City flight migration patterns in the East Midlands

This paper investigates migration to and from the Three Cities of Derby, Leicester and Nottingham. It investigates whether these cities lose more migrants than they gain from more rural parts of the city-regions and the extent to which these flows impact on the demographic profiles of the Three Cities

The effects of a therapy dog vs mindfulness vs a student advisor on student anxiety and well-being

There are growing concerns about the psychological well-being of university students; both in the UK and globally. In light of emerging research on the benefits of therapy dogs for student well-being, this study aimed to compare the use of therapy dogs to more conventional methods for improving students’ well-being. 94 university students were randomly assigned to one of three 30-minute treatment sessions: dog therapy, mindfulness, or the control group who were given the university’s standard treatment – a session with a student well-being adviser. All participants completed an anxiety scale and a mood scale, both immediately before and immediately after their allocated session. The results showed that whilst all three groups showed a significant decrease in anxiety after their allocated treatment, only the dog therapy and mindfulness groups’ anxiety levels dropped to at or below normal levels. Both the dog therapy and mindfulness groups reported post-treatment anxiety levels which were significantly lower than those of the controls. The dog therapy and mindfulness groups’ mood also showed a significant improvement after treatment whereas the control group’s did not. The findings of this study therefore suggest that the use of therapy dogs is as effective as mindfulness in reducing students’ anxiety and improving their well-being. However, more research investigating the use of multiple treatment sessions and comparing the more long-term effects of the two treatments are recommended

The Dudley estate : its rise and decline between 1774 and 1947

As a result of national and local agricultural and industrial trends during the latter half of the eighteenth century, the potential income from the Dudley estate in south Staffordshire and north Worcestershire was increased, because of its location in relation to the emerging Black Country, its mineral wealth, and the lordship of various local manors which Lord Dudley inherited. This potential, particularly from mineral development, was exploited to the full by the second viscount, 1774-88, who pursued a vigorous policy of enclosure, transport improvements, granting industrial leases, and mineral enterprise. This first period of development witnessed the rapid expansion of a wide variety of economic interests by the estate and a considerable increase in industrial, mineral, cottage, and land rents as the Dudley estate established a predominant position in the local economy before 1800. By 1833, the profits from early expansion were declining through inefficient management and an absence of long-term planning. This year was a major turning point because of the directives for the establishment of the Dudley trust, 1833-45, contained in the Will of the first earl, who died in 1833. Every sector of estate enterprise was reorganised and expanded. Agricultural properties were improved, rents and farm units rationalised, and specific leases were introduced. In order to take advantage of the expansion of the local iron trade, several new leased ironworks were established and the estate began to manufacture pig iron on its own account. Mineral enterprise expanded more than any other sector: reserves were exploited to the full by lessees and by the estate, which remained unusual in the extent to which it exploited its own minerals. Considerable capital was invested in the iron and mineral industries, and in further transport improvements: notably railways and canals. Estate profits were also invested in government stocks and the purchase of landed property. As a result, the Dudley estate was more than doubled in area by the purchase of valuable agricultural and sporting estates in Wales, Worcestershire, and Scotland. Complementary to this expansion in the scale and range of estate interests was the radical reorganisation of management and administration, undertaken by the trustees with the appointment of professional agents and the introduction of modern business practices. The last phase of development, 1845-1947, was a period of unprecedented prosperity for the estate, despite the decline in the local economy after 1860 and the pressures and restrictions placed upon the aristocratic landed interest from the 1870s. onwards. Income from the iron and mineral trades in particular rose to a peak, in spite of the collapse in the wrought iron trade. As the local economy became transformed and diversified by 1900, the estate also adapted to change but, instead of developing an entrepreneurial role in new industries, the estate reduced its own activities and gradually became a supplier of capital after 1897. Ultimately, it reacted to other trends and pressures by a total restructuring of estate interests in 1926, and began the systematic disposal of landed property. This, together with the nationalisation of coal and steel, finally severed the close, traditional link between the Dudley estate and local industry. Throughout the period 1774-1947, the estate played a beneficial and constructive role which served the interests of the area as a whole. Economically, the estate facilitated and helped maintain the prosperity of the area and, as benevolent employers of labour and, on occasions, as spokesmen for social reform, the Lords Dudley were a force for the good. In general, the development of the estate reflects the changing fortunes of the area and the landed aristocracy: in particular, because of its predominant position, the development of the area reflects the history of the Dudley estate during this period

