Aussie Adventures

Postcard from April Meads, during the Linfield College Semester Abroad Program at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australi

A computer aided design system with parametric dimensioning : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Industrial Technology at Massey University

This thesis develops the concept of a parametrically dimensioned CAD system. Conventional CAD systems require the actual dimensions of all objects drawn to be defined during the drawing process. To alter any dimension requires manual modification of all affected objects in the drawing. Parametrically dimensioned CAD systems would allow drawings to be constructed containing dimensions defined using variable parameters. These parametric drawings could then be fully specified at some later stage by supplying actual values for the parameters. Such systems would allow drawings of families of components (that varied only in their dimensions) to be easily produced from a single parametric drawing, would simplify dimensional modifications to drawings, and would permit the drawing production to be part of an automated design process. The general requirements for such a parametric CAD system are developed in the thesis and the implementation of a limited package based on these ideas is described. On the basis of this work, it has been concluded that such systems are viable, could have successful user interfaces and would be a valuable extension to conventional CAD packages

A systematic review of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health in the West Midlands region of the UK compared to published UK research

It is estimated that approximately 3-8% of the UK population identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans (LGBT). Until now, most health research on gay and bisexual men has been around HIV, AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases and for trans people has been on the transitioning process only. However, it has been apparent to the LGBT community that that there are a wide variety of other physical and mental health issues that are also important and that the proportion of gay and bisexual men who have HIV/AIDS is relatively small. Very little general LGBT health research has been published so far and there are very few health services that specifically address the general health concerns of the LGBT community. This systematic review presents all available research conducted in the West Midlands on LGBT health since 2000. Local health research is compared to UK national, peer reviewed and published LGBT health research in order to determine whether the local results are unusual compared to national LGBT data, and to routinely collected data on the UK population, where appropriate, in order to determine whether and where the LGBT population differ from the general population. Only UK research has been included because there was no previous UK specific systematic review so it was unclear how generalisable foreign research would be to the UK

Household External Finance and Consumption

This paper uses mortgage data to construct a measure of terms on which households access to external finance, and relates it to consumption at both the aggregate and cohort levels. The Household External Finance (HEF) index is based on the spread paid by risky borrowers in the mortgage market. There is evidence that the terms of access to external finance matter more for the consumption of young cohorts in UK data. Results are robust to a wide variety of specifications.external finance; terms of access; household consumption; birth cohorts; pseudo panels

Insiders versus Outsiders in Monetary Policy-Making

This paper looks at the voting patterns of internal and external members of the MPC to investigate how far there are differences between insiders and outsiders. We make three contributions. First, we assess the extent to which the Bank of England internally generated forecasts explain the MPC members' voting decisions. This is important as generating forecasts on a quarterly basis is a key part of the process used by the Bank of England. The forecast for inflation is made public in the Inflation Report while the output gap forecast is not. Second, we use a random coefficient method of estimation in which the parameters of the interest rate rule are allowed, but not required, to be different across members. Third, we find evidence of some heterogeneity in the intercept, a measure of experience on the MPC and the interest rate smoothing parameter, but no significant differences in the members' reaction to the forecasts of inflation and the output gap.Monetary Policy; Voting Patterns

Health and Wellbeing in Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

This is a collection of published papers from a variety of authors from around the world on the topic of the health and wellbeing of minority sexual orientation and gender identity populations. Some of the included papers focused on health inequality and inequity and some focussed on healthcare delivery. Many showed how health inequities in LGBT+ groups of people were found across a wide variety of political environments and health and wellbeing topics and frequently inadequate healthcare delivery. The increasing interest in research in this area, which has been neglected in the past, shows its growing importance

What Do You Meme? Preserving Emojis, Memes, and GIFs as Archival Folklore Objects

Digital objects, such as emojis, memes, and reaction GIFs, have become common tools of communication between people, clever advertising for companies, and iconic means of identification and association for political figures. The evolution of their appearance and increasing use of these digital objects demonstrates the need to preserve these items as a means to document critical communication methods in the 21st century

The War Against Ourselves: \u3ci\u3eHeien v. North Carolina\u3c/i\u3e, the War on Drugs, and Police Militarization

Approximately fifty years ago, America declared a war against itself—the “War on Drugs.” Since then, our local and state police, armed with military weapons and federal funding, have fought tirelessly against “public enemy number one”—drugs. Not surprisingly, this war has created an atmosphere where it is now common to see police officers equipped with a mentality and armor that had previously only been seen in the dark-trenches of an international war zone. Worse yet, this battlefield mentality has leaked into almost every area of police-civilian encounters. As a “loyal foot solider” in the Executive’s War on Drugs, however, the Supreme Court has played an important role in the current state of affairs between police officers and citizens, most recently in its decision in Heien v. North Carolina, which held that an officer’s mistake of law can provide reasonable suspicion necessary to justify police intrusion into countless more citizens’ lives. Consequently, this Note takes a closer look at the consequences of allowing police mistakes of law to give rise to reasonable suspicion in the background of the War on Drugs and police militarization. In particular, this Note explores how recent Supreme Court decisions, the War on Drugs, and police militarization have shaped Fourth Amendment jurisprudence and impacted civilian-police relationships throughout the nation. It will explain how the Supreme Court’s decision in Heien will only amplify these problems and their effects. Finally, this Note will conclude by explaining how the Supreme Court must begin to take responsibility for their role in exasperating these issues to the detriment of the Fourth Amendment if it is to retain its meaning

Liminal interventions in the regional creative writing classroom

Liminality is not only transition but potentiality, not only “going to be” but also “what may be”. (Turner 1978: 3) The vast region of Gippsland in south-eastern Victoria is home to approximately 270,000 people, with many experiencing complex and entrenched disadvantage. Most of my students are first in family, and very few aspire to a career in writing, or even consider themselves creative; however, they are, on the whole, hungry for knowledge, bright, and engaged. Many have responded with startling creativity and enthusiasm to specific exercises designed to foster writing practice and reading as a writer, and most have flourished in a structured workshop environment that affirms workshop method and process as a learned skill. Drawing on personal reflection, anecdote, case study and research, including regional teaching and learning scholarship, Sally Kift’s ‘Transition Pedagogy’, Janelle Adsit’s ‘Threshold Concepts’ and Victor Turner’s ‘Liminal’, this paper reflects on some of the strategies employed in Federation University Australia’s first-year introductory creative writing course to conquer resistance to the notion of being creative, facilitate creative writing practice, and foster a culture of creative writing production