environmental change

Validation methodologies for turbulent variable density flows: A jet case study

Comparisons studies between simulated variable density turbulent flows often consist of direct graphical representations where the level of agreement is determined by eye. This work demonstrates a formal validation methodology using an existing validation framework to examine the agreement between a simulated variable density jet flow and corresponding experimental data. Implicit large eddy simulations (ILES's) of a round jet and a plane jet with density ratio $s = 4.2$ were simulated using the compressible hydrodynamic code xRAGE. The jet growth, characterized by the spreading rates, was compared, and the difference between the simulations and the experiment was examined through jet structure diagnostics. The spreading rates were found to be larger than the experimental values, primarily due to resolution issues in the simulations, a fact that is quantified by the validation metric analysis.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figure

Intra-unit reliability and movement variability of submission grappling external load as measured by torso mounted accelerometery

Submission grappling consists of skills and movements used in combat sports to physically control opponents whilst trying to apply choke holds and joint locks. There is currently no accepted method of monitoring external load in grappling-based sports due to the absence of key variables such as distance, velocity or time. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether PlayerLoad is a reliable variable for measuring external load of submission grappling movements, with a secondary aim of determining the between repetition variance of submission grappling movements. 7 experienced submission grapplers were recruited. Each wore a torso mounted Catapult® Optimeye S5 microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device and completed 5 repetitions of each of the following: 4 submission techniques; 5 transition techniques; 2 guard pass techniques; 2 takedown techniques. Accumulated PlayerLoad (PLdACC) was recorded as a marker of absolute load, with accumulated PlayerLoad per minute (PLdACC∙min-1) representing relative load. Reliability of each was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC(3,1)) (≥ 0.70). Between repetition movement variation was assessed via coefficient of variation with 95% confidence intervals (CV, 95%CI) (acceptable ≤ 15%, good ≤ 10%). PLdACC ICC(3,1) range = 0.78–0.98, with CV range = 9–22%. PLdACC∙min-1 ICC(3,1) range = 0.83–0.98, with CV range = 11–19%. Though several variables displayed CV > 15%, all had 95%CI lower boundaries ≤ 15%. Whilst PlayerLoad was found to be a reliable measure for submission grappling, relatively high CVs across most techniques examined suggest PlayerLoad may not be appropriate for measuring changes in external load for individual movements in submission grappling. However, it may prove a useful tool for monitoring the external load of full, grappling-based, training sessions within an individual

Managing diabetes in people with dementia: protocol for a realist review

Background Worldwide, the prevalences of diabetes and dementia are both increasing, particularly in older people. Rates of diabetes in people with dementia are between 13 and 20 %. Diabetes management and diabetic self-care may be adversely affected by the presence of dementia. There is a need to know what interventions work best in the management of diabetes in people living with dementia (PLWD) in different settings and at different stages of the dementia trajectory. The overall aim is to develop an explanatory account or programme theory about ‘what works’ in the management of diabetes in people in what context and to identify promising interventions that merit further evaluation. Methods/design This study uses a realist approach including studies on the management of diabetes in older people, medication management, diabetes-related self-care, workforce issues and assessment and treatment. We will use an iterative, stakeholder driven, four-stage approach. Phase 1: development of initial programme theory/ies through a first scoping of the literature and consultation with key stakeholder groups (user/patient representatives, dementia-care providers, clinicians, diabetes and dementia researchers and diabetes specialists). Phase 2: systematic searches of the evidence to test and develop the theories identified in phase 1. Phase 3: validation of programme theory/ies with a purposive sample of participants from phase 1. Phase 4: actionable recommendations for the management of diabetes in PLWD. Discussion A realist synthesis of the evidence will provide a theoretical framework (i.e. an explanation of how interventions work, for whom, in what context and why) for practice and future research work that articulates the barriers and facilitators to effective management of diabetes in people with dementia. By providing possible explanations for the way in which interventions are thought to work and how change is achieved, it will demonstrate how to tailor an intervention to the setting and patient group. The propositions arising from the review will also inform the design of future intervention studies. Systematic review registration PROSPERO registration number CRD42015020625

Development of Experimental Icing Simulation Capability for Full-Scale Swept Wings: Hybrid Design Process, Years 1 and 2

This report presents the key results from the first two years of a program to develop experimental icing simulation capabilities for full-scale swept wings. This investigation was undertaken as a part of a larger collaborative research effort on ice accretion and aerodynamics for large-scale swept wings. Ice accretion and the resulting aerodynamic effect on large-scale swept wings presents a significant airplane design and certification challenge to air frame manufacturers, certification authorities, and research organizations alike. While the effect of ice accretion on straight wings has been studied in detail for many years, the available data on swept-wing icing are much more limited, especially for larger scales