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The characterisation and optimisation of the zinc bromine hybrid redox flow battery
Get PDFThis thesis was previously restricted to Strathclyde users only until 26th October 2023.The zinc-bromine hybrid redox flow battery (RFB) is one of the few battery systems that have seen implementation on the medium to large scale energy storage. However, there still exist financial barriers to allow this technology to be fully utilised on the market. To improve this system, several potential areas could be improved from cell design, additive chemistries and electrode materials.;Throughout this study, work was carried out on identifying new novel additives with the objective to complex the bromine without forming an immiscible phase. This work identified the use of a variety of ammonium- and phosphonium-based additives with appropriate carboxylic, sulphonate and hydroxyl functional groups to aid in the solubility of the complex. These additives were analysed in terms of their electrochemical response and on their physical characteristics. The data obtained were compared the industry standard complex, N-methyl-N-ethylpyrrolidinium.;Carbon felt electrode materials and activated carbon electrode coatings were also investigated to examine their potential applications in this flow battery. The felt electrodes although providing a greater surface area, caused the immiscible phase to become trapped within it which led to an increase in flow pressure which ultimately was detrimental to the performance of the battery. This shows an even greater need to develop the additive chemistries to make use of the large surface areas offered by the felts. The activated carbon coating was found to be preferable with improved electrode kinetics and ease of the immiscible phase removal once charged.;Finally, experience was gained on two large scale batteries which were characterised in terms of performance optimisation as part of this work. The ZnBr2 25 kW/ 50 kWh RFB was characterised at the Power Network Demonstration Centre, Scotland, and the all-vanadium 200 kW/ 400 kWh RFB was characterised at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne - Laboratory of Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry, Switzerland. This has led to a better understanding of potential complications and differences that occur from scaling up redox chemistries from a lab bench to an industrial level.The zinc-bromine hybrid redox flow battery (RFB) is one of the few battery systems that have seen implementation on the medium to large scale energy storage. However, there still exist financial barriers to allow this technology to be fully utilised on the market. To improve this system, several potential areas could be improved from cell design, additive chemistries and electrode materials.;Throughout this study, work was carried out on identifying new novel additives with the objective to complex the bromine without forming an immiscible phase. This work identified the use of a variety of ammonium- and phosphonium-based additives with appropriate carboxylic, sulphonate and hydroxyl functional groups to aid in the solubility of the complex. These additives were analysed in terms of their electrochemical response and on their physical characteristics. The data obtained were compared the industry standard complex, N-methyl-N-ethylpyrrolidinium.;Carbon felt electrode materials and activated carbon electrode coatings were also investigated to examine their potential applications in this flow battery. The felt electrodes although providing a greater surface area, caused the immiscible phase to become trapped within it which led to an increase in flow pressure which ultimately was detrimental to the performance of the battery. This shows an even greater need to develop the additive chemistries to make use of the large surface areas offered by the felts. The activated carbon coating was found to be preferable with improved electrode kinetics and ease of the immiscible phase removal once charged.;Finally, experience was gained on two large scale batteries which were characterised in terms of performance optimisation as part of this work. The ZnBr2 25 kW/ 50 kWh RFB was characterised at the Power Network Demonstration Centre, Scotland, and the all-vanadium 200 kW/ 400 kWh RFB was characterised at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne - Laboratory of Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry, Switzerland. This has led to a better understanding of potential complications and differences that occur from scaling up redox chemistries from a lab bench to an industrial level
Finding comfort in community : an exploration of the community formed by imprisoned sex offenders at HMP Glenochil
Get PDFThis thesis examines the experience of imprisonment for those convicted of sexual offences. It is primarily based on interviews conducted with twenty-five imprisoned sex offenders at HMP Glenochil. These interviews uncovered the existence of a community among this population. This research explores the nature of this community, how it is formed, and its implications. The community was found to exist on the basis of shared identity and shared norms. The shared identity in question is that of "sex offender". This pervasive label is reinforced throughout imprisonment in a number of ways (in particular through segregation from mainstream and from the stigmatisation that still seeps in despite this segregation) and results in a wealth of shared experiences as a result. This develops a sense of solidarity among this population - a central concept in community formation. The shared norms of this community all relate to one central idea: avoiding conflict. This is a key idea in creating the sort of prison experience desired by this population, one of peace where they are granted the safety and acceptance that is denied to them elsewhere. The peaceful community formed in prison can therefore be a source of comfort for these individuals. Being based on these concepts of safety and acceptance, the sex offender prisoner community provides a sharp contrast with the hostile community this population are faced with outside of prison on their release. This can have the unintended consequence of this group coming to prefer their lives in prison to their lives outside. This can lead to giving up on seeking parole or getting intentionally recalled after release. For some within this community, the challenges of release can seem too daunting when juxtaposed with a peaceful existence in prison.This thesis examines the experience of imprisonment for those convicted of sexual offences. It is primarily based on interviews conducted with twenty-five imprisoned sex offenders at HMP Glenochil. These interviews uncovered the existence of a community among this population. This research explores the nature of this community, how it is formed, and its implications. The community was found to exist on the basis of shared identity and shared