Defect Detection in Bonded Structures Using the Reverberant Wavefield

With the increasing use of adhesives in the automotive, aerospace, and manufacturing industries, there is a growing interest in developing nondestructive methods for locating defects in adhesive bonds. While conventional techniques which utilize ultrasonic waves and Lamb waves are likely candidates for obtaining high resolution images of defects, these methods may not be practical for assembly line applications where the time required to scan the bonds and the access to the bonds are often limited. The objective of this work is to develop an approach for detecting defects in bonds that requires only a limited number of measurements of the reverberant acoustic wavefield (i.e., waves that are multiply scattered off the boundaries of the structure) made over a band of frequencies

What could an Executive Coach do for an Association Football Manager? A Commentary

The lead article in this volume highlights several critical aspects of effective leadership in modern times. First, the importance of leadership as an interpersonal, relationship-building endeavor cannot be overstated. Second, the exemplary leader is a caring individual who demonstrates understanding and empathy toward others. For our commentary, we draw upon a well-developed stream of literature germane to these two core issues presented in the article. We compare and contrast the feminine and masculine aspects of leadership. In particular, we discuss the contemporary feminization of leadership and describe several integral attributes of feminine leadership – a communal orientation, transformational behaviors, emotional intelligence, and empathy – each of which relate to the facets of sports coaching and leadership presented in the lead article

The Molluscan Fauna of the Florida Middle Grounds with Comments on its Zoogeographical Affinities

Recent studies have indicated that the Gulf of Mexico is bounded by a discontinual series of hard substrates which support faunal and floral assemblages of both temperate and tropical origins. This substrate distribution has had a significant impact on molluscan fauna in the Gulf of Mexico. An investigation of the molluscan fauna of the Florida Middle Grounds has produced 75 species associated with this high relief substrate which is also characterized by hermatypic corals. Although the molluscan fauna is comprised of forms which are predominantly Caribbean eurythermic and Caribbean Restricted (76%) which is similar in composition to the West Flower Garden Bank of Texas, their species composition is quite dissimilar (only 23% similarity). For these and other reasons, it is proposed that the zoogeographic status of the Gulf of Mexico should be seriously reconsidered by specialists in other faunal groups

Evaluation of Partnerships for People and Place:Birmingham Project

This evaluative assessment has been undertaken by City-REDI and the School of Education based at the University of Birmingham. It aims to capture learning and early impacts of the activities supported by Partnerships for People and Place (PfPP) funding in East Birmingham to improve young people’s access to relevant and meaningful careers information, advice, and guidance. This report supplements the national evaluation of the PfPP programme completed by IPOS-Mori commissioned by Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), now known as the Ministry of of Housing, Communities and Local Government. PfPP supports place-based partnerships to:•trial new ways of working across local and central government and deliver innovative, locally led solutions to key challenges that communities face•look at whether improved government structures, more flexible funding models and greater collaboration across the public sector could be effective in addressing specific issues in local areas.The funding of the Birmingham PfPP project enabled testing of new approaches to careers advice, information and guidance and more general awareness of employment opportunities for young people in East Birmingham. It aimed to raise awareness of a range of career pathways – including vocational career pathways – and reduce the risk of young people becoming NEET. Also funded was a complementary workstream investigating data sources available locally in Birmingham City Council and nationally (including from central government departments – such as the Department for Education [DfE], the Department for Work and Pensions and DLUHC) that have the potential to provide further information on, and relevant to, the experiences of young people transitioning from school into employment and, or further and higher education. PfPP funded a secondee from City-REDI to work with Birmingham City Council (BCC) and the newly formed Birmingham City Observatory.This report provides an initial assessment of:1.schools’, stakeholder organisations’, professionals’, and young people’s experiences of PfPP approaches in East Birmingham; and 2.the impact of these approaches on: (a)organisations and professional practices and (b) young people’s perceptions of themselves, the options available to them, and initial indications of outcomes.It provides information on:•involvement of local voices in the design of the project and the need to be agile in delivering different aspects of the project•why a new approach based around young people’s concerns to careers information advice and guidance was needed and how it was delivered including innovative Be Bold, Be the Future Reverse Mentoring Event where employers could find out what young people look for in a job•challenges experienced by schools and their students included parental expectations•evidence of collaborative advantage created including demonstrating proof of concept for the partnership approach developed to support careers education for young people in East Birmingham•how the project has supported schools to make good progress towards meeting the Gatsby Benchmark for CIAG.The report also includes seven lessons for future programmes and nine recommendations.<br/

