Failure is an option:an innovative engineering curriculum

PurposeAdvancements and innovation in engineering design are based on learning from previous failures but students are encouraged to ‘succeed’ first time and hence can avoid learning from failure in practice. The purpose of the study was to design and evaluate a curriculum to help engineering design students to learn from failure.Design/Methodology/ApproachA new curriculum design provided a case study for evaluating the effects of incorporating learning from failure within a civil engineering course. An analysis of the changes in course output was undertaken in relation to graduate destination data covering 2006 to 2016 and student satisfaction from 2012 to 2017 and a number of challenges and solutions for curriculum designers were identified.FindingsThe design and delivery of an innovative curriculum, within typical constraints, can provide opportunities for students to develop resilience to failure as an integral part of their learning in order to think creatively and develop novel engineering solutions. The key issues identified were: the selection of appropriate teaching methods, creating an environment for exploratory learning, group and team assessments with competitive elements where practicable, and providing students with many different pedagogical approaches to produce a quality learning experience.OriginalityThis case study demonstrates how to design and implement an innovative curriculum that can produce positive benefits of learning from failure. This model can be applied to other disciplines such as building surveying and construction management. This approach underpins the development of skills necessary in the educational experience to develop as a professional building pathologist

Complete spatial characterization of an optical wavefront using a variable-separation pinhole pair

We present a technique for measuring the transverse spatial properties of an optical wavefront. Intensity and phase profiles are recovered by analysis of a series of interference patterns produced by the combination of a scanning X-shaped slit and a static horizontal slit; the spatial coherence may be found from the same data. We demonstrate the technique by characterizing high harmonic radiation generated in a gas cell, however the method could be extended to a wide variety of light sources.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

An evaluation of water treatment technologies for sustainable rural communities

This paper presents the initial stages of research funded by the Scottish Government to enable an evaluation of the suitability of drinking water treatment technologies at small to medium scales to facilitate the application of the Scottish Government’s Sustainable Rural Communities concept. The research included a technology scan to identify relevant drinking water treatment technologies suitable for small and medium sized rural communities in Scotland and an expert stakeholder workshop to verify and refine the technology inventory. The stakeholder workshop was also used to identify suitable selection criteria for Sustainable Rural Community drinking water projects. The criteria can be used in subsequent multi-stakeholder decision making for the most sustainable treatment options for specific communities. An explanation is provided on the methodology and the types of information that were collected and the outcomes of the research. <br/

Combined visible and near-infrared OPA for wavelength scaling experiments in strong-field physics

We report the operation of an optical parametric amplifier (OPA) capable of producing gigawatt peak-power laser pulses with tunable wavelength in either the visible or near-infrared spectrum. The OPA has two distinct operation modes (i) generation of >350 uJ, sub 100 fs pulses, tunable between 1250 - 1550 nm; (ii) generation of >190 uJ, sub 150 fs pulses tunable between 490 - 530 nm. We have recorded high-order harmonic spectra over a wide range of driving wavelengths. This flexible source of femtosecond pulses presents a useful tool for exploring the wavelength-dependence of strong-field phenomena, in both the multi-photon and tunnel ionization regimes.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, This paper was published in Proceedings of SPIE 10088, Nonlinear Frequency Generation and Conversion: Materials and Devices XVI, doi 10.1117/12.225077

QuaDUE-CCM: Interpretable Distributional Reinforcement Learning using Uncertain Contraction Metrics for Precise Quadrotor Trajectory Tracking

Accuracy and stability are common requirements for Quadrotor trajectory tracking systems. Designing an accurate and stable tracking controller remains challenging, particularly in unknown and dynamic environments with complex aerodynamic disturbances. We propose a Quantile-approximation-based Distributional-reinforced Uncertainty Estimator (QuaDUE) to accurately identify the effects of aerodynamic disturbances, i.e., the uncertainties between the true and estimated Control Contraction Metrics (CCMs). Taking inspiration from contraction theory and integrating the QuaDUE for uncertainties, our novel CCM-based trajectory tracking framework tracks any feasible reference trajectory precisely whilst guaranteeing exponential convergence. More importantly, the convergence and training acceleration of the distributional RL are guaranteed and analyzed, respectively, from theoretical perspectives. We also demonstrate our system under unknown and diverse aerodynamic forces. Under large aerodynamic forces (>2m/s^2), compared with the classic data-driven approach, our QuaDUE-CCM achieves at least a 56.6% improvement in tracking error. Compared with QuaDRED-MPC, a distributional RL-based approach, QuaDUE-CCM achieves at least a 3 times improvement in contraction rate.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, Quadrotor trajectory tracking, Learning-based contro

