bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Viscosity Effect on the Reinforcement Properties of Silica Filled ENR Rubber Compound
Authors: Mazlina Mustafa Kamal , Teku Zakwan Zaeimoedin , Ahmad Kifli Che Aziz
Published: November 2013

Since the introduction of the so-called Green Tyre concept, in the early 90ies, the use of silica as reinforcing fillers has spread and grown worldwide. The general advantages of silica as reinforcing filler over carbon black filler are better rolling resistance by achieving at least equal wet traction while tread wear should not be adversely affected.In general, high filler loading attributes poor dispersion and lack of adhesion to the rubber matrix which in turn affect the processability and physical properties of the rubber compounds. In this work, the objective of the study was to investigate the influence of viscosity on silica dispersion and in relation to mechanical and performance properties of Epoxidised Natural Rubber (ENR) compound. The viscosity of the compound was measured via viscometer. The filler flocculation and dispersion was monitored by following the changes in torque and storage modulus at low strain using rheometer MDR 2000 and DisperGrader. The filler network on the other hand was characterised by Rubber Processing Analyzer (RPA) and bound rubber measurements. The physical tests were also done according to the ASTM methods such as tensile strength and abrasion. Results showed that low viscosity of rubber will facilitate further the dispersion of the filler in the system although other physical properties will be affected.
Comparison of Mechanical Properties and Curing Characteristics of Natural Rubber Composites with Different Coupling Agents
Authors: Lay Makara , Rashid Azura A. , Othman Nadras , Tezuka Yasuyuki , Pen Chhorda
Published: November 2013

Nanosilica (NS) was recently used as a filler to improve mechanical properties, morphology behaviors of natural rubber (NR) composites and also for light colored product. NS is hard to disperse in NR composite compare to carbon black due to large number of Silanol (Si-OH) group leads to strong filler-filler interaction. Silane coupling agent was extensively used to improve reinforce efficiency of NS and also for good filler-matrix interaction by reducing Si-OH group. In this study, Bis[3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl] tetrasulfide (Si-69) and (3-aminopropy)triethoxysilane (APTES) were used as a coupling agents with various loading 1.5, 3, 4.5 phr in conventional sulphur vulcanization system. Both Si69 and APTES gave a significance of the NR compound processing. However, hardness was gradually decreased up to 4.5 phr due to plasticizing effect. Si-69 can increase crosslink density because of 4 molecular of sulphur (S) and its structure retarded the curing where APTES accelerated the cured because APTES has lower molecular weight and viscosity than Si-69.
Comparison of Silica Sand Properties from Kandal Province, Cambodia and Tapah, Perak, Malaysia and Characterization of Soda Lime Silicate Glass Produced From Cambodian Silica Sand
Authors: Sereiratana Em , Bharum Khairul Anwar , Rezan S.A. , Othman Radzali , Takahashi Fumitake , Boné Phat
Published: November 2013

Silica sand from Kandal province, Cambodia and Tapah Perak, Malaysia was grounded into an average micron size of 128.12 and 132.68µm. Both sands were characterized by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray Diffraction, particle Size Analysis, Differential Thermal Analysis and Thermogravimetric Analysis (DTA/TGA). Malaysian silica sand was designated SDMTP and Cambodian Silica sand as SDCK. From theanalysis, XRF showed that the major impurities in SDMTP were Al2O3, K2O and TiO2. On the other hand, SDCK had impurities of Al2O3,K2O and Na2O. DTA results from SDMTP and SDCK showedthere is an endothermic peak occurring at 572°C which can be attributed to β-quartz transformation into α-quartz. TGA for SDMTP showed that maximum weight lost was at 441°C with a weight percent (wt%) change of 0.48%. The TGA for SDCK showed a wt% change of 1.298% at temperature of 1000°C. From XRD analysis, the main phase of SDCK and SDMTP were quartz. The impurities of both sands play an important role in determining the optical and mechanical properties of the soda lime silicate (SLS) glass formed. Particle size of silica sand affects the mechanical properties such as compression, hardness, and transmittance of SLS glass. The smaller particle size would be ideal choice for glassmaking. Melting temperature, soaking time, and melt accelerant can also affect the mechanical properties of SLS glass. The best result obtained for Vickers hardness in this study was the SLS glass sample designated as Run No 12 with a value of 525.02 kg.mm-2. It had a particle size range from 500-600µm, a furnace soaking time of 4 hours at a melting temperature of 1500°C with 1.0 wt% of Sodium Chloride (NaCl) as meltingaccelerant. On the other hand, the highest compressive strength of 356.22 MPa was found in sample designated as Run No 1. It had a particle size range from 75-1800µm, a soaking time of 5 hours at a melting temperature of 1550°C with 0.5 wt% of NaCl. Lastly,the highest UV-VIS transmittance at 520 nm was obtained from sample designated as Run No 5 within the value of 84.26 %Transmittance (T). It had a particle size range of 75-1800µm, soaking time of 3 hours at a melting temperature of 1550°C with 1.5 wt% of NaCl. .
Glass Sand Processing Techniques in the Rayong Area, Thailand
Authors: Saisinchai Somsak
Published: November 2013

