Distributed collaboration between industry and university partners in HE

Over the past three years the School of Design has been experimenting with an innovative curriculum design and delivery model named ‘the Global Studio’. The Global Studio is a cross-institutional research informed teaching and learning collaboration conducted between Northumbria University and international universities and industry partners based in the UK, USA, Netherlands and Korea. The aims of the Global Studio are directly linked with current and future industry needs that are related to changes in the organisation of product and service development. These changes highlight the importance of equipping design students with skills for working in globally networked organisations particularly the development of skills in intercultural communication and collaboration. In this paper we will focus on the Global Studio conducted in 2008 which included Northumbria University (UK), Hongik University (Korea), Auburn University (USA), Intel (USA), Motorola design studios located in the UK and Korea and Great Southern Wood (USA). These projects will be used to illustrate challenges and benefits of international collaborative industry-based projects undertaken in distributed settings

Magneto-seismology: effect of inhomogeneous magnetic field on transversal coronal loop oscillations

The extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) imagers onboard the planned Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and Solar Orbiter (SO) will offer us the best chance yet of using observations of post-flare loop oscillations to probe the fine structure of the corona. Recently developed magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave theory has shown that the properties of loop oscillations depend on their plasma fine structure. Up to this point, many studies have concentrated solely on the effect of plasma density stratification on coronal loop oscillations. In this paper we develop MHD wave theory which models the effect of an inhomogeneous magnetic field on coronal loop oscillations. The results have the potential to be used in testing the efficacy of photospheric magnetic field extrapolations and have important implications regarding magneto-seismology of the corona

Employing wavelength diversity to improve SOA gain uniformity

In this paper, we propose a wavelength diversity technique for the semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) to improve the gain uniformity for ultra-high speed optical routers. In such routers, fast SOA gain recovery is required to ensure the minimum gain standard deviation and thus leading to reduction in the system power penalty. The SOA is modeled using a segmentation technique and the detailed theoretical analysis for the model is presented. A direct temporal analysis of the impact of the signal wavelength on the SOA gain is investigated. The SOA gain profile when injected with a burst of input Gaussian pulses for a single wavelength and the proposed wavelength diversity technique are investigated. The operation principle is simulated and the results show a reduction in the gain standard deviation (at 1 mW input power) of 13.1, 11, 8.1, 6.2 and 4.8 dB for the data rates of 10, 20, 40, 80 and 160 Gb/s, respectively

Multi-agency training and the artist (Sharing our experience, Practitioner-led research 2008-2009; PLR0809/032)

The Multi-Agency Team Project approached issues of multi-agency training indirectly by using an artist as a catalyst in a group exercise examining movement and sound in relation to early childhood. The aim of the research was to run an experiential non-traditional training programme based on using an artist as a catalyst to promote inter-agency dialogue in one setting, Woodlands Park Nursery and Children’s Centre, and to analyse the findings. Eleven participants used this common experiential focus to frame collective research both as a focus group and as individual fieldworkers. The research demonstrated shared professional discourse but also collected judgements relevant to policy issues based on collaborative professional reflection triggered by the exercise. The findings are presented theoretically in terms of critical discourse analysis using the interpretation-supporting software ATLASti. We next take a further look at the role play exercise in which the group constituted itself as a ‘House of Commons Select Committee’ before summarizing what theoretical insights might be brought to bear and attempting to draw some provisional conclusions. Some evidence is presented suggesting there is a degree of tension and ambiguity between alterative models of multi-agency working

Arithmeticity of Orbifold Generalised Triangle Groups

Maclachlan and Martin have proved that only finitely many arithmetic Kleinian groups can be generated by 2 elliptic elements, and have classified these groups in the non-cocompact case. Here, we investigate the cocompact case, restricting to a class of generalisedtrianglegroups considered by Jones and Reid which arise as the fundamental groups of hyperbolic 3-dimensional orbifolds. We obtain 21 arithmetic groups and provide a description of the corresponding orbifolds

Evaluation of the ICT Test Bed project: final report, June 2007

The report describes three strands of evaluation used in the review of the 2006 outcomes from ICT Test Bed and the findings from each strand. a) Quantitative data: Benchmarking of changes in performance on national tests against matched comparator schools and national averages; b) Qualitative data: Site visits including classroom observations, interviews with local authority managers, head teachers, teachers, administrative staff, technicians and students; and c) Document analysis

Emerging patterns of leadership: co-location, continuity and community

"Local leaders have taken hold of the opportunity created by co-location not just to deal with an immediate problem, but also to transcend that with an even better offer to children and their families." - Page 1