norms. The shared identity in question is that of "sex offender". This pervasive label is reinforced throughout imprisonment in a number of ways (in particular through segregation from mainstream and from the stigmatisation that still seeps in despite this segregation) and results in a wealth of shared experiences as a result. This develops a sense of solidarity among this population - a central concept in community formation. The shared norms of this community all relate to one central idea: avoiding conflict. This is a key idea in creating the sort of prison experience desired by this population, one of peace where they are granted the safety and acceptance that is denied to them elsewhere. The peaceful community formed in prison can therefore be a source of comfort for these individuals. Being based on these concepts of safety and acceptance, the sex offender prisoner community provides a sharp contrast with the hostile community this population are faced with outside of prison on their release. This can have the unintended consequence of this group coming to prefer their lives in prison to their lives outside. This can lead to giving up on seeking parole or getting intentionally recalled after release. For some within this community, the challenges of release can seem too daunting when juxtaposed with a peaceful existence in prison
Dealing with challenges related to automated high-throughput hyperspectral imaging for assessment of tea products
Get PDFHyperspectral imaging (HSI) is emerging as a potential tool for non-contact, non-destructive high-throughput analysis of products and processes. The main benefit of HSI over point spectroscopy techniques is the possibility to explore both spatial and chemical information present in samples. However, there are challenges associated with using HSI as an automated tool for high-throughput applications.This study involves the application of near-infrared (NIR) HSI and data analysis methodologies for assessment of tea products. Assessment of tea products involved the development of support vector machine classification models for different tea products sourced from Unilever, UK. The study further involves covering challenges related to handling, managing and processing of HSI data in an automatic sense.Methodologies related to automatic pre-processing, compression and data fusion for assessment of tea products are presented.The findings showed that NIR HSI can be used for the classification of tea products with an accuracy of more than 97%. The pre-processing methodologies developed provided automatic removal of noise from the HS images. The shearlet-based de-noising method improved the classification accuracy by 11% and 19% compared to Savitzky Golay and median filtering, respectively. The total variation based de-noising method removed the dead strips from HS images, which is not achievable with traditional methods. The compression scheme devised, which utilised 2D wavelets and variance decomposition methods, gave a reduction in the size of HS images by a factor of 40. Finally, a methodology based on grey-level co-occurrence matrices is presented for extracting textural information from HS images. The fusion of textural and NIRinformation showed an improvement in classification accuracy compared to use of spectral or textural information alone.The methodologies presented will support implementation of high-throughput HSI forassessment of tea products and processes.Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is emerging as a potential tool for non-contact, non-destructive high-throughput analysis of products and processes. The main benefit of HSI over point spectroscopy techniques is the possibility to explore both spatial and chemical information present in samples. However, there are challenges associated with using HSI as an automated tool for high-throughput applications.This study involves the application of near-infrared (NIR) HSI and data analysis methodologies for assessment of tea products. Assessment of tea products involved the development of support vector machine classification models for different tea products sourced from Unilever, UK. The study further involves covering challenges related to handling, managing and processing of HSI data in an automatic sense.Methodologies related to automatic pre-processing, compression and data fusion for assessment of tea products are presented.The findings showed that NIR HSI can be used for the classification of tea products with an accuracy of more than 97%. The pre-processing methodologies developed provided automatic removal of noise from the HS images. The shearlet-based de-noising method improved the classification accuracy by 11% and 19% compared to Savitzky Golay and median filtering, respectively. The total variation based de-noising method removed the dead strips from HS images, which is not achievable with traditional methods. The compression scheme devised, which utilised 2D wavelets and variance decomposition methods, gave a reduction in the size of HS images by a factor of 40. Finally, a methodology based on grey-level co-occurrence matrices is presented for extracting textural information from HS images. The fusion of textural and NIRinformation showed an improvement in classification accuracy compared to use of spectral or textural information alone.The methodologies presented will support implementation of high-throughput HSI forassessment of tea products and processes
Fluid dynamic behaviour of dilute dunaliella salina suspensions in contraction-expansion microfluidic devices : potential implications for tubular phototbioreactors
Get PDFIn the last decades, microalgal biotechnology has been triggering increasing attention and several species have been cultivated industrially in photobioreactors (PBRs) of various designs. However, operational costs are currently too high since, in order to guarantee proper mixing levels and prevent algal accumulations, the cells are turbulently pumped and treated as passive particles. Whereas, PBRs should be adapted to the intrinsic features of the cultured organisms; hence, it is paramount to devise a new procedure that would permit experimental data to be acquired directly from the microalgae and use the data for optimising all the phases of the PBR design and utilisation. Therefore, the main objective of this PhD was to investigate experimentally the possibility of exploiting microfluidic devices as complementary tools for PBRs optimisation processes, focusing particular attention on horizontal PBRs equipped with static mixers. The experiments were mainly aimed at exploring the fluid dynamic behaviours of a specific microalga, Dunaliella Salina (DS), considering both living and dead cells while flowing within microchannels characterised by different abrupt expansion-contraction ratios (ECR) geometries (ECR 2-1, ECR 4-1 and ECR 7-1), assuming the employed microchannels as "simplified PBRs" and their microgeometries as static mixers.Initially, the experiments explored the algal