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Smart textiles for infection control management
No full textInfection, cross-infection, and infectious diseases are critical for health care personnel and patients in hospitals mainly owing to multi-drug-resistance pathogens. Textile materials and garments used in hospitals promote cross-infection as they are used as a vehicle by the pathogenic disease-causing bacteria to spread the infection. However, smart textile materials play a vital role in protecting against the transmission of diseases not only in hospitals but also in other environments where people gather in large numbers. This chapter discusses the application of such materials for infection control management including wound infection management in hospitals. The role of hospital protective garments is summarised. Test methods and standards that cover surgical gowns, drapes, and clean air suits are highlighte
An assessment into the impact of using on-line social networking in enhancing learning at University of Malawi - Kamuzu College of Nursing
No full textQuality Management is a critical success factor for organizations to grow their business. Though for a long time, quality management has always been attributed to industries that produce physical products which normally undergo quality inspection at the end of the line, there has been a shift in the trend in recent times where quality management strategies are being applied in service delivery industries as well. One of the service delivery industries is the education sector and especially higher learning institutions like UNIMA – KCN in particular. In the TQM model of quality management, one of its strategies namely Deming Theory says that; to implement quality management in service delivery there is a need to look at how the processes and systems of an organization work, understanding the changes taking place and its causal factors and understanding the human nature and how they are influenced (Knowles, 2011). At KCN one of the key processes for the success of the service delivery is the teaching and learning process which for a long time has used the traditional classroom style of delivery. However, there is a new trend of technology that has come into play in recent years and it is required that institution of higher learning should adopt these technology applications to enhance its processes of service delivery in order to improve quality.This study utilized a case study research strategy under qualitative research method to assess the impact of using online social networking in enhancing learning and teaching at KCN as part of quality management. Data was collected from students and lecturers using a questionnaire which assessed the current dominant learning and teaching styles at KCN, the perception of students and lecturers on use of social networks, challenges facing the adoption of social networks for learning and the proposed strategies that can assist in adopting the use of social networks for learning. The collected data was analyzed using qualitative analysis method with Survey Monkey tool and the results clearly show that social networks have a positive impact on learning and teaching process. The results further confirm that KCN is ready to adopt the use of social networks for learning as it possesses the required teaching and learning styles and it has positive perception towards social networks.The study recommends that a further research be conducted to ascertain the suggested social sites and the strategy of implementing the use of social networks for learning. This could be done with the use of a survey strategy and probability sampling to ensure all data is properly captured from students and lecturers
Influence of flame retardants on the melt dripping behaviour of thermoplastic polymers
No full textMelt flow and dripping of the pyrolysing polymer melt can be both a benefit and a detriment during a fire. In several small-scale fire tests addressing the ignition of a defined specimen with a small ignition source, well-adjusted melt flow and dripping are usually beneficial to pass the test. The presence of flame retardants often changes the melt viscosity crucially. The influence of certain flame retardants on the dripping behaviour of four commercial polymers, poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT), polypropylene (PP), polypropylene modified with ethylene-propylene rubber (PP-EP) and polyamide 6 (PA 6), is analysed based on an experimental monitoring of the mass loss due to melt dripping, drop size and drop temperature as a function of the furnace temperature applied to a rod-shaped specimen. Investigating the thermal transition (DSC), thermal and thermo-oxidative decomposition, as well as the viscosity of the polymer and collected drops completes the investigation. Different mechanisms of the flame retardants are associated with their influence on the dripping behaviour in the UL 94 test. Reduction in decomposition temperature and changed viscosity play a major role. A flow limit in flame-retarded PBT, enhanced decomposition of flame-retarded PP and PP-EP and the promotion of dripping in PA 6 are the salient features discussed
Why lay voices should be heard and seen.
No full textStephen Hardy surveys current practices on the involvement of non-legal members of tribunals in advocating an enhanced use of such members in the process of drafting judgments
Using online Moodle quizzes to support the teaching of mathematics to foundation engineering students
No full textPoetry's Outward Forms: Groups, Workshops, Readings, Publishers
No full textOnly twenty or twenty-five years ago poets were employed in universities but only rarely because they were poets or to teach writing. It could be contended that in the last few years there has been a massive shift of cultural capital - sharing financial and ideological interest in poetry, poets and associated social and educational structures. Today, perhaps poetry's hotspots have shifted to universities. Although other creative subjects (art, drama, music) have long been part of university degrees, creative writing has, after a long wait, become both welcome and controversial. Higher Education's Quality Assurance Agency has to define 'Benchmarks' for study and assessment in all subjects, and its Benchmark on English includes important statements about writing. There is to be a QAA Benchmark on Creative Writing, and there is already one, widely used, drafted by the National Association of Writers in Education. NAWE publishes substantial resources to support writers who work from primary school to PhD levels. There are additional debates on learning and teaching, with research material on creative writing in degrees located in the Higher Education English Subject Centre run by the Council for College and University English. There are also many books on creative writing, some aimed at the general public and some for university students. Although some are of particular significance (for example, those by Hobsbaum and Wainwright) listed in Further Reading, it is not my intention to comment on them here though they might be thought of as a vital part of poetry's visible, outward structure.It may seem odd to open an account of poetry's outward forms, its public and institutional infrastructures, with a list of agencies which promote standards, frameworks, guidelines and rules. So I start with more unofficial outward forms though they are probably better known to writers than the QAA Benchmarks.Originally conceived in Devon by John Moat and John Fairfax, with early support from Ted Hughes, Arvon was a sort of democratisation of the Cambridge and London Group philosophy in which sharing poetry, and discussion of new manuscripts from an author who was sitting with the rest of the group, was thought the most creative, and personally engaging, method of passing on both motivation and skill:Arvon was founded in 1968 by two poets, John Moat and John Fairfax..
