Governing through community? A comparative study of changing management practices in mixed tenure housing development

An important feature of UK housing policy has been the promotion of consortia between local authorities, private developers and housing associations in order to develop mixed tenure estates to meet a wide range of housing needs. Central to this approach has been a focus on the management of neighbourhoods, based on the assumption that high densities and the inter-mixing of tenure exacerbates the potential for incivility and anti-social behaviour and exerts a disproportionate impact on residents' quality of life. Landlord strategies are therefore based on a need to address such issues at an early stage in the development. In some cases community-based, third sector organisations are established in order to manage community assets and to provide a community development service to residents. In others, a common response is to appoint caretakers and wardens to tackle social and environmental problems before they escalate and undermine residents’ quality of life. A number of innovative developments have promoted such neighbourhood governance approaches to housing practice by applying community development methods to address potential management problems. In the process, there is an increasing trend towards strategies that shape behaviour, govern ethical conduct, promote aesthetic standards and determine resident and landlord expectations. These processes can be related to the wider concept of governmentality whereby residents are encouraged to become actively engaged in managing their own environments, based on the assumption that this produces more cohesive, integrated communities and projects positive images. Evidence is emerging from a number of countries that increasingly integrated and mutually supportive roles and relationships between public, private and third sector agencies are transforming neighbourhood governance in similar ways. This paper will review the evidence for this trend towards community governance in mixed housing developments by drawing on a series of UK case studies prepared for two national agencies in 2007. It will review in particular the contractual arrangements with different tenures, identify codes and guidelines promoting 'good neighbour' behaviour and discuss the role of community development trusts and other neighbourhood organisations in providing facilities and services, designed to generate a well integrated community. The second part of the paper will review evidence from the USA and Australia to see how far there is a convergence in this respect in advanced economies. The paper will conclude by discussing the extent to which housing management practice is changing, particularly in areas of mixed development, whether there is a convergence in practice between different countries and how far these trends are supported by theories of governmentality.

Syntrophic relationships between algae and bacteria in a fresh-water stream and in culture /

Interactions between freshwater algae and bacteria were examined in a natural stream habitat and a laboratory model. Field observations provided circumstantial evidence, in statistical correlation for syntrophy between the microbial populations. This relation is probably subject to control by the temperature and pH of the aquatic environment. Several species of a pond community were isolated in axenic culture and tests were performed to determine the nature of mixed species interactions. Isolation procedures and field studies indicated that selected strains of Chlorella and Azotobacter were closely associated in their natural habitat. With the suspected controlling parameters, pH and temperature, held constant, mixed cultures of algae and bacteria were compared to axenic cultures of the same organisms, and a mutual stimulation of growth was observed. A mixed pure culture apparatus was designed in this laboratory to study the algal-bacterial interaction and to test the hypothesis that such an interaction may take place through a diffusable substance or through certain medium-borne conditions, Azotobacter was found to take up a Chlorella-produced exudate, to stimulate protein synthesis, to enhance chlorophyll production and to cause a numerical increase in the interacting Chlorella population. It is not clear whether control is at the environmental, cellular or genetic level in these mixed population interactions. Experimental observations in the model system, taken with field correlations allow one to state that there may be a direct relationship governing the population fluctuations of these two organisms in their natural stream surroundings.

Self concept, acculturation, and fashion orientation

The research begins with a discussion of the worldwide and the Canadian market. The research profiles the examination of the relationship between a person's self concept (as defined by Malhotra) and fashion orientation (as defined by Gutman and Mills), and to understand how these factors are influenced by acculturation, focusing in-depth on their managerial implications. To study these relationships; a random sample of 196 ChineseCanadian female university students living in Canada was given a survey based on Malhotra's self-concept scale, and the SLASIA acculturation scale. Based on multiple regression analysis, findings suggest that the adoption of language and social interaction dimensions of acculturation constructs have significant effects on the relationship between self concept and fashion orientation. This research contributes significantly to both marketing theory and practice. Theoretically, this research develops new insights on the dimensionality of fashion orientation, identifies various moderating effects of acculturation on the relationship of self concept and fashion orientation dimensions, and provides a framework to examine these effects, where results can be generalized across different culture. Practically, marketers can use available findings to improve their understanding of the fashion needs of Chinese-Canadian consumers, and target them based on these findings. The findings provide valuable implications for companies to formulate their fashion marketing strategies for enhance fashion orientation in terms of different dimensions, based on different levels of acculturation.

