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Integration of smart data analytics with lean six sigma in an auto manufacturing company
No full textDespite the many benefits of lean six sigma in manufacturing, there are several downsides, such as the tiring decision-making process and the difficulty in detecting defects caused by the often enormous and complex manufacturing data (Thomas, et al., 2009). In addition, the lack of substantial evidence on the business model for lean six sigma implementation with Smart Data hinders policymakers from making good design, implementation and evaluation of policies and practices (IBM, 2010). Hence, there is a need for continuous process improvement in vehicle manufacturing companies through the uninterrupted or non-disruptive integration of Smart Data and Lean Six Sigma through simulation.Therefore, the main aim of this study is to investigate the integration of Smart data analytics with lean six sigma technique within the manufacturing processes of a vehicle manufacturing company to optimise productivity. To achieve this, the research employed a mixed method research approach. Quantitative smart data was gathered from two case studies of companies in the vehicle manufacturing industry. For Case Study 1, data was collected from Anglia Ruskin University’s lecture manual. Whereas for Case Study 2, primary data was collected from the company's real-time data monitoring system and validated by observing and recording the manufacturing process using a stopwatch. In addition, qualitative data was collected from relevant company documents and observations. Lastly, the researcher utilised Witness Discrete Event Simulation to model, analyse and optimise process performance in automobile manufacturing businesses using Smart Data and Lean Six Sigma.In conclusion, the research findings demonstrate that integrating Smart data with Lean Six Sigma process within the manufacturing processes of a vehicle manufacturing company optimises manufacturing productivity and reduces waste. Through the case studies, it was revealed that intermixing the methodologies helped speed up identifying root causes. Overall, the new framework resulted in a significant increase in throughput, with case study 1 improving by 8.23% and case study 2 by 2.4%, 27.7% and 106% for scenario one, scenario two and scenario three respectively. In addition, the study established that auto manufacturing firms adopt Smart Data in various ways. Some of the ways are outlined but not limited to RFIDs for manufacturing information systems and MTM decision support systems. Finally, the research shows that the globe is increasingly becoming a digital community at an alarming rate. As a result, Smart Data is being adopted by industries in all sectors around the world and the manufacturing sector, on the other hand, is trailing.</p
Shooting in Zambia: (re)negotiating the colonial library through photographic practice
No full textThis thesis examines how critical creative practice research can question (neo)colonial visual representations and contribute to the development of decolonial photographic narratives of Zambia. In this study I developed collaborative research methods with Zambian photographers, who visually explore social and economic changes in Zambia, to create alternative images that challenge current representations. During the testing and evaluating of collaborative and decolonial creative research methods I emphasised the importance of information exchange between my own photographic practice and that of my Zambian colleagues. Extensive research has been conducted on the decolonization of photography. This research primarily focuses on existing visual material and archives rather than exploring the decolonizing methods of critical creative practice research. This thesis therefore addresses a major gap in research within the context of decolonisation of photographic practice. This study advances our understanding of the positive impact of a shared unlearning process on photographic practice and recognises the workshop as a research method. I employed a methodology grounded in action research developed further through decolonial methodologies of Grande’s Red Pedagogy and slow research, who advocate for ‘space of engagement’ and ‘involving the community in our research’ to build trust and empower all participants, including myself as researcher. The findings of the research illustrate how the impact of collaborative making and trust building allows for new knowledge to emerge that might influence how Zambia is represented and sees itself in the contemporary photographic record. Through three photographic projects I developed my positionality as a privilege-cognisant mentor that allows me to also recognise my limitation as an outsider researcher. In Generation Z, I advanced my own critical creative practice by unlearning persistent visual narratives of the continent, during Stories of Kalingalinga we established an ethical and collaborative artistic practice and PhotoCovidZambia created a unique and affective visual response to COVID-19. By bringing together aspects of Zambian photographic history and practice this thesis serves as a stepstone towards what I call visual self-governance.</p
Results of a survey of UK farmers on food system vulnerability over the short and long term
No full textWe report the results of a survey of farmers and landowners to identify the most likely potential food system disruption scenarios for the UK and compare these with a previous expert elicitation with a much wider set of food system stakeholders. We found that 60% of farmers think a Societal Event in which 1 in 2000 people are injured in the UK is at least 20% likely to occur over the coming decade. Over a timeframe of 50 years, this increased to almost 90% of farmers. These results show that farmers and landowners are considerably more concerned about the vulnerability of the food system in the UK than the wider group of food system experts are. Farmers agreed with experts on the majority of potential causes of such vulnerability, which are climate change, trade policies (import and export), competition for land and ecological collapse (over 50 years). However, they also highlighted the importance of the power structure within the food system, with large corporations supplying to, or buying from, farmers creating lower revenue, making farming an unsustainable business. We conclude that an urgent systematic review of potential interventions that would improve resilience be conducted by the UK Government, in partnership with farmers. </p