This article discusses the beneficiation of glass sand at Rayong province in the eastern part of Thailand . The process consists of revolving screen, hydrocyclone, attrition scrubber, tank classifier, spiral concentrator, wet high intensity magnetic separator and closed loop water recycling system. There are 13 glass sand processing plants in this area with the overall capacity 2 million tons per year and supply glass sand to float glass and flat glass industry, glassware industry, glass packaging industry, ceramic industry and chemical industry in Thailand. Keywords: Glass sand, Revolving screen, Hydrocyclon, Attrition scrubber, Tank classifier, Spiral concentrator, Wet high intensity magnetic separator, Closed loop water recycling system.
The Mineralogy of the Copper – Gold Ore Deposits at the Phu Kham, Mine, Laos
Authors: Soysouvanh Vongsavanh , Ariffin Kamar Shah , Watanabe Koichiro , Visane Nhinxay
Published: November 2013

The Phu Kham Cu-Au deposit Porphyry-related skarn-type mineralization, Lao PDR is hosted by complexly deformed, schistose, quartz-sericite-pyrite altered Permo-Carboniferous volcanic, volcaniclastic and intrusive rocks. These rocks occupy the immediate hanging wall of a large NE-dipping thrust fault. Unmineralized, variably deformed red beds of the Mesozoic Khorat basin occur in the foot wall to the thrust. At Phu Kham the well defined foot wall and hanging wall sequences are separated by poorly-stratified quartz-rich conglomerate, breccia and lesser sandstone of uncertain affinities. In previous studies, the conglomerate package has both been included in the Khorat basin succession and interpreted tostratigraphically underlie the Permo-Carboniferous volcanics. Structural studies and additional U-P zircon geochronology were undertaken in 2009 to help clarify geological relations at Phu Kham. Improved constraints on thrust geometry and kinematics were also sought, enabling the deformation history at Phu Kham to be more confidently placed into a regional context. Results indicate the thrust was emplaced from the NE, and thus has greater affinity with deformation patterns in the NW-trending Truong Son fold belt.The conglomerate package is reinterpreted as a syn-orogenic molasse deposited ahead of the Advancing allochthon, but eventually overridden during the final stages of thrustemplacement. Unfortunately, definitive geochronological data supporting this conlusion were not obtained.
Ageing Characteristics of Equal Channel Angular Pressed Al-Mg-Si Alloy
Authors: Yee Soon Vern , Hussain Zuhailawati , Anasyida Abu Seman , Syukron Muhammad , Almanar Indra Putra
Published: November 2013

This study investigated the effect of severe plastic deformation (SPD) and artificial ageing treatment on mechanical properties of cast Al-Mg-Si alloy. 6061-T6 aluminum alloy was remelted and casted into a rod of 13mm in diameter and 60mm in length. The rod samples were then subjected to equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) for SPD process, up to 2 passes, through Bc route. Cast and ECAPed samples were solution heat treated at 530 °C, quenched in water and held at 180 °C at various ageing time to determine the effect of artificial ageing. Cast alloy consisted of α phase grains that were surrounded by Mg2Si particles locating at the grain boundaries. The hardness increased with accumulative applied strain by 2-pass ECAP process with the value of 99.4 Hv. For heat treated samples, maximum hardness was achieved after 5-hour ageing.
Effect of Synthesis Parameters on Size of the Biodegradable Poly (L-Lactide) (PLLA) Microspheres
Authors: Hawari A.A. , Tham C.Y. , Hamid Zuratul Ain Abdul
Published: November 2013

In this work, PLLA microspheres were prepared via emulsion solvent evaporation technique. Several synthesis parameters were studied to evaluate their effect on the size of PLLA microspheres. PLLA pallets before emulsion and PLLA microspheres surface chemistry after emulsion were determined using Fourier Transform Infra-red (FTIR). Results showed that PLLA pallets and microspheres FTIR obtained an identical spectrum. Microspheres size and surface morphology were determined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). In conclusion, the parameters that significantly affect the size of PLLA microspheres were PLLA concentration, DCM to water volume ratio, PVA concentration and stirring speed. PVA molecular weight variation showed no significant change in microspheres size.
Effect of Zinc Nitrate Concentration on Formation of AuNPs by Sacrificial Templated Growth Hydrothermal Approach and its Properties in Organic Memory Device
Authors: Ng Soo Ai , Goh Lean Poh , Razak Khairunisak Abdul , Cheong Kuan Yew , Ooi P.C. , Aw K.C.
Published: November 2013

This paper describes a novel fabrication technique to grow gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by using the sacrificial templated growth hydrothermal reaction approach. The effect of zinc nitrate Zn (NO3)2 concentration in the hydrothermal reaction on the formation of AuNPs was studied by varying the concentration from 0.01 M, 0.05 M, 0.1 M and 0.2 M. The increase of Zn (NO3)2 concentration lead to formation of smaller size and lower area density of AuNPs. XRD analysis proved the formation of AuNPs by using this approach. From scanning electron microscope images, the sample with 0.1M of Zn (NO3)2 concentration showed better AuNPs distribution. In order to investigate the memory properties of AuNPs embedded in organic insulator, polymethylsilsesquioxane (PMSSQ) was spin coated as insulator layer between the AuNPs. I-V and C-V characteristics showed hysteresis properties that indicated charge storage capability of AuNPs embedded organic insulator. AuNPs grown on 300°C annealed ZnO template in 0.1M of Zn (NO3)2 hydrothermal bath produced the best memory properties whereby 54 of electron charges has been stored per AuNPs in C-V measurement.
Bone Marrow Cell Response on Carbonate Apatite/PCL-Coated α-Tricalcium Phosphate Foam
Authors: Le Thi Bang , Shi Xing Ling , Kunio Ishikawa , Othman Radzali
Published: November 2013

