Showing papers by "Manchester Metropolitan University published in 2006"

Sentence similarity based on semantic nets and corpus statistics

Abstract: Sentence similarity measures play an increasingly important role in text-related research and applications in areas such as text mining, Web page retrieval, and dialogue systems. Existing methods for computing sentence similarity have been adopted from approaches used for long text documents. These methods process sentences in a very high-dimensional space and are consequently inefficient, require human input, and are not adaptable to some application domains. This paper focuses directly on computing the similarity between very short texts of sentence length. It presents an algorithm that takes account of semantic information and word order information implied in the sentences. The semantic similarity of two sentences is calculated using information from a structured lexical database and from corpus statistics. The use of a lexical database enables our method to model human common sense knowledge and the incorporation of corpus statistics allows our method to be adaptable to different domains. The proposed method can be used in a variety of applications that involve text knowledge representation and discovery. Experiments on two sets of selected sentence pairs demonstrate that the proposed method provides a similarity measure that shows a significant correlation to human intuition

Fast fashioning the supply chain: shaping the research agenda

Abstract: Purpose – The phenomenon of fast fashion is under‐researched academically, yet has received attention in most of the fashion and business press. Therefore, as it would seem timely, this article aims to present the findings of some exploratory research.Design/methodology/approach – The concept of agile supply chains or supply chain theory is explored with reference to fast fashion requirements. The research was carried out using in‐depth interviews of key informants in the fashion industry.Findings – The major findings of this exploratory research demonstrate a developmental process occurring in supply chain management when fast fashion comes into the equation. This research provides additional complexity on the existing model of supply chain management for the fashion industry.Research limitations/implications – This paper presents a research agenda for future exploration. There are implications for theoretical perspectives of supply chain management as well as retail operations.Originality/value – This p...

Calf muscle-tendon properties and postural balance in old age

Abstract: We tested the hypothesis that compromised postural balance in older subjects is associated with changes in calf muscle-tendon physiological and mechanical properties. Trial duration and center of p...

Metabolic cost, mechanical work, and efficiency during walking in young and older men

Abstract: AIM: To investigate mechanical work, efficiency, and antagonist muscle co-activation with a view to better understand the cause of the elevated metabolic cost of walking (C(W)) in older adults. METHODS: Metabolic, mechanical and electromyographic measurements were made as healthy young (YOU; n = 12, age = 27 +/- 3 years) and older (OLD; n = 20, age = 74 +/- 3 years) men of equivalent body mass and leg length walked on a treadmill at four speeds (ranging from 0.83 to 1.67 m s(-1)). RESULTS: Net (above resting) C(W), determined by indirect calorimetry was 31% higher (average across speeds) in OLD (P < 0.05). The integrity of the passive pendulum like interchange of mechanical energies of the centre of mass (COM(B)), an energy-saving mechanism, was maintained in OLD. Furthermore, total mechanical work, determined from fluctuations in mechanical energy of COM(B) and of body segments relative to COM(B), was not significantly elevated in OLD. This resulted in a lower efficiency in OLD (-17%, P < 0.05). Co-activation, temporally quantified from electromyography recordings, was 31% higher in OLD for antagonist muscles of the thigh (P < 0.05). Thigh co-activation was moderately correlated with C(W) at three speeds (r = 0.38-0.52, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Healthy septuagenarians with no gait impairment have an elevated C(W) which is not explained by an elevation in whole body mechanical work. Increased antagonist muscle co-activation (possibly an adaptation to ensure adequate joint stability) may offer partial explanation of the elevated C(W).

Low sea level rise projections from mountain glaciers and icecaps under global warming

Abstract: The mean sea level has been projected to rise in the 21st century as a result of global warming. Such projections of sea level change depend on estimated future greenhouse emissions and on differing models, but model-average results from a mid-range scenario (A1B) suggests a 0.387-m rise by 2100 (refs 1, 2). The largest contributions to sea level rise are estimated to come from thermal expansion (0.288 m) and the melting of mountain glaciers and icecaps (0.106 m), with smaller inputs from Greenland (0.024 m) and Antarctica (- 0.074 m). Here we apply a melt model and a geometric volume model to our lower estimate of ice volume and assess the contribution of glaciers to sea level rise, excluding those in Greenland and Antarctica. We provide the first separate assessment of melt contributions from mountain glaciers and icecaps, as well as an improved treatment of volume shrinkage. We find that icecaps melt more slowly than mountain glaciers, whose area declines rapidly in the 21st century, making glaciers a limiting source for ice melt. Using two climate models, we project sea level rise due to melting of mountain glaciers and icecaps to be 0.046 and 0.051 m by 2100, about half that of previous projections.

