'Changing Marriage? Messing with Mr. In-Between?: Reflections Upon Media Debates on Same-Sex Marriage in Ireland'

This article explores some aspects of the emergence of local debates same-sex marriage in the Republic of Ireland. Taking up this issue through an analysis of mediatized reactions to the introduction of German gay marriage in 2001, I point to how we can see evidence of a shift away from Irish traditional relationships between the social, politics and religion, which served to police and silence much public discussion about sexuality. While prudery about sexual issues still remains, my data points to the emergence of prudent-yet-tolerant sharing of stories about the social exclusion of same-sex couples. In spite of recent setbacks for a legal case seeking the recognition of a foreign same-sex marriage in Ireland, we may point to a growing political and legal consciousness for the extension of rights for lesbian and gay couples but it is still unclear as to what model will be adopted in the Irish context. While in the Irish case, there is only intermittent media interest in \'gay marriage\', we can locate this struggle within the framework of the sociology of intimate citizenship. Not only do claims for same-sex marriage illustrate pointed inequalities experienced by lesbians and gay men, the stories also problematize the naturalness of heterosexuality. The Irish case may, of course, be explored within the context of a global challenge to gender identity where the imagined same-sex couple enjoy some element of certainty in an uncertain world.Same-Sex Partnership, Marriage, Media, Irish Times, GLBT, Ireland

Factors Influencing Surgeon Adoption of Technology in the Medical Device Industry

The medical device industry can be quite competitive, and companies that succeed tend to provide innovative solutions that are adopted by surgeons for clinical use in surgery. However, successful clinical adoption of technology is often problematic for some companies, and this research aims to determine which behavioral factors influence surgeon adoption of technology in the medical device industry. This empirical investigation uses the Technology Acceptance Model 2 (TAM2) to test the relationships between technology acceptance and variables that impact surgeon behavior. This research examines spine surgeons’ adoption of 3D-printed implants used in surgery, and the results suggest that subjective norms, job relevance, and output quality represent predictors of a positive intention to use technology, which denotes a positive influence on technology adoption. Environmental and economic hospital factors have a moderating effect on the relationship between intention to use and 3D-printed implant adoption. These results contribute to research by extending the framework of the TAM2 to clinical adoption while testing for additional factors that have not historically been measured. The results also provide practitioners with insights to create marketing campaigns to address the behavior variables that influence surgeon adoption of technology

X-Ray Emitting Ejecta of Supernova Remnant N132D

The brightest supernova remnant in the Magellanic Clouds, N132D, belongs to the rare class of oxygen-rich remnants, about a dozen objects that show optical emission from pure heavy-element ejecta. They originate in explosions of massive stars that produce large amounts of O, although only a tiny fraction of that O is found to emit at optical wavelengths. We report the detection of substantial amounts of O at X-ray wavelengths in a recent 100 ks Chandra ACIS observation of N132D. A comparison between subarcsecond-resolution Chandra and Hubble images reveals a good match between clumpy X-ray and optically emitting ejecta on large (but not small) scales. Ejecta spectra are dominated by strong lines of He- and H-like O; they exhibit substantial spatial variations partially caused by patchy absorption within the LMC. Because optical ejecta are concentrated in a 5 pc radius elliptical expanding shell, the detected ejecta X-ray emission also originates in this shell.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, ApJ Letters, in pres

Učestalost subjektivnih simptoma i nekih objektivnih nalaza u radnika zaposlenih na preradi krutog otpada u sekundarni otpad

We conducted this study to address concerns regarding a perceived increase in bronchitis, skin rashes, and diarrhea and long term health effects in workers at two Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) processing plants. We abstracted medical records to assess symptom occurrence, and to identify spirometry and lab abnormalities overall FEV, and FVC showed no decrease over time for workers with more than five years of exposure. The primary self reported symptoms were low back pain and headaches followed by skin rashes, colds, \u27flu\u27, hay fever and ear problems. Conclusions from this analysis are limited by lack of standardized protocols or a control group. However, results from this analysis pointed out potential occupational health problems among RDF workers for future epidemiological and environmental studies.Istratraživanje je provedeno u dva pogona za preradu krutog otpada, prikupljanog iz velikog urbanog područja, u sekundarni otpad. U pogonu koji je u funkciji od 1988. poroizvodi se 400-500 tona, a u nešto starijem (u funkciji od 1986.) 800-900 tona takvog otpada na dan. U otpadu za preradu, sastav kojeg varira ovisno o tome što se odlaže, dominiraju papir i kartonski proizvodi. Ti materijali uz druge organske materijale poput dvorišnog otpada, predmeta od plastike i ostataka hrane čine energetsku vrijednost proizvedenog sekundarnog otpada. Pregledom koji je bio usmjeren na respiratorne smetnje, kožne iritacije, probavne poremećaje te neke moguće kronične učinke obuhvaćena su 92 radnika koji su se odazvali ispitivanju (od ukupno 108 zaposlenih). Forsirani respiratorni volumeni (FEV, i FVK) u radnika s pet i više godina izloženosti nisu pokazali tendenciju smanjenja u odnosu na očekivane vrijednosti. Među registriranim smetnjama izdvajaju se bol u križima, glavobolje, slijede zatim kožni osipi, prehlade, influenca, hunjavica. Autori ističu da je mogućnost sigurnijeg zaključivanja o zdravstvenim rizicima bila ograničena činjenicom da ispitivanje nije provedeno uporabom standardiziranog protokola te da je nedostajala kontrolna skupina. Rezultati ipak upućuju na to da ovoj vrsti profesionalne aktivnosti treba obratiti potrebnu pozornost kako u ocjeni izloženosti tako i u epidemiološkim istraživanjima

