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All Change
No full textThe opening event of the spectacular S&DR 200 Festival, All Change invites you to hop on board for the journey of a lifetime. 200 years ago, something astonishing happened here which changed the way the world travels, works, trades and plays… and opened up the globe for new adventures. Travel with us through time and place, as imitating the dog, movement directors Rocky Norton and Katie Pearson and SKYMAGIC drones bring their distinctive combination of technology, live performance and drone show to a celebration of the bold innovation, creative thinking and ingenuity that led to the world-changing idea of public railways. Using projection mapping and a beautiful new soundscape, this unique event will weave together a series of ingenious, playful images and music, which tell this remarkable story of innovation. As the show freewheels through time, we track the journey of the development of the railways, from the spark of an idea to the early locomotives, which powered the world into a new era; a story which moved people then, today and into the future
Test anxiety, emotional regulation and academic performance among medical students: a qualitative study
No full textMedical school can be a difficult and emotionally turbulent experience for students. Test anxiety is very common among medical students and may impact their academic performance. However, there is a lack of qualitative studies on test anxiety and emotion regulation in relation to the academic performance of medical students. This study aims to examine the relationship between test anxiety and academic performance among medical students, exploring the role of emotion regulation and coping strategies in managing test anxiety during examinations. The study involved 22 medical students from one Saudi medical school who participated in semi-structured interviews. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis was conducted on the transcribed data, resulting in the identification of four key themes. The emerging themes are test anxiety, academic performance, emotion regulation, and other coping strategies. Students’ anxiety can vary from a source of motivation to a severe obstacle. It impacts their theoretical understanding, practical abilities, and the evaluation criteria used to assess academic achievement. However, some students use both adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. Promoting emotion regulation and various coping mechanisms to address test anxiety in medical students is essential to enhance their academic performance and prepare them for future healthcare professions
The Ruskin VR Experience (Windermere Science Festival)
No full textThis project focuses on exploring the legacy of John Ruskin by utilising Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide a unique platform to display and explore his works. The Ruskin showcased interactive Augmented-Reality and Virtual-Reality experiences at Windermere Science Festival (10-11 May 2025), a festival delivering engaging science from cutting-edge research for families and the public. Ruskin is recognised as one of the earliest thinkers to observe the impact of human activities upon a changing climate. Using Augmented Reality and individual VR headsets, visitors explored Ruskin’s works and ideas in relation to nature and the environment as never before. The bespoke VR experiences, combined works from The Ruskin Whitehouse Collection with VR technology and student innovation. The exhibit builds upon The Ruskin’s recent development of digital innovative technologies to find new ways of engaging audiences
Designing More-than-Data Walks : A Situated Approach to Understanding Place in a Data-Driven Society
No full textIn our increasingly data-driven world, reliance on quantitative data to understand place risks overlooking the unique, nuanced dynamics that contribute to a holistic understanding. This research introduces More-than-Data (MtD), a concept that emphasizes the integration of data, information, knowledge, wisdom and lived experience to cultivate situated, engaging and balanced understandings of place. This research explores walking as a research method to embed MtD into practice. Walking, as a situated and deliberate practice, facilitates contemplation, observation, and direct interaction with the environment. Drawing on five MtD walks conducted in various locations, this research demonstrates the potential of walking as a practice for gathering and re-using MtD. The walks revealed the values of engaging with local communities and lived experience; identifying areas that may be data abundant or ‘data deserts’; using digital and analogue tools to capture MtD and the importance of experiencing place through the senses. The research addresses the limitations of data-driven understandings of place through integrating diverse knowledge forms and engaging with place in a more inclusive manner. Furthermore, the research challenges claims that the objectivity and neutrality often ascribed to data are illusory. Relying solely on data-driven approaches can perpetuate existing biases and inequalities by failing to capture the diverse perspectives and experiences that shape understandings of place. The insights gathered from the MtD walks inform the development of design principles for MtD walks. These principles, categorised into situating, engaging, and balancing aspects, serves as heuristics to support the design and implementation of MtD walks and similar practices. The research contributes to the growing field of Critical Data Studies, offering a practical approach to understanding place in a data-driven society. By integrating More-than-Data into the practice of walking, the research offers a tangible method for cultivating richer, more balanced and embodied understandings of the places we inhabit
