Do Open Data Badges Influence Author Behaviour? a Case Study at Springer Nature

Digital badges have previously been shown to incentivise journal authors to share their data openly. In this paper we introduce an Open data badging project at the Springer Nature journal BMC Microbiology. The development of the Open data badge is described, as well as the challenges of developing standard badging criteria and ensuring authors’ awareness of the badges. Next steps for the badging project are outlined, which are based on the experiences of the team assessing the badges, the number of badges awarded at the journal to date, and the results of an author survey

100% local and organic: closing the protein gap for poultry in the ICOPP Project

A key challenge in improving the sustainability of organic poultry production is meeting the required levels of nutrients from locally sourced organic feeds. 100% organic diets for monogastrics will become compulsory in the EU from 1st January 2015. The ICOPP project brings together knowledge, from 10 EU countries, of local feeds for monogastrics and their wider impact on growth, health and welfare and the environment to identify feeding strategies which comply with organic principles. This poster will report on feeding trials carried out with broilers in the UK by FAI and ORC to investigate the impact of algae, peas and lupins on broiler performance and welfare

What Are the Barriers Which Discourage 15-16 Year-Old Girls from Participating in Team Sports and How Can We Overcome Them?

Given the clear benefits of regular physical activity (such as reduced risks of cardiovascular disease and obesity, as well as other benefits including those related to mental health), exploration of the reasons that adolescent girls give for not taking part in team sports may be particularly valuable for enhancing later rates of participation. We combined questionnaires and semistructured interviews to assess the barriers that prevent 15-16-year-old girls from participating in extracurricular team games and what can be done to overcome these barriers and improve physical activity levels. Four barriers became prominent as to why girls in this sample do not participate: Internal Factors, Existing Stereotypes, Other Hobbies and Teachers. Methods to overcome these barriers were identified; changing teachers’ attitudes and shifting the media’s focus away from male sport. Following the successful summer Olympics and Paralympics in the UK, and the resulting positive focus on some of the nation’s female athletes, a shift in focus may be possible. However, this needs to be maintained to allow girls more opportunities, role models and motivation to participate in sport

Andean Hydrothermal and Structural System Dynamics: Insights from 3D Magnetotelluric Inverse Modelling

In an active volcanic arc, magmatically sourced fluids are channelled through the brittle crust by structural features inherent in the lithological setting. This interaction is observed in the Andean volcanic mountain chain, where volcanoes, geothermal springs and major mineral deposits are spatially coherent with first-order NNE oriented thrust fault systems, and convergent-margin oblique WNW striking Andean Transverse Faults (ATF). The volcanic and hydrothermal activity at Tinguiririca and Planchón-Peteroa volcanoes demonstrate this relationship, as both volcanic complexes and their spatially associated thermal springs show strike alignment to the outcropping NNE oriented El Fierro thrust fault system. This study aims to constrain the 3D architecture of this fault system in the proximity of the volcanoes and its interaction with volcanically sourced hydrothermal fluids from a combined magnetotelluric (MT) and seismic field study. Data from a 24 station broadband magnetotelluric survey were interpreted using 3D inversion. Over 700 seismic hypocentres from a 12 station coeval seismic survey are also presented in support of the final 3D conductivity model. The combined results show a correlation of conductivity anomalies with seismic clusters in the top 10 km of the crust, including a distinct seismogenic WNW oriented feature that occurs at an abrupt electrical conductivity contrast, which is most apparent at a 6 km depth. It is concluded that this discrete feature is an Andean Transverse Fault (ATF), and that the conductors are signatures of either geothermal fluid reservoirs or fluid saturated lithologies at depth. The associated fluids are channelled parallel to the margin-oblique ATF plane and cause fault reactivation due to increased pore fluid pressure acting on the fault plane. Seismicity induced by this mechanism is limited to the east of the El Fierro fault system, as fluids are compartmentalized along the footwall due to the low permeability fault core that prevent cross-fault fluid migration. This study thus contributes novel insight into how WNW oriented AFT systems interact with local volcanic, structural and hydrothermal systems

How does childhood socioeconomic hardship affect reproductive strategy? Pathways of development.

