Search

A signature of photo-mediated controlled polymerizations is the ability to modulate the rate of polymerization by turning the light source 'on' and 'off.' However, in many reported systems, growth can be reproducibly observed during dark periods. In this study, emerging photo-mediated controlled radical polymerizations are evaluated with in situ 1H NMR monitoring to assess their behavior in the dark. Interestingly, it is observed that Cu-mediated systems undergo long-lived, linear growth during dark periods in organic media.

This case study explains how and why the Wild Dog Estate, a boutique winery in Australia, has successfully evolved and attempted to maximize its revenue streams and the profitability and the resilience of its overall business over a 17 year period. As well as growing grapes and olives, the Estate makes wines and spirits, is involved in cattle grazing and food production (pickling, bottling, charcuterie, smoking, brining), and online, cellar door and restaurant sales of its own and other artisanal wines, beers, ciders, spirits, and food, and finally, offers unique guest accommodations and winery experiences including property tours, nature walking trails, vineyard "long lunches" and weddings and other activities. The different revenue streams complement each other and smooth out year-round income peaks and troughs. More importantly, they interact synergistically to stimulate additional customer demand and significantly increase average customer spending and length of stay. Partnering with like-minded people on different business ventures under the Wild Dog umbrella has been a strong feature of the development of the estate. This has reduced business risk by bringing in specialist expertise and additional financial resources as each new business line has been established. However, it has also increased business complexity and the difficulty of maintaining a consistent and coherent overall vision for the property. Also, a lack of local government support has been a significant impediment. The Wild Dog Estate business lines and activities largely grew organically over many years, but always with an overarching vision to increase engagement and to attract a broader range of customers so that infrastructure and other investments could be amortized over a larger base. Strong arguments can be made that other boutique wineries should consider following a similar path, but they could be more deliberate in their business planning and grow faster. To prepare this case study, public information was reviewed and selected senior managers and partners in Wild Dog Estate businesses were interviewed in depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a holistic approach to designing an introductory, object-oriented programming course. The design is grounded in constructivism and pedagogy of phenomenography. We use constructive alignment as the framework to align assessments, learning, and teaching with planned learning outcomes. We plan learning and teaching activities, and media with an understanding of variation theory and the ways in which students learn to program. We outline the implementation of the course, and discuss the findings from the first cycle of an action research study with a small sample of undergraduate students. An investigation of the preferred (deep/surface) learning approaches of the students led us to believe that these approaches can be influenced through course design. Personal constructs of the students, elicited through the repertory grid technique, revealed that rich inventories of learning resources are highly valued. We comment on the transformational processes of the experience of the participants, and identify areas for further refinement and investigation in the next action research cycle. (Contains 3 tables and 5 figures.)

This paper outlines a general process that can be followed when developing new holiday resort hotels on remote tropical islands by considering two case studies within the context of the New Hotel Development Project Lifecycle. The two case studies analyzed are the development of the Huma Island Resort and Spa in the Philippines and the Meridian Adventure Dive Resort in Indonesia. These are both high-end resorts built in remote locations using modular construction methods. This new construction method is clearly the best approach for developing such resorts. The paper summarizes the process followed to develop both resorts to identify other good practices and the main problems likely to be encountered and how they can best be overcome. This analysis provides a detailed roadmap that future hotel developers can follow to effectively and efficiently create similar properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]