To develop an holistic approach to river basin management and restoration based on an understanding of physical processes and human modification of natural river systems.
This module is based on a professional training course for people working in River management and restoration. The course investigates how humans have modified River basins and river channels, and how these in turn have affected the rates and magnitudes of environmental processes within the river network with particular emphasis on the fluxes of water and sediments. Specifically, the module will focus on the contrast between natural and modified channel functioning through the use of research case studies and explore how the management of these complex environments is supported by scientific knowledge. The final component of the module looks at how we can use knowledge of natural processes to help restore damaged river systems. Specific topics to be included are: Definition of catchment sediment systems, processes of channel adjustment, Geomorphology and physical habitat, ecosystem engineers, the impacts of catchment land use change on river channel processes, river channel modification, river restoration, applied fluvial geomorphology.
Robots are becoming more widely used in society, with applications ranging from agriculture through to manufacturing, with increasing interest in autonomous systems. This module will introduce students to the concept of a robot, varieties of robotic systems and the some of the fundamental techniques which are required to get robot systems to work. The module concentrates on introducing students to the necessary kinematics, dynamics and control which are needed to analyse and design robotic systems. In addition, the course will discuss trajectory generation and path planning at a basic level. The course will use dextrous manipulators and mobile robots to illustrate the concepts which will be introduced.
This module will be first offered in the 2020/21 academic year. Robotics plays an important part in the development and operation of autonomous aerospace vehicles. The robotic element may consist of a complete vehicle either in outer space or on a planetary surface (e.g. a Martian rover) or a specific component (e.g. the ISS robotic arm). The module will examine design, construction and operation of such system. The students will gain an understanding of the challenges involved developing such a system, as well as operating at significant distances from the earth.
Robots are becoming more widely used in society, with applications ranging from agriculture through to manufacturing, with increasing interest in autonomous systems. This module will introduce students to the fundamentals of robotic systems including kinematics and dynamics as applied to manipulators and mobile robots. To support many application sensors are required, the module will discuss tactile and vision sensing as applied to both fixed and mobile robots. The design and control of multifingered end effectors will be considered in detail. The module will conclude with a study on how biological systems have influenced the development of current and future robotic systems, including swarms and humanoid robotic systems.
This introductory module for the Robotics and Autonomous Systems MSc programme consists of an initial intensive teaching period, designed to introduce students with diverse backgrounds to the fundamentals knowledge and skills needed to study advanced robotics, and a long-thin period focused on developing broader research and professional skills. It culminates in a mini-conference, where students present their achievements on key project-based modules taken within the MSc. During the initial teaching period, students learn the fundamentals of modelling, sensing, and control, and work in teams to implement key methods on a simple robotic platform during practical labs. The research and professional development component introduces systems thinking as a perspective on engineering, safety and socio-technical factors, considering how people, processes and technology interact within the context of their environment. The module also develops core competencies required for practicing as an engineer, including work within diverse and inclusive teams and to support lifelong development of professional and interpersonal skills. This aspect will draw on your experiences during modules such as Robots and Automation in Society and Robots and Automation in Practice. It also gives students a grounding in the research methods and techniques such as critical literature review, that are necessary for planning and execution of summer research projects and project-based coursework. The module includes student planning, organisation and delivery of the mini-conference, held at the end of the teaching year.
Students form teams of ~4 to design, develop and demonstrate a robotic solution to a staff/industry posed challenge, using a combination of simulators and simple robotic platforms to deliver representative solutions under controlled experimental conditions. Each groups will be assigned a staff member based on their choice of challenge. The staff member will act as their advisor and represent the stakeholder perspective, with regular timetabled meetings to share progress and receive feedback. Student teams are expected to work independently between meetings to advance their projects. Teams will manage a small budget, access to the relevant facilities, and develop their own strategies for system development and testing. Demonstrations must use existing educational robotic facilities at the university, with no major modifications to electronics and hardware. There is a significant emphasis on lab work and experimental data gathering. Each team will produce an 8-page IEEE conference-style group report, a 15 minute presentation, and a 2 minute solution video. For students on the Robotics and Autonomous Systems MSc, these outputs must be presented at the MSc RAS mini-conference organised as part of the Robotics Fundamentals, Research Management, and Professional Development module.
