Yes / Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have consistently reported an association between education and myopia. However, conventional observational studies are at risk of bias due to confounding by factors such as socioeconomic position and parental educational attainment. The current study aimed to estimate the causal effect of education on refractive error using regression discontinuity analysis. Methods: Regression discontinuity analysis was applied to assess the influence on refractive error of the raising of the school leaving age (ROSLA) from 15 to 16 years introduced in England and Wales in 1972. For comparison, a conventional ordinary least squares (OLS) analysis was performed. The analysis sample comprised 21,548 UK Biobank participants born in a nine-year interval centered on September 1957, the date of birth of those first affected by ROSLA. Results: In OLS analysis, the ROSLA 1972 reform was associated with a −0.29 D (95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.36 to −0.21, P < 0.001) more negative refractive error. In other words, the refractive error of the study sample became more negative by −0.29 D during the transition from a minimum school leaving age of 15 to 16 years of age. Regression discontinuity analysis estimated the causal effect of the ROSLA 1972 reform on refractive error as −0.77 D (95% CI: −1.53 to −0.02, P = 0.04). Conclusions: Additional compulsory schooling due to the ROSLA 1972 reform was associated with a more negative refractive error, providing additional support for a causal relationship between education and myopia. / Global Education program of the Russian Federation government (DP) and an NIHR Senior Research Fellowship award SRF-2015-08-005 (CW), The Department for Health through an award made by the NIHR to the Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, United Kingdom (grant no. BRC2_009). Additional support was provided by The Special Trustees of Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, United Kingdom (grant no. ST 12 09)

Title: Incidents and injuries during outdoor courses Aims: The aim is to ascertain the extent of injuries that occurred during outdoor activity courses, conducted within the framework of teaching at the Department of Outdoor Sports FTVS UK. Methods: Qualitative and quantitative analysis of data from the book of injuries, regulations, and final reports of the classes issued by individual departments of the Department of Outdoor Sports FTVS UK which was collected during the school calender of 2009/10 to 2014/15, and their subsequent statistical processing. Using of NACA scoring system for assessing the severity of injuries. The research group consists of students and teachers of FTVS UK. Results: The result of this work is a clear summary of the frequency and severity of injuries incurred in various outdoor activity courses conducted within the framework of teaching at the Department of Outdoor Sports FTVS UK. Keywords: Outdoor sports, skiing, canoeing, accident, FTVS UK courses.

L’objectif de ma thèse est de mieux comprendre le fonctionnement de deux proxies de température de surface de l’océan (SST), les indices Uk’37 et TEX86, notamment en terme de saison et de profondeur de production des alcènones et des tétraéthers sur lesquels ils reposent, au cours des 160 000 dernières années au niveau de la marge ibérique. L’originalité de ce projet de thèse réside dans sa double approche, avec d’une part l’acquisition des enregistrements sédimentaires, et d’autre part l’utilisation d’un outil de modélisation régionale couplée physique-biogéochimie pour simuler ces proxies sous 3 modes climatiques : au présent, lors du dernier maximum glaciaire, et lors d’événements de Heinrich. La confrontation des résultats des biomarqueurs avec ceux de tests de scénarios de production par la modélisation ont conduit aux conclusions suivantes. L’Uk’37 enregistre bien des SSTs moyennes annuelles, alors que le TEX86 présente a priori des températures beaucoup trop élevées pour cette zone. La formulation d’une calibration régionale pour le TEX86 permet d’obtenir des SSTs moyennes annuelles cohérentes. Le meilleur endroit de la marge ibérique pour appliquer ces deux paléothermomètres est le site de Shackleton. Après analyse fine des timings des signaux multiproxies, le TEX86 semble être produit à des profondeurs intermédiaires, potentiellement par des communautés d’Archées d’origine méditerranéenne. Les variations de gradients thermiques latitudinaux ont été quantifiées, et des réorganisations de masses d’eaux de surface et intermédiaire au niveau de la marge ibérique ont été envisagées selon le climat glaciaire/interglaciaire lors des évènements de type Heinrich. / My PhD project aims at better understanding the functioning of both organic proxies of sea surface temperature (SST), Uk’37 and TEX86, especially in terms of season and depth of alkenone and tetraether production, over the last 160 000 years on the Iberian Margin. The originality of this project lies in its double approach: on the one hand, with the acquisition of Uk’37 and TEX86 sedimentary records from the Iberian Margin, and on the other hand with the use of a coupled physics-biogeochemistry regional model to simulate these temperature proxies for 3 climate modes: at present, during the last glacial maximum, and during Heinrich Stadials. The comparison of biomarker results with those from modeling tests of production scenarios provided the following conclusions. Uk’37 does record annual mean SSTs, whereas TEX86 shows a priori too high temperature for this area. The formulation of a regional calibration for TEX86 index enables to obtain coherent past annual mean SSTs. The best location to apply both paleothermometers on the Iberian Margin is the Shackleton site. After refined analysis of multiproxy signal timings, TEX86 production seems to take place at intermediate depth, potentially by archaean communities coming from the Mediterranean Sea. Latitudinal thermal gradient variations are quantified, and glacial/interglacial surface and intermediate water masses reorganizations during 'Heinrich like' events are considered.

