481 research outputs found
Rural transport and older people in Lincolnshire : research report in association with the Policy Studies Research Centre and Lincoln Business School
Executive Summary
• The population of the UK is ageing and it is predicted that by 2035 people aged 65 and over will comprise 23% of the total UK population.
• These changing demographics are particularly noticeable in rural areas of the UK, where the median age of a rural resident is 42, compared to 36 for an urban resident. The out-migration of younger age groups and the selective re-population of many of England’s rural areas with older age groups, means that the rural population is simultaneously growing and ageing.
• Research indicates that among post-retirement older people there is a clear connection between transport and social exclusion, which is especially marked in rural areas. Accessible transport is therefore a key factor in preventing social isolation, facilitating independence and maintaining a high quality of life.
• This report was commissioned to examine these issues and investigate the current and future transportation needs of older people in Lincolnshire after transport was listed as one of three top priorities for older people in a consultation with this age group in the county.
• The report will form part of a wider proposal to develop a community transport strategy for Lincolnshire, supported by a marketing and communication plan for transport services for older people.
• If well planned, community transport can form a vital component of an integrated transport system as it provides an important passenger transport resource, which complements other transport services such as local bus and rail networks and Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) schemes such as CallConnect.
• In so doing, community transport helps to provide and enhance passenger transport accessibility and reduce social isolation in rural areas and for particular categories of people (such as older people), who can find it difficult to access public transport.
The main conclusions which emerged from the research are as follows:
• There was a severe lack of knowledge amongst participants about what community transport schemes existed, how they operated and what services they offered.
• There appeared to be a negative relationship between the number of community transport providers and high levels of socio-economic deprivation. For example, in Gainsborough there were no voluntary/community car schemes, whilst in Louth, there was a large scheme, well operated and well used. However, despite these findings, there were still people living in Louth attending the focus group who had little or no idea about what a voluntary/community car scheme was or what other services like CallConnect could do for them.
• The dominant role of the car in older people’s lives was noticeable: both men and women were very reluctant to give up driving and continued to drive into their 80s.
• While some older people felt that their free bus passes were a ‘lifeline’, others felt they were less useful as there were not enough buses to use them on, could not use them due to mobility issues and the distance from their homes to a bus stop, or were not aware that they could be used on DRT services e.g. CallConnect.
• A severe lack of coordination between transport services was reported by older people. These included connection times between different bus operators and also to railway stations. Furthermore there was also a variety of health care providers who older people felt gave little or no consideration as to how they were to get to appointments and how to deal with potential life changing events, e.g. the cessation of driving.
• While many older people appeared to own mobile phones, very few used these to send text messages and no participants used their phone to access the internet.
• Very few of the people interviewed used a computer, instead relying on their sons and daughters to find out information when they had no other option but to use a computer and access the internet. However, some older people did express a desire to learn more about computer technology and how to access the internet.
• There are a lack of public and community transport services that operate during the evenings and at weekends in rural communities. This creates a feeling of isolation amongst the older people interviewed and difficulties in accessing essential amenities and services.
Based on the research in this report, a series of short and longer term recommendations are suggested to increase the use of public and community transport services by older people in rural communities:
Short term
1. The implementation of a promotional and marketing campaign that would raise awareness of different rural transport services available to older people
2. Further development of the Lincolnshire Community Transport Forum
3. The promotion of voluntary/community transport as a way to access healthcare
Longer term
4. Greater opportunities for older people to access and learn about ICT for transport
5. The expansion of the concessionary bus pass scheme to be used on other transport service
Damped Ly{\alpha} Absorption Systems in Semi-Analytic Models with Multiphase Gas
We investigate the properties of damped Ly{\alpha} absorption systems (DLAs)
in semi-analytic models of galaxy formation, including partitioning of cold gas
in galactic discs into atomic, molecular, and ionized phases with a molecular
gas-based star formation recipe. We investigate two approaches for partitioning
gas into these constituents: a pressure-based and a metallicity-based recipe.
We identify DLAs by passing lines of sight through our simulations to compute
HI column densities. We find that models with "standard" gas radial profiles -
where the average specific angular momentum of the gas disc is equal to that of
the host dark matter halo - fail to reproduce the observed column density
distribution of DLAs. These models also fail to reproduce the distribution of
velocity widths {\Delta}v, overproducing low {\Delta}v relative to high
{\Delta}v systems. Models with "extended" radial gas profiles - corresponding
to gas discs with higher specific angular momentum - are able to reproduce
quite well the column density distribution of absorbers over the column density
range 19 < log NHI < 22.5 in the redshift range 2 < z < 3.5. The model with
pressure-based gas partitioning also reproduces the observed line density of
DLAs, HI gas density, and {\Delta}v distribution at z < 3 remarkably well.
