Comparison of UK paediatric consultants’ participation in child health research between 2011 and 2015

Objective To identify whether there have been changes over time in the capacity of paediatric consultants to undertake research and if the activity differs between men and women. Design Comparison of data from two surveys of UK paediatric consultants. Subjects UK consultant members of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Interventions Surveys carried out in 2011 and 2015. Main outcome measures The proportion of consultants with allocated time in job plans for research, academic appointments, postgraduate qualifications, publications, grant funding and supervision of PhD students. Results The 2015 survey demonstrated 20% of consultants had one or more programmed activities (PAs) for research, but the average paid PA for research was 0.39 PA. Between the surveys, the proportion of consultants with honorary contracts had declined, and the proportion with a PhD or MDRes was 32% in 2011 compared with 26% in 2015 (p<0.001). In 2015, only 12% of consultants had at least one current grant. In 2011 and 2015, 51% and 54% respectively of consultants had not authored a publication in the preceding 2 years. In 2015, 92% of consultants were not currently supervising a PhD student, and 88% had never supervised a PhD student. In 2015, 25% of men and 12% of women had PAs for research (p<0.001). Women were less likely to hold an honorary or primary academic contract, have authored a publication or supervised a PhD student (all p<0.001). Conclusions Research activity among paediatric consultants remains low, particularly among women

Morning quiet-time ionospheric current reversal at mid to high latitudes

The records of an array of magnetometers set up across the Australian mainland are examined. In addition to a well-defined current whorl corresponding to the ionospheric &lt;i&gt;S&lt;sub&gt;q&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/i&gt; current system, another system of eastward flowing currents is often found in the early morning. The system is most easily identified at observatories poleward of the focus of the &lt;i&gt;S&lt;sub&gt;q&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/i&gt; system, where a morning reversal from eastward to westward currents can be seen. The time of the reversal is usually later, sometimes up to 12h local noon, in June (Southern Winter) than in other seasons. There is some evidence of a similar current system at other longitudes and in the Northern Hemisphere. An important outcome of the study is that it enables identification of which features of a daily variation of the northward magnetic field &amp;Delta;&lt;i&gt;X&lt;/i&gt; relate to an &lt;i&gt;S&lt;sub&gt;q&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/i&gt; current whorl and which must be attributed to some other current system

Public and patient involvement in child health research and service improvements: a survey of hospital doctors

Objectives: To determine whether paediatricians are supported by their organisations to encourage patient and public involvement (PPI) in research activities and clinical improvement work, the challenges they face and how they think these could be addressed by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH). Design: A survey. Setting: UK consultant paediatricians and staff associate specialist and specialty (SAS) doctors who are members of RCPCH. Main outcome measures: The proportion of respondents who said that PPI was central to research and service improvements in their organisation, the type of local support for PPI activity, challenges in undertaking PPI and the support members wanted from RCPCH. Results: There was a response rate of 44.4% (n=1924). In their organisation, 29.1% of respondents stated PPI was central to research and 36.1% to service improvement; 46% were unaware of support for PPI and 15% said there was no support. The main challenges for PPI activity were a lack of clinician time, local support and funding. Respondents wanted RCPCH to advocate for protected time for PPI, provide access to PPI groups and deliver guidance and training. Conclusions: The majority of paediatricians feel unsupported to undertake PPI activity by their local organisation. The RCPCH has a key role to enable all paediatricians to work with children, young people and their carers to improve the quality of research and clinical services as demonstrated by RCPCH's ongoing activity in these crucial and important areas

Owner project capabilities for infrastructure development: A review and development of the “strong owner” concept

Research on the management of major projects is one of the main themes of Peter Morris' work. We address this theme in the context of transportation infrastructure projects and focus in particular on the contribution of the “strong owner” to project performance. After defining the strong owner concept, we will suggest that the theoretical literature on dynamic capabilities can be the source of deeper insight into the strong owner and will thereby develop the concept of owner project capabilities. The paper will then present a framework generated from a review of the existing literature complemented by pilot empirical research which provides the basis for a research agenda on the role of the owner of the infrastructure assets in achieving high performance on transportation infrastructure projects. In discussion, the paper suggests that the framework developed is applicable to a wider variety of major projects and programmes.postprin

Analytical models for Cross-correlation signal in Time-Distance Helioseismology

In time-distance helioseismology, the time signals (Doppler shifts) at two points on the solar surface, separated by a fixed angular distance are cross-correlated, and this leads to a wave packet signal. Accurately measuring the travel times of these wave packets is crucial for inferring the sub-surface properties in the Sun. The observed signal is quite noisy, and to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and make the cross-correlation more robust, the temporal oscillation signal is phase-speed filtered at the two points in order to select waves that travel a fixed horizontal distance. Hence a new formula to estimate the travel times is derived, in the presence of a phase speed filter, and it includes both the radial and horizontal component of the oscillation displacement signal. It generalizes the previously used Gabor wavelet that was derived without a phase speed filter and included only the radial component of the displacement. This is important since it will be consistent with the observed cross-correlation that is computed using a phase speed filter, and also it accounts for both the components of the displacement. The new formula depends on the location of the two points on the solar surface that are being cross correlated and accounts for the travel time shifts at different locations on the solar surface.Comment: 27 pages, 8 figures, ApJ in pres

