224092 research outputs found
Sort by
Investigation of reverse offset printing for fabricating E-textiles
No full textReverse-offset printing (ROP) is an attractive approach for achieving microscale patterns, particularly in the development of electronic devices on flexible substrates. This work investigates the application of reverse offset printing (ROP) for fabricating e-textiles on fabrics, aiming to advance the field of wearable electronics. To achieve this, a custom ROP system was designed and developed, including the fabrication of a bespoke printer and a movement control program to enable precise ink transfer. Additionally, ink rheology was optimized to meet the requirements of ROP, ensuring high-resolution and uniform deposition. Key developments include achieving 50 μm resolution, enabling precise printing on flexible substrates. Two applications demonstrate the potential of this ROP technology: an interdigital capacitive (IDC) sensor with an encapsulation layers with thickness below 10 μm and finger width and fingers gap of 50 μm on fabrics for atopic dermatitis (AD) monitoring, which improves the reliability and consistency of the sensor’s performance and minimises the reduction in monitoring sensitivity. Electroluminescent (EL) lamps, which ROP replicates from screen printing at pixel widths down to 10 μm, showing improved lighting performance and power efficiency. This research contributes to the field by demonstrating the feasibility and advantages of ROP for high-resolution e-textile fabrication, offering new possibilities for integrating complex electronic functionalities into wearable textiles
Frank Oates, the Ndebele, and Knowledge Production in the 1870s: Encounters at the Edge of Empire
No full textRevealing preference discovery: a chronological choice framework
No full textWe propose a framework for the analysis of choice behaviour when the latter is made explicitly in chronological order. We relate this framework to the traditional choice theoretic setting from which the chronological aspect is absent, and compare it to other frameworks that extend this traditional setting. Then, we use this framework to analyse various models of preference discovery. We characterise, via simple revealed preference tests, several models that differ in terms of (1) the priors that the decision-maker holds about alternatives and (2) whether the decision-maker chooses period by period or uses her knowledge about future menus to inform her present choices. These results provide novel testable implications for the preference discovery process of myopic and forward-looking agents
Investigating ISA adaptation in a developing country context: the selective influence of Big Four affiliates
No full textThis paper examines how the national process of adapting the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) unfolds in developing countries, focusing on the case of Egypt. The study relies on data gathered from 33 semi-structured interviews with government officials and senior auditors alongside documentary evidence. Our findings show how legacy state institutions that were involved in the national standard-setting committee have largely fallen short of their aspirations to align local auditing standards with the expectations set out in the ISAs. The lack of a coherent approach to developing state policy objectives, resources, and public consultation, together with technical demands and translation difficulties, hampered the process. Such weaknesses provided an opportunity for the local Big Four affiliates to become deeply involved. The firms’ strategic manoeuvres were driven not only by a material desire to protect their market position/status but also by a commitment to a perceived national duty to support government attempts at national standard-setting. Importantly, our findings reveal the selectivity of such interventions and the differential impact of ISA adaptation on the diverse constituency of audit firms. Theoretically, we propose the institutional void perspective to conceptualise the intervention of private actors as well as to articulate the elements of a void in an audit regulatory process. While Big Four firms typically seek to position themselves in such processes, we argue that international reforms and policies should focus on fostering a more inclusive, accountable, and deliberative system that promotes the presence of diverse, independent and representative local audit actors
Stress or failure? An experimental protocol to distinguish the environmental determinants of decision-making
No full textAre economic decisions affected by short-term stress, failure, or both? Such effects have not been clearly distinguished in previous experimental research, and have the potential to worsen economic outcomes, especially in disadvantaged socioeconomic groups. We validate a novel experimental protocol to examine the individual and combined influences of stress, failure, and success. The protocol employs a 2x3 experimental design in two sessions and can be used online or in laboratory studies to analyse the impact of these factors on decision-making and behaviour. The stress protocol was perceived as significantly more stressful than a control task, and it induced a sizeable and significant rise in state anxiety. The provision of negative feedback (“failure”) significantly lowered participants’ assessment of their performance, induced feelings of failure, and raised state anxiety
In situ polymerization of barium hexaferrite ferrofluids for poly(Ethylene) succinate magnetic nanoparticle composites
