How Paranoid Are You?: Issues in Location Information of Ambient Systems

The prevalence of location-informing devices such as smart phones brings a lot of benefits, such as the ability to find the right services nearby. Nonetheless, there are also concerns that such devices might infringe our privacy and breach security. This paper discusses both viewpoints by outlining how location information might be obtained, what the location information can be used for, as well as the issues and problems that might be faced when location information becomes available too readily or in too much detail. We illustrate these with a case study using an iPhone application that we developed, which allows users to track the last known location of their “contacts” (such as friends or family), and to specify the granularity level of the information they are willing to share with each of their contacts in return

Modelling the behaviour of nutrients in the coastal waters of Scotland - an update on inputs from Scottish aquaculture and their impact on eutrophication status

A previous study estimated that salmon farming contributed approximately 6% of Scotland's nitrogen-nutrient input to coastal waters, and 13% of phosphorus (based on 2001 production figures). However, in some areas of the west of Scotland with small freshwater catchment areas and low levels of human habitation, aquaculture inputs represented greater than 80% of the total. In 2002, FRS published results from an ecosystem modelling study involving a collaboration with the Institute for Marine Research, University of Hamburg, and the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute in Aberdeen, to assess the eutrophication impact of various nutrient inputs to Scottish waters. The results suggested that a 50% reduction in aquaculture salmon production would have only a small impact on water quality which would be undetectable against the background of natural variability due to climate variations. Estimating aquaculture nutrient discharge is a difficult task. The 2002 study was based on data relating to the consented biomass of fish at farm sites in sea lochs. Since then, new data have become available on the actual harvest of fish at all sites in Scotland. In this report, we re-assess the salmon production in Scotland in 2001 and the consequent nutrient discharge, and repeat the ecosystem model runs to estimate the impact of reduction scenarios on eutrophication status. The new data indicate that the previous study had overestimated salmon production and nutrient discharge by approximately 18% Scotland wide. Production and discharge at Shetland and in the Southern Hebrides had been under-estimated, whilst that in the Minches had been over-estimated. New runs of the ecosystem model show that the original conclusions on eutrophication impact were sound. A scenario of 50% reduction in salmon production produced regional changes in water quality which were less than 25% of the natural variability due to climate. New runs simulating a cessation of aquaculture showed that even this extreme reduction scenario produced changes in water quality that were less than half the natural variability

Higher establishment success in specialized parasitoids: support for the existence of trade-offs in the evolution of specialization

Most animals do not feed on all the resources available to them, but the mechanisms behind the evolution of dietary specialization are still debated. A central but unanswered question is whether specialists generally gain fitness advantages on their resource compared to generalists, experiencing a trade-off between the ability to use a broad range of resources and the fitness reached on each single one.Empirical tests so far suffered from difficulties in measuring fitness; they were restricted to few species, and results were equivocal. This lack of support for the importance of trade-offs gave rise to theories explaining the evolution of specialization without such trade-offs.Using a large dataset of intentional biological control introductions of 254 species of parasitoids from 15 families to locations outside their native range, we show that establishment success, a measure of total fitness, is higher in specialized species. This result holds when controlling for possible confounding factors such as the number of introduced individuals (propagule pressure).The outcome of this study provides robust evidence that dietary specialization implies fitness advantages in an entire species-rich taxon, indicating that trade-offs might be widely involved in the evolution of specialization

Research methods for children with multiple needs: developing techniques to facilitate all children and young people to have 'a voice'

AIM: This study aimed to investigate the experiences of children and young people being educated in residential special schools, with a particular focus on how their rights and wellbeing were being promoted by their schools. METHOD: The study was conducted using participatory research principles and aimed to develop techniques and approaches that would support the inclusion of all children. FINDINGS: The findings indicated that the techniques developed during this study helped to provide insight into the experiences of pupils with a wide range of special needs, and facilitated their voices. The piloting of a method that integrated ethnographic observation techniques with checklists adopted from the SCERTS framework (developed by Prizant and colleagues) provided important insights into the experiences and preferences of children with the greatest learning and communication needs, and is an approach worthy of further development. LIMITATIONS: The study was conducted over a very short time frame, one academic term, which influenced the time available to refine techniques and work with our young researchers’ group. Whilst every residential special school in England was invited to participate, the sample was based on those schools that volunteered, many with good and outstanding Ofsted ratings. Therefore, the sample may not be fully representative of the range of experiences provided by residential special schools in England. CONCLUSION: The development of specific techniques to facilitate an understanding of the views and experiences of children who experience significant challenges in communication is possible. The knowledge, skills and expertise of educational psychologists and other professionals can be harnessed to respond creatively to this challenge and it is important to acknowledge the reciprocal value of professional practice and research skills

Supporting children with severe to profound learning difficulties and complex communication needs to make their views known: observation tools and methods

All children have the right to shape decisions that influence their lives. Yet, children with severe-to-profound intellectual disabilities and complex communication needs are often marginalized from this process. Here, we examined the utility of a set of tools incorporating ethnographic and structured observational methods with three such children. We specifically examined the communicative behavior that these children used to share their views and the ways in which adults recognized and responded to them. The three case studies illustrate (1) that these children have ways to make their intentions known, even though they may use idiosyncratic ways of doing so; (2) that adults play important roles in supporting their communicative bids; and (3) that this set of tools was sufficiently sensitive to subtle and fine-grained nonverbal cues that might otherwise be overlooked

