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The design of children’s outdoor activities:sustainability and early learning experiences
No full textThere is little doubt that the objects and daily patterns of children’s play are changing, often to the detriment of outdoor activities. This occurs at a time when we need more understanding and appreciation of the natural world in order to live sustainably. It is now widely acknowledged that outdoor education contributes significantly to children’s physical and mental health as well as enabling them to develop as successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors to society whilst also enhancing environmental awareness (Scottish Executive, 2004).This research project is at the interface of children’s play, learning, nature and sustainability. It is one of a portfolio of design research projects (MPhil and PhD) being conducted by The Centre for the Study of Natural Design at the University of Dundee and Scottish Outdoor Education Centres (SOEC). This paper describes ‘a day in a life’ of children at one site operated by SOEC with a view to understanding the relationships and patterns of child’s play. Based on early findings, the authors reflect on what needs to be done next before moving towards designing and developing a range of outdoor learning activities. The paper concludes with a discussion on the choice of research methods which might prove useful in exploring these active situations in a more holistic manne
Suspended disbelief:the curious endurance of the deterrence rationale in international criminal law
No full textPractitioners and advocates of international criminal law frequently justify this body of law and its institutions on the basis of the deterrent effect that it has on those who might commit mass atrocity. Nevertheless, detailed studies by external critics in the past 20 years of globalised justice have strongly called into question this deterrence rationale as it lacks support in the historical record. It is therefore necessary to explain why arguments based on the deterrent capacity of internationalised justice endure given the weight of evidence against the preventative potential of criminal proceedings. This article argues that for practitioners of international criminal law, belief in the deterrence rationale rests on a passionate legalistic belief in the possibilities of law. But as well, for many in the non-governmental organisation and policy-making communities, the avowal of the deterrence argument may owe more to its potency as a rhetorical device than to true belief – these actors suspect it may not work but deliberately forget this in order to promote international criminal justice institutions. Faith in the deterrence rationale is also bolstered for some by studies that purport to prove its validity through anecdote or through employment of overly simplistic correlations between the fact that trials have taken place, and the fact that conflict or oppression has ended
A randomised controlled trial of the use of aciclovir and/or prednisolone for the early treatment of Bell's palsy:the BELLS study
No full textTo determine whether oral prednisolone or aciclovir, used separately or in combination, early in the course of Bell's palsy, improves the chances of recovery at 3 and 9 months
Identification of Inhibitors of the Leishmania cdc2-Related Protein Kinase CRK3
No full textNew drugs are urgently needed for the treatment of tropical parasitic diseases such as leishmaniasis and human African trypanosomiasis (HAT). This work involved a high-throughput screen of a focussed kinase set of similar to 3400 compounds to identify potent and parasite-selective inhibitors of an enzymatic Leishmania CRK3-cyclin 6 complex. The aim of this study is to provide chemical validation that Leishmania CRK3-CYC6 is a drug target. Eight hit series were identified, of which four were followed up. The optimisation of these series using classical SAR studies afforded low-nanomolar CRK3 inhibitors with significant selectivity over the closely related human cyclin dependent kinase CDK2.</p
Invasive procedures: minimising risks and maximising rights:improving practice in the delivery of invasive procedures for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities: project report and recommendations
No full textAging effects in microcrystalline silicon films studied by transient photoconductivity
No full textMeasurements of dark conductivity, steady-state and transient photoconductivity in undoped and boron-doped microcrystalline silicon films exposed to room air are reported. Two aging processes are identified: (i) an increase in dark conductivity and mobility-lifetime product occurring over several days, that may be reversed by heating to 160 °C under vacuum, and subsequently re-cycled, (ii) an irreversible change in the density of states occurring over a period of several months. It is proposed that the reversible effect is associated with charge transport in a region of electron accumulation induced by weakly-adsorbed water, whereas the irreversible effect, identified from its transient photocurrent signature, is associated with a true change in the density of states within the transport path, possibly as a result of slow chemical reactions at silicon grain boundaries
Application of gel-casting to the fabrication of 1-3 piezoelectric ceramic-polymer composites for high-frequency ultrasound devices
No full textA modified gel-casting technique was used to fabricate a 1-3 piezoelectric ceramic/polymer composite substrate formed by irregular-shaped pillar arrays of small dimensions and kerfs. This technique involves the polymerization of aqueous piezoelectric (PZT) suspensions with added water-soluble epoxy resin and polyamine-based hardener that lead to high strength, high density and resilient ceramic bodies. Soft micromoulding was used to shape the ceramic segments, and micropillars with lateral features down to 4 m and height-to-width aspect ratios of ~10 were achieved. The composite exhibited a clear thickness resonance mode at approximately 70 MHz and a k eff ~ 0.51, demonstrating that the ceramic micropillars possess good electrical properties. Furthermore, gel-casting allows the fabrication of ceramic structures with non-conventional shapes; hence, device design is not limited by the standard fabrication methods. This is of particular benefit for high-frequency transducers where the critical design dimensions are reduced
Electrode Configurations for Resistivity Measurements on Concrete
No full textIn this study, two- and four-electrode arrangements were used to evaluate the electrical resistance (hence resistivity) of saturated concrete specimens using both embedded rod-electrodes, external plate-electrodes, and combinations thereof Measurements were obtained mainly at a fixed frequency of 1 kHz. It is shown that the two-electrode external plate measurement system gave higher resistivity values than the four-electrode system; however studying the electrical response in terms of complex impedance, over the frequency range 1 to 10 MHz, revealed that the sponge-contacting system used in the two-electrode method introduced a spurious resistance attributed to the sponge-sample interface.</p
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