University of Lincoln

About: University of Lincoln is a education organization based out in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 2341 authors who have published 7025 publications receiving 124797 citations.

The European farm entrepreneur: a comparative perspective

Abstract: Entrepreneurship in agriculture is an important issue in Europe. Policymakers, researchers, farmers' unions and advisory services are concerned with the development of entrepreneurship in agriculture. This paper reports on the interim findings of a European Union funded research project established to examine the socio-economic and cultural factors hindering or stimulating the development of entrepreneurial skills of farmers. One hundred and twenty (120) stakeholders in the farming sector were interviewed to explore their views concerning the entrepreneurial capability of farmers. Entrepreneurship is connected with finding ways and means to create and develop a profitable farm business. Skills are the competencies required to accomplish tasks and activities related to the farm business which can be developed by learning and experience.

Egg mass and incubation period allometry in birds and reptiles: effects of phylogeny

Abstract: Here we test the hypothesis that the relationship between egg mass at oviposition (IEM) and incubation period (Ip) is a function of the taxonomic relatedness of bird and reptile species Allometric relationships between IEM and Ip were examined for 1525 bird species and 201 reptilian species Treating species as independent data revealed the allometric exponent linking Ip to IEM to be 0234 for birds and 0138 for reptiles However, ANCOVA revealed that within both birds and reptiles the elevation and slope of the regression lines were dependent on the taxonomic order studied, indicating that the exponents were confounded by the phylogenetic relatedness of species Thus, allometric exponents were recalculated based on the method of comparative analysis using independent contrasts This technique revealed that the allometric exponent in both birds and reptiles was confounded by phylogeny In birds the allometric relationship between Ip and IEM was almost halved to 0122, whereas in reptiles the exponent increased to 0185 Importantly, the results demonstrate that some results of allometric analyses can be artefacts of the method of analysis of the dataset That for bird eggs Ip is not determined in large part by egg mass allows new questions to be posed regarding the ecological and physiological factors affecting the length of incubation, and hence rates of embryonic growth, for different taxa and habitats

Validating a mobile phone application for the everyday, unobtrusive, objective measurement of sleep

Abstract: There is an identified need for objective, reliable, and scalable methods of measuring and recording sleep. Such methods must be designed for easy integration into people's lives in order to support both sleep therapy and everyday personal informatics. This paper describes the design and evaluation of a mobile phone application to record sleep, the design of which has substantive foundation in clinical sleep research. Two user studies were carried out which demonstrate that the application produces valid measurements of sleep quality and high levels of usability, whilst not seriously disturbing sleep or the sleep environment. These findings suggest that the app is suitable for both everyday sleep monitoring in a personal informatics context, and for integration into sleep interventions.

New directions in the psychology of optimal performance in sport: flow and clutch states

Abstract: Csikszentmihalyi's conceptualisation of flow is the primary framework for understanding the psychology of optimal experience and performance in sport. However, emerging evidence suggests a more dynamic, multi-state perspective. This review focuses primarily on recent studies highlighting a second, overlapping 'clutch' state which - in addition to flow - underlies optimal performance in sport. We also examine how the nature of goals ('open' or 'fixed') athletes pursue influence the experience of flow and clutch respectively. This new, integrated model of psychological states underlying optimal performance raises questions around conceptualisation and methodology employed in the field to date. These implications are outlined, and recommendations are provided for more critical and accurate measurement of both flow and clutch as overlapping, yet distinct, states.

The deprivation of certitude, legitimacy and hope: Foreign national prisoners and the pains of imprisonment:

Abstract: At the end of March 2015 there were 10,481 foreign nationals (defined as non-UK passport holders) held in prisons in England and Wales, representing 12 per cent of the overall prison population. The latest published figures from December 2014 also indicated that there were a further 394 immigration detainees also being held in various prisons, rather than Immigration Removal Centres, across England and Wales. Although Sykes’s deprivation model with its associated ‘pains of imprisonment’ has been exhaustively explored by penologists, this article argues that there are a new range of ‘pains’ uniquely faced by foreign national prisoners in England and Wales who come under the scrutiny of the Home Office’s Immigration Service. Drawing on quasi-ethnographic fieldwork in a Specialist Foreign National Prison, this article discusses the new pains relating to a lack of certitude, legitimacy and hope with regard to both their carceral and post-carceral lives.