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Student led technology enhanced learning and teaching – HEFCE case study
No full textOne of the presentations from five invited speakers from the 67 projects HEFCE is supporting to develop experimental innovations in learning and teaching for either undergraduate or postgraduate taught provision
Developing teachers as researchers: a case study in collaborative learning
No full textThis paper considers the findings of a case study exploring the development of non-researching Education lecturers on a staff development programme designed to help them prepare their first academic papers for peer review. The Research and Collaborative Enterprise for Staff (RaCES) programme used a facilitated approach to develop a community of practice centred on collaborative learning, creativity, and enterprise to guide participants to their first research paper in a ‘safe’ learning environment. The approach and the effects on the lecturers were investigated using narrative analysis underpinned by phenomenography and follows their learning journey as they prepare their research for peer review. The investigation used an open learning cycle based on an adaptation of Scharmer’s Theory U (2009) to create data collection stages which helped identify critical aspects in the development of participants. The findings showed the creativity and collaborative learning approaches were instrumental in overcoming ‘inhibitors’ which caused an initial reluctance to begin researching due to a lack of confidence, confusion over-work prioritisation, limited self-esteem concerning research, and uncertainty of outcome. As all the participants were able to create peer reviewed research and the study found facilitators for research included a specific ‘instigation event,’ where they began to see their research as an impersonal object to be objectively considered, and peer support improved their self-esteem and motivated them to finish writing up their research
Film bulk acoustic resonators (FBARs) as biosensors: a review.
No full textBiosensors play important roles in different applications such as medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, food safety, and the study of biomolecular interactions. Highly sensitive, label-free and disposable biosensors are particularly desired for many clinical applications. In the past decade, film bulk acoustic resonators (FBARs) have been developed as biosensors because of their high resonant frequency and small base mass (hence greater sensitivity), lower cost, label-free capability and small size. This paper reviews the piezoelectric materials used for FBARs, the optimisation of device structures, and their applications as biosensors in a wide range of biological applications such as the detection of antigens, DNAs and small biomolecules. Their integration with microfluidic devices and high-throughput detection are also discussed. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Remarkable Lives: Lígia Cardosa Baldé in conversation with Jerome Carson
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to provide a profile of Lígia Cardoso Baldé.Lígia gives a biographical description of her life and is then interviewed by Jerome.Lígia talks about the stress of being a young single parent with a disabled son. She talks about how she built up her resilience over several years.The story Lígia tells is one of battling against all the odds. Her account shows how she had to manage without much external support, even from family.Research has long demonstrated an association between life events and stress. Lígia tells us about the various stressors that confronted her at different stages of her life journey.All of us can make a difference in peoples’ lives if we make the effort. Lígia talks about two doctors who knew the medical implications of her son’s condition, but who also recognised her emotional needs and addressed those as well.Lígia’s story is inspiring at so many levels. She has successfully adjusted to a different culture, to a different language and has had to establish a new social support network. Now she is not just surviving, but slowly thriving
Book Review: Understanding and using educational theories
No full textA book review on "Understanding and using educational theories" by Aubrey, K. and Riley, A. SAGE Publications, 2016, 216 pages. ISBN: 978-147390590
Predict the Service Life of Rotary Lip Seals by Machine Learning Methods
No full textThis paper aims to use machine learning methods to predict the service life of rotary lip seals to aid manufacturers and users improving the current maintenance procedures. Seals are widely used in most engineering applications. The knowledge of condition of seals throughout their working life is important due to the fact that they are often used on high value engineering products. As the current material properties of the seal and the working environment various, it is difficult to predict useful life of the rotary lip seal. In this paper, the factors relating to life of rotary lip seals are investigated and discussed. The application of machine learning methods using actual testing data in order to estimate the useful life of the seals has been presented. The early results show good agreement between actual and predicted values
An evaluation of alignment of strategic procurement function in city councils and its impact on compliance levels with public procurement procedures in Malawi : cases of Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu city councils
No full textThe procurement function has become a governance agenda in the public sector in Malawi since the enactment of the Public Procurement Act in 2003. However, some studies done elsewhere in this area have revealed that there is little knowledge about the role of the procurement function in the public sectors. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to examine various factors that influence meaningful involvement of the procurement function on procurement processes and the enhancement of compliance levels within the public sectors. Unlike, the procurement function, which is the department comprising of professionals, procurement processes involve initiating the needs by user departments, solicitation of bids and administration of contracts to suppliers. This thesis focused on the importance of public procurement; the way it is perceived; its roles in the Local Government; the challenges it encounters, and how it is aligned with other functions within the Local Government. The empirical data has been collected using case study research strategy.In- depth case studies were conducted at three major city councils of Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu. The empirical data that were collected was further analysed using grounded theory approach. The findings of this study have revealed that there is lack of compliance with procurement procedures in the city councils due to poor alignment of the procurement function, lack of professionalism in public procurements, lack of corrective measures for those that breach the procurement laws, negative organization culture, lack of awareness, perceived inefficiency, fear towards losing control, bureaucracy and lack of information technologies. The study also found out that, since the procurement function operates at clerical levels, senior city council authorities do not fully comply with its regulations. Based on these findings, this research has developed a framework for public procurement practitioners, policy-makers and regulators. The study recommends further research in the Central Government to widen knowledge base regarding this phenomenon. Furthermore, research should also be done on supplier relations management to understand its impact on procurement compliance level
Measuring the determinants of capital adequacy and its impact on efficiency in the banking industry : a comparative analysis of Islamic and conventional banks
No full textIn terms of profit maximization, being efficient, is one of the key concerns of banks, the regulators are more concerned with setting the most appropriate policies and standards to optimize their role in achieving financial stability in the market. More precisely, capital adequacy standards are among the top priorities of the regulators in the banking sector. In addition, due to the unique nature of Islamic financial principles, the Islamic banks face different challenges when it comes to capital requirements and bank efficiency related issues compared to conventional banks. Therefore, this research aims to examine capital adequacy requirements and measure the key factors that may have an impact. Furthermore, this research assesses the impact of the capital adequacy requirements on the efficiency of Islamic and conventional banks in the case of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.Following the existing literature related to banking, this study developed two regression models; the first one was applied to examine the determinants of the capital adequacy ratio. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to investigate the level of efficiency, and then, the second regression model was used to examine the relationship between the capital adequacy ratio and the efficiency of the banks. The examined data are obtained from 50 banks, 25 Islamic banks and 25 conventional banks, in the GCC countries over the period between 2006 and 2015. The overall results are consistent with most of the developed hypotheses indicating that liquidity has a significant negative effect on the capital adequacy of Islamic and conventional banks. The results also confirmed that credit risk has a significant positive effect on the capital adequacy of Islamic and conventional banks. Furthermore, the results confirmed that bank profitability has a significant positive effect on the capital adequacy of Islamic and conventional banks together. Net interest income remains an insignificant association with the capital adequacy requirements of the examined banks. The results confirmed that management quality stays in a positive significant association with capital adequacy requirements in the case of both Islamic and conventional banks in the GCC region over the period between 2006 and 2015. Based on the results delivered through the DEA method, the empirical results reveal that the efficiency of Islamic banks are less efficient than conventional banks in the GCC region. Such results could be due to the unique nature of the Islamic financial principles that impose more complexity to the Islamic financial products and operations that in turn leads to lower efficiency compared to the conventional banks. The empirical results, consistent with the developed hypothesis, reveal that the capital adequacy negatively affects the banks efficiency of the examined GCC banks. However, the results show that such effect is lower in the case of the Islamic banks compared to the conventional banks. The obtained result could be due to financial operations that are based on Islamic financial principles