Microanalysis of quenched and self-extinguished aluminium rods burned in oxygen

Promoted ignition tests and quench tests have been conducted and analysed for 3.2 mm aluminum rods in 99.995% oxygen. Tests have been conducted in oxygen pressures varying from 538 kPa to 773 kPa. Samples that self-extinguished or were quenched were selected for further analysis. The microstructure of the selected samples were analysed by electron microscopy, using energy dispersive spectrometry and electron back-scatter techniques, to identify and visualize, respectively, the species present. The grain structures of these samples were etched, viewed and photographed under polarized light by an optical microscope. From the micrographs produced by the post-test analysis, clearly defined boundaries between the oxide and the melted and resolidified metal have been observed. In both the melted and resolidified metal and the oxide layer, significant numbers of gas bubbles, solid inclusions and several diffuse oxide bubbles have been captured during the cooling process. It is concluded that convective movement is occurring within the molten drop and that analysis of quenched samples provides more useful information on the state of the burning droplet than samples allowed to cool slowly to room temperature. Recommendations are made regarding future investigations into aluminum burning, focusing on the transport of reactants through the liquid oxide layer.

Changes in social identity when joining a new group: The role of individual-level and group-level adaptation processes

While classic intergroup theories have specified the processes explaining situational shifts in social identification, the processes whereby social identities change more profoundly and become integrated within the self have to be proposed. To this aim, the present studies investigate the processes by which group members integrate a new social identity as they are joining a new group. Combining a social identity approach and stress and coping models, this research tests if social factors (i.e., needs satisfied by fellow group members, social support), have an impact on the adaptation strategies group members use to deal with the novelty of the situation and to fit into their new group (seeking information & adopting group norms vs. disengaging). These strategies, in turn, should predict changes in level of identification with the new social group over time, as well as enhanced psychological adjustment. These associations are tested among university students over the course of their first academic year (Study 1), and among online gamers joining a newly established online community (Study 2). Path analyses provide support for the hypothesised associations. The results are discussed in light of recent theoretical developments pertaining to intraindividual changes in social identities and their integration in the self.

Am I being treated fairly by my leaders? The roles of group identification and self-other comparisons in judgements of procedural justice

The current experiment focuses on the roles of social identity and social comparison in perceptions of procedural justice. Participants are randomly allocated to conditions in a 2 (whether the participant has the opportunity to voice an opinion), X 2 (whether the comparison other has the opportunity to voice an opinion), X 2 (whether the comparison other is an ingroup or an outgroup member), between subjects design. Participants are then asked to report the extent to which they perceive the procedure they are involved in to be fair. It is predicted that participants will have a strong feeling of procedural unfairness when they are not given an opportunity by the leader to voice their opinion, but learn that their comparison other is given that opportunity. It is also predicted that the feeling of unfairness should be stronger when the comparison other is an outgroup rather than an ingroup member. Additionally, participants receiving a fair treatment may regard the procedure as fair when their outgoup comparison other receives an unfair treatment. Results support these predictions and reveal that how people make judgments of procedural justice through social comparison is qualified by the social identities of the parties involved.

Identity barriers to engaging in proenvironmental behaviour

Previous research has shown that engaging in proenvironmental behaviours can have a stygmatising effect for those who take part in those activities. This suggests that the identity consequences of proenvironmental behaviours may act as a barrier to engaging in these types of actions. This idea was investigated in a study assessing whether university students’ preferences for status-related or proenvironmental actions was influenced by prevailing group norms. Participants in the control condition and the status norm condition were equally willing to selfpresent as high status and pro-environment, however, participants in the environmental norm condition were more willing to self-present as pro-environment than status concerned. These results suggest that willingness to engage in pro-environmental behaviours may be higher in contexts where the identity consequences of these actions are positive. Preliminary results from a second study investigating identity consequences of pro-environmental behaviour will also be presented. Implications of the findings for strategies or campaigns aimed at increasing environmentally sustainable behaviour will be discussed.

