There is a dynamic in world politics towards greater global tension, conflict and war, including nuclear war. Britain must work to end the possibility of nuclear disaster
Timber is one of the most common historic building materials, but relatively little is known about how it ages in situ. Here we investigate historic and modern Scots pine to determine any chemical or ...mechanical differences between them. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) microscopy was used to investigate differences in the chemical composition of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) timber, comparing small samples from historic beams about 500 years old with modern timber. The hemicellulosic acetyl content was reduced by about half in the historic samples, uniformly across the thickness of the beams. A chemical mechanism was therefore suggested for the loss of acetyl groups, as has been observed in paper. In paper, deacetylation and the resulting release of acetic acid are accompanied by loss of strength. Mechanical testing of the historic timber was difficult because the available length of the samples along the grain was only 20 mm. After developing a miniaturized compression test developed for the purpose, it was shown that the relative stiffness of the historic Scots pine samples was reduced by about half compared to modern material.
This book provides a revisionist history of the rise and fall of Yugoslavia. Assessing the geo-political and geo-strategic reasons for its creation and dismemberment, it is an important corrective to ...much contemporary theorising about the destruction of the Yugoslav state. In particular Kate Hudson draws attention to the role of foreign states whose involvement in Yugoslavia did much to destabilise the region, and explains how and why this happened. Tracing the state's origins from 1918 through war and the Tito years, she explains the distortion of the socialist economy resulting from Yugoslavia's unusual position between the two Cold War blocs, and the economic collapse of the 1980s as part of the US's drive for a free market. She also investigates the true causes and effects of the recent wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo and brings the book up-to-date with an analysis of Milosevic's downfall, and events in Macedonia and Montenegro. ‘has the potential to reopen the debate over the collapse of Yugoslavia, thus establishing the title as an original contribution to the ongoing discussion on the Balkans ... a very valuable addition’ Vassilis Fouskas, Kingston University
The Radical Left in Britain Hudson, Kate
Socialism and democracy,
09/2015, Letnik:
29, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
During the 1990s, Europe saw the emergence of electorally significant radical left parties, drawing from the communist and other left and progressive traditions to form qualitatively new political ...formations. These parties challenged the conventional wisdom that the left as a significant political current was dead, post-1989. They survived the existential crisis of that supposed "end of history" moment and evolved into viable political forces which were able to occupy the space to the left of social democracy as it moved rapidly to the right, embracing neoliberalism. Their coherent articulation of opposition to the Maastricht Treaty, and their defence of living standards, government spending, and the welfare state, ensured a credible level of parliamentary support - often up to 10 percent - in key countries, such as France, Spain, Italy and Germany, where the French Communist Party (Parti Communiste Francais PCF), Left Unity (Izquierda Unida), Communist Refoundation Party (Rifondazione Comunista), and The Left (Die Linke) played significant national or regional roles. Internal reform and theoretical development led to a new type of left politics, often linking up with social movements, and self-defined as socialist, feminist, and environmentalist. Later in the 1990s, their identity evolved as part of the developing anti-capitalist and anti-globalization movement, and they subsequently played a significant role in anti-war and anti-austerity movements.
There is increased demand for emergency healthcare by the public when abroad. This study aimed to investigate adults' reported level of knowledge about how to contact emergency healthcare services ...while abroad. A street survey was administered at various times, over several days, to 554 members of the general public who had been abroad in the previous 18 months. Only 33.6% 95% confidence interval (29.6%-37.7%) of respondents reported that they knew the emergency medical number for the country last visited. This did not differ by sex (34.2% males vs. 33% females). Those fluent in the language of the country last visited were more likely to report knowing the emergency number for that country (54%), compared with those who were not (24.8%) (P<0.001). It is concerning that the majority of the general public do not appear to know how to contact emergency medical services while abroad. More targeted health education campaigns that address this are needed.
•Lowering the dose to organs at risk is a primary goal in mediastinal lymphoma radiotherapy.•We compared full arc and limited arc plans, with and without the use of breath-hold.•The effect of ...combining limited arc and DIBH is additive or complementary.
