Adaptive finite element analysis of elliptic problems based on bubble-type local mesh generation

A new mesh adaptivity algorithm that combines a posteriori error estimation with bubble-type local mesh generation (BLMG) strategy for elliptic differential equations is proposed. The size function used in the BLMG is defined on each vertex during the adaptive process based on the obtained error estimator. In order to avoid the excessive coarsening and refining in each iterative step, two factor thresholds are introduced in the size function. The advantages of the BLMG-based adaptive finite element method, compared with other known methods, are given as follows: the refining and coarsening are obtained fluently in the same framework; the local a posteriori error estimation is easy to implement through the adjacency list of the BLMG method; at all levels of refinement, the updated triangles remain very well shaped, even if the mesh size at any particular refinement level varies by several orders of magnitude. Several numerical examples with singularities for the elliptic problems, where the explicit error estimators are used, verify the efficiency of the algorithm. The analysis for the parameters introduced in the size function shows that the algorithm has good flexibility.

Translocation of bats as a conservation strategy : previous attempts and potential problems

Translocation is an increasingly popular conservation tool from which a wide range of taxa have benefited. However, to our knowledge, bats have not been translocated successfully. Bats differ behaviourally, morphologically and physiologically from the taxa for which translocation the- ory has been developed, so existing guidelines may not be directly transferable. We review previous translocations of bats and discuss characteristics of bats that may require special consideration dur- ing translocation. Their vagility and homing ability, coloniality, roost requirements, potential ability to transmit diseases, susceptibility to anthropomorphic impacts, and cryptic nature have implications for establishing populations, effects of these populations on the release site, and ability to monitor translocation success following release. We hope that our discussion of potential problems will be able to supplement the existing, more generic guidelines to provide a starting point for the planning of bat translocations.

Stefan problems for melting nanoscaled particles

Under certain conditions, the mathematical models governing the melting of nano-sized particles predict unphysical results, which suggests these models are incomplete. This thesis studies the addition of different physical effects to these models, using analytic and numerical techniques to obtain realistic and meaningful results. In particular, the mathematical "blow-up" of solutions to ill-posed Stefan problems is examined, and the regularisation of this blow-up via kinetic undercooling. Other effects such as surface tension, density change and size-dependent latent heat of fusion are also analysed.

Health communication: A pilot study comparing perceptions of women with and without high functioning autism spectrum disorder

Research indicates significant health disparities for individuals with autism. Insight into characteristic sensory, cognitive, communication, social, emotional, and behavioural challenges that may influence health communication for patients with autism is vital to address potential disparities. Women with high functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have specific healthcare needs, and are likely to independently represent themselves and others in healthcare. A pilot study compared perceptions of healthcare experiences for women with and without ASD using on-line survey based on characteristics of ASD likely to influence healthcare. Fifty-eight adult female participants (32 with ASD diagnosis, 26 without ASD diagnosis) were recruited on-line from autism support organisations. Perceptions measured included self-reporting of pain and symptoms, healthcare seeking behaviours, the influence of emotional distress, sensory and social anxiety, maternity experiences, and the influence of autistic status disclosure. Results partially support the hypothesis that ASD women experience greater healthcare challenges. Women with ASD reported greater challenges in healthcare anxiety, communication under emotional distress, anxiety relating to waiting rooms, support during pregnancy, and communication during childbirth. Self-disclosure of diagnostic status and lack of ASD awareness by healthcare providers rated as highly problematic. Results offer detailed insight into healthcare communication and disparities for women with ASD.

The influence of internal communication on employee engagement: A pilot study

Internal communication is an important concept and integral to internal public relations with links to positive organizational and employee outcomes such as employee engagement. While scholars emphasize the importance of the relationship between internal communication and employee engagement, the association has not been empirically tested. Using surveys and regression analysis this study confirms that internal organizational communication and internal supervisor communication support workplace relationships based on meaning and worth, and have a significant part to play in developing and maintaining optimal employee engagement.

A communication model and partitioning algorithm for streaming applications for an embedded MPSoC

Energy efficient embedded computing enables new application scenarios in mobile devices like software-defined radio and video processing. The hierarchical multiprocessor considered in this work may contain dozens or hundreds of resource efficient VLIW CPUs. Programming this number of CPU cores is a complex task requiring compiler support. The stream programming paradigm provides beneficial properties that help to support automatic partitioning. This work describes a compiler for streaming applications targeting the self-build hierarchical CoreVA-MPSoC multiprocessor platform. The compiler is supported by a programming model that is tailored to fit the streaming programming paradigm. We present a novel simulated-annealing (SA) based partitioning algorithm, called Smart SA. The overall speedup of Smart SA is 12.84 for an MPSoC with 16 CPU cores compared to a single CPU implementation. Comparison with a state of the art partitioning algorithm shows an average performance improvement of 34.07%.

Soil Magnetism Research: State of the Art and Future Directions

Magnetic properties of soils have been highlighted as a primary detrimental environmental effect on the performance of geophysical systems for detection of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and mine targets. A recent workshop at Cranfield University, U.K., aimed to identify knowledge gaps related to soil magnetism. Eight invited speakers from multidisciplinary areas provided briefings on state‐of‐the‐art research linked to soil magnetism and geophysical sensing. Contributions from other participants provided additional insights from a range of disciplines through case studies and applications. The workshop included break‐out sessions to identify current gaps in knowledge and to determine priority areas for investment in research to further developments in UXO and mine detection in magnetic soil environments. Key recommendations for future research investments have been grouped in categories including soils, theory and modeling, instrumentation, and communication.

