Reclaiming respectability? The class-cultural dynamics of crime, community and governance in inner-city Dublin

This paper critically examines developments in Irish urban governance through an ethnographic account of one community's historical memory and contemporary structure. During an era of rapid economic growth, the Irish state has courted previously excluded communities, offering them greater inclusion as partners in responding to urban decay and crime. The micro-governance structures this creates, however, become sites of contest between competing community factions and class-cultural imperatives. Tensions emerge between aspirational community leaders championing the aesthetics (if not the values) of respectability and residual residents who are presented as rough. The paper demonstrates that nuances of class-cultural identity dictate the character of partnership governance at the community level with particular implications for local regeneration and crime control agendas.     

Sampling lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations.

Sampling has been the single most influential component of conducting research with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) populations. Poor sampling designs can result in biased results that will mislead other researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. Investigators wishing to study LGB populations must therefore devote significant energy and resources to choosing a sampling approach and executing the sampling plan. The authors describe probability and nonprobability sampling methods used in LGB populations and critically discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the sampling methods they review. The authors conclude that no single sampling methodology is correct or incorrect for use in LGB populations; rather, researchers must evaluate advantages and disadvantages of each sampling methodology in the context of the specific research question and the research design. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Solid State Electrochemistry

We review solid state electrochemistry, material properties, and electrochemical cells. Topics discussed are point defects, solid electrolytes, mixed ionic electronic conductors, examples of solid electrochemical cells, and electrochemical reactions. Experimental methods for characterizing the electrical properties of materials and cells are discussed, as well as typical application of solid state electrochemical systems. A brief comparison with liquid ionic conductors and electrochemical cells is presented.     

A fast triangle to triangle intersection test for collision detection

The triangle‐to‐triangle intersection test is a basic component of all collision detection data structures and algorithms. This paper presents a fast method for testing whether two triangles embedded in three dimensions intersect. Our technique solves the basic sets of linear equations associated with the problem and exploits the strong relations between these sets to speed up their solution. Moreover, unlike previous techniques, with very little additional cost, the exact intersection coordinates can be determined. Finally, our technique uses general principles that can be applied to similar problems such as rectangle‐to‐rectangle intersection tests, and generally to problems where several equation sets are strongly related. We show that our algorithm saves about 20% of the mathematical operations used by the best previous triangle‐to‐triangle intersection algorithm. Our experiments also show that it runs 18.9% faster than the fastest previous algorithm on average for typical scenarios of collision detection (on Pentium 4). Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

贝丝哈罗契姆康复中心

正贝丝哈罗契姆康复中心坐落于贝尔谢巴市郊区,处于城市与荒漠(内格夫沙漠)的交界地带。这里是残疾退伍军人及其家属的安居所。沙漠的炽阳和景观是设计的灵感来源,建筑最终呈现出岩石般堆砌的形式,形成一个私密的保护空间。     

The National Disability Insurance Scheme in an Urban Context: Opportunities and Challenges for Australian Cities

The NDIS will directly affect the lives of close to half a million people with a disability as well as significantly wider impacts on Australian cities. This review paper examines the urban policy and practice context for the NDIS, focusing specifically on housing, employment, governance, mainstream services (particularly health and education) and multiculturalism. Although the current Australian urban condition is hardly ideal for the implementation of such an ambitious scheme, the funding provided by the NDIS, coupled with appropriate adjustments to mainstream urban policy, can make important contributions to the social, cultural and economic thriving of Australian cities.     

Floods should not mean disasters

More than £1 billion of public funding has been spent by the Arts Council of England (ACE) Lottery Fund on capital projects for the Arts. Many of these projects were completed late and over budget. Results from the incremental cross-case analysis of five contemporary Capital Arts projects are discussed to explore the potential for a more reliable delivery of Arts clients' ‘visions’. The findings revealed continuous conflict arising out of the application of strictly linear project management, reinforced by the sequencing of funders' awards to match the industry's custom and practice work stages. Contemporary ‘re-engineered construction’ presents value engineering as an important tool for managing financial out-turn. The impact of ‘traditional’ value engineering on the design and delivery of the case study ‘visions’ is investigated. Stakeholders' behaviours in managing value are compared with the industry's idealized models of cost control and client behaviour. The conclusions drawn indicate the necessity for dynamic management, enabling more creative iteration later in the process to balance the various stakeholders' visions, budget and time requirements. It is suggested that much more guidance is required for clients negotiating the post-feasibility stages of their capital projects to achieve this balance, and that this could take the form of a common evidence base of revelatory case studies to which this paper might contribute.

