Hinterland Electrification Strategy

The Government of Guyana, as part of its socio-economic development and poverty alleviation objective, has embarked on a program to extend electricity to unserved areas where extension of existing distribution networks is deemed to be economically feasible. This document outlines the electrification strategy being used. This strategy includes a description of the potential energy sources in the area (solar, hydropower, wind, biomass, biofuel, diesel) and specifies an approach to test their viability for hinterland electrification

Enhancing public mental health and wellbeing through creative arts participation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how participation in creative arts activity can enhance public mental health and wellbeing. It is informed by both the author’s clinical practice with service users and carers and by research. Design/methodology/approach The approach taken is to draw selectively on research in the field of creativity, creative arts and wellbeing, focusing in particular on the use of music and creative writing, and to incorporate learning from clinical experience to explore what is understood about the health and wellbeing benefits of creative arts activity. Findings There is evidence that creative arts activity is beneficial to mental health and wellbeing. Arts activities that involve active participation appear to offer the greatest benefits. Creative arts participation can help people with diagnosed mental health difficulties to recover from mental illness. Moreover, creative arts activities can also promote wellbeing in the general population. Research limitations/implications The paper does not provide a comprehensive review of the literature in this field. Practical implications The paper suggests that if nurses and other mental health professionals are to play a full role in facilitating flourishing then they will need to learn more about using creative arts in practice and will need to become involved and encourage others to do so. Social implications The paper suggests it is important that creative arts activities should be participatory, so they become a vehicle not only for self-expression but also for participation in groups and communities, increasing connectedness and social inclusion. Originality/value This paper fulfils a need for a wider understanding of the health and wellbeing benefits of creative arts activity

Leadership in the British civil service: an interpretation

This article is essentially a polemic. The argument is that when politicians and officials now talk of ‘leadership’ in the British civil service they do not use that word in the way in which it was previously used. In the past leading civil servants, acting in partnership with ministers and within constitutional constraints, exercised leadership in the sense of setting example, inspiring confidence and encouraging loyalty. The loosening of traditional constitutional patterns, the marginalization of senior officials in the policy process and the emergence of business methods as the preferred model for public ­administration have led to a political and administrative environment in which leadership in the British civil service is now about encouraging patterns of behaviour which fit in with these changes. Leadership skills are now about ‘delivery’; they are not about motivation. It is time for politicians, officials and scholars to be open about this

Potential of wind turbines to elicit seizures under various meteorological conditions

Purpose: To determine the potential risk of epileptic seizures from wind turbine shadow flicker under various meteorologic conditions. Methods: We extend a previous model to include attenuation of sunlight by the atmosphere using the libradtran radiative transfer code. Results: Under conditions in which observers look toward the horizon with their eyes open we find that there is risk when the observer is closer than 1.2 times the total turbine height when on land, and 2.8 times the total turbine height in marine environments, the risk limited by the size of the image of the sun's disc on the retina. When looking at the ground, where the shadow of the blade is cast, observers are at risk only when at a distance <36 times the blade width, the risk limited by image contrast. If the observer views the horizon and closes their eyes, however, the stimulus size and contrast ratio are epileptogenic for solar elevation angles down to approximately 5°. Discussion: Large turbines rotate at a rate below that at which the flicker is likely to present a risk, although there is a risk from smaller turbines that interrupt sunlight more than three times per second. For the scenarios considered, we find the risk is negligible at a distance more than about nine times the maximum height reached by the turbine blade, a distance similar to that in guidance from the United Kingdom planning authorities. © 2009 International League Against Epilepsy