On the nature of macroradicals formed upon radiolysis of aqueous poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) solutions

In this work we have explored the nature of macroradicals formed upon radiolysis of aqueous poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) solutions using pulse radiolysis, density functional theory (DFT) and literature data. On the basis of literature data on site-specific kinetics of hydrogen abstraction from simple amides and spectra corresponding to specific radical sites on the same amides we have assessed the distribution of H-atom abstraction by \u2022OH radicals from different positions on the pyrrolidone ring and the polymer backbone. Pulse radiolysis experiments performed at different doses per pulse and different PVP concentrations demonstrate that the H-abstracting radiolysis products are not quantitatively scavenged by the polymer when the dose per pulse exceeds 4840 Gy. The implications of this are discussed in the context of radical-initiated crosslinking reactions. At a mass fraction of 0.1% PVP and doses per pulse ranging from 7 Gy to 117 Gy, the overall radical decay observed at 390 nm follows second order kinetics with rate constants on the order of 109 dm3 mol-1 s-1

K+N charge-exchange scattering at 1.94 GeV/c

Experimental results are presented on the reaction K+n→K0p at 2 GeV/c. As required by strong ρ-A2 exchange degeneracy, the dσ/dt distribution shows no structure at t~-0.6 (GeV/c)^2. The dσ/du distribution for backward charge-exchange scattering does not agree with proposed I=0 baryon-exchange models

Worker well-being and the importance of work: bridging the gap

The importance of worker well-being is widely-embraced both in theory and policy, but there are numerous perspectives on what it is, how to measure it, whether it needs improving and if so, how to improve it. We argue that a more complete approach to worker well-being needs to consider workers as full citizens who derive and experience both public and private benefits and costs from working. A broad framework on the meanings of work is used to expand the boundaries of worker well-being to reflect the broad importance of work in human life

‘Wellness’ lifts us above the Food Chaos’: a narrative exploration of the experiences and conceptualisations of Orthorexia Nervosa through online social media forums

The increasing prevalence of eating disorders has motivated a burgeoning of research from narrative methods to illuminate the cultural and social aspects of disordered eating habits. A seemingly new eating disorder, Orthorexia Nervosa, has gained visibility through the internet sphere and popular media, though scholarly attention has been scarce. This study develops qualitative understandings of the fixation with ‘clean eating’ through narrative inquiry by employing an internet ethnographic approach. Data were analysed using a thematic narrative analysis, focusing on parallels and divergences across narratives presented online. This article presents 30 male and female voices, illustrating how these individuals understand their eating habits through narratives of pursuit, resistance and recovery, which are largely motivated by the desire for physical, emotional and social change. Crucially, this study illuminates a range of cultural elements enabling eating disorders in response to the transmission of cultural values online set within the broader context and processes of reflexive-modernisation

Sailing into the wind : new disciplines in Australian higher education

Much is made of the potential of lifelong learning for individuals and organisations. In this article we tend to make much less of it, certainly with respect to its use in universities to discipline academics. Nevertheless, we argue that academics now need to re-learn the positions they occupy and the stances they take in response to the marketisation of Australian universities. In particular, we suggest that the position of (pure) critique no longer commands attention in Australian contexts of higher education, although the paper does not suggest a disregard for a critical stance purely for the sake of participation. It is in understanding the interconnections between position and stance , and how they might be strategically performed during the everyday practices of academics, that a more promising way of engaging with the venalities of the market is envisaged; a strategy that could be described as \u27sailing into the wind\u27. In discussing these matters, the paper draws on semi-structured interviews with academics located in university faculties/departments/schools of education along Australia\u27s eastern seaboard

Mineral oil certified reference materials for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls from the National Metrology Institute of Japan (NMIJ)

Four mineral oil certified reference materials (CRMs), NMIJ CRM 7902-a, CRM 7903-a, CRM 7904-a, and CRM 7905-a, have been issued by the National Metrology Institute of Japan, which is part of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (NMIJ/AIST), for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The raw materials for the CRMs were an insulation oil (CRM 7902-a and CRM 7903-a) and a fuel oil (CRM7904-a and CRM 7905-a). A solution of PCB3, PCB8, and technical PCB products, comprising four types of Kaneclor, was added to the oil matrices. The total PCB concentrations in the PCB-fortified oils (CRM 7902-a and CRM 7904-a) are approximately 6 mg kg−1. In addition, the mineral oils which were not fortified with PCBs were also distributed as CRMs (CRM 7903-a and CRM 7905-a). Characterization of these CRMs was conducted by the NMIJ/AIST, where the mineral oils and the PCB solution were analyzed using multiple analytical methods such as dimethylsulfoxide extraction, normal-phase liquid chromatography, gel permeation chromatography, reversed-phase liquid chromatography, and chromatography using sulfoxide-bonded silica; and/or various capillary columns for gas chromatography, and two ionization modes for mass spectrometry. The target compounds in the mineral oils and those in the PCB solution were determined by one of the primary methods of measurement, isotope dilution–mass spectrometry (ID-MS). Certified values have been provided for 11 PCB congeners (PCB3, 8, 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, 180, 194, and 206) in the CRMs. These CRMs have information values for PCB homologue concentrations determined by using a Japanese official method for determination of PCBs in wastes and densities determined with an oscillational density meter. Because oil samples having arbitrary PCB concentrations between respective property values of the PCB-fortified and nonfortified CRMs can be prepared by gravimetric mixing of the CRM pairs, these CRMs can be used for validation of PCB analyses using various instruments which have different sensitivities

Buber, educational technology, and the expansion of dialogic space

Buber’s distinction between the ‘I-It’ mode and the ‘I-Thou’ mode is seminal for dialogic education. While Buber introduces the idea of dialogic space, an idea which has proved useful for the analysis of dialogic education with technology, his account fails to engage adequately with the role of technology. This paper offers an introduction to the significance of the I-It/I-Thou duality of technology in relation to opening dialogic space. This is followed by a short schematic history of educational technology which reveals the role technology plays, not only in opening dialogic space, but also in expanding dialogic space. The expansion of dialogic space is an expansion of what it means to be ‘us’ as dialogic engagement facilitates the incorporation, into our shared sense of identity, of aspects of reality that are initially experienced as alien or ‘other’. Augmenting Buber with an alternative understanding of dialogic space enables us to see how dialogue mediated by technology, as well as dialogue with monologised fragments of technology (robots), can, through education, lead to an expansion of what it means to be human