A IDENTIDADE DA MULTIDÃO NO CULTO CELESTIAL NO APOCALIPSE DE JOÃO

João de Patmos, através de elementos literários e dramáticos e da estrutura cênica e litúrgica, criou no Apocalipse um universo simbólico específico. As imagens deste universo são protagonizadas tanto por seres divinos como também por pessoas humanas que se encontram exaltadas entre os seres celestiais, cantando e louvando a Deus. Durante o processo da composição, o autor da obra se inspirou na tradição apocalíptica e escatológica das tradições visionárias merkavah presentes em Ezequiel, Daniel e 1 Enoque, e fez uma leitura própria destas tradições que obedece aos seus próprios objetivos literários e às necessidades dos leitores / ouvintes do escrito. Os seres celestiais e humanos destacados nas imagens, e a presença de várias confluências de tradições merkavah indicam que o Apocalipse se insere numa vertente da literatura apocalíptica contemporânea do escrito. É notável que, tanto na apocalíptica, em Qumran, na literatura hekhalot como no Apocalipse, há indícios de uma intensa experiência extática de grupos de culto celestial. O cenário de visões é prioritariamente litúrgico, dentro de um templo celestial. As imagens geradas pela leitura das experiências místicas de Ezequiel, 1 Enoque e outros escritos místicos eram contempladas e enriquecidas pelas experiências de viagens celestiais de grupos proféticos durante cultos terrestres. Nas experiências místicas registradas nos fragmentos analisados do Apocalipse de João podem ser percebidas certas feições dos viajantes celestiais. Nos seus discursos sobre a visão do mundo que contemplam e definem, eles revelam suas crenças, desafios e expectativas, a sua auto-compreensão religiosa. Além da identidade dos protagonistas dos cultos celestiais percebe-se também o caráter e a função altamente criadores do fenômeno extático em geral, como também, em particular, no Apocalipse de João. O escrito revela e promove uma estrutura do mundo divino-humano completo e perfeito que está num movimento contínuo, um mundo que, com toda a simbologia inerente, expressa a idéia de criar, recriar e governar o universo inteiro. Os seres humanos participam ativamente deste universo e cooperam com a função reconstituinte dele. Essa cooperação na reconstituição do mundo tem um caráter presente e atual, embora a plenitude desta reconstituição esteja reservada para o futuro.

Rekindling community spirit and identity:the role of ecoprotestors

One of the features of current society is that of protest against environmental issues and this paper considers protest against road building and the ecoprotest movement. In doing so it considers both the local inhabitants and new age travellers who are involved in such protest to show that not only does ecoprotest, as a form of protest, raise the profile of environmental issues within public discourse but also opens up space for such discourse. Of greater significance is the effect which the ecoprotest, movement has upon a local sense of identity and community. Indeed the travellers themselves, through their action and engagement, demonstrate that the key determinant of community identity is grounded in self-belief and shared aspirations rather than in an externally imposed definition or in any economic imperatives. This paper shows that the migration of this sense of self-belief into mainstream society serves to demonstrate that community spirit and identity are extant in modern society but need a catalyst for their re-emergence. In doing so the role of ecoprotest points towards a possible mechanism for the re-emergence of an active and participatory sense of community identity within society as a whole.

Self-service technology and the service encounter

Self-service technology is affecting the service encounter. The potential reduction in personal contact through self-service technology may affect assessments of consumer satisfaction and commitment, making it necessary to investigate self-service technology usage, particularly the long-term impact on consumers' relationships with service organisations. Thus, this paper presents a framework for investigating the impact of self-service technology on consumer satisfaction and on a multi-dimensional measure of consumer commitment. Illustrative quotes from exploratory in-depth interviews support the framework and lead to a set of propositions. Future research directions for testing the framework are also discussed, and potential implications of this research are outlined.

Effective leadership in salient groups:revisiting leader-member exchange theory from the perspective of the social identity theory of leadership

Two studies compared leader-member exchange (LMX) theory and the social identity theory of leadership. Study 1 surveyed 439 employees of organizations in Wales, measuring work group salience, leader-member relations, and perceived leadership effectiveness. Study 2 surveyed 128 members of organizations in India, measuring identification not salience and also individualism/collectivism. Both studies provided good support for social identity predictions. Depersonalized leader-member relations were associated with greater leadership effectiveness among high-than low-salient groups (Study 1) and among high than low identifiers (Study 2). Personalized leadership effectiveness was less affected by salience (Study 1) and unaffected by identification (Study 2). Low-salience groups preferred personalized leadership more than did high-salience groups (Study 1). Low identifiers showed no preference but high identifiers preferred depersonalized leadership (Study 2). In Study 2, collectivists did not prefer depersonalized as opposed to personalized leadership, whereas individualists did, probably because collectivists focus more on the relational self.

