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Productive robots and industrial employment: the role of national innovation systems
No full textIn a model with robots, automatable and nonautomatable production, we study robot-labor substitutions and show how they are influenced by a country's “innovation system.” Substitution depends on demand and production elasticities, the country's innovation capabilities, and openness. Making use of World Economic Forum data, we estimate the relationship for 13 countries and find that countries with poor innovation capabilities substitute robots for workers much more than countries with richer innovation capabilities, which might complement them. Innovation capabilities play a bigger role in the high-tech electronics sector than in other manufacturing and play a limited role in nonmanufacturing.</p
Labour pains: mothers and motherhood on the British left in the twentieth century
No full textBritish left-wing politics does not know what to think about mothers. In left-wing women’s movements, motherhood has been recognised as essential and difficult; necessary for future revolutions, not least in raising future revolutionaries. In less radical circles, it has been understood as a crucial contribution to the functioning of society, often forming the basis of women’s claims to citizenship and maternalist forms of politics. On the other hand, motherhood has been seen as a ‘natural’ function of women and a private responsibility, rather than a public good or a collective act which needs comprehensive state support. The family, in this reading, is a rather conservative force, better left to social reactionaries. Mothering has added additional hurdles to the gendered obstacles women already face in pursuing politics as activists or elected representatives. Perhaps because of this, many mothers in politics have sought to downplay or distance themselves from their roles as mothers, emphasising instead their contributions as workers and activists who can be fully committed to the left cause. Feminist historians have often followed their lead and have tended to write around political mothers’ maternal roles in their scholarship. This roundtable develops themes first explored in our November 2023 workshop, generously supported by the Royal Historical Society
The emotional wellbeing of students with profound intellectual disabilities and those who work with them: a relational reading
No full textInterest in the mental health landscape of young people is widespread. This paper focuses in on the emotional wellbeing of students with profound intellectual disabilities and those who work with them in special schools. A relational reading of the situation illustrates some relationships between the two and vulnerabilities of both. The authors engage with theory: the double (and triple) empathy problem and empathy more widely, and with the concepts of affect attunement, holding and ethics of care. They interweave brief reflections on their own experiences working and researching in special schools and argue that these relationally constituted spaces present challenges for the emotional wellbeing of students and staff. The paper concludes by calling for recognition of the emotional labour involved in interacting across different ways of being and of knowing the world and for greater attention to empathising in embodied, perceptual ways to aid mutual understanding and support wellbeing
Development of a monitoring system to reduce uncertainties in assessing the wind loading of pile foundations for railway overhead line electrification structures
No full textElectric traction is key to decarbonising railways, but there are challenges and uncertainties in the cost of electrification. Overhead line electrification (OLE) structures and their foundations have contributed to cost and programme overruns in the UK, in part owing to uncertainties in the structural loads transmitted to the foundations. Improved understanding of these structural loads, particularly the dynamic components from wind and train aerodynamic effects, is essential to reducing the cost and uncertainty associated with the design and construction of OLE structures and their foundations. This paper describes the initial development of a suite of instrumentation to record synchronised wind velocities, structural strains and accelerations on in-service OLE structures. The monitoring system aims to establish both the effects of wind loading for comparison with design code coefficients, and the structural dynamic response to trains passing at speed. Strain measurements at the base of the foundation and at the OLE cantilever connection will identify the structural loads transmitted into the foundation pile cap. Accelerometers will be used to assess the structural displacements caused by wind excitation of the structure along with exploring potential coupling between adjacent OLE structures. Key findings from a preliminary instrumentation deployment in a non-operational setting are presented and the implications for in-service field deployment at a variety of sites across the UK rail network are discussed, along with the implications of the improved understanding for geotechnical design
