Promoting green issues and sustainability in UK higher education libraries

Climate change affects us all. Individually and collectively, we must reduce our carbon footprint to protect the future of the planet. But how can higher education libraries contribute? In April of 2007, a request was made to SCONUL libraries – via LIS-SCONUL – for information on library green initiatives that they were taking forward. The responses highlighted that there is growing interest in the issue and that sustainability issues are beginning to be taken very seriously. This is partially driven by the greater awareness of the need to reduce carbon emissions throughout society. Specifically within higher education, it is also a result of encouragement by funding bodies, such as the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) (see http://www.hefce. ac.uk/lgm/sustain/), through pressure from groups such as People and Planet and their ‘green league’ of higher education institutions (http:// peopleandplanet.org/gogreen/greenleague2007), and through rewards for excellence such as the Times Higher Education and Higher Education Academy Awards for an outstanding contribution by a higher education institution to sustainable development. Library staff are often active in wider institutional sustainability initiatives and can act as ‘champions’ for environmental issues and initiatives. Most of the libraries that responded to the request for information have aligned their green initiatives/ policies with those of their host organisation. Some libraries have participated in a wider institutional initiative to apply for the environmental management standard, ISO 14001. However, there are many specific ways that libraries can become more environmentally friendly and can make a difference

Different Executive Functions Support Different Kinds of Cognitive Flexibility: Evidence From 2-, 3-, and 4-Year-Olds

Improvements in cognitive flexibility during the preschool years have been linked to developments in both working memory and inhibitory control, though the precise contribution of each remains unclear. In the current study, one hundred and twenty 2-, 3-, and 4-year-olds completed two rule-switching tasks. In one version, children switched rules in the presence of conflicting information, and in the other version, children switched rules in the presence of distracting information. Switching in the presence of conflict improved rapidly between the ages of 3 and 3.5 years, and was associated with better working memory. Conversely, switching in the presence of distraction developed significantly between the ages of 2 and 3 years, and was associated with better inhibitory control

Effect of multimodal plasmon resonances on the optical properties of five-pointed nanostars

© 2015 Author(s). The optical transmission and electric field distribution of plasmonic nanostructures dictate their performance in nano-optics and nano-biosensors. Here, we consider the use of hollow, five-pointed, star-shaped nanostructures made of Al, Ag, Au or Cu. We use simulations based on finite-difference time-domain and the discrete dipole approximation to identify the strongest plasmon resonances in these structures. In particular, we were seeking plasmon resonances within the visible part of the spectrum. The silver pentagrams exhibited the strongest such resonance, at a wavelength of about 530 nm. The visiblelight resonances of Au and Cu pentagrams were relatively weaker and red-shifted by about 50 nm. The main resonances of the Al pentagrams were in the ultra-violet. All the nanostars also showed a broad, dipolar-like resonance at about 1000 nm. Surprisingly, the maximum field intensities for the visible light modes were greatest along the flanks of the stars rather than at their tips, whereas those of the dipolar-like modes in the near-infrared were greatest at the tips of the star. These findings have practical implications for sensor design. The inclusion of a conformally hollow interior is beneficial because it provides additional 'hot spots'

Energy consumption and capacity utilization of galvanizing furnaces

An explicit equation leading to a method for improving furnace efficiency is presented. This equation is dimensionless and can be applied to furnaces of any size and fuel type for the purposes of comparison. The implications for current furnace design are discussed. Currently the technique most commonly used to reduce energy consumption in galvanizing furnaces is to increase burner turndown. This is shown by the analysis presented here actually to worsen the thermal efficiency of the furnace, particularly at low levels of capacity utilization. Galvanizing furnaces are different to many furnaces used within industry, as a quantity of material (in this case zinc) is kept molten within the furnace at all times, even outside production periods. The dimensionless analysis can, however, be applied to furnaces with the same operational function as a galvanizing furnace, such as some furnaces utilized within the glass industry. © IMechE 2004

Lipid droplet detection by the cavity perturbation method

There are currently no point-of-care diagnosis strategies available to indicate the presence of neoplasmic growth. This research aims to develop a novel diagnostic strategy based on detecting TAG accumulation in cells. This element of the research is a preliminary experiment to prove the concept of detecting TAG lipid droplets in YEPD media. It was found that a change in mono-unsaturated concentration can be detected by the frequency shift in a resonant cavity. The dielectric constant of TAG vegetable oils was calculated at 2.34-2.39. It was also found that concentrations of lipid droplet can be differentiated up to 5% (v/v)

