Motivating a volunteer workforce in the criminal justice system

The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) requires that police detention processes are monitored and inspected. The United Kingdom is partially ensuring this provision through the use of an existing independent volunteer workforce. This research explores the conditions required for the effective use of this volunteer workforce through 12 semi-structured interviews. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used that initially generated 46 motivator codes that were clustered into six themes of volunteer motivation consisting of: personal affect, personal growth, social goals, altruistic, activity and values. Ten demotivators were also revealed through the interviews. The implications of these findings for volunteer motivation and how organisations may capitalise on this are discusse

Motivating a volunteer workforce in the criminal justice system

The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) requires that police detention processes are monitored and inspected. The United Kingdom is partially ensuring this provision through the use of an existing independent volunteer workforce. This research explores the conditions required for the effective use of this volunteer workforce through 12 semi-structured interviews. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used that initially generated 46 motivator codes that were clustered into six themes of volunteer motivation consisting of: personal affect, personal growth, social goals, altruistic, activity and values. Ten demotivators were also revealed through the interviews. The implications of these findings for volunteer motivation and how organisations may capitalise on this are discusse

Event-sequence analysis of appraisals and coping during trapshooting performance

This study describes appraisal and coping patterns of trapshooters during competition, via post-performance retrospective verbal reports. Probabilities that an event (e.g., missed target) is followed by another event (e.g., negative appraisal) were calculated and state transitional diagrams were drawn. Event-sequences during critical and non-critical performance periods were compared. Negative appraisals were most likely before and after missed targets and hits with the second shot. Positive appraisals were most likely before problem-focused coping and after emotion-focused coping. These findings support the process view of coping by illustrating that athletes cope with a variety of situations via a complex set of appraisals

Cognition in orienteering

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN041534 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Examining the suitability of molecular and metabolomic-based techniques as tools for assessing the effects of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Pharmaceuticals represent important and indispensable elements in modern society and their usage is considerable. Post consumption and body-elimination, pharmaceuticals are not completely removed in sewage treatment works (STWs) and as such, have been detected at low levels in STW effluents, surface waters, seawaters, ground waters and some drinking waters. Accordingly, pharmaceutical toxicity has been detected in several aquatic organisms. To date, environmental risk assessments (ERA) examine for toxicity using a series of chronic toxicity assays that examine for standard physiological responses in algae, Daphnia and fish and do not address pharmaceutical mode of action. Therefore, using the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) and the β-blocking pharmaceutical propranolol as the test-species and test-drug, respectively, the aim of this study was to establish an intelligent targeted 4-phased ERA using molecular, in vivo exposure, metabolomic and quantitative expression analytical techniques. The first phase established that the fathead minnow expressed the β3bi-adrenergic receptor (AR), which is a target receptor for propranolol in humans. The in vivo pair-breeding assay suggested that at 1mgL-1 and 10mgL-1, propranolol levels in fish blood plasma exceeded the human therapeutic concentration and caused 80% and 100% mortality, respectively. The most likely causes of mortality were liver failure and central nervous system toxicity. It was not possible to identify a robust biomarker of propranolol exposure using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) as there was considerable metabolic variation between male liver tissues within the same treatment groups. β3bi¬¬-AR expression was significantly lower at 1mgL-1 in the brain and liver, which was most likely the result of desensitisation in response to elevated levels of epinephrine and cortisol. β3bi¬¬-AR expression was significantly increased in the heart at the environmentally relevant concentration of 0.001mgL 1, however it was not possible to link β3bi¬¬-AR expression to a toxic response. Propranolol is unlikely to pose a threat to the aquatic environment as the concentrations measured in the environment are approximately 1000-fold lower than those that induced a toxic response. The proposed ERA represents a marked improvement over the existing ERA as it addresses pharmaceutical mode of action and both subtle and physiological toxicity responses, however it still requires further validation studies to address both metabolomic and gene expression variation

Advanced Reprocessing – The Potential for Continuous Chromatographic Separations

This concept paper, discusses the challenges and opportunities for an extractive chromatographic process for the separation of fission products and minor actinides from uranium and plutonium isotopes in irradiated nuclear fuel. The paper highlights the constraints of the PUREX process, a process that is universally accepted for reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel now and for GEN IV reactor systems. It also identifies the challenges that a new separation process would have to overcome to dislodge its acceptance by both the operators and regulators. Although the concept of using a chromatography technique for this separation is challenging, recent developments of continuous chromatography such as simulated moving bed (SMB) and/or continuous annular chromatography (CAC) provides a degree of encouragement. Equally the development of new stationary phases in particular inorganic exchangers, many of which have not been examined for this application enhances confidence that an alternative to the PUREX process is possible

Ichthyological Bulletin of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology; No. 37

Lethrinops argentea Ahl, L. lethrinus (Gunther) and L. leptodon Regan are re-described and illustrated. An additional new species, L. longipinnis, sharing with the above the possession a steeply sloping, wedge-shaped snout, a slender lower pharyngeal bone and few (9—14) gillrakers is described. The status of L. lunaris Trewavas is discussed.Rhodes University Libraries (Digitisation

USING TRANSACTION COST ECONOMICS SAFEGUARDING TO REDUCE THE DIFFUSION OF DISINFORMATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Human users contribute to the spread of disinformation on Social Media. To reduce the spread, we apply Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) Safeguarding, which penalises the sharing of disinformation. Using the economic theory TCE positions Social Media platforms as free markets, in which actors are motivated to protect their assets and peer reputation. We conducted a study exploring TCE Safeguarding as a market correction mechanism to change the disinformation diffusion behaviour of users. Our findings show that users will be less likely to post a comment and more likely to correct their previous disinformation diffusion actions when TCE Safeguarding is applied. Focusing on Social Media as a market rather than its individual components may provide a mechanism to address the fake news phenomenon

Monitoring attitude toward Christianity among year 5 and year 6 students attending Church in Wales primary schools

This study argues that assessment of student attitudes provides insight into the culture and climate of schools. The Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity was employed to explore the Christian culture and climate of Anglican church primary schools within the state-maintained sector across Wales. The analysis drew on responses from 1,899 students from year 5 and year 6. The data demonstrated that the majority of students held a positive attitude toward Christianity, that female students held a more positive attitude than did male students, and that a significant decline in positive attitude toward Christianity took place over the two year groups