Wild but wired? The construction of society and technology in rural Strathclyde.

This study critically examines the co-construction of society and technology in rural Strathclyde during the late 1990s. A range of uses of information and communications technology (ICT) - spanning employment, community development and education – is accounted for, in a variety of highly localised settings on the islands of Arran, Islay and Jura and the Kintyre peninsula. Explanation is offered as to why certain outcomes have been arrived at. The reflexive relationship between technology and society is then highlighted, as it is shown that the challenge of introducing ICT to the region has affected change in local governance structures, catalysing new partnerships while challenging existing power relations. Building upon recent work in rural studies relating to the post-productivist countryside, theories derived from the sociology of science (specifically Social Construction of Technology and Actor Network Theory approaches) are employed in an attempt to heighten understanding of local sensitivity to 'globalising' technologies. A qualitative methodology is employed, consisting of depth interviews conducted with leading local actors throughout 1997 and 1998. The narratives give insight into these actors' beliefs and motivation as they have attempted to guide the innovation, diffusion and application of ICT in the region. Critical insight is sought as to how their frequently conflicting understanding of rural needs acts as a constraint upon the contingency of technical development locally, prompting certain courses of action to be favoured above others. The study draws more generally upon the experiences of rural Strathclyde to build a model of local sensitivity to technical change in the countryside. It is argued that the power to act rests in many hands and that those local actors who possess the necessary skills and resources to act as 'conduits' - linking local and 'global' circuits of production and consumption - do not always behave in ways that optimise local outcomes. Only under certain conditions can the effective deployment of ICT enable 'powerful' localities to act competitively 'at a distance' in seeking new trade and investment. It is argued that failure to appreciate the diversity of possible local responses to the provision of ICT has sometimes left policy-makers with exaggerated expectations for technically driven rural restructuring

STS-40 descent BET products: Development and results

Descent Best Estimate Trajectory (BET) Data were generated for the final Orbiter Experiments Flight, STS-40. This report discusses the actual development of these post-flight products: the inertial BET, the Extended BET, and the Aerodynamic BET. Summary results are also included. The inertial BET was determined based on processing Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRSS) coherent Doppler data in conjunction with observations from eleven C-band stations, to include data from the Kwajalein Atoll and the usual California coastal radars, as well as data from five cinetheodolite cameras in the vicinity of the runways at EAFB. The anchor epoch utilized for the trajectory reconstruction was 53,904 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) seconds which corresponds to an altitude at epoch of approximately 708 kft. Atmospheric data to enable development of an Extended BET for this mission were upsurped from the JSC operational post-flight BET. These data were evaluated based on Space Shuttle-derived considerations as well as model comparisons. The Aerodynamic BET includes configuration information, final mass properties, and both flight-determined and predicted aerodynamic performance estimates. The predicted data were based on the final pre-operational databook, updated to include flight determined incrementals based on an earlier ensemble of flights. Aerodynamic performance comparisons are presented and correlated versus statistical results based on twenty-two previous missions

Rethinking pathways to completed suicide by female prisoners [forthcoming]

Purpose: Explore the role of trauma experience in pathways to self-harm or attempted suicide in female prisoners who died through self-inflicted death in England and Wales. Design: Quantitative study using the Prison and Probation Ombudsmen’s independent reports on deaths in custody. 32 cases of female self-inflicted death in custody were coded on the presence of Direct or Interpersonal Trauma, presence of superficial self-harm, near-lethal self-harm, suicide attempts and recent significant life event. The number of previous suicide attempts and age at time of death was recorded. Findings: Direct trauma is linked with repeated suicide attempts but decreased the likelihood of superficial self-harm prior to suicide. Neither interpersonal trauma nor age increased likelihood of pre-suicide behaviours. Near-lethal self-harm was not predicted by either traumatic experience. Amongst these completed suicide cases, 56% were not reported as having experienced trauma, 46% had no recorded previous suicide attempts and 12% also had no previous self-harm reported. Research limitations/implications: The small sample limited statistical power and specificity of classifications. Provides support for direct trauma in developing capacity for repeated suicidal behaviour as indicated in theoretical models of suicide (Joiner, 2005; O’Connor, 2011). Practical implications: Different pathways to suicide likely to exist for female prisoners and importance of trauma intervention services. Originality/value: Using cases of completed suicide in female prisoners to investigate the pathway to suicide from trauma through previous self-harm and attempted suicide

Targets and self monitoring in hypertension: randomised controlled trial and cost effectiveness analysis

