Manzoor Ahmad, J. Luo, Ben Xu, Hendra Purnawali, Peter King, Paul Chalker, Yongqing Fu, Weimin Huang and Moshen Miraftab
Shape memory polyurethanes (SMPUs) are typically synthesized using polyols of low molecular weight, Mw, and high hydroxyl number as it is believed that high density of cross-links…
Abstract
Shape memory polyurethanes (SMPUs) are typically synthesized using polyols of low molecular weight, Mw, and high hydroxyl number as it is believed that high density of cross-links in these polyols are essential for high performance shape memory polymers. In this study, polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000) with Mw ~ 6000 g/mol and low hydroxyl number (OH ~ 18 mg K OH/g) as the soft segment and diisocyanate as the hard segment were used to synthesize SMPUs. It revealed that although the PEG-6000 based SMPUs have lower maximum elongation at break (425%) and recovery stress than those of PCL-2000 polyol based SMPUs, they have much better shape recovery ratio (98%) and shape fixity (95%). Furthermore, these SMPUs showed a much shorter actuation time of <10sec for up to 85% shape recovery, much shorter than those low Mw SMPUs, clearly demonstrated their great potential for applications.
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In October last year, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA), hosted a conference to review the state of corporate…
Abstract
In October last year, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA), hosted a conference to review the state of corporate citizenship in the UK. Organised by Kinross & Render Public Relations, the event featured speakers from the PRCA, Barclays plc, British Telecom's Community Partnership Programme, Medialink, Cadbury Schweppes, Kleimvort Benson and Business in the Community. Based on the contributions made at this conference, and drawing upon recent research, this paper examines the following themes: what it means to be a corporate citizen; the benefits and pitfalls involved for corporate citizens; and what future trends may be expected as we approach the millennium.
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In 1920 Margaret Sanger called voluntary motherhood “the key to the temple of liberty” and noted that women were “rising in fundamental revolt” to claim their right to determine…
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In 1920 Margaret Sanger called voluntary motherhood “the key to the temple of liberty” and noted that women were “rising in fundamental revolt” to claim their right to determine their own reproductive fate (Rothman, 2000, p. 73). Decades later Barbara Katz Rothman reflected on the social, political and legal changes produced by reproductive-rights feminists since that time. She wrote: So the reproductive-rights feminists of the 1970s won, and abortion is available – just as the reproductive-rights feminists of the 1920s won, and contraception is available. But in another sense, we did not win. We did not win, could not win, because Sanger was right. What we really wanted was the fundamental revolt, the “key to the temple of liberty.” A doctor’s fitting for a diaphragm, or a clinic appointment for an abortion, is not the revolution. It is not even a woman-centered approach to reproduction (2000, p. 79).
This Food Standards Committee Report has been with us long enough to have received careful appraisal at the hand of the most interested parties — food law enforcement agencies and…
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This Food Standards Committee Report has been with us long enough to have received careful appraisal at the hand of the most interested parties — food law enforcement agencies and the meat trade. The purposes of the review was to consider the need for specific controls over the composition and descriptive labelling of minced meat products, but the main factor was the fat content, particularly the maximum suggested by the Associaton of Public Analysts, viz., a one‐quarter (25%) of the total product. For some years now, the courts have been asked to accept 25% fat as the maximum, based on a series of national surveys; above that level, the product was to be considered as not of the substance or quality demanded by the purchaser; a contention which has been upheld on appeal to the Divisional Court.
Ancient and universal, fantasy was most likely the first mainstream literature rather than the naturalism later recognized as mainstream. Every generation of every culture tells…
Abstract
Ancient and universal, fantasy was most likely the first mainstream literature rather than the naturalism later recognized as mainstream. Every generation of every culture tells and retells tales based on psychological archetypes, the elements of fantasy. For instance, the Celtic tale “Leir and His Daughters” has been reworked and updated by authors ranging from Shakespeare to Diana Paxson (The Serpent's Tooth, Morrow, 1991). One of the old English/Scottish ballads collected by Francis James Child in the late 19th century (Child ballad No. 37) has recently reappeared as the novel Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner (Morrow, 1991). Similarly, retellings of the Arthurian legend are legion, from Geoffrey of Monmouth to Malory to Tennyson to such modern writers as T.H. White, Mary Stewart, Marion Zimmer Bradley (The Mists of Avalon, Knopf, 1982), and Guy Gavriel Kay (The Wandering Fire and The Darkest Road, Collins, 1986).
Temidayo Oluwasola Osunsanmi, Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa, Wellington Didibhuku Thwala and Ayodeji Emmanuel Oke
This chapter focused on presenting the result of the Delphi study from the questionnaire distributed to the experts. The Delphi technique was used for modelling the construction…
Abstract
This chapter focused on presenting the result of the Delphi study from the questionnaire distributed to the experts. The Delphi technique was used for modelling the construction supply chain management (CSCM) practice in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) era. The technique was also used to predict the supply chain management's (SCM) possible trends in the construction industry. A total of 15 experts were selected for this study based on their working experience. The Delphi study also validated the gaps (organisational culture and 4IR component) identified from the existing CSCM model. The findings from the Delphi study revealed that organisational culture has a significant impact on the practice of CSCM in the 4IR era. Regarding adopting the 4IR component for the CSCM in Nigeria, the Delphi study revealed that smart management and virtualisation are the most adopted. Unfortunately, the cyber-physical system, the heartbeat of the 4IR, is yet to be fully implemented for CSCM practice in the Nigerian construction industry.
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Hans W. Klar and Curtis A. Brewer
In this paper, the authors present a case study of successful school leadership at County Line Middle School. The purpose of the paper is to identify how particular leadership…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors present a case study of successful school leadership at County Line Middle School. The purpose of the paper is to identify how particular leadership practices and beliefs were adapted to increase student achievement in this rural, high-poverty school in the southeastern USA.
Design/methodology/approach
After purposefully selecting this school, the authors adapted interview protocols, questionnaires, and analysis frameworks from the International Successful School Principalship Project to develop a multi-perspective case study of principal leadership practices at the school.
Findings
The findings illustrate the practices which led to students at this school, previously the lowest-performing in the district, achieving significantly higher on state standardized tests, getting along “like a family,” and regularly participating in service learning activities and charity events. A particularly interesting finding was how the principal confronted the school's negative self-image and adapted common leadership practices to implement a school-wide reform that suited its unique context.
Research limitations/implications
While the findings of the study explicate the specific ways the principal adapted leadership strategies to enhance student learning, this study also highlights the need to understand how principals become familiar with their community's needs, cultures, norms, and values, and exercise leadership in accordance with them.
Practical implications
The case offers an example of the need for context-responsive leadership in schools. In particular, it illustrates how this principal enacted leadership strategies that successfully negotiated what Woods (2006) referred to as the changing politics of the rural. To realize this success, the principal utilized his understanding of this low income, rural community to guide his leadership practices. Critically, part of this understanding included the ways the community was connected to and isolated from dominant sub-urban and urban societies, and how to build enthusiasm and capacity through appeals to local values.
Originality/value
While it is widely acknowledged that school leaders need to consider their school and community contexts when making leadership decisions, less research has focussed on understanding how this can be achieved. This case provides rich examples of how this was accomplished in a rural, high-poverty middle school.