The aim of this research work was to investigate in vitro effect of the carbonate apatite/poly (ε-caprolactone) (CO3Ap/PCL) on α-tricalcium phosphate (α-TCP) foam was produced by sintering CaCO3and CaHPO42H2O at 1500°C for 5 h. It was then coated with carbonate apatite (CO3Ap)/Poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) (wt/wt=1/3) to improve both mechanical and biological properties. The initial cell attachment and proliferation of the bone marrow cells were carried out on the α-TCP and CO3Ap/PCL-coated α-TCP foams. The cell proliferation was calculated by AlamarBlue assay. The cells were able to migrate and proliferate well on both α-TCP and CO3Ap/PCL-coated α-TCP foams indicating an excellent biocompatibility. The incorporation of CO3Ap on the coating layer improved cellular attachment and accelerated proliferation. Thus, CO3Ap/PCL-coated α-TCP foam might be a promising candidate as implant material.
Effects of SiO2 Nanoparticles on Dielectric Characteristic of Aloe Vera Paste
Authors: Khor Li Qian , Cheong Kuan Yew
Published: November 2013

Natural Aloe vera paste has been reported as an alternative organic dielectric material. In this study, natural Aloe vera paste incorporated with silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) has been investigated. The natural Aloe vera paste with different weight loading (0.5 to 3.8 wt%) of SiO2 NPs was screen printed on aluminum (Al) layer supported by a soda lime glass substrate and dried at room temperature. The solidified sample with 1.5 wt% of SiO2 NPs showed the lowest leakage current density. Next, the solidified samples were additional dried in an oven at 40°C for 30 minutes to study its effect against room temperature. The additional drying process facilitated cross-linking on natural Aloe vera layer and consequently enhanced the dielectric properties of the natural Aloe vera with 1.5 wt% of SiO2 NPs, whereby leakage current and dielectric constant were decreased and increased, respectively.
Microstructure of Magnesium Alloy ZRE1 Glassy Carbon Composite Interface
Authors: Olszówka-Myalska Anita , Maziarz Wojciech , Botor-Probierz Agnieszka
Published: November 2013

The magnesium alloy ZRE1 (2.7%Zn, 0.53%Zr, 3,14% rare earth elements) was applied as a matrix of composite reinforced with glassy carbon particles obtained by hot pressing of powder mixture. An influence of matrix chemical composition on interaction processes occurring at the interface was analyzed. The interface microstructure was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was revealed the continuous bonding between components and a presence of zone enriched with zirconium, rare earth elements and oxygen in comparison to the matrix composition.
Diffusion Vacuum Brazing of TiAl48Cr2Nb2 Casting Alloys Based on TiAl (γ) Intermetallic Compound Using Ag-Cu-Ti Braze Alloy
Authors: Różański Maciej , Krasnowski Krzysztof , Adamiec Janusz
Published: November 2013

Fast-developing such advanced industries as aviation, automotive and power-generation are increasing demand for new engineering materials which could resists such extreme operation conditions as high operating temperature, considerable stresses or operation in fume-affected environment. Highly desirable properties of such materials should include high hardness and strength, corrosion resistance (also when exposed to aggressive fumes) but also, first of all, low density. However such materials also requirements engineering methods to ensure obtain of good sound joints. Results in growing interest in modern engineering materials characterised by increasingly better operational parameters combined with a necessity to obtain joints of such materials representing good operation properties create important research and technological problems of today. These issues include also titanium joints or joints of titanium alloys based on intermetallic compounds. Brazing is one of the basic and sometimes even the only available welding method used for joining the aforesaid materials in production of various systems, heat exchangers and, in case of titanium alloys based on intermetallic compounds, turbine elements and space shuttle plating etc. This article presents the basic physical and chemical properties as well as the brazability of alloys based on intermetallic compounds. The work also describes the principle and mechanisms of diffusion-brazed joint formation as well as reveals the results of metallographic and strength tests involving diffusion-welded joints of TiAl48Cr2Nb2 casting alloy based on TiAl (γ) phase with the use of sandwich-type layers of silver-copper-titanium based filler metal (Ag-63%; Cu-35,5%; Ti-2%). Structural examination was performed by means of light microscopy. Furthermore, the article reveals the results of shear strength tests involving the aforementioned joints. Obtained mechanical test results of TiAl48Cr2Nb2 joints brazed with usage of three/different filler metal alloys ware compared.
Proeutectic Crystallisation of AlSi17Cu5 Alloy after Overheating and Modification with Al-CuP Master Alloy
Authors: Piątkowski Jaroslaw
Published: November 2013

