bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Climate change and Scotland: recent trends and impacts
Authors: Werritty Alan , Sugden David 
Published: April 2013

ABSTRACTThis paper reviews the key evidence for global climate change and outlines the trends of climate change in Scotland, the potential impacts and the implications for policy makers. Human activity is causing a rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations and there is little doubt that this is contributing to global warming. There is greater uncertainty about how this global trend will play out at a regional scale and also how close we are to climatic tipping points. Instrumental records document the overall trends and variability in Scotland's climate since 1914. These show that since the 1960s, Scotland's average climate has proved to be wetter (especially in the west) and warmer. This trend is expected to continue throughout the 21st Century with, on average, hotter and drier summers and milder and wetter winters. However, extreme events will continue to affect Scotland, as they have always done, and the severity and frequency of these events may increase. Sea levels will continue to rise modestly, especially in the Outer Hebrides and the Northern Isles. Some of the uncertainty in climatic predictions is captured in the probabilistic outputs of Defra's UK Climate Projections 2009 programme. An initial attempt to assess the likely impacts of climate change is provided in Defra's 2012 Climate Change Risk Assessment, which includes a report specific to Scotland. Whilst most of the risks involve negative impacts, with increased flooding and loss of biodiversity being especially adverse, there are also positive impacts with associated opportunities, especially in terms of increased agricultural production and larger numbers of tourists. The report on Scotland will allow different groups of policy makers to refine the risks associated with specific activities. But given the fragile nature of many of the metrics underpinning the report, caution should be exercised in using it to frame climate adaptation strategies.
Multi-level governance: opportunities and barriers in moving to a low-carbon Scotland
Authors: Sugden David , Werritty Alan , Webb Janette , Caldwell Erica , Campbell Colin , Dlugolecki Andrew , Hanley Nick , Kerr Andrew 
Published: April 2013

ABSTRACTIn view of the challenge posed by climate change and the need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, The Royal Society of Edinburgh Inquiry (2011) examined the barriers making it difficult for Scotland to change to a low-carbon society. The single most important finding is that, whilst widely desired, change is held back by the lack of coherence and integration of policy at different levels of governance. There is activity at the level of the EU, UK Government, Scottish Government, local authorities, local communities, households and civil society, but there is often a disconnection between policies at different levels. This impedes progress and also leads to mistrust among the general public. This paper brings together the background to ten primary recommendations featured in the Inquiry addressing the principal barriers. Above all, it is important to integrate the activities within city regions and to exploit opportunities in local communities. Reflecting on the Inquiry findings, we stress the economic, social and environmental opportunities to be gained from a low-carbon society and outline the step changes that need to take place within governance, city regions and local authorities and civil society.
Remarks on the Exercise of Independent Thought by the Head of an Office and his Subordinates
Authors: Sprague T. B. 
Published: April 2013

Gentlemen,—I beg leave to thank you for the honour you have done me in again requesting me to act as your Honorary President. This was an honour which I accepted with much pleasure; for I am always glad to meet the younger men of my profession, to discuss with them points of principle or practice, and, as far as practicable, to assist them in their endeavours to obtain a better knowledge of the theory of our subject, or (it may be) to extend its boundaries by original investigations.After much consideration as to the subject on which I should address you to-night, I decided not to take up some intricate or new point of theory, but rather to put together a few practical remarks suggested by my business experience. I do not take this course because I consider the theory of our subject is thoroughly workt out. On the contrary, I am of opinion that there are many important questions which still remain to be elucidated,—subjects which will well repay careful study, and which will reflect credit upon those who investigate them exhaustively.One such subject is the very practical one of the proper allowance to be made for the surrender of a policy upon an under-average life. According to general practice, every such policy that has been in force for not less than (say) three years, is considered as entitled to a surrender value.
Remarks on the Position and Prospects of the Actuarial Profession, and of the Business of Life Assurance
Authors: Thomson Spencer C. 
Published: April 2013

In welcoming you once again as your Honorary President, at the beginning of another Session, I would fain that it were allowed me merely to refer you back to one or other of the Opening Addresses of past years—the classics of your Society—which tell, many of them in terms much more eloquent than I could hope to do, what lines the Actuary had better follow in setting out on his professional career, and what goal he should steer for once he is fairly started on it.But, as the old order changes yielding place to new, each year brings round with it some altered phase of thought, turns up to the surface some fresh and suggestive idea, and in so doing compels one forcibly to remember—notwithstanding there may be nothing altogether new under the sun—that the world still moves on ever more rapidly with kaleidoscopic effect, bringing old developments within the field of view in some fresh and altered light. Wherefore I am in duty bound in my turn, if I can, within our own sphere of observation, to draw notice to the new forces that are there at work, and to indicate the direction to which our attention should be turned.
Outside Business Training
Authors: Smith John Turnbull 
Published: April 2013

