bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Trapping ultracold gases near cryogenic materials with rapid reconfigurability
Authors: Naides Matthew A. , Turner Richard W. , Lai Ruby A. , DiSciacca Jack M. , Lev Benjamin L.
Published: December 2013

We demonstrate an atom chip trapping system that allows the placement and high-resolution imaging of ultracold atoms within microns from any ≲100 μm-thin, UHV-compatible material, while also allowing sample exchange with minimal experimental downtime. The sample is not connected to the atom chip, allowing rapid exchange without perturbing the atom chip or laser cooling apparatus. Exchange of the sample and retrapping of atoms has been performed within a week turnaround, limited only by chamber baking. Moreover, the decoupling of sample and atom chip provides the ability to independently tune the sample temperature and its position with respect to the trapped ultracold gas, which itself may remain in the focus of a high-resolution imaging system. As a first demonstration of this system, we have confined a 700-nK cloud of 8 × 104 87Rb atoms within 100 μm of a gold-mirrored 100-μm-thick silicon substrate. The substrate was cooled to 35 K without use of a heat shield, while the atom chip, 120 μm away, remained at room temperature. Atoms may be imaged and retrapped every 16 s, allowing rapid data collection.
Energy-selective optical excitation and detection in InAs/InP quantum dot ensembles using a one-dimensional optical microcavity
Authors: Gamouras A. , Britton M. , Khairy M. M. , Mathew R. , Dalacu D. , Poole P. , Poitras D. , Williams R. L. , Hall K. C.
Published: December 2013

We demonstrate the selective optical excitation and detection of subsets of quantum dots (QDs) within an InAs/InP ensemble using a SiO2/Ta2O5-based optical microcavity. The low variance of the exciton transition energy and dipole moment tied to the narrow linewidth of the microcavity mode is expected to facilitate effective qubit encoding and manipulation in a quantum dot ensemble with ease of quantum state readout relative to qubits encoded in single quantum dots.
Magnetoconductance responses of triplet polaron pair charge reaction in hyperfine coupling regime
Authors: Huang Wei-Shun , Xu Zhe-Rui , Hu Bin , Guo Tzung-Fang , Huang J. C. A. , Wen Ten-Chin
Published: December 2013

This study investigates a distinct low-field negative magnetoconductance (MC) response under illumination in pentacene:fullerene heterojunction devices. The low-field negative MC response is attributed to a triplet polaron pair ((PP)3) charge reaction associated with the hyperfine interaction. Applying a magnetic field can reduce the intensity of the reaction causing the negative MC response. Additionally, the low-field negative MC response changes with the blending ratios of fullerene in pentacene active layer, the applied bias voltages, and applying device structure with bulk heterojunction or planar heterojunction configuration, because the modulations of the internal electric field. Consequently, the results indicate that the (PP)3 charge reaction induces the low-field negative MC, which is correlated with the local hyperfine field, external magnetic field, and electric field.
Quasi-periodic self-assembled sub-micrometer ferroelectric bulk domain gratings in Rb-doped KTiOPO4
Authors: Zukauskas Andrius , Pasiskevicius Valdas , Canalias Carlota
Published: December 2013

We present a simple technique for fabricating quasi-periodic bulk sub-μm ferroelectric domain gratings in Rb-doped KTiOPO4 (RKTP) based on self-organized ferroelectric domain formation. One-dimensional ferroelectric domain structures, with an average periodicity of 650 ± 200 nm and extending throughout 1 mm thick crystals, are obtained by etching and subsequent electric field poling using planar electrodes. The sub-μm structures in RKTP were used to demonstrate 5th order non-collinear quasi-phase matched backward second harmonic generation.
Multifilament, copper-stabilized superconductor tapes with low alternating current loss
Authors: Kesgin Ibrahim , Levin George A. , Haugan Timothy J. , Selvamanickam Venkat
Published: December 2013

Multifilament fully stabilized second generation superconductor tapes have been fabricated with filaments widths as small as 180 μm. Each superconducting filament is copper stabilized, with copper thickness up to 30 μm, without compromising the beneficial effect of striations on magnetization AC losses. This has been accomplished by a combination of laser scribing (ablation), post-ablation oxidation, and subsequent selective electroplating of copper. Twelve millimeters wide superconductor tapes divided into 48 filaments with 10 μm thick copper stabilizer is found to meet an AC loss target of 1 W/kA/m in applied alternating magnetic field of 0.075 T at 100 Hz. This technique has a potential to be transferred to a large scale manufacturing of stabilized, low loss multifilament coated conductors.
Peak divergence in the curve of magnetoelectric coefficient versus dc bias magnetic field at resonance region for bi-layer magnetostrictive/piezoelectric composites
Authors: Zuo Z. J. , Pan D. A. , Jia Y. M. , Zhang S. G. , Qiao L. J.
Published: December 2013

