A UHF RFID Reader Antenna with Tunable Axial Ratio and Fixed Beamwidth

A novel ultra-high-frequency (UHF) RFID reader antenna is proposed. The antenna has a unique property as being able to change its axial ratio (AR) without affecting its gain, beamwidth or impedance matching performance, enabling the isolated study of the effect of different axial ratios in RFID tag reading.This work was supported by EPSRC EP /S-19405/1 Channel Optimised Distributed Passive Sensor Networks

Beam Scanning UHF RFID Reader Antenna with High Gain and Wide Axial Ratio Beamwidth

A novel ultra-high-frequency (UHF) RFID reader antenna is proposed, designed and measured. The proposed antenna is capable of 2-dimensional (2D) beam-scanning from 0º to 360º in the azimuth plane, and 0º to 40º in the zenith plane. The minima of the antenna's axial ratio (AR) follows its gain maxima during beam-scanning, resulting in an equivalent 3 dB AR beamwidth of over 136º for every phi cut. Moreover, the antenna's AR can be easily modified without affecting other parameters. It is shown experimentally that the antenna's 2D beam-scanning ability and the improved AR performance lead to better tag-reading results, improving the percentage of missing tags by up to 21.6% compared to a standard antenna which has a degraded AR and only supports 1D beam-scanning. In addition, the antenna needs no matching network and has a -10 dB return loss bandwidth from 860 MHz to 880 MHz.This work was supported by EPSRC EP /S-19405/1 Channel Optimised Distributed Passive Sensor Network

Enhanced RFID tag detection accuracy using distributed antenna arrays

© 2018 IEEE. An Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system using distributed antenna arrays for interrogating RFID tags in a highly multipath environment is demonstrated. The system makes use of phase diversity and beam steering to overcome fading. The tag detection accuracy is compared to a standard fixed antenna system, showing that the presented system is able to deliver more power to the more challenging tags, and therefore is capable of a higher tag read success rate. It is also shown that, whereas a fixed antenna is capable of scanning a single cell, the ability of a phased array to scan through 360° azimuth leads to a reduction in number of antennas required for a multicell system. The experimental results are validated using a 3D field-based propagation model, which enables visualisation of the power distribution in the field of interest, and provides insight into the improved system performance

Multidimensional sexual perfectionism and female sexual function: A longitudinal investigation

Research on multidimensional sexual perfectionism differentiates four forms of sexual perfectionism: self-oriented, partner-oriented, partner-prescribed, and socially prescribed. Self-oriented sexual perfectionism reflects perfectionistic standards people apply to themselves as sexual partners; partner-oriented sexual perfectionism reflects perfectionistic standards people apply to their sexual partner; partner-prescribed sexual perfectionism reflects people’s beliefs that their sexual partner imposes perfectionistic standards on them; and socially prescribed sexual perfectionism reflects people’s beliefs that society imposes such standards on them. Previous studies found partner-prescribed and socially prescribed sexual perfectionism to be maladaptive forms of sexual perfectionism associated with a negative sexual self-concept and problematic sexual behaviors, but only examined cross-sectional relationships. The present article presents the first longitudinal study examining whether multidimensional sexual perfectionism predicts changes in sexual self-concept and sexual function over time. A total of 366 women aged 17-69 years completed measures of multidimensional sexual perfectionism, sexual esteem, sexual anxiety, sexual problem self-blame, and female sexual function (cross-sectional data). Three to six months later, 164 of the women completed the same measures again (longitudinal data). Across analyses, partner-prescribed sexual perfectionism emerged as the most maladaptive form of sexual perfectionism. In the cross-sectional data, partner-prescribed sexual perfectionism showed positive relationships with sexual anxiety, sexual problem self-blame, and intercourse pain and negative relationships with sexual esteem, desire, arousal, lubrication, and orgasmic function. In the longitudinal data, partner-prescribed sexual perfectionism predicted increases in sexual anxiety and decreases in sexual esteem, arousal, and lubrication over time. The findings suggest that partner-prescribed sexual perfectionism contributes to women’s negative sexual self-concept and female sexual dysfunction

The ethics of digital well-being: a multidisciplinary perspective

This chapter serves as an introduction to the edited collection of the same name, which includes chapters that explore digital well-being from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including philosophy, psychology, economics, health care, and education. The purpose of this introductory chapter is to provide a short primer on the different disciplinary approaches to the study of well-being. To supplement this primer, we also invited key experts from several disciplines—philosophy, psychology, public policy, and health care—to share their thoughts on what they believe are the most important open questions and ethical issues for the multi-disciplinary study of digital well-being. We also introduce and discuss several themes that we believe will be fundamental to the ongoing study of digital well-being: digital gratitude, automated interventions, and sustainable co-well-being

Multilingualism and the Brexit referendum

This chapter argues that the (lack of) foreign language skills has contributed to the outcome of the Brexit referendum. Theory suggests that speaking foreign languages reduces perceptions of cultural distance and contributes to the formation of transnational identities. Research also shows a link between language skills and European identity (Kuhn 2015; Díez Medrano 2018). Did Britons’ relative lack of foreign language skills play a role in the Brexit decision? Using matching methods and data from the referendum wave of the British Election Study, it is possible to estimate the effect of foreign language skills on the referendum vote. The results suggest that a significant effect of foreign language skills remains, even when taking into account education, age, gender, income, and region, party preference, and personality differences

Becoming a mentor: The impact of training and the experience of mentoring university students on the autism spectrum

While it is widely recognised that the number of young adults diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disoders (ASD) is increasing, there is currently limited understanding of effective support for the transition to adulthood. One approach gaining increasing attention in the university sector is specialised peer mentoring. The aim of this inductive study was to understand the impact of peer mentor training on seven student mentors working with university students with an ASD. Kirkpatrick’s model framed a mixed methods evaluation of the mentors’ training and description of their experience. Overall, the training was well received by the mentors, who reported on average a 29% increase in their ASD knowledge following the training. Results from the semi-structured interviews conducted three months after the training, found that mentors felt that the general ASD knowledge they gained as part of their training had been essential to their role. The mentors described how their overall experience had been positive and reported that the training and support provided to them was pivotal to their ability to succeed in as peer mentors to students with ASD. This study provides feedback in support of specialist peer-mentoring programs for university students and can inform recommendations for future programs and research