Introducing the Western Wedge

The article looks at the rationale for and potential of planning at the sub-regional scale, particularly in terms of labour and housing markets. This is illustrated by the case of the 'Western Wedge', stretching from central London westwards across the Greater London boundary into the South East region towards Oxford, Basingstoke and Newbury

Yup’ik Language Assistance Tribal Outreach: Report to the Alaska Division of Elections

The Division of Elections contracted with the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Alaska Anchorage to help develop a network of key tribal organization and village representatives in the Bethel census area to work with the division on their Yup’ik language assistance program. The division asked ISER to help them communicate with tribes about the division’s current programs and to document additional ways that the division can improve its language assistance program. The Alaska Division of Elections is required under the Federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) to provide language assistance to voters in areas where more than 5% of the voting age citizens are members of a single-language minority and are limited English proficient. In July 2008, a federal court ordered the division to take the following remedial actions, many of which the division had already taken prior to the court order: 1. Provide mandatory poll worker training. 2. Hire a language assistance coordinator fluent in Yup'ik. 3. Recruit bi-lingual poll workers or translators. 4. Provide sample ballots in written Yup'ik. 5. Provide pre-election publicity in Yup'ik. 6. Ensure the accuracy of translations. 7. Provide a Yup'ik glossary of election terms. 8. Submit pre-election and post-election reports. Although the division has a Yup’ik language assistance program and has been addressing the court order, interviews with Bethel census area residents show that some people are unaware of the elements in the division’s language assistance plan. In addition, some Bethel area residents said they feel the election workers and the division should interpret the meaning of the ballot measures and explain the positions of the various candidates—activities that are forbidden by state statute. ISER agreed to help the division address this lack of awareness and the misconceptions about their programs by contacting tribal organizations and inviting them to attend a meeting in Bethel, Alaska, on May 27, 2009. Part I of this report, issued in July 2009, describes ISER’s contacts with tribal organizations and summarizes the comments and feedback from the participants at the election outreach meeting in Bethel. Part II describes ISER’s post-meeting contacts with tribal organizations and meeting participants and summarizes their responses to the post-meeting survey.Alaska Division of ElectionsIntroduction / Part I: Pre-Meeting Comments and Meeting Summary / Part II: Post-Meeting Feedback / Appendix A: ISER Script for Pre-Meeting Contact / Appendix B: ISER Letter of Invitation to Tribal Organizations / Appendix C: ISER Letter of Invitation to PLaintiff Tribral Organizations / Appendix D. List of Participants - Bethel Election Outreach Meeting / Appendix E: Agenda - Bethel Election Outreach Meeting / Appendix F: Pre-Meeting Interview Responses / Appendix G: Post-Meeting Letter to Tribes / Appendix H: Post Meeting Survey / Appendix I: Post-Meeting Interview Summar

Rêve initiatique à Pompéi : Nerval et le mythe du « dieu qui meurt »

À partir d'un passage d'une nouvelle des Filles du feu, « Octavie », cet article veut montrer la présence et l'importance dans le corpus nervalien d'un mythe latent qu'une lecture attentive permet de déceler : le mythe du « dieu qui meurt ». À la jonction du personnel et du collectif, ce mythe est très représentatif de la renaissance de la mythologie dans la poésie du XIXe siècle

A New Photopolymer Recording Material for Holographic Applications: Photochemical and Holographic Studies Towards an Optimized System

Photopolymer materials are a practical alternative to high resolution silver halide photographic emulsions for the recording of holograms and high spatial frequency holographic gratings. The new holographic recording material reported in this thesis consists of a green sensitive dye (erythrosine B), an electron donor (triethanolamine), and a monomer mixture (acrylamide and methylene bisacrylamide) in a polyvinyl alcohol binder. ON illumination with light of the appropriate wavelength the dye absorbs a photon and the excited triplet state of the dye reacts with the electron donor to produce free radicals. These free radicals may then initiate local polymerization of the monomer. The changes in density and molecular polarizability which accompany polymerization cause a change in local refractive index and the hologram is thereby recorded as a volume phase hologram. After recording no further chemical or physical processing steps are required. The chemical and physical processes leading to the refractive index modulation are investigated in detail. The relative contributions to the refractive index change, of density change through diffusion and decrease in molecular polarizability are discussed. The conclusions drawn lead to a new understanding of the processes of hologram formation in this type of material. An original non-holographic technique for the investigation of the initiation processes and comparison of sensitizing dyes is presented. The comparison of quantum yields of bleaching in the absence and presence of monomer is used to estimate the amount of initiation occurring in monomer containing layers. This, and other more conventional holographic methods are used to optimize the chemical composition of the material for sensitivity, diffraction efficiency, shelf life and layer quality. Thick layers of the optimized material require only 50mJ/cm² for an 80% diffraction efficiency or 80 mJ/cm² for a 96% diffraction efficiency. The optimized material is found to perform well in transmission mode for slanted or unslanted gratings and has a resolution of up to 3000 lines/mm. However the material, in its present formulation, will only record weak reflection gratins (\u3e2% efficiency). A demonstration of the suitability of this self developing material for holographic interferometry is carried out with excellent results

