Kiddies Matinees

Non-fiction by Nance Anne Neal

Investigation of mechanisms governing emission of odorants

The literature identifies several models that describe inter-phase mass transfer, key to the emission process. While the emission process is complex and these models may be more or less successful at predicting mass transfer rates, they identify three key variables for a system involving a liquid and an air phase in contact with it: • A concentration (or partial pressure) gradient driving force; • The fluid dynamic characteristics within the liquid and air phases, and • The chemical properties of the individual components within the system. In three applied research projects conducted prior to this study, samples collected with two well-known sampling devices resulted in very different odour emission rates. It was not possible to adequately explain the differences observed. It appeared likely, however, that the sample collection device might have artefact effects on the emission of odorants, i.e. the sampling device appeared to have altered the mass transfer process. This raised the obvious question: Where two different emission rates are reported for a single source (differing only in the selection of sampling device), and a credible explanation for the difference in emission rate cannot be provided, which emission rate is correct? This research project aimed to identify the factors that determine odour emission rates, the impact that the characteristics of a sampling device may exert on the key mass transfer variables, and ultimately, the impact of the sampling device on the emission rate itself. To meet these objectives, a series of targeted reviews, and laboratory and field investigations, were conducted. Two widely-used, representative devices were chosen to investigate the influence of various parameters on the emission process. These investigations provided insight into the odour emission process generally, and the influence of the sampling device specifically

Sharing Qualitative and Qualitative Longitudinal Data in the UK: Archiving Strategies and Development

Over the past two decades significant developments have occurred in the archiving of qualitative data in the UK. The first national archive for qualitative resources, Qualidata, was established in 1994. Since that time further scientific reviews have supported the expansion of data resources for qualitative and qualitative longitudinal (QL) research in the UK and fuelled the development of a new ethos of data sharing and re-use among qualitative researchers. These have included the Timescapes Study and Archive, an initiative funded from 2007 to scale up QL research and create a specialist resource of QL data for sharing and re-use. These trends are part of a wider movement to enhance the status of research data in all their diverse forms, inculcate an ethos of data sharing, and develop infrastructure to facilitate data discovery and re-use. In this paper we trace the history of these developments and provide an overview of data policy initiatives that have set out to advance data sharing in the UK. The paper reveals a mixed infrastructure for qualitative and QL data resources in the UK, and explores the value of this, along with the implications for managing and co-ordinating resources across a complex network. The paper concludes with some suggestions for developing this mixed infrastructure to further support data sharing and re-use in the UK and beyond

Perceived Justice and Email Service Recovery

This study adds to the limited research of email service recovery. It is perhaps the first non-US study of email service recovery as well as the first study to apply a theoretical perspective ¬– perceived justice – to email service recovery. The results of three annual studies using Australian data resemble US results and support extending perceived justice to service recovery via email. The distributive elements of replying and offering compensation, the procedural element of answering completely and the interactional element of thanking the customer showed significant positive relationships with customer satisfaction, positive word-of-mouth and repurchase intent. Perhaps most importantly for practitioners, the results of a stepwise regression showed that incorporating the simple phrase "thank-you" in the email reply was a strong predictor of successful email service recovery. Finally, this study found that response time might be less critical than previously thought

Reflections on a native title anthropology field school

Anthropologists play a significant role in the native title system in Australia, especially in undertaking connection research to demonstrate the evidentiary basis of claims. In 2010, recognising the lack of sufficiently qualified anthropologists working in native title, the Australian Government introduced a grants program to attract and retain practitioners. This paper describes a field school in the Northern Territory that was funded through the Native Title Anthropologist Grants Program. Through dialogue and interaction with the Aboriginal community, the organisers aimed to expose and interpret ideas, practices, memories, mythologies, relationships and other aspects of society and culture in the terms required for the demonstration of native title. Both novel and successful, the field school points the way for future training initiatives in native title anthropology. Related identifier: ISBN 9781922102317 (paperback) | ISBN 9781922102300 (ebook : pdf) | Dewey Number 346.940432

Multilevel variance components and brain volume mediation of life stress on post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in children via regularization

Alterations of volume in brain regions of interest (ROIs) are associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Most of the extant neuroimaging research in PTSD has studied adults. The present study extends this research by using data from children (N=11,869, M age =9.92) from the ABCD study, a multisite longitudinal long-term study of brain development and childhood health in the U.S. Traumatic events (TEs) and PTSD symptoms were measured through the K- SADS for DSM-5. Values of brain ROIs were assessed using structural MRI measures. The unidirectional model was able to detect the small differences from site variance in sMRI mediators (subc: VS\u3c.009, SE\u3c.004; cort: VS\u3c.009, SE\u3c.004). Additive genetic factors explained 23.49% of the variance in TEs, 41.73% in subcortical and 19.94% in cortical mediators, and residual 21.01% in PTSD symptoms. Environmental factors explained most of the variance in TEs (C=.61, E=.16) and PTSD symptoms (resC=.19, resE=.21), as well as unique environmental factors in the cortical mediators (cort=.66). TEs highly influenced PTSD symptoms (.92). However, the indirect effect of TEs on PTSD symptoms through the mediation of volume in brain ROIs was small to non-influential at this age (subc=-.0003-.001, cort=-.001- .002). Several estimates of mediation effects were notably higher than most. Regularization via elastic net is implemented to train the mediation model to reduce bias and noise from overfitting, and to select the ROIs with mediation effects that explain the data with increased sparsity.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1102/thumbnail.jp