Uncertified absence from work and the Big Five:an examination of absence records and future absence intentions

Uncertified absence from work has traditionally been difficult to link to personality. The present paper argues that personality is best conceptualized as influencing an individual’s intention to be absent from work because of reasons that are within their control. This was investigated in an employed community sample of 128 individuals. These individuals used a self-report measure to express their future intentions to be absent from work as a result of several reasons. These reasons for absence were categorized as “being absent because of external pressure or commitment” (ABCo) and “being absence by choice” (ABCh). The Big Five personality factors were found to be unrelated to objective uncertified absence records and unrelated to ABCo. Three of the Big Five were related to ABCh. Agreeableness was negatively related to ABCh whereas Extraversion and Openness demonstrated a positive correlation. It was concluded that the results should be viewed tentatively, but that this study may provide a useful framework for conceptualizing the association of personality with uncertified absence.

Prevalence of the use of cancer related self-tests by members of the public:A community survey

Background: Self-tests are those where an individual can obtain a result without recourse to a health professional, by getting a result immediately or by sending a sample to a laboratory that returns the result directly. Self-tests can be diagnostic, for disease monitoring, or both. There are currently tests for more than 20 different conditions available to the UK public, and self-testing is marketed as a way of alerting people to serious health problems so they can seek medical help. Almost nothing is known about the extent to which people self-test for cancer or why they do this. Self-tests for cancer could alter perceptions of risk and health behaviour, cause psychological morbidity and have a significant impact on the demand for healthcare. This study aims to gain an understanding of the frequency of self-testing for cancer and characteristics of users. Methods: Cross-sectional survey. Adults registered in participating general practices in the West Midlands Region, will be asked to complete a questionnaire that will collect socio-demographic information and basic data regarding previous and potential future use of self-test kits. The only exclusions will be people who the GP feels it would be inappropriate to send a questionnaire, for example because they are unable to give informed consent. Freepost envelopes will be included and non-responders will receive one reminder. Standardised prevalence rates will be estimated. Discussion: Cancer related self-tests, currently available from pharmacies or over the Internet, include faecal occult blood tests (related to bowel cancer), prostate specific antigen tests (related to prostate cancer), breast cancer kits (self examination guide) and haematuria tests (related to urinary tract cancers). The effect of an increase in self-testing for cancer is unknown but may be considerable: it may affect the delivery of population based screening programmes; empower patients or cause unnecessary anxiety; reduce costs on existing healthcare services or increase demand to investigate patients with positive test results. It is important that more is known about the characteristics of those who are using self-tests if we are to determine the potential impact on health services and the public. © 2006 Wilson et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Queer enough? Contested terrains of identity deployment in the context of gay and lesbian public activism in Poland

Gay and lesbian prides and marches are of crucial relevance to the way in which non-heterosexual lives are imagined internationally despite regional and national differences. Quite often, these events are connected not only with increased activist mobilisation, but also with great controversy, which is the case of Poland, where gay and lesbian marches have been attacked by right-wing protesters and cancelled by right-wing city authorities on a number of occasions. Overall, the scholars analysing these events have largely focused on the macro-context of the marches, paying less attention to the movement actors behind these events. The contribution of this thesis lies not only in filling a gap when it comes to research on sexual minorities in Eastern Europe/Poland, but also in its focus on micro-level movement processes and engagement with theories of collective identity and citizenship. Furthermore, this thesis challenges the inscription of Eastern European/Polish movements into the narrative of victimhood and delayed development when compared to LGBT movements in the Global North. This thesis is grounded in qualitative research including participant observation of public activist events as well as forty semi-structured interviews with the key organisers of gay and lesbian marches in Warsaw, Poznan and Krakow between 2001 and 2007, and five of these interviews were further accompanied by photo-elicitation (self-directed photography) methods. Starting from the processes whereby from 2001 onwards, marches, pride parades and demonstrations became the most visible and contested activity of the Polish lesbian and gay movement, this thesis examines how the activists redefined the meanings of citizenship in the post-transformation context, by incorporating the theme of sexual minorities' rights. Using Bernstein's (1997, 2002, 2005, 2008) concept of identity deployment, I show how and when movement actors use identity tactically, depending on their goals. Specifically, in the context of movement-media interactions, I examine the ways in which the activists use marches to challenge the negative representations of sexual minorities in Poland. I also broaden Bernstein's framework to include the discussion of emotion work as relevant to public LGBT activism in Poland. Later, I discuss how the emotions of protests allowed the activists to inscribe their efforts into the "revolutionary" narrative of the Polish Solidarity movement and by extension, the frame of citizenship. Finally, this thesis engages with the dilemmas of identity deployment strategies, and seeks to problematise the dichotomy between identity-based gay and lesbian assimilationist strategies and the anti-identity queer politics.

