Developing social innovators and social entrepreneurs through a creative and innovative programme

In today's increasingly interdependent and rapidly changing world, understanding the transformations of the 21st century that are characterized by uneven development, accelerated globalization, economic uncertainty, entrenched and complex social problems requires an academic approach that is interdisciplinary and focused on both innovation and commercialisation. This paper will focus on the development of a Social Venture Builder (SVB) programme at the University of Northampton; an example of a course that aims to develop the skills of the innovators and entrepreneurs whilst at the same time developing sustainable social ventures. We will place this in a wider context of the University of Northampton’s institution wide strategy around social enterprise and how this is developing from one that concentrates on developing social enterprises to a more embedded strategy that develops creative and socially entrepreneurial students. Ultimately, as a University we believe we have to develop a creative learning environment that nurtures talent as well as engages with communities and neighbourhoods whilst connecting us with other local, regional, national and international networks

Calorie-Containing Recovery Drinks Increase Recreational Runners' Voluntary Energy and Carbohydrate Intake, with Minimal Impact on Fluid Recovery

This study assessed voluntary dietary intake when different beverages were provided within a recovery area following recreational exercise. Participants completed two 10-km runs 1 week apart. Immediately after the first run, “beer drinkers” (n = 54; mean ± SD: age = 23.9 ± 5.8 years, body mass [BM] = 76 ± 13 kg) randomly received low-alcohol beer (Hahn Ultra® [Lion Co.], 0.9% alcohol by volume) or sports drink (SD; Gatorade® [PepsiCo]), whereas “nonbeer drinkers” (n = 78; age = 21.8 ± 2.2 years, BM = 71 ± 13 kg) received water or SD. Participants remained in a recovery area for 30–60 min with fluid consumption monitored. The following week, participants received the alternate beverage. Participants recorded all food/fluid consumed for the remainder of both trial days (diary and photographs). Fluid balance was assessed via BM change and urine specific gravity. Paired t tests were used to assess differences in hydration and dietary variables. No differences were observed in preexercise urine specific gravity (∼1.01) or BM loss (∼2%) between intervention groups (ps > .05). Water versus SD: No difference in acute fluid intake was noted (water = 751 ± 259 ml, SD = 805 ± 308 ml, p = .157). SD availability influenced total energy and carbohydrate intakes (water = 5.7 ± 2.5 MJ and 151 ± 77 g, SD = 6.5 ± 2.7 MJ and 187 ± 87 g, energy p = .002, carbohydrate p < .001). SD versus beer: SD availability resulted in greater acute fluid intake (SD = 1,047 ± 393 ml, beer = 850 ± 630 ml; p = .004), which remained evident at the end of trial days (SD = 3,337 ± 1,100 ml, beer = 2,982 ± 1,191 ml; p < .01). No differences in dietary variables were observed. Next day, urine specific gravity values were not different between water versus SD. However, a small difference was detected between SD versus beer (SD = 1.021 ± 0.009, beer = 1.016 ± 0.008, p = .002). Consuming calorie-containing drinks postexercise appears to increase daily energy and carbohydrate intake but has minimal impact on next-day hydration.No Full Tex

Effects of LL-37 on Gingival Fibroblasts: A Role in Periodontal Tissue Remodeling?

Mounting evidence suggests that the host defence peptide, LL-37, plays a role in both inflammation and in wound healing; however, the role of this peptide in the remodeling and maintenance of oral tissues is not yet fully understood. Fibroblasts are the most abundant cell type within the periodontal tissues, and gingival fibroblasts play an important role in maintaining and repairing the gingival tissues which are constantly exposed to external insults. In this study we examined the direct effects of LL-37 treatment on gingival fibroblasts and found that LL-37 significantly increased secretion of both interleukin 8 (IL-8) and IL-6 from these cells. LL-37 tended to decrease matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity in gingival fibroblasts, but this decrease did not reach statistical significance. LL-37 significantly increased tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) production by gingival fibroblasts, but had no significant effect on TIMP-2 levels. LL-37 was also shown to significantly increase production of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) in gingival fibroblasts. Taken together, these results suggest an important role for the host defence peptide, LL-37, in modulating the fibroblast response to remodeling in periodontal tissues

Photon-noise limited sensitivity in titanium nitride kinetic inductance detectors

We demonstrate photon-noise limited performance at sub-millimeter wavelengths in feedhorn-coupled, microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) made of a TiN/Ti/TiN trilayer superconducting film, tuned to have a transition temperature of 1.4~K. Micro-machining of the silicon-on-insulator wafer backside creates a quarter-wavelength backshort optimized for efficient coupling at 250~\micron. Using frequency read out and when viewing a variable temperature blackbody source, we measure device noise consistent with photon noise when the incident optical power is $>$~0.5~pW, corresponding to noise equivalent powers $>$~3$\times 10^{-17}$ W/$\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$. This sensitivity makes these devices suitable for broadband photometric applications at these wavelengths

Freedom, God and the End of Humanity: Religion and History in Kant's Practical Philosophy

