bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The idiosyncratic specificity of the methods of physical experimentation
Authors: Livingston Eric
Published: March 2007

Both the philosophy of science and the philosophy of social science research methods stress the application of methodic procedures to ensure the objectivity of the findings of scientific research. In contrast, the examination of the practices of physical experimentation indicates that the work of an experiment involves the cultivation of idiosyncratic methods specific to that particular experiment. Rather than exhibiting the adequacy of findings through the use of a scientific method, experiments, as their achievement, reveal the adequacy of the methods used for their own analysis.
The social bases of environmentalism in Australia
Authors: Tranter Bruce
Published: March 2007

Interpretations of social and political movements as reflecting social cleavages, especially 'class bases', have formed the backbone of political sociology. Ac cordingly, Western environmental movements are often explained in terms of their alleged class and generational bases. This research assesses social base explanations of support for environmental new politics in Australia. Using nationally representative survey data, it examines the impact of (new) class, status, generation/cohort, and other aspects of social location on environmental concerns and support for environmental groups. Although some social location effects are apparent, they have limited utility for'explaining' environmental new politics in Australia. While the impact of social location variables are generally weak, along with postmaterialist value orientations and consumption of high culture, they have a moderate effect on the propensity to be environmentally active.
Labour movements and welfare states: a reconsideration of how trade unions influence social change
Authors: Boreham Paul , Hall Richard , Leet Martin
Published: March 2007

While it is commonly accepted that the organisation and mobilisation of labour movements has been critical to the development and nature of welfare states across the OECD, considerable uncertainty remains as to the specific mechan isms and means by which labour movements secure social wage benefits. Emphasis in the evaluation of labour politics can be placed on the role of left and labour party control over government, on the effect of union movement strength as measured by union density rates or on the influence of union confederal involvement in policy-making. These party mobilisation, union density and political unionism theses are tested using pooled time-series cross- sectional data drawn from 15 OECD countries. The results indicate that while union involvement in economic policy-making and union movement strength are conducive to higher levels of welfare expenditure, the presence of left parties per se has no apparent effect on welfare effort.
Transformations of taste: Americanisation, generational change and Australian cultural consumption
Authors: Emmison Michael
Published: March 2007

Researchers within the field of cultural imperialism as well as the more recently developed globalisation paradigm have tended to dwell upon the economic or corporate dimensions of global cultural flows and have been largely indifferent to the domain of the everyday cultural tastes and forms of cultural consumption that exist in particular national contexts. This article seeks to redress this focus through an examination of one particular instance of cultural imperialism, the widely held belief in the Americanisation of Australian society. Using data from a major research project inquiring into Australian everyday culture the article focuses on the changes in cultural tastes and preferences that are evident in three generational cohorts: contemporary young adults, a segment of the 'baby-boom' generation now in middle age, and a group of older Australians born in the years following World War I and the 1920s. The article documents a trend in which overseas influences, particularly those originating from America, appear to be increasingly shaping Australians' tastes in a wide range of cultural domains. Nevertheless, despite these changes in cultural taste Australians of all ages retain a strong sense of a distinctive national identity. Such findings have implications for an understanding of cultural globalisation as a process of hybridisation and intermixing.
Accounting for the ICI fire: partial connections between lay and expert knowledge
Authors: Dew Kevin , Lloyd Mike
Published: March 2007

This note presents a case study of the 1984 ICI chemical fire—a major New Zealand occupational health and safety incident. Details are presented of various health and illness disputations that arose after the fire and the way these tended to coalesce into lay and expert factions. Not wishing to treat lay/expert as a fixed dichotomy, we use the term 'partial connections' to emphasise that lay or expert knowledge is a socially accomplished and precarious element of actor-networks. Nevertheless, once these elements are made more durable, 'harder' social outcomes result, and in the case of the ICI fire the 'hard' facts tended to disfavour the lay actors and their knowledge.
The development of bioethics and the issue of euthanasia: regulating, de-regulating or re-regulating?
Authors: Lewins Frank
Published: March 2007

This paper relates the development of bioethics and the issue of euthanasia to social control. It suggests that, contrary to appearances, developments in these areas indicate increasing government control of health care practice. Specifically, it argues that, although the emergence of bioethics may appear to indicate health care professionals engaging in self-regulation, the reality is more a case of re-regulation or a shift of regulatory control from health care professionals to governments or agents of governments. By contrast, the issue of euthanasia appears to be proceeding in a different direction in that it seems to be a dispute over de-regulation of health care practice. In reality, though, it is similar to the development of bioethics. The issue of euthanasia, especially in recent years, rests on the same type of re-regulation of health care practice—a shift from medical control to increasing control by government.
Australian rugby league and violence 1970 to 1995: a case study in the maintenance of masculine hegemony
Authors: Hutchins Brett , Mikosza Janine
Published: March 2007

