Foster carers’ narrative; Looking after unaccompanied refugee children in the UK

As the number of refugees increases, the number of unaccompanied refugee children (URC) seeking asylum have continued to surge too as war, famine, and political issues are endless. Following a difficult and often traumatic journey into the United Kingdom (UK) the URC are often placed into foster homes; yet little is known about the foster placements they are placed in as the research in this area is sparse. The current literature has failed to capture the foster carer’s experience of looking after a niche group of children. This study hopes to offer a valuable insight into how we can understand their needs by adopting a narrative thematic method to hear their stories. The research was carried out with five Tower Hamlet foster carers who have had at least one URC in their placement. Each participant engaged in one semi-structured interview which was conducted online due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The interviews were recorded, transcribed by the researcher, and then analysed using narrative thematic analysis, focusing on the stories they shared about their experiences of looking after URC. The analysis found five shared narratives; ‘understanding culture’, ‘accepting help’, ‘feeling safe’, ‘our skills’, and ‘duty to help’ and one uncommon narrative ‘abusing the system’, in which foster carers described their experience

Learning to Learn-Concepts in a First Power Engineering Course

Three well-known and widely accepted concepts in educational psychology are revisited. These are inventory of learning styles, taxonomy of educational objectives, and metacognition. Relationships among these concepts are highlighted. Often, a student can develop his (or her) own learning style by the process of metacognition. Ideas are borrowed from these concepts for use in a first-level power systems course. It is beyond a doubt that both cognitive and metacognitive skills are necessary for students to succeed in any course. While a semester-long power systems course leaves little time for critical thinking and passive reflection for students, certain activities may very well serve for some of these learning processes

A Rule-Based Dynamic Economic Dispatch for Power Systems

The author introduces a novel operation tool for economic dispatch. It deals with the development and implementation of a new approach-a dynamic rule-based dispatch algorithm that takes into account the major problems faced by the dispatch operator during a dispatch interval and channels those into a database for use by a rule-based system. The algorithm is very fast and can be used effectively in interconnected systems. It can also handle renewable technologies and is therefore considered useful for major electric power utilities contemplating adding a significant amount of these new generation sources to their existing mi

Optimizing the Integration of Photovoltaic Systems with Electric Utilities

The author introduces a comprehensive simulation package whereby the optimal size, operation, performance and economics of a photovoltaic (PV) system can be determined in the utility-integrated mode. The central issue is to present a single definitive optimization model. A stepwise analytical methodology starting at the solar resource and culminating in the value of the PV system in terms of avoided costs is provided. The methodology includes processing of the solar irradiance; identification of the PV system\u27\u27s configuration and operational features; identification of real-time system controls in the presence of PV generation; security assessment in the presence of PV and production costing and capacity expansion analysis with PV. The optimization package is subdivided into five different subgroups based on their respective purposes in the context of the overall scheme. The author describes the functions of each subgroup

Effect of Central Station Photovoltaic Plant on Power System Security

The value of photovoltaic (PV) plants to electric utilities is investigated under constraints of power system security. It is suggested that the generally adopted methods of analysis for determining the capacity credit, energy displacement, and production cost savings due to the PV plants have neglected the adverse conditions that may arise out of a random preselection of a substation where PV power is injected into the system. The author presents an extensive approach to determining the realistic value of a PV plant to the utility. The method consists of using a power flow algorithm to determine system conditions under specific load scenarios. Identification of bus voltage violations and branch overloads is an integral part of the method. The location of the substation where PV is included is very important. Determination of system behavior under contingency conditions with and without PV is also investigate

Power Quality

One big reason for the poor power quality incidents experienced today is the proliferation of electronic devices. A voracious appetite for higher efficiency and productivity in the manufacturing sector, comfort and automation in homes, and efficient lighting systems in commercial installations are driving the market for power electronic devices. At the forefront of this explosion is the switched power supply. Compared to its predecessor-the linear power supply-it can convert higher power much more efficiently and with a significantly smaller footprint. The switched power supply is found in most of today\u27\u27s computers, fax machines, laser printers, office copiers, etc