Passing crisis and emergency risk communications: the effects of communication channel, information type, and repetition.

Three experiments explore several factors which influence information transmission when warning messages are passed from person to person. In Experiment 1, messages were passed down chains of participants using five different modes of communication. Written communication channels resulted in more accurate message transmission than verbal. In addition, some elements of the message endured further down the chain than others. Experiment 2 largely replicated these effects and also demonstrated that simple repetition of a message eliminated differences between written and spoken communication. In a final field experiment, chains of participants passed information however they wanted to, with the proviso that half of the chains could not use telephones. Here, the lack of ability to use a telephone did not affect accuracy, but did slow down the speed of transmission from the recipient of the message to the last person in the chain. Implications of the findings for crisis and emergency risk communication are discussed

The effects of label design characteristics on perceptions of genetically modified food

Objective. To explore the effects on perceptions of labelling food for genetically modified content. Background: there is increasing public pressure for the compulsory labelling of genetically modified food content on all food products, and yet little is known about how the design and content of such food labels will influence product perceptions. The current research draws upon warning label research - a field in which the effect of label design manipulations on perceptions of, and responses to, potential or perceived risks is well documented. Method. Two experiments are reported that investigate how label design features influence the perception of genetically modified foods. The effects of label colour (red, blue and green), wording style (definitive vs. probabilistic and explicit vs. non-explicit) and information source (government agency, consumer group and manufacturer) on hazard perceptions and purchase intentions were measured. Results. Hazard perceptions and purchase intentions were both influenced by label design characteristics in predictable ways. Any reference to genetic modification, even if the label is stating that the product is free of genetically modified ingredients, increased hazard perception, and decreased purchase intentions, relative to a no-label condition. Conclusion. Label design effects generalise from warning label research to influence the perception of genetically modified foods in predictable ways. Application. The design of genetically modified food labels. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

U.S. and U.K. Interest Rates 1890 - 1934: New Evidence on Structural Breaks

This paper presents econometric evidence on whether the founding of the Federal Reserve in 1914 caused a structural change from level-stationarity to difference-stationarity in U.S. and U.K. short-term nominal interest rates. We develop new econometric tests that allow for parameter transitions to test for a break of this kind and undertake a grid search analysis of dates and speeds for the change. We find that U.S. nominal interest rates most likely evolved rapidly to difference-stationarity in June 1917. For the U.K. we fail to reject the null that U.K. interest rate series follow a difference stationary process over the entire period 1890-1934. Our analysis differs from previous research on this topic in that we take care to explore statistical uncertainty around parameter estimates, and incorporate higher order dynamics into our econometric analysis.

Evaluating the application of research-based guidance to the design of an emergency preparedness leaflet

UNLABELLED: Guidelines for the design of emergency communications were derived from primary research and interrogation of the literature. The guidelines were used to re-design a nuclear emergency preparedness leaflet routinely distributed to households in the local area. Pre-test measures of memory for, and self-reported understanding of, nuclear safety information were collected. The findings revealed high levels of non-receipt of the leaflet, and among those who did receive it, memory for safety advice was poor. Subjective evaluations of the trial leaflet suggested that it was preferred and judged easier to understand than the original. Objective measures of memory for the two leaflets were also recorded, once after the study period, and again one week or four weeks later. Memory for the advice was better, at all time periods, when participants studied the trial leaflet. The findings showcase evaluation of emergency preparedness literature and suggest that extant research findings can be applied to the design of communications to improve memory and understandability. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: Studies are described that showcase the use of research-based guidelines to design emergency communications and provide both subjective and objective data to support designing emergency communications in this way. In addition, the research evaluates the effectiveness of emergency preparedness leaflets that are routinely distributed to households. This work is of relevance to academics interested in risk communication and to practitioners involved in civil protection and emergency preparedness

Some oxidation reactions utilizing hydrogen peroxide adducts in combination with carboxylic anhydrides