The intersecting issues of violence and masculinity are central to Australian rugby league. Positively sanctioned violence is explicitly linked to the all-male preserve of rugby league, with physical violence and domination being an historically naturalised way of performing masculinity in this context. These characteristics see this sport perform as a 'flag-carrier' of masculinity in Australian society. This paper utilises Connell's concept of the 'gender order' to bring the issues of masculine identities, and the role that violence plays in the formation and construction of these identities, into the critical spotlight. While gender relations in rugby league appear 'natural', 'static' and 'normal', and remain mostly unquestioned, it is hoped to unravel many of the social and historical processes that have constructed and maintained masculine hegemony in and through the game. Issues to be addressed include codes of player behaviour, the body, injury and violence, the subordination of women and women's sport, and homosexuality in rugby league's homosocial subculture.
The discourse of restructuring: employment in the New Zealand telecommunications industry
Authors: Larner Wendy
Published: March 2007

Conceptualisations of employment in the New Zealand telecommunications industry are no longer shaped by the notion of a social partnership between union and employer in a national labour market. Rather they are constituted through managerialist discourses in which individual and enterprise are linked in the pursuit of international competitiveness. One consequence of this shift is that workers are more directly exposed to the mechanisms of the market. Drawing from the neo- Foucauldian literature on governmentality, the paper traces qualitative shifts in the discourses and practices governing the employment of workers in the New Zealand telecommunications industry, thereby elucidating the contested processes through which the re-commodification of labour was achieved.
Women at risk in sex work: strategies for survival
Authors: Pyett Priscilla , Warr Deborah
Published: March 2007

This paper reports findings from a qualitative study of female sex workers who were identified as particularly vulnerable to risks to their sexual health and physical safety. In-depth interviews were conducted with 24 women to explore issues of safe sex and risk management in relation to their work, health and private lives. The main risks identified were client violence and client resistance to condom use. Non-use of condoms with private partners also placed many of these women at risk of STDs and HIV. Various approaches to avoidance or management of risk are described. The degree of control individual women were able to exert during sexual encounters with clients was affected not only by the legal context of sex work but also by the age, experience, self-esteem and self-confidence of the women and by their drug use at the time of the encounter. For some of these women, problems associated with homelessness, drug use and extreme social isolation far outweighed the risks associated with sex work.
Sociologists confront human rights: the problem of universalism
Authors: Anleu Sharyn Roach
Published: March 2007

This paper examines sociologists' current interest in the topics of human rights and globalisation. Some descnbe a world where everyone has rights (or at least a modicum of rights), because we are all human, and we all interact and communicate with one another in a global environment which will (it is argued), result in greater toleration and recognition of differences. In contrast, this paper emphasises the political instability of rights in a world characterised by vast economic inequalities which does not fit neatly into some of the visions of international or global community being proposed. Rather than the inevitability of rights discourse, I argue that it is the force of law that demands human problems be cast in the language of rights and rights language is legal language. Nonetheless, there has been relatively little attention paid by sociologists to the institutions, especially courts, for example, that will recognise and enforce those rights designated as human rights. The paper closes with some suggestions for further sociological endeavour in this regard.
Crime control, citizenship and the state: lay understandings of crime, its causes and solutions
Authors: Lupton Deborah
Published: March 2007

Recent policies in Western countries have emphasised the notion of personal responsibility in crime control, drawing attention away from the role of government agencies in dealing with crime. This article explores how this approach to crime control has been taken up in lay ideas about the causes of and solutions to crime. Drawing on a major empirical study on fear of crime among a group of Australians living in urban and rural areas, it is argued that the discourse of personal responsibility was indeed evident in lay accounts. However, the participants also resisted the notion that the state should relinquish paternal protection of its citizens and direct intervention into crime. Their understandings of crime located it within a wider causal network that incorporated ideas about the role of social institutions, welfare and the state in preventing crime.
The Cumberlege Seminars in England
Authors: Haines M.
Published: March 2007

The Cumberlege Seminars in England focused attention on the need to improve co-ordination and the quality of NHS library and information resources and to develop more efficient modes of access to the knowledge base of health. This paper reviews the background to the two Cumberlege Seminars, briefly describes the aims and recommendations from each, discusses progress in implementing the recommendations and offers suggestions for improving library and information support to the knowledge base.
An informative strategy to support nursing and midwifery research
Authors: Read S. , Roberts-Davis M.
Published: March 2007