Household food insecurity, living conditions, and individual sense of security: A cross-sectional survey among Burkina Faso refugees in Ghana
No full textFood insecurity and achieving adequate nutrition is a major global challenge, especially in vulnerable groups such as refugee communities. In West Africa, thousands of Burkina Faso refugees have crossed the border into northern Ghana due to conflict and instability in their home country. We conducted a one-off cross-sectional survey to assess household food insecurity, living conditions, and sense of security among Burkina Faso refugees currently residing in the Upper East region of Ghana. Study data was collected over 14-21 October 2022 from 498 refugee households, via registered refugee households who were contacted with the help of the community refugee focal persons. We used the validated USAID household food insecurity questionnaire, analysed using Rasch modelling, with descriptive statistics, and linear regression analyses (with significance at p < 0.05) to assess food insecurity. Results revealed that 100% of households experienced food insecurity, with 95.2% defined as moderate or severe, and 70.4% as experiencing severe food insecurity. Refugees from rural areas were less insecure compared to urban refugees (β = -4.25 [CI: -5.79 --2.71], p < .001). Refugees residing in host communities experienced lower food insecurity than those in designated refugee camps (β = -1.56 [CI: -2.74 --0.39,] p = .009). Further, refugees who were dissatisfied with their accommodation size were more likely to experience food insecurity (β = 2.96 [CI: -0.06-2.47], p = .060). Most refugees (73.5%) felt safe and welcomed by host communities. Our results highlight the extremely high prevalence of moderate and severe food insecurity in this vulnerable refugee population. We provide evidence to support the need to improve food distribution logistics, prioritising suitable accommodation, and facilitating access to healthcare. Follow-up research, such as repeated community surveys, can track this evolving situation to continuously inform decision-making for refugee support.</p
Physical activity and incident pancreatic cancer: results from the UK Biobank prospective cohort
No full textBackground: the relationship between physical activity and incident pancreatic cancer is poorly defined, and the evidence to date is inconsistent, largely due to small sample sizes and insufficient incident outcomes. Using the UK Biobank cohort dataset, the association between physical activity levels at recruitment and incident pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) at follow-up was analysed.Method: physical activity, the key exposure, was quantified using Metabolic Equivalent Task (MET) values and categorised into walking, moderate, and vigorous activity. These categories were each analysed in quartiles. Summed activity was analysed both in quartiles and using International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) activity levels (low, moderate, high). Univariate hazard ratios (HRs) and multivariable-adjusted HRs (aHRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using Cox regression analyses.Results: a total of 542 incident PDAC cases and 2,139 controls (1:4 matching for age and sex) with a median (IQR) follow-up of 6.8 (1.7) years were analysed. No significant association was found in walking, moderate, and vigorous activities. In summed activity, only the 3rd quartile showed a statistically significant inverse association with PDAC risk (aHR 0.67, 95% CI 0.52-0.86, p<0.01). For IPAQ activity, the moderate and high activity groups showed borderline statistically significant associations with incident PDAC (aHR 0.80, 95% CI 0.63-1.00, p=0.05, and aHR 0.80, 95% CI 0.64-1.01, p=0.06, respectively).Conclusion: the large UK Biobank cohort study did not show a strong association between physical activity levels and the development of incident PDAC
Investigation of the performance of Unequal co-axial rotors
No full textThe behaviour of co-axial rotors is well understood, and they are especially practical for large UAVs due to their increased thrust without changing the vehicle footprint. However, for co-axial systems with varying propeller diameters between the two disks, research is more limited. The goal of this paper was to determine an optimal configuration for several different unequal co-axial setups using numerous different propeller combinations and separation ratios. Propellers with diameters of 26 and 29 inches are tested at separation ratios of 0.05 to 0.35. Thrust and power were collected using an off-the-shelf FS15-TYTO thrust stand, with the upstream and downstream propellers running at equal throttles. From this, performance was assessed through efficiency, thrust, and power consumption, and comparisons were made to an ideal combination without losses. The results show that for unequal combinations, the user should place the smaller propeller upstream for greater efficiency, but for maximum thrust capacity, two equal propellers are preferred. When compared to two independent rotors of the same size, a 26″ upstream rotor and a 29″ downstream rotor minimised thrust loss to 16%, compared to 23% for the opposite arrangement. It was also found that the optimal separation ratio is always approximately 0.2
