- Date:
- 2009-2010
- Theme:
- Virtual Communities and Social Systems
- Funding:
- Medical Research Council (MRC)
There is a need for effective smoking cessation support that can reach smokers who are unwilling or unable to access face-to-face sessions or telephone support (>90% of smokers). There is also a need to develop an incremental technology of behaviour change. The internet could meet both those needs. The proposal is to develop an interactive internet-based smoking cessation programme and evaluate its effectiveness, attractiveness and usability in comparison with a simple system that delivers untailored smoking cessation advice. If effective, this system would form a module for the NHS LifeCheck programme and the NHS Health Trainers Programme.
The proposed research addresses how smokers can be better assisted in their attempts to stop. It aims to: 1. To develop an effective interactive internet-based smoking cessation programme for use in the UK that will have wide potential reach by virtue of being attractive and easy to use and that will, in particular, meet the needs of smokers from routine and manual occupational groups. 2. To obtain reliable estimates of the effectiveness of this programme compared with a simpler internet-based programme that presents advice and tips on quitting but is not interactive.
Primary investigators
- Gary Wills
- Prof Robert West (Epidemilogy and Public Health)
- Prof Lucy Yarley (Health Psychology)
Secondary investigator
- aco
Partner
- ucl
Associated research groups
- Electronic and Software Systems
- Learning Societies Lab
- Date:
- 2009-
- Themes:
- Applied Electromagnetism, Modelling and Simulation, Environmental modelling
- Funding:
- EPSRC
Mapping the underworld (MTU) is a multi-disciplinary, multi-university, research project has been funded by EPSRC to develop the means to locate, map in 3-D and record, using a single shared platform, the position of 100% of buried utility service pipes and cables without excavation. Its research areas include:
1. Development of the multi-sensor array 2. Fusion of sensor data with asset records 3. Enhanced ground penetrating radar 4. Acoustics for pipe location 5. Low frequency electromagnetic field technologies 6. Magnetic field technologies 7. Tuning of the multi-sensor device to the ground conditions 8. Proving trials and specification of a national MTU test facility
This project is one package (WP6) of the whole MTU project. Its aims are to utilise a passive array of magnetic sensors together with advanced signal processing techniques to detect underground electricity cables and other metallic buried infrastructure, and to develop the technique so that it can be integrated in the multi-sensor device.
The work package consists of three interlinked activities: First, finite element modelling of fields from cables and the development of suitable optimisation techniques for estimating their location, using finite element implementations of Maxwellââ¬â¢s equations. Second, small-scale laboratory experiments to compare the theoretical results with fields from cables and adjacent metal pipes. Third, large-scale field trials in a controlled environment in the Frnakfurt Test Facility, and at different ââ¬Ëliveââ¬â¢ sites provided by the project partners.
Primary investigators
- sgs
- Paul Lewin
Secondary investigator
- pw3
Associated research group
- Electronics and Electrical Engineering
- Date:
- 2008-
- Themes:
- Healthcare, Healthcare in ECS, Wireless Sensing and Sensor Networks
Forearm crutches are frequently used in the rehabilitation of an injury to the lower limb, by enabling the patient to reduce or remove weight-bearing on the affected limb. Both excessive loading and unloading of the limb can slow healing or cause further damage, suggesting a need for a program of graduated weight-bearing and activity. Therefore, a patient is instructed by their physiotherapist to apply a certain fraction of their body weight through the crutch axis as they walk. Instructing patients on partial weight-bearing is a difficult task for the physiotherapist as there are currently few objective means of measuring how much weight is going through the affected lower limb. A patientââ¬â¢s perception of the loading on their leg is often prone to considerable error and clinicians can give only subjective feedback as a result of visual inspection.
Primary investigators
Secondary investigator
- Georgina Hallett
Associated research groups
- Electronic Systems and Devices Group
- Electronics and Electrical Engineering
- Date:
- 2009-2010
- Funding:
- JISC
The Microviews project aims to develop a Javascript library that is capable of rendering a preview of an EPrint page that can be used as a tooltip and also as a specialised interface for mobile devices. The preview will show selected EPrints fields with the aim of providing enough information for users to choose whether to follow the link to the full EPrint page. The library will include a simple Javascript hook that can be included on any page containing links to an EPrint. The hook will display the preview as a graphical tooltip when users hover over the link. The JavaScript will also detect mobile devices and rather than a tooltip will insert a mobile friendly gateway page when users select the link.
Microviews will be useable without modifying the EPrints installations themselves, and the scripts will be referenced from a central Microviews server for easy maintainability.
Primary investigator
Secondary investigator
- mmr
Associated research group
- Learning Societies Lab
- Date:
- 2009-2009
- Theme:
- Accessible Technologies
To build an application to replace the TechDis Toolbar and to supplement other tools like those provided by Google and Firefox. To help staff and students irrespective of their skills and abilities when they are interacting with information environments.
Phase 1 Assemble the requirements for the sets of tools and the rationale for delivery and for support
Phase 2 Develop the preferences tool set and the Study tools set
Phase 3 Evaluation and testing with users and other agencies to produce the finished application
Primary investigators
Secondary investigator
- Sebastian Skuse
Partner
- JISC TechDis
Associated research group
- Learning Societies Lab
- Date:
- 2009-2010
- Theme:
- Accessible Technologies
This project funded by JISC TechDis includes the harvesting of the existing accessibility content from previous JISC funded projects, making the data commonly available and searchable and making sure that the engine and data are secure, portable and able to be mirrored.
