The sound of silence : the absence of voice in determining flexible working arrangements

In the context of a dramatically reconfigured labour market characterized by an individualistic culture and increasingly enmeshed life domains of employees, there is raised awareness of how employees may shape or modify their work arrangements. A small component of broader scholarship addressing issues that affect the social context in which individuals work, has focused on the role of ‘employee voice' in determining flexible-work outcomes (Donnelly et al., 2012). Employee voice is a broad term incorporating a spectrum of different practices designed to give employees a say in organisational issues and decisions (Dundon et al., 2004). This article extends work on voice and workplace flexibility by focusing not simply on ‘voice' but on its antithesis: employee silence. Silence is defined here, (following Van Dyne et al., 2003), as the intentional withholding of ideas, information and opinions. The consequences of employee silence in achieving work-life preferences are likely to be significant for both individuals and organizations, in achieving for example, the goals of business efficiency and facilitating employees' needs to fulfill multiple roles and minimize work-life interference.

Numerical simulations of particle deposition in metal foam heat exchangers

Australia is a high-potential country for geothermal power with reserves currently estimated in the tens of millions of petajoules, enough to power the nation for at least 1000 years at current usage. However, these resources are mainly located in isolated arid regions where water is scarce. Therefore, wet cooling systems for geothermal plants in Australia are the least attractive solution and thus air-cooled heat exchangers are preferred. In order to increase the efficiency of such heat exchangers, metal foams have been used. One issue raised by this solution is the fouling caused by dust deposition. In this case, the heat transfer characteristics of the metal foam heat exchanger can dramatically deteriorate. Exploring the particle deposition property in the metal foam exchanger becomes crucial. This paper is a numerical investigation aimed to address this issue. Two dimensional (2D) numerical simulations of a standard one-row tube bundle wrapped with metal foam in cross-flow are performed and highlight preferential particle deposition areas.

Numerical simulations of particle deposition in metal foam heat exchangers

Australia is a high potential country for geothermal power with reserves currently estimated in the tens of millions of petajoules, enough to power the nation for at least 1000 years at current usage.However, these resources are mainly located in isolated arid regions where water is scarce. Therefore, wet cooling systems for geothermal plants in Australia are the least attractive solution and thus air-cooled heat exchangers are preferred. In order to increase the efficiency of such heat exchangers, metal foams have been used. One issue raised by this solution is the fouling caused by dust deposition. In this case, the heat transfer characteristics of the metal foam heat exchanger can dramatically deteriorate. Exploring the particle deposition property in the metal foam exchanger becomes crucial. This paper is a numerical investigation aimed to address this issue. Two-dimensional(2D numerical simulations of a standard one-row tube bundle wrapped with metal foam in cross-flow are performed and highlight preferential particle deposition areas.

Academic legal research and academic research capacity enhancement working topic : "purposes and objectives of law schools beyond educating students (research, capacity building,community service and outreach)"

One of the main objectives of law schools beyond educating students is to produce viable legal research. The comments in this paper are basically confined to the Australian context, and to examine this topic effectively, it is necessary to briefly review the current tertiary research agenda in Australia. This paper argues that there is a need for recognition and support for an expanded legal research framework along with additional research training for legal academics. There also needs to be more effective methods of measuring and recognising quality in legal research. This method needs to be one that can engender respect in an interdisciplinary context.

Results using Trabecular Metal™ augments in combination with acetabular impaction bone grafting in deficient acetabula

We examined whether the use of trabecular metal wedges to fill segmental defects is an effective method of socket reconstruction when used in combination with impaction grafting and implantation of a cemented socket. Fifteen hips in 14 patients underwent impaction grafting in combination with a TM wedge with a minimum of 2 years follow-up. All patients had their defects assessed using the Paprosky classification. Patients were reviewed with x-rays and migration of the implant was measured. Outcome scores were also collected. Mean follow-up was 39 months (25-83). The mean age at surgery was 67.8 (49-85) years. Seven of the patients had previously undergone impaction grafting with the use of a stainless steel rim mesh to constrain the graft. None of the patients had failed either clinically or radiologically.

Conceptualising Women's Working Lives : Moving the Boundaries of Discourse

"Theoretical work on the career development of women has travelled a journey from critique to creation. Early work responded to and criticised a literature that focused on theorising male roles in a workplace that was conceptualised as providing vertical career paths primarily for middle class males. More recently theorists are creating new constructions and frameworks to enable a more holistic understanding of career, applicable to both women and men. These constructions include broadening the discussion from women’s careers to women’s working lives. This is the fifth book in the Sense Publishers Career Development Series. It features the vibrant work of contributors from around the world writing in the field of women’s working lives. It emphasises the need to explore theoretical connections and understandings in order to facilitate a more holistic and inclusive understanding of women’s working lives. The writers in the current volume acknowledge the changing roles of women, in both public and private spheres. Women’s roles in paid work are changing both in their nature and type of engagement. In addition, with an ageing population, women’s roles in care work are increasingly being extended from child care to aged care. This book provides a history of theorising about women's careers, in addition to presenting a focus on current empirical and theoretical work which contributes to understandings of women's working lives. It’s contributions both map the current discourse and challenge future work to extend the boundaries of that discourse."--publisher website

Part-time working by students : is it a policy issue, and for whom?