Aesthetics and spectacle wear: investigating perceived harmony between face shape and spectacle frame shape
No full textBackgroundSeveral factors could contribute to the dislike of spectacle wear and aesthetics may be one of them. It is hypothesised that a mismatch between the shape of the face and the shape of the frame worn may have a negative impact on the perception of spectacle frame suitability. Currently, patients are being provided with contradicting advice, which if resolved, could improve spectacle wear acceptance.MethodsFour studies were carried out. First, an internet review of unsolicited reasons, from internet users, for the dislike of spectacle wear was carried out, followed by an offline paper-based survey seeking open-ended reasons for dislike of spectacle wear from 150 participants (Age: 18 to 40 years). Thereafter, a study of facial shape classification of individuals from three racial backgrounds through objective measurements (Models: N=15) and subjective classification (Judges: N=150; Age: 18 to 40 years), was done. This was preceded by a preliminary study. Finally, a frame shape-face shape suitability study was carried out, whereby 27 photographs (Participants of 3 different face shapes, from 3 racial backgrounds, wearing 3 frame shapes) were rated (5-point Likert scale) by real-life participants (N=150). These observers were also of different gender and racial backgrounds.Results and ConclusionInconvenience and Aesthetics were major categories of concern for the dislike of spectacle wear, both online and offline. Female subjects felt more negatively towards Aesthetics factors. In the third study, a facial shape classification algorithm was proposed, and findings indicated that round faces exhibit equivalence in height and width while square and oval faces have more angular facial outlines at the jawline and chin. Lastly, square frames were perceived as most suitable for square and oval faces, and both square and round frames were perceived as most suitable for oval faces. It was concluded that angular frames do not necessarily complement rounder features, and vice-versa. Racial background has an impact on the perception of frame-face shape suitability.</p
Thread Form at the Crystal Palace
No full textThe subject of this article is identification of the thread forms used at the sites of the Crystal Palace at Hyde Park and Sydenham. This includes Brunel’s two 284-foot Water Towers from the rebuilt Crystal Palace at Sydenham (1854-1936). This article establishes that the Whitworth (later British Standard Whitworth) form, suggested in 1841 and adopted as a standard in 1905, was being used at the Crystal Palace sites. Evidence for this comes from two sources. Firstly, a bolt used in the surviving fragment of a Crystal Palace column. The second bolt is from one of Brunel’s Water Towers. Both verified items are part of the Crystal Palace Museum collection. These relics measured the same as BSW threads, but were created fifty years before this was adopted as national standard. The thread was tested by manufacturing a new one to Whitworth’s published standard. Whitworth’s standard did not come from theory, but practice, formulated by taking the average measurements of screw threads used by leading British workshops. This article establishes that this vernacular form, which is still manufactured today as BS 84:2007, was in use at the Crystal Palace site thereby allowing efficient and quick construction.</p
From Waterloo to Peterloo
No full textThe Oxford Handbook of British Romantic Prose is a full-length essay collection devoted entirely to British Romantic nonfiction prose. Concentrating on class and perceptions of the army, this chapter examines the transmission of violence between Waterloo (1815) and Peterloo (1819). Both events produced polarized views: from the celebratory congratulations of William Wordsworth and Robert Southey following Waterloo and Peterloo, to the violent misery of William Hazlitt and Robert Wedderburn after these events. Wordsworth, who became a dark tourist of the battle scenes, usually found inspiration in places inhabited by the dead, but at Peterloo may have found his younger, radical self challenged by a new sympathy for the government-sanctioned killing of peaceful protestors. The conflation of violence between Waterloo and Peterloo further established that people were not so much separated by national interests as by class. Using texts by Samuel Bamford, George Cruikshank, Hazlitt, William Hone, Southey, Wedderburn, and Wordsworth, this chapter examines links between Waterloo and Peterloo as Britain saw demands for representation suppressed.</p
William Benbow, Francis Macerone and Revolutionary Transmission 1819-1831
No full textIn this paper I talked about about citizen armies and the influence of technology through citing four figures: the radical pornographer William Benbow, Colonel Francis Macerone, Robert Wedderburn and George Edmonds. Historians, such as Iorwerth Prothero and E. P. Thompson, identify that ‘1819 was a rehearsal for 1832. In both years a revolution was possible’. E. J. Evans concludes that ‘Britain has never in modern times been closer to revolution than in the autumn of 1831’. My argument is that there are two important distinctions between the 1819 revolutionary uprisings after Peterloo that occurred at Cathkin, Bonnymuir, West Riding and Cato Street in early 1820, and those promoted in 1831. Firstly, there are technological differences between the 1820 rebellions and those being fostered on eve of the Reform Bill. Famously, participants of the 1820 uprisings had few weapons: for example, at Bonnymuir, among the twenty-five to thirty people who took part, there were only five muskets, two pistols and eighteen pikes. By 1831 the working classes had greater access to new means to create weapons, including cheap literature in the form of mechanics’ magazines, as well as emerging technology in machine tools and steam ships. What also changed was the focus on who the enemy was. By the 1830s it had enlarged to include the liberal middle classes, William Benbow’s, ‘shopocracy’, who were no longer allies.</p
Using vertical farming systems for propagating everbearing strawberry: Physiological and technological feasibility assessment
