Robotics and the meaning of life: a practical guide to things that think

The new Open University course T184 Robotics and the meaning of life: a practical guide to things that think is an introductory course on robotics. It is an undergraduate course taught at a distance over 10 weeks. The course is centred around a web site containing most of the course material, supported by two books: Ruth Aylett Robots: Bringing intelligent machines to life? which is a general survey of the field and Isaac Asimov I, Robot which is used to motivate questions about the relationship between man and machine. On-line conferences provide study support. There is also a strong practical element to the course. This was originally designed around the use of the Lego Mindstorms robotics kit. Besides mechanical components, the kit includes the Lego RCX brick – a programmable microcontroller with memory and interfaces to input and output devices such as touch and light sensors, motors and an IR channel to communicate with a PC. Students can build and program an autonomous wheeled robot to carry out a range of tasks of increasing difficulty. A new programming environment was developed at the Open University specifically to support the needs of adult learners with no prior experience of programming. This provided an opportunity to extend the capabilities of the Mindstorms kit. For example, the robot can now ‘talk’ by sending IR messages back to the PC where they are turned into spoken phrases. This richer environment is highly motivating. The new software can also take on a processing role to escape the limitations of memory and processing power onboard the robot. For example, students develop a two-agent system in which the mobile robot collects data, transmits it back to the PC where it is analysed using a neural network (built and trained by the student) and results are transmitted back to the running robot. Developing new software also provided an opportunity to produce a simulation of the robot and we can now offer students the choice of carrying out the practical activities with the Lego hardware or as a simulation. We will look at the attitudes and experiences of students who have chosen these different learning approaches

Construction materials supply logistics

of cost, quality and time. Customer service is the key element that holds together all supply logistics activities, thus, the effectiveness in selecting suppliers should begin with evaluating characteristics that are deemed necessary for a supplier to provide a pre-requisite level of customer service. Such factors, or enablers, provide indications as to whether a given supplier will be able to meet key materials delivery objectives. This paper provides a review of problems besetting the supply of construction materials as identified in current literature. Opportunities presented by the introduction of information and communication technologies for improving the materials management process have been examined. A logistics perspective of construction materials management has been adopted. The analytic hierarchy process has been presented as an appropriate methodology for assessing factors that enable achievement of efficient and cost-effective materials supply logistics to support construction

Implementation of information technology in materials logistics in the UK construction industry

New electronic information and communication technologies are transforming the way many business processes are performed in companies. Improvements in efficiency and reductions in the cost of obtaining, processing, and transmitting information are changing the way business is conducted. An audit of the implementation of these technologies, could help raise awareness of current technological developments and identify opportunities being missed and obstacles to implementation. The paper presents results of a survey into the implementation of information and communication technologies in materials logistics in the UK construction industry. Even though implementation is on the increase, evidence suggests that the construction industry lags behind the rate of innovations in other industries

An application of strategic planning within the construction industry

An application of strategic planning within the construction industr

Research method verses methodology: achieving quality in scholarly research for construction management

This paper analyses the various papers presented at the last three ARCOM conferences (1993, 1994, 1995) for the way researchers in construction management address the issue of methodology in scholarly research. The outcome of the analysis provides evidence of the need to give greater attention to the issue of method versus methodology, for improving the quality of academic research in construction management. The culture of research in construction management has been described as reflecting a rational approach. This implies that several procedures are undertaken in academic research without establishing a clear and methodological basis for such procedures. As a way forward for achieving a balance in the general culture of research for the discipline, it has been suggested that more interpretive approaches should be incorp9rated into construction management research. This paper argues that a clear appreciation of the distinction between what constitutes methodology, and the procedures that go with each methodology (which is-referred to in this paper as methods), would contribute towards achieving such a balance in the culture of academic research in construction management. The paper sets this out by reviewing the application of the terms method and methodology in social and management research as a way forward for improvement

Executive notions on drivers of long-term business success for construction contractors

This paper reports on an evaluation of the factors that are considered by construction company executives as essential business drivers. The aim of the research was to identify those managerial variables that feature prominently in strategy formulation, and have been previously associated with superior corporate performance. The research posed the question 'which business drivers are viewed as most essential and are addressed in strategic planning within construction contracting organisations?' It drew on previous studies to establish a set of factors which are associated with longterm business success. Several factors, both external and internal to construction companies, have already been established by a case study. These factors directly influence corpo:rate performance, and therefore should feature prominently in strategy formulation for contractors. The Likert scale was employed to analyse the executive notions. The business drivers were analysed into primary, secondary, and nonessential. The analysis provides an insight into the common factors that form the focus of strategy for construction contractors. The results of this work provides an insight on the actual factors considered pertinent in strategy formulation, and reflects the current focus of strategy within construction companies. It also provides a useful background for developing critical success factors for the construction contractor

Design of an engineering curriculum and 12 STEM modules for the Thai Basic Education Ministry (OBEC)

The Centre for Science Education (CSE), a part of the Sheffield Institute of Education at Sheffield Hallam University was invited by the Ministry of Education (OBEC) in Thailand to review the STEM provision in Thailand with particular reference to the performance of gifted and talented students and to create an Engineering Curriculum and a set of STEM modules which would integrate with existing subjects. This project is part-funded by the Newton Fund in Thailand. The key outputs of the project are a review of the existing STEM curriculum, the creation of a compatible Engineering subject and the formulation of supplementary courses for 195 Gifted schools which have a focus on STEM. The report would also identify barriers to successful implementation and suggest a monitoring and evaluation approach that would match the initiative’s aims. In August 2016 a team from CSE delivered a three day workshop in Bangkok. The workshop introduced the new Engineering Curriculum and the STEM modules to 50 teachers drawn from the 195 STEM specialist schools. The workshop also provided some professional development input for the teachers about how to create modules in the new Engineering Curriculum and techniques for working with gifted and talented students

Low Profile Tunable Dipole Antenna Using BST Varactors for Biomedical Applications

In this paper a 2.4 GHz low profile (lambda/47) tunable dipole antenna is evaluated in the presence of a human core model (HCM) body phantom. The antenna uses a frequency selective surface (FSS) with interdigital barium strontium titanate (BST) varactor-tuned unit cells and its performance is compared to a similar low profile antenna that uses an FSS with semiconductor varactor diodes. The measured data of the antenna demonstrate tunability from 2.2 GHz to 2.55 GHz in free space and impedance match improvement in the presence of a HCM at different distances. This antenna has smaller size, lower cost and less weight compared to the semiconductor varactor diode counterpart