Long-Run Trends in Victorian Housing Affordability and First Transition into Homeownership

Over the past two decades housing pathways have become increasingly differentiated between generations, particularly in advanced societies dominated by owner-occupied tenure systems. Demographic transformations caused by aging and falling fertility rates, along with a more volatile economy and a neo-liberal reorientation of governance have combined to restructure housing conditions. Drawing on empirical research in Japan, this paper illustrates the social origins and impact of generation-based differentiations in housing patterns in that country. It considers the housing experiences of three cohorts: baby-boomers, baby-busters and the ‘lost generation’. The contrast of housing pathways between these generations in Japan illustrates the contemporary dynamics of housing and social processes in homeowner societies.     

Polymorph selection by continuous crystallization

This article is motivated by a remarkable observation reported recently by Myerson, Trout, and co‐workers that continuous crystallization is capable of producing metastable polymorphs in stable steady‐state operation. We explain why this phenomenon occurs and give simple design rules for reproducing it in other polymorphic systems. A linear stability analysis gives simple functions of parameters for which one can continuously produce thermodynamically metastable products based only on the relative polymorph dynamics. We demonstrate agreement with two sets of experimental data; L‐glutamic acid grown from aqueous solution and p‐aminobenzoic acid also grown from aqueous solution. For many polymorphic compounds, engineering a process to produce a desired polymorph is as simple as finding a reasonable operating point for the continuous mixed‐suspension mixed‐product removal crystallization process (temperature, residence time, initial supersaturation, etc.) according to the rules reported in this article. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 3505–3514, 2016     

A tribute to professor Roger Sargent: Intellectual leader of process systems engineering

This article and this issue of the AIChE Journal, is a tribute to Professor Roger Sargent who, as pioneer and intellectual leader of process systems engineering, has had a profound impact on the discipline of chemical engineering. Spanning more than five decades, his work has provided a strong mathematical foundation to process systems engineering through the development of sophisticated mathematical and computational tools for the simulation, design, control, operation and optimization of chemical processes. In this article we first give a brief overview of his career that included several leadership positions and the establishment of the Centre for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE) at Imperial College London. We next review his research contributions in the areas of process modeling, differential algebraic systems, process dynamics and control, nonlinear optimization and optimal control, design under uncertainty, and process scheduling. We highlight the tremendous impact that he has had through his students, students' students, and his entire academic family tree, which at present contains over 2000 names, probably one of the largest among the academic leaders of chemical engineering. Finally, we provide a brief overview of him as a modest and charming individual with a wonderful sense of humor. He is without doubt a true intellectual giant who has helped to expand the scope of chemical engineering by providing a strong systems component to it, and by establishing strong multidisciplinary links with other fields. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 2951–2958, 2016     

Resonant Tunneling through Monolayer Si Colloidal Quantum Dots and Ge Nanocrystals

Resonant tunneling through a 4 nm nanocrystal Ge (nc‐Ge) layer and a 2.4 nm monolayer of Si colloidal quantum dots (QD) is achieved with 0.7 nm amorphous Al₂O₃ (a‐Al₂O₃) barriers. The nc‐Ge resonant tunneling diode (RTD) demonstrates a peak‐to‐valley current ratio (PVCR) of 8 and a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 30 mV at 300 K, the best performance among RTDs based on annealed nanocrystals. The Si QD RTD is first achieved with PVCRs up to 47 and FWHMs as small as 10 mV at room temperature, confirming theoretically expected excellences of 3D carrier confinements. The high performances are partially due to the smooth profile of nc‐Ge layer and the uniform distribution of Si QDs, which reduce the adverse influences of many‐body effects. More importantly, carrier decoherence is avoided in the 0.7 nm a‐Al₂O₃ barriers thinner than the phase coherence length (≈1.5 nm). Ultrathin a‐Al₂O₃ also passivates well materials and suppresses leakage currents. Additionally, the interfacial bandgap of ultrathin a‐Al₂O₃ is found to be similar to the bulk, forming deep potential wells to sharpen transmission curves. This work can be easily extended to other materials, which may enable resonant tunneling in various nanosystems for diverse purposes.     

