CATASTROPHIC DISASTER IN THE MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD : CHASING THE GREAT STORM OF 1913

The Great Lakes host thousands of shipwrecks. The Lakes are positioned to receive the blunt force of two polar fronts during the winter season, this can result in cataclysmic storm activity. In 1913, the two fronts combined to create one of the most devastating maritime disasters in Great Lakes' history. Close to 300 people died, with 40 commercial vessels badly damaged or sunk, creating the largest fiscal disaster to ever hit the Great Lakes. The storm affected all five Great Lakes. This thesis, therefore, looks at the possibility of connecting shipwrecks within the archaeological record to the storms that wrecked them. This thesis will account for not only wind direction in conjunction with bow heading, but will look at variables that may also affect wrecking patterns, such as wooden or steel construction, and sail or steam propulsion.  M.A

Evaluation of Ocean-Energy Conversion Based on Linear Generator Concepts

A turbine generator is a device that converts mechanical rotation into electrical energy. Unfortunately, the primary driving force that has been used to provide this rotation has, thus far, been fossil fuels. Although fossil fuels have proven to be a reliable resource to continually supply the growing demand for electrical power, they are not without their financial and environmental drawbacks. With the continuously increasing demand for energy, it is hypothesized that the world may, in time, exhaust this precious natural resource and/or inflict permanent environmental damage upon our planet. However, motions that occur in nature, such as ocean waves, can play a significant role in generating environmentally safe and economically viable energy for human utilization. As part of research at Old Dominion University, we propose to use a linear electrical generator (which uses a back-and-forth motion of a piston rather than a rotational movement) to probe the production of electrical energy simply from ocean waves. This would also be a less complex design compared to that of conventional rotational versions. Quantitative analysis for the voltage and power produced from the linear generator for a given set of ocean-wave characteristics will also be carried out, probed and discussed. Previous research into this topic has primarily relied upon modeling an ideal buoy (i.e., one that matches the waves\u27 height and motion at each instant in time) responding to the surface ocean waves under the regular wave regime. This work, however, more closely analyzes the physical properties of the buoy and predicts the electrical power generation capabilities from a seabed mounted linear generator Wave Energy Convertor (WEC) tethered to the floating buoy operating under the influence of a non-ideal buoy and the more realistic irregular wave regime. Several buoy sizes will be modeled to exploit the buoys\u27 natural heave frequency in an attempt to create a greater heave response for a given set of sea state conditions. It will be shown that a greater heave response from the buoy generally leads to an increase in the generated power from the linear generator

Ontology-driven knowledge based autonomic management for telecommunication networks : theory, implementation, and applications

Current telecommunication networks are heterogeneous, with devices manufactured by different vendors, operating on di↵erent protocols, and recorded by databases with different schemas. This heterogeneity has resulted in current network managements system becoming enormously complicated and often relying on human intervention. Knowledge based network management, which relies on a universally accepted knowledge base of the network, has been discussed extensively as a promising solution for autonomic network management. To build an autonomic network management system, a universally-shared and machine interpretable knowledge base is required which describes the resources inside the telecommunication system. Semantic web technologies, especially ontologies, have been used for many years in building autonomic knowledge based systems in Artificial Intelligence. There is a pressing need for a standard ontology to enable technology agnostic, autonomic control in telecommunication networks. Network clients need to describe the resource they require, while resource providers need to describe the resource they can provide. With semantic technologies, the data inside complex hybrid networks can be treated as a distributed knowledge graph, where an SQL-like language – SPARQL is ready to search, locate, and configure a node or link of the network. The goal of this thesis is two-fold. The first goal is to build a formal, machine interpretable information model for the current heterogeneous networks. Thus, we propose an ontology, describing resources inside the hybrid telecommunication networks with different technology domains. This ontology follows the Device-Interface-Link pattern, which we identified during the modelling process for networks within different technology domains. The second goal is to develop a system that can use this ontology to build a knowledge base automatically and enable autonomic reasoning over it. We develop a Semantic Enabled Autonomic management system of software defined NETworks (SEANET), a lightweight, plug-and-play, technology-independent solution for knowledge-based autonomic network management that uses the proposed ontology. SEANET abstracts details of network management into a formally defined knowledge graph augmented by inference rules. SEANET’s architecture consists of three components: a knowledge base generator, a SPARQL engine, and an open API. With the open API developed, SEANET enables users without knowledge of Semantic Web or telecommunication networks to develop semantic-intelligent applications on their production networks. Use cases of the proposed ontology and system are demonstrated in the thesis, ranging from network management task and social applications

Systems Engineering: Availability and Reliability

Current trends in Industry 4.0 are largely related to issues of reliability and availability. As a result of these trends and the complexity of engineering systems, research and development in this area needs to focus on new solutions in the integration of intelligent machines or systems, with an emphasis on changes in production processes aimed at increasing production efficiency or equipment reliability. The emergence of innovative technologies and new business models based on innovation, cooperation networks, and the enhancement of endogenous resources is assumed to be a strong contribution to the development of competitive economies all around the world. Innovation and engineering, focused on sustainability, reliability, and availability of resources, have a key role in this context. The scope of this Special Issue is closely associated to that of the ICIE’2020 conference. This conference and journal’s Special Issue is to present current innovations and engineering achievements of top world scientists and industrial practitioners in the thematic areas related to reliability and risk assessment, innovations in maintenance strategies, production process scheduling, management and maintenance or systems analysis, simulation, design and modelling

