Game changers

What does it take for an innovative design to become an influential one? We take a look at how and why some designs have the power to shape culture and reality and, in so doing, become defining points of our time

Paying the piper and calling the tune: a study to consider how the opportunity to employ workers using cash payments affects the support relationship

This thesis is about direct payments; the name given to cash payments made by local authorities to disabled adults, to enable them to buy their own care. Many people use their direct payment to become an employer by recruiting a personal assistant to provide their support, and it is this direct employment relationship, between disabled adults and their employees, that is the focus of the thesis. The study examines the history and policy of social welfare in Britain showing that the use of cash payments has been a recurring theme in care provision, and is part of an evolving process. The present government has demonstrated ongoing commitment to the radical increase in the numbers of disabled adults accessing user-controlled support, such as direct payments, however the direct employment of support workers is poorly understood with most research focusing on the interests of disabled adults whilst ignoring the perspective of workers. The study investigates the effect of cash and direct employment on the support relationship in one local authority in England. It uses a grounded theory approach, with two questionnaires to measure job satisfaction and stress, and in-depth interviews with respondents. It explores and compares the experiences of eight direct payment relationships with eight traditional service delivery homecare relationships. The research provides a comparison between direct and non-direct employment, together with an examination of the experiences of both parties in the relationship. The analysis of the data reveals the inherent complexity of care relationships and shows the importance of the concept of power in helping to understand the impact of direct employment on these relationships

Ease of intravenous catheterisation in dogs and cats: a comparative study of two peripheral catheters.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate animal comfort and ease of placement of a veterinary-specific intravenous catheter compared with a catheter manufactured for human use. METHODS: Fifty-nine veterinary undergraduates were recruited to perform intravenous catheterisations with two brands of over-the-needle catheter [Smiths Medical Jelco® (human use) and Abbott Animal Health catheter® (veterinary use)] in 69 healthy cats (n = 28) and dogs (n = 41) requiring general anaesthesia. After a standardised pre-anaesthetic medication, each animal was randomly allocated to have one of the two brands of catheter placed. Each student was allowed a maximum of three attempts to achieve cephalic vein catheterisation. The student and a single experienced observer evaluated each attempt. Observations related to ease of placement and to the animal's reaction were recorded. RESULTS: Human use catheters were placed in 34 and veterinary use in 35 animals. There was no difference in weight, sex or sedation score between the two groups. The number of failed attempts was similar between the two groups. There was no difference between groups for the number of animals reacting to catheter insertion. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The two types of catheters evaluated are equally suitable for intravenous catheterisation of sedated animals by veterinary undergraduate students.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsap.12318/abstract

Experimental Investigation of Distortional Buckling of Cold-Formed Stainless Steel Sections

This paper describes the experimental investigation of the distortional buckling of thin-walled stainless steel sections in compression. Austenitic 304, ferritic 430 stainless steel and ferritic-like 3Crl2 chromium weldable steel sheets were brake-pressed into simple-lipped channels and simple-lipped channels with intermediate stiffeners. A comprehensive procedure to determine the mechanical properties of stainless steel material is described. A total of 19 distortional tests failed at stresses greater than the proportionality stress, and hence were influenced by material non-linearity. Data required to assess current design guidelines in place for distortional buckling of stainless steel compression members are provided herein

Design of Stainless Steel Sections Against Distortional Buckling

Current cold-formed stainless steel design codes for distortional buckling, including the Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 4673 (2001) and the North American ASCE (2002), have been based on cold-formed carbon steel codes without the support or corroboration of experimental evidence. As such, an experimental program on the distortional buckling of axially compressed, cold-formed stainless steel simple lipped channels and lipped channels with intermediate stiffeners was conducted. Results show that the effect of stainless steel material non-linearity is partially negated by the strength-enhanced corners, and this becomes evident in the design evaluation. Both the effective width and the direct strength (ASINZS 4600 1996) design approaches are considered. When the enhanced corner properties are ignored, the effective width design evaluation may become unconservative for sections with a corner area less than 10% of the gross area and become overly conservative for sections with a corner area greater than approximately 10% of the gross area. The direct strength evaluation provides reasonably conservatively strength predictions for sections with a corner area of at least 10% of the gross area, provided enhanced corners are ignored and the (actual) fixed end conditions are modeled in the elastic buckling analysis

Internet Versus Mailed Questionnaires: A Randomized Comparison (2)

BACKGROUND Low response rates among surgeons can threaten the validity of surveys. Internet technologies may reduce the time, effort, and financial resources needed to conduct surveys. OBJECTIVE We investigated whether using Web-based technology could increase the response rates to an international survey. METHODS We solicited opinions from the 442 surgeon–members of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association regarding the treatment of femoral neck fractures. We developed a self-administered questionnaire after conducting a literature review, focus groups, and key informant interviews, for which we used sampling to redundancy techniques. We administered an Internet version of the questionnaire on a Web site, as well as a paper version, which looked similar to the Internet version and which had identical content. Only those in our sample could access the Web site. We alternately assigned the participants to receive the survey by mail (n=221) or an email invitation to participate on the Internet (n=221). Non-respondents in the mail arm received up to three additional copies of the survey, while non-respondents in the Internet arm received up to three additional requests, including a final mailed copy. All participants in the Internet arm had an opportunity to request an emailed Portable Document Format (PDF) version. RESULTS The Internet arm demonstrated a lower response rate (99/221, 45%) than the mail questionnaire arm (129/221, 58%) (absolute difference 13%, 95% confidence interval 4%-22%, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS. Our Internet-based survey to surgeons resulted in a significantly lower response rate than a traditional mailed survey. Researchers should not assume that the widespread availability and potential ease of Internet-based surveys will translate into higher response rates.Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canad

Engaging professional staff in the discourse of engagement

The shift in higher education away from traditional, transactional service models and toward innovative, transformational approaches, has led to a reframing of professional identities. At the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC), the creation of the Student Engagement team in 2015 took a learner-centred, theory-driven and evidence-based approach. However, the new team has been drawn from diverse backgrounds and is building a new, shared identity. To create a common language and understanding of practice in the team, the theory and scholarship of higher education was integrated into team leader discussions.  These staff participated in a series of discussions, were encouraged to apply this learning to their daily practice in work with students and in communicating and contextualising their work among staff. The participants have shared their perspective on this new approach and results indicate that, while we are successfully achieving some objectives, the initiative can be adapted to become more effective

The Performance of UK Securitized Subprime Mortgage Debt: ‘Idiosyncratic’ Behaviour or Mortgage Design?

The research estimates a competing risk model of mortgage terminations on a sample of UK securitized subprime mortgages. We consider whether the variety of mortgage contracts that were securitized explains the performance of subprime securities and their supposed ‘idiosyncratic’ behaviour. The methodological advance is the use of a general, flexible modelling of unobserved heterogeneity over several dimensions, controlling for both selection issues involving mortgage choice and dynamic selection over time. We conclude that securities consisting of subprime loans can be given meaningful valuations on bank balance sheets if the performance of the different types of loans can be better understood. JEL Codes: G21 C13 C25 C51 D10 D14 E4