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1
Sochting, Sven. "The effects of operating conditions on the hydrodynamic lubricant film thickness at the piston-ring/cylinder liner interface of a firing diesel engine." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2009. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/21027/.
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Conventional investigations into the performance of piston-rings in internal combustion engines are performed at relatively low speeds and consider only steady state operation conditions. Loss of power in internal combustion (IC) engines is becoming an increasing issue when they are operated at high engine speeds. This project is directed at developing technology to establish whether this phenomenon is influenced by a lubricant related effect. In a normal operating environment automotive engines typically operate under transient operating conditions. These rapid changes in operation conditions may influence the thickness of the hydrodynamic film which lubricates the interfaces between the piston-ring and liner. During this project two capacitance methods were employed in a fired compression ignition engine, an amplitude modulated (AM) system originally developed by Grice and a new "high speed" capacitance technique based on a frequency modulated principle. The first part of this thesis is concerned with the development and implementation of a new apparatus suitable for measuring the thickness and extent of the hydrodynamic oil film which lubricates the piston-rings and liner. The nature of the working principle of the high speed capacitance measurement system required the design, manufacture, assembly and commissioning of a novel dynamic calibration apparatus. The new system can also be used for static calibration (AM system) of capacitance based distance measuring systems. It uses a manufacturer calibrated closed loop controlled piezo-actuator to present a target relative to the sensor face. Some previous investigations concluded a stable oil film thickness. However, this work shows that there are cyclic variations of the oil film thickness OFT on a stroke to stroke and cycle to cycle basis. A series of measurements was conducted under various fixed speed load points. The effects of using lubricants of different viscosity on the minimum (OFT) between liner and piston ring have been little studied and this work shows that it was possible to speciate measurements of different lubricants. This thesis also describes a measurement of the oil film thickness during abrupt changes in engine operating conditions.
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Mugglestone, Hilda. "Peer assisted learning in the acquisition of musical composition skills." Thesis, University of Lincoln, 2006. http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/2471/.
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The purpose of the study was to discover the effects of using peer assisted learning in acquiring skills in music composition. The ten criteria used for assessing the effects of peer assisted learning comprised six concerning social qualities and four relating to cognitive aspects of what might be learned from working and learning together. The research used both qualitative and quantitative methods, encompassing interviews with the teacher, questionnaires for the students and observation. The latter included a quantitative element. The research took place in the natural settings of timetabled music lessons in Year Seven at an English comprehensive secondary school. This peer assisted learning research is believed to be the only such project conducted entirely in the unadulterated classroom settings. The lessons followed the teacher’s choice of lesson material and the length of time normally allowed for lessons in that school. No changes in classroom organisation, timing, or for any other reason were requested by, or made for, the researcher. Each class was divided into groups whose size, ability and gender were determined by the teacher. From these groups, the teacher selected the three which were the focus of this research. All three of the sample groups showed some evidence of the beneficial effects of peer assisted learning socially and cognitively although this varied according to the children’s different ability levels. Peer assisted learning was found to be most successful where children were able to work together cohesively and communicate well, either verbally or musically. Most children either acquired new musical skills or enhanced those they already possessed through the use of peer assisted learning.
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Chhabria, Vikesh Nandkishore. "Development of nanosponges from erythrocyte ghosts for removal of streptolysin-O and α haemolysin from mammalian blood." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2017. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/20672/.
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Bacteria can cause many different types of infections. Virulence factors e.g. adherence proteins, biofilm formation, endotoxins and exotoxins allow invasion by bacteria and cause infections such as respiratory, urinary, and intestinal and blood stream infections. If left untreated they can lead to a condition known as sepsis. Sepsis is a whole body inflammatory response that can be fatal. The aim of this study is to develop biomimetic nanosponges from mammalian erythrocyte ghosts, as a potential treatment for toxin related sepsis.
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Macwhannell, Robert. "An investigation of Organisational Carbon Accounting (OCA) practices in the defence sector to determine how these can best support low carbon technology innovation." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2018. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/23077/.
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‘Climate change’ and ‘defence’ are becoming closely associated topics, particularly in relation to the potential that the defence sector has to support the development of low carbon technologies. This exploratory research applies an inductive approach and a strongly archival strategy in order to investigate how Organisational Carbon Accounting (OCA) practices in the defence sector can best support low carbon technology innovation. It takes an interdisciplinary approach to the literature, drawing on the fields of Carbon Accounting, Defence Industrial Policy, and Innovation Studies. It finds that there some difficulties allocating emissions to organisations in existing OCAs, which are particularly marked in the defence sector due to close working relationships between organisations. These allocations can result in abstract OCAs that do not always reflect the underlying activities causing emissions to be produced. In contrast, ‘Project Level’ Carbon Accounts focused on large-scale collaborative programmes can better account for the emissions of the defence sector in an understandable way that engages new and relevant actors to defence-energy debates. These accounts are therefore more likely than existing OCA practices to support low carbon technology development across innovation networks. A positive selection environment for low carbon technologies can be promoted if these ‘Project-Level’ Carbon Accounts are presented within an appropriate strategic framework, and this research describes the relevance of the defence sector concepts of ‘resilience’ and ‘endurance’ and the related metric of the Fully Burdened Cost of Energy (FBCE). The findings emphasise the value of sector-level analyses of OCA practices, which are not represented in the literature at present. The sector-level perspective can help identify relevant methods from the wider Carbon Accounting field that can improve existing organisational approaches. More importantly, it can help researchers engage with the fundamental question of what Carbon Accounting is for, by analysing how the OCA practices within a specific sector support or inhibit its most effective contribution to climate change mitigation.
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Alanazi, Sami. "The acquisition of past verb forms by Saudi EFL learners." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2016. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/17670/.
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This thesis reports on the factors that hinder the acquisition of the past verb forms in (past simple form, past progressive form, past perfect form) by Saudi learners of English. This study argues that Arabic and English share similar grammatical characteristics in the past verb forms. It also sheds light on the role of these similarities in facilitating the acquisition process of the targeted forms. This is a mixed-method study conducted on thirty-six Saudi EFL learners. The participants were assigned to two groups: group A (received treatment session about the past verb forms in English and highlighted their counterparts in Arabic) and group B (received treatment session about the past verb forms in English only). Three types of tasks were employed: multiple choice, gap-filling, and storytelling, and they were conducted at three periods: pre intervention, post intervention, and delayed test. A randomly-selected group was invited for stimulated recall interviews immediately after the delayed test. The interviews were conducted individually. The study answered two research questions and hypotheses: RQ1: To what extent does linking the similarities in the past verb forms between English and Arabic help Saudi EFL learners to acquire these forms? H1: Drawing the Saudi EFL learners’ attention to the similarities in the past verb forms between Arabic and English facilitates their acquisition. RQ2: Does L1 Arabic influence the choice of past verb forms in English for Saudi EFL learners? (a) What is the impact on explicit and implicit knowledge? (b) What is the impact on receptive and productive knowledge? H2: Saudi EFL learners consciously resort to their first language when they lack the correct past verb form in English. The results show that the intervention that highlighted the similarities in past verb forms between Arabic and English helped the participants to acquire the targeted forms. L1 has influence on the learners’ choice of forms, and they consciously resort to their first language. The results suggest that rising the awareness of Saudi EFL learners about the. The study suggests further research utilising a longitudinal QUAN-QUAL research paradigm.
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Thakore, Renuka. "A strategic engagement model for delivering energy efficiency initiatives in the English housing sector." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2016. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/18647/.
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Housing sectors have particular significance and impact on resource use, deployment and sustainability. Given this, they are inextricably enmeshed in a raft of conjoined issues, ranging from energy, production and consumption, through to effective governance structures and leveraged sustainable transformations. However, the real challenges facing the Housing sectors rest with the supportive societal structures which underpin the operationalisation of these issues. This includes such factors as consultation and engagement, and the identification of critical drivers and proven solutions – which are tangible barriers for sustainable transformations (particularly in the English housing system). This research presents a conceptual model – STRIDES (Strategic Tri-level Relational Interventions for Delivering Energy efficiency and Sustainability), which purposefully addresses the aforementioned barriers, and critically challenges thinking and engagement. STRIDES explicitly captures 5-INs, which embodies interrelated essential conditions needed for successful transformation. This conceptual model was developed using a mixed-method approach, engaging constructivism/interpretivism to guide the development and augmentation of this (to ensure maximum relevance and impact). The English housing system was used as the primary lens – which helped both shape and inform the research methodological approach. STRIDES was developed through: an online survey questionnaire (for systems-knowledge); Delphi questionnaires (for target-knowledge); and focus group discussions (for transformative-knowledge). The theoretical constructs and methods revealed exclusive hidden dialogue of composite correlated multi-perspective stakeholders, which highlighted tri-level influences on interdependent system-components for effective governance of sustainable transformations. Recognising and prioritising relationally responsive emerging strategies arising from STRIDES help stakeholders appreciate subtle nuances and forces across and beyond contexts. This helps positioning, especially to shape/tailor strategic interventions to deliver meaningful objectives of these sustainable transformations.
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Shorrock, Sarah. "Protecting vulnerable people : an exploration of the risk factors and processes associated with Lancashire's Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs (MASH)." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2017. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/23075/.
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Faki, Hajira. "The development and evaluation of photo-antimicrobial isoalloxazine dyes towards infection control." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2018. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/23986/.
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In today’s world, antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest global health issues that mankind is facing. This most effective way to ensure a wound does not become infected is through cleanliness and continued disinfection of the wound site. There is a lack of new antimicrobial drugs coming to the market due to economical and clinical reasons, this is evident in Lord O’Neill’s 2016 report and is addressed by Professor Dame Sally Davies in Parliament, (“We have reached a critical point and must act now on a global scale to slow down antimicrobial resistance”2). Prescription drugs have led to this epidemic that was highlighted by O’Neill. The latest report (2016) by O’Neill states, it is critical to improve sanitation and hygiene, refrain from overusing antibiotics in agriculture and the environment as well as introducing rapid diagnostics and vaccines3. This is leading to the need for photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT) that involves the use of a reactive oxygen species (ROS), photosensitiser, and light to cause microbial death. PACT is a treatment for resistant and non-resistant pathogens that is included in the treatment of multidrug resistant infections. The approach is to use novel antimicrobial drugs topically, avoiding systemic photo-toxicity, thus leading itself towards topical infection control. Herein, we report the development of a range of novel photosensitisers based on the second generation photodynamic therapeutic dyes (PDT) that are based on the tricyclic isoalloxazine structure of riboflavin, vitamin B2. Photosensitisers were synthesised using similar strategies to the isoalloxazine for a number of reasons: e.g. photoactivity and capability of degradation. In order to investigate which photosensitisers gave the highest reactive oxygen yield, functional group changes were made on the N-phenyl ring by substituting a range of electron withdrawing/donating substituents at different positions (ortho, meta, para). The free amide moiety was used to attach the photosensitiser to a solid support that would act as proof of principal of a photosensitiser attached to a bandage. These dyes show a phototherapeutic response via a Type I and II mechanism upon illumination by light of a selected wavelength. The mechanisms produce highly toxic oxygen-species, such as radical production via Type I pathway and singlet oxygen generation by Type II, thus causing terminal damage to microbes in a short time period. The synthesised photosensitisers are illuminated using blue light (440 - 490 nm) and white light in order to monitor and compare the singlet oxygen and radical yields generated as they absorb approximately at 440 nm, thus blue light being ideal for irradiation. The outstanding singlet oxygen result generated by compound 12c of 172% and a radical production by 11c of 227% show promising generators of cytotoxic species, resulting in microbial death. The synthesised photosensitisers have been tested against two opportunistic microbes (Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and Escherichia coli (E.coli). They have proven to be problematic from its presence within the healthcare system especially when found on surgical site infections. From the statistics generated for the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK we can see that 52.4 % of S. aureus, and 43.1 % E.coli originates within the hospital environment. Antimicrobial activity was observed for several compounds under different light regimes on and off the solid support. As a result, the best observed MIC value of 0.25 mM/mL was achieved for S. aureus in darkness and in blue light without the polymer support. Additionally, when these compounds were linked to a polymer support (mimicking a bandage), antimicrobial activity was retained when irradiated using blue light at 1.0 mM/mL. These results show potential towards the next generation of antimicrobial disinfection agents. In time, these compounds could be integrated into the healthcare system for use as a new generation of self- cleaning bandages towards post-operative wound disinfection rather than employing front line antimicrobials. This is a moot subject under review in parliament and former UK prime minister has highlighted the concern. In a statement recently released, he states “If we fail to act, we are looking at an almost unthinkable scenario where antibiotics no longer work and we are cast back into the dark ages of medicine" – David Cameron, UK Prime Minister2.
