Digital Commons Network^™

How Do Renewable And Non-Renewable Co-Move? Fresh Evidence From The European Energy Market Via Arji-Garch Copula Model, A Agosto, L Dalla Valle, Giuli Me De

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The global energy crisis and rising climate concerns are encouraging the transition to a more sustainable economy. Monitoring energy prices has become increasingly important for analysts, policymakers and businesses to tackle the current situation by increasing the integration of renewable energy sources, strengthening the resilience of the energy system to price shocks and reducing its dependence on fossil fuel imports, as well as improving the affordability of energy for consumers. We set up a copula-based ARJI-GARCH model to investigate the timevarying and non-linear dependence between renewable and non-renewable asset prices in the European energy market. Our results show that the …

Quality-Of-Things Based Machine Learning For The Miot Applications, Shaymaa Al-Juboori, Ali H. Husseen Al-Nuaimi, Amulya Karaadi, Is Haka Mkwawa, Jianwu Zhang, Lingfen Sun

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Enhancing the Quality of Things (QoT) is urgently needed given the rapid evolution of the Multimedia Internet of Things (MIoT). One of the challenges with MIoT is Acceptable QoT. Achieving AQoT can optimize bandwidth and storage at a level that will satisfy MIoT application’s minimal requirements. Intelligent systems using Machine Learning (ML) techniques can improve the performance of MIoT applications by keeping the minimum requirements of the resources which are necessary to maintain AQoT. The aim of this study is to develop a MIoT system based on ML to provide high performance with an acceptable QoT. The Gaussian-Naive Bayes, Fine …

Ethnic Differences In The Indirect Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Clinical Monitoring And Hospitalisations For Non-Covid Conditions In England: A Population-Based, Observational Cohort Study Using The Opensafely Platform, Ruth E. Costello, John Tazare, D Piehlmaier, Emily Herrett, Edward P.K. Parker, Bang Zheng, Kathryn E. Mansfield, Alasdair D. Henderson, Helena Carreira, Patrick Bidulka, Angel Y.S. Wong, Charlotte Warren-Gash, Joseph F. Hayes, Jennifer K. Quint, Brian Mackenna, Amir Mehrkar, Rosalind M. Eggo, Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi, Laurie Tomlinson, Sinéad M. Langan, R Mathur, Nishi Chaturvedi, Chloe Park, Alisia Carnemolla, Dylan Williams, Anika Knueppel, Andy Boyd, Emma L. Turner, Katharine M. Evans, Richard Thomas

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Background The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare and may have impacted ethnic inequalities in healthcare. We aimed to describe the impact of pandemic-related disruption on ethnic differences in clinical monitoring and hospital admissions for non-COVID conditions in England. Methods In this population-based, observational cohort study we used primary care electronic health record data with linkage to hospital episode statistics data and mortality data within OpenSAFELY, a data analytics platform created, with approval of NHS England, to address urgent COVID-19 research questions. We included adults aged 18 years and over registered with a TPP practice between March 1, 2018, and April 30, …

Interconnection Schemes In Modeling And Control, Pablo Borja, Joel Ferguson, Der Schaft A Van

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Interconnection schemes are ubiquitous in physical systems. For instance, in multi-domain systems consisting of interconnected subsystems from different physical domains. Furthermore, the interconnection of two or more systems has also been exploited to analyze and control dynamical systems, especially passive ones. To this end, the most common interconnection structure is the negative feedback interconnection. However, this approach is unsuitable to directly couple the states of the subsystems in the overall system’s energy as customarily occurs in physical systems. This letter provides two interconnection approaches that overcome this issue. Notably, it is shown that these interconnection structures are suitable for decomposing …

Medical Diagnostic Value Of Digital Pcr (Dpcr): A Systematic Review, Sophia Nazir

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) is an emerging technique for the absolute quantification of target nucleic acids. dPCR got attention as a precise quantification tool in preclinical research, particularly when used to detect genetic mutations and result in highly precise measurements. In dPCR, the statistic of Poisson distribution was followed for the random distribution of molecules in different partitions, which is essential for dPCR quantification. Amplified target sequences in different partitions are identified by fluorescence and each partition functions as a separate PCR microreactor. Without the need for calibration, the percentage of PCR-positive partitions is sufficient to estimate the concentration …

