Predicting the arrival times of solar particles

A procedure has been developed to generate a computerized time-intensity profile of the solar proton intensity expected at the earth after the occurrence of a significant solar flare on the sun. This procedure is a combination of many pieces of independent research and theoretical results. Many of the concepts used were first reported by Smart and Shea (1979) and are summarized by Smart and Shea (1985). Extracts from the general procedure that relate to predicting the expected onset time and time of maximum at the earth after the occurrence of a solar flare are presented

An update on the correlation between the cosmic radiation intensity and the geomagnetic AA index

A statistical study between the cosmic ray intensity, as observed by a neutron monitor, and of the geomagnetic aa index, as representative of perturbations in the plasma and interplanetary magnetic field in the heliosphere, has been updated to specifically exclude time periods around the reversal of the solar magnetic field. The results of this study show a strong negative correlation for the period 1960 through 1968 with a correlation coefficient of approximately -0.86. However, there is essentially no correlation between the cosmic ray intensity and the aa index for the period 1972-1979 (i.e. correlation coefficient less than 0.16). These results would appear to support the theory of preferential particle propagation into the heliosphere vis the ecliptic during the period 1960-1968 and via the solar polar regions during 1972-1979

Mining topological relations from the web

Topological relations between geographic regions are of interest in many applications. When the exact boundaries of regions are not available, such relations can be established by analysing natural language information from web documents. In particular we demonstrate how redundancy-based techniques can be used to acquire containment and adjacency relations, and how fuzzy spatial reasoning can be employed to maintain the consistency of the resulting knowledge base

Averting Robot Eyes

Home robots will cause privacy harms. At the same time, they can provide beneficial services—as long as consumers trust them. This Essay evaluates potential technological solutions that could help home robots keep their promises, avert their eyes, and otherwise mitigate privacy harms. Our goals are to inform regulators of robot-related privacy harms and the available technological tools for mitigating them, and to spur technologists to employ existing tools and develop new ones by articulating principles for avoiding privacy harms. We posit that home robots will raise privacy problems of three basic types: (1) data privacy problems; (2) boundary management problems; and (3) social/relational problems. Technological design can ward off, if not fully prevent, a number of these harms. We propose five principles for home robots and privacy design: data minimization, purpose specifications, use limitations, honest anthropomorphism, and dynamic feedback and participation. We review current research into privacy-sensitive robotics, evaluating what technological solutions are feasible and where the harder problems lie. We close by contemplating legal frameworks that might encourage the implementation of such design, while also recognizing the potential costs of regulation at these early stages of the technology

The use of the McIlwain L-parameter to estimate cosmic ray vertical cutoff rigidities for different epochs of the geomagnetic field

Secular changes in the geomagnetic field between 1955 and 1980 have been large enough to produce significant differences in both the verical cutoff rigidities and in the L-value for a specified position. A useful relationship employing the McIlwain L-parameter to estimate vertical cutoff rigidities has been derived for the twenty-five year period

Unusual light spectra from a two-level atom in squeezed vacuum

We investigate the interaction of an atom with a multi-channel squeezed vacuum. It turns out that the light coming out in a particular channel can have anomalous spectral properties, among them asymmetry of the spectrum, absence of the central peak as well as central hole burning for particular parameters. As an example plane-wave squeezing is considered. In this case the above phenomena can occur for the light spectra in certain directions. In the total spectrum these phenomena are washed out.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, 3 figures (included via epsf

Provisional Supervision and Workers' Wages: An Alternative Proposal

AnalysisIn May 2001, the Companies (Corporate Rescue) Bill was gazetted. The Bill makes provision for a statutory corporate rescue mechanism, to be known as provisional supervision. The most controversial aspect of the Bill is the treatment of workers' wages. The Bill essentially requires that before a company may even enter into provisional supervision, it must have paid off in full all debts (and other entitlements) owing to its workers. The Bill does not, however, explain how a financially distressed company is supposed to find the cash to meet the statutory requirement. This requirement may also be criticised because it is at odds with the treatment of workers' wages in other insolvent procedures, thus leading to unfairness. This article proposes an alternative approach, one which, it is suggested, is in the interests of both financially troubled companies and their workers.published_or_final_versio