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Tah, Edith Manyong. "The role, position and experience of female teachers within faith schools." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2016. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/16556/.
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For hundreds of years leadership of religious organisations has been dominated by males, despite the acknowledgement that much religious work and support of the institutions has been done by women. Historically, leadership carried the notion of masculinity and the belief that men were born with certain leadership traits and therefore make better leaders than women. Nevertheless, current thinking contests this view and argues that leadership can be taught and learned and it is possible to develop leader traits in any individual, regardless of gender. This research sets out to contribute in promoting women’s leadership in faith schools. The research employs a qualitative method of data collection, and adopts the critical realist and feminist theorising standpoint. This research presents results of case studies involving the Catholic, Anglican and Muslim faiths. Through in-depth interviews, an exploration on the views of religious authorities, school authorities and female teachers, regarding the role, and position, and experiences of female teachers within faith schools is presented. The research reveals the reality and complexity of barriers encountered by female teachers from a cultural, social, institutional and religious perspective that hinder women’s career advancement. These case studies provide strong first-hand evidence that is hoped to influence both practice and policy. Through the interaction and involvement of head teachers, school governors and religious authorities concerned with the management of the schools, the research aspires to support a process of enlightenment — particularly to individuals who influence decision making processes — to implement strategies that will allow equal representation among the genders in leadership positions within education in faith schools.
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Korale, Aluthweediya K. O. D. "Effervescent proliposomes for aerosol delivery to paranasal sinuses." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2016. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/16658/.
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This study aims to design and develop effervescent proliposomes that could disintegrate in water and liberate liposomes, and to investigate the potential suitability of liposomes generated for aerosolization to target paranasal sinuses. Novel effervescent proliposomes prepared with Soya phosphatidylcholine (SPC) and Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) successfully generated stable liposomes with an improved disintegration time of less than 5 min. Differences in lipid composition were found to influence liposome size and drug entrapment of the hydrophobic drug Beclometasone dipropionate (BDP). Mannitol-based formulations developed with DPPC:Chol (1:1) produced liposomes of 7.54±0.15 µm with a drug entrapment efficiency of 82.15±8.29%. Addition of the mucoadhesives alginic acid or chitosan to effervescent proliposomes made with SPC was found to hamper BDP entrapment in liposomes. Effervescent proliposomes produced SPC:Chol liposomes that also proved beneficial for entrapment of the hydrophilic drug Xylometazoline hydrochloride (XH). The Pari Sinus (pulsating aerosol technology) and Pari Sprint (non-pulsating technology) nebulizers were used for liposome delivery to a nasal cast. Choice of carrier did not affect the liposome’s ability to withstand shearing. A novel system of a Sar-Gel® (water indicating paste) coated clear nasal cast fixed to a two-stage impinger system was set up to analyze drug deposition within the nasal cast cavity. Sinus drug deposition with effervescent mannitol, DPPC:Chol formulation was observed to be highest at 48.45±2.75 cm2 with pulsation compared to deposition of 35.52±11.11 cm2 without pulsation. Drug distribution studies indicated that the Pari Sinus deposited 10.47±2.9% drug, while the Pari Sprint deposited only 4.6±1.4%. The degree of drug loss was higher with conventional liposomes in the Pari Sinus nebulizer, indicating that the degree of bilayers disruption depended on formulation.
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Gillon, Leslie. "The uses of reason in critical judgement : commentaries on the Turner Prize." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2016. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/16642/.
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Through an analysis of critical reviews and other commentaries on the annual Turner Prize shortlist exhibitions, I examine a philosophical problem which has put into question the rational basis for evaluation in art criticism: the lack of any agreed criteria for the evaluation of artworks. This problem has been most often addressed within philosophical aesthetics through two contrasting approaches: the attempt to formulate evaluative criteria, and the denial that such criteria are either possible or necessary. My response to this meta-critical issue is an interdisciplinary study, in the form of an analysis of published commentaries on the Turner Prize, that examines theories of critical evaluation against an empirical investigation of actual critical practice. The Turner Prize has a number of advantages as a case study. Extensive media coverage of the competition means that it is possible to study a wide range of sources intended for the art-going public, that contain a large body of examples of comparative critical evaluation, and as an annual event it offers the opportunity for both synchronic and diachronic analyses. Moreover, the regular presence of artists whose work has been characterised as ‘conceptual, ensures that many of the commentaries focus on an area of art that presents a particular challenge to aesthetic theory and critical practice. In order to develop a critique of criteria based approaches, the contrasting approaches to art criticism taken by Noel Carroll and Frank Sibley are explored within an analysis of the critical reasons given to justify evaluations of Turner Prize exhibits. Suggestions are offered for ways of developing alternative approaches, drawing upon theories of the aesthetic developed by Suzanne Langer and Kendall Walton.
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Matheja-Theaker, Mechthild Maria. "Alternative emanzipationsvorstellungen in der DDR unter Honecker (1971-1990) : ein Diskussionsbeitrag zur Rolls der Frau." Thesis, Aston University, 1991. http://publications.aston.ac.uk/10274/.
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Over the last twenty years the situation of women in the German Democratic Republic has been the subject of a considerable number of studies. The approach has generally been of a sociological or socio-political nature. In this thesis I propose to go one step further by examining the information that may be gained from literary sources. In a state where the media are subject to censorship, and thus controlled, one can refer to literature as an acknowledged source of inside information. Literary works often provide a forum for the formulation and discussion of ideas, which could not be aired elsewhere. Chapter 1 shows why literature, which had always been allocated a special role by the GDR's leading party, the SED, may be regarded as a reliable indicator of everyday life in that country. In this thesis I compare the findings of an analysis of women's literature with sociological data on the one hand and the portrayal of the "ideal" women in GDR media and official writings on the other. The thesis takes an interdisciplinary approach and draws on sources in political, legal, sociological, and cultural fields alike. This constellation of sources allows me to show that the views that female writers expressed in their works frequently coincide with sociological findings. Both of these sources were frequently found to be at odds with statements made in official writings and the media. Such insights could not have been provided by a study conducted from within one discipline.
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Ferguson, M. E. "A cross-national comparative study of the roles of men in contemporary France and Britain." Thesis, Aston University, 1988. http://publications.aston.ac.uk/10277/.
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The purpose of this thesis is to increase understanding and contribute to knowledge about the attitudes and behaviour of men in contemporary France and Britain. The thesis has three main aims: firstly, to provide the first cross-national comparison of French and British writing and research on the place of men in contemporary society; secondly, to identify similarities and differences in the roles of men in France and Britain; and thirdly, to determine to what extent and in what way such similarities and differences are linked to the social structures and cultural background of each country. The thesis focusses on two main facets of the male experience: the relationship between men and women and the interaction between fathers and their children. Men's attitudes and behaviour are examined in relation to issues such as the division of household tasks and child care within the family, parental roles, female employment, role reversal, gender stereotyping and changes towards a new image of masculinity in society. Particular consideration is given to differences in governmental attitudes in France and Britain towards the introduction of family policy measures for men as fathers. The thesis ends with a discussion of legislative, social and educational measures which could be introduced in France and Britain in order to promote greater flexibility in men's roles and consequently improve gender equality in each country. The data analysed in the thesis are derived from a questionnaire-based empirical study involving 101 men in Britain and seventy-five men in France. The respondents' experience of and attitudes towards their roles in society are analysed and interpreted in the light of profile data relating to their family circumstances and with reference to knowledge about the broader socio-cultural context.
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Greenfield, Sheila M. "Family and leisure: a comparative sociological study of middle-class families and their leisure patterns in France and Great Britain." Thesis, Aston University, 1985. http://publications.aston.ac.uk/10271/.
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Ross, G. M. "Ocular biotribology and contact lens lubrication mechanisms." Thesis, Aston University, 2009. http://publications.aston.ac.uk/10925/.
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The work described in this thesis is concerned with mechanisms of contact lens lubrication. There are three major driving forces in contact lens design and development; cost, convenience, and comfort. Lubrication, as reflected in the coefficient of friction, is becoming recognised as one of the major factors affecting the comfort of the current generation of contact lenses, which have benefited from several decades of design and production improvements. This work started with the study of the in-eye release of soluble macromolecules from a contact lens matrix. The vehicle for the study was the family of CIBA Vision Focus® DAILIES® daily disposable contact lenses which is based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The effective release of linear soluble PVA from DAILIES on the surface of the lens was shown to be beneficial in terms of patient comfort. There was a need to develop a novel characterisation technique in order to study these effects at surfaces; this led to the study of a novel tribological technique, which allowed the friction coefficients of different types of contact lenses to be measured reproducibly at genuinely low values. The tribometer needed the ability to accommodate the following features: (a) an approximation to eye lid load, (b) both new and ex-vivo lenses, (c) variations in substrate, (d) different ocular lubricants (including tears). The tribometer and measuring technique developed in this way was used to examine the surface friction and lubrication mechanisms of two different types of contact lenses: daily disposables and silicone hydrogels. The results from the tribometer in terms of both mean friction coefficient and the friction profiles obtained allowed various mechanisms used for surface enhancement now seen in the daily disposable contact lens sector to be evaluated. The three major methods used are: release of soluble macromolecules (such as PVA) from the lens matrix, irreversible surface binding of a macromolecule (such as polyvinyl pyrrolidone) by charge transfer and the simple polymer adsorption (e.g. Pluoronic) at the lens surface. The tribological technique was also used to examine the trends in the development of silicone hydrogel contact lenses. The focus of the principles in the design of silicone hydrogels has now shifted from oxygen permeability, to the improvement of surface properties. Presently, tribological studies reflect the most effective in vitro method of surface evaluation in relation to the in-eye comfort.
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Birchall, Alan. "Mathematical solutions to problems in radiological protection involving air sampling and biokinetic modelling." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1998. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/19011/.
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Intakes of radionuclides are estimated with the personal air sampler (PAS) and by biological monitoring techniques: in the case of plutonium, there are problems with both methods. The statistical variation in activity collected when sampling radioactive aerosols with low number concentrations was investigated. By treating man as an ideal sampler, an analytical expression was developed for the probability distribution of intake following a single measurement on a PAS. The dependence on aerosol size, specific activity and density was investigated. The methods were extended to apply to routine monitoring procedures for plutonium. Simple algebraic approximations were developed to give the probability of exceeding estimated intakes and doses by given factors. The conditions were defined under which PAS monitoring meets the ICRP definition of adequacy. It was shown that the PAS is barely adequate for monitoring plutonium at ALl levels in typical workplaceconditions. Two algorithms were developed, enabling non-recycling and recycling compartmental models to be solved. Their accuracy and speed were investigated, and methods of dealing with partitioning, continuous intake, and radioactive progeny were discussed. Analytical, rather than numerical, methods were used. These are faster, and thus ideally suited for implementation on microcomputers. The algorithms enable non-specialists to solve quickly and easily any first order compartmental model, including all the ICRP metabolic models. Nonrecycling models with up to 50 compartments can be solved in seconds: recycling models take a little longer. A biokinetic model for plutonium in man following systemic uptake was developed. The proposed ICRP lung model (1989) was represented by a first order compartmental model. These two models were combined, and the recycling algorithm was used to calculate urinary and faecal excretion of plutonium following acute or chronic intake by inhalation. The results indicate much lower urinary excretion than predicted by ICRP Publication 54.
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Pennarun, Gaelle. "The micro-optical ring electrode : a new and novel electrode system for photoelectrochemistry." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 1999. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/18843/.
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The design of a novel photoelectrochemical sensor, the micro-optical ring electrode (MORE), is described. Based on a thin-ring microelectrode and using at fibre-optic light guide as the insulating material interior of the ring, the MORE has been deisigned, constructed and developed to permit electrochemical investigation of photochemically generated solution species. Initial characterisation of the electrode behaviour in the dark has been ccomplished by the use of ferricyanide in conjunction with predictive mathematical models of the time dependence of the current at micro ring electrode. The photocharacterisation of the MORE has been achieved looking at the photochemical response of tris (2,2'biyridine)ruthenium(II) in presence of the quenching agent Fe3+ . Subsequent application of the MORE has been in the electrochemical investigation of photoactive drugs employed in Cancer Therapy. In the following study, the microelectrochemistry of methylene blue, a dye commonly employed on Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), has been characterised in the dark using, in the first instance, gold disc microelectrodes. The electrochemical behaviour of MB+ on gold disc microelectrodes has than been compared to the results obtained when using the MORE. Exploration of the photoelectrochemical response of the MORE is reported, achieved via the interrogation of the photoelectrochemistry of MB+. Photocurrent signals obtained during cyclic voltammetric and chronoamperometric studies of MB\ conducted with the MORE under illuminated conditions and in the absence of any deliberately added reducing agent, are attributed to the formation and subsequent detection of 3 MB+ within the diffusion layer of the microring electrode. The data demonstrate that the use of the MORE for direct electrochemical detection of photogenerated species with lifetimes of < 9 x 5 10- s is possible. The electrochemistry of 3MB+ over the applied potential range from -0.4 to +1.0 V versus SCE is elucidated and discussed in the context of the behaviour of photoexcited MB+ in the presence of deliberately added reducing agent Fe3+. In order to investigate the production of singlet oxygen associated with cancer treatment, an attempt was made to study the MB+/02 system. This part of the project has not been completed, however a preliminary study of the electrochemistry of the MB.
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Gillies, Alan Cameron. "A problem solving strategy based on knowledge-based systems." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 1992. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/19013/.
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The historical development of knowledge based systems (KBS) from artificial intelligence (AT) has led to a number of characteristics which isolate knowledge based systems from the rest of software development. In particular, it has led to the growth of 'stand alone' systems. This thesis argues that this has restricted the use of KBS to a narrow range of problems, and has reduced the effectiveness of the consequent solutions. By considering first a specific problem in some depth, the thesis seeks to develop an alternative approach, where KBS is considered as simply another software technology to be used within an integrated solution. The problem considered is the automatic analysis of photoelastic fringe patterns, and KBS methods are employed alongside conventional image processing techniques to produce an integrated solution. The conventional algorithmic solution is first constructed and evaluated. This solution, having proved partially successful, is then enhanced by the use of KBS techniques to provide a full solution. From this specific example, a framework for integration is derived. This framework is tested in an unrelated application to consider whether the approach adopted has more general utility than one specific class of problem. This problem was the provision of decision support for business planning based upon market research. The resulting strategy and design is described together with details of how the system was implemented under the supervision of the author. The thesis concludes with an evaluation of the work and its conthbution to knowledge in the twin areas of the specific solutions and the underlying methods.
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Lin, Xin-Yu. "Lossless image compression for aerospace non-destructive testing applications." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2004. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/18830/.
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This thesis studies areas of image compression and relevant image processmg techniques with the application to Non-destructive Testing (NDT) images of aircraft components. The research project includes investigation of current data compression techniques and design of efficient compression methods for NDT images. Literature review was done initially to investigate the fundamental principles of data compression and existing methods of lossless and lossy image compression techniques. Such investigation provides not only the theoretical background, but also the comparative benchmarks for the research project. Chapter 2 provides general knowledge of image compression. The basic predictive coding strategy is introduced at the beginning of chapter 3. Fundamental theories of the Integer Wavelet Transform (IWT) can be found in chapter 4. The research projects proposed mainly three innovative methods for lossless compression of NDT images. Namely, the region-based method that employs regionoriented adaptation; the texture-based method that employs a mixed model for the prediction of image regions with strong texture patterns; and a hybrid method that utilizes advantages from both predictive coding and IWT coding. The main philosophy of lossless image compression is to de-correlate the original image data as much as possible by mapping from spatial domain to spatial domain in the predictive coding strategy or from spatial domain to transform domain in the IWT coding strategy. The proposed region-based method aims to achieve the best mapping by adapting the de-correlation to the statistical properties of decomposed regions using the component's CAD model. With the aid of component CAD models to divide the NDT images of aircraft components into different regions based on the material structures, the design of the predictors and the choice of the IWT are optimised according to the specific image features contained in each region having the same material structure. The texture-based method achieves the best de-correlation by using a mixed data model in the region possessing strong texture patterns. A hybrid scheme for lossless compression of the NDT images of aircraft components is presented. The method combines the predictive coding and the IWT. After region-based predictive coding, the IWT is applied to the error images produced for each decomposed region to achieve further image de-correlation by preserving the information contained in the error images with fewer transform coefficients. The main advantages of using the IWT are its multi-resolution nature and lossless property with integer grey level values in images mapped to integer wavelet coefficients. The proposed methods are shown to offer a significantly higher compression ratio than other compression methods. The high compression efficiency is seen to be achieved by not only a combination of the predictive coding and the IWT, but also optimisation in the design of the predictor and the choice of the transform according to the specific image features contained in each region having similar material structures.
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Konstantaras, Anthony J. "Development and analysis of hybrid adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems for the recognition of weak signals preceding earthquakes." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2004. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/19072/.
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Prior to an earthquake, there is energy storage in the seismogenic area, the release of which results in a number of micro-cracks, which in effect produce a weak electric signal. Initially, there is a rapid rise in the number of propagating cracks, which creates a transient electric field. The whole process lasts in the order of several tens of minutes, and the resulting electric signal is considered as an electric earthquake precursor (EEP). Electric earthquake precursor recognition is mainly prevented by the very essence of the signal itself. The nature of the signal, according to the theory of propagating cracks, is usually a very weak electric potential anomaly appearing on the Earth's electric field prior to an earthquake, often unobservable within the severely stronger embedded in noise electric background. Furthermore, EEP signals vary in terms of duration and size making reliable recognition even more difficult. The work described in this thesis incorporates neuro-fuzzy technology for the reliable recognition of EEP signals within the electric field. Neuro-fuzzy networks are neural networks with intrinsic fuzzy logic abilities, i.e. the weights of the neurons in the network define the premise and consequent parameters of a fuzzy inference system. In particular, the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is used, which has been shown to be effective as a universal approximator that can match any input/output data set, providing the system is adequately trained. An average model for EEP signals has been identified based on a time function describing the evolution of the number of propagating cracks. Pattern recognition is performed by the neural network to identify the average EEP model from within the electric field. The fuzzy nature of the neuro-fuzzy model, though, enables the network to classify as EEPs, signals that are not exactly the same but do approximate the average EEP model. On the other hand, signals that look like EEPs but do not approximate enough the average model are being suppressed preventing false classification. The effectiveness of the proposed network is demonstrated using electrotelluric data recorded in NW Greece in 1995. Following training, testing with unseen data verifies the reliable performance of the model.
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Zhang, Guobin. "Performance of reduced-scale vortex amplifiers used to control glovebox dust." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2005. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/20086/.
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Ventilation systems for a nuclear plant must have a very high reliability and effectiveness. In this application, fluidic devices have advantages which electro-mechanical and pneumatic devices lack. Fluidic devices will not easily wear out, they have a relatively fast response and in some cases they may be cheaper than an equivalent conventional device. Most importantly, they have fewer moving parts (usually none) so are inherently reliable, so long as the fluidic design is effective. So vortex amplifiers (VXA) are ideal for active ventilation systems where access for maintenance is problematic. From 1995 to 2000, space limitations at Sellafield drove the desire to minimise VXA size and also glovebox size. Recently completed plant expansions use a smaller version of VXA produced by scaling geometrically the existing standard model. It is called the mini-VXA. Subsequent performance of the mini-VXA has been disappointing with high oxygen levels noted in the inerted gloveboxes; this required an expensive increase in the inert gas supply rate of gloveboxes to mitigate against fire risk. After doing experiments using a mini-VXA and typical glovebox, the author has confirmed the high 02 levels. The 02 distribution in the glovebox indicates that oxygen is entering the glovebox by the VXA supply ports; against the general direction of flow. The ultimate source of this back leakage is the control port (that is open to atmosphere) and smoke visualisation studies on the mock VXA indicate a mechanism. This is due to separated flow patterns with excessive control port momentum. A temporary solution using an orifice plate and spacing chamber has been shown to reduce essential nitrogen supply to one quarter that without the modification. Addition of the orifice plates enables further reduction in nitrogen use, and the smallest orifice tested performs best with no discernable cost in pressure drop and therefore fan power. The author also found the following points. The ratio of control port area to supply port area is a critical parameter affecting mixing of the two airstreams. Yet exit port area is unimportant. The ratio of supply port area to exit port area has no influence on discharge coefficient (at least within the scope of current work). It is also identified that the ratio of chamber height to exit port radius does not affect the discharge coefficient or two angle parameters. Doubling chamber height, supply port area and control port area at the same time has a slight effect on the discharge coefficient (attributed partly to a viscous effect), but no effect on the two angle parameters. The chamber height has little effect on Reynolds number. If the supply port area is not too small relative to the exit port, the supply port area will not significantly affect Reynolds number. The use of discharge coefficient and the two angle parameters to characterize VXA performance breaks with the traditional form of dimensionless characteristics that are used for the purpose. Testing these alternate characteristics has enabled the momentum (which dominates control of VXA performance) to be more explicitly expressed in updated design rules.
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Kolbl, Josef Karl. "Low-noise frequency synthesis and picosecond timing for satellite laser ranging systems." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2001. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/20201/.
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The main aims of the research are to develop various high-speed hardware circuits based on the latest electronic devices and integrated circuit technologies to provide time measurement with one picosecond accuracy, thereby enabling the development of a satellite laser ranging (SLR) system with submillimeter precision. Different types of oscillators and frequency multipliers have been developed (RF and microwave) in order to provide a synchronous and low phase noise clock signal to the SLR timing system, which is phase-locked to the Universal Time Clock (UTC). A technique to quantify phase noise in signal sources is presented and verified. The development of the ranging system encompasses the analog timing verniers, the digital timing system, acquisition and processing of the ranging data, and the controlling of the peripherals, like the laser. The mixed analog/digital timing system architecture provides a time interval determination of two events with picosecond accuracy. Optical calibration techniques and an electronic timing calibration technique were developed to provide calibration of the timing system down to one picosecond accuracy and femtoseconds of resolution, traceable to the International Standard (speed of light, metric standard). The work done has led to several electronic modules for measuring precisely laser runtimes to artificial satellites and to the Moon which are now in successful and permanent operation in five SLR stations around Tokyo, one SLR station in Australia, and one SLR station in Germany. Furthermore, the work has produced three papers and two patents and won the First Prize of Innovation Awards from Deggendorf Government. The research and development work pushed the picosecond timing technology to an extent where the SLR stations in Australia, Tokyo and Germany now have a significant improvement in their ranging data accuracy in comparison to their previous timing equipment, thereby achieving more precise environmental monitoring.
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Su, QingLang. "Automatic image alignment for clinical evaluation of patient setup errors in radiotherapy." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2004. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/20692/.
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In radiotherapy, the treatment is typically pursued by irradiating the patient with high energy x-ray beams conformed to the shape of the tumour from multiple directions. Rather than administering the total dose in one session, the dose is often delivered in twenty to thirty sessions. For each session several settings must be reproduced precisely (treatment setup). These settings include machine setup, such as energy, direction, size and shape of the radiation beams as well as patient setup, such as position and orientation of the patient relative to the beams. An inaccurate setup may result in not only recurrence of the tumour but also medical complications. The aim of the project is to develop a novel image processing system to enable fast and accurate evaluation of patient setup errors in radiotherapy by automatic detection and alignment of anatomical features in images acquired during treatment simulation and treatment delivery. By combining various image processing and mathematical techniques, the thesis presents the successful development of an effective approach which includes detection and separation of collimation features for establishment of image correspondence, region based image alignment based on local mutual information, and application of the least-squares method for exhaustive validation to reject outliers and for estimation of global optimum alignment. A complete software tool was developed and clinical validation was performed using both phantom and real radiotherapy images. For the former, the alignment accuracy is shown to be within 0.06 cm for translation and 1.14 degrees for rotation. More significantly, the translation is within the ±0.1 cm machine setup tolerance and the setup rotation can vary between ±1 degree. For the latter, the alignment was consistently found to be similar or better than those based on manual methods. Therefore, a good basis is formed for consistent, fast and reliable evaluation of patient setup errors in radiotherapy.
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Bach, Michael. "Advancing acoustography by multidimensional signal processing techniques." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2006. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/20343/.
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The research presented in this thesis is the investigation into multidimensional signal processing for acoustography. Acoustography is a novel inspection technique similar to x-ray. However, instead of using hazardous ionising radiation, acoustography is based on sound. Inspection data are intensity images of the interior of components under inspection. Acoustography is a novel screening technique to inspect components without physically damaging them. Multidimensional signal processing refers to the processing of inspection data by signal and image processing techniques. The acoustographic imaging system is characterised with focus on signal and image processing. This system characterisation investigates into various degradations and image influencing properties. Signal and image processing techniques are then formally defined for the context of processing acoustographic data. The applicability of denoising and segmentation techniques is demonstrated. Filter primitives are demonstrated to be able to remove certain noise features. Particular focus rests on denoising and segmentation techniques based on physical analogy with diffusion. The diffusivity is locally controlled by data gradient measures. The diffusion technique using certain parameter settings performs the denoising of the inspection data without manipulating true image features. The same algorithm with a different parameter settings is employed to perform segmentation and thus separating fault features from background. Based on response characteristics of the acoustographic system, a data fusion algorithm has been developed to merge multiple observations into one datum, thereby increasing the dynamic range. The two stage algorithm consists of an iterative curve fitting algorithm followed by a reverse calculation using the curve parameter to yield a single observation. The algorithm has been improved further towards robustness to noise. Further, the fusion of denoised data is demonstrated. As a direct result of the work presented, future work is suggested to improve inferring from observation data to the state of the component under investigation. Further work is suggested to improve the understanding of the imaging system and inverse methods are proposed which take into account various particularities of the acoustographic system.
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Nneamaka, Chigbo Onyinyechukwu. "Exploring collaborative agreement in interactions." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2017. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/20670/.
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The benefits of play and collaboration in children’s learning and development cannot be overemphasized. Through play, children learn many social skills and how to be creative but children’s play is not always harmonious as it relies on power relations between groups. As children grow, they build peer groups where they prefer to play with same-sex peers and may display gender-typed behaviours, which grows stronger as they grow into adolescence. On the other hand, working in small groups enhances children’s problem solving skills and motivation, encourages development of skills of critical thinking and communication and allows longer retention of concepts. To reap the benefits associated with collaboration, there is need for children to develop and practice skills for effective collaboration. Collaborative games provide platforms for children to practice the skills required for effective collaboration however, in some collaborative games where players are expected to collaborate and learn the skills associated with collaboration, competition still occurs. This can be detrimental especially in the classroom settings as it can increase hostility between students and weaken the intrinsic motivation to learn due to focus on winning. In this research, the concept of Enforced Collaborative Agreement (ECA) is introduced and explored. ECA is a type of interaction whereby collaborative agreement is required in order to play a digital game. It is believed that ECA games would make co-located children play together in an equitable and inclusive way thus allowing them to contribute and participate equally when working together. The aim of the research is to understand the behaviours participants aged between 11-16 years old grouped in pairs and within co-located spaces exhibit to reach agreement while playing an ECA enabled game using a range of interaction methods. While several research works have been undertaken to explore collaboration in enforced situations none has explored collaboration in the way described in this thesis (using a range of data gathering approaches and focusing on how participants reach agreement). Additionally, this research explores the effects of ECA on the participants’ enjoyment, one of the dimensions of gameplay experience and highlights the importance of ECA in enabling collaborative interactions. A mixed methods and user-centred approach was taken where established methods such as observation of the participants’ behaviours during interaction, survey (fun Toolkit and questionnaire), logging participants’ actions and unstructured interview were used. The key contribution of this research is the understanding of ECA as a concept and methods to study it. Additional contributions are the understanding of how participants collaborate to reach agreement within one part of the larger space where ECA can be applied and associated design guidelines for designers wishing to design games/applications that support ECA.
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Allayiotis, Elias. "Characterization of Mobile Web Quality of Experience using a non-intrusive, context-aware, mobile-to-cloud system approach." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2017. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/20734/.
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This study presents a modelling approach for quantifying the Mobile Web Quality of Experience (MWQoE). It builds on current QoE and Web QoE research, and by fusing together data that is available on modern mobile devices, constructs a novel MWQoE model that is user-centered, context-aware and non-intrusive (does not depend on user feedback). This study identifies the factors which affect Web QoE and measures their effect on it in mobile scenarios. Moreover, this study explores scenarios in which Web QoE can be effectively characterized and enhanced, delivering a novel Mobile-to-Cloud system for the continuous evaluation of MWQoE in real-world environments. The significance of defining and evaluating MWQoE is identified. Specifically, MWQoE can be used by online providers to uncover customer insights and illustrate how the experience in using their products is perceived by their customers. In fact, MWQoE can be considered an important key performance indicator showing the technology acceptance or satisfiability of customers for a specific web product or service.
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Mirza, Mehreen Naz. "South Asian females and technology education : a study of engagement and disengagement in Britain." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2002. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/20339/.
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My thesis is concerned with the engagement and disengagement of South Asian girls and women with technology education in Britain. The research arose out of the need to establish whether South Asian girls and women had been included in, and benefited from, the attempts to encourage more girls and women into the fields of science, engineering and technology. Existing theoretical, especially feminist, frameworks for understanding the experiences of girls and women in science, engineering and technology, were largely silent about the experiences of minority ethnic girls and women, especially those of South Asian heritage; their experiences and perspectives were subsumed under an assumed generic female experience, which I have termed 'universal wonian' syndrome. Similarly, existing theoretical discourses for understanding the specific experiences of South Asian girls and women in education and the labour market, were too broad in focus and unable to offer any commentary about their position in relation to specific subjects and/or occupations. My thesis is intended to make a contribution towards assessing whether the initiatives to proniote girls and women into technology are of relevance and applicability to South Asian girls and women. I adopted an 'anti-oppressive' epistemological and methodological framework within which to locate the research process, from initial conceptualisation to final data analysis. In particular I focused on anti-racist, feminist, and Black feminist epistemology and methodology. I utilised both quantitative and qualitative methods, within a reflexive framework for gathering and analysing data, in order to respond better to changing research circumstances.. My thesis is intended to make a contribution to the wider understanding of epistemological and methodological research issues, especially in terms of the applicability of anti-racist, feminist and Black feminist standpoint epistemology. It is intended to contribute especially to our knowledge about ethical concerns which researchers need to be cognisant of from the outset of their research project. Data was gathered and analysed by me using a grounded theory approach, which resulted in my use of a theoretical model proposed by Anthias and Yuval-Davis (1992). This theory is intended to examine the connections between gender and ethnicity in the process of nation-building, but I felt that it could also be used to explain the ways in which gender and ethnicity acted upon the South Asian girls and women in their choice of subject of study and subsequent jobs/occupations. The data analysis revealed that many of the initiatives to encourage girls and women into fields in which they were under-represented, had had very little, if any impact upon the subject and occupational choices of South Asian girls and women in this study, as those initiatives had focused on addressing primarily, if not exclusively gender issues, whereas the lives and decision-making processes of the South Asian girls and women were informed by the experience of a particularly ethnicised-gendered experience. Consequently the thesis moves beyond focusing exclusively on the ways in which South Asian girls and women make choices about technology education and occupations, to a concern with how they make choices about education and work in general, through negotiating with various discourses around questions of gender, ethnicity/race, class and religion.
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Bratton, Daniel. "Simple and adaptive particle swarms." Thesis, Goldsmiths College (University of London), 2010. http://research.gold.ac.uk/4752/.
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The substantial advances that have been made to both the theoretical and practical aspects of particle swarm optimization over the past 10 years have taken it far beyond its original intent as a biological swarm simulation. This thesis details and explains these advances in the context of what has been achieved to this point, as well as what has yet to be understood or solidified within the research community. Taking into account the state of the modern field, a standardized PSO algorithm is defined for benchmarking and comparative purposes both within the work, and for the community as a whole. This standard is refined and simplified over several iterations into a form that does away with potentially undesirable properties of the standard algorithm while retaining equivalent or superior performance on the common set of benchmarks. This refinement, referred to as a discrete recombinant swarm (PSODRS) requires only a single user-defined parameter in the positional update equation, and uses minimal additive stochasticity, rather than the multiplicative stochasticity inherent in the standard PSO. After a mathematical analysis of the PSO-DRS algorithm, an adaptive framework is developed and rigorously tested, demonstrating the effects of the tunable particle- and swarm-level parameters. This adaptability shows practical benefit by broadening the range of problems which the PSO-DRS algorithm is wellsuited to optimize.
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Avgitidou, Angeliki. "The artist as subject in creative stasis and drasis, explored through performative subjectivity in media art and diary practice." Thesis, University of the Arts London, 2003. http://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/2020/.
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This research began as an investigation of the artist's subjectivity within the process of creating art. The focus of the research was the state of stasis, experienced by the artist as absence of action and nothingness. Reflexive methodology and autobiography were chosen as the basic epistemological and methodological approaches in order to fulfil the framework, questions and needs of this research. Diaries and Meta-Diaries as tools of the methodological approach were significant in the understanding of the artist's subjectivity and its manifestation in the written document. Diary entries were treated as instances of subjectivity rather than symptoms of the truth of the subject. I referred to diaries as part of a 'diary practice' which is inclusive of the time not writing in the diary. Additionally diaries developed an exchange with the artist's practice, became part of the concerns of this research and finally became part of the practice as much as a way of exploring it. Stasis was examined through diary practice and artworks and its characteristics were mapped out. These characteristics were uncertainty, frustration and anticipation of action for the subject. The artist's own diaries and works were examined within the contemporary artistic and theoretical context to determine the strategies the artist adopts to escape stasis. These strategies were initially determined as: Repetition creating a refuge for the subject; Submission to arkhé as a way of providing continuity and The creation of a network of complicity as an affirmation of existence. Drasis, a Greek concept the meaning of which includes both 'act' and the 'performance', was adopted to describe the strategy by which the eventisation of stasis is performed. In drasis the focus of my artwork would become stasis and not action. Through drasis the eventisation of stasis was carried out, marking a strategy of the artist in stasis. Drasis, a strategy for the artist as subject in stasis, is, together with the creative work, my main contribution to knowledge in this research.
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Moreira, Maria. "Urban image and otherness : an investigation through practice of installation art." Thesis, University of the Arts London, 2004. http://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/2305/.
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This research examines the hypothesis that installation art: -is not a medium but a mode of address, addressing the world as a multiplicity; -uses tactics of 'dispersal', which as perceptual gesture is in affinity with notions of multiplicity. The explanatory framework, which legitimates 'dispersal' as installation's defining tactic, is introduced step by step, through the articulation of certain concepts such as: 'field of activities' (Kaye, 2000), 'intervening screen', (Deleuze, 1968), 'dilation' (Ahearne, 1995), afterwardness' (Laplanche, 1992), 'the knowing not to know' (Derrida, 1992), 'emotion-value' (Barthes, 1977) and 'autopoetics closure' (Luhmann, 2000). Structured by this framework, the practice for this research addresses, on one hand, the concept of otherness - understood as the infinite learning of 'differential truths' (Ahearne, 1995, p. 192) and on the other hand, a notion of urban image - understood as fragmentary imagery able to accommodate a sense of public space over imprints of experienced time. From the analysis of this practice the research concludes that: -the employment of 'dispersal' as a defining tactic allows the work to surface into visibility as a sharing of a system of relevance; -this sharing aims to displace meaning, by pushing it away from an autonomous condition, located on the work's surface; -meaning, when presented as a sharing of a system of relevance, is relocated throughout different 'levels of immersion' inside the work; -from this new positioning, meaning will only be retrieved by the work-in-situ of a particular viewer's reading; -this condition of random retrieval implies that the work will generate meaning as 'differential truth' (Ahearne, 1995, p. 192), which exists outside 'the disease of identity' (Certeau, 1969, p. 179); -as 'differential truth', meaning becomes a function, not of the authority of a specific voice, but of the ability to respond [a response-ability], exercised by the maker in facing the world, and by the viewer in the face of the work.
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Karpasitis, Christos. "Brand video virality : the role of audio, visual and plot characteristics." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2017. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/20467/.
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Drawing on theoretical insights from multidisciplinary research in the fields of Multimedia, Internet Marketing, Business Management and Information Systems, this research is set out to explore how video content characteristics affect brand video virality. In this way, this research attempts to address a well-documented gap in existing research on the contributing factors that make brand videos viral (West, 2011; Cashmore, 2009). More specifically, it investigates the effect that particular content characteristics (visual graphics, audio and plot) might have in driving large numbers of consumers/social media users to create online stories about the same brand video by sharing, commenting or liking it in social networks. To examine this, engagements of Social Media users with brand videos were analysed and monitored by using the method of netnography. Following Dobele et al (2007)’s sampling approach, four brand videos selected on the basis of three main criteria: being global, being viral and being examples of a recent viral marketing campaign, were examined. In addition, two online surveys of a total of 351 Social Media users were conducted. The online surveys included open-ended and closed-ended questions regarding the participants’ engagement with different video content characteristics that were included within the brand videos examined. The results of this research suggest that the separate characteristics/components constituting a brand video's content may have an independent effect on the virality of the brand video. More specifically, across the video content characteristics examined, plot was the most powerful in terms of its impact on a Social Media user's decision to create an online story about a brand video in social networks and consequently, enhance its virality. Moreover, the presence of a familiar character/actor within a brand video’s visuals can significantly increase the possibility of the brand video going viral. In respect to the audio, there was evidence that for a brand video to go viral, "music fit" is vital.
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Abdullah. "Knowledge sharing processes for identity theft prevention within online retail organisations." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2017. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/23998/.
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The occurrence of identity theft has increased dramatically in recent times, becoming one of the fastest-growing crimes in the world. Major challenges associated with identity theft related offences include problems of consumers with credit, such as: aggravation by debt collectors; rejection of loans; disturbance in normal lives such as reputation damage; and the psychological disruption of providing personal data to organisations and banks during the investigation. For these reasons, and with the ready access of identity thieves to the retail industry, this problem is acute in the online retail industry, yet there has been insufficient research undertaken in this domain. This research investigated knowledge sharing processes for identity theft prevention within online retail organisations. An analysis of how individual staff and teams share their knowledge for identity theft prevention in organisations is presented, which includes the investigation of existing barriers in knowledge sharing for identity theft prevention in organisations. A qualitative case study research approach, using the guiding framework proposed by Salleh (2010), was adopted and extended to improve knowledge sharing processes for identity theft prevention in online retail organisations. Three case studies were conducted with leading online retailers in the UK. Data collection included one-to- one semi-structured interviews, internal documents from the researched companies and external documents from various secondary sources. The researcher used the thematic analysis approach using the NVivo software tool and a manual coding process. The total number of interviews was 34 across 3 case studies, with each interview lasting between 45 and 75 minutes. The participants were selected according to their experience, knowledge and involvement in solving identity theft issues and knowledge sharing. Investigation of internal documents included email conversations, policy documents and internal conversations such as emails and memos from the researched companies. This study found that knowledge of identity theft prevention is not being shared within online retail organisations. Individual staff members are learning from their experiences, which is time-consuming. Existing knowledge sharing barriers within the organisations were identified, and improvements in knowledge sharing processes in the online retail industry of the UK using the extended framework are proposed. This research contributes to existing research by providing new insights into knowledge sharing for identity theft prevention. It extends an existing framework proposed by Salleh (2010) in the new context of knowledge sharing processes for ID theft prevention in the retail industry by simplifying the model and combining elements into a more coherent framework. The present study also contributes by investigating the online retail sector for knowledge sharing for ID theft prevention. The empirical research identifies the barriers to knowledge sharing for ID theft prevention and the weaknesses of knowledge sharing in online retail organisations relevant to ID theft prevention. Finally, this study provides managers with useful guidelines for developing appropriate knowledge sharing processes for ID theft prevention in their organisation, and to educate staff in effective knowledge sharing.
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Parr, Eric. "Performance of an air-to-air heat pump heating and recovery unit at high ventilation rates." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2007. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/20042/.
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This thesis reports on design and performance studies of a prototype combined air source heat pump and storage system, retro fitted to heat occupied spaces subjected to high ventilation rates. The source of heat is from the air in the extract duct. Two limiting thermal conditions exist. The first is the thermal capacity of air passing over the ducted heat exchangers. The second is the dew and freezing points of the exhaust air, because of the insulating effect of ice on exchanger fins and tubes. Both are alleviated to a significant extent with high mass flow rates passing down the duct, since more heat can be extracted for a set decline in exhaust air temperatures. This study identifies reasons for ventilation and building strategies involving high ventilation rates, including the physiological and emotional needs of people and the various economic, climatic and Governmental polices (climate change levy, public health legislation) that impact upon heating and ventilation design. The study recognises the need for reduced carbon dioxide emissions and explores issues of indoor air quality and sick building syndrome and how increased ventilation rates can address them. The proposition investigated in this thesis is that air source recovery and heating by heat pump systems, combined with a heat storage system, can economically allow increases in ventilation rates to well above current standards without incurring great increases in energy use and carbon emissions; and in some circumstances reducing them. The thesis discusses in depth and detail, the advantages and disadvantages of possible alternative methods of heating a building and ventilation recovery, comparing their effectiveness and cost. A prototype system has been designed and field trials of a retrofit application have produced performance data that has subsequently been used in a long term cost comparison. The rig's design and construction are fully documented and its function over a full heating season is comprehensively explained (recording methods, types of calibration, control choices etc). A theoretical estimate of the energy requirements could have been attained using simulation and degree day information, however, a real like-for-like comparison using field trials prepared and a model was developed which allowed test data to be used to predict costs. The rig was tested over two heating seasons and compared with actual reading from alternative heating systems, degree day calculations are discussed but the reliance is on the actual live data gathered. (although summer cooling is achievable with the test rig no readings were recorded or comparison made). The work shows that heat pump heating and recovery systems and combined storage ability out-performed the other systems investigated. The crucial elements of its functionality are the high temperature of the heat source and the vast volume (and thermal capacity) of air being used, extracting at 24 °C and delivering at 35°C. The Coefficient of performance varies through the heating season but, synthesis of theory with test rig performance demonstrate that the longer term cost of the system is attractive; and its attraction shall probably grow with anticipated future trends in consumer demands for comfort and air quality coupled with fuel costs and a philanthropic social and political attitude to emissions control.
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Stampouli, Dafni. "Improved qualification of vascular abnormalities in contrast enhanced magnetic resonance angiographic images." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2009. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/19967/.
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Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the western world, and the primary cause of adult disability. There is a great need for methods to identify patients at risk of stroke and decide appropriate treatment. The main criterion for identifying patients at risk of stroke is the percentage of the narrowing in the carotid arteries, which lead blood from the heart to the brain, which currently is quantified manually. This project is in collaboration with Blackpool Victoria Hospital and Christies Hospital in Manchester. The aim of this project is to develop software methods to improve computer-assisted carotid artery stenosis measurement based on Magnetic Resonance Images. A methodology is therefore presented, based on 3D geometry extracted from Contract-Enhanced MR Angiograms, to identify and segment the internal carotid arteries for stenosis quantification. The MRA data volume is initially automatically reduced, by locating the carotid arteries and creating two volumes of interest, each including a single set of carotids (either left or right). The artery of interest (Internal Carotid Artery - ICA) is identified in each sub-volume automatically, by tracking the carotid bifurcation and selecting the artery branch with no further arterial branches. The central axis of the ICA is consequently determined by calculating and connecting together the centres of gravity (centroids) of the 2D contours of the carotid in the axial plane. Segmentation of the ICA is carried out, perpendicular to the central axis, by applying adaptive thresholds along the ICA central axis based on local image characteristics. Hence, the cross-sectional area of the segmented ICA is then measured at different points along the vessel. The most stenotic area is identified, and a reference region is manually selected. The degree of stenosis is then quantified based on the reference and stenosed area measurements, according to the NASCET criterion. This provides a fully automated methodology to locate, identify, and measure the internal carotid stenosis. It is the first time that such complete methodology that covers the processing of the MRI data until the stenosis measurement is taken is developed and is fully automatic. The segmentation results are thoroughly evaluated against the manual delineations of two clinical experts (each performed the delineations twice), and against two popular segmentation techniques. The results were found successful and perform better than manual measurements and other current techniques. They present smaller variability than manual measurements and are able to deal with irregularities in the arterial structure, where other computerised techniques fail. The suggested methodologies seem promising and able to improve considerably both current clinical practice and other existing methodologies.
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Lee, Chang Hee. "Synaesthesia materialisation : approaches to applying synaesthesia as a provocation for generating creative ideas within the context of design." Thesis, Royal College of Art, 2019. http://researchonline.rca.ac.uk/3756/.
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For the past three decades, research on the topic of synaesthesia has been largely dominated by the field of psychology and neuroscience, and has focused on scientifically investigating its experience and causes to define the phenomenon of synaesthesia. However, the scientific research on this subject is now enquiring into potential future implementations and asking how this subject may be useful to wider audiences, and is attempting to expand its research spectrum beyond the mere scientific analysis. This PhD research in design by practice attempts to contribute and expand this scope: it shares a creative interpretation of synaesthesia research and questions its existing boundary. The past synaesthesia research in design has been largely focused on the possibility and potentials of sensory optimisation and cross-modal sensory interaction between users and artefacts. However, this research investigates the provocative properties and characteristics of synaesthesia and shares different approaches to its application for generating creative ideas in design. This PhD research presents nine projects, and they consist of approaches to synaesthesia application, toolkits and validations. Synaesthesia is one of those rare subjects where both science and creative context intersect and nurture each other. By looking into this PhD research, readers may gain insights of how a designer tries to discover a new value within this interdisciplinary context. This research contributes three types of new knowledge and new perspectives. Firstly, it provides a new interpretation and awareness in and of synaesthesia research, and expands its research boundaries, moving from analysis based research to application based research. Secondly, it outlines three approaches, a range of themes and toolkits for using synaesthesia as a provocation in generating creative ideas in the design process. Thirdly, it identifies the differences between previous synaesthesia application research and current application research within the context of design. Research on the topic of synaesthesia has been boosted significantly since the technological innovations (e.g. fMRI brain scanning and neuroimaging) in the early 1990s. However, this research was somewhat limited to scientific analysis analysis in order to understand the nature of the phenomenon. This research paradigm and the scientific focus have now shifted, and they are attempting to discover the potentials of synaesthesia's usefulness through different disciplines and channels. How can we apply the provocative qualities of synaesthesia within the context of design? This research journey begins by investigating this foundational question from a designer's point of view.
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Kilcoyne, Janet. "A case for art as a socially engaged, politicising force, utilising the work of Alfredo Jaar." Thesis, Royal College of Art, 2018. http://researchonline.rca.ac.uk/3768/.
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My original contribution to knowledge is a framework constructed via the writings of Antonio Gramsci and Walter Benjamin for understanding what distinguishes art as a political object from art as a socially engaged, politicising force. The dominant understanding of art's reformative social agency raises two ethical problems that the thesis addresses. The first involves the artist's right to assume the authority to represent people and social conditions. The second involves an ethical aesthetic of tastefulness that engages with viewing as opposed to action. The framework I develop argues that art's functionalisms, for good or for ill, do not work with categories of art but are embedded in the politics of all cultural production. By disentangling art from the elitist paradigms enmeshed in concepts of artistic skill and art's own internal history of development, the thesis clarifies what separates art as political object from art as a socially engaged, politicising force. In the thesis, I argue for the advantages of the framework I develop via critical engagements with influential approaches such as those advocated by Clement Greenberg and Roland Barthes, artworks such as those produced by Judy Chicago and Art & Language, and theorists of art's social and political role such as those offered by Chantal Mouffe and Jacques Rancière. A key point made across the thesis is that political art is not necessarily politicising art, with the former being more interested in modifying the forms taken by art - what art is - and the latter asking how art can contribute to social and political change - what art does. Subsequently, the thesis outlines in detail the aforementioned framework inspired by Gramsci and Benjamin. This sets the scene for the second half of the thesis, which discusses the installations and interventions of Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar, whose practices are an exemplary case for illustrating the potential of the framework outlined above. As a self-professed Gramscian, Jaar works to actively participate in practical life as a constructor, organiser and 'permanent persuader' (Gramsci, 1971, p.10), through creating models for 'learning to think, for solving a problem' (Jaar, 2006, p.76). Moreover, as someone who is explicitly political in his practices, and who has been lauded worldwide for his works since the late 1970s, Jaar is a highly appropriate artist through which to highlight the challenges inherent to attempts to make the most of art's social and political potential. The chapters on Jaar consider, in turn, his Chilean works in the late 1970s and early 1980s, his photographic installations, and his explicitly political interventions. I argue that, while at times the work has embodied a politicising dynamic, more often than not the work has remained political and thus within more traditional understandings of art and of the artist. As such, the thesis offers a richer, more holistic approach to theorising art and discussing artistic practices compared to existing scholarship and criticism, and it also enables us to develop more nuanced analyses of artworks which are presented as political and potentially transformative than has hitherto been the case.
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Teklu, Asmelash Yohannes. "Striking the balance between conforming to human rights standards and enacting anti-terrorism legislation : a challenge of the 21st century : an Ethiopian perspective." Thesis, University of Lincoln, 2014. http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/14695/.
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The attacks against the United States of America (US) on 11 September 2001 paved the way for the coming into effect of much counter-terrorism legislation across the world. Ethiopia is one of the countries that have introduced new legislation on terrorism, which is mainly drawn from the UK and, to a lesser extent, from the US. The aim of this thesis is to comprehensively assess Ethiopia's counter-terrorism legislation in light of the experiences of the UK and the US in dealing with terrorism. Furthermore, this thesis discusses the consequences of ‘copying' Western counter-terrorism legislation into Ethiopian culture, drawing particular attention to the need for a proper balance between legitimate security interests and the protection of fundamental rights. This thesis is organized as follows. The first chapter introduces the significance, methodology, limitation, and scope of the thesis. The second chapter discusses the development of Ethiopian legal system, human rights and counterterrorism measures. Moving forwards, chapter three seeks to analyse two important factors encapsulated within the right to freedom of expression; that is, the content and medium of the expression and the identity of the speaker/publisher. The relevance of these factors in giving effect to the right to freedom of expression is evaluated in light of the need to protect against the incitement and/or encouragement of terrorism. The chapter then deepens its critical assessment by reviewing the difficulty of implementing these factors in Ethiopia. Chapter four seeks to widen the debate by exploring the legal regimes governing intercept evidence - an issue of great importance in terrorism discourse. The chapter critically examines why intercept evidence obtained through a warrant is inadmissible in UK courts. Additionally, this chapter compares the position of the UK with that of the US, isolating areas of similarities and differences with a view to comparing the Ethiopian position on intercept communications. Chapter five focuses on the arrest of individuals on suspicion of terrorism and the length of pre-charge detention under the three countries selected for this research. This chapter will then explore whether there is a need for a watered down version of ‘reasonable suspicion' in terrorism cases. This chapter further considers Ethiopia's position with regard to the level of knowledge required to execute arrests, considering whether Ethiopia could and should reflect on the UK's position in attempting to facilitate a greater accordance with fundamental rights by shortening the 120 days pre-charge detention currently available to police when arresting individuals on suspicion of terrorism. The final chapter draws on the preceding debate and provides the concluding remarks on the thesis.
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Pool, Ursula. "The impact of water and anthropogenic objects on implicit evaluations of natural scenes : a restorative environments perspective." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2017. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/17669/.
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Research has consistently demonstrated that exposure to nature, as opposed to urban environments, can be beneficial to health and wellbeing. Among natural landscapes, aquatic (blue space) scenes are among the most preferred and psychologically restorative. Since such landscapes face an increasing range of demands, there is a need to understand how their restorative qualities arise and might be preserved, both in terms of the content of a scene and the psychological processes involved in its interpretation. This thesis examines the cognitive impact of placing artificial (human-made) objects in natural landscapes with and without water. It reports new findings regarding the importance of specific scene content for the restorative potential of blue space. The research also explores some of the underlying psychological processes, addressing novel questions about implicit (subconscious) attitudes towards natural landscapes. It compares implicit and explicit attitudes for the first time in this context. In four studies, methods from social and experimental psychology were used to investigate attitudes towards blue and green space with and without artificial objects. To examine the issues of both artificial objects and implicit attitudes, Study 1 used the Affect Misattribution Procedure (which measures implicit attitudes towards images) to assess whether implicit affect (subconscious positive or negative emotion) differed when the same natural scene was viewed with and without artificial objects. Results showed that introducing objects into natural scenes had a negative impact on implicit affect, particularly when the scene contained water. In order to be able to compare implicit and explicit attitudes, Study 2 examined explicit affective reactions to the images from Study 1 using questions adapted from the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (a measure of the restorative potential of environments). Blue space scenes were rated more highly than green space scenes on all components except aesthetics. The presence of artificial objects resulted in lower ratings on all measures for both blue and green scenes. Study 3 was motivated by an indication in the results from Study 1 that implicit attitudes towards blue and green space may differ. The Affect Misattribution Procedure was used to investigate this for natural landscapes without artificial objects. The study also examined whether implicit attitudes differ according to the type of blue or green environment. Viewing blue space scenes resulted in more positive implicit affect than green space, with sea views generating the most positive implicit affect of all. Following the discovery that artificial objects had a more negative impact on implicit attitudes to blue space than green space, Study 4 tested the possibility that this could be due to such objects being more disruptive to the conceptual coherence of aquatic scenes. The conceptual-semantic congruence of artificial objects was assessed using a lexical decision task, in which participants reacted to object words superimposed on scenes. Results did not support the hypothesis that artificial objects are less congruent in blue space than green space. Overall, the studies provide evidence that placing artificial objects in natural landscapes, particularly aquatic landscapes, adversely affects both implicit and explicit attitudes towards the scenes and may reduce their restorative potential. By successfully combining methods from social and experimental psychology, this research validates novel ways of formulating and addressing questions about why some environments have a more positive psychological impact than others. The new results reported here are not easily explained by current restorative theory, therefore might contribute to refining the theoretical framework within which restorative environments are studied.
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Deffor, Sally Selase. "An evaluation of the impact of the digital platform on hard news storytelling at the BBC and SABC online news sites." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2015. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/16637/.
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Digital technologies are impacting news cultures across the globe in various ways. In this thesis, I explore specifically how the digital platform is influencing hard news reporting practices at the online news websites of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). I investigate how the formats of the news reports, as well as the techniques and practices adopted for producing them are changing within these institutions. I also investigate the extents to which the role and identity of newsmakers are seen to be shifting in response to specific influences of digital technologies. These analyses are grounded on the theory that media convergence is a significant influencer in this changing space. This thesis finds that the context within which a news organisation operates is a strong influence on how it adapts digital techniques into the existing newsmaking practice. Consequently, the BBC as a PSB (Public Service Broadcaster) from a developed world is seen as having experiences that differ significantly from its counterpart, the SABC which is from the global South. Together, they are both being impacted in ways that are significantly different from private-sector mainstream or alternative news organisations across the two contexts. It also finds that the norms that govern the production of hard online news are deeply rooted in the old media platforms of print, radio and television such that significant continuities can be seen with respect to specific techniques and practices. Further, it finds that some of the hypothesised affordances of the space with regards to the combined use of multimedia, hypertextuality and interactivity to engage the audience are not fully experienced. This thesis therefore concludes that though the digital platform is evolving and hard to predict, its impact on hard news reporting practices is not particularly revolutionary at this present time within these two contexts. However, it is acknowledged that the web does have the immense capacity to support highly innovative interactive forms of storytelling demonstrated through news platforms, formats, and genres such as mobile, live blogs, and multimedia magazine-style soft news projects. Hence, this thesis’ deficiency is that it does not explore the significance of these newest and growing forms. However, in addition to drawing out specific nuances of the British and the South African digital media space, it contributes to providing a non-Western standard for measuring how the online news space is evolving, and fills the perceived gap about how under-researched contexts are appropriating specific digital techniques.
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Mostafa, Alaa El-Din Sabet. "Heavily doped bulk unipolar structures." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 1993. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/19009/.
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Transport properties of bulk unipolar (barrier) devices are investigated in the steady-state mode. This has entailed the study of heavily doped silicon characteristic which comprises important regions of the multilayer bulk unipolar devices. The devices covered are Camel diodes, P-plane barrier diodes and open-base bipolar transistors. Two operating modes are distinguished: the punchthrough mode, and the non punch-through (bipolar) mode. A combination of thermionic and diffusion mechanisms is used in the current - voltage analysis. Minority carrier transport at the polysilicon - monosilicon interface is also studied in polysilicon emitter bulk unipolar diodes with the emphasis having been placed on the influence of heavy doping; the aim being the development of a useful predictive tool for the study of these structures in which transistor action can be obtained due to the mechanism of barrier height modulation via minority-carrier injection. The validity of the analysis is evaluated by comparison with available experimental results. A new form of multigrain - barrier bulk unipolar diode structure has been proposed and analyzed using the carrier trapping model at the grain boundary of the polysilicon. Heavy doping effects / parameters are included in the developed analysis. As it stands, the present model helps in fulfilling the purpose of giving an insight into the physical mechanism of charge carrier transport with heavy doping at a fundamental level and providing a tool for the examination of the behaviour of alternative device configurations. However, heavy doping effects are revealed as being of profound importance in the determination of bulk unipolar device characteristics.
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Jones, Christopher Charles Rawlinson. "A study of novel computing methods for solving large electromagnetic hazards problems." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2002. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/18842/.
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The aim of this work is to explore means to improve the speed of the computational electromagnetics (CEM) processing in use for aircraft design and certification work by a factor of 1000 or so. The investigation addresses particularly the set of problems described as electromagnetic hazards comprising lightning, EMC and the illumination of an aircraft by external radio sources or HIRF (high intensity radiated fields). These are areas which are very much aspects of the engineering of the aircraft where the requirement for accuracy of simulations is of the order of 6dB as build and test repeatability cannot achieve better than this. Computer simulations of these interactions at the outset of this work were often taking 10 days and more on the largest parallel computers then available in the UK (Cray T3D - 40 GFLOPS nominal peak). Such run times made any form of optimisation impossibly lengthy. While the future offered the certain prospect of more powerful computers, the simulations had to become more comprehensive in their representation of materials and features, geometry of the object, and particularly the representation of wires and cables had to improve radically, and tum around times for analysis had to be improved for design assessment as well as to make design optimisation by trade-off studies feasible. All of these could easily consume all the advantage that the new computers would give. The investigation has centred around techniques that might be applied via alteration to the most widely used and usable numerical methods in CEM applied to the electromagnetic hazards, and to techniques that might be applied to the manner of their use. In one case, the investigation has explored a particular possibility for minimising the duration of computation and extrapolating the resulting data to the longest time-scales required. Future improvements in the capabilities of radiating boundary conditions to mimic the effect of an infinite boundary at close range will further improve the benefits already established in this work, but this is not yet realisable. However, it has been established that a combination of techniques with some processes devised through this work can and does deliver the performance improvement sought. It has further been shown that the issues such as object resonance that could have incurred significant error and distrust of computational results can be satisfactorily overcome within the required accuracy. Four papers have been published arsing from this work. Some of these techniques are now in use in routine analyses contributing to BAE SYSTEMS programmes. Plans are in place to incorporate all of the successful techniques and processes.
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Al-Khawaja, Nasreen. "Quality of life, biomarkers, and involvement of ghrelin in women with breast cancer." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2015. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/16593/.
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Breast cancer (BC) is the most common and most lethal cancer among women worldwide. More than a million and a half are diagnosed every year with more than 600,000 deaths among women worldwide. It is estimated than 1 in every 7 women will develop breast cancer in their life time. It is a major public health concern with high economic cost as well. BC is a multidimensional construct. Several dimensions of this construct have never been examined before in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study investigated major facets of the Quality of life (QOL) among women with BC in the UAE, compared it with a sample of age matched healthy group of women without any neoplastic background, changes in serum biomarkers of women with BC and to detect the impact of the disease on these biomarkers at the beginning of the disease before treatment started and then again 12 months later following treatment for the cancer and the role of ghrelin hormone in BC and depression at a tissue level and at serum level. In order to examine QOL with its all dimensions among women with BC, an epidemiological case-control study was conducted recruiting a sample of 300 women, 155 women with BC and 145 age-matched healthy women without any neoplastic background as a control group. This was carried out by using a series of standardized psychometric tools in addition to conducting a psychiatric diagnostic interview. Moreover, blood biomarker results were reviewed retrospectively for cases and controls at the beginning and then 12 months following treatment for BC. In relation to the histopathological characteristics and treatment modalities for BC, all pathology, medical and oncology data for 155 women with BC was retrieved from the computer system and analyzed retrospectively. Finally, in relation to ghrelin hormone, all mammary morphological types, normal, benign and malignant were examined with immunohistochemistry for the expression of ghrelin and its functioning receptor (GHS-R1a). Serum of the same women, whose mammary tissue sections were examined by IHC, was tested for ghrelin serum level to find out its link to BC and depression. This was carried out by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The results have demonstrated that women with BC had poor QOL in comparison to the control group. They had poor view of their body image and sexuality and moreover physical disability rate was high. They also tended to suppress negative emotions to a great extent. Anxiety symptoms were also high. Major depressive disorders and post traumatic disorders were lower among women with BC compared to healthy controls. Several risk factors turned to be linked to BC. These included age, having night shift work, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, oral contraceptive pills, hormonal replacement therapy and not breast feeding. In terms of significant traumatic life events, the Arabic version of the CESC English scale showed to have high validity and reliability among women with BC in the UAE. The results also showed that the levels of several serum haematological and biochemical markers seemed to be abnormal among women with BC compared to healthy control. These included elevated levels of platelet, basophils, liver enzymes, lactate dehydrogenase and tumour serum markers. On the other hand, they were low levels of serum magnesium, C-reactive protein and creatinine. Analysis of histopathological characteristics indicated that the aggressive biological nature of the disease was at the late stage and presentation to medical services for treatment. Clinically, women with BC seemed to have all treatment modalities for BC with high rate of mastectomy and axillary clearance. Regarding ghrelin hormone and it relation to BC, the results showed that malignant mammary tissues had an exclusive and differential immune-reactivity to ghrelin hormone, whereas its receptor, the GHS-R1a, was immune-reactive all mammary tissue morphological types. In addition, more metastasis to the lymph nodes was significantly correlated with more immune-reactivity to ghrelin receptor. The results for gene expression for pro-ghrelin, ghrelin and its receptors were inconclusive It is concluded that breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the UAE. It attacks women at an earlier age than their counterparts in the West. More attention should to be allocated to the QOL and the unmet psychosocial needs of women with BC. This in turn would improve compliance to treatment and prognosis as well. It is also recommended that awareness campaigns and early screening should be applied for early detection of the disease to prevent late presentation to the medical services and other complications.
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Timperley, Matthew. "The integration of explanation-based learning and fuzzy control in the context of software assurance as applied to modular avionics." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2015. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/16726/.
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A Modular Power Management System (MPMS) is an energy management system intended for highly modular applications, able to adapt to changing hardware intelligently. There is a dearth in the literature on Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA), which has previously not addressed the implications for software operating within this architecture. Namely, the adaptation of control laws to changing hardware. This work proposes some approaches to address this issue. Control laws may require adaptation to overcome hardware degradation, or system upgrades. There is also a growing interest in the ability to change hardware configurations of UASs (Unmanned Aerial Systems) between missions, to better fit the characteristics of each one. Hardware changes in the aviation industry come with an additional caveat: in order for a software system to be used in aviation it must be certified as part of a platform. This certification process has no clear guidelines for adaptive systems. Adapting to a changing platform, as well as addressing the necessary certification effort, motivated the development of the MPMS. The aim of the work is twofold. Firstly, to modify existing control strategies for new hardware. This is achieved with generalisation and transfer earning. Secondly, to reduce the workload involved with maintaining a safety argument for an adaptive controller. Three areas of work are used to demonstrate the satisfaction of this aim. Explanation-Based Learning (EBL) is proposed for the derivation of new control laws. The EBL domain theory embodies general control strategies, which are specialised to form fuzzy rules. A method for translating explanation structures into fuzzy rules is presented. The generation of specific rules, from a general control strategy, is one way to adapt to controlling a modular platform. A fuzzy controller executes the rules derived by EBL. This maintains fast rule execution as well as the separation of strategy and application. The ability of EBL to generate rules which are useful when executed by a fuzzy controller is demonstrated by an experiment. A domain theory is given to control throttle output, which is used to generate fuzzy rules. These rules have a positive impact on energy consumption in simulated flight. EBL is proposed, for rule derivation, because it focuses on generalisation. Generalisations can apply knowledge from one situation, or hardware, to another. This can be preferable to re-derivation of similar control laws. Furthermore, EBL can be augmented to include analogical reasoning when reaching an impasse. An algorithm which integrates analogy into EBL has been developed as part of this work. The inclusion of analogical reasoning facilitates transfer learning, which furthers the flexibility of the MPMS in adapting to new hardware. The adaptive capability of the MPMS is demonstrated by application to multiple simulated platforms. EBL produces explanation structures. Augmenting these explanation structures with a safetyspecific domain theory can produce skeletal safety cases. A technique to achieve this has been developed. Example structures are generated for previously derived fuzzy rules. Generating safety cases from explanation structures can form the basis for an adaptive safety argument.
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Hewish, Andrew. "Tropologies of the line." Thesis, Royal College of Art, 2018. http://researchonline.rca.ac.uk/3540/.
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This thesis articulates a tropology of the line, when presented in the singular, across theory, literature and visual art. It articulates and tests the singular line’s rhetoric and associated values exhibited in these modes of cultural production, suggesting that they cross-refer in light of Agamben’s arguments put forth in his Signature of All Things (2009), using a discourse following Lyotard’s concept of ‘drift’ put forth in his Driftworks (1984), and addresses the question of how such a study might be written from within the locus of the subject matter itself.
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Wodike, Obelema Tonbo Seddon. "Designing a value centred inspection method for children." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2016. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/16736/.
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There are currently several evaluation methods suited to children within the Child-Computer Interaction (CCI) community. However, these methods are user based leaving a gap in inspection method suited to children, that is, where children will act as the inspection method evaluators. This research focused on how to design an effective and easy to use inspection method where children will perform the evaluation based on their values. To ensure that the above is met, a user centred approach and a mixed methodology was explored and finally resulted in the creation of the Inspection Method for Children (IMCH) with an accompanying guideline. This six stages method could be used by CCI researchers as a guide to develop similar methods for children, by industries to perform inspection method evaluation with children on technologies designed for children and could be used by designers to gather design criteria for children’s technology. The process undertaken within this research to develop the new method is also novel and could be adapted by new and old researchers when adapting method to suit children. Future work will focus on carrying out evaluation with wider age range of children in the method to ensure suitability of the method for more children. Comparative studies of the method with other usability method to determine the effectiveness of the method and as a refinement process to produce a validated and refined IMCH method.
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Sherrington, Ian. "The measurement and characterization of surface topography." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 1985. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/22006/.
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The concept of surface topography is introduced and its relevance to the production and functional behaviour of engineering components is highlighted. Some aspects of the measurement and characterization of surface topography are reviewed. The strengths and weaknesses of particular techniques are identified. A system developed by the author which measures surface topography is described. It employs a stylus transducer and is designed to gather areal data from nominally flat surfaces using a multiple parallel traversing technique. The system is computer controlled and makes use of an original sampling technique known as 'sampling in space. ' This permits the use of signal averaging to control the level of ambient noise in the data and implementation of algorithms to reject transient noise spikes. An accurate specimen relocation device is included. The performance of this equipment is analysed and found to be better than that of other systems which use the conventional 'sampling in time' technique. The uses of two-dimensional spectral analysis in the characterization of areal measurements of surface topography are investigated. Computer software for calculating areal spectra is developed and used to evaluate the power spectra of measurements from surfaces produced by a wide variety of manufacturing processes. A technique which involves sampling power spectra to form 'surface signatures' is described. This is found to be an effective method of simplifying spectra in order to observe characteristic features. The distribution of variance within power spectra is examined. It is found that for many classes of surface a majority of variance is described by a relatively small proportion of the coefficients of the spectrum. Consequently a good approximation of a surface can be obtained by applying the inverse Fourier transformation to a small group of selected coefficients. A catalogue of Fourier coefficients for constructing numerical models in this way is presented.
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Scanlon, Thomas Joseph. "Work and non-work stress among solicitors : modelling the work-home interface." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2005. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/22005/.
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Focusing upon solicitors working in private law firms in England and Wales, the study investigates the interrelationships between domain-specific and work-home interference factors and their predictive value in relation to different categories of strain symptomatology and satisfaction outcomes. The research also examines the moderating influences of gender and family type on the interface between work and home, and their differential impacts on well-being. Data were gathered in two stages. Stage one involved 20 interviews that allowed respondents to identify sources of work and home pressures for themselves. Content analysis of the interview transcripts facilitated the development of separate work and home pressure inventories. In addressing the difficulties associated with construct measurement, stage two developed an unorthodox approach for measuring both forms of work-home interference, which was part of an extensive survey instrument that included established outcome measures. The sample group was devised using a cluster sampling strategy whereby legal firms were grouped according to their size and then by regional cities. Nearly 2,500 surveys were distributed with a return rate of nearly 30%. The data set was split into two sub-sets via a cluster sampling strategy based on gender and family type to allow for a series of exploratory and confirmatory analyses in the development and testing of structural equation models of the work and home domain. A distinguishing feature of this study is its examination of the work-home interface at the microlevel, which involved developing a series of structural equation models relevant to the most salient sources of work-home interference and domain-specific pressures experienced by solicitors. Through a series of exploratory and confirmatory analyses, the study' tested three differing sets of explanatory relations as to the interplay between specific aspects of the two domains, and the implications of this interplay for a range of outcomes. The findings provide strong empirical support to assert that work-to-home interference (e. g., concerns over ability) and home-to-work interference (e. g., unfulfilled domestic responsibilities) represent two distinct dimensions of individuals functioning with different rates of prevalence and different role related antecedents and outcomes that indicate that solicitors are being stretched in both domains. The empirical evidence indicates an increasing convergence in the public and private roles of male and female solicitors, highlighting the importance of both sexes having the opportunity to attain a balance between the domains of work and home. The study also demonstrates that work-home interference is not exclusively a problem for employees located in traditional nuclear families and shows that solicitors within differing familial situations (e. g., single persons) experience high levels of work-home interference that can exacerbate domainspecific pressures resulting in a poor state of health and low levels of work and home satisfaction.
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Noble, Glen. "Spaces of privilege." Thesis, University of Brighton, 2012. https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/4ea9b6c9-da5e-4c65-b56a-adaece58bbc7.
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There have been extensive developments in 'gay rights' in the past 10 years. This has prompted the contention that some gay white men are increasingly able to access privilege at the expense of continued marginalisation for various gendered, raced and sexual others. Homonormativity describes a process through which gay white male subjects are increasingly understood as normalised and accepted within existing relations of inequalities and that this temporality is accompanied by depoliticisation and tendency towards privatisation and domesticity. I use evidence from 15 in-depth interviews with men drawn from my socio-sexual network in Brighton & Hove and autoethnographic writings in the form of reflective diary entries and short vignettes to develop a complex and fluid understanding of gay white men's spatial practices and experiences of privilege. Compared to processes of marginalisation, the study of privilege has been less prevalent, yet the concept can be found in a broad variety of disciplines and foci of study. Privilege has been predominantly developed 'on the margins' of academia to understand how certain knowledges and identities come to be 'centred'. It is only recently that privilege has been adopted as a critical tool, used to explore the production of inequalities by 'mainstream' academia. The thesis integrates Foucaultian understandings of power with a queer and feminist conception of performativity and critical geographies to contribute an understanding of privilege as processual and situated, able to explore the multiplicity of intersecting spatial practices through which individual experiences are produced occur. This thesis contributes to understandings of privilege, building upon previous work to demonstrate how participants normalise their identities and their positioning within relations of inequality. These normalising practices render the spatial production of privilege invisible through specific discourses of legitimation, in the process (re)producing relations of inequality. I develop this spatial conceptualisation of privilege, by exploring where the participants describe becoming privileged, where they feel restricted, how these processes operate and how they are experienced and understood. By using critical theories of space and place, this thesis works across multiple identities (such as race, class, gender and sexuality) to show the processes through which different individuals may be simultaneously marginalised and privileged by different apparatuses of power relations. I augment discussions of queer temporalities and the spatialities of everyday lives for gay white men by tracing an apparently normative trajectory from 'coming out' through participation in 'gay scene' spaces and towards private domesticity. This process is facilitated by the participants changing abilities to access privilege in different places as they move through their lives. However, my research demonstrates that the participants' spatial practices are not as linear as this normative trajectory suggests. While men in this research are able to access privilege, this is a fragile process, vulnerable to contestation, demonstrating the continued importance of examining processes of heteronormativity. Overall, my work contributes empirical evidence of the manifestation and maintenance of privilege in the spatial practices of gay white men living in Brighton & Hove to develop a nuanced, complex and explicitly spatial understanding of privilege in everyday life.
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Desmarais, Sarah. "Affective materials : a processual, relational, and material ethnography of creative making in community and primary care groups." Thesis, University of the Arts London, 2016. http://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/12308/.
Full textAbstract:
This research concerns neglected affective, relational, material, and processual dimensions of amateur crafts practice in an arts-for-health context. Existing studies on the social impacts of the participatory arts are prone to blur the borders between advocacy and research, and are vulnerable to accusations of ‘policy-based evidence making’ (Belfiore and Bennett, 2007, p.138). Researchers have relied predominantly on interview material and surveys, and there is a lack of finegrained, long-term, ethnographic work based on participant observation. The distinctive potentials of making in this context, furthermore, have barely been investigated. This thesis addresses these deficits through a sustained ethnographic study of two wellbeing-oriented crafts groups supported by Arts for Health Cornwall (AFHC). One group was based in the community, the other in primary care. Observation produces novel understandings of the potential benefits of crafting for health as emergent properties of particular locations, relationships, and practices organized in distinctive ways around creative making. Firstly, as a counterweight to normative views of amateur crafts creativity as soothing and distracting, this study highlights a range of transformative affects including frustration, creative ambition, and enchantment. Secondly, countering an atomistic, stable depiction of such affects, this study describes them as fluid aspects of making processes. Thirdly, these unfolding processes are seen to be inseparable from the intersubjective (peer-to-peer and participant-facilitator) dimensions of creative groups. Lastly, this in vivo perspective problematizes a view of materials as an inert substratum upon which makers exercise their creative powers, and highlights the relevance of a ‘vital materialism’ (Bennett, 2010) for understanding the potential benefits of manual creativity. Sustained observation also produces a situated, spatial account of the extended networks of community belonging produced by the activities of such groups. Fieldwork is contextualized within a wider field using interviews with nine UK arts for health organizations. Consideration is also given to the influence of contemporary discourses of wellbeing, agency, and creativity on policy making in the area of arts for health. Findings have implications for good practice in the field, and for further research to inform political leadership concerning the role of the arts in health. These implications are drawn out in relation to the potential future contribution of the arts within a UK health economy undergoing rapid, crisis-driven transformation.
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Saadat, Nasser. "Thin film bearings with phase change of lubricant." Thesis, Aston University, 1991. http://publications.aston.ac.uk/15380/.
Full textAbstract:
The possible evaporation of lubricant in fluid film bearings has been investigated theoretically and by experiment using a radial flow hydrostatic bearing supplied with liquid refrigerant R114. Good correlation between measured and theoretical values was obtained using a bespoke computational fluid dynamic model in which the flow was assumed to be laminar and adiabatic. The effects of viscous dissipation and vapour generation within the fluid film are fully accounted for by applying a fourth order Runge-Kutta routine to satisfy the radial and filmwise transverse constraints of momentum, energy and mass conservation. The results indicate that the radial velocity profile remains parabolic while the flow remains in the liquid phase and that the radial rate of enthalpy generation is then constant across the film at a given radius. The results also show that evaporation will commence at a radial location determined by geometry and flow conditions and in fluid layers adjacent to the solid boundaries. Evaporation is shown to progress in the radial direction and the load carrying capacity of such a bearing is reduced significantly. Expressions for the viscosity of the liquid/vapour mixture found in the literature survey have not been tested against experimental data. A new formulation is proposed in which the suitable choice of a characteristic constant yields close representation to any of these expressions. Operating constraints imposed by the design of the experimental apparatus limited the extent of the surface over which evaporation could be obtained, and prevented clear identification of the most suitable relationship for the viscosity of the liquid/vapour mixture. The theoretical model was extended to examine the development of two phase flow in a rotating shaft face seal of uniform thickness. Previous theoretical analyses have been based on the assumption that the radial velocity profile of the flow is always parabolic, and that the tangential component of velocity varies linearly from the value at the rotating surface, to zero at the stationary surface. The computational fluid dynamic analysis shows that viscous shear and dissipation in the fluid adjacent to the rotating surface leads to developing evaporation with a consequent reduction in tangential shear forces.