Near Infrared Spectroscopy of the Ultracompact HII region G45.12+0.13

We present complete, low resolution IJHK spectroscopy of the ultracompact HII region, G45.12+0.13. From the observed HI line strengths, we derive a near infrared extinction law that is slightly steeper than the average. After correction with this extinction law, we find good agreement between the observed line ratios of HeI, Fe+, Fe++, S+ and S++ and the available atomic data. Our data show that the density within the core of G45.12+0.13 must be at least 10^4/cm^3. This is consistent with the known radio structure of the HII region and in considerable disagreement with previous work using mid and far infrared lines. There must also be considerable opacity in the HeI 2 3P-2 3S transition, and we show how the observed strengths of the other HeI lines are consistent with this. From modelling the photoionisation structure, we find good agreement with most of the observed data if the hottest star present has Teff < 42000K. Consideration of the helium ionisation state places a lower limit on this value so that we can also constrain Teff > 38000K. Discrepancies still exist between some of the observed and model line ratios, but the most obvious tend to be the mid-IR observations.Comment: 17 pages Latex source, 5 postscript figures and macros. gzipped tar file. TO appear in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronimcal Society. Also available by anonymous ftp from ftp://aaoepp.aao.gov.au/local/sll/g45.uu (uuencoded gzipped tar file

The Role of Botanic Gardens in Species Recovery :

A translocation experiment to reintroduce the rare fern Woodsia ilvensis (L.) R.Br. to former sites in England and Scotland is described. The demands of this kind of conservation work brings the work of scientists and horticulturists together. High losses of transplants are to be expected and in order to gradually build up populations in the wild, translocation programmes may have to adopt a multi-phased approach. The facilities at botanic gardens are well suited to this type of conservation work

Computerised peer-assessment that supports the rewarding of evaluative skills in essay writing (CAP) and programming (Coursemaker)

This short paper details recent innovations in the development of peer-assessed environments that support the automated rewarding of the higher order skills of evaluation in two areas of higher education, namely essay writing and computer programming. The work builds upon past uses and developments of the CAP (computerised assessment by peers) system that has been used as a means of providing a safe, anonymous and qualitative method of assessing student peer-assessment for the past four years within the School of Computing at the University of Glamorgan, South Wales

Using Life Cycle Assessment in environmental engineering education

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method of assessing the environmental impacts of the manufacture and use of a product or provision of a service such as waste management. LCAs are based on quantitative science, but softer skills are also required in interpreting the results. Therefore, LCA provides an ideal opportunity for students to develop and apply both quantitative and qualitative skills in order to address complex real-world problems. In this research a simplified spreadsheet LCA tool was produced for students to assess the environmental impacts of a waste management system. Detailed feedback from face to face and distance-learning students were positive about the tool, with students welcoming the detail provided in the results and the use of a practical example to help their learning. In conclusion, LCA is an effective way of encouraging environmental and engineering students to develop and apply a wide range of transferable skills

Designing a Mobile Device for Pre-hospital Care

Peer reviewedPreprin

Verbal Dialogue versus Written Dialogue

Modern technology has moved on and completely changed the way that people can use the telephone or mobile to dialogue with information held on computers. Well developed “written speech analysis” does not work with “verbal speech”. The main purpose of our article is, firstly, to highlights the problems and, secondly, to shows the possible ways to solve these problems

Bog microtopography and the climatic sensitivity of testate amoeba communities: implications for transfer function-based paleo-water table reconstructions

Although the use of sub-fossil testate amoebae as a proxy for raised bog hydrology in Holocene paleoecological studies is well-established, some detailed aspects of species-environment relationships remain under-researched. One such issue is the effect of bog surface microtopography on the climatic sensitivity of testate amoeba communities. Although it has been suggested that some microforms—especially hummocks—may be less sensitive to climatic forcing than others, this has rarely been objectively tested. To investigate this, subfossil testate amoebae assemblages have been examined in a series of shallow cores collected along a hummock-lawn-hollow transect from a bog in central Ireland and the resulting reconstructed water table records, dated using 210Pb, have been compared with instrumental weather data. Testate amoebae communities in the hollow microform were found to be significantly less diverse than those in the hummock and lawn, and both the hummock and lawn showed statistically significant correlations with instrumental temperature and precipitation data. Therefore, whilst the suggestion that paleoecological investigations should target intermediate bog microforms remains sound, the notion that hummock-based testate amoebae hydrological data are climatically-insensitive is challenged

Towards an extended festival viewing experience

Media coverage of large-scale live events is becoming increasingly complex, with technologies enabling the delivery of a broader range of content as well as complex viewing patterns across devices and services. This paper presents a study aimed at understanding the experience of people who have followed the broadcast coverage of a music festival. Our findings show that the experience takes a diversity of forms and bears a complex relationship with the actual experience of being at the festival. We conclude this analysis by proposing that novel services for coverage of this type of events should connect and interleave the diverse threads of experiences around large-scale live events and consider involving more diverse elements of the experience of “being there”

Towards an extended festival viewing experience

Media coverage of large-scale live events is becoming increasingly complex, with technologies enabling the delivery of a broader range of content as well as complex viewing patterns across devices and services. This paper presents a study aimed at understanding the experience of people who have followed the broadcast coverage of a music festival. Our findings show that the experience takes a diversity of forms and bears a complex relationship with the actual experience of being at the festival. We conclude this analysis by proposing that novel services for coverage of this type of events should connect and interleave the diverse threads of experiences around large-scale live events and consider involving more diverse elements of the experience of ``being there''