Magnetoelectric (ME) coefficient dependence on the bias magnetic field at resonance frequencies for the bi-layered bonded Terfenol-D/Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 composite was investigated. The resonance frequency decreases first and then increases with the bias magnetic field (HDC), showing a “V” shape in the range of 0 ∼ 5 kOe. Below the resonance frequency, the pattern of ME coefficient dependence on the HDC shows a single peak, but splits into a double-peak pattern when the testing frequency increases into a certain region. With increasing the frequency, a divergent evolution of the HDC patterns was observed. Domain motion and ΔE effect combined with magnetostriction-piezoelectric coupling effect were employed to explain this experimental result.
Building health promotion capacity in a primary health care workforce in the Northern Territory: some lessons from practice
Authors: Judd Jenni , Keleher Helen
Published: December 2013

Issues addressed

Reorientation of the workforce in primary health care is a complex process and requires specific strategies and interventions. Primary health care providers are a key health care workforce that is expected to deliver tangible outcomes from disease prevention and health promotion strategies. This paper describes a training intervention that occurred as part of a broader participatory action research process for building health promotion capacity in the primary health care workforce.

Methods

Participatory action research (PAR) was conducted over six action and reflection cycles in a two‐year period (2001–02) in an urban community health setting in the Northern Territory. One of the PAR cycles was a training intervention that was identified as a need from a survey in the first action and reflection cycle. This training was facilitated by a health promotion specialist, face‐to‐face and comprised five 3.5‐h sessions over a 5‐month period. A pre‐post questionnaire was used to measure the knowledge and skills components of the training intervention.

Results

The results reinforced the importance of using a participatory approach that involved the primary health care providers themselves. Multiple strategies such as workforce development within capacity building frameworks assisted in shifting work practice more upstream. Additionally, these strategies encouraged more reflective practice and built social capital within the primary health care workforce.

Conclusion

Lessons from practice reinforce that workforce development influenced work practice change and is an important element in building the health promotion capacity of primary health care centres.

So what?

Workforce development is critical for reorienting health services. Health promotion specialists play an important role in reorienting practice, which is only effective when combined with other strategies, and driven and led by the primary health care workforce.
Contribution of phenotypic heterogeneity to adaptive antibiotic resistance
Authors: Sánchez-Romero María Antonia , Casadesús Josep
Published: December 2013

Significance

The ability of bacteria to survive antibiotic challenge without mutation (a phenomenon known as “adaptive resistance”) has been traditionally viewed as the consequence of bacterial responses to environmental cues. This study shows that adaptive resistance can also occur in the absence of known environmental stimuli. Cell-to-cell fluctuations in critical physiological traits preadapt certain cells within an isogenic culture to survive lethal selection, and growth of the “lucky” survivors generates bacterial subpopulations with increased antibiotic resistance. Phenotypic heterogeneity must therefore be added to the list of factors that limit the efficacy of antibiotic treatment.
Dual role for
Islet-1
in promoting striatonigral and repressing striatopallidal genetic programs to specify striatonigral cell identity
Authors: Lu Kuan-Ming , Evans Sylvia M. , Hirano Shinji , Liu Fu-Chin
Published: December 2013

Significance

Basal ganglia circuits are engaged in controlling psychomotor function. The circuits consist of striatonigral and striatopallidal pathways. The opposing but balanced activity of these two neural pathways is important for regulating movement-related functions. How the cell types of striatonigral and striatopallidal neurons are specified to construct these two pathways during development remains elusive. We found that the LIM homeodomain transcription factor Islet-1 (Isl1) was specifically expressed in striatonigral neurons during development. Genetic inactivation of
Isl1
resulted in increased apoptosis, abnormal differentiation, and aberrant axonal projections of striatonigral neurons. These findings suggest that
Isl1
plays a key role in specification of striatonigral neurons. Our study provides insights into genetic mechanisms by which basal ganglia circuits are built to function.
Discovery of the Fomalhaut C debris disc
Authors: Kennedy G. M. , Wyatt M. C. , Kalas P. , Duchêne G. , Sibthorpe B. , Lestrade J.-F. , Matthews B. C. , Greaves J.
Published: December 2013

Fomalhaut is one of the most interesting and well-studied nearby stars, hosting at least one planet, a spectacular debris ring and two distant low-mass stellar companions (TW PsA and LP 876−10, a.k.a. Fomalhaut B and C). We observed both companions with Herschel, and while no disc was detected around the secondary, TW PsA, we have discovered the second debris disc in the Fomalhaut system, around LP 876−10. This detection is only the second case of two debris discs seen in a multiple system, both of which are relatively wide (≳3000 au for HD 223352/40 and 158 kau [0.77 pc] for Fomalhaut/LP 876−10). The disc is cool (24 K) and relatively bright, with a fractional luminosity Ldisc/L⋆ = 1.2 × 10−4, and represents the rare observation of a debris disc around an M dwarf. Further work should attempt to find if the presence of two discs in the Fomalhaut system is coincidental, perhaps simply due to the relatively young system age of 440 Myr, or if the stellar components have dynamically interacted and the system is even more complex than it currently appears.
Passive corrosion control and active corrosion prevention of the reinforced concrete structures by electrochemical chloride removal and inhibitors
Authors: Qiao Guofu , Hong Yi , Liu Tiejun , Ou Jinping
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The aim of this paper was to investigate the passive corrosion control and active corrosion protective effect of the reinforced concrete structures by electrochemical chloride removal (ECR) method and inhibitors approach, respectively.

