Ways of seeing evaluation

Copyright @ 2011 Brunel UniversityThis report summarises the evaluation of Ways of Seeing, a community arts project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and hosted by the Lightbox, Woking, Surrey from 2008-11. The people involved have had remarkable experiences, choosing how to take part in each stage of preparations for a major public art exhibition. All those involved had disabilities, primarily arising from mental health issues but also including physical disabilities. The project was skilfully designed and led to enable them to make a significant contribution, enhancing their well-being and resulting in the Ways of Seeing exhibition which was widely appreciated. The Lightbox is an award-winning museum, housing a permanent local history exhibition as well as touring major art exhibitions. The Ingram Modern Art collection is on permanent loan, with regular exhibitions of work from the collection. Since the Lightbox opened in 2007, it has had a stated intention to promote local community involvement, successfully obtaining external funding to support this work. Ways of Seeing was the most ambitious project to date, aiming to exhibit selected work from the Ingram Collection alongside art created as part of the project by local disabled people. The emphasis on ways of seeing reflected an interest in their diverse perspectives, especially in relation to long term mental health problems. A steering group was set up, with members from local mental health initiatives and an evaluation team from Brunel University. The project started by orientating participants to how art is created and exhibited, with a series of visits and workshops on major art collections and artists’ studios. This stage successfully attracted a range of people and was followed by taster workshops of different art techniques. Then participants examined every item in the Ingram Collection and agreed a selection to inspire their own artistic responses. All-day workshops were convened, covering the same techniques as before and giving everyone space and time to get started. Curation of the exhibition gathered pace as final selections were made from participants’ art works and the Ingram Collection. The exhibition offered opportunities for everyone to have selections of their work exhibited to the public alongside the selected work from the Ingram Collection. A video artist captured the project in film and an MSc occupational therapy student from Brunel University undertook independent interviews of participants. It is clear that this multi-stage and carefully considered approach was highly successful in engaging people who are often excluded from arts events and venues. It was also successful in engaging the public in an innovative and thought-provoking exhibition, challenging assumptions about mental health and promoting the benefits of participation. The willingness of the Lightbox to host and support the project was essential. Based on tolerance, respect and a sympathetic curiosity, with clear and skilled leadership, the project enabled participants to make significant changes in their own lives.This study was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund

Assessment in Scotland

Assessment practice will follow and reinforce the curriculum and promote high quality learning and teaching approaches. Assessment of children's and young people's progress and achievement during their broad general education to the end of S3 will be based on teachers' assessment of their knowledge and understanding, skills, attributes and capabilities, as described in the experiences and outcomes across the curriculum

Artificial intelligence for multi-mission planetary operations

A brief introduction is given to an automated system called the Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype (SHARP). SHARP is designed to demonstrate automated health and status analysis for multi-mission spacecraft and ground data systems operations. The SHARP system combines conventional computer science methodologies with artificial intelligence techniques to produce an effective method for detecting and analyzing potential spacecraft and ground systems problems. The system performs real-time analysis of spacecraft and other related telemetry, and is also capable of examining data in historical context. Telecommunications link analysis of the Voyager II spacecraft is the initial focus for evaluation of the prototype in a real-time operations setting during the Voyager spacecraft encounter with Neptune in August, 1989. The preliminary results of the SHARP project and plans for future application of the technology are discussed

Forcing boundary-layer transition on an inverted airfoil in ground effect and at varying incidence

Presented at 34th AIAA Applied Aerodynamics ConferenceThe influence of the laminar boundary-layer state on a wing operating in ground effect at Re = 6 × 10 has been investigated using experiments with a model that provides two-dimensional flow and computations with a panel-method code. The effect of a boundary-layer trip placed at varying distances from the leading edge was observed at various incidences in terms of on-surface characteristics, including pressure measurements, flow visualisation and hot-film anemometry, and off-surface characteristics with LDA surveys below and behind the wing. The act of forcing transition led to downforce being reduced and drag increased, moreover, it altered almost all aspects of the wing’s aerodynamic characteristics, with the effect becoming greater as the trip was placed closer to the leading edge. These aspects include the replacement of a laminar separation bubble with trailing-edge separation, a thicker boundary layer, and a thicker wake with greater velocity deficit. The importance of considering laminar phenomena for wings operating in ground effect has been show

