157 research outputs found
A payroll business model for the future
The context of this research is broadly focused since it is based on payroll business models, which sit predominantly within Human Resource or Finance functions. This research is not about defining the operational detail of how a payroll service is delivered. It is about the core strategic elements of a model that will strengthen payroll as a competitive business model for the joint venture company and other organisations. Strategies emerge as people come to learn about a situation and the capabilities of their firm to deal with them (Mintzberg et al, 1998). Mintzberg’s thinking encapsulates the essence of this research in that it has identified the challenging perceptual paradigm shift, that is, to transform the thinking of payroll as a mere transactional cost based activity to one that is perceived as a core business activity with multiple potential when combined with associated technology and integration with other business functions. It provides a competency set that can be sold in the market place as a unique selling position to deliver what others may consider as blue sky thinking i.e. a mere wish or dream
The contribution of skate blade properties to skating speed
The purpose of the study was to investigate the relative contribution of skate blade
properties to on-ice skating speed. Thirty-two male ice hockey players (mean age =
19±2.65 yrs.) representing the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA; Midget AAA
and Junior), Canadian Inter University Sport (CIS: Varsity), Ontario hockey league
(OHL) and East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), and the playing positions of forwards
(n=18) and defense (n=14) were recruited to participate. Skate related equipment worn by
the players for the purpose of the research was documented and revealed that 80% of the
players wore Bauer skates, Tuuk blade holders and LS2 skate blades. Subjects completed
a battery of eight on-ice skating drills used to measure and compare two aspects of
skating speed; acceleration [T1(s)] and total time to complete each drill [TT(s)] while
skating on three skate blade conditions. The drills represented skills used in the game of
hockey, both in isolation (e.g., forward skating, backward skating, stops and starts, and
cornering) and in sequence to simulate the combination of skills used in a shift of game
play. The three blade conditions consisted of (i) baseline, represented by the blades worn
by the player throughout their current season of play; (ii) experimental blades (EB),
represented by brand name experimental blades with manufacturers radius of contour and
a standardized radius of hollow; and (iii) customized experimental blades (CEB),
represented by the same brand name experimental blades sharpened to the players’
preference as identified in the baseline condition. No significant differences were found
in acceleration time [T1(s)] or total time to complete [TT(s)] the isolated drills across
blade conditions; however significant differences were revealed in both T1(s) and TT(s)
measured during the execution of the sequenced drill across blade conditions. A
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Bonferroni post hoc test revealed that players skated significantly faster when skating on
the CEB condition compared to the baseline condition (p≤.05). A questionnaire assessing
subjects perceived comfort, confidence and effort expended while skating on the
experimental blades revealed that players were significantly more comfortable when
skating on the CEB versus the EB condition (p≤.05). Outcomes of the study provide
evidence to suggest that the experimental skate blades customized with the players
preferred blade sharpening characteristics results in faster skating speed in a combination
drill representing skills performed in gameplay
Computation of limit cycle oscillations and their stabilities in nonlinear aeroelastic systems using harmonic balance methods
Understanding the aeroelastic behaviour of aerospace systems is critical in aircraft design. The presence of structural nonlinearities can have a significant impact on these behaviours causing the onset of Limit Cycle Oscillations (LCO) and shifts in stability. Numerical continuation techniques have been implemented to detect and track the behaviour of these solutions. However, due to the complexity nonlinearities bring it is common practice to simplify the analysis to linear models that can underestimate the impact nonlinearities have. Nonlinear analysis tools can often be inefficient especially for large scale systems. Studies have shown that modelling nonlinear steady state vibrational behaviour in the frequnncy domain with Harmonic Balance Methods (HBM) can significantly improve the efficiency of nonlinear analysis. In this paper, the architecture of a HBM based continuation tool for analysis of nonlinear aeroelastic systems is presented. A simple 2D aerofoil case study featuring a freeplay nonlinearity is investigated with the tool and compared to state of the art alternative software that operate in the time domain. With this case study, it was shown that HBM provided both faster running times and less data storage requirements than alternative software. The devised HBM operated 11 times faster than MATCONT and 3 times faster than COCO for the same test case. Stability data obtained using Hill's method was also in agreement with COCO and time history comparisons. The significance of the freeplay nonlinearity is also demonstrated, shifting the safety margin of the design by 18% when compared to purely linear aeroelastic analysis
Swimming with ShARCS: Comparison of On-sky Sensitivity With Model Predictions for ShaneAO on the Lick Observatory 3-meter Telescope
The Lick Observatory's Shane 3-meter telescope has been upgraded with a new
infrared instrument (ShARCS - Shane Adaptive optics infraRed Camera and
Spectrograph) and dual-deformable mirror adaptive optics (AO) system (ShaneAO).