Evaluating qualitative management research: Towards a contingent criteriology

Abstract: The term qualitative management research embraces an array of non-statistical research practices. Here it is argued that this diversity is an outcome of competing philosophical assumptions which produce distinctive research perspectives and legitimate the appropriation of different sets of evaluation criteria. Some confusion can arise when evaluation criteria constituted by particular philosophical conventions are universally applied to this heterogeneous management field. In order to avoid such misappropriation, this paper presents a first step towards a contingent criteriology located in a metatheoretical analysis of three modes of qualitative management research which are compared with the positivist mainstream to elaborate different forms of evaluation. It is argued that once armed with criteria that vary accordingly, evaluation can reflexively focus upon the extent to which any management research consistently embraces the particular methodological principles that are sanctioned by its a priori philosophical commitments.

Learning to labour with feeling: class, gender and emotion in childcare education and training

Abstract: There is debate among early years experts about the appropriate degree of emotional engagement between nursery nurses and the children in their care. Through research into the learning cultures of further education (in the Economic and Social Research Council’s Teaching and Learning Research Programme), the author considers how prospective nursery nurses first learn to deploy emotion in their work. Few researchers have investigated the learning of feelings for caring occupations, and this article presents a detailed case study, based on both quantitative and qualitative data, of a group of childcare students throughout their two-year course. In analysing its official, unwritten, and hidden curricula, and the social practices of learning it entails, the author draws on feminist readings of Marx and Bourdieu to reveal how gendered and class-fractional positionings combine with vocational education and training to construct imperatives about ‘correct’ emotions in childcare. The author compares theorisations of emotional capital and emotional labour, and suggests we need social rather than individualised understandings of how feelings are put to work. The author concludes that emotional labour carries costs for the nursery nurse, not because children consume her emotional resources, but because her emotional labour power is controlled and exploited for profit by employers.

Perception and modification of plant flavonoid signals by rhizosphere microorganisms

Abstract: Flavonoids are a diverse class of polyphenolic compounds that are produced as a result of plant secondary metabolism. They are known to play a multifunctional role in rhizospheric plant-microbe and plant-plant communication. Most familiar is their function as a signal in initiation of the legume-rhizobia symbiosis, but, flavonoids may also be signals in the establishment of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and are known agents in plant defence and in allelopathic interactions. Flavonoid perception by, and impact on, their microbial targets (e.g. rhizobia, plant pathogens) is relatively well characterized. However, potential impacts on 'non-target' rhizosphere inhabitants ('non-target' is used to distinguish those microorganisms not conventionally known as targets) have not been thoroughly investigated. Thus, this review first summarizes the conventional roles of flavonoids as nod gene inducers, phytoalexins and allelochemicals before exploring questions concerning 'non-target' impacts. We hypothesize that flavonoids act to shape rhizosphere microbial community structure because they represent a potential source of carbon and toxicity and that they impact on rhizosphere function, for example, by accelerating the biodegradation of xenobiotics. We also examine the reverse question, 'how do rhizosphere microbial communities impact on flavonoid signals?' The presence of microorganisms undoubtedly influences the quality and quantity of flavonoids present in the rhizosphere, both through modification of root exudation patterns and microbial catabolism of exudates. Microbial alteration and attenuation of flavonoid signals may have ecological consequences for below-ground plant-microbe and plant-plant interaction. We have a lack of knowledge concerning the composition, concentration and bioavailability of flavonoids actually experienced by microbes in an intact rhizosphere, but this may be addressed through advances in microspectroscopic and biosensor techniques. Through the use of plant mutants defective in flavonoid biosynthesis, we may also start to address the question of the significance of flavonoids in shaping rhizosphere community structure and function.