Having been a member of the Actuarial Society of Edinburgh for something like a quarter of a century, and having been during that period anything but a working bee, in so far as the interests of the Society are concerned, I felt, when I was asked to be its Honorary President for this session, that I had no claim whatever to the honour proposed to be conferred upon me.Further reflection, however, led me to see that wrong-doing in the past formed no valid reason for a continuance of the same line of conduct in the future, but rather that the reverse should be the case. It seemed to me that, having hitherto failed to take my fair share of the work of the Society, I should best expiate my guilt by trying to do better in the future.In coming to this conclusion, I was quite aware that the first mark of penitence I would be called upon to show would be the delivery of an Inaugural Address at the opening of this session, and that meant time for preparation, which, in a busy life otherwise, was not so easily secured. However, the time between the election of the Honorary President and the opening of the session was considerable, and I trusted to opportunity presenting itself.
Tenure of Land in the United Kingdom and its Principal Colonies
Authors: Turnbull Aw. H. 
Published: April 2013

Gentlemen,—At the time you did me the honour to elect me President of your Society, I was collecting information regard-the land laws and conveyancing systems of our Australasian Colonies, and also endeavouring to master the details of the legislation for Ireland which gradually led up to the passing of the Ashbourne Act, and left us with the prospect of still more sweeping measures.It appeared to me that information on these matters could not fail to be of interest, and might be of use to you, so I determined to make them the subject of my Address, and that my paper might be more worthy of the occasion, and might better show my appreciation of the honour you have for the third time conferred on me, I decided to widen the subject and give you a sketch of the “Tenure of Land in the United Kingdom and its principal Colonies,” and in doing so to touch on cognate subjects of interest to all concerned in land as a security.
On some Formulas for use in Life Office Valuations
Authors: M'Lauchlan James John 
Published: April 2013

1. In the following Paper I propose to investigate formulas for use in the valuation of ordinary whole-term policies, endowment assurance policies, and limited-payment policies; with special reference to the modifications which these of formulas are subject, when the next premium Paper is due, not immediately, but at the end of some fractional portion of a year, and when the premiums are payable half-yearly or quarterly.2. It may be well to point out that it is no part of my plan to deal with the more important questions of principle that arise in connection with a Life Office Valuation, such as:—What mortality table or rate of interest should be used, Whether the valuation ought to be a net premium or a gross premium valuation, How the effect of selection should be allowed for, or whether any allowance should be made for the special expenditure of the first year.
The Recent Australian Bank Failures
Authors: Low George M. 
Published: April 2013

When I had the honour of being asked to occupy this chair, I had little difficulty in choosing a subject upon which to address you at the opening meeting of the Session. For I at once determined to bring before you something of a practical nature, connected with the business in which most of us are engaged, and there was one subject in particular which had lately been occupying my own mind and the minds of many others who have to do with the investment of money. The stoppage of thirteen Banks within a period of six weeks, suspending liabilities for deposited money amounting to many millions sterling, and creating a financial situation in the Australian Colonies unparalleled perhaps in the whole history of modern times, is an occurrence which may well engage our attention if we are able to gather from it any of the lessons which must surely be involved in an event of such remarkable significance.Let me say at the outset that I cannot pretend to offer to you any picture of the situation as that must have presented itself to those in the midst of it. Nor is it my purpose to attempt to bring before you the inner and more intimate causes which contributed to the catastrophe. I could no doubt quote a good deal that has been written and said on the subject of Australian banking and finance generally, pointing out the artificial prosperity created by an undue importation of borrowed money—the inflation of land-values that led up to the ‘boom’ in Melbourne and its natural issue in collapse—the consequent failure of Companies that practically had been formed to assist or engage in land speculation—the reaction upon the Banks of these things and of the resulting financial depression—and the culmination of these and other causes in the loss of public confidence that brought about the disasters of the present year.
Old Age Pensions and Pauperism—A Present-day Problem
Authors: Paulin David 
Published: April 2013

Gentlemen,—I have to thank you sincerely for the honour you have conferred upon me in calling me to fill the office of Honorary President this Session. I accepted the honour with hesitation, recollecting the long list of distinguished men who have occupied and adorned the high office since the year 1859, and whose Inaugural Addresses we cherish as a valuable heritage. I felt, however, under such great obligations to the Society for having opened up to me in the past so many new fields of study that I could not refuse to undertake any service to which by your goodwill I might be called.The subject of State Pensions for the Aged Poor, which I propose to bring under your notice to-night, is one which has occupied public interest and attention to a large extent during recent years. Suggestions numerous and varied have been made for the solution of the difficulties which surround the question, but the problem unsolved still holds the field. This winter it will be again much in evidence, as a Committee on Old Age Pensions, appointed by Government, will meet at the Treasury from time to time under the presidency of Lord Rothschild. It has been remitted to this Committee.
On Extra Risk: with some Particulars of the recent Investigation of the Mortality of Persons engaged in the Sale of Intoxicating Liquors
Authors: Low George M. 
Published: April 2013

