An investigation of the demand for organically grown produce

Four issues were investigated in this thesis. First, the factors which motivate organic food buying behaviour^; secondly, the reasons which cause people to avoid organics; thirdly, the cost and availability of organics in different retail outlets, and finally the opinions of retailers as to the current and future state of the organic food market. In addition, the proportion of organic buyers to non-buyers which existed among the public was estimated.Primary research was employed to survey three types of respondent. First, a national postal survey of supermarkets, wholefood shops, farm shops and greengrocers that stocked organic food was undertaken. To obtain more detailed information on the public’s attitude towards organic produce, a telephone survey of the Edinburgh and Lothian population was conducted. Finally, the particular preferences of organic food buyers were recorded by personal interviews of customers in wholefood shops around Edinburgh. Non-parametric tests, in particular chi- squared tests, were used to measure the differences between the responses of organic retailers and those between organic buyers and non-buyers.Results showed that the proportion of organic food buyers among the public in 1992 (29%) was no greater than those found by studies undertaken in 1987 and 1988. Concern for health was perceived most commonly to be the most important buying motivation for organic food by retailers, buyers and non-buyers alike, while expense was the most commonly cited non-buying reason among respondents. In general, supermarkets were found to incur greater cost when purchasing organic foods and they suffered significantly higher levels of wastage compared with wholefood shops. Yet supermarkets did enjoy a more extensive and consistent range of fresh organic produce in comparison with smaller retailers. Most retailers were optimistic about the future of the organic market and believed the high price of organic food to be the single most important barrier to market expansion.It appears that many organic purchases, ostensibly altruistic in motivation, are in fact motivated by fear or by fashion. The major non-buying reasons given by respondents fall into two types: lack of knowledge and lack of value. To encourage organic food purchases and to combat non-buying reasons, retailers must create awareness and knowledge about organics, and achieve lower prices. However, long-term expansion of the market may only be assured by legislation which is more favourable towards organic growers

Driving With Cardiovascular Disease: The Impact of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators on Driver Safety

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. With America’s workforce rapidly aging, more attention is being placed on CVD and its treatment among employees in safety sensitive occupations, such as the transportation industry. Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are increasingly being used to treat certain cardiovascular conditions, but despite the fact that they are effective in preventing sudden death from cardiac arrhythmia, there is concern about allowing individuals with an ICD to drive. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to examine the health and safety impacts ICDs on driving. We considered data pertaining to four outcomes among individuals with an ICD: crash rate, the occurrence of sudden death while driving, the occurrence of syncope while driving, and the occurrence of at least one shock from their ICD while driving. Currently, the impact of an ICD on driver safety cannot be determined. Our assessments of the evidence pertaining to crash rates and sudden incapacitation while driving were inconclusive. Our results do indicate, however, that some individuals with an ICD will experience an inappropriate ICD discharge while driving (Strength of Evidence Rating: Strong). Experiencing such a discharge while driving is a potential hazard to driver safety. Quantitative assessment of the available data suggests that approximately 6.3% (95% CI: 4.7%-8.4%) of all individuals with an ICD who drive will experience a discharge while driving. These findings have potential implications for regulatory agencies with responsibility for road safety; particularly those agencies that regulate safety sensitive industries

Seizure and the Risk for Seizure Recurrence Among Individuals Who Have Undergone Surgery for Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a central nervous system disorder for which recurrent seizures are the main symptom. Seizures resulting from epilepsy may culminate in unpredictable and sudden incapacitation, and thus are of significant concern to those interested in driver safety. Surgical therapy is one of the main treatment options for patients who do not respond to pharmacotherapy. Although approximately two thirds of individuals who undergo the most common types of surgery for epilepsy become seizure free, a significant proportion of these individuals will experience seizure recurrence. A systematic review and metaanalysis was conducted to examine the likelihood of seizure recurrence among individuals who have undergone surgery for epilepsy. Specifically, we were interested in quantifying the relationship between time since last seizure and the likelihood that a seizure will occur within the following year. Our results indicate that the longer the time that has elapsed since the occurrence of the last seizure, the lower the risk for seizure recurrence in the following year. The average annual risk for experiencing seizure recurrence among individuals who have remained seizure free for ≥8 years is less than 2% and less than 1% for those who have remained seizure free for ≥10 years. These findings have important implications for regulatory agencies with responsibility for road safety; particularly those agencies that regulate safety sensitive industries

