Quantitative analysis of spectroscopic Low Energy Electron Microscopy data: High-dynamic range imaging, drift correction and cluster analysis

For many complex materials systems, low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) offers detailed insights into morphology and crystallography by naturally combining real-space and reciprocal-space information. Its unique strength, however, is that all measurements can easily be performed energy-dependently. Consequently, one should treat LEEM measurements as multi-dimensional, spectroscopic datasets rather than as images to fully harvest this potential. Here we describe a measurement and data analysis approach to obtain such quantitative spectroscopic LEEM datasets with high lateral resolution. The employed detector correction and adjustment techniques enable measurement of true reflectivity values over four orders of magnitudes of intensity. Moreover, we show a drift correction algorithm, tailored for LEEM datasets with inverting contrast, that yields sub-pixel accuracy without special computational demands. Finally, we apply dimension reduction techniques to summarize the key spectroscopic features of datasets with hundreds of images into two single images that can easily be presented and interpreted intuitively. We use cluster analysis to automatically identify different materials within the field of view and to calculate average spectra per material. We demonstrate these methods by analyzing bright-field and dark-field datasets of few-layer graphene grown on silicon carbide and provide a high-performance Python implementation

Assessing and managing concurrent hearing, vision and cognitive impairments in older people: an international perspective from healthcare professionals

Background: there is a significant gap in the understanding, assessment and management of people with dementia and concurrent hearing and vision impairments. / Objective: from the perspective of professionals in dementia, hearing and vision care, we aimed to: (1) explore the perceptions of gaps in assessment and service provision in ageing-related hearing, vision and cognitive impairment; (2) consider potential solutions regarding this overlap and (3) ascertain the attitudes, awareness and practice, with a view to implementing change. / Methods: our two-part investigation with hearing, vision, and dementia care professionals involved: (1) an in-depth, interdisciplinary, international Expert Reference Group (ERG; n = 17) and (2) a wide-scale knowledge, attitudes and practice survey (n = 653). The ERG involved consensus discussions around prototypic clinical vignettes drawn from a memory centre, an audiology clinic, and an optometry clinic, analysed using an applied content approach. / Results: the ERG revealed several gaps in assessment and service provision, including a lack of validated assessment tools for concurrent impairments, poor interdisciplinary communication and care pathways, and a lack of evidence-based interventions. Consensus centred on the need for flexible, individualised, patient-centred solutions, using an interdisciplinary approach. The survey data validated these findings, highlighting the need for clear guidelines for assessing and managing concurrent impairments. / Conclusions: this is the first international study exploring professionals’ views of the assessment and care of individuals with age-related hearing, vision and hearing impairment. The findings will inform the adaptation of assessments, the development of supportive interventions, and the new provision of services

Internet use

Children’s use of the internet has been increasing tremendously in the past decade. Prevalence rates of children’s online time, devices and activities are outlined. Some insight is offered into digital divides by geographic region and socioeconomic circumstances. A typology of online opportunities and risks for children is presented, followed by a brief discussion of online risks, concluding with theoretical models proposing approaches to identify risk and resilience factors with regards to children’s internet use

Common European Sales Law (CESL) and Private International Law: Some Critical Remarks

This article is an updated and revised version of the contribution published by the author in XI Anuario Español de Derecho Internacional Privado, 2011, 25-61, under the title: “La Propuesta de Reglamento relativo a una normativa común de compraventa europea y el Derecho internacional privado”.La Propuesta de Reglamento del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo relativo a una normativa común de compraventa europea de 11 de octubre de 2011 (PCESL) introduce una reglamentación material para algunas compraventas transfronterizas que no desplaza la aplicación de las normas de conflicto (en particular de las contenidas de los Reglamentos “Roma I” y “Roma II”). Al contrario, el instrumento opcional contenido en la Propuesta de Reglamento (CESL) presupone la aplicación de la ley de un Estado miembro, como lex contractus. Una vez escogida por las partes, la CESL desplaza a las normas internas cobre compraventa de la ley del Estado miembro. Esta opción del legislador comunitario plantea numerosos problemas e interrogantes acerca de las relaciones entre la CESL y las normas de Derecho internacional privado y en torno a su coexistencia con otros convenios internacionales y el propio acervo comunitario. El análisis de estas relaciones es el objeto del presente estudio, que permite concluir con una valoración negativa de la competitividad internacional de este nuevo instrumento comunitario.The Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Common European Sales Law of 11 October 2011 (PCESL) introduces a substantive regulation for some cross-border sales contracts that does not displace the application of conflict-of-laws rules (especially those included in “Rome I” and “Rome II” Regulations). On the contrary, the optional instrument included in the Proposal (CESL) presupposes the application of the law of a Member State as lex contractus. Once the parties have chosen the CESL, this regime prevails over the internal rules on sales contracts of the law of that Member State. The formula used by the European legislator gives rise to many concerns and questions about the relationships between the CESL and the conflict-of-laws rules and about its cohabitation with other international conventions and the European acquis itself. The analysis of these relationships is the subject of this article, which concludes with a negative assessment on the international competitiveness of the new European instrument

Planning for the future: Exploring the experiences of older carers of adult children with a learning disability

