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Polymeric insulation is progressively replacing traditional materials in cables, switchgear and machines. The fundamental electricl properties of polymer dielectrics such as conduction and breakdown are strongly influenced by the presence of defect centres (voids and inclusions) and trapped charge. A thorough understanding of the role of trapped charge in the breakdown process is essential if the full potential of these new materials is to be realised.

Conventional theories of market entry assume choice availability. This investment assumption is subject to challenges in the power generation market of an emerging economy where the host government controls most key resources and market entry choices. With such constraints, entrants become heavily dependent on their host country partners. This study investigates how the resource dependency frameworks explain better in respect of some US power generation firms that manage to operate electricity facilities in China whereas some have to abort. Using cross‐case analysis, patterns emerged illustrate how two groups of entrants manage key resources differently.

THE last five years have seen enormous changes in the size and national importance of the British aircraft industry. From the position of Cinderella we have jumped overnight to that of mother's darling of the longer suffering taxpayer; new schemes of factory expansion, for which the only recognized unit of currency appears to be £1,000,000, have been announced with almost startling frequency, but, nevertheless, it will be no infringement of the Official Secrets Acts to say that the increase in output has been very disappointing to the customer.

THE tree of exact knowledge of Science and Technology is now so great that the whole growth is beyond the practical compass of a single museum; the branches, while interrelated through the central stem, are very numerous and the knowledge increasingly diverse in application, so that some differentiation is necessary for profitable study. This is particularly the case in subjects where the application and usage of the knowledge has wide social implications, such as in aeronautics. It is idle to consider human flight apart from the uses to which it may be put and its potential value; to appreciate the full significance of flight it is necessary not only to understand the technical basis of aircraft, but also the vicissitudes of human progress whereby the machine came to be invented and highly developed. For this reason, the treatment of aeronautics in a museum should go beyond the treatment accorded to some other branches of science and technology.

IN recent years the problems involved in flight on asymmetric power have attracted increasing attention and curiosity. It is safe to state that at the beginning of the British era of high‐powered twin‐engined aircraft, of which the Blenheim I is a representative type, pilots regarded an engine failure at any time as a major problem. A failure of the worst type—on take‐off—was thought to result invariably in loss of control, with the attendant after‐effects on aircraft and crew.

The number of parents with a learning disability is growing rapidly, as the closure of institutions and the rise of community living encourage this population to take on roles that were previously denied to them (DoH, 2001). People with a learning disability are seen as people first, with the right to be a parent and raise a child, a valued role in society. The rise in the number of parents with a learning disability can also be attributed to the discontinuation of enforced sterilisation and increasing opportunities to form relationships in which consensual sex is accepted and supported (Martin & Ticktum, 1987). Accordingly, the research on the ability of parents with learning disability to provide adequate parenting is expanding. However, research on the effect on the child of having a parent with a learning disability is still limited. This article will first look at the literature on factors affecting the ability of parents with a learning disability to care for their children adequately. The effects of having a parent with a learning disability will then be considered, and finally the implications for clinical practice will be outlined.

This paper explores the work of the educational theorist Gert Biesta in a setting outside of the context where it was originally developed. It aims to address how Biesta’s approach can help educators and policy makers question the philosophical underpinnings of education in the UAE and thereby start a conversation that is currently absent in this context. The paper comprises three elements: first, an overview of Biesta’s educational theory is given with a focus on ‘subjectification’ and his self-titled “pedagogy of interruption”. Secondly and in brief, I use Biesta’s framework of educational dimensions to analyse the philosophy underlying education in the United Arab Emirates using published government documents and media sources. Thirdly, I report a small-scale qualitative analysis of a specific educational space, three General Studies Courses in a UAE tertiary institution, to investigate the ‘risky’ possibilities involved in implementing a pedagogy of interruption. I find that despite a dominant policy discourse that discounts subjectification, there are significant opportunities for students to develop a strong sense of self. These opportunities are created by a small but strongly motivated group of teachers and taken up, on the whole enthusiastically, by students. However, my assertions are limited by a number of challenges which warrant further research. This paper hopes to provide a meaningful contribution to the limited discussion regarding the aims and expectations of education in the Middle East, and finds a pertinent philosophical grounding for liberal studies teaching in a tertiary context. As such the paper will be of value both to policy and decision makers in the Middle East and to teachers and trainers who teach in multi-cultural and international contexts.

The smaller sizes of current electronic devices suggest the feasibility of creating a smart composite structure using piezoelectric implant to monitor in-situ and in-service conditions the life of civil and aerospace structures. Piezoelectric (lead zirconate-titanate (PZT)) sensors embedded within laminates composites represent a new branch of engineering with the potential to greatly enhance the confidence and use of these materials. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This study presents a health monitoring of laminates composites materials incorporating by piezoelectric (PZT) implant using acoustic emission (AE) technique. A series of specimens of laminate composite with and without embedded piezoelectric were tested in three-point bending tests in static and creep loading while continuously monitoring the response by the AE technique. The AE signals were analysed using the classification k-means method in order to identify the different damages and to follow the evolution of these various mechanisms for both types of materials (with and without embedded sensors).

Comparing embedded sensor to sensor mounted on the surface, the embedded sensor showed a much higher sensitivity. It was thus verified that the embedded AE sensor had great potential for AE monitoring in fibre reinforced composites structures.

Piezoelectric implant to monitor in-situ and in-service conditions the life of civil and aerospace structures.

This is the first part of a detailed annotated chronology of significant events in the history of money in the context of social, economic, political and technological developments from the dawn of civilization until the closing years of the twentieth century. Starting with the origins of money and of banking the chronology moves on to the development of coinage in Asia Minor and its extension by the conquests of Alexander and later Rome before proceeding to the start of the long history of the pound sterling. The origins of paper money in China, the re‐emergence of banking in Europe, the financial effects of various wars and conflicts and the age of exploration, and subsequent developments up to the threshold of the industrial revolution are all covered.

A PAPER by A. E. Davies, C.Eng., A.F.R.Ae.S. to The Institute of Marine Engineers on 14th March 1972 titled Principles and Practice of Aircraft Powerplant Maintenance examined the development of maintenance practices from early days to the radical changes in philosophy and applications brought about by realization of the heavy cost of maintenance and its apparently low efficiency. Particular attention was paid to methods of testing and inspection to determine periods between overhauls. The author points out that ‘overhaul’ as a means of maintaining and restoring performance and reliability is a dying concept. We have moved to better techniques based on a deeper understanding of failure modes, interactions between Reliability and Maintainability and actual defect analysis.