The limitations of speech control: perceptions of provision of speech-driven environmental controls

This study set out to collect data from assistive technology professionals about their provision of speech-driven environmental control systems. This study is part of a larger study looking at developing a new speech-driven environmental control system

Oceanic stochastic parametrizations in a seasonal forecast system

We study the impact of three stochastic parametrizations in the ocean component of a coupled model, on forecast reliability over seasonal timescales. The relative impacts of these schemes upon the ocean mean state and ensemble spread are analyzed. The oceanic variability induced by the atmospheric forcing of the coupled system is, in most regions, the major source of ensemble spread. The largest impact on spread and bias came from the Stochastically Perturbed Parametrization Tendency (SPPT) scheme - which has proven particularly effective in the atmosphere. The key regions affected are eddy-active regions, namely the western boundary currents and the Southern Ocean. However, unlike its impact in the atmosphere, SPPT in the ocean did not result in a significant decrease in forecast error. Whilst there are good grounds for implementing stochastic schemes in ocean models, our results suggest that they will have to be more sophisticated. Some suggestions for next-generation stochastic schemes are made.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figure

Oceanic stochastic parametrizations in a seasonal forecast system

We study the impact of three stochastic parametrizations in the ocean component of a coupled model, on forecast reliability over seasonal timescales. The relative impacts of these schemes upon the ocean mean state and ensemble spread are analyzed. The oceanic variability induced by the atmospheric forcing of the coupled system is, in most regions, the major source of ensemble spread. The largest impact on spread and bias came from the Stochastically Perturbed Parametrization Tendency (SPPT) scheme - which has proven particularly effective in the atmosphere. The key regions affected are eddy-active regions, namely the western boundary currents and the Southern Ocean. However, unlike its impact in the atmosphere, SPPT in the ocean did not result in a significant decrease in forecast error. Whilst there are good grounds for implementing stochastic schemes in ocean models, our results suggest that they will have to be more sophisticated. Some suggestions for next-generation stochastic schemes are made.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figure

A Description of an Improved Homodyne Laser Interferometer

First appearing on the commercial market in the mid 1980’s, diode-pumped, continuous-wave (cw) Nd:YAG lasers have more recently been used to obtain visible output, by the incorporation of frequency doubling optics in the laser cavity.The laser diode pumping of a Nd:YAG laser rod is selective and highly efficient, resulting in compact, high power, spatial mode lasers. Frequency-doubling processes are non-linear and lead to doubling TEM00 only of the high energy fundamental temporal mode, resulting in operation of the 532 nm laser in a single spatial and single longitudinal mode. The technology is rapidly advancing, and green lasers with energies of up to 1W could soon be available. The beam properties of the lasers described above are highly desirable in the field of interferometry, where such lasers are now in direct competition with the much larger Argon lasers, which have already been employed in high power interferometric systems. We describe here the performance of a modified Michelson interferometer [1–4], built to incorporate a 90 mW ADLAS 300 diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser. In previous versions of the Michelson interferometer, we have used HeNe lasers with a few milliwatts output, requiring mirror-quality surfaces on our samples. A 90 mW laser power enables us to make displacement measurements on metal surfaces with little or no preparation. The laser could also, of course, be used in other, more elaborate interferometer types, such as the confocal Fabry-Perot, which are better suited to industrial environments

Vegetation recolonisation of abandoned agricultural terraces on Antikythera, Greece

Antikythera is a small, relatively remote Mediterranean island, lying 35 km north-west of Crete, and its few contemporary inhabitants live mainly in the small village at the only port. However, an extensive network of terraces across the island bears witness to the past importance of farming on the island, although the intensity of use of these cultivated plots has changed according to fluctuating population levels. Most recently, the rural population and intensity of cultivation have dramatically declined. Our aim is to understand the recolonisation process of agricultural land by plants after terraces are no longer used for the cultivation of crops. The results demonstrate a relatively quick pace of vegetative recolonisation, with abandoned farm land covered by dense scrub within 20 to 60 years. The archaeological implications are that, following even relatively short periods of abandonment, the landscape would have required arduous reinvestment in the removal of scrub growth, as well as the repair and construction of stone terraces, to allow cultivation once again

Child Exploitation and the FIFA World Cup: A review of risks and protective interventions

This review was commissioned by the Child Abuse Programme (CAP) of Oak Foundation, a large international philanthropic organisation. It forms part of CAP’s effort to win societal rejection of practices such as the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents around major sporting events (MSEs), and to embed prevention and protection from exploitation as a permanent concern for global sports-related bodies. This review is intended to inform action in countries that host MSEs and to provide some suggestions on how hosting countries can avoid past pitfalls and mistakes in relation to child exploitation, especially economic and sexual exploitation. Importantly, it also acts as a call to action by those responsible for commissioning and staging MSEs, such as FIFA and the IOC, to anticipate, prepare for and adopt risk mitigation strategies and interventions. Positive leadership from these culturally powerful bodies could prove decisive in shifting hearts, minds and actions in the direction of improved safety for children

Laser ultrasound for the study of thin sheets

Laser ultrasound is now an accepted and mature technology. However it is still seeking its first fully commercial industrial application although there are several potential uses in prototype form. The major advantage of laser ultrasound is that it is a non contact technique and can therefore be used on hot or moving components. The pulsed laser source generates simultaneously longitudinal and shear bulk waves and Rayleigh surface waves. When the material is in the form of a thin sheet the latter propagate as Lamb or plate waves providing the ultrasonic wavelength is greater than the sheet thickness