Enterprise Education Competitions: A Theoretically Flawed Intervention?

The demand for including enterprise in the education system, at all levels and for all pupils is now a global phenomenon. Within this context, the use of competitions and competitive learning activities is presented as a popular and effective vehicle for learning. The purpose of this chapter is to illustrate how a realist method of enquiry – which utilises theory as the unit of analysis – can shed new light on the assumed and unintended outcomes of enterprise education competitions. The case developed here is that there are inherent flaws in assuming that competitions will ‘work’ in the ways set out in policy and guidance. Some of the most prevalent stated outcomes – that competitions will motivate and reward young people, that they will enable the development of entrepreneurial skills, and that learners will be inspired by their peers – are challenged by theory from psychology and education. The issue at stake is that the expansion of enterprise education policy into primary and secondary education increases the likelihood that more learners will be sheep dipped in competitions, and competitive activities, without a clear recognition of the potential unintended effects. In this chapter, we employ a realist-informed approach to critically evaluate the theoretical basis that underpins the use of competitions and competitive learning activities in school-based enterprise education. We believe that our findings and subsequent recommendations will provide those who promote and practice the use of competitions with a richer, more sophisticated picture of the potential flaws within such activities.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Fuzzy-based optimization of AODV routing for efficient route in wireless mesh networks

The performance of any communication system heavily relies on the efficient routing of interventions. This article addresses the significant issue of routing protocol selection for optimal path determination in networks. Particularly, when wireless communication occurs among mobile nodes with limited resources, such as batteries, the routing problem becomes even more challenging. This article proposes the Fuzzy Control Energy Efficient (FCEE) routing protocol to overcome these challenges. The FCEE protocol combines the Ad-Hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) protocol with fuzzy logic techniques to enhance network lifetime and performance. The proposed approach introduces a memory-based channel integrated with fuzzy logic methodologies, which effectively restricts the forwarding of unnecessary broadcast packets based on the energy availability of the operating node. Through extensive simulations, demonstrate the promising capabilities of FCEE as a routing protocol for wireless mesh networks. To further assess the effectiveness of the FCEE protocol, the proposed article compares it with two existing routing protocols: AODV and Intelligent Routing AODV (IRAODV). The simulation results shows that the FCEE routing protocol significantly enhances the reliability of the conventional AODV, providing improved link connectivity and longer route lifetimes. Additionally, our proposed protocol enhances the quality of service (QoS) for mesh routing, with an average throughput of 351.374 (Kbps) compared to 90 (Kbps) for IRAODV and 39 (Kbps) for AODV. Moreover, FCEE exhibits superior energy efficiency with an average energy consumption of 14, while IRAODV and AODV consume 40 and 90 joules, respectively. In conclusion, the FCEE routing protocol demonstrates its potential to address the challenges of efficient routing in wireless mesh networks. By leveraging fuzzy logic and integrating it with AODV, FCEE enhances network lifetime, performance, and energy efficiency, making it a promising solution for future wireless communication systems

Disclosing the thermal reactions of aliphatic amines in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles by multi-shot analytical pyrolysis

Analytical pyrolysis is a powerful tool to study the thermal behaviour of organic compounds, but relatively little information is available on the pyrolysis of amines, especially when bound to inorganic systems. In this study, we analysed aliphatic amines (propylamine, dipropylamine, tripropylamine, and tert-butylamine), both as pure compounds and bound to titania nanoparticles, using multi-shot analytical pyrolysis-gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (Py-GC–MS) with a liquid nitrogen cryo-trap system. Desorption of amines was observed at 260 °C, while pyrolysis reactions were mostly observed at 600 °C. Pure amines underwent intermolecular reactions, generating heavier nitrogen-containing compounds. Conversely, amines bound to titania nanoparticles underwent loss of ammonia and hydrogen, and both inter- and intramolecular couplings generate unsaturated hydrocarbons and aromatics. Differences in the pyrolysis mechanisms were attributed to the catalytic effect of the nanoparticles. The present work provides fundamental information on the pyrolytic behaviour of aliphatic amines and on the catalytic effect of titania nanoparticles

Fuzzy logic-based congestion control in AODV mesh networks

Paper presented at the 3rd International Conference on Electrical, Computer, Communications and Mechatronics Engineering (ICECCME 2023), Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, 19-21 July 2023

Systematic review on modification to the ad-hoc on-demand distance vector routing discovery mechanics

Mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) and wireless mesh networks (WMNs) are used in a variety of research areas, including the military, industry, healthcare, agriculture, the Internet of Things (IoT), transportation, and smart cities. The swift advancement in MANET technology is the driving force behind this rising adoption rate. Routing over MANET is a critical problem due to the dynamic nature of the link qualities, even when nodes are static. A key challenge in MANETs is the need for an efficient routing protocol that establishes a route according to certain performance metrics related to the link quality. The routing protocols utilised by the nodes in WMNs and MANETs are distinct. Nodes in both types of networks exchange data packets through the routing protocols. For this highly mobile network, the ad-hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing protocol has been suggested as a possible solution. Recent years have attracted researchers’ attention to AODV since it is a routing technique for ad-hoc networks that prevents looping. The architecture of this routing protocol considers several factors, including the mobility of nodes, the failure of connection links, and the loss of packets. In this systematic review, one of the key focuses is bringing attention to the classic AODV, which was developed after discussing the recent development of several versions of AODV. The AODV routing protocol performs a path strength check to generate a more reliable and secure route between the source and destination nodes. In AODV, investigations demonstrate advances in both the format protocol approach and the network simulation-2 (NS-2), and these improvements were made in the same scenario used to revitalise AODV. It has been discovered that the AODV is more effective in several aspects, such as throughput, end-to-end delay, packet delivery ratio (PDR), energy consumption, jitter, packet loss ratio, and network overhead. Furthermore, this paper presents this systematic review based on AODV modifications in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). It also provides a methodological framework for the papers’ selection