Loss of forb diversity in relation to nitrogen deposition in the UK: regional trends and potential controls

Abstract: In this study we investigate the impact of nitrogen (N) deposition on the diversity of three different vegetation functional groups – forbs, grasses and mosses – using a field survey of acid grasslands across Great Britain. Our aim is to identify the vegetation types that are most vulnerable to enhanced N deposition, and to shed light on the mechanisms that may be driving N-initiated species changes in the UK. Sixty-eight randomly selected grasslands belonging to the UK National Vegetation Classification group U4 (Festuca ovina–Agrostis capillaris–Galium saxatile grassland) were studied along a gradient of atmospheric N deposition ranging from 6 to 36 kg N ha−1 yr−1. At each site, vegetation was surveyed and samples were taken from the topsoil and subsoil. Aboveground plant material was collected from three species: a forb, grass and moss. Both the species richness and cover of forbs declined strongly with increasing N deposition, from greater than eight species/20% cover per m2 quadrat at low levels of N to fewer than two species/5% cover at the highest N deposition levels. Grasses showed a weak but significant decline in species richness, and a trend toward increasing cover with increasing N input. Mosses showed no trends in either species richness or cover. Most of the decline in plant species richness could be accounted for by the level of ammonium deposition. Soil KCl-extractable ammonium concentration showed a significant positive correlation with N input, but there was no relationship between N deposition and extractable nitrate. In the soil O/A horizon, there was no relationship between N deposition and %N, and only a very weak positive relationship between the level of N deposition and the C : N ratio. Finally, in the vegetation, there was no relationship between N deposition and either shoot tissue N concentration or N : P ratio for any of the three reference species. Combining our regional survey with the results of published N-addition experiments provides compelling evidence that there has been a significant decline in the species richness and cover of forbs across Great Britain, and that the primary cause is competition due to an increase in the cover of grasses in response to enhanced deposition of reactive N, primarily NH4+.

Conceptualizing the learning process in SMEs: improving innovation through external orientation

Abstract: Most attempts to model the process of organizational learning (OL) are based on large organizations. This article represents an attempt to better understand the unique learning processes in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Such firms are generally limited in both their managerial capabilities and mechanisms for accessing knowledge from external sources. Data were obtained as part of an ongoing Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) project concerned with the evolution of business knowledge in small firms operating in the North West of England. A conceptual framework was developed and used as the basis for analysing data obtained from interviews with 26 owner-managers. Our findings indicate two distinct groups, which we term innovative and stable firms. Owner-managers in ‘stable’ firms were inward facing, and learning was generally experiential and concentrated on single individuals or small groups. In contrast, owner-managers in innovative firms were outward facing and encouraged the development of ‘deeper and wider’ learning.

Polyamory and its ‘Others’: Contesting the Terms of Non-Monogamy:

Abstract: Drawing on qualitative in-depth interviews with bisexual-identified practitioners of polyamory in the UK, this article shows that love, intimacy and friendship are salient themes in polyamory disco...

UK Generation Y male fashion consciousness

Abstract: Purpose – As social theorists propose that there has been an intensification of social and commercial pressures on men to become fashion consumers, this paper sets out to examine the proposition by investigating fashion consciousness of Generation Y male consumers.Design/methodology/approach – Data were gathered from a survey of 346 male respondents aged between 18‐25 who completed a fashion consciousness questionnaire, which was then factor‐analysed.Findings – Relatively high levels of fashion consciousness were found, but not necessarily fashion adoption. Factor analysis showed that men view fashion in highly simplistic terms and there is still a strong “anti‐fashion” dimension to the average young male consumer.Research limitations/implications – Drawing on the fields of psychology and sociology, it is argued that “anti‐fashion” fashion consumption creates the distinction necessary for men to create a defensible masculine practice.Practical implications – The “anti‐fashion” motivation is of interest to...

Coordination of active steering, driveline, and braking for integrated vehicle dynamics control

Abstract: An integrated vehicle dynamics control system which aims to improve vehicle handling and stability by coordinating active front steering (AFS) and dynamic stability control (DSC) subsystems is developed in this paper. The DSC subsystem includes driveline-based, brake-based, and driveline plus brake-based DSC subsystems. The influence of varying forward speed and lateral acceleration on the lateral vehicle dynamics is investigated first. The AFS controller, which is used to improve vehicle steerability in the low to mid-range lateral acceleration, and the DSC controller, which manages to maintain vehicle stability during extreme driving situations, are then designed by using the sliding mode control (SMC) technique and phase plane method respectively. Based on the two independently developed controllers, a rule-based integration scheme is proposed to optimize the overall vehicle performance by minimizing interactions between the two subsystems and extending functionalities of individual subsystems. Computer simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control system and the overall improvements in vehicle handling and stability.