An Exploration Into Doctoral Students' Sense of Community and its Influence on the Formation of Informal Mentoring Relationships

This exploratory mixed method research project was designed to investigate an area of doctoral education that has received little attention in the past. This research focused specifically on the non-intellectual, hoped-for by-products of doctoral education; the dynamic processes of developing and maintaining both a sense of community and informal mentoring relationships. The design of the study captured the experiences of doctoral students and alumni at various time periods in the doctoral program. Participants represented a diverse group of students with differences in professional and academic backgrounds and life stages. A pilot study for this research suggested that the presence of a sense of community and informal mentoring may provide the necessary relationships to support this diversity. The primary question at the forefront of this study was: Do doctoral students feel connected to one another? Five subquestions were developed to address this research topic: Does a sense of community already exist and flourish in doctoral education? Are the programs and resources of the doctoral program organized to nurture the creation and maintenance of a sense of community? Is a sense of community a foundational element in the formation of naturally occurring relationships among doctoral students? What educational and socio-emotional benefits are associated with informal mentoring relationships during the doctoral experience? and Do doctoral students perceive a change in their development as stewards of their discipline over time? The principal methods used to investigate these research questions combined both quantitative and qualitative techniques in a concurrent time sequence. The quantitative portion of the study involved a questionnaire, while the qualitative portion involved two approaches; face-to-face interviews and an open-ended question at the end of the questionnaire. Findings from the study indicated that the presence of both sense of community and informal mentoring enhance the overall quality of doctoral education. Program elements that enhanced or hindered connection between students were identified. Both the dynamics and the emotional, social, and academic benefits of informal mentoring were elucidated. Over time participants perceived changes in their development of the qualities assqciated with stewardship. This study brought the "hoped-for by-products" associated with doctoral education from the background shadows to an illuminated position at the forefront of inquiry.

Becoming Peer Health Leaders: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of a Youth Leadership Camp Preparing Peer Leaders for Participation in a Health Promotion Initiative.

Youth are critical partners in health promotion, but the process of training young people to become meaningfully involved is challenging. This mixed-methods evaluation considered the impact of a leadership camp in preparing 42 grade seven students to become peer health leaders in a ‘heart health’ initiative. The experiences of participants and their sense of agency were explored. Data were collected from pre and post camp surveys, focus groups, student journals and researcher observations. Findings indicate that relationships with peers and adults were key to agency development, and participants appeared to broaden their perspectives on the meanings of ‘health’ and ‘leadership.’ Significant changes on two sub-scales of the Harter Perceived Competence Scale for Children were also found. Suggestions for practice and further research are provided.

L’expérience socioscolaire d’élèves montréalais originaires de l’Asie du Sud : dynamiques familiales, communautaires et systémiques

