Britannia’s Shield: Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Hutton and Late-Victorian Imperial Defence (Book Review) by Craig Stockings

Review of Britannia’s Shield: Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Hutton and Late-Victorian Imperial Defence by Craig Stocking

“Matters Canadian” and the Problem with Being Special: Robert T. Frederick on the First Special Service Force

On 12 July 1942, the Canadian Army authorized the movement of nearly seven hundred officers and men to the United States for training as part of the First Special Service Force (FSSF), a highly-specialized commando unit that was being organized for the purpose of conducting raids in the alpine regions of occupied Europe. From the summer of 1942 until disbandment in December 1944, this combined “North American” force consisted of soldiers drawn from the armies of both Canada and the United States. From the Aleutian Islands, to Monte la Difensa, Rome, and ending in Southern France, the élite US-Canadian infantry brigade established a remarkable combat record and became a symbol of the lasting partnership between our two countries. Today, the First Special Service Force is remembered both in Canada and the United States for its outstanding achievements in combat as well as its unique, bi-national composition. Prior to 1942, Canadian soldiers had never served in such close association with the US Army, and even the post-war era has seen no similar examples of such near-complete integration. Within the Force, Canadian and American soldiers wore the same uniforms, carried the same weapons, and answered to the same superiors regardless of nationality—an American private could take orders from a Canadian sergeant, who in turn answered to an American or Canadian lieutenant. At the top of this bi-national chain of command stood Robert T. Frederick, US Army, the man who organized and led the First Special Service Force from its activation on 2 July 1942 until his departure on 23 June 1944, shortly after Rome fell to the Allies

Prisoners’ gang-related activity: the importance of bullying and moral disengagement

Gang-related activity can have a significant impact on the effective management of prisons in the UK, yet little is known about the characteristics of the prisoners involved. I it this study, 141 adult male prisoners' gang-related activity was examined in relation to their bullying behaviour and use of moral disengagement. Results showed that prisoners most involved in gang-related activity were likely to have spent a longer total time in the prison system, be perpetrators of bullying and have high levels of moral disengagement. Findings also show that moral disengagement partially mediates the relationship between bullying and gang-related activity Implications for treatment programmes and the prison estate are discussed

Skills development and recoding in engineering analysis and simulation : Industry needs

The EASIT2 project (Engineering Analysis and Simulation Innovation Transfer), funded under the European Union Lifelong Learning Programme, has the major goal to contribute to the competitiveness and quality of engineering, design and manufacturing in Europe through identifying the generic competencies that users of engineering analysis and simulation systems must possess. This competency framework will include a comprehensive Educational Base, a web-based interface compatible with other staff development systems, with links to associated resource material that engineers and analysts can use to develop and track their competencies. The project will also deliver an integrated Registered Analyst (RA) Scheme to provide recognition of achievement of these competencies. In order to help ensure that the deliverables of this project meet industry needs, a survey was undertaken and this paper summarises the findings of this survey. The survey comprised of an online questionnaire and was completed by 1094 respondents from 50 different countries. A large majority of respondents thought a system to define analyst skills and provide links to appropriate training resources would be useful. There was also strong support for a form of professional qualification in engineering analysis. The advantages to industry that these project deliverables would bring include incentives for staff development, marketing power and enhanced subcontractor qualification and internal resource management. The survey also provided a valuable insight into the current state of the engineering analysis and simulation industry. The most significant barriers to the effective use of engineering analysis were identified as recruitment of suitably qualified and experienced staff and a lack of analysis skills. “Pressure of work” was also identified as the most significant reason why organisations fail to get the most out of engineering analysis software. The findings of this survey are now being used in the development of the project deliverables to ensure that they meet the needs of industry as much as possible

User-defined data types and operators in occam

This paper describes the addition of user-defined monadic and dyadic operators to occam* [1], together with some libraries that demonstrate their use. It also discusses some techniques used in their implementation in KRoC [2] for a variety of target machines

The development of a competence framework for engineering analysis and simulation