This is a study of approaches to fisheries management in the United Kingdom (UK) between 1945 and 1996. It examines the choices and incentives faced by UK Governments when designing policy instruments to deliver international commitments to sustainable fishing. The failure of international agreements to sustainably manage fisheries resources is often attributed to international institutions, the politicization of negotiations and their distributive outcomes. This thesis makes an original contribution by arguing that the success of international agreements was also dependent upon local negotiations that shaped the design of national delivery mechanisms. The central research question concerns the role and influence of local interests in delivering global economic and environmental agendas and how national governments accommodate local tensions within this process. A sustained content analysis of UK Government archives is used to argue that local political and sectional industry interests had a significant bearing on the development of UK fisheries policy and the design of domestic delivery mechanisms. The exception was UK policy on the international distribution of fisheries resources at the United Nations Law of the Sea Conferences (1958, 1960 and 1973-82). Economic considerations drove early environmental policy with sectional fishing industry interests of secondary importance to the potential economic benefits associated with the more valuable energy resources. In then seeking to implement controls on fishing activity, this thesis argues that UK fisheries management mechanisms were designed to compensate for tension between global commitments mandating a reduction in fishing effort and the local fleets and communities that had to bear the costs of industry contraction. This created a policy-making environment in which social and political motivations continually trumped the application of economic and scientific advice. This advice advocated a contraction in the size of the fleet which had become necessary as technical change and falling stocks resulted in overcapacity. The use of fisheries policy as a political tool to ease local tensions incentivised policy choices that directly contributed to the UK's failure to reduce fishing pressure and deliver international commitments. This thesis demonstrates the importance of local negotiations and interests in the construction of national and international approaches to environmental and natural resources problems.

This thesis is a history of American and British efforts to halt or retard the Pakistani nuclear weapons programme. It assesses US and UK non-proliferation policy towards Pakistan from the Indian nuclear test of May 1974 to the decline of anti-proliferation activity in 1979 and 1980. A broadly chronological analysis of key government and media sources from American and British archives highlights the development of non-proliferation policy and the factors that influenced anti-proliferation activity. Scrutiny of British-and not just American-involvement in Pakistan's nuclear programme permits an assessment of the existence of a 'non-proliferation special relationship' between Washington and London. This study demonstrates that successive British governments played a significant role in creating, shaping, and at times adversely affecting, non-proliferation activity on the sub-continent. Additionally, this thesis demonstrates that the UK frequently deprioritised non-proliferation concerns in favour of economic considerations, creating tension between London and Washington. Thus, it is shown that there was a close working relationship between the US and UK governments, but the relationship was riven with fissures. Alongside this examination of British policy, this study also examines American policy and attitudes, demonstrating that infighting and conflicts between strategic priorities impaired the effectiveness of American non-proliferation policy. Furthermore, this study offers a detailed examination of the cultural underpinnings of UK-US non-proliferation policy directed against Pakistan. It demonstrates that-contrary to popular and long-lasting media representations-the paradigm of an 'Islamic bomb' played no part in the creation and application of non-proliferation policy. This thesis makes it clear that in UK-US efforts to halt or retard Pakistani nuclear attainment, issues of credibility and global standing were far more significant than religious factors. Overall, this study examines a key moment in non-proliferation history and offers new findings on the Anglo-American relationship and the role of cultural factors in shaping foreign policy.