This paper explains why Sheffield and North Trent College of Nursing and Midwifery, commissioned the production of a database and a guidebook to support their staff, in their preparation for integration within the University of Sheffield in 1995. The paper overviews the context of research funding for nurses and the criteria normally applied by funders of research to proposals received. The college hopes that the provision of this support will enable their staff to 'get funded and get published'.
An interpretive approach to the development of patient management information systems
Authors: Pastor Urban J.L. , Whiddett R.J.
Published: March 2007

This paper describes the action research process aimed at identifying the information systems requirements of a New Zealand health supplier. In part, this is in response to the recent changes in the New Zealand National Health System and the lack of success of previous implementations of commercial solutions. The study is the product of the urgent necessity of offering better services with more competitive costs, based on the specific requirements of stakeholders (medical, administrative staff). The focus of the requirements is found in the concept of the patient as the generator of the whole system and the centre of information. The creation of a 'Patient Management Information System' (PMIS), and its interaction with different stakeholders, is the recommended outcome of the action research process. The process by which a phased introduction of the PMIS can be implemented, in order to reduce its impact on work practices, is then outlined.
Some Aspects of Shellfish Sanitation in Britain
Authors: Sherwood H.P.
Published: March 2007

It is suggested that although there is no need for anxiety about the risk of paralytic poisoning from shellfish occurring in Britain, the cause and nature of this form of poisoning should not be lost sight of.

Approved purification stations effectively remove sewage pollution from the mussels and oysters treated in them, but leave a substantial proportion of these shellfish to be marketed unpurified, some taken from beds which, to say the least, are not above suspicion. The extension of approved purification schemes seems unlikely to occur for several years.

Bacteriological examination of market samples continues to serve a useful purpose in shellfish sanitation, and the adoption of a standard technique and method of interpreting results is advocated.
Some Aspects On Housing in Rural Districts
Authors: Ward Griffiths D.
Published: March 2007

The author has reviewed rural housing progress since the war and has suggested that returns of details of categorization of rural dwellings, revealed by the survey in each district, be collated to give national figures of rural housing conditions. True assessment of housing need can only be made by local authorities in the light of local conditions and characteristics. He states that step by step with the building of new houses, the work of rural slum clearance should be commenced, together with greater action in demanding repairs to existing dwellings. New legislation is overdue for the equitable " thawing " of rent-restricted properties, and rent increases should be made in proportion to the state of fitness of the property concerned compared with the sixteen-point standard. He has reiterated the need for the fullest use of council-owned properties and the responsibilities of local authorities in the proper housing of agricultural workers and elderly people, at rents which they can afford, facilitated if necessary by differential rent systems. Farmers must play a bigger part in properly housing their workmen.

The failure to date of section 20 of the Housing Act, 1949, is briefly reviewed, but the author is convinced that the Act can still be a vital instrument in securing improvements to older properties, to the common advantage of tenant, landlord, local authority and farmer.
The Educational Aspect of a Clean Food Campaign
Authors: Holt H. Mainwaring
Published: March 2007

The interest in clean food is not of recent development ; it goes back to the middle of the eighteenth century, but not until I860 was it made the subject of legislation. The public health service has inclined to persuasion rather than coercion in stimulating the need for pure and whole some food as a safeguard against injury to health.

There is a conflict between trade interest and the official health interest which can be resolved by mutual co-operation and public enlightenment. The deliberate food adulterator should be regarded and dealt with as a common thief.

The Catering Trade Working Party's recommendations focused attention on the importance of clean food handling ; whether the increase of notified cases of food poisoning is real or imaginary the danger to the public health is there ; educational measures and an immediate improvement in food handling are, therefore, of paramount importance.

Improvements in food handling, like improvements in anything else, will cost money ; the public will be called upon to meet the cost. Let it be understood that they will get far better value than having to risk the cost of illness which when incurred cannot be counted in pounds, shillings and pence. The cost is a form of insurance against illness.

There is a need to protect the honest trader from exploitation by the blackmailer who says he has found this or that in some food commodity purchased.

The precautions to be taken in clean food handling are simple ; the real danger is confined to a few products only.

An educational campaign starts in the town hall. It is the local authority which should take the lead in a matter of this kind. The next step is to interest the trade ; a clean food exhibition will bring the matter to the notice of the public as well as provide an opportunity for various firms to bring their ideas to the notice of the trade. The press can give great assistance by timely publicity in the development of the clean food idea. Lectures to food handlers are of unquestionable value. The interest and encouragement of master tradesmen is absolutely necessary in getting staff to attend. The St. John Ambulance Association syllabus is short, simple and acceptable ; the classes should be self-supporting.