Predicting the Heaviest Black Holes below the Pair Instability Gap

Traditionally, the pair instability (PI) mass gap is located between 50\,and 130\,$M_{\odot}$, with stellar mass black holes (BHs) expected to "pile up" towards the lower PI edge. However, this lower PI boundary is based on the assumption that the star has already lost its hydrogen (H) envelope. With the announcement of an "impossibly" heavy BH of 85\,$M_{\odot}$ as part of GW\,190521 located inside the traditional PI gap, we realised that blue supergiant (BSG) progenitors with small cores but large Hydrogen envelopes at low metallicity ($Z$) could directly collapse to heavier BHs than had hitherto been assumed. The question of whether a single star can produce such a heavy BH is important, independent of gravitational wave events. Here, we systematically investigate the masses of stars inside the traditional PI gap by way of a grid of 336 detailed MESA stellar evolution models calculated across a wide parameter space, varying stellar mass, overshooting, rotation, semi-convection, and $Z$. We evolve low $Z$ stars in the range $10^{-3} < Z / Z_{\odot} < Z_{\rm SMC}$, making no prior assumption regarding the mass of an envelope, but instead employing a wind mass loss recipe to calculate it. We compute critical Carbon-Oxygen and Helium core masses to determine our lower limit to PI physics, and we provide two equations for $M_{\text{core}}$ and $M_{\text{final}}$ that can also be of use for binary population synthesis. Assuming the H envelope falls into the BH, we confirm the maximum BH mass below PI is $M_{\text{BH}} \simeq 93.3$ $M_{\odot}$. Our grid allows us to populate the traditional PI gap, and we conclude that the distribution of BHs above the traditional boundary is not solely due to the shape of the initial mass function (IMF), but also to the same stellar interior physics (i.e. mixing) that which sets the BH maximum.Comment: 24 pages, 14 figures. Accepted in MNRA

The changing UK paediatric consultant workforce: report from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

Objectives To determine if there had been changes in the size of the UK paediatric workforce and working patterns between 1999 and 2013. Design Analysis of prospectively collected datasets. Setting UK consultant paediatricians. Interventions Data from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health's workforce census from 1999 to 2013 and the annual surveys of new paediatric Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) and Certificate of Equivalence of Specialist Registration (CESR) holders between 2010 and 2013. Main outcome measures Paediatric consultant numbers, programmed activities (PAs) and resident shift working. Results The UK paediatric consultant workforce grew from 1933 in 1999 to 3718 in 2013. Over the same time period, there was a decline in the number of consultants with a primary academic contract from 210 to 143. There was an increase in the proportion of consultants who were female (40% in 1999 to 50% in 2013, p<0.01). The median number of PAs declined from 11 in 2009 to 10 in 2013 (p<0.001) as did the median number of PAs for supporting professional activities (2.5–2.3, p<0.001). In 2013, 38% of new consultants in general paediatrics or neonatology were working resident shifts. Between 2009 and 2013, the proportion of less than full-time working consultants rose from 18% to 22%, which was more common among female consultants (35% vs 9%). Conclusion The paediatric consultant workforce has doubled since 1999, but more are working less than full time. The decline in those with a primary academic contract is of concern

"My Children and I Will no Longer Suffer from Malaria": A Qualitative Study of the Acceptance and Rejection of Indoor Residual Spraying to Prevent Malaria in Tanzania.

The objective of this study was to identify attitudes and misconceptions related to acceptance or refusal of indoor residual spraying (IRS) in Tanzania for both the general population and among certain groups (e.g., farmers, fishermen, community leaders, and women). This study was a series of qualitative, semi-structured, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions conducted from October 2010 to March 2011 on Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. Three groups of participants were targeted: acceptors of IRS (those who have already had their homes sprayed), refusers (those whose communities have been sprayed, but refused to have their individual home sprayed), and those whose houses were about to be sprayed as part of IRS scale-up. Interviews were also conducted with farmers, fishermen, women, community leaders and members of non-government organizations responsible for community mobilization around IRS. Results showed refusers are a very small percentage of the population. They tend to be more knowledgeable people such as teachers, drivers, extension workers, and other civil servants who do not simply follow the orders of the local government or the sprayers, but are skeptical about the process until they see true results. Refusal took three forms: 1) refusing partially until thorough explanation is provided; 2) accepting spray to be done in a few rooms only; and 3) refusing outright. In most of the refusal interviews, refusers justified why their houses were not sprayed, often without admitting that they had refused. Reasons for refusal included initial ignorance about the reasons for IRS, uncertainty about its effectiveness, increased prevalence of other insects, potential physical side effects, odour, rumours about the chemical affecting fertility, embarrassment about moving poor quality possessions out of the house, and belief that the spray was politically motivated. To increase IRS acceptance, participants recommended more emphasis on providing thorough public education, ensuring the sprayers themselves are more knowledgeable about IRS, and asking that community leaders encourage participation by their constituents rather than threatening punishment for noncompliance. While there are several rumours and misconceptions concerning IRS in Tanzania, acceptance is very high and continues to increase as positive results become apparent

Adam Smith and Colonialism

In the context of debates about liberalism and colonialism, the arguments of Adam Smith have been taken as illustrative of an important line of anti-colonial liberal thought. The reading of Smith presented here challenges this interpretation. It argues that Smith’s opposition to colonial rule derived largely from its impact on the metropole, rather than on its impact on the conquered and colonised; that Smith recognised colonialism had brought ‘improvement’ in conquered territories and that Smith struggled to balance recognition of moral diversity with a universal moral framework and a commitment to a particular interpretation of progress through history. These arguments have a wider significance as they point towards some of the issues at stake in liberal anti-colonial arguments more generally