Barclaycard: Still the King of Pla$tic?

This teaching case study looks at milestones in the UK credit card market. It then focuses on how a long-standing market leader maintains a position of advantage and develops its business in a fast-moving industry undergoing significant change. There are many different strategic options open to Barclaycard, but which will be most suitable? Will all the options be acceptable, not only in terms of the likely risk and returns but also to the major stakeholders? Will the options be feasible? The case invites readers to evaluate and compare a range of strategic options and to choose the best way forward for Barclaycard.Banks, credit cards, corporate strategy

Barclaycard: Still the King of Pla$tic? (Exhibits)

(This file contains tables and figures for the case)

Facile wet-chemical synthesis of differently shaped cuprous oxide particles and a thin film: Effect of catalyst morphology on the glucose sensing performance

Abstract In this work, different facile synthesis routes were developed to create cuprite-based catalyst systems for the amperometric detection of glucose, allowing us to evaluate the impact of important electrode fabrication parameters on the glucose sensing performance. Using homogenous precipitation routes based on a redox system, two differently shaped cuprite particles - skeletons and polyhedrons - could be obtained. Furthermore, a novel electroless deposition technique was introduced that does not require sensitization and activation pretreatments, allowing for the direct modification of the glassy carbon. This technique produced electrodes with dense thin film consisting of merged, octahedral cuprite crystals. Afterward, these materials were tested as potential catalysts for the electrochemical detection of glucose. While the catalyst powders obtained by precipitation required NafionR to be attached to the electrode, the thin film synthesized using electroless plating could be realized with and without additive. Summarizing the results, it was found that NafionR was not required to achieve glucose selectivities typically observed for cuprite catalysts. Also, the type of catalyst application (direct plating vs. ink drop coating) and the particle shape had a pronounced effect on the sensing performance. Compared to the thin film, the powder-type materials showed significantly increased electrochemical responses. The best overall performance was achieved with the polyhedral cuprite particles, resulting in a high sensitivity of 301 μA mmol-1 cm-2, a linear range up to 298 μmol L-1 and a limit of detection of 0.144 μmol L-1

The effect of training provided for obese adolescents based on Health Promotion Model on their healthy lifestyle behaviors and life quality

WOS: 000428874500018Objectives: the purpose of this study is to determine the effect of training provided for obese adolescents based on health promotion model on their healthy lifestyle behaviors and life quality. Methods: the research was conducted on the 114 obese adolescents in the form of intervention design with pretest-post-test control group between the dates September 2012 and January 2014. the experiment group was trained for three months within the Health Promotion Model which was constituted to decrease the risk factors of obesity. Results: With the training, monitoring and consultancy service provided for obese adolescents, it was found that BMI scores decreased significantly, their nutritional and physical activity habits were regulated, their sedentary life decreased, their general score averages for ALP and PedsQL scale were higher when compared with the pre-test and the difference between the experiment and control groups was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was determined that the training obese students received which was based on health promotion model helped the students to develop healthy life style behaviors and to increase their life quality

Three-Dimensional Mesoscale Heterostructures of ZnO Nanowire Arrays Epitaxially Grown on CuGaO₂ Nanoplates as Individual Diodes

We report a three-dimensional (3D) mesoscale heterostructure composed of one-dimensional (1D) nanowire (NW) arrays epitaxially grown on two-dimensional (2D) nanoplates. Specifically, three facile syntheses are developed to assemble vertical ZnO NWs on CuGaO₂ (CGO) nanoplates in mild aqueous solution conditions. The key to the successful 3D mesoscale integration is the preferential nucleation and heteroepitaxial growth of ZnO NWs on the CGO nanoplates. Using transmission electron microscopy, heteroepitaxy was found between the basal planes of CGO nanoplates and ZnO NWs, which are their respective (001) crystallographic planes, by the observation of a hexagonal Moiré fringes pattern resulting from the slight mismatch between the <i>c</i> planes of ZnO and CGO. Careful analysis shows that this pattern can be described by a hexagonal supercell with a lattice parameter of almost exactly 11 and 12 times the <i>a</i> lattice constants for ZnO and CGO, respectively. The electrical properties of the individual CGO–ZnO mesoscale heterostructures were measured using a current-sensing atomic force microscopy setup to confirm the rectifying p–n diode behavior expected from the band alignment of p-type CGO and n-type ZnO wide band gap semiconductors. These 3D mesoscale heterostructures represent a new motif in nanoassembly for the integration of nanomaterials into functional devices with potential applications in electronics, photonics, and energy

Cu-Cu2O-TiO2 nanojunction systems with an unusual electron-hole transportation pathway and enhanced photocatalytic properties

Multicomponent Cu-CuO-TiO nanojunction systems were successfully synthesized by a mild chemical process, and their structure and composition were thoroughly analyzed by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The as-prepared Cu-CuO-TiO (3 and 9 h) nanojunctions demonstrated higher photocatalytic activities under UV/Vis light irradiation in the process of the degradation of organic compounds than those of the Cu-CuO, Cu-TiO, and Cu O-TiO starting materials. Moreover, time-resolved photoluminescence spectra demonstrated that the quenching times of electrons and holes in Cu-CuO-TiO (3 h) is higher than that of Cu-CuO-TiO (9 h); this leads to a better photocatalytic performance of Cu-CuO-TiO (3 h). The improvement in photodegradation activity and electron-hole separation of Cu-Cu O-TiO (3 h) can be ascribed to the rational coupling of components and dimensional control. Meanwhile, an unusual electron-hole transmission pathway for photocatalytic reactions over Cu-CuO- TiO nanojunctions was also identified