behaviours subject to different flow rates in the channels, in order to assess whether better processing conditions may be achieved by optimising the PBR geometrical configuration and therefore addressing the exploitation of microfluidic devices for design purposes. The microgeometries were found to cause the developments of algal plumes that inhibited the wall interactions of the living cells but increased those of the dead ones. These opposite behaviours were due to different spatial distributions of the cells in the plumes. Moreover, the algal plumes also caused the formation of cell free zones which led to more homogeneous irradiance profiles.The second set of experiments investigated the potential use of microchannels for quality control purposes, studying the fluid dynamic experiences of the cells in crucial regions of the channels through targeted image analysis processes and assessing sizes and shapes of the DS cells studied. The results demonstrated that microfluidic devices can be used to detect early shear-induced damage to the cells and the variations of their size and shape distributions during the cultivation process.In the last decades, microalgal biotechnology has been triggering increasing attention and several species have been cultivated industrially in photobioreactors (PBRs) of various designs. However, operational costs are currently too high since, in order to guarantee proper mixing levels and prevent algal accumulations, the cells are turbulently pumped and treated as passive particles. Whereas, PBRs should be adapted to the intrinsic features of the cultured organisms; hence, it is paramount to devise a new procedure that would permit experimental data to be acquired directly from the microalgae and use the data for optimising all the phases of the PBR design and utilisation. Therefore, the main objective of this PhD was to investigate experimentally the possibility of exploiting microfluidic devices as complementary tools for PBRs optimisation processes, focusing particular attention on horizontal PBRs equipped with static mixers. The experiments were mainly aimed at exploring the fluid dynamic behaviours of a specific microalga, Dunaliella Salina (DS), considering both living and dead cells while flowing within microchannels characterised by different abrupt expansion-contraction ratios (ECR) geometries (ECR 2-1, ECR 4-1 and ECR 7-1), assuming the employed microchannels as "simplified PBRs" and their microgeometries as static mixers.Initially, the experiments explored the algal behaviours subject to different flow rates in the channels, in order to assess whether better processing conditions may be achieved by optimising the PBR geometrical configuration and therefore addressing the exploitation of microfluidic devices for design purposes. The microgeometries were found to cause the developments of algal plumes that inhibited the wall interactions of the living cells but increased those of the dead ones. These opposite behaviours were due to different spatial distributions of the cells in the plumes. Moreover, the algal plumes also caused the formation of cell free zones which led to more homogeneous irradiance profiles.The second set of experiments investigated the potential use of microchannels for quality control purposes, studying the fluid dynamic experiences of the cells in crucial regions of the channels through targeted image analysis processes and assessing sizes and shapes of the DS cells studied. The results demonstrated that microfluidic devices can be used to detect early shear-induced damage to the cells and the variations of their size and shape distributions during the cultivation process
Development of transparent protective self-healing coatings
Get PDFThis thesis was previously restricted to Strathclyde users only from 1st March 2019 until 1st March 2024.Functional self-repair systems found in living organisms have inspired scientists to design artificial materials able to recover from wear and damage. One of the current goals in the field of self-healing materials includes creation of such materials for optical purposes.The work presented in this thesis was focused on the development of novel, thermally-triggered, self-healing polyurethane coatings to be used as protective layers. Such materials must fulfil certain requirements: (i) the coating must be clear, transparent and exhibit haze below 2%, (ii) the coating must have a hardness of B or above, determined by the pencil hardness test, (iii) the glass transition temperature of the coating must be above room temperature and below 80 °C in order to enable a convenient, thermally-triggered healing, and (iv) the healing must be rapid, taking less than 10 minutes, and efficient, resulting in damage recovery of above 90%.To achieve the requirements a series of waterborne aliphatic polyurethanes based on polyols of various lengths and structures were synthesised. Followed the choice of the most suitable polyol, different isocyanates were examined, including hexamethylene diisocyanate and isophorone diisocyanate. Subsequently, several chain extenders, including diol, alkoxyamine and diamine of various lengths and structures, were tested. Finally, various crosslinkers and internal emulsifiers were studied. The self-healing process was examined in detail and relationship between the self-healing process and the morphology of the materials was established. Optimally designed coatings obtained up to 100% recovery within 10 minutes at 60 ˚C. The self-healing properties were found to be linked to phase-mixing of polyurethane matrix, creating an amorphous, homogenous and non-ordered polymer matrix with low haze values and high glass transition temperatures. At elevated temperatures a rearrangement of polymer was obtained, leading to the healing of scratches and disappearance of damage.Functional self-repair systems found in living organisms have inspired scientists to design artificial materials able to recover from wear and damage. One of the current goals in the field of self-healing materials includes creation of such materials for optical purposes.The work presented in this thesis was focused on the development of novel, thermally-triggered, self-healing polyurethane coatings to be used as protective layers. Such materials must fulfil certain requirements: (i) the coating must be clear, transparent and exhibit haze below 2%, (ii) the coating must have a hardness of B or above, determined by the pencil hardness test, (iii) the glass transition temperature of the coating must be above room temperature and below 80 °C in order to enable a convenient, thermally-triggered healing, and (iv) the healing must be rapid, taking less than 10 minutes, and efficient, resulting in damage recovery of above 90%.To achieve the requirements a series of waterborne aliphatic polyurethanes based on polyols of various lengths and structures were synthesised. Followed the choice of the most suitable polyol, different isocyanates were examined, including hexamethylene diisocyanate and isophorone diisocyanate. Subsequently, several chain extenders, including diol, alkoxyamine and diamine of various lengths and structures, were tested. Finally, various crosslinkers and internal emulsifiers were studied. The self-healing process was examined in detail and relationship between the self-healing process and the morphology of the materials was established. Optimally designed coatings obtained up to 100% recovery within 10 minutes at 60 ˚C. The self-healing properties were found to be linked to phase-mixing of polyurethane matrix, creating an amorphous, homogenous and non-ordered polymer matrix with low haze values and high glass transition temperatures. At elevated temperatures a rearrangement of polymer was obtained, leading to the healing of scratches and disappearance of damage
