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'A place to call our own: On the geographical and social marginalisation of homeless people
Get PDFNotwithstanding heightened awareness of the issues faced by homeless people, the notion that homelessness is the result of individual failings and weaknesses persists. The paper seeks to challenge that perception by giving voice to this marginalised group and exploring the mechanisms through which they made and remade as homeless. The paper highlights the spatial practices by which stigmatised groups come to be separated from mainstream society reinforcing the boundaries between ‘normal’ and ‘deviant’. It is argued that largely deprived of the private sphere, which arguably renders them in most need of public space, homeless people find themselves most subject to scrutiny, surveillance, social disapprobation and exclusion. We reiterate that rather than simply being associated with rooflessness, homelessness is as a function of ongoing geographical marginalisation and social alienation. We suggest that in responses, dedicated spaces for homeless people to occupy during the day, whilst not unproblematic, might disrupt such processes
On the interaction between corrosion and fatigue which determines the remaining life of bridges
Get PDFThis paper studies the combined effect of corrosion and fatigue on the growth of cracks that arise from natural corrosion in steel bridges. It is shown that if these two effects need to be simultaneously analysed. If not then the resulting life is not conservative. Consequently, to enable a better understanding of the remaining life of steel bridges this paper presents a simple methodology for performing this coupled analysis
Multiphysics field analysis and evolutionary optimization: Design of an electro-thermo-elastic microactuator
Get PDFIn the paper, the optimization of an electro-thermo-elastic microactuator is proposed. In particular, the maximum temperature of the actuator is to be minimized, while the total displacement is to be maximized. For solving this problem, the Adaptive Gaussian Process-Assisted Differential Evolution AGDEMO method is applied
The FRIDA Series: Frida Travels to Ibiza
Get PDFKaren Heald proposes a new poetic film under the thematic scope of the conference ‘female travellers in arts, music and film.’ Throughout Heald’s practice the relationship between travel, art history, film and painting has always been present. This is especially significant in the FRIDAm Series, an ongoing collaborative project with artist Sally Turner researching the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Heald and Turner first began collaborating in 2003. Turner working in the capacity as a fine art performer and Heald as a fine art filmmaker. The title of FRIDAm was chosen as a play on the words ‘freedom’ and Frida, Kahlo’s first name. The focus was on the legacy of Kahlo, her approach to politics, women’s equality, overcoming disability and establishing herself as a painter. Exploring the concept of how Kahlo might react and respond to an evolving art scene, FRIDAm attempts to capture the essence of Kahlo’s spirit in a contemporary world. Working closely with Turner, who has a striking resemblance to Frida, Heald has enabled a relationship to unfold, a rapport to evolve that has transcribed through the films. Together they have created a visual poetry without vocabulary. To act is to pretend whereas a performance artist performs with intent. Trust and empathy is an important part of the collaboration. The artists have developed a relationship that is extremely responsive, thereby allowing the performances to be both spontaneous and experimental in nature; suggesting another space another time, further compounded by colour. FRIDAm was born out of these experiences. Filming is predetermined in the sense that locations and attire are pre-arranged but Heald and Turner allow for an intuitive response to the site. Initially conceptual the films explore feminist notions of art theory yet are also concerned with the graphics of line, colour and form. There then follows a process of critical reflection that utilises graphics in an aesthetic response, which is constantly reassessed. Varying the speed of the films by slow motion techniques emphasizes the films poetics. Working out of a suitcase the artists have travelled together nationally and internationally ‘staging’ live art performances. These ephemeral events have been portrayed through time-based media and transformed into films and installations
Comparative analysis and practical implementation of the ESP32 microcontroller module for the Internet of Things
Get PDFThis paper discusses the Espressif Systems latest product ESP32 designed for Internet of Things and embedded system related projects. The ESP32 is a low-cost, low-power system on a chip series of microcontrollers with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities and a highly integrated structure powered by a dual-core Tensilica Xtensa LX6 microprocessor. This paper provides a comparative analysis of the ESP32 with some other market competitors and introduces the microcontroller specification, features and programming details. A portable, wireless oscilloscope based on the ESP-WROOM-32 and a mobile application is described in detail as an example of successful practical implementation of the device
GUI Design Exploration Software for Microwave Antennas
Get PDFOptimizers in commercial electromagnetic (EM) simulation software packages are the main tools for performing antenna design exploration today. However, these general purpose optimizers are facing challenges in optimization efficiency, supported optimization types and usability for antenna experts without deep knowledge on optimization. Aiming to fill the gaps, a new antenna design exploration tool, called Antenna Design Explorer (ADE), is presented in this paper. The key features are: (1) State-of-the-art antenna design exploration methods are selected and embedded, addressing efficient antenna optimization (critical but unable to be solved by existing tools) and multiobjective antenna optimization (not available in most existing tools); (2) Human-computer interaction for the targeted problem is studied, addressing various usability issues for antenna design engineers, such as automatic algorithmic parameter setting and interactive stopping criteria; (3) Compatibility with existing tools is studied and ADE is able to co-work with existing EM simulators and optimizers, combining advantages. A case study verifies the advantages of ADE
A geographical information system approach for analysis of surface areas in the context of renewable energy resources
Get PDFThe ability to assess an area for the potential of different renewable energies is governed by a wide range of technical, topographic and environmental variables. This paper discusses modelling these differing constraints for renewable energy potential and then to visualise results on an interactive map. A layered GIS is used with the UK as a location test area. The results compared different renewable energies potential for the same location in the form of kWh/m. On land it was found it is often possible to harness combined renewable energy from ground (solar, bioenergy), at altitude (wind energy) and underground (geothermal, GSHP) at the same time discovering increased multipliers of energy production and land use efficiency
GPS-track data processing for the optimisation of the powertrain for hybrid electric vehicles
Get PDFThis paper presents a method of GPS-track data processing and analysis which is aimed at obtaining the tangential and normal acceleration and the elevation angle data of a vehicle driving over its entire route with respect to time. The method comprises an algorithm which eliminates the position reading errors of the GPS system and improves the accuracy of the results. The data produced by this proposed method can be used for the efficient modelling and optimisation of the parameters of hybrid electric and pure electric powertrains
A simulation model for the control of electric vehicles charging networks
Get PDFThis paper presents the details of software development and implementation of a simulation model to be used for performance analysis of the control applied for management of a plug-in electric vehicles charging network. The model is designed to provide an evaluation of the tested control algorithms in terms of efficiency and stability operation. Apart from the control algorithm evaluation the model can be used for assessment of required control modification. The model has been built using Java language under paradigms of object-oriented programming and test driven development
A Comparison of Audio Models for Virtual Reality Video
Get PDFThis paper investigates the relationship between audio models for Virtual Reality (VR) video with respect to the senses of immersion and realism that each model delivers. Mono, Stereo, 5.1 Surround Sound, and a Virtual Spatialised Position configuration was developed for testing in a VR music video and evaluated with a user study. Participants experienced the VR video with these differing audio models as accompaniment a total of four times. Qualitative and quantitative data were recorded to evaluate user experience. The results indicate that no statistical significance was present between the four models in relation to immersion or realism, suggesting that complex audio renderings are not always necessary for effective user experience