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Effects of an economic downturn on construction partnering
No full textOver the economic downturn in recent years, there has been a trend for construction clients to revert to traditional competitive procurement strategies. This is despite authoritative calls for an increase in collaborative working and partnering practices, heralded as the means to drive efficiencies and innovation. Clients may feel that the only way to assure themselves that they are not paying too much is to market-test their projects in a highly competitive environment. This study seeks to provide an insight into the effects of the recent economic downturn on collaborative working, with particular emphasis on manifestation in the practice and the positioning of trust within such relationships. Eight interviews were carried out with senior industry professionals, all experienced in partnering and collaborative working practices. Individuals have responded with a quest for job security, which has in turn developed risk-averse work practices and affected the establishment of short-term collaborative relationships. Organisations have returned to traditional competitive procurement methods, seeking to reduce risk in their practices and maintain control in uncertain times. Sceptical considerations of collaboration have re-emerged; the abuses of collaborative relationships for financial benefits, employing austerity as leverage, have become contemporary legend if not fact
AlScN thin film based surface acoustic wave devices with enhanced microfluidic performance
No full textThis paper reports the characterization of scandium aluminum nitride (Al1−xScxN, x = 27%) films and discusses surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices based on them. Both AlScN and AlN films were deposited on silicon by sputtering and possessed columnar microstructures with (0 0 0 2) crystal orientation. The AlScN/Si SAW devices showed improved electromechanical coupling coefficients (K2, ~2%) compared with pure AlN films (<0.5%). The performance of the two types of devices was also investigated and compared, using acoustofluidics as an example. The AlScN/Si SAW devices achieved much lower threshold powers for the acoustic streaming and pumping of liquid droplets, and the acoustic streaming and pumping velocities were 2 × and 3 × those of the AlN/Si SAW devices, respectively. Mechanical characterization showed that the Young's modulus and hardness of the AlN film decreased significantly when Sc was doped, and this was responsible for the decreased acoustic velocity and resonant frequency, and the increased temperature coefficient of frequency, of the AlScN SAW devices
Remarkable lives: Clare Campbell in conversation with Jerome Carson
No full textDesign/methodology/approach – Clare provides a short autobiographical account of her life.She is then interviewed by Jerome. She describes the life enhancing impact of creativity in her own life.Findings – Clare describes her work initially with Wild Woman workshops and then Big Love Sista.Research limitations/implications – Big Love Sista started when some 40 women all came and painted self-portraits in Clare’s house, which led to an exhibition of 100 life sized portraits on women in recovery from difficult life events.Practical implications – Apart from the healing power of Art, Clare’s work shows the power of bringing leaders together with disadvantaged groups, using the medium of the circle to provide unique experiential change.Social implications – Community leaders have access to lots of resources and opportunities. In coming together with disadvantaged groups, they can serve as role models, but equally they can be inspired by those they encounter in the medium of the circle.Originality/value – Clare and those colleagues she has worked with over the years has shown the power of community and the transformative effects of groupwork. Few individuals can have had such a dramatic effect on so many people
Wikipedia Knows Nothing
No full textWhat does the Wikipedia know, and how can it know it? More to the point, how can anyone using an anonymously edited source, the contents of which change on a daily basis, know that what they are reading constitutes knowledge? In this provocative challenge to contemporary concepts of objectivity, four figures of knowledge – the Wikipedia, scientific experiments, anonymous peer review, and school education – are investigated in order to question the way we understand the world around us
Recent advances in three-dimensional pressure relieving cushions for the prevention of pressure ulcers
No full textPredictors of engagement with support services in a sample of UK victims of violent crime.
No full textResearch suggests that engagement with support services after criminal victimisation is low. With this in mind, this study investigated predictors of engagement with Victim Support, in a sample of victims of violent crime. All violent crimes recorded by Lancashire Constabulary for two postcode areas (PR1 and PR2), who were referred to Victim Support (Preston) between April 2013 and September 2013 (n=869) were assessed, with a follow-up undertaken in 2014. Two percent of victims booked or attended a face-to-face meeting with Victim Support, and just over one fifth engaged over the telephone on at least one occasion across a range of support options at the initial data collection point. Engagement with Victim Support was not significantly related to future victimisation. When revictimisation since the first data collection period was inspected against demographic and crime-related variables, previous victimisation, regardless of the type of crime experienced, was the strongest predictor of being victimised again. This was despite the fact that such victims were more likely to be identified as high risk, and actively engaged with Victim Support at the initial time of victimisation. Suggestions for further research are made in light of the changes generally to victim services in the UK