Multi-criteria decision support system for the best ship maintenance strategy
Get PDFMerchandise transported in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) zone by ships reached a level of 90% of its external trade and another 40% was carried internally among its member-states. Fifty thousand seafarers employed in the maritime sector. A close relationship of maritime transportation and growth of countries' GDP. In this regard, for each job created at sea, the equivalent of 5 works are created on land-based related activities (e.g. shore-based companies, consultancy activities, workshops, shipyards, etc.) However, downtime originating from the application of the minimum requirements for maintenance and subsequently the occurrence of unexpected failures such as required repair cost, ship production loss and so on. In the case of ship maintenance applied improperly, it has a potential threat to people (both crew & passengers), environment, assets, carried cargo. In addition, major ship accidents can be partially attributed to lack of maintenance or even inappropriate maintenance procedures followed both onboard and onshore (including all stakeholders.) As such, the maritime industry takes charge of the transport of huge commodities around the world, and a new approach to improving the reliability and efficiency of ships has been recently studied.;Ship maintenance, which accounts for up to 30% of the operating cost of a ship, is related to financial aspects in terms of loss of unexpected ship repair and operation possibilities and subsequent income. In order to consider implementing an overall maintenance strategy, several parameters that are essential for the overall maintenance on board are taken into account. These parameters include the maintenance approach of the shipping company, the cost of spare parts for the vessel, and the cost of crew training, etc. Moreover, if the proper maintenance sequence does not apply on board, side effects can lead to too many inspections (sup. Engineers, cargo/Class surveyors, etc.), additional spare parts and not well-planned logistics for the availability of the correct spare parts and machinery. When it comes to synthesizing opinions of decision makers, human opinions often collide due to collective decision making in the fuzzy conditions. A major issue of fuzzy multiple attribute group decision making is gathering adverse thought. Generally, the attribute weights (importance) by each expert can be different. For example, the final decision is affected by the evaluation of outstanding specialists in the group of judgment (i.e. chief engineer or skilled expert, as compared to other experts). Consequently, considering attributes based on the importance of each expert is an effective way to select the best maintenance method.;In this respect, the aim and objectives of the project and the approach used to undertake this study is presented in Chapter 2. More detail, a number of different ways to tackle ship maintenance are applied and then figure out the best maintenance approach through the problem of ship maintenance in Chapter 3. Section 3.1 the 'Critical Review - Maintenance approaches' section gives a background review of various ongoing maintenance methods and approaches.Section 3.2 represents Fuzzy set theory (FST). FST by Zadeh (1965) is developed by this circumstance. He suggested that a fundamental element of human thinking is a fuzzy set rather than a figure. FST is a more suitable tool for humans than rigorous mathematical rules and equations by handling inaccurate data and vague expressions. The AHP method which is employed to compute the relative importance of each expert and experts' weighting factors and entire attribute and alternative is introduced in Section 3.3. Furthermore, FAHP is offered to overcome ambiguity in decision making. The Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) method is introduced in Section 3.4. MADM approach is a way to help engineering and management decisions when evaluating and selecting what you want from an infinite figure of alternatives distinguished by multi-attribution. Chapter 4 then presents an FMADM approach using FST and AHP. The problem of selection of the best maintenance is a fuzzy multi-attribute group decision making regarding fuzzy evaluation and various expert judgements in terms of the technical aspect.;Decision makers often face the problem of selecting an alternative from a given number of solutions. Selected alternatives are the best alternative to meet a specific purpose in advance. The classic MADM methodology effectively addresses problems caused by inaccurate information. This classical method is not effective in delivering inaccuracies and ambiguities in unplanned and planned processes. The decision data for selecting the best maintenance approach to the problem of ship maintenance for the MADM problem is usually fuzzy, crisp or mixed. Thus, the decision model can handle all types of data.In Chapter 5, as a practical case study, the best choice of maintenance approach is employed to demonstrate the applicability of the suggested methods. Lastly, the final section summarizes and concludes this article. Therefore, this research is dedicated to finding reasonable decision models to address the issues mentioned above. It enables to make the development of MADM methods involving multiple decision makers who can work in the fuzzy conditions.Merchandise transported in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) zone by ships reached a level of 90% of its external trade and another 40% was carried internally among its member-states. Fifty thousand seafarers employed in the maritime sector. A close relationship of maritime transportation and growth of countries' GDP. In this regard, for each job created at sea, the equivalent of 5 works are created on land-based related activities (e.g. shore-based companies, consultancy activities, workshops, shipyards, etc.) However, downtime originating from the application of the minimum requirements for maintenance and subsequently the occurrence of unexpected failures such as required repair cost, ship production loss and so on. In the case of ship maintenance applied