A model of fracture nucleation, growth and arrest, and consequences for fracture density and scaling

International audienceIn order to improve discrete fracture network (DFN) models, which are increasingly required into groundwater and rock mechanics applications, we propose a new DFN modeling based on the evolution of fracture network formation--nucleation, growth, and arrest--with simplified mechanical rules. The central idea of the model relies on the mechanical role played by large fractures in stopping the growth of smaller ones. The modeling framework combines, in a time-wise approach, fracture nucleation, growth, and arrest. It yields two main regimes. Below a certain critical scale, the density distribution of fracture sizes is a power law with a scaling exponent directly derived from the growth law and nuclei properties; above the critical scale, a quasi-universal self-similar regime establishes with a self-similar scaling. The density term of the dense regime is related to the details of arrest rule and to the orientation distribution of the fractures. The DFN model, so defined, is fully consistent with field cases former studied. Unlike more usual stochastic DFN models, ours is based on a simplified description of fracture interactions, which eventually reproduces the multiscale self-similar fracture size distribution often observed and reported in the literature. The model is a potential significant step forward for further applications to groundwater flow and rock mechanical issues

The use of imaging systems to monitor shoreline dynamics

The development of imaging systems is nowadays established as one of the most powerful and reliable tools for monitoring beach morphodynamics. Two different techniques for shoreline detection are presented here and, in one case, applied to the study of beach width oscillations on a sandy beach (Pauanui Beach, New Zealand). Results indicate that images can provide datasets whose length and sample interval are accurate enough to resolve inter-annual and seasonal oscillations, and long-term trends. Similarly, imaging systems can be extremely useful in determining the statistics of rip current occurrence. Further improvements in accuracy and reliability are expected with the recent introduction of digital systems

Community Based Coastal Monitoring: Developing Tools For Sustainable Management

Burgeoning coastal development, recreational use, and the future affects of climate change are placing increasing strain on regulators to manage risk associated with coastal hazards. Low-lying coastal communities in particular are vulnerable to a range of natural hazards including coastal erosion, storm surge inundation, tsunami and water safety that come with varying levels of risk to life and property. New Zealand's coastal hazard monitoring network is patchy and resources are limited. As a consequence there is considerable potential for coastal communities are going to need to take a more active role in monitoring their environment and building data bases and knowledge that can be used to better manage their coast. This paper describes simple methodologies based on the needs of various community groups and sound science principles that can be used to monitor beaches and the coastal environment. By employing these tools councils, technical experts and community groups will be able to make better-informed decisions for managing activities in the coastal environment. One of the keys to the successful uptake of a monitoring programme by a community group is its relevance to the group. The programme and the tools provided must fit the interests, needs, capability and resources of the group. This project develops tools for coastal monitoring and targets coastal community groups such as Coast Care, Coastal Hapu, Secondary Schools, and Surf Life Saving Clubs. The monitoring methodologies have been developed in consultation with Tainui ki Whaingaroa hapu, Raglan Area School, and the Waikato Beach Care and Coast Care Bay of Plenty. Successful methodologies for measuring changes on the coast are also those that are matched to the type of beach, use appropriate equipment, collect structured data, provide data to which analysis can be applied, incorporate local knowledge of the environment, and feed results back to the community and other interested parties such as councils and science organisations. This project provides the target groups with simple monitoring methodologies, field forms/checklists, and appropriate survey and measurement equipment (which have undergone field trials) to carry out coastal monitoring. A web-based facility has been developed to input, check and store data; and provide immediate feedback using graphs and images. It also provides background information on coastal processes relevant to monitoring programmes. In this manner, a scientifically robust data set is collected and stored within a secure and future proofed archive, providing valuable information to coastal groups for years to come. Although the primary objective of this research is to develop a means for coastal communities to monitor changes in their environment, there are additional benefits associated with engaging communities in the study of their environment. These benefits include increasing awareness of coastal hazards, capacity building, providing valuable educational resources, and improving the temporal and spatial data coverage of information for the New Zealand coastline

A Road to Home: The Right to Housing In Canada and Around the World

Collects papers presented at the Right to Housing symposium, “A Road to Home: The Right to Housing in Canada and Around the World” held in Toronto, 24 October 2013. Contributors speak to the various interventions and strategies used to actualize housing as a fundamental human right in South Africa, France, the United States, Scotland, and Canada, ranging from litigation, to community awareness building, to protests, and to lobbying. Also speaks to the challenges of enforcement of the right to housing once that right is recognized at law

Teacher education protocol : how social media improves connections between teachers and students

This review examines the importance of incorporating social media into teacher education programs to strengthen the partnership between teachers and their students in the classroom. Social media plays a big part in individuals\u27 everyday lives. The purpose of this review is to display the benefits of social media tools in education. Peer reviewed journals were used for research. The studies examined found that social media tools can have a benefit in the classroom and strengthen the learning partnership between teachers, students, and parents. The sources reviewed also found that proper incorporation of these tools aids in a better learning partnership between teachers and their students

Resistance, education, and rites: An ethnographic study on Afrocentric community education

In 2016, the Detroit Independent Freedom School Movement (DIFS) was established out of the need for positive educational activities for children of the dismantled Detroit Public Schools (DPS). The movement was organized by Detroit community members who created grassroots organizations in response to decades of destruction created by State Emergency Management. This empirical ethnographic study explored the historical evolution of freedom schooling and how volunteers empower residents with community education in Detroit, Michigan. Through a narrative inquiry of volunteer community organizers, the analysis explored the use of Afrocentric methods as a means for political resistance while grounding the experience in a critical lens of Afrocentric Theory

A Flex-Time JD in Canada: New Approaches to the Accessibility of Legal Education

This article examines accessibility and inclusion in legal education. Responding to the Canadian Bar Association’s call for accessible and innovative legal education in the Futures Report, this study explores the possibilities (and limits) of a Flex Time Juris Doctor (“JD”) program and how such a program might foster further diverse and inclusive learning community for law students.The article situates the debate around more flexible forms of legal education in historical context, highlighting the role part-time legal studies has played in facilitating the entry of outsider groups into the legal profession. While there is not a mid-sized city in the US without part-time law school programs, intentionally designed to accommodate flexible legal education, Canada’s law schools remain premised on full time JD studies. A Flex Time JD responds to a variety of the challenges now facing Canadian legal education, from financial accessibility at a time of significantly rising tuition and law student debt, to the integration of technology enhanced pedagogy. Drawing on the research gathered in Osgoode Hall Law School’s Accessible JD Working Group over the last two years, including surveys of prospective law students, the article canvasses the potential features of a Flex Time legal education program, and barriers to its implementation. The authors conclude that if a Flex Time JD model has the capacity to meet the diversity, family status, ability and financial needs of present and future lawyers, then it has the potential to enhance both the accessibility and quality of legal education

The importance of team in transforming practice

Nursing leadership is a crucial component of a healthy and happy workplace. Involved nursing leadership encouraged attention to self-care, which resulted in staff ownership of clinical initiatives. The resulting team was integral to the transformation of a nurse-led, grant-funded health center to a federally qualified health center