However all of the models investigated here underproduce DLAs and the HI gas
density at z > 3. If this is the case, the flatness in the number of DLAs and
HI gas density over the redshift interval 0 < z < 5 may be due to a cosmic
coincidence where the majority of DLAs at z > 3 arise from intergalactic gas in
filaments while those at z < 3 arise predominantly in galactic discs. We
further investigate the dependence of DLA metallicity on redshift and
{\Delta}v, and find reasonably good agreement with the observations,
particularly when including the effects of metallicity gradients (abbrv.).Comment: 27 pages, 15 figures, submitted to MNRA
Cosmological Implications of Lyman-Break Galaxy Clustering
We review our analysis of the clustering properties of ``Lyman-break''
galaxies (LBGs) at redshift z~3, previously discussed in Wechsler et al (1998).
We examine the likelihood of spikes found by Steidel et al (1998) in the
redshift distribution of LBGs, within a suite of models for the evolution of
structure in the Universe. Using high-resolution dissipationless N-body
simulations, we analyze deep pencil-beam surveys from these models in the same
way that they are actually observed, identifying LBGs with the most massive
dark matter halos. We find that all the models (with SCDM as a marginal
exception) have a substantial probability of producing spikes similar to those
observed, because the massive halos are much more clumped than the underlying
matter -- i.e., they are biased. Therefore, the likelihood of such a spike is
not a good discriminator among these models. The LBG correlation functions are
less steep than galaxies today (gamma~1.4), but show similar or slightly longer
correlation lengths. We have extened this analysis and include a preliminary
comparison to the new data presented in Adelberger et al (1998). We also
discuss work in progress, in which we use semi-analytic models to identify
Lyman-break galaxies within dark-matter halos.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Latex, uses aipproc.sty; to appear in the
proceedings of the 9th Annual October Maryland Astrophysics Conference,
"After the Dark Ages: When the Galaxies Were Young (the Universe at 2<z<5)
Hospital Community Benefits After the ACA: Building on State Experience
Analyzes hospitals' requirements to conduct community health needs assessments, financial assistance and billing and collection policies, and community benefit reporting and oversight strategies. Notes implications for federal and state law and practice
Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of the Ultracompact Blue Dwarf Galaxy HS 0822+3542: An Assembling Galaxy in a Local Void?
We present deep U, narrow-V, and I-band images of the ultracompact blue dwarf
galaxy HS 0822+3542, obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys / High
Resolution Channel of the Hubble Space Telescope. This object is extremely
metal-poor (12 + log(O/H) = 7.45) and resides in a nearby void. The images
resolve it into two physically separate components that were previously
described as star clusters in a single galaxy. The primary component is only
\~100 pc in maximum extent, and consists of starburst region surrounded by a
ring-like structure of relatively redder stars. The secondary component is ~50
pc in size and lies at a projected distance of ~80 pc away from the primary,
and is also actively star-forming. We estimate masses ~10^7 M(sol) and ~10^6
M(sol) for the two components, based on their luminosities, with an associated
dynamical timescale for the system of a few Myr. This timescale and the
structure of the components suggests that a collision between them triggered
their starbursts. The spectral energy distributions of both components can be
fitted by the combination of recent (few Myr old) starburst and an evolved
(several Gyr old) underlying stellar population, similar to larger blue compact
dwarf galaxies. This indicates that despite its metal deficiency the object is
not forming its first generation of stars. However, the small sizes and masses
of the two components suggests that HS 0822+3542 represents a dwarf galaxy in
the process of assembling from clumps of stars intermediate in size between
globular clusters and objects previously classified as galaxies. Its relatively
high ratio of neutral gas mass to stellar mass (~1) and high specific star
formation rate, log(SFR/M(sol) = -9.2, suggests that it is still converting
much of its gas to stars.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysical
Journal Letter
Clusters in Various Cosmological Models: Abundance and Evolution
The combination of measurements of the local abundance of rich clusters of
galaxies and its evolution to higher redshift offers the possibility of a
direct measurement of with little contribution from other
cosmological parameters. We investigate the significance of recent claims that
this evolution indicates that must be small. The most recent cluster
velocity dispersion function from a compilation including the ESO Northern
Abell Cluster Survey (ENACS) results in a significantly higher normalization
for models, corresponding to for , compared
to the Eke, Cole, & Frenk result of . Using the ENACS
data for a calibration results in strong evolution in the abundance of
clusters, and we find that the velocity dispersion function is consistent with