The influence of strong overheating above Tliq.and modification with phosphorus in the form of CuP master alloy on the crystallisation process of AlSi17Cu5 alloy has been discussed. The study shows that with overheating of an alloy from the 3XX.X series above the melting point Tliq.(about 250÷300°C), the β phase undergoes practically complete dissolution. Then, in the liquid metal, areas with high variations in the content of the dissolved silicon appear. These are numerous microregions enriched with dissolved silicon, in which, due to overheating, partial formation of homogeneous nuclei takes place. This process is further enhanced with the use of a modifier (phosphorus) and, as a consequence of the modification process, additional "substrates" (AlP) arise in molten metal to serve as sites for the heterogeneous nucleation of primary Si crystals. In the vicinity of these microregions, some other sites with lower silicon content are formed, in which the proeutectic crystallisation of α (Al, Me) dendrites takes place. This is confirmed by the ATD thermal analysis diagrams, where the additional exothermic effect is observed after the nucleation and crystallisation of primary Si crystals and before the solidification of a α (Al) β (Si) eutectic.
Effect of Overheating on the Mechanical and Plastic Properties of A390.0 Cast Alloy
Authors: Piątkowski Jaroslaw
Published: November 2013

The paper presents the results of studies on the effect of the A390.0 (AlSi17Cu5) alloy overheating to a temperature of 920°C and modification with phosphorus (CuP10) on the resulting mechanical (HB, Rm, R0.2) and plastic (A5and Z) properties. It has been shown that, so-called, "time-thermal treatment" (TTT) of an alloy in the liquid state, consisting in overheating the metal to about 250÷300°C above Tliq, holding at this temperature and rapid cooling, refines the structure and improves the mechanical properties. It has also been found that strong overheating of alloy above Tliq"enhances" the process of modification, resulting in the formation of fine-grain structure. The primary silicon crystals uniformly distributed in the eutectic and characteristics of the α (Al) solution supersaturated with alloying elements present in the starting alloy composition (Cu, Fe) provide not only an increase of strength at ambient temperature but also at elevated temperature (250°C), which is of particular importance for the automotive applications, especially as regards cast pistons operating in IC.
Mēden diakrinomenos in Handelinge 10:20 as entscheidenden Wendepunkt-voorskrif van die Gees
Authors: Breed Douw G.
Published: November 2013

Daar word meestal aanvaar dat die woord διακρινόμενος in Handelinge 10:20 vir die betekenis ‘huiwer/twyfel’ gebruik word en dat Petrus volgens hierdie vers die opdrag kry om saam met Kornelius se mense te gaan ‘sonder om te huiwer’. In hierdie artikel word egter aangetoon dat die woord διακρινόμενος in die vers vir die betekenis ‘om onderskeid te tref’ gebruik word en dat die Heilige Gees met die woorde μηδὲν διακρινόμενος aan Petrus en die Christelike Kerk ’n entscheidenden Wendepunkt [belangrike keerpunt]-voorskrif gee. Dit is ’n voorskrif wat aandui dat ’n spesifieke bedeling tot ’n einde gekom het, naamlik die bedeling waarin Israel onderskeid ten opsigte van voedsel en van mense moes tref. Die voorskrif van die Gees μηδὲν διακρινόμενος gee ook ’n aanduiding van ’n nuwe bedeling wat aangebreek het. In die nuwe bedeling hoef mense nie eers deel van Israel te word voordat hulle vir God aanvaarbaar is nie. Hierdie nuwe bedeling het God deur Jesus Christus en sy versoeningswerk laat aanbreek. In die nuwe bedeling is God nie meer net die God van Israel nie, maar is sy Gesalfde Here van almal en Regter oor alle mense van alle tye. In hierdie bedeling ontvang elke mens van alle volke wat in Jesus Christus glo, vergifnis in sy Naam en is almal wat in Hom glo, één.It is generally accepted that the word διακρινόμενος in Acts 10:20 is used for the meaning ‘hesitate/doubt’ and therefore Peter is according to this verse, instructed to go with Cornelius’s people ‘without hesitation’. In this article, however, it is argued that the word διακρινόμενος is used for the meaning ‘to distinguish’ and that the Holy Spirit gives Peter and the Christian Church an entscheidenden Wendepunkt prescript with the words μηδὲν διακρινόμενος. It is a prescript which indicates that a particular epoch has come to an end, namely the epoch in which Israel had to distinguish with regard to food and people. The prescript of the Spirit μηδὲν διακρινόμενος also heralds a new epoch. In the new epoch, people do not need to become part of Israel before they can be accepted by God. This new epoch was brought about by God through Jesus Christ and his work of reconciliation. In the new epoch, God is no longer just the God of Israel; his Anointed is Lord and Judge of all people of all times. In this epoch all people from all nations who believe in Jesus Christ, receive forgiveness in his Name and all people who believe in him, are one.
Revelation 1:7 − A roadmap of God’s τέλοςfor his creation
Authors: De Smidt Kobus
Published: November 2013