An exploratory study of executive factors that lead to technology adoption in small businesses

The small business setting can be quite competitive, and companies that succeed tend to invest in technology to gain or maintain a competitive edge. Often, the adoption of technology is heavily dependent on the specific will and desires of the CEO or other top executives. This research aims to determine what executive factors affect the adoption of technology among small businesses. We employ the technology acceptance model to test the correlations between technology acceptance and the unique characteristics of small digital printing companies. The results suggest that the executive personality traits of entrepreneurship and technology readiness are indicators of a positive attitude toward technology and market orientation and show that this positive attitude correlates with technology adoption

Magnetic-Field Amplification in the Thin X-ray Rims of SN1006

Several young supernova remnants (SNRs), including SN1006, emit synchrotron X-rays in narrow filaments, hereafter thin rims, along their periphery. The widths of these rims imply 50 to 100 $\mu$G fields in the region immediately behind the shock, far larger than expected for the interstellar medium compressed by unmodified shocks, assuming electron radiative losses limit rim widths. However, magnetic-field damping could also produce thin rims. Here we review the literature on rim width calculations, summarizing the case for magnetic-field amplification. We extend these calculations to include an arbitrary power-law dependence of the diffusion coefficient on energy, $D \propto E^{\mu}$. Loss-limited rim widths should shrink with increasing photon energy, while magnetic-damping models predict widths almost independent of photon energy. We use these results to analyze Chandra observations of SN 1006, in particular the southwest limb. We parameterize the full widths at half maximum (FWHM) in terms of energy as FWHM $\propto E^{m_E}_{\gamma}$. Filament widths in SN1006 decrease with energy; $m_E \sim -0.3$ to $-0.8$, implying magnetic field amplification by factors of 10 to 50, above the factor of 4 expected in strong unmodified shocks. For SN 1006, the rapid shrinkage rules out magnetic damping models. It also favors short mean free paths (small diffusion coefficients) and strong dependence of $D$ on energy ($\mu \ge 1$).Comment: Accepted by ApJ, 49 pages, 10 figure

The accelerated study of bioprocess purification sequences for improved bioprocessing discovery

In the biopharmaceutical industry being first to market is often key to product success. However process development still needs to deliver an economic, regulatory compliant and effective process. Scale-down studies are commonly used for this purpose since they are quicker and cheaper than pilot plant work. However it is necessary that scale-down methods be created which not only examine the conditions of process stages but also allow production of realistic output streams. These output streams can then be used in the development of subsequent purification operations and facilitate rapid and efficient process development while minimising early investment and risk. Scale-down techniques were used to predict the effects of process changes in a plasma fractionation operation. These predictions were compared to pilot plant data and the full- scale process to assess their accuracy. The scale-down techniques used did not predict the performance of full-scale operations reliably despite being in close agreement with pilot plant results. This is due to the limitations of current scale-down techniques, which focus on a few core parameters and fail to examine engineering and operational details of larger processes. Traditionally, predicting filtration operations is via a bench-top pressure filter, using constant pressure tests to examine the effect of pressure on filtrate flux rate and filter cake dewatering. Interpretation of the results into cake resistance at unit applied pressure (?) and compressibility (n) is used to predict the pressure profile required to maintain a constant, predetermined flux rate. This thesis reports on the operation of a continuous mode laboratory filter in such a way as to prepare filter cakes and filtrate similar to those produced at the industrial scale. Analysis of the filtration rate profile indicated the filter cake to have changing properties (compressibility) with time. Using the insight gained from the new scale-down method gave predictions of the flux profile in a pilot-scale candle filter superior to those obtained from the traditional laboratory batch filter. Very small chromatography columns can be useful tools for narrowing down the myriad of process options involved with this operation, but operational practicalities mean that traditional scale-down rules must be broken. Additionally a number of factors make their operation and subsequent interpretation of results problematic. By identifying and then quantifying the effects of these phenomena it is possible to compensate for their impact. By making several calculated adjustments to the outputs from a small column it was possible to predict the performance of much larger laboratory columns