Experience of extreme weather affects climate change mitigation and adaptation responses

The winter of 2013/2014 saw a series of severe storms hit the UK, leading to widespread flooding, a major emergency response and extensive media exposure. Previous research indicates that experiencing extreme weather events has the potential to heighten engagement with climate change, however the process by which this occurs remains largely unknown, and establishing a clear causal relationship from experience to perceptions is methodologically challenging. The UK winter flooding offered a natural experiment to examine this question in detail. We compare individuals personally affected by flooding (n=162) to a nationally representative sample (n=975). We show that direct experience of flooding leads to an overall increased salience of climate change, pronounced emotional responses and greater perceived personal vulnerability and risk perceptions. We also present the first evidence that direct flooding experience can give rise to behavioural intentions beyond individual sustainability actions, including support for mitigation policies, and personal climate adaptation in matters unrelated to the direct experience

Stress analysis of pipe-in-pipe systems under free span for deep water pipeline applications.

This study examined the phenomena of free span for a pipe -in- pipe (PIP) system for pipeline application. Two different span length of 8 and 30 meters are modelled and simulated using nonlinear stress analysis. The effect of pressure, temperature and gravity on the PIP system are determined and compared with conventional single pipeline. From the results obtained, it is clear that the finite element analysis (FEA) results correlated very well with those calculated using analytical methods. Percentage differences were generally less than 10%, with some discrepancies which were due to assumption of thin-walled theory which assumes a radial stress equals to zero, whereas the FEA calculates a non-zero radial stress. The key finding in this study demonstrated the strong potentials of PIP system in terms of structural reliability for deep-water pipeline application. Specifically, the 30m single pipe in free span (with pressure and temperature) deflected 205.1mm, more than double the corresponding PIP. This knowledge can be beneficial to selection and design considerations for pipeline system responses to both the gravity, thermal and pressure loading as well as the potential failure modes that may results in a typical scenario. Various theoretical calculations of stresses are used to validate the finding in this study of the single pipe and PIP models for flat seabed and free span

On the Effect of Side Clearance in the Vaned Diffuser of a Centrifugal Compressor

Centrifugal compressors with vaneless diffusers have been widely utilised in turbochargers for internal combustion engines, particularly in the automotive industry, due to their compact size and ability to deliver high pressure ratios over a wide flow range. Methods to improve compressor efficiency near the surge line without compromising surge margin has received considerable interest. Changes to the impeller blade design and/or diffuser are typically limited in order to maintain performance around the engine rated power operating condition. Such competing demands have encouraged designers to develop variable geometry compressors with the aim of improving performance near surge without sacrificing rated power performance. The on/off type vaned diffuser is a variable geometry device capable of delivering a pressure ratio and efficiency benefit near surge by utilizing a vaned diffuser rather than a vaneless diffuser. Diffuser vane shaped clearances in the hub or the shroud end wall, termed side clearances, enable axial sliding variability of the vanes into and out of the diffuser passage. It is not known how side clearance geometry and position affect compressor performance i.e., pressure ratio, efficiency, and stability. Hence, a numerical and experimental investigation was conducted to determine the impact of clearance geometry and end wall position on compressor performance. It was found that side clearance positioned at the shroud end wall reduced the compressor surge margin for both clearance geometries considered. In contrast to this, a clearance positioned at the hub end wall improved the compressor surge margin but achieved the lowest efficiency benefit

The viscous Cahn-Hilliard equation. I. Computations

The viscous Cahn-Hilliard equation arises as a singular limit of the phase-field model of phase transitions. It contains both the Cahn-Hilliard and Allen-Cahn equations as particular limits. The equation is in gradient form and possesses a compact global attractor A, comprising heteroclinic orbits between equilibria. Two classes of computation are described. First heteroclinic orbits on the global attractor are computed; by using the viscous Cahn-Hilliard equation to perform a homotopy, these results show that the orbits, and hence the geometry of the attractors, are remarkably insensitive to whether the Allen-Cahn or Cahn-Hilliard equation is studied. Second, initial-value computations are described; these computations emphasize three differing mechanisms by which interfaces in the equation propagate for the case of very small penalization of interfacial energy. Furthermore, convergence to an appropriate free boundary problem is demonstrated numerically

Structural response of a compliant pipe-in-pipe under frictionless and frictional conditions of the seabed.