Evaluation of Partnerships for People and Place:Birmingham Project

This evaluative assessment has been undertaken by City-REDI and the School of Education based at the University of Birmingham. It aims to capture learning and early impacts of the activities supported by Partnerships for People and Place (PfPP) funding in East Birmingham to improve young people’s access to relevant and meaningful careers information, advice, and guidance. This report supplements the national evaluation of the PfPP programme completed by IPOS-Mori commissioned by Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), now known as the Ministry of of Housing, Communities and Local Government. PfPP supports place-based partnerships to:•trial new ways of working across local and central government and deliver innovative, locally led solutions to key challenges that communities face•look at whether improved government structures, more flexible funding models and greater collaboration across the public sector could be effective in addressing specific issues in local areas.The funding of the Birmingham PfPP project enabled testing of new approaches to careers advice, information and guidance and more general awareness of employment opportunities for young people in East Birmingham. It aimed to raise awareness of a range of career pathways – including vocational career pathways – and reduce the risk of young people becoming NEET. Also funded was a complementary workstream investigating data sources available locally in Birmingham City Council and nationally (including from central government departments – such as the Department for Education [DfE], the Department for Work and Pensions and DLUHC) that have the potential to provide further information on, and relevant to, the experiences of young people transitioning from school into employment and, or further and higher education. PfPP funded a secondee from City-REDI to work with Birmingham City Council (BCC) and the newly formed Birmingham City Observatory.This report provides an initial assessment of:1.schools’, stakeholder organisations’, professionals’, and young people’s experiences of PfPP approaches in East Birmingham; and 2.the impact of these approaches on: (a)organisations and professional practices and (b) young people’s perceptions of themselves, the options available to them, and initial indications of outcomes.It provides information on:•involvement of local voices in the design of the project and the need to be agile in delivering different aspects of the project•why a new approach based around young people’s concerns to careers information advice and guidance was needed and how it was delivered including innovative Be Bold, Be the Future Reverse Mentoring Event where employers could find out what young people look for in a job•challenges experienced by schools and their students included parental expectations•evidence of collaborative advantage created including demonstrating proof of concept for the partnership approach developed to support careers education for young people in East Birmingham•how the project has supported schools to make good progress towards meeting the Gatsby Benchmark for CIAG.The report also includes seven lessons for future programmes and nine recommendations.<br/

Localization and Characterization of Fatigue Cracks Around Fastener Holes Using Spherically Focused Ultrasonic Probes

Results are presented from laboratory experiments and simulations designed to determine the ability to localize and characterize fatigue cracks around fastener holes using spherically fo-cused ultrasonic (UT) probes for shear-wave inspections. In designing and evaluating inspection protocols, the number of cases that can be studied through laboratory experiments is severely limited by cost and time constraints. Simulations therefore stand to play a significant role in the design and optimization of inspection strategies for those conditions that can be accurately mod-eled. Moving from benchmark studies for relatively simple geometries toward more realistic conditions creates significant challenges. For shear-wave inspections of fastener holes these challenges include the complex energy field in the thin plates, reflections off the borehole, the complexity of making measurements in the near-field, material anisotropy, cracks as small as 1mm square, and a sealant layer between aluminum sheets. To achieve comparable modeling and simulation data requires a very accurate experimental setup that allows the probe angle, probe height and scan path to be precisely set. For the modeling, care must be taken to match the applied gain and gates used during acquisition of the experimental data. Initial results presented include sensitivity studies to determine how probe variables (frequency, focal depth, diameter), crack variables (size, shape, location, angle with respect to the probe), and the experimental setup affect results. Simulated and experimental C-scan images for 5 and 10 MHz probes are shown in Figure 1 for a fatigue crack that intersects the back wall. This work is supported by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) through Research Initiatives for Materials State Sensing (RIMSS) contract with Universal Technologies Corp., Contract No: FA8650-10-D-5210

A new model study species: high accuracy of discrimination between individual freckled hawkfish (Paracirrhites forsteri) using natural markings

Variations between distinct natural markings of freckled hawkfish (Paracirrhites forsteri) could allow in situ identification of individuals from underwater photography. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to assess the ability of the Interactive Individual Identification System (I3S) software to assist in discriminating between images of P. forsteri individuals. This study's results show the high discriminant ability of I3S to differentiate between unlike individuals and identify images of the same individual. The ability to use automatic computer-aided assistance in the study of this species will enable future research to explore behaviour and movements of individuals in the wild

Model Benchmarking and Reference Signals for Angled-beam Shear Wave Ultrasonic NDE Inspections

NDE modeling and simulation are important tools to support the development and validation of enhanced localization and characterization techniques. Previously, important achievements were made by the USAF to address crack detection in aircraft structures using angled-beam shear wave inspection techniques. However, new work on model benchmarking is needed to move beyond detection and achieve reliable crack characterization. To achieve this goal, simulated studies are needed to verify that models can accurately represent all of the key variables with the inspection of multilayer structures with fastener sites and varying crack conditions. Often with model benchmark studies, the accuracy of the model is evaluated based on the change in response relative to a selected reference signal. During recent simulated and experimental studies, some challenges were discovered concerning the creation and/or selection of a reference signal in a plate with a vertical hole and crack. The focus of this paper is on key findings concerning model benchmarking using CIVA-UT for angled-beam shear wave inspections. The use of a side drilled hole (SDH) in a plate was found to be somewhat problematic as a reference signal for angled beam shear wave inspection. Previously, only a limited number of studies have looked at model benchmarking for angled beam shear wave inspections. Systematic studies were performed with varying SDH depth and size, and varying the ultrasonic probe frequency, focal depth, and probe height. Care must be taken in understanding the precise beam properties with these experiments. One issue is that there is some increased error with the simulation of angled shear wave beams, especially in the near-field. Even more significant, asymmetry in real probes and the inherent sensitivity of signals in the near-field to subtle test conditions were found to provide a greater challenge with achieving model agreement. Through these studies, conditions of good and poor agreement were observed. For some inspection conditions, the skip signal off of the far wall from the side drilled hole can provide a better reference than the direct reflected signal. All in all, these seemingly mundane studies were found to be important with providing guidance on reference signal selection for model benchmarking work on the inspection of fastener sites with cracks