The New Zealand Jury

In New Zealand, the recent history of the jury has been one of fairly steady decline. This is particularly so of the civil jury, which has become virtually extinct with little realistic prospect of revival

TRANSFORMING BUSINESS UNITS OF U. S. POSTAL SERVICE INTO A LEARNING ORGANIZATION

The goal of this evaluation study is to improve the work environment in each business unit of the Central Illinois Performance Cluster (CIPC) within the U. S. Postal Service (USPS). To accomplish this objective we plan to institutionalize the “Action Imperatives” of a Learning Organization, taken from “Dimensions of the Learning Organization instrument by Marsick and Watkins. The measurement instrument used is the Employee Opinion Survey (EOS), which is completed quarterly by 25% of USPS workforce. To date, the participation rate of the survey has increased by 25% and the favorable rating rose by 4.1%, since this initiative has been undertaken. More conclusive evidence will be available at the end of this 3-year study. The secondary goal is to explore the relationships between various interventions with individuals, leading to team interactions derived from the results of the EOS. At the end of each evaluation period a comparison is made with prior period’s data and an Action Plan is established in each work unit. Empirical results suggest that dialogue and learning were most effective in helping teams produce positive EOS results. If this effort is successful it may be identified as a “Best Practice” for considered implementation to a wider audience

International Perspectives on Research-Guided Practice in Community-Based Arts in Health.

This paper discusses research-guided practice in community-based arts in health activity in Britain. This discussion is situated within an exploration of health policy and its relationship to the arts in health. It provides a summary analysis of a large body of research relevant to wellbeing and mental-health rehabilitation; it will describe how community-based arts in health activity provides the basis for a set of evidence-based actions to improve well-being. In respect to research-guided practice, this paper will argue a strong case that community-based arts in health initiatives encompass all aspects of the ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’; furthermore, it will indicate how community arts in health activities are also significant in aiding recovery from mental ill health. The essay moves on to explore why participatory approaches are of particular value to women. In particular, the paper looks at the position of older women, with reference to the New Dynamics of Ageing Programme in Britain. It concludes with a detailed discussion of several recent projects. A description of the research inquiry will enable the partnership structures and the ethos developed in the projects’ delivery to be elucidated and discussed in order to interrogate strategies of practice. It is hoped that this frank discussion of some of the tensions between arts-based participatory practice and arts-based participatory practice for research will be of interest. Different visual methods will be articulated. Methods have included the use of art elicitation, photo-diaries, film-booths, directed photography, and re-enactment phototherapy within an overarching participatory framework. It is recognised that women are a highly diversified group with crosscutting allegiances, some of which have been acknowledged in this project.ESRC. The Representing Self - Representing Ageing initiative has been funded by the ESRC as part of the New Dynamics of Ageing cross-council research programme (grant number RES.356 25-0040)

Rotational distributions following van der Waals molecule dissociation: Comparison between experiment and theory for benzene-Ar

Rebecca K. Sampson, Susan M. Bellm, Anthony J. McCaffery, and Warren D. Lawranc

The effect of Cichorium intybus and Lotus corniculatus on nematode burdens and production in grazed lambs

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference. The study was designed to examine the hypothesis that chicory (Cichorium intybus) and Lotus sp. (Lotus corniculatus) have the potential to affect the naturally acquired nematode burden in grazed lambs. Organic male castrate lambs (48) with a naturally acquired parasite burden grazed replicate combination plots (0.6 ha) of chicory, Lotus corniculatus, perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and white clover (Trifolium repens). Lamb performance was determined by weekly weight gain and condition score assessments. Nematode burden was assessed by individual lamb faecal egg count (FEC) before and after drenching (levamisole). The range of parasitic helminths present was assessed by faecal culture and by total worm counts performed on a proportion of the lambs at slaughter. Weekly pasture larval counts (PLCs) were conducted on the trial plots. A concurrent small plot study (6 x 1m2 replicates) of each of the forages used in the grazing trial was run to assess the potential effect of forage type on the development and survival of Teladorsagia circumcincta assessed by weekly PLCs. Preliminary data suggest that lambs grazing chicory or a combination of lotus and chicory had lower FECs than those grazing PRG/WC, however there was no significant difference in the total worm counts

A velocity map ion imaging study of difluorobenzene-water complexes: binding energies and recoil distributions

The binding energies of the p-, m-, and o-difluorobenzene-H2O complexes have been measured by velocity map ion imaging to be 922±10, 945±10, and 891±4 cm−1, respectively. The lack of variation provides circumstantial evidence for water binding to the three isomers via the same interaction, viz. an in-plane O–H⋯F hydrogen bond to one of the fluorine atoms on the ring, with a second, weaker interaction of the water O atom with an ortho hydrogen, as determined previously for the p-difluorobenzene-H2O complex. The ground state binding energies for the difluorobenzene-H2O complexes are ∼ 5%–11% larger than that for benzene-H2O, where binding occurs to the π electrons out-of-plane. However, in the S1 state the binding energies of the o- and p-difluorobenzene-H2O complexes are smaller than the benzene-H2O value, raising an interesting question about whether the geometry at the global energy minimum remains in-plane in the excited electronic states of these two complexes. Recoil energy distributions for dissociation of p-difluorobenzene-H2O have been measured from the 3 1, 5 2, and 3 1 5 1 levels of the excited electronic state. These levels are 490, 880, and 1304 cm−1, respectively, above the dissociation threshold. Within the experimental uncertainty, the recoil energy distributions are the same for dissociation from these three states, with average recoil energies of ∼ 100 cm−1. These recoil energies are 60% larger than was observed for the dissociation of p-difluorobenzene-Ar, which is a substantially smaller increase than the 400% seen in a comparable study of dissociation within the triplet state for pyrazine-Ar, -H2O complexes. The majority of the available energy is partitioned into vibration and rotation of the fragments

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community online: discussions of bullying and self-disclosure in YouTube videos

Computer-mediated communication has become a popular platform for identity construction and experimentation as well as social interaction for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). The creation of user-generated videos has allowed content creators to share experiences on LGBT topics. With bullying becoming more common amongst LGBT youth, it is important to obtain a greater understanding of this phenomenon. In our study, we report on the analysis of 151 YouTube videos which were identified as having LGBT- and bullying-related content. The analysis reveals how content creators openly disclose personal information about themselves and their experiences in a non-anonymous rhetoric with an unknown public. These disclosures could indicate a desire to seek friendship, support and provide empathy