Design, fabrication and characterization of PCL electrospun scaffolds—a review

The expanding interest in electrospinning fibers for bioengineering includes a significant use of polyesters, including poly(3-caprolactone) (PCL). This review summarizes literature on PCL and selected blends, and provides extensive descriptions of the broad range of parameters used in manufacturing such electrospun fibers. Furthermore the chemical, physical and biological approaches for characterizing the electrospun material are described and opinions offered on important information to include in future publications with this electrospun material.

Dangers of the after-dark wonderlands : Part A - A review of the impact of physical environment design on nightclub violence

Nightclubs are businesses. Their business is pleasure; however pleasure has its price. People have become increasingly concerned about the problems of violence in society but why do higher levels of violence occur in nightclubs despite the established patterns of behaviour that dictates how we socialise and act? In response, researchers have focused on identifying social and situational factors that may contribute to violence from a government perspective, focusing on a variety of specific issues ranging from financial standpoints with effective target marketing strategies to legal obligations of supplying alcohol and abiding regulatory conditions. There is little research into specific design properties that can determine design standards to ensure/improve the physical design of nightclub environments to reduce patron violence. To address this gap, this current article aims to understand how people experience and respond to the physical environment of nightclubs and how these spaces influence their behaviour. The first section of this paper examines the background on nightclubs and theories concerning the influence of pleasure. The second section of this paper details the findings of existing studies that have examined the nightlife context and the various factors that influence patron violence. The main finding of this paper is that although alcohol likely plays a contributing role in aggressive patron behaviour, there is evidence that the relationship is moderated by a number of significant factors relating to the characteristics of the drinking environment such as: physical comfort; the degree of overall 'permissiveness‘ in the establishment; crowding; and physical environmental elements most influenced by day to-day management practices such as lighting, ventilation, cleanliness and seating arrangements. The findings from this paper have been used to develop a framework to guide exploratory research on how specific elements of the physical environment of nightclubs have an impact on elevated patron aggression and assault (Koleczko & Garcia Hansen, 2011).

Dangers of the after-dark wonderlands : Part B - A review of the impact of the physical environment design on nightclub violence

Violence in nightclubs is a serious problem that has the Australian government launching multimillion dollar drinking campaigns. Research on nightclub violence has focused on identifying contributing social and environmental factors, with many concentrating on a variety of specific issues ranging from financial standpoints with effective target marketing strategies to legal obligations of supplying alcohol and abiding regulatory conditions. Moreover, existing research suggests that there is no single factor that directly affects the rate violence in licensed venues. As detailed in the review paper of Koleczko and Garcia Hansen (2011), there is little research about the physical environment of nightclubs and which specific design properties can be used to determine design standards to ensure/improve the physical design of nightclub environments to reduce patron violence. This current study seeks to address this omission by reporting on a series of interviews with participants from management and design domains. Featured case studies are both located in Fortitude Valley, a Mecca for party-goers and the busiest nightclub district in Queensland. The results and analysis support the conclusions that a number of elements of the physical environment influence elevated patron aggression and assault.

Going native : a review of Jing Wang’s 'Brand New China’

Jing Wang's book is confused about its audience and fails to give an adequate account of either the specific knowledge available to advertising research or the nature of Chinese consumption. In addition its critique of cultural studies is misplaced and misguided.

Disclosure, conservatism and the cost of equity capital : a review of the foundation literature

In this review piece, we survey the literature on the cost of equity capital implications of corporate disclosure and conservative accounting policy choice decisions with the principle objective of providing insights into the design and methodological issues, which underlie the empirical investigations. We begin with a review of the analytical studies most typically cited in the empirical research as providing a theoretical foundation. We then turn to consider literature that offers insights into the selection of proxies for each of our points of interest, cost of equity capital, disclosure quality and accounting conservatism. As a final step, we review selected empirical studies to illustrate the relevant evidence found within the literature. Based on our review, we interpret the literature as providing the researcher with only limited direct guidance on the appropriate choice of measure for each of the constructs of interest. Further, we view the literature as raising questions about both the interpretation of empirical findings in the face of measurement concerns and the suitability of certain theoretical arguments to the research setting. Overall, perhaps the message which is most clear is that one of the most controversial and fundamental issues underlying the literature is the issue of the diversifiability or nondiversifiability of information effects.

A systematic review of environmental factors and obesogenic dietary intakes among adults : are we getting closer to understanding obesogenic environments?

This study examined whether physical, social, cultural and economical environmental factors are associated with obesogenic dietary behaviours and overweight/obesity among adults. Literature searches of databases (i.e. PubMed, CSA Illumina, Web of Science, PsychInfo) identified studies examining environmental factors and the consumption of energy, fat, fibre, fruit, vegetables, sugar-sweetened drinks, meal patterns and weight status. Twenty-eight studies were in-scope, the majority (n= 16) were conducted in the USA. Weight status was consistently associated with the food environment; greater accessibility to supermarkets or less access to takeaway outlets were associated with a lower BMI or prevalence of overweight/obesity. However, obesogenic dietary behaviours did not mirror these associations; mixed associations were found between the environment and obesogenic dietary behaviours. Living in a socioeconomically-deprived area was the only environmental factor consistently associated with a number of obesogenic dietary behaviours. Associations between the environment and weight status are more consistent than that seen between the environment and dietary behaviours. The environment may play an important role in the development of overweight/obesity, however the dietary mechanisms that contribute to this remain unclear and the physical activity environment may also play an important role in weight gain, overweight and obesity.

