Privatisation of public transit: lessons from the wider experience

Road-based public transport internationally is increasingly exposed to the economic elements of competition, private ownership and tendered operations as part of a strategy by governments to improve the efficiency of service provision and reduce the level of explicit subsidy from the State. The experience with increasing exposure to competition and privatisation is not limited to the passenger sector. In the United Kingdom for example, electricity, telecommunications, water and gas utilities have been privatised and opened up to competition. There are plans in progress to privatise the railways and the postal service. This paper reflects on the experiences to date across the set of utilities. The lessons for government, the role of efficiency objectives, exposure to capital markets, the weak bankruptcy constraint in the public sector, exposure to competition in the product market, price control, and the promotion of competition are addressed. The evidence has a direct bearing on future strategies for public sector transit agencies

A fluid-film bearing supported elastic rotor : an experimental and theoretical investigation

Imperial Users onl

Ecosystem (dis)benefits arising from formal and informal land-use in Manchester (UK); a case study of urban soil characteristics associated with local green space management

Urban soils are subject to anthropogenic influences and, reciprocally, provide benefits and dis-benefits to human wellbeing; for example carbon storage, nutrient cycling and the regulation trace element and contaminant mobility. Collective stewardship of urban green commons provides contemporary examples of the diversity of uses and management of green space in cities and represents a growing movement in user participation in, and awareness of, the importance of urban ecological health. Exploring the range of social-ecological benefits exemplified in the urban environment has generally focused on above-ground processes, with few studies examining the potential for (dis)benefits arising from edaphic characteristics of collectively-managed spaces. An investigation into the influence of formal and informal green space management on carbon fluxes and heavy metal concentrations in urban soils was carried out in Manchester (UK) finding that carbon storage in soils of collectively managed urban green commons (7.15 ±1.42 kg C m⁻²) was significantly greater than at formally managed sites (for example city parks: 5.08 ±0.69 kg C m⁻²), though the latter exhibited reduced losses through CO2 emission. Variation in heavy metal concentrations and mobility were likewise observed, exemplified by the acidification of surface soils by leaf litter at orchard sites, and the resultant increase in the mobility of lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn). The results of this study indicate the importance of small-scale contemporary urban green space management on selected ecosystem services provided by the limited soil resource of cities. Thus, a greater consideration of the effects of horticultural and amenity activities with regards to soil quality/functionality is required to ensure available urban green commons retain or increase their ecological quality over time

An extended classical solution of the droplet growth problem

Problems of applying the classical kinetic theory to the growth of small droplets from vapor are examined. A solution for the droplet growth equation is derived which is based on the assumption of a diffusive field extending to the drop surface. The method accounts for partial thermal and mass accommodation at the interface and the kinetic limit to the mass and heat fluxes, and it avoids introducing the artifact of a discontinuity in the thermal and vapor field near the droplet. Consideration of the environmental fields in spherical geometry utilizing directional fluxes yields boundary values in terms of known parameters and a new Laplace transform integral

Elephant

Poetry

Animation - a study and comparison of concepts and software issues

This paper examines animation from several different views – historical through the modern computer generated. It covers a short history of animation with a detailed look at some of the early examples with an emphasis on the techniques and tricks used in their creation. It also looks at how computers have changed the animation industry and expanded it into other occupations such as architectural modeling. A comparison between traditional and computer animation processes is noted as well as a look at software, its components, usability, and more. Types of and processes for rendering are also described and compared

Organised Crime: A Chaotic Notion

Borrowed theories and principles from the physical sciences have enabled social scientists and criminologists to analyse well-worn theories and data from a new perspective. One such theory is chaos theory, a subset of the family of complexity theory, and an emerging perspective in postmodern criminology. Chaos theory is the science of non-linear and dynamic systems that appear random due to their complex behaviour, but in essence are deterministic and sensitive to initial conditions (popularly referred to as the butterfly effect). Chaos theory is best applied to systems that operate at local and global level, and that display signs of both order and disorder. Organised crime may be described as such a system. This paper explores the notion and attempts to analyse organised crime from a new perspective.Sydney Institute of Criminology; School of Social Sciences at the University of Western Sydne

Patterning methods for organic electronics

Organic electronics is an exciting new avenue for low cost electronics. The unique properties of organic semiconductors may enable a new generation of electronic devices to be fabricated into flexible, large area, and even transparent consumer products. However, for this to become a reality, many challenges must first be overcome. As the performance of these materials continues to improve, it is now necessary to look to new manufacturing methods and materials that can fully exploit the advantages of organic materials. The work presented in this thesis is focused on the development of new and high resolution fabrication methods which are compatible with organic electronic materials. The findings presented in the first half of this thesis are based on the idea that fundamentally new forms of manufacturing are required to match the unique properties of organic materials. Initially the adhesion properties of several materials are analysed with a focus on how they interact at the nano-scale. Further work then outlines how adhesion forces can be manipulated and used to produce highly aligned nano-scale electronic devices, something that until now has required high cost and specialist equipment. The second part of this thesis describes how existing fabrication methods can be modified to produce high performance organic devices. By creating self-aligned organic transistors, higher frequency device operation and enhanced performance may be possible. New materials such as graphene and low voltage nano-scale dielectrics are tested in this configuration and compared with similar devices reported in the literature.Open Acces