Political brand image: an investigation into the operationalisation of the external orientation of David Cameron’s Conservative brand

This paper seeks to address the limited understanding of how to operationalise the external brand image of a political brand. More specifically, this research critically assesses the transfer potential of the six variables of brand image by Bosch, Venter, Han and Boshoff to deconstruct the UK Conservative Party brand from the perspective of young people aged 18–24 years during the 2010 UK General Election campaign. This research demonstrates the applicability of the six variables otherwise known as the ‘brand image framework’ to the political environment. However, the application of the brand image framework in its original conceptualisation proved problematic. Many of the brand image variables were clarified, rearticulated and simplified to address the political context. This refined conceptualisation provided an in-depth understanding of how to investigate the political brand image of David Cameron’s Conservative Party. This study addresses the paucity of research that operationalises external brand image and provides practitioners and academics within and beyond the context of political branding a mechanism to understand the external orientation of brands. This research may also be used by political and non-political brands as a basis to explore external brand image and compare its consistency with internal brand identity

Yield Sooting Index Database Volume 1

A database of experimentally measured Yield Sooting Indices (YSI’s) which indicate the relative tendency of different pure hydrocarbons to produce soot particulates in combustion conditions

Yield Sooting Index Database Volume 2: Sooting Tendencies of a Wide Range of Fuel Compounds on a Unified Scale

A database of experimentally measured Yield Sooting Indices (YSI’s). YSI characterizes the intrinsic chemical propensity of a pure compound or a fuel mixture to produce soot particles in combustion devices. Volume 2 combines all of the measurements from Volume 1 into a single scale and adds some new compounds. New versions of Volume 2 are expected to be issued periodically as additional compounds are studied

Studies of aromatic hydrocarbon formation mechanisms in flames: Progress towards closing the fuel gap

McEnally CS, Pfefferle LD, Atakan B, Kohse-Höinghaus K. Studies of aromatic hydrocarbon formation mechanisms in flames: Progress towards closing the fuel gap. PROGRESS IN ENERGY AND COMBUSTION SCIENCE. 2006;32(3):247-294.Two critical steps towards soot production in combustors are the decomposition of the fuel and the subsequent formation of aromatic hydrocarbons with one to three benzenoid rings. Traditionally, flame studies of these processes have used small hydrocarbons such as methane, ethylene, and acetylene as the fuel. However, recent research, which is reviewed in this article, has begun to close the 'gap' between these small hydrocarbons and the larger, more complex hydrocarbons that constitute all liquid combustion fuels. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Simultaneous Measurements of Soot Volume Fraction and Particle Size / Microstructure in Flames Using a Thermophoretic Sampling Technique

A new particle volume fraction measurement technique was developed using electron microscope analysis of thermophoretically sampled particles/aggregates based on a theoretical treatment of particle deposition to a cold surface immersed in a flame. This experimental method, referred to as the thermophoretic sampling particle diagnostic (TSPD), can yield all particle parameters of principal interest (particle volume fraction, particle and aggregate sizes, and fractal properties) without requiring knowledge of particle bulk density and refractive index. To assess its reliability, the TSPD technique was implemented at various heights on the centerline of a soot-containing coflowing ethylene/air nonpremixed laminar flame. Inferred soot volume fractions agreed with previous laser extinction and thermocouple particle densitometry measurements within experimental uncertainties at sampling positions where only aggregates of mature particles were present. However, TSPD-soot volume fractions were about a factor of 3 higher than light extinction results in the lower part of the flame. This significant difference was evidently a result of the presence of translucent precursor soot particles, which do not absorb as much visible light as mature particles, but can be quantified with the electron microscope. Clearly, this ability of TSPD to separately measure the concentration and morphology of each type of soot is a significant advantage over other available diagnostics, making it extremely valuable for studying particle formation in flames

Soot Volume Fraction and Temperature Measurements in Laminar Nonpremixed Flames Using Thermocouples

Thermocouple particle densitometry (TPD), a new method for measuring absolute soot volume fraction in flames which was suggested by Eisner and Rosner, has been successfully implemented in several laminar nonpremixed flames. This diagnostic relies on measuring the junction temperature history of a thermocouple rapidly inserted into a soot-containing flame region, then optimizing the fit between this history and one calculated from the principles of thermophoretic mass transfer. The TPD method is very simple to implement experimentally, yields spatially resolved volume fractions directly, can easily measure small volume fractions, and does not depend on the prevailing soot particle size, morphology, or optical characteristics. p]In a series of methane and ethylene counterflow flames whose soot volume fractions varied by more than an order of magnitude, the TPD results agreed to within experimental error with our own laser extinction measurements. In axisymmetric methane and ethylene co-flowing flames, the shape of TPD profiles agreed well with published laser extinction measurements, but the TPD concentrations were significantly larger in the early regions of the ethylene flame and throughout the methane flame; these discrepancies are probably attributable to visible light-transparent particles that are detectable with TPD but not with laser extinction. The TPD method is not applicable to the upper regions of these co-flowing flames since OH concentrations there suffice to rapidly oxidize any soot particles that deposit. Gas temperatures were obtained simultaneously with volume fraction by averaging the junction temperature history shortly after insertion. The error in these temperatures due to soot deposition-imposed changes in the junction diameter and emissivity were assessed and found to be moderate, e.g., less than 60 K near the centerline of the ethylene coflowing flame where the volume fraction was 6 ppm and the gas temperature was 1550 K