Les alcénones sont largement utilisées comme proxys pour estimer des températures d’eaux de surface océanique ou des pressions partielles de CO2 (pCO2) dans des périodes anciennes. Dans les océans actuels, ces cétones à longues chaînes carbonées sont essentiellement produites par les coccolithophoridés Emiliania huxleyi et Gephyrocapsa oceanica. Il existe toutefois un écart temporel important entre le premier enregistrement sédimentaire des alcénones au Crétacé (~120 Ma) et la première apparition des producteurs actuels (< 2 Ma). Il apparaît donc essentiel d’identifier les producteurs anciens d’alcénones afin d’assurer la fiabilité des proxys environnementaux basés sur ces biomarqueurs pour les périodes préquaternaires. Cette thèse présente trois cas d’étude correspondant à des périodes clés de l’évolution de la famille des Noëlaerhabdaceae, qui comprend les ancêtres cénozoïques des producteurs actuels d’alcénones. La comparaison entre le contenu en alcénones (distribution et concentrations) et les abondances relatives et absolues des différentes espèces de Noëlaerhabdaceae dans des sédiments marins datant de l’Eocène-Oligocène (35-31 Ma), del’Oligocène-Miocène (25-16 Ma) et du Pliocène supérieur (3,6-2,6 Ma) montre que,contrairement aux hypothèses précédentes, Reticulofenestra n’était pas le seul genre responsable de la production d’alcénones au Cénozoïque. Les résultats démontrent également qu’il est essentiel d’identifier avec précision les producteurs et la taille de leur cellule pour les estimations de pCO2. Au contraire, l’identification formelle des producteurs ne semble pas indispensable pour obtenir des estimations de températures cohérentes. / Alkenones have been widely used as proxies for the reconstruction of sea surface temperatures and of partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in ancient periods. In modern oceans, these long-chain ketones are mainly produced by the coccolithophores Emiliania huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa oceanica. However, there is a huge gap between the first record of alkenonesin the Cretaceous (~120 Ma) and the first occurrence of the modern alkenone producers (< 2Ma). Thus, it seems crucial to identify ancient alkenone producers to ensure the applicability of environmental proxies based on these biomarkers in pre-Quaternary sediments. In this PhD thesis, three case studies are considered corresponding to key periods in the evolution history of the Noelaerhabdaceae family, which includes the Cenozoic ancestors of modern alkenone producers. The comparison between alkenone contents (distribution and concentrations) andNoelaerhabdaceae species-specific relative and absolute abundances in marine sedimentsdating back to the Eocene-Oligocene (35-31 Ma), the Oligocene-Miocene (25-16 Ma) and thelate Pliocene (3.6-2.6 Ma) shows that, contrary to common assumptions, Reticulofenestra was not the only genus responsible for alkenone production during the Cenozoic. Results also underscore the importance of a careful identification of alkenone producers and of their cellsize for pCO2 reconstructions for pre-Quaternary periods. On the contrary, the identificationof producers does not seem essential to obtain consistent paleo-temperature estimates.

