Changing funding realities for charities and social enterprises: responses to the big society agenda and austerity in the East of England

This ESRC/RAKE/ISBE/Barclays funded project led by CEEDR and The Guild explored the changing circumstances in which voluntary and community organisations (VCOs), charities and social enterprises operate in relation to the government’s Big Society agenda. VCOs and charities are expected to move from a grant culture to one of earning income through trading, particularly to deliver public services, thus adopting the social enterprise ‘business’ model. The main research question addressed by this study were: To what extent are charities and social enterprises engaging with and responding to the Big Society and what are the implications of this engagement, or the lack of it? To what extent are VCOs and charities making this transition to public service delivery social enterprises and what is the nature of the processes involved? The qualitative research approach embraced by the study consisted of interviews with organisations operating in the health and social care sector and key stakeholders in the roll out of the Big Society in the East of England

Temperature Stressed \u3cem\u3eCaenorhabditis elegans\u3c/em\u3e Males Fail to Mate Successfully and Successful Males Produce Very Few Viable Cross Progeny

Exposure to moderate temperature stress can have profoundly negative effects on an organism’s reproductive capacity at temperatures where there are minimal or indiscernible effects on the organism as a whole. These negative effects are often more pronounced in males of the species that produce sperm. Previously we showed that few males of Caenorhabditis elegans wild type strains are able to successfully produce any cross progeny after experiencing temperature stress. However, these experiments did not assess the number of progeny from temperature stressed males. To understand if temperature stress can reduce the number of progeny a male sires, we crossed temperature stressed males of three wild type strains of C. elegans: JU1171, LKC34, and N2, to strain matched hermaphrodites of their own genetic background or to uncoordinated hermaphrodites in the N2 background. We found that significantly fewer males exposed to moderate temperature stress can successfully mate and that the small number of males in the population that do successfully mate produce significantly fewer viable cross progeny than unstressed controls. Our results suggest that exposure to moderate temperature stress significantly reduces male C. elegans chances at reproducing similar to what is seen in other organisms

Preferencias hacia carne de cordero en supermercados de Temuco, región de la Araucanía, Chile

Lobos, G (Lobos, German). Univ Talca, Escuela Ingn Comercial, Talca, ChileThe low levels of consumption of lamb meat in Chile suggest the need for studies on consumer preferences in order to orient production. A study with this object was carried out to evaluate preferences for various cuts, breeds, state (fresh or frozen) and price of lamb's meat among supermarket buyers in Temuco, Chile, and the existence of different market segments, through a survey of 400 persons. Using a fractional factorial design for conjoint analysis, it was determined that the state of the meat was more important than the cut, the price and the breed, with a preference for meat in half carcasses and quarters, Araucano lamb, fresh, at a medium price level. Four consumer segments were distinguished by analysis of hierarchic conglomerates. The majority group (47.7%) was sensitive to the state and the cut, with preference for meat in quarters, fresh, Texel breed. The second group (25.3%) was sensitive to the breed, presenting the strongest preferences for meat in whole carcass, fresh, Araucano lamb. The third group (14.3%) was sensitive to the price, preferred meat in quarters, fresh, Araucano lamb. The minority group (12.7%) was sensitive to the state and price, preferring meat in quarters, Texel breed, and was the only group which preferred frozen meat and would pay a higher price. The segments were distinguished by age, ethnic origin and satisfaction with food-related life. Thus the commercialisation strategy for lamb in supermarkets in Temuco should concentrate principally on the sale of fresh meat cut in quarter

Defects in Mating Behavior and Tail Morphology Are the Primary Cause of Sterility in \u3cem\u3eCaenorhabditis elegans\u3c/em\u3e Males at High Temperature

Reproduction is a fundamental imperative of all forms of life. For all the advantages sexual reproduction confers, it has a deeply conserved flaw: it is temperature sensitive. As temperatures rise, fertility decreases. Across species, male fertility is particularly sensitive to elevated temperature. Previously, we have shown in the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans that all males are fertile at 20°C, but almost all males have lost fertility at 27°C. Male fertility is dependent on the production of functional sperm, successful mating and transfer of sperm, and successful fertilization post-mating. To determine how male fertility is impacted by elevated temperature, we analyzed these aspects of male reproduction at 27°C in three wild-type strains of C. elegans: JU1171, LKC34 and N2. We found no effect of elevated temperature on the number of immature non-motile spermatids formed. There was only a weak effect of elevated temperature on sperm activation. In stark contrast, there was a strong effect of elevated temperature on male mating behavior, male tail morphology and sperm transfer such that males very rarely completed mating successfully when exposed to 27°C. Therefore, we propose a model where elevated temperature reduces male fertility as a result of the negative impacts of temperature on the somatic tissues necessary for mating. Loss of successful mating at elevated temperature overrides any effects that temperature may have on the germline or sperm cells

A methodology for realistic space launch risk estimation using information-fusion-based metric

In light of the significant changes being observed in the US space industry, in terms of the increase share of commercial launches, the development of inland spaceports, and the emergence of new vehicle designs and propulsion systems, there is need to reassess launch safety. In this paper, several issues related to space launch safety are reviewed, one in particular being the use, as the main the safety metric, of the mean collective risk to the general public, also known as the expectation of casualties. A new, decision level, information-fusion-based metric is proposed, and through a detailed case study, its merit in terms of the quality and quantity of information it generates is illustrated. The need for a new metric is here advocated as a critical first step toward the necessary transition from a risk avoidance philosophy to space launch safety to a risk management philosophy

Monitoring and evaluating business mentoring: towards a research and evaluation toolkit to measure impact

This paper presents a Research and Evaluation Toolkit (RET) which has applicability to mentoring programmes in all sectors and organizational contexts. The RET offers a practical guide for human resource development practitioners engaged in evaluation of learning and development programmes and more specifically, mentoring. The RET was a key outcome of a global 2.5-year impact evaluation project with Youth Business International and Middlesex University Business School, evaluating the impact of volunteer business mentoring on under-served young entrepreneurs and their business ventures. This paper brings to the forefront the importance of integrating a measurement and evaluation strategy from the initial mentoring programme design phase and ongoing management. Despite the growing number of survey reports and studies that highlight the importance of this aspect of mentoring programme design and management, measurement and evaluation continues to be one of the most challenging areas. As such, this paper contributes to our understanding concerning the role and effectiveness of ongoing monitoring and evaluation in relation to demonstrating the impact of human resource development interventions and provides a practical approach for practitioners to develop and enhance their evaluation strategy and methods. Key words: research and evaluation, business mentoring, impac

Co-translational protein targeting facilitates centrosomal recruitment of PCNT during centrosome maturation in vertebrates.

As microtubule-organizing centers of animal cells, centrosomes guide the formation of the bipolar spindle that segregates chromosomes during mitosis. At mitosis onset, centrosomes maximize microtubule-organizing activity by rapidly expanding the pericentriolar material (PCM). This process is in part driven by the large PCM protein pericentrin (PCNT), as its level increases at the PCM and helps recruit additional PCM components. However, the mechanism underlying the timely centrosomal enrichment of PCNT remains unclear. Here, we show that PCNT is delivered co-translationally to centrosomes during early mitosis by cytoplasmic dynein, as evidenced by centrosomal enrichment of PCNT mRNA, its translation near centrosomes, and requirement of intact polysomes for PCNT mRNA localization. Additionally, the microtubule minus-end regulator, ASPM, is also targeted co-translationally to mitotic spindle poles. Together, these findings suggest that co-translational targeting of cytoplasmic proteins to specific subcellular destinations may be a generalized protein targeting mechanism