210 research outputs found
An investigation into the prevalence of non-tripod pengrip and its implications for secondary school writers
This research addresses the twin issues of whether non-tripod grips are becoming more common and whether young people who adopt any of these grips experience greater problems than their peers. Existing research into writing grip focuses on young children, leaving the long-term consequences of an unorthodox grip poorly reported.
The initial demographic survey investigated changes in penhold. The survey was conducted in a single secondary school, its satellite primary schools and adults in West Wales. This established a high frequency of non-tripod grips occurred among children and young adults that were not replicated in older adults. Statistical analysis of the data indicates that this change in grip happened quite abruptly to young people who began school in the early 1980s.
The research also identified ninety-three secondary school pupils, using a range of non-tripod grips and matched each to a pupil using an orthodox grip. Thirteen non-tripod grips were identified, three for the first time, while the severity of others appears greater than in the existing literature. The effects of each grip were considered statistically, using the null hypothesis that groups of matched pupils sharing a grip, will have similar characteristics.
Several consequences of the different grips were established, some of which can adversely affect performance and attitudes. These consequences include high levels of pain after even very short writing periods, a high number of adjustments needed to maintain writing, as well as different writing speeds, some of which fall below generally accepted norms. There is thus support for the initial hypothesis that those using non-tripod grips are affected by their choice of grip, which may negatively affect their education.
This research ascertained, for the first time, the suitability of a range of unorthodox grips for the demanding writing tasks required by secondary schooling. It also identifies some grips that should be avoided if unnecessary difficulties with writing are to be prevented
Inertial effects in three dimensional spinodal decomposition of a symmetric binary fluid mixture: A lattice Boltzmann study
The late-stage demixing following spinodal decomposition of a
three-dimensional symmetric binary fluid mixture is studied numerically, using
a thermodynamicaly consistent lattice Boltzmann method. We combine results from
simulations with different numerical parameters to obtain an unprecendented
range of length and time scales when expressed in reduced physical units. Using
eight large (256^3) runs, the resulting composite graph of reduced domain size
l against reduced time t covers 1 < l < 10^5, 10 < t < 10^8. Our data is
consistent with the dynamical scaling hypothesis, that l(t) is a universal
scaling curve. We give the first detailed statistical analysis of fluid motion,
rather than just domain evolution, in simulations of this kind, and introduce
scaling plots for several quantities derived from the fluid velocity and
velocity gradient fields.Comment: 49 pages, latex, J. Fluid Mech. style, 48 embedded eps figs plus 6
colour jpegs for Fig 10 on p.2
Analysis of a spatial Lotka-Volterra model with a finite range predator-prey interaction
We perform an analysis of a recent spatial version of the classical
Lotka-Volterra model, where a finite scale controls individuals' interaction.
We study the behavior of the predator-prey dynamics in physical spaces higher
than one, showing how spatial patterns can emerge for some values of the
interaction range and of the diffusion parameter.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
Tests of Dynamical Scaling in 3-D Spinodal Decomposition
We simulate late-stage coarsening of a 3-D symmetric binary fluid. With
reduced units l,t (with scales set by viscosity, density and surface tension)
our data extends two decades in t beyond earlier work. Across at least four
decades, our own and others' individual datasets (< 1 decade each) show viscous
hydrodynamic scaling (l ~ a + b t), but b is not constant between runs as this
scaling demands. This betrays either the unexpected intrusion of a
discretization (or molecular) lengthscale, or an exceptionally slow crossover
between viscous and inertial regimes.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Recommended from our members
Notes on the behaviour, plumage and distribution of the White-tailed Swallow Hirundo megaensis
