Government grants - an abrogation or management of risks?

New public management (NPFM), with its hands-on, private sector-style performance measurement, output control, parsimonious use of resources, disaggreation of public sector units and greater competition in the public sector, has significantly affected charitable and nonprofit organisations delivering community services (Hood, 1991; Dunleavy, 1994; George & Wilding, 2002). The literature indicates that nonprofit organisations under NPM believe they are doing more for less: while administration is increasing, core costs are not being met; their dependence on government funding comes at the expense of other funding strategies; and there are concerns about proportionality and power asymmetries in the relationship (Kerr & Savelsberg, 2001; Powell & Dalton, 2011; Smith, 2002, p. 175; Morris, 1999, 2000a). Government agencies are under increased pressure to do more with less, demonstrate value for money, measure social outcomes, not merely outputs and minimise political risk (Grant, 2008; McGreogor-Lowndes, 2008). Government-community service organisation relationships are often viewed as 'uneasy alliances' characterised by the pressures that come with the parties' differing roles and expectations and the pressures that come with the parties' differing roles and expectations and the pressurs of funding and security (Productivity Commission, 2010, p. 308; McGregor-Lowndes, 2008, p. 45; Morris, 200a). Significant community services are now delivered to citizens through such relationships, often to the most disadvantaged in the community, and it is important for this to be achieved with equity, efficiently and effectively. On one level, the welfare state was seen as a 'risk management system' for the poor, with the state mitigating the risks of sickness, job loss and old age (Giddens, 1999) with the subsequent neoliberalist outlook shifting this risk back to households (Hacker, 2006). At the core of this risk shift are written contracts. Vincent-Jones (1999,2006) has mapped how NPM is characterised by the use of written contracts for all manner of relations; e.g., relgulation of dealings between government agencies, between individual citizens and the state, and the creation of quais-markets of service providers and infrastructure partners. We take this lens of contracts to examine where risk falls in relation to the outsourcing of community services. First we examine the concept of risk. We consider how risk might be managed and apportioned between governments and community serivce organisations (CSOs) in grant agreements, which are quasiy-market transactions at best. This is informed by insights from the law and economics literature. Then, standard grant agreements covering several years in two jurisdictions - Australia and the United Kingdom - are analysed, to establish the risk allocation between government and CSOs. This is placed in the context of the reform agenda in both jurisdictions. In Australia this context is th enonprofit reforms built around the creation of a national charities regulator, and red tape reduction. In the United Kingdom, the backdrop is the THird Way agenda with its compacts, succeed by Big Society in a climate of austerity. These 'case studies' inform a discussion about who is best placed to bear and manage the risks of community service provision on behalf of government. We conclude by identifying the lessons to be learned from our analysis and possible pathways for further scholarship.

Graphene-type sheets of Nb1-xWxS2 : synthesis and in situ functionalization

Enlightened by the discovery of graphenes, a variety of inorganic analogues have been synthesized and characterized in recent years. Solvated Nb1-xWxS2 analogues of graphene-type sheets were prepared by lithiation and exfoliation of multistacked Nb1-xWxS2 coin roll nanowires (CRNWs), followed by in situ functionalization with gold nanoparticles to synthesize gold-loaded Nb1-xWxS2/Au nanocomposites. The Nb1-xWxS2 nanosheets and the corresponding Nb1-xWxS2/Au nanocomposites were characterized by high resolution electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and scanning force microscopy (AFM). The graphene-type sheets are stable in water and other solvents and can be functionalized similarly as chalcogen-terminated surfaces (e.g. with Au nanoparticles).

Hybrid chalcogenide nanoparticles : 2D-WS2 nanocrystals inside nested WS2 fullerenes

The MOCVD assisted formation of nested WS2 inorganic fullerenes (IF-WS2) was performed by enhancing surface diffusion with iodine, and fullerene growth was monitored by taking TEM snapshots of intermediate products. The internal structure of the core-shell nanoparticles was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after cross-cutting with a focused ion beam (FIB). Lamellar reaction intermediates were found occluded in the fullerene particles. In contrast to carbon fullerenes, layered metal chalcogenides prefer the formation of planar, plate-like structures where the dangling bonds at the edges are stabilized by excess S atoms. The effects of the reaction and annealing temperatures on the composition and morphology of the final product were investigated, and the strength of the WS2 shell was measured by intermittent contact-mode AFM. The encapsulated lamellar structures inside the hollow spheres may lead to enhanced tribological activities.

