Political Institutions, Engagement and Outreach: The Case of the Northern Ireland Assembly

Democracies are faced increasingly with the challenge of engaging the public on the assumption that such activity will lead to greater understanding of, and enhanced trust in, political institutions. This is a particular difficulty for an institution such as the Northern Ireland Assembly (NIA), established against the backdrop of a historically divided society with high levels of political conflict and which has itself been suspended on several occasions. This article reports the findings from the NIA's first survey of public engagement, conducted as part of the Assembly's broader engagement strategy. It provides a baseline against which future levels of engagement can be judged. Moreover, it highlights a range of challenges that face both the NIA and its Members of the Legislative Assembly if the Assembly is to engage successfully with the public in the aftermath of the 2011 elections.

Current and possible future methods of assessing the activities of photocatalyst films

The continuing interest in semiconductor photochemistry, SPC, and the emergence of commercial products that utilise films of photocatalyst materials, has created an urgent need to agree a set of methods for assessing photocatalytic activity and international committees are now meeting to address this issue. This article provides a brief overview of two of the most popular current methods employed by researchers for assessing SPC activity. and one which has been published just recently and might gain popularity in the future, given its ease of use. These tests are: the stearic acid (SA) test, the methylene blue (MB) test and the resazurin (Rz) ink test, respectively. The basic photochemical and chemical processes that underpin each of these tests are described, along with typical results for laboratory made sol-gel titania films and a commercial form of self-cleaning glass, Activ (TM). The pros and cons of their future use as possible standard assessment techniques are considered. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Perceiving and Reenacting Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Walking Sounds

Many studies have examined the processes involved in recognizing types of human action through sound, but little is known about whether the physical characteristics of an action (such as kinetic and kinematic parameters) can be perceived and imitated from sound. Twelve young healthy adults listened to recordings of footsteps on a gravel path taken from walks of different stride lengths (SL) and cadences. In 1 protocol, participants performed a real-time reenactment of the walking action depicted in a sound sample. Second, participants listened to 2 different sound samples and discriminated differences in SL. In a 2nd experiment, these procedures were repeated using synthesized sounds derived from the kinetic interactions between the foot and walking surface. A 3rd experiment examined the influence of altered cadence on participants' ability to discriminate changes in SL. Participants significantly adapted their own SL and cadence according to those depicted in both real and synthesized sounds (p <.01). However, although participants accurately discriminated between large changes in SL, these perceptions were heavily influenced by temporal factors, that is, when cadence changed between samples. These findings show that spatial attributes of action sounds can be both mimicked and discriminated, even when only basic kinetic interactions present within the action are specified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

Cows, milk and religion: the use of dairy produce in early societies

This review of documentary sources, particularly from Early Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and Europe seeks to show how the range of dairy products varied in different areas and to demonstrate that in many societies, cows and dairying played an important role in early religious practice. The range of dairy products consumed also varied greatly between different societies and the use of milk did not automatically imply that dairying technology was applied to its full potential. Also, in some cultures the consumption of milk was confined to certain sections of society.

Geographical variation in total and inorganic arsenic content of polished (white) rice

An extensive data set of total arsenic analysis for 901 polished (white) grain samples, originating from 10 countries from 4 continents, was compiled. The samples represented the baseline (i.e., notspecifically collected from arsenic contaminated areas), and all were for market sale in major conurbations. Median total arsenic contents of rice varied 7-fold, with Egypt (0.04 mg/kg) and India (0.07 mg/kg) having the lowest arsenic content while the U.S. (0.25 mg/kg) and France (0.28 mg/kg) had the highest content. Global distribution of total arsenic in rice was modeled by weighting each country's arsenic distribution by that country's contribution to global production. A subset of 63 samples from Bangladesh, China, India, Italy, and the U.S. was analyzed for arsenic species. The relationship between inorganic arsenic contentversus total arsenic contentsignificantly differed among countries, with Bangladesh and India having the steepest slope in linear regression, and the U.S. having the shallowest slope. Using country-specific rice consumption data, daily intake of inorganic arsenic was estimated and the associated internal cancer risk was calculated using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cancer slope. Median excess internal cancer risks posed by inorganic arsenic ranged 30-fold for the 5 countries examined, being 0.7 per 10,000 for Italians to 22 per 10,000 for Bangladeshis, when a 60 kg person was considered.

International Projects and Cross-Cultural Adjustment of British Expatriates in Middle East: A Qualitative Investigation of Influencing Factors

Increased globalisation within the British AEC (Architectural, Engineering and Construction) sector has increased the need for companies to transfer staff to manage their overseas operations. To be able to perform abroad, expatriates must harmonise themselves to the conditions prevailing in the host country. These include getting accustomed to living, working and interacting with the host country nationals. The process is commonly referred to as 'cross-cultural adjustment'. Various factors influence the process of adjustment. In order to identify these issues, a qualitative study was undertaken, which mainly comprised of comprehensive literature review, individual interviews and focus group discussion with British expatriates working on international AEC assignments in Middle Eastern countries. Through interpretative approach, the current study aims to understand the concept of cross-cultural adjustment of British Expatriates based in Middle East and their influencing factors.