Background: There are a significant number of adults with a learning disability who live with and are cared for by their parents. There is a pressing need for interventions to support older parent carers with their role and to plan for a time when they can no longer continue caring. This article reports on the experiences of older parent carers who have been in receipt of an intervention to support future planning, in a rural part of England, delivered to older carers of their adult children with learning disabilities. Methods: Semi‐structured carer interviews (n = 12) were conducted and analysed thematically. Results: Four themes were identified (a) emotional needs of carer, (b) future planning, (c) accessing other services and resources and (d) links to adult care services. Carers welcomed the flexibility of the intervention and its focus on support for them, relieving their sense of isolation. Conclusions: The research highlights the unmet needs of older family carers and shows the value of tailored support from a carer perspective. The findings have im- plications for national social care provision delivered to carers of adult children with learning disabilities in rural areas

Observation of Quantum Interference in Molecular Charge Transport

As the dimensions of a conductor approach the nano-scale, quantum effects will begin to dominate its behavior. This entails the exciting possibility of controlling the conductance of a device by direct manipulation of the electron wave function. Such control has been most clearly demonstrated in mesoscopic semiconductor structures at low temperatures. Indeed, the Aharanov-Bohm effect, conductance quantization and universal conductance fluctuations are direct manifestations of the electron wave nature. However, an extension of this concept to more practical emperatures has not been achieved so far. As molecules are nano-scale objects with typical energy level spacings (~eV) much larger than the thermal energy at 300 K (~25 meV), they are natural candidates to enable such a break-through. Fascinating phenomena including giant magnetoresistance, Kondo effects and conductance switching, have previously been demonstrated at the molecular level. Here, we report direct evidence for destructive quantum interference in charge transport through two-terminal molecular junctions at room temperature. Furthermore, we show that the degree of interference can be controlled by simple chemical modifications of the molecule. Not only does this provide the experimental demonstration of a new phenomenon in quantum charge transport, it also opens the road for a new type of molecular devices based on chemical or electrostatic control of quantum interference

Opportunity for verbalization does not improve visual change detection performance:A state trace analysis

Evidence suggests that there is a tendency to verbally recode visually-presented information, and that in some cases verbal recoding can boost memory performance. According to multi-component models of working memory, memory performance is increased because task-relevant information is simultaneously maintained in two codes. The possibility of dual encoding is problematic if the goal is to measure capacity for visual information exclusively. To counteract this possibility, articulatory suppression is frequently used with visual change detection tasks specifically to prevent verbalization of visual stimuli. But is this precaution always necessary? There is little reason to believe that concurrent articulation affects performance in typical visual change detection tasks, suggesting that verbal recoding might not be likely to occur in this paradigm, and if not, precautionary articulatory suppression would not always be necessary. We present evidence confirming that articulatory suppression has no discernible effect on performance in a typical visual change-detection task in which abstract patterns are briefly presented. A comprehensive analysis using both descriptive statistics and Bayesian state-trace analysis revealed no evidence for any complex relationship between articulatory suppression and performance that would be consistent with a verbal recoding explanation. Instead, the evidence favors the simpler explanation that verbal strategies were either not deployed in the task or, if they were, were not effective in improving performance, and thus have no influence on visual working memory as measured during visual change detection. We conclude that in visual change detection experiments in which abstract visual stimuli are briefly presented, pre-cautionary articulatory suppression is unnecessary

Studying Evidence Use for Health Policymaking from a Policy Perspective

Individuals working within the health sector widely embrace the idea of using evidence to achieve their goals of improving individual and population health. Yet while these actors embrace an ideal form of rational-instrumental evidence use under the banner of ‘evidence based policymaking’, they often struggle to understand when, why, or how evidence is used in policy processes. This chapter sets out the conceptual framework employed in this volume to study the use of evidence within policymaking from a public policy perspective. It explores the importance of both political contestation and institutional context to understand when and how evidence will be used within policy processes. The chapter then outlines the structure of this book and the focus of subsequent chapters, highlighting how each of these talks to these themes

The Landscape of Australian Project Management Research

Abstract This paper presents and analyses findings from the first comprehensive survey of project management research currently being undertaken in Australia. It will narrate the landscape of Australian project management research and in particular, will profile the typical Australian project management researcher, the research topics pursued and the range of methodologies employed. The paper will also illustrate how new project management research and researcher development is being supported in Australia with suggestions of ways to sustain and further develop these generative aspects of the project management discipline. These findings will be compared to the research agenda outcomes of the 2003 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded project on âRethinking Project Managementâ. Consequently, this paper will contribute to the debates raised in publications developed from that research revolving around project complexity, social process, value creation, project conceptualization and practitioner development. Moreover, as this paper offers one indicative national perspective on project management research activities, it may contribute to international discourse on the shaping of future project management research agendas and on industry or industry representative bodies pragmatic support for project management research worldwide

Profiling the context and opportunities for Australian project management research

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present and analyse the context, the current issues and the opportunities for project management (PM) research within Australia. The paper contributes to researcher and industry practitioner knowledge and debates on supporting and promoting the development of national PM research agendas. Design/methodology/approach: This is a research paper which draws on and interprets empirical data generated from a comprehensive national survey of Australian PM researchers. Findings: The paper first profiles the current landscape of Australian PM research. Thereafter, it explores the future opportunities/risks for PM research in this country, as perceived by the researcher community. Research limitations/implications: This research was limited to the collection of data from PM researchers across Australia (80 percent response rate to the survey tool). Clearly, this study was confined to one country and to one category of respondent. Practical implications: This paper will make contributions to national and international debates and analysis on current research trajectories and future opportunities in the PM field and thereby also aid comparative knowledge development within the researcher community. Originality/value: This paper represents the first comprehensive national PM researcher study undertaken in Australia. It provides a compelling national insight into the current state of PM research as perceived by PM researchers and illustrates issues concerning their research contexts, their links to industry partners and perceptions of industry and industry representative body engagement in PM research activity