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Improving the dependability of safety critical wireless sensor network scheduling using artificial intelligence
Get PDFTo ensure optimal functionality and adherence to specified requirements, a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) must prioritise the validation of its three fundamental attributes: Connectivity, Coverage, and Network Lifetime. Existing literature highlights numerous research endeavours to resolve reliability issues in WSNs, often concentrating on singular properties such as coverage and/or connectivity. These properties are frequently treated interchangeably and seldom concurrently addressed due to the intricate challenges arising from the distributed nature and resource constraints typical of WSNs. Moreover, safety critical WSNs applications require to follow rigid and strict policies such as strict deadlines while deploying in emergency situations which adds an additional layer of complexity. This layer of complexity is caused by new set of additional requirements not only connectivity, coverage, and lifetime. That is technically challenging in terms of optimizing the basic parameters required for the implementation of WSNs. Notably, there is a scarcity of published work comprehensively analysing and testing all three primary requirements; connectivity, coverage, and network lifetime of WSNs simultaneously, owing to their inherent complexity. This thesis tackled the three mentioned properties of safety critical WSNs as a Multi-Objective Optimisation (MOO) problem. The research methodology encompasses six key principles. Firstly, the Randomised Coverage-based Scheduling (RCS) algorithm is replicated, validated, and verified using a MATLAB simulation environment, revealing insights into node utilisation imbalances. Secondly, the performance of the RCS algorithm is scrutinised using the Perceptron Multilayer Artificial Neural Network (ANN) scheduling algorithm, exposing limitations. Thirdly, the Hidden Markov decision-process Model (HMM) is employed to enhance the service availability and reliability of the RCS algorithm, demonstrating superior optimisation metrics over RCS by increasing network lifetime while improving coverage and connectivity. Fourthly, a novel Bio-Inspired Bat algorithm was developed to address the identified limitations of previous scheduling algorithms, utilising objective optimisation functions and Pareto optimisation. The Bat algorithm outperformed the HMM algorithm across all metrics. Fifthly, the Self-Organising Feature Map (SOFM) algorithm surpasses the Bat algorithm with its straightforward approach to dimension reduction and classification. Sixthly, critical analyses of implemented algorithms (HMM, Bat, and SOFM) reveal similar patterns in coverage data. Consequently, a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM)-based node scheduling algorithm was introduced to analyse and provide an energy-efficient scheduling solution, addressing the Multi-Objective Optimization (MOO) highlighted in this research
Gender differences in returns to academic collaboration
No full textWhile the percentage of women in academia is rising globally to approximately 50 percent, there is still a significant gender disparity in obtaining the most prestigious positions in the research community. In 2018, women made up just 26.2 percent of full professors and 19.7 percent of university presidents in Europe, one of the regions that have made the most progress toward gender parity (European Commission, 2021). Compared to the past, there is a slight improvement, but the pace of increasing the share of women in top positions in academia remains slow. So, there is still a need to identify reasons and solutions for gender disparities in academia (Minello, 2020).
A large dataset of archived records of publications in Economics from 1970 to 2017, with 1,990 journals, and nearly a million articles, provides empirical evidence for the finding that both gender differences in academic networks and mobility contribute to gender differences in research output. More specifically, the research reveals that alterations in academic networks have a notable impact on authors’ productivity, resulting in an average 12.6% decrease in research output after losing a co-author. Both young scholars and higher-ability authors exhibit more significant declines in research output. Furthermore, the centrality of a researcher within their network helps alleviate the adverse effects of losing a co-author, indicating diminishing returns to co-authors. Intriguingly, women tend to experience less pronounced decreases in research output from co-author loss compared to men, even when their network positions are similar, highlighting potential gender differences in network utilization.