Revelation 1:7 points to an anticipated final appearance of Jesus at the consummation. This κηρύσσω developed from the late Jewish apocalyptic eschatology. This apocalyptic end time dawned with Jesus. The present time is thus simultaneously the end time, though the consummation is still in the future. As Jesus appeared on earth with his resurrection, so will he appear at the consummation − his resurrection appearance is a simile of his appearance at the consummation. He will appear in a corporeal form. The writer encourages the second-generation marginalised Christians. The Roman emperor is not the victor − Jesus is the axis mundi of God’s final purpose for his creation. The final appearance of Jesus will bring redemption for the believers and mourning for the unbelievers. The κηρύσσω of Revelation 1:7 is diametrically the opposite of the chiliasts. The country of Israel and her present inhabitants have no eschatological role to fulfil at the consummation. Openbaring 1:7 dui op ’n geantisipeerde finale verskyning van Jesus met die voleinding. Hierdie κηρύσσω het uit die Joodse laat-apokaliptiese eskatologie ontwikkel. Die apokaliptiese eindtyd het met Jesus se opstanding plaasgevind en die Nuwe-Testamentiese hede is dus alreeds die eindtyd. Die voleinding is egter nog in die toekoms. Jesus se verskyning met sy opstanding is ’n metafoor vir sy koms by die voleinding. Hy sal liggaamlik verskyn. Die skrywer bemoedig die gemarginaliseerde tweede generasie Christene. Die Romeinse keiser is nie die oorwinnaar nie − Jesus is die axis mundi van God se finale plan vir sy skepping. Die finale verskyning van Jesus sal vir die gelowiges ewige verlossing bewerk, maar die ongelowiges sal in rou gedompel word. Die κηρύσσω van Openbaring 1:7 is die teenoorgestelde van die standpunt van die chiliasme. Die land en huidige volk van Israel vervul geen eskatologiese rol by die voleinding nie.
The merits of teaching mathematics with variation
Authors: Mhlolo Michael
Published: November 2013

There is a general perception that the South African curriculum statements for mathematics create polarity between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’, which does not benefit both the teachers and the learners. The new curricula demand a radical shift from the traditional teacher-led approaches that teachers are familiar with, yet does not provide a model of what it might mean to teach for conceptual understanding. This article aims to provide such a model by examining the potential of teaching with variation, which is viewed as an important mathematics teaching and learning style. Proponents of the theory of variation claim that how teachers make available the object of learning to their students has been neglected yet it has a critical influence on learners’ learning. This is important for educators as they struggle to make sense of the seemingly contradictory requirements of the new curriculum. In this article a discernment unit comprising four variation patterns is used as a tool to analyse a seemingly rich teacher-led approach to teaching that was observed in one South African Grade 11 mathematics classroom. The results of the analysis and implications for theory and practice are then discussed.
A Computational Assay to Design an Epitope-Based Peptide Vaccine against Saint Louis Encephalitis Virus
Authors: Hasan Anayet , Hossain Mehjabeen , Alam Jibran
Published: November 2013

Saint Louis encephalitis virus, a member of the flaviviridae subgroup, is a culex mosquito-borne pathogen. Despite severe epidemic outbreaks on several occasions, not much progress has been made with regard to an epitope-based vaccine designed for Saint Louis encephalitis virus. The envelope proteins were collected from a protein database and analyzed with an in silico tool to identify the most immunogenic protein. The protein was then verified through several parameters to predict the T-cell and B-cell epitopes. Both T-cell and B-cell immunity were assessed to determine that the protein can induce humoral as well as cell-mediated immunity. The peptide sequence from 330–336 amino acids and the sequence REYCYEATL from the position 57 were found as the most potential B-cell and T-cell epitopes, respectively. Furthermore, as an RNA virus, one important thing was to establish the epitope as a conserved one; this was also done by in silico tools, showing 63.51% conservancy. The epitope was further tested for binding against the HLA molecule by computational docking techniques to verify the binding cleft epitope interaction. However, this is a preliminary study of designing an epitope-based peptide vaccine against Saint Louis encephalitis virus; the results awaits validation by in vitro and in vivo experiments.
Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation’: Perceptions of Generational Belonging among the 1958 Cohort
Authors: Elliott Jane
Published: November 2013

This paper explores the meaning of the concept of generational identity for a specific cohort of individuals born in Britain in the late 1950s – now in their fifties. It draws on qualitative biographical interviews that have been carried out with a subsample of 170 members of the 1958 British Birth Cohort Study. These interviews included questions about cohort members’ sense of identity and specifically asked ‘Do you think of yourself as belonging to a particular generation?’ Cohort members’ understandings of the multi-faceted concept of ‘generation’ are explored and the strategies that individuals used to answer this question are discussed. Although they were born at a time of continued high fertility in Britain, following the Second World War, it is clear that this cohort do not see themselves as properly part of the ‘baby boom’. Analysis suggests that this group derive a sense of generational location more from cultural than from structural factors, or from historical/political events. Indeed the majority of them do not have a strong generational identity and might be thought of as a ‘passive generation’.
Student Evaluations of Teaching as ‘Fact-Totems’: The Case of the UK National Student Survey
Authors: Sabri Duna
Published: November 2013

