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Over the last few years, the increase in size of printed circuit boards, together with the increase in density of components, has made successful application of soldermask by conventional screen printing more and more difficult. This is despite improvements in both the screen printing resists and the equipment used. The accuracy produced by the photo‐imaging technique has been firmly established with the now almost universal use of dry‐film resist for the plating and etching of printed circuit boards. This led to the introduction of the dry‐film soldermask, but, unlike the dry‐film resists used for plating and etching, this type of soldermask has failed to gain universal acceptance, mainly because of technical shortcomings and high costs. The application of liquid soldermasks overcomes many of these technical problems, although the first attempts to achieve acceptable results required special equipment and huge capital investment. Photo‐imageable soldermasks which can be applied using the conventional printing and exposure equipment, available at printed circuit manufacturers, are now available. Some are processed in aqueous solutions, whilst others are processed in halogenated solvents of the types used in the processing of dry‐film resists. The introduction of such soldermasks makes available the combined advantage of liquid application and photo‐imaging, which will increase the overall quality of printed circuit boards produced, while utilising existing screen printed, oven, photo‐exposure unit and conveyorised spray developer.

I was disappointed and puzzled to read in the report of Sir Patrick Linstead's address to the Association for Science Education, a condemnation of the inclusion of ‘engineering subjects’ in the school curriculum. He doubted their value as means of interesting boys in technology. Nevertheless, he urges the need for industrial visits and talks, and for pupils to make ‘all possible contact with the great technological world around them’. ‘All possible contact’ would appear to exclude any personal and active participation in it.

One of the most widely accepted goals of social studies education is to produce knowledgeable and caring citizens. It is, therefore, imperative that students have the opportunity to participate in public issues and have a meaningful voice within their community. Students must learn how to gather information, solve problems and make civic decisions (Saxe, D. W. (1997). The distinctive mission of social studies education. In E. W. Ross (Ed.), The social studies curriculum: Purposes, problems and possibilities (pp. 39–55). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press). Thus, educators and staff in higher education institutions should encourage their students to create their own questions, cultivate investigative strategies, formulate theories and apply new concepts to their own lives in a variety of methods (Fitzsimmons, P. F., & Goldhaber, J. (1997). Siphons, pumps, and missile launchers: Inquiry at the further and higher education [online]. Edinburgh: Scottish Funding Council). Inquiry-based instruction is a pedagogical strategy that places the educator in the role of a facilitator where students are pushed to think critically and construct meaningful knowledge. Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is a crucial practice for students to grasp and the earlier they are exposed to this style of learning, the better the educational results will be in regard to cognitive development. For instance, (Frederiksen, White, & Shimoda, 1999) found that students who take part in inquiry-based learning outperform those students in traditional classrooms on standardised assessments. This chapter explores a theoretical discussion of IBL and a subsequent theory of change focusing on the potential desired impact on the student learning experience in Irish higher education.

The core themes include the following:

1. How educators in the social sciences conceptualise, design and facilitate IBL?

2. The location and commencement of the development of an IBL ‘mind-set’.

3. Informal theories of change in the social sciences, and a discussion on disciplinary patterns and the discernation of differences.

4. What have educators learned about designing and facilitating IBL? The challenges of designing and facilitating IBL, in the social sciences.

5. Plans for further developing IBL practice in an international context.

How educators in the social sciences conceptualise, design and facilitate IBL?

The location and commencement of the development of an IBL ‘mind-set’.

Informal theories of change in the social sciences, and a discussion on disciplinary patterns and the discernation of differences.

What have educators learned about designing and facilitating IBL? The challenges of designing and facilitating IBL, in the social sciences.

Plans for further developing IBL practice in an international context.

To provide an efficient numerical eigenvalue solution for open waveguides with lossy anisotropic materials.

Vector edge elements are used to represent the core of the problem, and an adaptive perfectly matched layer (PML) is used to truncate the surrounding region. The parameters of the PML are allowed to change at each frequency to obtain accurate results using small number of unknowns.

The method is able to solve many configurations, and considerable reduction in mesh size has been reported. In addition, by adapting the solution according to some error criterion, it will be possible to minimize the dependence on human experience and rely more on automated algorithms.

There is a need to improve the performance of the adaptive algorithm by building an automatic adaptive procedure that can work without human intervention.

A systematic full‐wave algorithm for solving practical electromagnetic engineering problems associated with open waveguides, such as planar transmission lines and optical waveguides, using relatively small computer resources.