improperly, it has a potential threat to people (both crew & passengers), environment, assets, carried cargo. In addition, major ship accidents can be partially attributed to lack of maintenance or even inappropriate maintenance procedures followed both onboard and onshore (including all stakeholders.) As such, the maritime industry takes charge of the transport of huge commodities around the world, and a new approach to improving the reliability and efficiency of ships has been recently studied.;Ship maintenance, which accounts for up to 30% of the operating cost of a ship, is related to financial aspects in terms of loss of unexpected ship repair and operation possibilities and subsequent income. In order to consider implementing an overall maintenance strategy, several parameters that are essential for the overall maintenance on board are taken into account. These parameters include the maintenance approach of the shipping company, the cost of spare parts for the vessel, and the cost of crew training, etc. Moreover, if the proper maintenance sequence does not apply on board, side effects can lead to too many inspections (sup. Engineers, cargo/Class surveyors, etc.), additional spare parts and not well-planned logistics for the availability of the correct spare parts and machinery. When it comes to synthesizing opinions of decision makers, human opinions often collide due to collective decision making in the fuzzy conditions. A major issue of fuzzy multiple attribute group decision making is gathering adverse thought. Generally, the attribute weights (importance) by each expert can be different. For example, the final decision is affected by the evaluation of outstanding specialists in the group of judgment (i.e. chief engineer or skilled expert, as compared to other experts). Consequently, considering attributes based on the importance of each expert is an effective way to select the best maintenance method.;In this respect, the aim and objectives of the project and the approach used to undertake this study is presented in Chapter 2. More detail, a number of different ways to tackle ship maintenance are applied and then figure out the best maintenance approach through the problem of ship maintenance in Chapter 3. Section 3.1 the 'Critical Review - Maintenance approaches' section gives a background review of various ongoing maintenance methods and approaches.Section 3.2 represents Fuzzy set theory (FST). FST by Zadeh (1965) is developed by this circumstance. He suggested that a fundamental element of human thinking is a fuzzy set rather than a figure. FST is a more suitable tool for humans than rigorous mathematical rules and equations by handling inaccurate data and vague expressions. The AHP method which is employed to compute the relative importance of each expert and experts' weighting factors and entire attribute and alternative is introduced in Section 3.3. Furthermore, FAHP is offered to overcome ambiguity in decision making. The Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) method is introduced in Section 3.4. MADM approach is a way to help engineering and management decisions when evaluating and selecting what you want from an infinite figure of alternatives distinguished by multi-attribution. Chapter 4 then presents an FMADM approach using FST and AHP. The problem of selection of the best maintenance is a fuzzy multi-attribute group decision making regarding fuzzy evaluation and various expert judgements in terms of the technical aspect.;Decision makers often face the problem of selecting an alternative from a given number of solutions. Selected alternatives are the best alternative to meet a specific purpose in advance. The classic MADM methodology effectively addresses problems caused by inaccurate information. This classical method is not effective in delivering inaccuracies and ambiguities in unplanned and planned processes. The decision data for selecting the best maintenance approach to the problem of ship maintenance for the MADM problem is usually fuzzy, crisp or mixed. Thus, the decision model can handle all types of data.In Chapter 5, as a practical case study, the best choice of maintenance approach is employed to demonstrate the applicability of the suggested methods. Lastly, the final section summarizes and concludes this article. Therefore, this research is dedicated to finding reasonable decision models to address the issues mentioned above. It enables to make the development of MADM methods involving multiple decision makers who can work in the fuzzy conditions
The political economy of water : competing conceptions of the water commons
Get PDFThe struggle over water has been historically contentious. This struggle is defined by a struggle over the right to water. The right to water is steeped in a world of legal relations wrapped up in the complex property arrangements that comprise the global economy. These globally constituted arrangements impact water supply at a local level; yet, on a more fundamental level, these property arrangements reflect the dominant mode of production. By way of neoliberal policy reform economic globalisation increasingly encloses all aspects of social reproduction, including water and sanitation services (WSS). As private property increasingly becomes the prevailing form of property of the global economy common or collective rights and institutions are eclipsed. Although resistance to neoliberalism is widespread and diverse civil society within liberal democracies is comprised of competing and contradictory interests that mitigate against cooperative or shared appeals to a water commons. Diametrically opposed class interests increasingly invoke the language of the water commons when staking claim to water thereby raising critical questions concerning both the nature of the so-called water commons and the efficacy of such an approach. This thesis offers a radical critique of the idea of the water commons, one consisting of a comprehensive understanding of rights within the broader context of liberal democracy: that is, how the struggle over the right to water is defined by broader unequal property relations that characterize the capitalist mode of production. By way of a political economy critique this thesis offers a holistic and robust theoretical understanding of the struggle over the right to water by reinvigorating the question of property in the context of competing conceptualisations of water commons discourse.The struggle over water has been historically contentious. This struggle is defined by a struggle over the right to water. The right to water is steeped in a world of legal relations wrapped up in the complex property arrangements that comprise the global economy. These globally constituted arrangements impact water supply at a local level; yet, on a more fundamental level, these property arrangements reflect the dominant mode of production. By way of neoliberal policy reform economic globalisation increasingly encloses all aspects of social