Taking the UK National Student Survey (NSS) as a case study of student evaluations of teaching (SET) which are now used widely in higher education, I argue that the production and consumption of such survey data have a symbolic value that exceeds, and is often independent of, any technical understanding of their statistical meaning. The NSS, in particular, has acquired significance that far outweighs its validity or intended use. This is evident in national policy where it has become the primary measure of ‘the student experience’, ostensibly articulating current students’ views, and giving prospective students – as consumers – information to help them choose between courses. Higher education institutions now allocate resources to improving ‘the student experience’, as defined by NSS results. Their desire to improve NSS results has come to redefine higher education work and relationships between students and academics, academics and managers, and students and institutions. Moreover, NSS results and universities’ relative positions in NSS scores have become ‘fact-totems’, a site of intense social attention within universities, provoking anticipatory anxiety, and becoming embedded in universities’ identity narratives. Alongside an analysis of the policy structures that perpetuate the NSS at national and institutional levels, I draw on two studies conducted within one UK university to examine at a micro-level the meanings and practices that can be generated in the production and consumption of the NSS for students, academics and managers in higher education.
Reporting the Riots: Parenting Culture and the Problem of Authority in Media Analysis of August 2011
Authors: Bristow Jennie
Published: November 2013

This article reviews the results of a small study of the national British newspapers in the period immediately following the 2011 riots, which analyses the ways in which political and media discourse linked the riots to the problem of ‘parenting’. It examines three discourses that arise from this linkage: (a) a generalised ‘moral collapse’; (b) the specific problem of ‘troubled families’; and (c) parenting policy and the problem of discipline. From this, I propose there is a fourth, ‘missing discourse’, which would situate the problem of parental authority within a wider crisis of adult authority. Drawing on historical and sociological reflections on the problem of parental authority in the late modern period, I propose that a more fruitful discussion would take account of the ways in which parenting culture and policy has challenged assumptions about generational responsibility.
Swagger, Ratings and Masculinity: Theorising the Circulation of Social and Cultural Value in Teenage Boys’ Digital Peer Networks
Authors: Harvey Laura , Ringrose Jessica , Gill Rosalind
Published: November 2013

This paper seeks to disrupt sensationalist racialised and classed media accounts of the youth looting in the 2011 London riots. It draws upon research on young people's uses of mobile digital technology, including social networking sites like Facebook and Blackberry Messenger to understand the performance of contemporary teenage masculinities. Developing the work of Beverly Skeggs, we demonstrate how value circulates in young people's digital peer networks. We analyse how images of designer goods and labels that signify wealth are used on social networking sites to embody cool masculine ‘swagger’ and attain popularity ‘ratings’, which we theorise as forms of social and cultural capital that circulate in the peer networks. Interview narratives also illustrate that the construction of online value must be verified in boys’ offline lives; and we show how teenage boys are negotiating power relationships and peer hierarchies online, at school and in their neighbourhoods. We argue that an analysis of symbolic value in digital contexts and in embodied everyday life helps in understanding new regulative formations of gender and masculinity in late-modern, globalised contexts of youth identity construction. In this way, our findings and analysis directly challenge the simplistic public discourses of ‘feral’ and ‘mindless’ youthful masculinities depicted in the UK media representations of the London riots, providing more complex insights into the construction of contemporary teenage masculinities.
Fox-Trotting the Riot: Slow Rioting in Britain's Inner City
Authors: Mckenzie Lisa
Published: November 2013

In recent years there have been significant discussions and arguments raised relating to the position and behaviour of those who live in Britain's poorest neighbourhoods, however there has been little in the way of solutions put forward by any of the political Party's. August 2011 was a flashpoint in the history of these debates, the civil unrest which took place during that month has led to further and continuous on-going social and political debates relating to welfare, unemployment and a sense of disenfranchisement within specific neighbourhoods in the UK. This paper focuses upon a community in Nottingham, St Ann's, a council estate housing 15,000 people, who rely upon social housing and public services to as they say to ‘keep their heads above water’. The families who rely upon public services, welfare benefits and social housing are the poorest and most disadvantaged people in Britain, and since 2010 are being subject to harsh cuts in their welfare benefits. They are also the most vulnerable to unemployment caused by shrinking the size of the public sector, as they were to the loss of the manufacturing industries in the early 1980s under the Thatcher Government. This paper examines the lives of those who live on this council estate; rely upon social housing, local services, and when the employment market shrinks welfare benefits. The paper addresses the key argument that there has been a significant change in representation of how council estates and working class people who live in them have been negatively re-branded and stigmatised over the last 30 years. Although the focus of the riots has centred around five days in August 2011, this paper introduces families, and individuals who have been part of this ethnographic research over an eight-year period. Thus arguing that the disturbances in 2011 were an unintended consequence of a significant neighbourhood and community decline over a generation, but which has been exacerbated since 2010 with the Coalition Government's austerity measures.
Riots, Restraint and the New Cultural Politics of Wanting
Authors: Jensen Tracey
Published: November 2013

In the aftermath of the 2011 English riots, many political elites, journalists and public commentators obscured the material, sociological and economic factors which contributed to the unrest and instead connected the riots to a problematic kind of ‘wanting’ – wanting the wrong kinds of things, in a manner and degree that was constructed as illegitimate and vulgar in a time of austerity – and thus constructing the riots as a problem of excessive greed, rampant materialism and social decay. This article reflects upon how the riots played a key role in the political production of a new cultural politics of wanting, whereby wanting is made problematic, suspect, a sign of material fixation and of irresponsible consumerism. It reflects upon this cultural politics within the current austerity regime which manifests through a celebration and romanticisation of post-War restraint and re-animation of thrift practices and frugal living.
The Chameleon Habitus: Exploring Local Students’ Negotiations of Multiple Fields
Authors: Abrahams Jessica , Ingram Nicola
Published: November 2013