The personal approach to the problem of clean food and clean food handling is far more profitable than making it the subject of official diatribes.
A smoking cessation counsellor: should every hospital have one?
Authors: Prathiba B.V. , Tjeder Sonja , Phillips Ceri , Campbell Ian A.
Published: March 2007

The study was performed in order to ascertain the sustained smoking cessation rate in hos pital patients who received a structured programme of advice and support from a counsel lor and to estimate the cost-effectiveness of such an intervention. Hospital in-patients and out-patients were referred by their physician/surgeon to the smoking cessation counsellor who provided advice to reinforce that of the doctor and gave support by repeated follow-up sessions, weekly in the first month and thereafter at three, six and twelve months. Of 1,155 patients referred to the counsellor, 114 (13%) failed to keep the first appointment and 348 (30%) attended for advice on one occasion only. Among the latter, the self-reported sus tained cessation rate at one year was 5%. In the 663 patients who participated in the pro gramme the validated (expired air CO) 12-month, sustained cessation rate was 21%. Allowing 7.5% success rate among patients receiving a physician's advice only, the cost of each additional success achieved as a result of the programme is £851 and the cost per life year saved is between £340 and £426. Assuming that after one year's abstinence relapse rates are relatively small, this represents a sound investment in the light of the cost of treating patients with smoking-related illnesses and compares favourably with other smoking cessa tion strategies and health care interventions.
Incidence of sexual crime committed against learning disabled adults: a review of two key studies and discussion of implications for practitioners and managers of services
Authors: Bailey A.
Published: March 2007

In this paper two key British incidence studies of sexual abuse committed against adults with learning disabilities by Turk & Brown (1993) and Brown et al (1995) are outlined. This is followed by a wider discussion of research into the incidence of sexual abuse along with an exploration of definitional issues. The limitations of official crime surveys in relation to the victimization of adults with learning disabilities are explored. The paper concludes that, despite methodological and definitional difficulties associated with incidence studies, there can be little doubt that people with learning disabilities are more vulnerable to sexual abuse than the general population. The implications for staff training on issues of sexuality in the field of learning disabilities and the effective implementation of policies and procedures for the reporting and investigation of these offences, are identified as important areas for practitioners and managers of services.
Life to Work: issues and applications for learning disabled people undergoing transition from hospital to community-based settings
Authors: Hewitt C. , Branton P. , Dunn J. , Willcocks A.
Published: March 2007

Life Story Work represents the development of values in the importance of understanding history in the continuing self-esteem of an individual.

This study reports such work for people with learning disabilities showing it to reap benefits for individuals living in a hospital setting. It provided the opportunity for people to express their unique individuality, their needs and desires and has provided a fuller understanding of the person. It also provided a useful tool for client/carer interaction and communication.

The team involved has discovered many ways in which Life Story Work can be presented, to enable individuals to access their Life Story according to the skills they possess. A voice on a tape, a video, a book of photographs or a comprehensive written book are some of the ideas that have evolved from this work.
Some issues surrounding the assessment of individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities: a case study
Authors: Hughes D.L.
Published: March 2007

This paper explores the practical issues of conducting an assessment with a client with severe learning disabilities, as well as physical disabilities. The process of assessment is considered with particular reference to people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; this discussion is located within a case study of a young woman with complex needs. Existing frameworks are explored, and it is argued that formal methods of assessment are helpful only in the context of a meaningful relationship with the client, taking full account of individual factors. This point is illustrated by the author's adaptation of the Star Profile to make it relevant to this client's individual needs. Assessment tools can help to provide information that links into the client's Shared Action Plan, and it is argued that professionals need to be aware that the client should be at the centre of this process. Person-centred forms of planning, for example Essential Lifestyle Planning, are increasingly being recognized as important. Published forms of assessment are most effective when used sensitively and proficiently by practitioners.
Past, present and future for people with teaming disabilities in Sweden
Authors: Gynnerstedt K.
Published: March 2007

This paper presents an overview of the current situation for people with learning disabilities in Sweden. However, in order to judge their situation today it is necessary to present both an historical background and a context. This paper firstly presents some thoughts concerning the relative nature of handicap and then explores the historical perspective of services for people with learning disabilities in Sweden. A new law of rights for people with disabilities (I994) places the rights connected with social citizenship into sharp focus. Brief demographic details are included to enable the reader to make comparisons with other countries. The terms that describe people with disabilities have changed over the years. In this paper the words 'disability' and 'learning disabilities' describe what previously, in Sweden, would have been called 'mentally retarded' or 'mentally handicapped'. These latter terms are only used in this paper when it is necessary to qualify the historical perspective (see also Lewis & Ferguson I997). This paper concludes with a short discussion concerning some of the current, and possible future, problems in the field of learning disabilities along with those undertaking research in this area.
A lifelong commitment: parental memories and reflections prompted by the impending discharge of long-stay patients with learning disabilities
Authors: Barton R.
Published: March 2007

