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An exploration into the impact of incidental learning on trainee teachers’ development of teaching skills, subject-specific knowledge and professionalism
No full textResilience and transparency in social systems
No full textThis paper draws on the literature of cybernetics to argue that the resilience of organizations can be diminished by an unconsidered maximization of transparency and accountability. In doing so it critically examines the concept of resilience, and the relationship of resilience to neoliberalism.A conceptual analysis of resilience is carried out at two levels. Firstly, the use of the concepts of resilience, viability, transparency, accountability and neoliberalism is considered, together with the relationship between them. Secondly the management interventions that result from the application of these related ideas are critiqued from the perspective of cybernetics, and particularly of variety and black boxes.It is shown that within complex social environments the unconsidered imposition of transparency and accountability as a management strategy may constrain the resilience of the organizations and individuals rather than enhance it. The use of data analytics enhances this tendency.The theoretical analysis of the relationship between transparency and resilience offers a basis for carrying out empirical studies.There are practical implications for organizational managers, employees and stakeholders, offering them a means of understanding the systemic threat posed by organizational design decisions which enhance transparency and accountability without taking into consideration the full range of interactions which act to maintain organizational viability.The analysis provides a rationale for resisting the imposition of social policies inspired by neoliberalism.The bringing together of the concepts of resilience, neoliberalism, transparency and accountability, and their exposure to cybernetic analysis, provides a novel perspective on resilience, and new insights into way that organizations maintain their viability
Experimental and numerical study of the performance of Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete for the flexural strengthening of full scale Reinforced Concrete members
No full textUltra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) is a cementitious material with enhanced mechanical characteristics. The superior mechanical properties of UHPFRC compared to conventional concrete, as well as the ease of preparation and application, make the use of this material attractive for strengthening applications. In the present study, an extensive experimental investigation on full scale Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams strengthened with UHPFRC layers has been conducted. Additional UHPFRC layers with and without steel bars have been added to the RC beams and the efficiency of the examined technique has been examined through flexural tests. An additional investigation has been conducted on the interface characteristics between UHPFRC and concrete through push-off tests. Finally, finite element analysis has been conducted and crucial parameters of the examined technique have been investigated. The results of the present study indicated that the strengthening with UHPFRC layers is a well promising technique, as in all the examined cases the performance of the strengthened elements was improved. Also, a good interface connection between UHPFRC and concrete was identified, with low measurements of slips at the interfac
Development and pilot of a positive measure of maternal mental health: The C-MEWS
No full textThe existence of maternal wellbeing is characterised largely by the absence of depressive symptoms and mental illness. This study aimed to develop a positive measure of maternal wellbeing to be used with new mothers to determine mental health levels. Participants (n=323) completed a pilot measure that consisted of sampled and purpose written items endorsed during phase 1 (total n=51). The scale was then analysed for reliability and consistency. During phase 2, a new measure of maternal mental wellbeing was piloted. The C-MEWS score was compared with total sores for the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale and the General Anxiety Disorder questionnaire, and successfully discriminated between them. The measure demonstrates high reliability and good validity, taking into account various external factors. This study leads existing research closer to a conceptual definition of maternal wellbeing and a possible new approach to maternal mental health
Building an emotional capital to enhance engagement in low paid jobs: A case study of the UK’s food and beverage retail sector
No full textThe effective management of human resources has become more important since organisations have seen fit to introduce management approaches that are based on and seek to enhance commitment and engagement. This is all aimed at improving performance, productivity and quality as well as the efficiency necessary to maintain a strategic edge in a highly competitive environment. Notably, employee engagement, which enables employees to participate and get more involved in planning, decision-making and other aspects of the organisation is perceived as important. Notably, it is believed that engaged employees feel that their opinions count and are cared about. Such an approach builds trust and a willingness to ensure that an organization’s objectives are met. Furthermore, engaged employees foster a ‘win-win’ situations where both the organisation and the employee benefit. Employees get greater rewards, security and satisfaction while the organisation sees an increase in commitment which leads to an improvement in quality, productivity and efficiency required for competition.Against this background, there is high employee disengagement in the UK’s food and