Women and drink driving

While there is a lot of work around drink-driving, it generally focuses on young men and the risk they pose to themselves and to others.  There is no doubt that young men are the most concerning demographic.  However, with the on-going publicity around young women and binge drinking, this report analyses the available statistics on young women and drink-driving, and older women and drink-driving, as well as looking at media reporting of incidents involving them.  Older and younger women were also interviewed about their behaviour and attitudes towards drink-driving.  Campaigns are not necessarily seen to be relevant to women and while they still remain an absolute minority in terms of drink-driving incidents, there does need to be some consideration paid to more inclusive ways of addressing the issue

Scientific knowledge and scientific uncertainty in bushfire and flood risk mitigation: literature review

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Scientific Diversity, Scientific Uncertainty and Risk Mitigation Policy and Planning (RMPP) project aims to investigate the diversity and uncertainty of bushfire and flood science, and its contribution to risk mitigation policy and planning. The project investigates how policy makers, practitioners, courts, inquiries and the community differentiate, understand and use scientific knowledge in relation to bushfire and flood risk. It uses qualitative social science methods and case studies to analyse how diverse types of knowledge are ordered and judged as salient, credible and authoritative, and the pragmatic meaning this holds for emergency management across the PPRR spectrum. This research report is the second literature review of the RMPP project and was written before any of the case studies had been completed. It synthesises approximately 250 academic sources on bushfire and flood risk science, including research on hazard modelling, prescribed burning, hydrological engineering, development planning, meteorology, climatology and evacuation planning. The report also incorporates theoretical insights from the fields of risk studies and science and technology studies (STS), as well as indicative research regarding the public understandings of science, risk communication and deliberative planning. This report outlines the key scientific practices (methods and knowledge) and scientific uncertainties in bushfire and flood risk mitigation in Australia. Scientific uncertainties are those ‘known unknowns’ and ‘unknown unknowns’ that emerge from the development and utilisation of scientific knowledge. Risk mitigation involves those processes through which agencies attempt to limit the vulnerability of assets and values to a given hazard. The focus of this report is the uncertainties encountered and managed by risk mitigation professionals in regards to these two hazards, though literature regarding natural sciences and the scientific method more generally are also included where appropriate. It is important to note that while this report excludes professional experience and local knowledge from its consideration of uncertainties and knowledge, these are also very important aspects of risk mitigation which will be addressed in the RMPP project’s case studies. Key findings of this report include: Risk and scientific knowledge are both constructed categories, indicating that attempts to understand any individual instance of risk or scientific knowledge should be understood in light of the social, political, economic, and ecological context in which they emerge. Uncertainty is a necessary element of scientific methods, and as such risk mitigation practitioners and researchers alike should seek to ‘embrace uncertainty’ (Moore et al., 2005) as part of navigating bushfire and flood risk mitigation

Mating interactions of the harmful dinoflagellate alexandrium tamarense from UK coastal waters

The Alexandrium tamarense species complex is a group of economically and ecologically important marine dinoflagellates. The complex is comprised of three morphospecies A. tamarense, A. fundyense and A. catenella grouped according to ribosomal DNA or ‘ribotype’. There are five ribotype type groups (I-V) each consisting entirely of toxic or non-toxic isolates. Toxic isolates are associated with harmful algal blooms (HAB’s) due to their ability to produce powerful neurotoxins, which are responsible for outbreaks of paralytic shellfish poisoning in areas of shellfish production. Sexual reproduction in A. tamarense has important implications for the initiation and termination of HAB’s associated with these species. Resistant, long-lived hypnozygotes are formed during blooms through gamete fusion and deposited in sediments. These hypnozygotes provide the source of inoculum of motile vegetative A. tamarense cells in temperate zones during subsequent spring/summer blooms. This study provides further insight into the mating interactions between toxic Group I and non-toxic Group III isolates primarily from UK coastal waters. Study of the effect of temperature on the mating interactions of A. tamarense Group I and Group III in culture showed that temperature had a significant effect on both groups. Co-cultures of compatible Group III isolates showed a significant decrease (p<0.05) in hypnozygote yield at 15°C, compared to 20°C. In contrast the mating compatibility of co-cultures of Group I isolates showed significant increase (p<0.05) at 15°C, compared to 20°C. Similar to other studies, compatible Group I and Group III isolates formed non-viable hybrid hypnozygotes in co-culture. Comparison of the average vigour of inbred Group I crosses and outbred Group I/III crosses suggest that Group I isolates are more likely to out-breed with a compatible Group III isolate. A finding that may have significance in areas where the two groups co-occur. Preliminary data suggesting the presence of both Group I and Group III ribotypes in some isolates has been generated from a nested single cell PCR/qPCR protocol using group specific primers. These data were compared to a dual probe whole cell fluorescent in situ hybridisation (whole cell FISH) assay of isolates. Whole cell FISH showed no dual expression of ribosomal RNA. This suggests that some A. tamarense Group I and Group III isolates may have rDNA pseudogenes corresponding to different ribotypes. If correct this could have implications for the overestimation of A. tamarense group diversity in natural populations when using rDNA sequences for identification