CLIP/CETL Fellowship Report 2007/8 : Mentorship Scheme : extending work related learning

This project seeks to work with four parties; current second year students, alumni within the design industry, design professionals and PPD staff at LCC in a two stage process; setting up the requirements for a mentorship scheme and then investigating the outcomes. A handbook and website was produced

On the Perturbed Trapezoid Formula

Some inequalities related to the perturbed trapezoid formula are given. An application for the expectation of a random variable is also pointed out

An Ostrowski Type Inequality for Mappings Whose Second Derivatives are Bounded and Applications

An integral inequality of Ostrowski's type for mappings whose second derivatives are bounded is proved. Applications in Numerical Integration and for special means are pointed out

Austerity is in serious danger of sending the role of councillor into a slide towards irrelevance

The local government sector has seen unprecedented cuts since the 2010 General Election. With the Conservatives back in power again following 2015, austerity can be expected to continue. Neil Barnett argues that these cuts, as well as other long-term trends such as managerialism and de-politicisation have combined to gradually undermine the role of the councillor

A proposed model for servitization based collaboration in the UK Aerospace Defence industry

In many sectors customers are increasingly seeking service contracts rather than buying products. High tech capital equipment firms attracted by the potential revenue benefits are choosing to move from supplying product only to supplying product and services. This concept is known as ‘Servitization’. Through empirical evidence the academic literature has shown that businesses face challenges in undertaking the transformation from product to service provision and that organisational, cultural, commercial and operational challenges have the potential to erode the desired and expected benefits sought from such a transition. The research presented in this thesis investigates and identifies the features and challenges of servitization in the context of a complex engineering service provided by the UK Aerospace Defence industry. The research also explores the reported costs and front of mind costs for the provision of a complex engineering service. Particular attention is given to the problem of less than expected profitability during and post transformation to service. This research adopts a qualitative approach through the use of a single case study with multiple case examples of the complex engineering service. Findings identify a number of challenges associated with the transformation from product to service provision that include strategy, organisation and enterprise management, contracting, risk, culture and operations. Considering these findings holistically it is suggested that a paradigm shift needs to occur, changing both managers perspective and the business models employed if the firm is to provide a sustainable service offering. New ways of structuring and managing the enterprise to deliver the service value proposition will be required. This will include the development of performance management of all operations across the enterprise required as a minimum to ensure optimum performance of service delivery at lowest cost

Some Inequalities for the Dispersion of a Random Variable whose PDF is Defined on a Finite Interval

Some inequalities for the dispersion of a random variable whose pdf is defined on a finite interval and applications are given

Effect of oxidant type on the chemiluminescence intensity from the reaction of tris(2,2’-biyridyl)ruthenium(III) with various organic acids

An investigation into the chemiluminescence of fourteen organic acids and tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) was undertaken. Particular emphasis was placed upon the method of production of the reagent, tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(III), with cerium(IV) sulfate, potassium permanganate, lead dioxide and electrochemical generation. Analytically useful chemiluminescence was observed when Ce(IV) or potassium permanganate were employed as oxidants. The kinetics of analyte oxidation was related to the intensity of the chemiluminescence emission, which increased by three orders of magnitude for tartaric acid after 40 h of oxidation

Improvements to separation and detection for forensic analysis of illicit substances

This article gives an overview of our recent research into separation and detection of analytes of forensic interest. This work has been carried out in collaboration with local forensic service providers and is based on our previous studies of chemiluminescence detection, flow analysis and capillary electrophoresis as applied to process analytical chemistry for the pharmaceutical industry. Chemiluminescence has the potential to provide low limits of detection in combination with high selectivity, while capillary electrophoresis allows for rapid, highly efficient separations. Examples of recent forensic applications are presented and future directions are discussed.</div

Design of LabVIEW®-based software for the control of sequential injection analysis instrumentation for the determination of morphine

LabVIEW®-based software for the automation of a sequential injection analysis instrument for the determination of morphine is presented. Detection was based on its chemiluminescence reaction with acidic potassium permanganate in the presence of sodium polyphosphate. The calibration function approximated linearity (range 5 × 10-10 to 5 × 10-6 M) with a line of best fit of y=1.05x+8.9164 (R2 =0.9959), where y is the log10 signal (mV) and x is the log10 morphine concentration (M). Precision, as measured by relative standard deviation, was 0.7% for five replicate analyses of morphine standard (5 × 10-8 M). The limit of detection (3σ) was determined as 5 × 10-11 M morphine

New light from an old reagent: chemiluminescence from the reaction of potassium permanganate with sodium borohydride

When aqueous sodium borohydride (50 mM) is added to a solution of potassium permanganate (1mM, in sodium hexametaphosphate) at acidic pH, bright red-orange emission is easily visible in a darkened room. This chemiluminescence emission is due to an excited state of manganese (II) that undergoes solution phase phosphorescence and provides an excellent opportunity for students to explore the relationship between the initial oxidation state of the manganese and the likelihood of luminescence. Not surprisingly Mn(VII), Mn(IV) and Mn(III) all give rise to chemiluminescence where as Mn(II) fails to react