The current and past research into Trans National Higher Education (TNHE) from the experiences of teaching staff is limited and principally from the perspective of the western staff member teaching overseas students. This research bridges the gap that exists in the research literature, as the role and experiences of, and the influences upon Malaysian staff when teaching a western degree is one that is overlooked but has an important influence on the students they teach. The western learning style is very individualistic and student centred, whilst the eastern learning style is very collectivist with strong influences from Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC). The methodology chosen to investigate the views, opinions and feelings of the five volunteers from Hotec College, was Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). IPA allows the voice of the Malaysian teacher to be heard, as it is grounded in the participant’s world, it enables interpretation through Phenomenology and Hermeneutics. IPA’s ideographic approach means that one interviewee transcript is analysed at a time to elicit meaning and the development of themes, these themes allow group superordinate and subordinate themes to be generated. The results generated three superordinate themes and nine subordinate themes. Findings indicate that the Malaysian teacher exhibits three selves: eastern, transitional and western. There are also CHC effects on teaching, and strong influences of the CHC concept of Li. Additionally there are influences on the Malaysian teachers that impacts on their self, these included the CHC concept of saving face. Existing studies into TNHE demonstrate a progression of the student from an eastern self to a western self. This investigation realises that Malaysian teachers demonstrate the same acculturation to the western educational style as students, but they must also be able to revert to their eastern self as they teach in both learning styles.

Rising concerns on climate change due to greenhouse gases have led to the UK Climate Change Act 2008 which sets a target to cut CO2 emissions by 80% of 1990 levels by 2050. Photovoltaic (PV) systems form one of the main technologies capable of delivering the target. Though the ability to deliver reductions in the installed costs of PV will determine the level of sector growth, this growth could be limited by several technical factors. As about 90% of the number of PV systems installed in the UK belong to the category of residential systems with individual ratings less than 4 kW, this study focuses on this sector. This sector represents 20% of the total installed capacity in the UK. This research aims to identify the key technical barriers and associated solutions to increase PV penetration in a distribution network in the UK. The research defines the realistic worst-case scenario to evaluate the performance of the distribution network with PV and then quantifies the percentage of PV penetration at which the presence of PV may adversely affect the performance of the distribution network. The steady-state analysis conducted shows that the voltage at parts of the feeder violates the statutory limits at 20% penetration for the realistic worst-case scenario, followed by reversal of net active power and low power factor at the secondary of the substation when penetration level is over 30%. The results indicate that the minimum load of the feeder under consideration during hours of daylight and the more common irradiance level at that geographic location should be used rather than a hypothetical worst-case scenario to evaluate the maximum allowable contribution of PV systems in the feeder. Analysis of the performance of distribution networks under fault indicates that the tripping time of the relay may be delayed under the presence of PV. However, the probability of false tripping of the relay is very low. This research also identifies solutions to increase the contribution of PV systems in the energy mix and evaluates the effectiveness of the solutions. The solutions in the order of decreasing effectiveness are changes to tap changer settings, reactive power control and PV generation curtailment. A strategy to increase the contribution is proposed. This includes changes to the settings of the tap changer (increases the PV contribution from 20 to 40%) followed by active power curtailment (which would increase PV contribution from 40 to 60%). A phased approach like this would enable the regulators to plan for the transitionary period to increase the contribution of PV.

