The response of smoke detectors to pyrolysis and combustion products from aircraft interior materials

The following projects were completed as part of the effort to develop and test economically feasible fire-resistant materials for interior furnishings of aircraft as well as detectors of incipient fires in passenger and cargo compartments: (1) determination of the sensitivity of various contemporary gas and smoke detectors to pyrolysis and combustion products from materials commonly used in aircraft interiors and from materials that may be used in the future, (2) assessment of the environmental limitations to detector sensitivity and reliability. The tests were conducted on three groups of materials by exposure to the following three sources of exposure: radiant and Meeker burner flame, heated coil, and radiant source only. The first test series used radiant heat and flame exposures on easily obtainable test materials. Next, four materials were selected from the first group and exposed to an incandescent coil to provide the conditions for smoldering combustion. Finally, radiant heat exposures were used on advanced materials that are not readily available

Antecedents of Passive-Aggressive Behavior as Employee Deviance

Using the framework of deviant behavior, this paper examines passive-aggression and proposes antecedents that may influence how an individual acts when he or she chooses to engage in deviant behavior. The personality traits of extraversion and high self-monitoring are proposed as predictors of passive-aggressive behavior, and the psychological contract breech is also proposed as a situational predictor of passive-aggression. Using established typologies of both deviant behavior (i.e. Robinson & Bennett, 1995) and aggressive behavior (i.e. Binning & Wagner, 2002), this paper attempts to identify one type of aggressive deviant behavior and understand its causes

Study of volatile contaminants in reclaimed water

Different methods were evaluated for reducing the volatile contaminants found in water recovered from urine by distillation. The use of activated carbon, addition of potassium permanganate, and the use of oxidation catalyst are described along with laboratory tests. It is concluded that catalytic decomposition appears to be feasible, and further investigation is recommended

The impact of private sector provision on equitable provision of coronary revascularisation

Objective: To investigate the impact of including private sector data on assessments of equity of coronary revascularisation provision using NHS data only. Design: Analyses of Hospital Episodes Statistics and private sector data by age, sex, and PCT of residence. For each PCT, the share of London's total population and revascularisations (all admissions, NHS-funded, and privately-funded admissions) were calculated. GINI coefficients were derived to provide an index of inequality across sub-populations, with parametric bootstrapping to estimate confidence intervals. Setting: London Participants London residents undergoing coronary revascularisation April 2001 - December 2003. Intervention Coronary artery bypass graft or angioplasty Main outcome measures: Directly-standardised revascularisation rates, GINI coefficients. Results: NHS-funded age-standardised revascularisation rates varied from 95.2 to 193.9 per 100,000 and privately funded procedures from 7.6 to 57.6. Although the age distribution did not vary by funding, the proportion of revascularisations among women that were privately funded (11.0%) was lower than among men (17.0%). Privately funded rates were highest in PCTs with the lowest death rates (p=0.053). NHS-funded admission rates were not related to deprivation nor age-standardised deaths rates from coronary heart disease. Privately-funded admission rates were lower in more deprived PCTs. NHS provision was significantly more egalitarian (Gini coefficient 0.12) than the private sector (0.35). Including all procedures was significantly less equal (0.13) than NHS funded care alone. Conclusion: Private provision exacerbates geographical inequalities. Those responsible for commissioning care for defined populations must have access to consistent data on provision of treatment wherever it takes place

Ink vs Inc: The Influence of Visible Tattoos on Trustworthiness and Learning

An emerging concern for employers is the impact of visible body modification (VBM) in the workplace. Visible body modification includes tattoos, piercings, or implants that are both visible and observable on an individual’s body. The extant research on VBM suggests that employers are hesitant to hire those with visible tattoos or piercings, but fails to address how employees with VBM influence organizational outcomes. This dissertation examines how a specific type of VBM, visible tattoos, influences training and learning by investigating how a trainer’s visible tattoos affect trainees’ perceived trustworthiness and learning in a training context. The study used a sample of 164 undergraduate students and Amazon Mechanical Turk workers to assess reactions to a trainer’s visible tattoos. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups, with the two experimental groups having a trainer with one tattoo or full tattoo sleeves. The results indicated that there were no significant differences between groups for perceived trustworthiness or learning. Similarly, there was no support for the moderating effect of openness to experience, authoritarianism, or learning goal orientation. Social distance was found to moderate the relationship between the treatment and perceived trustworthiness. The findings of this study suggest that for the trainer and tattoos used, visible tattoos do not an impact on training outcomes. As this study was limited to one trainer with one type of tattoos, this preliminary evidence suggests that more research is needed to address the diversity of tattooing and VBM as a whole