Objectives: To assess whether blood pressure control in primary care could be improved with the use of patient held targets and self monitoring in a practice setting, and to assess the impact of these on health behaviours, anxiety, prescribed antihypertensive drugs, patients’ preferences, and costs. \ud Design: Randomised controlled trial. \ud Setting: Eight general practices in south Birmingham. \ud Participants: 441 people receiving treatment in primary care for hypertension but not controlled below the target of < 140/85 mm Hg. \ud Interventions: Patients in the intervention group received treatment targets along with facilities to measure their own blood pressure at their general practice; they were also asked to visit their general practitioner or practice nurse if their blood pressure was repeatedly above the target level. Patients in the control group received usual care (blood pressure monitoring by their practice). \ud Main outcome measures: Primary outcome: change in systolic blood pressure at six months and one year in both intervention and control groups. Secondary outcomes: change in health behaviours, anxiety, prescribed antihypertensive drugs, patients’ preferences of method of blood pressure monitoring, and costs. \ud Results: 400 (91%) patients attended follow up at one year. Systolic blood pressure in the intervention group had significantly reduced after six months (mean difference 4.3 mm Hg (95% confidence interval 0.8 mm Hg to 7.9 mm Hg)) but not after one year (mean difference 2.7 mm Hg (-1.2 mm Hg to 6.6 mm Hg)). No overall difference was found in diastolic blood pressure, anxiety, health behaviours, or number of prescribed drugs. Patients who self monitored lost more weight than controls (as evidenced by a drop in body mass index), rated self monitoring above monitoring by a doctor or nurse, and consulted less often. Overall, self monitoring did not cost significantly more than usual care (£251 ($437; 364 euros) (95% confidence interval £233 to £275) versus £240 (£217 to £263). \ud Conclusions: Practice based self monitoring resulted in small but significant improvements of blood pressure at six months, which were not sustained after a year. Self monitoring was well received by patients, anxiety did not increase, and there was no appreciable additional cost. Practice based self monitoring is feasible and results in blood pressure control that is similar to that in usual care. \u

Selective self-categorization: Meaningful categorization and the in-group persuasion effect

Research stemming from self-categorization theory (Turner et al., 1987) has demonstrated that individuals are typically more persuaded by messages from their in-group than by messages from the out-group. The present research investigated the role of issue relevance in moderating these effects. In particular, it was predicted that in-groups would only be more persuasive when the dimension on which group membership was defined was meaningful or relevant to the attitude issue. In two studies, participants were presented with persuasive arguments from either an in-group source or an out-group source, where the basis of the in-group/out-group distinction was either relevant or irrelevant to the attitude issue. Participants' attitudes toward the issue were then measured. The results supported the predictions: Participants were more persuaded by in-group sources than out-group sources when the basis for defining the group was relevant to the attitude issue. However, when the defining characteristic of the group was irrelevant to the attitude issue, participants were equally persuaded by in-group and out-group sources. These results support the hypothesis that the fit between group membership and domain is an important moderator of self-categorization effects

Final STS-35 Columbia descent BET products and results for LaRC OEX investigations

Final STS-35 'Columbia' descent Best Estimate Trajectory (BET) products have been developed for Langley Research Center (LaRC) Orbiter Experiments (OEX) investigations. Included are the reconstructed inertial trajectory profile; the Extended BET, which combines the inertial data and, in this instance, the National Weather Service atmospheric information obtained via Johnson Space Center; and the Aerodynamic BET. The inertial BET utilized Inertial Measurement Unit 1 (IMU1) dynamic measurements for deterministic propagation during the ENTREE estimation process. The final estimate was based on the considerable ground based C-band tracking coverage available as well as Tracking Data and Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) Doppler data, a unique use of the latter for endo-atmospheric flight determinations. The actual estimate required simultaneous solutions for the spacecraft position and velocity, spacecraft attitude, and six IMU parameters - three gyro biases and three accelerometer scale factor correction terms. The anchor epoch for this analysis was 19,200 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) seconds which corresponds to an initial Shuttle altitude of approximately 513 kft. The atmospheric data incorporated were evaluated based on Shuttle derived considerations as well as comparisons with other models. The AEROBET was developed based on the Extended BET, the measured spacecraft configuration information, final mass properties, and the final Orbiter preoperation databook. The latter was updated based on aerodynamic consensus incrementals derived by the latest published FAD. The rectified predictions were compared versus the flight computed values and the resultant differences were correlated versus ensemble results for twenty-two previous STS entry flights

Signal for CP violation in B±→PPˉπ±B^{\pm} \to P {\bar P} \pi^{\pm} decays

We analyze the partial rate asymmetry in $B^{\pm} \to P {\bar P} \pi^{\pm}$ decays ($P = \pi^+, K ^+, \pi^0, \eta$) which results from the interference of the nonresonant decay amplitude and the resonant amplitude for $B^{\pm} \to \chi_{c0} \pi^{\pm}$ followed by the decay $\chi_{c0} \to P {\bar P}$. The CP violating phase $\gamma$ can be extracted from the measured asymmetry. We find that the partial rate asymmetry for $B^\pm \to \pi^+ \pi^- \pi^\pm$ is $0.33~sin \gamma$, while for $B^\pm \to K^+ K^-\pi^\pm$ it amounts $0.45~ sin \gamma$.Comment: 3 pages, latex, no figures, Talk given by S. Fajfer at the Hyperons, Charm and Beauty Hadrons, Genova, Italy, 30 June -3 July 1998, to appear as proceedings in Nucl. Phys.

Some Predators of Polyps of Chrysaora quinquecirrha (Scyphozoa, Semaeostomeae) in the Chesapeake Bay

Some invertebrate predators of polyps of Chrysaora quinquecirrha were identified. They included Caprella equilibra, Callipallene brevirostris, N eopanope texana sayi, Pagurus longicarpus, Libinia dubia, and Cratena pilata. Only C. pilata showed a preference over other possible prey organisms