A finite element modelling methodology for the non-linear stiffness evaluation of adhesively bonded single lap-joints. Part 2, Novel shell mesh to minimise analysis time

A new modelling methodology is presented that enables the stiffness of adhesively bonded single lap-joints to be included in the finite element analysis of whole vehicle bodies. This work was driven by the need to significantly reduce computing resources for vehicle analysis. To achieve this goal the adhesive bond line and adherends are modelled by a relatively ‘small’ number of shell elements to replace the usual solid element mesh for a reliable analysis. Previous work in Part 1 has provided the necessary background information to develop and verify the new finite element analysis that reduces the solution runtime by a factor of 1000. Although a joint’s non-linear stiffness is reliably simulated to failure load, it is recognised by the authors that the coarse shell mesh cannot provide accurate peak stresses or peak strains for the successful application of a numerical failure criterion. Given that the new modelling methodology is very quick to apply to existing shell models of vehicle bodies, it is recommended for use by the stress analyst who requires, say at the preliminary design stage, whole vehicle stiffness performance in a significantly reduced timeframe

Experimental Simulation of Volatile Organic Contributions to Planetary Atmospheres and Surfaces

We present the results of a new simulation of the atmospheric entry heating experienced by extraterrestrial dust particles, quantifying their volatile loss into the early Earth atmosphere and characterising their organic volatile components

Power and participation in a general union : patterns of organisation and democracy in three GMB regions

This study is about the organisation and government of the General Municipal and Boilermakers' from 1970 to 1985. Its focus is, as far as is known, unique in that it concentrates primarily on government at the regional level, examining the GMB's Birmingham, Liverpool and Northern regions. Rather than focusing explicitly on the policy issues related to recent legislation, it analyses the wider issues of power and participation relevant to the debate on union democracy. The thesis adopts an eclectic approach to union democracy, synthesising previous approaches within the framework of the vertical and horizontal dispersion of decision making developed by Undy et al, which is given a prescriptive dimension. The regional focus, and secondary focuses on intervening variables within the framework, are principally examined through conducting structured interviews with members and officers at all levels of the union. The research work is divided into four chapters, which follow chapters reviewing the literature and presenting the research focus, and giving an historical overview of the union up until the research period commences. The first examines the national level changes since 1970 and membership participation in the national political system. The other three chapters have a specific regional focus analysing regional variations in membership growth and participation at the local level; the locus of regional power and variations in participation in regional government; and membership participation in collective bargaining. The research contributes to knowledge of trade union government at the regional level; an almost completely explored and, it is argued, an important area which requires further research. It demonstrates the significant extent of regional variations within a single union and shows how these have led to markedly different levels of membership participation in decision making structures in the three regions. It shows that the commonly held view that GMB regional secretaries are barons of their own area is misplaced, noting constraints which prevent oligarchic domination of regions. It also highlights the pervasive, but long since neglected, influence of union constitutional provisions as a factor affecting union democracy. Finally, it suggests that the eclectic framework could be usefully adopted by future contributions to union democracy research

An innovative use of the arts in an undergraduate curriculum to challenge thinking around diversity and professionalism

Tutor experience/student feedback had highlighted the challenges in working with students in developing humanistic approaches to care and constructive professional behaviours. ‘Professionalism’ / Diversity as curriculum areas may be met with suspicion by students. Learning activities are easily dismissed as unnecessary with inherent difficulties in ‘teaching’ in this area. Facilitating learning of important, sensitive information is not well served by traditional didactic approaches, but more creative approaches to learning are easily rejected.We adopted a transformative approach (Mezirow 1990) challenging established views, without patronising. This used a one-act drama ‘The Purple List’, a moving, emotional and involving performance delivered by 'Sam' enacting the impact of his partner Derek's dementia as it progresses over a two year period. We developed a workshop to supplement the play, in consultation with the author/actor, to further highlight important aspects of professionalism, diversity and humanistic care for Year 3 HYMS students.We will provide feedback to delegates regarding our experiences of using this performance, in HYMS and in different academic organisations and departments

Building an authentic listener: Applying a passive exposure-based training paradigm to detecting differences among compositional styles

Background in music history. Around 1600, there was a shift in compositional style whose most significant feature was the increasingly free use of unprepared and/or incorrectly resolved dissonance. It caused controversy at the time (Artusi vs. Monteverdi), and its proponents argued that it was justifiable as a means of text expression. It can be argued that, in order to be shocked at the "illegal" treatment of dissonances, a listener would have to be familiar with "legal" behaviour of dissonances. Modern audiences, when exposed to seconda pratica music, tend not to react with same degree of alarm. One can argue that this is because later developments in music, to which the audiences have been exposed, go much farther in their dissonance treatment than the music of the seconda pratica composers. Background in psychology. Previous studies have shown that participants can rapidly develop both knowledge and subjective preference for grammatical structure following only a limited exposure to unfamiliar musical systems. Familiarity with musical structure has been shown to play a role in influencing the degree of emotional engagement experienced by participants while listening to music. The differences among the musical stimuli used in these studies are often maximised; in some cases, an entirely artificial musical grammar is used. Aims. Can we, through exposure to a training set, build enough familiarity in modern listeners of the conventional rules of dissonance treatment, that they experience seconda pratica music as odd or alarming in some way? Our experiment is a pilot study to test the feasibility of such an approach to this problem. Main contribution. We constructed an experiment in which a group of participants, drawn from among undergraduate students in music and psychology, were asked to rate two different pieces of Monteverdi (to represent seconda pratica), both before and after being exposed to a training set composed of either Monteverdi or Palestrina (to represent prima pratica). All pieces were presented once only without repetition. The training sets were chosen to minimise the effect of performers' interpretation on the listener, in an attempt to isolate compositional style as the most salient difference. Our results showed a significant difference in the rating of the Monteverdi pieces as "familiar" between the different groups. Other variables did not have a significant impact. This finding implies a degree of internalisation of the differences in musical grammar, and suggests that this paradigm for study might profitably be extended in the future. Implications. Our research has implications for any situation in which a teacher, performer, or composer is attempting to communicate musical meaning to an audience that is unfamiliar with the style in question. If a fairly brief training period is sufficient to build an appreciation in a sample of untrained listeners, for differences that are as relatively subtle as those between Monteverdi and Palestrina, then a presenter of unfamiliar or new music might use such knowledge to consciously structure the listening experience

