Rethinking Models of Evaluation: Sustainability as the Goal of International Cultural Organisations

The purpose and conduct of organisational evaluation is variously defined and understood. With the shift to the ‘new managerialism’ and the steady advance of audit culture in the public sector, evaluation models have proliferated but they are often narrowed to crude measures of impact and performance. They subject people to unhelpful, top-down forms of appraisal and accountability in the interests of transparency and economic efficiency with little respect afforded to the multiple perspectives and divergent goals of the actors involved. There is often a lack of clarity about what is being evaluated and from whose perspective. This paper traces the development of the Cultural Value Model (CVM). It was developed as part of UK-wide research programme aimed at rethinking how we assess the value of cultural activities. The primary objective of the CVM is to provide an analytical and methodological framework for re-conceiving models of evaluation. In particular, it shifts the frame of analysis away from impact to value. Our project aimed to deliver a robust, evidence-based understanding of the changing cultural value of the British Council (BC) and BBC World Service (BBCWS). These publically funded international organisations are an integral part of the UK’s diplomatic infrastructure and subject to stringent accountability measures to satisfy diverse stakeholders. They are experiencing rapid and convulsive change in response to financial, technological and geopolitical forces and their purpose and value is being questioned. In the paper we argue that the CVM, in fostering a more engaged, participatory approach to performance evaluation challenged and even subverted existing practices but with mixed results. In the case of the BC, it generated a high degree of interest and engagement to the extent that it is currently being adopted and integrated into organisational practices. In contrast, the BBCWS were more resistant to innovation believing that their audience ratings and internal reviews suffice. The flexible adaptability of the CVM presents an opportunity for other organisations to move from away from top-down performance and impact assessment towards a more inclusive, reflective and sustainable model of value. However we need to get a better understanding the organisational constraints that obstruct innovation if more participatory models of learning, monitoring and evaluation are to intervene in social and organisational processes and achieve sustainable models of good practice

The hydrodynamics and heat transfer characteristics of liquid films on a rotating disc

PhD ThesisThis work is concerned with the hydrodynamics and heat transfer characteristics of the liquid film formed when a liquid flows across a rotating, heated disc. Comprehensive reviews of both the hydrodynamic and heat transfer behaviour of planar gravitationally forced films, and rotating discs in homogeneous media of infinite extent, are presented in addition to the primary subject of this study. For the liquid film on the rotating disc, various hydrodynamic models are studied and the controlling parameters identified. Results obtained with water films are in good agreement with the theoretical models. A simple heat transfer model is developed as an extension to one of the hydrodynamic models. Experimental results for water films show fair agreement with the model and suggestions are made accounting for the discrepancies. Suggestions for future work in both the hydrodynamic and heat transfer fields are made

Influence of stormwater control measures on watershed hydrology and biogeochemical cycling

Urban development replaces vegetation with impervious surfaces and natural drainage channels with pipe networks that quicken flow paths and alter hydrologic regimes. Additionally, the import of food, application of fertilizer to lawns and gardens, and heightened atmospheric deposition increases nutrient availability in urban landscapes. These excess nutrients are ultimately routed to streams through the pipe networks before it can be processed by the vegetation and microorganisms of the landscape. This combination of physical and chemical disturbances impacts stream ecosystems and degrades their ability to perform valuable services such as removal of nutrients, degradation of pollutants, and provision of recreational and aesthetic value. Stormwater control measures (SCMs) are a management strategy that can mitigate these impacts urbanization, ultimately preserving those valuable stream ecosystems. While the effects of urban development and individual SCMs on water quantity and quality have been well documented independently, studies examining the cumulative influence of SCMs on water quantity and nitrogen cycling throughout entire developed watersheds are lacking. First, this work addresses this gap in knowledge by empirically relating hydrologic regimes at sixteen urban watersheds in Charlotte, NC, USA to a series of metrics that describe the extent of urban development and mitigation with SCMs. Next, water quality data were collected at four of the sixteen sites to determine how SCMs affect stream nutrient and carbon concentrations during storms, and how the extent and distribution of urban development modulates the effects of SCMs. Because of the limited ability for monitoring approaches to capture variability along a continuum of development and mitigation, a modeling approach was used to further understand the role of SCMs on hydrology and water quality. A new model was developed, calibrated, validated, and used to assess uncertainty of the hydrologic and ecological processes that occur in SCMs. Finally, these SCM routines were incorporated into an existing spatially-distributed watershed model to test how varying levels of impervious surface connectivity to SCMs changed hydrologic and water quality regimes in a watershed in Charlotte, NC. The results of the study indicate that the degree of urbanization, as measured by a watershed metric total imperviousness, controlled hydrologic behavior at the storm event time scale across the 16 sites monitored. There is evidence that SCMs are able to effect the hydrologic record flashiness at an annual time scale by temporarily storing runoff and extending hydrograph recession. An analysis of water quality data indicates that SCMs are able to reduce N, phosphorous and dissolved organic carbon concentrations in the stream in watersheds with a homogeneous urban land use. However, in newly developing watersheds (e.g., suburban), the presence of SCMs coincides with the addition of urban impervious surfaces and SCMs are not sufficient to return water quality to pre-development conditions, as reflected in increased in nutrient concentrations. To understand how SCMs are able to affect nutrient concentrations along a continuum of development and mitigation intensity, we explored a hydrologic and water quality model of SCMs. Through calibration, the model was able to match the distribution of outflow water and both nitrate and ammonium concentrations of a single SCM monitored in Charlotte, NC. SCM inorganic N removal and retention increased with temperature and SCM water depth. When the SCM routines were used at the watershed scale, results showed that increased mitigation of urban impervious surfaces with SCMs led to proportional reductions in total runoff volumes, and annual loads of both nitrate and ammonium. These results have implications for watershed managers looking to protect stream ecosystems through the use of SCMs. Treating urban impervious areas with SCMs can reduce hydrologic record flashiness, which is correlated to stream invertebrate health. Mitigating impervious surfaces with SCMs may be able to reduce nitrogen loads by both reducing total water yield and reducing in-stream N concentrations, although the change in concentrations is likely to be dependent on climatic forcing, the distribution of land use, and design of the SCM. Finally, a management strategy as simple as planting trees may also produce similar reductions in runoff and loads, as results showed lower runoff volumes and lower N concentrations in watersheds with greater tree coverage

