Bland Tomkinson and Rosemary Tomkinson
This chapter is based on the work of Professor Charles Engel who, sadly, passed away early in 2019. Some 20 years ago, Professor Engel was advocating that higher education should…
Abstract
This chapter is based on the work of Professor Charles Engel who, sadly, passed away early in 2019. Some 20 years ago, Professor Engel was advocating that higher education should take a lead in remediating global challenges, particularly those of sustainability. He took a broad view of the concept of “sustainability,” based largely on the Brundtland (1987) view of global challenges. Engel proposed that successful approaches to address the complex problems of sustainability should be explored across disciplinary boundaries. The University of Manchester developed a series of course modules focusing on these major challenges, largely run on interdisciplinary lines. Initially the concept was explored across science and engineering, with the support of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Charles Engel, a leading authority on its use, advised using Problem-Based Learning as a means of addressing the wicked problems in interdisciplinary groups. The pilot modules were extensively evaluated and reported. Since then the course units have developed and diversified, with extension to other schools, universities, countries, and to postgraduate courses. This transformative concept has also been explored in hybrid online format. The current chapter will re-introduce some of the original ideas and bring together the many threads that have emerged.
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Alejandro B. Engel, Silvio J. Bezerra and Siguemituzo Arie
The mathematical model and computer algorithm reported in a previous issue of this journal have been tested on 21 normal heart moulds by comparing the true volume value, measured…
Abstract
The mathematical model and computer algorithm reported in a previous issue of this journal have been tested on 21 normal heart moulds by comparing the true volume value, measured by Archimedes' principle, with the predicted theoretical volume.
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Alejandro B. Engel, Eduardo Massad and Petronio Pulino
Proposes a modified Hill model for the oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve. The model fits normal oxyhaemoglobin dissociation experimental data quite accurately, and can easily be…
Abstract
Proposes a modified Hill model for the oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve. The model fits normal oxyhaemoglobin dissociation experimental data quite accurately, and can easily be adapted to experimental data of subjects suffering haemoglobinopathies when available. Discusses the Adair equation, as well as correcting factors for varying temperature and pH.
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B. Engel and D.L. Bourell
Selective laser sintering (SLS) is a solid freeform fabrication process whereby a part is built layerwise by scanning a powder bed. The processability of metal powder varies…
Abstract
Selective laser sintering (SLS) is a solid freeform fabrication process whereby a part is built layerwise by scanning a powder bed. The processability of metal powder varies depending on the state of the powder prior to SLS. A powder thermal pre‐treatment was developed which involved degassing the powder at an elevated temperature in a vacuum. Without powder thermal pre‐treatment, the powder may flow poorly and may “ball” or form molten clumps during the laser exposure rather than wetting into the present and previous layer. These effects result in SLS parts with poor surface finish, mechanical properties and density. The purpose of this study was to identify for titanium alloy powder the mechanisms responsible for the improvements obtained after powder thermal pre‐treatment and to optimize the thermal excursion.
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Valentina I. Uspenskaya and Dmitry Y. Borodin
During the first two decades of the 20th century, the Russian family went through some institutional transformations. Peasant migrations (from European Russia to more distant…
Abstract
During the first two decades of the 20th century, the Russian family went through some institutional transformations. Peasant migrations (from European Russia to more distant destinations, and more importantly, from the countryside to the cities), World War I, the upheavals of the revolutionary period and the Civil War years all changed the country’s demographic situation. This led to more women (at least in the cities) being employed outside their households. Their sub-standard living conditions and legal vulnerability attracted the attention of intellectuals (Engel, 1991) and helped reformulate the women’s question, which had by then become one of the central issues of the political and intellectual life of the country. Alongside the quest for equality from upper and middle-class women, which was manifested in the burgeoning public and literary life of the Fin-de-Siécle Russia (Engelstein, 1992), emerged “Marxist feminism.” This movement assumed the task of promoting the rights of working women and the destruction of (bourgeois) gender inequality. It also played a decisive role in shaping scholarly discourse on the family and state policies towards it. Despite the dramatic social changes, they did not readily bring about alterations in popular mentality, particularly in popular attitudes towards the roles played by men and women within the family. Barbara Engel (1991, p. 147) has observed that: Revolutionary transformation did not end most women’s loyalty to the family and especially to their children. However, food shortages, poor housing, lack of job opportunities, and especially family instability made women’s traditional responsibilities considerably harder to fulfill. The deserting husbands and short-term unions that led some women to seek abortion prompted others to demand more conservative family policy to ensure their ability to provide for their children. Instead of unions easily contracted and dissolved they wanted strong and stable marriages.Meanwhile, during the first post-revolutionary decade, some representatives of the new elite regarded the family as holding the most strength within the ancien régime, which was doomed to collapse as new relations between the sexes and among generations were getting stronger.1 A great deal of writing produced in the 1920s by Communist theoreticians discussed questions related to the pace, social context and forms in which the withering away of the family might manifest itself (Preobrazhenskii, 1923; Trotsky, 1923). It also examined the problems of sexual ethics and the upbringing of genuinely collectivist-minded people (Kollontai, 2003a–c; Lunacharsky, 1927; Zalkind, 1923 (reprinted in 2001)). “There are reasons to believe,” argued Bukharin (1921, p. 170) “that in the Communist society, as the private property vanishes for good, the family and prostitution will follow suit.” He also stated his opposition to the family’s rearing of the younger generation: “The future lies with the communal upbringing. The communal upbringing will enable the Communist society to bring up the young in the way it deems appropriate, minimizing efforts and expenses” (Bukharin, 1920, p. 197).