. The results are dependent upon the choice and analysis of
low-redshift and high-redshift data, so at present, the data is not good enough
to determine unambiguously.Comment: 4 pages Latex using sprocl.sty, 1 figure. To appear in Proceedings of
12th Potsdam Cosmology Workshop, "Large-Scale Structure: Tracks and Traces"
Sept. 15-19, 199
Coastal sandplain vegetation at Brisbane Water and Broken Bay : reconstructing the past to plan for the future
The vegetation and floristics of the coastal sandplains on the Umina-Woy Woy Peninsula on the northern foreshores of Broken Bay (lat 33° 30’ S, long 151° 15’ E), 40 km north of Sydney, are described from historical records, sampling of remnants and analysis of regional scale vegetation. Of the seven vegetation communities described, Umina Coastal Sandplain Woodland (UCSW) was originally the most extensive type of vegetation over the Umina-Woy Woy sandplain and on the seaward side of the Pearl Beach sandplain, and possibly on the sandplains at Patonga and Little Patonga. Characteristic tree species are Angophora floribunda and Eucalyptus botryoides; the latter appears to be more common at foreshore sites. Close to the sea and in swales at the base of hillslopes, littoral rainforest elements can be present. Patonga may have had significant inclusions of this vegetation. As a result of clearing for suburban development and its reduction to small remnants, UCSW and Freshwater Wetlands have been listed as an Endangered Ecological Communities under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act. A form of the closely-related Sydney Red Gum (SRG) complex occurs on a different SLU on the south-west side of Pearl Beach. A characteristic tree is Angophora costata. Site environmental differences between UCSW and the Sydney Red Gum Complex include their occurrence on iron podsols and humus podsols respectively. Regional vegetation classification and analysis shows that these vegetation units are distinctly different from each other. This is supported by historical evidence from surveyor notation on Crown Survey and land subdivision plans. Originally the Bangalay – Rough-barked Apple Woodland vegetation component of the Umina Woy Woy sandplain was defined by the NSW Scientific Committee for Umina Coastal Sandplain Woodland. Regional analysis now reveals the Red Gum-Red Bloodwood (RGBW) component now merges with this former community. The Pearl Beach vegetation remains separate. A re-definition of UCSW is now required. Management, particularly of UCSW, currently involves revegetation and regeneration works in the vicinity of existing reserves. However, because the depletion has been so extensive there is further opportunity to decrease the loss by utilising the wide riparian reserves and laneways where mature trees still exist. A major conservation concern is the modification and loss of the sandplain vegetation, particularly the wetlands. The historical Crown Survey plans highlight the extent of wetlands as an important ecological feature of the original sandplain landscape. The current study estimated that 83% of wetlands and 79% of riparian vegetation has been lost on the Umina-Woy Woy sandplain since European settlement
CDM-Variant Cosmological Models - I: Simulations and Preliminary Comparisons
We present two matched sets of five simulations each, covering five presently
favored simple modifications to the standard cold dark matter (CDM) scenario.
One simulation suite, with a linear box size of 75 Mpc/h, is designed for high
resolution and good statistics on the group/poor cluster scale, and the other,
with a box size of 300 Mpc/h, is designed for good rich cluster statistics. All
runs had 57 million cold particles, and models with massive neutrinos had an
additional 113 million hot particles. We consider separately models with
massive neutrinos, tilt, curvature, and a nonzero cosmological constant in
addition to the standard CDM model. We find that our tilted
Omega+Omega_Lambda=1 (TLCDM) model produces too much small-scale power by a
factor of ~3, and our open Lambda=0 (OCDM) model also exceeds observed
small-scale power by a factor of 2. In addition, we take advantage of the large
dynamic range in detectable halo masses our simulations allow to check the
shape of the Press-Schechter approximation. We find good fits at cluster masses
for delta_c=1.27--1.35 for a Gaussian filter and delta_c=1.57--1.73 for a
tophat filter. However, Press-Schechter overpredicts the number density of
halos compared to the simulations in the high resolution suite by a weakly
cosmology-dependent factor of 1.5--2 at galaxy and group masses, which cannot
be fixed by adjusting delta_c within reasonable bounds. An appendix generalizes
the spherical collapse model to any isotropic cosmology.Comment: 18 pages Latex using Monthly Notices style, with 13 inlined EPS
figures. This version matches the one accepted by MNRAS. The appendix has
been removed and may now be found instead at
http://fozzie.gsfc.nasa.gov/thesis/appendixC.ps.g
Genome Sequence of \u3ci\u3eStreptomyces aureofaciens\u3c/i\u3e ATCC Strain 10762
Streptomyces aureofaciens is a Gram-positive actinomycete that produces the antibiotics tetracycline and chlortetracycline. Here, we report the assembly and initial annotation of the draft genome sequence of S. aureofaciens ATCC strain 10762
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