La recherche explore les dynamiques influençant la réussite scolaire des élèves montréalais originaires de l’Asie du Sud (Inde, Pakistan, Sri Lanka et Bangladesh) à l’école secondaire publique de langue française. En effet, au Québec, à cet ordre d’enseignement, parmi tous les élèves immigrants de différentes origines ethniques, ces élèves présentent le plus fort taux de décrochage et ce, même si l’on tient compte de leur départ élevé de la province avant l’âge de 15 ans et de leur fréquentation importante du secteur de l’éducation des adultes. Cette recherche vise, d’une part, à fournir une meilleure connaissance des dynamiques familiales, communautaires et scolaires qui influencent l’expérience socioscolaire et plus particulièrement, la réussite scolaire de ces élèves et, d’autre part, à identifier les moyens les plus appropriés et les plus efficaces pour amoindrir leurs difficultés. Les données ont été recueillies par le biais d’une méthode mixte, consistant en des entretiens approfondis auprès d’élèves d’origine sud-asiatique et de différents acteurs du paradigme éducatif (les parents, les intervenants scolaires et communautaires), et en un questionnaire anonyme adressé exclusivement aux parents sud-asiatiques. Les données ont été analysées selon un cadre où l’élève d’origine immigrée réussit plus ou moins à l’école sous l’influence de cinq types de facteurs : socioéconomiques, linguistiques, culturels, sociostructurels et systémiques. Les résultats de la recherche soulignent le rôle de l’élève comme acteur de sa réussite, tout en insistant sur l’impact des différents milieux qu’il fréquente. La famille est particulièrement interpellée quant à son projet migratoire, ses valeurs et ses pratiques, ainsi que ses ressources linguistiques, socioéconomiques et relationnelles. La communauté ethnique est aussi interpellée quant à son niveau de complétude institutionnelle. La recherche souligne également l’influence du système scolaire quant à ses politiques, programmes et encadrements éducatifs, mais aussi quant aux pratiques et dynamiques au sein de l’école. L’impact du contexte d’accueil et d’intégration des nouveaux arrivants et du climat des relations interethniques au sein de la société d’accueil sont également mis en relief. « Ça prend tout un village pour éduquer un enfant »! Plus précisément, selon les résultats de notre recherche, les défis des parents sud-asiatiques face à l’insertion au marché de l’emploi, leur méconnaissance du français et le fait que certaines valeurs sud-asiatiques soient parfois en contradiction avec les valeurs québécoises sont les principales dynamiques familiales qui nuisent à la réussite scolaire des élèves d’origine sud-asiatique à l’école québécoise de langue française. En ce qui concerne les dynamiques communautaires, la faiblesse institutionnelle de la communauté sud-asiatique et le petit nombre d’organismes à vocation scolaire ont également un impact important à cet égard. De plus, le classement problématique des élèves à leur arrivée dans le système scolaire québécois, les relations presque inexistantes entre l’école et les parents ainsi que certaines pratiques inadaptées à la réalité des élèves (liées aux services d’accueil et d’orientation) sont les principales dynamiques systémiques qui défavorisent l’intégration socioscolaire des élèves d’origine sud-asiatique, mais aussi celle de l’ensemble des élèves issus de l’immigration.

Habileté de mentalisation chez les mères présentant un trouble de personnalité limite : orientation mentale maternelle lors d’interactions mère-bébé.

Contexte : Les personnes atteintes de trouble de personnalité limite (TPL) présenteraient un déficit de mentalisation, soit la capacité de percevoir et interpréter les états mentaux chez soi et chez l’autre. Dans le cadre de la relation mère-bébé, un tel déficit est susceptible d’entraîner des perturbations relationnelles ayant des conséquences néfastes sur le développement de l’enfant. L’orientation mentale se mesure par le biais des verbalisations du parent au sujet des états mentaux de son enfant et constitue donc un reflet de la mentalisation du parent durant cette interaction. Toutefois, aucune étude n’a encore investigué l’orientation mentale chez des mères avec TPL durant l’interaction avec leur bébé. Objectif : Le but de cette étude était d’évaluer l’orientation mentale de 38 mères en interaction avec leur enfant âgé de 12 mois, incluant 10 mères atteintes de TPL et 28 sans diagnostic psychiatrique. Méthode: L’orientation mentale maternelle fut évaluée à partir de vidéos d’interaction mère-enfant dans un contexte de jeu libre. Le TPL a été identifié à l’aide du Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders (SCID-II). Résultats: Les mères atteintes de TPL ne se sont pas distingué concernant la fréquence de commentaires faisant référence aux états mentaux de leur bébé. Toutefois, les commentaires mentaux des mères souffrant de TPL se sont avérés être 4.7 fois plus fréquemment jugés non-appropriés à l’état mental de l’enfant comparés à ceux des mères sans diagnostic psychiatrique. Conclusions : Les commentaires mentaux des mères atteintes de TPL semblent plus fréquemment empreints d’erreurs d’interprétation des états mentaux de leur enfant, ce qui pourrait poser un risque pour le développement de l’enfant.

