Participants’ perceptions of groupwork in the management of cancer symptoms in older people

This paper explores groupwork within rehabilitative palliative care on three distressing cancer symptoms: pain, dyspnoea and fatigue. This was achieved through qualitative methodology using a phenomenological orientated psychological approach in a cohort with a median age of 66 years. Groupwork, which included: social, exercise and divertional therapy groups were seen as important components within rehabilitative palliative care. Through semi-structured interviews the participants’ perceptions of their symptoms, beliefs and attitudes towards their groupwork within rehabilitative palliative care were explored. The relevance and benefits of the groupwork were then identified using quality of life markers established during data analysis. The main factors uncovered and shown to contribute to the groupwork were: environmental factors, mobilisation and normalisation. However more research is required to comprehend how different forms of groupwork can help reduce pain, dyspnoea and fatigue in older people with cancer

Skeleton Islands of New Zealand and elsewhere

Skeleton Islands are a variety of the class of islands resulting from subsidence of dissected land, subcategory 4a of a classification of islands here offered. Such islands are characterised by development of a sprawling outline with a narrow axial ridge from which slender lateral spurs, or ribs, extend more or less at right angles. Extreme skeletonisation is associated with development before a final drowning, or redrowning, of amphitheatre heads in valleys already heading in the main divide. This may be a climatically induced change of the valley form related, in the case of the New Zealand example, Arapawa Island, to cryergic (periglacial) activity in the Pleistocene glacial ages. Kakeroma Island (Ryukyu Group), an example of a skeleton island described by W. M. Davis, has quite possibly a history different from that of Arapawa Island as regards both the development of the relief of the subsiding lands and. being in a low latitude, the possibly climatic process responsible for shaping its now submerged valley heads and thus emaciating the ribs of the island

Rail infrastructure charges in Europe

This paper reviews results of a survey of rail infrastructure charges in Europe, presenting evidence on the structure and level of charges across 23 countries, and on the rationale behind the charges. A wide variety of both structure and level of charges is found, and it appears there is a range of explanations for this, including differences in the nature and mix of rail traffic, differences in the willingness and ability of governments to provide subsidies, and continued lack of consensus on the measurement of the marginal cost of infrastructure use. Recommendations on a sensible structure for rail infrastructure charges are given, although the need for further research is also acknowledged. The diversity of approach poses problems particularly for international rail freight, and there is a strong argument for the development of a specific set of international rail freight tariffs

Appraisal of Rail Projects.

This paper reviews the particular characteristics of rail investment projects, taking as a starting point four examples ranging from decisions on individual routes to national rail investment programmes. The motivation for rail investment, and the interdependence of projects are examined, before turning to the identification of base case and options and the measurement of costs and benefits. It is argued that the main problems in rail investment appraisal are not technical ones relating to measuring costs and benefits but are contextual ones relating to the interdependence between rail projects and with decisions in other sectors of the economy. For this reason it is essential that rail projects be appraised with an appropriate planning framework

Potentials for fisheries in the Niger Delta: Another green light for self sufficiency in regional food production

A discussion is presented on the potential for fishery development in the Niger Delta region, considering engineering activities and food production potentials of the freshwater zone and immediate hinterland, the brackishwater mangrove swamps and the estuaries. An examination of current trends in the environment indicates that a possible solution to improved exploitation of the region lies in hydraulic engineering, the manipulation of environmental conditions through varying freshwater and seawater inputs so as to increase aquatic and wetland productivit

Rail Privatisation: Financial Implications

INTRODUCTION My aim in this brief paper is not to argue the case for or against privatisation, but rather to comment on the likely financial implications of some of the options. Nevertheless, it does not seem possible to do this without briefly reviewing the advantages and disadvantages that are claimed to flow hm privatisation. I will then consider the existing organisation and financial performance of British Rail. Following this, I will discuss alternative ways of achieving the necessary level of profitability for private investors to be interested in owning and operating the railway system

Rail Policy in the European Community.

This paper begins by considering the reasons why the rail sector has long been considered a problem in European transport policy. These concern both the degree of government intervention and subsidy, which conflicts with the aim of a free international market, and the loss of market share even in those sectors- especially international traffic - in which rail should in principle be able to compete. It explains how the economic structure of rail transport leads to a case for public monopoly provision, with regulation and subsidy, but poses the problem of reconciling this with the need for efficient operation. The history of regulation and control of the rail sector, and of past Community attempts to reform it is then briefly considered before attention is turned to latest Commission proposals on rail policy. These consist essentially of four measures. Two concern the specific need to provide a framework to encourage the development of an international network of high speed passenger and combined freight trains, and the only doubt about these rests on whether they go far enough to exploit the potential of these important and rapidly growing sectors of the rail market. A third comprises a further attempt to clarify the relationship between government and railway, with increased financial autonomy, realistic balance sheets and clearer contractual arrangements regarding subsidies and can be generally welcomed. But the greatest doubts must rest on the proposals concerning separation of the infrastructure from the operations. Whilst the rationale is superficially attractive, many reasons are cited to doubt whether it would be an efficient way of organising railway services in practice. As a way of promoting new entry in specific areas of operation, such as international freight, whilst leaving the bulk of operations in the hands of integrated companies, it has more to commend it, but even here there is reason to doubt whether the results would be better than a vigorous pursuit of joint venture operations

Prevention and control of contaminants of industrial processes and pesticides in the poultry production chain

The reduction in levels of organochlorine pesticide residues in food of animal origin in the past 30 years has been achieved especially by controlling entrance via the feed chain. A further reduction was achieved by registration and use of less persistent pesticides both for direct treatment of animals and of plant material. The remaining problems (e.g. dioxins and PCB's) are much harder to tackle. They are either of a ubiquitous nature and their impact might be enlarged by the present welfare trend requiring more contact of the animals with their environment, or they are of a sporadic nature making checking and control quite hard to execute. The present public demand for a farm animal production that is in balance with the animals' needs and a residue free product adds even more complications to the system

Selection of elastomeric membranes for the removal of volatile organics from water

A wide range of homogeneous elastomeric membranes has been prepared using dicumylperoxide as a general cross-linking agent. The membranes have been used for both equilibrium sorption measurements and steady-state pervaporation experiments to study solution-diffusion phenomena in the removal of volatile organic components from aqueous solutions. Pervaporation experiments have been performed under identical hydrodynamic conditions in order to fix the boundary layer mass transfer coefficient at a constant and known value. For comparison of the permeabilities of different pervaporation membrane materials, this is of utmost importance. A wide range of selectivity factors up to a value of 100,000 are obtained, whereas usually the permeabilities for the organic component are in the range of 10-10-10-9m2/s and 10-14-10-12m2/s for water. The permeation and sorption data obtained for the various elastomers have been related to the chemical and physical nature of the elastomers through the solubility parameter and the glass transition temperature, respectively. Both diffusional and sorption effects seem to be important, determining the water-transport behavior in the elastomeric membranes. The solubility of the organic component appears to be independent of this combined solubility parameter. Differences in the permeabilities of the organic component can primarily be ascribed to structural parameters in the membrane material, like degree of unsaturation and presence of steric side groups