Design/methodology/approach

– The concentration of aggressive chloride ion distributed from the reinforcing steel to the surface of the concrete cover was analyzed during the ECR processes. Besides, the half-cell potential, the concrete resistance R

c
, the polarization resistance R

p
and the capacitance of double layer C

dl
of the steel/concrete system were used to characterize the electrochemical performance of the concrete prisms.

Findings

– The effectiveness of ECR could be enhanced by increasing the amplitude of potential or prolonging the time. Inhibitor SBT-ZX(I) could successfully prevent the corrosion development of the reinforcing steel in concrete.

Originality/value

– The research provides the scientific basis for the practical application of ECR and inhibitors in the field.
Investigation on 2-mercaptobenzothiazole behavior as corrosion inhibitor for 316-stainless steel in acidic media
Authors: Goudarzi Narges , Farahani Hadi
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to describe the behavior of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) on the corrosion of 316 stainless steel (SS) in acidic media and the mechanism of its action.

Design/methodology/approach

– The inhibitive effect of MBT towards the corrosion of 316 SS in acid solution is studied by means of weight loss, potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The effect of inhibitor concentration and temperature against inhibitor action is investigated. Adsorption isotherm and adsorption mechanism are also discussed.

Findings

– MBT acts as inhibitor for this type of steel in acidic medium. This compound is mixed-type inhibitor and inhibition efficiency increased with increasing inhibitor concentration. MBT retards the rate of both anodic and cathodic corrosion reactions by adsorbing and forming a layer on the steel surface and the adsorption obeys Temkin adsorption isotherms. The inhibition efficiency is temperature dependence in the range from 25 to 65°C and some thermodynamic parameters were calculated and analyzed.

Originality/value

– The results shown in this paper are an insight to the understanding of the corrosion resistance and electrochemical behavior of 316 SS in the presence of MBT for future industrial applications and development. It is the first time that corrosion inhibition effects of MBT on 316 SS have been evaluated.
Influence of anodic coatings on stress corrosion behaviour of 7017 aluminium alloy
Authors: Spathis Panagiotis
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this work was to study the cracking susceptibility of a 7017 aluminium alloy, after anodising under various conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

– Slow strain tests in dry air, laboratory air and sodium chloride solution were employed. Anodic oxide films were produced with various applied current densities and thicknesses, in horizontal or vertical orientation of the coatings, at the free corrosion potential and also at various anodic or cathodic potentials. For the interpretation of the results, a metallographic study of the specimens before and after straining to failure was carried out using a scanning electron microscope.

Findings

– The behaviour of anodic coatings was found to depend very much on the anodising conditions. The coatings reduced the ductility of the alloy in dry air but can actually increase the ductility in laboratory air and in 3.5 per cent sodium chloride solution. In most cases, the ductility of coated specimens was greater in 3.5 per cent NaCl solution than in dry air, possibly due to crack blunting by the aggressive environment. Anodic coatings moved the free corrosion potential of the alloy in the noble direction and both the anodised and the bare alloy generally suffered a reduction in ductility at potentials anodic or cathodic to the free corrosion potential, the fall being more rapid for the anodised alloy.

Research limitations/implications

– The mechanism causing the increased ductility of coated specimens in 3.5 per cent NaCl solution than in dry air remains yet to be confirmed.

Practical implications

– The selection of suitable anodic coatings for the protection of aluminium alloys against stress corrosion cracking depends on the anodising conditions.

Originality/value

– The paper provides information regarding the influence of anodising conditions on the anticorrosive properties of electrolytically prepared anodic coatings on aluminium alloys.
First do no more harm …
Authors: Birnbaum David
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this article is to alert those in positions of trust and authority that there is an urgent need for improvement throughout the entire health profession credentialing process to fix defects at every stage, from employer responsibilities all the way up to licensing board responsibilities and government oversight.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper takes the form of a narrative review.

Findings

– The assumption that layers of safeguards prevent dangerously incompetent or impaired practitioners from continuing to practice in American hospitals is, unfortunately, just that – an assumption. While the vast majority of healthcare professionals uphold the standards of their professions, a recent public health vulnerabilities report reveals serious defects throughout those safeguard layers and widespread harm that results from actions of relatively few determined miscreants who manage to evade them. This not only undermines public trust, but underscores ways in which governing boards, hospital executives and directors have found themselves liable for failings of their institution's quality assurance provisions. That vulnerability report is the result of investigation into one healthcare worker whose narcotic thefts and drug tampering resulted in thousands of patients exposed, dozens infected with hepatitis C, across several states and multiple missed opportunities to constrain.

