996 research outputs found
A CFD based procedure for airspace integration of small unmanned aircraft within congested areas
Future integration of small unmanned aircraft within an urban airspace requires an a posteriori understanding of the
building-induced aerodynamics which could negatively impact on vehicle performance. Moving away from generalised
building formations, we model the centre of the city of Glasgow using Star-CCMĂŸ, a commercial CFD package. After
establishing a critical turbulent kinetic energy for our vehicle, we analyse the CFD results to determine how best to
operate a small unmanned aircraft within this environment. As discovered in a previous study, the spatial distribution of
turbulence increases with altitude. It was recommended then that UAVs operate at the minimal allowable altitude within
a congested area. As the flow characteristics in an environment are similar, regardless of inlet velocity, we can determine
areas within a city which will have consistently low or high values of turbulent kinetic energy. As the distribution of
turbulence is dependent on prevailing wind directions, some directions are more favourable than others, even if the wind
speed is unchanging. Moving forward we should aim to gather more information about integrated aircraft and how they
respond to turbulence in a congested area
The economics of renewable energy expansion in rural Sub-Saharan Africa
Accelerating development in Sub-Saharan Africa will require massive expansion of access to electricity -- currently reaching only about one-third of households. This paper explores how essential economic development might be reconciled with the need to keep carbon emissions in check. The authors develop a geographically explicit framework and use spatial modeling and cost estimates from recent engineering studies to determine where stand-alone renewable energy generation is a cost effective alternative to centralized grid supply. The results suggest that decentralized renewable energy will likely play an important role in expanding rural energy access. But it will be the lowest cost option for a minority of households in Africa, even when likely cost reductions over the next 20 years are considered. Decentralized renewables are competitive mostly in remote and rural areas, while grid connected supply dominates denser areas where the majority of households reside. These findings underscore the need to de-carbonize the fuel mix for centralized power generation as it expands in Africa.Energy Production and Transportation,Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Power&Energy Conversion,Carbon Policy and Trading
Financial system inquiry: final report
Executive summary
This report responds to the objective in the Inquiryâs Terms of Reference to best position Australiaâs financial system to meet Australiaâs evolving needs and support economic growth. It offers a blueprint for an efficient and resilient financial system over the next 10 to 20 years, characterised by the fair treatment of users.
The Inquiry has made 44 recommendations relating to the Australian financial system. These recommendations reflect the Inquiryâs judgement and are based on evidence received by the Inquiry. The Inquiryâs test has been one of public interest: the interests of individuals, businesses, the economy, taxpayers and Government.
Australiaâs financial system has performed well since the Wallis Inquiry and has many strong characteristics. It also has a number of weaknesses: taxation and regulatory settings distort the flow of funding to the real economy; it remains susceptible to financial shocks; superannuation is not delivering retirement incomes efficiently; unfair consumer outcomes remain prevalent; and policy settings do not focus on the benefits of competition and innovation. As a result, the system is prone to calls for more regulation.
To put these issues in context, the Overview first deals with the characteristics of Australiaâs economy. It then describes the characteristics of and prerequisites for a well-functioning financial system and the Inquiryâs philosophy of financial regulation.
The Inquiry focuses on seven themes in this report (summarised in Guide to the Financial System Inquiry Final Report).
The Overview deals with the general themes of funding the Australian economy and competition.
The Inquiry has also made recommendations on five specific themes, which comprise the next chapters of this report:
Strengthen the economy by making the financial system more resilient.
Lift the value of the superannuation system and retirement incomes.
Drive economic growth and productivity through settings that promote innovation.
Enhance confidence and trust by creating an environment in which financial firms treat customers fairly.
Enhance regulator independence and accountability and minimise the need for future regulation.
These recommendations seek to improve efficiency, resilience and fair treatment in the Australian financial system, allowing it to achieve its potential in supporting economic growth and enhancing standards of living for current and future generations.