As electrical energy prices continue to rise, accurate energy consumption monitoring is becoming increasingly important and the introduction of smart energy meters is well-known in this capacity. One of the key components in the smart energy meter is the current sensing shunt resistor and its resistance must be as low as possible, typically in the range 100 μΩ to 10 mΩ, to minimise energy usage. Although this low resistance requirement reduces power consumption, it is inherently difficult to manufacture shunt resistors in this micro-ohm range to the required precision and at reasonable cost. Typical resistance accuracy of commercially available shunts suitable in this application is 100 μΩ ±5%, which can in turn lead to ±5% errors in power measurement within the smart meter. This research presents a novel automated electro-mechanical trimming process to improve the accuracy and performance of 100 μΩ Manganin shunt resistors for use in smart energy meters. Theoretical and experimental investigations were carried out to determine the optimum technique and design geometry to remove the resistive material from the shunt. More specifically, the work focuses on the development of the precision trimming process to improve the resistance tolerance of the shunt resistors. A novel laboratory prototype of an automated concurrent trimming system is developed which combines the mechanical cutting process and electrical measurement system to remove controlled amounts of material from the Manganin shunt. Design of Experiments (DoE) is then conducted in order to find the optimum feed rate and cutting speed for the trimming process. The effects of under a varying the trimming geometry on the key performance crietria of the shunt resistors was investigated by simulating the conditions that the shunts will exposed to when positioned within a high current circuit and encapsulated within a smart energy meter. Tests have examined changes in physical structural conditions as well as electrical properties under a varying environmental conditions. By using concurrent trimming, the tolerance of the Manganin shunt resistors has been reduced from ±5% to less than ±1% within 5 seconds. Trimming does not have a significant effect on the key properties of the shunt resistors and the results obtained can be used to inform production processes for large scale manufacture of precision shunt resistors.

This investigation focuses and analyses the theoretical and practical performance of a dynamic system, which affords condition monitoring and robust fault diagnosis. The importance of robustness in fault diagnosis is becoming significant for controlled dynamic systems in order to improve operating reliability, critical-safety and reducing the cost often caused by interruption shut down and component repairing. There is a strong motivation to develop an effective real-time monitoring and fault diagnosis strategy so as to ensure a timely response by supervisory personnel to false alarms and damage control due to faults/malfunctions. Environmental disturbances/noises are unavoidable in practical engineering systems, the effects of which usually reduce the diagnostic ability of conventional fault diagnosis algorithms, and even cause false alarms. As a result, robust fault diagnosis is vital for practical application in control systems, which aims to maximize the fault detectability and minimize the effects of environment disturbances/noises. In this study, a genetic algorithm (GA) optimization model-based fault diagnosis algorithm is investigated for applications in wind turbine energy systems and induction motors through concerns for typical types of developing (incipient) and sudden (abrupt) faults. A robust fault detection approach is utilized by seeking an optimal observer gain when GA optimisation problems become solvable so that the residual is sensitive to the faults, but robust against environmental disturbances/noises. Also, robust fault estimation techniques are proposed by integrating augmented observer and GA optimisation techniques so that the estimation error dynamics have a good robustness against environmental disturbances/noises. The two case studies investigated in this project are: a 5MW wind turbine model where robust fault detection and robust fault estimation are discussed with details; and a 2kW induction motor experimental setup is investigated, where robust fault detection and robust fault estimation are both examined, and modelling errors are effectively attenuated by using the proposed algorithms. The simulations and experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed fault diagnosis methods.

What does it mean to belong? On the one hand, belonging is the dynamic, internal, intimate, individual experience of relating to others and being part of a ‘we’ that remains undetermined. On the other hand, belonging is the result of an external act of attribution, a fixed assignation of identity. Both are essentially carried in and through language. I propose that belonging is made possible by the act of coming to speaking and the experience of being heard. I explore this possibility through a social art practice that works with the poetic, emotive, reflexive and phatic function of the word, especially when spoken, and of the photographic image, still or moving. My research outputs, often the results of encounters and collaborations taking place in specific places, function as examples of what it means to belong. Throughout this research project, I draw on the experience of living in between one’s mother tongue and other languages in order to demonstrate how immersing oneself in a language different from the language one grew up in radically reconfigures a subject’s identity and sense of belonging. The Bulgarian-French psychoanalyst, literary theorist and poet Julia Kristeva writes that in between silence, your element is silence. Breaking that silence and coming to speaking and writing in a new language transforms the relation between subject and language into a dynamic and emancipatory relation, reassessing what makes a language maternal and proposing a reformulation of what it means to belong. The experience of belonging is connected to the practice of place. Over the past couple of years, I have developed my research in between three different kind of places: the fine art research seminar room, conversing with fellow researchers who live in between languages, the Masbro community centre in Hammersmith, London, working with the students and teachers of English as a Second Language (ESOL) classes, and my home, which is the place where I live with my family, welcome my relatives and friends and develop my work.

