Measuring Gender-related Social Norms

The Gender, Violence, and Health Centre (GVHC) at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has launched a learning and reflection group on social norms and gender-based violence (GBV). There is increasing interest among donors and practitioners to harness insights from social norms theory to catalyse change around gender inequity and harmful gender-related practices. Little guidance is available, however, to help practitioners integrate simple norms measures and change strategies within field-based programming. As theory-based insights open promising avenues for achieving change, a gap emerged between theory and its application within development practice. The mission of this group is thus: To translate and adapt insights and methods from social norm theory and research into practical guidance for development practitioners seeking to transform harmful gender-related practices in low and middle-income countries. Participants share and discuss individual solutions to common dilemmas around measurement and practice. Together, we are working on a programme of research and practice to test strategies that can help people negotiate new positive norms, and/or dismantle norms that keep harmful practices in place. Our collective experience will inform the next wave of intervention evaluation and norms measurement. As part of the learning initiative, LSHTM convened an expert group meeting in July 2016 on the measurement of social norms sustaining GBV. The meeting focused on identifying best-practice strategies to diagnose and measure social norms. Participants were drawn from groups that already had data and research experience attempting to capture gender-related norms and practices in the field. The meeting was kept relatively small to ensure productive exchange among the few teams that have experimented with different strategies for collecting quantitative data on norms and gender-based violence

THE EFFECT OF COMPRESSION TIGHTS AND DURATION OF TESTING ON CONTINUOUS JUMPING MECHANICAL POWER

INTRODUCTION: In order to improve their performance, athletes seek advancements in technology, such as clothing. Manufacturers of compression tights, advertise that their product adds support to lower extremity musculature, thus may slow the onset of fatigue. Few scientific studies, however, have been conducted to identify how advancements in apparel influence an athlete’s performance (Kraemer et al., 1996). The purpose of the present study was to identify the effects of compression tights on mechanical power for continuous jumping. Secondly, the effect of duration on the mechanical power output by using Bosco’s method (1983) over 15, 30, 45, and 60 sec time-frames, as well as the interaction between apparel and duration

Discovery of a Second Millisecond Accreting Pulsar: XTE J1751-305

We report the discovery by the RXTE PCA of a second transient accreting millisecond pulsar, XTE J1751-305, during regular monitoring observations of the galactic bulge region. The pulsar has a spin frequency of 435 Hz, making it one of the fastest pulsars. The pulsations contain the signature of orbital Doppler modulation, which implies an orbital period of 42 minutes, the shortest orbital period of any known radio or X-ray millisecond pulsar. The mass function, f_x = (1.278 +/- 0.003) x 10^{-6} M_sun, yields a minimum mass for the companion of between 0.013 and 0.017 M_sun, depending on the mass of the neutron star. No eclipses were detected. A previous X-ray outburst in June, 1998, was discovered in archival All-Sky Monitor data. Assuming mass transfer in this binary system is driven by gravitational radiation, we constrain the orbital inclination to be in the range 30-85 deg, and the companion mass to be 0.013-0.035 M_sun. The companion is most likely a heated helium dwarf. We also present results from the Chandra HRC-S observations which provide the best known position of XTE J1751-305.Comment: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Accepted, (AASTeX

Phase-resolved HST/STIS spectroscopy of the exposed white dwarf in the high-field polar AR UMa

Phase-resolved HST/STIS ultraviolet spectroscopy of the high-field polar AR UMa confirms that the WD photospheric Ly alpha Zeeman features are formed in a magnetic field of ~200 MG. In addition to the Ly alpha pi and sigma+ components, we detect the forbidden hydrogen 1s0->2s0 transition, which becomes ``enabled'' in the presence of both strong magnetic and electric fields. Our attempt in fitting the overall optical+UV low state spectrum with single temperature magnetic WD models remains rather unsatisfactory, indicating either a shortcoming in the present models or a new physical process acting in AR UMa. As a result, our estimate of the WD temperature remains somewhat uncertain, Twd=20000+-5000K. We detect a broad emission bump centered at ~1445A and present throughout the entire binary orbit, and a second bump near ~1650A, which appears only near the inferior conjunction of the secondary star. These are suggestive of low harmonic cyclotron emission produced by low-level (M-dot~1e-13 Msun/yr) accretion onto both magnetic poles. However, there is no evidence in the power spectrum of light variations for accretion in gas blobs. The observed Ly alpha emission line shows a strong phase dependence with maximum flux and redshift near orbital phase phi~0.3, strongly indicating an origin on the trailing hemisphere of the secondary star. An additional Ly alpha absorption feature with similar phasing as the Ly alpha emission, but a \~700km/s blueshift could tentatively be ascribed to absorption of WD emission in a moderately fast wind. We derive a column density of neutral hydrogen of NH=(1.1+-1.0)1e18 cm**-2, the lowest of any known polar.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures, AAS TeX 5.0, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