This is an individual project based module where students critically review literature on the broader societal, regulatory, ethical and human-centred dimensions of a robotic domain of their choice, including safety and security. Students will form peer groups with an assigned mentor and attend regular timetabled meetings to share and receive regular feedback on their progress. Students will also participate in a structured debate presenting different perspectives on a set aspect of robotics in society. Each student will produce an 8 page IEEE conference style individual policy paper and poster on their chosen topic. For students on the MSc RAS, these may be presented at the Robotics and Autonomous Systems MSc mini-conference organised as part of the Robotics Fundamentals and Research Management module.
For most people even today Nero was one of the ‘bad’ emperors (he killed his mother), and Caligula was mad and depraved (he wanted to appoint his favourite horse as consul, and committed incest with his sisters); but the categorisation of emperors along moral lines is not a modern phenomenon. The emperor was without doubt the most important individual in the Roman world, the embodiment of the imperial project. His character, appearance, and actions were of fascination to contemporaries during and after his life. In this module we will survey Roman cultural responses to the office of emperor, and specifically the role played by prominent authors in creating a discourse on the individuals that occupied the imperial throne from its inception to Late Antiquity. We will also explore the role Imperial women played in validating the position of the emperor and as a means of undermining him. Several genres of ‘political’ literature flourished under the empire, which took the emperor as their primary subject - biography, historiography, and speeches of praise and blame. Their rise may partly have been a response to the concentration of power in a single individual, but they also constantly engaged in evaluating emperors in traditional terms of virtue and vice, turning emperors into examples of good or bad rule for later holders of the office. Such texts, then, played an active role in the creation of an image of an emperor both during and after his reign. In this module we will survey key texts and images chronologically from the first to sixth centuries, and consider how and why each author interpreted individual emperors; how the ideal of the emperor developed during that time; when and in what way it was acceptable to criticise an emperor, or how risky this could be; to what extent an emperor could influence the creation of his positive image via contemporary orators. We will examine some case studies of the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ of emperors such as Claudius, Caligula, and Constantine, and in the process you will gain a chronological overview of the Roman imperial period. Finally, we’ll reflect on how modern depictions of emperors, in formal biographies and TV/film depictions, compare to the concerns articulated in ancient texts and images.
In 1831 the philosopher John Stuart Mill struggled to define the ‘Spirit’ of the nineteenth century. ‘It is’, he wrote, ‘an age of transition. Mankind have outgrown old institutions and old doctrines, and have not yet acquired new ones.’ If the nineteenth century was, as is sometimes assumed, an age of complacency and confidence, it was also an age of anxiety and openness, experimentation and invention. This module examines the literature of this age of transition. Students enrolled in this module will learn about the material history of reading and publication, and investigate nineteenth-century experiments with genre and literary mode. Throughout, we will emphasise the ways in which the fiction, poetry, drama and non-fiction prose written in Britain between 1800 and 1900 sought to invent new forms of writing and styles of expression capable of coping with new doctrines, institutions, and ways of living.
The ancient Roman elite was highly competitive, with families and individuals fighting for control and influence in all spheres of social and political life, in elections, in the law courts, in the arenas, theatres, and temples of Rome, and outside of the City in the provinces. We shall aim to understand Roman power: no small task, since the lexicon of ‘power’ in this period is so complex that no single English term does it justice. As well as studying the famous men who vied for supreme power at Rome during the late-republican civil wars – Sulla, Caesar, Pompey, Mark Antony, et al. – you will learn about how power was institutionalised (in the senate, the law courts, and the popular assemblies), communicated (via speeches, monuments, and spectacles), transferred between generations (by wealth-based privileges and access to rhetorical education), and ultimately restricted (in the hands of a sole ruler, Augustus). By the end of the module, you will have received a thorough grounding in the political life of first-century-BCE Rome, its contemporaneous societal and cultural representation, and the indelible impression it has left on the historiographical record.
