3,071 research outputs found
An assessment of principles of access for wind generation curtailment in active network management schemes
The growth of wind generation embedded in distribution networks is leading to the development and implementation of Active Network Management (ANM) strategies. These aim to increase the capacity of Distributed Generation (DG) that can connect to a network. One such ANM strategy is generation curtailment where DG is given a non-firm connection under which the network can instruct a generator to reduce its output under specified conditions. Currently in the UK the Orkney distribution network operates a curtailment scheme for wind and other renewable generation [1]and a similar scheme is being developed for the Shetland Islands [2]. The main objective of this paper is to explore the options for Principles of Access (PoA) for curtailment of wind generation on distribution networks which employ ANM. The PoA define the commercial rules by which a DG unit obtains access to the distribution network and under an ANM curtailment scheme the PoA defines the curtailment instructions that would be sent to different DG units when network constraints occur. The scenarios studied in this paper are based on the Orkney distribution network
A qualitative study of children, young people and 'sexting' : English
The purpose of this small scale qualitative research was to respond to and enhance our understandings of the complex nature of sexting and the role of mobile technologies within peer teen networks. It was designed as a pilot study – to investigate a phenomenon whose nature, scale and dimensions were unknown. Thus the research itself also was small in scale and exploratory in nature and also culturally and geographically specific. We conducted focus group interviews with 35 young people years 8 and 10 in two inner city London schools. At the focus groups we asked participants to friend us on Facebook, with a research Facebook profile. We then mapped some of their activities online and returned for 22 individual interviews with selected case study young people. We also interviewed key teachers and staff at the schools. The study found that threats from peers in digital social networks were more problematic for young people that ‘stranger danger’ from adults. Digital technologies facilitated new visual cultures of surveillance, in which young women were pressured to send revealing body photos or asked to perform sexual services by text and through social networking sites. In this way, sexting aggravated peer hierarchies and forms of sexual harassment in schools, meaning that sexting was often coercive and was sometimes a form of cyberbullying. Girls were most negatively affected by ‘sexting’ in cultural contexts of increasing ‘sexualisation’ shaped by sexual double standards and boys had difficulty in challenging constructions of sexually aggressive masculinity. The research allowed for exploration of when pleasurable sexual flirtation through digital communication moved into sexual coercion and harassment, which was illustrated through narrative examples. Considering the relationship between online and offline risks it found sexual double standards in attitudes to digital sexual communication were linked to incidents of real playground sexual harassment and violence. Finally, it found that children at primary school age were being impacted by the coercive aspects of ‘sexting’ at an earlier age, than prior research indicated
A Q-methodology study of patients' subjective experiences of TIA
Background. An expanding body of research has focused on a range of consequences of TIA. However, no work has been conducted on the patient’s subjective experience of TIA. Aim. To capture patients’ first-hand experiences of TIA. Method. Using Q-methodology which employs both qualitative and quantitative approaches, 39 statements relating to the clinical, physical, affective, and psychological impact of TIA were distilled from the literature and from patient narratives. Consistent with conventional Q-methodology, a purposive sample of twentythree post-TIA patients sorted these statements into a normally-distributed 39-cell grid, according to the extent to which each represented their experience of TIA. Results. Casewise factoranalysis was conducted on the sorted statements. Eight factors emerged which were labelled: lack of knowledge/awareness of TIA; life impact; anxiety; interpersonal impact; depression; physical consequences; cognitive avoidance/denial; constructive optimism. Conclusions. Five of the eight factors confirmed existing research on the impact of TIA, but three new issues emerged: deep-seated anxiety, denial and constructive optimism. The emerging perspectives highlight areas to target in the management of TIA and could inform health education messages, patient information, individualised caremanagement, and enhancement of coping strategies. With development, the findings could be used as a basis for psychometric risk assessment of TIA patients
Commercial integration of storage and responsive demand to facilitate wind energy on the Shetland Islands
The Northern Isles New Energy Solutions (NINES) project seeks to implement Active Network Management (ANM) on the Shetland Islands in a manner which reduces customers’ energy consumption, lowers peak demand and facilitates an increase in the proportion of electricity from wind, in order to take advantage of the unique wind resource of the islands. This presentation focuses on the commercial frameworks and trading arrangements necessary to permit additional wind capacity onto the islanded network through the active use of storage and responsive demand technologies. The network is modelled using a Dynamic Optimal Power Flow (DOPF) framework, which allows the unit scheduling of different combinations of generation, storage and demand to be optimised according to different optimisation goals. This is used as a foundation to explore the value of wind energy and storage in meeting the long-term goals of the network, the forms of trading and markets which may be used to contract services, and the potential for responsive demand to facilitate different forms of connection agreements and curtailment strategies for new wind farms. In modelling the Shetland network using Dynamic Optimal Power Flow (DOPF), the optimum unit commitment schedule is determined across a daily horizon for different network topologies, including variable levels of wind generation, storage and demand-side response - primarily storage heaters and water tanks controllable by the Distribution System Operator via Active Network Management. This informs the level of wind generation which may be accepted onto the network, and allows the creation and testing of commercial agreements both for wind generators keen to utilise the unique resource of the islands, as well as allowing third-party operation of storage, and reducing the peak energy demand of domestic consumers. This allows a greater level of demand to be supplied by non-thermal sources through the time-shifting of demand against the availability of the wind resource. Support of the grid through reserve and response is considered in the context of maintaining system stability, with the aim of procuring services through third-party contractual arrangements. Data collected from the operational history of the islands and technology trials demonstrate the feasibility of these approaches and their potential applicability to other constrained distribution networks with the potential for high levels of wind generation. The data from trials of domestic storage equipment and modelling of wind curtailment demonstrate quantitatively the ways in which commercial integration of modern storage and responsive demand can be used to increase the utilisation of wind energy on islanded networks, which may often have increased renewable resources but limited grid capacity. It is shown that there are a number of trading and connection agreements which can be used to contract for generation and ancillary services to meet these goals
Work Creed for Women
I believe that every woman needs a skilled occupation developed to the degree of possible self-support
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Feminism rebranded : women?s magazines online and ?the return of the F-word?
