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Design technique to mitigate unwanted coupling in densely packed radiating elements of an antenna array for electronic devices and wireless communication systems operating in the millimeter-wave band
Get PDFAn innovative design is presented of a metamaterial inspired antenna array for millimeter-wave band applications where non-mechanical beam-steering is required such as in 5G and 6G communications, automotive and radar systems. In communication systems beam-steering antennas can significantly improve signal-to-noise ratio, spatial directivity, and the efficiency of data transmission. However, in tightly packed arrays the effects of mutual coupling between the radiating elements can severely limit the array’s performance. The proposed antenna array consists of a 3×3 matrix of patch radiators that are tightly packed and interconnected to each other. Rows of radiators are demarcated by a horizontal microstrip transmission-line whose ends are short-circuited to the ground-plane. This technique reduces unwanted surface waves that contribute to undesired coupling. Embedded in the square patch radiators is a rhombus shaped slot that increases the effective aperture of the antenna with no impact on the antenna’s size. As the antenna is excited via a single feedline the edge-to-edge spacing between the radiators and the interconnected feedlines are made such that there is phase coherency at the radiating elements. Measured results show that the effectiveness of the proposed array in simultaneously improving its impedance bandwidth and radiation characteristics. The measured peak gain and radiation efficiency are 13.6 dBi and 89.54%, respectively
Using dynamic assessment of writing to promote technology-enhanced learning in higher education (Abstract) [Conference paper]
Get PDFResponding to students’ request for the use of digitally-enhanced formative assessment practices, this project used a dynamic assessment approach that has been developed within the Vygotskian sociocultural theory of learning. It aimed to develop students’ professional skills, i.e., digital skills, in blended learning by promoting experiential learning, improve students’ writing performance and favourable attitudes towards learning and support their well-being in HEI especially in the post-Covid-19 era Fifty final year students participated in this project as part of their module. Adopting a process approach to writing, the lecturer/researcher used three rounds of mediation. Round 1 (implicit) consisted solely of a scored and highlighted rubric, not identifying the location or nature of the erroneous parts and was provided by randomly chosen peers) via Padlet to ensure anonymity and allow students to experiment with digital platforms. Round 2 (relatively explicit) consisted of narrative explanations of problems provided at the end of each participant’s report provided by peers and the lecturer via Padlet. Round 3 (most explicit) consisted of comment bubbles/specific comments that showed the student the location of the significant problems, explained the issues, and included recommendations for repair. The lecturer provided this form of feedback. The lecturer also asked students to provide anonymous feedback via Mentimeter during the implementation to explore their perceptions of the benefits and challenges related to this intervention. This project aimed to foster inclusion of the increasingly diverse student cohorts due to globalisation, develop students’ digital, academic, and professional skills and innovate in tertiary education (HEA, 2020b, 2020c). As universities in the Anglophone world attend to operating on a global stage, linguistic diversity in the sector has intensified. New holistic approaches in language policy and assessment need to replace old traditions in a globalized world
Creative use of OpenAI in education: case studies from game development
Get PDFEducators and students have shown significant interest in the potential for generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to support student learning outcomes, for example, by offering personalized experiences, 24 h conversational assistance, text editing and help with problem-solving. We review contemporary perspectives on the value of AI as a tool in an educational context and describe our recent research with undergraduate students, discussing why and how we integrated OpenAI tools ChatGPT and Dall-E into the curriculum during the 2022–2023 academic year. A small cohort of games programming students in the School of Computing and Digital Media at London Metropolitan University was given a research and development assignment that explicitly required them to engage with OpenAI. They were tasked with evaluating OpenAI tools in the context of game development, demonstrating a working solution and reporting on their findings. We present five case studies that showcase some of the outputs from the students and we discuss their work. This mode of assessment was both productive and popular, mapping to students’ interests and helping to refine their skills in programming, problem-solving, critical reflection and exploratory design
A fuzzy decision support system for evaluating lean-green and company-specific production system
No full textLean production is regarded as systematic solution for identifying and eliminating waste through continuous improvement of manufacturing processes to meet customers' requirements. Due to rising environmental concerns and the significant environmental impact of companies operations, issues such as environmental management and green production are on board agendas. In essence, green production seeks to reduce the environmental impacts of business processes. In order to examine green production, an original equipment manufacturer in the supply chain of tractor manufacturing industry is selected for this work to enable a focus on lean production aspects and its specific requirements to evaluate a company-specific production system (XPS). The results suggest that the company utilizes six lean-green production criteria including suitable and green packaging, quality improvement, waste reduction, environmental pollution reduction, transport management and additional transportation reduction, and cost reduction. Furthermore, continuous improvement and integrated auditing are selected as two critical and fundamental elements with the highest ranks, regarding the relationships between the XPS elements and lean-green production criteria
Singling out the women
Get PDFThe good news today is that Russia is, at last, taking women journalists seriously – at least some of the time. The bad news is that this means they are being seen as a credible threat to Vladimir Putin’s regime and some are being expelled from the country, if they are lucky, and poisoned, beaten and killed if they are not. This article investigates the Kremlin's stance toward female journalists, who in Ukraine have often been the eyes and ears witnessing Russia's invasion
Analysing the importance of drill artists’ offline environment in the creation of violent online identities
