Investigating Strike-Slip Faulting Parallel to the Icelandic Plate Boundary Using Boundary Element Models

Most faults in Iceland strike roughly parallel to the divergent plate boundary, a part of the North American-Eurasian plate boundary, which would be expected to lead to primarily normal faulting. However, several studies have observed a significant component of rift-parallel strike-slip faulting in Iceland. To investigate these fault kinematics, we use the boundary element method to model fault slip and crustal stress patterns of the Icelandic tectonic system, including a spherical hotspot and uniaxial stress that represents rifting. On a network of faults, we estimate the slip required to relieve traction imposed by hotspot inflation and remote rifting stress and compare the model results with observed slip kinematics, crustal seismicity, and geodetic data. We note a good fit between model-predicted and observed deformation metrics, with both indicating significant components of normal and strike-slip faulting and consistency between recent data and longer-term records of geologic fault slip. Possible stress permutations between steeply plunging σ1 and σ2 axes are common in our models, suggesting that localized stress perturbations may impact strike-slip faulting. Some increases in model complexity, including older hotspot configurations and allowing fault opening to simulate dike intrusion, show improvement to model fit in select regions. This work provides new insight into the physical mechanisms driving faulting styles within Iceland away from the current active plate boundary, implying that a significant portion of observed strike-slip faulting is likely caused by the combined effects of tectonic rifting, hotspot impacts, and mechanical interactions across the fault network

An innovative use of the arts in an undergraduate curriculum to challenge thinking around diversity and professionalism

Tutor experience/student feedback had highlighted the challenges in working with students in developing humanistic approaches to care and constructive professional behaviours. ‘Professionalism’ / Diversity as curriculum areas may be met with suspicion by students. Learning activities are easily dismissed as unnecessary with inherent difficulties in ‘teaching’ in this area. Facilitating learning of important, sensitive information is not well served by traditional didactic approaches, but more creative approaches to learning are easily rejected.We adopted a transformative approach (Mezirow 1990) challenging established views, without patronising. This used a one-act drama ‘The Purple List’, a moving, emotional and involving performance delivered by 'Sam' enacting the impact of his partner Derek's dementia as it progresses over a two year period. We developed a workshop to supplement the play, in consultation with the author/actor, to further highlight important aspects of professionalism, diversity and humanistic care for Year 3 HYMS students.We will provide feedback to delegates regarding our experiences of using this performance, in HYMS and in different academic organisations and departments

An Assessment of the Compatibility of UEFA’s Home Grown Player Rule with Article 45 TFEU

This article provides the results of a European Commission study into the compatibility of UEFA’s "home grown player rule" (the Rule) with EU laws on free movement of workers. The Rule was introduced to increase competitive balance, and improve the training and development of young players in European football, but gives rise to indirect nationality discrimination and has the potential to restrict the ability of EU footballers to be employed by clubs in other Member States. Our analysis indicates that, although UEFA’s aims are legitimate under EU law, the Rule has resulted in only a modest impact and it cannot at this stage be deemed to have satisfied proportionality control. The existence of potentially less restrictive alternatives means that UEFA should engage in social dialogue with its stakeholders to determine if other methods could be employed to achieve these aims without recourse to regulations that are intrinsically liable to infringe rules governing the free movement of EU workers

Are parental concerns for child TV viewing associated with child TV viewing and the home sedentary environment?