Sound Statistical Model Checking for Probabilities and Expected Rewards
No full textStatistical model checking estimates probabilities and expectations of interest in probabilistic system models by using random simulations. Its results come with statistical guarantees. However, many tools use unsound statistical methods that produce incorrect results more often than they claim. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of tools and their correctness, as well as of sound methods available for estimating probabilities from the literature. For expected rewards, we investigate how to bound the path reward distribution to apply sound statistical methods for bounded distributions, of which we recommend the Dvoretzky-Kiefer-Wolfowitz inequality that has not been used in SMC so far. We prove that even reachability rewards can be bounded in theory, and formalise the concept of limit-PAC procedures for a practical solution. The modes SMC tool implements our methods and recommendations, which we use to experimentally confirm our results
Plant and soil biodiversity sustain root mycorrhizal fungal richness under drought stress
No full textMycorrhizal phenotypes arise from interactions among plants, soil biota, and environmental factors, but disentangling these drivers remains a key challenge in ecology. Understanding how these interactions shape mycorrhizal community assembly and stability is essential for predicting and managing these relationships in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. Here, we designed a fully factorial experiment examining how plant and soil biodiversity impact arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities under drought conditions. We further examined the role of plant ecological strategies in shaping these communities by including 16 herbaceous plant species along a gradient of plant-mycorrhizal reliance. Specifically, we investigated how plant traits and functional groups affected root-associated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal richness and composition. Although drought decreased arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal phylogenetic species richness in roots, this effect was mitigated by higher soil and plant biodiversity. Plants with traits indicating high mycorrhizal reliance, such as legumes, displayed lower arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal richness but maintained higher constancy over time and across treatments. Overall, our findings indicate that ecosystems with limited plant and soil biodiversity partially lose their ability to support diverse arbuscular mycorrhizal root colonization under drought conditions. If repeated, such a loss could have severe implications for both immediate plant functioning and long-term soil health. The varied responses of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities to drought in plants with differing ecological strategies suggest diverse fitness outcomes for plants and their symbionts, underscoring the need to integrate plant-symbiont dynamics into ecosystem management approaches to address global change
Studying Wildfire Fronts Using Advection–Diffusion–Reaction Models
Get PDFIn this work, we study the propagation of wildfires using an advection–diffusion–reaction model which also includes convective and radiative heat loss. An existing model is discussed and a physically consistent modification of the model is proposed. Using this, the existence of travelling waves (TWs) in the one-dimensional case is investigated. Prior numerical studies reveal the existence of TWs. Under the travelling wave ansatz and certain approximation, the model is reduced to a semi-autonomous dynamical system with three unknowns which can be analyzed by a shooting algorithm. It is hypothesized that under mild wind speeds, TWs in both directions exist, and under strong tailwinds only TWs in the direction of wind are possible. The theoretical implications are investigated using both solvers for the PDE models and the shooting algorithm. The results match, and unveil the dependence of the fronts on the parameters consistent with the predictions
Genetic Algorithm-based Control of a Modular On-Board Charger for Electric Vehicle Applications
Get PDFThis paper presents the operation and control of a modular on-board charger (OBC) for electric vehicle (EV) applications. The modular design enhances fault tolerance, scalability, and thermal management, making it suitable for high-power EV applications. Single-stage isolated Cuk-based converters are used as submodules, supporting bidirectional power flow for enhanced energy efficiency. Additionally, the modular OBC operates efficiently in various modes, including normal driving, regenerative braking, and grid-connected charging, thanks to its integrated structure. A key innovation is the implementation of genetic algorithm (GA)-based controllers, which optimise control parameters to address the right-half-plane (RHP) zero challenges inherent in Cuk converters, thereby improving system stability and dynamic performance. Simulation and experimental results in charging mode demonstrate robust performance, highlighting precise grid current control, effective power factor correction, and stable battery charging under both normal and partial fault conditions