Engineering analysis and simulation has always played a significant role in the nuclear sector and its use continues to increase across all branches of industry. To remain competitive in an increasingly global environment and to ensure the safety and reliability of products, companies must prepare effectively for the challenges that new engineering simulation technologies will bring. Concerns surrounding the inappropriate use of simulation by staff without the appropriate competences persist, as analyses become more advanced, increasingly embracing more complex physical phenomena and interactions, often in an effort to model reality more faithfully. These trends and the associated competencies required, emphasize the need for life-long learning and continual staff development. Organisations clearly require a sufficient and ongoing supply of well-qualified engineers and the recently funded EASIT2 project is directly aimed at addressing and managing these issues

Transferring simulation skills from other industries to nuclear

Engineering analysis and simulation has always played a significant role in the nuclear sector and its use continues to increase across all branches of industry. To remain competitive in an increasingly global environment and to ensure the safety and reliability of designs, the nuclear industry must take advantage of the new engineering simulation technologies. Concerns surrounding the inappropriate use of simulation by staff without the appropriate competency persist, as analyses become more advanced, increasingly embracing more complex physical phenomena, often in an effort to model reality more faithfully. Furthermore, the age profile of the skilled staff in the nuclear sector in the UK is such that the skills shortage is likely to increase in future. These trends emphasize the need for life-long learning and continual staff development along with transfer of skills from other industry sectors to the nuclear sector. The nuclear industry has taken some initiatives to address skill shortages through the National Skills Academy for Nuclear and Nuclear Energy Skills Alliance (NESA) but these are mostly focused on manufacturing and R&D skills. The recently completed EU funded EASIT2 project is directly aimed at addressing the engineering analysis and simulation skills. This paper gives a brief overview of the EASIT2 project and its deliverables and points out how it can help the skills issues being faced by the nuclear industry. INTRODUCTIO

Comparison between different approaches for the evaluation of the hot spot structural stress in welded pressure vessel components

Fatigue cracks in welds often occur at the toe of a weld where stresses are difficult to calculate at the design stage. To circumvent this problem the ASME Boiler and PV code Section VIII Division 2 Part 5 [1] uses the structural stress normal to the expected crack to predict fatigue life using elastic analysis and as welded fatigue curves. The European Unfired Pressure Vessel Code [2] uses a similar approach. The structural stress excludes the notch stress at the weld toe itself. The predicted fatigue life has a strong dependency on the calculated value of structural stress. This emphasizes the importance of having a unique and robust way of extracting the structural stress from elastic finite element results. Different methods are available for the computation of the structural hotspotstress at welded joints. These are based on the extrapolation of surface stresses close to the weld toe, on the linearisation of stresses in the through-thickness direction or on the equilibrium of nodal forces. This paper takes a critical view on the various methods and investigates the effects of the mesh quality on the value of the structural stress. T-shaped welded plates under bending are considered as a means for illustration

Trends and Design Relating literature to industry practice

In a crowded market place, where technology and functionality are not enough to differentiate a product from its competitors, the product’s appearance is a major driver of consumer preference. But preferences change over time, and product forms need to reflect this in order to stay relevant. This paper addresses the usage of trends by designers to inform the design and evolution of their products. Published theory regarding trends in product form exists in the fashion and consumer behaviour domains, but not in direct relation to the design of consumer products. This paper is preceded by a synthesis of literature in adjacent fields and compares the literature understanding with real industrial practice. Interviews with 9 professionals in trend research, design consultancy, furniture, fashion and architecture, were undertaken to explore the value and usage of trends across a variety of creative fields. The interview data were used to corroborate and enhance the literature understanding. In addition, the study also provides some emerging comparisons between design disciplines. The product designers interviewed were unlikely to use formal trend research methods: inspiration, tacit knowledge and experience accounts for much of their creative output. However, trend consultancies have developed methods of identifying and using trends to develop products for 5-10 years in the future. The fashion industry also has established ways of to rapidly identify or predict trend information. Keywords: Product form; trends; fashion; foresight</p