Ethical consumerism. How are caterers coping?

Active ethical consumerism is much less obvious in the behaviour of consumers when they eat outside the home. The catering industry argue that the majority of consumers are primarily driven by the taste of food, convenience and the service they receive when eating out. This article examines the drivers for ethical provisioning within the catering industry

Tentative Detection of the Rotation of Eris

We report a multi-week sequence of B-band photometric measurements of the dwarf planet Eris using the {\it Swift} satellite. The use of an observatory in low-Earth orbit provides better temporal sampling than is available with a ground-based telescope. We find no compelling evidence for an unusually slow rotation period of multiple days, as has been suggested previously. A $\sim$1.08 day rotation period is marginally detected at a modest level of statistical confidence ($\sim$97%). Analysis of the combination of the $Swift$ data with the ground-based B-band measurements of \citet{2007AJ....133...26R} returns the same period ($\sim$1.08 day) at a slightly higher statistical confidence ($\sim$99%).Comment: Accepted to Icarus 2008-Aug-19. 19 pages total, including 4 figures and 1 tabl

Driving outcomes among older adults: A systematic review on racial and ethnic differences over 20 years

The population of older adults (aged 65 years and older) in the United States will become more racially and ethnically diverse in the next three decades. Additionally, the growth of the aging population will come with an expansion in the number of older drivers and an increased prevalence of chronic neurological conditions. A major gap in the aging literature is an almost exclusive focus on homogenous, non-Hispanic white samples of older adults. It is unclear if this extends to the driving literature. A systematic review of SCOPUS, PubMed, CINAHL Plus, and Web of Science examined articles on driving and racial/ethnic differences among older adults. Eighteen studies met inclusion criteria and their results indicate that racial and ethnic minorities face a greater risk for driving reduction, mobility restriction, and driving cessation. The majority of studies compared African Americans to non-Hispanic whites but only examined race as a covariate. Only four studies explicitly examined racial/ethnic differences. Future research in aging and driving research needs to be more inclusive and actively involve different racial/ethnic groups in study design and analysis

Peptide-directed crystal growth modification in the formation of ZnO

Biomolecule-mediated synthesis is fascinating in terms of the level of control and the intricate hierarchical structures of the materials that can be produced. In this study we compare the behavior of a phage display identified peptide, EAHVMHKVAPRP (EM-12) with that of a mutant peptide EAHVCHKVAPRP (EC-12), having additional complexation capability, on the formation of ZnO from solution. The synthesis conditions (Zn(CH3COO)2–NH3 hydrothermal method at 50 °C) were chosen to generate rod-shaped ZnO via layered basic zinc salts (LBZs) as intermediates. Both peptides affected the crystal formation process by moderating the amount of Zn2+ ions in solution (EC12 having a greater effect than EM12) but only EC12 was shown to interact with the solid phase(s) formed during the reaction. Depending on the peptide concentration used, EM-12 was shown to delay and/or suppress ZnO formation. In contrast, additions of EC-12, although leading to the retention of higher levels of Zn2+ ions in solution did not similarly delay the transformation of the intermediate phases to ZnO but were found to dramatically modify the morphology of ZnO crystallites with mushroom shaped crystals being formed. From the results of detailed materials characterization and changes in the morphology observed, the interactions between the peptide(s) and solution and solid state species present during the process of ZnO crystal formation in the presence of EM-12 and EC-12 are proposed

LATENT STRUCTURE MODELLING FOR TRIP DISTRIBUTION

This paper outlines the first stage of a research project investigating the application of latent structure modelling techniques to the trip distribution stage of conventional traffic modelling. It has the objective of developing practical computer methods for fitting latent structure models to trip distribution data, and to investigate whether these models give a substantially improved fit to observed matrices of zone to zone flows. Discussion centres around the results of applying the latent approach to four different types of model - negative exponential, negative exponential quadratic, power and Tanner models - and the computing time and resource requirements associated with each. The paper concludes with a summary of future prospects and suggestions for application to real (rather than artificial) trip data matrices

Should a Bankruptcy Court Consider a Debtor’s Social Security Income When Determining Whether His Chapter 13 Plan is Feasible?

(Excerpt) Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code provides individuals the opportunity to reorganize their debt obligations. This adjustment chapter permits an individual debtor to keep his nonexempt assets but requires that he make payments for three to five years through a repayment plan. During this repayment period, the individual debtor uses his disposable income to fulfill his debts. After all of the payments are made to creditors, the debtor receives a discharge. If the trustee or an unsecured creditor objects to the plan, a court must determine if the plan can fulfill the unsecured claim and allow the debtor’s “projected disposable income” during the commitment period to make payments toward those claims. Calculation of “projected disposable income” is also involved in the “means test” - a new threshold test determining if an individual consumer debtor can file for chapter 7. Additionally, a court must confirm a repayment plan. One of the elements required for court confirmation is that a plan is “feasible.” In order to be considered feasible, “a debtor\u27s plan must have a reasonable likelihood of success, i.e., that it is likely that the debtor will have the necessary resources to make all payments as directed by the plan.” Therefore, a debtor’s personal income and expenses are important factors in chapter 13 petitions. There are many issues that arise in the context of plan confirmation but there are two that are particularly important and usually highly contested. First, plans must determine what income should be included within “projected disposable income” - this value is necessary to calculate the repayment plan. Second, if Social Security funds are excluded, may a bankruptcy court consider this excluded income when determining whether the chapter 13 plan is feasible. Both issues must be considered in light of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005’s (“BAPCPA”) purposes to “to correct perceived abuses of the bankruptcy system” of underreporting disposable income while allowing debtors to repay creditors to their upmost abilities. This Article discusses the relevant case law regarding both issues. Part I explains why Social Security income is excluded from “projected disposable income.” Part II examines the circuit split as to why a court should confirm a chapter 13 plan that provides for a debtor to use funds that are excluded the projected disposable income test to fund the payments under the plan. Finally, Part III summarizes the implications of allowing excluded Social Security income to fund such plans

Flourishing ‘older-old’ (80+) adults: personal projects and their enabling places

This paper sets out a framework for exploring flourishing in older age through the lens of what older adults are doing in their lives. Applying a model from positive psychology called personal project analysis (PPA) our study captures a snapshot of older people's goals and their environmental context. Targeting older people aged 80+ we applied PPA methods in a semi-structured interview to elicit participants’ personal projects which were scored on eight wellbeing dimensions (e.g., fun, stress). Qualitative data analysis identified what types of personal projects are employed by this older demographic and the environments in which they are carried out. Results showed our participants were vitally engaged in a wide spectrum of projects exercised in a range of ‘enabling places’ which we categorised as (1) restorative niches (places that afford psychological restoration) such as nature settings (e.g. a garden, local park or riverside); (2) affinity niches (places that afford social opportunities) such as religious venues, social clubs, or cafés; and (3) flow niches (places that afford immersion in mental or physical tasks) such as the home (e.g. the kitchen) or a place associated with a previous career or amateur sport (e.g. cricket club). Our findings are discussed in relation to older people's wellbeing and the role of the built environment. Despite the increasingly negative stereotyping of the ‘older-old’ our study shows that the final decades of life can be a period of continuing growth and learning, a life stage with its own distinct character, rather than a period of decline