beverages retail sector. Within this sector employees’ are earning minimum wages and often lower which also causes lower levels of output. As this study evidences disengagement increases for various different reasons in the food and beverages retail sector. The research demonstrates the dominant factors of disengagement from a large sample study (Compass Group UK). Faced with many different challenges, the UK’s food/beverage retail sector needs to emphasise high engagement due to better performance and quality service in the organization. To that end, this study secures to understand how to improve employees’ engagement levels and to create an emotional connection with management, thereby contributing to organisational efficiency.The main purpose of this study is to explore whether employees’ physiological motivation (emotional capital) can influence employees’ behaviours that motivate employees to enhance their engagement levels in the UK’s food/beverage retail sector. The theoretical framework for this study drew from employee engagement theory, in order to predict the relationship between emotional capital and disengagement; and to determine how these elements and their relationship to each other are influenced in terms of engagement. This study included 341 participants working in Compass Group (UK). This study’s findings are important for understanding the roles of emotional capital and helping engagement in the UK’s food/beverage retail sector. While the concepts of physiological motivation (emotional capital) have been applied to food/beverage retail management in recent years, these concepts still need to be well-researched from different perspectives. Further studies are needed to develop a theoretical model that can systematically investigate psychological motivation and employee engagement within the food/beverage retail industry.Overall, this study’s findings evidence the direct and indirect relation among employee disengagement and their preferred motivation process in the organization. This study also assesses that building emotional capital with the employees is an effective way to reduce disengagement and enhance engagement in the UK’s food beverages and retail sector. Findings also provide management with the understanding of how emotional abilities contribute to employee engagement and inform appropriate strategies to improve engagement in the UK’s food/beverage retail sector. The findings also help employees better understand their emotions and engagement in the workplace enabling them to achieve career success.In conclusion, recommendations from the study provide the steps needed to be followed by the UK’s food beverage and retail sector to become more effective. Guidance has been provided to develop employee engagement across the UK’s food/beverages and retail sector. Finally, the positive employee engagement implication of this study is that Compass Group UK’s managers could use the results in order to reduce disengagement and enhance engagement level within the organization and the UK’s retail sector
Organophosphorus and organo-inorganic hybrid fire retardant coatings for polymers
No full textThin coatings of crosslinked poly(vinylphosphonic acid) display good adhesion and excellent fire-retardant barrier properties when applied to the surfaces of a typical thermoplastic, such as poly(methyl methacrylate), but perform relatively poorly in water-soak tests. Water-soak test performance can be significantly improved however by various hydrophobic modifications without detriment to fire performance
Fire-resistant flax - reinforced polypropylene / polylactic acid composites with optimised fire and mechanical performances
No full textFabrics from commingled natural (flax) –thermoplastic (polypropylene (PP) / poly lactic acid
(PLA) polymeric fibres were fire retarded with an oragnophosphonate flame retardant (FR). The
fire retarded flax/PP and flax/PLA fabrics were melt pressed to prepare respective thermoplastic
composites. The effect of FR concentration on the fire and mechanical properties of composites
were studied and the results analysed in terms of concentration of FR elements in the composites.
While the UL-94 test was used as a benchmark to achieve a V-0 rating, cone calorimetric
parameters were used for in-depth analysis of fire performance. The results show that flax/PP and
flax/PLA composites require a minimum 0.9 and 0.6 % phosphorus (P), respectively to achieve a
V-0 rating in the UL-94 test. Mechanical properties, evaluated in tensile and flexural modes are
however slightly impaired, most probably due to the acidity of the FR solution (pH = 3.2). In
order to improve the mechanical properties, a buffer solution was used to change the pH to 6.0,
which while having a minimal effect on mechanical properties of flax/PP, significantly reduced
those of flax/PLA, and increased flammability of both composites and hence overall showed no
benefit
Reclassifying history: a steady regression to nowhere – fast
No full textThe paper makes a further contribution to the ‘Origins of Football’ debate, seeking to defend the so-called ‘revisionist’ position in that debate by calling into question the reclassification, by some historians, of reports of football played outside of the public schools in the early and mid-nineteenth century. It does not, however, argue that the ‘revisionist’ position should be seen in direct opposition to the ‘traditionalist’ account of football’s origins but in addition to it, bipolar conceptual schemata not being useful in understanding the development and diffusion of the game. In that respect, more evidence is provided from the early 1860s of football playing outside of public school or public schoolboy influence arguing that this evidence ought to be added to other revisionist evidence, and some traditional evidence, to build a further refined, yet fluid, account of the history of football in the nineteenth century
