The University of Northampton: Northampton Open Journals
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Development of Tools to Calculate the Vibroacoustic Performance of Electrical Machines in Lift Installations
No full textImproper operation of the traction machine of a lift installation causes energy waste, vibrations and noise. The design of the machine must be optimum if energy efficiency and comfort specifications have to be satisfied. The vibrations and noise frequency spectra of electrical machines present manifest peaks at certain frequencies, multiples of the fundamental electrical frequency, that depend on the machine topology and its rotation velocity. Changes in its topology or in its mechanical properties (geometry, size, materials…) must be done in order to reduce the magnitude of peaks at certain excitation frequencies or to locate the excitation frequencies far from the natural frequencies of the structure or the lift installation. Machine designers need tools to calculate their vibroacoustic response once a certain design has been proposed, so they can modify it before a prototype is built in case the response is not acceptable. Numerical and analytical models to calculate the vibroacoustic response of electrical machines have been developed and experimentally validated. In this paper, the authors summarise the state of the art in modelling the vibroacoustic performance of electrical machines, provide some guidelines regarding the values to be assigned to the machine componets, and show some of the results obtained in their research work
Selling Lifts in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century
No full textAmong the most interesting artifacts associated with the history of lifts are manufacturers’ catalogs. The audiences for these documents included architects, building owners, engineers, and other lift manufacturers. Catalogs typically included detailed descriptions of lift types and individual components, which were accompanied by illustrations and accounts of specific installations. The catalogs also often described normative use patterns, which allows a unique glimpse into the world of late 19th and early 20th Century lift operation. Finally, the advertising language used to describe the mechanical virtues of a manufacturer’s lift systems is similar to contemporary catalogs: lifts were described as safe, efficient, and economical. The catalogs examined for this paper include those published by Brady & Thornborough, R. Waygood & Company, Archibald Smith & Stevens, and William Wadsworth & Sons, Ltd
Social media platforms as educational interfaces - considering the way forward for blended learning
No full textDespite their pervasiveness, Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are subject to a number of criticisms of their efficacy as platforms for blended learning (Weller, 2006). This paper considers the use of social media platform Padlet as an alternative educational interface through evaluation of an intervention-based case-study. Focus groups were conducted with the student cohort, identifying a number of recurring themes that form the main body of this paper: visuality and clarity of the interface, autonomy over learning, students as co-producers and critical reflection. These themes address the intervention itself, and acknowledge the limitations of the research by proposing potential developments. The paper concludes by drawing together questions for further research, and notably reflects on whether it is more pertinent to address the way we use educational interfaces, rather than the interfaces themselves, in considering ‘the way forward’ for blended learning in Higher Education 2018
Research into practice: evaluation of Skills Hub content and implications for library staff development in the creation of video OERs
No full textThe University of Northampton Skills Hub is an online open-access repository of academic skills resources whose primary content is a body of short video open educational resources (OERs) created in-house by staff. To ensure OER quality and to identify staff development needs, the Skills Hub: Review, Redesign, Rebuild project was conducted. The project assessed the quality of fifty of the Skills Hub’s video OERs by inviting fifteen reviewers from different user groups to critically assess the resources. The results were analysed thematically and then considered in relation to the extant literature on the creation of multimedia educational resources and online OERs. Four main practical categories required attention in the creation of future video OERs: technical, presentation, structural and content. These four categories fed into four superordinate categories regarding cognition and reception of OERs: comprehension, concentration, information retention and professionalism. Practitioner recommendations are made for video OER producers, and the findings are situated in relation the principles of multimedia learning theory
Blended learning and postgraduate skills: rethinking MA History
No full textThis study focuses on the implications of blended learning for taught postgraduate education. It takes as its focus the pilot year of the MA History at the University of Northampton, which had been redesigned to blend online and face-to-face delivery. By employing a student researcher to canvass students’ views, the project evaluates the implications of the delivery mode for the specific skills associated with the discipline of History. As well as evaluating this particular programme, the project uses it as a case study to develop a transferable framework for blended learning. The article argues that both online and classroom delivery can develop the key skills associated with postgraduate study in History, but in significantly different ways, so combining them in an effective blend can offer a pedagogical enhancement
International Students in the Asia Pacific – Mobility, Risks and Optimism (Peter Kell & Gillian Vogl, 2012)
No full textThe book offers a comprehensive understanding of complex dynamics of factors that characterize international student mobility while unpacking the inherent contradictions
Big Ears – sonic art for public ears: Reflections on collaborative training
No full textThis text critically reflects on the higher education public engagement training program, entitled ‘Big Ears – sonic art for public ears’. The authors detail the objectives and aims as well as the benefits of this initiative for the enhancement of the student learning experience. We consider Schmidt’s (Schmidt, 2012) notion of mis-listening and Christopher Small’s concept of ‘musicking’ (Small, 1998), and develop a critical argument on how public engagement has changed researchers’ views and attitudes about their own research. The text explores how the creative interaction with a young audience has had great impact on the students’ learning experience as well as on their employability/transferable skills, because Big Ears stresses the importance of pulling practice as research away from the academic argument of why artists should be supported inside an institution, and into the realm of the real – what to do when making art, how to make it relevant and applicable to audiences
Learning from student expectations of higher education: a study in a public university in Malaysia
No full textThis study looks at the expectations of undergraduate students in one public university in Malaysia with regard to the introduction of the Accelerated Program for Excellence (APEX). The university has undergone major transformations, which consequently influence the expectations of students. This paper uses two sets of data: data collected through six focus group interviews and data from responses to a series of open-ended questions. These open-ended questions were part of a bigger survey consisting of 275 undergraduates, but only responses related to the open-ended section were included in this analysis. Student expectations can be categorized into expectations related to educational qualification and their projected future; teaching, learning and assessment; and information technology and communication. We suggest that universities need to take into consideration students’ realistic expectations and manage unrealistic expectations. We also argue that universities need to be cautious in viewing students as consumers in order to function as institutions that generate and disseminate knowledge to students