Thin circular metal plates subjected to localised impulsive loads

This thesis presents a theoretical model to predict the response of thin circular metal plates subjected to localised impulsive loads. These predictions are compared to experimental data and a finite element model. The theoretical model is described by two models where the first model predicts the plate deformation and the second model, using the deformation from the first, predict the strains in the plate. The first model or theoretical displacement model presents a stepwise velocity field approach, in which it is assumed that the explosive burns as a set of discretised rings spreading from the centre of the plate to the outer radius of the explosive. For each ring a velocity field for the plate is developed, and after including strain rate effects, a corresponding displacement is calculated. The total final displacement is determined by summing each of the individual displacements. The predictions are compared with all experimental data and a satisfactory correlation is found for both the mid-point displacements and the final plate shape. The second model or theoretical strain model uses the final displaced shape calculated using the theoretical displacement model to determine the strain in the deformed plates, with results being compared to uniaxial tensile strain and mean cap diameters obtained from experimentation. The maximum strain at failure calculated using the theoretical strain model gave good correlation to the uniaxial tensile strain and its position correlated well with the mean cap diameter

The Whale and the World in Melville’s Moby-Dick: Early American Empire and Globalization

Reading Moby-Dick; or, the Whale (1851), this study examines literary arguments regarding Melville’s capacity to appear prophetic through his written works in his predictions of the vast empire that America would one day become and the strategies which the country would employ to do so. In my introduction I assert that Melville is not a “Prophet,” but rather, he is a keenly analytical observer of the world around him as he recognized in America patterns of imperialism: structures he charted in his global voyages as a merchant and then a whaler. In his observations, he saw that America was not merely concerned with continental expansion, but angling for expansion on a global scale. Utilizing Immanuel Wallerstein’s seminal text on the subject of the globalized economic system, World Systems Analysis (2004), I identify the concepts of the system as they are presented by Wallerstein and described by Melville in Moby-Dick. In Chapter One I outline and explain the essential aspects of the global economic system that Wallerstein details in his treatise on the subject, which have only in the mid-twentieth century garnered the serious attention of academic and professional study. Chapter Two chronicles Melville’s seemingly apparent understanding of the particulars of this system in Moby-Dick, with particular attention focused on Chapter Ninety Nine, “The Doubloon”. Finally, my third chapter concludes the thesis with a coda, wherein I describe more in depth the particulars of Melville’s upbringing in a family that struggled financially and his worldly experiences, factors which I believe led to his specific attention given to the global economic system and America’s role within it

Insider and Outsider Perspective in Ethnographic Research

Emic and etic perspectives are consequential for research because they impact the research process, the findings of a study, and the argument made by the researcher about the implications of these findings. Moreover, because the nature of ethnographic work involves the interpretation of cultures (Geertz, 1973), there is a responsibility on the part of the researcher to the culture being studied because the perspective the researcher takes impacts the knowledge produced about the cultural group that is studied.Contributors to this discussion represent a variety of research areas including rhetoric, library studies, family, media, and intercultural communication. Recurrant themes include awareness, bias avoidance, personal distance, appreciation of one\u27s insider/ outsider status

Men’s health – the impact of stroke

Stroke is a leading cause of adult death and the most common cause of complex disability in the UK. This article discusses the incidence and impact of stroke, focusing on a range of issues from a male perspective, including stroke prevention, psychological needs, sexuality and return to work. There are some gender differences in modifiable risk factors for stroke, and women have better knowledge of stroke symptomatology. For men, the development of post-stroke depression is associated with greater physical disability. (c) Sherborne Gibbs Limite

Triazine Resistant Pigweeds in Kentucky Corn Fields

Smooth pigweed (Amaranthus hybridus) control from atrazine and/or simazine (Princep) has been unsatisfactory in some Kentucky corn fields. Many of these fields have grown corn where one or both of these herbicides have been used continuously for several years. These two triazine herbicides, particularly atrazine, are used annually on over 90% of the corn grown in Kentucky. Other areas in the U.S. and around the world have reported. unsatisfactory control from atrazine where triazine resistant pigweed has developed

Exposure of benthic invertebrates to sediment vibration: From laboratory experiments to outdoor simulated pile-driving

Activities directly interacting with the seabed, such as pile-driving, can produce vibrations that have the potential to impact benthic invertebrates within their vicinity. This stimuli may interfere with crucial behaviors such as foraging and predator avoidance, and the sensitivity to vibration is largely unknown. Here, the responsiveness of benthic invertebrates to sediment vibration is discussed in relation to laboratory and semi-field trials with two marine species: the mussel (Mytilus edulis) and hermit crab (Pagurus bernhardus). Sensory threshold curves were produced for both species in controlled laboratory conditions, followed by small-scale pile-driving exposures in the field. The merits of behavioral indicators are discussed, in addition to using physiological measures, as a method of determining reception and measuring responses. The measurement and sensors required for sediment vibration quantification are also discussed. Response and threshold data were related to measurements taken in the vicinity of anthropogenic sources, allowing a link between responsiveness and actual operations. The impact of pile-driving on sediment-dwelling invertebrates has received relatively little research, yet the data here suggest that such activities are likely to impact key coastal species which play important roles within the marine environment