KEF, TEF, REF and all that: the current state of art & design higher education in the UK

International scholars may be rightly confused by the complexity of the UK university quality landscape. The UK has introduced a series of measures over the last decade to evaluate the quality of Higher Education (HE) knowledge exchange, teaching and research provision. This short piece reflects on the employment of assessment exercises for the art and design higher education sector in the UK

Performance and stability of historic casein formaldehyde

Casein formaldehyde was manufactured between 1904 and 1982 in Western Europe both by International Galalith Gesellschaft (IGG) and Erinoid Ltd. (amongst others). Charles Rennie Mackintosh used it in his designs for furniture commissioned by Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke. Casein formaldehyde may be identified through a range of simple and analytical methods available to most conservators in private and public practice. We can control the loss of colour and protect the surface finish by minimising light exposure. Material, aged and distorted, may be reversed if the correct conservation procedures are observed and implemented

The Facioscapulohumeral Syndrome: A Report of Two Cases

Two patients developed progressive muscle weakness in adult life. The initial diagnosis of polymyositis was made in both cases, but subsequent studies and the distribution of muscle involvement suggested facioscapulohumeral myopathy. Other investigators have proposed that this syndrome may result from either genetic or acquired causes. In our patients, the disorder was probably a sequela of polymyositis

University–industry cooperation for supporting sector restructure: wood industry case study

The central aim of this article is to demonstrate how a University-Industry European funded project investigated and proposed best practices for restructuring the wood processing sector in 5 EU countries with a view to reduce the consumption of energy in processing wood. The study refers to the cooperation between universities and industries and the presentation of a successful experience in which the joint action of individual institutions led to technological gains for both parties. The data was collected from 600 companies. The results obtained showed not only the efficiency of the joint research but also the success of the cooperation and the identification of the best practices of new approaches raised in recent studies. Thus, by studying the experience of these institutions in technological cooperation, we can see that the productivity and efficiency of the cooperation between the university and the company open up possibilities for contributing to the technological development of the country

Chinese visual traditions encountered on Safavid furniture

This paper investigates the design patterns derived from the Chinese tradition of wood-based crafts which were applied on furniture as found in the illustrated books of “The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasb” and “The Shahnama of Firdausi” during the Safavid period. The intimate connections between the Middle East and Asia over the past centuries (1501 to 1722) raised interest in both the handcrafts and decorative design motifs of the two regions. This resulted in the appearance of Chinese decorative motifs in Safavid miniatures which commenced in early Islam when Shah Ismail became a Chinese art appreciator. The Shah’s patronage is explicit through the painters and designers working in the court workshops where the practice of Chinese structural composition and designed patterns are evident with continued production during the following Safavid kings

Optically pure heterobimetallic helicates from self-assembly and click strategies

Single diastereomer, diamagnetic, octahedral Fe(II) tris chelate complexes are synthesised that contain three pendant pyridine proligands pre-organised for coordination to a second metal. They bind Cu(I) and Ag(I) with coordination geometry depending on the identity of the metal and the detail of the ligand structure, but for example homohelical (ΔFe,ΔCu) configured systems with unusual trigonal planar Cu cations are formed exclusively in solution as shown by VT-NMR and supported by DFT calculations. Similar heterobimetallic tris(triazole) complexes are synthesised via clean CuAAC reactions at a tris(alkynyl) complex, although here the configurations of the two metals differ (ΔFe,ΛCu), leading to the first optically pure heterohelicates. A second series of Fe complexes perform less well in either strategy as a result of lack of preorganisation

Capturing characteristics of the conceptual ideation process of master crafts persons to inform design education: a comparative study of rural craft practitioners in Indonesia and in the UK

At the very early stage of idea generation, allegedly, a master craftsperson encounters cognitive dissonance to maintain beliefs/mindsets from various conceptual stimuli. We aim to capture the underlying form of cognition by examining the structure of thoughts collected from the subjective conceptualisation. A think-aloud protocol was employed to obtain verbalised thoughts of both Indonesian and UK master craftsmen. The keywords of verbalised thoughts were evaluated and extracted using a list of typical mindsets. The evaluated keywords were then analysed by means of a conceptual network to reproduce a model of the individual's mental state. This study discovered that Indonesian master craftsmen's conceptualisation is greatly influenced by the strong typical mindsets of object-attribute that emphasise rationale and mastery, which stimulates a pragmatic viewpoint. Furthermore, UK master craftsmen's conceptualisation greatly considers strong typical mindsets of object-attribute that emphasise wisdom and passionate, which indicates a rigorous mind. This paper reveals that both pragmatic and rigorous mindsets can create potential or barriers for creative cognitive resources

Study on group technology efficiency gains for solid wood seating furniture

Group Technology (GT) a concept started in the 1920s to reduce transportation by standardising products in machine manufacturers is used here in the production technology of manufacturing furniture. The similarity in structural shape and technology of parts are classified arranging product parts into groups in order to organise and manage multiple varieties, small and medium-sized batches. This article aims to resolve the polarity between the demand for mass production of solid wood chairs & stools and the market demands for small batches and multiple varieties of seating furniture. The study classifies and organises the wooden components according to the managed data. Following analysis the results are used to gain efficiencies of manufacturing by adopting the GT method