Constant power - continuously variable transmission (CP-CVT): Optimisation and simulation

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.A novel continuously variable transmission has previously been designed that is capable of addressing a number of concerns within the automotive industry such as reduced emissions. At the commencement of this research, the design was in the early stages of development and little attempt had been previously made to optimise the design to meet specific measurable targets. This thesis utilises and modifies several design approaches to take the design from the concept stage to a usable product. Several optimisation techniques are adapted and created to analyse the CVT from both a design and tribological prospective. A specially designed optimisation algorithm has been created that is capable of quickly improving each critical component dimension in parallel to fulfil multiple objectives. This algorithm can be easily adapted for alternative applications and objectives. The validity of the optimised design is demonstrated through a simulation-tool that has been created in order to model the behaviour of the CVT in a real automotive environment using multiple fundamental theories and models including tire friction and traction behaviour. This powerful simulation tool is capable of predicting transmission and vehicular behaviour, and demonstrates a very good correlation with real-world data. A design critique is then performed that assesses the current state of the CVT design, and looks to address some of the concerns that have been found through the various methods used. A specific prototype design is also presented, based on the optimisation techniques developed, although the actual creation of a prototype is not presented here. Additional complementary research looks at the accuracy of the tire friction models through the use of a specially design tire friction test rig. Furthermore, a monitoring system is proposed for this particular CVT design (and similar) that is capable of continuously checking the contact film thickness between adjacent elements to ensure that there is sufficient lubricant to avoid metal-on-metal contact. The system, which is based around capacitance, requires the knowledge of the behaviour of the lubricant’s permittivity at increased pressure. This behaviour is studied through the use of a specially-designed experimental test rig.Thomas Gerald Gray Charitable Trus

Acacia pendula (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales: Cunningham’s collection from April 1825 and its implications

Previous debate on the status of Acacia pendula A.Cunn. (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in the natural flora ofthe Hunter region of New South Wales remains unresolved. However, the discovery of a journal entry and aspecimen of Acacia pendula collected from ‘Hunter’s River’ by Allan Cunningham in April 1825 potentiallyprovide evidence for its long-term presence there. Close examination of a scan of this specimen reveals a poormatch to the lectotype for this species, and its infertile nature means that it cannot be positively identifiedusing taxonomic keys. Rediscovery of a small group of Acacia ‘pendula’ plants near to where Cunninghamtravelled in 1825 confirms the sterile and root-suckering habit of the species which is consistent with thosegrowing elsewhere in the region. Despite this find, Cunningham’s journal entry and collection provide noconfirmation that Acacia pendula naturally occurred extensively in the region (although it may have beenvery rare) but could suggest either that he had located one of the first introduced stands of the species in theregion (through indigenous people or European settlers), or that these sterile root-suckering plants representa currently un-named taxon or un-recognised hybrid. Final resolution of Hunter Valley populations of Acaciapendula s. lat. may only be attained through genetic studies