Investigation of the deployment of Android as a user interface for ovens

This theses is conducted in cooperation with BSH Hausgeräte GmbH. The target is the investigation of the applicability of Android as an operating system for home appliances, specifically for ovens. In order to draw conclusions in regard of applicability, three major topics will be investigated. For a start, the performance of Android running on moderate target hardware will be analysed. The focus lies on graphics, since a high quality graphical user interface is most likely to be the crucial point in terms of performance. Providing a smooth and responsive graphical user interface is decisive for a satisfying user experience. Furthermore, originating from the mobile domain, Android requires an array of modifications prior to being embedded into an oven. The goal is to identify these potential aspects that need modification and give appropriate solutions, thus also providing an estimate of the required effort for the embedding process. Finally, potential inter-process communication mechanisms will be investigated with the objective to identify the most eligible method(s) for the communication between an Android application and the underlying oven hardware

STEM@1000mph: developing open educational resources in a live engineering project

Higher education institutions are recognising the clear benefits of open educational resources, and academics are engaging with the development of these resources. This paper presents a case study of OERs being developed using the live, current BloodhoundSSC world land speed record project as a basis. The paper outlines the rationale for the BloodhoundSSC project and its focus on educational engagement across the age spectrum. The work undertaken to develop a web-based repository along with activities to stimulate academic and student engagement are described. The paper explores how academics have engaged with developing OERs based on this openly available content, the issues encountered and ways in which these issues can be mitigated

National research and development project on healthy universities: final report

This report presents the findings of a National Research and Development Project, undertaken by the Healthy Settings Development Unit at the University of Central Lancashire and funded by the Higher Education Academy Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre and the Department of Health. The aim of the project was to scope and report on the potential for a national programme on Healthy Universities that could contribute to health, well-being and sustainable development. The project comprised four strands: - Literature Review: A rapid review of relevant academic and policy-related literature conducted in order to clarify theory, scope practice and distil key contextual issues. - HEI-level Research: Comprising an overview audit and follow-up mapping and consultative research, this strand of the project provided an overview of Healthy University activity across English HEIs, generated in-depth data from a purposive sample of universities and explored perspectives on the potential development of a national programme on Healthy Universities. - National-Level Stakeholder Research: Using semi-structured interviews with nine key national stakeholder organisations, this strand of the project mapped current health-related roles and responsibilities and explored views regarding the potential development of a national programme on Healthy Universities. - Joint Action Planning and Reporting: In addition to reporting interim findings at relevant conferences and events, an interactive workshop was held with members of the English National Healthy Universities Network to present findings, validate data, inform the action planning process and secure further buy-in. The project highlighted that higher education offers enormous potential to impact positively on the health and well-being of students, staff and the wider community through education, research, knowledge exchange and institutional practice. It also suggested that investment for health within the sector will further contribute to core agendas such as staff and student recruitment, experience and retention; and institutional and societal productivity and sustainability. The research revealed the richness of activity taking place within HEIs and evidenced a rapid increase in interest in the Healthy University approach, pointing to a growing appreciation of the need for a comprehensive whole system approach that can map and understand interrelationships, interactions and synergies within higher education settings – with regard to different groups of the population, different components of the system and different health issues. There is a clear challenge involved in introducing and integrating ‘health’ within a sector that does not have this as its central aim, is characterised by ‘initiative overload’, is experiencing resource constraints and comprises fiercely autonomous institutions. However, there is also a widening recognition that such a system-based approach has significant added value – offering the potential to address health in a coherent and joined-up way and to forge connections to both health-related targets and core drivers within higher education. The report concludes that there is clear demand for national-level stakeholder organisations to demonstrate leadership through championing and resourcing a Healthy Universities Programme that not only adds value within the higher education sector, but also helps to build consistency of approach across the entire spectrum of education. It issues a number of recommendations with a view to responding to the findings and moving forward

Review of EU, national and regional innovation drivers

A policy review of innovation drivers in support of the development of the Regional Innovation Strategy

Autonomous vehicles, Competence and Liability in the EU : Answering the Call of the European Parliament