A systematic review of studies on socioeconomic inequalities in dietary intakes associated with weight gain and overweight/obesity conducted among European adults

This Review examined socioeconomic inequalities in intakes of dietary factors associated with weight gain, overweight/obesity among adults in Europe. Literature searches of studies published between 1990 and 2007 examining socioeconomic position (SEP) and the consumption of energy, fat, fibre, fruit, vegetables, energy-rich drinks and meal patterns were conducted. Forty-seven articles met the inclusion criteria. The direction of associations between SEP and energy intakes were inconsistent. Approximately half the associations examined between SEP and fat intakes showed higher total fat intakes among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. There was some evidence that these groups consume a diet lower in fibre. The most consistent evidence of dietary inequalities was for fruit and vegetable consumption; lower socioeconomic groups were less likely to consume fruit and vegetables. Differences in energy, fat and fibre intakes (when found) were small-to-moderate in magnitude; however, differences were moderate-to-large for fruit and vegetable intakes. Socioeconomic inequalities in the consumption of energy-rich drinks and meal patterns were relatively under-studied compared with other dietary factors. There were no regional or gender differences in the direction and magnitude of the inequalities in the dietary factors examined. The findings suggest that dietary behaviours may contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in overweight/obesity in Europe. However, there is only consistent evidence that fruit and vegetables may make an important contribution to inequalities in weight status across European regions.

Book Review: "Rethinking Learning in Early Childhood Education" written by Nicola Yelland, Libby Lee, Maureen O’Rourke & Cathie Harrison

There is a growing body of work that responds to the impact of the rapid uptake of information and communication technology (ICT) on education (Buckingham, 2003; Cheung, 2003; Cuban, 2003; Leung, 2003; Prensky, 2005; Green & Hannon, 2007; Brooks-Gunn & Donahue, 2008; Lyman et al, 2008). Mostly, this work has been positioned in the context of upper-primary or secondary classrooms. More recently, there has been a growing call for research about the impact of ICT on the early years or in early childhood contexts. This text initiates a response to that call. The authors concur that today’s children are a generation who create, learn, work, play and communicate very differently from their parents and teachers (Buckingham, 2003), and that classroom activity needs to reflect this difference.

The cultural and creative industries : a literature review [2nd ed.]

This is a short book which gives an introduction and overview of the literature on the cultural and creative industries. This is a revised version of the 2007 edition, with a new conclusion.

Development of diagnostic and prognostic algorithms from vacuum circuit breaker restrike review and its validation proposal

The CIGRE WGs A3.20 and A3.24 identify the requirements of simulation tools to predict various stresses during the development and operational phases of medium voltage vacuum circuit breaker (VCB) testing. This paper reviews the modelling methodology [13], VCB models and tools to identify future research. It will include the application of the VCB model for the impending failure of a VCB using electro-magnetic-transient-program with diagnostic and prognostic algorithm development. The methodology developed for a VCB degradation model is to modify the dielectric equation to cover a restriking period of more than 1 millimetre.

Yorkshire Cities and Culture : A Review of Current Thinking

This report was commissioned by the Yorkshire Cultural Observatory and the Yorkshire & Humber Key Cities group. It is not a strategy document but an attempt to give an overview of the current thinking within academia and policy-making about the cultural agenda for regions and regional cities in the UK. In particular it looks at the challenges for Yorkshire cities in the context of the current and potential regional cultural offer. The report is a snapshot of current academic and policy thinking, but it also draws on a series of interviews conducted with policymakers in the five key cities as well as regional agencies. These interviews were limited in number and are not meant to be a comprehensive consultation exercise. Rather they acted to focus some of the issues raised by the literature and policy review and to develop suggestions around priority areas for the region.

Marxism Today [Review]

The briefly resurrected Marxism Today (1998), edited by Martin Jacques, sets out to deal with perceived failures of the 'Blair project' (Jacques, 1998: 2). Jacques opens the issue by reaffirming that Blair, which is to say New Labour, is the successful creation of the 'New Left' projects, the first of which began in the late-fifties and early sixties in both Britain and the US, and which were vigorously revived in the late 1980s. However, the most comprehensive debate is fairly much contained in the first three articles, written by Hobsbawm, Hall, and Mulgan, insofar as the broadest defining parameters of Third Way 'values' are addressed by these writers.

Review of Collaboration and Interdisciplinarity in the Republic of Letters : Essays in Honour of Richard G. Maber, edited by Paul Scott.

This volume brings together a number of essays that seek to explore the nature of early modern scholarship, ostensibly with special regard to the themes of interdisciplinarity and collaboration. As one might expect, the essays thus cover a gamut of topics – political manoeuvring, philosophical debates, gift-giving and dramatic performance – and each study is important and useful in its own right. As a whole, however, this collection serves more as a starting point for an exploration of its themes, than as an authoritative overview of the subject at hand.

A review of natural convection and heat transfer in attic-shaped space

This paper presents a review of studies on natural convection heat transfer in the triangular enclosure namely, in attic-shaped space. Much research activity has been devoted to this topic over the last three decades with a view to providing thermal comfort to the occupants in attic-shaped buildings and to minimising the energy costs associated with heating and air-conditioning. Two basic thermal boundary conditions of attic are considered to represent hot and cold climates or day and night time. This paper also reports on a significant number of studies which have been performed recently on other topics related to the attic space, for example, attics subject to localized heating and attics filled with porous media.