13,115 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
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
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
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
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
A domain decomposition method for conformal mapping onto a rectangle
No full textLet g be the function which maps conformally a simply-connected domain G onto a rectangle R so that four specified points z1, z2, z3, z4,o n ∂G are mapped respectively onto the four vertices
of R. This paper is concerned with the study of a domain decomposition method for computing approximations to g and to an associated domain functional in cases where: (i) G is bounded by two
parallel straight lines and two Jordan arcs. (ii) The four points z1, z2, z3, z4, are the corners where the two straight lines meet the two arcs
Adapting the interior point method for the solution of linear programs on high performance computers
No full textIn this paper we describe a unified algorithmic framework for the interior point method (IPM) of solving Linear Programs (LPs) which allows us to adapt it over a range of high performance computer architectures. We set out the reasons as to why IPM makes better use of high performance computer architecture than the sparse simplex method. In the inner iteration of the IPM a search direction is computed using Newton or higher order methods. Computationally this involves solving a sparse symmetric positive definite (SSPD) system of equations. The choice of direct and indirect methods for the solution of this system and the design of data structures to take advantage of coarse grain parallel and massively parallel computer architectures are considered in detail. Finally, we present experimental results of solving NETLIB test problems on examples of these architectures and put forward arguments as to why integration of the system within sparse simplex is beneficial
Smooth parametric surfaces and n-sided patches
No full textThe theory of 'geometric continuity' within the subject of CAGD is reviewed. In particular, we are concerned with how parametric surface patches for CAGD can be pieced together to form a smooth Ck surface. The theory is applied to the problem of filling an n-sided hole occurring within a smooth rectangular patch complex. A number of solutions to this problem are surveyed
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