Ink vs Inc: The Influence of Visible Tattoos on Trustworthiness and Learning

An emerging concern for employers is the impact of visible body modification (VBM) in the workplace. Visible body modification includes tattoos, piercings, or implants that are both visible and observable on an individual’s body. The extant research on VBM suggests that employers are hesitant to hire those with visible tattoos or piercings, but fails to address how employees with VBM influence organizational outcomes. This dissertation examines how a specific type of VBM, visible tattoos, influences training and learning by investigating how a trainer’s visible tattoos affect trainees’ perceived trustworthiness and learning in a training context. The study used a sample of 164 undergraduate students and Amazon Mechanical Turk workers to assess reactions to a trainer’s visible tattoos. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups, with the two experimental groups having a trainer with one tattoo or full tattoo sleeves. The results indicated that there were no significant differences between groups for perceived trustworthiness or learning. Similarly, there was no support for the moderating effect of openness to experience, authoritarianism, or learning goal orientation. Social distance was found to moderate the relationship between the treatment and perceived trustworthiness. The findings of this study suggest that for the trainer and tattoos used, visible tattoos do not an impact on training outcomes. As this study was limited to one trainer with one type of tattoos, this preliminary evidence suggests that more research is needed to address the diversity of tattooing and VBM as a whole

Why Websites Work: An Examination of Interdisciplinary Agricultural Center Websites

This study examined the online content of interdisciplinary agricultural center webpages. Content modification dates, mission statements, and content were determined through a content analysis. Many of the websites did not mention a modification date for the content, while many websites had outdated content mostly older than six months. More than two-thirds of the websites provided PDFs that visitor could download to learn more about topics, by many of the websites lacked any media element that was being coded. Additionally, many websites did not use multiple forms of media. More than half of the websites were coded as lacking any social media content or plugins, but out of the websites that did include social media content, Facebook was the most prevalent. The commonalities between the center’s mission displayed on the website and the content theme were analyzed and chi-square tests provided the degree of association. A significant association existed and an alignment between communication strategies and missions of the centers was concluded, which is important when organizations communicate about agricultural science as indicated by previous literature. It is recommended that centers communicate via their websites in a timely manner and allow modification times to be seen to viewers to show their information is up-to-date. Website media content should also be diversified and communicators of these centers should explore the unique communication opportunities provided by social media. Future research should explore the target audience of interdisciplinary agricultural centers and should analyze the messages centers are using to communicate with those audiences

Using shared goal setting to improve access and equity: a mixed methods study of the Good Goals intervention

Background: Access and equity in children’s therapy services may be improved by directing clinicians’ use of resources toward specific goals that are important to patients. A practice-change intervention (titled ‘Good Goals’) was designed to achieve this. This study investigated uptake, adoption, and possible effects of that intervention in children’s occupational therapy services. Methods: Mixed methods case studies (n = 3 services, including 46 therapists and 558 children) were conducted. The intervention was delivered over 25 weeks through face-to-face training, team workbooks, and ‘tools for change’. Data were collected before, during, and after the intervention on a range of factors using interviews, a focus group, case note analysis, routine data, document analysis, and researchers’ observations. Results: Factors related to uptake and adoptions were: mode of intervention delivery, competing demands on therapists’ time, and leadership by service manager. Service managers and therapists reported that the intervention: helped therapists establish a shared rationale for clinical decisions; increased clarity in service provision; and improved interactions with families and schools. During the study period, therapists’ behaviours changed: identifying goals, odds ratio 2.4 (95% CI 1.5 to 3.8); agreeing goals, 3.5 (2.4 to 5.1); evaluating progress, 2.0 (1.1 to 3.5). Children’s LoT decreased by two months [95% CI −8 to +4 months] across the services. Cost per therapist trained ranged from £1,003 to £1,277, depending upon service size and therapists’ salary bands. Conclusions: Good Goals is a promising quality improvement intervention that can be delivered and adopted in practice and may have benefits. Further research is required to evaluate its: (i) impact on patient outcomes, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and (ii) transferability to other clinical contexts

Post-Foucauldian governmentality: what does it offer critical social policy analysis?

This article considers the theoretical perspective of post-Foucauldian governmentality, especially the insights and challenges it poses for applied researchers within the critical social policy tradition. The article firstly examines the analytical strengths of this approach to understanding power and rule in contemporary society, before moving on to consider its limitations for social policy. It concludes by arguing that these insights can be retained, and some of the weaknesses overcome, by adopting a ‘realist governmentality’ approach (Stenson 2005, 2008). This advocates combining traditional discursive analysis with more ethnographic methods in order to render visible the concrete activity of governing, and unravel the messiness, complexity and unintended consequences involved in the struggles around subjectivity