Purity evaluation and influence of carbon nanotube on carbon nanotube/graphite thermal stability

High resolution thermogravimetry has been used to evaluate the carbonaceous content in a commercial sample of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT). The content of SWNTs in the sample was found to be at least 77mass% which was supported by images obtained with scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM). Furthermore, the influence of SWNT addition on the thermal stability of graphite in mixtures of SWNT/graphite at different proportions was investigated. The graphite stability decreased with the increased of SWNT content in the overall range of composition. This behavior could be due to the close contact between these carbonaceous species as determined by SEM analysis.

Scott A. Shane : winner of the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research

Scott A. Shane is the 2009 winner of the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research. In this article we discuss and analyze Shane’s most important contributions to the field of entrepreneurship. His contribution is extraordinarily broad in scope, which makes it difficult to pinpoint one or a few specifics that we associate with Shane’s scholarship. Instead, they can be summarized in the following three points. First, he has influenced what we view as central aspects of entrepreneurship. Shane has been a leading figure in redirecting the focus on entrepreneurship research itself. Second, he has influenced how we view entrepreneurship. Shane’s research is arguably theory driven and it applies and develops theoretical lenses that greatly improve our understanding of entrepreneurship. Third, he has contributed to how we conduct entrepreneurship research. Shane has been a forerunner in examining relevant units of analysis that are difficult to sample; research designs and databases specifically designed for studying entrepreneurial processes; and sophisticated analytical methods. This has contributed to advancing the methodological rigor of the field. Summing them up, the contributions are very impressive indeed.

Universities, SMEs and innovation frameworks : think global, act local?

Universities are increasingly encouraged to take a leading role in economic development, particularly through innovation. Simultaneously, economic development policy itself is increasingly focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), creating overlapping interactions in the roles of government policy, universities and SMEs and the processes of innovation creation and dissemination. This paper examines issues arising from these developments and relating to the key stakeholders (industry, government and universities in particular), the enabling mechanisms (network governance, relevant education, training and learning, and suitable structures), and local and cross-local links. The authors then use quantitative analysis of 450 SMEs in the UK to begin to evaluate the roles of universities and highlight areas for further theoretical development.

STRATÉGÉ – Study of Transparent Recognition, Accreditation Tools and Experience in a Global Environment

Engineering graduates of today, face a working environment that assumes global mobility in the labour market. This challenge means, amongst universities worldwide, a demand to increase the globalisation of educational programs, context, and increase and support the mobility of students through mechanisms such as student exchange and double masters degrees. Engineering student mobility from Australia is low with only a few Engineering Faculties encouraging students to go internationally. This comparative study, using universities in Australia and Europe, of feedback from students who have been on exchange or proposing to go on exchange, employers and faculty addresses the motivators and barriers to student mobility and exchange from the perspectives of the university, faculty, students and employers. Recommendations will be presented on how student mobility and exchange can be improved, and mechanisms such as double Masters Degrees, dual accreditation and Erasmus Mundus 2009 – 2013 can be utilised to improve student mobility.

Static load modelling and voltage stability indices

This paper analyzes the performance of some of the widely used voltage stability indices, namely, singular value, eigenvalue, and loading margin with different static load models. Well-known ZIP model is used to represent loads having components with different power to voltage sensitivities. Studies are carried out on a 10-bus power system and the New England 39-bus power system models. The effects of variation of load model on the performance of the voltage stability indices are discussed. The choice of voltage stability index in the context of load modelling is also suggested in this paper.

Stability analysis and control of multiple converter based autonomous microgrid

In this paper, the stability of an autonomous microgrid with multiple distributed generators (DG) is studied through eigenvalue analysis. It is assumed that all the DGs are connected through Voltage Source Converter (VSC) and all connected loads are passive. The VSCs are controlled by state feedback controller to achieve desired voltage and current outputs that are decided by a droop controller. The state space models of each of the converters with its associated feedback are derived. These are then connected with the state space models of the droop, network and loads to form a homogeneous model, through which the eigenvalues are evaluated. The system stability is then investigated as a function of the droop controller real and reac-tive power coefficients. These observations are then verified through simulation studies using PSCAD/EMTDC. It will be shown that the simulation results closely agree with stability be-havior predicted by the eigenvalue analysis.

Managerial effectiveness for a new millennium in the global higher education sector

With the global tertiary education environment undergoing some of the most rapid changes it has experienced since the 1980s, a technology-driven new millennium is requiring an unprecedented capacity for change on a number of fronts, one of these being the way managers manage. This article discusses some of the new realities facing tertiary education organizations, one of which is a realization that "knowledge capital" is the lifeline of an organization. It ultimately vests in the people whom successful organizations will lead, motivate, develop, and value in a manner sensitive to global trends of convergent social, cultural, and organizational change. This article suggests that the effective leadership of people will return as the touchstone for success, the technological age notwithstanding, and notes recent theory on increased reliance upon organizational integrity in the form of value-based policy and practice. This article draws on management and futurist theory to suggest some of the "flexibility imperatives" in managing the potentially different-looking work force of the future.

Sociometric stability and the behavioral correlates of peer acceptance in early childhood

This paper presents findings from an Australian study examining the behavioral correlates and stability of social status for preschool-aged children. The social status of an initial sample of 187 (94 boys and 93 girls) preschool children (mean age 62.4 months, SD = 4.22) was determined through sociometric assessment. Children classified as rejected, neglected and popular (n = 70) were selected for observation. Children were observed for a total of 25 minutes over a three-month period engaging in free play within their preschool centers. Results indicated that children classified as popular were more likely than rejected or neglected children to engage in cooperative play, ongoing connected conversation and to display positive affect. Popular children were less likely than rejected or neglected children to engage in parallel play, onlooker behavior or alone directed behavior. Six months after initial sociometric classification, sociometric interviews were repeated to test for stability and change. Results indicated that preschool-aged children’s social status classifications showed a moderate to high rate of stability for those children classified as popular, rejected and neglected.