Financial system inquiry committee
Mr David Murray AO (Chair)
Mr David Murray AO (Sydney) was most recently the inaugural Chairman of the Australian Governmentâs Future Fund Board of Guardians between 2006 and 2012. Mr Murray was previously the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia between 1992 and 2005. In this time, Mr. Murray oversaw the transformation of the Commonwealth Bank from a partly privatised bank to an integrated financial services company. In 2001, he was awarded the Centenary Medal for service to Australian society in banking and corporate governance, and in 2007 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his service to the finance sector, both domestically and globally, and service to the community.
Professor Kevin Davis
Professor Kevin Davis (Melbourne) is currently a Professor of Finance at the University of Melbourne, Research Director at the Australian Centre for Financial Studies and a Professor of Finance at Monash University. Professor Davis is also a part-time member of the Australian Competition Tribunal and Co-Chair of the AustraliaâNew Zealand Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee.
Mr Craig Dunn
Mr Craig Dunn (Sydney) was most recently Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of AMP. Mr Dunn led AMP through the global financial crisis and has extensive experience in the financial sector. He was a member of the Australian Government\u27s Financial Sector Advisory Council and the Australian Financial Centre Forum, and an executive member of the Australia Japan Business Co-operation Committee. Mr Dunn is a director of the Australian Governmentâs Financial Literacy Board.
Ms Carolyn Hewson AO
Ms Carolyn Hewson AO (Adelaide) served as an investment banker at Schroders Australia for 15 years. Ms Hewson has over 30 yearsâ experience in the finance sector and currently serves on the boards of BHP Billiton Ltd and Stockland. Ms Hewson was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for her services to the YWCA and to business. Ms Hewson has served on both the boards of Westpac and AMP and retired from the board of BT Investment Management Ltd and as the Chair of the Westpac Foundation upon her appointment to the Financial System Inquiry Committee.
Dr Brian McNamee AO
Dr Brian McNamee AO (Melbourne) served as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of CSL Limited from 1990 to 30 June 2013. During that time, CSL transitioned from a Government-owned enterprise to a global company with a market capitalisation of approximately $30 billion. He has extensive experience in the biotech and global healthcare industries. Dr McNamee was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his service to business and commerce.
 
Being the parent of a child with limb difference who has been provided with an artificial limb:An interpretative phenomenological analysis
Purpose: Rehabilitative care for children with limb difference often includes the provision and use of an artificial (or prosthetic) limb. Of key influence in this process is how parents experience and respond to their childâs limb difference and prosthesis use. However, research on this is lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the experiences of parenting a child with limb difference who had been provided with an artificial limb. Design: Semi-structured interviews took place with seven parents. Interview data was recorded, transcribed and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: The analysis identified four themes: (1) managing the initial emotional experience through the development of coping resources; (2) opportunities through prosthesis use and its relationship with ânormalityâ; (3) managing and making sense of social reactions toward their child; (4) the intrinsic role of support: developing a collective connection and enabling shared knowledge. Conclusions: The study highlighted salient aspects to parentsâ experiences and sense-making that can inform clinical support. Emotional support, the management of social responses, and the holistic co-ordination of healthcare support with peer support networks are discussed. Healthcare professionals involved in the prosthetic rehabilitation process should look to explore these meanings to help support the management of the childâs prosthesis use.Implications for rehabilitation Understanding the sense-making of parents is important in effective service provision for children with limb difference. Service provision for children with limb difference should consider the support needs of parents. Working with limb difference charities and voluntary organizations could help services develop needed parent-to-parent support networks
Thinking about, doing and writing up research using interpretative phenomenological analysis