This paper uses data from interviews with representatives of national and state organisations that have a policy interest in student-working in Australia. The interviewees included representatives from employer bodies and trade unions as well as government organisations. The data are used to discuss these stakeholders’ perceptions of the main advantages and disadvantages of working by young full-time students and the ways in which organisations in the business and educational sectors have adapted their policies and practices for student-working. The analysis is then used to inform a discussion about whether this is a legitimate area for public policy formulation and if so, what principles might underpin such policy and what some policies might look like.

University students and their working pathways

This paper examines the working pathways of young full-time university students in Australia. It draws on some of the data from a three year research project funded by the Australian Research Council. The project was called ‘Changing the way that Australian enter the workforce: Part-time working careers of young full-time school and tertiary students’. The project had three industry partners: Service Skills Australia (the Industry Skills Council for the service industries), McDonalds Australia (a fast food company) and The Reject Shop (a discount chain). Much of the research took place inside companies, in schools and with national stakeholders (eg Smith & Patton, 2011; Smith & Patton, 2013), but this paper reports on the research that took place with students in universities. In the project we were keen to explore the notion of part-time working while studying as a medium-term career, especially in the context of the need for career flexibility and adaptability (Poehnell & Amundson, 2002).

Electrochemical and photochemical routes to semiconducting transition metal-tetracyanoquinodimethane coordination polymers

TCNQ·− radical anions (TCNQ = 7,7,8,8,-tetracyanoquinodimethane) form a wide range of semiconducting coordination polymers when coordinated to transition metals. Some such as CuTCNQ and AgTCNQ exhibit molecular switching and memory storage properties; others have intriguing magnetic properties and for example may behave as molecular magnets at low temperature. In this review, the electro- and photo-chemical synthesis and characterization of this important class of material is reviewed. In particular, the electrochemistry and the redox properties of TCNQ derivatives of coordination polymers based on Cu, Ag, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn and Cd transition metals are surveyed, with an emphasis on the mechanistic aspects of their electrochemical formation via nucleation–growth processes. Given that TCNQ is an extremely good electron acceptor, readily forming TCNQ•− and TCNQ2-, electrochemical reduction of TCNQ in the presence of a transition metal ion provides an ideal method for synthesis of metal-TCNQ materials by electrocrystallization from organic solvents and ionic liquids or solid-solid transformation using TCNQ modified electrodes from aqueous media containing transition metal electrolytes. The significance of the reversible formal potential (E0f) in these studies is discussed. The coupling of electrocrystallisation on electrode surfaces and microscopic characterization of the electrodeposited materials reveals a wide range of morphologies and phases which strongly influence their properties and applications. Since TCNQ also can be photo-reduced in the presence of suitable electron donors, analogous photochemical approaches to the synthesis of TCNQ-transition metal derivatives are available. The advantages of electrochemical and photochemical methods of synthesis relative to chemical synthesis are outlined.

Photocatalysis on supported gold and silver nanoparticles under ultraviolet and visible light irradiation

Studies of the optical properties and catalytic capabilities of noble metal nanoparticles (NPs), such as gold (Au) and silver (Ag), have formed the basis for the very recent fast expansion of the field of green photocatalysis: photocatalysis utilizing visible and ultraviolet light, a major part of the solar spectrum. The reason for this growth is the recognition that the localised surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of Au NPs and Ag NPs can couple the light flux to the conduction electrons of metal NPs, and the excited electrons and enhanced electric fields in close proximity to the NPs can contribute to converting the solar energy to chemical energy by photon-driven photocatalytic reactions. Previously the LSPR effect of noble metal NPs was utilized almost exclusively to improve the performance of semiconductor photocatalysts (for example, TiO2 and Ag halides), but recently, a conceptual breakthrough was made: studies on light driven reactions catalysed by NPs of Au or Ag on photocatalytically inactive supports (insulating solids with a very wide band gap) have demonstrated that these materials are a class of efficient photocatalysts working by mechanisms distinct from those of semiconducting photocatalysts. There are several reasons for the significant photocatalytic activity of Au and Ag NPs. (1) The conduction electrons of the particles gain the irradiation energy, resulting in high energy electrons at the NP surface which is desirable for activating molecules on the particles for chemical reactions. (2) In such a photocatalysis system, both light harvesting and the catalysing reaction take place on the nanoparticle, and so charge transfer between the NPs and support is not a prerequisite. (3) The density of the conduction electrons at the NP surface is much higher than that at the surface of any semiconductor, and these electrons can drive the reactions on the catalysts. (4) The metal NPs have much better affinity than semiconductors to many reactants, especially organic molecules. Recent progress in photocatalysis using Au and Ag NPs on insulator supports is reviewed. We focus on the mechanism differences between insulator and semiconductor-supported Au and Ag NPs when applied in photocatalytic processes, and the influence of important factors, light intensity and wavelength, in particular estimations of light irradiation contribution, by calculating the apparent activation energies of photo reactions and thermal reactions.

