University of Westminster

About: University of Westminster is a education organization based out in London, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Politics. The organization has 2944 authors who have published 8426 publications receiving 200236 citations. The organization is also known as: Westminster University & Royal Polytechnic Institution.

Acute mood responses to maximal and submaximal exercise in active and inactive men

Abstract: 36 competitive sportsmen and 36 inactive men carried out a maximal exercise test to volitional exhaustion on abicycle ergometer. In a second session, they were randomised to 20 minutes exercise at a high intensity of 70% maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max), a moderate intensity of 50% of VO2 max or a light exercise control, with 12 sportsmen and 12 inactive men in each condition. Mood was assessed with ratings of tension-anxiety, mental vigour and exhilaration. Sportsmen but not inactive men showed a decrease in tension-anxiety across the maximal exercise test, while exhilaration increased in both groups. Increases in mental vigour and exhilaration were recorded two minutes after exercise at 70% and 50% VO2 max, and these responses were significantly greater than those in the control condition. In the case of exhilaration, effects were maintained after 30 minutes post-exercise recovery. The sportsmen and inactive men did not differ in these responses, nor were there differences between the two e...

What is the value of intellectual capital

Abstract: What are the best sources from which to draw evidence about intellectual capital (IC) and its value to organisations? This paper attempts to answer this question looking first to the literature for approaches to valuing intellectual capital, but finding that many methods have limitations. From reviewing the literature, the researchers turned to knowledge management practitioners in an attempt to reveal how organisations value their intellectual capital in practice and found that for the most part (in the organisations studied) that they did not. Drawing on the evidence from interviews with practitioners the paper highlights a gap between the IC accounting models elaborated in the literature and operational practices. The paper concludes that there is an absence of linking mechanisms between knowledge management and intellectual capital and that this may be located in the differences between valuing and measuring and the importance of these two processes to the discrete constituencies involved.

Values in Middle Childhood: Social and Genetic Contributions

Abstract: Theories of value development often identify adolescence as the period for value formation, and cultural and familial factors as the sources for value priorities. However, recent research suggests that value priorities can be observed as early as in middle childhood, and several studies, including one on preadolescents (Knafo & Spinath, 2011), have suggested a genetic contribution to individual differences in values. In the current study, 174 pairs of monozygotic and dizygotic 7-year old Israeli twins completed the Picture-Based Value Survey for Children (PBVS–C; Doring et al., 2010). We replicated basic patterns of relations between value priorities and variables of socialisation – gender, religiosity, and socioeconomic status– that have been found in studies with adults. Most important, values of Self-transcendence, Self-enhancement, and Conservation, were found to be significantly affected by genetic factors (29%, 47% and 31% respectively), as well as non-shared environment (71%, 53% and 69% respectively). Openness to change values, in contrast, were found to be unaffected by genetic factors at this age and were influenced by shared (19%) and non-shared (81%) environment. These findings support the recent view that values are formed at earlier ages than had been assumed previously, and they further our understanding of the genetic and environmental factors involved in value formation at young ages.

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) production by Bacillus cereus SPV using sugarcane molasses as the main carbon source.

Abstract: The main hindrance in the use of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) as a replacement for existing petroleum-based plastics is their high production cost. The carbon source accounts for 50% of the cost for PHA production. Thus, increasing the yield and productivity of PHAs on cheap substrates is an important challenge for biotechnologists to support the commercialization and further applications of these polymers. In this study, we have investigated the use of an agricultural raw material, sugarcane molasses, as the main carbon source for poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB)) production by Bacillus cereus SPV. These studies were carried out in both shaken flasks and 2 L bioreactors. Various conditions were evaluated for their effects on biomass and P(3HB) accumulation. A high polymer yield was obtained, 61.07% dry cell weight (DCW) in a 1 L shaken flask study and 51.37% DCW in a 2 L fermenter study. These yields are 50% higher than previously observed with Bacillus cereus SPV. Hence, the results are encouraging and show that sugarcane molasses are a promising carbon source for an economical and commercially viable production of P(3HB).

Regional labour market conditions and university dropout rates: evidence from Italy

Abstract: Di Pietro G. (2006) Regional labour market conditions and university dropout rates: evidence from Italy, Regional Studies 40, 617–630. The paper assesses the impact of regional labour market conditions on university dropout rates in Italy using panel data and cross-sectional estimation techniques. The empirical results obtained from both these methods support the hypothesis of a negative relationship between regional unemployment rates and university dropout rates. Additionally, both analyses underscore the importance of controlling for unobservable regional characteristics and suggest that the results of studies without such controls should be interpreted cautiously. Di Pietro G. (2006) Les conditions des marches du travail regionaux et le nombre d'etudiants qui abandonnent leurs etudes: des preuves italiennes, Regional Studies 40, 617–630. A partir de donnees de panal et de donnees en coupes transversales, cet article cherche a evaluer l'impact des conditions des marches du travail regionaux sur le nomb...