Independent Distance Learning – is it worth it?

This paper describes an approach to the management of the development of independent distance learning programmes (IDL) adopted by the University of Sunderland. The University through its Faculty of Education and Society has had significant success over many years of delivering a small number of programmes through IDL and this paper shares some of the areas that need to be addressed as more pressure is brought on programme deliverers to adopt the IDL approach. The paper goes on to explore the financial considerations, including the ‘at risk’ costs and the possible rewards. It is intended to act as a step-by step briefing for non-academic managers of the considerations necessary from idea to implementation, stopping short of delivery. It takes the perspective of, and its intended audience is, the managers of the process – there are many other papers and guides that deal with the distinctive pedagogy of IDL in depth and similarly many written by and for academic staff

The HAMMER: High altitude multiple mission environmental researcher

At the equator, the ozone layer ranges from 65,000 to 130,000+ feet which is beyond the capabilities of the ER-2, NASA's current high altitude reconnaissance aircraft. The Universities Space Research Association, in cooperation with NASA, is sponsoring an undergraduate program which is geared to designing an aircraft that can study the ozone layer at the equator. This aircraft must be able to satisfy four mission profiles. Mission one is a polar mission which ranges from Chile to the South Pole and back to Chile, a total range of 6000 n. mi. at 100,000 feet with a 2500 lb. payload. The second mission is also a polar mission with a decreased altitude of 70,000 feet and an increased payload of 4000 lb. For the third mission, the aircraft will take-off at NASA Ames, cruise at 100,000 feet carrying a 2500 lb. payload, and land in Puerto Montt, Chile. The final mission requires the aircraft to take-off at NASA Ames, cruise at 100,000 feet with a 1000 lb. payload, make an excursion to 120,000 feet, and land at Howard AFB, Panama. All three missions require that a subsonic Mach number is maintained due to constraints imposed by the air sampling equipment. The aircraft need not be manned for all four missions. Three aircraft configurations were determined to be the most suitable for meeting the above requirements. The performance of each configuration is analyzed to investigate the feasibility of the project requirements. In the event that a requirement can not be obtained within the given constraints, recommendations for proposal modifications are given

Reconstruction of coseismic slip from the 2015 Illapel earthquake using combined geodetic and tsunami waveform data

On 16 September 2015, a moment magnitude (Mw) 8.3 earthquake struck off the coast of central Chile, generating a large tsunami with nearby coastal wave heights observed on tide gauges in Chile and Peru of up to 4.7 m and distal observations of over 40 cm in the Kuril Islands across the Pacific Ocean. Through a transcoastal geodetic study, including tsunami time series recorded at open ocean pressure gauges, subaerial deformation observed through interferometric synthetic aperture radar from the Sentinel-1 A satellite and continuous GPS, we identify the location and extent of coseismic slip. We find that most coseismic slip was concentrated in a patch immediately offshore, with little modeled slip near the trench. This result satisfies the tsunami waveforms measured in the deep ocean north of the rupture area, with wave heights up to 10 cm. While the event exhibits some features of a slow tsunami earthquake (moderately large tsunami and possible slow second-stage rupture), our inversion results do not require substantial near-trench rupture. However, the prevalence of large and shallow thrust along subduction megathrusts along central Chile raises the question of the likelihood of future such events and the implications for future hazardous tsunamigenic earthquakesThis research was supported through State Funds through Georgia Tech to A.V.N. as well as through the National Science Foundation East Asian and Pacific Summer Institute project 1614142. P. Cummins was partially supported by Australian Research DP12010329

A comparison of muscle activity between strict, kipping and butterfly pull-ups

The kipping pull-up (KPU) and butterfly pull-up (BPU) are variations of the strict pull-up (SPU) where an athlete uses hollow and arched body positions to gain momentum, before accelerating vertically. Understanding the muscle activity of each of these exercises will help coaches better utilise them within a strength and conditioning programme. The aim of this study was to compare upper and lower body muscle activation between the SPU, KPU and BPU during the concentric and eccentric phases of each exercise. 11 participants had surface electromyography data collected from three upper and three lower body muscles while completing each pull-up variation. Peak EMG data from each phase for each muscle from the SPU were used to normalise peak KPU and BPU EMG data. A repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc testing was used to identify significant differences between each variation. The results show significantly reduced muscle activation in the bicep brachii during the concentric (p < 0.05; d = 1.1) and eccentric (p < 0.05; d = 1.1) phases of the BPU, when compared to the SPU. Activation of the latissimus dorsi was significantly lower during the concentric phase of the KPU (p < 0.02; d = 1.2) and eccentric phase (p < 0.01; d = 1.4) of the BPU in comparison to the SPU. Furthermore, significantly greater muscle activation was shown in the rectus femoris, gluteus maximus and rectus abdominus in both the KPU and BPU, when compared to the SPU. However, results differed within the concentric and eccentric phases. These findings show that both styles of kipping increase lower body muscle activation and decrease upper body activation in comparison to the SPU. Further, due to the different style of kip, the KPU and BPU display different muscle activations during both the concentric and eccentric phases

2003 Manifesto on the California Electricity Crisis

The authors, an ad-hocgroup of professionals with experience in regulatory and energy economics, share a common concern with the continuing turmoil facing the electricity industry ("the industry") in California. Most ofthe authorsendorsed the first California Electricity Manifesto issued on January 25, 2001. Almost two years have passed since that first Manifesto. While wholesale electric prices have moderated and California no longer faces the risk of blackouts, in many ways the industry is in worse shape now than it was at the start of 2001. As a result, the group of signatories continues to have a deep concern with the conflicting policy directions being pursued for the industry at both the State and Federal levels of government and the impact the uncertainties associated with these conflicting policies will have, long term, on the economy of California. Theauthorshave once again convened under the auspices of the Institute of Management, Innovation and Organization at the University of California, Berkeley, to put forward ourtheir ideas on a basic set of necessary policies to move the industry forward for the benefit of all Californians and the nation. The authors point out that theydo not pretend to be "representative." They do bring, however, a very diverse range of backgrounds and expertise.Technology and Industry, Regulatory Reform