No full textThe integration of hard magnetic barium hexaferrite (BHF) nanoplatelets into a dense poly(ethylene succinate) (PES) polyester matrix produces an exciting biodegradable thermoplastic magnetic polymer nanocomposite. In this work, scandium-substituted BHF nanoplatelets are grown and stabilized in hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant and subsequently dispersed in ethylene glycol, producing a stable ferrofluid. The ferrofluid is used for an in situ step-growth condensation polymerization reaction between the ethylene glycol-based ferrofluid and succinic acid. The polymerized ferrofluid forms a hard magnetic nanocomposite with filler content of up to 4.5 wt% of BHF nanoplatelets, which are homogeneously dispersed within a solid polymer matrix. With a filler content 16 times higher than in previous studies, the nanocomposite was chemically analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and gel-permeation chromatography (GPC) and optimized for chain length and molecular weight, reaction time and temperature, magnetic moment, and surface hardness. The polymer molecular weight was found to be 1359 g/mol with a monomer-to-polymer conversion of 89%. Highly dense polymer composites were characterized using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), while magnetic properties were determined by vibrating sample magnetometry (vsm). The synthesized magnetic thermoplastic polymer composite shows excellent magnetic properties, opening the way to advanced 3D magnetic printing and biomedical applications.</p
Could a hand-held, visual electrophysiology device theoretically reduce diagnostic waiting times for complex eye conditions in the NHS? A Discrete Event Simulation (DES) modelling study
No full textAdaptation as source of safety in complex sociotechnical systems
No full textIn the last 25 years, new theories, ideas, and disciplines of safety have emerged to address the evolving nature of safety management in complex sociotechnical systems. This thesis investigates the critical role of adaptation in ensuring safety with reference to UK air traffic control, emphasising the continuous, real-time demand compensations made by individuals to ensure safety through trade-offs, self-organisation, informal practices and strategies. The thesis presents the results of a structured exploration of adaptation and begins with a comprehensive review of the literature, grounded in human factors (HF) and safety research, to define the concept of adaptation and describe its many facets. It identifies the highly influential role of human operators in creating safety and the adaptive capability that they provide to appreciate the context of the system, the changing demands placed upon it in day-to-day operations and to respond with proportionate and appropriate actions that maintain system performance. Adaptation is characterised by nine factors, highlighting its multi-faceted nature and its essential contribution to system resilience, occurring in real-time yet often ‘hidden in plain sight’. Through a series of diverse case studies from UK air traffic control, the thesis validates the explanatory power of these factors. These case studies leverage unique access to decision-makers and frontline controllers, exploring adaptation at the level of the individual, team and organisation, and from both positive and maladaptive perspectives. A range of HF methods are employed to explore adaptation, and a multi-method framework is presented. Additionally, the thesis critically appraises the challenges of predicting adaptation in industrial risk management and proposes a novel semi-structured interview technique with the potential for broad industrial and cross-domain applicability. The thesis further examines the challenges of managing adaptation in highly regulated industries, discussing the balance between the need for structure and control in work whilst also encouraging innovation and learning. It highlights the importance of capacities for both adaptive innovation to test novel strategies and adaptive memory to retain experience and reapply beneficial strategies. Practical guidance is provided for safety practitioners on harnessing and developing these adaptive capacities within the framework of the Safety Management System. The thesis contributes to safety science by defining adaptation, describing methods for its exploration, validating the explanatory power of this approach through case studies, proposing a practical methodology for predicting adaptation and effects on adaptive capacities and offering guidance on managing adaptation and adaptive capacities in safety-related industries and complex sociotechnical systems.<br/
"We need carrots and sticks”: how to enhance student engagement with career learning in Higher Education
No full textAlthough students and universities are increasingly concerned about employability, student engagement often remains low. The question is why, and what can be done? This reflective paper addresses these questions by sharing recent experience of designing and delivering a credit bearing employability module. It demonstrates that combined rewards and punishments (carrots and sticks) can successfully enhance student engagement. We achieved 98% attendance across all sessions and an overall module satisfaction score of 90%. Our paper benefits academics, career practitioners and higher education institutions (HEIs) by offering practical solutions which can be scaled and transferred across disciplines, institutions and learning contexts
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage e-Prints Soton? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!