Radiotherapy is an effective treatment for mediastinal lymphoma but induces late effects including cardiac toxicity and secondary breast and lung cancer. Therefore reducing the dose to these organs is vital. We compared full arc volumetric modulated arc therapy (F-VMAT) against limited angle ‘Butterfly’ VMAT (B-VMAT) on free breathing (FB) and deep inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) computed tomography scans. The aim was to assess the benefits of B-VMAT over F-VMAT and to establish if the addition of DIBH results is a cumulative benefit.
F-VMAT and B-VMAT plans were calculated for 20 consecutive patients (15 females) with mediastinal lymphoma on both FB and DIBH scans. The planning target volume V95% was kept comparable between all plans while reducing organ doses as much as possible.
B-VMAT significantly reduced low lung doses (V5–10), while F-VMAT was better for higher lung doses (V20–30). DIBH further improved lung doses for both types of plans. DIBH B-VMAT produced the lowest mean lung dose. With FB, heart doses were slightly higher for B-VMAT but the maximum difference was small (0.8% for V20) and only statistically significant for V10-20. The mean heart dose increased by only 0.1 Gy. The addition of DIBH however significantly reduced heart doses. While DIBH F-VMAT had the lowest heart doses, the difference was small compared with DIBH B-VMAT. B-VMAT significantly reduced breast V4 while DIBH reduced the V10.
B-VMAT and DIBH are both effective in reducing organ doses and the dosimetric benefit is additive for some parameters and complementary for others.
Introduction and Aims
Risk‐based alcohol licensing (RBL) has been introduced in several jurisdictions in Australia, New Zealand and Canada with the intention of reducing harm in and around alcohol ...outlets. RBL involves tailoring licence fees or regulatory agency monitoring levels according to risk criteria such as trading hours, venue size and compliance history. The aim of this study was to document key informant perspectives including their perceptions of the purpose of RBL, how it works and its active ingredients.
Design and Methods
We conducted semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with 28 key informants, including four government policy makers, four liquor licensing representatives, four local council members, eight police officers, six licensees, one academic and one community advocate from Victoria, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and Ontario, Canada. We analysed the transcripts using a thematic approach.
Results
Informants varied in their opinions about whether RBL achieved its objective of reducing alcohol‐related harm. They identified difficulties in enforcing the compliance history component of the scheme due to loopholes in legislation as a major shortfall, and the need to apply RBL to packaged liquor (off‐licence) outlets. They also discussed the need to consider outlet density associated with the location of a venue when assessing venue risk.
Discussion and Conclusions
RBL schemes vary by jurisdiction and emphasise different components. In general, informants surmised that RBL as implemented has probably had little or no preventive effect but suggested that it may be effective with greater monitoring and penalties large enough to deter bad practice.
The Data Journalism Handbook Gray, Jonathan; Chambers, Lucy; Bounegru, Liliana
2012, 2012-07-26T00:00:00, 2012-07-12, 2012
eBook
Odprti dostop
When you combine the sheer scale and range of digital information now available with a journalist’s "nose for news" and her ability to tell a compelling story, a new world of possibility opens up. ...With The Data Journalism Handbook, you’ll explore the potential, limits, and applied uses of this new and fascinating field.
WHY NOT SPOKANE? Hudson, Kate
Journal of Business,
06/2024, Letnik:
39, Številka:
12
Trade Publication Article
The planning and execution of Expo '74 not only cleared out the blight along our riverbank and created 100 acres of green space, but It also led to the construction of our Convention Center and what ...was then known as the Opera House. Included In this plan was providing staff and convention sales efforts to fund an expansion at the Convention Center. The expanded convention space, called the Ag Trade Center, opened and moved Spokane into the regional and state convention business, opening the door for larger meetings. In 2002, Spokane voters approved a bond Issue to expand the Convention Center further and improve the Spokane County Fair S- Expo Center. Downtown Spokane would be a wasteland that Is impossible to promote to tourists and conventions alike. a sustainable future This author, currently writing from the Los Angeles Convention Center and promoting Spokane to 5,700 tour operators, travel agents, and travel media from around the globe attending what's called IPW, has Expo to thank for the opportunity.
PDF