Kant's concepts of God and history occupy integral yet paradoxical positions in his practical philosophy. He appeals to God as a postulate necessary to practical reason, that which serves as the only unifying ground for freedom and the empirical world. In addition to their more systematic expression, his arguments regarding the practical function of the concept of God often take on a practical psychological dimension. Kant argues that we need to postulate the existence of God in order to be able to pursue the goal of living a moral life in a moral world with a sense of confidence. This same line of argument is found in his essays on history when Kant writes of a providentially guided natural process, and thus serves as an indication of the thematic connection between God and history. And yet it is precisely this conception of God and history that is problematic. The concept of history as a teleologically directed process leans towards a deterministic view of human development, one which conflicts with the conception of human beings as autonomous agents. Some critics have argued that this conflict is only an apparent one, and that other elements of the Kantian system resolve any tension between freedom and determinism within this concept of history. Others have argued that this conflict marks the failure of Kant's concept of history. In this thesis I shall explore this problem. Through establishing the deep connection between God, history and morality in Kant's thought, I intend to show that this is a fundamental Kantian problem, not a marginal one. My emphasis will be on the practical implications of this problem, primarily those having to do with the question of the consistency between Kant's concept of God and history one the one hand and freedom and autonomy on the other. I shall argue that despite attempts to save the concept of history, it ineluctably conflicts with Kant's view of human beings as autonomous, responsible agents. The concept of God, however, is another matter, and I shall endeavor to demonstrate that it in fact can be made consistent with practical reason.Master of Arts (MA

A massive reservoir of low-excitation molecular gas at high redshift

Molecular hydrogen is an important component of galaxies because it fuels star formation and accretion onto AGN, the two processes that generate the large infrared luminosities of gas-rich galaxies. Observations of spectral-line emission from the tracer molecule CO are used to probe the properties of this gas. But the lines that have been studied in the local Universe, mostly the lower rotational transitions of J = 1-0 and J = 2-1, have hitherto been unobservable in high-redshift galaxies. Instead, higher transitions have been used, although the densities and temperatures required to excite these higher transitions may not be reached by much of the gas. As a result, past observations may have underestimated the total amount of molecular gas by a substantial amount. Here we report the discovery of large amounts of low-excitation molecular gas around the infrared-luminous quasar, APM 08279+5255 at z = 3.91, using the two lowest excitation lines of 12CO (J = 1-0 and J = 2-1). The maps confirm the presence of hot and dense gas near the nucleus, and reveal an extended reservoir of molecular gas with low excitation that is 10 to 100 times more massive than the gas traced by higher-excitation observations. This raises the possibility that significant amounts of low-excitation molecular gas may lurk in the environments of high-redshift (z > 3) galaxies.Comment: To appear as a Letter to Nature, 4th January 200

Impact of modulation on CMB B-mode polarization experiments

We investigate the impact of both slow and fast polarization modulation strategies on the science return of upcoming ground-based experiments aimed at measuring the B-mode polarization of the CMB. Using simulations of the Clover experiment, we compare the ability of modulated and un-modulated observations to recover the signature of gravitational waves in the polarized CMB sky in the presence of a number of anticipated systematic effects. The general expectations that fast modulation is helpful in mitigating low-frequency detector noise, and that the additional redundancy in the projection of the instrument's polarization sensitivity directions onto the sky when modulating reduces the impact of instrumental polarization, are borne out by our simulations. Neither low-frequency polarized atmospheric fluctuations nor systematic errors in the polarization sensitivity directions are mitigated by modulation. Additionally, we find no significant reduction in the effect of pointing errors by modulation. For a Clover-like experiment, pointing jitter should be negligible but any systematic mis-calibration of the polarization coordinate reference system results in significant E-B mixing on all angular scales and will require careful control. We also stress the importance of combining data from multiple detectors in order to remove the effects of common-mode systematics (such as 1/f atmospheric noise) on the measured polarization signal. Finally we compare the performance of our simulated experiment with the predicted performance from a Fisher analysis. We find good agreement between the Fisher predictions and the simulations except for the very largest scales where the power spectrum estimator we have used introduces additional variance to the B-mode signal recovered from our simulations.Comment: Replaced with version accepted by MNRAS. Analysis of half-wave plate systematic (differential transmittance) adde

The politics of regionalism and federation in East Africa, 1958-1964

Recent scholarship discussing the ‘federal moment’ in world history after 1945 has re-examined alternatives to the nation-state in the years of decolonisation, arguing against any inevitable transition from empire to nation. This article focuses on the case of East Africa, where federation seemed an attractive and likely prospect by 1963, yet never came to pass. Here the politics of federation should be understood as a constitutive part of the contested nation-state making process, rather than a viable alternative to it. For the leaders who initiated the politics of federation in the 1960s, regional unity promised the further centralisation of power, and a means of defeating tribalist opposition. For their opponents, federation was seized on as a means of promoting the autonomy of provinces or kingdoms within a larger federal unit. Yet ultimately, regionalist aspiration was inseparable from national politics: and negotiations among the leaders of East African states demanded the definition of national interests, which divided states rather than united them. Such conclusions suggest that historians of the federal moment might more productively focus on the functions of federalist discourse in the making of nation-states, rather than debating the viability of federalist projects