The aim of this study is to investigate the application of acoustic emission (AE) techniques to the defect detection and monitoring of adhesively-bonded joints. Pencil Lead Breaks (PLBs) have been used as a simulated AE source to experimentally investigate the characteristics of AE wave-propagation in adhesively-bonded joints, and have been combined with Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) to provide a novel method of defect detection and sizing. Modal AE analysis has been applied to destructive testing...

These materials were presented at "Research Support Games Day #3", an online event that was hosted on Tuesday 15th February 2022, 14:00-16:00 GMT. The event was targeted primarily at people who support researchers (for example, library and research office staff). It aimed to promote the use of games-based learning, both when training researchers and also when research support staff are undertaking professional development themselves.

Physical activity and academic attainment of children are internationally regarded as some of the most significant areas of public concern and interest (World Health Organisation, 2010; Scottish Government, 2018). There are a range of interventions discussed in literature seeking to enhance both outcomes, as well as a growing body of literature regarding the ability of enhanced physical activity to improve the attainment and development of children. There is a growing demand for cost effectiveness analysis...

Advances in technology such as increased Internet access and digital multimedia provide opportunities for developing innovative teaching and learning materials. Learning theory supports the use of computer-based learning materials in providing flexible access to self-study materials, which can be tailored to the needs of specific courses and may appeal to students with a wide range of learning styles. There is some evidence to support the use of these technologies in facilitating learning, but evaluations apply...

This thesis presents an empirical analysis of the implementation of environmental policy in Scotland as undertaken through the use of specific regulatory and distributive policy instruments. In particular, it examines the implementation of regulatory water pollution control policy by one of Scotland's former River Purification Boards (RPBs) through the policy instrument of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (COPA 1974). The thesis also examines The Scottish Office's implementation of distributive environmental policy towards the voluntary...

This research project explores the importance of balancing aesthetics and usability of Web design to enhance user experience. It aims to develop an effective methodology to better understand the dimensions of users' emotions, experienced in interaction with Web pages. The proposed methodological approach, called "Emotional Probes" (EPs), combines ethnographic surveys with the Cultural Probes (CPs) approach. The EPs method is applied to investigate the ongoing phenomenon of Web communication, for the impact of emotional factors...

Wind turbine-generators are usually integrated into utilities' electrical networks at distribution voltage levels, and they are commonly known as "Embedded Generators" (EGs). Recently, it has been reported that the integration of wind power-based embedded generators (WPBEGs) into distribution networks could cause maloperation of automatic voltage control (AVC) relays. Further investigation is therefore required to improve the performance of AVC relays in the presence of EGs. On the other hand, the dynamic effects of WPBEGs on...

There is a growing recognition that product designers have a responsibility to ensure that their designs are intrinsically sustainable and do not add to the growing pressures on the environment. Developing sustainable products requires designers to be aware of the conflicting issues and constraints that need to be taken into account as part of the design process. Finding appropriate ways to provide the essential knowledge to support designers so that they can develop sustainable products...

The research examines the role of institutions influencing Saudi female entrepreneurs, and how they became enabled to be social agents and institutional entrepreneurs in a very traditional, family-orientated society - albeit facing pressures to change. In acknowledging the uniqueness of the social-cultural context in Saudi Arabia, this study adopts a qualitative design. Specifically, purposive and snowball sampling techniques were implemented to gather primary qualitative data. The data draw on 31 interviews with female entrepreneurs residing...

The main aim of this thesis is to utilise the transactional approach from environmental psychology for the study of sustainable housing. The interdisciplinary field of environmental psychology has recognised for some time the importance of considering human behaviour not only in terms of personal psychological processes, but also in terms of the broader social and physical context in which behaviour occurs. This need to consider phenomena at different levels of analysis sits comfortably with the...

The lived experience of adult adoptees in searching and re-engaging with birth families is an under-researched area, and receives limited focus in social work practice and policy. The aim of this study is to explore both the experience and the impact of searching and re-engaging with birth families on the emotional and psychological wellbeing of adult adoptees. The study adopted a constructivist grounded theory methodology, drawing on the principles of phenomenology and symbolic interactionism. The...

This study examines the asymmetric long-run and short-run relationship between oil price and key macroeconomic variables, within the context of net oil-exporting and importing countries in Africa. Using quarterly data ranging from 1996(Q1) to 2016(Q4), panel ARDL estimation is carried out to analyse how asymmetric changes in oil price affect macroeconomic activities in African countries and whether the effects are similar or different in oil importing and exporting African countries. The results show significant positive...