One dimensional chain of quantum molecule motors as a mathematical physics model for muscle fibre

A quantum chain model of many molecule motors is proposed as a mathematical physics theory on the microscopic modeling of classical force-velocity relation and tension transients of muscle fibre. We proposed quantum many-particle Hamiltonian to predict the force-velocity relation for the slow release of muscle fibre which has no empirical relation yet, it is much more complicate than hyperbolic relation. Using the same Hamiltonian, we predicted the mathematical force-velocity relation when the muscle is stimulated by alternative electric current. The discrepancy between input electric frequency and the muscle oscillation frequency has a physical understanding by Doppler effect in this quantum chain model. Further more, we apply quantum physics phenomena to explore the tension time course of cardiac muscle and insect flight muscle. Most of the experimental tension transients curves found their correspondence in the theoretical output of quantum two-level and three-level model. Mathematically modeling electric stimulus as photons exciting a quantum three-level particle reproduced most tension transient curves of water bug Lethocerus Maximus.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, Arguments are adde

Conservatoires in society: institutional challenges and possibilities for change

Educational sociologists and philosophers have long recognised that educational institutions play a significant role in shaping as well as supporting societal norms. In the face of growing global social, political, and environmental challenges, should conservatoires be more overt in expressing a mission to sustain and improve the societies in which they are located? In times of ever-increasing scepticism emanating from governments and the broader populace alike about the efficacy of public spending, if not the public sphere itself, this essay suggests it is both timely and necessary for conservatoires to reconsider, reinvigorate and re-articulate their capacity to contribute to broader social goods. Drawing on the authors’ professional experience as well as current literature and debates, the essay is both deliberately provocative and open-ended, articulating a number of points of departure that institutions might consider in addressing the challenge of maintaining and exercising their relevance to broader society

A system for rating the stability and strength of medical evidence

BACKGROUND: Methods for describing one's confidence in the available evidence are useful for end-users of evidence reviews. Analysts inevitably make judgments about the quality, quantity consistency, robustness, and magnitude of effects observed in the studies identified. The subjectivity of these judgments in several areas underscores the need for transparency in judgments. DISCUSSION: This paper introduces a new system for rating medical evidence. The system requires explicit judgments and provides explicit rules for balancing these judgments. Unlike other systems for rating the strength of evidence, our system draws a distinction between two types of conclusions: quantitative and qualitative. A quantitative conclusion addresses the question, "How well does it work?", whereas a qualitative conclusion addresses the question, "Does it work?" In our system, quantitative conclusions are tied to stability ratings, and qualitative conclusions are tied to strength ratings. Our system emphasizes extensive a priori criteria for judgments to reduce the potential for bias. Further, the system makes explicit the impact of heterogeneity testing, meta-analysis, and sensitivity analyses on evidence ratings. This article provides details of our system, including graphical depictions of how the numerous judgments that an analyst makes can be combined. We also describe two worked examples of how the system can be applied to both interventional and diagnostic technologies. SUMMARY: Although explicit judgments and formal combination rules are two important steps on the path to a comprehensive system for rating medical evidence, many additional steps must also be taken. Foremost among these are the distinction between quantitative and qualitative conclusions, an extensive set of a priori criteria for making judgments, and the direct impact of analytic results on evidence ratings. These attributes form the basis for a logically consistent system that can improve the usefulness of evidence reviews

Diabetes and Motor Vehicle Crashes: A Systematic Evidence-Based Review and Meta-Analysis

The primary objective of this systematic review was to address the question, “Are drivers with diabetes mellitus at greater risk for a motor vehicle crash than comparable drivers without the disease?” and secondarily, to address the question, “Are insulin-treated diabetics at higher risk for crash?” Our searches identified 16 articles that addressed these questions. An assessment of study quality of the included studies found them to be in the low-to-moderate range. While attempts were made to control for differences in the characteristics of individuals that may confound the relationship between diabetes and crash risk in all included studies, most failed to control for exposure. A random-effects metaanalysis found that individuals with diabetes have a 19% increased risk for a motor vehicle crash when compared to similar individuals without diabetes. We found no compelling evidence to suggest that insulin-treated individuals are at higher risk for motor vehicle crash than individuals with diabetes not being treated with insulin. We discuss the implications of these findings