Comparing the effectiveness of education and technology in reducing wood smoke pollution: A field experiment

This study describes a field experiment assessing the effectiveness of education and technological innovation in reducing air pollution generated by domestic wood heaters. Two-hundred and twenty four households from a small regional center in Australia were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: (1) Education only – households received a wood smoke reduction education pack containing information about the negative health impacts of wood smoke pollution, and advice about wood heater operation and firewood management; (2) SmartBurn only – households received a SmartBurn canister designed to improve combustion and help wood fires burn more efficiently, (3) Education and SmartBurn, and (4) neither Education nor SmartBurn (control). Analysis of covariance, controlling for pre-intervention household wood smoke emissions, wood moisture content, and wood heater age, revealed that education and SmartBurn were both associated with significant reduction in wood smoke emissions during the post-intervention period. Follow-up mediation analyses indicated that education reduced emissions by improving wood heater operation practices, but not by increasing health risk perceptions. As predicted, SmartBurn exerted a direct effect on emission levels, unmediated by wood heater operation practices or health risk perceptions.

How Modern Governments Made Prostitution a Social Problem: Creating a Responsible Prostitute Population

Table of Contents Acknowledgments Preface by Dr. Pat Carlen Introduction 1. Political Languages of Prostitution 2. Genealogical Analysis: Documenting The Disorder of Things 3. From Death Rituals to Health Practices 4. Policing Female Prostitutes 5. Private Remedies for Public Concerns 6. The Emergence of the Male Prostitute 7. From Procreation to Pleasure 8. HIV/AIDS and Prostitution Conclusion Bibliography Index

Across the divide - Criminology as other: Observations on the construction of the field

In 1978 Donald Cressey commented on an emerging division in the study of crime with some scholars concentrating on the development of a “crime fi ghting coalition” and others concerned with the processes associated with “making laws, breaking laws, and the reaction to the breaking of laws” (1978: 175). Since Cressey’s paper, many others have refl ected on the distinction between criminology and the sociology of crime and deviance (Akers, 1992; Garland, 1999; Garland & Sparks, 2000; Konty, 2007). But does such a distinction actually exist? Adopting a pragmatic position, the immediate answer is yes, if we assume that these categories have substance on the basis that they are grounded in everyday beliefs, institutional preferences and research practice (Konty, 2007). Moreover, these are viable categories in that some people studying crime label themselves criminologists (or are given this label by others) while others prefer or are given the label sociologist. Of course, there are further labels that may apply to persons studying crime, which include psychologist, penologist, biologist, chemist, and so on. One could argue that such labels are unimportant, however, it remains that these categories have a practical character. For criminology and the sociology of crime in particular, scholarly discourse frames these categories as oppositional (Bader et al., 1996.; Bendle, 1989; Laub & Sampson, 1991; Sibley, 2002) and to the extent that this has occurred, the categories have social relevance.

CoWs, Google and online possibilities : creating digital posters to enhance student engagement

A new Bachelor of Science (BSc) course was introduced at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2013 and focused on inquiry-based, collaborative and active learning. Two of the first year units required that students carry out a group poster assessment task. This poster provides a preliminary evaluation from an academic staff perspective of the assessment approach used, whereby students created digital posters to utilise the affordances of new learning spaces. The digital posters approach was first introduced to a group of academic staff from the Science and Engineering Faculty (SEF) in 2012 during a professional development program to explicitly develop skills and shared understandings of teaching in collaborative learning spaces (Steel & Andrews, 2012). Considerations were given to the pedagogical requirements of a poster assessment task, the affordances of the learning space and an identification of possible benefits of using Google Sites to create digital posters. Positive feedback from this group (as highlighted in the quotes shown) and subsequent approval from unit coordinators for two of the new first year BSc units meant that the approach was adopted for Semester 1, 2013 with approximately 360 students in each unit.