Le Fonds de la loterie du Conseil des arts d'Angleterre (ACE) a financé à hauteur de plus d'un milliard de livres sterling des projets d'investissement en faveur des arts. Bon nombre de ces projets ont été achevés avec des retards et des dépassements budgétaires. Cet article est consacré à l'examen des résultats de l'analyse croisée progressive de cinq projets d'investissement en faveur de l'art contemporain; l'objectif est d'explorer les possibilités d'une concrétisation plus viable des visions artistiques des clients. Les résultats ont fait apparaître un conflit permanent né de l'application de la gestion de projets strictement linéaire, renforcée par la séquence d'attribution des bailleurs de fonds désireux de s'adapter aux habitudes et pratiques de l'industrie. La « construction réaménagée » contemporaine présente une ingénierie de la valeur comme un outil important de gestion des résultats financiers. Les incidences de l'ingénierie de la valeur traditionnelle sur le concept et la concrétisation des visions issues d'études de cas sont analysées. Les comportements des intervenants dans la gestion de la valeur sont comparés aux modèles théoriques de l'industrie en matière de contrôle des coûts et de comportement de la clientèle. Les conclusions qui en sont tirées font ressortir la nécessité d'une gestion dynamique, permettant de procéder ultérieurement dans le processus à des itérations créatives afin d'équilibrer les visions des différents intervenants ainsi que leurs exigences en matière de budget et de calendrier. L'auteur recommande de mieux guider les clients dans leurs négociations des étapes de post-faisabilité de leurs projets d'investissement pour parvenir à cet équilibre. Cela pourrait prendre la forme d'une base de commune de preuves de cas d'étude révélateurs à laquelle cette communication pourrait contribuer.

Mots clés: Projets d'investissement, orientation des clients, conception, arts du spectacle, bâtiments, politiques d'approvisionnement, gestion de projets, théâtre, ingénierie de la valeur, gestion de la valeur     

Removal of dissolved organic matter by granular-activated carbon adsorption as a pretreatment to reverse osmosis of membrane bioreactor effluents

The adsorption of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on granular-activated carbon (GAC) as a pretreatment to reverse osmosis (RO) desalination of membrane bioreactor (MBR) effluents was studied in lab- and pilot-scale columns. The pattern and efficiency of DOM adsorption and fate of the hydrophobic (HPO), transphilic (TPI) and hydrophilic (HPI) fractions were characterized, as well as their impact on organic fouling of the RO membranes. Relatively low DOM adsorption capacity and low intensity of adsorption were observed in batch studies. Continuous adsorption experiments performed within a range of hydraulic velocities of 0.9-12m/h depicted permissible values within the mass transfer zone up to 1.6m/h. The breakthrough curves within this range displayed a non-adsorbable fraction of 24+/-6% and a biodegradable fraction of 49+/-12%. Interestingly, the adsorbable fraction remained almost constant ( approximately 30%) in the entire hydraulic range studied. Comparative analysis by HPO interaction chromatography showed a steady removal (63-66%) of the HPO fraction. SUVA index and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra indicated that DOM changes during the adsorption phase were mainly due to elution of the more HPI components. GAC pretreatment in pilot-scale columns resulted in 80-90% DOM removal from MBR effluents, which in turn stabilized membrane permeability and increased permeate quality. FTIR analysis indicated that the residual DOM present in the RO permeate, regardless of the pretreatment, was mainly of HPI character (e.g., low-molecular-weight humics linked to polysaccharides and proteins). The DOM removed by GAC pretreatment is composed mainly of HPO and biodegradable components, which constitutes the fraction primarily causing organic fouling.