Towards the Implementation of an Internet-based Neighbourhood Watch Scheme

In this paper we discuss the current state of our work regarding the development and planned in-situ testing of a computer-based system to enhance community relations through the Neighbourhood Watch scheme. The system is intended for use in a community to help the residents interact with each other more easily and to encourage the reporting of suspicious behaviour or crime. We discuss some details of the system and how we plan to test it in the field using an iterative process. We also discuss the possible implications of the work for the future

"The dots just don't join up": understanding the support needs of families of children on the autism spectrum

Much research has documented the elevated levels of stress experienced by families of autistic children. Yet remarkably little research has examined the types of support that these families perceive to be beneficial to their lives. This study, co-produced by researchers and school-based professionals, sought to establish these families’ support needs from their own perspectives. In total, 139 parents of autistic children with additional intellectual disabilities and limited spoken communication, all attending an inner-city London school, participated in an initial survey examining parental wellbeing, self-efficacy and the extent to which they felt supported. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a subgroup of parents (n = 17), some of whom reported in the survey that they felt unsupported, in order to gain their in-depth perspectives. The results from both the survey and the interviews suggested that existing support (particularly from formal support services) was not meeting parents’ needs, which ultimately made them feel isolated and alienated. Parents who were interviewed called for service provision that adopted a relational, family-centred approach – one that understands the specific needs of the whole family, builds a close working relationship with them and ensures that they are supported at times when the parents and families feel they need it most

The Multinational and the New Stakeholder : Examining the Business Case for Human Rights

Business managers who ignore these realities--the concerns of these new corporate stakeholders--do so at the risk of their company\u27s brand and their own careers. These are just a few examples of the new stakeholders of multinational corporations--workers, consumers, investors, indigenous peoples, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the media... The concerns of these new stakeholders embrace human rights. It is a much broader concept of human rights, however, than the civil and political rights that used to dominate the agenda. Former concerns centered on freedom from arbitrary arrest, detentions, and other due process rights, freedom of speech and association, and governmental abuses such as torture, disappearances, and extra-judicial executions. These new human right concerns focus on social and economic rights--the rights to live and work in a safe and healthy environment, the rights of workers to associate freely and bargain collectively, the cultural rights of indigenous people. The emergence of these new rights has marked important changes in the human rights agenda. Ten years ago the main players in the human rights drama were governments, the victims of governmental human rights abuses, and human rights NGOs. Now the major players include multinational corporations and a host of advocacy NGOs, representing causes ranging from the environment, labor rights, and women\u27s rights to the cultural rights of indigenous peoples

The development of an integrated induction process

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 194-208).The demand for highly skilled staff and the focus on people as a competitive advantage in organisations has heightened the need for the effective integration of new staff members. This thesis addresses this need in the context of a petro-chemical company which recruited a diverse range of people in different countries. Using Action Research, Grounded Theory and Systems Thinking the study focused on the development and implementation of an integrated induction learning process to accelerate and assimilate the integration of new staff into the organisation. The process was designed around the business requirements, while aiming to ensure that the induction process was able to prepare members of staff for the expectations and performance requirements of their role and developing a skill-base to meet these and future requirements where possible

The role of TH17 cells in the gastrointestinal tract of patients with HIV-1 infection and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Increased levels of systemic immune activation are strongly associated with disease progression in HIV-1 infection, but the mechanisms causing it are not well understood. This work investigated the TH17 subset in the gastrointestinal tract of HIV-1 infected patients and looked for evidence that mucosal barrier breaches and microbial translocation contribute to peripheral immune activation. We found significant disruption in the expression of mucosal tight junction proteins in HIV-1 infection that only partially resolved on ART. This mucosal damage was positively correlated to plasma HIV viral load and 16s rDNA. Increased microbial translocation in viraemic infection correlated to elevated T cell activation and viral load. We found no evidence of reduced mucosal TH17-associated cytokines (IL-17a, IL-17f and IL-22) in our HIV cohort, but did observe reduced mucosal TH17 precursor cells (CD4+CD161+) in viraemic infection. Precursor TH17 loss was associated with increased tight junction breaches and T cell activation. To investigate the dual role of TH17 cells in promoting inflammation and maintaining barrier function in the gut mucosa we also studied inflammatory bowel disease. Tight junction disruption was observed in both active ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) and occurred at a similar level as in viraemic HIV infection. Unlike HIV patients we found no evidence of microbial products in the periphery of IBD patients. In active UC there was evidence of TH17 cytokine driven pathology with increased levels of blood and mucosal IL-22 and IL-17f production by CD4 T cells. Blood and mucosal IL-17f proportions were positively correlated to the ulcerative colitis severity score (UCSS) and blood CD4+ IL-17f levels positively correlated with T cell activation. In contrast to UC we found little evidence of TH17 dysregulation in the blood or mucosa of CD patients. In conclusion this work found that there was a reduction in mucosal integrity, loss of mucosal CD4 T cells and precursor TH17 cells in HIV-1 infection. Loss of mucosal integrity in HIV was associated with microbial translocation and systemic T cell activation. We identified a correlation between reduced levels of mucosal precursor TH17 cells and increased mucosal damage in HIV infection, supporting the theory that this subset has a role in HIV-1 pathogenesis. However in UC, the inverse observation - elevated levels of precursor TH17 cells associated with increased mucosal damage - was made, reinforcing the paradoxical theory that this subset plays directly contrasting roles in different pathogenic environments.Open Acces