Innovation: Can it be an on-the-spot idea or must it be pre-planned?

This research investigates the importance of innovation; why we do it and, most significantly, how we do it. Research and teaching practice would inevitably suggest that a lesson must be planned – and this is not something with which we disagree. However, what this research aims to discover is whether we can be innovative within a session without it having being fully pre-planned. Can an ‘on the spot’ idea be as successful as something which is planned days or weeks before the session? Our research was carried out within UCLan. The pre-planned innovation was utilised in the Lancashire Law School (LLS) where students were required to ‘peer mark’ for a mock assignment at foundation level. This innovation asked students to engage with the marking criteria and apply it effectively to their colleague’s presentations. The results of this ‘experiment’ were encouraging. Feedback suggested that the students had a better understanding of the assessment criteria and, perhaps more importantly, although unintentional, an increased level of trust between student and tutor. We used what we shall term an ‘on the spot’ innovation in the Lancashire Business School (LBS). This asked students of systems’ development to engage with the diagramming techniques often used by systems’ analysts. This took place on the whiteboard at the front of the room and students were invited to add one relationship (connection) at a time. The tutor photographed each step and a PowerPoint presentation was made using each relationship to build the finished diagram. This was annotated and circulated to all students. Both innovative teaching techniques were effective in terms of the outcomes experienced by all participants. This research will identify that innovative teaching techniques do not need to be a wholly and succinctly pre-planned activity. Innovation within teaching strategies can be both a thought out process, and a more ad-hoc idea

Dynamic environmental control mechanisms for pneumatic foil constructions

Membrane and foil structures have become over the last decades an attractive alternative to conventional materials and building systems with increasing implementation in different typologies and scale. The development of transparent, light, flexible and resistant materials like Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) has triggered a rethinking of the building envelope in the building industry towards lightweight systems. ETFE foil cushions have proven to fulfil the design requirements in terms of structural efficiency and aesthetic values. But the strategies to satisfy increasing demands of energy efficiency and comfort conditions are still under development. The prediction and manipulation of the thermo-optical behaviour of ETFE foil cushion structures currently remain as one of the main challenges for designers and manufacturers. This paper reviews ongoing research regarding the control of the thermo-optical performance of ETFE cushion structures and highlights challenges and possible improvements. An overview of different dynamic and responsive environmental control mechanisms for multilayer foil constructions is provided and the state of the art in building application outlined by the discussion of case studie

Environmental impact and performance of transparent building envelope materials and systems

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Building envelopes are elements with a long lifetime, which provide a barrier between internal and external space and contribute to the internal environmental conditions provision. Their complex role ensures a large impact on the environmental and energy performance of a building and the occupant perception of a space. This study looks at the use of novel materials and processes to help reduce the environmental impact of buildings by improving facade and transparent roof design. There are three main strands to the work. First, novel building components, ETFE foil cushions were examined. Physical testing has shown that ETFE foil cushions compare favourably to double glazing in terms of thermal and daylighting performance which was also noted as one of the most likeable feature by occupants. Environmental impact analysis has indicated that ETFE foils can reduce the environmental impact of a building through reduced environmental burden of both the construction and operation of the building. Secondly, a cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) was carried out for float glass, which considered the environmental impacts of glass manufacture. The embodied energy was calculated to be 13.4 ± 0.5 GJ per tonne while the total number of eco-points 243 ± 11 per tonne. It is shown that float glass is comparable to the use of steel, and highly preferable to the use of aluminium as a cladding panel. Finally, a concept design tool (FACADE) was developed by defining a large number of office facade models and employing dynamic thermal, daylighting and environmental impact modelling to create a database which can be accessed through a user friendly interface application. A parametric analysis has indicated that using natural ventilation where possible can reduce the environmental impact of offices by up to 16%. Improving the standard of the facade and reducing the internal heat loads from lighting and equipment can reduce environmental impact up to 22%. This study makes a significant contribution to understanding the environmental impact of building envelope individual and integrated components.EPSR

Facilitating design & technology education for distance education students in Australia (teaching audiographically)

The Learning Materials Production Centre (LMPC) is part of the Open Training and Education Network (OTEN) which is an organisation amalgamating Open Learning and Distance Learning facilities from the New South Wales Department of School Education and Technical And Further Education. The LMPC provides learning materials for students from Kindergarten to Year 12 who are studying by Distance Education. The study of Design and Technology (years 7-12) by Distance Education in NSW is via Distance Education Centres (DECs), Access Clusters and the Open High School. This paper focuses on the facilitating and teaching of Design and Technology via audiographics delivery. This mode of delivery is being implemented in rural areas throughout NSW. LMPC is closely involved with teachers on DECs and Access Programs who are engaged in mixed mode and flexible delivery. As the use of communications technology for education grows, teachers increasingly need assistance in preparing screen ready materials. Materials are being designed specifically to support the changing delivery modes, and consultation and trialing relationships have been established. As well as having an audio link with their teacher and other students via a Voicepoint or telephone and a document link, a visual link is provided around the use of a computer to provide an interactive "blackboard". The teacher and student are provided with a common "blackboard" with word processing and graphics facilities

The Database Marketplace 2002: The Database Universe

After acquiring the UnCover document delivery service in 2000, Ingenta developed a new Library Gateway service for document delivery. Users search one of two databases. One contains online full-text articles from 5400+ titles. The other database, for traditional document delivery, has citations from 20,000+ periodical titles, with articles supplied by the British Library Document Supply Centre and the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information

The art of conjuring E-content: content disappears, companies solidify their primary businesses, technology connects and expands databases. (Database marketplace 2003)

ANY MAGICIAN WOULD be proud of the database industry. Disappearing acts, metamorphoses, and even a bit of pure trickery characterized this magical year. The dirtiest trick award goes to the divine/RoweCom/Faxon debacle. This show unfolded over several months and continues, as both RoweCom and parent company divine have filed for bankruptcy. EBSCO having recently acquired what\u27s left of RoweCom\u27s subscription businesses worldwide and is working with publishers to strike a deal that will help libraries pull their undelivered serials out of the bankruptcy hat. But divine is also the parent company of NorthernLight. This highly touted web search engine has already discontinued its article sales service, Special Collection. Factiva has offered Special Collection\u27s corporate customers a subset of Factiva\u27s content to replace the lost service

The Database Marketplace 2001: Racing at Full Speed

In both car racing and in the information industry, large multinational companies are major players. Though we don\u27t yet wear the names of information companies like Thomson and Reed Elsevier on our T-shirts, their brands are on many of our products. In the last seven years, Thomson purchased Findlaw, Dialog, and Information Access Company, to add to holdings that already included Gale Group, ISI, and Westlaw

Shopping for information: industry behemoths, niche sellers, and boutique shops compete for library dollars

Both librarians and end users have more shopping options than ever when it comes to finding information. From small boutiques with specialized products to the one-stop shopping of megastores, the database marketplace of 2005 resembles retail shopping. But some worry that the information marketplace will be subject to the same uncertain market conditions of the retail world, where it\u27s difficult for small stores to compete when megachains come to town

Renovating this old house

When we turn on the faucet we expect water to flow. When we flip the power switch, we expect light. We want a house to work and to look good. This old house of online databases is getting a new look and, in some cases, a new foundation to make it more attractive and robust for 2006. Much of the value of a renovation lies in respecting history while reinforcing the foundation to keep the house intact. Information providers are using state-of-the-art technologies to create digital historical back files and collections