reproduction, including water and sanitation services (WSS). As private property increasingly becomes the prevailing form of property of the global economy common or collective rights and institutions are eclipsed. Although resistance to neoliberalism is widespread and diverse civil society within liberal democracies is comprised of competing and contradictory interests that mitigate against cooperative or shared appeals to a water commons. Diametrically opposed class interests increasingly invoke the language of the water commons when staking claim to water thereby raising critical questions concerning both the nature of the so-called water commons and the efficacy of such an approach. This thesis offers a radical critique of the idea of the water commons, one consisting of a comprehensive understanding of rights within the broader context of liberal democracy: that is, how the struggle over the right to water is defined by broader unequal property relations that characterize the capitalist mode of production. By way of a political economy critique this thesis offers a holistic and robust theoretical understanding of the struggle over the right to water by reinvigorating the question of property in the context of competing conceptualisations of water commons discourse
Development of a novel non-invasive digital clinical assessment tool and its 3D measurable parameters for the orthotic treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis
Get PDFAdolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) is the most common of the types of idiopathic scoliosis (IS), which has three-dimensional (3D) deformities which occur in the vertebrae, spine and rib cage during the adolescent period. The aetiology is still unknown but it is hypothesized to be multi-factorial. Orthotic treatment is the most commonly used conservative treatment for AIS to prevent curve progression and surgical intervention. Among the three pathological features of AIS, the coronal misalignment pattern is the most studied area because the two-dimensional (2D) coronal PA radiographic image is the most utilized as the primary clinical assessment tool and employed for both diagnosis and outcome measurement of AIS deformities in scoliosis clinics. The sagittal misalignment patterns have been the most unknown area of study. Lack of available comprehensive knowledge about the deformities of AIS in 3D space may leave clinicians to make assumptions in treating AIS. This may influence the success rates of orthotic treatment which have been inconsistent and found to vary considerably. The literature review and the survey project of this thesis also showed that there are not enough universally agreed-upon principles to guide orthotists in the 3D orthotic treatment of AIS, which may also induce significant quality deviations for each scoliosis orthotic device system.;To address this clinical gap, it was necessary to develop new effective 3D surface level measurable parameters to quantify the 3D AIS deformities and spinal misalignment, and to build a new suitable 3D non-invasive digital assessment tool that can be used with the parameters to evaluate and improve 3D spinal biomechanical knowledge and correction for effective orthotic treatment.For this thesis, two spinal alignment measurable parameter systems were developed. First, a radiographic spinal alignment parameters (RSAPs) system was developed based on the 3D osseous structural characteristics of a human's erect spine and the unique features in each spinal bony structural segment. The newly developed RSAPs were studied to determine if they are useful in quantifying coronal and sagittal AIS misalignment, especially for sagittal misalignment patterns, which had not been clearly defined prior to this study. Then the skin level spinal alignment parameters (SSAPs) were developed based on the previously established radiographic parameters (RSAPs), and validated by defining whether SSAPs correspond to RSAPs for the same subject and identifying if the skin profile of SSAPs accurately reflects the structural characteristics of a human's erect spine. The 3D concept of skin level parameters (3DSPs) was developed by adding six key non-spinal alignment parameters to comprehensively quantify not only 3D global spinal misalignments of AIS but also detect other major skeletal scoliosis deformities from the skin surface level. In addition, the reference range of 3DSPs were defined and its discriminative validity was examined by comparing the values between the AIS group and the non-scoliosis group.;This thesis introduced the development of a non-invasive digital calculating and visualisation assessment application by utilizing motion capture technology. This application can measure the corrective forces applied by corrective pads and provide immediate visual feedback on the computer screen by displaying the spinal misalignment and deformities numerically and visually, appearing in one of two colours depending on whether each value of 3DSPs is within the non-scoliotic reference range for that parameter while applying corrective forces. The feasibility of the newly developed assessment tool and measurable parameters was evaluated by showing their capability in quantifying 3D misalignment and deformities of AIS, by identifying the unclear 3D characteristics of AIS deformity, and by finding answers for some of the long-term unsolved biomechanical questions and current existing disagreements among the professional community involved in the orthotic treatment of AIS.In conclusion, this thesis demonstrated that these combined application tools can help clinicians and researchers to have a better understanding of the 3D misalignment and deformity patterns of idiopathic scoliosis, can contribute in establishing a unified and comprehensive 3D biomechanical corrective theory in orthotic treatment, and can lead to the improvement of orthotic clinical assessment and treatment outcomes in AIS.Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) is the most common of the types of idiopathic scoliosis (IS), which has three-dimensional (3D) deformities which occur in the vertebrae, spine and rib cage during the adolescent period. The aetiology is still unknown but it is hypothesized to be multi-factorial. Orthotic treatment is the most commonly used conservative treatment for AIS to prevent curve progression and surgical intervention. Among the three pathological features of AIS, the coronal misalignment pattern is the most studied area because the two-dimensional (2D) coronal PA radiographic image is the most utilized as the primary clinical assessment tool and employed for both diagnosis and outcome measurement of AIS deformities in scoliosis clinics. The sagittal misalignment patterns have been the most unknown area of study. Lack of available comprehensive knowledge about the deformities of AIS in 3D space may leave clinicians to make assumptions in treating AIS. This may influence the success rates of orthotic treatment which have been inconsistent and