Learning without Limits: Analysing the Usage of Generative AI in a Summative Assessment

This paper explores how Generative AI (GenAI) can be introduced within summative assessment components in software engineering education. We present an example of an assessment which allows learners to use GenAI in a freeform, constructionist manner, as part of a large, software development project. This work is inspired by previously executed AI-focused assessments and surveys, which explicitly indicate that learners on an Applied Software Engineering Degree Apprenticeship Programme want to formally learn how to use GenAI tools when programming and their employers want to see these skills from graduates. The learning outcome of the assignment was for learners to explore a typical developmental pipeline as a solo developer, moving from design to development to finished product. Learners were marked exclusively on their end product and understanding of application components, not the written code itself, resulting in an assessment where the end product and project were prioritised over foundational code (which was adequately assessed in other components). The results show that all learners used GenAI to some extent during their project, and in all cases, they found it beneficial for large programming tasks. Learners were generally able to produce a larger, more comprehensive and more ambitious project, compared to previous years. It is proposed that removing the barrier to GenAI - and demystifying it - can encourage a constructionist approach to its use, and normalise it as a potential tool for programming

Assessing Software Engineering Students' Analytical Skills in the Era of Generative AI

This poster showcases an assessment designed to develop and evaluate software engineering students’ code analysis skills. We demonstrate how students approached code analysis tasks when given multiple code samples created by a human and various AI tools

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiatives in Postgraduate Engineering

UK Higher Education (HE) is characterised by disproportionately low participation rates of minority ethnic groups, particularly in postgraduate study, and there are stark differences between ethnic groups in terms of retention, outcomes, and progression.Disparities increase at higher levels of education, suggesting the existence of barriers to the progression of minority ethnic students into postgraduate education. The impact of this appears to continue beyond HE, as disparities persist into employment and progression to senior levels. Such disparities have led to a large focus on the implementation of interventions that aim to improve equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).This work examines the implementation of a pilot EDI programme for minority ethnic engineering doctorate students at a UK Higher Education Institution (HEI). Throughout the EDI programme, students participated in coaching sessions and leadership development sessions with two external providers and received formal sponsorship from senior staff members. This research investigates the decision-making processes regarding the programme and the impact of the course within the wider context in which it was implemented. A thematic approach is utilised to analyse data from semi-structured interviews held with key stakeholders involved in the course: students who participated, external providers who delivered the course, sponsors, and university staff members who implemented the course. Thematic analysis is also performed on programme documentation. The key findings highlight the potential benefits of coaching, leadership development, and sponsorship for minority ethnic postgraduate research students, certain ways in which the institutional culture may limit the advancement of EDI, particularly related to race equity, and the importance of authentic institutional support of EDI for meaningful change. The data-driven conclusions provide recommendations to improve the EDI landscape within the institution and elsewhere

Earthquake Detection Using Accelerometers and Magnetic Sensors

This paper covers the use of accelerometers and magnetic field sensors for detecting an earthquake before it arrives. This is possible because earthquakes emit a small magnetic wave from the epicentre that travels faster than the earthquake itself, allowing early detection and warning. Furthermore, an earthquake is made up of a fast-moving Primary (P) wave, and a slower more dangerous Secondary (S) wave. It is also possible to detect the P wave with an accelerometer to warn of the incoming S wave. The earthquake detection circuit can be constructed using the MPU6050 accelerometer and BMM150 magnetic field sensor, both connected to a Raspberry Pi Pico to utilise its powerful microcontroller that can also connect to an alarm system. This design shows a proof of concept for earthquake detection using magnetic field waves. Nevertheless, there are possible improvements such as using better sensors with less interference as well as progressing into using machine learning for detecting the earthquakes’ precursors which could help improve the design further

Design and Synthesis of Ketoconazole Derivatives as Innovative Anti‐Infective Agents

A novel series of compounds was designed and synthesized by combining the distal piperazine nitrogen of the antifungal ketoconazole (KTZ) with primary arylsulfonamides. The aim of this study is to present the basis for a new generation of Malassezia antifungal agents able to inhibit the enzyme lanosterol‐14α‐demethylase (CYP51; EC 1.14.13.70) as well as a newly emergent therapeutic target: carbonic anhydrases (CAs; EC 4.2.1.1). The final compounds showed effective interactions with the intended targets in vitro, as well as KTZ comparable minimum inhibitory concentrations on yeast strains of the Malassezia genus: Malassezia furfur ATCC 14521; Malassezia globosa ATCC MYA 4612; and Malassezia pachydermatis DSM 6172. Overall, the data obtained account for the reported compounds as promising antifungal candidates with high safety profiles for the management of fungal infections

Beyond public acceptance: Towards systemic societal responsiveness of net zero infrastructures

Whilst dominant science-policy framings focus on getting publics to accept widespread infrastructural changes deemed necessary for net zero, social science scholarship has argued for the need to move ‘beyond acceptance’. In this paper we advance on existing studies which tend to emphasise a largely sequential progression from acceptance to ‘beyond acceptance’ approaches. We suggest that this can be more accurately viewed as distinct co-existing and interacting perspectives on public responses to net zero infrastructures. We present a framework that identifies four perspectives on how publics relate to infrastructural change. This suggests that alongside perspectives focusing on public acceptance and societal acceptability, two alternative perspectives emphasise the need for societal responsiveness perspectives, one with reference to specific settings and one more systemically. Drawing on a review of academic literature and UK policy documents, we move beyond studies focusing on discrete technologies to analyse how these perspectives are evident across the energy system, with reference to three exemplifying case study areas: wind energy, greenhouse gas removal, and smart home technologies. Our analysis shows that public responses to net zero infrastructures are contingent on particular sociotechnical situations and are interrelated across wider systems. While societal responsiveness perspectives are emerging in contestation to the still dominant focus of gaining acceptance, we suggest that a more systemic perspective on societal responsiveness of net zero infrastructures is needed. We consider the research and policy-practice implications of this systemic societal responsiveness perspective in terms of public responses to, engagement with, and the governance of net zero transitions

Whither class in critical military studies?

Although it is often mentioned, social class is rarely deployed as an overarching heuristic for studying the military nor militarism within Critical Military Studies, both as a discipline and journal. This represents a significant departure from older ‘critical’ (i.e. Marxist) approaches to militarism which explicitly linked militarism to class society; but also from ‘traditional’ military sociologists such as Moskos (1970) who also routinely discussed class. This is a glaring, worrying lacunae within a self-proclaimed ‘critical’ discipline, yet given the disappearance and subsequent fragmentation of class analysis within the academy, it may seem difficult to imagine what class analysis of the military might look like today. This Encounters piece aims to catalyse a return to class analysis within Critical Military Studies. It provides- as a starting point- a brief overview of a range of classic and newer perspectives on class and militarism taken from history and political economy and from the macro and micro level