Mapping futures for news: Trends, opportunities and challenges for Scotland

The Mapping Futures of News research and seminar programme, sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Studies in 2009-10, addressed those questions, as well as the many more immediate issues facing the Scottish news industry, such as how to survive the current period of often traumatic transition. This document summarises that work, and identifies: Mapping Futures for News: Programme Report iii • Where the main Scottish print and broadcast news media are in 2010, in terms of circulation and ratings figures; • the key trends currently impacting on Scottish news media; • the responses up to now of government and regulators to assist the Scottish media through the present problems; • the responses of the news media themselves.

Literacy and numeracy project: Final report 2009

Literacy and numeracy are critical for young people during and after their schooling. The subjects and courses that students undertake during their school years incorporate a range of academic literacy and numeracy practices which students must be able manage if they are to be successful. Pathways beyond schooling also require specific, and changing, understandings of, and proficiencies with, literacy and numeracy as new communication technologies increasingly impact on further study, work, and everyday life. Teaching and learning numeracy is a new emphasis in the SACE and as yet we have little understanding about the ways in which secondary schools handle this area. Students in Years 10 and 11 are at a crucial point in their educational and life pathways as they begin to refine their future aspirations. For those who have difficulty with academic literacies and numeracies – and often a long history of such problems – this period can be fraught unless teachers are able to provide specific support when it is needed, or students are able to access it from care-givers or community members. The School to Work Literacy and Numeracy Project involved teachers from nine schools across the three sectors and university researchers working together to design curriculum interventions for students with a history of low measurable achievement in literacy and/or numeracy. The project started from the premise that working with ‘rich tasks’, an approach to learning and assessment developed in the Productive Pedagogies work undertaken in Queensland (Hayes et al., 2006), would improve students’ motivation, engagement and learning and that this work could best be done by teachers working in school-based, cross-curriculum teams with a school leadership team member and a university researcher as mentor. A key idea in designing rich tasks is that students will have opportunities to demonstrate their learning in assessments which are aligned with the learning expectations (for example a film festival to publicly launch student-produced films, advertising to sell student-made cubby-houses, a household budget based on students’ likely incomes in future work). In other words the assessments should be designed to allow for authentic communication and displays of what the students have learned through serious engagement with the curriculum. The project was conducted from Term 1-4 2009, with follow-up checks with some project teachers in the early weeks of 2010.

Using the WWW to teach undergraduate nurses clinical communication

On-line learning is increasingly being used in nursing education. Nevertheless, there is still insufficient evidence to demonstrate: whether students respond positively when this form of learning is used to teach relatively practical or clinical subjects; whether it is effective; and whether it is fair to students with less access to, or familiarity with, computers and the internet. In 2003, an on-line Unit on clinical communication was developed for Australian undergraduate nurses in partnership between an Australian School of Nursing and the a Department of Clinical Psychology. Students were overwhelmingly positive in their evaluation of the Unit although some regretted the lack of face-to-face contact with tutors and peers. The best aspects of the Unit included the content and structure being perceived as interesting, fun and informative, the relevance of the material for them as nurses, flexibility to work independently, promotion of critical thinking and gaining an understanding of client issues. Neither their evaluation nor their final grades were related to students’ age or whether they preferred on-line or traditional learning. Students who had readily available computer access, however, had better final grades. Also, students’ grades were correlated with how often they accessed the Unit.

Evaluation of channel congestion in dedicated short-range communication networks

This thesis presents a novel idea for an adaptive prioritized cross-layer design (APCLD) control algorithm to achieve comprehensive channel congestion control for vehicular safety communication based on DSRC technology. An appropriate evaluation metric and two control parameters have been established. Simulation studies have evaluated the DSRC network performance in different traffic scenario and under different channel conditions. The APCLD algorithm is derived from the results of the simulation analysis.

A generalised deficit can account for problems in facial emotion recognition in schizophrenia

Neuroimaging research has shown localised brain activation to different facial expressions. This, along with the finding that schizophrenia patients perform poorly in their recognition of negative emotions, has raised the suggestion that patients display an emotion specific impairment. We propose that this asymmetry in performance reflects task difficulty gradations, rather than aberrant processing in neural pathways subserving recognition of specific emotions. A neural network model is presented, which classifies facial expressions on the basis of measurements derived from human faces. After training, the network showed an accuracy pattern closely resembling that of healthy subjects. Lesioning of the network led to an overall decrease in the network’s discriminant capacity, with the greatest accuracy decrease to fear, disgust and anger stimuli. This implies that the differential pattern of impairment in schizophrenia patients can be explained without having to postulate impairment of specific processing modules for negative emotion recognition.

Changing the company name : a model for identity change through communication

In an ever evolving business landscape, change is an ever present part of any organisation’s lifecycle. This thesis presents communication as a fundamental element of effective change management. Drawing from the existing change communication literature and two case studies, this thesis examines how organisations utilise strategic change communication to manage identity change. As a result this study presents a conceptual model that outlines a process of change communication strategy and implementation. This model is offered as a step toward connecting important scholarship into a more comprehensive portrait of change communication during identity change than so far has been available.