Cycling and Health Innovative Pilot Projects (Executive summary)

The Cycling and Health Innovative Pilot Project (CHIPPS) provided cycle training for adults in Nottingham and Northamptonshire from 2007 to 2010. The Primary Care Trusts in each area have delivered these projects in collaboration with partners. In Nottingham collaboration with Ridewise delivered the Cycling for Health Project that aimed to involve people from deprived communities and employees of the Primary Care Trust; in Northamptonshire the Easy Rider project delivered via Age UK was also aimed at those living in deprived areas and middle-aged people. Throughout the three years the initiative was evaluated by the Carnegie Research Institute of Leeds Metropolitan University. Those taking part completed questionnaires at the outset, at the end of their training, three months later and finally after a year. In addition, a mix of one-to-one interviews and focus groups were conducted with policy makers, those delivering the projects and participants (including those who dropped out)

LSAT practicum: an application of human based computation

Human-based computation can be applied to solve problems too hard for a single computer. Crowdsourcing can be applied to ethical modeling by splitting ethical situations among humans. In this senior research project, the crowdsourcing method is applied to produce an ethical model for what web crawlers are allowed to do on websites. By evaluating questions about terms of use on a website, users provide context for the robots. An obstacle to this project is getting the right crowd to participate in the problem. The crowd of potential law students was selected as students typically answer questions to study for a major entrance test into law school. This tool can allow these students to practice legal analysis while letting them build to ethical web knowledge, which is in turn generated into robot-readable code in the form of the Robot Exclusion Protocol. The results were limited by the size of the crowd in this project

LSAT practicum: an application of human based computation

Human-based computation can be applied to solve problems too hard for a single computer. Crowdsourcing can be applied to ethical modeling by splitting ethical situations among humans. In this senior research project, the crowdsourcing method is applied to produce an ethical model for what web crawlers are allowed to do on websites. By evaluating questions about terms of use on a website, users provide context for the robots. An obstacle to this project is getting the right crowd to participate in the problem. The crowd of potential law students was selected as students typically answer questions to study for a major entrance test into law school. This tool can allow these students to practice legal analysis while letting them build to ethical web knowledge, which is in turn generated into robot-readable code in the form of the Robot Exclusion Protocol. The results were limited by the size of the crowd in this project

Synthesis and Polarographic Analysis of A2E

As humans age, fluorescent retinoid pigments accumulate in the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells responsible for photoreceptor support. These fluorophores are of interest because they seem to contribute to diseases of the retina, particularly age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in older adults in the United States and currently has no cure. One well-characterized fluorophore, A2E, can be oxidized by visible light and then generate harmful oxidative species capable of inducing programmed cell death in RPE cells. Further characterization of the redox behavior of A2E could ultimately aid the development of macular degeneration treatments designed to mitigate the harmful effects of oxidized A2E. The purpose of this project was to estimate the reduction potential of A2E experimentally. A2E was synthesized by combining all-trans-retinal and ethanolamine in a 2:1 molar ratio, and separation was achieved by gravity chromatography followed by reverse phase HPLC. The presence of A2E was confirmed by measuring its absorbance spectrum. Linear sweep polarographic analyses of A2E were carried out using either tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate (TBAHFP) or sodium chloride as the supporting electrolyte. Trials with TBAHFP solution produced one-wave polarograms, while trials with sodium chloride solution yielded two-wave polarograms. However, the polarograms obtained for A2E solutions were very similar to those produced by control solutions, indicating the need for procedural modifications

Labour market outcomes and the impacts of social networks: evidence from the Cape Town Metropolitan Area

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.This paper examines whether social networks have an effect on the decision to participate in the labour market by individuals in the greater Cape Town area. By using the fourth wave of the Cape Area Panel Study (CAPS) this paper empirically confirms previously examined results of a network effect for employment prospects while confirming that no network effect is present for labour discouragement

A qualitative exploration of acute mental health inpatient staff’s experiences of working with high-risk behaviours, and the support they receive

Aims: To explore NHS acute mental health inpatient staff’s experiences of working with high-risk behaviours, and what support they receive following exposure to these incidents. Background: Staff working in acute mental health inpatient environments are frequently exposed to high-risk behaviours. Emerging research indicates this can leave staff with symptoms of anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and burn-out. Considering the high rates of staff turnover in these environments, the findings are important in understanding how the strain of day-to-day ward experiences can affect staff. However, little is known about the personal impact of working with high-risk behaviours, or what support is available following these incidents. Methodology: This study utilised a qualitative methodology with a constructionist lens. 10 participants were recruited from two NHS mental health Trusts in England. Data was gathered using semi-structured interviews, and analysed using inductive thematic analysis methods. Results: Three main themes emerged: the direct impact of incidents, attempts to manage the impact of incidents and current systems for managing incidents. Staff exposed to violence and aggression felt on edge and unsafe at work. Attempts to mitigate the personal impact of this included ‘just getting on with it’, and remembering that the patients are unwell. Exposure to self-harm and suicide ideation left staff feeling emotionally overwhelmed, deskilled and demotivated. They described higher levels of their own emotional distress as a response to these incidents. Overall, staff felt that support was lacking, and there was a fear that seeking support was a sign of weakness. Conclusion: Clear differences in staff reactions and responses to varying high-risk behaviours were revealed. Support for staff was lacking, which led to unhelpful narratives that spanned ward and management levels. These findings are discussed in relation to existing literature and psychological theories. The clinical implications of this study and directions for future research are explored

The photogrammetric recording of rock art in the Kakadu National Park, Australia

An important feature of the recently declared Kakadu National Park is its archaeological resources, in particular the rock art galleries which are among the oldest and most extensive in the world. Situated in the remote Alligator River region some 250km east of Darwin, the Park covers an area of approximately 6500 sq.km and will be progressively increased to almost double this area. In recent years there has been a growing awareness of the cultural, physiographic and biological resources of this region and the declaration of the National Park has resulted in the preparation by the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service of management programs to protect these resources in the climate of increasing activities in mineral exploration and tourism. The imminent exploitation of the large deposits of uranium in this locality has lent a sense of urgency to this task. The protection and scientific investigation of these rock art sites necessitates a systematic identification and recording program which will provide information for immediate conservation and management schemes and also archival records for future scientific study. As there are an estimated 1000 rock art sites in the park area, this presents a daunting task for any systematic recording program. Faced with this task, the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service requested the Department of Surveying at the University of Melbourne to investigate the potential of photogrammetry in the recording, interpretation and conservation of the rock art sites in the Park

Making Disciples by Performing Miracles: A Study in Mark

Stimulus: The New Zealand Journal of Christian Thought and Practice, 2019. While the miracle accounts in Mark are frequently discussed in relation to the theme of Christology, their significance for discipleship is, in general, less developed. In this study on the Gospel of Mark I will attempt: 1) to show that Jesus’ miracles are linked to his ministry as a teacher, and thus discipleship; 2) to relate the Christological meaning of the miracles to discipleship; 3) to argue that Jesus performed his miracles in part as an example to his disciples; 4) to show how the miracles also function as formative parables that are to shape the disciples’ faith and understanding; and finally 5) to relate this survey to our present day context in twenty-first century Aotearoa. This short article will have the character of an overview, and so I do not pretend to be offering an exhaustive or detailed account. What I hope to do is persuade you, whether you agree with every detail or not, that the miracle accounts in Mark are a valuable source for reflection upon what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God