The relationships of character strengths with coping, work-related stress, and job satisfaction

Personality traits have often been highlighted to relate to how people cope with stressful events. The present paper focuses on character strengths as positive personality traits and examines two basic assumptions that were derived from a core characteristic of character strengths (i.e., to determine how individuals deal with adversities): (1) character strengths correlate with coping and (2) buffer the effects of work-related stress on job satisfaction. Two different samples (i.e., a mixed sample representing various occupations [N = 214] and a nurses sample [N = 175]) filled in measures for character strengths, coping, work-related stress, and job satisfaction. As expected, intellectual, emotional, and interpersonal strengths were related to coping. Interpersonal strengths played a greater role for coping among nurses, as interactions with others are an essential part of their workday. Furthermore, intellectual strengths partially mediated the negative effect of work-related stress on job satisfaction. These findings open a new field for research on the role of personality in coping with work-related stress. Character strengths are trainable personal characteristics, and therefore valuable resources to improve coping with work-related stress and to decrease the negative effects of stress. Further research is needed to investigate this assumed causality.

Does interpersonal behavior of psychotherapy trainees differ in private and professional relationships?

• Aim: The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of trainees’ interpersonal behavior on work involvement (WI) and compared their social behavior within professional and private relationships as well as between different psychotherapeutic orientations. • Methods: The interpersonal scales of the Intrex short-form questionnaire and the Work Involvement Scale (WIS) were used to evaluate two samples of German psychotherapy trainees in psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, and cognitive behavioral therapy training. Trainees from Sample 1 (N = 184) were asked to describe their interpersonal behavior in relation to their patients when filling out the Intrex, whereas trainees from Sample 2 (N = 135) were asked to describe the private relationship with a significant other. • Results: Interpersonal affiliation in professional relationships significantly predicted the level of healing involvement, while stress involvement was predicted by interpersonal affiliation and interdependence in trainees’ relationships with their patients. Social behavior within professional relationships provided higher correlations with WI than private interpersonal behavior. Significant differences were found between private and professional relation settings in trainees’ interpersonal behavior with higher levels of affiliation and interdependence with significant others. Differences between therapeutic orientation and social behavior could only be found when comparing trainees’ level of interdependence with the particular relationship setting. • Conclusion: Trainees’ interpersonal level of affiliation in professional relationships is a predictor for a successful psychotherapeutic development. Vice versa, controlling behavior in professional settings can be understood as a risk factor against psychotherapeutic growth. Both results strengthen an evidence-based approach for competence development during psychotherapy training.

Evaluation of a large-eddy model simulation of a mixed-phase altocumulus cloud using microwave radiometer, lidar and Doppler radar data

Using the Met Office large-eddy model (LEM) we simulate a mixed-phase altocumulus cloud that was observed from Chilbolton in southern England by a 94 GHz Doppler radar, a 905 nm lidar, a dual-wavelength microwave radiometer and also by four radiosondes. It is important to test and evaluate such simulations with observations, since there are significant differences between results from different cloud-resolving models for ice clouds. Simulating the Doppler radar and lidar data within the LEM allows us to compare observed and modelled quantities directly, and allows us to explore the relationships between observed and unobserved variables. For general-circulation models, which currently tend to give poor representations of mixed-phase clouds, the case shows the importance of using: (i) separate prognostic ice and liquid water, (ii) a vertical resolution that captures the thin layers of liquid water, and (iii) an accurate representation the subgrid vertical velocities that allow liquid water to form. It is shown that large-scale ascents and descents are significant for this case, and so the horizontally averaged LEM profiles are relaxed towards observed profiles to account for these. The LEM simulation then gives a reasonable. cloud, with an ice-water path approximately two thirds of that observed, with liquid water at the cloud top, as observed. However, the liquid-water cells that form in the updraughts at cloud top in the LEM have liquid-water paths (LWPs) up to half those observed, and there are too few cells, giving a mean LWP five to ten times smaller than observed. In reality, ice nucleation and fallout may deplete ice-nuclei concentrations at the cloud top, allowing more liquid water to form there, but this process is not represented in the model. Decreasing the heterogeneous nucleation rate in the LEM increased the LWP, which supports this hypothesis. The LEM captures the increase in the standard deviation in Doppler velocities (and so vertical winds) with height, but values are 1.5 to 4 times smaller than observed (although values are larger in an unforced model run, this only increases the modelled LWP by a factor of approximately two). The LEM data show that, for values larger than approximately 12 cm s(-1), the standard deviation in Doppler velocities provides an almost unbiased estimate of the standard deviation in vertical winds, but provides an overestimate for smaller values. Time-smoothing the observed Doppler velocities and modelled mass-squared-weighted fallspeeds shows that observed fallspeeds are approximately two-thirds of the modelled values. Decreasing the modelled fallspeeds to those observed increases the modelled IWC, giving an IWP 1.6 times that observed.