Constant amplitude and post-overload fatigue crack growth behavior in PM aluminum alloy AA 8009

A recently developed, rapidly solidified, powder metallurgy, dispersion strengthened aluminum alloy, AA 8009, was fatigue tested at room temperature in lab air. Constant amplitude/constant delta kappa and single spike overload conditions were examined. High fatigue crack growth rates and low crack closure levels compared to typical ingot metallurgy aluminum alloys were observed. It was proposed that minimal crack roughness, crack path deflection, and limited slip reversibility, resulting from ultra-fine microstructure, were responsible for the relatively poor da/dN-delta kappa performance of AA 8009 as compared to that of typical IM aluminum alloys

Are You Seeing What I'm Seeing? An Eye-Tracking Evaluation of Dynamic Scenes

Based on the data from the 2006/7 multimedia exhibition, RePossessed, during which over 400 members of the public watched scenes from Hitchcock's Vertigo, this paper describes the basis of an approach to the use of eye-tracking techniques, visualisations, and metrics to measure the influence of directorial techniques on film viewers' experience. Used as part of a repertoire of tools, the visualisation and quantitative evaluation of eye movement data can provide an intuitive and accessible approach to the evaluation of moving image based media and allow the conventions, assumptions and intuitive practices of film-making to be examined

An improved competitive inhibition enzymatic immunoassay method for tetrodotoxin quantification

Quantifying tetrodotoxin (TTX) has been a challenge in both ecological and medical research due to the cost, time and training required of most quantification techniques. Here we present a modified Competitive Inhibition Enzymatic Immunoassay for the quantification of TTX, and to aid researchers in the optimization of this technique for widespread use with a high degree of accuracy and repeatability

Environmental risk assessment of genetically modified plants - concepts and controversies

Background and purpose: In Europe, the EU Directive 2001/18/EC lays out the main provisions of environmental risk assessment (ERA) of genetically modified (GM) organisms that are interpreted very differently by different stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to: (a) describe the current implementation of ERA of GM plants in the EU and its scientific shortcomings, (b) present an improved ERA concept through the integration of a previously developed selection procedure for identification of non-target testing organisms into the ERA framework as laid out in the EU Directive 2001/18/EC and its supplement material (Commission Decision 2002/623/EC), (c) describe the activities to be carried out in each component of the ERA and (d) propose a hierarchical testing scheme. Lastly, we illustrate the outcomes for three different crop case examples. Main features: Implementation of the current ERA concept of GM crops in the EU is based on an interpretation of the EU regulations that focuses almost exclusively on the isolated bacteria-produced novel proteins with little consideration of the whole plant. Therefore, testing procedures for the effect assessment of GM plants on non-target organisms largely follow the ecotoxicological testing strategy developed for pesticides. This presumes that any potential adverse effect of the whole GM plant and the plant-produced novel compound can be extrapolated from testing of the isolated bacteriaproduced novel compound or can be detected in agronomic field trials. This has led to persisting scientific criticism. Results: Based on the EU ERA framework, we present an improved ERA concept that is system oriented with the GM plant at the centre and integrates a procedure for selection of testing organisms that do occur in the receiving environment. We also propose a hierarchical testing scheme from laboratory studies to field trials and we illustrate the outcomes for three different crop case examples. Conclusions and recommendations: Our proposed concept can alleviate a number of deficits identified in the current approach to ERA of GM plants. It allows the ERA to be tailored to the GM plant case and the receiving environment