Advanced evacuation simulation software and its use in warships

The newly formed Escape and Evacuation Naval Authority regulates the provision of abandonment equipment and procedures for all Ministry of Defence Vessels. As such, it assures that access routes on board are evaluated early in the design process to maximize their efficiency and to eliminate, as far as possible, any congestion that might occur during escape. This analysis can be undertaken using a computer-based simulation for given escape scenarios and replicates the layout of the vessel and the interactions between each individual and the ship structure. One such software tool that facilitates this type of analysis is maritimeEXODUS. This tool, through large scale testing and validation, emulates human shipboard behaviour during emergency scenarios; however it is largely based around the behaviour of civilian passengers and fixtures and fittings of merchant vessels. Hence there existed a clear requirement to understand the behaviour of well-trained naval personnel as opposed to civilian passengers and be able to model the fixtures and fittings that are exclusive to warships, thus allowing improvements to both maritimeEXODUS and other software products. Human factor trials using the Royal Navy training facilities at Whale Island, Portsmouth were recently undertaken to collect data that improves our understanding of the aforementioned differences. It is hoped that this data will form the basis of a long-term improvement package that will provide global validation of these simulation tools and assist in the development of specific Escape and Evacuation standards for warships. © 2005: Royal Institution of Naval Architects.

A semi-Lagrangian finite volume method for Newtonian contraction flows

A new finite volume method for solving the incompressible Navier--Stokes equations is presented. The main features of this method are the location of the velocity components and pressure on different staggered grids and a semi-Lagrangian method for the treatment of convection. An interpolation procedure based on area-weighting is used for the convection part of the computation. The method is applied to flow through a constricted channel, and results are obtained for Reynolds numbers, based on half the flow rate, up to 1000. The behavior of the vortex in the salient corner is investigated qualitatively and quantitatively, and excellent agreement is found with the numerical results of Dennis and Smith [Proc. Roy. Soc. London A, 372 (1980), pp. 393-414] and the asymptotic theory of Smith [J. Fluid Mech., 90 (1979), pp. 725-754].

The Royal Statistical Society and statistical education

This paper describes the role of the Royal Statistical Society in shaping statistical education within the UK and further afield. Until 2001 the Society had four agencies concerned with education at all levels. The work of these is discussed and recent new arrangements are outlined. The Society’s efforts to disseminate good practice through organising meetings and running a network of Associate Schools and College are explored in some detail.

Translating Nietzsche, mediating literature: Alexander Tille and the limits of Anglo-German intercultural transfer

Dr. Alexander Tille (1866–1912) was one of the key-figures in Anglo-German intercultural transfer towards the end of the 19th century. As a lecturer in German at Glasgow University he was the first to translate and edit Nietzsche’s work into English. Writers such as W. B. Yeats were influenced by Nietzsche and used Tille’s translations. Tille’s social Darwinist reading of the philosopher’s oeuvre, however, had a narrowing impact on the reception of Nietzsche in the Anglo-Saxon world for decades. Through numerous publications Tille disseminated knowledge about British authors (e.g., Robert Louis Stevenson, William Wordsworth) in Germany and about German authors (e.g., Johann Wolfgang von Goethe) in Britain. His role as mediator also extended into areas such as history, religion, and industry. During the Boer war, however, Tille’s outspoken pro-German nationalism brought him in conflict with his British host society. After being physically attacked by his students he returned to Germany and published a highly anglophobic monograph. Tille personifies the paradox of Anglo-German relations in the pre-war years, which deteriorated despite an increase in intercultural transfer and knowledge about the respective Other. [From the Author]