Flat nose low velocity drop-weight impact response of carbon fibre composites using non-destructive damage detection techniques
No full textThis work is mainly concerned with the nondestructive post-impact damage evaluation of carbon fibre reinforced laminated composite panels subject to low velocity drop-weight impact by flat and round nose impactors.Quasi-isotropic laminates consisting of eight-, sixteen-, and twenty-four plies were impacted by flat and round nose impactors at different velocity levels. Load-time history data were recorded and plotted to correlate loaddrop as damage level to the impactor nose profiles. Test produced data, non-destructive damage detection techniques: visual, ultrasonic, and eddy-current, and computer simulations were utilised to identify and quantify status of the impact induced damage. To evaluate damage in relatively thick laminates (consisting of 24-Ply), the damage ratios and deflection quantities were correlated to the corresponding impactor nose profiles.Damage induced by the flat nose impactor to thick laminates was compared against the data produced by the round nose impactor. Results show that relatively thin laminates were largely affected by the impactor nose. Reasonable difference was observed in damage caused by flat and round impactor nose profiles to thick laminates impacted at relatively higher velocity impacts. Results were compared and validated against simulation produced data
Knowing more than you think you know: Maximising preserved memory in people with acquired memory deficits to enhance everyday learning and recall.
No full textImplicit memory is generally preserved in people with organic memory damage and has been shown in laboratory studies to mediate diverse unconscious memory abilities. These include procedural skill acquisition and ‘priming’ which results in the recall of episodic information based purely on recent exposure - information which is differentially facilitated by the type of cue presented at retrieval. The work described in this thesis explores the optimisation of these retained aspects of memory, which have proved difficult to apply to the everyday lives of people with organic memory difficulty: first in the learning of new useful skills and secondly in the enhancement of episodic recall during everyday conversation. The first study, employed error-free learning, spaced repetition and individual coaching to teach two people with memory impairments to touch type to 30 words a minute, providing ecological validity to laboratory studies of skill learning in this group of people. The second study explored the hypothesis that implicit skill acquisition, gained under error-reduced conditions, may be further facilitated if explicit verbal instruction was withheld. There was no significant effect of omitting instructions.In a departure from skill-learning, a third study explored the effect of imaginal context reinstatement on free recall of a recent event. Also, for the first time, it investigated the cueing effect of different types of questions and verbal exchanges during a dyadic ‘questioning’ phase of a conversation about a recent event. There was no effect of context reinstatement on free recall. However, significantly more items where recalled in the dyadic phase using a protocol with predominantly open questions, over one containing a preponderance of closed questions.Across both conditions open questions were most effective as cues. Results provide ecological validity to laboratory findings from priming and cueing studies, suggesting that natural cues which arise spontaneously during conversation, can be manipulated to engender more recall.Theoretically, results of the cueing study indicate episodic memory failure is at least in part due to poor retrieval. Practically, tentative guidelines are presented for use by potential ‘conversation partners.
Implicit game aesthetics
No full textWhatever games might be, people have strong opinions about what does or doesn’t qualify as one. By dissecting the implicit value judgments motivating different definitions of “game,” the underlying aesthetic positions can be excavated, revealing a conceptual landscape of the aesthetics of play. Analysis of various definitions for game provided by both professional game designers and academics allows the identification of distinct aesthetic camps. These include (but are not restricted to) victory, problem, reward, imaginative, social, and uncertainty aesthetics. Additionally, a variety of refinements to these positions can be identified. Collectively, these aesthetic positions outline an answer to the question raised by Mary Midgley’s observation that games and art can be unified because they deal with human needs that necessarily have a structure. This article provides a rough sketch of the shape of human play needs and asserts that the unity that can thus be attained must necessarily be diverse
An investigation exploring the extent ‘EAL Steps for Classroom Integration’ is effective in primary school language teaching
No full textThe purpose of this study was to ascertain teacher perspectives on the use of ‘EAL steps for Classroom Integration’ as a tool to support teachers of international new arrivals with their daily planning; from teaching suggestions for themselves to preparing suitable activities and assessment. A need was felt for the research following the understanding that although there is ample information available for teaching English as an additional language in schools, research has shown teachers to feel underprepared from the absence of clear guidance. The author has carefully selected and presented information ‘in a nutshell’ and offered it to participants to guide their professional duty of ensuring integration of new arrivals in their classes.Data was collected through two interviews and a focus group. The interviews, taking a before and after approach directly compared responses, with the focus group as an opportunity to corroborate findings. This short study saw an impressive turnaround in approaches used by participants who were able to engage learners and see progression through the changes that had been made to teaching strategies. It created confident and proficient, practicing EAL teachers with motivated learners, leading to the recommendation that ‘EAL steps for Classroom Integration’ should be widely available