Is slow what the slow university's about

This is the first of a trio of posts about the Slow University that started life as presentations in a seminar at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Durham University. In it, guest blogger Luke Martell, argues that we shouldn’t fetishise speed at the fast university. This distracts from what’s behind it. And we should ask whether slow is what the slow university’s really about

Extending the CAPM model

This paper extends the well known Capital Asset Pricing Model by Sharpe and Lintner to a multi-period context with possibly price dependent preferences. The model is built from individual forward looking agents adopting a portfolio selection scheme similar to the portfolio selection theory devised by Markowitz. We allow agents to use past and present price information to forecast both the expected return and the variance of asset returns, but with possibly different econometric forecasting techniques. Since the effects of price dependent preferences of agents are complicated, we use Microscopic Simulations to investigate the effects on equilibrium asset prices and on returns over an extended time period in a temporary equilibrium context. We also test whether the assumption of rational expectations makes sensemultiperiod CAPM, heterogeneous agents, price dependent preferences, microscopic simulations

University Optical Fibre Network Access Optimisation: A Case Study

For network access, it is always desired that a fibre optic network connectivity be the major area of cost minimization, while keeping quality of service as high as possible. This is because overall cost of setting up a fibre optic cable route is usually very high in relation to other components of the network. In this study, three buildings clusters were mapped to the University Network Operating Center, and the network was developed as a fail-safe network, so that in the case of damage to a cable or connecting component, users are not cut out. The problem was formulated as a Mathematical Programming problem and solved the resulting transportation problem using MATLAB linear programming solution. Results from the mathematical model shows an optimized cost for which a fibre Optic network connectivity can be further develope

Fighting for the public university

Unless we act against education privatisation it will set in and be difficult to reverse. It’s unrolling nationally, and local responses need to operate in a way which engages with this. We shouldn’t be negotiating privatisation. We should be turning it back

Spatial and Temporal relationship between NDVI and Land Surface Temperature of Faisalabad city from 2000-2015

The study estimates the land surface temperature of Faisalabad city. For the current study Landsat ETM+ images of 2000, 2003, 2010 and OLI/TIRS 2015 were acquired from USGS of the study area. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was developed and NDVI based classification was used to calculate the vegetation area. The digital number of thermal infrared band is converted into spectral radiance using the equation supplied by the Landsat user’s hand book. The effective at-sensor brightness temperature has been obtained from the spectral radiance using Plank’s inverse function. The surface emissivity based on NDVI is used to retrieve the final LST. The research aims to investigate the spatial and temporal pattern of vegetation and land surface temperature and also to determine the correlation between land surface temperature and Vegetation in study area from 2000 to 2015. The results reveal decrease in vegetation area results in increase in the LST. The vegetation area decreases from 34 to 14.3 percent with average increase in LST mean from 39.8 to 44 degree Celsius from 2000-2015. The research suggested that more studies should be conducted with images and sensors of higher resolution and seasonal variation can be assessed for the LST

Spatial and Temporal relationship between NDVI and Land Surface Temperature of Faisalabad city from 2000-2015

The study estimates the land surface temperature of Faisalabad city. For the current study Landsat ETM+ images of 2000, 2003, 2010 and OLI/TIRS 2015 were acquired from USGS of the study area. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was developed and NDVI based classification was used to calculate the vegetation area. The digital number of thermal infrared band is converted into spectral radiance using the equation supplied by the Landsat user’s hand book. The effective at-sensor brightness temperature has been obtained from the spectral radiance using Plank’s inverse function. The surface emissivity based on NDVI is used to retrieve the final LST. The research aims to investigate the spatial and temporal pattern of vegetation and land surface temperature and also to determine the correlation between land surface temperature and Vegetation in study area from 2000 to 2015. The results reveal decrease in vegetation area results in increase in the LST. The vegetation area decreases from 34 to 14.3 percent with average increase in LST mean from 39.8 to 44 degree Celsius from 2000-2015. The research suggested that more studies should be conducted with images and sensors of higher resolution and seasonal variation can be assessed for the LST

PENYULUHAN PERILAKU HIDUP BERSIH DAN SEHAT DALAM MENINGKATKAN DERAJAT KESEHATAN PADA MASYARAKAT AEK SONGSONGAN

PHBS adalah suatu kumpulan praktek perilaku atas dasar kesadaran dari hasil pembelajaran yang menjadikan seseorang keluarga, kelompok, atau masyarakat dapat menolong dirinya sendiri secara mandiri dalam bidang kesehatan sehingga dapat meningkatkan derajat kesehatan masyarakat. Metode yang digunakan dalam penyuluhan Perilaku Hidup Bersih dan Sehat adalah Ceramah dan Tanya Jawab. Setelah dilakukan penyuluhan didapatkan peningkatan pengetahuan masyarakat karena ketika penyuluhan pemateri memberikan motivasi sehingga masyarakat terdorong untuk menjaga kebersihan. Jika PHBS masyarakat tidak terjaga maka akan menimbulkan berbagai penyakit seperti diabetes, penyakit jantung, stroke, sindrome metabolik mencakup tekanan darah tinggi, gula darah tinggi, kelebihan lemak tubuh, dan kadar kolesterol yang tidak normal. Penyuluhan berlangsung selama 30 menit kemudian dilanjutkan dengan sesi tanya jawab. Dengan dilakukan penyuluhan ini akan meningkatkan pengetahuan dan kesadaran masyarakat dalam meningkatkan Perilaku Hidup Bersih dan Sehat. Sebelum dilakukan penyuluhan banyak masyarakat yang belum memahami mengenai PHBS Seperti tidak mencuci tangan menggunakan sabun, membuang sampah disembarang tempat. Penyuluhan Perilaku Hidup Bersih dan Sehat berjalan dengan baik, dihadiri 35 orang. Penyuluhan dilakukan dengan tujuan untuk meningkatkan kesadaran masyarakat mengenai pentingnya menjaga Perilaku Hidup Bersih dan Sehat.

University lecturers’ construction of the ‘ideal’ undergraduate student

Research on the ‘ideal’ or ‘good’ student tends to be situated within compulsory schooling. Few recent studies have focused on lecturers’ conceptualisation and construction of the ‘ideal’ university student. Informed by 30 in-depth interviews with lecturers from two post-92 English universities within the social sciences, we explore how the notion of ‘ideal’ student is understood in contemporary higher education. We focus on lecturers’ expectations of undergraduate students, as well as their views of the ‘ideal’ student in different teaching and learning contexts. We identified specific personal and academic skillsets that are desirable of students, including preparation, engagement, commitment, as well as being critical, reflective and progressing. The ability to achieve high grades, interestingly, is rarely mentioned as important. Implications for policy and practice are discussed as we present a much-needed update on the current features of the ‘ideal’ university student, which can influence student experience, especially the lecturer-student relationship