Conceptualising energy use and energy poverty using a capabilities framework

In this article we conceptualise energy use from a capabilities perspective, informed by the work of Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum and others following them. Building on this, we suggest a corresponding definition of energy poverty, as understood in the capabilities space. We argue that such an understanding provides a theoretically coherent means of comprehending the relationship between energy and wellbeing, and thus conceptualising energy deprivation, that makes sense across settings including both the global North and South: a coherence which has previously been lacking. At the same time, it has the flexibility to be deployed in a way that is sensitive to local contexts. Understanding energy use in the capabilities space also provides a means for identifying multiple sites of intervention, including some areas that are currently largely overlooked. We argue that this is advantageous for attempts to address energy poverty in the context of climate change and imperatives for the containment of aggregate energy consumption

Estimation of surface area and volume of a nematode from morphometric data

Nematode volume and surface area are usually based on the inappropriate assumption that the animal is cylindrical. While nematodes are approximately circular in cross section, the radius varies longitudinally. We use standard morphometric data to obtain improved estimates of volume and surface area based on (i) a geometrical approach and (ii) a Bezier representation of the nematode. These new estimators require only the morphometric data available from Cobb's ratios, but if fewer coordinates are available the geometric approach reduces to the standard estimates. Consequently, these new estimators are better than the standard alternatives

The spurious correlation between concentration and creatinine-corrected concentration in urine

The use of urinary analytes to monitor physiological processes relies on making the correct measurement. Three alternatives are commonly contemplated: concentration, creatinine-corrected concentration and excretion rate. Of these, the latter is the most reliable, but is perceived by some to be difficult to measure. This has led to the more frequent reliance on concentration and one of the justifications for this is the reported linear relationship between the concentration and the creatinine-corrected concentration. We show that this correlation is spurious in that the magnitude of the correlation coefficient depends on the ratio of the standard deviations of the creatinine and analyte concentrations. As an example urinary analyte we use pregnanediol (Pd) which is an important tool for women wishing to monitor their own fertility. Urinary Pd concentration is not a reliable substitute for creatinine-corrected Pd concentration or the Pd excretion rate

Building an interactive online textbook: a tool at our fingertips

BACKGROUND: Last year, we reported on the Health SciencesToolkit,which is an intensive bridging program that covers basic concepts in the disciplines of chemistry and biology, and then applies them to anatomy and physiology(Kapoor, Megaw, Harrison, Simcock & Miller 2018). We needed a resource that would lay the foundations for this diverse range of disciplines. As today's university students are often considered digital natives, we triedto source anE-book. Unable to finda commercially available text book pitched at an appropriate level, we decided to build our own, embracing Macknight's advice on creating online content to create ahealthylearning environment(2019).Here,we report on the development of a custom-made online textbook for ToolKit. PROCESS: The educational software company TopHat provided us access to online resources from which we could source and modify content. We produced a 10-chapter text book; each chapter matched a content module and explicitly linked with the learning outcomes of the subject. The modification included the insertion of links to interactive learning resources for student exploration. Each chapter concluded with a list of key words and concepts, a summary discussion, and selected multiple choice questions for knowledge consolidation and review; we were able to regulate the timing of the release of chapters.The textbook was hosted within the TopHatlearning platform and students were given access on payment of a minimal fee($11). REFLECTION: We found the development of the custom textbook a very efficient and effective process. We did not have to worry about copyright issues; or the time-consuming editing process for consistency, as the$6000 contract outlay to TopHat covered that. The resource can be edited, scaffolded and customised to future cohort needs(we can report on this process as we have also utilized this resource for an AQF-5 level diploma subject based on the ToolKit). Most importantly, the majority of students found the interactive text book useful for their understanding of the subject content, a finding supported by others (for example,Chen 2018) who have used custom-built online textbooks to create engaging digital learning environments

Necessary energy uses and a minimum standard of living in the United Kingdom:energy justice or escalating expectations?

Access to affordable energy is a core dimension of energy justice, with recent work examining the relation between energy use and well-being in these terms. However, there has been relatively little examination of exactly which energy uses should be considered basic necessities within a given cultural context and so of concern for energy justice. We examine the inclusion of energy-using necessities within the outcomes of deliberative workshops with members of the public focused on defining a minimum-standard of living in the UK and repeated biannually over a six year period. Our secondary analysis shows that energy uses deemed to be necessities are diverse and plural, enabling access to multiple valued energy services, and that their profile has to some degree shifted from 2008 to 2014. The reasoning involved is multidimensional, ranging across questions of health, social participation, opportunity and practicality. We argue that public deliberations about necessities can be taken as legitimate grounding for defining minimum standards and therefore the scope of ‘doing justice’ in fuel poverty policy. However we set this in tension with how change over time reveals the escalation of norms of energy dependency in a society that on climate justice grounds must radically reduce carbon emissions