The development of a system to link the related data, capable of accessing any of the content by searching across the whole data range will be required. Content will need to be viewed from different perspectives, e.g. pedagogy, technology, disability etc.
Primary investigators
Secondary investigators
- Russell Newman
- Sebastian Skuse
- dwf
- tg2
Partner
- JISC TechDis
Associated research group
- Learning Societies Lab
- Date:
- 2009-2010
- Theme:
- Accessible Technologies
This latest information has been taken from the Teachernet website.
"The DCSF has made funding available for a consortium to lead work on a small-scale pilot project to test practical solutions aimed at improving the availability of published curriculum materials in formats that are accessible for visually impaired and dyslexic pupils who are studying at either Key Stage 3 or 4. This pilot project will run for up to two years (2009-11).
Background and rationale
This pilot project comes in response to the RNIB campaign "Right to Read'. That campaign seeks to ensure that 'blind and partially sighted people are able to read the same books at the same time and at the same price as sighted people.' In 2003, the Right to Read Charter was launched stating that:
-
* every day three million children and adults are denied the Right to Read just because they have a sight problem: dyslexia or a reading disability
* ninety-five per cent of all books, magazines and other publications never become available in large print, audio or Braille.
The RNIB's campaign report, 'Where's My Book?' demonstrated that the current system for providing accessible versions of textbooks to blind and partially-sighted school pupils is not working. Delays often occur in the provision of accessible material and children's educational and social progress suffers as a result.
Evidence suggests that the provision of written materials in alternative formats can be an inefficient and expensive use of a school's staff time and financial resources. Where written materials are not provided in a timely and efficient way it can have a negative impact on the educational progress of print disabled students.
The DCSF believes that the solution to this problem lies in ensuring that curriculum materials are available in electronic form to enable efficient production of formats that are accessible to all learners with print disabilities.
Primary investigators
Partner
- Dolphin Computer Access
Associated research group
- Learning Societies Lab
- Date:
- 2008-
- Theme:
- Accessible Technologies
Web2Access is a JISC TechDis funded project, whose purpose is to develop a practical, pragmatic and relevant toolkits to support the projects funded within the JISC Users and Innovation Programme in their engagement with next generation and Web 2.0 technologies and emerging legal issues, such as IP, libel and accessibility. You may find Web2Rights a useful resource to explore.
There are a number of ways in which these projects will engage with Web 2.0 and the resources created here will be relevant for projects which are:
* Adapting and deployment of pre-existing tools, technologies and software. * Developing new tools, technologies and software. * Adapting and using own content. * Use of third party created content.
We anticipate that these tools will also be useful for other projects funded by JISC, JISC Programme Managers, organisations represented by the Strategic Content Alliance, the wider Higher and Further education communities, and other organisations engaged with the web.
Primary investigators
Secondary investigators
Associated research group
- Web and Internet Science
- Date:
- 2009-
- Theme:
- MEMs and NEMs
This research is about the analysis, design and implementation of a new two degree-of-freedom (DoF) capacitive micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) velocity sensor. A first prototype MEMS velocity sensor was fabricated using piezoresistive transducer technique to prove the concept; however this proposed sensor is susceptible to temperature changes and has lower sensitivity. The sensor presented in this research has been specifically designed with capacitive transducer and actuation technique to avoid such drawbacks. This velocity sensor is envisaged for active vibration control of distributed flexible structures such as thin plates and shells. It can be used with a piezoelectric patch actuator to construct dual and collocated sensor-actuator pair, in order to implement direct velocity feedback control loop. The sensor comprises an internal feedback loop, which produces a sky-hook damping effect on the principal mass-spring-damper system of the sensor. In contrast to standard accelerometer vibration sensors, the frequency response function of the velocity sensor has three important properties for the implementation of stable velocity feedback loops, which are an advantage introduced by the sky-hook damping effect: First, at low frequencies below the fundamental resonance of the 2-DoF, the output of the sensor becomes proportional to the velocity of the sensorââ¬â¢s frame; second, around the fundamental resonance of the transducer, it is characterised by a flat amplitude spectrum; and third, above the fundamental resonance of the transducer, it is characterised by an amplitude roll-off with only a 90o phase lag. Thus this sensor produces the desired velocity output up to a cut off frequency and then produces a filtering effect with little phase lag. In this way it can prevent the strong control spillover effect that characterise velocity feedback loops using piezoelectric strain actuators.
Primary investigators
- mk1
- Professor Paolo Gardonio - ISVR
Associated research groups
- Nano Research Group
- Southampton Nanofabrication Centre
- Date:
- 2009-2009
- Themes:
- Knowledge Technologies, Web Science
- Funding:
- JISC
This project will develop a prototype demonstrator that synthesises research information from heterogeneous sources (institutional repositories and research council information systems), resolves name co-reference issues between the sources, and presents it to research-focussed end users through an interface that will allow them to explore the state of the research landscape in UKHE.
Primary investigator
Secondary investigators
Associated research groups
- Intelligence, Agents, Multimedia Group
- Dependable Systems & Software Engineering