BackgroundTime spent watching television affects multiple aspects of child and adolescent health. Although a diverse range of factors have been found to be associated with young people\u27s television viewing, parents and the home environment are particularly influential. However, little is known about whether parents, particularly those who are concerned about their child\u27s television viewing habits, translate their concern into action by providing supportive home environments (e.g. rules restricting screen-time behaviours, limited access to screen-based media). The aim of this study was to examine associations between parental concerns for child television viewing and child television viewing and the home sedentary environment.MethodsParents of children aged 5-6 years (\u27younger\u27 children, n = 430) and 10-12 years (\u27older children\u27, n = 640) reported usual duration of their child\u27s television (TV) viewing, their concerns regarding the amount of time their child spends watching TV, and on aspects of the home environment. Regression analyses examined associations between parental concern and child TV viewing, and between parental concern and aspects of the home environment. Analyses were stratified by age group.ResultsChildren of concerned parents watched more TV than those whose parents were not concerned (B = 9.63, 95% CI = 1.58-17.68, p = 0.02 and B = 15.82, 95% CI = 8.85-22.80, p &lt; 0.01, for younger and older children respectively). Parental concern was positively associated with younger children eating dinner in front of the television, and with parental restriction of sedentary behaviours and offering sedentary activities (i.e. TV viewing or computer use) as a reward for good behaviour among older and young children. Furthermore, parents of older children who were concerned had fewer televisions in the home and a lower count of sedentary equipment in the home.ConclusionsChildren of concerned parents watched more TV than those whose parents who were not concerned. Parents appear to recognise excessive television viewing in their children and these parents appear to engage in conflicting parental approaches despite these concerns. Interventions targeting concerned parents may be an innovative way of reaching children most in need of strategies to reduce their television viewing and harnessing this parental concern may offer considerable opportunity to change the family and home environment.<br /

Towards an application of muon scattering tomography as a technique for detecting rebars in concrete

Inspection of the world's ageing population of reinforced concrete infrastructure is a multi-billion dollar problem. Historically, it has not been uncommon for structures to deviate from their designs,or for design drawings to be lost. This leaves asset managers the challenging task of making structural health assessments and maintenance decisions with incomplete knowledge. While current techniques for detecting rebars in concrete are typically limited to penetration depths of less than 50 cm, muon scattering tomography (MST) is a non-destructive, non-invasive technique which shows great promise for high-depth 3D concrete imaging. This paper uses Monte Carlo simulations to demonstrate that MST can be used to detect and locate 100 cm length rebars with a diameter of 33.7 ± 7.3 mm independently of the rebar's location within a concrete structure. This corresponds to a volume of inclusion of 894 ± 386 cm3. The volume of the inclusion can be reconstructed with a resolution of 5.4 ± 0.3% for volumes above 2 500 cm3. It is furthermore demonstrated that 30 mm diameter rebars can be distinguished as two separate objects provided their separation is more than 40–60 mm, and that single and double layers of rebars are distinguishable using the technique. It is anticipated that MST could inform practical studies which support more informed maintenance and modeling, eventually allowing digital twins to be created for a larger subset of historical steel and concrete structures

Family influences on children's physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption

Background : There is evidence of a clustering of healthy dietary patterns and physical activity among young people and also of unhealthy behaviours. The identification of influences on children\u27s health behaviors, particularly clustered health behaviors, at the time at which they develop is imperative for the design of interventions. This study examines associations between parental modelling and support and children\u27s physical activity (PA) and consumption of fruit and vegetables (FV), and combinations of these behaviours.Methods : In 2002/3 parents of 775 Australian children aged 10&ndash;12 years reported how frequently their child ate a variety of fruits and vegetables in the last week. Children wore accelerometers for eight days during waking hours. Parental modelling and parental support (financial and transport) were self-reported. Binary logistic and multinomial logistic regression analyses examined the likelihood of achieving &ge; 2 hours of PA per day (high PA) and of consuming &ge; 5 portions of FV per day (high FV) and combinations of these behaviors (e.g. high PA/low FV), according to parental modelling and support.Results : Items of parental modelling and support were differentially associated with child behaviours. For example, girls whose parents reported high PA modelling had higher odds of consuming &ge; 5 portions of FV/day (OR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.32&ndash;2.87, p &lt; 0.001). Boys whose parents reported high financial support for snacks/fast foods had higher odds of having \u27high PA/low FV\u27 (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.1&ndash;3.7).Conclusion : Parental modelling of and support for physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption were differentially associated with these behaviours in children across behavioural domains and with combinations of these behaviours. Promoting parents\u27 own healthy eating and physical activity behaviours as well encouraging parental modelling and support of these behaviours in their children may be important strategies to test in future research.<br /