The findings suggest that success of expatriation does not entirely rest on an expatriate's ability but also on organisational support and assistance that expatriates receive prior to and during the assignment. Organisational factors such as selection mechanisms, job design, training, logistical and social support, mentoring, etc., influence various facets of expatriate adjustment. Striking cultural contrasts between British and Arab culture both in work and non work situations also dictate the level of support required by the expatriate, suggesting that relocation to less developed, remote or politically unstable regions, demands additional support and consideration by the parent company. This study is relevant to the AEC companies employing British expatriates, who need to be cognisant of the issues highlighted above to make rational and informed decisions when handling international assignments in the Middle East.

Extremely premature (<or = 800 g) schoolchildren:multiple areas of hidden disability

To examine the functional abilities of extremely low birthweight (ELBW, <or = 800 g) children at school age compared with full term children.

Rheological and heat transfer behaviour of the ionic liquid, [C(4)mim][NTf2]

Systematic experiments have been carried out on the thermal and rheological behaviour of the ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl} imide, [C(4)mim][NTf2], and, for the first time, on the forced convective heat transfer of an ionic liquid under the laminar flow conditions. The results show that the thermal conductivity of the ionic liquid is similar to 0.13 W m(-1) K-1, which is almost independent of temperature between 25 and 40 degrees C. Rheological measurements show that the [C(4)mim][NTf2] liquid is a Newtonian fluid with its shear viscosity decreasing with increasing temperature according to the exponential law over a temperature range of 20-90 degrees C. The convective heat transfer experiments demonstrate that the thermal entrance length of the ionic liquid is very large due to its high viscosity and low thermal conductivity. The convective heat transfer coefficient is observed to be much lower than that of distilled water under the same conditions. The convective heat transfer data are also found to fit well to the convectional Shah's equation under the conditions of this work. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Predicting critical source areas of sediment in headwater catchments

Mitigation of diffuse nutrient and sediment delivery to streams requires successful identification andmanagement of critical source areas within catchments. Approaches to predicting high risk areas forsediment loss have typically relied on structural drivers of connectivity and risk, with little considera-tion given to process driven water quality responses. To assess the applicability of structural metrics topredict critical source areas, geochemical tracing of land use sources was conducted in three headwateragricultural catchments in Co. Down and Co. Louth, Ireland, within a Monte Carlo framework. Outputswere applied to the inverse optimisation of a connectivity model, based on LiDAR DEM data, to assess theefficacy of land use risk weightings to predict sediment source contributions over the 18 month studyperiod in the Louth Upper, Louth Lower and Down catchments. Results of the study indicated sedimentproportions over the study period varied from 6 to 10%, 84 to 87%, 4%, and 2 to 3% for the Down Catch-ment, 79 to 85%, 9 to 17%, 1 to 3% and 2 to 3% in the Louth Upper and 2 to 3%, 79 to 85%, 10 to 17%and 2 to 3% in the Louth Lower for arable, channel bank, grassland, and woodland sources, respectively.Optimised land use risk weightings for each sampling period showed that at the larger catchment scale,no variation in median land use weightings were required to predict land use contributions. However,for the two smaller study catchments, variation in median risk weightings was considerable, which mayindicate the importance of functional connectivity processes at this spatial scale. In all instances, arableland consistently generated the highest risk of sediment loss across all catchments and sampling times.This study documents some of the first data on sediment provenance in Ireland and indicates the needfor cautious consideration of land use as a tool to predict critical source areas at the headwater scale

Morphologic fluorescein angiographic, and light microscopic features of experimental choroidal neovascularization

We induced choroidal neovascularization in the rhesus monkey by impoverishing the blood supply to the inner retina and producing defects in Bruch's membrane by photocoagulation. Fourteen of 46 eyes undergoing photocoagulation developed neovascular fronds which were identified and categorized by histopathologic examination and fluorescein angiography. All new vessels gained access to the retina through defects in Bruch's membrane at the site of photocoagulation marks. In eight eyes the new vessels remained localized to the immediate vicinity of photocoagulation marks. In four eyes neovascular fronds infiltrated the subretinal space for distances up to 6 disk diameters from the point of entry into the retina. In the two eyes choroidovitreal neovascular complexes developed but rapidly regressed shortly after gaining the vitreous cavity. Fluorescein angiography demonstrated that all neovascular fronds were grossly incompetent to dye but that formed feeding channels had some degree of integrity. Light microscopic studies showed the proliferating networks to be composed of capillaries with well-formed basement membranes and more mature vessels with the basic structure of choroidal arteries and veins.