ORFEUS II Far-UV Spectroscopy of AM Herculis

Six high-resolution (\lambda/\Delta\lambda ~ 3000) far-UV (\lambda\lambda = 910-1210 \AA) spectra of the magnetic cataclysmic variable AM Herculis were acquired in 1996 November during the flight of the ORFEUS-SPAS II mission. AM Her was in a high optical state at the time of the observations, and the spectra reveal emission lines of O VI \lambda\lambda 1032, 1038, C III \lambda 977, \lambda 1176, and He II \lambda 1085 superposed on a nearly flat continuum. Continuum flux variations can be described as per Gansicke et al. by a ~ 20 kK white dwarf with a ~ 37 kK hot spot covering a fraction f~0.15 of the surface of the white dwarf, but we caution that the expected Lyman absorption lines are not detected. The O VI emission lines have narrow and broad component structure similar to that of the optical emission lines, with radial velocities consistent with an origin in the irradiated face of the secondary and the accretion funnel, respectively. The density of the narrow- and broad-line regions is n_{nlr} ~ 3\times 10^{10} cm^{-3} and n_{blr} ~ 1\times 10^{12} cm^{-3}, respectively, yet the narrow-line region is optically thick in the O VI line and the broad-line region is optically thin; apparently, the velocity shear in the broad-line region allows the O VI photons to escape, rendering the gas effectively optically thin. Unexplained are the orbital phase variations of the emission-line fluxes.Comment: 15 pages, 6 Postscript figures; LaTeX format, uses aaspp4.sty; table2.tex included separately because it must be printed sideways - see instructions in the file; accepted on April 17, 1998 for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Surface Sediments of the Pearl River Estuary (South China Sea) - Spatial Distribution of Sedimentological/Geochemical Properties and Environmental Interpretation

The Pearl River Delta (South China) is one of the densest populated regions of the world. This study aims at the investigation and interpretation of the spatial distribution of grain size parameters and geochemical parameters obtained from surface sediment samples. These samples have been taken during cruises in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Investigations of the spatial correlations of the parameters obtained reveal an approximately north-south directed trend for the majority of the parameters. The trend was removed before applying Ordinary Kriging for interpolation. The maps obtained show non-uniform distribution patterns of the sedimentological and geochemical parameters. Here e.g. the concentrations of the As, Co, Cu, Hg and Ni decrease to the more marine influenced southeastern parts and show a higher concentration in the central part and at the western shoals of the estuary.The Pearl River Delta (South China) is one of the densest populated regions of the world. This study aims at the investigation and interpretation of the spatial distribution of grain size parameters and geochemical parameters obtained from surface sediment samples. These samples have been taken during cruises in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Investigations of the spatial correlations of the parameters obtained reveal an approximately north-south directed trend for the majority of the parameters. The trend was removed before applying Ordinary Kriging for interpolation. The maps obtained show non-uniform distribution patterns of the sedimentological and geochemical parameters. Here e.g. the concentrations of the As, Co, Cu, Hg and Ni decrease to the more marine influenced southeastern parts and show a higher concentration in the central part and at the western shoals of the estuary

Technical brief: Measuring social norms

Social norms are unspoken behavioural rules shared by people in a given society or group; they define what is considered ‘normal’ and appropriate behaviour for that group. There is substantial evidence that social norms can influence a variety of health-related behaviours, including those related to HIV. Research on HIV and social norms has mostly focussed on four aspects of the norms/HIV nexus. These are (from the most to the least studied): condom use and sexual risk behaviour, drug injection and needle sharing, willingness to seek HIV testing, access to and response of health services. However, norms can also influence upstream factors that affect individuals’ vulnerability to HIV, including factors such as: women’s ability and willingness to leave abusive relationships, the ability of young people to resist alcohol advertising and promotion the degree to which girls receive parental support to complete secondary school, the impact of stigma on individual’s willingness to disclose their status. This brief offers guidance to researchers who are not experts on social norms but want to capture information on norms as they relate to HIV and other health and development outcomes. Here, members of the STRIVE consortium provide techniques for collecting information on social norms in the context of studies designed to explore the structural drivers of HIV

A rotating cavity for high-field angle-dependent microwave spectroscopy of low-dimensional conductors and magnets

The cavity perturbation technique is an extremely powerful method for measuring the electrodynamic response of a material in the millimeter- and sub-millimeter spectral range (10 GHz to 1 THz), particularly in the case of high-field/frequency magnetic resonance spectroscopy. However, the application of such techniques within the limited space of a high-field magnet presents significant technical challenges. We describe a 7.62 mm x 7.62 mm (diameter x length) rotating cylindrical cavity which overcomes these problems.Comment: 11 pages including 8 figure