Ethical decision making in a mixed methodological study investigating emotional intelligence and perceived stress amongst Academics

Whereas there appears to be a large body of literature that focuses on ethical concerns within the context of research, there continues to be a feeling of isolation and lack of awareness of ethical guidance and support that leaves researchers to rely on institutional ethical requirements as well as their own ethical principles and previous experience. Consequently, there can be a significant variance in the quality of research. The challenge is that ethical decision making is not a term that can be simply defined, as it appears to include multiple influences such as individual difference, that include personality and environmental factors. As there appears to be no universal consensus, and the definition of ethics is broad, it gives rise to difficulties in defining the term “ethics”. However, it is important that stakeholder rights and dignity are protected. Hence, ethics is an essential component that needs to be addressed when undertaking academic research. The aim of this paper is to discuss the ethical implications associated with the study that investigates the relationship between emotional intelligence and perceived stress amongst 533 academics, helping to add a little more to existing information

Experimental investigation of the effects of fuel diffusive injectors on premixed swirling flames

The demand for alternative fuels has increased significantly during the previous decades in order to reduce pollutants and increase the amount of energy that can be generated from non-fossil fuels. However, the use of new fuels faces many issues especially the problem of stability of operation which sometimes can cause severe damages to the system hardware. Thus the development of flexible combustion systems for gas turbines becomes urgent in order to achieve high reliability with these new sources of energy. Swirl stabilized combustion is the most widely spread deployed technology used to stabilize and control combustion in gas turbines and numerous other systems. However, the interaction of the swirling flows with the burner geometries is very complex and it has been proved that any change in the burner geometry can affect the flow field inside the combustion chamber, close to the burner mouth and downstream the combustion zone. Most burners are generally provided with a diffusive injector that centrally delivers well-known fuels allowing the stabilization of the system previous to entirely premixed conditions. Moreover, the injector anchors the central recirculation zone formed downstream of the nozzle. However, the use of injectors can also affect the stability limits of the system, especially the propagation of flashback through changes of shape of the shear layer since other structures such as the Combustion Induced Vortex Breakdown are suppressed due to the presence of this central body. However, the characterization of the flow and its impacts on the propagation of these and other flashback structures using different injectors has been briefly documented. Thus, this paper presents a series of experiments using a well-characterized tangential swirl burner to determine the impact of different central injector geometries on the flow field characteristics which directly affect the flow stagnation point downstream of the burner mouth and consequently the propagation of the Combustion Induced Vortex Breakdown. Results show how the use of various injectors and swirl numbers can impact on the flashback limits with a minimum outside diameter before which the Combustion Induced Vortex Breakdown is altered

OH/LEX: Ohio Land Exchange

The Ohio Land Exchange is an action-research project that seeks to test the feasibility of a new collaborative site-planning framework, in which community groups and other stakeholders jointly develop and design new approaches to vacant land reuse in cities with high levels of vacant and abandoned land. Lima was the first city in Ohio in which this new framework has been tested. The OH/LEX team is currently collaborating with OSU Extension to explore the possibility of bringing this program to other jurisdictions in Ohio. During the Community Engagement Conference, we are organizing a panel to introduce interested members from the Ohio State community to the tools we have developed in Lima. The panel will consist of a brief overview of the results of our pilot test in Lima with key local partners, a discussion of the potential for implementation of the approach in other jurisdictions, and Q&A. If you are curious about vacant land reuse and/or community engagement in legacy cities in Ohio, please consider attending this panel.AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Nancy Bowen Ellzey, Associate Professor, Community Economics, The Ohio State University Extension, [email protected] (Corresponding Author); Mattijs Van Maasakkers, Assistant Professor, City Planning, Knowlton School; Susan Crotty, Community Development Director, City of Lima, Department of Community Development; Phil Downing, Administrator, Lima Land Bank Program; Jeeson Oh, Graduate Student, Knowlton School of City and Regional Planning.The Ohio Land Exchange is an action-research project that seeks to test the feasibility of a new collaborative site-planning framework in which community groups and other stakeholders jointly develop and design new approaches to vacant land reuse in cities with high levels of vacant and abandoned land. This project includes students and faculty with Knowlton School, Extension and Lima stakeholders who will introduce the program and how it has been implemented in the first city in Ohio in which this new framework has been tested

A qualitative study of student retention: The University Academic's perspective

Student retention continues to be a concern for higher education. Successive Governments have made efforts to incentivise universities however dropout rates continue to increase. Studies have been undertaken on student retention and it appears that there is a combination of reasons as to why student’s dropout. This study is of one university in England with a sample size of 75 academics (those employed as lecturers, tutors, instructors and researchers). A qualitative study is undertaken which is part of a funded research project that uses mixed methodology in a systematic, sequential, explanatory and, thematic approach. This article focuses on the findings from thematic analysis. Key themes identified include: engagement, attendance, mental health, workload and family pressure. Findings are presented, and suggestions are made that can be integrated into university policy and practice. The findings suggest that notwithstanding the efforts universities give to retention of students there continues to be and year on year increase in student dropout. This article provides evidence-based suggestions that widens existing literature to help improve student retention and to help inform those undertaking future research in this area

Ammonia-methane combustion in tangential swirl burners for gas turbine power generation