This paper is based on a series of interviews with parents and relatives of adults with learning disabilities who are expected to be resettled from the long-stay hospital, in which they have spent much of their lives, by the year 2000. A life story approach was used to explore these parents' feelings and experiences over time, and the six key themes that emerged were significant to all of the informants: the realization that a learning disability existed; confusion over diagnosis and prognosis, the strain of caring; the eventual admission of their relative to institutional care; difficulty in handling the transition of their child to adulthood and the enduring nature of parental involvement, which had often spanned several decades and sometimes lasted more than 50 years. Four key reasons for the maintenance of parental contact were identified, together with four factors that had acted as disincentives. It was concluded that the sense of marginalization experienced by these parents at the point of impending institutional discharge mirrored their feeling of exclusion around the time of admission, reflecting continuing confusion, conflict and uncertainty over parental roles, rights and responsibilities in relation to adults with learning disabilities.
Learning disability nursing: reflections on history
Authors: Mitchell D.
Published: March 2007

Recently, much has been written about the present and future of learning disability nursing in the UK but its past has been relatively neglected. This paper attempts to address this by recording an aspect of the history of learning disability nursing. The paper argues that learning disability nursing needs closer attention than it has previously received from historians of nursing. Documentary sources from the 1920s and 1940s are used to examine the relationship of learning disability nursing with the rest of the nursing profession. This paper represents part of a more comprehensive postgraduate study in progress. The two decades identified and reported on have been used because they are pivotal in understanding the marginalization of learning disability nursing within the profession of nursing. The paper concludes that by understanding their past nurse practitioners may more meaningfully place their contemporary practice in the context of a continuum of constant change.
Use of multi-sensory rooms for children with profound and multiple learning disabilities
Authors: Ayer S.
Published: March 2007

This paper explores the use of multi-sensory rooms (MSR) for children with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD). Five settings, two schools, two ordinary homes and a day centre with MSRs, were studied over a period of I2 months. Data were collected from teams of carers who use the MSRs as an additional facility to meet the needs of children with PMLD. No attempt was made to collect data from or directly observe any of the I83 children who use the MSRs. Detailed questionnaires were completed by staff who were identified by their managers as being closely involved with the MSRs. The qualitative data that were obtained were analysed and written up as single case studies in order to explore the variety of ways the MSRs were used by carers in the settings studied. Despite the obvious popularity in MSRs this study raises critical issues that need to be discussed. The need for rigorous research to assess and evaluate the impact of MSR on children with PMLD is highlighted.
Learning disability: dimensions of professional empowerment
Authors: Gale J.
Published: March 2007

In contemporary nursing, the term 'empowerment' has forged a firm position in the language of professionals. It is often used as a politically correct word to describe clients' outcomes and nursing practice. The inevitable link between the lifestyles of people with learning disabilities and learning disability nursing has bound the differing ideologies of empowerment to provide a central theme for learning disability nursing practice. However, with little evidence of critical analysis of nursing practice and discourses, the notion of empowerment remains controversial and nebulous. The continual search of the learning disability nursing profession to ensure its contribution fits the ethos of the day, challenges it to enter the empowerment debate. Within this debate nursing must actively clarify whether it has a reactive or proactive part to play.

This paper's primary aim is to discuss professional empowerment within the context of learning disability nursing practice. A shift in power between the social and health care interface raises questions about how nursing will develop and use its power. A conceptual framework of professional empowerment is offered to enhance the understanding of learning disability nursing. It focuses on the interface and boundaries in learning disability practice and includes: (a) the micro layer- practice within an enclosed boundary; (b) the meso layer - opening the boundary; (c) the macro layer - the sociopolitical realities. This framework provides learning disability nursing with a world view of practice that is dynamic and challenges nurses to transform it further.
Engaging in participatory research: some personal reflections
Authors: Northway R.
Published: March 2007

