NHS reforms and the working lives of midwives and physiotherapists

From 2000 the NHS was subjected to a series of far reaching reforms, the purposes of which were to increase the role of the primary care sector in commissioning and providing services, promote healthier life styles, reduce health inequality, and improve service standards. These were seen as requiring a greater leadership role from health professionals, closer and more cooperative working between health professionals, and between health professionals, social services, and community and other service providers. The project surveyed a random sample of midwives and physiotherapists to investigate their perceptions of the effectiveness of the reforms, and their effects on working lives. The predominant perception was that NHS reforms had negatively affected the funding of their services; and had done little to improve service quality, delivery or organisation. Although the potential existed for the reforms to improve services, the necessary resources and required staffing were not made available and the objectives of the reforms were only partially secured by intensifying of work. The downside of this was a deterioration of the sociopsychological wellbeing of midwives and physiotherapists, especially the former, exacerbating the shortage of skilled and experienced. Shortage of staff and the associated increased work burdens were demoralising and demotivating; morale and job satisfaction declined, and job insecurity and labour turnover increased

What is energy know-how and how can it be shared and acquired by householders?

Our aim in this short paper is to contribute to conceptual, practical and policy discussions about the role of householder knowledge in the context of policy ambitions to reduce domestic energy consumption. More specifically, we are interested in the characteristics of this knowledge, the ways in which householders acquire such knowledge, and the kinds of activities and policies that might support this. Within this context, literacy approaches emphasise factual knowledge, cognitive reasoning, and ideal attitudes and behaviours; within this mainstream approach, education and communications are key policy recommendations. In contrast, know-how approaches are critical of literacy approaches and emphasise practical skills, experience and guidance. Key policy recommendations focus on tailored guidance delivered through activities such as demonstration homes and home audits. Smart Communities was a community action and action research project on energy demand reduction. The activities in the project drew on both literacy and know-how approaches, and the research methods focussed on in-depth interviews, a survey and informal interactions with project participants and partners. The project strongly supports the ideas that are expressed in the know-how literature, but also highlights the practical challenge of scaling-up activities such as home visits. Meanwhile, approaches that drew on literacy approaches produced less change, but were easier to implement at scale. In our discussion, we raise the need for know-how approaches to be more adequately supported in policy, and the need to investigate and experiment with novel approaches that would allow these activities to be scaled-up. In support of these objectives, we present a concise expression of the concept of energy know-how. In addition, we suggest that the know-how literature is perhaps overly critical of the literacy approach, and we discuss some ways in which literacy approaches can be more effective

The diet of Cape clawless otters at two sites along the Bloukrans River, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

The diet of Cape clawless otters was assessed at two sites along the Bloukrans River using faecal analysis. Spraints (n = 78) were collected during 2000 and 2001 and analysed using the relative frequency of occurrence and the reconstituted wet weight methods. Both methods found crab (Potamonautes perlatus) to be the most important component (>50%) of the diet. Frog, Xenopus and Rana spp., (11–42%) was the second most important component while fish (Micropteris salmoides) was relatively unimportant (<14%). Although the diet of Cape clawless otters in the Eastern Cape Province was similar to that reported elsewhere, the fact that they were preying on an alien invasive fish and not the indigenous endemic Sandelia bainsii is significant. The validity of faecal analysis methods is also discussed

Ethical trade, people and forests (A manual)

This manual is aimed at providing both an introduction to the complex maze of ethical trading approaches and practical information on how to do ethical trading, for those tackling or facing poverty and those promoting sustainable livelihoods. It focuses on the fair trade, forest and timber certification, organic production and conservation driven trade options

In Situ Measurement Activities at the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office

The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office has been involved in the development of several particle impact instruments since 2003. The main objective of this development is to eventually conduct in situ measurements to better characterize the small (millimeter or smaller) orbital debris and micrometeoroid populations in the near-Earth environment. In addition, the Office also supports similar instrument development to define the micrometeoroid and lunar secondary ejecta environment for future lunar exploration activities. The instruments include impact acoustic sensors, resistive grid sensors, fiber optic displacement sensors, and impact ionization sensors. They rely on different mechanisms and detection principles to identify particle impacts. A system consisting of these different sensors will provide data that are complimentary to each other, and will provide a better description of the physical and dynamical properties (e.g., size, mass, and impact speed) of the particles in the environment. Details of several systems being considered by the Office and their intended mission objectives are summarized in this paper

SEM-EDS analyses of small craters in stardust aluminium foils: implications for the Wild-2 dust distribution

Implications for the Wild-2 dust distribution of the statistical results obtained by SEM-EDS from nearly 300 impact craters on aluminium foils of the Stardust sample tray assembly

Foundation and empire : a critique of Hardt and Negri

In this article, Thompson complements recent critiques of Hardt and Negri's Empire (see Finn Bowring in Capital and Class, no. 83) using the tools of labour process theory to critique the political economy of Empire, and to note its unfortunate similarities to conventional theories of the knowledge economy

DRAGONS - A Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris Impact Sensor

The Debris Resistive/Acoustic Grid Orbital Navy-NASA Sensor (DRAGONS) is intended to be a large area impact sensor for in situ measurements of micrometeoroids and orbital debris (MMOD) in the millimeter or smaller size regime. These MMOD particles are too small to be detected by ground-based radars and optical telescopes, but are still large enough to be a serious safety concern for human space activities and robotic missions in the low Earth orbit (LEO) region. The nominal detection area of a DRAGONS unit is 1 m2, consisting of several independently operated panels. The approach of the DRAGONS design is to combine different particle impact detection principles to maximize information that can be extracted from detected events. After more than 10 years of concept and technology development, a 1 m2 DRAGONS system has been selected for deployment on the International Space Station (ISS) in August 2016. The project team achieved a major milestone when the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) was completed in May 2015. Once deployed on the ISS, this multi-year mission will provide a unique opportunity to demonstrate the MMOD detection capability of the DRAGONS technologies and to collect data to better define the small MMOD environment at the ISS altitude