Grain growth stagnation at 525 °C by nanoparticles in a solid-state additively manufactured Mg-4Y-3RE alloy
No full textUltrafine-grained (UFG) materials exhibit high strengths due to grain boundary strengthening, but grains can grow rapidly if post heat treatment is required, making it challenging to achieve grain boundary and precipitation strengthening simultaneously. Grain growth stagnation at 525 °C (0.87 Tm, melting point) was observed in a Mg-4Y-3RE alloy fabricated by additive friction stir deposition (AFSD), a novel solid-state additive manufacturing technology. The AFSD processing produced a UFG microstructure and two major second phases, Mg41RE5 and nanoparticles containing Y and O. After solid solution treatment (SST) at 525 °C for 72 h, no noticeable grain growth occurred. While Mg41RE5 particles dissolved into the matrix within 4 h of SST, the nanoparticles remained stable and unaltered. The observed grain growth stagnation is attributed to Zener pinning by these thermally stable nanoparticles. These new findings offer a novel approach to designing UFG materials with exceptional thermal stability for high-temperature applications.</p
Polyoxometalate nanoscale electronic devices
No full textElectronic memories play a crucial role in our ever more digital world. Traditional tech-nologies are reaching their limits as new computing paradigms continue to increasetheir demand for computing power, efficiency, and miniaturisation. Resistive randomaccess memories (RRAM) have emerged as promising candidates to solve these issues.Specifically, polyoxometalate (POM) -based devices show particular potential due totheir rich redox properties.This thesis explores the development of POM-based nanoscale electronic devices fornext-generation memory applications and neuromorphic computing. Throughout thiswork, I show that the phosphomolybdate POM, H3PMo12O40 is promising: it demon-strates rich redox activity especially when carefully deposited in nanogap separatedAl/Au asymmetric coplanar electrodes. By adding a thin poly(methyl methacrylate)(PMMA) layer between the metal electrodes and the POM film, device performancecan be enhanced, while addressing challenges such as device-to-device and cycle-to-cycle variations. My analysis reveals that a complex combination of factors explainsthe switching mechanism of these devices including: the POM redox reactions, envi-ronmental factors such as moisture, and device structure-related effects.I showcase the ability of these devices to mimic some operation of the biological brainand specific neural responses such as nociception, opening new possibilities for artifi-cial neural network technologies.This work advances the field of nanoelectronics by optimising both device architectureand material selection. My findings pave the way for the development of more effi-cient and tuneable bio-inspired computing systems. These POM-based devices offersolutions to overcome current technology limitations, potentially shaping future elec-tronic systems
Robust calibration of shaft and base resistance factors for piles based on multiobjective optimization
No full textResistance factors are used to account for the uncertainties associated with pile resistance in load and resistance factor design (LRFD). Current design codes and most previous studies recommend a single resistance factor applied to the total pile resistance (shaft and base resistances). However, the uncertainties associated with shaft and base resistances are significantly different. Moreover, resistance factors are generally calibrated based on the statistics of resistance bias factors derived using all data collected from different sites, whereas the variability of the statistics between various sites (i.e., cross-site variability) has been ignored in the traditional calibration approaches, which may result in the designs based on the calibrated resistance factors violating safety requirements. In this paper, a robust calibration approach is proposed to calibrate shaft and base resistance factors, explicitly considering the cross-site variability in the statistics of resistance bias factors in the calibration process. To achieve that, the feasible robustness concept is adopted to describe the probability that the design remains able to achieve the target reliability index when the statistics of resistance bias factor exhibit cross-site variability. The calibration process is implemented through a multiobjective optimization, which leads to a Pareto front that describes the trade-off relationship between shaft and base resistance factors and feasible robustness. The optimal shaft and base resistance factors are determined using the minimum distance approach. The proposed approach is demonstrated and applied to calibrate shaft and base resistance factors for three design methods, the Vesic, Meyerhof, and Nordlund methods. Results show that resistance factors are significantly affected by design methods and the ratio of shaft and base resistances.</p
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