Biosensor For Rapid And Accurate Detection Of Cardiovascular Biomarkers: Progress And Prospects In Biosensors, Sophia Nazir, Rabail Azhar Iqbal

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The primary cause of death worldwide is cardiovascular disease (CVD), which has a considerable mortality rate. It is essential to identify cardiac biomarkers and heartbeat signals early to lower mortality. Conventional CVD examinations require costly hospital equipment for standard CVD examinations and electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring, both of which take time and are inconvenient. Recently, interest in developing biosensing technologies for rapid CVD marker screening has increased. As a result of advancements in nanotechnology and bioelectronics, novel biosensor platforms are being created to achieve quick detection, precise quantification, and continuous monitoring during disease progression. Research is being done on chemical, electrochemical, …

On Regular D-Handicap Tournaments, Bryan Freyberg, Melissa S. Keranen

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

k-regular d-handicap tournament is an incomplete tournament in which n teams, ranked according to the natural numbers, play exactly k < n − 1 different teams exactly once and the strength of schedule of the ith ranked team is d more than the (i − 1)st ranked team for some d ≥ 1. That is, strength of schedules increase arithmetically by d with strength of team. A d-handicap distance antimagic labeling of a graph (Formula Presented)forms an arithmetic sequence with difference d ≥ 1. A graph G which admits such a labeling is called a d-handicap graph. Constructing a k-regular d-handicap tournament on n teams is equivalent to finding a k-regular d-handicap graph of order n. For d = 1 and n even, the existence has recently been completely settled for all pairs (n, k), and some results are known for d = 2. For d > 2, the only known result is restricted to the case where n is divisible by 2d+2. In this paper, we construct infinite families of d-handicap graphs where the order is not restricted to a power of 2.

Marine Environmental Effects On A Graphene Reinforced Epoxy Adhered Single Lap Joint Between Metals And Cfrp, Rudi Fry-Taylor, Maozhou Meng, Xinyu Wang

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

This study investigates the marine environmental effects on the bonding strength of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) reinforced adhesive for a metal/composite single lap joint. Samples were immersed for periods of 1, 2 and 3 weeks in a 50 °C, 3.5% NaCl solution, with the purpose of the heat being the creation of an environment in which simulated an increased ageing period in the joint structure. In a dry condition, the use of GNPs produced a slight increase in lap shear strength of 17% and 14% in the carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) composite laminate to aluminium and stainless-steel joints respectively. Post …

Chloride Penetration In Concrete With Trilinear Binding Isotherm, D Li, P Li, L-Y Li

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Chloride binding in concrete is an important factor and it can significantly affect the penetration speed of chlorides in concrete and thus the service life of concrete structures. In this paper a new chloride binding isotherm is proposed to be included in the diffusion model of chlorides in concrete. Instead of the use of the traditional Freundlich or Langmuir isotherm, the present chloride binding model uses a trilinear function to describe the chloride binding in concrete. The trilinear binding isotherm not only reflects the nonlinear binding feature of chlorides in concrete when it is exposed to a chloride environment, but …

P-Sati-D Shape Regulation Of Soft Robots, Pietro Pustina, Pablo Borja, Cosimo Della Santina, Luca A De

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Soft robots are intrinsically underactuated mechanical systems that operate under uncertainties and disturbances. In these conditions, this letter proposes two versions of PID-like control laws with a saturated integral action for the particularly challenging shape regulation task. The closed-loop system is asymptotically stabilized and matched constant disturbances are rejected using a very reduced amount of system information for control implementation. Stability is assessed on the underactuated dynamic model through the Invariant Set Theorem for two relevant classes of soft robots, i.e., elastically decoupled and elastically dominated soft robots. Extensive simulation results validate the proposed controllers.