OBJECTIVES: In high-income populations, evidence suggests that socioeconomic disadvantage early in life is correlated with reproductive strategy. Children growing up in unfavorable rearing environments tend to experience earlier sexual maturity and first births. Earlier first births may be associated with higher fertility, but links between socioeconomic disadvantage and larger family size have rarely been tested. The pathways through which early disadvantage influences reproduction are unknown. We test whether physiological factors link childhood adversity to age at first birth and total children. METHODS: Using data from the Newcastle Thousand Families Study, a 1947 British birth cohort, we developed path models to identify possible physiological traits linking childhood socioeconomic status, and poor housing standards, to two reproductive outcomes: age at first birth and total children. We explored birth weight, weight gain after birth, childhood illnesses, body mass index at age 9, age at menarche, and adult height as possible mediators. RESULTS: We found direct, negative effects of socioeconomic status (SES) and housing on age at first birth, and of housing on fertility. Although we found links between childhood disadvantage and menarche and height, neither of these were significantly correlated with either reproductive outcome. Age at first birth completely mediates the relationship between childhood adversity and total fertility, which we believe has not been empirically demonstrated before. CONCLUSIONS: While there are some links between childhood adversity and child health, we find little evidence that physiological pathways, such as child health and growth, link early childhood adversity to reproductive outcomes in this relatively well-nourished population. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 28:356-363, 2016. © 2015 The Authors American Journal of Human Biology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Blind Belief in a Commodified Natural Resource: A Grounded Theory

ESRC Case proposal, ES/G041040/1, 2009This research examines the application of a Classic Glaserian Grounded Theory methodology to the phenomenon of drought when viewed from the perspective of household water users in southern England. The resulting conceptual work calls into question the effectiveness of water-wise messaging and current Government policies on water management, by highlighting the double assurances afforded to the public through their own observations of the natural cycling of water resources between atmosphere and land, and the continuous operation of the regulated water industry, that together sustain blind belief in the ongoing availability of potable water resources. To establish a clear separation between the development of substantive theory and mixed method studies that claim to take a grounded theory approach that are generally more popular within the discipline of Human Geography, the theory is presented alongside two pieces of work; a collection of modern drought histories and a questionnaire. Developed as part of the necessary process of cycling alternate projects to enable a theory to emerge from the data whilst the researcher is distracted from forcing her own ideas onto it, both these pieces can be viewed separately or as supportive companions to the theory. Additionally, in acknowledging the difficulty in presenting a Classic Grounded Theory in the traditional discussional form, for the benefit of the reader the theory is preceded by an autoethnography, which incorporates descriptive elements taken from field notes and the author’s personal water diary. These works draw data from subjects in three counties in England (Norfolk, Kent, and Devon), following the northwest – southeast rainfall gradient. Supplementary material for the drought histories is drawn from local and national archives and recorded oral histories. The primary emphasis of this work is placed on assessing the merits of each of the methods deployed in addressing environmental social science issues in the context of climate change, which hitherto have been focused on perception questionnaires and the development of popular cultural typologies.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) CASE Studentship with the Environment Agenc

A4_6 Banana Power

In this paper we have concluded that a Potassium-40 fueled Radioisotope Generator, sourced frombananas, is not a feasible option to power even small common place electrical needs. We havecalculated that to power a 100 W light bulb, a total of 1.1 x 10^17 bananas would be needed,resulting in a spherical fuel cell of radius 15 x 10^3 m, and weighing 1.3 x 10^16 kg

A4_5 Solar Propelled Rocket

In this paper we discuss whether it would be feasible to replace the current Soyuz rocket’s Earth launch phase, with the radiation pressure from reflected solar radiation. We find that the mirror would need an area 2.05 × 105 km^2 in an ideal situation. This is deemed too large to be practical

A4_2 Flipping Vehicles

Vehicles sometimes roll over when driving. We investigated whether this was due only to excessive speeding or if other factors were at play. By creating a model comparing bend radius, velocity and angle to the vehicle's centre of mass, we concluded that in most cases other factors relating to the road surface would be involved