Desires, expectations and the sexual practices of married and cohabiting heterosexual women

This article draws on qualitative interviews in order to analyse the ways in which heterosexual women reconcile their everyday lived sexual practices, expectations and desires. Focusing on the accounts of twenty women in long-term relationships, analysis suggests that the sexual practices of the women interviewed continue to be largely conducted within a dominant heteronormative framework. This runs contrary to claims about the democratisation or queering of sexual relations (Giddens 1992; Roseneil 2000). I argue that participants’ sexual desires and expectations are undermined by essentialist understandings of masculinity and femininity, with shifts in the outward forms of heterosexuality having a limited impact upon sexual practices which continue to be entrenched in heteronormative ideals

Conscious Uncoupling: Reassessing Agency and Desire in Couple Relationships

The recent separation of celebrity couple Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin after over a decade of marriage, or, as they refer to it, their ‘conscious uncoupling’, encourages reflection on the nature of couple relationships in twenty first century Britain. Have we embraced a more fluid and reflective approach to relationships, with diverse relationship forms challenging the status of the heterosexual couple as the normative relationship type? I argue here that couple partnerships have actually retained and strengthened their hold as the centre of our intimate and erotic lives, often to the detriment of our personal development and other relationships

Монастырь Сурб-Хач – очаг национальной армянской культуры

Сегодня современное общество и наука все чаще обращает свои взоры на великую культуру ушедших эпох. Армянский монастырь Сурб-Хач - один из немногих памятников древней архитектуры Крыма, дошедших до наших дней. Поднять из забытья этот уникальный комплекс - одна из задач, которую ставит перед собой авторСьогодні сучасне суспільство і наука все частіше обертає свої погляди на велику культуру епох, що пішли. Вірменський монастир Сурб-Хач - один з небагатьох пам'ятників стародавньої архітектури Криму, що дійшли до наших днів. Підняти із забуття цей унікальний комплекс - одна із задач, яку ставить перед собою авто

The Student Journey Project: Findings so far

This paper reports on the ‘Student Journey Project’, a 3 year £48,000 cyclical project running from 2012-2015. The Student Journey Project is a qualitative, longitudinal project which utilises a small number of student case studies to try to understand what the ‘real’ student journey is like at MMU, covering the learning, living and social & community experiences (including what areas and topics are of particular importance to our students). It is envisaged that information from the project will be used to help highlight, prioritise and target improvement works. The project is jointly run by the Student’s Union and Business Improvement Team. Young et al (2007) argue that institutional practice in the UK has been slow to reflect the ‘Adaptation Perspective’ (Zepke and Leach, 2005) popularised in pedagogic literature, which encourages institutions to move towards adapting to the needs of students, with course content, teaching methods and assessment reflecting the diverse demands of the students. The Student Journey Project is designed with this approach in mind, with the action research methodology designed to capture and respond to the student voice. We argue that student engagement and success is crucial to discussions of quality assurance in higher education as outlined in the QAA strategy 2011-14

VAPO as catalyst for liquid phase oxidation reactions

Abstract The preparation, characterisation and catalytic properties of vanadium containing aluminophosphate molecular sieves (type AEL and AbT) are described in this paper. The molecular sieves were prepared by post-synthesis treatment and hydrothermal procedures. Several parameters were varied: nature of the template, crystallisation procedure and vanadium content. Tri-propylamine appeared to be the best template for the preparation of VAPO-5: highly crystalline, homogeneous batches (crystallite size: 2x I x 1 ~tm) with a maximum of about 2 wt% vanadium could be obtained in high yield (75-80%). Crystallographically pure VAPO-11 with a maximum of only 0.5 wt% of vanadium could be prepared. In VAPO the incorporation mode of vanadium gradually changes from tetra-to penta-coordinated when the amount of vanadium is increased. However the formation of vanadium pentoxide could not be detected. The vanadium containing molecular sieves were used as catalyst for the oxidation of allylic and secondary alcohols by tert-butyl hydroperoxide in the liquid phase. Compared with a homogeneous catalyst, bis(2,4-pentandionato)-oxovanadium(IV) (VO(acac)2), the activity of vanadium containing molecular sieves is a factor 3-100 times lower. The activity of VAPO becomes higher when the vanadium content is increased. The decomposition rate of the peroxide is influenced by the pore structure, whereas no other effects on the selectivity are found

Oxidation of linear alcohols with hydrogen peroxide over titanium silicate-1

Abatract In this paper different parameters affecting the oxidation of alcohols with hydrogen peroxide are described. The influence of the amount and of the crystallite size of the catalyst, as well as the concentrations of hydrogen peroxide and substrate have been studied. The influence of the reaction temperature, the chain length of the alcohol (C6, C7, C8 and C9 ) and the position of the alcohol group (a, /3 or y) on the reaction rate has also been investigated. As a result of this study it can be reported that the reaction is first order with respect to the amount of catalyst and the hydrogen peroxide concentration, and zero order in alcohol concentration. The activation energy for the oxidation of 2-octanol is 71 kJ/ mol. The particle size has a considerable effect on the reaction rate; larger particles result slower reaction. There is a remarkable effect of the chain length on the reaction rate (C6<C7<C8% C9) and the position of the hydroxyl group has a strong effect on the activity of TS-1 (fl> (Y > y ) . The crystallite size effect can be explained by means of diffusion limitations, as could be illustrated by Weisz modulus calculations. The observed difference in activity between jI and y alcohols can not be related to differences in diffusion (single component diffusion of /I and y alcohols show little difference) and therefore transition state restrictions of the alcohols in the pores of the TS-1 may be a possible explanation for this effect

Nematoden als indicator voor de waterkwaliteit

Het beoordelen van de waterkwaliteit is een lastige zaak. Vaak wordt de chemische kwaliteit bepaald, maar eigenlijk willen we weten welke effecten die heeft op de biologische kwaliteit. Veld- en microscopisch onderzoek aan biologische indicatoren is bewerkelijk en bovendien zijn de resultaten niet eenduidig. Met de ontwikkeling van DNA-analysetechnieken is het mogelijk geworden nematoden in de waterbodem snel en accuraat te analyseren. Nematoden zijn kleine aaltjes (lengte 0,3 tot 1,0 mm) die in grote aantallen en met een aanzienlijke diversiteit in de waterbodem aanwezig zijn. De combinatie van hoge dichtheden en grote verscheidenheid maakt de nematodengemeenschap tot potentiële bio-indicator voor de waterkwaliteit. Een pilot liet zien dat DNA-analyse van nematoden in de waterbodem duidelijke signalen van eutrofiëring aangaf en daarmee inzicht gaf in de waterkwaliteit