Modified hydraulic braking system limits angular deceleration to safe values

Conventional spring actuated, hydraulically released, fail-safe disk braking system is modified to control the angular deceleration of a massive antenna. The hydraulic system provides an immediate preset pressure to the spring-loaded brake shoes and holds it at this value to decelerate the antenna at the desired rate

Nonlinear electromagnetic wave equations for superdense magnetized plasmas

By using the quantum hydrodynamic and Maxwell equations, we derive the generalized nonlinear electron magnetohydrodynamic, the generalized nonlinear Hall-MHD (HMHD), and the generalized nonlinear dust HMHD equations in a self-gravitating dense magnetoplasma. Our nonlinear equations include the self-gravitating, the electromagnetic, the quantum statistical electron pressure, as well as the quantum electron tunneling and electron spin forces. They are useful for investigating a number of wave phenomena including linear and nonlinear electromagnetic waves, as well as three-dimensional electromagnetic wave turbulence spectra and structures arising from mode coupling processes at nanoscales in dense quantum magnetoplasmas

Teacher induction: personal intelligence and the mentoring relationship

This article is aimed at probationer teachers in Scotland, their induction supporters, and all those with a responsibility for their support and professional development. It argues that the induction process is not merely a mechanistic one, supported only by systems in schools, local authorities and the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), but a more complex process where the relationship between the new teacher and the supporter is central to its success. In particular, the characteristics and skills of the induction supporter in relation to giving feedback are influential. This applies to feedback in all its forms – formative and summative, formal and informal. The ability of the probationer to handle that feedback and to be proactive in the process is also important

The impact of Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) revalidation on the professional identity of academic staff in a higher education institution: A qualitative study

Aims: To explore Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) revalidation as a process experienced by nursing and midwifery academics and its impact on their sense of professional identity. Background: The introduction of revalidation nurses and midwives in the UK in 2016 caused some anxiety amongst registrants in higher education. Design: A qualitative study using a purposeful sample involving thematic analysis of semi‐structured interviews with academic staff. Methods: Ten registrants completed a semi‐structured interview in a higher education institution. Results/Findings Clinical credibility: participants were self‐conscious about time away from practice but retained strong links with clinical settings reviewing evidence and reports of current practice. The revalidation process: staff were generally positive about NMC revalidation. Professional identity: participants identified as nurses and midwives first and academics second. Conclusions The findings replicate previous studies about professional identity among healthcare professionals in higher education; this study reports the contribution of revalidation amongst nurses and midwives in higher education institutions

Standoff Detection via Single-Beam Spectral Notch Filtered Pulses

We demonstrate single-beam coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS), for detecting and identifying traces of solids, including minute amounts of explosives, from a standoff distance (>50 m) using intense femtosecond pulses. Until now, single-beam CARS methods relied on pulse-shapers in order to obtain vibrational spectra. Here we present a simple and easy-to-implement detection scheme, using a commercially available notch filter, that does not require the use of a pulse-shaper.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

'20 days protected learning' - students' experiences of an Overseas Nurses Programme - 4 years on: A retrospective survey

Background From September 2005 the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) introduced new arrangements for the registration of non-EU overseas nurses which requires all applicants to undertake '20 days of protected learning' time in the UK and for some, a period of supervised practice. A survey was undertaken at Bournemouth University, which offers a '20 days protected learning only' programme, to elicit overseas nurses' demographic details, experiences in completing the programme and their 'final destinations' once registered. Methods An online survey was devised which contained a mixture of tick box and open ended questions which covered demographic details, views on the programme and final destinations This was uploaded to www.SurveyMonkey.com and sent out to nurses who had completed the Overseas Nurses Programme (ONP) with Bournemouth University (n=1050). Quantiative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the qualitative data were coded and analysed using content analysis . Results There were 251 respondents (27.7% response rate). The typical 'profile' of a nurse who responded to the survey was female, aged 25-40 years and had been qualified for more than 5 years with a bachelors degree. The majority came from Australia on a 2 year working holiday visa and the key final destination in the UK, on registration with the NMC, was working for an agency. There were five key findings regarding experience of the programe. Of those surveyed 61.2% did not feel it necessary to undergo an ONP; 71.6% felt that they should be able to complete the programme on-line in their own country; 64.2% that the ONP should only contain information about delivery of healthcare in UK and Legal and professional (NMC) issues; 57% that European nurses should also undergo the same programme and sit an IELTS test; and 68.2% that the programme was too theory orientated; and should have links to practice (21%). Conclusions The NMC set the admissions criteria for entry to the register and Standards for an ONP. The findings of this survey raise issues regarding the percieved value and use of this approach for overseas nurses, and it may be helpful to take this into account when considering future policy

Bridging Physics and Biology Teaching through Modeling

As the frontiers of biology become increasingly interdisciplinary, the physics education community has engaged in ongoing efforts to make physics classes more relevant to life sciences majors. These efforts are complicated by the many apparent differences between these fields, including the types of systems that each studies, the behavior of those systems, the kinds of measurements that each makes, and the role of mathematics in each field. Nonetheless, physics and biology are both sciences that rely on observations and measurements to construct models of the natural world. In the present theoretical article, we propose that efforts to bridge the teaching of these two disciplines must emphasize shared scientific practices, particularly scientific modeling. We define modeling using language common to both disciplines and highlight how an understanding of the modeling process can help reconcile apparent differences between the teaching of physics and biology. We elaborate how models can be used for explanatory, predictive, and functional purposes and present common models from each discipline demonstrating key modeling principles. By framing interdisciplinary teaching in the context of modeling, we aim to bridge physics and biology teaching and to equip students with modeling competencies applicable across any scientific discipline.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, 3 table

Financing social and cohesion policy in an enlarged EU: plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose?

The development of the Open Method of Coordination, agreement on the Lisbon Agenda and EU enlargement offered the prospect of a new and substantial EU social policy agenda. This article considers EU social and cohesion policies in the context of the recent negotiation of the EU budget for 2007—13. We find the Commission's wish to redistribute EU spending in favour of these policy areas and new member states was thwarted by key political features of EU budget making: CAP spending levels which are downwardly sticky; institutional arrangements which provide for budget making as, at best, a zero-sum game; and the preferences of contributor member states in the EU-15 to contain overall spending while preserving their net budget positions. Questions are thus raised as to the ability of the EU to make any progress, from a budgetary perspective, on the social and cohesion policy agenda in an enlarged EU

Can grey ravens fly? Beyond Frayling's categories

This paper analyses the effect of Christopher Frayling's (1993) categorisation of artistic research ‘research into art and design, research through art and design and research for art and design’ on the debate surrounding the efficacy of studio-based artistic research as being valid within the university. James Elkins (2009:128) describes this as ‘the incommensurability of studio art production and university life’. Through an exploration of the positive and negative responses to Frayling this paper seeks to explore the influence that these initial definitions have come to have on framing the scope of the debate. The paper presents a range of responses and analyses them and focuses especially on the alternative frameworks that have been suggested and examines why they have so far not created a coherent and uncontested frame-work for practice-led research in the art and design field especially in relation to fine art