Design, construction and evaluation of systems to predict risk in obstetrics

We present a systematic, practical approach to developing risk prediction systems, suitable for use with large databases of medical information. An important part of this approach is a novel feature selection algorithm which uses the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to measure the expected discriminative power of different sets of predictor variables. We describe this algorithm and use it to select variables to predict risk of a specific adverse pregnancy outcome: failure to progress in labour. Neural network, logistic regression and hierarchical Bayesian risk prediction models are constructed, all of which achieve close to the limit of performance attainable on this prediction task. We show that better prediction performance requires more discriminative clinical information rather than improved modelling techniques. It is also shown that better diagnostic criteria in clinical records would greatly assist the development of systems to predict risk in pregnancy. We present a systematic, practical approach to developing risk prediction systems, suitable for use with large databases of medical information. An important part of this approach is a novel feature selection algorithm which uses the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to measure the expected discriminative power of different sets of predictor variables. We describe this algorithm and use it to select variables to predict risk of a specific adverse pregnancy outcome: failure to progress in labour. Neural network, logistic regression and hierarchical Bayesian risk prediction models are constructed, all of which achieve close to the limit of performance attainable on this prediction task. We show that better prediction performance requires more discriminative clinical information rather than improved modelling techniques. It is also shown that better diagnostic criteria in clinical records would greatly assist the development of systems to predict risk in pregnancy.

What patient information allows us to make accurate predictions of outcome?

Only some of the information contained in a medical record will be useful to the prediction of patient outcome. We describe a novel method for selecting those outcome predictors which allow us to reliably discriminate between adverse and benign end results. Using the area under the receiver operating characteristic as a nonparametric measure of discrimination, we show how to calculate the maximum discrimination attainable with a given set of discrete valued features. This upper limit forms the basis of our feature selection algorithm. We use the algorithm to select features (from maternity records) relevant to the prediction of failure to progress in labour. The results of this analysis motivate investigation of those predictors of failure to progress relevant to parous and nulliparous sub-populations.

Using upper bounds on attainable discrimination to select discrete valued features

Selection of features that will permit accurate pattern classification is a difficult task. However, if a particular data set is represented by discrete valued features, it becomes possible to determine empirically the contribution that each feature makes to the discrimination between classes. This paper extends the discrimination bound method so that both the maximum and average discrimination expected on unseen test data can be estimated. These estimation techniques are the basis of a backwards elimination algorithm that can be use to rank features in order of their discriminative power. Two problems are used to demonstrate this feature selection process: classification of the Mushroom Database, and a real-world, pregnancy related medical risk prediction task - assessment of risk of perinatal death.

Feature selection using expected attainable discrimination

We propose expected attainable discrimination (EAD) as a measure to select discrete valued features for reliable discrimination between two classes of data. EAD is an average of the area under the ROC curves obtained when a simple histogram probability density model is trained and tested on many random partitions of a data set. EAD can be incorporated into various stepwise search methods to determine promising subsets of features, particularly when misclassification costs are difficult or impossible to specify. Experimental application to the problem of risk prediction in pregnancy is described.

Costs and benefits of ivory-billed woodpecker re-discovery

Several years ago, the purported re-discovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) in eastern Arkansas generated lively discussion in renowned scientific journals. The debate concerned both the central question of whether the bird videotaped in April 2004 really was an ivorybilled woodpecker (eg Fitzpatrick et al. 2005; Sibley et al. 2006) and the controversy around the resulting species recovery plan and its costs (McKelvey et al. 2008; Dalton 2010): was $14 million pointlessly spent?

Peptide-functionalized polymeric nanoparticles for active targeting of damaged tissue in animals with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Increased permeability of blood vessels is an indicator for various injuries and diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS), of the central nervous system. Nanoparticles have the potential to deliver drugs locally to sites of tissue damage, reducing the drug administered and limiting associated side effects, but efficient accumulation still remains a challenge. We developed peptide-functionalized polymeric nanoparticles to target blood clots and the extracellular matrix molecule nidogen, which are associated with areas of tissue damage. Using the induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in rats to provide a model of MS associated with tissue damage and blood vessel lesions, all targeted nanoparticles were delivered systemically. In vivo data demonstrates enhanced accumulation of peptide functionalized nanoparticles at the injury site compared to scrambled and naive controls, particularly for nanoparticles functionalized to target fibrin clots. This suggests that further investigations with drug laden, peptide functionalized nanoparticles might be of particular interest in the development of treatment strategies for MS.

Melt electrospinning of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) scaffolds: Phenomenological observations associated with collection and direct writing

Melt electrospinning and its additive manufacturing analogue, melt electrospinning writing (MEW), are two processes which can produce porous materials for applications where solvent toxicity and accumulation in solution electrospinning are problematic. This study explores the melt electrospinning of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds, specifically for applications in tissue engineering. The research described here aims to inform researchers interested in melt electrospinning about technical aspects of the process. This includes rapid fiber characterization using glass microscope slides, allowing influential processing parameters on fiber morphology to be assessed, as well as observed fiber collection phenomena on different collector substrates. The distribution and alignment of melt electrospun PCL fibers can be controlled to a certain degree using patterned collectors to create large numbers of scaffolds with shaped macroporous architectures. However, the buildup of residual charge in the collected fibers limits the achievable thickness of the porous template through such scaffolds. One challenge identified for MEW is the ability to control charge buildup so that fibers can be placed accurately in close proximity, and in many centimeter heights. The scale and size of scaffolds produced using MEW, however, indicate that this emerging process will fill a technological niche in biofabrication.