Building an authentic listener: Applying a passive exposure-based training paradigm to detecting differences among compositional styles

Background in music history. Around 1600, there was a shift in compositional style whose most significant feature was the increasingly free use of unprepared and/or incorrectly resolved dissonance. It caused controversy at the time (Artusi vs. Monteverdi), and its proponents argued that it was justifiable as a means of text expression. It can be argued that, in order to be shocked at the "illegal" treatment of dissonances, a listener would have to be familiar with "legal" behaviour of dissonances. Modern audiences, when exposed to seconda pratica music, tend not to react with same degree of alarm. One can argue that this is because later developments in music, to which the audiences have been exposed, go much farther in their dissonance treatment than the music of the seconda pratica composers. Background in psychology. Previous studies have shown that participants can rapidly develop both knowledge and subjective preference for grammatical structure following only a limited exposure to unfamiliar musical systems. Familiarity with musical structure has been shown to play a role in influencing the degree of emotional engagement experienced by participants while listening to music. The differences among the musical stimuli used in these studies are often maximised; in some cases, an entirely artificial musical grammar is used. Aims. Can we, through exposure to a training set, build enough familiarity in modern listeners of the conventional rules of dissonance treatment, that they experience seconda pratica music as odd or alarming in some way? Our experiment is a pilot study to test the feasibility of such an approach to this problem. Main contribution. We constructed an experiment in which a group of participants, drawn from among undergraduate students in music and psychology, were asked to rate two different pieces of Monteverdi (to represent seconda pratica), both before and after being exposed to a training set composed of either Monteverdi or Palestrina (to represent prima pratica). All pieces were presented once only without repetition. The training sets were chosen to minimise the effect of performers' interpretation on the listener, in an attempt to isolate compositional style as the most salient difference. Our results showed a significant difference in the rating of the Monteverdi pieces as "familiar" between the different groups. Other variables did not have a significant impact. This finding implies a degree of internalisation of the differences in musical grammar, and suggests that this paradigm for study might profitably be extended in the future. Implications. Our research has implications for any situation in which a teacher, performer, or composer is attempting to communicate musical meaning to an audience that is unfamiliar with the style in question. If a fairly brief training period is sufficient to build an appreciation in a sample of untrained listeners, for differences that are as relatively subtle as those between Monteverdi and Palestrina, then a presenter of unfamiliar or new music might use such knowledge to consciously structure the listening experience

Reducing Tobacco Use and Access Through Strengthened Minimum Price Laws

Higher prices reduce consumption and initiation of tobacco products. A minimum price law that establishes a high statutory minimum price and prohibits the industry’s discounting tactics for tobacco products is a promising pricing strategy as an alternative to excise tax increases. Although some states have adopted minimum price laws on the basis of statutorily defined price “markups” over the invoice price, existing state laws have been largely ineffective at increasing the retail price. We analyzed 3 new variations of minimum price laws that hold great potential for raising tobacco prices and reducing consumption: (1) a flat rate minimum price law similar to a recent enactment in New York City, (2) an enhanced markup law, and (3) a law that incorporates both elements

Markers of risk in patients with acute coronary syndrome treated by percutaneous coronary intervention

Background - The clinical diagnosis and categorisation of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) has changed repeatedly over the last decade as have routine treatment strategies. Hypothesis - that adverse clinical events following PCI, may be predicted from the identification of markers of risk at the time of PCI. Methods - Informed consent was obtained from 968 patients fulfilling detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria surrounding a diagnosis of ACS requiring PCI. Standard medical ACS care was provided. PCI operators, techniques, methods and any decision to treat followed usual practice. Data collection took place at the time of intervention and during active follow-up. Blood sample were collected at baseline and 4 and 12 hours after PCI, being processed and refrigerated. Platelet function was assessed at baseline using the VerifyNow test method. Results – Data collection was over a median follow-up time of 3.56 years. Patients were aged 27 to 90 years and a majority were male (75%). Angiographic complications occurred in 13.2% and total complications in 17.1%. A majority (844; 86%) had neither restenosis nor subsequent unplanned revascularization. Recurrent ACS was 6.7% for year 1 and 1.8% additionally for each year thereafter. Stent thrombosis was observed in 18 (1.8%) cases. Bleeding occurred in 9% across the entire follow-up period, being greatest in the first 12 months. Platelet reactivity was highly variable and optimal with regard to outcome in the range of 179 to 243 (Platelet Reactivity Units PRU). Cardiac biomarkers were commonly elevated after PCI but procedural MI was very rare. H-FABP at baseline was strongly predictive of outcome. Conclusion – Adverse clinical events following PCI, such as stent thrombosis, bleeding and in-stent restenosis, may be predicted from the identification of markers of risk at the time of PCI, particularly by the use of risk scores, platelet function testing and measuring biomarker levels