Non-Gaussian eccentricity fluctuations

We study the fluctuations of the anisotropy of the energy density profile created in a high-energy collision at the LHC. We show that the anisotropy in harmonic $n$ has generic non-Gaussian fluctuations. We argue that these non-Gaussianities have a universal character for small systems such as p+Pb collisions, but not for large systems such as Pb+Pb collisions where they depend on the underlying non-Gaussian statistics of the initial density profile. We generalize expressions for the eccentricity cumulants $\varepsilon_2\{4\}$ and $\varepsilon_3\{4\}$ previously obtained within the independent-source model to a general fluctuating initial density profile.Comment: 14 pages. Minor revisio

The cross-contamination potential of mobile telephones

The use of mobile devices for professional, business, educational, personal and social purposes has accelerated exponentially over the last decade. Staff working in healthcare organisations, and patients and visitors using healthcare settings, understandably want to use mobile technology. Concerns have been raised about safety in terms of interference with equipment, and threats to privacy and dignity, yet less policy attention has been paid to infection risks. Healthcare professional students were supplied with smartphones as part of a larger educational project. Devices collected from a sub-sample of students working in operating theatre contexts were sampled to estimate the cross-contamination potential of the technology. A longitudinal multiple measures design was used. Under laboratory conditions, samples were taken from surfaces using swabbing techniques followed by contact plating. The devices were subsequently cleaned with 70% isopropyl alcohol and returned to the students. All devices demonstrated microbial contamination and over three quarters (86%) polymicrobial contamination. The technique and sites used to sample for microbial contamination influenced the levels of contamination identified. Swabbing alone was less likely to isolate polymicrobial contamination than contact plating, and some microorganisms were isolated only by contact plates and not by swabbing of the same area. The findings from this study demonstrate further research is urgently needed to inform evidence-based infection control policy on the use of personal equipment such as mobile devices in the healthcare settings where contamination may have adverse effects on patients, staff and visitors

Measuring children's search behaviour on a large scale

Children often experience problems during information-seeking using traditional search interfaces and search technologies, that are designed for adults. This is because children engage with the world in fundamentally different ways than adults. To design search technologies that support children in effective and enjoyable information-seeking, more research is needed to examine children’s specific skills and needs concerning information-seeking. Therefore, we developed an application that can monitor children’s search behaviour on a large scale. In this paper, we present the steps taken to develop this application. The basis of the application is UsaProxy, an existing system that is used to monitor the user’s usage of websites. We have increased the accuracy of UsaProxy and have developed an application that is able to extract useful information from UsaProxy’s log files

A Feasibility Study of Using Headspace for Mindfulness Among Individuals Undergoing Surgical Repair of the Rotator Cuff

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been found to help reduce psychological distress and pain in chronic musculoskeletal conditions. However, very limited evidence exists determining the impact of mindfulness on psychological distress and pain in acute musculoskeletal conditions including rotator cuff tears. Among individuals undergoing surgical repair of a rotator cuff tear, it is not clear how mindfulness may be combined with usual care, given the requirement of intense training as part of frequently used MBI protocols. The purpose of the present study was to determine if it was feasible to combine Headspace, a mobile application for mindfulness training that can be used anytime and anywhere, with the usual treatment for a single-tendon rotator cuff repair. One individual was recruited to use Headspace for three weeks, from two weeks before to one week after their rotator cuff surgery. Feasibility of using Headspace was measured in terms of satisfaction in using Headspace and changes in mindfulness across three time points (2 weeks before surgery, 1 week before surgery, and 1 week after surgery). Regarding satisfaction with using Headspace, four main themes emerged including the improved ability to focus and concentrate, manage pain, cope with life stressors and the ability to use the application anytime and anywhere. Regarding mindfulness, scores increased on one facet and decreased in the four other facets of FFMQ-SF. In addition, the participant reported becoming more mindful but still needed more practice with mindfulness. Based on our findings, we concluded that Headspace is an appropriate intervention to include in the treatment of rotator cuff repairs and can lead to the improved ability to concentrate, focus, manage pain, and cope with life stressors. However, given the short duration of the study, it is not clear how Headspace impacted mindfulness. Future studies should be conducted over a longer duration of time to examine the impact of Headspace on a person’s mindfulness from pre-surgery to the end of rehabilitation

Positive self-representations, sustainability and socially organised denial in UK tourists: discursive barriers to a sustainable transport future

This paper provides an empirical application of some recent developments in the social science of sustainability to understanding sustainable transport behaviour. We analyse talk about holidaymaking taken from interviews with self-defined “eco” or “sustainable” tourists. The focus of this paper explores the ways in which participants understand and reconcile the potential conflict of air transport and the notion of sustainable holidays. We identify a number of discursive strategies participants used to project and maintain positive self-representations in the context of complex, often incompatible constructions of sustainability derived from this particular dilemma. Such strategies are considered as concrete examples of the psychosocial organisation of denial and thus offer discursive barriers to sustainable transport futures. However, the analysis also demonstrates the ways in which some individuals were able to resist or challenge such forms of socially organised denial. The potential implications of these discursive barriers and strategies for sustainable transport futures and the tourism sector are discussed

A phenomenological reinterpretation of Horner’s fear of success in terms of social class.

The current study developed the concept of fear of success that was originally examined by Martina Horner (1970; Journal of Social Issues, 28(2), 157-175, 1972). The key dimension in Horner’s (1970; Journal of Social Issues, 28(2), 157-175, 1972) studies was gender. The key dimension in the current study was social class. It was hypothesised that individuals from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds fear that, for them, success will lead to alienation from their community, and the loss of identity and loss of overall sense of belonging within their culture. The majority of the previous studies were based in the USA and examined fear of success using objectivist conceptions of success and quantitative methodologies. Eleven participants took part in the current study, three males and eight females. Two-phase qualitative interviewing was employed as the primary source of data collection in an attempt to gain a deeper understanding of the constructions and experiences of the participants in relation to success. The majority of participants believed that they would have to make vast life changes, in order to facilitate their views of desired success. The participants’ fear was rooted in what they perceived as the “consequences of success”. These participants occupied a “trade-off mindset”; for these young people, success meant leaving their family, friends, community and culture behind. The thought of losing this “connection” and sense of belonging was expressed with noticeable anxiety