FIL Benchmarking Project

Write up of a workshop which took place at Interlend 2015, the annual conference of the Forum for Interlending and Information Delivery, held in Manchester. The workshop followed on from the presentation of the results of the FIL Benchmarking Project Survey in 2014, and was intended to facilitate discussion of the findings, with a view to establishing best practice

Issues of partial credit in mathematical assessment by computer

The CALM Project for Computer Aided Learning in Mathematics has operated at Heriot‐Watt University since 1985. From the beginning CALM has featured assessment in its programs (Beevers, Cherry, Foster and McGuire, 1991), and enabled both students and teachers to view progress in formative assessment The computer can play a role in at least four types of assessment: diagnostic, self‐test, continuous and grading assessment. The TLTP project Mathwise employs the computer in three of these roles. In 1994 CALM reported on an educational experiment in which the computer was used for the first time to grade, in part, the learning of a large class of service mathematics students (Beevers, McGuire, Stirling and Wild ,1995), using the Mathwise assessment template. At that time the main issues identified were those of ‘partial credit’ and communication between the student and the computer. These educational points were addressed in the next phase of the CALM Project in which the commercial testing program Interactive PastPapers was developed. The main aim of this paper is to describe how Interactive Past Papers has been able to incorporate some approaches to partial credit which has helped to alleviate student worries on these issues. Background information on other features in Interactive Past Papers is also included to provide context for the discussion

Morphological sustainability of barrage impoundments

Barrages built in estuaries fundamentally alter the dynamics of the river with regard to both flow and sedimentation patterns. Therefore it is essential to ensure that these structures do not affect the sustainability of the systems in which they are built. In recent years there has been increased emphasis on assessing the effect of climate change on river flows and the impact that this has on watercourses. Therefore, to investigate morphological sustainability of barrage impoundments, the effect of climate change must be included. An assessment of the morphological sustainability of the River Tees impoundment is presented. The predictions were completed using the l-dimensional software package ISIS, which modelled flow and sediment movement within the impoundment. Fifty-year simulations were completed to predict the sediment distribution through the system under differing future scenarios. A method is proposed for extending the flow boundary for the numerical model, which uses a generic statistical modelling technique. It uses the historical flow data recorded on the Tees and forward predicts the series based on its statistical properties. Firstly, the Markov Chain method was used to predict a 50 year flow series which assumes a stable climate. The predicted series showed good correlation with the measured series in terms of both statistical properties and structure. Secondly, the method was further developed to enable climate change predictions to be incorporated. This means that the generated series can be modified to directly account for the possible influence of climate change on discharge. This technique uses a Markov model fitted in the framework of a multinomiallogit model, enabling catchment precipitation and temperature values to be linked to the discharge. Climate change predictions available for the period 2070 to 2100 were then used to create 50-year modified flow series for the River Tees under a medium\high and medium\low emissions scenario. During the period of sediment monitoring on the Tees a change to the sediment supply was noticed as a result of the high flows experienced in October/November 2000. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether the sediment supply will return to its original levels or if, as a consequence of higher flows resulting from climate change, the supply will remain at present levels. Hence three different sediment rating curves were created from the field data to deal with this uncertainty; representing high, medium and low sediment supply conditions. Using the data generated for the flow and sediment boundaries, simulations were undertaken to assess the morphological sustainability of the Tees impoundment. Simulations using a flow boundary, which assumed both a stable climate and a changed climate, as well as three different sediment supply options for each, were considered. The results show that the impoundment reaches a dynamic equilibrium during the modelled period, irrespective of the sediment supply. From this it is possible to state that the Tees Impoundment is morphologically sustainable over the next 50-80 years. Climate change, while increasing the sediment supply, actually appears to improve the sustainability of the impoundment with regards to sediment. The increased number of high flows cause more steep water surface slopes which reentrain sediments and partially flush the system. In conclusion this thesis presents an assessment of the morphological sustainability of the Tees impoundment under differing future climate scenarios for both the fluvial and sediment inputs. Within the course of the work a different technique for extending flow series assuming both a stable and changed climate has been proposed. It is hoped that these methods will be of use in future sustainability assessments; however further investigations into these methods would be beneficial

THE IMPORTANCE OF DIRECTLY EMITTED NITROGEN DIOXIDE FROM ROAD VEHICLES TO URBAN AIR QUALITY IN THE UK

ABSTRACT Recent analyses of comprehensive ambient air pollution measurements in London have quantified the proportion of nitrogen oxides (NO X ) in vehicle exhausts that is emitted as nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ). The analyses show that a greater proportion of NO X is emitted directly as NO 2 than previously thought. For the 43 monitoring sites considered, the mean primary NO 2 volume fraction was calculated to be 11.2 %. Emissions of primary NO 2 of this magnitude appear to explain approximately 21 % of measured NO 2 concentrations on average. However, at many congested locations with a high proportion of diesel vehicles, primary NO 2 emissions are thought to explain over 30 % of observed concentrations. For high percentile values of NO 2 , the primary NO 2 contribution can dominate ambient concentrations. These results have implications for the management of air quality in urban areas since it is likely that directly emitted NO 2 would respond differently to NO X control measures compared with that chemically produced in the atmosphere. In particular, the source apportionment of NO 2 concentrations can be very different to NO X close to roads in London. The results also have implications for dispersion modelling studies of NO 2 , where it is generally assumed that a fixed 5.0 % of the NO X emitted by vehicles is in the form of NO 2 . The implications of the increased use of particle traps on the London bus fleet that produce NO 2 to assist in the oxidation of particles is also assessed, together with the potential effects of the London Congestion Charging Scheme

Systolic blood pressure reactions to acute stress are associated with future hypertension status in the Dutch Famine Birth Cohort Study

These analyses examined the association between blood pressure reactions to acute psychological stress and subsequent hypertension status in a substantial Dutch cohort. Blood pressure was recorded during a resting baseline and during three acute stress tasks, Stroop colour word, mirror tracing and speech. Five years later, diagnosed hypertension status was determined by questionnaire. Participants were 453 (237 women) members of the Dutch Famine Birth Cohort. In analysis adjusting for a number of potential confounders, systolic blood pressure reactivity was positively related to future hypertension. This was the case irrespective of whether reactivity was calculated as the peak or the average response to the stress tasks. The association was strongest for reactions to the speech and Stroop tasks. Diastolic blood pressure reactivity was not significantly associated with hypertension. The results provide support for the reactivity hypothesis. \ud \u