Originality/value

– Findings of the Maryland state investigation, coupled with other documents, show that long-recognized ethical and legal responsibilities are not being met effectively.
Numerical study of three-dimensional combined buoyancy and thermocapillary convection and evaluation of entropy generation
Authors: F. Oztop Hakan , Lioua Kolsi , Mohamad Naceur Borjini , Al-Salem Khaled
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The main purpose of this paper is to conduct on three-dimensional buoyancy and thermocapillary convection in an enclosure. Entropy generation is obtained from the calculated values of velocities and temperatures.

Design/methodology/approach

– As numerical method, the vorticity-vector potential formalism allows, in a three-dimensional configuration, the elimination of the pressure, which is a delicate term to treat. The control volume finite difference method is used to discretize equations. The central-difference scheme for treating convective terms and the fully implicit procedure to discretize the temporal derivatives are retained. The grid is uniform in all directions with additional nodes on boundaries. The successive relaxation iterating scheme is used to solve the resulting non-linear algebraic equations.

Findings

– Results are presented via entropy generation due to heat transfer, entropy generation due to fluid friction and total entropy generation. It is found that Marangoni number becomes more effective parameter on total entropy generation for lower values of Rayleigh numbers.

Practical implications

– In any thermal system under buoyancy induced and thermocapillary flow.

Originality/value

– It is believed that this is the first paper on three-dimensional solution of entropy generation in a cubical cavity under thermocapillary buoyancy flow.
The Extended Project Qualification
Authors: William Stoten David
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is viewed by students and teachers and its value as a vehicle to promote self-directed independent learning.

Design/methodology/approach

– A mixed methods approach was adopted in three stages. Stages 1 and 2 structured questionnaires were issued to students and teachers were interviewed in a third and final stage. The second questionnaire relating to students’ views were analysed for statistical reliability using the χ2-test.

Findings

– The research suggests that EPQ is a possible vehicle to promote independent learning and negates some of the more negative aspects associated with classroom-based learning.

Research limitations/implications

– This research was based on research undertaken at two Sixth Form Colleges (SFCs). Although insightful and a useful description, it cannot claim to reflect the experience of EPQ at every institution in the SFC sector.

Originality/value

– The SFC sector is rarely reported on in the academic literature. This paper also reports on a relatively new and important initiative within the sector and offers a possible view of the future in the classroom.
The chronicity and severity of abuse among older persons by country: a European study
Authors: J.F. Soares Joaquim , Fraga Silvia , Viitasara Eija , Stankunas Mindaugas , Sundin Örjan , Gabriella Melchiorre Maria , Macassa Gloria , Barros Henrique
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate chronicity (frequency) in different abuse types (e.g. psychological) and overall abuse (all abuse types) by severity (minor, severe, total) in seven European cities, and scrutinize factors associated with high chronicity levels (frequency on the median and higher) in psychological and overall abuse by severity.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study design was cross-sectional. The sample consisted of 4,467 randomly selected women/men (2,559 women) aged 60-84 years from seven European cities, and data were analysed with bivariate and multivariate methods.

Findings

– Chronicity varied across country and by abuse type. For instance, Germany had the highest chronicity means in physical and sexual abuse; Greece in physical, injury, sexual and overall abuse; Lithuania in physical, injury, financial and overall abuse; Portugal in physical abuse; Spain in physical, sexual and financial abuse; and Sweden in psychological, injury, financial and overall abuse. In general, Italy had the lowest chronicity means. The main perpetrators were people close to the respondents and women (in some cases).

Research limitations/implications

– The independent relationship (regressions) between chronicity/severity of abuse, country and other variables (e.g. depression) was examined only for psychological and overall abuse. More research into this issue with other types of abuse (e.g. sexual) is warranted.

Originality/value

– The paper reports data from the ABUEL survey, which gathered population-based data on elderly abuse.
Violent state operations at Chiadzwa (Zimbabwe) diamond fields 2006-2009
Authors: Hove Mediel , Nyamunda Tinashe , Mukwambo Patience
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the debilitating socio-economic impact caused by the diamonds at Chiadzwa area in Zimbabwe on the illegal mining community that emerged and inhabited the hills of Chiadzwa between 2006 and the beginning of 2009. The research was carried out for academic proposes, as an advocacy strategy to expose the abuses and violent state operations perpetrated by the security forces. In addition, it intends to equip policy makers and implementers about the heavy handedness of Zimbabwe's security sector during its operations in the area in an effort to enable policy implementers to defend the rights of the affected people at Chiadzwa.