Interest grew in the development of new oxidising agents as a replacement for high purity meta-chloroperbenzoic acid (mCPBA) and avoiding the difficulty in obtaining high strength hydrogen peroxide. Magnesium monoperoxyphthalate (MMPP) has been advertised as a replacement. However due to problems of solubility of this oxidant in a number of solvents, it cannot be considered as a complete substitute for mCPBA. An oxidising agent is required to either complement MMPP, or succeed mCPBA entirely. This thesis describes the investigation of some hydrogen peroxide adducts as a possible contender to the extremely versatile oxidant, mCPBA. Urea-hydrogen peroxide adduct (UHP) in combination with either trifluoroacetic or acetic anhydride was used for the in situ formation of percarboxylic acids. Oxidations of various functional groups were carried out using these peracids. Reactions include: the epoxidation of terminal, electron deficient alkenes, such as octene, by trifluoroperacetic acid; the epoxidation of electron rich alkenes, such as styrenes and cyclohexenes, by peracetic acid; Baeyer-Villiger reactions of both aliphatic and alkyl aryl ketones by trifluoroperacetic acid; the conversion of anilines into nitrobenzenes; the oxidation of tertiary amines and sulphides; and the oxidative cleavage of dimethylhydrazones. A number of other hydrogen peroxide adducts were produced and their performance in various oxidation reactions was compared to that of ureahydrogen peroxide. Experiments in the formation of adducts to induce chirality in epoxidation reactions were also undertaken

Comparison of bacterioneuston and bacterioplankton dynamics during a phytoplankton bloom in a fjord mesocosm

The bacterioneuston is the community of Bacteria present in surface microlayers, the thin surface film that forms the interface between aquatic environments and the atmosphere. In this study we compared bacterial cell abundance and bacterial community structure of the bacterioneuston and the bacterioplankton (from the subsurface water column) during a phytoplankton bloom mesocosm experiment. Bacterial cell abundance, determined by flow cytometry, followed a typical bacterioplankton response to a phytoplankton bloom, with Synechococcus and high nucleic acid (HNA) bacterial cell numbers initially falling, probably due to selective protist grazing. Subsequently HNA and low nucleic acid (LNA) bacterial cells increased in abundance but Synechococcus did not. There was no significant difference between bacterioneuston and bacterioplankton cell abundances during the experiment. Conversely, distinct and consistent differences between the bacterioneuston and the bacterioplankton community structure were observed. This was monitored simultaneously by Bacteria 16S rRNA gene terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The conserved patterns of community structure observed in all of the mesocosms indicate that the bacterioneuston is distinctive and non-random

Chemical Spectral Analysis through Sonification

Chemical spectra are an important part of how research chemists analyse the outcomes of experiments. However these complex spectra can be very difficult and time consuming to analyse. This paper outlines an investigation into using sonification to improve the understanding and ease of analysis of chemical spectral data. The project specifically uses sonification techniques to display Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectra. Two sonification methods were designed to offer different perspectives on the data; "Spectral Audification" allows a quick overview of the data while maintaining its subtleties whereas a simple parameter mapping method allows more in-depth analysis of the spectra such as the use of rhythmic patterns to make sets of peaks easily identifiable

A first-level track trigger architecture for super-CMS

We present an architectural concept for a first-level hardware track trigger for CMS at SLHC. The design of such a system is challenging. A primary constraint on implementation will be power consumption within the detector, in turn driven by the transmission bandwidth to offdetector electronics. We therefore emphasise the minimisation of the data flow through local filtering of track stubs on the detector. The architecture does not comprise a stand-alone track trigger, but uses muon and calorimeter trigger objects to seed track-matching within an integrated first-level system

Text‐analysis reveals taxonomic and geographic disparities in animal pollination literature

Ecological systematic reviews and meta‐analyses have significantly increased our understanding of global biodiversity decline. However, for some ecological groups, incomplete and biased datasets have hindered our ability to construct robust, predictive models. One such group consists of the animal pollinators. Approximately 88% of wild plant species are thought to be pollinated by animals, with an estimated annual value of $230–410 billion dollars. Here we apply text‐analysis to quantify the taxonomic and geographical distribution of the animal pollinator literature, both temporally and spatially. We show that the publication of pollinator literature increased rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s. Taxonomically, we show that the distribution of pollinator literature is concentrated in the honey bees (Apis) and bumble bees (Bombus), and geographically in North America and Europe. At least 25% of pollination‐related abstracts mention a species of honey bee and at least 20% a species of bumble bee, and approximately 46% of abstracts are focussed on either North America (32%) or Europe (14%). Although these results indicate strong taxonomic and geographic biases in the pollinator literature, a large number of studies outside North America and Europe do exist. We then discuss how text‐analysis could be used to shorten the literature search for ecological systematic reviews and meta‐analyses, and to address more applied questions related to pollinator biodiversity, such as the identification of likely interacting plant–pollinator pairs and the number of pollinating species