Estimation of Surface Area and Volume of a Nematode from Morphometric Data

Nematode volume and surface area are usually based on the inappropriate assumption that the animal is cylindrical. While nematodes are approximately circular in cross section, the radius varies longitudinally. We use standard morphometric data to obtain improved estimates of volume and surface area based on (i) a geometrical approach and (ii) a Bézier representation of the nematode. These new estimators require only the morphometric data available from Cobb's ratios, but if fewer coordinates are available the geometric approach reduces to the standard estimates. Consequently, these new estimators are better than the standard alternatives

Distinguishing a ‘hit’ from a ‘view’: Using the access durations of lecture recordings to tell whether learning might have happened

Audiovisual recordings of lectures are available to many students in all disciplines. The use of lecture recordings has been studied extensively, but it is still not clear how, or how much, they are actually used. Previous analysis of their use has been based on either survey data or computer logs of access. In the latter case, measurements of actual use have usually been based on counts of the number of times recordings have been accessed. This does not distinguish those that happen accidentally (‘hits’), from those that might permit learning (‘views’). This distinction is essential to the meaningful analysis of the log of the actual use of recorded lectures. Using the access logs of undergraduate science students, we show that the distribution of the durations of the access of recordings of scheduled lectures has two distinct components. The most rapid of these is complete within three minutes and we infer that it reflects the behaviour of students searching among recordings. This inference is based on a comparison of these distributions with those of (i) recordings made automatically during a non-teaching period and (ii) individual users. This is also consistent with the pattern of usage by students searching for a specific recording

Chronic bee paralysis as a serious emerging threat to honey bees

This work was funded jointly by BBSRC grants BB/R00482X/1 (Newcastle University) and BB/R00305X/1 (University of St Andrews) in partnership with The Bee Farmers’ Association and the National Bee Unit of the Animal and Plant Health Agency.Chronic bee paralysis is a well-defined viral disease of honey bees with a global distribution that until recently caused rare but severe symptomatology including colony loss. Anecdotal evidence indicates a recent increase in virus incidence in several countries, but no mention of concomitant disease. We use government honey bee health inspection records from England and Wales to test whether chronic bee paralysis is an emerging infectious disease and investigate the spatiotemporal patterns of disease. The number of chronic bee paralysis cases increased exponentially between 2007 and 2017, demonstrating chronic bee paralysis as an emergent disease. Disease is highly clustered spatially within most years, suggesting local spread, but not between years, suggesting disease burnt out with periodic reintroduction. Apiary and county level risk factors are confirmed to include scale of beekeeping operation and the history of honey bee imports. Our findings offer epidemiological insight into this damaging emerging disease.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The effects of prenatal stress on early temperament: the 2011 Queensland flood study

This study examined the effects of disaster-related prenatal maternal stress on infant temperament and whether the sex of the infant or the timing of the stressor in pregnancy would moderate the effects.Mothers' objective experiences of a sudden-onset flood in Queensland, Australia, their subjective emotional reactions, and cognitive appraisal of the event were assessed. At 6 months postpartum, 121 mothers reported their infant's temperament on the 5 dimensions of the Short Temperament Scale for Infants.When controlling for postnatal maternal factors, subjective prenatal maternal stress and cognitive appraisal of the disaster were associated with easier aspects of infant temperament. However, several interesting interactions emerged showing negative effects of the flood. With higher levels of objective hardship in pregnancy, boys (but not girls) received more irritable temperament ratings. When the flood occurred early in pregnancy, higher levels of objective hardship predicted more arrhythmic infant temperament. Finally, mothers whose emotional response to the flood exceeded the hardship they endured reported significantly more active-reactive infants.Prenatal maternal stress from a natural disaster predicted more difficult temperament ratings that were moderated by infant sex, timing of the flood in gestation, and mother's emotional response to the disaster

Feeding back about eco-feedback: How do consumers use and respond to energy monitors?

To date, a multitude of studies have examined the empirical effect of feedback on energy consumption yet very few have examined how feedback might work and the processes it involves. Moreover, it remains to be seen if the theoretical claims made concerning how feedback works can be substantiated using empirical data. To start to address this knowledge gap, the present research used qualitative data analysis to examine how consumers use and respond to energy monitors. The findings suggest feedback may increase both the physical and conscious visibility of consumption as well as knowledge about consumption. Accordingly, support was evident for the theoretical assertions that feedback transforms energy from invisible to visible, prompts motivated users to learn about their energy habits, and helps address information deficits about energy usage. We conclude by evaluating the feasibility of feedback to substantially reduce consumption and discuss ways in which feedback could be improved to aid its effectiveness in the long term before discussing the implication our findings may have for government policy