The White-tailed Swallow Hirundo megaensis is a threatened and poorly known bird endemic to southern Ethiopia, where it is restricted to a small area of Acacia savanna. Despite the paucity of previous nest records, we found 67 nests in the years 2010–14, commonly in village huts lived in by people, and report the first confirmation of nesting (two certain records) in termite mounds. Its nests are small mud cups lined with grass and animal hair, fixed to roof joists and similar to those of its sister species, the Pearl-breasted Swallow H. dimidiata of southern Africa, although it appears to lay larger clutches (3–4 pure white eggs) and breed less frequently, producing one brood in each of its two rain-driven breeding seasons (April–June and October–November). The same nests are reportedly used in these two seasons, presumably by the same pairs. Incubation lasts 16–17 days, with some broods showing clearly smaller chicks and hence presumably asynchronous hatching. Study of nestlings in the hand and museum skins confirmed that juveniles can be determined by their shorter tails, browner heads and frequently also wings, and reduced white in the tail. Although birds are typically seen singly or in pairs, flocks of up to 50, sometimes mixed with other hirundines, can occur. The breeding range appears to be almost identical to that of the Ethiopian Bush-crow Zavattariornis stresemanni but regular sightings of White-tailed Swallows since 2005 at the Liben Plain, 120 km to the east of the core area, suggest that the birds are frequent visitors there.We are grateful to the numerous funding bodies which have supported this research over several years: NERC, RSPB, British Birdfair, African Bird Club, British Ornithologists’ Union, Gesellschaft für Tropenornithologie, Tim Whitmore Zoology Fund, Magdalene College (Cambridge), Cambridge Philosophical Society, and BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme; and especially to Julian Francis. We also thank Robert Prys-Jones at the Natural History Museum (NHMUK) for access to specimens; Les Colley for his photograph used in Fig. 5; Stefanie Rick for her excellent drawings used in Fig. 9; Steve Rooke (Sunbird Tours), Bernard, Willem and Sjoerd Oosterbaan, Simon Busuttil, Merid Gabremichael and Claire Spottiswoode for providing additional information and sightings; Alazar Dakar, Abiy Dange, Birhan Dessalegn, Solomon Desta, Okotu Dida, Ali Guche, Sam Jones, Gufu Kashina, Stuart Marsden, Tesfaye Mekonnen, Samson Zelleke and many others including all the staff of Borana National Park for help with fieldwork; Angela Turner and John Atkins for their services as referees; and the Borana villagers who so kindly allowed us into their homes to study the White-tailed Swallow’s nests and without whose hospitality our knowledge of this species would be much poorer.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from African Bird Club
3D Spinodal Decomposition in the Inertial Regime
We simulate late-stage coarsening of a 3D symmetric binary fluid using a
lattice Boltzmann method. With reduced lengths and times l and t respectively
(scales set by viscosity, density and surface tension) our data sets cover 1 <
l
100 we find clear evidence of Furukawa's inertial scaling (l ~ t^{2/3}),
although the crossover from the viscous regime (l ~ t) is very broad. Though it
cannot be ruled out, we find no indication that Re is self-limiting (l ~
t^{1/2}) as proposed by M. Grant and K. R. Elder [Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 14
(1999)].Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figures, RevTex, minor changes to bring in line with
published version. Mobility values added to Table
Entropy-induced smectic phases in rod-coil copolymers
We present a self-consistent field theory (SCFT) of semiflexible (wormlike)
diblock copolymers, each consisting of a rigid and a flexible part. The
segments of the polymers are otherwise identical, in particular with regard to
their interactions, which are taken to be of an Onsager excluded-volume type.
The theory is developed in a general three-dimensional form, as well as in a
simpler one-dimensional version. Using the latter, we demonstrate that the
theory predicts the formation of a partial-bilayer smectic-A phase in this
system, as shown by profiles of the local density and orientational
distribution functions. The phase diagram of the system, which includes the
isotropic and nematic phases, is obtained in terms of the mean density and
rigid-rod fraction of each molecule. The nematic-smectic transition is found to
be second order. Since the smectic phase is induced solely by the difference in
the rigidities, the onset of smectic ordering is shown to be an entropic effect
and therefore does not have to rely on additional Flory-Huggins-type repulsive
interactions between unlike chain segments. These findings are compared with
other recent SCFT studies of similar copolymer models and with computer
simulations of several molecular models.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure
A multi-centre cohort study investigating the outcome of synovial contamination or sepsis of the calcaneal bursae in horses treated by endoscopic lavage and debridement
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