Self Organising Maps for variable selection: Application to human saliva analysed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to investigate the effect of an oral healthcare product

SOMs (Self Organising Maps) are derived from the machine learning literature and serve as a valuable method for representing data. In this paper, the use of SOMs as a technique for determining the most significant variables (or markers) in a dataset is described. The method is applied to the NMR spectra of 96 human saliva samples, half of which have been treated with an oral rinse formulation and half of which are controls, and 49 variables consisting of bucketed intensities. In addition, three simulations, two of which consist of the same number of samples and variables as the experimental dataset and a third that contains a much larger number of variables, are described. Two of the simulations contain known discriminatory variables, and the remaining is treated as a null dataset without any specific discriminatory variables added. The described SOM method is contrasted to Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis, and a list of the markers determined to be most significant using both approaches was obtained and the differences arising are discussed. A SOM Discrimination Index (SOMDI) is defined, whose magnitude relates to how strongly a variable is considered to be a discriminator. In order to ensure that the model is stable and not dependent on the random starting point of the SOM, one hundred iterations were performed and variables that were consistently of high rank were selected. A variety of approaches for data representation are illustrated, and the main theoretical principles of employing SOMs for determining which variables are most significant are outlined. Software used in this paper was written in-house, allowing greater flexibility over existing packages, and tailored for the specific application in hand.     

Getting off on the right foot: Subjective value versus economic value in predicting longitudinal job outcomes from job offer negotiations.

Although negotiation experiences can affect a negotiator's ensuing attitudes and behavior, little is known about their long-term consequences. Using a longitudinal survey design, the authors tested the degree to which economic and subjective value achieved in job offer negotiations predicts employees' subsequent job attitudes and intentions concerning turnover. Results indicate that subjective value predicts greater compensation satisfaction and job satisfaction and lower turnover intention measured 1 year later. Surprisingly, the economic outcomes that negotiators achieved had no apparent effects on these factors. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why do dominant personalities attain influence in face-to-face groups? The competence-signaling effects of trait dominance.

Individuals high in the personality trait dominance consistently attain high levels of influence in groups. Why they do is unclear, however, because most group theories assert that people cannot attain influence simply by behaving assertively and forcefully; rather, they need to possess superior task abilities and leadership skills. In the present research, the authors proposed that individuals high in trait dominance attain influence because they behave in ways that make them appear competent--even when they actually lack competence. Two studies examined task groups using a social relations analysis of peer perceptions (D. A. Kenny & L. LaVoie, 1984). The authors found that individuals higher in trait dominance were rated as more competent by fellow group members, outside peer observers, and research staff members, even after controlling for individuals' actual abilities. Furthermore, frequency counts of discrete behaviors showed that dominance predicts the enactment of competence-signaling behaviors, which in turn predicts peer ratings of competence. These findings extend researchers' understanding of trait dominance, hierarchies in groups, and perceptions of competence and abilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Housing Equity Withdrawal in Australia: Prevalence,Patterns and Motivations in Mid-to-late Life

In an era of population ageing, the primary home is increasingly viewed as a personal resource that can perform a pension role in retirement. This article assesses the extent to which Australians aged 45 years and over withdraw housing equity through in situ mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW), downsizing and selling up. We find that the incidence of housing equity withdrawal has increased over the last decade despite a global financial crisis. MEW is the dominant form of equity release among those under pension age, while downsizing or selling up is more frequent among those above pension age. Downsizing and selling up are more likely to be prompted by adverse life events than MEW. Selling up is typically an option of last resort. Our findings offer insights into important debates around homeownership societies and the welfare role performed by owner-occupied housing in mid-to-late life.     

Wheat-Legume Composite Flour Quality

Wheat-legume composite flours were produced by blending Canada Western Extra Strong (CWES) and Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat with varying amounts of three legume proteins. Legume protein addition produced breads with lower specific loaf volume, coarser crumb and firmer texture, and cooked white-salted noodles with greater compression stress and less cutting stress than the wheat controls. The CWES wheat compensated for the negative baking effects of the legume proteins as much as the CWRS wheat. End-use quality did not change at 2% soybean protein addition. Yellow pea protein produced the greatest quality changes, followed by chickpea and soybean protein.     

Numerical modelling of a bromide-polysulphide redox flow battery. Part 2: Evaluation of a utility-scale system

Numerical modelling of redox flow battery (RFB) systems allows the technical and commercial performance of different designs to be predicted without costly lab, pilot and full-scale testing. A numerical model of a redox flow battery was used in conjunction with a simple cost model incorporating capital and operating costs to predict the technical and commercial performance of a 120 MWh/15 MW utility-scale polysulphide-bromine (PSB) storage plant for arbitrage applications. Based on 2006 prices, the system was predicted to make a net loss of 0.45 p kWh⁻¹ at an optimum current density of 500 A m⁻² and an energy efficiency of 64%. The system was predicted to become economic for arbitrage (assuming no further costs were incurred) if the rate constants of both electrolytes could be increased to 10⁻⁵ m s⁻¹, for example by using a suitable (low cost) electrocatalyst. The economic viability was found to be strongly sensitive to the costs of the electrochemical cells and the electrical energy price differential.