Start/stop switches for testing detonation velocity of explosives

Printed-circuit process produces ordnance-initiated start/stop switches. Method is faster and less costly than fabriction by hand, and produces switches of uniform quality

Credit losses in Australasian banking

We analyse determinants of bank credit losses in Australasia. Despite sizeable credit losses over the past two decades, ours is the first systematic study to do so. Analysis is based on a comprehensive dataset retrieved from original financial reports of 32 Australasian banks (1980- 2005). Credit losses rise when the macro economy is weak. Asset markets, particularly the equity market, are also important. Larger banks provide more for credit losses while less efficient banks have greater asset quality problems. Strong loan growth translates into significantly higher credit losses with a lag of 2-4 years. Finally, the results show strong evidence of income smoothing activities by banks

Is there long-run convergence of regional house prices in the UK?

This paper investigates the long-run convergence of regional house prices in the UK. Using a variety of econometric methods, existing studies have failed to reach a consensus on whether or not regional house prices are cointegrated and exhibit long-run constancy relative to each other. We propose the application of a new test that combines principal components analysis with unit root testing to throw new light on the regional convergence debate. Using mix-adjusted quarterly house price data for 1973-2005, we find that existing unit root and cointegration methodologies indicate the presence of multiple stochastic trends with, at best, very weak evidence of long-run convergence. However, testing for the stationarity of the largest principal component based on regional house price differentials suggests that all UK regional house prices are driven by a single common stochastic trend and can be regarded as exhibiting strong convergence in the long-run. Further analysis suggests there is a high degree of persistence in regional house price differentials.House prices, convergence, unit roots, cointegration, principal components

Imagining inclusive teachers: contesting policy assumptions in relation to the development of inclusive practice in schools

In this paper we reflect on data from two research projects in which inclusive practice in schools is at issue, in the light of wider field experience (our own and others’) of school and teacher development. We question what we understand to be relatively common, implicit policy assumptions about how teachers develop, by examining the way in which teachers are portrayed and located in these projects. The examples discussed in this paper draw on experience in Lao PDR and Bangladesh, critically exploring teachers’ roles, position and agency in practice. Similarities and differences rooted in cultural, political and institutional contexts highlight in a very productive way the significance and potential dangers of policy assumptions about teachers within the process of development. In Bangladesh, a success story is presented: the case of a group of schools in which an institutional context for learning appears to sustain teachers’ commitment and motivation, with the effect of creating meaningful outcomes for young people who were previously outside the education system. These data raise questions about the significance of institutional context to teachers’ practices, and questions about approaches to teacher development which omit consideration of that context by, for example, focusing inadvertently on features of individual teachers. We then consider teachers’ responses to the movement for inclusive education in a school in the Lao PDR since 2004. Inclusion here was understood to require a significant shift in teacher identity and a movement away from authoritative pedagogy towards the facilitation of a pedagogy which aimed to encourage the active participation of all students. Through a longitudinal study of teachers in one school, the conditions for such change were identified and again cast doubt on some of the assumptions behind large-scale attempts at teacher development. Reflecting on these experiences and the evidence they provide, we suggest that teacher development programmes are more likely to be effective where teachers are considered not as individuals subject to training but as agents located in an influential institutional context

Mechanisms of nonstoichiometry in HfN_1-<i>x</i>

Density functional theory is used to calculate defect structures that can accommodate nonstoichiometry in hafnium nitride: HfN1-x, 0 ≤ X ≤ 0.25. It is predicted that a mechanism assuming simple distributions of nitrogen vacancies can accurately describe the variation in the experimentally observed lattice parameter with respect to the nitrogen nonstoichiometry. Although the lattice parameter changes are remarkably small across the whole nonstoichiometry range, the variations in the bulk modulus are much greater

An Effective Classroom Technique for Brainstorming Utilizing Play-Doh®

This article suggests an interactive management classroom activity, introducing business students to several issues that are often found in task-oriented business teams when brainstorming. Brainstorming is an essential element in decision-making and often a platform for creativity leading to innovation. In a previous classroom lecture, Osborn’s (1957) four rules of brainstorming are introduced. This work also examines topics often found in groups including leadership, social loafing, and cohesiveness. The day of the activity, the groups are assigned, given a task to perform, and one can of Play-Doh® to utilize in task completion. Teams must work together to accomplish all elements of the task given. Observers document the occurrences of brainstorming rule breaking, leadership development, social loafing, and group cohesiveness. Debriefing and evaluation by observers are presented. Students are given the opportunity to evaluate their own brainstorming abilities. Results report that successful groups (groups that can successfully complete the task) are the groups that are able to more closely follow the rules of brainstorming. Observer and individual evaluations also coincide in the successful groups. This article provides an easy activity that can be completed in a seventy-five minute class period. It may also be scaled back for completion in a fifty minute class

What is the Physicians\u27 Opinion of the Nurse Practitioner Role and Function?

The study focused on the identification of physicians\u27 opinions regarding the role and function of nurse practitioners. The research design was descriptive, using survey technique. Data were collected by a self-administered questionnaire, the Survey of General Practice Physicians\u27 Opinions Concerning the Family Nurse Practitioner, which was developed by Karen J. Radke and Edith Wright. A convenience sample of 162 physicians, consisting of physicians specializing in family practice, pediatrics, internal medicine and obstetrics/gynecology, currently practicing in Monterey County, California, were surveyed. There were 61 (38%) survey\u27s returned. Overall, physicians were favorable to all nurse practitioner functions, with the exception of nurse practitioners inserting intrauterine devices 34 (55.7%) and making hospital visits 41 (67.2%). The majority of respondents 49 (80.3%) were willing to hire a nurse practitioner. Problems anticipated by physicians were: a) patient, physician, and other nurses acceptance of the nurse practitioner; b) availability of funds to cover nurse practitioner services; and c) demands on the physicians time for supervision of and/or consultation with the nurse practitioner. Nursing implications included educating physicians regarding the success of nurse practitioners assisting physicians in making patient hospital visits, and inserting intrauterine devices. A future research study to elicit physicians\u27 opinions concerning their insertion of intrauterine devices is indicated. If physicians are not favorable concerning their own insertion of intrauterine devices, then, they will not be favorable for nurse practitioners to insert these devices

Internal friction peaks observed in explosively deformed polycrystalline Mo, Nb, and Cu

Explosive deformation (50 kbar range) induced, in Cu, Mo and Nb, internal friction peaks identical to those observed after large normal deformation. The variation of the peaks with pressure for Mo and Nb lead to an explanation of these processes in terms of double kink generation in screw and edge dislocations