The lives which present themselves for assurance are, in the process of selection, divided into three main groups or classes:—I. Lives insurable at the ordinary rate.II. Lives insurable only at extra rates.III. Uninsurable lives.Although, in measuring what we call “extra risk,” only the subdivisions of Class II. are of practical significance, yet each of the three classes admits of almost indefinite subdivision in respect of the quality of the lives embraced in it.In the first class, some lives present no flaw of any kind in health, physical condition, occupation, or family history; others, at the further end of the scale, present flaws which bring them close to the border line of Class II.; and between those two extremes there is every degree of variation. Using terms that are not unfamiliar, Class I. may be subdivided into three distinct groups:—(a) Unexceptionable lives, presenting no unfavourable feature.(b) Good average lives, in which the personal or family history, or the physical condition, is not entirely faultless, but which present no feature likely to tell against the life-prospects.(c) Fair average lives, presenting some flaw or imperfection, or some combination of unfavourable circumstances, which only falls short of requiring an extra premium.
Notes on Life Assurance in the United States of America
Authors: Hunter Arthur 
Published: April 2013

My principal object in presenting this paper is to assist the student in his endeavour to obtain a knowledge of Life Insurance as it is practised in the United States of America, and to correct certain misconceptions regarding it among many of the older members of the profession.The casual reader is apt to receive wrong impressions of Insurance in America through a want of knowledge of the conditions surrounding it. He is probably under the impression that nearly all American companies do business on the tontine plan, that new assurance is obtained at enormous cost, and that “Assessment Insurance” of the original type is the only system practised. Before proceeding to discuss these matters, it will be well to give a brief review of the history of Insurance in the United States. Without historical knowledge it is difficult to understand the legislative enactments regarding “Old Line” Insurance, or to realise the astonishingly large proportions to which Assessment Insurance has grown.
Who Blames the Poor?
Authors: Kallio Johanna , Niemelä Mikko 
Published: April 2013

ABSTRACT
The article analyses the support for and determinants of individualistic explanations of poverty among Europeans. The analyses are conducted using multilevel logistic regression models. Findings suggest that the level of support for the individualistic explanation of poverty varies between European nations. Hence, the results contradict the analysis of Alesina and Glaeser (2004, Fighting Poverty in the US and Europe. A World of Difference), which gives us a very homogenous picture of European attitudes towards the poor. Among the determinants of poverty perceptions, welfare regime, short-term economic growth and social expenditures as well as individual-level demographic factors, perceived economic hardship, political affiliation and egalitarian values are associated with the individualistic attribution for poverty. In general, the findings hold critical implications for future research to develop further dynamic measurement of contextual level explanatory factors.
Hospital Basins Used to Administer Chlorhexidine Baths Are Unlikely Microbial Reservoirs
Authors: Rupp Mark E. , Huerta Tomas , Yu Stephanie , Cavalieri R. Jennifer , Alter Roxanne , Fey Paul D. , Lyden Elizabeth , Van Schooneveld Trevor 
Published: April 2013

Basins, commonly used to bathe patients who are unable to bathe themselves, frequently become contaminated with potential pathogens and may serve as a source for nosocomial transmission. Chlorhexidine (CHG) has bactericidal activity against a broad spectrum of pathogens and is increasingly used in antiseptic patient baths. The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether basins used to administer CHG bed baths are likely to become contaminated.Bed bath conditions were simulated by mixing 30 mL of a 4% CHG product or soap preparation to 1 L of warm (37°C) tap water in a 6-L plastic basin (Medical Action Industries). Two commercial brands of CHG (Hibiclens, Molnlycke Health Care [hereafter, CHG-A], or Scrub Care, Cardinal Health [hereafter, CHG-B]) and 1 brand of soap (SensiCare SeptiSoft, ConvaTec) were used. Basins were inoculated with 108 colony-forming units (CFUs) of 1 species of bacteria, mixed for 30 seconds, incubated for 20 minutes at room temperature, emptied, and allowed to dry for 1 hour. A 100-cm2 area on the bottom of the basin was sampled for 10 seconds in 2 directions with a cotton swab premoistened with normal saline. Swab tips were placed in 2 mL of trypticase soy broth (Difco) and vortex-mixed for 30 seconds, and the solution was quantitatively cultured on sheep blood agar (Remel). Cultures were incubated at 37°C for 24 hours, and colonies were counted and expressed as CFUs per square centimeter. Tap water with and without a bacterial inoculum served as positive and negative controls, respectively.
Antimicrobial Stewardship and Automated Pharmacy Technology Improve Antibiotic Appropriateness for Community-Acquired Pneumonia
Authors: Ostrowsky Belinda , Sharma Shweta , DeFino Maryrose , Guo Yi , Shah Purvi , McAllen Susan , Chung Philip , Brown Shakara , Paternoster Joseph , Schechter Alan , Yongue Brandon , Bhalla Rohit 
Published: April 2013