This study utilises an innovative creative method of plasticine modelling to explore the identities of local students (those who live in their family home) at the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England. Students created models representing their identity, which were used as a springboard for in-depth discussion. Through drawing upon Bourdieusian theory this article attempts to shed new sociological light on the subject of local student experiences. In much of the literature this is presented as problematic and it is often argued that local students either ‘miss out’ on the conventional university experience or that they are stuck between two worlds. This paper, however, presents a more complex picture of local students’ experiences of inhabiting local and university spaces. The data is analysed through a Bourdieusian lens in which the university and local worlds are seen as fields of struggle, this allows for a nuanced understanding of how students conceptualise their positions and dispositions in relation to both fields. The findings indicate that living at home can be both problematic and of benefit to the working-class students in particular. Despite being immersed within two somewhat contradictory fields they can sometimes develop various strategies to enable them to overcome any internal conflict. In this article we draw uniquely upon Bhabha's concept of a third space to expand upon Bourdieusian theory, arguing that a ‘cleft habitus’ is not always negative and can be a resource for some in their attempts to negotiate new fields.
Desperately Seeking Certainty? The Case of Asylum Applicants and People Planning an Assisted Suicide in Switzerland
Authors: Richards Naomi , Rotter Rebecca
Published: November 2013

Uncertainty is often deemed to be a quintessential fact of life. The social scientific literature often references a generalised or ‘global’ uncertainty, akin to a worldview. Far fewer studies, however, discuss the specific effects of ‘event’ focused uncertainty: how it is managed by groups and individuals, or how this type of uncertainty relates to the concepts of risk, trust, hope and time. This article seeks to identify and analyse key aspects of the condition of uncertainty through an empirical exploration of two very different case studies: asylum applicants waiting for the state to decide whether to grant them the right to remain in the UK, and people with chronic or life-limiting illness who want to hasten their own death with the help of a Swiss right-to-die organisation. In both cases, participants experienced a heightened state of uncertainty because of specific and substantial threats to their well-being: deportation, and protracted suffering through illness. In both cases, the acquisition of knowledge was considered to aid predictions about future events. However, both sets of individuals encountered barriers to acquiring the right kind of knowledge - knowledge which was trusted to be accurate or which came with a guarantee. While all the individuals were constrained in their ability to act to relieve their uncertainty, they found limited ways of doing so. Knowledge and action are thereby found to be crucial to the condition of uncertainty and to the means of overcoming it through restoring a sense of control.
Structure, Agency, Subculture: The CCCS, Resistance through Rituals, and ‘Post-Subcultural’ Studies
Authors: Sweetman Paul
Published: November 2013

Post-subcultural studies has emerged as a critical response to perceived difficulties with the previously dominant approach to subcultures associated with the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS). Alternative terms such as scene and tribe have been suggested in light of the supposedly more amorphous nature of contemporary formations. Others have defended the CCCS approach, or argued for a revised understanding of subculture which attends to difficulties with the CCCS framework whilst implying greater stability than other more recent terms. The following outlines these debates before focusing specifically on Hall and Jefferson's (2006) own response. Whilst agreeing with the argument that subcultural studies needs to be properly contextualised, it suggests that post-subcultural studies reminds us also of the need properly to attend to subcultures in practice. It then interrogates the claim that the CCCS did both, noting not just the lack of ethnography in Resistance through Rituals, but the bias against ethnography implicit in the Centre's Marxist-realist approach, and the unresolved tension between their culturalist and structuralist leanings, to which semiotic analysis came to the rescue by allowing agency to be read-off from subcultural assemblages rather than explored in practice. It also addresses some of the problems with this. It concludes by suggesting how the concept might be reformulated to address lacunae in the CCCS project and shifts in the nature of contemporary ‘subcultures’, whilst retaining a sense of their importance and not reducing them to the status of either youth-culture in general or any-other-lifestyle.
Recent development of the Met Office operational ocean forecasting system: an overview and assessment of the new Global FOAM forecasts
Authors: Blockley E. W. , Martin M. J. , McLaren A. J. , Ryan A. G. , Waters J. , Lea D. J. , Mirouze I. , Peterson K. A. , Sellar A. , Storkey D.
Published: November 2013

Abstract. The Forecast Ocean Assimilation Model (FOAM) is an operational ocean analysis and forecast system run daily at the Met Office. FOAM provides modelling capability in both deep ocean and coastal shelf seas regimes using the NEMO ocean model as its dynamical core. The FOAM Deep Ocean suite produces analyses and 7 day forecasts of ocean tracers, currents and sea ice for the global ocean at 1/4° resolution and at 1/12° resolution in the North Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Satellite and in-situ observations of temperature, salinity, sea level anomaly and sea ice concentration are assimilated by FOAM each day over a 48 h observation window. The FOAM Deep Ocean configurations have recently undergone a major upgrade which has involved: the implementation of a new variational, first guess at appropriate time 3D-Var, assimilation scheme (NEMOVAR); coupling to a different, multi-thickness-category, sea ice model (CICE); the use of CORE bulk formulae to specify the surface boundary condition; and an increased vertical resolution for the global model. In this paper the new FOAM Deep Ocean system is introduced and details of the recent changes are provided. Results are presented from 2 yr reanalysis integrations of the Global FOAM configuration including an assessment of forecast accuracy. Comparisons are made with both the previous FOAM system and a non-assimilative FOAM system. Assessments reveal considerable improvements in the new system to the near-surface ocean and sea ice fields. However there is some degradation to sub-surface tracer fields and in equatorial regions which highlight specific areas upon which to focus future improvements.
Innovation in Food and Health: Study Into Challenges and Opportunities for Dutch Small and Medium Sized Enterprises
Authors: Vree-van Straten Joop , Roodenburg Annet J. C.
Published: November 2013