Waterbodies Thermal Energy Based Systems Interactions With Marine Environment — A Review, Amir Bordbar, Konstantinos Georgoulas, Yong Ming Dai, Simone Michele, Frank Roberts, Nigel Carter, Yeaw Chu Lee

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Waterbodies’ thermal energy potential, as a green, renewable, and limitless source of energy, can be exploited in response to the growing energy demands of islands and coastal cities. Up to now, the technologies that have been developed for this purpose include seawater air-conditioning, surface water heat pump, and ocean energy thermal conversion systems or their combinations, which are presented here as Waterbodies Thermal Energy Based Systems (WTEBSs). The growth and development of these technologies raise concerns regarding their potential impacts on sustainability of the marine environment. The present work provides a comprehensive review of the available literature and state-of-the-art technologies …

Instability Of Waves In Deep Water — A Discrete Hamiltonian Approach, David Andrade, Raphael Stuhlmeier

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The stability of waves in deep water has classically been approached via linear stability analysis, with various model equations, such as the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, serving as points of departure. Some of the most well-studied instabilities involve the interaction of four waves – so called Type I instabilities – or five waves – Type II instabilities. A unified description of four and five wave interaction can be provided by the reduced Hamiltonian derived by Krasitskii (1994). Exploiting additional conservation laws, the discretised Hamiltonian may be used to shed light on these four and five wave instabilities without restrictions on spectral …

Black-Odorous Water Bodies Annual Dynamics In The Context Of Climate Change Adaptation In Guangzhou City, China, Bing Liu, Haojun Xi, Tianhong Li, Alistair G.L. Borthwick

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Black-odorous water (BOW) in urban areas has brought detrimental ecological effects and posed a threat to the health of surrounding residents. Identifying BOWs in urban areas is difficult because they are usually small in area, and discontinuous in spatial distribution. The efforts to adapt to climate change in cities have a direct connection to urban environment and may affect the dynamics of BOWs, but their relationship has seldom been addressed in previous research. This research builds a new urban BOW detection model using Gaofen (GF) images and ground-level in-situ water quality data to detect the spatiotemporal dynamics of BOWs in …

Life Cycle Assessment Research Trends And Implications: A Bibliometric Analysis, Badr Moutik, John Summerscales, Jasper Graham-Jones, Richard Pemberton

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Acknowledging the importance of sustainability and implementing measures to achieve the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 represent a holistic approach to promoting peace and prosperity for the planet and its inhabitants. LCA is a valuable tool for organisations to enhance sustainability and reduce environmental impact. There has been a notable increase in LCA research subjects, indicating a recognition of its significance in promoting sustainability. The field has experienced a significant expansion in the past decade, with a 30% annual percent growth rate in LCA publications since 2010. In the most recent 4 years alone, 47% of all …

Security Implications Of A Satellite Communication Device On Wireless Networks Using Pentesting, Jordan Gurren, Avanthika Vineetha Harish, Kimberly Tam, Kevin Jones

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The notion that ships, marine vessels and off-shore structures are digitally isolated is quickly disappearing. Affordable and accessible wireless communication technologies (e.g., short-range radio, long-range satellite) are quickly removing any air-gaps these entities have. Commercial, defence, and personal ships have a wide range of communication systems to choose from, yet some can weaken the overall ship security. One of the most significant information technologies (IT) being used today is satellite-based communications. While the backbone of this technology is often secure, third-party devices may introduce vulnerabilities. Within maritime industries, the market for satellite communication devices has also grown significantly, with a …

An Investigation Into Theories Of Odd Meter And Their Application To Jazz Composition And Improvisation, Kristian Borring

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research examines how perception and cognition theories regarding musical meter may assist in the process of developing ‘odd meter’ practice in jazz for ‘melodic’ instrumentalists. Introduced in jazz as early as the 1950s, the integration of irregular meters into jazz practice has occurred only incrementally, as has the knowledge towards their theoretical premises. With the author acting as the intertwined composer and improviser, this study aims to develop an approach towards proliferating a ‘fluent idiolect’ to aid in obtaining clarity surrounding odd-meter types and present rhythmic and melodic strategies based on the investigation of theoretical underpinnings of meter. The …

A Critical Control Approach To Preventing Fatalities In Construction, Roberta J. Selleck

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Workplace fatalities continue to occur within the Australian construction industry at an unacceptably high rate. Most fatalities can be attributed to worker exposure to fatal energies while conducting high risk tasks in a dynamic work environment. Construction fatalities are usually single fatality events related to occupational safety hazards which are either not recognised by workers or not consistently controlled through existing safety practices. By comparison other resources industries have lower fatality rates because of their focus on identifying the controls and verification activities needed to address Major Accident Events (MAEs) and Principal Hazards in a manner that prevents fatalities.

