Network reinforcement requirements for Scotland and the rest of the UK (RUK) - and possible solutions for this

A novel multi-objective transmission expansion planning (MOTEP) tool has been developed to analyse, on a comprehensive geographical scale, the reinforcements required to a base case electrical transmission network following application of a chosen future energy scenario, and to generate optimal network expansion plans, designed to alleviate these areas of strain, for a range of crucial network planning objectives. Here, we report the application of the MOTEP tool to a base case predicted 2014 GB transmission network (thereby including already planned reinforcements such as the Beauly to Denny line) under heavy strain from three 2020 energy scenarios developed by the two-region UK MARKAL energy system model. Reinforcement requirements for Scotland and the RUK beyond 2014, along with optimal network expansion plan options, are examined

Independence interrupted: creativity, context and the 'independent scholar'

Social and networked conceptions of creativity highlight the key role of collaboration and connection making in the work involved in creating and imagining new knowledge. With governments around the world keen to harness the potential of research to foster innovation and economic growth, the question arises as to whether the research degree experience is preparing graduates to be creative, or mobilise creativity, in this way. In this chapter we explore this issue through examining the persistent figure of the 'independent scholar' in accounts of research education and practice. We draw on preliminary analysis of data collected on the role of the doctorate in mid-career research success based on a survey of Australian Research Council Future Fellowship recipients. Our analysis focuses on responses to two open ended questions concerning; a) to what respondents' attribute their mid-career research sucess, and d) the extent to which the PhD experience provides preparation for a research career. We identify intriguing tensions and contradictions in the ways in which being and becoming a successful researcher are conceived. Most notably, the findings suggest that success can be achieved through different modes of working - and being trained - as a researcher. These have implications for universities seeking to promote research collaboration and creativity

A United Kingdom? The case for a net zero Just Transition Commission

Last year, the UK was the first country in the world to pass legislation to become a net zero emissions economy by 2050. To achieve this, the entire UK economy will have to be radically transformed over 30 years through deep decarbonisation. This commitment was ambitious at conception. Now it has to be achieved amidst an economic crisis, with social inequality brought to the fore through Black Lives Matter protests and the stark inequalities exposed by Covid-19. This has led to many voices calling for a green and equitable recovery, able to combine social and environmental concerns in climate change policy

Beyond skills: embodying writerly practices through the doctorate

Summary: This article explores the features and potential of an embodied, rather than merely skills based, approach to doctoral writing. Our conceptual framework is derived from the phenomenological literature, particularly Heidegger's critique of modern life as permeated by a quest for mastery and control. We address two key questions with respect to this: Firstly, what role might the quest for mastery as achieving command or control play in impeding writing and undermining an embodied writerly practice? Secondly, to what extent might narrow skills based approaches to writing unwittingly promote the quest for mastery and therefore encourage, rather than diminish, the anxieties that doctoral research writers may feel

An ontological turn for higher education

In this article, the implications of foregrounding ontology for teaching and learning in higher education are explored. In conventional approaches to higher education programmes, ontology has tended to be subordinated to epistemological concerns. This has meant the flourishing of notions such as the transfer and acquisition of knowledge and skills, either generic or discipline-specific. The authors challenge this emphasis on what students acquire through education by foregrounding instead the question of who they become. They do this through a theoretical/conceptual exploration of an approach to learning that undermines a narrow focus on the intellect by promoting the integration of knowing, acting and being

The entrepreneurial subjectivity of successful researchers

This article begins the work of examining what kind of doctoral experiences positively influence researcher development, and what other attributes may contribute to a successful research career. It reports preliminary findings from the analysis of survey responses by a sample of successful mid-career researchers. Positive doctoral experiences and the early establishment of research activity are found to be important to researcher development. Successful researchers were also found to be able to acknowledge the importance of their 'soft skills', and to have flexible, responsive and adaptive dispositions. We term this disposition 'an entrepreneurial subjectivity' and argue that it is an important and underexamined characteristic of the successful researcher

How the doctorate contributes to the formation of active researchers: what the research tells us

While much research focuses on factors contributing to doctoral completion, few studies explore the role of the doctorate in forming active researchers with the skills, know-how and appetite to pursue research post-completion. This article investigates 15 existing studies for evidence of what factors in the doctoral experience may contribute to the formation of an active researcher with a capacity for later research productivity. The analysis reveals a productive advisor may be key to forming an active researcher and, although inconclusive, productivity post-completion. Further detailed research is required, however, into how the advisor influences candidates' productivity. The article also points to other potentially influential factors requiring further investigation, such as: developing collaborative capacities, conceptualising the purpose of the doctorate as forming an active researcher, advisor mentoring and fostering emotional engagement with research