The need for critical self-reflection by researchers engaging in disability research has been widely recognized. However, whilst participatory research approaches are beginning to be used with people with learning difficulties, the literature has tended to focus on the principles underpinning such approaches rather than the practical implications of using them. Therefore, this paper seeks to contribute to this area of knowledge by reflecting on the author's experience of engaging in a research project that has sought to use a participatory approach. The need for critical self- reflection is explored before reflecting on issues of participation and power sharing. Time implications and ambiguity are also explored. It is concluded that researchers have choices about the ways in which they conduct research. However, it is essential that such choices are made in a conscious and self-critical manner.
Man-Made Leather Substrates
Authors: Suskind Stuart P.
Published: March 2007

The need for lower cost materials in the form of continuous, umform rolls has led to extensive efforts to develop man-made leathers with the strength, suppleness, and comfort of the natural product. While early attempts were limited to leather styling of coated fabrics, recent advances in synthetic fibers, textile technology and polymer science have opened new approaches to more exact duplication of the structure and properties of leather.
Urethane Coated Fabrics
Authors: Popplemell D. , Holl L.G.
Published: March 2007

A broad review of urethane coated fabrics — how they com pare with PVC-coated fabrics, how they are made, types of service failures, test results on their performance in the laboratory and SATRA's contri bution to improved PUCFs. Preliminary results of a wear trial to correlate laboratory evaluation of PUCFs with wear performance are given.
A Durable Flame Retardant Finish for Cotton Based On Thpc and Urea
Authors: Donaldson Darrell J. , Normand Floyd L. , Drake George L. , Reeves Wilson A.
Published: March 2007

Sodium phosphate salts catalyzed the reaction of THPC with urea. Cotton textiles treated with a solution containing 26.6% THPC, 8.4% urea, 4% dibasic sodium phosphate and sufficient NaOH to adjust the pH to 6, dried 85°C and cured at 160°C for 1 to 2 minutes passed the DOC FF 3-71 flame test after 50 laundry cycles. The samples retained 90 and 65-70% of their breaking and tearing strength respectively without the use of softeners
Improved Coated Fabrics for Deep-Sea Divers' Dresses
Authors: Goswami B.C. , Miller B. , Dillon J.H.
Published: March 2007

Because of the superior mechanical properties and chemical inertness of synthetic fibers and elastomers, it should be possible to develop coated fabrics utilizing these synthetics which would be significant improvements over the standard U.S. Navy cotton-natural rubber laminate for deep-sea diving applications. On the basis of measurements of appro priate physical and mechanical properties of the fabrics, experimental two and three-layer laminates were prepared from a group of polyester fabrics with neoprene and butyl rubber. Physical properties of these laminates, including strength of adhesion of the layers, were compared with those of the standard cotton laminate and of a nylon-natural rubber material made in Japan. Wherever possible, evaluations were made under conditions of temperature and chemical environment similar to those experienced in use. In general, the experimental synthetic materials are lighter and thinner, and therefore more flexible, yet stronger and more extensible, than the com parison laminates, with no significant changes in strength and elongation after aging in hot air or salt water. The best adhesion is exhibited by the polyester-neoprene laminates.
Uv-Cured Coatings for Vinyl-Coated Fabrics
Authors: Koch Stanley D. , Price James M.
Published: March 2007

A UV-cured coating system is described for application to vinyl-coated fabrics. The system is based on a polyurethane oligomer with acrylate end groups copolymerizing with acrylate monomers and a multi functional acrylate crosslinker. The photosensitizer system is designed for curing by a nitrogen-blanketed UV light source. The UV coating is superior to a conventional topcoat in adhesion to the primed surface of the coated fabric and in resistance to ball point pen ink stains, in addition to the usual advantages and economies of UV curve.
Thermoplastic Urethanes for Extrusion Injection and Blow Moulding and for Textile Coating
Authors: Gee H.L.
Published: March 2007

Thermoplastic urethanes behave as crosslinked rubbers when cold, but when heated to moulding temperatures, behave as linear non- crosslinked polymers which flow readily for moulding. The material is inert to most common solvents, has good abrasion resistance, and high elasticity. Being thermoplastic, scrap and sprues may be recycled, while in coatings, the material is finding a natural application in the construction of simu lated leather products.
Ignitability of Some Upholstery Fabrics With and Without Backcoating
Authors: Hilado Carlos J. , Murphy Regina M.
Published: March 2007

Time to ignition of fifteen samples of upholstery fabrics under various levels of radiant heat flux was determined, using an ignita bility test method at the University of San Francisco. The cotton and rayon fabrics exhibited the shortest times to ignition. Fabric weight and backcoating did not appear to have a significant effect in this limited study.
Sleeping Bag Horizontal Burn Rates
Authors: Cooper John L.
Published: March 2007