found to vary considerably. The literature review and the survey project of this thesis also showed that there are not enough universally agreed-upon principles to guide orthotists in the 3D orthotic treatment of AIS, which may also induce significant quality deviations for each scoliosis orthotic device system.;To address this clinical gap, it was necessary to develop new effective 3D surface level measurable parameters to quantify the 3D AIS deformities and spinal misalignment, and to build a new suitable 3D non-invasive digital assessment tool that can be used with the parameters to evaluate and improve 3D spinal biomechanical knowledge and correction for effective orthotic treatment.For this thesis, two spinal alignment measurable parameter systems were developed. First, a radiographic spinal alignment parameters (RSAPs) system was developed based on the 3D osseous structural characteristics of a human's erect spine and the unique features in each spinal bony structural segment. The newly developed RSAPs were studied to determine if they are useful in quantifying coronal and sagittal AIS misalignment, especially for sagittal misalignment patterns, which had not been clearly defined prior to this study. Then the skin level spinal alignment parameters (SSAPs) were developed based on the previously established radiographic parameters (RSAPs), and validated by defining whether SSAPs correspond to RSAPs for the same subject and identifying if the skin profile of SSAPs accurately reflects the structural characteristics of a human's erect spine. The 3D concept of skin level parameters (3DSPs) was developed by adding six key non-spinal alignment parameters to comprehensively quantify not only 3D global spinal misalignments of AIS but also detect other major skeletal scoliosis deformities from the skin surface level. In addition, the reference range of 3DSPs were defined and its discriminative validity was examined by comparing the values between the AIS group and the non-scoliosis group.;This thesis introduced the development of a non-invasive digital calculating and visualisation assessment application by utilizing motion capture technology. This application can measure the corrective forces applied by corrective pads and provide immediate visual feedback on the computer screen by displaying the spinal misalignment and deformities numerically and visually, appearing in one of two colours depending on whether each value of 3DSPs is within the non-scoliotic reference range for that parameter while applying corrective forces. The feasibility of the newly developed assessment tool and measurable parameters was evaluated by showing their capability in quantifying 3D misalignment and deformities of AIS, by identifying the unclear 3D characteristics of AIS deformity, and by finding answers for some of the long-term unsolved biomechanical questions and current existing disagreements among the professional community involved in the orthotic treatment of AIS.In conclusion, this thesis demonstrated that these combined application tools can help clinicians and researchers to have a better understanding of the 3D misalignment and deformity patterns of idiopathic scoliosis, can contribute in establishing a unified and comprehensive 3D biomechanical corrective theory in orthotic treatment, and can lead to the improvement of orthotic clinical assessment and treatment outcomes in AIS
Advanced signal processing tools for ballistic missile defence and space situational awareness
Get PDFThe research presented in this Thesis deals with signal processing algorithms for the classification of sensitive targets for defence applications and with novel solutions for the detection of space objects. These novel tools include classification algorithms for Ballistic Targets (BTs) from both micro-Doppler (mD) and High Resolution Range Profiles (HRRPs) of a target, and a space-borne Passive Bistatic Radar (PBR) designed for exploiting the advantages guaranteed by the Forward Scattering (FS) configuration for the detection and identification of targets orbiting around the Earth.;Nowadays the challenge of the identification of Ballistic Missile (BM) warheads in a cloud of decoys and debris is essential in order to optimize the use of ammunition resources. In this Thesis, two different and efficient robust frameworks are presented. Both the frameworks exploit in different fashions the effect in the radar return of micro-motions exhibited by the target during its flight.;The first algorithm analyses the radar echo from the target in the time-frequency domain, with the aim to extract the mD information. Specifically, the Cadence Velocity Diagram (CVD) from the received signal is evaluated as mD profile of the target, where the mD components composing the radar echo and their repetition rates are shown.;Different feature extraction approaches are proposed based on the estimation of statistical indices from the 1-Dimensional (1D) Averaged CVD (ACVD), on the evaluation of pseudo-Zerike (pZ) and Krawtchouk (Kr) image moments and on the use of 2-Dimensional (2D) Gabor filter, considering the CVD as 2D image. The reliability of the proposed feature extraction approaches is tested on both simulated and real data, demonstrating the adaptivity of the framework to different radar scenarios and to different amount of available resources.;The real data are realized in laboratory, conducting an experiment for simulating the mD signature of a BT by using scaled replicas of the targets, a robotic manipulator for the micro-motions simulation and a Continuous Waveform (CW) radar for the radar measurements.;The second algorithm is based on the computation of the Inverse Radon Transform (IRT) of the target signature, represented by a HRRP frame acquired within an entire period of the main rotating motion of the target, which are precession for warheads and tumbling for decoys. Following, pZ moments of the resulting transformation are evaluated as final feature vector for the classifier. The features guarantee robustness against the target dimensions and the initial phase and the angular velocity of its motion.;The classification results on simulated data are shown for different polarization of the ElectroMagnetic (EM) radar waveform and for various operational conditions, confirming the the validity of the algorithm.The knowledge of space debris population is of fundamental importance for the safety of both the existing and new space missions. In this Thesis, a low budget solution to detect and possibly track space debris and satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is proposed.;The concept consists in a space-borne PBR installed on a CubeSaT flying at low altitude and detecting the occultations of radio signals coming from existing satellites flying at higher altitudes. The feasibility of such a PBR system is conducted, with key performance such as metrics the minimumsize of detectable objects, taking into account visibility and frequency constraints on existing radio sources, the