Improving performance through HEI–industry engagements in the built environment

The poor performance and inefficiencies of the construction industry are well recognized and documented. Through a variety of combined industry and government initiatives there has been a continual expression in the UK over the last decade of the urgent need to address the fragmented nature of the industry to improve its performance. A major challenge is for education and industry stakeholders to create closer and more effective relationships with each other to facilitate greater mutual understanding. ‘Accelerating Change in Built Environment Education’ (ACBEE) is a sponsored initiative designed to encourage the closer working together of industry, education and professional bodies to provide more relevant training and education. This paper introduces ACBEE, along with an evaluation framework for measuring the performance of engagements at various levels. This is followed by an analysis of the application of this performance measurement framework through case studies of industry–education engagement. A number of case studies were identified as operating at the grades of ‘strategic alliance’ and ‘partnership’ (as classified in the ACBEE evaluation framework). The analysis of these cases focuses on the drivers behind and the purpose of the engagement, and how these are aligned with the business strategy of the collaborating organizations and measurement of the activity. Evidence of meeting the explicit business needs and strategic objectives and the contribution to good practice knowledge are also discussed

Analytical and experimental investigations of low level acceleration measurement techniques

Construction techniques for accelerometer with low level threshold sensitivit

Flexibility Makes the Difference in Mentoring Women for Academic Success

This article examines the significance of mentoring for women\u27s success in achieving tenure and promotion. The successful tenured female college faculty member in communications, at some point in her career, has been helped by a mentor, usually male. Mentoring is vital for both men and women for faculty success, but women are restricted in forming mentoring relationships. Two categories of women as knowers exist in academe: constructivists and proceduralists. The constructivist views all knowledge as contextual, while the proceduralist woman is invested in learning and applying objective procedures for obtaining knowledge. The functions of mentoring are defined as those aspects of a developmental relationship that enhance both individuals\u27 growth and advancement

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Infrared emission from interstellar dust cloud with two embedded sources: IRAS 19181+1349

Mid and far infrared maps of many Galactic star forming regions show multiple peaks in close proximity, implying more than one embedded energy sources. With the aim of understanding such interstellar clouds better, the present study models the case of two embedded sources. A radiative transfer scheme has been developed to deal with an uniform density dust cloud in a cylindrical geometry, which includes isotropic scattering in addition to the emission and absorption processes. This scheme has been applied to the Galactic star forming region associated with IRAS 19181+1349, which shows observational evidence for two embedded energy sources. Two independent modelling approaches have been adopted, viz., to fit the observed spectral energy distribution (SED) best; or to fit the various radial profiles best, as a function of wavelength. Both the models imply remarkably similar physical parameters.Comment: 17 pages, 6 Figures, uses epsf.sty. To appear in Journal of Astronophysics & Astronom

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The Characterization of Salmonella isolated from Pig Meat in Northern Ireland by PFGE and Antibiotic Resistance Profiles

The emergence of antibiotic resistance and especially multiple antibiotic resistance Salmonella has become a concern for the pig industry throughout the EU. Pig herds and pork are considered as principal reservoirs for the multi-resistant Salmonella type Typhimunum DT104, which has acquired resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycm, sulphonamides and tetracycline. This resistance pattern is also known as ACSSuT. In this study Porcine Salmonella strains were isolated between December 2005 and December 2006. The strains origmated from an abattoir study sampling the \u27oyster\u27 cut. The Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of all Salmonella isolates in this study were determined by disk diffusion tests. Twelve antibiotics were utilized throughout the profiling procedure Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE), which is regarded as the Gold Standard for the typmg and strain identification of Salmonella isolates, was used to determine DNA fingerprints of the Salmonella isolates using the restriction enzyme Xbal (Invitrogen) The fragments were then separated by PFGE in a Chef DR II system (Bio-Rad). This enabled comparison of Salmonella isolated in this study

Tiny microbes with a big impact: The role of cyanobacteria and their metabolites in shaping our future

© 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI. Cyanobacteria are among the first microorganisms to have inhabited the Earth. Throughout the last few billion years, they have played a major role in shaping the Earth as the planet we live in, and they continue to play a significant role in our everyday lives. Besides being an essential source of atmospheric oxygen, marine cyanobacteria are prolific secondary metabolite producers, often despite the exceptionally small genomes. Secondary metabolites produced by these organisms are diverse and complex; these include compounds, such as pigments and fluorescent dyes, as well as biologically-active compounds with a particular interest for the pharmaceutical industry. Cyanobacteria are currently regarded as an important source of nutrients and biofuels and form an integral part of novel innovative energy-efficient designs. Being autotrophic organisms, cyanobacteria are well suited for large-scale biotechnological applications due to the low requirements for organic nutrients. Recent advances in molecular biology techniques have considerably enhanced the potential for industries to optimize the production of cyanobacteria secondary metabolites with desired functions. This manuscript reviews the environmental role of marine cyanobacteria with a particular focus on their secondary metabolites and discusses current and future developments in both the production of desired cyanobacterial metabolites and their potential uses in future innovative projects