In terms of research mobility, being a woman reduces the likelihood of various types of research mobilities which forecast increased output over the next five years. Because they are less likely to change institutions, women have a disadvantage in enhancing research output. Additionally, of the four mobility categories — international moving, upward moving, downward moving, and general moving— international moving has the largest impact on productivity. The most effective kind of mobility for authors is relocation abroad. Since women are less likely to relocate, especially moving abroad, then their research outputs benefit less from such mobility
Turning the tide: rhythmic aggregation behaviour in Anurida maritima (Collembola) is entrained by inundation
Get PDFNumerous foreshore species evolved the ability to predict tidal change and adjust behaviour and metabolism accordingly. The intertidal collembolan Anurida maritima (Guérin-Méneville, 1836) shows endogenously controlled rhythmic changes in behaviour that anticipate the tides. Animals forage during low tide and hide in large aggregations in the substrate during high tide. Here, artificial tidal environments and time-lapse photography were used to investigate if this behaviour is responsive to key environmental cues. It is shown that the precise rhythmicity of aggregation behaviour is dependent on periodic inundations. In the absence of such inundations, rhythmic aggregation patterns dissipate and are no longer accurate after 14 days. Slowly shifting the artificial tides, showed that rhythmic aggregation behaviour in A. maritima is responsive and adjusts to a newly-imposed tidal regimen. This suggests that the species has the ability to synchronise to newly encountered tidal conditions under natural conditions. The findings provide a robust foundation for advancing detailed chronobiological research on A. maritima as a model organism to gain a deeper understanding of biological time-keeping
Advancing gender equality through context-sensitive work-family support for breastfeeding: lessons from a participatory intervention in South Africa
Get PDFThe return to work is a key reason for breastfeeding cessation worldwide. Where workplace breastfeeding support is available, it is shaped by universal policies that overlook local realities and needs. Our collaborative research, involving an academic team and government partners, sought context-specific solutions for supporting breastfeeding in a provincial government in South Africa. Using a participatory approach, we conducted qualitative interviews with 12 government-employed mothers and senior managers. We identified three key challenges to workplace breastfeeding support: (1) Lack of awareness and communicating of reliable information on maternity and breastfeeding rights, (2) Workplace cultures pressurising mothers into silence, secrecy, and supra-performance that perpetuate breastfeeding as ‘taboo’ at work, and (3) Inadequate context-sensitive and practicable interventions for supporting maternity and breastfeeding at work. Based on these findings, we co-created tailored, practical interventions with the interviewees and refined them iteratively to enhance support for workplace breastfeeding. This research informed updates to a provincial government department policy document on workplace breastfeeding support, moving beyond national legislation to create a breastfeeding-friendly workplace. Our study highlights the value of participatory approaches for the development of context- sensitive solutions for workplace breastfeeding support with implications for organizations, social policy, and future research
Utilisation des informations mondiales pour amuser les publics à l’Ile Maurice: les caricatures politiques de POV à travers le prisme de la théorie de traduction postcoloniale
No full textThe humour of political cartoons is studied in multiple disciplines, and African political cartoons are no exception to academic scrutiny. Their satire, however, is prone to Western models of analysis. One subsequent gap is the dismissal of important postcolonial realities, such as African political cartoonists’ caricature of world news and not just domestic matters. To contribute theoretically to the study of humour in African political cartoons, I apply postcolonial translation theory to explore a selection of POV’s political cartoons, which address both domestic and world news. I argue that the political cartoonist is a translator, not of languages, but of ideas about foreign affairs, transposed through translation strategies to convey meanings for local audiences. African humour in political cartoons, therefore, is not restricted to domestic matters. African cartoonists’ engagement with foreign news invites the question about whether the humour is framed for Western audiences. I conclude that the occasional engagement with foreign ideas does not render an African political cartoon’s satire inauthentic or less African. Instead, it is possible to reconcile the translation strategies of foreignisation and domestication, ensuring the humour of these political cartoons – visually translated for African contexts – is inclusive for local audiences and welcoming of foreign ideas.L’humour des caricatures politiques est étudié dans de multiples disciplines, et les caricatures politiques africaines ne font pas exception et font l’objet de recherches universitaires. Leur satire est cependant sujette aux modèles d’analyse occidentaux. En découle une lacune: le rejet d’importantes réalités postcoloniales, telles que la caricature des caricaturistes politiques africains concernant l’actualité mondiale et non pas seulement les questions intérieures. Pour contribuer théoriquement à l’étude de l’humour dans les caricatures politiques africaines, j’applique