Development of fibre optic evanescent-wave fluorescent-based sensors

The development of a fibre optic oxygen sensor based on the fluorescence quenching of ruthenium complexes entrapped in a sol-gel-derived microporous silica film is presented. The sensor is based on evanescent wave excitation of the sol-gel film which is coated on a declad portion of optical fibre. Theoretical considerations concerning the efficiency of evanescent wave excitation of fluorescence and its collection are discussed in detail. Experimental measurements which investigate these predictions are presented. The principles of fluorescence quenching are outlined and sensing based on measuring fluorescence intensity or fluorescence decay time are described. In particular the advantages of the phase fluorimetric method of decay time monitoring are highlighted. The ruthenium complex [Ru“-tris(4t7-diphenyl-1,10-phenantroline)] was chosen for this work and was immobilised in a microporous glass, produced by the low temperature sol-gel process. The advantages of using this method of reagent capture are explained and the method of sensor fabrication described. A number of experimental systems have been employed. The progress from an air-cooled argon-ion laser/PMT characterisation system to a compact LED/photodiode system is detailed. The oxygen sensor was found to exhibit fast response times of less than 5 seconds, high sensitivity to oxygen and good repeatability. Sensor response, including dependence on oxygen concentration, temperature and humidity are discussed and the viability of manufacturing this type of sensor as an industrial product is examined. In addition, related work leading to the development of fluorescence-based evanescent-wave immunosensor is presented. Lactate dehydrogenase, a clinically important diagnostic marker enzyme, is detected in concentrations as low as 30ng/ml

Futures in primary science education – connecting students to place and ecojustice

After providing a background to futures thinking in science, and exploring the literature around transdisciplinary approaches to curriculum, we present a futures pedagogy. We detail case studies from a year-long professional learning action research project during which primary school teachers developed curriculum for the Anthropocene, focusing on the topic of fresh water. Why fresh water? Living in South Australia—the driest state in the driest continent—water is a scarce and precious resource, and our main water supply, the River Murray, is in trouble. Water is an integral part of Earth’s ecosystem and plays a vital role in our survival (Flannery, 2010; Laszlo, 2014). Water literacy therefore has a genuine and important place in the school curriculum.Working with teachers and their students, the Water Literacies Project provided an ideal opportunity to explore a range of pedagogical approaches and practices which connect students to their everyday world, both now and in their possible futures, through place-based learning. We describe the use of futures scenario writing in an issues-based transdisciplinary curriculum unit on the theme of Water, driven by Year 5 teachers and their students from three primary schools: two located on the River Murray and one near metropolitan Adelaide. All three schools focused on a local wetland. The research was informed by teacher interviews, student and teacher journals, student work samples, and teacher presentations at workshops and conferences. We report on two aspects of the project: (1) the implementation of futures pedagogy, including the challenges it presented to the teachers and their students and (2) an emerging analysis of students’ views of the future and implications for further work around the futures pedagogical framework. Personal stories in relation to water, prior knowledge on the nature of water, experiential excursions to learn about water ecology and stories that examine the cultural significance of water—locally and not so locally—are featured (Lloyd, 2011; Paige &amp; Lloyd, 2016). The outcome of our project is the development of comprehensive adventurous transdisciplinary units of work around water and connection to local place

Effects of intracerebral neurotrophic factor application on motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction: Neurotrophic factors (NTFs) have been evaluated for neuroprotective effects in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, clinical trials examining the efficacy of intracerebral administration of NTFs on motor symptoms in PD have produced mixed results, and are thus inconclusive. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the effects of intracerebral NTF application on motor symptoms in people with PD. Methods: We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane from inception through to March 31 2016 for open-label trials and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which intracerebrally administered NTFs to PD patients, and which performed motor examination of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. Results: Eight studies with a total of 223 participants were included. Fixed effects analysis revealed that NTF treatment did not significantly reduce motor symptoms in PD patients compared to placebo controls (P = 0.98). Combining open-label and RCT data, both treatment with NTFs (P < 0.001) and treatment with placebo (P < 0.05) significantly improved motor function in PD patients when compared to predicted symptoms in untreated PD controls. Finally, random effects analysis revealed that NTF-treated PD patients were not significantly likely to improve following intracerebral NTF administration (P = 0.25). Conclusion: In conclusion, intracerebral NTF administration does not improve motor symptoms in PD patients, when compared to placebo-treated controls. These findings may guide therapeutic decisions and inform future research on NTFs and their application in PD