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SOME faulty castings of aluminium—and magnesium—alloys were partly statically loaded and partly dynamically loaded in imitation of operational conditions, up to the point of rupture. From the test results it was possible to obtain some basic facts for the estimation of casting faults.

MOST previous methods for predicting moments of resistance of beams subjected to pure bending beyond the limit of proportionality involve somewhat complicated and cumbersome calculations and are usually confined to specific materials and cross‐sections.

This paper aims to explore the concept of Winnicott's intermediate space as a method of understanding the role of learning spaces in the development of technology‐enhanced educational organisations.

The approach takes the form of a comparative analysis of interaction within face‐to‐face and online learning environments. Data were collected from two cohorts of students, audio recordings of face‐to‐face seminars were made, and all of the discussion boards were analysed. The paper explores whether online discussion groups can be said, in Winncottian terms, to provide a “good enough” environment. The analysis focuses on introductory discussions and uses Sacks's concept of false‐firsts to describe the ways in which preliminary issues are dealt with in face‐to‐face seminars, and proceeds to examine how these occur in online environments.

The findings suggest a pedagogical basis to consider the learner's personal need for connection between experiences, imaginations and the real world. From the analysis, online discussion environments can be said to encourage learning in an intermediate space where students can, independently of the tutor, engage in the educational experience at hand.

The concept of intermediate space has value as a method of conceptualising more open educational environments, both virtual and physical. Furthermore, it has the potential to provide a framework within which emerging issues of space, place, and the learner can be considered.

This paper aims to study carotenoids as a natural food colorant from Canna flowers. There is a growing demand for eco-friendly and non-toxic colorants, specifically for health-sensitive applications such as colours of food and textiles. Red Canna variety can be grown in normal garden situations and gives ample of flowers yielding good amount of natural colorant for both the purposes.

In the present work, ultrasound extraction of natural colorant from Canna indica flowers has been studied. The use of ultrasound is found to have a significant improvement in the extraction efficiency of colorants obtained from dry and fresh Canna flowers in different mediums. Ultrasonic cavitational processing has twofold advantages, it is an eco-friendly and cost-effective process.

The total carotenoid content in dry and fresh flower extract was found to be between 136.56 and 978.89 mg/kg. The assessment of antioxidant activity (AOA) in dry and fresh flower extract was found to be 5.78-78.33 per cent assayed by scavenging 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical and identified by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies.

The use of ultrasonication for the extraction of colorant has been the main feature and a step towards technological advancement in the area of finding newer method of efficient extraction of the colorant.

The ease of extraction due to ultrasound waves has been the highlight.

It is for the first time that the phytochemical data of red Canna flower and has been studied, the total carotenoid content and antioxidant activities of different extracts of Canna were measured. The extraction of natural dye from C. indica flowers using ultrasound has been found to have significant improvement in the extraction efficiency of the colorant obtained from flowers.

The chapter centres on a practitioners' experience of supporting children affected by maternal imprisonment for over a decade in Liverpool, Merseyside in the United Kingdom.

Using the data derived from my PhD ‘Bubbles, Brick Walls and Connectivity’, I offer ‘whole families’ experiences of support systems including their experience of statutory services, nonstatutory services, family and friends and ‘Good Practice’ suggestions are proffered.

Consideration is given to what support can look like, the successes and the challenges. Attention is paid to how to help children who have contact with their mothers and how this help might differ to children for whom contact has been severed.

The chapter also focusses on supporting children and families post release and the challenges of engaging the mother in the service. Stories which highlight how the mother/child relationship can become fragmented/disrupted, either prior to or owing to imprisonment, are shared.

In this paper, the aim is to study virtual presence in travel blogs. The paper seeks to argue that though some conceptualization of virtual presence has been made in the literature, this only took account of one's presence among a community of “known” others. Increasingly, however, in blogging and other online communities, users do not necessarily know the “others” but they nevertheless interact with them and develop friendships and lasting relationships. This stresses the multidimensional character of the study; one which sees presence as the core topic by considering different perspectives to it.

An exploratory case study is conducted with a backpackers' blogging site, its members and audience; a setting that was considered suitable for finding answers to the research questions. The data are analysed qualitatively following a thematic analysis approach.

It was found that the invisible and unknown audience has an important role to play in backpackers' presence online. In particular, the study highlights the role played by the audience in shaping the blogging experience and the sense of presence that this experience develops.

The exploratory case study carries a number of limitations. The findings are based on: reflections and views shared with the researchers by the bloggers, through interviews; a discussion forum; and on an enacted audience through their reflections.

For practitioners, the study has implications in the areas of attracting and keeping audiences' interest and also in how to develop and support shared identity among independent travellers.

The paper contributes to a better understanding of online communities and virtual social networks in general by showing how virtual worlds reshape social space and social interactions.