Coarsening Dynamics of Domains in Lipid Membranes

We investigate isothermal diffusion and growth of micron-scale liquid domains within membranes of free-floating giant unilamellar vesicles with diameters between 80 and 250 Am. Domains appear after a rapid temperature quench, when the membrane is cooled through a miscibility phase transition such that coexisting liquid phases form. In membranes quenched far from a miscibility critical point, circular domains nucleate and then progress within seconds to late stage coarsening in which domains grow via two mechanisms 1), collision and coalescence of liquid domains, and 2), Ostwald ripening. Both mechanisms are expected to yield the same growth exponent, alpha = 1/3, where domain radius grows as time(alpha). We measure alpha = 0.28 +/- 0.05, in excellent agreement. In membranes close to a miscibility critical point, the two liquid phases in the membrane are bicontinuous. A quench near the critical composition results in rapid changes in morphology of elongated domains. In this case, we measure alpha = 0.50 +/- 0.16, consistent with theory and simulation

Social capital, social inclusion and changing school contexts: a Scottish perspective

This paper synthesises a collaborative review of social capital theory, with particular regard for its relevance to the changing educational landscape within Scotland. The review considers the common and distinctive elements of social capital, developed by the founding fathers – Putnam, Bourdieu and Coleman – and explores how these might help to understand the changing contexts and pursue opportunities for growth

Mediated Diasporas: Material Translations of the Philippines in a Globalized World

Recent work demonstrates the ways that new media and ICTs both in the Philippines and among Filipino diasporans have become central to contemporary processes of identity formation, altering and enabling the articulation of alternative selves and expanding spatially Filipino national identifications and definitions of ‘home’ (Pertierra 2002, 2006, 2010 Tyner and Kuhlke 2000, Ignacio 2005). While attending to media in the specific sense of particular social technologies of mass communication, we extend that work here drawing together new empirical studies both to demonstrate the various ways that a wide range of differently situated migrants make use of those media and by considering processes of mediation in a much broader sense (Mazzarella 2004), an approach that draws together both an analysis of the ‘materialities of migration’ (Basu and Coleman 2008) and ‘the technics of translation’ (Rafael 2005)

An Integrated Framework for Intersectorality: Nonprofitness and Its Influence on Society and Public Administration Programs

Cross-sector interactions have long occurred in the public delivery of goods, services, and interests. While scholars have often addressed cross-sector interactions using the dimensions of publicness (state) and privateness (market), an intersectoral framework necessitates the understanding and incorporation of nonprofitness to account for the dimensions of nonprofits along the public-private continuum. This article proposes a framework for identifying the dimensions of nonprofits in an intersectoral world and draws on relevant examples to illustrate the presence and influence of nonprofitness. The article then focuses on the future of education in the field of public administration and, in light of the proposed framework, makes and considers recommendations to help educational programs better equip students to appreciate work across sectors

Civil society leadership in the struggle for AIDS treatment in South Africa and Uganda

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.This thesis is an attempt to theorise and operationalise empirically the notion of ‘civil society leadership’ in Sub-Saharan Africa. ‘AIDS leadership,’ which is associated with the intergovernmental institutions charged with coordinating the global response to HIV/AIDS, is both under-theorised and highly context-specific. In this study I therefore opt for an inclusive framework that draws on a range of approaches, including the literature on ‘leadership’, institutions, social movements and the ‘network’ perspective on civil society mobilisation. This framework is employed in rich and detailed empirical descriptions (‘thick description’) of civil society mobilisation around AIDS, including contentious AIDS activism, in the key case studies of South Africa and Uganda. South Africa and Uganda are widely considered key examples of poor and good leadership (from national political leaders) respectively, while the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) are both seen as highly effective civil society movements. These descriptions emphasise ‘transnational networks of influence’ in which civil society leaders participated (and at times actively constructed) in order to mobilise both symbolic and material resources aimed at exerting influence at the transnational, national and local levels

Civil society and the state in Uganda’s AIDS response

This paper investigates state-civil society relations in the Ugandan AIDS response through a critical exploration of the history of Uganda’s ‘multi-sectoral’ and ‘partnership’ approaches, particularly as it pertains to The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO). It finds that the Ugandan government’s reputation for successful prevention campaigns is not necessarily deserved, and that the effectiveness of civil society is limited by an authoritarian political culture. Despite these limitations, however, state-civil society partnership did contribute to the emergence of a relatively effective coalition for action against HIV/AIDS. Donors were essential in encouraging the emergence of this coalition, but have also inadvertently undermined the emergence of strong and independent civil society voices able to hold the Ugandan state accountable