Space weather effects on drilling accuracy in the North Sea

The oil industry uses geomagnetic field information to aid directional drilling operations when drilling for oil and gas offshore. These operations involve continuous monitoring of the azimuth and inclination of the well path to ensure the target is reached and, for safety reasons, to avoid collisions with existing wells. Although the most accurate method of achieving this is through a gyroscopic survey, this can be time consuming and expensive. An alternative method is a magnetic survey, where measurements while drilling (MWD) are made along the well by magnetometers housed in a tool within the drill string. These MWD magnetic surveys require estimates of the Earth’s magnetic field at the drilling location to correct the downhole magnetometer readings. The most accurate corrections are obtained if all sources of the Earth’s magnetic field are considered. Estimates of the main field generated in the core and the local crustal field can be obtained using mathematical models derived from suitable data sets. In order to quantify the external field, an analysis of UK observatory data from 1983 to 2004 has been carried out. By accounting for the external field, the directional error associated with estimated field values at a mid-latitude oil well (55 N) in the North Sea is shown to be reduced by the order of 20%. This improvement varies with latitude, local time, season and phase of the geomagnetic activity cycle. By accounting for all sources of the field, using a technique called Interpolation In-Field Referencing (IIFR), directional drillers have access to data from a “virtual” magnetic observatory at the drill site. This leads to an error reduction in positional accuracy that is close to matching that of the gyroscopic survey method and provides a valuable independent technique for quality control purposes

Species Selection in Secondary Wood Products: Implications for Product Design and Promotion

This study investigated the perceptions that people have of several commercially important wood species and determined if word-based and specimen-based evaluations differed. Such knowledge can help secondary wood manufacturers better understand their products and develop more effective design concepts and promotional messages. A sample of more than 250 undergraduate students at a major midwestern university was split into two groups and asked to rate six wood species on several semantic-differential items, based either on word association or physical wood samples. The two methods of evaluation often produced different results that were more pronounced for certain species, especially oak. Some gender-based differences were also observed. Respondents generally had difficulty identifying the species that they were observing, particularly mahogany and maple, yet maintained definite perceptual images of these same species. It is suggested that species perception is an important and lasting component of the total product concept for secondary wood products, and can moderate appearance-based evaluations

Species Selection in Secondary Wood Products: Perspectives From Different Consumers

This study investigated adult consumer perceptions of several wood species to determine if word-based and appearance-based evaluations differed. The research replicated a 2001 study by the authors, which used undergraduate college students as a proxy for older and more experienced adult furniture consumers. The literature is somewhat inconclusive concerning the extent to which student samples represent "real" consumers. Using the mall intercept survey procedure at several furniture stores and trade shows in two Midwestern cites, participants were split into two groups and asked to rate six commercially important wood species on several semantic-differential items, based either on word association (word-based perception) or physical wood specimens (appearance-based perception). Results from the replicated adult consumer study were very similar to the student study suggesting that college students provide a reasonable picture of adult consumers' perceptions of wood species. The study confirmed that the word-based and appearance-based methods of evaluation sometimes produce different results. In general, the appearance-based respondents had difficulty identifying the species they were observing; however, the adult consumers were better at species identification than were the college students. This study provides further evidence that preconceived species perceptions play an important role in influencing the consumer's ultimate evaluation of wood. The research results can help secondary wood manufacturers better understand the implications of species on design and communication decisions

A Gate-To-Gate Life-Cycle Inventory of Solid Hardwood Flooring in the Eastern US

Environmental impacts associated with building materials are under increasing scrutiny in the US. A gate-to-gate life-cycle inventory (LCI) of solid strip and solid plank hardwood flooring production was conducted in the eastern US for the reporting year 2006. Survey responses from hardwood flooring manufacturing facilities in this region accounted for nearly 28% of total US solid hardwood flooring production for that year. This study examined the materials, fuels, and energy required to produce solid hardwood flooring, coproducts, and the emissions to air, land, and water. SimaPro software was used to quantify the environmental impacts associated with the reported materials use and emissions. Impact data were allocated on their mass contribution to all product and coproduct production of 1.0 m3 (oven-dry mass basis) of solid hardwood flooring. Carbon flow and transportation data are provided in addition to the LCI data. Results of this study are useful for creating a cradle-to-gate inventory when linked to LCIs for the hardwood forest resource and the production of solid hardwood lumber in the same region