Working towards a ‘thirdspace’ in the teaching of writing to middle years students

The teaching of writing, particularly in the middle years of schooling, is impacted on by converging, and at times, contradictory pedagogical spaces. Perceptions about the way in which writing should be taught are clearly affected by standardised testing regimes in Australia. That is, much writing is taught as a genre process, yet results on standardised tests such as National Assessment Program in Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) show that the writing component consistently receives the lowest scores (ACARA, 2013. Research shows that creative and individualised approaches are necessary for quality writing (Grainger, Goouch & Lambirth, 2005). This paper investigates the writing practices of students in years 5 to 7 in two culturally and linguistically diverse schools. It shows that the writing practices of these students are greatly influenced by teachers’ perceptions about what is required by external testing bodies such as the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). The paper will then highlight how socio-spatial theory (Lefebvre, 1991) can be applied to explain these practices and offers the notion of a more productive ‘thirdspace’ (Soja, 1996) for improvement in the teaching of writing.

Liquid metal enabled pump

Small-scale pumps will be the heartbeat of many future micro/nanoscale platforms. However, the integration of small-scale pumps is presently hampered by limited flow rate with respect to the input power, and their rather complicated fabrication processes. These issues arise as many conventional pumping effects require intricate moving elements. Here, we demonstrate a system that we call the liquid metal enabled pump, for driving a range of liquids without mechanical moving parts, upon the application of modest electric field. This pump incorporates a droplet of liquid metal, which induces liquid flow at high flow rates, yet with exceptionally low power consumption by electrowetting/deelectrowetting at the metal surface. We present theory explaining this pumping mechanism and show that the operation is fundamentally different from other existing pumps. The presented liquid metal enabled pump is both efficient and simple, and thus has the potential to fundamentally advance the field of microfluidics.

Mathematical relationships for metal build-up on urban road surfaces based on traffic and land use characteristics

The study investigated the influence of traffic and land use parameters on metal build-up on urban road surfaces. Mathematical relationships were developed to predict metals originating from fuel combustion and vehicle wear. The analysis undertaken found that nickel and chromium originate from exhaust emissions, lead, copper and zinc from vehicle wear, cadmium from both exhaust and wear and manganese from geogenic sources. Land use does not demonstrate a clear pattern in relation to the metal build-up process, though its inherent characteristics such as traffic activities exert influence. The equation derived for fuel related metal load has high cross-validated coefficient of determination (Q2) and low Standard Error of Cross-Validation (SECV) values indicates that the model is reliable, while the equation derived for wear-related metal load has low Q2 and high SECV values suggesting its use only in preliminary investigations. Relative Prediction Error values for both equations are considered to be well within the error limits for a complex system such as an urban road surface. These equations will be beneficial for developing reliable stormwater treatment strategies in urban areas which specifically focus on mitigation of metal pollution.

Variability of metal composition and concentrations in road dust in the urban environment

Urban road dust comprises of a range of potentially toxic metal elements and plays a critical role in degrading urban receiving water quality. Hence, assessing the metal composition and concentration in urban road dust is a high priority. This study investigated the variability of metal composition and concentrations in road dust in 4 different urban land uses in Gold Coast, Australia. Samples from 16 road sites were collected and tested for selected 12 metal species. The data set was analyzed using both univariate and multivariate techniques. Outcomes of the data analysis revealed that the metal concentrations in road dust differ considerably within and between different land uses. Iron, aluminum, magnesium and zinc are the most abundant in urban land uses. It was also noted that metal species such as titanium, nickel, copper and zinc have the highest concentrations in industrial land use. The study outcomes revealed that soil and traffic related sources as key sources of metals deposited on road surfaces.

Teachers' motivations for working in rural schools

This paper reports on the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data concerning Australian teachers’ motivations for taking up, remaining in, or leaving teaching positions in rural and regional schools. The data were collected from teachers (n = 2940) as part of the SiMERR National Survey, though the results of the qualitative data analysis were not published with the survey report in 2006. The teachers’ comments provide additional insight into their career decisions, complementing the quantitative findings. Content and frequency analyses of the teachers’ comments reveal individual and collective priorities which together with the statistical evidence can be used to inform policies aimed at addressing the staffing needs of rural schools.