This work considers the impact of fast reactor fuel cycles on the UK's nuclear waste inventory, focusing on the disposition of the UK's plutonium stockpile and spent fuel from new build nuclear reactors. Reprocessing spent fuel from nuclear reactors has led to a large stockpile of civil plutonium in the UK. At the end of reprocessing the stockpile was estimated to be 112 tonnes. This large stockpile of separated plutonium poses a proliferation concern and there is no strategy at present for UK plutonium disposition. The NDA's position paper in 2014 stated the re-use of plutonium in a reactor as a preferred option. These options included Mixed OXide (MOX) fuelled Pressurised Water Reactors (PWR) and the use of plutonium in a Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR), PRISM, operated as a once-through plutonium burning fast reactor. As yet a preferred option has not been selected by the government. Nuclear power is the UK's largest source of low-carbon electricity. Current plans aim to build 16 GWe of new reactors by 2050 to replace the UK's current fleet. This work considered PWR MOX and once-through SFRs for UK plutonium disposition, comparing their relative merits to the direct disposal of the plutonium stockpile in a geological repository. The waste performance of disposition options were compared using assessment criteria based on: Technology Readiness Level (TRL), final stockpile mass, repository size and radiotoxicity. To maximise the reduction of the UK's plutonium stockpile, closed SFR fuel cycles were also considered with scenarios aimed at improving waste performance. Once-through and closed SFR fuel cycles were also considered for the disposition of spent fuel from new build reactors. Research presented in this thesis shows that UK waste disposition options are highly dependent on fuel cycle operating parameters. In once-through plutonium disposition options all scenarios increased repository size compared to direct disposal. Once-though SFRs increased repository size the least, where as PWR MOX reduced the stockpile mass most significantly. The most significant improvement in waste performance, using a closed fuel cycle up to 2150, required short reprocessing times and americium reprocessing. There were no additional improvements of significance with curium reprocessing and the choice of metallic or MOX fuelled SFRs had little impact on waste performance. Preferred fuel cycle scenarios are dependent on the priority given to different assessment criteria. To compare fuel cycle scenarios on an even basis, decision analysis methods were presented using assessment criteria results from the fuel cycles modelled in this work. Decision analysis methods were designed so that the reader can apply their own priorities, through the use of weightings, to the assessment criteria to determine preferable fuel cycle scenarios.

In order to achieve the reductions in emissions that nowadays our planet urgently needs, the collaboration of citizens is necessary. It is necessary that citizens consume products and services that sustainably reduce indirect emissions, but also it is necessary that citizens reduce their associated direct emissions, through the use that they make of their time. In this Thesis, a study is carried out on the direct carbon emissions produced by UK citizens in 2005. These emissions are those emitted when citizens carry out certain daily activities in their households. Later, a comparison with the results of total emissions that other studies obtained is done, to show the importance of the direct emissions derived by this Thesis. This is done first for an average UK citizen, and then the variations in the time use between men and women in each daily activity are analyzed, as well as age ranges, to examine how these variations affect emissions. A relationship between direct and total emissions is found, as well as a gender role issue and a household labor role issue, which produce variations in emissions produced by women and men, as well as variations in emissions associated with different age ranges. In the discussion, the implications of the results obtained in this Thesis are explored, both individually and collectively within the social and economic structure, as well as certain changes that can be introduced daily to achieve a reduction in the direct carbon emissions. “This document presents results drawn from the Multinational Time Use Study (MTUS), but the interpretation of this data and other views expressed in this text are those of the author. This text does not necessarily represent the views of the MTUS team or any agency which has contributed data to the MTUS archive. The author bears full responsibility for all errors and omissions in the interpretation of the MTUS data.” / För att lyckas uppnå utsläppsminskningar är det nödvändigt att göra förändringar för både indirekta utsläpp, som konsumtion av produkter och service, men också hos de direkta utsläppen. För att minska dessa utsläpp är medborgarna en viktig roll och deras samarbete är nödvändigt. Detta arbete undersöker