Pipe-in-Pipe (PIP) technology has been studied significantly owing to its superior performance in deep-water and high-pressure high temperature fields than conventional single pipe. The PIP system has excellent track record of mitigating flow assurance problems from subsea wells through maintenance of the fluid's temperature in the pipe. It has also been applied in marine environment where conventional single pipe cannot perform. However, owing to complex interaction and contact within the PIP system and seabed, the mechanism of load transfer and the stresses that developed due to pressure, temperature and combined loading has not been fully understood and quantified. Therefore, this study examined the effect of pressure, temperature and the combined loading on PIP systems for flat seabed subsea pipeline. Simulations are performed to examined frictional and frictionless conditions of the flat seabed on PIP system and individual results of inner pipe, insulation material and outer pipe are presented for each analysis. The analytical calculations are carried-out for determining the operating stresses in each component of the PIP system in view of its significance for the overall structural behaviour of the system and validation of the numerical model. The impact response of the inner pipe, insulation and the outer pipe based on pressure, temperature and the combination of both (pressure and temperature) and the resulting stress on each component of the PIP system are investigated and the result presented. Furthermore, results of axial, radial and hoop stresses for the individual loading condition and with coupled analysis corresponding to each simulation (Frictional and Frictionless seabed conditions) are found to be closely similar with percentage difference less than 5 except for the von Mises stress which give 5.3%. This interesting finding revealed that the friction force does not affect structural integrity of the PIP system compared to conventional - single pipeline assuming all other parameters remains constant. Moreover, the presence of the outer pipe and the insulation material enhanced the performance of the inner pipe. The numerical simulation predicts closely the impact response for pipe-in-pipe composite specimens under individual and combined loading conditions. Therefore, the results obtained will serve as a reference guide for designing, construction and operating PIP system in the future to develop unconventional challenging energy resources like High Pressure High Temperature fields

Divided We Fall: The Story of Separate and Unequal Suburban Schools 60 Years after Brown v. Board of Education

This report is a clarion call for those paying attention to the changing racial and ethnic demographics of this country and its suburbs in particular. It is the in-depth story of one suburban county and its public schools as the demographics of who lives in the suburbs versus the cities in the 21st century is shifting quickly, as the affluent and the poor, the black and the white are trading places across urban-suburban boundary lines. The same story could be told about hundreds of suburban counties across the country that are facing similar pressures and approaching similar breaking points. In the statistical data we analyzed and in the voices of the 800 people we interviewed and surveyed in Nassau County, Long Island - the home of Levittown, the first post-WWII archetypal suburb -- there is mounting anxiety about the future of American suburbs and their public schools. We found much frustration about how the economy, housing market, lack of infrastructure and public policies negatively affect these communities. In this report, we convert this angst into a reality check for anyone who may think that racially and ethnically diverse suburbs are easily accomplished or that they do not face serious obstacles. These obstacles include racially and ethnically segregated housing patterns amid fragmented and divided municipalities and school districts and the brain drain of more affluent and educated residents who grew up in the suburbs but now prefer city life. Meanwhile, these suburbs are tubs on their own bottoms, heavily reliant on local sources of funding, namely property taxes, to pay for public schools and municipal services. This means that public school resources and reputations are spread unevenly across separate and unequal suburban school districts

Greater Manchester Independent Prosperity Review: Retail. A technical report for the research on Productivity

This report considers productivity in the retail sector, with emphasis on Greater Manchester in particular. It includes an overview of the characteristics of the sector, covering components such as demographics, skills levels and earnings. As a significant component in the drive for higher levels of productivity skills levels amongst the staff in the retail sector are considered, with particular emphasis on career progression. The role of pay is considered along with recommendations to increase productivity in Greater Manchester. The report concludes with a summary of barriers to productivity in the retail sector, best practice interventions as well as an overview of the wider policy agenda

Cutaneous Conditions Leading to Dermatology Consultations in the Emergency Department

<p>Introduction: We established the most common cutaneous diseases that received dermatology consultation in the adult emergency department (ED) and identified differentiating clinical characteristics of dermatoses that required hospital admission.</p> <p>Methods: A retrospective chart review of 204 patients presenting to the ED who received dermatology consultations at Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center, an urban tertiary care teaching hospital.</p> <p>Results: Of all patients, 18% were admitted to an inpatient unit primarily for their cutaneous disease, whereas 82% were not. Of nonadmitted patients, the most commonly diagnosed conditions were eczematous dermatitis not otherwise specified (8.9%), scabies (7.2%), contact dermatitis (6.6%), cutaneous drug eruption (6.0%), psoriasis vulgaris (4.2%), and basal cell carcinoma (3.6%). Of patients admitted for their dermatoses, the most highly prevalent conditions were erythema multiforme major/Stevens-Johnson syndrome (22%), pemphigus vulgaris (14%), and severe cutaneous drug eruption (11%). When compared with those of nonadmitted patients, admitted skin conditions were more likely to be generalized (92% vs 72%; P = 0.0104), acute in onset (< 1 month duration) (81% vs 51%; P = 0.0005), painful (41% vs 15%; P = 0.0009), blistering (41% vs 7.8%; P < 0.0001), and ulcerated or eroded (46% vs 7.8%; P < 0.0001). They were more likely to involve the mucosa (54% vs 7.2%; P < 0.0001) and less likely to be pruritic (35% vs 58%; P = 0.0169).</p> <p>Conclusion: We have described a cohort of patients receiving dermatologic consultation in the ED of a large urban teaching hospital. These data identify high-risk features of more severe skin disease and may be used to refine curricula in both emergency and nonemergency cutaneous disorders for emergency physicians. [West J Emerg Med. 2011;12(4):551–555.]</p