The inclusion of children with Down’s syndrome in Saudi Arabian schools is in a state of stress and confusion. School leaders have a critical role in improving inclusion, and they are also well placed to understand the challenges of their own schools. This research explores the perspectives of school principals on the inclusion of pupils with Down’s syndrome in mainstream Saudi schools and factors that affect it. This study consists of a qualitative study of inclusive schools (both government and ARAMCO) in the Eastern Province. Three methods were employed for data collection: interviews with a purposive sample of principals from 20 inclusive schools, the analysis of five government documents, and participant observation in five schools. The principals lacked knowledge about inclusion-associated policy, particularly regarding children with Down’s syndrome, which influenced their perspectives and had an impact on the strategies they adopted regarding inclusive learning for children with Down’s syndrome in their schools. Principals from government schools also reported unsuitability of school buildings and lack of funding for improvements, whereas ARAMCO school buildings were better designed for inclusion. For both types of schools, additional limiting factors included the profundity of the learning difficulties of children with Down’s syndrome and the training required by principals. Recommendations are also made regarding infrastructure, apparatus and resources that aid inclusion, and for measures to foster community awareness and leadership training. Collectively, it is hoped that this will result in the fruitful inclusion of children with Down’s syndrome within education and society in Saudi Arabia.

No description available.

Operation of gloveboxes containing radiological hazards relies on risks being broadly acceptable. The operator's protection is maintained in the event of damage to the containment wall or gloves by Vortex Amplifiers (VA's). The VA is a hybrid of the vortex diode and the proportional beam deflection amplifier; two fluidic devices relying on fluid momentum (rather than internal moving parts) to control flow. Further, environmental and fire protection is afforded by inerting the internal glovebox atmosphere utilising Nitrogen or Argon as a constant purging medium. Over the years, ergonomic restrictions have driven VA development towards geometrically scaled-down versions of previously accepted designs. Performance of the new so called mini-VA units was found to be disappointing; investigation of high Oxygen concentrations within gloveboxes identified the mini-VA as being the source. Study of the mini-VA behaviour using smoke visualisation techniques reported here has shown a potential mechanism for leakage from the device control ports into the glovebox. In order to mitigate the leakage and ensure that gloveboxes remain inert and moisture free, increased purging flows are required. The increase in cost of Nitrogen to BNFL is estimated to be in the region of £1 000,000 per year on one plant alone. Very little has been published in respect to back diffusion from VA's or the flow phenomena that cause it. The following work is an experimental and numerical investigation of the physics and characteristic behaviour of mini-V A's, resulting in the development of a potential retrofit mini-VA solution capable of reducing Oxygen leakage by up to 78%. Performance measurements are presented for alternative mini-VA's geometries operating in the incompressible flow regime, with air used as the medium. VA geometry and operating methods have been designed to simulate those used at Sellafield. The effects of both control and supply port geometry on the VA characteristic and VA performance have been investigated utilising both fluid measurement and smoke visualisation techniques. Standard VA performance criteria have been adopted, based upon maximum to minimum flow and pressure ratios. Information gleaned from the physical investigations was used to inform further study using numerical techniques. A commercial Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) software 'ANSYS-CFX' was used to conduct further design investigations of the mini-VA geometry. Extensive verification studies are presented demonstrating adequate resolution of the VA geometry utilising an unstructured tetrahedral mesh and detailed representation of the complex anisotropic forces that exist within the VA. Variation in geometric length scales and fluid characteristics were overcome, enabling representation of the complex boundary layers formed within the mini-VA's thin vortex chamber. Consideration has also been given to both quasi-static and dynamic flow conditions. The anomalous reverse flow in the supply ports of the mini-VXA has been captured and instabilities in the vortex core successfully reproduced. This is believed to be the first study capturing numerically the reverse supply flow phenomena in vortex amplifiers. Use of the code was validated against the results of previous physical experimental data. Results of the simulations and physical investigations were used to develop alternative prototype mini­V A geometry. Following a series of tests carried out at Nexia Solutions BTC test facility, Sellafield, leakage characteristics for the prototype mini-VA geometries have been compared with that of the current BNFL mini-VA design geometry. Performance of the proto-type geometries is shown to be significantly better than that of the existing BNFL geometry.

