Reduced order system identification for UAVs

Reduced order models representing the dynamic behaviour of symmetric aircraft are well known and can be easily derived from the standard equations of motion. In flight testing, accurate measurements of the dependent variables which describe the linearised reduced order models for a particular flight condition are vital for successful system identification. However, not all the desired measurements such as the rate of change in vertical velocity (W. ) can be accurately measured in practice. In order to determine such variables two possible solutions exist: reconstruction or differentiation. This paper addresses the effect of both methods on the reliability of the parameter estimates. The methods are used in the estimation of the aerodynamic derivatives for the Aerosonde UAV from a recreated flight test scenario in Simulink. Subsequently, the methods are then applied and compared using real data obtained from flight tests of the Cranfield University Jetstream 31 (G-NFLA) research aircraft

Hedge Funds in the Periphery: An Analysis of Structures Influencing Fund Behavior in the Icelandic and Cypriot Financial Crises

Hedge funds are often viewed from a positive or negative lens in the public and academic forum. However, both of these perspectives neglect structuralist factors. This paper analyzes the effect of these antecedent economic, political, and legal structures. I argue that these structures are at the root of hedge fund behavior, particularly during financial crises. The financial crises of two peripheral countries, Iceland and Cyprus, are used as case studies to illustrate how hedge fund involvement diverges as a result of structural factors

Synthesis and alkyne-coupling chemistry of cyclomanganated 1- and 3-acetylindoles, 3-formylindole and analogues

The syntheses are reported of new cyclomanganated indole derivatives (1-acetyl-κO-indolyl-κC2)dicarbonylbis(trimethylphosphite)manganese (2), (1-methyl-3-acetyl-κO-indolyl-κC2)tetracarbonylmanganese (4), (3-formyl-κO-indolyl-κC2)tetracarbonylmanganese (5a) and (1-methyl-3-formyl-κO-indolyl-κC2)tetracarbonylmanganese (5b). The unusually complicated crystal structure of 5b has been determined, the first for a cyclomanganated aryl aldehyde. The preparations of a mitomycin-related pyrrolo-indole and related products by thermally promoted and oxidatively (Me3NO) initiated alkyne-coupling reactions of the previously known complex (1-acetyl-κO-indolyl-κC2)tetracarbonylmanganese (1) are reported for different alkynes and solvents. X-ray crystal structures are reported for the dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate coupling product of 1 (dimethyl 1-methyl-l-hydroxypyrrolo[1,2a]-indole-2,3-dicarboxylate; 6a), and an unusually-cyclised triple insertion product 8 from the coupling of acetylene with 4, in which a cyclopentadiene moiety is η3-allyl-coordinated to Mn through only one double bond and an exocyclic carbon, but which rearranges on heating to an η5-cyclopentadienyl complex

Self-Compassion and Adherence in Five Medical Samples: the Role of Stress

Emerging evidence indicates self-compassion can be beneficial for medical populations and for medical adherence; yet, research to date has not fully examined the reasons for this association. This study examined the association of dispositional self-compassion to adherence across five medical samples and tested the extent to which perceived stress accounted for this association. Five medical samples (total N = 709), including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and cancer patients, recruited from various sources, completed online surveys. Self-compassion was positively associated with adherence in all five samples. A meta-analysis of the associations revealed a small average effect size (average r = .22, [0.15, 0.29]) of self-compassion and adherence and non-significant heterogeneity among the effects (Q (4) = 3.15, p = .532). A meta-analysis of the kappa2 values from the indirect effects of self-compassion on adherence revealed that, on average, 11% of the variance in medical adherence that was explained by self-compassion could be attributed to lower perceived stress. Overall, findings demonstrate that dispositional self-compassion is associated with better medical adherence among people with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and cancer, due in part to lower stress. This research contributes to a growing evidence base indicating the value of self-compassion for health-related behaviours in a variety of medical populations

Health Behaviors Among College Students: The Influence of Future Time Perspective and Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction

Health behavior change may prevent many fatal diseases, and may be influenced by social and motivational constructs. We assessed the interaction effect of future time perspective and basic psychological need fulfillment on positive and negative health behaviors. Future time perspective was associated with more positive, and less negative, health behaviors. Need fulfillment was associated with only positive health behaviors. In moderation analyses, individuals reporting both high need fulfillment and future perspective reported greater positive health behaviors, and were especially unlikely to smoke. Enhancing future-mindedness and supporting need satisfaction in interventions targeting modifiable health behaviors is encouraged

Self-Compassion and Adherence in Five Medical Samples: the Role of Stress

Emerging evidence indicates self-compassion can be beneficial for medical populations and for medical adherence; yet, research to date has not fully examined the reasons for this association. This study examined the association of dispositional self-compassion to adherence across five medical samples and tested the extent to which perceived stress accounted for this association. Five medical samples (total N = 709), including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and cancer patients, recruited from various sources, completed online surveys. Self-compassion was positively associated with adherence in all five samples. A meta-analysis of the associations revealed a small average effect size (average r = .22, [0.15, 0.29]) of self-compassion and adherence and non-significant heterogeneity among the effects (Q (4) = 3.15, p = .532). A meta-analysis of the kappa2 values from the indirect effects of self-compassion on adherence revealed that, on average, 11% of the variance in medical adherence that was explained by self-compassion could be attributed to lower perceived stress. Overall, findings demonstrate that dispositional self-compassion is associated with better medical adherence among people with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and cancer, due in part to lower stress. This research contributes to a growing evidence base indicating the value of self-compassion for health-related behaviours in a variety of medical populations

The Effect of Distributing Electronic Notes to Students: Ethical Considerations Raised By Computer Science Faculty at The University Of Namibia

In an effort to encourage the uptake of technology among its academic community, the University of Namibia (UNAM) introduced the Electronic Notes System (ENS) in the year 2010. The ENS was envisaged as a web-based method of distributing lecture notes to students, where the faculty members would upload the teaching materials and the students would download the materials. Although this method was believed to be a practical way of distributing the notes in comparison to the existing method, faculty adoption of the ENS has been rather poor, prompting the eLearning committee to conduct awareness campaigns at the Faculty Board meetings. Discussions at the Faculty Board meetings revealed ethical concerns that prevented faculty from adopting the ENS. Using the discussions from the awareness campaigns as well as results from one-to-one loosely structured interviews with the faculty members in the Computer Science department that participated in those presentations, the paper presents some ethical considerations that may need to be addressed when introducing technologyenhanced learning in similar contexts

The Myth of Creditor Sabotage

Since credit derivatives began to substantially influence financial markets a decade ago, rumors have circulated about so-called “net-short” creditors who seek to damage promising, albeit financially distressed, companies. A recent episode pitting the hedge fund Aurelius against broadband provider Windstream is widely supposed to be a case in point and has at once fueled calls for law reform and yielded an effigy of ostensible Wall Street predation. This Article argues that creditor sabotage is a myth. Net-short strategies work, if at all, by in effect burning money. When an activist creditor shows its cards, as all activists must eventually do, it also reveals an opportunity for others to profit by thwarting the activist’s plans and saving threatened surplus. We discuss three sources of liquidity that targeted firms could tap to block a saboteur—“net-long” derivatives speculators, the target’s own investors, and bankruptcy. We conclude that it is exceedingly difficult for creditors to make money hobbling debtors and that there is little reason to believe anyone tries. We then examine the Windstream case and find, consistent with our theory, that the strongest reason for thinking Aurelius aimed at sabotage—namely that everyone says so—is weak indeed. Our analysis suggests that calls for law reform are addressed to a nonexistent or, at worst, self-correcting problem. Precisely for this reason, however, the persistent appeal of the sabotage myth is a lesson in political rhetoric. A story needn’t be true for some to find it useful