Ammonia has been proposed as a potential energy storage medium in the transition towards a low-carbon economy. This paper details experimental results and numerical calculations obtained to progress towards optimisation of fuel injection and fluidic stabilisation in swirl burners with ammonia as the primary fuel. A generic tangential swirl burner has been employed to determine flame stability and emissions produced at different equivalence ratios using ammonia–methane blends. Experiments were performed under atmospheric and medium pressurised conditions using gas analysis and chemiluminescence to quantify emission concentrations and OH production zones respectively. Numerical calculations using GASEQ and CHEMKIN-PRO were performed to complement, compare with and extend experimental findings, hence improving understanding concerning the evolution of species when fuelling on ammonia blends. It is concluded that a fully premixed injection strategy is not appropriate for optimised ammonia combustion and that high flame instabilities can be produced at medium swirl numbers, hence necessitating lower swirl and a different injection strategy for optimised power generation utilising ammonia fuel blends

Non-linear Control of a Piezoelectric Two Stage Servovalve

This paper describes an algorithm to control a two stage hydraulic servovalve designed for aerospace applications. The valve has a piezoelectric ring bender actuating a first stage spool with a significant amount of overlap to reduce internal leakage. The piezoelectric ring bender is a less complex and lighter alternative to a conventional torque motor. The second stage has electrical instead of the conventional mechanical feedback. The control algorithm includes compensation for the first stage spool overlap, piezoelectric hysteresis compensation and a feed forward term. The hysteresis compensation is based on a relatively simple Bouc-Wen hysteresis model that is able to significantly reduce the amount of first stage hysteresis. The overlap compensation, increasing the gain in the overlap region, reduces the impact of amplitude change and increases performance. It can also reduce any asymmetry in the system. The controller has a superior performance compared to a PI controller, as demonstrated experimentally using step and frequency responses

Methodology and comparison of quantitative NO-LIF imaging in a bunsen burner with numerical simulation results

A planar laser induced fluorescence (P LIF) technique is applied to quantify nitric oxide (NO) concentration in a premixed bunsen burner with a CH4 -air flame doped with NO (up to 1300 ppm). This experimental data will be used as the calibration method for quantitative in-flame NO measurements in a high-pressure generic swirl burner at Cardiff University’s Gas Turbine Research Centre. Methodology of modelling premixed bunsen burner combustion experiment in CHEMKIN for predicting NO emissions in a wide variation of premixed methane flames is also described here. Chemical kinetics simulation results from a wide range of fuel flow rates have been compared and analysed with the experimental data in this paper. Our open bunsen burner flame experienced about 15 – 25% reduction in seeded NO level at 25mm above the burner exit. Calibration curves were obtained for both online and offline by measuring NO -PLIF intensity at varying level of NO seeding. These results from both the LIF and simulations will complement each other in subsequent works

Planar laser-induced fluorescence and chemiluminescence analyses of CO2-argon-steam oxyfuel (CARSOXY) combustion

Strict regulations and acts have been imposed to limit NOx and carbon emissions. The power generation industry has resorted to innovative techniques to overcome such a low level of tolerance. Amongst those in the literature, CO2-argon-steam oxyfuel (CARSOXY) gas turbines have theoretically been proven to offer an economically sustainable solution while retaining high efficiency. Although theoretical studies have characterized CARSOXY, no experimental evidence has been provided in the literature. Therefore, this paper attempts to experimentally assess CARSOXY in comparison to a CH4/air flame. OH* chemiluminescence integrated with OH Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) imaging has been utilized to study flame stability and flame geometry (i.e., the area of highest heat intensity (AOH¯¯¯¯¯¯Max center of highest heat intensity (COH¯¯¯¯¯¯Max)) over a range of working fluid Reynolds’ numbers and oxidizing equivalence ratios. In addition, the standard deviation of heat release fluctuations (σOH*/OH¯¯¯¯¯¯) has been utilized as the base-criteria to compare the stability performance of CARSOXY to CH4/air combustion. Moreover, turbulence-chemistry interactions have been described using Damköhler numbers and by plotting Borghi regime diagrams. This paper suggests a modified numerical approach to estimate Damköhler numbers and plot regime diagrams for non-premixed combustion by utilizing the Buckingham π theorem based on experimental observations and results. CARSOXY flames showed lower flame intensity than that of the CH4/air flame throughout the entire Re interval by approximately 16%, indicating higher heat release. The Damköhler numbers of the CARSOXY flame were also greater than those of the CH4/air flame in all conditions, indicating more uniform CARSOXY flames. It was found that the tendency of the CARSOXY flame of approaching the concentrated reaction zone is greater than that of the CH4/air flame

Reviews

The following publications have been reviewed by the mentioned authors;Ideas Bank Design Technology: Designing & Making Book 1 - reviewed by Robert BowenAztecs - Your Move - reviewed by Bridget A. EganChanging Technology - reviewed by John Hill & Elizabeth WrightElectronic Circuits and Components/ The Parts Gallery - reviewed by Mark HudsonGCSE Design and Technology: Resistant Materials - reviewed by John DurrellGlobal contexts: an introduction for design and technology teachers - reviewed by Anne RiggsScience Resources for Key Stage 2: SATIS 8-14 Technology - reviewed by Richard AgerScience Resources for Key Stage 2: SATIS 8-14 Health - reviewed by Richard AgerScience Resources for Key Stage 2: SATIS 8-14 Materials/Transport/Environment - reviewed by Robert BowenTechnology an Enterprising Approach - reviewed by Dr Ron RichieUnderstanding Electronic Circuits CD-ROM - reviewed by Dr Rowland Dye and Phil NormanTextiles and Technology - reviewed by Jillian MellorArt and Design 97 - reviewed by Andy Brecko