A nano to macroscale study on structure-mechanics relationships of archaeological oak

Mechanical properties of wood at different length scales of its hierarchical structure are governed by structural and compositional properties on smaller length scales. This opens up the possibility to use microstructural data for estimating mechanical properties, which are difficult to assess by conventional, destructive testing but are nevertheless of high relevance for conservation practice. Herein, we investigate such microstructure-mechanics relationships for a particular example, namely the load bearing archaeological oak of the Oseberg Viking ship, displayed at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway. In order to identify the effects of degradation on the mechanical behavior and their relations to the microstructure, recent oak specimens of different geographical origin (Norway and Austria) are investigated as well. Wood exhibits a cellular structure. Its cell walls are composed of an amorphous polymer matrix consisting of lignin and hemicelluloses and embedded, stiff cellulose fibers. At the cell level, experimental studies comprised microscopic investigations of the cellular structure, chemical analyses of the composition of the cell walls, as well as nanoindentation tests on single cell walls. The same samples were also analyzed on the macroscopic level, where additionally mass density and annual ring data were measured together with ultrasonic stiffnesses. The chemical data clearly indicate deterioration in the archaeological oak, affecting mainly hemicelluloses and amorphous cellulose. At the cell wall scale, however, this does not necessarily lead to a weaker material behavior. The nanoindentation modulus, as a measure of the cell wall stiffness, was found to even increase. This is counterintuitive to our understanding of the effects of chemical degradation. It might be due to possible modification of lignin in the Oseberg oak, and thus have a stronger effect on the indentation modulus than the concurrent weakening of the interfaces between the load-carrying cellulose fibers and the connecting cell wall matrix when analyzing wood at the microscopic level. A similar effect is also observed for the transversal stiffness of macroscopic samples, which increases. In tension-dominated loading modes, however, the degradation of the interfaces is the dominant effect, resulting for example in a considerable reduction of the macroscopic stiffness in longitudinal direction. This underlines the utmost relevance of the loading condition on the remaining load-carrying capacity of degraded wood. On the macroscale, effects of the geographical origin (i.e. growth conditions) on ring characteristics of the oak tissues override the effects of degradation on the mechanical behavior. They have to be carefully extracted in order to come up with conclusions on the effect of degradation from macroscopic test results. The identified microstructure-mechanics relationships provide the basis for–in further research steps–building mathematical models describing the relations between microstructural characteristics and macroscopic mechanical properties and, thereon, for structural analyses of historical wooden objects.     

Language Teachers’ Intercultural Identity in the Critical Context of Cultural Globalization and Its Metaphoric Realization

ABSTRACT

This study used questionnaires and interviews to investigate Iranian English language teachers’ intercultural identity and its metaphoric realization in the context of cultural globalization. While questionnaire findings revealed that the majority held first language cultural identity, factor analysis indicated teachers’ preference for American culture as representative of globalized culture. Interview data indicated teachers’ imagined direct exposure to the global village through the media. Metaphoric analysis revealed the conceptualization of local culture as closed home, which was valued by anti-cultural globalization teachers as protection while devalued by pro-cultural globalization teachers as a limitation. These findings have implications for expanding teachers’ intercultural identity.     

Gendered inequalities in competitive grant funding: an overlooked dimension of gendered power relations in academia

ABSTRACT

Research grant funding influences the organisation of academic work and academic careers. We problematise general approaches to gender bias in research grant funding and argue that it fails to include the wider structures of inequality and the unequal gendered power relations in academia. Approaching the subject with gender budgeting we challenge assumed gender-neutral practices. The objective is to illuminate how the gendered funding system and (the previous and subsequent) gendered structures of academia are maintained. The whole grants scheme is assessed, drawing on statistical data collected on the whole population of a medium-size, comprehensive research and educational institution in Iceland, and two types of competitive grants. The data is measured against the pool of applicants and comparisons within and between fields and ranks are made. By including the structures of inequality and the gendered power relations, the results show how the funding system is biased not only in favour of men, but towards the male-dominated and culturally masculine positions and fields. This approach illustrates the need to address the whole academic system in order to challenge the norms that maintain and reproduce gender inequalities.     

Understanding the information and resource needs of UK health and social care placement students

Background: Students on health and social care degree programmes spend 50% of their time on practice placements. Because of the diversity of settings and the need to evidence their work, it is vital to understand the information and resource needs of placement students. Objectives: The aim of this investigation was to understand the needs of placement students in terms of accessing resources whilst they are in the field in order to inform a guide to meet these needs. Methods: Focus groups were conducted with students on midwifery, social work and post‐registration health professions degree programmes on three different sites across the region. Data were analysed using Thematic Content Analysis. Results: Three themes emerged from the data: inequality, user education needs and students’ solutions and strategies. Conclusions: It is essential to speak to placement students in order to understand their needs in terms of accessing and using library resources. The timing and content of information skills training is key to meeting student needs while on placement.     

