Oblique Convergence in the Himalayas of Western Nepal Deduced from Preliminary Results of GPS Measurements

A GPS network consisting of 29 sites was installed in central and western Nepal, with measurements taken in 1995 and partial remeasurements in 1997. Data suggest 15 +/−5 mm/yr of N180° convergence between the Higher Himalayas and India, a result that is consistent with N‐S shortening across the arcuate shape of the Nepalese Himalayas and an oblique underthrusting of the Indian crust below the High Himalayas of western Nepal. A 4 +/−3 mm/year E‐W extension and deviation of the principal shortening axes are inferred east of 83°E, where Quaternary faults (Darma‐Bari Gad fault system and Thakkhola graben) delineate a crustal wedge. This wedge is located on the SE projection of the Karakorum fault and may segment the Himalayan thrust belt. The convergence between the outer belt of western Nepal and India is less than 3 mm/yr, an attenuation consistent with creep on a dislocation locked beneath the Lesser Himalayas. A preliminary model suggests that this N 120°E striking dislocation is affected by a 19 mm/yr thrust component and a 7 mm/yr right lateral component

Gestion de crise chez les Sapeurs-Pompiers : Déterminants socio-cognitifs de l'efficacité des équipes

The main activity of firefighters is the management of dynamic situations, whether common interventions, accidents, or crises. They are constantly working in teams. Therefore, to analyze their activity in a crisis management situation, it is necessary to understand how they function as a team and the determinants of the team.This thesis focuses on firefighters’ crisis management, and its purpose is to identify the factors that determine the efficiency of teams in crisis situations. The factors considered are various team processes and psychosocial variables. We examine the general hypothesis that the elements that determine team effectiveness in crisis management can be found in part within the handling of common interventions and accidents.Three studies were conducted. The first focused on the management of common interventions in real situations, which were observed in the first response vehicle of a fire department. The second study analyzed how simulated excavation rescues were conducted. The final study involved the crisis management of a simulated subway fire. Key results showed that team processes (communication, emotional interactions, and adaptations) have an effect on team effectiveness, regardless of the kind of intervention. Motivation seems to be indirectly related to team effectiveness through team processes. However, although the variables that determine team effectiveness are the same, they are not always involved in the same way. Crisis management, in particular, shows specific features in terms of team processes.These studies confirm the value of taking into account both psychosocial variables and team processes to understand what determines the effectiveness of firefighter teams. They also help recommend specific actions in training programs. These actions are likely to contribute to continuous improvement in the effectiveness of firefighter teams and promote taking psychosocial variables into account within firefighter structures.Les sapeurs-pompiers (SP) ont pour activité principale la gestion de situations dynamiques, qu'il s'agisse d'interventions courantes, de sinistres ou de crises. Les SP interviennent constamment en équipe. Pour pouvoir analyser leur activité lors d’une gestion de crise, il s'avère donc nécessaire de comprendre le fonctionnement d'une équipe et de ses déterminants. Ce travail de thèse porte sur la gestion de crise chez les SP et poursuit l’objectif d’identifier les facteurs qui déterminent l’efficacité des équipes dans ces situations. Les facteurs considérés sont différents processus d’équipe mais également des variables «psychosociales». Nous examinons l'hypothèse générale selon laquelle les éléments qui déterminent l’efficacité des équipes lors de gestion de crises se retrouvent en partie dans la gestion de sinistres et d’interventions courantes.Trois études ont été réalisées. La première a porté sur la gestion d’interventions courantes en situation réelle. Il s’agissait d’interventions en Véhicule de Secours et d’Assistance aux Victimes (VSAV). La seconde étude a consisté à analyser, en situation simulée, la gestion de sinistre en Lot de Sauvetage et Protection Contre les Chutes (LSPCC). Enfin, la dernière étude portait sur la simulation d’une gestion de crise, plus précisément un feu dans le métro.Les principaux résultats ont montré que, quel que soit le type d’intervention, les processus d’équipe (la communication, les interactions émotionnelles et les adaptations) ont un effet sur l’efficacité des équipes SP. La motivation semble être indirectement liée à l’efficacité des équipes par l’intermédiaire du processus d’équipe. Cependant, bien que les variables qui déterminent l’efficacité des équipes SP soient les mêmes dans les trois études, ce ne sont pas toujours les mêmes modalités qui interviennent ou qui sont déterminantes. La gestion de crise présente notamment des spécificités en termes de processus d’équipe.Ces études confirment l’intérêt de prendre en compte à la fois des variables psychosociales et des processus d’équipe pour comprendre ce qui détermine l’efficacité des SP. Elles permettent également de préconiser des actions en termes de formation notamment. Ces actions sont susceptibles de soutenir l’amélioration continue de l’efficacité des équipes de SP et de favoriser la prise en compte de certaines variables psychosociales au sein des SDIS

Bibliothèque, cité et territoire

Depuis les émeutes de 2005 qui ont durablement marqué les esprits, les bibliothèques françaises ont été, ici ou là, victimes dactes isolés de vandalisme. Mais le saccage répété de la Petite Bibliothèque Ronde de Clamart quelques jours à peine après lattentat contre Charlie Hebdo a débouché sur une journée de réflexion, manière de répondre dans lurgence à ce qui reste encore incompréhensible aux professionnels de la médiation