Design/methodology/approach

– The methodology engaged was chiefly qualitative and the study was a product of primary sources (especially in-depth interviews) and secondary sources (text books, journal articles, newspapers and the internet). Purposive and snowballing sampling techniques were used to collect the data between 2007 and 2009. Collected data were analysed and compiled between 2009 and 2013. Some of the names used in this study for our respondents are pseudo and this was done to ensure anonymity and secure the providers of information against possible retribution. On the other hand real names were used in particular where violent state driven operations were discussed.

Findings

– Initially the government of Zimbabwe was reluctant to intervene in the illegal extraction of diamonds in search of political leverage. Later it responded with violent manipulative strategies and operations with detrimental consequences on the illegal miners. The brutal strategies employed by individuals and the state led to injury, illness and death of people amid a harsh socio-economic environment.

Research limitations/implications

– A number of respondents preferred to use pseudonyms because they feared that information collected could be used against them.

Practical implications

– The study is a good example of conflict between the state machinery and its citizens over a natural resource. It reveals excessive use of force by the state which appears to be the norm in other countries where diamonds are dubbed “blood diamonds”.

Social implications

– In the midst of the diamond-related violence a new and vibrant social identity emerged commonly referred to asmagweja. The area experienced challenges especially with regards to the provision of health services and the traditional use of herbs was endangered by the destruction of vegetation.

Originality/value

– It reveals a milieu, state regulation enforcement and security agents,magombiro(armed robbers or murderers) all who discharged violence onmagwejathe foremost victims of the violent systems and practices. In addition, it encourages policy markers and implementers to devise non-violent strategies when dealing with illegal exploitation of natural resources.
Heavy work investment: its motivational make-up and outcomes
Authors: van Beek Ilona , W. Taris Toon , B. Schaufeli Wilmar , Brenninkmeijer Veerle
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The present study aims to investigate the motivational correlates of two types of heavy work investment: workaholism and work engagement. Building on Higgins's regulatory focus theory, the paper examines which work goals workaholic and engaged employees pursue and which strategies they use to achieve these goals. Furthermore, the paper examines how workaholism and work engagement relate to three different work outcomes: job satisfaction, turnover intention, and job performance.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data from a cross-sectional survey study among 680 Dutch employees in the banking industry were analysed using structural equation modeling.

Findings

– The analyses revealed that workaholism was primarily and positively associated with having a prevention focus, whereas work engagement was primarily and positively associated with having a promotion focus. Furthermore, workaholism was negatively related to job satisfaction and job performance, and positively related to turnover intention, whereas work engagement was positively associated with job satisfaction and job performance, and negatively associated with turnover intention. Both forms of heavy work investment almost fully mediated the associations between the regulatory foci and the three work outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

– The conclusions rely on self-report data, a relatively homogeneous sample, and a cross-sectional design. This may have biased our findings to some degree and does not allow inferring causal conclusions.

Practical implications

– The findings show that workaholic and engaged employees have different work goals and use different strategies to pursue these goals. Moreover, both forms of heavy work investment are oppositely related to work outcomes. Organizations may develop policies to reduce workaholism and to promote work engagement by influencing their employees' regulatory foci.

Originality/value

– The present study demonstrates that two types of heavy work investment can be distinguished, each with a unique motivational make-up and a unique pattern of work outcomes.
Underlying asset liquidity, heterogeneously informed investors, and REITs excess returns
Authors: Lu Chia-Wu , Chen Tsung-Kang , Liao Hsien-Hsing
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– Real estate investment trust (REIT) stocks are well known for limited management discretion in investment, financing, and payout policies, implying little information asymmetry between informed and uninformed investors. Besides, due to the renowned illiquidity and complexity of physical real estate markets, investors may be heterogeneously informed. The authors aim to investigate these arguments using REIT panel data from 1993 to 2010.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors simultaneously investigate the effects of heterogeneous information (PSOS) and information asymmetry (ADJPIN) on REIT excess returns by estimating panel data regressions controlling for both firm- and time-fixed effects.

Findings

– The results confirm that heterogeneous information (PSOS) is significantly and positively associated with REIT excess returns while information asymmetry (ADJPIN) is insignificant when controlling for other variables well known for affecting REIT excess returns.

Originality/value

– The effects of information asymmetry (ADJPIN) and heterogeneous information (PSOS) on REITs excess returns are rarely simultaneously discussed in the related literature, especially from the perspectives of limited managerial discretions, regulated dividend policy, and underlying asset liquidity (physical real estate markets). The results confirm the heterogeneous information arguments. Besides, the heterogeneous information (PSOS) effects become stronger when leverage and dividend yield are higher. Finally, the above effects of PSOS and ADJPIN on REIT excess returns are also robust during the real estate market growth period (2001-2008).
A people's palace opens: the new Library of Birmingham
Authors: Freeman Mike
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this report is to provide an account of the UK's new public library of Birmingham.

Design/methodology/approach

– Details the construction, exterior and interior design, contents and location, including special collections, and describes the official opening.

Findings

– A large public library building which moves away from old conceptions of libraries, accommodating a variety of functions in a striking and accessible building.

