Coventry University

About: Coventry University is a education organization based out in Coventry, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Context (language use) & Population. The organization has 4964 authors who have published 12700 publications receiving 255898 citations. The organization is also known as: Lanchester Polytechnic & Coventry Polytechnic.

The construction labour market skills crisis: the perspective of small–medium‐sized firms

Abstract: Reports abound of the detrimental effect of the construction skills crisis on the performance and future development of the UK construction industry. The industry's continued growth in output, coupled with its unpopularity as a career choice, has led to extreme pressure on its labour market capacity. There remains, however, a paucity of empirical research into the nature of its highly complex labour market. In particular, very little attention has been paid to the impacts being felt by the smaller firms who account for the vast majority of the industry's economic output and employment. This paper reports on research that has explored the perspectives of smaller employers with respect to the skills crisis. Using an inductive methodology, this research canvassed the opinions of representatives of small‐ and medium‐sized (SME) firms in order to establish the impact of skills shortages on the operational efficiency of the industry. The paper reveals the complex interplay of factors which have combined to shap...

Composition, antioxidant and chemotherapeutic properties of the essential oils from two Origanum species growing in Pakistan

Abstract: The GC-MS analyses of Origanum majorana L. (OME) and Origanum vulgare L. (OVE), Lamiaceae, essential oils helped identification of 39 (96.4% of the total oils) and 43 (92.9% of the total oils) components, respectively. The major constituents of OME were terpinene-4-ol (20.9%), linalool (15.7%), linalyl-acetate (13.9%), limonene (13.4%) and α-terpineol (8.57%), whereas, thymol (21.6%), carvacrol (18.8%), o-cymene (13.5%) and α-terpineol (8.57%) were the main components of OVE. In the disc diffusion and the resazurin microtitre assays, OME showed better antibacterial activity than OVE with larger zones of inhibition (16.5-27.0 mm) and smaller MIC (40.9-1250.3 μg/mL) against the tested bacterial strains. Only OVE displayed anti-heme biocrystallization activity with an IC50 at 0.04 mg/mL. In the DPPH assay, OVE showed better radical-scavenging activity than OME (IC50=65.5 versus 89.2 μg/mL) and both OME and OVE inhibited lionleic acid oxidation. However, in the bleaching β-carotene assay, OVE exhibited better antioxidant activity than OME. In the MTT assay, OME was more cytotoxic than OVE against different cancer cell types, such as MCF-7, LNCaP and NIH-3T3, with IC50s of 70.0, 85.3 and 300.5 μg/mL, respectively. Overall, some components of OME and OVE may have antiparasitic and chemotherapeutic activity.

Agroecology as an Alternative Vision to Conventional Development and Climate-smart Agriculture

Abstract: After briefly describing the origins and recent history of agroecology, the author critically reflects on what makes agroecology fundamentally different from Climate-smart Agriculture (CSA). This article focuses in particular on the more transformative elements of the agroecology and food sovereignty paradigm to clearly identify overlaps and divergences with CSA and explore its incommensurable values against conventional development frameworks.

What Happens on Tour: The Premarital Stag Tour, Homosocial Bonding, and Male Friendship

Abstract: The article explores the premarital all-male stag tour made by groups of British men to an Eastern European city as a homosocial bonding ritual. Homosocial groups help sustain hegemonic masculinity and play a significant role in establishing accepted forms of masculinity. Male friendships have been characterized as lacking in intimacy and typically channeled through alternative social relations such as competition. The article draws on qualitative data from participant observation with stag tour groups. Although bonding through shared activities and overt expressions of heterosexuality are common to stag tourist behavior, groups were seen as largely noncompetitive. Expressions of intimacy and emotion were frequent and a high value was placed on group cohesion and fostering a sense of togetherness. The performance of a loss of homosocial friendship was apparent and this links to wider social changes in men’s lives. This suggests both the significance of men’s friendships and possible patterns of change.