This article focuses on the opportunities and challenges Dutch Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the food and beverage industry are facing with respect to innovation in food and health. An online questionnaire was developed to give an overview on attitudes and activities of SMEs with respect to innovation; their interest in trends, among which were health and wellbeing; and their view on logos as a possible way of communication. The questionnaire was held May 2011 with a response of n = 110. Results show that innovation is important for SMEs: over 80% of the SMEs are innovating in products and over 60% in processes. The most appealing trends are: Health and wellbeing, ‘Puur en Eerlijk’ (Note 1) and sustainability. Of the SMEs 70-80% indicate to have a current, and 85% a future interest in these trends. Furthermore 43% used the health logo on part of their product portfolio. Logos that communicate health and sustainability are most popular; 23% of the SMEs indicated not to be interested in the use of logos in general. In conclusion, the identified opportunities for innovation in food and health are: a large willingness to innovate and the increasing interest in the already appealing trend of nutrition and health. There is a moderate interest in (health) logos. Challenges are time, costs, knowledge on innovation in general and lack of specific knowledge on nutrition and health, and unclarities around use and added value (informative and increasing sales) of logos. Also, taste is considered as important as health and cannot be compromised.
THE CAPILLARY PATTERN IN HUMAN MASSETER MUSCLE DURING AGEING
Authors: Cvetko Erika , Janáček Jiří , Kubínová Lucie , Eržen Ida
Published: November 2013

The effect of ageing on the capillary network in skeletal muscles has produced conflicting results in both, human and animals studies. Some of the inconsistencies are due to non-comparable and biased methods that were applied on thin transversal sections, especially in muscles with complicated morphological structures, such as in human masseter muscle. We present a new immunohistochemical method for staining capillaries and muscle fibres in 100 µm thick sections as well as novel approach to 3D visualization of capillaries and muscle fibres. Applying confocal microscopy and virtual 3D stereological grids, or tracing capillaries in virtual reality, length of capillaries within a muscle volume or length of capillaries adjacent to muscle fibre per fibre length, fibre surface or fibre volume were evaluated in masseter muscle of young and old subjects by an unbiased approach. Our findings show that anatomic capillarity is well maintained in masseter muscle in old subjects; however, vascular remodelling occurs with age, which could be a response to changed muscle function and age-related muscle fibre type transformations.
STEREOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF BRAIN MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGES OF SCHIZOPHRENIC PATIENTS
Authors: Elfaki Amani Abdelrazag , Elfaki Abdelrazag , Osman Tahir , Sahin Bunyamin , Elsheikh Abdelgani , Mohamed Amira , Hamdoun Anas , Mohammed Abdelrahman
Published: November 2013

Advances in neuroimaging have enabled studies of specific neuroanatomical abnormalities with relevance to schizophrenia. This study quantified structural alterations on brain magnetic resonance (MR) images of patients with schizophrenia. MR brain imaging was done on 88 control and 57 schizophrenic subjects and Dicom images were analyzed with ImageJ software. The brain volume was estimated with the planimetric stereological technique. The volume fraction of brain structures was also estimated. The results showed that, the mean volume of right, left, and total hemispheres in controls were 551, 550, and 1101 cm³, respectively. The mean volumes of right, left, and total hemispheres in schizophrenics were 513, 512, and 1026 cm³, respectively. The schizophrenics’ brains were smaller than the controls (p < 0.05). The mean volume of total white matter of controls (516 cm³) was bigger than the schizophrenics’ volume (451 cm³), (p < 0.05). The volume fraction of total white matter was also lower in schizophrenics (p < 0.05). Volume fraction of the lateral ventricles was higher in schizophrenics (p < 0.05). According to the findings, the volumes of schizophrenics’ brain were smaller than the controls and the volume fractional changes in schizophrenics showed sex dependent differences. We conclude that stereological analysis of MR brain images is useful for quantifying schizophrenia related structural changes.
COLOR SEGMENTATION OF MGG COLORED CYTOLOGICAL IMAGES USING NON LINEAR OPPONENT COLOR SPACES
Authors: Gouinaud Hélène , Leclerc Lara
Published: November 2013

This paper presents a color image segmentation method for the quantification of viable cells from samples obtained after cytocentrifugation process and May Grunwald Giemsa (MGG) coloration and then observed by optical microscopy. The method is based on color multi-thresholding and mathematical morphology processing using color information on human visual system based models such as CIELAB model, LUX (Logarithmic hUe eXtension) model and CoLIP (Color Logarithmic Image Processing) model, a new human color vision based model also presented in this article. The results show that the CoLIP model, developed following each step of the human visual color perception, is particularly well adapted for this type of images.