Play in Children with Motor Disabilities

The purpose of this research was to explore and describe the relationship among the child, family, home environment, and pretend play of children with motor disabilities. The environment is a powerful force in early child development. This research is based on Bronfennbrenner’s ecological theory of development and the ubiquitous role of play in all domains of development. Children with motor disabilities may lack exploration of the environment and as a consequence demonstrate deficits in play. Play was measured in 32 children with motor disabilities aged 24.8 to 61.3 months with a mean age of 33.7 (SD 9.3) months. Children demonstrated mild to moderate motor disabilities based on the Gross Motor Function Classification System. The prevalent motor disabilities were cerebral palsy, genetic disorders, delayed development, and myelomeningocele. The questions addressed were what combination of child and family variables will predict play ability in a child with motor disability and do the learning materials in the home or levels of maternal or paternal education affect play ability in children with motor disabilities. Two studies were conducted to establish reliability with the Test of Pretend Play (ToPP) and to determine if children with delayed development would exhibit a delay. One study was done to establish reliability for the Fluharty-2. The results of the main study demonstrated a significant positive correlation between ToPP scores and the learning material subscale (LMS) scores of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment Inventory and maternal education. The LMS scores were significantly correlated with family income, maternal and paternal education. The ToPP scores were not significantly correlated to income or paternal education. Age of the child was significantly positively correlated with ToPP scores and the LMS scores. Fifty-three percent of the children exhibited delays in play. The child’s age and the maternal level of education accounted for 60% of the variance in ToPP scores. Children with cerebral palsy and myelomeningocele appear to be at greater risk for pretend play delays than children with developmental delay and genetic disorders. More research is needed to further elucidate the role of play in children with motor disabilities

Climate Ready? Exploring the Impacts and Lessons from Recent Extreme Events at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh for Climate Change Adaptation in the Horticulture Sector

This article explores climate change and its current and potential impacts on botanic gardens. It highlights experiences of recent weather anomalies at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) and its Regional Gardens and discusses how the learning gained from these anomalies is being used to increase the resilience of the Gardens to future climate change. This understanding is set in the context of a wider range of activities being pursued in relation to climate change adaptation in the horticulture sector, highlighting challenges and opportunities, and further sources of information which can be used by the managers of botanic gardens to inspire and inform climate change resilience planning

Exploring Perceptions of the Ability of Student Nurses to Achieve Learning Outcomes in Community-Based Psychiatric Mental Health Clinical Settings

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to investigate how traditional undergraduate baccalaureate (BSN) student nurses and their faculty perceive students' ability to achieve learning outcomes in community-based psychiatric mental health (PMH) clinical settings. Studies have shown that 25% of American adults experience a diagnosable PMH problem each year, and that acute care medical-surgical nurses carry an average patient load of five to six persons. Traditionally, PMH clinical experiences occurred on inpatient units located in acute care hospitals or within psychiatric hospital settings. However, many schools are downsizing and even eliminating PMH clinical experiences in favor of those clinical sites providing more technically based skills. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing also has decreased the psychosocial content on state boards to as little as 6% (2010). Additionally, many schools are moving much of the PMH clinical experience to community-based settings. This move to the community mirrors that of present and future employment opportunities for nurses, and statistics provide evidence that all nurses need PMH skills in order to meet the complex needs of their patients. However, there is no evidence as to what students are learning in these more diverse community-based settings. The research questions for the study included: 1) What are student nurses' perceptions of their ability to achieve learning outcomes in community-based PMH clinical settings? 2) What are faculty's perceptions' of the students' ability to achieve learning outcomes in community-based PMH clinical settings? 3) What are student nurses' perceptions of their ability to transfer knowledge gained in their community-based PMH clinical experiences to other healthcare settings? The sample consisted of 42 students and four faculty members from two Midwestern universities, with one faculty member from each school serving as a key informant, assisting the researcher with identification of possible participants and providing additional information useful in understanding the phenomenon. Students were given the option of completing questionnaires online or per paper/pencil. Faculty was encouraged to complete interviews, while given the option of completing an online questionnaire in lieu of the interview. Four self-selecting participants from the student group also participated in an online focus group as a means of member checking, as well as three faculty members participating in individual member checking. Content analysis was completed with responses by students and faculty to the open-ended questionnaire and interview items, as well as their responses during the online focus groups and/or individual member checking. Simple demographics were used to describe the sample. Corroboration of data from campus visits and artifacts was also included and used to provide a richer, thicker description of the phenomenon. The findings from this study showed that student nurses and their faculty perceived that students were able to achieve learning outcomes in the majority of PMH nursing skills through experiences provided in community-based PMH clinical settings. Three student themes emerged from the data: meeting the challenges of developing PMH nursing skills, sharing multiple experiences of feeling competent and empowering all nurses through PMH nursing skills. Three themes also emerged from the faculty data: seizing the day(s), sharing the road to competency, and empowering students in all areas of nursing. Two surprising, yet important findings were that even though most students felt competent with most PMH skills, the few students who did not perceive themselves as achieving the majority of PMH learning outcomes, felt that the experience was worthwhile and valuable. Most students also strongly felt that the PMH experience was important and that it they could and did apply the PMH skills they learned in all nursing practice areas