Over fifty commercial sleeping bags were tested for hori zontal burn rate using the CPAI-75 method. All but one met the six inch per minute standard. Analysis by filling fiber type showed down burned at the slowest rate. A new polyester-based fibers blend has been developed with down-like aesthetics, performance and burn rate to pro vide a greater margin of safety in end uses where low flame response is desired.
The Effects of Xenon-Arc Radiation on Gore-Tex Laminates
Authors: Wilcock Anne E. , Sparling Eleanor L.
Published: March 2007

The effect of exposure to xenon-arc radiation for 300 hours on the physical properties of two- and three-layer Gore-Tex laminates was investigated. The nylon face of both fab rics changed color. The Gore-Tex film within the three-layer com posite yellowed. The two-layer laminate could not be separated for examination. No significant change in the liquid water resist ance, water vapour diffusion, air permeability, or abrasion resist ance was observed. Their tensile strength was significantly re duced, as was the peel strength of the three-layer composite. Both irradiated and non-irradiated Gore-Tex composites were flam mable.
Treated Polypropylene Fibers: Effect of Sandoflam 5070 On Pyrolysis Gas Toxicity
Authors: Hilado Carlos J. , Huttlinger Nancy V.
Published: March 2007

Samples of polypropylene fibers treated with Sandoflam 5070 flame retardant were evaluated for toxicity of pyrolysis gases. The addition of Sandoflam 5070 to this poly propylene material appeared to have no substantial effect on pyrolysis gas toxicity under these particular test conditions. Car bon monoxide appeared to have been the principal toxicant in all the experiments. No unusual toxic effects were observed.
Politics, Ecology and Drift: Change in Teacher Education
Authors: Hopkins David
Published: March 2007

Change in educational systems is a highly complex yet barely understood phenom enon ; and this is particularly true of teacher training institutions (TTIs). My central argument is that the complexity of change is a function of the political and ecological environments in which educational change occurs. Unfortunately contemporary attempts to conceptualise educational change have in the main failed to take account of the culture within which educational institutions are em bedded and within which their members act. This myopia has led to models and characterisations of change that bear little relationship to empirical reality. There is consequently a need for theories of educational change which take into account the ecological and political environments in which change takes place, and which also reflect the reality of those involved in the change process itself. In short, there is a need for theories of change which are applicable to and within situations. Drift is the name given to one such theory: and this paper presents drift as a sub stantive theory of organisational change in TTIs.
Towards an Understanding of Administrator Dominance
Authors: Chapman Judith
Published: March 2007

In the highly centralised, state system of public schooling in Australia there has traditionally been little opportunity for members of the community to participate in educational decision making at the state, regional or school level. Educational governance has been the responsibility of professional educators having no direct accountability to the public.
The Initial Perceptions and Reactions of Staff on the Announcement of a Policy of Institutional Self-Evaluation
Authors: Matthewman M.F.G.
Published: March 2007

This paper seeks to examine the perceptions and reactions of senior colleagues within a large mixed urban comprehensive school to the innovation of a policy of institutional self-evaluation known as Departmental Review. The policy was innovated in September 1977 and continued to be pursued until late 1982. The research was conducted in the period 1980--2.
Aspects of Decision-making in Secondary Schools
Authors: Chater Robin
Published: March 2007

How is a school's capitation allowance allocated? Interviews in seven secondary schools revealed levels of involvementt in decision-making -from schools where heads kept it confidential to the one where a committee used a formula.
Faculty Governance - Professionals and Bureaucrats
Authors: Smith T.J.
Published: March 2007

People in organisations apply different systems of legitimation to justify their actions and use of power. This article shows how in public sector higher education ideas about bureaucratic and collegial authority may be deployed - even within one memo.
The Educative Leadership Project
Authors: Duignan P.A. , Macpherson R.J.S.
Published: March 2007

'The wisest approach to leadership in education' is to be 'educative in intent and outcome'; from this precept a joint in-service training and postgraduate materials production programme is developed. It is shaped by an approach to organisations as cultures, involving negotiation about what is real and what is right.
Management of Professional Training in Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities
Authors: Anderson J. Callan
Published: March 2007

The policy-environment for F/HE is changing significantly - not only 'value for money' but also NCVQ- and demanding that colleges run economically competitive and professionally relevant courses. The case of one Scottish college shows how colleges can respond.
Implied Homosexuality: An Administrative Minefield
Authors: Parker-Jenkins Marie
Published: March 2007

A case-study of a conflict in a comprehensive presents problems for the head and his staff and requires management - how to handle, allegations of improper conduct against a teacher assumed to be gay. The analysis draws in wider issues regarding homosexual teachers.
'The Responsive Institution': An Overview
Authors: Bell Les , Davey Andy , Hughes Meredydd
Published: March 2007

