Easy on that trigger dad: a study of long term family photo retrieval

We examine the effects of new technologies for digital photography on people's longer term storage and access to collections of personal photos. We report an empirical study of parents' ability to retrieve photos related to salient family events from more than a year ago. Performance was relatively poor with people failing to find almost 40% of pictures. We analyze participants' organizational and access strategies to identify reasons for this poor performance. Possible reasons for retrieval failure include: storing too many pictures, rudimentary organization, use of multiple storage systems, failure to maintain collections and participants' false beliefs about their ability to access photos. We conclude by exploring the technical and theoretical implications of these findings

Assessing the effectiveness of pen-based input queries

In this poster, we describe an experiment exploring the effectiveness of a pen based text input device for use in query construction. Standard TREC queries were written, recognised, and subsequently retrieved upon. Comparisons between retrieval effectiveness based on the recognised writing and a typed text baseline were made. On average, effectiveness was 75% of the baseline. Other statistics on the quality and nature of recognition are also reported

Reading between the lines: attitudinal expressions in text

This is a brief overview of the starting points a project currently proposed and under evaluation by funding agencies. We discuss some of the linguistic methodology we plan to employ to idenitify and analyze attitudinal expressions in text, and touch briefly on how to evaluate our future results

Visualising the South Yorkshire floods of ‘07

This paper describes initial work on developing an information system to gather, process and visualise various multimedia data sources related to the South Yorkshire (UK) floods of 2007. The work is part of the Memoir project which aims to investigate how technology can help people create and manage long-term personal memories. We are using maps to aggregate multimedia data and to stimulate remembering past events. The paper describes an initial prototype; challenges faced so far and planned future work

Researching creatively with pupils in Assessment for Learning (AfL) classrooms on experiences of participation and consultation

This paper reports on an ESRC TLRP project, Consulting Pupils on the Assessment of their Learning (CPAL). The CPAL project provides an additional theoretical perspective to the ‘educational benefits’ perspective of engaging pupil voice in learning and teaching (Rudduck et al., 2003) through its exploration of pupil rights specifically in relation to assessment issues presently on the policy agenda in the Northern Ireland context – notably Assessment for Learning (AfL). An emergent framework for assessing pupil rights, based on Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Lundy, 2007), is being used to explore the ways in which AfL classroom practice creates the conditions for increased pupil participation and consultation. Pupil views on their AfL classroom experiences and participation are explored by means of a variety of pupil-centred, creative research methods that engage and stimulate pupils to observe, communicate and analyse their learning and assessment experiences and give meaning to them. This presentation highlights preliminary data based on a sample of 11-14 years pupils' experiences of participation and consultation in classrooms adopting AfL pedagogical principles, and identifies characteristics that support or inhibit pupil participation in their learning and the expression of their views about such matters

Understanding and supporting adolescents' mental touchness in an educational context

This study sought to explore the concept of mental toughness (comprising the attributes challenge, commitment, control and confidence) from the perceptions of adolescents, to better understand their views on these attributes and the extent to which each were regarded as important within an educational setting. In total, 54 adolescents (31 female) aged 12-17 participated. Focus group interviews (n = 15, average group size 3-4) were conducted, audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using the principles of abbreviated grounded theory. The students’ views are discussed with reference to relevant psychological theory and literature and implications for teachers interested in encouraging these positive psychological attributes among adolescents are discussed

Synthesis of Nanoporous Type A and X Zeolite Mixtures from Biomass Combustion Fly Ash for Post-Combustion Carbon Capture

In this study, improved nanoporous zeolites for use in post-combustion carbon capture have been synthesised from industrial-grade biomass combustion fly ash generated in one of the largest biomass combustion power plants in the UK. The method of nanoporous zeolite synthesis follows an alkaline fusion-assisted hydrothermal procedure. The nanoporous zeolites have been characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The presence of two crystalline structures, Faujasite and Linde Type A has been confirmed by the characterisation results. The CO 2 adsorption investigations were conducted via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to estimate the uptake capacity of the prepared adsorbents. TGA studies suggest that the improved nanoporous adsorbent, evaluated under 100 mol % CO 2 at atmospheric pressure, has an equilibrium capacity of over 1.6 mmolCO 2 /g at 50°C, a two-fold increase from our previous study with a crystalline structure confirmed by XRD.10.13039/501100000266-Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK; 10.13039/100008475-Brunel University London, UK

Radiation Damage Studies of Silicon Photomultipliers

We report on the measurement of the radiation hardness of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) manufactured by Fondazione Bruno Kessler in Italy (1 mm$^2$ and 6.2 mm$^2$), Center of Perspective Technology and Apparatus in Russia (1 mm$^2$ and 4.4 mm$^2$), and Hamamatsu Corporation in Japan (1 mm$^2$). The SiPMs were irradiated using a beam of 212 MeV protons at Massachusetts General Hospital, receiving fluences of up to $3 \times 10^{10}$ protons per cm$^2$ with the SiPMs at operating voltage. Leakage currents were read continuously during the irradiation. The delivery of the protons was paused periodically to record scope traces in response to calibrated light pulses to monitor the gains, photon detection efficiencies, and dark counts of the SiPMs. The leakage current and dark noise are found to increase with fluence. Te leakage current is found to be proportional to the mean square deviation of the noise distribution, indicating the dark counts are due to increased random individual pixel activation, while SiPMs remain fully functional as photon detectors. The SiPMs are found to anneal at room temperature with a reduction in the leakage current by a factor of 2 in about 100 days.Comment: 35 pages, 25 figure