Human response to vibration in residential environments (NANR209), technical report 2: measurement of response

Based on a review of the literature and the best practice guidance available, a social survey questionnaire was developed to measure residents’ self-reported annoyance and to provide data suitable for establishing exposure-response relationships between levels of annoyance and levels of vibration. The development of the questionnaire was influenced by a number of previous studies such as: the social survey questionnaire developed for the NANR172 Pilot Study of this research (Defra, 2007); best practice guidelines for the development of socio-acoustic surveys issued by ICBEN and presented in the current International Standard (Fields et al., 2001; ISO/TS 15666:2003); the Nordtest Method (2001) for the development of socio-vibration surveys, and a peer review of the social survey questionnaire by international experts in the field. In order to avoid influencing responses and reasons for participation in the research, the survey was introduced as a survey of neighbourhood satisfaction. The questionnaire design, through the use of sections, enables new sections to be added to the questionnaire so that specific vibration sources can be investigated in more depth. In addressing the ‘response’ component in the ‘exposure-response’ relationship, the questionnaire was designed to yield interval-level measurement data suitable for analysis with vibration measurement data via two response scales: the five-point semantic and the eleven-point numerical scales. This decision was largely founded upon the ability of the two scales to meet the criteria established by ICBEN (Fields et al., 2001) for socio-acoustic survey design. Detailed procedures were documented, following the field trial of the questionnaire, in terms of the role of the interviewer, the recording of information and the transfer of the data to the relevant database for subsequent analysis and to inform the vibration team responsible for the ‘exposure’ component of this research project

Variations in the propagation of UH-nuclei

Calculations of the propagation of UH-nuclei were improved by extending the number of individual nuclides considered, and by using more recent evaluations of the rigidity dependence of the escape length, the possible source composition, and altered cross sections. The effects of using different expressions for the dependence of abundances on first ionization potentials (FIP) are outlined. The sensitivity of the calculated elemental abundances to the various changes made in the propagation assumptions are discussed

Tolerance of seedling forage legumes to herbicides

Non-Peer ReviewedSeeding alfalfa, red clover, and sweet clover showed tolerance to 1.1-2.2 kg ha-1 of trifluralin, ethalfluralin, EL 5261 (trifluralin + ethalfluralin at 1:1), and 3.3-6.6 kg ha-1 of EPTC applied pre-plant incorporated to Melfort silty clay loam in 1983. In a second experiment established in 1984, these treatments caused slight stunting of the legumes in the early stages of growth, but there was no stand thinning and the stunting effect had disappeared by August. All rates of these treatments provided satisfactory control of green foxtail, wild oats and seedling bromegrass. Control of volunteer wheat was satisfactory at the higher rates and that of barley was satisfactory only with the higher rates of ethalfluralin and EPTC. Alfalfa dry matter yield obtained in the following year was not affected by pre-plant incorporated treatments. Red clover yield-increased with applications of trifluralin and EL 5261 at 2. 2 kg ha-1. Sweet clover yields increased 34 to 104 % of the check with applications of ethalfluralin at 2 kg ha-1, EL 5261 at 2.2 kg ha-1, trifluralin + triallate at 0.84 + 1.4 kg ha-1 and EPTC at 6.6 kg ha-1. Post-emergence applications of sethoxydim up to 0.8 kg ha-1 were safe on all the three seedling legumes. Propanil, tank-mixed application of sethoxydlin + 2,4-DB and split application of sethoxydim + bentazon injured the legumes in the establishment year, however, recovery was complete in the following year and alfalfa yields were increased by 32 % with applications of sethoxydim + 2,4-DB and sethoxydim + bentazon. Complete control of annual broadleaf and grass weeds were achieved with propanil at 2 kg ha-1 and sethoxydim + bentazon at 0.35 + 1.08 kg ha-1

Trends and perspectives in business psychology. What are the outcomes of the fifth International scientific-practical conference “Business psychology: theory and practice”?