Proposed a new “dimension” of adaptation for PML, besides the classical h‐/p‐/hp adaptation methods available in literature. Thus, the requirement for smaller computer resources makes this method cost‐effective for industry in the design of practical open waveguides.

There are various measures which can be taken to improve hygienic conditions in the food trades, but basically they reduce to two: namely, legislation and exhortation. I am speaking here of actual positive steps that can be taken by an outside authority such as the central or local government. Within the industry, forces having an influence on hygiene are, of course, continuously at work, and they may make for the improvement or the deterioration of hygienic conditions. These forces may be of a commercial character or they may derive from a desire of those who are engaged in the industry to make their work as attractive as possible by the creation of clean surroundings. The strength of the latter varies with the individual—there are a few who are blind to dirt around them, and there are, of course, also those, I believe a small minority, who, although they are—to use a modern jargon—allergic to dirt, are even more allergic to the work of preventing its accumulation and of cleaning away what is unavoidable. Most of us, however, are neither blind to the existence of dirt around us nor too lazy to make the effort to remove it if it is there. But by far the most important factor of this kind is competition. Generally speaking, the housewife is becoming more fastidious and will go to a shop where the conditions are clean, where food is attractively displayed and the staff are themselves clean and refrain from unhygienic practices such as licking the fingers to detach a piece of wrapping paper. At the same time, she likes to see plenty of fish from which to make her selection, and the successful fishmonger must accordingly have a generous display. The housewife does not then feel that her choice is limited to what has been rejected by others. Moreover, when the demand for fish is high, possibly owing to the scarcity of other types of protein food, she will tend to go to the shop which has the best supply and the greatest variety of fish even though its hygienic conditions may fall short of the ideal. A crowded shop will make it more difficult for the retailer to find the time and space to protect his fish from contamination and to keep it in prime condition. Thus you will sometimes find a rapid turnover combined with a lack of attention to some of the niceties of hygiene, but it should not be supposed that the first follows from the second. Brisk business may tend to militate against hygiene but lack of attention to hygiene will not encourage good business. Other things being equal, the housewife will choose the cleanest shop. I do not need to tell you that fish is a highly perishable food and that the rate of decay depends very largely on the proper treatment of the fish and of the observance of sanitary and cleanly conditions. Decay is largely due to bacterial action, and any steps which will tend to reduce the activity of bacteria, such as proper icing, protection from bruising, and so on, must be beneficial both to the fish trader and his customers. Before I come to express a view on the principles which ought to guide us in the effort to spread the gospel of hygiene and to ensure that it is put into practice, I want to congratulate the National Federation of Fishmongers on the interest it takes, and I believe has always taken, in this subject. I remember how, during the war years, before there was a Food Hygiene Division in the Ministry, I was in charge of another Division and had some dealings with your federation. I remember that the secretary of your federation approached me many times in the hope of inducing the Ministry to take steps to secure cleaner conditions. I was compelled to answer that we were baulked by questions of vires and that though the spirit was willing, powers were non‐existent. The interest of your federation is also shown by the useful leaflet entitled “ Fish Trade Hygiene ”. The recommendations in this leaflet are valuable, and if they were universally observed would leave little room for complaint. It is an open secret that the Minister has in mind some modifications and extensions of the existing law. First, many of you will be aware from statements made in the House of Commons that he hopes at some appropriate time to introduce a Bill to amend the Food and Drugs Act. This Bill, if it is enacted, will probably make some slight changes in Section 13, but I clearly cannot enter into details at this meeting. Your federation has already had an opportunity to comment on the proposals. It is also known to you that the Minister has in mind some regulations for the fish trades. Regulations are the most suitable instrument for dealing with particular conditions of individual trades; the general picture is that the Act is appropriate for the requirements applicable to all food trades and that these ought to be supplemented by regulations imposing special requirements for particular trades. It is not always possible to arrange matters in this way, but it is the pattern which underlies our ideas for hygiene legislation, and our draft regulations do in fact contain for the most part provisions which seem to us to be necessary to meet the particular conditions of the fish trades but have not a general application to other trades. Your officers have already had an opportunity of commenting on our proposals which cover all stages in the movement of fish from the time when it is landed on the quay until the time when it is delivered to the consumer. You will be particularly concerned with those parts of the regulations which touch on the sale of fish by retail. They deal with personal cleanliness, the cleanliness of premises, equipment and utensils, the structure of the ceiling, walls and floors of rooms in which fish is sold or prepared for sale, the provision of water, the wearing of protective clothing, the disposal of refuse, the provision and use of refrigerated storage, the icing of fish, and the protection of fish from contamination. I do not intend to go into the details of these draft regulations; I doubt if any of them does more than to set out in black and white what every good fishmonger already does or refrains from doing.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of macro-level regulatory systems on alcohol management for community sport organisations (CSOs). It examines how alcohol regulations translate into meso-level management actions and interactions that impact alcohol consumption in community sport clubs.

