Tearing of knicker fabrics

In Dunedin (South Island, New Zealand), a sexual assault is reported to police approximately once every two to three weeks, with some reports fictitious. Identifying a fictitious claim is difficult, and damage to apparel, especially knickers, may be the only form of evidence. In this paper, the tear behaviour of three knit fabrics, typical of those used to manufacture knickers is reported: the effect of laundering prior to tearing was considered. Tearing behaviour was determined using an Instron universal testing machine (Model 4464) operating in tensile mode to eliminate variability which is inevitable with human participants. Cotton and cotton-rich fabrics were more difficult to tear than modal-rich fabrics: the addition of elastane increased the time for the tear initiation as elastane fibres allowed the fabric to extend more before breaking. Specimens behaved differently depending on which direction they were torn (course-direction specimens down the length of the specimen, wale-direction specimens 50% down the length, 50% across the specimen). Laundered fabrics required less force to tear than new fabrics, therefore, when examining torn apparel, the fibre content and age of the garment need to be considered. Torn fibre ends appeared similar to those damaged by other means (e.g. knife, screwdriver) and no features visible under FESEM could be attributed solely to tearing damage in the fabrics studied.     

What Have We Learned about the Performance of Council‐Manager Government? A Review and Synthesis of the Research

The 100th anniversary of the International City/County Management Association provides an excellent point to review and assess research on the performance of the council‐manager form of government. The development of the council‐manager form arguably has been the most important innovation in American local government over the last century, yet its impact on the performance of municipal governments is not well understood. This article reviews and assesses the empirical evidence for 10 propositions that council‐manager governments perform better than mayor‐council governments. This evidence indicates that although progress has been made on demonstrating differences in representation and functionality, the proposition that council‐manager governments are better managed than mayor‐council governments has yet to be seriously engaged in this literature. Filling this critical gap requires progress in two areas: the development of theory to explain why council‐manager governments are better‐managed organizations and the production of evidence assessing the major propositions of this theory.     

Workers’ mobility and patterns of knowledge diffusion: evidence from Italian data

The channels through which firms access and acquire new and relevant knowledge for their innovative activities is a critical issue to the geography and the management of innovation. In this regard, recent studies have suggested that the mobility of workers across firms is a primary source of new knowledge for the hiring firm and, more in general, of knowledge diffusion across firms. However, little evidence has been presented and discussed about the role and the impact of workers’ mobility on the processes of knowledge transfer across firms. The present paper, thus, aims precisely at contributing to this stream of research by making use of unique data on Italian inventors’ curriculum vitae. The results of the empirical analysis indicate that the mobility of inventors is a mechanism that spurs processes of cumulative knowledge and innovation building from the departure firm to the destination one and significantly impacts on knowledge diffusion across firms.     

United States' strategic possibilities in the South Caucasus

South Caucasus is an area where the United States can obtain a wide number of strategic advantages if a coherent policy towards South Caucasus and the Caucasian Region is developed. This article seeks to throw light on some of the most important objectives the United States can obtain in the region, and explain how the policy of multiple outlets is a cornerstone in American policy for South Caucasus. Furthermore we look at the problems of the current policy, especially those concerning the Baku‐Ceyhan pipeline.