We present first-light measurements of imaging sensitivity in the Ks band. We
compare measured results to predicted signal-to-noise ratio and magnitude
limits from modeling the emissivity and throughput of ShaneAO and ShARCS. The
model was validated by comparing its results to the Keck telescope adaptive
optics system model and then by estimating the sky background and limiting
magnitudes for IRCAL, the previous infra-red detector on the Shane telescope,
and comparing to measured, published results. We predict that the ShaneAO
system will measure lower sky backgrounds and achieve 20\% higher throughput
across the bands despite having more optical surfaces than the current
system. It will enable imaging of fainter objects (by 1-2 magnitudes) and will
be faster to reach a fiducial signal-to-noise ratio by a factor of 10-13. We
highlight the improvements in performance over the previous AO system and its
camera, IRCAL.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation,
Montreal 201
ShaneAO: wide science spectrum adaptive optics system for the Lick Observatory
A new high-order adaptive optics system is now being commissioned at the Lick
Observatory Shane 3-meter telescope in California. This system uses a high
return efficiency sodium beacon and a combination of low and high-order
deformable mirrors to achieve diffraction-limited imaging over a wide spectrum
of infrared science wavelengths covering 0.8 to 2.2 microns. We present the
design performance goals and the first on-sky test results. We discuss several
innovations that make this system a pathfinder for next generation AO systems.
These include a unique woofer-tweeter control that provides full dynamic range
correction from tip/tilt to 16 cycles, variable pupil sampling wavefront
sensor, new enhanced silver coatings developed at UC Observatories that improve
science and LGS throughput, and tight mechanical rigidity that enables a
multi-hour diffraction- limited exposure in LGS mode for faint object
spectroscopy science.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures. Presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes +
Instrumentation conference, paper 9148-7
Outcome of minimally invasive management of salivary calculi in 4,691 patients
Objective: To evaluate the application of minimally invasive techniques in the management of salivary stones. Background: The incidence of salivary calculi is 60 cases/million/year, with most stones situated in the mid or proximal duct. The current treatment of these stones is adenectomy. This paper reports the results of minimally invasive methods of stone removal that avoid gland excision. Methods: Observational study of 5,528 consecutive patients treated by lithotripsy, endoscopy, basket retrieval, and/or surgery in five centers from 1990 to 2004 inclusive. A total of 567cases were excluded, leaving 4,691 patients (parotid n=1,165, submandibular n=3,526) for analysis. Results: Salivary calculi were eliminated in 3,775/4,691 (80.5%) of cases and partly cleared in 782/4,691 (16.7%). Salivary glands were removed in 134/4,691 (2.9%) of patients with symptoms in whom treatment failed. Conclusions: Minimally invasive techniques move treatment of salivary calculi to an outpatient or a day case setting. They are reliable ways of both retrieving stones and eliminating symptoms, and mean that the gland rarely has to be removed
Characterising entrainment in fountains and negatively buoyant jets
Turbulent fountain flow consists of two distinct stages, the initial ‘negatively buoyant jet’ (NBJ) stage, and the fully developed ‘fountain’ stage. The present study investigates both stages of the flow using particle image velocimetry and planar laser-induced fluorescence, over a range of source Froude numbers, 10≲Fro≲30 , and Reynolds numbers, 5500≲Reo≲7700 . While the velocity and buoyancy profiles in NBJs take similar Gaussian shapes over a wide range of axial locations, this was not observed in fountains. The changing profile shape is most evident in the outer flow (OF) region, while there is a degree of similarity in the inner flow (IF). Entrainment between IF and OF is shown to depend on the local Richardson number, Ri . The fountains are found to have a negative entrainment coefficient, α<0 , for the majority of their height, implying a net radial outflow of fluid from the IF to the OF. An alternative description of entrainment is considered, the ‘decomposed top-hat’ model, where the radial flow is separated into inflow and outflow components that are then estimated using the present experimental data. The inflow component was found to be proportional to the axial IF velocity, which is similar to the classical description of entrainment in pure jets/plumes, while the outflow depends on the local Ri . Entrainment in NBJs may also be described by this framework, which, despite not having an OF, is still subject to an Ri -dependent radial outflow
Commissioning ShARCS: the Shane Adaptive optics infraRed Camera-Spectrograph for the Lick Observatory 3-m telescope
We describe the design and first-light early science performance of the Shane
Adaptive optics infraRed Camera-Spectrograph (ShARCS) on Lick Observatory's 3-m
Shane telescope. Designed to work with the new ShaneAO adaptive optics system,
ShARCS is capable of high-efficiency, diffraction-limited imaging and
low-dispersion grism spectroscopy in J, H, and K-bands. ShARCS uses a
HAWAII-2RG infrared detector, giving high quantum efficiency (>80%) and Nyquist
sampling the diffraction limit in all three wavelength bands. The ShARCS
instrument is also equipped for linear polarimetry and is sensitive down to 650
nm to support future visible-light adaptive optics capability. We report on the
early science data taken during commissioning.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures. Presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes +
Instrumentation conference, paper 9148-11
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