Management of alcohol was explored through the holistic lens of macro, meso, and micro-levels of influence. Sixteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with Australian club administrators from community sports clubs.

Thematic analysis revealed macro-level influences on alcohol management in CSOs, with government regulations and the state sport associations being the most influential. Challenges arise in alcohol policy implementation when sport administrators do not prioritise alcohol consumption as a problem to be addressed, or where a conflict of interest arises between alcohol revenue generation and clubs positioning as health promoting environments.

Targeting club administrators’ attitudes towards alcohol as a benign influence and revising alcohol management practices are recommended as priority strategies to enhance the implementation and promotion of responsible alcohol management in sport clubs. Affiliate state sport associations were also identified as influential settings to provide administrative or strategic direction to CSOs, which would reduce the resources required by volunteers and standardise alcohol management practices across sports clubs.

The prevailing alcohol research focuses on the consumption behaviour of individual members and sports players. The study findings are novel and important as they explore the macro-level influences that administrators experience when enacting and policing alcohol management strategies in sports clubs. To-date, administrators of CSOs have not been included in many studies about alcohol consumption regulation; therefore, the findings provide an original perspective on alcohol regulation and demonstrate how CSOs operationalise alcohol management in club settings. The original insights from this study informed the conceptualisation of a multilevel sport system framework, which can be applied to guide future governance of alcohol consumption in sport settings.

So far as the various British Food and Drugs Acts are concerned, the meaning of “sophistication” or “adulteration,” which includes “substitution,” is now very wide.

This study explores the preferences for learning methods among the students of seven engineering disciplines in a Spanish technical university. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the students' views and from them contribute to the knowledge of the effectiveness of learning methodologies.

An online anonymous questionnaire survey was adopted to collect students' perceptions. Seven learning methods were compared in seven engineering degrees. The authors sampled 1660 students, and 426 completed responses were analysed. In addition to a descriptive analysis of the results, a multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) was performed using R data processing software.

It was found that project-based learning and problem-based learning were perceived as the more effective ones. MCA identified response patterns between the preference and the efficiency of learning methods showing that students can be classified into two groups according to their preferred level of activeness in learning.

The study focusses on a single technical university and not all engineering degrees could be sampled. However, five different engineering fields were studied and no significant differences among them were found.

The results add up to the known literature showing that students have different learning needs and consequently they perceive some methods as more effective. Instructors can use this information to strengthen their learning activities. Results also suggest that students can be classified into two groups in relation to their level of activeness in learning. This can also help to enhance general student motivation if two paths with different levels of activeness are planned.

No previous studies have compared several learning methods in different engineering fields. Thus, this study contributes to fill this gap and contributes to the body of evidence around learning methodologies from the perspective of students.

May THU.7. Aslib Northern Branch Annual General Meeting. Bisra, Sheffield. 2 p.m.

To combat climate change and safeguard a liveable future, humanity needs fundamental and rapid social change. The purpose of this paper is to show, why and how climate communication can play an important role to nurture the public engagement needed for this change, and to explore, what higher education for sustainability can learn from climate communication.

The scientific evidence base on climate communication for effective public engagement is summarised into 10 key principles, including “basing communication on people’s values”, “conscious use of framing” and “turning concern into action”. Based on the author’s perspective and experience in the university context, implications are explored for sustainability in higher education.

The study provides suggestions for teaching (e.g. complement information with consistent behaviour by the lecturer, integrate local stories and provide students with basic skills to communicate climate effectively), for research (e.g. make teaching for effective engagement the subject of applied research), for universities’ third mission to contribute to sustainable development in the society (e.g. provide climate communication trainings to empower local stakeholders) and greening the campus (develop a proper engagement infrastructure, e.g. by a university storytelling exchange on climate action).

The study provides an up-to-date overview of climate communication research, which is in itself original. This evidence base holds interesting learnings for institutions of higher education, and the link between climate communication and universities has so far not been explored comprehensively.