The article analyzes the current state, trends and development prospects of business psychology based on the Fifth International Scientific and Practical Conference “Business Psychology: Theory and Practice (HSE, Moscow, Russia), which was held November, 30 — December, 1, 2018. The conference was prepared and held by the master’s program “Psychology in Business”, which is the domestic scientific and practical center for the development of business psychology — a new branch in applied psychology. Presentations, their discussion, workshops showed a growing interest of researchers and practitioners to business psychology. There has been a tendency to search for a deeper psychological validation of business psychological tools, search for integrated approaches that can be the basis for the development of business psychological practice. A more clear understanding of the structure of business psychology from the perspective of personal, organisational, social, cultural factors of business management was indicated. The strengths of business psychologists were identified in the context of their ability to solve problems systematically and rely on an interdisciplinary approach. The prospects for the development of business psychology are the following: the expansion of geography and subject areas of research and practical activities of business psychology on the development of new approaches in management and organisational consulting

Reflected Reflections: facilitating student reflection

There is a growing body of research that supports what many tutors have felt is an important way of learning, learning by doing. In geography, and other environmentally focused subjects, the role of practical and field work is often cited as a key factor in the undergraduate learning experience, and something that facilitates understanding. However, the link between this ‘doing’ and ‘understanding’, is reflection (Kolb, 1984; Hinett, 2004)

Student Reflection: An ‘ideal world’?

There is a growing body of research that supports what many tutors have felt is an important way of learning, namely learning by doing. In geography, and other environmentally focused subjects, the role of practical and field work is often cited as a key factor in the undergraduate learning experience, and something that facilitates understanding. However, the link between this ‘doing’ and ‘understanding’, is reflection (Kolb, �984; Hinett, 2004). This paper documents an action research project that attempted to introduce formal reflection into the curriculum of a cohort of geography students at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NIUM). Tutors at NUIM had identified two major questions about the learning experience that they wished to investigate. The first was to evaluate one method of enhancing the transfer of learning between year two (level two modules) and those in year three (level three modules). At the start of the study, this transfer was deemed to be poor, and was creating issues when students reached higher levels of study, and attempted to construct curriculum vitae for life after university. The second question was the desire to investigate the effectiveness of encouraging student reflection, and to assess the degree to which IT would facilitate this process. The present report provides an overview of the process of reflection and its likely part in the learning process, followed by a description of the project process and an evaluation of its outcomes. Finally, consideration is given to future developments in relation both to encouraging reflection and in the use of IT for this purpose. The modules which form the focus for the project were co-ordinated by one of the authors, while the other acted primarily to evaluate the experienc

A Mesolithic settlement site at Howick, Northumberland: a preliminary report

Excavations at a coastal site at Howick during 2000 and 2002 have revealed evidence for a substantial Mesolithic settlement and a Bronze Age cist cemetery. Twenty one radiocarbon determinations of the earlier eighth millennium BP (Cal.) indicate that the Mesolithic site is one of the earliest known in northern Britain. An 8m core of sediment was recovered from stream deposits adjacent to the archaeological site which provides information on local environmental conditions. Howick offers a unique opportunity to understand aspects of hunter-gatherer colonisation and settlement during a period of rapid palaeogeographical change around the margins of the North Sea basin, at a time when it was being progressively inundated by the final stages of the postglacial marine transgression. The cist cemetery will add to the picture of Bronze Age occupation of the coastal strip and again reveals a correlation between the location of Bronze Age and Mesolithic sites which has been observed elsewhere in the region

Weathering the storm: developments in the acoustic sensing of wind and rain

An Acoustic Rain Gauge (ARG) analyses the underwater sound levels across a wide frequency range, classifies the observed spectrum according to likely source and then determines the local wind speed or rain rate as appropriate. Thispaper covers a trial on the Scotian Shelf off Canada, comparing the geophysical information derived from the acoustic signals with those obtained from other sources

‘Pressure to play?’ A sociological analysis of professional football managers’ behaviour towards injured players

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Soccer and Society on 05/05/2017, available online: doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2017.1321540Drawing upon figurational sociology, this paper examines professional football managers’ attitudes towards injured players. Following interviews with 10 managers, as with previous research, we found that managers have an expectancy that players are rarely fully fit. Players were stigmatised when they were seemingly unwilling to play when a manager encouraged them to. However, we also found that many managers shaped, in part, by their habitus formed from their own experiences as a player, showed greater empathy towards injured players. Many claimed they would not risk the long-term health of players, although at times, managers at the lower levels felt more constrained to take certain risks. We argue this is an unintended outcome of the increasing pressures on managers to succeed with smaller squads. The increasing emphasis and reliance on ‘sport science’ enabled managers at the higher levels to have a more supportive approach to managing injuries not previously identified in existing literature