The platinum nuclei: concealed configuration mixing and shape coexistence

The role of configuration mixing in the Pt region is investigated. For this chain of isotopes, the nature of the ground state changes smoothly, being spherical around mass $A\sim 174$ and $A\sim 192$ and deformed around the mid-shell N=104 region. This has a dramatic effect on the systematics of the energy spectra as compared to the systematics in the Pb and Hg nuclei. Interacting Boson Model with configuration mixing calculations are presented for gyromagnetic factors, $\alpha$-decay hindrance factors, and isotope shifts. The necessity of incorporating intruder configurations to obtain an accurate description of the latter properties becomes evident.Comment: Accepted in Physical Review

Application of digital particle image velocimetry to insect aerodynamics: measurement of the leading-edge vortex and near wake of a Hawkmoth.

Some insects use leading-edge vortices to generate high lift forces, as has been inferred from qualitative smoke visualisations of the flow around their wings. Here we present the first Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV) data and quantitative analysis of an insect’s leading-edge vortex and near wake at two flight speeds. This allows us to describe objectively 2D slices through the flow field of a tethered Tobacco Hawkmoth (Manduca sexta). The near-field vortex wake appears to braodly resemble elliptical vortex loops. The presence of a leading-edge vortex towards the end of the downstroke is found to coincide with peak upward force production measured by a six-component force–moment balance. The topology of Manduca’s leading-edge vortex differs from that previously described because late in the downstroke, the structure extends continuously from wingtip across the thorax to the other wingtip

A report on SHARP (Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype) and the Voyager Neptune encounter

The development and application of the Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype (SHARP) for the operations of the telecommunications systems and link analysis functions in Voyager mission operations are presented. An overview is provided of the design and functional description of the SHARP system as it was applied to Voyager. Some of the current problems and motivations for automation in real-time mission operations are discussed, as are the specific solutions that SHARP provides. The application of SHARP to Voyager telecommunications had the goal of being a proof-of-capability demonstration of artificial intelligence as applied to the problem of real-time monitoring functions in planetary mission operations. AS part of achieving this central goal, the SHARP application effort was also required to address the issue of the design of an appropriate software system architecture for a ground-based, highly automated spacecraft monitoring system for mission operations, including methods for: (1) embedding a knowledge-based expert system for fault detection, isolation, and recovery within this architecture; (2) acquiring, managing, and fusing the multiple sources of information used by operations personnel; and (3) providing information-rich displays to human operators who need to exercise the capabilities of the automated system. In this regard, SHARP has provided an excellent example of how advanced artificial intelligence techniques can be smoothly integrated with a variety of conventionally programmed software modules, as well as guidance and solutions for many questions about automation in mission operations

One step multiderivative methods for first order ordinary differential equations

A family of one-step multiderivative methods based on Padé approximants to the exponential function is developed. The methods are extrapolated and analysed for use in PECE mode. Error constants and stability intervals are calculated and the combinations compared with well known linear multi-step combinations and combinations using high accuracy Newton-Cotes quadrature formulas as correctors. w926020

Companion problems in quasispin and isospin

We note that the same mathematical results apply to problems involving quasispin and isospin, but the problems per se are different. In the quasispin case, one deals with a system of identical fermions (e.g. neutrons) and address the problem of how many seniority conserving interactions there are. In the isospin case, one deals with a system of both neutrons and protons and the problem in question is the number of neutron-proton pairs with a given total angular momentum. Other companion problems are also discussed.Comment: 12 pages, Latex; some additions in section II and a brief summary at the en