Occupational safety and health in the wind energy sector - European Risk Observatory

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A Multidisciplinary Analysis of Coastal Storms in Western Britain, 1800-2020

This multidisciplinary study combines environmental science and environmental history to improve storm understanding in Western Britain from 1800 to 2020. Storms have persistently impacted coastal communities, infrastructure and environments in this region and climate change is predicted to increase storm threats and impacts. A sedimentological study analysed saltmarsh storm impacts in Carmarthen Bay. High magnitude storm surge deposition in 1954, 1977 and 1981 was identified through sedimentological, meteorological and tidal gauge analyses. The results show storm surges irregularly contributed to sustaining saltmarsh elevation suggesting the value of continued research into saltmarsh storm impacts. An archival newspaper analysis produced a comprehensive original storm database from 1800 to 2020. Three environmental history investigations followed. The first investigation analysed a major storm using the concept of storm subcultures. The 1859 Royal Charter Storm and the ensuing developments in storm prediction were analysed. Storm catastrophes were shown to evoke long-term social, political and cultural responses. The event changed storm understanding and prediction with long-term community and governance implications. The analysis highlighted the importance of inclusive decision making and adaptive storm subcultures. The second study employed statistical and qualitative newspaper analyses of written storm representations from 1800 to 1953. Rapidly declining religious storm interpretations and progressively increasing scientific interpretations reflected changing beliefs in Britain. The analysis showed that epistemological change profoundly affected public storm representations and understandings. A contemporary study analysed meteorological, tidal gauge and newspaper data from Storms Ciara and Dennis. While the storms were climate anomalies and the short-term response was effective, shortcomings in long-term climate change-related government policies likely enhanced vulnerability and therefore policy adaptation was recommended. Multidisciplinary research ultimately improves the understanding of the often interconnected community and environmental storm impacts and can inform inclusive and effective response. Further multidisciplinary research can therefore contribute towards enhancing resilience to increasing storm threats

All at sea? A critical appraisal of the C4 framework for the management of major maritime emergencies (MME)

This study is the result of nearly four decades of professional practice in the maritime industry and, in particular, dealing with shipping emergencies, including many high profile accidents and several hundred lesser, but potentially life-threatening, emergencies. The study uses this knowledge and experience as a basis for undertaking a critical evaluation of the Command, Control, Communication and Coordination (C4) framework that is typically used in dealing with such emergencies. It begins with a brief history and background to the C4 framework in the context of a major maritime emergency (MME). The components of the framework are defined and an exemplar activity map used to describe the framework in detail and the relationship between its components and external influences. A preliminary evaluation of the C4 framework suggested that while it is largely robust in principle, there is considerable evidence to suggest that its utility in the handling of live emergencies is frequently undermined in practice. This finding led to a second phase of evaluation, which attempted to identify optimal operational principles that can contribute to a more effective implementation of the C4 framework in major maritime emergencies. Six command principles (P1-P6) plus one sub-principle (P1a) developed from the author’s career are described and used as a basis upon which to build additional principles. To determine these additional principles, seven case studies based on experience and professional practice, are examined to identify key statements and observations of Favourable (F) and Unfavourable (U) practice. Evaluation and analysis of the key statements and observations led to thirty additional C4 framework principles. A short cross-sectional (latitudinal) survey was also conducted of emergency service professionals to support the professional practice and the principles derived from the case studies. Given the time constraints of this study and the difficulty in maintaining responses over time from all 395 respondents, a longitudinal survey was ruled out. Analysis of the survey led to a further three principles that included qualities required of a commander, and the selection of potential recruits to emergency response organisations, in particular command positions. The six original principles of command (plus one sub-principle) are matched with extant cognitive decision making studies, together with a limited review of the psychology of decision making outside of the maritime context using real life examples, and evaluated for commonality or otherwise of biases and thinking approach. From these appraisals a further 5 principles were identified. In all, a comprehensive list of 46 C4 framework principles is produced that covers command in terms of people (command, skills and knowledge), Process (Design), Resources (Design), Organisation (Design). The 46 principles are classified under 3 headings: Capability, Readiness, Response, producing 26 consolidated principles under 10 sub-headings. The list is further refined to produce three distinct tables of principles in an operational format that can be used by any emergency response organisation. The study, which is based on practical experience and professional practice supported by academic research, concludes that the implementation of the C4 framework for the management of an MME can be significantly flawed, and would benefit from the adoption of many of the principles derived from the author’s own experiences and also from complementary sources. The study also supports the contention that it is the human element in the implementation of the C4 framework that could be improved and that the framework itself is largely fit for purpose. The refined principles derived require actions to be undertaken, some more extensive than others, by commanders, trainers, recruiters and managers before they can be effective. To aid this approach, the principles are marshalled into three key groups, as commonly used by emergency services, as described above. The key groups can be used to aid the formation of simulated exercises for training purposes and for organisational design. In summary, the principles identified provide a foundation for improving the implementation of the C4 framework for the management of MMEs, and for emergencies across all other fields and in many other contexts