ObjectivesTo explore the extent to which doctor-rating websites are known and used among a sample of respondents from London. To understand the main predictors of what makes people willing to use doctor-rating websites.DesignA cross-sectional study.SettingThe Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, London, England.Participants200 individuals from the borough.Main outcome measuresThe likelihood of being aware of doctor-rating websites and the intention to use doctor-rating websites.ResultsThe use and awareness of doctor-rating websites are still quite limited. White British subjects, as well as respondents with higher income are less likely to use doctor-rating websites. Aspects of the doctor–patient relationship also play a key role in explaining intention to use the websites. The doctor has both a ‘complementary’ and ‘substitute’ role with respect to Internet information.ConclusionsOnline rating websites can play a major role in supporting patients’ informed decisions on which healthcare providers to seek advice from, thus potentially fostering patients’ choice in healthcare. Subjects who seek and provide feedback on doctor-ranking websites, though, are unlikely to be representative of the overall patients’ pool. In particular, they tend to over-represent opinions from non-White British, medium–low-income patients who are not satisfied with their choice of the healthcare treatments and the level of information provided by their GP. Accounting for differences in the users’ characteristics is important when interpreting results from doctor-rating sites.

The phonon dynamics of a transition metal-aluminum alloy, i.e. the Al 0.75 Ni 0.25 binary non-crystalline system, has been studied in terms of the eigenfrequencies of the localized collective excitations using model potential formalism. The self-consistent phonon scheme given by Takeno and Goda, involving multiple scattering and phonon eigenfrequencies that are expressed in terms of many-body correlation functions of atoms as well as of interatomic potential in the solids, has been used to generate the collective modes in the non-crystalline Al 0.75 Ni 0.25 alloy. The pair potential is obtained in Wills Harrison (WH) form from the well-recognized model potential of Ashcroft as a test case. The local field correlation functions due to Hartree (H), Taylor (T), Ichimaru-Utsumi (IU), Sarkar et al (S) and Farid (F) are used to investigate the influence of the screening effects on the vibrational properties. Results for the bulk modulus B T are obtained using the aforesaid local field correction functions. The results for the Shear modulus (C ), deviation from Cauchy's relation, Poisson's ratio (σ ), Young modulus (Y), propagation velocity of elastic waves and phonon dispersion curves using model potential are reported here and good agreement with available experimental results was achieved.

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The knowledge of the physical properties of liquid Al-Mg binary alloys is of high scientic and practical importance. The Ziman formalism is used to study the concentration dependent electrical resistivity of liquid Al-Mg alloys through an electron-ion potential. Partial structure factor is calculated by using Ashcroft-Langreth equation. The results are compared with experimental findings and the effect of screening function on electrical resistivity is discussed. This reveals that the resistivity data of liquid Al-Mg system are in qualitative agreement with the nearly-free electron picture.