Current status of the verification and processing system GALILEE-1 for evaluated data

International audienceThis paper describes the current status of GALILÉE-1 that is the new verification and processing system for evaluated data, developed at CEA. It consists of various components respectively dedicated to read/write the evaluated data whatever the format is, to diagnose inconsistencies in the evaluated data and to provide continuous-energy and multigroup data as well as probability tables for transport and depletion codes. All these components are written in C++ language and share the same objects. Cross-comparisons with other processing systems (NJOY, CALENDF or PREPRO) are systematically carried out at each step in order to fully master possible discrepancies. Some results of such comparisons are provided

Program Development Grant Report : Conversion of Wave Characteristics to Actual Electric Energy/Power Potentials

This report presents an assessment of the wave power potential of the Oregon coast and how much of that power can actually be converted into useful energy, based on analysis of the conversion efficiency of the two most advanced and probable technologies: oscillating water columns (OWC) and buoys. The actual ocean real estate that would be required for the power output of each device has also been estimated. The source of the data for this study is the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) database of wave characteristics collected over a number of years from buoys located along the coastal waters of North America

Present kinematics of the Tjörnes Fracture Zone, North Iceland, from campaign and continuous GPS measurements

The Tjörnes Fracture Zone (TFZ), North Iceland, is a 120 km transform offset of the Mid-Atlantic-Ridge that accommodates 18mmyr−1 plate motion on two parallel transform structures and connects the offshore Kolbeinsey Ridge in the north to the on-shore Northern Volcanic Zone (NVZ) in the south. This transform zone is offshore except for a part of the right-lateral strike-slip Húsavík-Flatey fault (HFF) system that lies close to the coastal town of Húsavík, inducing a significant seismic risk to its inhabitants. In our previous work we constrained the locking depth and slip-rate of the HFF using 4 yr of continuous GPS measurements and found that the accumulated slip-deficit on the fault is equivalent to a Mw6.8± 0.1 earthquake, assuming a complete stress release in the last major earthquakes in 1872 and a steady accumulation since then. In this paper we improve our previous analysis by adding 44 campaign GPS (EGPS) data points, which have been regularly observed since 1997. We extract the steady-state interseismic velocities within the TFZ by correcting the GPS data for volcanic inflation of Theistareykir—the westernmost volcano of the NVZ—using a model with a magma volume increase of 25× 106m3, constrained by InSAR time-series analysis results. The improved velocity field based on 58 GPS stations confirms the robustness of our previous model and allows to better constrain the free model parameters. For the HFF we find a slightly shallower locking depth of ∼6.2km and a slightly higher slip-rate of ∼6.8mmyr−1 that again result in the same seismic potential equivalent to a Mw6.8 earthquake. The much larger number of GPS velocities improves the statistically estimated model parameter uncertainties by a factor of two, when compared to our previous study, a result that we validate using Bayesian estimatio

Resource planning power flow & feasibility study

The OSU Motor Systems Resource Facility (MSRF), co-directed by the Principal Investigators (PI's, bios included), is an Energy Systems Laboratory with operating capabilities up to 750kV A, testbeds up to 300hp, a 120kVA fully programmable source, and a bi-directional grid interface enabling regeneration back onto the grid. The MSRF was developed at OSU for the research and testing of current and emerging technologies involving electric energy generation and renewables, machines, power electronics, industrial systems and power quality, and the hands-on training of students to prepare them for their transition into industry. The laboratory is unique in that it serves both students and industry through contracted projects, demonstrations and courses, including two short courses offered to PGE on Adjustable Speed Drives and Utility Application Issues in 2000. Example research that the MSRF has conducted includes ocean wave and wind generation work, research with the Navy on the 'all-electric ship" and their Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) hovercraft and hybrid electric vehicles including sport utility vehicles and military tanks. At this time the MSRF has the highest power ratings and is the best-equipped Energy Systems Laboratory in any university in the nation

Nucleon-nucleus scattering as a test of shell structure of some light mass exotic nuclei

Shell model wave functions have been used to form microscopic g-folding optical potentials with which elastic scattering data from 8He, 10,11C, and 18,20,22O scattering on hydrogen has been analyzed. Those potentials, the effective two-nucleon interaction used in their formation, and the shell model details, then have been used in distorted wave approximation calculations of differential cross sections from inelastic scattering to the first excited states of five of those radioactive ions.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure

Assessment of the permanent magnet adjustable-speed coupling system (ASCS)

The purpose of this report is to provide information on the adjustable-speed coupling system (ASCS) including: physical construction, principles of operation, application potential, and laboratory and field test results. In addition, comparison laboratory tests will be presented for conventional adjustable speed drives (ASDs). The ASCS has been tested at three different ratings (50 hp, 100 hp, and 200 hp) driving load profiles representing both fans and pumps. Detailed analyses will be presented for the 100 hp tests, with the summary results including the 50 hp and 200 hp cases as well. The ASCS employs high energy-product neodymium/iron/boron (NeFeB) permanent magnets which act on steel-backed copper discs to provide torque transfer from motor to load without mechanical contact. The slip that occurs between the motor and load shafts can be changed by adjustment of the mechanical clearance of the magnets and the copper discs. Thus, a form of speed control for the load is affected for a system driven by a constant frequency induction motor