Nursing casualisation and communication : a critical ethnography

Aim The aim was to explore the relationship between nursing casualization and the culture of communication for nurses in a healthcare facility. Background Casualization, or non-standard work, is the use of temporary, contract, part-time and casual labour. An increase in casual labour has been part of a global shift in work organization aimed at creating a more flexible and cheaper workforce. It has been argued that flexibility of labour has enabled nurses to manage both non-work related needs and an increasingly complex work environment. Yet no research has explored casualization and how it impacts on the communication culture for nurses in a healthcare facility. Design Critical ethnography. Methods Methods included observation, field notes, formal interviews and focus groups. Data collection was undertaken over the 2 years 2008–2009. Results The concepts of knowing and belonging were perceived as important to nursing teamwork and yet the traditional time/task work model, designed for a full-time workforce, marginalized non-standard workers. The combination of medical dominance and traditional stereotyping of the nurse and work as full-time shaped the behaviours of nurses and situated casual workers on the periphery. The overall finding was that entrenched systemic structures and processes shaped the physical and cultural dimensions of a contemporary work environment and contributed to an ineffective communication culture. Conclusion Flexible work is an important feature of contemporary nursing. Traditional work models and nurse attitudes and practices have not progressed and are discordant with a contemporary approach to nursing labour management.

Rethinking the value of simulation methods in the information systems research field : a call for reconstructing contribution for a broader audience

The impact of simulation methods for social research in the Information Systems (IS) research field remains low. A concern is our field is inadequately leveraging the unique strengths of simulation methods. Although this low impact is frequently attributed to methodological complexity, we offer an alternative explanation – the poor construction of research value. We argue a more intuitive value construction, better connected to the knowledge base, will facilitate increased value and broader appreciation. Meta-analysis of studies published in IS journals over the last decade evidences the low impact. To facilitate value construction, we synthesize four common types of simulation research contribution: Analyzer, Tester, Descriptor, and Theorizer. To illustrate, we employ the proposed typology to describe how each type of value is structured in simulation research and connect each type to instances from IS literature, thereby making these value types and their construction visible and readily accessible to the general IS community.

Density of trap states in a polymer field-effect transistor

We report a more accurate method to determine the density of trap states in a polymer field-effect transistor. In the approach, we describe in this letter, we take into consideration the sub-threshold behavior in the calculation of the density of trap states. This is very important since the sub-threshold regime of operation extends to fairly large gate voltages in these disordered semiconductor based transistors. We employ the sub-threshold drift-limited mobility model (for sub-threshold response) and the conventional linear mobility model for above threshold response. The combined use of these two models allows us to extract the density of states from charge transport data much more accurately. We demonstrate our approach by analyzing data from diketopyrrolopyrrole based co-polymer transistors with high mobility. This approach will also work well for other disordered semiconductors in which sub-threshold conduction is important.

Analyzing causes for reworks in construction projects in China

Although rework is a common phenomenon in the Chinese construction industry and significantly affects project success, the reasons for rework remain largely unknown and most construction companies are unable to manage the issue effectively. To investigate the causes of rework in construction projects, a total of 39 causes were first identified through a comprehensive literature review and semi-structured interviews with 13 experienced construction professionals in China. A questionnaire survey was further conducted to prioritize these causes, in which unclear project process management, poor quality of construction technology, and the use of poor construction materials rank the highest. Finally, a factor analysis revealed 11 major underlying dimensions of these causes, relating to design management, communication management, field management, project scope management, project process management, active rework, project plan changes, subcontractor management, contract management, owner capability, and the external environment. The contribution of this work lies in its examination of the underlying causes of rework perceived by construction professionals in the world’s largest developing country, which is characterized by its unique economic and social systems. In particular, newly identified causes of contract management, active rework, and scope management help expand existing knowledge of the underlying causes of rework for the global construction community.

