Game Theory in a Napoleonic Context: Establishing Napoleon's Utility and Application to the 1805 War of the Third Coalition

Game theory has existed in the fields of mathematics and economics for over 60 years. This thesis assesses its viability for use in the field of history, and in particular, in the Napoleonic era. It does this by analysing the opening phase of the 1805 War of the Third Coalition, fought between France and the Allies. It starts by examining the existing literature on game theory in the Napoleonic era. It then analyses game theory in order to extract concepts from the theory that have value in a military setting. Third, it makes use of primary and secondary sources to define Napoleon Bonaparte’s motivational drives. Finally, it uses these drives and game theory in order to assess whether Napoleon’s opening strategy in the War of the Third Coalition was the best strategy to select. The study finds that his utility was influenced by a core drive: narcissism, and by his primary drives: ‘thirst for power’, ‘elimination of boredom’, immortality, and glory. It also concludes that ‘opportunism’ affected his decision making processes. The study found that Napoleon selected his opening strategy in the War of the Third Coalition with precision, and that game theory is limited in its current state, but that, despite this, it has value for the study of history

Water droplet breakup in high speed airstreams

Water droplet disintegration in supersonic airstream

Laterality, Perception, and Action during the Size-weight Illusion

In the classic size-weight illusion (SWI), a small object will feel heavier than an larger object of equal weight (Charpentier, 1891). Individuals continue to perceive this illusory difference in weight long after their gripping and lifting forces have scaled to the actual, identical, mass of the illusion-inducing stimuli (Flanagan & Beltzner, 2000). The independence of our weight perception and fingertip force application has only been quantified in the right hand of right-handers. The immunity to this perceptual illusion may be affected by manual asymmetries (e.g., Gonzalez, Ganel & Goodale, 2006). We examined perception of heaviness and fingertip force scaling in right- and left-handers during repeated lifts of SWI-inducing cubes with their dominant and non-dominant hands. We also examined the optimal direction for intermanual transfer of the scaled fingertip forces.

Two-phase detonations and drop shattering studies Annual progress report, 1 Feb. 1966 - 31 Jan. 1967

Detonation measurements of two-phase liquid-gas mixtures, and drop shattering studie

Detonations in two phase media and drop shattering studies Annual progress report, 1 Feb. 1967 - 31 Jan. 1968

Detonation wave propagation, drop size effects on velocity, and streak schlieren photography on drop shattering in liquid fuel-oxygen mixtur

Voluntary versus ABC breath-hold in the context of VMAT for breast and locoregional lymph node radiotherapy including the internal mammary chain

Background: Deep-inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) reduces radiation dose to the heart in patients undergoing locoregional breast radiotherapy. In the context of tangential irradiation of the breast/ chest wall, a voluntary breath hold (vDIBH) technique has been shown to be as reproducible as a machine-assisted breath hold technique using the active breathing co-ordinator (ABCTM, Elekta, Crawley, UK, ABC_DIBH). This study compares set-up reproducibility for vDIBH versus ABC_DIBH in patients undergoing volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy (VMAT) for breast cancer, both with and without wax bolus. Method: Patients with breast cancer requiring pan regional lymph node VMAT +/� wax bolus in breathhold were CT scanned in vDIBH and ABC_DIBH. Patients were randomised to receive one technique for fractions 1–7 and the other for fractions 8–15. Daily cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) was performed and registered to planning-CT using bony anatomy. Within-patient comparisons of mean daily chest wall position were made using a paired t-test. Population, systematic (P) and random errors (a) were estimated. Intrafraction reproducibility was assessed by comparing chest wall position and diaphragm movement between consecutive breath holds on CBCT. Results: 16 patients were recruited. All completed treatment with both techniques (9 patients with wax bolus, 7 patients without). CBCT derived P were 2.1–6.4 mm (ABC_DIBH) and 2.1–4.9 mm (vDIBH), a were 1.7–2.6 mm (ABC_DIBH) and 2.2–2.7 mm (vDIBH) and mean daily chest wall displacements (MD) were 0.0–1.5 mm (ABC_DIBH) and - 0.1–1.6 vDIBH (all p non-significant). Chest wall and diaphragm position was equivalent between consecutive breath holds in ABC and vDIBH (median difference 1.0 mm and 0.8 mm respectively, non p significant) demonstrating equivalent intrafraction reproducibility. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that a simple voluntary breath hold technique is feasible in combination with VMAT (+/� bolus) and is as reproducible as ABC_DIBH with VMAT for the irradiation of the breast and axillary and IMC lymph nodes in breast cancer patients

Atomization of liquid droplets in a convective gas stream

New experimental results are reported for the atomization of liquid droplets by a high-speed air stream. A series of experiments are described in which water droplets, ranging in diameter from 1000 to 2700 [mu], were introduced into the test section of a shock tube and allowed to interact with the convective flow established by the passage of a propagating shock front. A rotating drum camera system was employed to obtain a collection of streak photographs of the atomization process from which the breakup time, the breakup distance, and the ultimate atomized particle size were determined. The experiments covered a Weber number range given by 0.7 x 103 [les] We [les] 85.5 x 103.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34098/1/0000380.pd

Greenhouse Evaluation of Air-Assisted Delivery Parameters for Mature Poinsettias

Understanding the performance characteristics of application equipment is important for helping make the most efficacious applications. While handguns making high volume applications are common in greenhouse production, it is difficult to achieve uniform distribution of product in a timely manner. Broadcast applications made using air-assistance can help aid canopy penetration and the volume of carrier required to make applications. The objectives of this research were to determine how air-assist sprayer application parameters influence spray deposits on the undersides of leaves in a mature poinsettia canopy. Bench-top trials were conducted using a motorized boom inside a greenhouse to treat a mature and dense poinsettia canopy. Sprayer treatments applied a tank mix of water and fluorescent tracer. Nylon screen targets were secured to the underside surfaces of leaves in the upper and lower elevation of target plants. A five-port, air-assist nozzle with flat fan nozzle tips was used to make the applications. Three air outlet speeds, two travel speeds, and three nozzle flow rates were evaluated. Each treatment was replicated three times. Spray deposits were highly variable. Upper elevation spray deposits were significantly greater than lower elevation deposits. Individually, higher air outlet speed (36.0 m s(-1)), slower travel speed (3.2 km h(-1)), and higher nozzle flow rate (1.17 L min(-1)) tended to produce higher sprayer deposits on the underside surfaces of leaves. The combination of travel speed and nozzle flow rate that produced the highest application rate (900 L ha(-1)) also produced the highest deposits. There was a 500% increase in underside leaf surface deposits in the lower canopy area for a corresponding 500% increase in application rate. However, the main effects produced no significant differences in spray deposits in the lower canopy area. Further improvements in directing sprays or providing canopy turbulence are necessary to improve deposition and management of insect pests feeding on the underside of poinsettia leaves

A DOI is not enough – can practice research be captured by libraries and archives?

The recording and indexing of research plays a vital role in how it can be found and used, but what happens when the output from a research project is not a written document, but a performance, series of events or an artistic work? This blog post discusses findings from two AHRC-funded scoping projects exploring how these forms of practice research can be better documented and made more accessible to researchers and research users by libraries and archives: PRVoices: Practice Research Voices (University of Westminster) and SPARKLE: Sustaining Practice Assets for Research, Knowledge, Learning and Education (University of Leeds)