receiver size and the compatibility with current CubeSaT's technology.;Different illuminator types and receiver altitudes are considered under the assumption that all illuminators and receivers are on circular orbits. Finally, the designed system can represent a possible solution to the the demand for Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) systems able to provide early warning and classification and its potential has been assessed also for this purpose.The research presented in this Thesis deals with signal processing algorithms for the classification of sensitive targets for defence applications and with novel solutions for the detection of space objects. These novel tools include classification algorithms for Ballistic Targets (BTs) from both micro-Doppler (mD) and High Resolution Range Profiles (HRRPs) of a target, and a space-borne Passive Bistatic Radar (PBR) designed for exploiting the advantages guaranteed by the Forward Scattering (FS) configuration for the detection and identification of targets orbiting around the Earth.;Nowadays the challenge of the identification of Ballistic Missile (BM) warheads in a cloud of decoys and debris is essential in order to optimize the use of ammunition resources. In this Thesis, two different and efficient robust frameworks are presented. Both the frameworks exploit in different fashions the effect in the radar return of micro-motions exhibited by the target during its flight.;The first algorithm analyses the radar echo from the target in the time-frequency domain, with the aim to extract the mD information. Specifically, the Cadence Velocity Diagram (CVD) from the received signal is evaluated as mD profile of the target, where the mD components composing the radar echo and their repetition rates are shown.;Different feature extraction approaches are proposed based on the estimation of statistical indices from the 1-Dimensional (1D) Averaged CVD (ACVD), on the evaluation of pseudo-Zerike (pZ) and Krawtchouk (Kr) image moments and on the use of 2-Dimensional (2D) Gabor filter, considering the CVD as 2D image. The reliability of the proposed feature extraction approaches is tested on both simulated and real data, demonstrating the adaptivity of the framework to different radar scenarios and to different amount of available resources.;The real data are realized in laboratory, conducting an experiment for simulating the mD signature of a BT by using scaled replicas of the targets, a robotic manipulator for the micro-motions simulation and a Continuous Waveform (CW) radar for the radar measurements.;The second algorithm is based on the computation of the Inverse Radon Transform (IRT) of the target signature, represented by a HRRP frame acquired within an entire period of the main rotating motion of the target, which are precession for warheads and tumbling for decoys. Following, pZ moments of the resulting transformation are evaluated as final feature vector for the classifier. The features guarantee robustness against the target dimensions and the initial phase and the angular velocity of its motion.;The classification results on simulated data are shown for different polarization of the ElectroMagnetic (EM) radar waveform and for various operational conditions, confirming the the validity of the algorithm.The knowledge of space debris population is of fundamental importance for the safety of both the existing and new space missions. In this Thesis, a low budget solution to detect and possibly track space debris and satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is proposed.;The concept consists in a space-borne PBR installed on a CubeSaT flying at low altitude and detecting the occultations of radio signals coming from existing satellites flying at higher altitudes. The feasibility of such a PBR system is conducted, with key performance such as metrics the minimumsize of detectable objects, taking into account visibility and frequency constraints on existing radio sources, the receiver size and the compatibility with current CubeSaT's technology.;Different illuminator types and receiver altitudes are considered under the assumption that all illuminators and receivers are on circular orbits. Finally, the designed system can represent a possible solution to the the demand for Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) systems able to provide early warning and classification and its potential has been assessed also for this purpose
The role of empathy in the lawyer-client relationship : an exploration of how empathy can serve to address the issues of neutral partisanship and paternalism
Get PDFEmpathy's lack of definitional certainty has posed significant challenges in assessing its utility and value in the lawyer-client relationship. The author argues that the two main models of lawyering that seek to challenge the traditional model - the client centred and collaborative models - fail to adequately address the issues of paternalism and neutral partisanship that arise within the relationship due to their adoption of an incomplete definition of empathy. The author concludes that it is imperative for lawyers to employ a conception of empathy that includes both affective and cognitive components, and in terms of cognition, the lawyer must reciprocally employ both self and other-oriented perspective-taking in order to effectively empathically engage with their client. Ultimately, this thesis will conclude that when it adopts such a conception of empathy, and where it embraces a postmodern ethic of alterity, which encourages lawyers to attentively listen to, and appreciate, the narratives of the Other - particularly the subordinated Other, the ethic of care provides a superior basis from which toaddress the issues of paternalism and neutral partisanship.Empathy's lack of definitional certainty has posed significant challenges in assessing its utility and value in the lawyer-client relationship. The author argues that the two main models of lawyering that seek to challenge the traditional model - the client centred and collaborative models - fail to adequately address the issues of paternalism and neutral partisanship that arise within the relationship due to their adoption of an incomplete definition of empathy. The author concludes that it is imperative for lawyers to employ a conception of empathy that includes both affective and cognitive components, and in terms of cognition, the lawyer must reciprocally employ both self and other-oriented perspective-taking in order to effectively empathically engage with their client. Ultimately, this thesis will conclude that when it adopts such a conception of empathy, and where it embraces a postmodern ethic of alterity, which encourages lawyers to attentively listen to, and appreciate, the narratives of the Other - particularly the subordinated Other, the ethic of care provides a superior basis from which toaddress the issues of paternalism and neutral partisanship
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