Simultaneous bridge-localized and mixed-valence character in diruthenium radical cations featuring diethynylaromatic bridging ligands

A series of bimetallic ruthenium complexes [{Ru(dppe)Cp*}2(μ-C≡CArC≡C)] featuring diethynylaromatic bridging ligands (Ar = 1,4-phenylene, 1,4-naphthylene, 9,10-anthrylene) have been prepared and some representative molecular structures determined. A combination of UV–vis–NIR and IR spectroelectrochemical methods and density functional theory (DFT) have been used to demonstrate that one-electron oxidation of compounds [{Ru(dppe)Cp*}2(μ-C≡CArC≡C)](HC≡CArC≡CH = 1,4-diethynylbenzene; 1,4-diethynyl-2,5-dimethoxybenzene; 1,4-diethynylnaphthalene; 9,10-diethynylanthracene) yields solutions containing radical cations that exhibit characteristics of both oxidation of the diethynylaromatic portion of the bridge, and a mixed-valence state. The simultaneous population of bridge-oxidized and mixed-valence states is likely related to a number of factors, including orientation of the plane of the aromatic portion of the bridging ligand with respect to the metal d-orbitals of appropriate π-symmetry.

Meta-analysis of relationships between enteric methane yield and milk fatty acid profile in dairy cattle

Various studies have indicated a relationship between enteric methane (CH4) production and milk fatty acid (FA) profiles of dairy cattle. However, the number of studies investigating such a relationship is limited and the direct relationships reported are mainly obtained by variation in CH4 production and milk FA concentration induced by dietary lipid supplements. The aim of this study was to perform a meta-analysis to quantify relationships between CH4 yield (per unit of feed and unit of milk) and milk FA profile in dairy cattle and to develop equations to predict CH4 yield based on milk FA profile of cows fed a wide variety of diets. Data from 8 experiments encompassing 30 different dietary treatments and 146 observations were included. Yield of CH4 measured in these experiments was 21.5 ± 2.46 g/kg of dry matter intake (DMI) and 13.9 ± 2.30 g/ kg of fat- and protein-corrected milk (FPCM). Correlation coefficients were chosen as effect size of the relationship between CH4 yield and individual milk FA concentration (g/100 g of FA). Average true correlation coefficients were estimated by a random-effects model. Milk FA concentrations of C6:0, C8:0, C10:0, C16:0, and C16:0-iso were significantly or tended to be positively related to CH4 yield per unit of feed. Concentrations of trans-6+7+8+9 C18:1, trans-10+11 C18:1, cis- 11 C18:1, cis-12 C18:1, cis-13 C18:1, trans-16+cis-14 C18:1, and cis-9,12 C18:2 in milk fat were significantly or tended to be negatively related to CH4 yield per unit of feed. Milk FA concentrations of C10:0, C12:0, C14:0-iso, C14:0, cis-9 C14:1, C15:0, and C16:0 were significantly or tended to be positively related to CH4 yield per unit of milk. Concentrations of C4:0, C18:0, trans-10+11 C18:1, cis-9 C18:1, cis-11 C18:1, and cis- 9,12 C18:2 in milk fat were significantly or tended to be negatively related to CH4 yield per unit of milk. Mixed model multiple regression and a stepwise selection procedure of milk FA based on the Bayesian information criterion to predict CH4 yield with milk FA as input (g/100 g of FA) resulted in the following prediction equations: CH4 (g/kg of DMI) = 23.39 + 9.74 × C16:0- iso – 1.06 × trans-10+11 C18:1 – 1.75 × cis-9,12 C18:2 (R2 = 0.54), and CH4 (g/kg of FPCM) = 21.13 – 1.38 × C4:0 + 8.53 × C16:0-iso – 0.22 × cis-9 C18:1 – 0.59 × trans-10+11 C18:1 (R2 = 0.47). This indicated that milk FA profile has a moderate potential for predicting CH4 yield per unit of feed and a slightly lower potential for predicting CH4 yield per unit of milk. Key words: methane , milk fatty acid profile , metaanalysis , dairy cattle

