The vortex of violence : moving beyond the cycle and engaging clients in change

This article introduces the conceptual practice tool of ‘The Vortex of Violence’ and one suggested practice model for utilising the vortex of violence in practice with women who have experienced a domestic violence relationship. The practice tool and model are an expansion of ‘The Cycle of Violence’ that shifts the focus from explanation of the dynamics of abusive relationships to the exploration of the lived experience of women and the development of a personal/therapeutic template for healing and reclaiming of their lives.

Validating the impact of EVM on project life cycle

With the inevitable increase in size and complexity of construction projects, the need for proper control is increasing. Considering the fact that each project strives for excellence, numerous studies have been conducted over the years to measure performance and investigate factors that are really critical towards project success. Earned Value Management is a project performance evaluation technique which enables industry professionals to closely monitor project performance in both time and cost .The aim of this paper is to examine the result of proper Earned Value Management (EVM) implementation on different project life cycle (PLC) and validate the impact on project success.

The study investigates different success factors in construction industry with special focus on previous researchers’ work which studied the importance of cost control in project success especially in fragmented industry like construction, followed up with three different case studies to analyze the positive impact of EVM implementation on construction projects. Furthermore, for data triangulation purpose, case study analysis will be supported by interviews with specialists working in the UAE construction industry to cross check the outcomes of previous researches.
The research shows that EVM application on cost control in construction projects is not only a crucial management task which is a key to the success of the business but also its influence on project success depends on the time of implementation. It requires a number of up-to-date input data consistently throughout the construction phase. Assigning the right budgets, calculating accurate estimates and monitoring actual costs throughout different project stages are the three main drivers of an effective control through PLC staring from inception stage till completion. EVM proved to be of vital importance due to alarming escalation of construction costs which needs to be especially monitored and controlled. Senior management support and availability of professional staff to execute cost control systems are key factors towards successful implementation

Effect of magnetic treatment on microstructure and cycle performance of LiFePO4/C cathode material

LiFePO4/C composite was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis along with a magnetic treatment method. The LiFePO4/C composite synthesized without magnetic treatment is an integrated rhombic shape crystal, whereas the LiFePO4/C material synthesized with magnetic treatment presents a rhombus shape which is self-assembled by a number of small crystal particles with an average size of about 100 nms. The capacity retention for the LiFePO4/C cathode material synthesized without magnetic treatment is only 77% after 30 charge-discharge cycles at 0.2 C, but the LiFePO4/C composite synthesized with magnetic treatment has a capacity retention of 100% after 100 charge-discharge cycles at 1 C and 5 C. It suggests that magnetic treatment can remove Fe3+ cations effectively during the preparation process and enhance the cycle performance of the LiFePO4/C material.

Differential temporal expression of milk miRNA during the lactation cycle of the marsupial tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii)

Lactation is a key aspect of mammalian evolution for adaptation of various reproductive strategies along different mammalian lineages. Marsupials, such as tammar wallaby, adopted a short gestation and a relatively long lactation cycle, the newborn is immature at birth and significant development occurs postnatally during lactation. Continuous changes of tammar milk composition may contribute to development and immune protection of pouch young. Here, in order to address the putative contribution of newly identified secretory milk miRNA in these processes, high throughput sequencing of miRNAs collected from tammar milk at different time points of lactation was conducted. A comparative analysis was performed to find distribution of miRNA in milk and blood serum of lactating wallaby.

A comprehensive framework for assessing the life-cycle energy of building construction assemblies

Building environmental design typically focuses on improvements to operational efficiencies such as building thermal performance and system efficiency. Often the impacts occurring across the other stages of a building's life are not considered or are seen as insignificant in comparison. However, previous research shows that embodied impacts can be just as important. There is limited consistent and comprehensive information available for building designers to make informed decisions in this area. Often the information that is available is from disparate sources, which makes comparison of alternative solutions unreliable. It is also important to ensure that strategies to reduce environmental impacts from one life cycle stage do not come at the expense of an increase in overall life-cycle impacts. A consistent and comprehensive framework for assessing and specifying building assemblies for enhanced environmental outcomes does not currently exist. This article presents the initial findings of a project that aims to establish a database of life cycle energy requirements for a broad range of construction assemblies, based on a comprehensive assessment framework. Life cycle energy requirements have been calculated for eight residential construction assemblies integrating an innovative embodied energy assessment technique with thermal performance modelling and ranked according to their performance. © #2010 Earthscan ISSN: 0003-8628.

Asynchrony and regional differences in the reproductive cycle of the greenback stingaree Urolophus viridis from south-eastern Australia

Determining the periodicity of the reproductive cycle in chondrichthyan species when the population is recruiting asynchronously, as found for Urolopus viridis, can be problematic. The reproductive cycle generally requires distinguishable trends in reproductive indices across the population. The present study utilised other similar and sympatric urolophid species with synchronous reproductive cycles. Through data collected in the present study and comparisons of maximum total length (TL), periodicity of egg and embryo in utero, ovarian cycles, largest ovarian follicle diameter, and matrotrophic contribution (percentage increase from egg to embryo after maternal histotroph supplement) from similar studies, an annual reproductive cycle can be hypothesised. Sampling across two separate regions of Lakes Entrance (LE) and Western Bass Strait (WBS), U. viridis also showed regionality in several of the reproductive indices. Maximum TL and mass for females, mean size-at-birth, and female size-at-maturity and size-at-maternity in LE were markedly smaller than in WBS. In both regions litter size (1–2) increased with TL, with an exception of one female in WBS producing a litter of 3 which could be attributed to the larger TL. The implication of U. viridis producing such few young annually is they have the lowest biological productivity of any urolophid species in south-eastern Australia.