626 research outputs found
An examination of possible differences existing between live-in and live-out domestic workers
Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the Post-graduate Diploma in Applied Social Sciences, University of Natal, Durban
A Framework for Alternative Formulations of the Pipe Network Equations
The aim of this paper is to revisit the formulations of the equations for flows and heads in water distribution systems and provide clarity for a logical presentation of a framework for the different formulations. Five formulations are described including 1) flow equations where the equations are formulated only in terms of the unknown flows in a network 2) head equations 3) loop flow equations 4) flow and head equations and 5) the Todini and Pilati flow and head formulation. Graph theory is used to show how many unknowns are required to be solved for in each of the five formulations. A Newton solution method is derived for the flow formulation and the Todini and Pilati formulation. © 2009 ASCE.Angus R. Simpson and Sylvan Elha
Analysis of travelling waves associated with the modelling of aerosolised skin grafts
A previous model developed by the authors investigates the growth patterns of keratinocyte cell colonies after they have been applied to a burn site using a spray technique. In this paper, we investigate a simplified one-dimensional version of the model. This model yields travelling wave solutions and we analyse the behaviour of the travelling waves. Approximations for the rate of healing and maximum values for both the active healing and the healed cell densities are obtained
A grid-enabled problem solving environment for parallel computational engineering design
This paper describes the development and application of a piece of engineering software that provides a problem solving environment (PSE) capable of launching, and interfacing with, computational jobs executing on remote resources on a computational grid. In particular it is demonstrated how a complex, serial, engineering optimisation code may be efficiently parallelised, grid-enabled and embedded within a PSE.
The environment is highly flexible, allowing remote users from different sites to collaborate, and permitting computational tasks to be executed in parallel across multiple grid resources, each of which may be a parallel architecture. A full working prototype has been built and successfully applied to a computationally demanding engineering optimisation problem. This particular problem stems from elastohydrodynamic lubrication and involves optimising the computational model for a lubricant based on the match between simulation results and experimentally observed data
Economic Fluctuations and Diffusion
Stock price changes occur through transactions, just as diffusion in physical
systems occurs through molecular collisions. We systematically explore this
analogy and quantify the relation between trading activity - measured by the
number of transactions - and the price change ,
for a given stock, over a time interval . To this end, we
analyze a database documenting every transaction for 1000 US stocks over the
two-year period 1994-1995. We find that price movements are equivalent to a
complex variant of diffusion, where the diffusion coefficient fluctuates
drastically in time. We relate the analog of the diffusion coefficient to two
microscopic quantities: (i) the number of transactions in
, which is the analog of the number of collisions and (ii) the local
variance of the price changes for all transactions in , which is the analog of the local mean square displacement between
collisions. We study the distributions of both and , and find that they display power-law tails. Further, we find that
displays long-range power-law correlations in time, whereas
does not. Our results are consistent with the interpretation
that the pronounced tails of the distribution of w_{\Delta t}|
G_{\Delta t} |N_{\Delta t}$.Comment: RevTex 2 column format. 6 pages, 36 references, 15 eps figure
Causality - Complexity - Consistency: Can Space-Time Be Based on Logic and Computation?