Visual field coordinates of pupillary circular axis and optical axis

Purpose: We term the visual field position from which the pupil appears most nearly circular as the pupillary circular axis (PCAx). The aim was to determine and compare the horizontal and vertical co-ordinates of the PCAx and optical axis from pupil shape and refraction information for only the horizontal meridian of the visual field. Method: The PCAx was determined from the changes with visual field angle in the ellipticity and orientation of pupil images out to ±90° from fixation along the horizontal meridian for the right eyes of 30 people. This axis was compared with the optical axis determined from the changes in the astigmatic components of the refractions for field angles out to ±35° in the same meridian. Results: The mean estimated horizontal and vertical field coordinates of the PCAx were (‒5.3±1.9°, ‒3.2±1.5°) compared with (‒4.8±5.1°, ‒1.5±3.4°) for the optical axis. The vertical co-ordinates of the two axes were just significantly different (p =0.03) but there was no significant correlation between them. Only the horizontal coordinate of the PCAx was significantly related to the refraction in the group. Conclusion: On average, the PCAx is displaced from the line-of-sight by about the same angle as the optical axis but there is more inter-subject variation in the position of the optical axis. When modelling the optical performance of the eye, it appears reasonable to assume that the pupil is circular when viewed along the line-of-sight.

Understanding welding practices on shipyards : an ethnographic study for designing an interactive robot welder

The aim of this ethnographic study was to understand welding practices in shipyard environments with the purpose of designing an interactive welding robot that can help workers with their daily job. The robot is meant to be deployed for automatic welding on jack-up rig structures. The design of the robot turns out to be a challenging task due to several problematic working conditions on the shipyard, such as dust, irregular floor, high temperature, wind variations, elevated working platforms, narrow spaces, and circular welding paths requiring a robotic arm with more than 6 degrees of freedom. Additionally, the environment is very noisy and the workers – mostly foreigners – have a very basic level of English. These two issues need to be taken into account when designing the interactive user interface for the robot. Ideally, the communication flow between the two parties involved should be as frictionless as possible. The paper presents the results of our field observations and welders’ interviews, as well as our robot design recommendation for the next project stage.

MRI of postmortem specimens of endangered species for comparative brain anatomy

Many of the 5,500 threatened species of vertebrates found worldwide are highly protected and generally unavailable for scientific investigation. Here we describe a noninvasive protocol to visualize the structure and size of brain in postmortem specimens. We demonstrate its utility by examining four endangered species of kiwi (Apteryx spp.). Frozen specimens are thawed and imaged using MRI, revealing internal details of brain structure. External brain morphology and an estimate of brain volume can be reliably obtained by creating 3D models. This method has facilitated a comparison of brain structure in the different kiwi species, one of which is on the brink of extinction. This new approach has the potential to extend our knowledge of brain structure to species that have until now been outside the reach of anatomical investigation.

Bats respond to polarity of a magnetic field

Bats have been shown to use information from the Earth's magnetic field during orientation. However, the mechanism underlying this ability remains unknown. In this study we investigated whether bats possess a polarity- or inclination-based compass that could be used in orientation. We monitored the hanging position of adult Nyctalus plancyi in the laboratory in the presence of an induced magnetic field of twice Earth-strength. When under the influence of a normally aligned induced field the bats showed a significant preference for hanging at the northern end of their roosting basket. When the vertical component of the field was reversed, the bats remained at the northern end of the basket. However, when the horizontal component of the field was reversed, the bats changed their positions and hung at the southern end of the basket. Based on these results, we conclude that N. plancyi, unlike all other non-mammalian vertebrates tested to date, uses a polarity-based compass during orientation in the roost, and that the same compass is also likely to underlie bats' long-distance navigation abilities.

Characterisation of the half-field beam penumbra for a variety of blocking set-ups

Measurements of half-field beam penumbra were taken using EBT2 film for a variety of blocking techniques. It was shown that minimizing the SSD reduces the penumbra as the effects of beam divergence are diminished. The addition of a lead block directly on the surface provides optimal results with a 10-90% penumbra of 0.53 ± 0.02 cm. To resolve the uncertainties encountered in film measurements, future Monte Carlo measurements of halffield penumbras are to be conducted.

Natural free convection in porous media: First field documentation in groundwater

Natural free convection is a process of great importance in disciplines from hydrology to meteorology, oceanography, planetary sciences, and economic geology, and for applications in carbon sequestration and nuclear waste disposal. It has been studied for over a century - but almost exclusively in theoretical and laboratory settings, Despite its importance, conclusive primary evidence of free convection in porous media does not currently exist in a natural field setting. Here, we present recent electrical resistivity measurements from a sabkha aquifer near Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where large density inversions exist. The geophysical images from this site provide, for the first time, compelling field evidence of fingering associated with natural free convection in groundwater.