Originality/value

– Provides a description of the new Library of Birmingham, the largest public library in Europe.
PCCs, neo-liberal hegemony and democratic policing
Authors: Turner Liz
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to explore the recent introduction of directly elected police and crime commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales, and to consider to what extent this new innovation should be considered as a positive contribution to the achievement of democratic policing.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper draws on a range of key sources of academic literature on police accountability and the sociology of policing, as well as considering the content of government pronouncements and legislation.

Findings

– The central argument of the paper is that the introduction of PCCs needs to be examined within the context of the hegemony of neo-liberal logic in public services reform. It is argued that some enduring myths of policing, including the myth that the police impartially uphold an impartial law, lend themselves to the depoliticisation of policing which is necessary in order to facilitate neo-liberal colonisation of the service, which is inimical to democratic policing.

Originality/value

– The paper builds upon and contests some of the early critiques of the introduction of PCCs which have emerged and proposes a new direction for the development of critique in this area. It will be of interest to policing scholars as well as anyone concerned about the relationship between democracy and policing under current conditions of deep public service cuts and the colonisation of service provision by neo-liberal values.
A taxonomy of strategic sourcing for defense forces in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Mpeera Ntayi Joseph , Mugume Ephraim
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a taxonomy of strategic sourcing using the defense forces from a developing world context as a testing ground. This study builds upon the current resource-based conceptualization of strategic sourcing as a construct to introduce the institutional orientation.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study adopts a descriptive and analytical research design of cross-sectional nature to collect data from a sample of 120 respondents to examine the taxonomy of strategic sourcing for defense forces in sub-Saharan Africa. Data were collected using an interviewee administered questionnaire and analysed using a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The conceptualization of strategic sourcing is presented using a CFA.

Findings

– Findings reveal that strategic sourcing is a multidimensional construct composed of: information sharing and risk management, strategic purchasing, institutions for sourcing, internal integration and performance assessment, supplier management and sourcing professionalism and ethics.

Research limitations/implications

– The study used cross-sectional research design which limits monitoring behaviour over time. Cross-sectional data do not allow control in the analysis for residual heterogeneity. Additionally, all item scales adapted in this study were developed in either manufacturing or profit-oriented sector.

Originality/value

– A taxonomy for strategic sourcing within the defense forces is presented. This study is based on the observation that despite increased research, there remains a certain level of confusion surrounding the conceptualization of “strategic sourcing”. Researchers attach a startling diversity of definitions and measures to the strategic sourcing concept. Its conceptualization and stability remains an important task for scholars to undertake. Besides, much research in strategic sourcing, are conceptual frameworks identifying key elements and procedures or processes to implement strategic sourcing with sparse empirical studies. The results of the study will be used for further research on strategic sourcing in the defense forces in sub-Saharan Africa.
Comparing the anterior nare bacterial community of two discrete human populations using Illumina amplicon sequencing
Authors: Camarinha‐Silva Amélia , Jáuregui Ruy , Chaves‐Moreno Diego , Oxley Andrew P.A. , Schaumburg Frieder , Becker Karsten , Wos‐Oxley Melissa L. , Pieper Dietmar H.
Published: December 2013

The anterior nares are an important reservoir for opportunistic pathogens and commensal microorganisms. A barcoded Illumina paired‐end sequencing method targeting the 16S ribosomal RNA V1‐2 hypervariable region was developed to compare the bacterial diversity of the anterior nares across distinct human populations (volunteers from Germany vs a Babongo Pygmy tribe, Africa). Of the 251 phylotypes detected, 231 could be classified to the genus level and 109 to the species level, including the unambiguous identification of the ubiquitous Staphylococcus aureus and Moraxella catarrhalis. The global bacterial community of both adult populations revealed that they shared 85% of the phylotypes, suggesting that our global bacterial communities have likely been with us for thousands of years. Of the 34 phylotypes unique to the non‐westernized population, most were related to members within the suborder Micrococcineae. There was an even more overwelming distinction between children and adults of the same population, suggesting a progression of a childhood community of high‐diversity comprising species of Moraxellaceae and Streptococcaceae to an adult community of lower diversity comprising species of Propionibacteriaceae, Clostridiales Incertae Sedis XI, Corynebacteriaceae and Staphylococcaceae. Thus, age was a stronger factor for accounting for differing bacterial assemblages than the origin of the human population sampled.
Overview of: “Short‐ and Long‐Term Outcome Results from a Multisite Evaluation of the G.R.E.A.T. Program”
Authors: Esbensen Finn‐Aage , Osgood D. Wayne , Peterson Dana , Taylor Terrance J. , Carson Dena C.
Published: December 2013

Research Summary

This article presents results from a randomized control trial of the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program; 3,820 students enrolled in 195 classrooms in 31 schools in seven cities were surveyed six times over 5 years (pretests and posttests in Year 1 and four annual follow‐up surveys). The results indicate that during the 4 years posttreatment, students who received the program had lower odds of gang membership compared with the control group. The treatment group also reported more prosocial attitudes on several program‐specific outcomes. In addition to examining the effectiveness for the full sample, we also report analyses that examine program effects by (a) site and (b) initial levels of risk for gang membership.