The …

Island Meltdown: Demise Of The Abrolhos Painted Button-Quail Turnix Varius Scintillans In The Face Of Multiple Threats, Ryan Carter

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Island avifauna suffer high rates of extinction and decline. The major threats to island birds centre around the ecological impacts of invasive predators, competitors, and grazers. The Abrolhos Painted Button-quail (Turnix varius scintillans) is a subspecies that has been determined to be the 5th most likely taxon to become extinct in Australia. T. v. scintillans historically inhabited three islands in the Houtman Abrolhos archipelago off the mid-west coast of Australia. This study aimed to 1) confirm the status of T. v. scintillans on North Island and determine the main causes of decline, 2) model habitat variables with detections from camera …

Aesthetic Choices: Defining The Range Of Aesthetic Views In Interactive Digital Media Including Games And 3d Virtual Environments (3d Ves), Hira Maqbool

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Defining aesthetic choices for interactive digital media such as games is a challenging task. Objective and subjective factors such as colour, symmetry, order and complexity, and statistical features among others play an important role for defining the aesthetic properties of interactive digital artifacts. Computational approaches developed in this regard also consider objective factors such as statistical image features for the assessment of aesthetic qualities. However, aesthetics for interactive digital media, such as games, requires more nuanced consideration than simple objective and subjective factors, for choosing a range of aesthetic features.

From the study it was found that the there is …

Who Is Leading The Early Years? An Investigation Of Early Childhood Pedagogical Leadership In School Settings, Amie L. Fabry

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The early years of primary school in Western Australian is a complex space fraught with confusion and challenge as teachers experience competing demands on their pedagogical practice. In the early years, Kindergarten (starting at 3 1/2 years) through to Year 2 are mandated to use the Principles and Practices of the Early Years Learning Framework and are school audited on a modified form of the National Quality Standard. However, Kindergarten and Pre-primary teachers report concerns about the pushed down curriculum and the impact that pressure for academic achievement and formal learning is having on their pedagogy. Early childhood pedagogical leadership …

Plant-Herbivore Interactions In A Changing Climate And Implications For Seagrass Resilience, Caitlyn M. O'Dea

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Climate change is affecting herbivore distributions and abundance, resulting in intensified grazing pressure on foundation species such as seagrasses. This, coupled with other, rapid changes in estuarine ecosystems, may threaten the resilience of seagrass. While the overall resilience of seagrasses is generally well-studied, the timeframes of recovery have received comparatively little attention, particularly in temperate estuaries. This study investigated the recovery time of two colonising seagrasses (Halophila ovalis and Ruppia megacarpa) following various intensities of simulated grazing in two southwestern Australian estuaries. Simulated grazing treatments (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% removal from 1 m2 plots) were applied in field experiments …

How Public Libraries In Western Australia Support The Language And Literacy Learning Of Children From Birth To Age Three Years, Jennifer Ruth Campbell-Hicks

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Early language and literacy skills develop rapidly during the first three years of children’s lives. Successful development of these skills is based on dynamic interactions and supportive relationships within children’s families and communities. However, nearly a quarter of Australia’s children do not receive the necessary support or proactive interactions, and therefore start their schooling at age four or five with inadequate language and literacy skills. Reducing early difficulties is beneficial since evidence indicates that children who struggle at the start of their education rarely catch up.

Children and their families may be supported with language and literacy learning by engaging …

The Concept And Role Of Meaningful Work In The Context Of Pakistan – An Exploratory Study Of Junior Doctors, Abid Hussain

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Over the past decade, the concept of meaningful work has gained increased attention from human resource management, organisational science, and management scholars. This can be largely attributed to the growing global concern for the wellbeing and meaningful engagement of individuals in the workforce, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. The literature on meaningful work reveals that there are multiple perspectives and theoretical approaches to the conceptualisation of meaningful work which can be found primarily within Western societies and Western scholarship and are often based on Western worldviews. Most of the quantitative and qualitative empirical studies adopt a reductionist approach and tend …

Content And Frames Of ©Wechat And Chinese State Media - A Critical Literacy Reflection Of The Narratives During The Early Stage Of Covid-19 Pandemic, Zhe Jing