This chapter is primarily concerned with the qualitative data collection and analysis method of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) in which individualsâ experiences, and their meaning-making about their experiences, are the centre of research attention. IPA was developed by psychologist Jonathan Smith with the vision to return the study of lived experience to the centre ground of research attention by cultivating a phenomenologically based methodology that was inherently psychological in nature. IPA treats language as disclosing participantsâ being-in-the-world, and the meanings of this for them. It is an approach intended to explore how participants experience their world, and hence enable an insiderâs perspective of the topic under study. This approach has emerged out of a set of philosophical and theoretical traditions that have given rise to a suite of qualitative research methods that can be characterised as âphenomenologicalâ or concerned with lived experience. Before presenting IPA in detail, it will be helpful to first summarise some of the phenomenological traditions and research methods that precede or sit alongside that of IPA
Same-sex partner bereavement in older women:an interpretative phenomenological analysis
Objectives: Due to the lack of existing literature, the current research explored experiences of same-sex partner bereavement in women over the age of 60. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight women. Transcripts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Three themes were identified which elaborated the experiences of older women who had lost a same-sex partner: (1) being left alone encapsulated feelings of isolation and exclusion; (2) navigating visibility centred on how homophobia led to a lack of recognition of the women's grief; and (3) finding new places to be authentic related women's need for new relationships in which they could be themselves. The findings indicate that existing models of partner bereavement may provide useful frameworks when seeking to understand the experiences of older women who have lost their same-sex partners. Conclusion: The findings indicate that in addition to the experiences of partner bereavement noted in research with heterosexual widows, older women who lose same-sex partners may face particular challenges, which can impact upon psychological well-being and adjustment to loss. These challenges appear to result from past and current homophobic and heterosexist attitudes within the UK culture. A range of interventions at individual, group, health service, and societal levels may be beneficial in improving the psychological well-being of older women who lose a same-sex partner
Ways to Help and Ways to Hinder: Governance for Effective Adaptation to an Uncertain Climate
This paper compares two case studies in Alaska, one on commercial fishers of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands region and the other on moose hunters of Interior Alaska, to identify how governance arrangements and management strategies enhance or limit peopleâs ability to respond effectively to changing climatic and environmental conditions. The two groups face similar challenges regarding the impacts of a changing climate on wild fish and game, but they tell very different stories regarding how and under what conditions these impacts challenge their harvest activities. In both regions, people describe dramatic changes in weather, land, and seascape conditions, and distributions of fish and game. A key finding is that the âcommand-and-controlâ model of governance in the Alaska Interior, as implemented through state and federal management tools such as registration hunts and short open seasons, limits effective local responses to environmental conditions, while the more decentralized model of governance created by the Limited Access Privilege systems of the Bering Sea allows fishers great flexibility to respond. We discuss ways to implement aspects of a decentralized decision-making model in the Interior that would benefit hunters by increasing their adaptability and success, while also improving conservation outcomes. Our findings also demonstrate the usefulness of the diagnostic framework employed here for facilitating comparative crossregional analyses of natural resource use and management.Ce document Ă©tablit une comparaison entre deux Ă©tudes de cas effectuĂ©es en Alaska, lâune portant sur les pĂȘcheurs commerciaux de la mer de BĂ©ring et de la rĂ©gion des AlĂ©outiennes et lâautre, sur les chasseurs dâorignaux de lâintĂ©rieur de lâAlaska. Cette comparaison avait pour but de dĂ©terminer comment les ententes de gouvernance et les stratĂ©gies de gestion rehaussent ou restreignent lâaptitude des gens Ă rĂ©agir de maniĂšre efficace au changement climatique et aux conditions environnementales. Dans le cas des deux groupes, les dĂ©fis sont semblables en ce qui a trait aux incidences du changement climatique sur le poisson sauvage et le gibier, mais il nâen reste pas moins que les deux groupes tĂ©moignent dâhistoires trĂšs diffĂ©rentes relativement Ă la façon dont les incidences influencent leurs activitĂ©s de chasse ou de pĂȘche, et les circonstances dans lesquelles les incidences prĂ©sentent des dĂ©fis Ă leurs activitĂ©s de chasse ou de pĂȘche. Dans les deux cas, les individus dĂ©crivent des changements dramatiques sur le plan des conditions mĂ©tĂ©orologiques, du paysage terrestre et du paysage marin, ainsi que sur le plan de la rĂ©partition du poisson et du gibier. Une des grandes observations