Policy Implications

Effective youth violence‐prevention programs continue to be few in number; effective youth gang‐prevention programs are even rarer. Various rating systems exist (e.g., University of Colorado's Blueprint Model, Helping America's Youth, OJJDP Model Program Guide, and NIJ's Crime Solutions), but even application of the least rigorous standards fails to identify many promising or effective programs. Based on results reported in this article, the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program holds promise as a universal gang‐prevention program.
J.B. Chifley and the Indonesian Revolution, 1945–1949
Authors: Fettling David
Published: December 2013

This article traces the role of the Prime Minister, Joseph Benedict Chifley, in Australia's response to the Dutch‐Indonesian colonial conflict. It argues for Chifley's centrality to the formation of Australia's eventual policy to support Indonesian nationalist aspirations, a policy often in antithesis to the views of H.V. Evatt. This is significant because a focus on Evatt has distracted historians from ascertaining the causes of Australia's policy. Examining Chifley's attitude and role reveals that Australia's response to revolutionary Indonesia stemmed from an application to the Southeast Asian colonial question of a labourist and post‐war reconstructionist ethos, an idea of sweeping reform to rectify deep economic and social grievances.
Australia, the International Geophysical Year and the 1959 Antarctic Treaty
Authors: Antonello Alessandro
Published: December 2013

Australia's experience of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) in Antarctica (1957–8) tempers the dominant narrative of the IGY as a transformative event in Antarctic affairs. This article argues that the IGY was not a great rupture in Australia's relationship with Antarctica. Rather, because of a long cultural attachment to and continuing relationship with Antarctica based in concepts of national security and development, Australian government policy stubbornly adhered to the idea of territorial sovereignty. Recognising this continuity in Australia's relationship with Antarctica is important for reconfiguring our understanding of how the Antarctic Treaty took the form it did.
Crossing the Line: Richard Casey Re‐Visited
Authors: Rodan Paul
Published: December 2013

Sir John Kerr's dismissal of the Whitlam government ensured that he became Australia's most controversial Governor‐General and the one seen to have taken vice‐regal powers to their limit. While this is understandable, Kerr's notoriety has obscured a wider appreciation of the significant activism and even intrusiveness which characterised Richard Casey's 1965–1969 term as Governor‐General. This article draws on Casey's extensive diaries to paint a broader picture of the man and to examine his activist view of the role. Casey's version of the vice‐regal role is almost certainly at the extreme end of any Australian vice‐regal activity spectrum, and is consistent with patterns in his overall career.
Australian Reporting from East Timor 1975–1999: Journalists as Agents of Change
Authors: Tapsell Ross , Eidenfalk Joakim
Published: December 2013

This article examines Australian reporting in East Timor from 1975 to 1999, and the changing professional practice of Australian journalists who reported from the region during this time. Research conducted for this article includes testimony from the journalists, and a collating of 3,456 newspaper articles published in the mainstream Australian press on the East Timor situation between 1998 and 1999. It will show that in addition to new regulations over access to the region, new mobile media technologies pushed journalism in new directions, adding to the ability of the journalist to facilitate instantaneous delivery of news to Australia. These reports filed by Australian journalists from East Timor were crucial in fostering the Australian government's decision to send troops to the region.
Appendiceal neuroendocrine neoplasms in the era of laparoscopic appendicectomy
Authors: Davenport Emily , Courtney Edward D. , Benson‐Cooper Sarah , Bissett Ian P.
Published: December 2013

Background

Incidental appendiceal neuroendocrine neoplasms are identified in 1% of surgical resections for suspected appendicitis. A proportion of these patients will require further surgery because of high risk features, which include mesoappendiceal involvement or an involved margin. While an open appendicectomy technique usually involves en bloc mesoappendiceal resection, the increasingly common laparoscopic method often skeletonizes the appendix, leaving the mesoappendix in situ. This retrospective observational study investigates whether routine resection of the mesoappendix rather than skeletonization would reduce the need for further surgery in patients with an incidental finding of appendiceal neuroendocrine neoplasm.

Methods

We included appendicectomies performed over an 11‐year period at Auckland City Hospital and identified all cases of incidental appendiceal neuroendocrine neoplasms. Histological data were collected to assess the risk of lymphatic spread and need for further surgery. Mesoappendix resection versus preservation and its effect on the recommendation for further surgery was recorded.

Results

An appendiceal neuroendocrine neoplasm was present in 73 (1%) of 7109 appendicectomy specimens. Of these, 10 patients (14%) required right hemicolectomy. Five of these could potentially have been spared the need for further surgery had the mesoappendix been removed en bloc with the appendix.

