Taking the wrong track? Arthur and good character directions: R (on the application of Arthur) v Blackfriars Crown Court [2018] 2 Cr App R 4 (DC)

The Divisional Court’s judgment in R (on the application of Arthur) v Blackfriars Crown Court (hereafter ‘Arthur’) is of significance in relation to questions of both criminal procedure and the law of evidence. First, it raised the issue of the proper procedure to be followed for the judicial review of a refusal to state a case for the Crown Court. Second, it is notable as one of the very few reported cases following the Court of Appeal’s landmark judgment on good character evidence in Hunter, and as an example of the contentious case where adverse inferences are drawn from a defendant’s silence in police interview (pursuant to s.34 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994) despite the submission of a prepared written statement

The experience of sustained tone music

This study will discuss a cognitive approach to the experience of experimental sustained tone music, using recent compositions by Phill Niblock, Alvin Lucier and myself as source material. After initially outlining the kinds of harmonic transformation and global pitch structure involved in these pieces, the aural nature of sustained tones is discussed whereupon listeners are directed towards the activity within the surface layer of the sound. This activity is described in detail, comprehensively surveying the myriad acoustic and psychoacoustic phenomena prevalent. The paper then draws upon gestalt grouping mechanisms to describe how this surface activity is interpreted by the cognitive process. The notion of resulting articulations within sections is explored, and consequently what this means in terms of stability and instability for the listener, including considerations of temporality. The manner in which this process feeds into the compositional procedure for these composers is then explored, looking specifically at pitch structures employed, how indeterminacy in sustained tone composition affects the cognition process and why these composers have a tendency towards writing for acoustic instruments rather than electronic sources. This study provides further strategies into how we might analyse sustained tone music, directing discussion towards the sounding experience and cognitive comprehension of the listener rather than solely from the score. This understanding can open up further avenues of research for composers, performers and interdisciplinary theorists

Phill Niblock through the Ages

Phill Niblock is a composer who, at the age of 79, is known for making sustained tone pieces which have maintained a remarkable similarity throughout his 40-year career. The notion of a ‘late style’ seems somewhat irrelevant within his oevre, as the only differences have been in the varying technologies used to create the ‘Niblock sound’. The paper will briefly outline his creative approach, but will largely focus upon how the composer views his own lineage from early experiments in the 60s through to recent commissions, and how, by remaining fixed upon a distinctly singular approach into his later years, his music receives more performances and wider dissemination now than at any previous point in his career. His orchestral commissions of the last decade are discussed as simply extensions of his approach, rather than as separate creative strands, and the manner in which Niblock has embraced changing technology in his later years is described, along with how that technology has been subsumed into his singular approach. The paper also discusses Niblock’s single-minded approach in relation to the standard compositional teaching centred upon personal development and evolution, and seeks to question whether the approach of artists such as Niblock, who seek not to expand the nature of their output but simply to continue it, shouldn’t be seen more clearly as a route for younger creative artists to follow rather than avoid

Aerospace energy systems laboratory: Requirements and design approach

The NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility at Edwards, California, operates a mixed fleet of research aircraft employing nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries in a variety of flight-critical applications. Dryden's Battery Systems Laboratory (BSL), a computerized facility for battery maintenance servicing, has developed over two decades into one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in the world. Recently a major BSL upgrade was initiated with the goal of modernization to provide flexibility in meeting the needs of future advanced projects. The new facility will be called the Aerospace Energy Systems Laboratory (AESL) and will employ distributed processing linked to a centralized data base. AESL will be both a multistation servicing facility and a research laboratory for the advancement of energy storage system maintenance techniques. This paper describes the baseline requirements for the AESL and the design approach being taken for its mechanization

A knowledge based application of the extended aircraft interrogation and display system

A family of multiple-processor ground support test equipment was used to test digital flight-control systems on high-performance research aircraft. A unit recently built for the F-18 high alpha research vehicle project is the latest model in a series called the extended aircraft interrogation and display system. The primary feature emphasized monitors the aircraft MIL-STD-1553B data buses and provides real-time engineering units displays of flight-control parameters. A customized software package was developed to provide real-time data interpretation based on rules embodied in a highly structured knowledge database. The configuration of this extended aircraft interrogation and display system is briefly described, and the evolution of the rule based package and its application to failure modes and effects testing on the F-18 high alpha research vehicle is discussed

An automated calibration laboratory for flight research instrumentation: Requirements and a proposed design approach

NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility (Ames-Dryden), operates a diverse fleet of research aircraft which are heavily instrumented to provide both real time data for in-flight monitoring and recorded data for postflight analysis. Ames-Dryden's existing automated calibration (AUTOCAL) laboratory is a computerized facility which tests aircraft sensors to certify accuracy for anticipated harsh flight environments. Recently, a major AUTOCAL lab upgrade was initiated; the goal of this modernization is to enhance productivity and improve configuration management for both software and test data. The new system will have multiple testing stations employing distributed processing linked by a local area network to a centralized database. The baseline requirements for the new AUTOCAL lab and the design approach being taken for its mechanization are described

The aerospace energy systems laboratory: Hardware and software implementation

For many years NASA Ames Research Center, Dryden Flight Research Facility has employed automation in the servicing of flight critical aircraft batteries. Recently a major upgrade to Dryden's computerized Battery Systems Laboratory was initiated to incorporate distributed processing and a centralized database. The new facility, called the Aerospace Energy Systems Laboratory (AESL), is being mechanized with iAPX86 and iAPX286 hardware running iRMX86. The hardware configuration and software structure for the AESL are described