Learning from Learning Groups

Collaborative learning is a key, and complementary, component of student-centred enquiry-based pedagogy. Today, many educators understand that students learn effectively when working together with their peers to construct new knowledge. Many teachers are working to help their students develop such ability. Teachers do this to help students better understand the relevance of new content, connect new ideas into existing frameworks of understanding, and construct new neurological pathways and connect synapses in their brains. In addition, group learning has been shown to increase students’ critical thinking skills, creativity, collaborative behaviours, understanding of ethics, and the like. In the literature, attention has been paid to how groups of students can most effectively work together. Even greater attention has been paid to how teams work in business and industry. On the other hand, relatively little research has been reported about how groups of faculty can enhance their own knowledge and performance by embracing the concept of group learning—by learning in groups themselves. At Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) group learning is becoming the norm among teachers as well as students. As a result, DIT provides an ideal place to study the dynamics of group learning among teachers as well as among students. Moreover, in this particular institution, it is also possible to assess learning that occurs across groups—learning that filters its way up from the classroom into programmes, colleges, and administrative decision-making. This paper summarizes formal research into three aspects of the group-learning movement that has emerged at DIT. The overall project involves data collection and analysis of: (1) a faculty peer-learning group that facilitated (2) student peer-learning groups in classes across the electrical engineering curriculum as part of (3) a broad institutional program designed to support professional development and enhance learning and teaching. The project summarized here uses interpretive, qualitative methods to investigate the dynamics of group learning

Magnetisation dynamics in magnetostrictive nanostructures

Spin torque oscillator devices have presented themselves as an energy efficient method of generating microwave frequencies in recent years. These are devices which rely on giant magnetoresistance to create a device resistance which oscillates at microwave frequencies due to the microwave oscillation of a magnetically free layer in the device. A spin torque oscillator can be improved by using a vortex core oscillator as the magnetically free layer offering a narrower linewidth and greater synchronisation possibilities, at the expense of a lower power output. The desire to tune the frequency of oscillation of these devices has been the focus of a great deal of research in recent years and one promising avenue of investigation is to alter the frequency of oscillation by inducing a strain anisotropy in such a device by the use of a piezoelectric transducer. In order for the induced anisotropy to be large a material must be used which exhibits a strong magnetostrictive effect such as Fe1−xGax, a material which exhibits strong magnetostrictive properties without the need for rare earth elements. This thesis describes investigations into the magnetisation dynamics of nanostructures fabricated from magnetostrictive thin films of Fe1−xGax under conditions of in-plane uniaxial anisotropy induced by an applied stress. Chapter 4 describes investigations into the effects of altering the thickness of sputter grown Fe1-xGax films on the crystalline anisotropy of the films. It was found that the intrinsic magnetocrystalline uniaxial anisotropy within the films increased with film thickness. The cubic anisotropy was shown to be roughly constant with respect to film thickness except when the film was 20nm thick when the cubic anisotropy of the sample was anomalously high. Investigations of the magnetostrictive properties of these materials revealed sputter grown thin films to exhibit similar magnetostrictive properties as bulk material and thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy. X-ray analysis performed by Dr. P. Wadley and Prof.V. Holy failed to explain the relationships between film thickness and magnetocrystaline anisotropy observed in the samples, but suggested that the average grain size increases as the thickness of the film increases. Chapter 5 describes the results of time resolved XMCD PEEM measurements performed at the Diamond Light Source synchrotron facility performed in order to investigate the magnetisation dynamics within a series of Fe1−xGax squares. It was found that these squares demonstrated no significant response to an applied stress, probably due to strong shape anisotropy. Preliminary work to investigate Ni squares revealed that they do exhibit a strong response to stress. The dynamic response of the Ni squares was notsuccessfully measured however. Chapter 6 presents results of micromagnetic simulations performed to predict the effects of strain-induced anisotropy on magnetic square nanostructures fabricated from Fe1−xGax. Time resolved simulations demonstrated the ability of a strain induced anisotropy to modify the frequency of oscillation of the vortex core oscillations and the confined spin wave modes as well as the amplitude of the magnetic field pulse required to induce switching of the polarisation of the vortex core. The effects of size and uniaxial anisotropy on the spin wave modes within square devices was studied and an s shaped spin wave mode was shown to form in the presence of a uniaxial anisotropy