EU free movement law and the legal recognition of same-sex relationships: the case for mutual recognition

This article seeks to examine the cross-border legal recognition of same-sex relationships in the EU. Although the Member States maintain an exclusive competence in the field of family law and, thus, it is up to them to determine whether they will provide a legal status to same-sex couples within their territory, they need to exercise their powers in that field in a way that does not violate EU law. This, it is suggested, requires that Member States mutually recognize the legal status of same-sex couples and do not treat same-sex couples worse than opposite-sex couples, if the basis of the differentiation is, merely, the (homosexual) sexual orientation of the two spouses/partners. Nonetheless, the current legal framework does not make it clear that Member States are under such an obligation. The main argument of the article, therefore, is that the EU must adopt a more hands-on approach towards this issue.

Mitochondrial sequence data and Dipsacales phylogeny: Mixed models, partitioned Bayesian analyses, and model selection

Phylogenetic analyses of chloroplast DNA sequences, morphology, and combined data have provided consistent support for many of the major branches within the angiosperm, clade Dipsacales. Here we use sequences from three mitochondrial loci to test the existing broad scale phylogeny and in an attempt to resolve several relationships that have remained uncertain. Parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian analyses of a combined mitochondrial data set recover trees broadly consistent with previous studies, although resolution and support are lower than in the largest chloroplast analyses. Combining chloroplast and mitochondrial data results in a generally well-resolved and very strongly supported topology but the previously recognized problem areas remain. To investigate why these relationships have been difficult to resolve we conducted a series of experiments using different data partitions and heterogeneous substitution models. Usually more complex modeling schemes are favored regardless of the partitions recognized but model choice had little effect on topology or support values. In contrast there are consistent but weakly supported differences in the topologies recovered from coding and non-coding matrices. These conflicts directly correspond to relationships that were poorly resolved in analyses of the full combined chloroplast-mitochondrial data set. We suggest incongruent signal has contributed to our inability to confidently resolve these problem areas. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Structural relationships in the solid state of the anti-chagas agent (E)-phenylethenylbenzofuroxan

The crystal structure and the vibrational spectrum of a potential drug for Chagas`s disease treatment, the (E)-isomer of phenylethenylbenzofuroxan 1 (5(6)(E)-[(2-phenylethenyl)]benzo[1,2-c]1,2,5-oxadiazole N-oxide), are reported. In order to provide insights into structural relationships, quantum mechanical calculations were employed starting from crystal structure. These results have given theoretical support to state interesting structural features, such as the effect of some intermolecular contacts on the molecule conformation and the electronic delocalization decreasing through atoms of the benzofuroxan moiety. Furthermore, the MOGUL comparative analysis in the Cambridge Structural Database provided additional evidences on these structural behaviors of compound 1. Intermolecular contacts interfere on the intramolecular geometry, as, for instance, on the phenyl group orientation, which is twisted by 12.32(6)A degrees from the ethenylbenzofuroxan plane. The experimental Raman spectrum of compound 1 presents unexpected frequency shift and also anomalous Raman activities. At last, the molecule skeleton deformation and the characteristic vibrational modes were correlated by matching the experimental Raman spectrum to the calculated one.