The long tail: a usage analysis of pre-1993 print biomedical journal literature

Objective: The research analyzes usage of a major biomedical library''s pre-1993 print journal collection.Methodology: In July 2003, in preparation for a renovation and expansion project, the Biomedical Library at the University of California, San Diego, moved all of its pre-1993 journal volumes off-site, with the exception of twenty-two heavily used titles. Patrons wishing to consult one of these stored volumes could request that it be delivered to the library for their use. In the spring of 2006, an analysis was made of these requests.Results: By July of 2006, 79,827 journal volumes published in 1992 or earlier had been requested from storage. The number of requests received declined with age of publication. The usage distribution exhibited a “long tail”: 50% of the 79,827 requests were for journal volumes published before 1986. The availability of electronic access dramatically reduced the chance that corresponding print journal volumes would be requested.Conclusions: The older biomedical print journal literature appears to be of continued value to the biomedical research community. When electronic access was provided to the older literature, demand for older print volumes declined dramatically.

Highlights

• Analysis of requests for stored biomedical journal volumes published prior to 1993 indicates that older biomedical journal literature receives substantial use: during this 3-year study, there were nearly 80,000 requests for journal volumes published in 1992 or earlier, with half the requests for volumes published from 1986–1992 and 40% of the request for volumes published from 1970–1985. These results indicate that retaining older print volumes, or providing easy access to the older literature through electronic journals or other means, will likely be required to meet user information needs.
• Use of older journal volumes varies by title and by user population, and a small number of journal titles were responsible for most of the use.
• Requests for older print biomedical journal titles dropped significantly when electronic access became available.

Implications

• Biomedical libraries should carefully consider implications of eliminating on-site access to older journal literature for users and budgets.
• Removing access to older journal literature may result in higher demand for interlibrary loan and document delivery services.
• Biomedical libraries can safely substitute reliable electronic access to older literature to meet ongoing needs for this information, thereby creating space for other purposes.

     

Educators' Views on the Role of Neuroscience in Education: Findings From a Study of UK and International Perspectives

ABSTRACT— This report summarizes findings from a study of educators' views on the role of the brain in education. Responses were sought using questionnaires ( n = 189), followed by a smaller number of in-depth interviews ( n = 11). Results show a high level of enthusiasm for attempts to interrelate neuroscience and education, although conceptualizations about what this entails differ widely. Findings suggest that communication with practitioners may become a key factor influencing the success of attempts to enrich classroom practice with scientific understanding about the brain and mind.     

Cats,Comics, and Knausgård: Promoting Student Reading at a U.K. Academic Library with a Leisure Reading Collection

This case study describes the creation of a leisure reading collection in the Clifford Whitworth library at the University of Salford. It briefly surveys existing literature on leisure reading collections and looks at the growing interest among U.K. academic libraries in recreational reading. It considers the reasons for promoting reading as a leisure activity to students and describes the processes of selecting, purchasing, and marketing the collection at Salford. It also considers possible future developments for the collection and the evaluation of the library's attempts to encourage a culture of reading among Salford students. The positive response to the collection suggests the development of leisure reading is a worthwhile activity for academic libraries to focus on and the study contains useful information for others who are interested in creating a similar collection.     

Reimagining the Wheel: Using Circular Calendars for Planning in Law School Libraries

This essay proposes using a wheel or circular calendar to identify and document the events and projects of an academic law school year, both in and out of the classroom. The idea of harnessing the natural cyclical process of law school for library planning comes from concept mapping, which can conceptualize an issue by using a variety of mapping strategies to organize and show the relationships between pieces of information and a central concept. Using a wheel graphic to visualize a process can facilitate project management and aid in teaching legal research strategy.     

Sex-role stereotyping by high school females in science

Although the participation by females in upper-level occupations and positions has expanded considerably in recent years, science is still considered a masculine career field. The results of this study show that only the physical sciences in particular (not science in general) are clearly viewed as masculine academic areas. Furthermore, the results suggest that the perception by girls of the physical sciences as masculine is much more likely to occur in coed classes than in all-female classes. The results can best be explained by two factors: (1) the attitudes conveyed by teachers and by society may predispose students toward a greater acceptance of women in biology than in the physical sciences; and (2) when girls perceive themselves as a deviant minority in physical science classes, their performance and preference for the physical sciences is reduced, perhaps because of competition and comparison with males. In all-female classes, however, girls are not a deviant minority, and therefore they are able to perform and develop preferences without inhibition.