Swimming against the tide: a study of a neighbourhood trying to rediscover its ‘reason for being’– the case of South Bank, Redcar and Cleveland.

Many of the programmes and initiatives to regenerate deprived neighbourhoods appear to have had limited lasting impact. It has been argued that one reason for this is that we still have little real understanding of the nature and scale of the problems some communities face (Bernt, 2009). This article attempts to add to our knowledge through close study of an area with multiple problems and a history of failed regeneration attempts. An in-depth case study, undertaken to explore the current situation and future prospects of South Bank, a small neighbourhood in the North East of England, highlights transferable knowledge which may be applied to other regeneration areas. The analysis considers the nature and consequences of industrial decline; entrenched deprivation; the stigmatization of communities; the value of community consultation and the potential impact of retail-led regeneration. We question whether negative stigma attached to places can be changed and we ask what the future may hold for deprived communities now that public sector funding has largely dried up, and we consider an alternative approach: the potential impacts of private sector retail-led regeneration in the absence of public sector funding

Ethical issues at the interface of clinical care and research practice in pediatric oncology: a narrative review of parents' and physicians' experiences

Contains fulltext : 97879.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Pediatric oncology has a strong research culture. Most pediatric oncologists are investigators, involved in clinical care as well as research. As a result, a remarkable proportion of children with cancer enrolls in a trial during treatment. This paper discusses the ethical consequences of the unprecedented integration of research and care in pediatric oncology from the perspective of parents and physicians. METHODOLOGY: An empirical ethical approach, combining (1) a narrative review of (primarily) qualitative studies on parents' and physicians' experiences of the pediatric oncology research practice, and (2) comparison of these experiences with existing theoretical ethical concepts about (pediatric) research. The use of empirical evidence enriches these concepts by taking into account the peculiarities that ethical challenges pose in practice. RESULTS: Analysis of the 22 studies reviewed revealed that the integration of research and care has consequences for the informed consent process, the promotion of the child's best interests, and the role of the physician (doctor vs. scientist). True consent to research is difficult to achieve due to the complexity of research protocols, emotional stress and parents' dependency on their child's physician. Parents' role is to promote their child's best interests, also when they are asked to consider enrolling their child in a trial. Parents are almost never in equipoise on trial participation, which leaves them with the agonizing situation of wanting to do what is best for their child, while being fearful of making the wrong decision. Furthermore, a therapeutic misconception endangers correct assessment of participation, making parents inaccurately attribute therapeutic intent to research procedures. Physicians prefer the perspective of a therapist over a researcher. Consequently they may truly believe that in the research setting they promote the child's best interests, which maintains the existence of a therapeutic misconception between them and parents. CONCLUSION: Due to the integration of research and care, their different ethical perspectives become intertwined in the daily practice of pediatric oncology. Increasing awareness of what this means for the communication between parents and physicians is essential. Future research should focus on efforts that overcome the problems that the synchronicity of research and care evokes

Observation of crack initiation during hot tearing

While the general mechanisms of hot tearing are understood, i.e. the inability of liquid to feed imposed strain on the mushy material, work continues on improving the understanding of the mechanisms at play. A hot tear test rig that measures the temperature and load imposed on the mushy zone during solidification has been successfully used to study hot tearing. The mould has now been modified to incorporate a window above the hot spot region to allow observation of hot tear formation and growth. Combining information from visual observation with load and temperature data has led to a better understanding of the mechanism of hot tearing. Tests were carried out on an Al-0.5 wt-% Cu alloy. It was found that load development began at about 90% solid and a hot tear formed a short time later, at between 93% and 96% solid. Hot tearing started at a very low load

Relationship between tensile and shear strengths of the mushy zone in solidifying aluminum alloys

Strength development in the mushy zone during solidification of three aluminum alloys (Al-4 wt pct Cu, Al-7 wt pct Si-1 wt pct Cu, and Al-7 wt pct Si-4 wt pct Cu) has been measured with two different techniques - horizontal tensile testing and direct shear cell testing. The strength results from the two methods correspond with one another to a much higher degree than suggested by the results presented in the literature. Tensile strength starts to develop at the maximum packing solid fraction, confirmed by the shear strength measurements. The maximum packing fraction represents the point where the internal network structure of the mushy zone is established and ligaments of the network must be broken to rearrange the dendrites. The data indicate a converging trend of the shear and tensile strength at high solid fractions, therefore indicating that the deformation mechanisms are also becoming similar. The results presented in this article suggest that it is possible to develop constitutive equations for the mechanical properties of the mushy zone over the entire solid fraction regime, i.e., from coherency to complete solidification. These equations could be used for the prediction of stress development as well as defect formation

Childhoodnature and the anthropocene: an epoch of “cenes”

Section Four troubles childhoodnature and the Anthropocene, a scientific and popular term used to described the present human-nature conditions on planet Earth. This section does this through eight contributions which broadly speak to four “cenes,” namely: children in the Anthropocene – child-cene; woman in the Anthropocene – gyno-cene; cities as sites of the Anthropocene, city-cene; and relations with the more than human – kin-cene. The lines though between/within/through these identified cenes are porous and enmeshed as the nonliving, the human, and nonhuman transition between two epochs – the Anthropocene and the Postanthropocene

Childhoodnature and the Anthropocene: an epoch of cenes

Section Four troubles childhoodnature and the Anthropocene, a scientific and popular term used to described the present human-nature conditions on planet Earth. This section does this through eight contributions which broadly speak to four “cenes,” namely: children in the Anthropocene – child-cene; woman in the Anthropocene – gyno-cene; cities as sites of the Anthropocene, city-cene; and relations with the more than human – kin-cene. The lines though between/within/through these identified cenes are porous and enmeshed as the nonliving, the human, and nonhuman transition between two epochs – the Anthropocene and the Postanthropocene