The difficulty of explaining non-local correlations in a fixed causal
structure sheds new light on the old debate on whether space and time are to be
seen as fundamental. Refraining from assuming space-time as given a priori has
a number of consequences. First, the usual definitions of randomness depend on
a causal structure and turn meaningless. So motivated, we propose an intrinsic,
physically motivated measure for the randomness of a string of bits: its length
minus its normalized work value, a quantity we closely relate to its Kolmogorov
complexity (the length of the shortest program making a universal Turing
machine output this string). We test this alternative concept of randomness for
the example of non-local correlations, and we end up with a reasoning that
leads to similar conclusions as in, but is conceptually more direct than, the
probabilistic view since only the outcomes of measurements that can actually
all be carried out together are put into relation to each other. In the same
context-free spirit, we connect the logical reversibility of an evolution to
the second law of thermodynamics and the arrow of time. Refining this, we end
up with a speculation on the emergence of a space-time structure on bit strings
in terms of data-compressibility relations. Finally, we show that logical
consistency, by which we replace the abandoned causality, it strictly weaker a
constraint than the latter in the multi-party case.Comment: 17 pages, 16 figures, small correction
High-precision determination of transition amplitudes of principal transitions in Cs from van der Waals coefficient C_6
A method for determination of atomic dipole matrix elements of principal
transitions from the value of dispersion coefficient C_6 of molecular
potentials correlating to two ground-state atoms is proposed. The method is
illustrated on atomic Cs using C_6 deduced from high-resolution Feshbach
spectroscopy. The following reduced matrix elements are determined < 6S_{1/2}
|| D || 6P_{1/2} > =4.5028(60) |e| a0 and
=6.3373(84) |e| a0 (a0= 0.529177 \times 10^{-8} cm.) These matrix elements are
consistent with the results of the most accurate direct lifetime measurements
and have a similar uncertainty. It is argued that the uncertainty can be
considerably reduced as the coefficient C_6 is constrained further.Comment: 4 pages; 3 fig
Properties of pattern formation and selection processes in nonequilibrium systems with external fluctuations
We extend the phase field crystal method for nonequilibrium patterning to
stochastic systems with external source where transient dynamics is essential.
It was shown that at short time scales the system manifests pattern selection
processes. These processes are studied by means of the structure function
dynamics analysis. Nonequilibrium pattern-forming transitions are analyzed by
means of numerical simulations.Comment: 15 poages, 8 figure
Particle interactions with single or multiple 3D solar reconnecting current sheets
The acceleration of charged particles (electrons and protons) in flaring
solar active regions is analyzed by numerical experiments. The acceleration is
modelled as a stochastic process taking place by the interaction of the
particles with local magnetic reconnection sites via multiple steps. Two types
of local reconnecting topologies are studied: the Harris-type and the X-point.
A formula for the maximum kinetic energy gain in a Harris-type current sheet,
found in a previous work of ours, fits well the numerical data for a single
step of the process. A generalization is then given approximating the kinetic
energy gain through an X-point. In the case of the multiple step process, in
both topologies the particles' kinetic energy distribution is found to acquire
a practically invariant form after a small number of steps. This tendency is
interpreted theoretically. Other characteristics of the acceleration process
are given, such as the mean acceleration time and the pitch angle distributions
of the particles.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, Solar Physics, in pres
Boundary Crossing: Networked Policing and Emergent âCommunities of Practiceâ in Safeguarding Children
Child safeguarding has come to the forefront of public debate in the UK in the aftermath of a series of highly publicised incidents of child sexual exploitation and abuse. These have exposed the inadequacies and failings of inter-organisational relations between police and key partners. While the discourse of policing partnerships is now accepted wisdom, progress has been distinctly hesitant. This paper contributes to understanding both the challenges and opportunities presented through working across organisational boundaries in the context of safeguarding children. It draws on a study of relations within one of the largest Safeguarding Children partnerships in England, developing insights from Etienne Wenger regarding the potential of âcommunities of practiceâ that innovate on the basis of everyday learning through âboundary workâ. We demonstrate how such networked approaches expose the differential power relations and sites of conflict between organisations but also provide possibilities to challenge introspective cultures and foster organisational learning. We argue that crucial in cultivating effective âcommunities of practiceâ are: shared commitment and purpose; relations of trust; balanced exchange of information and resources; mutual respect for difference; and an open and mature dialogue over possible conflicts. Boundary crossing can open opportunities to foster increased reflexivity among policing professionals, prompting critical self-reflection on values, ongoing reassessment of assumptions and questioning of terminology. Yet, there is an inherent tension in that the learning and innovative potential afforded by emergent âcommunities of practiceâ derives from the coexistence and interplay between both the depth of knowledge within practices and active boundaries across practices
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