The area of artificial neural networks, which dates back to the early twentieth century, could only offer positive contributions to technology after the back‐propagation algorithm…
Abstract
The area of artificial neural networks, which dates back to the early twentieth century, could only offer positive contributions to technology after the back‐propagation algorithm was proposed in 1986. In this note an alternative algorithm to the gradient descent used in back‐propagation is proposed. This algorithm is based on the discrete central difference. This procedure, as opposed to the back‐propagation algorithm, offers the possibility of true parallel computation.
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Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a life-long condition, but the diagnostic process for adults has not been formally established. The purpose of this study was to…
Abstract
Purpose
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a life-long condition, but the diagnostic process for adults has not been formally established. The purpose of this study was to ascertain which assessment tools are used to assign participants into the group with DCD in studies investigating this condition in adulthood.
Design/methodology/approach
A scoping review was conducted using PRISMA guidelines. Peer reviewed literature published between January 2008 and April 2024 was searched using five databases: AMED, CINAHL Ultimate, Google Scholar, PubMed and Scopus. Data was extracted using the “Joanna Briggs Institute” scoping review guidelines.
Findings
In total, 36 articles were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria for this review. The Adult Developmental Co-ordination Disorders/Dyspraxia Checklist was the most frequent tool used to measure current and past impact on occupational performance. Level of motor skill was only measured in 51% of the studies, and none of these studies used tests with norms for an adult population. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2 was the most commonly used tool to measure level of motor skill.
Originality/value
Findings from this scoping review could be used in the creation of a pilot pathway for the assessment of adults for DCD.
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Parking policy in the United States is dominated by zoning codes with minimum parking requirements stipulated for a variety of uses. Some cities have realized that this approach…
Abstract
Purpose
Parking policy in the United States is dominated by zoning codes with minimum parking requirements stipulated for a variety of uses. Some cities have realized that this approach has not yielded the desired policy outcomes; instead, it may be causing unintended consequences including added auto-travel, dispersed development, congestion, and air pollution that cities now wish to mitigate.
This paper identifies historic and contemporary trends in United States’ parking policy as cities gain additional insight and embrace new priorities.
Methodology/approach
Three emerging trends in the U.S. context are identified: Rethinking zoning codes that require parking with development; introducing pricing to better manage curb resources thereby cutting down curb-space competition; and looking for urban design solutions to parking access, location and on-site placement which can lead to more efficient mode use decisions.
The chapter provides an analysis of cases showing how cities are now seeking alternative approaches.
Findings
After many years of policy intervention focused on the alleviation of parking shortages by requiring additional off-street parking, cities are now seeking alternative approaches.
Practical implications
Cities can learn from each other’s experiences. New paradigms in parking policy will lead to different social outcomes: they could increase the cost of auto use (disadvantaging the poor) but decrease auto dependence (favoring the poor).
Originality/value of paper
The originality of this chapter is in the juxtaposition and analysis of trends that have, heretofore, had little exposure.
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Qingxin Xie, Fujin Yi and Xu Tian
This paper aims to investigate the changes in living standard among families with different socio-economic status in China with the use of Engel's Coefficient. The authors develop…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the changes in living standard among families with different socio-economic status in China with the use of Engel's Coefficient. The authors develop a decomposition methodology to figure out the driving forces behind changes in Engel's Coefficient, and investigate how dramatic economic growth, volatile food price and rapid nutrition transition affect living standard among different families.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors propose a statistical method to decompose the changes in living standard measured by Engel's Coefficient into structure effect, price effect, quantity effect and income effect. Using the China Health and Nutrition Survey data between 2000 and 2011, the authors estimate these four effects by employing a decomposition method.
Findings
Results show that Engel's Coefficient in China decreased by 8.7 percentage points (hereafter “pp”) during 2000–2011, where structure effect leads to 0.2 pp increase, price effect results in 17.7 pp increase, quantity effect brings about 12.4 pp decline and income effect contributes to 14.2 pp decline. Results indicate that rising food prices are the main obstacle to improve households' living standard. Typically, poor and rural families' living standard is more vulnerable to the rise in food prices, and they benefit less from income growth.
Originality/value
This study proposes a decomposition method to investigate the determinants of change in Engel's Coefficient, which provides a deeper understanding of how economic growth, food price change and nutrition transition affect people's living standard in different socio-economic groups in developing countries. This study also provides valuable insights on how to achieve common prosperity from the perspective of consumption upgrading.