This thesis explores the health and social welfare 'needs' of the transsexual/transgender community and how they have come to be recognised, understood and managed within interventions. It focuses on the way the 'needs' of 'trans' people have commonly come to be understood as grounded within a sexual and erotic framework and how different levels of 'emotional needs' have come to be socially erased, regulated and controlled. A constructionist approach to social enquiry is used, data being generated through focus groups and personal interviews. By taking a particular approach that focuses on the 'trans' experience of 'ambiguity' and 'difference', it considers narrative forms in language and how discourses have served to modulate, regulate and maintain 'needs' within this sexual and erotic context. By focusing on the dominant narrative forms 'trans' people use in language and the 'ambiguities' and 'contradictions' they produce I look at the strategic practices that come into play in language that attempt to transcend and overcome the difficulties they present for 'trans' people. Through a reworking of the 'modes of transgendering stories' developed by Ekins and King (1999; 2001 a; 2001 b) I focus on notions of 'erasing' and 'negating' not as particular modes or processes, but as dialogically opposed communicative actions that actually constitute migrating, oscillating and transcending stories. It is argued that a closer examination of the strategic practices of 'erasing' and 'negating' notions of 'ambiguity' and 'difference' and 'trans' visibility in stories is useful in unearthing a range of 'needs' associated with 'emotional fit', which have yet to be discovered. Using discursive techniques I consider how particular levels of 'needs' that have come to be discursively mediated and recognised by health and social welfare professionals often fall short in supporting some individuals. It therefore argues for the integration of a more gender performative approach to practice and policy development in relation to the provision of health and welfare services for 'trans' people, an approach that recognises and acknowledges the ambiguities, contradictions and differences that exist within the everyday life of trans people.

The concept of citizenship has been much debated in the scholarly literature, but little has been undertaken to apply the notion to the problems faced by Deaf communities. The intention of this study is to consider whether such a concept might be a useful framework for addressing such problems and issues. The research literature on citizenship tends to be theoretical and philosophical, with little attempt to engage directly with citizens to ascertain their views and beliefs. In addition, Deaf citizens' views are rarely sought on a politically-related topic, with the tendency for involvement in small-scale research but little interaction on research findings. This thesis aims to break that mould in a unique way. Using a qualitative research approach, it combines empowering research methods along with a critical discourse analysis of the data findings. Six focus groups of Deaf citizens were set up across the UK, and a series of research consultation group meetings involving Deaf citizens was also arranged, to explore the researcher's findings from the focus groups. Ten external stakeholders were interviewed to provide a view from a policyinaker's angle. An interpretation of the data was undertaken based on the Viennese approach to critical discourse analysis - this approach begins by valuing the historical and social circumstances of a minority group, alongside the carrying out of a discourse analysis of the data. The findings indicate that normative definitions of citizenship are inadequate to effectively encapsulate Deaf citizens' experience. The concept of citizenship was discovered to have a 'hidden dimension' that is revealed by understanding the ways in which Deaf citizens interact in society. In particular, the phonocentric character of citizenship is designed to leave Deaf citizens in perpetual disadvantage. A process of renegotiation is necessary in the policy arena to begin to adequately reflect Deaf peoples' experiences as citizens of humanity.