Background.The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS's) Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting program includes the initial selection of antibiotics for adult community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients as a performance measure. A multidisciplinary team denned opportunities for improving performance in appropriate antibiotic use among CAP patients. The team consisted of personnel from the emergency department (ED), the antimicrobial stewardship program (infectious disease, pharmacy), and performance improvement.Design.Quasi-experimental before-after study.Setting.A large, urban, multicampus academic medical center.Interventions.Interventions included an algorithm for ED providers identifying appropriate antibiotic selections, development of a CAP kit consisting of appropriate antibiotics and dosing regimens bundled with the treatment algorithm, and preloading an automated ED medication dispensing and management system. A quality improvement methodology (“plan, do, check, act”) was used to pilot stewardship interventions at one ED campus and later at a second ED campus.Results.In the pilot ED, appropriate antibiotic selection for CAP improved from 54.9% before the intervention in 2008 to 93.4% after the intervention in 2011 (P< .001). Subsequently, in the second ED appropriate antibiotic regimens for CAP improved from 64.6% before the intervention in 2008 to 91.3% after the intervention in 2011 (P = .004). The rates of another CMS measure, antibiotic administration within 6 hours, were not statistically different before and after the interventions. In an interrupted time series logistic regression analysis, the intervention was found to be significantly associated with the improved prescribing (P< .001).Discussion.The combination of interdisciplinary teamwork, antibiotic stewardship, education, and information technology is associated with replicable and sustained prescribing improvements.
The universal rotation curve of spiral galaxies — I. The dark matter connection
Authors: Persic Massimo , Salucci Paolo , Stel Fulvio 
Published: April 2013

Abstract
We use a homogeneous sample of about 1100 optical and radio rotation curves (RCs) and relative surface photometry to investigate the main mass structure properties of spirals, over a range of 6 mag and out to ≾ 1.5 and 2 optical radii (for the optical and radio data, respectively). We confirm the strong dependence on luminosity for both the profile and the amplitude of RCs claimed by Persic & Salucci. Spiral RCs show the striking feature that a single global parameter, e.g. luminosity, dictates the rotational velocity at any radius for any object, so revealing the existence of a universal RC. At high luminosities, there is a slight discrepancy between the profiles of RCs and those predicted from the luminous matter (LM) distributions: this implies a small, yet detectable, amount of dark matter (DM). At low luminosities, the failure of the LM prediction is much more severe, and the DM is the only relevant mass component. We show that the universal RC implies a number of scaling properties between dark and luminous galactic structure parameters: (i) the DM/LM mass ratio scales inversely with luminosity; (ii) the central halo density scales as L−0.7; (iii) the halo core radius is comparable to the optical radius, but shrinks for low luminosities; (iv) the total halo mass scales as L0.5. Such scaling properties can be represented as a curve in the (luminosity)-(DM/LM mass ratio)-(DM core radius)-(DM central density) space, which provides a geometrical description of the tight coupling between the dark and the luminous matter in spiral galaxies.
DROP: the Durable Reconnaissance and Observation Platform
Authors: Parness Aaron , McKenzie Clifford 
Published: April 2013

PurposeThe Durable Reconnaissance and Observation Platform (DROP) is a prototype robotic platform with the ability to climb vertical cinder block surfaces at a rate of 25 cm/s, make rapid horizontal to vertical transitions, carry an audio/visual reconnaissance payload, and survive impacts from 3 meters.Design/methodology/approachThe platform uses a two‐wheel, two‐motor design that delivers high mobility with low complexity. DROP extends microspine climbing technology from a linear to rotary implementation, providing improved transition ability, increased speeds, and simpler body mechanics while maintaining microspine's ability to opportunistically grip rough surfaces.FindingsThe DROP prototype was able to climb rough, vertical walls at a speed of 25 cm/s. These wheels were also deployed on a commercial platform, the ReconRobotics Scout, and demonstrated additional mobility capabilities such as curb mounting and stair climbing.Originality/valueThis robot is the first wheeled robot to use microspine technology. Various aspects of the prototype robot's design and performance are discussed, including the climbing mechanism, body design, and impact survival.