Tilting at Offshore Windmills: Regulating Wind Farm Development Within the Renewable Energy Zone

Offshore wind farms are likely to be a key component of theUnited Kingdom’s strategy for renewable energy, and theEnergy Act 2004 introduced a new legislative framework for thedevelopment of wind farms beyond the limits of territorial seawithin designated renewable energy zones. The compatibilityof the new arrangements with international marine and environmentalobligations is analysed. Rights of navigation, the protectionof the marine environment and the decommissioning of turbinesat the end of their operational life all raise significant legalissues. The introduction of the Energy Act is an important developmentin assisting the construction and operation of offshore windfarms. But the law was passed at a time when a number of majorreviews had concluded that the legislative and policy frameworkfor the protection of the marine environment suffered severeweaknesses. It is unfortunate that the UK Government did notconsider the creation of an offshore renewable energy industryas an opportunity to develop and apply the sort of new marineconservation strategies and legal frameworks being advocatedas essential in this area.     

The indirect detection of bleach (sodium hypochlorite) in beverages as evidence of product tampering

Bleach (sodium hypochlorite) has been identified as the adulterant in a relatively large number of product tamperings that have been investigated by the Forensic Chemistry Center (FCC) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In this work, household bleach was added to 23 different beverages at each of three levels. The impact of sodium hypochlorite on these beverages over a 13-day study period was evaluated using the following techniques: diphenylamine spot test for oxidizing agents, potassium iodide-starch test paper for oxidizing agents, pH, iodometric titration for quantitating hypochlorite, ion chromatography for chloride and chlorate quantitation, automated headspace sampling with gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) for determination of chloroform, and visual and organoleptic observations. This study has shown that hypochlorite is fragile when added to most common beverages and typically breaks down either partially or completely over time. In cases where a beverage is suspected of being adulterated with bleach but tests for hypochlorite are negative, it is still possible to characterize the product to demonstrate that the results are consistent with the addition of bleach. An adulterated product will give a positive test for oxidizing agents using the diphenylamine spot test. It is likely that the pH of the adulterated product will be higher than a control of that product. Ion chromatographic analysis shows elevated chloride and chlorate as compared with a control. And, chloroform may also be detected by GC-FID especially if the beverage that was adulterated contains citric acid.     

Vicarious trauma: a comparison of clinicians who treat survivors of sexual abuse and sexual offenders

This study compared vicarious trauma in a random sample of male and female clinicians who treat survivors (n=95) and those who treat offenders (n=252). A national survey was conducted with members of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) and the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC). These data were used to test the relative contribution of variables theorized to contribute to two vicarious trauma effects (avoidance and intrusions) using the Impact of Event Scale. The sample reported high levels of avoidance and intrusions. Variables associated with vicarious trauma differed based on client population served. Sequential regression analyses were used to examine theoretically derived variables. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.     

What's looks got to do with it? Instructor appearance and student evaluations of teaching

Some studies suggest that instructors' looks are important determinants of their Student Evaluations of Teaching (SET) results. Yet the studies examining this proposition leave out many independent variables that have been found to be important determinants of SETs in the SET literature. This study adds in most such factors and finds that, controlling for these other factors, attractiveness has no effect in our data. We conclude that earlier findings indicating that instructor appearance is important are likely due to omitted variable bias. © 2005 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management