Criminal narrative experience: relating emotions to offence narrative roles during crime commission

A neglected area of research within criminality has been that of the experience of the offence for the offender. The present study investigates the emotions and narrative roles that are experienced by an offender while committing a broad range of crimes and proposes a model of Criminal Narrative Experience (CNE). Hypotheses were derived from the Circumplex of Emotions (Russell, 1997), Frye (1957), Narrative Theory (McAdams, 1988) and its link with Investigative Psychology (Canter, 1994). The analysis was based on 120 cases. Convicted for a variety of crimes, incarcerated criminals were interviewed and the data were subjected to Smallest Space Analysis (SSA). Four themes of Criminal Narrative Experience (CNE) were identified: Elated Hero, Calm Professional, Distressed Revenger and Depressed Victim in line with the recent theoretical framework posited for Narrative Offence Roles (Youngs & Canter, 2012). The theoretical implications for understanding crime on the basis of the Criminal Narrative Experience (CNE) as well as practical implications are discussed

Willingness to participate in a randomized trial comparing catheters to fistulas for vascular access in incident hemodialysis patients: an international survey of nephrologists

BACKGROUND: Current guidelines favor fistulas over catheters as vascular access. Yet, the observational literature comparing fistulas to catheters has important limitations and biases that may be difficult to overcome in the absence of randomization. However, it is not clear if physicians would be willing to participate in a clinical trial comparing fistulas to catheters. OBJECTIVES: We also sought to elicit participants' opinions on willingness to participate in a future trial regarding catheters and fistulas. DESIGN: We created a three-part survey consisting of 19 questions. We collected demographic information, respondents' knowledge of the vascular access literature, appropriateness of current guideline recommendations, and their willingness to participate in a future trial. SETTING: Participants were recruited from Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. PARTICIPANTS: Participants include physicians and trainees who are involved in the care of end-stage renal disease patients requiring vascular access. MEASUREMENTS: Descriptive statistics were used to describe baseline characteristics of respondents according to geographic location. We used logistic regression to model willingness to participate in a future trial. METHODS: We surveyed nephrologists from Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand to assess their willingness to participate in a randomized trial comparing fistulas to catheters in incident hemodialysis patients. RESULTS: Our results show that in Canada, 86 % of respondents were willing to participate in a trial (32 % in all patients; 54 % only in patients at high risk of primary failure). In Europe and Australia/New Zealand, the willingness to participate in a trial that included all patients was lower (28 % in Europe; 25 % in Australia/New Zealand), as was a trial that included patients at high risk of primary failure (38 % in Europe; 39 % in Australia/New Zealand). Nephrologists who have been in practice for a few years, saw a larger volume of patients, or self-identified as experts in vascular access literature were more likely to participate in a trial. LIMITATIONS: Survey distribution was limited to vascular access experts in participating European countries and ultimately led to a discrepancy in numbers of European to non-European respondents overall. Canadian views are likely over-represented in the overall outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Our survey results suggest that nephrologists believe there is equipoise surrounding the optimal vascular access strategy and that a randomized controlled study should be undertaken, but restricted to those individuals with a high risk of primary fistula failure

Proposal for the Measurement of Bell-like Correlations from Continuous Variables

We show theoretically that Bell-type correlations can be observed between continuous variable measurements performed on a parametric source. An auxiliary measurement, performed on the detection environment, negates the possibility of constructing a local realistic description of these correlations

Comparison of Boltzmann Kinetics with Quantum Dynamics for a Chiral Yukawa Model Far From Equilibrium

Boltzmann equations are often used to describe the non-equilibrium time-evolution of many-body systems in particle physics. Prominent examples are the computation of the baryon asymmetry of the universe and the evolution of the quark-gluon plasma after a relativistic heavy ion collision. However, Boltzmann equations are only a classical approximation of the quantum thermalization process, which is described by so-called Kadanoff-Baym equations. This raises the question how reliable Boltzmann equations are as approximations to the complete Kadanoff-Baym equations. Therefore, we present in this article a detailed comparison of Boltzmann and Kadanoff-Baym equations in the framework of a chirally invariant Yukawa-type quantum field theory including fermions and scalars. The obtained numerical results reveal significant differences between both types of equations. Apart from quantitative differences, on a qualitative level the late-time universality respected by Kadanoff-Baym equations is severely restricted in the case of Boltzmann equations. Furthermore, Kadanoff-Baym equations strongly separate the time scales between kinetic and chemical equilibration. In contrast to this standard Boltzmann equations cannot describe the process of quantum-chemical equilibration, and consequently also cannot feature the above separation of time scales.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, REVTeX

Consumer palatability scores and volatile beef flavor compounds of five USDA quality grades and four muscles

Proximate data, consumer palatability scores and volatile compounds were investigated for four beef muscles (Longissimus lumborum, Psoas major, Semimembranosus and Gluteus medius) and five USDA quality grades (Prime, Upper 2/3 Choice, Low Choice, Select, and Standard). Quality grade did not directly affect consumer scores or volatiles but interactions (P < 0.05) between muscle and grade were determined. Consumer scores and volatiles differed (P < 0.05) between muscles. Consumers scored Psoas major highest for tenderness, juiciness, flavor liking and overall liking, followed by Longissimus lumborum, Gluteus medius, and Semimembranosus (P < 0.05). Principal component analysis revealed clustering of compound classes, formed by related mechanisms. Volatile n-aldehydes were inversely related to percent fat. Increases in lipid oxidation compounds were associated with Gluteus medius and Semimembranosus, while greater quantities of sulfur-containing compounds were associated with Psoas major. Relationships between palatability scores and volatile compound classes suggest that differences in the pattern of volatile compounds may play a valuable role in explaining consumer liking