The effect of business advisers on the performance of SMEs

Abstract: Purpose – Following on studies of the reported importance of a range of external advice and a study of the impact of marketing advice on small and medium‐sized enterprise (SME) performance, this study seeks to examine the relationship between business performance (growth) and the nature and degree of a wide range of business advice used by a sample of owner/managers of SMEs in the Manchester City‐region of the UK.Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted with 140 SMEs in the Manchester City region using an administered survey instrument.Findings – The degree of use of a range of external advice was positively related to the growth rate of the SME. In common with most previous research, the most sought‐after advisers were external accountants and network contacts. Academic advice was sought very rarely. This study extends previous research and examine the nature of the advice provided by external accountants, which was found to include business, emergency, and financial management support in ad...

Adaptability of elderly human muscles and tendons to increased loading

Abstract: Senile sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass associated with aging, is one of the main causes of muscle weakness and reduced locomotor ability in old age. Although this condition is mainly driven by neuropathic processes, nutritional, hormonal and immunological factors, as well as a reduction in physical activity, contribute to this phenomenon. Sarcopenia alone, however, does not fully account for the observed muscle weakness, as the loss of force is greater than that accounted for by the decrease in muscle size. As a consequence, a reduction in the force per unit area, both at single fibre and at whole muscle level, is observed. We recently suggested that at whole muscle level, this reduction in intrinsic force is the result of the combined effect of changes in (1) muscle architecture, (2) tendon mechanical properties, (3) neural drive (reduced agonist and increased antagonist muscle activity) and (4) single fibre-specific tension. Whereas several studies support the role of the last two factors in the loss of intrinsic muscle force with aging, alterations in muscle architecture and in tendon mechanical properties have also been shown to contribute to the above phenomenon. Indeed, sarcopenia of the human plantarflexors, represented by a 25% reduction in muscle volume, was found to be associated with a 10% reduction in fibre fascicle length and 13% reduction in pennation angle. These architectural alterations were accompanied by a 10% decrease in tendon stiffness, attributable to alterations in tendon material properties, as suggested by a 14% decrease in Young's modulus. Most of these changes may be reversed by 14 weeks of resistive training; both fibre fascicle length and tendon stiffness were found to be increased by 10 and 64%, respectively. Surprisingly, however, training had no effect on the estimated relative length-tension properties of the muscle, indicating that the effects of greater tendon stiffness and increased fascicle length cancelled out each other. It seems that natural strategies may be in place to ensure that the relative operating range of muscle remains unaltered by changes in physical activity, in old age.

Explaining Men's Entry into Female- Concentrated Occupations: Issues of Masculinity and Social Class

Abstract: This article seeks to add to an understanding of why some men enter female-concentrated occupations (and why the majority do not). Drawing on the results of in-depth interviews with 27 men in a range of occupations, I illustrate and interpret the complex and often contradictory ways in which men approach the notion of working in female-concentrated occupations and examine the impact that this has on their occupational outcomes. The data suggest that different attitudes to female-concentrated work cannot in themselves explain men's presence there. Consequently I explore, with particular reference to social class, the context in which attitudes around gender, work and occupational destinations, are framed. I conclude that men's entry to female-concentrated occupations may best be approached, not as an issue of ‘masculinity’ but as one of social mobility operating within a gendered labour market.

Enchanted Spaces: The Séance, Affect, and Geographies of Religion

Abstract: This article calls for the geographies of religion and belief to attend to the sensuous, vitalistic, and affectual forces through which spaces of the religious, spiritual, and the sacred are performed Not only do we need to recognize and explore these forces themselves, but our analyses of how religious-sacred spaces (re)produce or challenge societal and cultural discourses can also be enhanced if we focus on affect and embodiment Through the case study of nineteenth-century spiritualism and the key space of the seance, these points are exemplified and substantiated Finally, I explore some of the implications of recognizing these sensations for the study of geographies of religion and belief through Bennett's (2001) nonreductionist and nonteleological notion of enchantment

The effect of a complex training and detraining programme on selected strength and power variables in early pubertal boys

Abstract: Complex training, a combination of resistance training and plyometrics is growing in popularity, despite limited support for its efficacy. In pre- and early pubertal children, the study of complex training has been limited, and to our knowledge an examination of its effect on anaerobic performance characteristics of the upper and lower body has not been undertaken. Furthermore, the effect of detraining after complex training requires clarification. The physical characteristics (mean±s) of the 54 male participants in the present study were as follows: age 12.3 ± 0.3 years, height 1.57 ± 0.07 m, body mass 50.3 ± 11.0 kg. Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental (n = 33) or control group (n = 21). The training, which was performed three times a week for 12 weeks, included a combination of dynamic constant external resistance and plyometrics. After training, participants completed 12 weeks of detraining. At baseline, after training and after detraining, peak and mean anaerobic power, dy...

