Teaching mathematical modelling: a research based approach

A collaborative, research based laboratory experiment in mathematical modelling was included in a bioprocess engineering laboratory module, taught as part of an interdisciplinary program in biotechnology. The class was divided into six groups of three students and given the task of investigating a novel diafiltration process that is currently the focus of international research. Different aspects of the problem were assigned to each group and inter-group communication via email was required to ensure that there was a coherent set of objectives for each group and for the class as a whole. The software package, Berkeley Madonna, was used for all calculations. As well as giving the students an introduction to mathematical modelling and computer programming, this approach helped to illustrate the importance of research in bioprocess engineering. In general, the experiment was well received by the students and the fact that they were discovering new knowledge generated a degree of enthusiasm. However, many students were consumed by the technical demands of computer programming, especially the attention to detail required. Thus, they did not think too deeply about the physical aspects of the system they were modelling. In future years, therefore, consideration will be given to giving the student prior instruction in the use of the software

The unruly rules of the game : writing game and writing practice in George Gissing's New Grub Street

In The Pleasure of the Text, Roland Barthes likens the reader-writer relationship to a game, the play of which is made possible by the writer's imaginative seeking out of his reader, and the reader's openness to being found. If each does his or her part—if neither bores the other—‘there can still be a game’. This model of writing and reading as exploratory, amorous gamesmanship is troubled by the literary equivalent of spectator sports, literature for a mass audience. According to this new model, described by Marshall McLuhan, ‘Without the audience, there is no game. It would be a practice’, a rehearsal without a play. Within mass culture, then, the game is determined not by the players' mutual efforts to defer the rules, but by the presence of an anonymous public, well-versed in rule and convention before first pitch is thrown or first sentence is read. How one writes, or fails to write, in the context of this new configuration of the game is the main question posed in George Gissing's New Grub Street (1891). I contend that, while the novel’s successful writers play to audience demand, their counterparts yearn for a proper writing practice. Boredom marks the latters’ refusal of the new rules of the game, flagging the novel’s construction and allocation of artistic authenticity.peer-reviewe

Using peer review to enhance the quality of engineering laboratory reports

Peer review of third year bioprocess engineering laboratory reports was introduced in an attempt to improve the standard of report writing in the BSc in Biotechnology degree programme at DCU. Preliminary results suggest that the review process leads to improved report writing skills. The student response to the initiative was very positive but it was strongly felt that the process should be anonymous. On average, marks awarded by students were higher than those awarded by the lecturer but there was a slight tendency to award more extreme marks

Modelos de mortalidad a partir de datos de salud y discapacidad autopercibidos: Un informe sobre Irlanda a distintas escalas 2011-2016

Relationships between mortality and morbidity are long established within geo-spatial modelling and GIS-based analyses. While there has always been a strong associational relationship between the two measures, this has been less tested at an aggregate areal scale than one might expect. From a geographical perspective th is has been in part because access to data at meaningful spatial scales, especially for mortality, can be difficult. This paper presents newly collected data from Ireland on mortality and maps cross-sectional associations with self-reported healthand limiting long-term illness and disability conditions (LLTC) for the first time at an intermediate level geography. Data is also available for two different time-periods from administrative records and from five-yearly censuses. Mortality data was collected at a newly-created intermediate level geography (IA, n=410, averagepopulation=10,900) while the self-reported health/LLTC data was collected at a long-standing administrative scale (ED, n=3409, average population=1,350). Given there was a nested relationship between the two scales, redistricting techniques were used in GIS to enable direct comparisons. Mortality data was available for all deaths (SMR) and premature death (ASR), as well as for four different causes of death. Self-reported health was mapped in three ways; as a combined rate for poor health status; as a weighted health score and as a combined rate for LLTC. The associations were derived from correlation/regression modelling at the smaller IA scale. The results identified that the associations were statistically significant and of mixed magnitude, but had relatively low r-squared values. The associations were strongest for premature (under 75) mortality, while additional correlations for cause of death were lower again. From this, weconcluded that the self-reported health/LLTC statistics, while of some potential explanatory value, were not especially useful as predictive variable. Suggestions for improvement would be to weight the self-reported health data by age andadditionally to take into account deprivation as a second explanatory factor operating within cross-sectional work. Finally, modelling at different spatial scales might act as a useful guide for comparative analysis in Andalucía and other regions of Spain, where spatial scales may be similar in terms of size and scale.Desde hace mucho tiempo, se vienen realizando análisis geoespaciales utilizando herramientas SIG para establecer la relación entre mortalidad y morbilidad. A pesar que siempre ha existido una estrecha relación entre estas dos dimensiones, esta ha sido escasamente evaluada a escala agregada. Desde una perspectiva geográfica, esto no ha sido posible en parte debido a que el acceso a datos, tales como mortalidad, ha sido difícil para determinadas escalas espaciales. Este artículo presenta por primera vez, a un nivel geográfico intermedio, información y mapas recientes sobre mortalidad en Irlanda, asociándola de forma transversal con la salud auto-percibida, la limitación a causa de una larga enfermedad y el nivel de la discapacidad (LLTC). Los datos utilizados provienen de dos fuentes, registros administrativos y censos quinquenales y pertenecen a dos periodos diferentes temporales. Los datos de mortalidad se recopilaron en base a un nivel geográfico intermedio (IA, n = 410, población media = 10,900), mientras que los datos de salud auto-percibida/LLTC se recopilaron en base a una antigua escala administrativa (DE, n = 3409, población media = 1,350). Ante la falta de homogeneidad entre las dos escalas, se utilizaron técnicas de reordenación mediante SIG para realizar comparaciones directas. Los datos de mortalidad estaban disponibles para todas las muertes (SMR) y las muertes prematuras (ASR), para cuatro causas diferentes de mortalidad. La salud auto-percibida fue cartografiada de tres formas distintas: como una tasa combinada para el mal estado de la salud;como una puntuación ponderada de la salud y como una tasa combinada paraLLTC. Las relaciones fueron derivadas desde un modelo de correlación/ regresión a una escala más pequeña IA. Los resultados han puesto de manifiesto que las relaciones eran estadísticamente significativas y de magnitud mixta, pero tenían valores r-cuadrados relativamente bajos. La relaciónfue más significativa para las muertes prematuras (menor de 75), mientras que las correlaciones relacionadas con la causa de muerte fueron bajas. A partir de esto, se llegó a la conclusión de que las estadísticas respecto a la salud auto percibida /LLTC,aunque poseen algún valor explicativo, no se pueden utilizar como variables predictores. Para mejorar los resultados enla realización de estudios transversales, se sugiere que la información sobre la salud auto-percibida se divida por grupos de edad y, además, se tengan en cuenta la deprivación como un segundo factor explicativo. Finalmente, el modelado a diferentes escalas espaciales podría servir como una guía útil para realizar análisis comparativos en Andalucía y otras regiones de España, donde las escalas espaciales pueden ser similares en términos de tamaño y escala