Testing the Constraint Theory of Addiction: Cannabis Constraints Discriminate Users from Nonusers and Heavy from Light Users

Constraint theory (Hammersley, 2014) offers a novel way of understanding addiction as a lack of cognitive, behavioural, and social constraints on substance use. Here, cannabis constraints were studied in a large online opportunity sample: N = 302; 205 men, 97 women. Age ranged from 14 to 60 years (mean = 25, SD = 8.0). Most participants were from UK or North America. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing 15 cannabis constraints and standard self-report frequency measures of drug use. Factor analysis of the constraint questionnaire found 15 factors, similar to those proposed theoretically. These factors could discriminate well between past and current users and heavy and light users. The best discriminator was concerns about the possibility of becoming addicted; the less concerned the heavier was use, although those who actually felt addicted were more concerned than others. Past users also constrained due to using legal highs instead, concerns about illegality, and using only when others used. Light users constrained due to availability and cost issues, as well as unpleasant effects. These findings suggest that there is utility in constraint theory and that heavy use occurs due to a relative lack of constraints

Towards ecological sustainability: observations on the role of the arts

This paper describes how the arts shape environmental behaviour of individuals and society and is a synthesis arising from a program of previous publication. The literature suggests that the arts may have a role in shaping environmental behaviour but it is not clear how or in what circumstances this might occur. Hence we set out to describe ways in which the arts shape environmental behaviour at the individual level and, through the accumulated actions of individuals, at the societal level. Through this examination we aim to explain the role of the arts in moving society towards ecological sustainability. Our research drew on interviews with 96 key informants working in the arts and in the natural resource management sectors, combined with a mix of empirical, experimental and post hoc studies of eight community-based art and environment events. On the basis of this research, a model was developed to describe how the arts can shape environmental behaviour. Three pathways are proposed: communicating information in an engaging form; creating empathy towards the natural environment; and embedding the arts in ecologically sustainable development

Not Alone: Tracing the Origins of Very Low Mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs Through Multiplicity Studies

The properties of multiple stellar systems have long provided important empirical constraints for star formation theories, enabling (along with several other lines of evidence) a concrete, qualitative picture of the birth and early evolution of normal stars. At very low masses (VLM; M <~ 0.1 M_sun), down to and below the hydrogen burning minimum mass, our understanding of formation processes is not as clear, with several competing theories now under consideration. One means of testing these theories is through the empirical characterization of VLM multiple systems. Here, we review the results of various VLM multiplicity studies to date. These systems can be generally characterized as closely separated (93% have projected separations Delta < 20 AU) and near equal-mass (77% have M_2/M_1 >= 0.8) occurring infrequently (perhaps 10-30%). Both the frequency and maximum separation of stellar and brown dwarf binaries steadily decrease for lower system masses, suggesting that VLM binary formation and/or evolution may be a mass-dependent process. There is evidence for a fairly rapid decline in the number of loosely-bound systems below ~0.3 M_sun, corresponding to a factor of 10-20 increase in the minimum binding energy of VLM binaries as compared to more massive stellar binaries. This wide-separation ``desert'' is present among both field (~1-5 Gyr) and older (> 100 Myr) cluster systems, while the youngest (<~10 Myr) VLM binaries, particularly those in nearby, low-density star forming regions, appear to have somewhat different systemic properties. We compare these empirical trends to predictions laid out by current formation theories, and outline future observational studies needed to probe the full parameter space of the lowest mass multiple systems.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, contributed chapter for Planets and Protostars V meeting (October 2005); full table of VLM binaries can be obtained at http://paperclip.as.arizona.edu/~nsiegler/VLM_binarie

Who should take responsibility for integrity in research?

Reflecting on comparisons with the US and the results of the recent International Research Integrity Survey (IRIS), George Gaskell, Nick Allum, Miriam Bidoglia and Abigail-Kate Reid argue that robust research integrity cultures depend on support from different institutions across the research ecosystem

Decision-support tools for economic optimization of Western Rock Lobster fishery

Objectives: 1. To estimate the annual catch and effort to achieve optimum economic yield 2. To evaluate intra-annual market-based management strategies. 3. To evaluate the economic effect of current and proposed management changes

Decline in an Atlantic Puffin population : evaluation of magnitude and mechanisms

Funding: This study was funded annually by Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust (www.fairislebirdobs.co.uk) with contributions from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (jncc.defra.gov.uk). Funding was received from these two sources by Fair Isle Bird Observatory from 1986 to 2013. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust supplied guidance on study design, data collection, analyses, preparation of the manuscript and the decision to publish.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Evaluation of Police and Fire Reform:Year 1 Summary Report

Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) became operational in 2013 following the passing of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act in 2012. In terms of policing, the Act brought together the eight regional Police forces, the Scottish Police Services Authority and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency into two new national bodies: Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority. In relation to Fire and Rescue services, the Act established the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service , replacing the eight former Fire and Rescue services and the Scottish Fire Services College. Both sets of reforms are set within a context of decreasing budgets and involve making significant financial savings in relatively short timescales. Both Police Scotland and SFRS are also experiencing important shifts in demand for their services. The aims of this evaluation are to: (i) assess if the three aims of reform (reduced duplication, more equal access to specialist expertise and greater engagement with communities) have been met; (ii) learn the lessons from the implementation of this reform to inform the process of future public service reform; (iii) evaluate the wider impact of reform on the Justice and the wider public sector. The evaluation began in February 2015 and will conclude in February 2019. This first report focuses on findings emerging from the initial two stages of this work: (i) a review of publically available evidence up to the end of November 2015 and (ii) national key informant interviews. The latter were undertaken with a sample of senior representatives across policing and fire in Scotland and a range of national bodies outwith the two services, including other criminal justice sector agencies, local authorities and third sector organisations. This will be complemented with local geographical case study work in years two and four of the evaluation by engaging with local stakeholders including police officers, firefighters, elected members and community representatives. The purpose of the interviews was to focus on perceptions of the processes and experiences of reform in order to help understand 'how' and 'why' the aims of reform have (or have not) been met. The interviews have also highlighted possible lessons for future public service reform processes and the wider impacts of police and fire reform on the justice system and public sector more broadly. No claims can be made for the representativeness of the views articulated by the interviewees but they do give an important if partial perspective on reform. A sample of these interviewees will be revisited at a later stage in the evaluation to capture perceptions of change over time. This Executive Summary section gives an overview of the key themes which have emerged from this first year of work. These are elaborated upon in the main body of the report which captures in greater detail important differences and distinctions in the experiences of reform for the two services