Urban weeklies: what needs do they fulfill (A case study of the city of East Providence, Rhode Island where two weeklies survive in the shadow of the state's largest daily newspaper)

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston UniversityStatement of the problem: Why do urban weeklies exist in the very shadow of a daily newspaper? How can urban weeklies survive within the circulation of a strong daily? What is the appeal of the weeklies? What needs are they fulfilling that the daily newspaper does not or cannot afford to fulfill? Purpose of this study: The findings of this thesis are based on a thorough study of the newspaper situation in East Providence, Rhode Island, a city of 40,000 where two weeklies publish despite the Evening Bulletin of nearby Providence which is the daily newspaper for 95 per cent of the residents of East Providence. The conclusions of this thesis are considered applicable for the community that has blossomed into an urban center as the outgrowth of a larger metropolitan area and which has developed a community press within the circulation area of an established daily. This study is intended to reflect the basic appeals the urban weekly holds for the residents of such a community. Scope and Method of research: The findings of this study are based on interviews with 152 residents of East Providence. All interviews were I selected by methods of random sampling as set down by competent authorities. In addition, questionnaires were mailed to 250 subscribers of the weekly newspapers. Again, the sample was selected on a random basis. A comparison of the two methods of testing is made. Also both publishers of the weekly newspapers were interviewed to compare what they thought the weekly meant to the image held by the reader

Technical Note: Comparison of storage strategies of sea surface microlayer samples

The sea surface microlayer (SML) is an important biogeochemical system whose physico-chemical analysis often necessitates some degree of sample storage. However, many SML components degrade with time so the development of optimal storage protocols is paramount. We here briefly review some commonly used treatment and storage protocols. Using freshwater and saline SML samples from a river estuary, we investigated temporal changes in surfactant activity (SA) and the absorbance and fluorescence of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) over four weeks, following selected sample treatment and storage protocols. Some variability in the effectiveness of individual protocols most likely reflects sample provenance. None of the various protocols examined performed any better than dark storage at 4 °C without pre-treatment. We therefore recommend storing samples refrigerated in the dark

Holistic environmental assessment of oil and gas field development

This study has developed a new life-of-field, goal orientated process of analysis called Holistic Environmental Assessment (HEA). HEA assesses the total environmental risk associated with a proposed oil and gas field development. It prioritises environmental risks and identifies cost effective strategies to reduce them. For the first time the process was applied to a real 'case study' field development programme to test its effectiveness. The application identified that it is a useful tool to help design eco-efficient and costeffective oil and gas field developments. Furthermore, it was discovered that much of the information required by HEA could be obtained in a quick and user-friendly format. The new assessment process was developed after a review of the interaction of the offshore oil and gas industry with the environment, and techniques employed to evaluate this interaction. The review identified that the industry interacts with the environment in a number of different ways, and that the level of interaction transgresses the boundaries of sea, air and land locally, regionally and internationally. Legislation and public concern demand no damage to the environment from offshore oil and gas field exploration and development. UK environmental legislation and people's expectations for environmental performance are in a state of change. This change, coupled with the uncertainty over how resilient the environment is to perturbation, and the increasing risk of environmental liability presents a need for operators to clearly manage environmental information and assess total environmental risk. It was discovered that Environmental Assessment, Lifecycle Analysis and Cost Benefit Analysis, when used separately, failed to assess total environmental risk, but when used in combination under the HEA process could. Many organisations, such as the British Medical Association, European Oilfield Speciality Chemicals Association, the Royal Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (Norway) and Shell Expro, now recognise that a holistic approach is essential to assess total environmental risk. The author proposes that HEA would be effective as a software tool to analyse different environmental risk mitigation systems. This would facilitate the identification of a system that steers an operator towards the triple bottom line of Sustainable Development.Schlumberger LimitedEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Counci

Future ultra-speed tube-flight

Future long-link, ultra-speed, surface transport systems will require electromagnetically (EM) driven and restrained vehicles operating under reduced-atmosphere in very straight tubes. Such tube-flight trains will be safe, energy conservative, pollution-free, and in a protected environment. Hypersonic (and even hyperballistic) speeds are theoretically achievable. Ultimate system choices will represent tradeoffs between amoritized capital costs (ACC) and operating costs. For example, long coasting links might employ aerodynamic lift coupled with EM restraint and drag make-up. Optimized, combined EM lift, and thrust vectors could reduce energy costs but at increased ACC. (Repulsive levitation can produce lift-over-drag l/d ratios a decade greater than aerodynamic), Alternatively, vehicle-emanated, induced-mirror fields in a conducting (aluminum sheet) road bed could reduce ACC but at substantial energy costs. Ultra-speed tube flight will demand fast-acting, high-precision sensors and computerized magnetic shimming. This same control system can maintain a magnetic 'guide way' invariant in inertial space with inertial detectors imbedded in tube structures to sense and correct for earth tremors. Ultra-speed tube flight can complete with aircraft for transit time and can provide even greater passenger convenience by single-model connections with local subways and feeder lines. Although cargo transport generally will not need to be performed at ultra speeds, such speeds may well be desirable for high throughput to optimize channel costs. Thus, a large and expensive pipeline might be replaced with small EM-driven pallets at high speeds