Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections observed by MESSENGER and Venus Express

Interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) observed by the MESSENGER (MES) and Venus Express (VEX) spacecraft have been catalogued and analysed. The ICMEs were identified by a relatively smooth rotation of the magnetic field direction consistent with a flux rope structure, coinciding with a relatively enhanced magnetic field strength. A total of 35 ICMEs were found in the surveyed MES data (primarily from March 2007 to April 2012), and 84 ICMEs in the surveyed VEX data (from May 2006 to December 2013). The ICME flux rope configurations have been determined. Ropes with northward leading edges were about four times more common than ropes with southward leading edges, in agreement with a previously established solar cycle dependence. Ropes with low inclinations to the solar equatorial plane were about four times more common than ropes with high inclinations, possibly an observational effect. Left and right-handed ropes were observed in almost equal numbers. In addition, data from MES, VEX, STEREO-A, STEREO-B and ACE were examined for multipoint signatures of the catalogued ICMEs. For spacecraft separations below 15{\deg} in heliocentric longitude, the second spacecraft observed the ICME flux rope in 82% of cases; this percentage dropped to 49% for separations between 15 and 30{\deg}, to 18% for separations between 30 and 45{\deg}, and to 12% for separations between 45 and 60{\deg}. As spacecraft separation increased, it became increasingly likely that only the sheath and not the flux rope of the ICME was observed, in agreement with the notion that ICME flux ropes are smaller in longitudinal extent than the shocks or discontinuities that they often drive. Furthermore, this study has identified 23 ICMEs observed by pairs of spacecraft close to radial alignment. A detailed analysis of these events could lead to a better understanding of how ICMEs evolve during propagation.Comment: 28 pages, 7 figure

Genetic algorithms: a pragmatic, non-parametric approach to exploratory analysis of questionnaires in educational research

Data from a survey to determine student attitudes to their courses are used as an example to show how genetic algorithms can be used in the analysis of questionnaire data. Genetic algorithms provide a means of generating logical rules which predict one variable in a data set by relating it to others. This paper explains the principle underlying genetic algorithms and gives a non-mathematical description of the means by which rules are generated. A commercially available computer program is used to apply genetic algorithms to the survey data. The results are discussed

THE BIRTH OF A FEMPRENEUR: A NEOLIBERAL GUIDE TO GOING VIRAL AND MAKING MILLIONS

Social media has created a new way of feminist activism in the world, including a rapid rise in \u27fempreneurs\u27 feminist entrepreneurs. With many fempreneurs turning to social media apps such as Tik Tok and Instagram as a platform to post their activism, and turn it into a profitable career for personal financial gains. I analyzed a popular Tik Tok influencer who is famous for being a feminist advocate on the platform calling out men, and analyze her posts in order to observe the types of feminism that goes viral on social media. Overall, it is evident from my research that neoliberal feminism is the type of feminism that gains attention on social media and can be commodified for profit, a key objective in neoliberal society

Older and wiser? Men’s and women’s accounts of drinking in early mid-life

Most qualitative research on alcohol focuses on younger rather than older adults. To explore older people’s relationship with alcohol, we conducted eight focus groups with 36 men and women aged 35 to 50 years in Scotland, UK. Initially, respondents suggested that older drinkers consume less alcohol, no longer drink to become drunk and are sociable drinkers more interested in the taste than the effects of alcohol. However, as discussions progressed, respondents collectively recounted recent drunken escapades, challenged accounts of moderate drinking, and suggested there was still peer pressure to drink. Some described how their drinking had increased in mid-life but worked hard discursively to emphasise that it was age and stage appropriate (i.e. they still met their responsibilities as workers and parents). Women presented themselves as staying in control of their drinking while men described going out with the intention of getting drunk (although still claiming to meet their responsibilities). While women experienced peer pressure to drink, they seemed to have more options for socialising without alcohol than did men. Choosing not to drink alcohol is a behaviour that still requires explanation in early mid-life. Harm reduction strategies should pay more attention to drinking in this age group

Material Gradients in Oxygen System Components Improve Safety

Oxygen system components fabricated by Laser Engineered Net Shaping (TradeMark) (LENS(TradeMark)) could result in improved safety and performance. LENS(TradeMark) is a near-net shape manufacturing process fusing powdered materials injected into a laser beam. Parts can be fabricated with a variety of elemental metals, alloys, and nonmetallic materials without the use of a mold. The LENS(TradeMark) process allows the injected materials to be varied throughout a single workpiece. Hence, surfaces exposed to oxygen could be constructed of an oxygen-compatible material while the remainder of the part could be one chosen for strength or reduced weight. Unlike conventional coating applications, a compositional gradient would exist between the two materials, so no abrupt material boundary exists. Without an interface between dissimilar materials, there is less tendency for chipping or cracking associated with thermal-expansion mismatches

An eighth-century inscribed cross-slab in Dull, Perthshire

The discovery of a cross-inscribed slab with an inscription is described. Because of its importance it was decided to invite specialist comment on this piece of sculpture and to publish it in advance of the full report on the excavations. The form of the monument, its inscription and archaeological context are considered. The text appears to consist of a Gaelic personal name. The script is a form of geometrical lettering which can be dated to the opening quarter of the eighth century. The form of the cross has Columban associations which sit well with place-name and other evidence which points to Dull having been a monastery founded from Iona by c. AD 700

Large Chiral Diffeomorphisms on Riemann Surfaces and W-algebras

The diffeomorphism action lifted on truncated (chiral) Taylor expansion of a complex scalar field over a Riemann surface is presented in the paper under the name of large diffeomorphisms. After an heuristic approach, we show how a linear truncation in the Taylor expansion can generate an algebra of symmetry characterized by some structure functions. Such a linear truncation is explicitly realized by introducing the notion of Forsyth frame over the Riemann surface with the help of a conformally covariant algebraic differential equation. The large chiral diffeomorphism action is then implemented through a B.R.S. formulation (for a given order of truncation) leading to a more algebraic set up. In this context the ghost fields behave as holomorphically covariant jets. Subsequently, the link with the so called W-algebras is made explicit once the ghost parameters are turned from jets into tensorial ghost ones. We give a general solution with the help of the structure functions pertaining to all the possible truncations lower or equal to the given order. This provides another contribution to the relationship between KdV flows and W-diffeomorphimsComment: LaTeX file, 31 pages, no figure. Version to appear in J. Math. Phys. Work partly supported by Region PACA and INF

Laser power conversion system analysis, volume 2

The orbit-to-ground laser power conversion system analysis investigated the feasibility and cost effectiveness of converting solar energy into laser energy in space, and transmitting the laser energy to earth for conversion to electrical energy. The analysis included space laser systems with electrical outputs on the ground ranging from 100 to 10,000 MW. The space laser power system was shown to be feasible and a viable alternate to the microwave solar power satellite. The narrow laser beam provides many options and alternatives not attainable with a microwave beam