ayant Ă©manĂ© de cette comparaison, câest que le modĂšle de gouvernance consistant à « commander et contrĂŽler » qui est en vigueur dans lâintĂ©rieur de lâAlaska, tel quâimposĂ© par les outils de gestion de lâĂtat et du gouvernement fĂ©dĂ©ral, et qui se traduit notamment par lâenregistrement des chasses et par des saisons de chasse courtes, se trouve Ă restreindre lâefficacitĂ© des rĂ©actions locales vis-Ă -vis des conditions environnementales, tandis que le mode de gouvernance plus dĂ©centralisĂ© crĂ©Ă© par les systĂšmes de privilĂšge Ă accĂšs limitĂ© de la mer de BĂ©ring donne aux pĂȘcheurs une plus grande souplesse pour rĂ©agir. Nous nous penchons sur diverses façons de mettre en oeuvre les aspects dâun modĂšle de prise de dĂ©cisions dĂ©centralisĂ© dans lâintĂ©rieur de maniĂšre Ă ce que les chasseurs en bĂ©nĂ©ficient en augmentant leur adaptabilitĂ© et leur succĂšs, tout en amĂ©liorant les rĂ©sultats de conservation. Nos constatations dĂ©montrent aussi lâutilitĂ© du cadre diagnostic employĂ© ici pour faciliter les analyses inter-rĂ©gionales en matiĂšre dâutilisation et de gestion des ressources naturelles
Prosthesis use is associated with reduced physical self-disgust in limb amputees
Self-disgust is an emotion schema negatively affecting peopleâs body image and is triggered by bodily imperfections and deviations from the ânormalâ body envelope. In this study, we explore the idea that ânormalisingâ the body in those with limb amputations via the prosthesis would be linked to reduced self-directed disgust. An international clinical community sample (N = 83) with mostly lower limb amputations completed measures about their demographics, prosthesis, adjustment, body image disturbance, psychological distress, and self-directed disgust in a survey design. Consistent with the ânormalisingâ hypothesis, correlation and bootstrapped regression models revealed, first, that frequency of prosthesis use was significantly and negatively associated with physical self-disgust. Second, prosthesis use significantly mediated the exogenous effect of time since amputation on physical self-disgust. These results emphasise the psychological value of the prosthesis beyond its functional use, and stress its importance in normalising the body envelope in those with limb amputations, which may in turn promote psychological well-being
Characterising encapsulated nuclear waste using cosmic-ray muon tomography
Tomographic imaging techniques using the Coulomb scattering of cosmic-ray
muons have been shown previously to successfully identify and characterise low-
and high-Z materials within an air matrix using a prototype scintillating-fibre
tracker system. Those studies were performed as the first in a series to assess
the feasibility of this technology and image reconstruction techniques in
characterising the potential high-Z contents of legacy nuclear waste containers
for the UK Nuclear Industry. The present work continues the feasibility study
and presents the first images reconstructed from experimental data collected
using this small-scale prototype system of low- and high-Z materials
encapsulated within a concrete-filled stainless-steel container. Clear
discrimination is observed between the thick steel casing, the concrete matrix
and the sample materials assayed. These reconstructed objects are presented and
discussed in detail alongside the implications for future industrial scenarios.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Recommended from our members
Buried shallow fault slip from the South Napa earthquake revealed by near-field geodesy.
Earthquake-related fault slip in the upper hundreds of meters of Earths surface has remained largely unstudied because of challenges measuring deformation in the near field of a fault rupture. We analyze centimeter-scale accuracy mobile laser scanning (MLS) data of deformed vine rows within ±300 m of the principal surface expression of the M (magnitude) 6.0 2014 South Napa earthquake. Rather than assuming surface displacement equivalence to fault slip, we invert the near-field data with a model that allows for, but does not require, the fault to be buried below the surface. The inversion maps the position on a preexisting fault plane of a slip front that terminates ~3 to 25 m below the surface coseismically and within a few hours postseismically. The lack of surface-breaching fault slip is verified by two trenches. We estimate near-surface slip ranging from ~0.5 to 1.25 m. Surface displacement can underestimate fault slip by as much as 30%. This implies that similar biases could be present in short-term geologic slip rates used in seismic hazard analyses. Along strike and downdip, we find deficits in slip: The along-strike deficit is erased after ~1 month by afterslip. We find no evidence of off-fault deformation and conclude that the downdip shallow slip deficit for this event is likely an artifact. As near-field geodetic data rapidly proliferate and will become commonplace, we suggest that analyses of near-surface fault rupture should also use more sophisticated mechanical models and subsurface geomechanical tests
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