Technology is taking immense steps in a short period of time and legislators are trying to keep up. Fully autonomous vehicles where human drivers are obsolete are not far away from becoming a reality. The EU aims at facilitating robotic advancements into legislation with the Proposition on Civil Law Rules on Robotics (205/2013(INL)). Consumer protection, market access and liability issues are of main importance concerning driverless vehicles. The main goal of this master’s thesis is to examine autonomous vehicles, competence and liability issues in the European Union context. In other words this thesis examines whether it is possible to regulate on autonomous vehicles on an EU level and if so, what the legislator must take into consideration when doing so or whether current legislation sufficient enough to grant protection for victims of traffic accidents involving autonomous vehicles. The scope of the study is set on future insurance policies, product liability and current national legislation with reference to international policies and regulation. Different legislations on civil liability create a mixed and uncertain background for autonomous vehicles. A uniform and clear EU policy on autonomous vehicles would benefit consumers and market access of said products. The problems can be dissolved with creating an EU wide legal background for autonomous vehicles with product liability, insurance policies and a legal liability theorem. The private sector – the manufacturers and insurance industry – must have an active part in creating legislation and soft law policies. The thesis has achieved its goal if it creates discussion on the importance of harnessing new technology, especially autonomous vehicles. Itseohjautuvat Autot, Kompetenssi ja Vastuuoppi Euroopan Unionissa : Vastaus Euroopan Parlamentille Teknologia kehittyy hurjaa vauhtia ja lainsäätäjillä riittää työsarkaa pysyäkseen sen mukana. Itseohjautuvat autot, jotka ajavat ilman ihmiskuskeja tai -kontrollia, eivät ole kaukana todellisuudesta. Euroopan Unionin tavoitteena on fasilitoida robottiteknologia lainsäädäntöön: Euroopan Parlamentti on päätöslauselmaehdotuksessaan esittänyt suosituksista komissiolle robotiikkaa koskevista yksityisoikeudellisista säännöistä (2015/2103(INL)). Kuluttajansuoja, tavaroiden esteetön pääsy markkinoille ja vastuu kysymykset ovat tärkeitä koskien itseohjautuvia autoja. Tämän pro gradu –tutkielman päämääränä on tutkia itseohjautuvia autoja, kompetenssia sekä vastuu kysymyksiä Euroopan Unionin kontekstissa. Toisin sanoen, tämä tutkielma tutkii mikäli on mahdollista säätää itseohjautuvista autoista EU tasolla, mitä lainsäätäjän tulee ottaa niitä säätäessään huomioon sekä onko nykyinen EU tasoinen lainsäädäntö riittävä suojaamaan uhrien oikeuksia rajat ylittävissä auto-onnettomuuksissa. Tutkielma keskittyy vakuutuksiin, tuotevastuuseen sekä nykyisiin kansallisiin ja kansainvälisiin säädöksiin. Jäsenvaltioiden erilaiset oikeusjärjestelmät koskien siviilioikeutta muodostavat sekavan ja epävarman taustan nykyisellään itseohjautuville autoille, varsinkin rajat ylittävissä onnettomuuksissa. Yhtenäinen ja selkeä EU poliittinen ratkaisu helpottaisi itseohjautuvien autojen käyttöönottoa sekä hyödyttäisi kuluttajia. Ongelmat voidaan ratkaista EU oikeudellisella vastuuopilla ja lainsäädännöllä, joka kohdistettaisiin itseohjautuviin autoihin. Yksityinellä sektorila – nimenomaan autojen valmistajilla ja vakuutusteollisuudella – on oltava rooli lainsäädännön kehittämisessä. Tämä tutkielma on saavuttanut päämääränsä, mikäli se saa aikaan keskustelua uuden teknologian ja lainsäädännön välillä, erityisesti koskien itseohjautuvia autoja

How does the introduction of ‘choice’ affect the pooling of risks in European welfare states? The case of long-term care

Ongoing reforms of European welfare states that aim at increasing ‘choice’ for patients, clients, and beneficiaries provide a unique opportunity to explore what exactly drives these reforms and how they reconstitute communities of economic risks. Traditionally, the solidaristic bargain underpinning European welfare states revolved around the twin objectives of a redistribution of resources and a pooling of risks (Baldwin, 1990). Much of the retrenchment literature to date has focused on the income distributive effects of dwindling resources to explain changes in European welfare states. We postulate that more profound changes in welfare arrangements are being driven by the introduction of ‘consumer choice’ which is compatible with welfare expansion of new welfare state pillars. Our case study on long term care explores in particular, what choices users get and whether this allow us to infer the thrust behind ‘choice’ reforms as well as the effects on the pooling of risks in European welfare states. We find that welfare state expansion in long-term care has responded to growing demand and that there is a great variety in the cost-sharing arrangements which cannot all be subsumed under the imperative of cost containment

Fight for your alienation: The fantasy of employability and the ironic struggle for self-exploitation

This paper draws on Lacanian psychoanalysis, to introduce employability as a cultural fantasy that organizes identity around the desire to shape, exploit and ultimately profit from an employable self. Specifically, the paper shows how individuals seek to overcome their subjective and material alienation by maximizing their self-exploitation through constantly enhancing their employability. This linking of empowerment to selfexploitation has expanded into a broader organizational and political demand calling on individuals to fight for their alienation by having managers and governments help them better exploit themselves through enhancing their employability. Paradoxically, the more contemporary subjects aim to overcome their subjective and material alienation through fantasies of employability the more alienated they become

Embedding Research in Society: Development Assistance Options for Supporting Agricultural Innovation in a Global Knowledge Economy

The emergence of a globalised knowledge economy, and the contemporary views of innovation capacity that this trend enables and informs, provides a new context in which development assistance to agricultural research and development needs to be considered. The main argument in this paper, which focuses on The Netherlands, is that development assistance should use this emerging scenario to identify niches where inputs can add value to the R&D investments of others, particularly in activities that help wire up innovation systems, linking R&D to other activities and actors in society. The paper outlines four agricultural innovation priorities and guiding principles for development assistance that could help strengthen national and global innovation capacity. These trends also raise many tensions and dilemmas for the development research community in Northern countries. A key message of this paper is that these tensions could be better handled if a long-term vision for development assistance to ST&I - which recognised the contingencies of the global knowledge economy and the importance of participation in the resolution of international issues that affect all countries - were in place. The paper concludes by suggesting that national development assistance policies on ST&I cannot be thought of separately from a country's general ST&I policy as participation in the resolution of international issues is a key element of a country's comparative advantage. This requires investments in expertise in the North and not just financial assistance to the South.knowledge economy, development assistance, agricultural research, agricultural innovation, science and technology policy, innovation policy, development research, international development, community, globalization

The single market remains the decisive power of the EU. CEPS Policy Priorities for 2019-2024, 18 October 2019

The EU’s single market should not just be one among several priorities for the new Commission and Parliament. The single market was and is the core business of the EU. Much of what goes on or is proposed under elaborate titles is actually part and parcel of the single market. The striking revelation of Brexit for many EU citizens and all businesses is precisely the centrality of the single market (including the customs union) to EU membership. Its value is first of all economic, of course, as it yields higher prosperity. However, it is critical in other arenas where ‘EU clout’ derived from the single market matters, such as multilateral and bilateral trade negotiations, global climate deals, standard setting, rule-making for international financial stability and even foreign policy