A detailed wind prediction model is developed, which predicts wind regimes and energy outputs from wind turbine generators at locations that are remote from sites where long-term wind data is available. The model accounts for the local, directional influences on the wind flow of topography and surface characteristics. The model for the validation runs performs well and predicts energy outputs over several months to generally within 7% of the actual energy outputs. Experience is described...

This report details how Robert Gordon University has covered payments for Gold Open Access with articles acknowledging UKRI funding. It also provides overall compliance information for all UKRI-funded articles that feature an RGU-based author. The report covers the financial year from 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022.

The hypothesis presented in this study is to test the theory that designers do not give adequate consideration to the needs of people with disabilities and that they perceive of people with disabilities as a separate minority who require 'special' provision. Within this context it is suggested that building designers would be more able to serve the needs of people with disabilities if building design education incorporated a more holistic and user-responsive syllabus. The research...

Although research exists about the positive impacts of the arts on well-being and society, public funding towards this sector in the UK has decreased significantly over the past decade. Researchers suggest a demonstration of how the arts impact local economies is necessary to justify their funding. This thesis provides a demonstration that, in addition to being good in themselves, the arts have a positive effect on the economy. It utilised Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to...

The aim of this research was to explore the health and wellbeing needs, relationships, and experiences of Health and Social Care (HSC) Service Users and the people who support them at home, in a regional area of Scotland. Current United Kingdom legislation sets a precedence of person-centred HSC that meets the health and wellbeing needs of Service Users and their families through improved experiences. Despite this, current research in the field focuses on evaluation of...

Changing healthcare staff's behaviours is of paramount importance in improving infection prevention and control (IPC), and decreasing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Thus many supportive interventions have been developed in pertinent areas, such as hand hygiene (HH). The concepts of theory and visualisation in behaviour change research are well described and embraced across the social sciences as they provide rigorous and innovative interventional solutions. However, the use of each of these concepts within interventions in IPC and...

These data have been produced as part of a research project that aimed to develop a method for the preparation of a magnetically-directed self-assembly of gold pickering ferrofluid emulsion, with the goal of enhancing infrared absorption from the molecular layer. The research was undertaken using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet-visual spectroscopy (UV-Vis) and pattern morphology image analysis. The study found that a regular array of chains are created when using magnetically-directed gold pickering ferrofluid...

The research explored how entrepreneurial enactment leads to social value creation in the entrepreneurial ecosystem using interpretive qualitative approach. The research and findings are delivered in a structured narrative. This approach is adopted to reveal how entrepreneurial enactment traverses economic profitability to include personal and social value creation through the agency of social interaction. By adopting a modified social interaction model, the research explored the perspectives of eleven key informants using semi-structured interviews. Interviews were...

The aim of this study is to explore the extent to which trait theory is relevant to the new corporate professions through a case study of project management. The award of a Royal Charter to the UK-based professional body, Association for Project Management (APM), in 2017 was seen as the culmination of significant efforts to raise the profile of project management, and to recognise the profession and its contribution to society. It is a complex...

The greatest potential application of mathematical models in sport science is to predict future performance of individual athletes in response to training, with sufficient accuracy to assist with planning of training programs and short tapering periods. The most widely known and investigated set of mathematical models include the fitness-fatigue models (FFMs). However, despite over 45 years of FFM study, problems remaining within the research base and gaps in existing knowledge have limited interpretation of prior...

Multi-phase flow is the type of flow common in the oil and gas industry, as oil reservoirs contain mixtures of oil, gas and water with sand particles from sandstone reservoirs. Accurate design of oil and gas production equipment greatly depends on detailed understanding of this flow phenomena. Previously, multi-phase studies relied upon empirical correlation and mechanistic equations developed from experimental data, but these approaches have limitations because of limited experimental data and underlying simplified assumptions....

The author sought to explore the methodology of automated marking of non-objective textual submissions. In so doing he tasked himself to discover how far automated assessment of text could be applied in the range of submissions from the single word to a multi-sentence, multi-paragraph piece of text. In the course of his research, the author had to determine the extent and severity of any problems associated with manual marking of such submissions. In fact, the...

The aim of this research is to develop a method to prepare a multiferroic-Polyamide 6 (PA6) nanocomposite with tuneable magnetocaloric properties for self-healing structure. It was shown that maintaining the low interaction radius through the dispersion of the low coercivity MNPs, could allow tuning of the bulk magnetocaloric properties of the resulting mesostructures. An in-situ polymerisation method improved dispersion and reduced maximum interaction radius value from ca. 806 to 371 nm as well as increased...