In recent years feminism has gained spectacular levels of visibility, notably among young women and in the media, especially online. This article makes a novel contribution to a growing discussion about ?the new cultural life of feminism? (Diffractions, 2016), and in particular the ?mediated feminist landscape? (Banet-Weiser, 2015) and its ?new luminosity in popular culture? (Gill, 2016) by bringing to the conversation the voices of those very individuals doing the mediating, providing such luminosity. Drawing on 68 in-depth interviews with the producers of women?s online magazines from the UK and from Spain, we examine the range of ways in which these professionals define and dis/identify with feminism, as well as explain, applaud or critique the emergence of a ?new feminism? promoted by their publications. In general terms, the analysis shows that the talk of women?s magazine producers constitutes a heterogeneous discursive terrain filled with ambivalence and ideological dilemmas. Additionally we show how the recent interest in feminism by these media is deeply but not only ideological, necessarily but not simply commercially-driven, and involved in simultaneous practices of de-stigmatising as well as depoliticising the movement. We suggest that in its transition into popular media feminism is ?rebranded? in such a way that both opens up and closes down possibilities, in a contradictory dynamic of regulation and adaptation that is characteristic of ?cool capitalism? (McGuigan, 2009).
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Collaborative Cartography: Creating an Asset Map for Student and Community Success
In this workshop participants will learn key steps in creating campus and community asset maps to help discover areas of strength in communities, including resources and various supports. The workshop will address the following: (1) defining the purpose and audience of the map; (2) creating a shared controlled vocabulary across departments and/or disciplines; (3) choosing the appropriate mapping software; and (4) the process of sharing data with the wider world. Learn from our experience in bringing campus and community projects together with the library to create maps that serve multiple purposes, including interactive databases of campus resources and supports, and data analysis platforms to conduct needs based assessments. Rhode Island College’s Learning for Life (L4L) is a project at RIC that links students to a wide range of services, supports, and opportunities for college success. Rhode Island College and the Central Falls School District are partners in The Central Falls/Rhode Island College Innovation Lab (the Innovation Lab). This unique, first-in-the-nation collaboration has the potential to provide a PK-12 and post-secondary urban education model that offers a new paradigm for state and national replication. With the metadata and information management knowledge of the library, we created maps for each project, L4L and the Innovation Lab, built on shared mission, strong collaboration and a focus on leveraging our resources to best serve our students across campus
Implementing Digital Life Story Work for People with Dementia: Relevance of Context to User Experience
Teen girls, sexual double standards and 'sexting': gendered value in digital image exchange
This article explores gender inequities and sexual double standards in teens’ digital image exchange, drawing on a UK qualitative research project on youth ‘sexting’. We develop a critique of ‘postfeminist’ media cultures, suggesting teen ‘sexting’ presents specific age and gender related contradictions: teen girls are called upon to produce particular forms of ‘sexy’ self display, yet face legal repercussions, moral condemnation and ‘slut shaming’ when they do so. We examine the production/circulation of gendered value and sexual morality via teens’ discussions of activities on Facebook and Blackberry. For instance, some boys accumulated ‘ratings’ by possessing and exchanging images of girls’ breasts, which operated as a form of currency and value. Girls, in contrast, largely discussed the taking, sharing or posting of such images as risky, potentially inciting blame and shame around sexual reputation (e.g. being called ‘slut’, ‘slag’ or ‘sket’). The daily negotiations of these new digitally mediated, heterosexualised, classed and raced norms of performing teen feminine and masculine desirability are considered
Access to HIV prevention and care for HIV-exposed and HIV-infected children : a qualitative study in rural and urban Mozambique
Background: Follow-up of HIV-exposed children for the delivery of prevention of mother-to-child transmission services and for early diagnosis and treatment of HIV infection is critical to their survival. Despite efforts, uptake of postnatal care for these children remains low in many sub-Saharan African countries.
Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in three provinces in Mozambique to identify motivators and barriers to improve uptake of and retention in HIV prevention, care and treatment services for HIV-exposed and HIV-infected children. Participant recommendations were also gathered. Individual interviews (n = 79) and focus group discussions (n = 32) were conducted with parents/caregivers, grandmothers, community leaders and health care workers. Using a socioecological framework, the main themes identified were organized into multiple spheres of influence, specifically at the individual, interpersonal, institutional, community and policy levels.
Results: Study participants reported factors such as seeking care outside of the conventional health system and disbelief in test results as barriers to use of HIV services. Other key barriers included fear of disclosure at the interpersonal level and poor patient flow and long waiting time at the institutional level. Key facilitators for accessing care included having hope for children's future, symptomatic illness in children, and the belief that health facilities were the appropriate places to get care.
Conclusions: The results suggest that individual-level factors are critical drivers that influence the health-seeking behavior of caregivers of HIV-exposed and HIV-infected children in Mozambique. Noted strategies are to provide more information and awareness on the benefits of early pediatric testing and treatment with positive messages that incorporate success stories, to reach more pregnant women and mother-child pairs postpartum, and to provide counseling during tracing visits. Increasing uptake and retention may be achieved by improving patient flow at the institutional level at health facilities, by addressing concerns with family decision makers, and by working with community leaders to support the uptake of services for HIV-exposed children for essential preventive care
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