This paper was the theme paper for the European Forum on Educational Management and Administration - Fourth European Intervisitation Programme.
Managing Marketing: A Checklist
Authors: Wheale J.W.
Published: March 2007

Marketing concepts and practices have been introduced to further and higher education during the last three years. This article provides practical guidelines for college managers on implementing a marketing approach, drawing on the experience of Coventry Consortium.
Science, Critique and Administration: The Debate between the Critical Theorists and the Materialist Pragmatists
Authors: Maddock Trevor H.
Published: March 2007

Dr Trevor Maddock works at the Department of Education at the University of Adelaide. In this paper he considers the debate between the critical theorists as represented by Richard Bates and materialist pragmatists as presented by Gabriele Lakomski as a contemporary manifestation of one dimension of the ongoing dispute over the appropriate depiction of the character of administration in education. In this context, the discussion focuses in particular upon the merits of some of the central ideas of Habermasian critical theory as potential linchpins for an understanding of the study and practice of educational administration.
Marketing Secondary Schools to Parents — Some Lessons from the Research on Parental Choice
Authors: Smedley Don
Published: March 2007

Don Smedley is at the Department of Education of the University of Loughborough. This paper takes as its context the 1988 Education Reform Act and the 1991 Parent's Charter and their implications for the ways in which schools might best market themselves to parents. It reports on a survey of the growing literature on parental choice of secondary schools and offers some practical suggestions as to how schools might improve the ways in which they present themselves in marketing terms at a tactical level and what the broader policy implications of adopting such an approach might be.
Role transition and emotional labour: Understanding the impact of a nursing development unit on staff and on the therapeutic milieu
Authors: Scholes Julie
Published: March 2007

This paper explores the impact of a nursing development unit (NDU) upon the practitioners who work there. The ideas proposed are generated from research and evaluation undertaken in three different NDUs: critical care; care of the older person with mental health problems; and primary health care. A model is proposed which seeks to explain some of the more complex issues encountered by practitioners who rise to the challenge of being in an NDU. By exploring the process this initiates through the conceptual lens of role transition' and 'emotional labour', it is hoped to illuminate critical issues for consideration when managing the pace of change and when evaluating the outcome of the initiative.
Patient education and quality assurance in nursing
Authors: Coates Vivien E. , Ryan Sandra C.
Published: March 2007

Changes in healthcare provision introduced in the early 1990s raised awareness of the issue of quality in health care. Quality, currently a fashionable topic, is an abstract concept and attempts to define and measure its properties have proved controversial and challenging. An equally challenging aspect of nursing care is the satisfactory delivery of health education to patients. This paper focuses on patient education and quality assurance in nursing. The results of a study concerning 20 young adults with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) are reported. The findings indicate deficiencies in their experiences of patient education at initial diagnosis, discharge home after first hospital admission and when needing further information. It is contended that patient education is an area which requires qualitative as well as quantitative measurements of quality in order to capture the unique experience of information needs.
Teachers Unions and Student Performance: Help or Hindrance?
Authors: Eberts Randall W
Published: March 2007

Randall Eberts explores the role of teachers unions in public education. He focuses particularly on how collective bargaining agreements shape the delivery of educational services, how unions affect both student achievement and the cost of providing quality education, and how they support educational reform efforts. Eberts's synthesis of the empirical research concludes that union bargaining raises teachers' compensation, improves their working conditions, and enhances their employment security—while also raising the cost of providing public education by upwards of 15 percent. The effect of unions on student performance is mixed. Students of average ability who attend school in union districts perform better on standardized tests, whereas low-achieving and high-achieving students perform worse. However, the overall gain in achievement does not make up for the higher cost. Of late, unions have begun to be more supportive of school reform, moving from an adversarial bargaining model to a more collaborative one in which teachers and administrators share common goals and hold joint responsibility. Yet unions' desire to participate in reform does not match their fervor to organize in the 1960s and 1970s. While national union leadership has talked about reform, local affiliates have initiated most of the reform efforts, pioneering reforms such as accountability and incentive pay. In Eberts's view, one reason that unions have been slow to embrace reform efforts is the lack of consensus on their effectiveness. He argues that many reforms have been too narrowly focused; rather, effective schools result from well-designed systems and processes. In principle, adopting standards that help teachers focus on lessons they want students to learn, aligning their teaching to the lessons, and devising measurements that demonstrate that students are responding to these lessons can improve teaching as long as the public, policymakers, and school administrators acknowledge the complexity of the learning process and the broad outcomes that society desires.