la théorie de la traduction postcoloniale pour explorer une sélection de caricatures politiques de POV, qui traitent à la fois de l’actualité nationale et mondiale. Je soutiens que le caricaturiste politique est un traducteur, non pas de langues, mais d'idées relatives aux affaires étrangères, transposées à travers des stratégies de traduction afin de transmettre des significations aux publics locaux. L’humour africain dans les caricatures politiques ne se limite donc pas aux affaires intérieures. L’engagement des caricaturistes africains dans l’actualité étrangère soulève la question de savoir si l’humour est destiné au public occidental. Je conclus que l’engagement occasionnel avec des idées étrangères ne rend pas la satire d’une caricature politique africaine inauthentique ou moins africaine. Il est au contraire possible de concilier les stratégies de traduction d’étrangéisation et de domestication, en garantissant que l’humour de ces caricatures politiques – traduites visuellement pour les contextes africains – soit inclusif pour le public local et accueillant les idées étrangères
Development of user orientation toward digital culture within a national government strategy; a case study of UAE e-government
No full textTopic and Aims: In 2010, the UAE published its visionary roadmap, the UAE Vision 2021, which set ambitious goals for the nation's development. This included the establishment of the e-government service strategy in 2012, the launch of the Smart Government initiative in 2013, and the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2017. These initiatives aimed to improve government services accessibility and efficiency, aligning with the UAE's aspiration to lead in all domains by 2021. In alignment with the UAE's overarching vision for development, the government established seven enablers crucial for supporting e-Government and m-Government strategies. These enablers encompass the level of electronic/mobile transformation, usage, and satisfaction, along with public awareness of electronic/mobile services. Additionally, indices such as government website quality, electronic/mobile service quality, and compatibility are essential components in gauging the effectiveness of digital government endeavors. However, despite the commendable efforts by the UAE to implement these initiatives, the limited depth of existing literature underscores the need for further research in this area to examine the impact of these initiatives for federal governmental organisations.
This research project aims to find out the obstacles faced by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) federal governmental organisations in implementing the e-government enablers and its impacts on the services provided to the community. The objective is to identify, assess, and provide recommendations for overcoming obstacles faced by UAE federal governmental organisations in implementing the e-government enablers criteria (including the processes they followed).
Design/methodology/approach: To understand the processes that federal government organisations followed to implement e-government enablers in the UAE and their impact on the services provided to the public, this research focuses on the UAE e-government as a case study. The research question is: 'How does the implementation process and key factors of e-government enablers' initiatives within UAE federal government organisations influence the acceptance of electronic services by the public?’
The data collection method used in this study is qualitative, complemented by relevant document analysis. Data was gathered through various types of interviews conducted within four federal government organisations (anonymised) as follows; Focus group discussions, Semi-structured and individual narrative interviews. Braun and Clarke method of thematic analysis applied for all types of the interviews.
Findings: The results of the study indicate that the implementation of digital government enablers within federal governmental organisations is influenced by various factors at different levels, including national, organisational, private business, and end-user levels. The limitations in digital government enablers criteria, internal procedures and readiness of federal governmental organisations, unaware of the UAE culture and high cost of external developers, and end-users behavioural and demographic variables are some of the significant factors affecting the digital government transformation projects. By considering these factors, the government can tailor its digital government strategies to align with the visions, procedures, and diverse needs and preferences of federal government organisations and their e-services users. Therefore, managing these complex and diverse factors requires a meticulous approach to ensure the successful implementation of digital government projects within federal government organisations, ultimately leading to flexible and sustainable digital government services.
Implications: This practice-oriented study has put forward several recommendations aimed at improving and enhancing the implementation of digital government enablers that align with the procedures of federal governmental organisations. These recommendations are intended to increase the quality of digital government services by better incorporating an understanding of the federal government and the needs and perspectives of its users. The research carries significant implications for two key reasons:
(i) The emergence of emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated societal reliance on digital means for communication and service provision. During such crises, remote support and digital interactions became essential, underscoring the criticality of robust digital government services.
