Evolution of Rogue Waves in Interacting Wave Systems

Large amplitude water waves on deep water has long been known in the sea faring community, and the cause of great concern for, e.g., oil platform constructions. The concept of such freak waves is nowadays, thanks to satellite and radar measurements, well established within the scientific community. There are a number of important models and approaches for the theoretical description of such waves. By analyzing the scaling behavior of freak wave formation in a model of two interacting waves, described by two coupled nonlinear Schroedinger equations, we show that there are two different dynamical scaling behaviors above and below a critical angle theta_c of the direction of the interacting waves below theta_c all wave systems evolve and display statistics similar to a wave system of non-interacting waves. The results equally apply to other systems described by the nonlinear Schroedinger equations, and should be of interest when designing optical wave guides.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Europhysics Letter

Talking about my experiences ... at times disturbing yet positive': Producing narratives with people living with dementia

Background: This research investigated narrative production and use with families living with dementia. We hypothesised that the process of narrative production would be beneficial to people with dementia and carers, and would elicit important learning for health and social care professionals. Method: Through third sector partners, we recruited community-dwelling people with dementia and carers who consented to develop written, audiotaped or videotaped narratives. Audio-taped narratives were transcribed verbatim and handwritten narratives word-processed. After checking by participants, completed narratives were analysed thematically using qualitative data analysis computer software. A summary of the analysis was circulated to participants, inviting feedback: the analysis was then reviewed. A feedback questionnaire was subsequently circulated to participants, and responses were analysed thematically. Results: Twenty-one carers and 20 people with dementia participated in the project. Four themes of support were identified: ‘relationships’, ‘services’, ‘prior experience of coping’ and having an ‘explanation for the dementia’. Three themes were identified as possible additional stresses: ‘emotions’, ‘physical health’ and ‘identity’. We suggest a model incorporating all these themes, which appeared to contribute to three further themes; ‘experience of dementia’, ‘approaches to coping’ and ‘looking to the future’. In participant feedback, the main themes identified were ‘emotions’, ‘putting things in perspective’, ‘sharing or not sharing the narrative’ and ‘actions resulting’. Conclusions: Producing a narrative is a valuable and engaging experience for people with dementia and carers, and is likely to contribute to the quality of dementia care.Further research is needed to establish how narrative production could be incorporated into routine practice