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Reports the design, fabrication and packaging of a micromachined silicon/Pyrex based chip for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The anodic bonding method is used for sealing the chambers of 1μl volume with a Pyrex glass wafer. Platinum resistors on the back of the wafer are used as heaters and temperature sensors. The chip is externally cooled by forced air to achieve rapid temperature cycling. The transparency of the Pyrex makes it possible for using optical readout methods. The packaging is especially designed for easy handling, filling, power connection, temperature regulation and optical readout. The mass production of such silicon reactors could make single‐shot throwaway devices economically viable.

Substantial government investment has accelerated innovation activity in children’s social care in England over the past decade. Ethical concerns emerge when innovation seems to be propelled by a drive for efficiency and over-reliance on process output indicators, as well as, or even instead of, improving the lives of children, families and societies. No ethical framework exists at present to act as a check on such drivers. This paper reviews the literature with the aim of considering how best to address this gap.

This paper draws on a review of innovation in children’s social care, conducted as part of an Economic and Social Research Council-funded project exploring innovation in services for young people exposed to extra-familial risk and harm.

This study proposes a new conception of “trustworthy innovation” for the sector that holds innovation in children’s social care to the standards and principles of the code of ethics for social work. This study offers an ethical framework, informed by the interdisciplinary school of organisational ethics, to operationalise this extended definition; the analytic framework guides policymakers and the practice sector to question at every stage of the innovation process whether a particular model is ethically appropriate, as well as practically feasible within a specific context. Implications for local decision-making and national policy are set out, alongside questions raised for future research.

This paper is the first to offer an ethical framework for innovation in children's social care. The conception of “trustworthy innovation” offers a guide to policymakers and the practice sector, which they can use to ethically test every stage of the innovation process and make decisions about whether a particular model is ethically appropriate, as well as practically feasible within a specific context.

The purpose of this paper is to examine female leaders' attitudes toward demand-side strategies to close the gender-leadership gap and discuss implications for organizations.

This article describes the process of knowledge co-creation that took place using an engaged scholarship epistemology over 23 interviews with North American women in senior leadership roles.

Five key themes related to women leaders' attitudes toward demand-side strategies are discussed. Some felt uncertain or opposed toward these strategies, whereas others supported them. Support for these strategies was dependent on perceptions of backlash regarding the implementation of these strategies and the participants' career stage. Finally, participants acknowledged that demand-side strategies are insufficient in isolation and require additional organizational supports.

These findings enhance our understanding and provide theoretical refinement of the mechanisms that drive female leaders' reactions to demand-side strategies to close the gender-leadership gap.

Participants advocated for certain practices to be considered when organizations contemplate the adoption of demand-side strategies. Importantly, participants advocated that the implementation of demand-side strategies would be insufficient unless organizations encourage greater dialogue regarding the gender-leadership gap, that top management support more gender inclusive leadership, and that male colleagues act as allies for women in leadership.

This article extends past research and theory by integrating the pragmatic perspectives of successful female leaders with previous empirical evidence to illustrate different reactions to demand-side strategies and ways for organizations to manage those in their efforts to close the gender-leadership gap.

As transferring biological fluid through an artery is nowadays a pivotal subject, the purpose of this paper is to study the mathematical model of hybrid nanofluid flow comprising pure blood as base fluid and TiO₂ and Ag as nanoparticles through the porous channel, which can be an applicable model for drug delivery.

Both walls of the channel have different permeability, which enables the fluid to enter and exit, and variable height, which dilates and squeezes at the uniform rate. By taking advantage of the similarity transformation technique, governing equations have been converted into a system of the non-linear ordinary differential equation. This problem is solved numerically by utilizing BVP4C built-in function in MATLAB software to explore the impacts of pertinent parameters.

The plots of velocity and temperature profile, normal pressure distribution and wall shear stress, as well as Nusselt number for involved parameters, are presented and the logic and physical reasons beyond them are highlighted. It has been observed that the asymmetry of the channel, caused by different permeability at walls, affects the nature of flow significantly.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no one has ever attempted to study the flow through a deformable porous channel with blood as a base fluid and as hybrid nanoparticles to describe medical phenomena and treatment applications. Indeed, the achievements of this paper are purely original and the numerical results were never published by any researcher.

The widespread usage of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) requires their efficient synthesis during combustion process. This study aims to present a mathematical model for the oxidation of MNPs in a counter-flow non-premixed combustion system to produce MNPs, where the key sub-processes during the oxidation reaction are involved.

To accurately describe structure of flame and determine distributions of temperature and mass fractions of both reactants and products, equations of energy and mass conservations were solved based on the prevailing assumptions that three regions, i.e. preheating, reaction and oxidizer zones exist.

The numerical simulation was first validated against experimental data and characteristics of the combustion process are discussed. Eventually, the influences of crucial parameters such as reactant Lewis numbers, strain rate ratio, particle size, inert gas and thermophoretic force on structure of flame and combustion behavior were examined. The results show that maximum flame temperature can achieve 2,205 K. Replacing nitrogen with argon and helium as carrier gases can increase flame temperature by about 27% and 34%, respectively. Additionally, maximum absolute thermophoretic force was found at approximately 9.6 × 10–8 N.

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first time to numerically model the preparation of MNPs in a counter-flow non-premixed combustion configuration, which can guide large-scale experimental work in a more effective way.

Characteristic challenges that define autism spectrum disorder (ASD), coupled with comorbid conditions and poor communication with providers, can lead to inadequate healthcare. The majority of previous work has focused on children. The purpose of this paper is to examine the healthcare experiences of young adults with ASD within the US healthcare system.

