Teaching People to Read Comics: The Impact of a Visual Literacy Intervention on Comprehension of Educational Comics

Evidence suggests that children’s abilities to comprehend information can vary, which may lead to miscommunication and impact on future life outcomes. Previous research suggests that visual literacy interventions may be helpful for children who need to interpret visual sources of information. Recently there has been renewed interest in the potential of comics as assistive tools in pedagogical settings, which are a highly visual medium. However, no research has yet investigated whether a visual literacy intervention can assist children in their comprehension of comics. The current experiment set out to determine if a visual literacy intervention constructed around comics would improve comprehension of educational comics in primary school children. The study consisted of a pre- and post-intervention procedure. Previous comic reading experience was included as a variable. In each session, comprehension and inferential understanding was assessed. Both comprehension and inferential understanding improved following the comics literacy intervention. These results demonstrate that visual literacy instruction can enhance comprehension of educational comics. Findings can be applied to educational settings and have potential for improving educational outcomes

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Product data sharing in architecture, engineering and construction : assessment of middleware support and business benefits

Product data sharing is seen as an important means of improving the performance of theArchitecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. However, little evidenceof its business benefits has been given. At the same time, key middleware technologiessupporting the application of product data sharing in the AEC industry have receivedlimited testing.The research reported in this thesis addresses these two gaps in product data sharingresearch. It examines the application of key product data sharing technologies inpractice in order to identify gaps in those technologies or provide further evidence oftheir suitability. It also assesses the use of product data sharing in improving theperformance of construction organisations.A case study of the application of product data sharing in practice was conducted. Itexamined the use of product data sharing in improving the performance of a partneringarrangement in the development of wastewater treatment plants. It dealt with: (i) thedocumentation and analysis of the current practice followed by the arrangement; (ii) theuse of product data sharing in improving the performance of the arrangement; and (iii)the assessment of the achieved improvement.The main contributions of the research reported in this thesis are: (i) it identifiesshortcomings in the Industry Foundation Classes and the need for further research indistributed product data sharing architectures; (ii) it provides evidence for somebusiness benefits of product data sharing, while at the same time finds conflictingevidence for benefits reported in the literature; (iii) it suggests a changenotification/propagation scheme for product data sharing environments; and (iv) itexamines and demonstrates the application of product data sharing in the wastewatertreatment sector

Whole-life costing in construction - a state of the art review

This report is a state of the art review of whole life costing in the construction industry. It is the first of a series reporting on-going research undertaken within the research project ‘Developing an integrated database for whole life costing applications in construction’. This project is funded by the EPSRC and undertaken by a unique collaboration between two teams of researchers from the Robert Gordon University and the University of Salford. The fundamental basics of whole life costing (WLC) are introduced. First, the historical development of the technique is highlighted. Then, the suitability of various WLC approaches and techniques are critically reviewed with emphasis on their suitability for application within the framework of the construction industry. This is followed by a review of WLC mathematical models in the literature. Data requirements for WLC are then discussed. This includes a review of various economic, physical, and quality variables necessary for an effective WLC analysis of construction assets. Data sources within the industry are also highlighted with emphasis on current data collection and recording systems. In addition, the requirements of a data compilation procedure for WLC are outlined. The necessity of including the analysis of uncertainty into WLC studies is discussed. Attempts to utilise various risk assessment techniques to add to the quality of WLC decision-making are reviewed with emphasis on their suitability to be implemented in an integrated environment. Essential requirements for the effective application of WLC in the industry are outlined with emphasis on the design of the cost breakdown structure and information management throughout various life cycle phases. Then, directions for further future research are introduced

Internal flow-induced instability analysis of catenary risers

Offshore production and export risers in deep-water oil and gas applications are highly slender and flexible cylindrical structures subject to complex environmental and operational loading conditions. In particular, catenary risers having variable curvature have been widely considered by industry as a technologically and economically viable solution for deep waters. Nevertheless, the mechanism of dynamic instability of curved bendable pipes transporting flows has not been properly investigated in the literature despite such practical and theoretical importance. In this study, the dynamic response and stability of catenary risers conveying internal flows are investigated by using a linearized finite element-based continuum pipe model. The governing fluid-structure interaction equations are derived using Hamilton’s principle and formatted into a generalized eigenvalue form in order to assess its stability for varying internal flow speeds. This procedure elucidates the contribution of the Centrifugal and Coriolis related terms for the onset of divergence and flutter unstable modes. It is shown that the pipe’s tension to bending rigidity ratio plays a catalytic role in the occurrence and evolution of intermodal coupling of the flutter modes in post-divergence regime. Theories and numerical strategies present in this study are being extended to the multiphase flow-induced vibration applications