de direkta koldioxidutsläppen som uppstår i vardagslivet för de brittiska medborgare under år 2005. Resultaten jämförs med tidigare studier som utförts på brittiska medborgare och som analyserar både direkta och indirekta utsläpp. Detta arbete analyserar både utsläppen från en genomsnittsmedborgare i Storbritannien men undersöker även de skillnader som finns mellan kön och olika åldrar. Hur lång tid de olika grupperna spenderar på olika aktiviteter i hemmet skiljer sig åt och även hur mycket arbete de bidrar till i hemmet. Detta har tagits med i beaktning och koldioxidutsläppen från de olika rollerna analyseras. Det var möjligt att dra slutsatser mellan direkta och de totala utsläpp, det var också möjligt att se en variation av utsläpp orsakade av de olika kön och inom olika åldersintervall. I diskussionen genomförs analysen av individuella och kollektiva utsläpp inom den sociala och ekonomiska strukturen. Där förs även en diskussion om vilka förändringar som kan införas i vardagen för att minska koldioxidutsläppen.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 21, 2002 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California / Waveform Description Language (WDL) was invented to ease the process of porting legacy and/ or new radio waveforms to Programmable / Software Radios. WDL has two primary requirements; 1st it is to provide a rigorous executable behavioural description of waveform signal structures that is unambiguous and yet independent of any particular end item software radio architecture. The 2nd requirement is that the behavioural specification provides a path to automatic code generation for GP’s, DSP’s, and FPFG’s and that the Generated code be tested against the behavioural model.

As the globalisation process accelerates there is a growing need for individual countries to understand the bases for effective performance in international trade. Because it makes up such a large share of world trade, it is especially important to understand what determines effectiveness in exporting. Despite much empirical research, especially over recent decades, the state of knowledge on this topic remains fragmented, unclear and unsatisfactory. The motivation for the present study was therefore twofold: dissatisfaction with the present state of knowledge in this vital area and the importance to the UK economy of improving its export performance in a world of increasing competition. Its aim was to contribute to the resolution of both. In addition to finding what appeared to be quite serious methodological problems in a group of earlier studies, our review of the literature indicated that the best prospects for identifying the determinants of effective exporting were to be found, not at national or sectoral level but at that of the individual firm. Accordingly, an empirical survey research project was developed. To minimise unquantifiable inter-sectoral variability, it was focused on a single sector of industry. For a range of reasons, including the limited amount of information available about its current export activity and prospects, the UK knitted apparel industry was chosen. Special care having been taken to assemble the fullest possible sampling frame and to develop a suitable instrument (which included an export performance model), a mail survey in the form of a stratified random sample of exporting UK manufacturers of knitted apparel was carried through from late 2000. Persistent follow-up by mail and telephone generated a response rate of 70 per cent, comprising close to half of the sampling frame, that was representative of all company size bands, levels of exporting and products. The overall quality of the responses was good; tests of non-response did not find any indications of non-response bias. Data analysis, designed to test thoroughly our 10 export-determinants hypotheses, relied primarily on Pearsonian correlation at the bivariate level then sequentially on Multiple Regression Analysis, Canonical Correlation Analysis and Partial Least Squares. A perhaps slightly novel aspect of the research was that it was not solely cross-sectional in format; a longitudinal element was provided by drawing on the researcher's earlier surveys ; and a panel element by following-up, in 2007, the main 2000 field survey. Where possible, these data were drawn upon in the analysis and interpretation. There did not appear to be any conflict between the three multivariate techniques employed and indeed their findings were not dissimilar. The outcome of the data analysis was to uphold, to varying degrees, most of our hypotheses about the determinants of effective or successful exporting. Those that did not find support were three: firm size, product adaptation, and price determination method. Most strongly supported as determinants were promotional intensity, serving many markets and visits to trade fairs/exhibitions; others which were statistically significant, included management commitment, special staff skills and the use of Commission Agents. While the conclusions must remain a bit tentative they are encouraging.