Magnetisation dynamics in magnetostrictive nanostructures

Spin torque oscillator devices have presented themselves as an energy efficient method of generating microwave frequencies in recent years. These are devices which rely on giant magnetoresistance to create a device resistance which oscillates at microwave frequencies due to the microwave oscillation of a magnetically free layer in the device. A spin torque oscillator can be improved by using a vortex core oscillator as the magnetically free layer offering a narrower linewidth and greater synchronisation possibilities, at the expense of a lower power output. The desire to tune the frequency of oscillation of these devices has been the focus of a great deal of research in recent years and one promising avenue of investigation is to alter the frequency of oscillation by inducing a strain anisotropy in such a device by the use of a piezoelectric transducer. In order for the induced anisotropy to be large a material must be used which exhibits a strong magnetostrictive effect such as Fe1−xGax, a material which exhibits strong magnetostrictive properties without the need for rare earth elements. This thesis describes investigations into the magnetisation dynamics of nanostructures fabricated from magnetostrictive thin films of Fe1−xGax under conditions of in-plane uniaxial anisotropy induced by an applied stress. Chapter 4 describes investigations into the effects of altering the thickness of sputter grown Fe1-xGax films on the crystalline anisotropy of the films. It was found that the intrinsic magnetocrystalline uniaxial anisotropy within the films increased with film thickness. The cubic anisotropy was shown to be roughly constant with respect to film thickness except when the film was 20nm thick when the cubic anisotropy of the sample was anomalously high. Investigations of the magnetostrictive properties of these materials revealed sputter grown thin films to exhibit similar magnetostrictive properties as bulk material and thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy. X-ray analysis performed by Dr. P. Wadley and Prof.V. Holy failed to explain the relationships between film thickness and magnetocrystaline anisotropy observed in the samples, but suggested that the average grain size increases as the thickness of the film increases. Chapter 5 describes the results of time resolved XMCD PEEM measurements performed at the Diamond Light Source synchrotron facility performed in order to investigate the magnetisation dynamics within a series of Fe1−xGax squares. It was found that these squares demonstrated no significant response to an applied stress, probably due to strong shape anisotropy. Preliminary work to investigate Ni squares revealed that they do exhibit a strong response to stress. The dynamic response of the Ni squares was notsuccessfully measured however. Chapter 6 presents results of micromagnetic simulations performed to predict the effects of strain-induced anisotropy on magnetic square nanostructures fabricated from Fe1−xGax. Time resolved simulations demonstrated the ability of a strain induced anisotropy to modify the frequency of oscillation of the vortex core oscillations and the confined spin wave modes as well as the amplitude of the magnetic field pulse required to induce switching of the polarisation of the vortex core. The effects of size and uniaxial anisotropy on the spin wave modes within square devices was studied and an s shaped spin wave mode was shown to form in the presence of a uniaxial anisotropy

Skin cancer excision is more efficient and cost effective in a specialist secondary care service

Aim: To compare the relative efficiencies of skin excisions in primary and secondary care. Methods: We compared the benign: malignant ratio for specimens referred by General Practice, General Surgery and the Skin Cancer Service to the regional pathology laboratory over one month. We used cost minimization analysis to compare the relative efficiencies of the services. Results: 620 excisions were received: 139 from General Practice, 118 from General Surgery and 363 from the Skin Cancer Service. The number (%) of malignant lesions was 13 (9.4%) from General Practice, 18 (15.2%) from General Surgery and 137 (37.7%) from the Skin Cancer Service. Excision was cheaper in General Practice at €84.58 as compared to €97.49 in the hospital day surgical unit. However, the cost per malignant lesion excised was €1779.80 in general practice versus €381.78 in the Skin Cancer Service. Conclusion: Our results indicate that moving skin cancer treatment to General Practice may result in an excess of benign excisions and therefore be both less efficient and less cost effective

Engineering students\u27 preferred roles: Are they stable, are there gender differences?

Being able to situate oneself in an engineering role is a developmental process. Students may initially have idealized perceptions of a professional role and over time, they make this role more congruent with their own values and goals [1]. In light of this, Higher Education Institutions are being challenged to offer learning experiences and career exploration activities to enable students to clarify their interests, values and competencies in relation to a professional role [2]. This study compared the professional role preferences of more than 700 engineering students at TU Dublin (Ireland) and KU Leuven (Belgium). Professional role preference was measured with PREFER Explore, a personal preference test for engineers. The test aligns students to three professional roles for early career engineers: Product leadership (focus on radical innovation), Operational excellence (focus on process optimization) and Customer intimacy (focus on tailored solutions and customer satisfaction). A comparison was drawn between the role preference of first year students at TU Dublin and KU Leuven to establish if there were significant differences in preference across both universities. The results suggest that the role preference of engineering students does not shift from first to third year. There is also evidence that the PREFER Explore is sensitive to gender differences, with female students showing a greater preference for customer intimacy than males and males showing a greater preference for operational excellence than females at TU Dublin. The data have a number of implications for the labor market in Ireland and Belgium