Surface-enhanced Raman encoded polymer stabilized gold nanoparticles : demonstration of potential for use in bioassays

The preparation of biotinylated, self-assembled polymer stabilized gold nanoparticle hybrids encoded with a SERS active compound is described. The polymers used for nanoparticle stabilization are carefully designed for this purpose and are synthesized by the RAFT polymerization process, as the thiocarbonylthio end group provides a functional handle for anchoring the polymers to the gold surface. Functionalized biotin moieties are attached to the hybrid nanoparticles via Cu-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition. Binding of the biotinylated hybrid nanoparticles to streptavidin was confirmed by nanoparticle detection and identification by the SERS spectrum of the surface-bound SERS active compound, quinoline thiol. This investigation includes the requisites that constitute a bioassay, demonstrating the potential of polymer-coated hybrid nanoparticles for this purpose

Analysis: Voices from the movement: What can the Trade Union Act (2016) tell us about trade union organising?

yesIntroduction It is easy to think of the Trade Union Act (2016) as ‘Thatcher Round 2’: the economic strategy of austerity once again pits the haves against the have-nots, creating the potential for a re-invigorated trade union movement to return to its economically disruptive habits, which the government seeks to constrict. Thus, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady condemned the Conservatives for ‘refighting the battles of the 1980s’ instead of taking a more constructive approach (O’Grady, 2016). However, while the trade union legislation of the 1980s followed a decade marked by entrenched union disputes, the Trade Union Act (2016) has been introduced against a very different backdrop. The UK currently has historically low levels of industrial action, stagnating levels of union membership and limited areas of union density (DBIS, 2015; Godard, 2011; Dix et al, 2008). Could it be that the Trade Union Act (TUA) has more to tell us about trade union weakness than their strength? The Act comes at an important moment in the history of the labour move- ment. The Conservative austerity agenda not only attacks living standards, but reduces union membership through extensive job losses. The significance of this for the movement is exacerbated because the public sector is the most heavily unionised sector. This matters for many reasons, not least because the movement’s ability to resist the worst excesses of the austerity agenda rests on its membership and strength. This situation in turn shines a spotlight on what is perhaps the most pressing question facing the movement – the need for a model of unionism which can reach beyond the public sector, and in particular which meets the needs of the ever-growing body of precarious workers

High-RI resist polymers for 193 nm immersion lithography

A critical aim within the field of 193 nm immersion lithography is the development of high refractive index immersion fluids and resists. Increases in the refractive index (RI) of the immersion fluid will result in increases in the numerical aperture and depth of focus. Increasing the RI of resist polymers will improve exposure latitude for the process. A challenge for increasing the RI of resist polymers is to do so without detrimentally affecting other properties of the polymer such as transparency, line edge roughness, adhesion and plasma etch resistance. It is well known in the literature that introducing sulfur, bromine or aromatic groups into a polymer structure will increase its RI. However, due to the relatively strong absorption of phenyl groups at 193 nm these groups have to be avoided. Furthermore, the use of bromine poses problems associated with contamination of the silicon wafer. Hence, in this study, a systematic approach has been used to increase the sulfur content of 193 nm type resist polymers, by synthesis of sulfur-containing monomers and by performing bulk modifications of the polymer. The effect of sulfur content on the RI at 193 nm was then investigated. A broad study of the relationship between molecular structure and RI dispersion from 250-180 nm has also been undertaken, and conclusions drawn using QSPR methodologies. Finally, the effect of sulfur content on other lithography parameters, such as transparency, adhesion and plasma etch resistance, was also evaluated

Synthesis of high-refractive index sulfur containing polymers for 193-nm immersion lithography: A progress report

To be able to extend the 193 nm immersion lithography technology platform, the development of high refractive index immersion fluids and resists is required. This paper reports our investigations into generating high refractive index polymers for use in photoresist formulations for 193 nm immersion lithograph. In this study a series of model compounds have been screened for refractive index and transparency at 589 nm and 193 nm. For the compounds studied this series of experiments demonstrated that sulfur-containing compounds have a positive effect on the refractive index of a molecule at 589 nm. However, the situation is complicated by the presence of absorption bands for some small molecules in the low waveleingth region. To demonstrate this, we examined the refractive index dispersion of a series of molecules based on ethyl acetate with varying degrees of sulfur substitution. These results indicated that an anomalous increase in refractive index could be expected 20 - 30 nm above the absorption maximum. The implications for design of high refractive index resists for 193 nm immersion lithography are discussed