Relationship status and identity construction in heterosexual women:A discourse analytic and personal construct study

This thesis reports the findings of three studies examining relationship status and identity construction in the talk of heterosexual women, from a feminist and social constructionist perspective. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 women in study 1 and 13 women for study 2, between the ages of twenty and eighty-seven, discussing their experiences of relationships. All interviews were transcribed and analysed using discourse analysis, by hand and using the Nudist 6 program. The resulting themes create distinct age-related marital status expectations. Unmarried women were aware they had to marry by a ‘certain age’ or face a ‘lonely spinsterhood’. Through marriage women gained a socially accepted position associated with responsibility for others, self-sacrifice, a home-focused lifestyle and relational identification. Divorce was constructed as the consequence of personal faults and poor relationship care, reassuring the married of their own control over their status. Older unmarried women were constructed as deviant and pitiable, occupying social purgatory as a result of transgressing these valued conventions. Study 3 used repertory grid tasks, with 33 women, analysing transcripts and notes alongside numerical data using Web Grid II internet analysis tool, to produce principle components maps demonstrating the relationships between relationship terms and statuses. This study illuminated the consistency with which women of different ages and status saw marriage as their ideal living situation and outlined the domestic responsibilities associated. Spinsters and single-again women were defined primarily by their lack of marriage and by loneliness. This highlighted the devalued position of older unmarried women. The results of these studies indicated a consistent set of age-related expectations of relationship status, acknowledged by women and reinforced by their families and friends, which render many unmarried women deviant and fail to acknowledge the potential variety of women’s ways of living.

Education and self-management for people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes: a qualitative study of patients' views.

OObjectives: We explored the perceptions, views and experiences of diabetes education in people with type 2 diabetes who were participating in a UK randomized controlled trial of methods of education. The intervention arm of the trial was based on DESMOND, a structured programme of group education sessions aimed at enabling self-management of diabetes, while the standard arm was usual care from general practices. Methods: Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 adult patients, of whom 19 had attended DESMOND education sessions and 17 had been randomized to receive usual care. Data analysis was based on the constant comparative method. Results: Four principal orientations towards diabetes and its management were identified: `resisters', `identity resisters, consequence accepters', `identity accepters, consequence resisters' and `accepters'. Participants offered varying accounts of the degree of personal responsibility that needed to be assumed in response to the diagnosis. Preferences for different styles of education were also expressed, with many reporting that they enjoyed and benefited from group education, although some reported ambivalence or disappointment with their experiences of education. It was difficult to identify striking thematic differences between accounts of people on different arms of the trial, although there was some very tentative evidence that those who attended DESMOND were more accepting of a changed identity and its implications for their management of diabetes. Discussion: No one single approach to education is likely to suit all people newly diagnosed with diabetes, although structured group education may suit many. This paper identifies varying orientations and preferences of people with diabetes towards forms of both education and self-management, which should be taken into account when planning approaches to education.

An evaluation of motivations for studying pharmacy, career commitment and future career plans

It has been predicted that there will be a full time pharmacist workforce shortage of over 15,000 by 2013. It is therefore necessary to recruit more students of a suitable calibre to undergraduate pharmacy degree courses. This study was designed to investigate the motivations of pre-university and MPharm students for studying pharmacy. A series of focus groups was conducted with Year 12 students and a national survey of Year 13, 1st year MPharm and 4th year MPharm students was undertaken. The study found that amongst Year 12 students, pharmacy is perceived as a background profession and was also perceived as being of a lower status than medicine and dentistry. It was concluded that there was a need for greater promotion of pharmacy as a career amongst pre-university students, including the provision of structured work experience placements. Analysis of UCAS applicant data for pharmacy shows that the applicant pool is buoyant and that the majority of applicants are female. Female respondents to the surveys were significantly more likely than males to wish to work part time if they had a family. This could lead to further shortages in the full time workforce. The largest ethnic group of applicants to pharmacy degree courses were Asian. Business ownership and self-employment were motivations for entering the procession of pharmacy and career aims for significantly more Asian than White respondents. Ownership of independent pharmacies is declining and this could be a barrier to future recruitment to pharmacy degree courses. A high degree of interest in locum working may present a problem for continuity in commissioned services within community pharmacy practice. Further work is needed to examine the motivations for working as a locum pharmacist.