No full textDrill, a sub-genre of hip-hop that emerged out of Chicago but is now a mainstay of United Kingdom youth street culture, often includes violent lyrics designed to antagonise rivals. This article draws on a longitudinal study with several drill artists to expand the academic understanding of this culture. Within this study, young people’s violent online personas are a response to inhabiting a social space that developed due to a nexus of factors, including social deprivation, a lack of informal guardianship and the rules of the online attention economy. This digital dynamic sees artists competing for viewers’ limited attention by producing exaggerated violent depictions to show cultural competence and embodied street capital as they vie for attention in an antagonistic continuum with other groups. As young people experience social spaces, not governed by the rules of the street, they often realise that their violent online persona’s utility is limited, leading to a rebranding of their digital self. The study concludes that young people’s involvement in online violence is usually a temporary response to the offline social spaces they inhabit. Attempts to address such activities should focus on young people’s offline and online experiences
An exploratory study examining the relationship between sexual self efficacy and premature ejaculation mediated by depression, anxiety and sexual fantasy among a British cohort
No full textPremature ejaculation (PE) is a commonly reported sexual dysfunction in men and yet research remains scarce when looking at the psychopathological mechanisms involved in PE. This study aimed to establish whether depression, anxiety and sexual fantasy mediated the relationship between sexual self- efficacy and PE. Sixty British participants with and without PE aged between 18 and 50 years took part in an online cross-sectional survey consisting of questionnaires measuring PE, sexual self-efficacy, sexual fantasy, depression, anxiety and demographic information. The total and direct effects of sexual self- efficacy on PE were significant. Further, anxiety mediated the relationship between PE and sexual self-efficacy. However, depression and sexual fantasy did not mediate the relationship between these variables. Higher levels of depression, anxiety, and lower levels of sexual self-efficacy were reported among the PE group than the non-PE group. Sexual fantasies further differed between PE and non-PE groups where ‘self-derogatory’ sexual fantasies such as “embarrassment due to failure of a sex act” were commonly reported among the PE group. The preliminary findings from this pilot study suggest the possible use of performance anxiety reduction techniques in the treatment of PE
Farah Khan: cinephilia, nostalgia and melancholia
Get PDFAlthough the first woman directed a film within a year of the invention of cinema, women directors remain a minority in cinema, both in India and abroad. The woman-directed, big-budget blockbuster film intended for general audiences remains an even a rarer beast. As such Farah Khan stands out for the four films (so far) ascribed to her direction for being not only creating big budget (for India), big grossing, big star films, but also for a professional trajectory that encompasses choreography, script writing, production and direction spanning nearly three decades. Given her long and varied career trajectory, this chapter chooses to focus only on Khan’s four feature films, examining her explicit intertextual evocations of a golden age of the big budget, glitzy, multi-starrer that in many ways has come to define “Bollywood.”
Through close readings of Khan’s feature films, this chapter examines the roles played by three key elements of her oeuvre: cinephilia, nostalgia and a deepening melancholia that underpins her signature style of dizzying, glossy cinema. These three elements cannot be de-linked from Khan’s gender or her religiously minoritised identity. Finally, the chapter deploys an intersectional understanding of identity, marginalisation and power to examine her oeuvre as not only informed by her cinephilia and an individuated nostalgia but also an expression of wider socio-cultural-political anxieties
Using Internet of Things (IoT) in agri-food supply chains: a research framework for social good with network clustering analysis
Get PDFAgri-Food Supply Chains (AFSCs) are critical in our society. Proper management of AFSCs is crucial for improving social welfare. Over the past years, digitisation in AFSCs has emerged as a new paradigm. In this context, the Internet of Things (IoT) is a growing approach, providing a huge amount of information to manage AFSCs. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine extensive studies on IoT-based AFSC by notable academics in the form of leading participating institutions, authors, keywords, journals, and citation statistics. Our bibliometric based systematic approach starts with the identification of 346 articles in the relevant field from the Web of Science (WoS) database by applying rigorous filtration. Using the VOS viewer software, a network analysis has been performed for the above fields. With seven identified clusters, this article recognized the role of IoT technologies as Cluster 1: Agri-food safety, traceability and sustainability; Cluster 2: AFSC sustainability; Cluster 3: AFSC performance measurement; Cluster 4: AFSC resilience in disruption; Cluster 5: AFSC integration and traceability; Cluster 6: AFSC transparency and coordination and finally Cluster 7 identified the barriers in IoT adoption. Thus, findings of this study offer robust guidance to link IoT technologies and AFSCs together. Based on these findings, propositions are proposed and a research framework is established. We believe the findings would help engineering managers, researchers and government regulating bodies better plan and manage AFSCs for social good
How do green knowledge management and green technology innovation impact corporate environmental performance? Understanding the role of green knowledge acquisition
Get PDFIncreasing regulatory obligations to adapt and execute environmentally friendly operations make it critical for businesses to pursue strategies that can strengthen their competitive edge in the market. Academics and practitioners alike have recently gravitated towards exploring how knowledge acquisition activities might improve business outcomes. To address this growing research interest, this study investigates the critical roles of green knowledge acquisition in enhancing green knowledge management and green technology innovation activities in improving corporate environmental performance, positioning resource commitment as a moderator. The research model has been assessed using structural equation modeling with survey data from 283 Indian manufacturers, demonstrating that green knowledge acquisition significantly impacts green knowledge management and green technology innovation. The statistical findings also show that green technology innovation acts catalyzes the translation of green knowledge management into improved corporate environmental performance. The results demonstrate that resource commitment moderates green knowledge acquisition’s interaction with green knowledge management and green technology innovation, providing practical insights enabling managers to focus on planning, allocating, and budgeting resources for effective green practices that can contribute to improving corporate environmental performance