Discussion

We recommend en bloc mesoappendix resection during appendicectomy in order to better stage the neoplasm and reduce the need for unnecessary further surgery.
Not the right time: why parents refuse to let their daughters have the human papillomavirus vaccination
Authors: Grandahl Maria , Oscarsson Marie , Stenhammar Christina , Nevéus Tryggve , Westerling Ragnar , Tydén Tanja
Published: December 2013

Aim

To explore why parents refused to allow their 10‐ to 12‐year‐old daughters to receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination from the Swedish school‐based vaccination programme.

Methods

Individual interviews with 25 parents who had been offered, but not consented to, their daughters receiving the HPV vaccination.

Results

Five themes emerged through the interviews: 1) she is just a little girl, 2) inadequate information, 3) not compatible with our way of life, 4) scepticism about the vaccination and 5) who can you trust? The parents made their decisions with their child's best interests in mind. This was not considered the right time, and the vaccine was perceived as unnecessary and different from other vaccines. Mistrust in Government recommendations and a lack of evidence or information were other reasons to decline.

Conclusion

The decision‐making process was complex. These parents preferred to wait until their daughter was older and believed the information they received from the school health system was insufficient. The results indicate that a more flexible HPV vaccination schedule may improve vaccine uptake. This includes more transparent information about the virus and the vaccine and information about who to contact to get the daughter vaccinated at a later date.
Advances in understanding stroke risk in children – a geneticist's view
Authors: Stoll Monika , Rühle Frank , Nowak‐Göttl Ulrike
Published: December 2013

The advent of the genomic era has provided novel insights into the genetic architecture of common complex diseases, such as thrombophilia and stroke. Since 2006, a growing number of genome wide association studies (GWAS) for common complex diseases have revealed new candidate loci and genomic regions that play an important role in disease aetiology and progression. While GWAS on the above mentioned traits are abundant in adults, similar studies in paediatric study cohorts are lagging behind. However, genetic research in this important clinical area has gained momentum and starts to provide us with exciting insights into the genetic underpinnings of stroke with paediatric onset. Here we review recent advances in genetic association studies underlying stroke in children and aim to translate the results to clinical utility. These studies comprise candidate gene approaches and GWAS, and represent the current status on what we have learnt about the genetic architecture underlying paediatric stroke, and how this may affect medical practice in the years to come.
Enhancement of the advanced Fenton process by ultrasound for decolorisation of real textile wastewater
Authors: Weng Chih‐Huang , Lin Yao‐Tung , Liu Na , Yang Hong‐Yang
Published: December 2013

Successful decolorisation of real textile wastewater was achieved by means of the advanced Fenton process in conjunction with ultrasound technology. A synergy factor of 6.9 for this combined method was determined. The decolorisation followed zero‐order kinetics, and the rate increased with increasing zero‐valent iron dose and decreasing pH and hydrogen peroxide concentration. The optimum conditions for an American Dye Manufacturers Institute decolorisation value of 1638 ADMI was found to be a pH of 3.0, an ultrasound frequency of 47 kHz, a zero‐valent iron dose of 1.0 g l−1, and a hydrogen peroxide concentration of 1.03 × 10−2 m. Under these conditions, the estimated operating cost to decolorise 96% true colour was estimated to be $US 4.51 m−3. The study demonstrated that the given combined method could be applied to decolorise textile wastewaters.
Surface properties of impregnated and varnished Scots pine wood after accelerated weathering
Authors: Baysal Ergun , Dizman Tomak Eylem , Ozbey Musa , Altin Ebedin
Published: December 2013

In this study, the effect of accelerated weathering on the surface properties of Scots pine specimens impregnated with wolmanit‐CB, tanalith‐E, and adolit‐KD5 and coated with synthetic and polyurethane varnishes was investigated by measuring surface hardness, glossiness, and colour. Results showed that weathering caused an increase in the hardness of impregnated and varnished specimens, while it caused a decrease in the glossiness of specimens. Surfaces became rougher and darker after weathering in comparison with the initial surfaces of wood specimens. Positive values of the chromatic coordinates indicated that the wood surfaces changed from their original colour to a reddish and yellowish colour. The highest colour change was detected in the specimens coated with polyurethane varnish alone. Both copper‐based wood preservative treatment and varnish coating improved the surface properties of specimens in comparison with the surface properties observed on specimens coated with varnish alone.
Actor–Networks, Farmer Decisions, and Identity
Authors: Gray Benjamin J. , Gibson Jane W.
Published: December 2013

Climate change and industrial agricultural practices pose threats to the future of Kansas agriculture. To inform the debate about sustainable agriculture that must soon occur, we seek to illuminate the factors involved in the decision making of farmers in Kansas. Drawing from Actor–Network Theory, we consider how farmers' participation in the industrial agricultural network shapes their decisions, defines the types of knowledge and skills that are valued by farmers and others in the network, transforms what it means to be a Kansas grain farmer, and entrenches unsustainable production practices.