Untrained consumer assessment of the eating quality of European beef: 2. Demographic factors have only minor effects on consumer scores and willingness to pay

The beef industry must become more responsive to the changing market place and consumer demands. An essential part of this is quantifying a consumer’s perception of the eating quality of beef and their willingness to pay for that quality, across a broad range of demographics. Over 19 000 consumers from Northern Ireland, Poland, Ireland and France each tasted seven beef samples and scored them for tenderness, juiciness, flavour liking and overall liking. These scores were weighted and combined to create a fifth score, termed the Meat Quality 4 score (MQ4) (0.3×tenderness, 0.1×juiciness, 0.3×flavour liking and 0.3×overall liking). They also allocated the beef samples into one of four quality grades that best described the sample; unsatisfactory, good-every-day, better-than-every-day or premium. After the completion of the tasting panel, consumers were then asked to detail, in their own currency, their willingness to pay for these four categories which was subsequently converted to a proportion relative to the good-every-day category (P-WTP). Consumers also answered a short demographic questionnaire. The four sensory scores, the MQ4 score and the P-WTP were analysed separately, as dependant variables in linear mixed effects models. The answers from the demographic questionnaire were included in the model as fixed effects. Overall, there were only small differences in consumer scores and P-WTP between demographic groups. Consumers who preferred their beef cooked medium or well-done scored beef higher, except in Poland, where the opposite trend was found. This may be because Polish consumers were more likely to prefer their beef cooked well-done, but samples were cooked medium for this group. There was a small positive relationship with the importance of beef in the diet, increasing sensory scores by about 4% in Poland and Northern Ireland. Men also scored beef about 2% higher than women for most sensory scores in most countries. In most countries, consumers were willing to pay between 150 and 200% more for premium beef, and there was a 50% penalty in value for unsatisfactory beef. After quality grade, by far the greatest influence on P-WTP was country of origin. Consumer age also had a small negative relationship with P-WTP. The results indicate that a single quality score could reliably describe the eating quality experienced by all consumers. In addition, if reliable quality information is delivered to consumers they will pay more for better quality beef, which would add value to the beef industry and encourage improvements in quality

The construction of identities in narratives about serious leisure occupations

Engagement in occupation contributes to the shaping of identity throughout the human life. The act of telling about such engagement involves interaction based on symbolic meaning; the speaker constructing an identity by conveying how the occupation is personally meaningful. This study explored meaning in narratives told by people who engage in serious leisure occupations. A total of 78 narratives were extracted from interviews with 17 people who invest considerable time and other resources into their leisure. Analysis focused on the content, structure and performance of each narrative in order to explore meaning. The meanings were organised into a framework based around three dimensions: the located self, the active self and the changing self. Each dimension has facets that the individual might emphasise, constructing a unique identity. The framework offers a structured basis for conceptualising how occupation contributes to the shaping of the internalised self and the socially situated identity

Quantum trajectories for the realistic measurement of a solid-state charge qubit

We present a new model for the continuous measurement of a coupled quantum dot charge qubit. We model the effects of a realistic measurement, namely adding noise to, and filtering, the current through the detector. This is achieved by embedding the detector in an equivalent circuit for measurement. Our aim is to describe the evolution of the qubit state conditioned on the macroscopic output of the external circuit. We achieve this by generalizing a recently developed quantum trajectory theory for realistic photodetectors [P. Warszawski, H. M. Wiseman and H. Mabuchi, Phys. Rev. A_65_ 023802 (2002)] to treat solid-state detectors. This yields stochastic equations whose (numerical) solutions are the ``realistic quantum trajectories'' of the conditioned qubit state. We derive our general theory in the context of a low transparency quantum point contact. Areas of application for our theory and its relation to previous work are discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures. Shorter, significantly modified, updated versio

Consumer Assessment of New Zealand Forage Finished Beef Compared to US Grain Fed Beef

Consumer sensory analysis was conducted to determine differences in beef palatability between three process-verified feeding programs (New Zealand fodder beet, New Zealand grass/non-fodder beet, US grain). Beef strip loins were selected to represent low or high expected eating quality (based on eligibility for the company’s branded program, which focuses on carcass attributes of marbling, ossification, pH, 12th rib fat, and HCW), resulting in 6 treatments: fodder beet low quality (FBL), fodder beet high quality (FBH), non-fodder beet low quality (NFBL), and non-fodder beet high quality (NFBH), Select (SEL) and Top Choice (TCH). Samples were aged until 21 or 35 d postmortem. Extending postmortem aging positively influenced (P 0.05) on New Zealand fodder beet samples, with the exception that tenderness was improved (P 0.05) on all remaining traits of US grain fed beef loin steaks. When focusing on the high eating quality samples, consumers did not discriminate between finishing systems when samples were aged 35 d, scoring TCH, FBH, and NFBH similarly (P > 0.05) for all palatability traits. The FBL and NFBL were normally scored similarly (P > 0.05) or with a slight advantage over SEL, regardless of aging period. Ultimately, finishing beef cattle using fodder beet in New Zealand can be a viable option to supply high quality beef during winter months, while maintaining the eating quality expectations associated with “grass-fed” beef according to US consumers from the Lubbock, TX area

Entanglement swapping using continuous variables

We investigate the efficacy with which entanglement can be teleported using a continuous measurement scheme. We show that by using the correct gain for the classical channel the degree of violation of locality that can be demonstrated (using a CH type inequality) is {\it not} a function of the level of entanglement squeezing used in the teleportation. This is possible because a gain condition can always be choosen such that passage through the teleporter is equivalent to pure attenuation of the input field.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure