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Immersive learning at Sparks, Bristol
No full textSparks is a centre for sustainability, creativity and education in Bristol. It is located in a large building formerly occupied by Marks & Spencer in the Broadmead precinct, a retail area in the city centre. Sparks is run by a collaboration between Global Goals Centre and Artspace Lifespace. It engages the public with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through its ‘department store with a difference’, events and educational workshops, and through the provision of creative community arts, rehearsal and performance spaces.This report summarises the results of a case study of Sparks conducted by the Learning domain research team at the Centre for Sociodigital Futures and the Education Lead at Sparks, from December 2023 to August 2024.The aim of this research project was to examine the role of publicly accessible immersive spaces (whether physical or digital), which bring people together and invite them to imagine other futures. This is, to our knowledge, the first academic research project to analyse Sparks as an empirical case study. We found that Sparks is enacting the future that it desires and functions as a ‘meanwhile space’, which serves a public value of collective learning. We highlight ways in which thinking about immersion, futures, digital technologies and community building could be used to enhance the educational goals of the space. The research observations were coded with the themes of site observations, immersion, digital, imagination, futures, sustainability and community. We discuss findings on each of these in turn and include some methodological reflections
Adaptive prescribed time path following controller for underactuated surface vessels
Get PDFHeading control of marine vehicles is an important issue in navigation and control engineering. This paper investigates the design of a prescribed-time robust adaptive path following control problem of an underactuated surface vessel with parametric uncertainties, unknown disturbances and control input constraints. The establishment of prescribed-time property consists of a prescribed-time regulation of the steering control systems and novel prescribed-time Line of Sight (LOS) guidance control, both of which satisfy the prescribed-time requirement. The feasibility of separate independent control design for the steering and the guidance control systems is guaranteed through the development of new results on nonlinear prescribed-time cascade systems with non-vanishing uncertainties. The Lyapunov method is employed to show that the equilibrium point of the whole system is prescribed-time input to state stable. Numerical simulations are carried out to validate the performance of the proposed control strategy
Psychological mechanisms of commuting: A cognitive dissonance approach to intercontinental commuting discomfort in Istanbul
Get PDFThis study explores the psychological mechanisms relevant for reducing commute dissonance, i.e., the psychological discomfort due to an inconsistency between commute-related cognitions and behaviour, based on Cognitive Dissonance Theory. The study is contextualised in Istanbul, where many professionals commute between Europe and Asia for work almost daily and experiences its negative effects on well-being. Sudden change to such intercontinental commuting due to lockdown restrictions provides a nuanced exploration of commuter attitudes and behaviour. Semi-structed interviews were conducted before (N =40) and after the COVID-19 pandemic (N=15). Interviews explored participants’ commuting perceptions, experience, attitudes and motivations. Findings show that effort justification (commuting as trade-off for living in Istanbul and/or in the preferred neighbourhood and as effective time use) is the primary psychological mechanism commuters use for rationalising the intercontinental commute. Findings confirm empirical research on residential location, family relations and career opportunities. This exploration contributes to urban scholarship by highlighting the relevance of intrinsic needs (i.e., place attachment) associated with urban characteristics of the city and the neighbourhood and demonstrating the intersection of urban characteristics and psychological mechanisms in explaining commuting cognition and behaviour. From a policy and practice perspective, our findings suggest that urban planning strategies should also focus on improving the commuting experience, even if transportation infrastructure cannot be changed in the short term
Computational time reduction in meso-scale masonry structure analysis by nonlinear topology optimization methods
Get PDFThis research presents a novel algorithm designed to reduce computational time in the meso-scale analysis of masonry buildings. The algorithm employs nonlinear topology optimization in conjunction with the Drucker-Prager yield criterion to identify critical zones within a structure. These critical zones are modeled at the meso-scale, while less critical regions are represented at the macro-scale. To evaluate the efficacy and accuracy of the proposed method, three masonry wall samples were analyzed, comparing computational time and accuracy across three modeling strategies: full meso-scale, full macro-scale, and optimized meso-macro scale. The results indicate that while macro-scale models provided faster analyses, they exhibited lower accuracy compared to meso-scale models and demonstrated greater initial stiffness and maximum force due to their elastic-perfectly plastic behavior. In contrast, the optimized meso-scale models reduced the computational time by 32.5%, 46%, and 30% compared to full meso-scale models, while maintaining high accuracy in replicating crack patterns and force–displacement responses observed in experimental data. These findings suggest that the developed algorithm offers an efficient and accurate computational approach for analyzing the complex behavior of masonry buildings under various loading conditions
ARUC-GAN: A CycleGAN-based attention residual U-Net for low-dose CT denoising in smart healthcare
Get PDFLow-dose computed tomography (LDCT) is increasingly adopted in medical imaging to minimize radiation exposure. However, the diagnostic accuracy is primarily affected by different noise sources, e.g., quantum, electronic, and reconstruction. Moreover, conventional denoising methods struggle with the non-uniform noise distributions in LDCT images and often require complex projection data, which limits their effectiveness and generalizability. Herein, we propose an AI-based denoising approach using an Attention Residual U-Net (ARU-Net) architecture integrated into the CycleGAN framework named Attention Residual U-Net CycleGAN (ARUC-GAN). The proposed framework outperforms state-of-the-art denoising models, such as RED-CNN, EDCNN, and CTformer, according to experimental evaluation on the Mayo Clinic abdominal CT dataset. The model exhibits a peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of 34.82 dB, a structural similarity index (SSIM) of 0.85, and an RMSE of 0.018. Furthermore, the model successfully maintains edge structures with an Edge Keeping Index (EKI) of 0.835. The visual examination validates ARUC-GAN’s superior texture and detail preservation. The results indicate that the suggested method has great promise as a smart health tool for improving diagnosis accuracy in LDCT scans
From industry to greenery: Exploring how users experience the Regent’s Canal
Get PDFSpending time in public places is positively associated with physical and mental health, nature connectedness and pro-environmental behavior. This is particularly important, with the ongoing climate crisis and biodiversity loss. However, many barriers exist which prevent people from accessing and experiencing greenspaces. Considering the importance of public places for sustainability, research should focus on how people experience public places, to better design them and encourage use. This study, therefore, explores how users experience the Regent’s Canal in London, as an example of a successful public place. However, there are ongoing debates regarding the definition of experience and which spatial attributes of public places shape and affect it. To address this, the current study proposes a multidimensional definition of experience and applies it to a single case study of the Regent’s Canal. Observation and walking interviews are adopted as research methods to collect qualitative data about how users experience the canal and how that spatial attributes of the canal shapes their experiences. Findings reveal that the canal’s spatial attributes have a significant impact on the way users experience it and that the canal is a successful and flexible public place that transforms from a transportation route during weekdays to a vibrant recreational place on weekends. Also, the spatial attributes of the Regent’s Canal demonstrate the complexity of experience and the need to research it from an individual perspective, contributing to current debates in the literature
The missed opportunity of local air quality management. In Lewis J. (Ed) Speaking up for science and the environment. Case studies for effective environmental engagement throughout the policy process.
No full textCase study eight, from James Longhurst, takes a longer-term view of policy delivery in practice, analysing how Local Air Quality Management has been delivered through local government. The case study provides a perspective on the limiting factors that can cause policy implementation to fail
Statistical or embodied? Comparing colorseeing, colorblind, painters, and large language models in their processing of color metaphors
No full textAbstractCan metaphorical reasoning involving embodied experience—such as color perception—be learned from the statistics of language alone? Recent work finds that colorblind individuals robustly understand and reason abstractly about color, implying that color associations in everyday language might contribute to the metaphorical understanding of color. However, it is unclear how much colorblind individuals’ understanding of color is driven by language versus their limited (but no less embodied) visual experience. A more direct test of whether language supports the acquisition of humans’ understanding of color is whether large language models (LLMs)—those trained purely on text with no visual experience—can nevertheless learn to generate consistent and coherent metaphorical responses about color. Here, we conduct preregistered surveys that compare colorseeing adults, colorblind adults, and LLMs in how they (1) associate colors to words that lack established color associations and (2) interpret conventional and novel color metaphors. Colorblind and colorseeing adults exhibited highly similar and replicable color associations with novel words and abstract concepts. Yet, while GPT (a popular LLM) also generated replicable color associations with impressive consistency, its associations departed considerably from colorseeing and colorblind participants. Moreover, GPT frequently failed to generate coherent responses about its own metaphorical color associations when asked to invert its color associations or explain novel color metaphors in context. Consistent with this view, painters who regularly work with color pigments were more likely than all other groups to understand novel color metaphors using embodied reasoning. Thus, embodied experience may play an important role in metaphorical reasoning about color and the generation of conceptual connections between embodied associations
Deep processing and utilization of shrimp and its byproducts: A review
Get PDFThe ever-increasing global demand for shrimp has spurred the growth of the shrimp farming and processing industries. Byproducts derived from shrimp processing, including shrimp heads, viscera, and shells, are underutilized and pose potential environmental pollution risks. Shrimp and its byproducts contain a wide number of components, including proteins, lipids, chitin, carotenoids, and minerals. Therefore, utilizing shrimp and its byproducts holds significant economic and environmental importance, with applications in food, pharmaceutical, and other industries. Shrimp processing technologies, including thermal and non-thermal processing techniques, are reviewed. Besides, the applications of shrimp and its byproducts are summarized, covering their use in food and nutritional supplements, development of active edible films, animal feed additives, and environmental and biotechnological applications. Additionally, the barriers and prospects of utilizing shrimp processing byproducts are also discussed. The extracted active ingredients possess various biological activities, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, and anti-inflammatory properties, and can serve as natural and safe food or feed additives or as important ingredients for functional foods and feeds due to their unique functional and nutritional characteristics. More importantly, the bioactive compounds contained in shrimp byproducts offer new approaches for the development of food additives and nutritional supplements. Looking ahead, the development and utilization of shrimp byproducts will move towards environmentally friendly directions, such as energy conversion, bioremediation technologies, and the manufacturing of bioplastics. Moreover, the integration with artificial intelligence technologies is expected to present broad prospects for development
Project Management Tools and Techniques - A Guide to Good Practice
No full textProject Management Tools and Techniques: A Guide to Good Practice presents a unique approach to the teaching of project management by blending theory, application, and case studies. Each chapter focuses on a specific tool or technique used by the project manager in a practical and applied way. The chapters approach this by addressing the following questions: · What does the tool or technique provide for the project?· How is the tool/technique delivered, managed, and used?· A case study of the tool or technique in use· The historical context and development of the toolThis book covers core project management topics such as project feasibility, lifecycle, scheduling, budgets, risk, complexity, leadership, handover and much more. Together the four sections of each chapter look at the benefits of using the PM process, or ‘why the process is used’ followed by ‘how it is delivered’ and then address ‘what can go wrong if it is ignored’ before noting its development as a tool within Modern Project Management. Each chapter includes a discussion of how each tool has developed using examples of landmark projects throughout the world to enable the reader to bring the theoretical and practical elements together. This new textbook covers essential skills required for successful project management, allowing both students and practitioners to apply the topics discussed directly to their environment, heightening understanding of the what, how, and why of project management. This book is suitable for use on a variety of global project management courses in disciplines across engineering, built environment, and business. It is also a useful reference for newly established PMs looking for a handy toolkit