War, Trade and Desire: Urban Design and the Counter Public Spheres of Bangkok

This paper analyses an emergent public sphere in Bangkok in order to reveal the gap between ideals of public space as representation of power, nationhood, and modernity, versus its social production in everyday political struggles. The setting for political demonstrations recently shifted from royalist-nationalist Ratchadamnoen Avenue to the Ratchaprasong intersection, the heart of Bangkok’s shopping district. Ratchadamnoen, formerly a stage-set for royalist and nationalist pomp, has been continuously occupied for political uprisings.In contrast, as the political base of protest in Thailand widened, the glittering shopping malls at Ratchaprasong became a new site of protest, fuelled by urban and rural working poor who sensed they could not afford to partake in Bangkok’s phantasmagorical splendours. The paper argues that in following Bangkok’s historical cycles of blood and massacre in the street lies the possibility of finding new forms of urban design and a public sphere not yet imagined in the West

Enclosure for thermoelectric refrigerator and method

An enclosed structure is provided for use with a refrigerator having a door assembly. The enclosed structure preferably contains superinsulation materials and a plurality of matching drawers. The enclosed structure preferably includes corner joints which minimize thermal energy transfer between adjacent superinsulation panels. The refrigerator may include a cooling system having a thermoelectric device for maintaining the temperature within the refrigerator at selected values. If desired, a fluid cooling system and an active gasket may also be provided between the door assembly and the enclosed structure. The fluid cooling system preferably includes a second thermoelectric device to maintain the temperature of fluid flowing through the active gasket at a selected value. The drawers associated with the refrigerator may be used for gathering, processing, shipping and storing food or other perishable items

Generation and characterisation of biologically active milk-derived protein and peptide fractions

In recent years, extensive research has been carried out on the health benefits of milk proteins and peptides. Biologically active peptides are defined as specific protein fragments which have a positive impact on the physiological functions of the body; such peptides are produced naturally in vivo, but can also be generated by physical and/or chemical processes, enzymatic hydrolysis and/or microbial fermentation. The aims of this thesis were to investigate not only the traditional methods used for the generation of bioactive peptides, but also novel processes such as heat treatment, and the role of indigenous milk proteases, e.g., in mastitic milk, in the production of such peptides. In addition, colostrum was characterised as a source of bioactive proteins and peptides. Firstly, a comprehensive study was carried out on the composition and physical properties of colostrum throughout the early-lactation period. Marked differences in the physico-chemical properties of colostrum compared with milk were observed. Various fractions of colostrum were also tested for their effect on the secretion of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines from a macrophage cell line and bone marrow dendritic cells, as well as insulin secretion from a pancreatic beta cell line. A significant reduction in the secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β and IL-12, a significant increase in the secretion of the anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-10, as well as a significant increase in insulin secretion were observed for various colostrum fractions. Another study examined the early proteomic changes in the milk of 8 cows in response to infusion with the endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at quarter level in a model mastitic system; marked differences in the protein and peptide profile of milk from LPS challenged cows were observed, and a pH 4.6-soluble fraction of this milk was found to cause a substantial induction in the secretion of IL-10 from a murine macrophage cell line. Heat-induced hydrolysis of sodium caseinate was investigated from the dual viewpoints of protein breakdown and peptide formation, and, a peptide fraction produced in this manner was found to cause a significant increase in the secretion of the anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-10, from a murine macrophage cell line. The effects of sodium caseinate hydrolysed by chymosin on the gut-derived satiety hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) were investigated; the resulting casein-derived peptides displayed good in vitro and in vivo secretion of GLP-1. Overall, the studies described in this thesis expand on current knowledge and provide good evidence for the use of novel methods for the isolation, generation and characterisation of bioactive proteins and/or peptides

Rendering the Social in the Architectural Scene: Digital Representation and Social Inclusion on Architectural Design, Thinking, and Education

The digital production of hyper-rendered scenes has come to dominate architectural practice. Jean Baudrillard's warning that simulation will replace the real is now obvious and ubiquitous in our wirelessly networked mediated lives. CAD monkeys, rendering farms, and out-sourcers form the cabal behind the global production of seductive computer generated imagery detached from real people and places. This paper builds on the premise that physical places, designed and marketed through digital imagery, set the stage for the "social scenes" of tourism, leisure and consumption, and that privatized public spaces become "images" in themselves. Providing a setting for ways of people seeing, and being seen by others, these images encourage us to mimic the poses and gestures of architectural renderings. Standing against our growing obsession with rendered architectural scenes suggests that, as digital modes of creation and representation increasingly become objectives in and of themselves, architectural practice is prone to blindness in the face of social developments which exist independently of architecture's digital turn. The paper highlights the possible integration of the social and the technological through documenting a series of design, professional, and pedagogical projects which have, during the thirty-year period of architecture's 'digital turn', increasingly incorporated 'the digital', but which have persistently continued to foreground the social

“Community Aware” education policy: Enhancing individual and community vitality

This paper advances the theoretical and applied connection between education policy and community development. We call this community-aware education policy, and it is based on Dean’s (2012) conception of human need that is thick (i.e., accounts for a relational context), rather than relying solely on a thin conception (i.e., instrumental view with an individualistic focus). It is our contention that contemporary policy initiatives can be better designed and implemented so that individual and professional goals are attained while family and community well-being are enhanced. Using literature from the field of community development highlighting social support concepts, we “thicken” the concept of social policy to arrive at our theory of community-aware education policy. This theory is then applied to two cases in different national policy contexts: universal pre-kindergarten in New York State (US) and full-service schools in England (UK). Ultimately, we argue for a thick approach to need that results in the provision of a range of services and activities to serve children in schools better, and also the communities in which they reside