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Governments back disruptive politics on the Internet platforms to influence people. During the global health crisis, because of the popularity and demographic penetration, ©WeChat is said to be one of these platforms. The influential dynamics, the circulated contents relevant to diasporic audiences and the app’s global users are yet to be contextually understood through the educational lens of critical literacy. This study is underpinned by a critical literacy reflective framework which synthesises components from several critical literacy practices: content and frame analysis, critical pedagogies, and specific literacy domain practices to provide guideline for the investigation. The findings demonstrate how state …

Quantifying And Managing The Impact Of Electric Vehicles On Power Distribution Assets, Pravakar Pradhan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Concern over the transportation sector’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which make up around 23% of all energy-related CO2 emissions, has grown in recent years. The widespread use of electric vehicles will be the primary strategy for tackling this issue. About 30% of the world’s passenger vehicle fleet is anticipated to be electrified by the year 2040. Moreover, the existing power distribution assets are already operating near their nominal capacities, and most of them have been in service for more than 25 years. Replacement of these assets will be very costly and disruptive to the power distribution network. Ergo, the main …

Carbon Geosequestration And Enhanced Oil Recovery In Geological Formations: Multi-Scale Analysis, Auby Baban

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Carbon geosequestration (CGS) has been recognized as a strategic solution to prevent/counter the catastrophic consequences of climate change. However, despite recent cutting-edge technical research, predicting quantitative CO2 trapping in geological formations via capillary trapping is currently scarce. Moreover, several aspects of multiphase flow characteristics of CO2/brine/rock systems, that greatly impact carbon capture and containment security, require further investigations. Furthermore, combining carbon geosequestration with Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is an efficient and economically attractive technology to reduce global warming caused by emissions of anthropologic CO2 from the combustion of fossil fuels, whereby it offsets some of the costs of CO2 extraction. …

Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomic Analysis To Characterise Barley Breeding Lines, Mahya Bahmani

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Barley is a key ingredient in the malting and brewing industry, and it is the fourth most important crop being cultivated worldwide. The protein content of the barley grain is one of the main components determining the quality and nutritive value of the food and beverages prepared from barley. Mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis is a valuable tool that can guide and inform plant breeding strategies and crop improvement programs. Understanding the proteome changes in barley grain under different growing locations, the impact of different environmental conditions and its relationship with malting characteristics have the potential to inform breeding programs to …

Effect Of Tributary Inflow On Reservoir Turbidity Current, Yining Sun, Ji Li, Zhixian Cao, Alistair G.L. Borthwick, János Józsa

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Fluvial flows carrying high sediment loads may plunge into reservoirs to form turbidity currents. However, the effects of tributary inflows on reservoir turbidity currents have remained poorly understood to date. Here a 2D double layer-averaged model is used to investigate a series of laboratory-scale numerical cases. By probing into the hydro-sediment-morphodynamic processes, we find that tributary location and inflow conditions have distinct effects on the formation and propagation of reservoir turbidity currents, and lead to complicated flow dynamics and bed deformation at the confluence. Two flow exchange patterns are generated at the confluence: turbidity current intrusion from the main channel …

An Investigation Of Change In Drone Practices In Broadacre Farming Environments, Hrishikesh S. Neetye

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The application of drones in broadacre farming is influenced by novel and emergent factors. Drone technology is subject to legal, financial, social, and technical constraints that affect the Agri-tech sector. This research showed that emerging improvements to drone technology influence the analysis of precision data resulting in disparate and asymmetrically flawed Ag-tech outputs. The novelty of this thesis is that it examines the changes in drone technology through the lens of entropic decay. It considers the planning and controlling of an organisation’s resources to minimise harmful effects through systems change. The rapid advances in drone technology have outpaced the systematic …

Fagotte Forgotten? The Bassoon In The Early Symphonies Of Mozart, Haydn And Contemporaries In The 1760s And 1770s, Katherine J. Walpole

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research project investigates the role of the bassoon in the basso of the early symphonies of Mozart, Haydn and Contemporaries in the 1760s and 1770s. It draws on surviving primary source material pertaining to bassoonists and orchestral practices across Europe before 1780. Autograph scores of Haydn, Mozart and his contemporaries usually scored early Classical symphonies for pairs of oboes, horns, two violin sections, viola and basso. Modern scholars have described these compositions as symphonies for pairs of oboes, pairs of horns and strings, and have translated basso to mean cellos and basses. Eliminating the eighteenth-century term basso has also …