OER Evidence Report 2013-2014

The Open Educational Resources Research Hub (OER Research Hub) provides a focus for research, designed to give answers to the overall question ‘What is the impact of OER on learning and teaching practices?’ and identify the particular influence of openness. We do this by working in collaboration with projects across four education sectors (K12, college, higher education and informal) extending a network of research with shared methods and shared results. The project combines: – Targeted research collaboration with high profile OER projects – A programme of international fellowship – Global networking and expertise in OER implementation and evaluation – A hub for research data and excellence in practice This report is an interim review of evidence recorded against the key hypotheses that focus the research of the OER Research Hub project

Semi-automatic geometric digital twinning for existing buildings based on images and CAD drawings

Despite the emerging new data capturing technologies and advanced modelling systems, the process of geometric digital twin modelling for existing buildings still lacks a systematic and completed framework to streamline. As-is Building Information Model (BIM) is one of the commonly used geometric digital twin modelling approaches. However, the process of as-is BIM construction is time-consuming and needed to improve. To address this challenge, in this paper, a semi-automatic approach is developed to establish a systematic, accurate and convenient digital twinning system based on images and CAD drawings. With this ultimate goal, this paper summarises the state-of-the-art geometric digital twinning methods and elaborates on the methodological framework of this semi-automatic geometric digital twinning approach. The framework consists of three modules. The Building Framework Construction and Geometry Information Extraction (Module 1) defines the locations of each structural component through recognising special symbols in a floor plan and then extracting data from CAD drawings using the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. Meaningful text information is further filtered based on predefined rules. In order to integrate with completed building information, the Building Information Complementary (Module 2) is developed based on neuro-fuzzy system (NFS) and the image processing procedure to supplement additional building components. Finally, the Information Integration and IFC Creation (Module 3) integrates information from Module 1 and 2 and creates as-is Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) BIM based on IFC schema. A case study using part of an office building and the results of its analysis are provided and discussed from the perspectives of applicability and accuracy. Future works and limitations are also addressed

Streamlining pathways for minor injuries in emergency departments through radiographer-led discharge

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.Diagnostic imaging services are essential to the diagnosis pathway for many patients arriving at hospital emergency departments with a suspected fracture. Commonly, these patients need to be seen again by a doctor or emergency nurse practitioner after an X-ray image has been taken in order to finalise the diagnosis and determine the next stage in the patients’ pathway. Here, significant waiting times can accrue for these follow-up consultations after radiographic imaging although the vast majority of patients are discharged. Research evidence from pilot studies suggests that patients with minor appendicular injuries could be safely discharged by a suitably qualified radiographer directly after imaging thereby avoiding queues for repeated consultation. In this study, we model patient pathways through an emergency department (ED) at a hospital in the South West of England using process mapping, interviews with ED staff and discrete event simulation (DES). The DES model allowed us to compare the current practice at the hospital with scenarios using radiographer-led discharge of patients directly after imaging and assess the reduction in patients’ length of stay in ED. We also quantified trade-offs between the provision of radiographer-led discharge and its effects, i.e. reduction in waiting times and ED workload. Finally, we discuss how this decision support tool can be used to support understanding for patients and members of staff.Part of this research, i.e. the work of Martin Pitt and Sebastian Rachuba, was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care South West Peninsula (NIHR CLAHRC South West Peninsula)

Simulation of gain stability of THGEM gas-avalanche particle detectors

Charging-up processes affecting gain stability in Thick Gas Electron Multipliers (THGEM) were studied with a dedicated simulation toolkit. Integrated with Garfield++, it provides an effective platform for systematic phenomenological studies of charging-up processes in MPGD detectors. We describe the simulation tool and the fine-tuning of the step-size required for the algorithm convergence, in relation to physical parameters. Simulation results of gain stability over time in THGEM detectors are presented, exploring the role of electrode-thickness and applied voltage on its evolution. The results show that the total amount of irradiated charge through electrode's hole needed for reaching gain stabilization is in the range of tens to hundreds of pC, depending on the detector geometry and operational voltage. These results are in agreement with experimental observations presented previously

Observation of enhanced rate coefficients in the H2+_2^+ + H2_2 →\rightarrow H3+_3^+ + H reaction at low collision energies

The energy dependence of the rate coefficient of the H$_2^+\ + {\rm H}_2 \rightarrow {\rm H}_3^+ + {\rm H}$ reaction has been measured in the range of collision energies between $k_\mathrm{B}\cdot 10$ K and $k_\mathrm{B}\cdot 300$ mK. A clear deviation of the rate coefficient from the value expected on the basis of the classical Langevin-capture behavior has been observed at collision energies below $k_\mathrm{B}\cdot 1$ K, which is attributed to the joint effects of the ion-quadrupole and Coriolis interactions in collisions involving ortho-H$_2$ molecules in the $j = 1$ rotational level, which make up 75% of the population of the neutral H$_2$ molecules in the experiments. The experimental results are compared to very recent predictions by Dashevskaya, Litvin, Nikitin and Troe (J. Chem. Phys., in press), with which they are in agreement.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure

From building to city level dynamic digital Twin: A review from data management perspective

The development of the digital twin (DT) has been focused greatly after the concept was brought from the manufacturing and aerospace areas. In the architectural, engineering, construction and facility management (AEC/FM) sector, DTs are capable of integrating heterogeneous metadata and cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to create a dynamic digital environment for various purposes. Although building information modelling (BIM) appears to be a significant contributor to DTs, one of the major limitations for DT development is how to construct and provide a shared data environment for all stakeholders to collaborate throughout the life cycle. Furthermore, as the stakeholders' requirements range of DTs expands from a single building to multiple buildings and regional/city levels, the information and data management gaps (e.g., BIM and GIS data integration) are more challenging and critical. To address these gaps, this paper aims to 1) review the current data management for building and city level DTs from a technical perspective; 2) summarise their major data management issues from building to city levels based on the review; 3) introduce the concept of city-level Common Data Environment (CDE) that addresses the issues identified above, and discuss the possibilities of developing a CDE for a dynamic city-level DT