An online questionnaire was utilized to examine: the accessibility of healthcare for those with ASD: do they make their own appointments, fill out paperwork independently, go in the examination room on their own; the quality of care they receive: what are their medical needs, how effectively can they communicate their needs, do providers understand their disability; and the outcomes of care: do they understand their recommended care, can they follow healthcare instructions accurately, are they satisfied with the care received. The authors compared responses of those with ASD (n=16) with those of parents of adults with ASD (n=50), as well as a matched comparison group of young adults without ASD (n=42) for statistical differences using the Fisher Exact test. The authors also asked parents about their time costs of assisting their adult children through the healthcare process.

The results suggest that those with ASD overestimated their ability to manage their healthcare needs, felt more positively about the healthcare they received than was warranted, and were significantly less independent in managing their healthcare than their peers. Parents experienced losses and costs in terms of lost productivity, household work, and personal time.

This study furthers the understanding of the healthcare experiences of young adults with ASD which is crucial to dissecting problems which hamper access to quality care.

This research aims to examine the extent to which eruptions and earthquakes are explained using religious terms of reference within Islamic countries, and those where Muslims constitute a significant minority. Is the notion that disasters represent divine punishment so pervasive that the only reaction for the devout believer is passive acceptance of suffering or, alternatively, is the innovation of policies of disaster reduction acceptable theologically?

Information is derived from: bibliographic sources; archives; questionnaires; and interviews.

There is a distinctive theological perception of natural disasters within Islamic thought. Although the inhabitants of Islamic countries may explain earthquake and eruption losses in religious terms, there is little evidence to suggest that this inhibits the introduction of programmes of planned loss reduction. Relief is a generally acceptable response for both aid donors and recipients.

The impact of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes is not as well researched as those occurring in countries with a Christian ethos. Generalizations have had to be made from a more limited set of examples. More detailed research is required both within the countries affected and in the languages used in hazard‐exposed Islamic states (e.g. Arabic, Urdu and Farsi).

Introduction of programmes of hazard reduction is generally possible in Islamic countries, but requires theological justification.

In comparison with the study of earthquake and eruption impacts in countries with a Christian ethos, little has been published on disasters and Islam.

The purpose of this paper was to develop and test a model examining how hotel managers’ psychological diversity climate affects job satisfaction, the moderating effect of racioethnic minority status and the mediating role of organizational justice.

A sample of frontline managers from 164 individual hotel properties was used. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to examine the underlying mechanism through which psychological diversity climate impacts job satisfaction.

The results found support for the mediating effect of organizational justice between managers’ psychological diversity climate and job satisfaction. Racioethnic identity moderated the relationship between psychological diversity climate and organizational justice, thereby supporting the mediated-moderated model proposed in the current research.

The findings show the importance of improving employee perceptions of diversity climate and organizational justice, particularly through recruitment practices, incorporating diversity into the corporate values, adopting formal diversity management practices and educating managers about the importance of diversity through formal training methods.

Little research has examined the underlying mechanisms that explain why psychological diversity climate affects organizational attitudes. Even less research has examined whether the link between a perceived positive diversity climate and job satisfaction is stronger for racioethnic minorities. These results provide meaningful insights for researchers because the hospitality industry is one of the largest employers of racioethnic minorities and immigrant employees.

Scholars who advocate for equity-oriented educational practices have argued that the accountability era in the USA, now in place for two decades, has failed in its intended goal to improve student performance for traditionally marginalized student populations. This study aims to use a sociocultural lens to trace how a century-old conceptualization of reading – that discrete skills comprise comprehension and that multiple-choice questions can measure mastery of those skills – predominates today’s standardized reading tests.

This essay draws on the authors’ collective experiences as literacy educators, school leaders and researchers.

The authors critique two beliefs rooted in Eurocentric thinking borne from a long-held conceptualization of reading – that logical reasoning and the right background knowledge can promote achievement on standardized tests. The authors link the critique to their lived experiences and situate test design features in the broader sociopolitical educational landscape. Then, by presenting examples from an urban public high school, the authors encourage educational leaders to revisit the potential of authentic assessments as complex and meaningful activities that foster the critical thinking necessary for participating in democracy.

Committing to authentic assessments takes the work characteristic of transformative school leadership, especially serving diverse student populations: A clear and ambitious vision that centers social justice and cultural relevance, frequent, shared opportunities for professional growth and shared norms for instructional practice and student growth.

This essay encourages educational leaders, researchers and policymakers to revisit the potential of authentic assessments as tasks that can surpass external measures in informing teachers about how students’ develop their literacy in school.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between diversity management (i.e. diversity-focused human resource (HR) practices related to recruitment and selection, training and development, performance appraisal and compensation) and perceived firm performance, and the mediating effect of procedural justice.

Primary data based on 400 respondents of 162 organizations operating in India were analysed using statistical tools such as factor analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple regression analysis.

Multiple regression analysis indicated that diversity-focused HR practices had a positive association with perceived firm performance. Further, it was found that procedural justice played a partially mediating in the relationship between diversity-focused HR practices and perceived firm performance.

This paper relied on self-report surveys for data collection, and there laid a possibility of common method variance in the result findings. Hence, future studies should collect data from multiple sources by using multiple methods (e.g. interviews, surveys, peer reports, etc.).

The first implication highlights that senior management’s support is a prerequisite to execute justice-based diversity management processes, which in turn aid in harvesting the true potentials of diversity. Second, organizations should adopt an egalitarian approach while formulating and implementing diversity management initiatives to accentuate the fair and just perceptibility of procedures among employees.

This study sheds new light on the effects of diversity-focused HR practices on firm performance (perceived) in Indian context.