(ii) Testing the efficacy of enablers is vital for optimizing future strategies and ensuring maximum benefits for governmental organisations. By understanding how these enablers perform in real-world scenarios, policymakers can refine their approaches and better tailor them to meet evolving needs and challenges
Supporting neurodivergent learners and staff
No full textNeurodivergent students and staff in healthcare education and practice face unique challenges that require tailored support and understanding.
This package provides a range of resources targeted towards staff who are supporting students or staff undertaking learning and assessment in practice, across a range of professional roles, within the healthcare setting. The resources have been developed to provide examples of learning across the multi-professional fields.
Learning may occur during a pre-registration training programme, preceptorship, or a course being undertaken, once qualified, as a part of continuing professional development
Analysis of machine learning methods for speech disfluency classification
Get PDFSpeech is essential for communication as it allows us to express ourselves and enables us to use the systems that are speech-based. Disfluency is referred to as any interruption in speaking and can often adversely impact an individual's life quality. The paper presents an experimental study of several methods for identifying and categorizing the speech disfluencies. More specifically, this study discusses two disfluencies: prolongation and repetition. We have investigated various machine learning algorithms using the University College London Archive of Stuttered Speech dataset, a popular disfluency dataset created by University College London. Manual segmentation, although a time-consuming approach, has been performed on ten speech files from the dataset, generating a total of 335 disfluent speech samples to train the classifiers. Linear Predictive Cepstral Coefficients and Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MLCCs) are two feature extraction methods that have been applied. A comparison of many classifiers and their variations reveals that subspace kNN achieves the highest test accuracy of 87.1% with MFCC features. The future plan is to develop a system for automatically segmenting disfluent speech and classify it
A crisis without a context? The framing of economic inequality through the pandemic
No full textThis article analyses how economic inequality was framed by UK news media during the pandemic and, drawing from framing theory, considers the implications of the coverage for news audiences. To do so, it uses a data set of 167 articles from the following UK news publications: The Guardian, The Telegraph, the Financial Times and The Sun. There are differences between the publications in terms of salience, tone and there is a wide range of causes and solutions attributed to inequality with no consensus emerging. The coverage is framed mainly by state sources, and there is very little discussion of the finance sector and corporations as causes and solutions to tackle inequality. There are some positive trends emerging, as sustainable finance, climate change and gender equality are highlighted alongside some alternative solutions, indicating a move away from historical trends in news coverage that demonize poverty and focus simply on the individual
Talbot Rothwell's vision of history
No full textThe screenwriter Talbot Rothwell replaced Norman Hudis as Carry On writer in 1963. His second Carry On screenplay, Carry On Jack (1964) was the series’ first period entry. Over the next decade, Talbot wrote 18 Carry On films, as well as episodes of the TV programmes Carry On Christmas and his sitcom, Up Pompeii (1969-70). A substantial proportion of these scripts were period pieces, comprising settings such as classical Rome, revolutionary France, the Indian Raj, the Renaissance court of Henry VIII, and Georgian England. Throughout these diverse eras and cultures, a consistent pattern of behaviours and characteristics appear in Rothwell’s scripts, which in turn reappear and reassert themselves when Rothwell turns to contemporary Britain and its national institutions, such as the NHS, dating agencies, provincial councils, and Trade Unions.
Mobilising William Blake’s provocation that in Chaucer “we see the same characters repeated again and again”, as expressed in Blake’s Descriptive Catalogue of 1809, in tandem with playwright John Arden’s division of the British character into a “rectilinear” and “curvilinear” typology (1969), this paper argues that Rothwell’s dramaturgy exhibits similar perceptions. Rothwell’s Carry On oeuvre emerges as a developed and consistent vision of humanity in history. A question arises, given that both Blake and Arden were radicals: where does Rothwell’s vision place him politically and socially? In Rothwell’s vision of the world, the progressive Puritans often lose, with priapic fops and monarchs emerging triumphant