Criminology and Terrorism Which Thesis? Risk Society or Governmentality?

Abstract: Since the events of 11 September 2001, terrorism has been the subject of intense media interest,political dialogue and public scrutiny. Through well publicized discussions about its constitutionand consequences, the ‘new terrorism’ has been open to heavy institutional construction. Yet, crim-inological incursion into the debate about ‘new terrorism’ has so far been relatively limited. Thisarticle seeks to directly address this lacuna by employing two dis tinct theoretical perspectives on riskand demonstrating how each can ai d our understanding of the manufa cture of the terrorist threat.The risk-society thesis pr oposed by Beck is employed to examine the novel fe atures of ‘new terrorism’,including the deployment of hi-tech weaponry, the reproduction of catastrophic effects and thechanging geography of danger. Through the Foucauldian looking glass of governmentality, weinspect the means through which risk is rendered thinkable, the dis cursive construction of terrorismand the intensification of a wider culture of surveillance and control. Our application is governedby two key objectives. First, we wish to critique the ways in which the terrorist threat is being discur-sively and materially shaped by law and order institutions. Secondly, we wish to explore the possib-ility of setting a criminological agenda that is both inclusive of and responsive to current concernsabout the management of ‘new terrorism’. Introduction

Human skeletal muscle structure and function preserved by vibration muscle exercise following 55 days of bed rest.

Abstract: Prolonged immobilization of the human body results in functional impairments and musculoskeletal system deconditioning that may be attenuated by adequate muscle exercise. In a 56-day horizontal bed rest campaign involving voluntary males we investigated the effects of vibration muscle exercise (RVE, 2x6 min daily) on the lower limb skeletal muscles using a newly designed foot plantar trainer (Galileo Space) for use at supine position during bed rest. The maximally voluntary isometric plantar flexion force was maintained following regular RVE bouts during bed rest (controls -18.6 %, P 140 % vs. preBR) suggesting a slow-to-fast muscle phenotype shift. In RVE-trained SOL, however, an overall conserved myofiber I/II pattern was documented. RVE training increased the activity-dependent expression of nitric oxide synthase type 1 immunofluorescence at SOL and VL myofiber membranes. These data provide evidence for the beneficial effects of RVE training on the deconditioned structure and function of the lower limb skeletal muscle. Daily short RVE should be employed as an effective atrophy countermeasure co-protocol preferentially addressing postural calf muscles during prolonged clinical immobilization or long-term human space missions.

Reconsidering National Temporalities Institutional Times, Everyday Routines, Serial Spaces and Synchronicities

Abstract: This article attempts to foreground the importance of everyday life and habit to the reproduction of national identities Taking issue with dominant linear depictions of the time of the nation, which have over-emphasized ‘official’ histories, tradition and heroic narratives, this article foregrounds the everyday rhythms through which a sense of national belonging is sustained The article focuses upon institutionalized schedules, habitual routines, collective synchronicities and serialized time-spaces to develop an argument that quotidian, cyclical time is integral to national identity In conclusion, accounts that discuss the increasing dominance of a postmodern global time are argued to be hyperbolic, since the nation remains a powerful, if more flexible constituent of identity

Poly/logue: A Critical Introduction to Polyamory

Abstract: Polyamory describes a form of relationship where it is possible, valid and worthwhile to maintain (usually long-term) intimate and sexual relationships with multiple partners simultaneously. Nevertheless, debates around polyamory have often suffered from an evasion of power in the ultimate and community contexts within which the concept arose. In this introduction, we trace the political contexts in which polyamory arose, investigate their implicit assumptions from an intersectional, multi-issue perspective, and position ourselves socially and politically as editors of this special issue. We hope to provide a critical introduction to polyamory.