Hierarchically structured porous poly(2-oxazoline) hydrogels

A new method for fabricating hydrogels with intricate control over hierarchical 3D porosity using micro-fiber porogens is presented. Melt electrospinning writing of poly(ε-caprolactone) is used to create the sacrificial template leading to hierarchical structuring consisting of pores inside the denser poly(2-oxazoline) hydrogel mesh. This versatile approach provides new opportunities to create well-defined multilevel control over interconnected pores with diameters in the lower micrometer range inside hydrogels with potential applications as cell scaffolds with tunable diffusion and transport of, e.g. nutrients, growth factors or therapeutics.

Synthesis, reactivity and structural characterisation of bicyclic tetraphosphapentazanes

The diphenoxy bicyclic tetraphosphapentazane derivatives (EtN)(5)P-4(OPh)(2) 2 and its monoxide (EtN)(5)P-4(O)(OPh)(2) 3 have been prepared. Both 2 and 3 exist as a mixture of two isomers. One isomer of (EtN)(5)P-4(O)(OPh)(2) 3a has been isolated and its reaction with tetrachloro-1,2-benzoquinone yielded (EtN)(5)P-4(O)(OPh)(2)(O2C6Cl4) 5 in which the junction phosphorus atom becomes five-co-ordinated. Treatment of 2 or 3a with [Mo(CO)(4)(nbd)] (nbd = norbornadiene, bicyclo[2.2.1]hepta-2,5-diene), on the other hand, yielded the chelate complex [Mo(CO)(4){(EtN)(5)P-4(O)(n)(OPh)(2)}] (n = 0 or 1; 6 or 7) in which the peripheral phosphorus atoms are bonded to the metal. The structures of 3a and 5-7 have been confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The two P3N3 rings in 3a and 5 adopt twist/twist and irregular/twist conformations respectively; the phenoxy substituents occupy the 'pseudo axial' positions. However, an ideal chair conformation is observed for the P3N3 rings in 6 and 7 with the phenoxy substituents taking up the 'pseudo equatorial' positions. The NMR spectroscopic data for the compounds are discussed.

Synthesis, structure and spectroscopic studies on hydroxo-bridged heterotrinuclear complexes of cobalt(m) with ethane-l,2-diamine and ammonia as terminal ligands

Hydroxo-bridged homo- and hetero-trinuclear cobalt(III) complexes of the type [MII(H2O)2{(OH)2CoIII(N4)}2]X2·nH2O [MII= a divalent metal ion such as CoII, NiII or ZnII; N4=(en)2(en = ethane-1,2-diamine) or (NH3)4; X = SO4 or (ClO4)2; n= 3 or 5] have been prepared and spectroscopically characterized. The structure of [Cu{(OH)2Co(en)2}2][SO4]2·2H2O 1 has been determined. The geometry around copper atom is a pseudo-square-based pyramid, with the basal sites occupied by four bridging hydroxide oxygens and the apical site is occupied by a weakly co-ordinated sulfate anion [Cu–O 2.516(4)Å]. The hydroxo groups bridge pairs of cobalt(III) ions which are in near-octahedral environments. The ethylenediamine chelate rings have the twist conformation. In the crystal structure of [Cu{(OH)2Co(en)2}2][ClO4]4·2H2O 2 the perchlorate ion is not co-ordinated and the en ligands have envelope conformations. The sulfate ion in [Cu{(OH)2Co(NH3)4}2][SO4]2·4H2O 3 is not co-ordinated to the central copper ion. Electronic, infrared and variable-temperature EPR spectral data are discussed.

Synthesis and characterisation of heterometallic molecular triangles using ambidentate linker: self-selection of a single linkage isomer

The coordination driven self-assembly of discrete molecular triangles from a non-symmetric ambidentate linker 5-pyrimidinecarboxylate (5-pmc) and Pd(II)/Pt(II) based 90◦ acceptors is presented. Despite the possibility of formation of a mixture of isomeric macrocycles (linkage isomers) due to different connectivity of the ambidentate linker, formation of a single and symmetrical linkage somer in both the cases is an interesting observation. Moreover, the reported macrocycles represent the first example of discrete metallamacrocycles of bridging 5-pmc. While solution composition in both the cases was characterised by multinuclear NMR study and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), the identity of the assemblies in the solid state was established by X-ray single crystals structure analysis. Variable temperature NMR study clearly ruled out the formation of any other macrocycles by [4 + 4] or [2 + 2] self-assembly of the reacting components.