940,172 research outputs found
A marketing study of certain mathematics-based undergraduate courses at Brunel University
No full textThis Report presents some results of a limited study of the marketing situation of certain mathematics-based undergraduate courses at Brunel University
A survey of some fifth- and sixth-formers' perceptions of mathematics
No full textThis Report gives some results of a small but purposive survey of the attitudes of school fifth- and sixth-formers to mathematics as a subject and their opinions as to whether they wished to proceed to further study of mathematics. The survey was conducted by direct face-to-face interviewing of the pupils at their schools during the academic year 1990-1991. The interviewing and the initial analysis of the data were carried out by a fourth-year student, Mr R T Davies, in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Brunel University as part of his Final Year Project. The author of this Report was closely involved with the work, as was Dr E J Davis of Henley Management College; both the author and Dr Davis had roles of project supervisors and independent roles concerning survey design and analysis
Technological change and the productivity paradox: The management of new technologies in UK retail banks
No full textThis thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Successful implementation of new technologies is necessary for survival in today's increasingly competitive banking environment. The banking sector is now the UK's largest investor in new technology. As a result of de-regulation and new technological opportunities, the dominant market position of the traditional banks is under threat from new market entrants. Such organisations are harnessing the latest technology to develop their services, and are not constrained by the costs of running national branch networks and integrating a diverse historical legacy of incompatible computer systems.
This thesis addresses the question of why the massive investment by UK retail banks in information technology is not being translated into significant productivity gains. The issue is referred to in the literature as the IT productivity paradox. It will be argued that the importance of the banks to the economy as a whole, and the position of the industry as the UK's largest investor in new technology, make it a particularly suitable arena in which to study this phenomenon.
Six empirical case studies of recent new technology projects are analysed by the development of grounded theory. The findings indicate that dysfunctional organisational structures and cultures, together with poor management of expertise, combine to sabotage change and constrain the potential of new technology projects. Most significantly, a lack of organisational learning is contributing to the paradox. Even successful projects had limited impact because the lessons learned were not disseminated throughout the organisation. The study concludes that the full potential offered by information technology will continue to elude the banks until their apparently complacent attitude towards organisational change is addressed
Brunel Small Business Leadership Impact Report: September 2021
No full textReportStudio GLUE was commissioned by Brunel Business School - https://alohaglue.com/2022/01/17/2022-1-17-brunel-small-business-leadership-impact-report-2021 which accompanied the Help To Grow Management (https://www.brunel.ac.uk/business-school/brunel-for-business/help-to-grow-programme) launch at Brunel University London.Executive Summary: The Small Business Leadership Programme, with its key focus on leadership and peer support, was designed to help businesses enhance their short-term recovery from the impacts of Covid-19 as well as their long-term resilience and growth
Spherical wave diffraction by a rational wedge
No full textIn this paper we derive a new expression for the point source Green's function for the reduced wave equation, valid in an angular sector, whoseangle is equal to a rational multiple of . This Green's function is used
to find new expressions for the field produced by the diffraction of a
spherical wave source by a wedge, whose angle can be expressed as a rational multiple of . The expressions obtained are in the form of source terms
and real integrals which represent the diffracted field. The general resultobtained includes as special cases Macdonald’s solution for diffraction by ahalf plane; a solution for the problem of diffraction by a wedge of open
angle 3/2, i.e. a corner; a new representation for the solution of the problemof diffraction by a mixed soft/hard half plane; and a new representation for
the point source Green's function for Laplace's equation, valid in an angularsector whose angle is equal to a rational multiple of
Time-dependent estimates of concentration mean and variance for replicated instantaneous heavy gas releases
No full textThis report presents sets of time-dependent estimates of concentration mean, standard deviation and variance for a series of replicated instantaneous releases
of heavy gas carried out in a wind tunnel at Warren Spring Laboratory. The replicated nature of these experiments - there are 50 or 100 repetitions of each
experimental situation - provides a rare and welcome opportunity to derive these
estimates. More usually it is necessary to calculate time averages within a
single release; this, however, is appropriate only for a statistically stationary continuous release, it cannot be used for an instantaneous release. Considerable interest has lately attached to the time-dependent behaviour of mean and variance and to how these quantities depend on atmospheric conditions, source conditions
and position; this interest has been expressed in terms of separate consideration
of the quantities, in terms of the intensity (standard deviation divided by mean),
and in terms of possible fundamental relationships between them as suggested by
Chatwin and Sullivan (1990). The sets of estimates are presented here, without comment or discussion, in the hope of aiding this work
Computer assisted modelling of linear, integer and separable programming problems
No full textFor mathematical programming (MP) to have greater impact upon the decision making process, MP software systems must offer suitable support in terms of model communication and modelling techniques . In this paper modelling techniques that allow logical restrictions to be modelled in integer programming terms are described and their implications discussed. In
addition it is demonstrated that many classes of non-linearities which are not variable separable may be reformulated in piecewise linear form. It is shown that analysis of bounds is necessary in the following three important contexts: model reduction, formulation of logical restrictions as 0-1 mixed integer programs and reformulation of nonlinear programs as variable separable programs, It is observed that as well as incorporating an interface between the modeller and the optimiser there is a need to make available to the modeller software facilities which support the modelling techniques described here
Geometric continuous patch complexes
No full textA theory of geometric continuity of arbitrary order is presented. Conditions of geometric continuity at a vertex where a number of patches meet are investigated. Geometric continuous patch complexes are introduced as the appropriate setting for the representation of surfaces in CAGD. The theory is applied to the modelling of closed surfaces and the fitting of triangular patches into a geometric continuous patch complex
Linear, integer separable and fuzzy programming problems: a united approach towards automatic reformulation
No full textFor mathematical programming (MP) to have greater impact as a
decision tool, MP software systems must offer suitable support in
terms of model communication and modelling techniques. In this
paper modelling techniques that allow logical restrictions to be
modelled in integer programming terms are described and their
implications discussed. In addition it is demonstrated that many
classes of non-linearities which are not variable separable may be
after suitable algebraic manipulation put in a variable separable
form. The methods of reformulating the fuzzy linear programming
problem as a Max-Min problem is also introduced. It is shown that
analysis of bounds plays a key role in the following four important
contexts: model reduction, reformulation of logical restrictions
as 0-1 mixed integer programs, reformulation of nonlinear programs
as variable separable programs and reformulation of fuzzy linear
programs. It is observed that as well as incorporating an
interface between the modeller and the optimiser there is a need to
make available to the modeller software facilities which support the
model reformulation techniques described here
The numerical solution of elliptic and parabolic partial differential equations with boundary singularities
No full textA general numerical method is described for the solution of linear elliptic and parabolic partial differential equations in the presence of boundary singularities. The method is suitable for use with either a finite-difference or finite element scheme. Modified approximations for the derivatives are developed using the local analytical form of the singularity. General guidelines are given showing how the local analytical form can be found and how the modified approximations can be developed for many problems of mathematical physics. These guidelines are based on the reduction of the differential equation to the form Δu = gu + f. The potential problem treated by Motz and Woods is taken as a numerical example. The numerical results compare favourably with those obtained by other techniques
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