No full textBACKGROUND: One of the biggest challenges facing the soft fruit sector is to propagate disease free strawberry plants in a timely manner, financially viable approach and in an eco-friendly fashion. OBJECTIVE: This study sets out to investigate the efficacy of growing everbearing Fragaria×ananassa ‘Malling Ace’ runners at different propagation dates and under Different LED lighting regimes using vertical farming units and glasshouse (as control). METHODS: To evaluate the effects of the treatment factors, some of the main horticultural features including rooting success rate, rooting speed, root and shoot biomass production, chlorophyll content and bud emergence were measured and statistically analysed. In addition, this study aimed to investigate the energy efficiency of a self-sufficient Direct Current (DC) based vertical farming unit, versus a vertical farming unit using the Alternate Current (AC) electricity provided by national grid electricity. RESULTS: light, tipping date, and the interaction between light and tipping date, significantly influenced shoot biomass, total crown diameter, and chlorophyll content in the leaves of ‘Malling Ace’. In terms of energy demand, the DC unit had a higher level of energy efficiency over AC unit with 23% less energy demand. CONCLUSION: In general, this trial demonstrated vertical farming as a potentially sustainable method and efficient tool in propagating strawberry plants.</p
The effect of preferential associations on the reproductive performance of group-housed sows
No full textThe investigation of social bonds as a measure to improve reproduction in farmed species is an underrepresented research area. This study investigated the effects of preferential associations between group housed sows (average herd size, n = 59) on stillborn and crushed piglet numbers. Preferential associations were described as resting within 60 s. The study occurred over 63 consecutive days, broken down into three 21-day periods referred to as cycles. The 21-day cycles represent the time between reintegrating events. Seven days per cycle were selected for observations providing 63 h of footage covering the functional areas of the barn. Production data were taken from one farrowing that occurred after a sow had been transferred from the barn to the farrowing house during the study period. For group-level analysis, the sows were categorised as socially prominent or non-socially prominent. Social prominence is defined as an individual that engages in significantly higher levels of interactions than their sub-group conspecifics. The subgroups were determined by our previous work that identified assortment by social connectivity within the same study herd. Each subgroup was defined as a k-core, in which the k-value represents the level of connectivity of those in the group (i.e., subgroup K1 means sows are connecting with at least one other conspecific). For individual-level analysis, sows were categorised as a sow with stillborn (at least one stillborn piglet) or a sow without stillborn (no stillborn piglets) and as a crushing sow (at least one crushed piglet) or a non-crushing sow (no crushed piglets). Degree centrality was applied to determine the number of interactions that individuals initiated and received. Results showed no overall effects of social prominence on live-born piglets (p = 0.436). Socially prominent sows demonstrated a lower mean rate of stillborn than non-socially prominent sows. Sows with stillborn had significantly lower degree centrality than sows without stillborn (p < 0.05). The numbers of crushed piglets between socially prominent and non-socially prominent sows were variable with crushing sows demonstrating significantly higher degree centrality than non-crushing sows (p < 0.05). Overall, the evidence does not provide a clear relationship between social prominence during gestation and the reproductive outputs of sows. Therefore, further work is required to validate the effects of social position in affiliative networks on the production indices of farmed pigs.</p
Evolutions in care, unmet needs, and research priorities in heart failure
No full textThe current treatment landscape for heart failure is predominantly stratified using ejection fraction. Established drug combinations and devices such as cardiac resynchronisation therapy are available for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), but medical options for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) have, until recently, been lacking.A major advance in recent years has been the discovery of effective therapies for HFpEF, including sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and perhaps also the mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, spironolactone. For patients with atrial fibrillation and heart failure, the benefit of rhythm control with either radiofrequency ablation or medical therapy is uncertain. Targeted therapies for the small proportion of patients with transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis are available, while antifibrotics seem promising for a larger proportion of patients. For patients with HFrEF, additional treatment options have emerged in the past 10 years. The angiotensin receptor–neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) combination sacubitril–valsartan and SGLT-2 inhibitors reduce mortality and improve life expectancy in symptomatic patients with HFrEF and at least mildly elevated plasma concentrations of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). The oral soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator vericiguat and cardiac myosin activator omecamtiv mecarbil are not yet licensed in the UK but may provide further treatment options, perhaps in more select groups of patients. Whether all patients with a prior diagnosis of HFrEF who are now in heart failure remission should continue all therapies at maximum tolerated dose indefinitely remains a dilemma. Individualised de-escalation of therapy remains controversial due to the risk of relapse but is occasionally trialled, particularly in patients with a triggering factor such as pregnancy. The ultimate aim is a personalised treatment plan—based on disease phenotype and trajectory—that minimises the risk of relapse and maximises the individual’s quality of life.</p
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