Studying is not simply about transferring a set of facts from lecturer to students, but about developing yourself as an individual and recognising that you are responsible for your own learning. Knowledge in the 21st century is fast moving and in such a knowledge economy, where the shelf life of much knowledge is short, you will be expected to be a lifelong learner. In order to do this, you need to be a resilient learner, understand how you best learn and reflect on how you can improve. This module will help you actively engage with this process. “We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.” Marcel Proust (French novelist 1871 – 1922)
Studying is not simply about transferring a set of facts from lecturer to students, but about developing yourself as an individual and recognising that you are responsible for your own learning. Knowledge in the 21st century is fast moving and in such a knowledge economy, where the shelf life of much knowledge is short, you will be expected to be a lifelong learner. In order to do this, you need to be a resilient learner, understand how you best learn and reflect on how you can improve. This module will help you actively engage with this process through a range of topics and tasks and will help you prepare to be a successful learner during your chosen degree. “We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.” Marcel Proust (French novelist 1871 – 1922)
This module takes a practical approach primarily through assignment/project lead application of concepts of yacht design, applicable to both powered and sailing craft. Four assignments in areas of initial design, hull design, sailplan and rig development and structures allow the participants to experiences the use of a variety of design tools and methodologies and develop skills in making engineering and design judgements.
This course provides part of the essential knowledge and skills required for conducting the Final Project module in the final year. SAS (Statistical Analysis System) is the leading data analytics software package. This module will cover the fundamentals of SAS base programming. On successful completion of this module, you will be able to use SAS software to read data, access, manage and manipulate ‘big’ data, solve problems, save programs and datasets, use conditional logic, combine files, produce tables and listings of data, and use data analysis techniques. The module will also help prepare you for the SAS Base programming certification.
Schopenhauer is one of the great original writers of the nineteenth century, and a unique voice in the history of thought. His central concept of the will leads him to a pessimistic view of existence: he regards human beings as striving irrationally and suffering in a world that has no purpose. This condition can be redeemed by the elevation of aesthetic consciousness and finally overcome by the will’s self-denial and a mystical vision of the self as one with the world as a whole. He relies on the philosophy of Kant in the Critique of Pure Reason, but is in many ways progressive, an atheist with profound ideas about the human essence and the meaning of existence which point forward to Nietzsche, Freud and existentialism. He was also the first major Western thinker to seek a synthesis with Eastern thought. The module offers an examination of Schopenhauer’s epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics, as contained in The World as Will and Representation and other works.
Science Communication involves the dissemination of science to a lay audience. Equally as important; a good scientist is a good communicator. Science Communication is essential as an aid for governmental and industrial policy making. It is needed to counteract any misperceptions about science and is becoming an obligation for publically funded work. It is an important tool for motivating our next generation of scientists. Hence, Science Communication can boost a student’s employability for a wide range of jobs. This module provides an introduction to the methods and resources a student will need in order to play an active role in communicating science both as an individual and as part of a team.
This module will consolidate and expand your knowledge and clinical practice. Clinical specialists will deliver the theoretical and practical aspects of this module. Using our dedicated clinical skills facility, you will apply the theory and perform a range of cardiac and respiratory tests on model patients before venturing out into your clinical placement.
This module will introduce you to the theoretical concepts and application of testing the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Our dedicated clinical skills facilities will allow you to apply your knowledge in a safe environment under the supervision of clinical experts. The inclusion of model patients will provide you with confidence and the communication skills required whilst out on your year 1 clinical placements.
Scientific computing is concerned with numerical representations and algorithms for solving problems that can be implemented as computer programs. This module gives an overview of the field of scientific and numerical computing. The module covers the most important aspects of numeric representation and algorithms for solving numeric problems. In particular, the module considers numerical methods for solving sets of equations, optimisation, matrix factorisations, differentiation and integration.
This module is designed to enable students to develop their approach and detailed understanding of the evidence base associated with their chosen research project.