Sport marketing on Fortune Global 500 websites

This research investigates how the world’s leading companies, the Fortune Global 500, use sportsrelated terms and phrases on their Web site. An automated process mirrored leading transnational corporations’ Web presence and then searched their sites. Analysis of about four gigabytes of Webbased text revealed regional and industry differences in how the world’s largest corporations use sports terms on their sites.

Selected elements of housing affordability impacting otherwise potentially sustainable communities

It is widely held that strong relationships exist between housing, economic status, and well being. Therefore, recent events emerging from the United States, culminating in widespread housing stock surpluses in that country and others, threaten to destabilise many aspects related to individuals and community. However, despite global impact, the position of housing demand and supply is not consistent. The Australian position provides a strong contrast whereby continued strong housing demand generally remains a critical issue affecting the socio-economic landscape. Underpinned by strong levels of immigration, and further buoyed by sustained historically low interest rates, increasing income levels, and increased government assistance for first home buyers, this strong housing demand ensures elements related to housing affordability continue to gain prominence. A significant, but less visible factor impacting housing affordability – particularly new housing development – relates to holding costs. These costs are in many ways “hidden” and cannot always be easily identified. Although it is only one contributor, the nature and extent of its impact requires elucidation. In its simplest form, it commences with a calculation of the interest or opportunity cost of land holding. However, there is significantly more complexity for major new developments - particularly greenfield development. Analysis suggests that even small shifts in primary factors impacting holding costs can appreciably affect housing affordability. Those factors of greatest significance not only include interest rates and the rate of inflation, but even less apparent factors such as the regulatory assessment period. These are not just theoretical concepts but real, measurable price drivers. Ultimately, the real impact is felt by the one market segment whom can typically least afford it – new home, first home buyers. They can be easily pushed out of affordability. This paper suggests the stability and sustainability of growing, new communities require this problem to be acknowledged and accurately identified if the well being of such communities is to be achieved.

Stability of the learning and development survey : findings for mature aged local government and private healthcare organisations.

This article investigates work related learning and development amongst mature aged workers from a lifespan developmental psychology perspective. The current study follows on from research regarding the construction and revision of the Learning and Development Survey (LDS; Tones & Pillay, 2008). Designed to measure adaptive development for work related learning, the revised LDS (R-LDS) encompasses goal selection, engagement and disengagement from individual and organisational perspectives. Previous survey findings from a mixed age sample of local government workers suggest that mature aged workers aged over 45 years are less likely to report engagement in learning and development goals than younger workers, which is partly due to insufficient opportunities at work. In the current paper, exploratory factor analysis was used to investigate responses to the R-LDS amongst two groups of mature aged workers from a local government (LG) and private healthcare (PH) organisation to determine the stability of the R-LDS. Organisational constraints to development accounted for almost a quarter of the variance in R-LDS scores for both samples, while remaining factors emerged in different orders for each data set. Organisational opportunities for development explained about 17% of the variance in R-LDS scores in the LG sample, while the individual goal disengagement factor contributed a comparable proportion of variance to R-LDS scores for the PH sample. Findings from the current study indicate that opportunities for learning and development at work may be age structured and biased towards younger workers. Implications for professional practice are discussed and focus on improving the engagement of mature aged workers.

Computational approach to localization using global energy minimization

Damage localization induced by strain softening can be predicted by the direct minimization of a global energy function. This article concerns the computational strategy for implementing this principle for softening materials such as concrete. Instead of using heuristic global optimization techniques, our strategies are a hybrid of local optimization methods with a path-finding approach to ensure a global optimum. With admissible nodal displacements being independent variables, it is easy to deal with the geometric (mesh) constraint conditions. The direct search optimization methods recover the localized solutions for a range of softening lattice models which are representative of quasi-brittle structures

New Patterns in Global Television : Peripheral Vision

Over recent decades, the flow of television programmes and services between nations has prompted concerns about `Cultural Imperialism', the idea that the powerful metropolitan nations at the centre of the world system are breaking down the integrity and autonomy of the peripheral countries. New Patterns in Global Television challenges that notion by showing that some of the countries outside the traditionally dominant centres have now developed strong television industries of their own, and have been expanding into regional markets, especially - but not exclusively - where linguistic and cultural similarities exist. This book brings together contributions from specialist researchers on the most dynamic of these regions: Latin America, India, the Middle East, Greater China and, in the English-speaking world, Canada and Australia. It provides the first comprehensive overview of the new patterns of flow in international television programme exchange and service provision in the satellite era, patterns unrecognised by the perspective of the prevailing theoretical orthodoxies in international communication research and policy.

Cognitive assessment in closed head injury : stability, validity and parallel forms for two neuropsychological measures of recovery

Investigated the psychometric properties of the original and alternate sets of the Trail Making Test (TMT) and the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT; A. L. Benton and D. Hamsher, 1978) in 50 orthopedic and 15 closed head injured (1 yr after trauma) patients (aged 15–59 yrs). Although the alternate forms of both measures proved to be stable and consistent with each other in both groups, only the parallel sets of TMT reliably discriminated the clinical group from controls. Practice effects in the head injured were significant only for Trail B of TMT. Factor analysis of the control group's results identified Verbal Knowledge as a major contributor to performance on COWAT, whereas TMT was more dependent on Rapid Visual Search and Visuomotor Sequencing.