The role of evacuation and fire modelling in the development of safer air travel

Computer based mathematical models describing the aircraft evacuation process and aircraft fire have a role to play in the design and development of safer aircraft, in the implementaion of safer and more rigorous certification criteria and in post mortuum accident investigation. As the cost and risk involved in performing large-scale fire/evacuation experiments for the next generation 'Very Large Aircraft' (VLA) are expected to be high, the development and use of these modelling tools may become essential if these aircraft are to prove a viable reality. By describing the present capabililties and limitations of the EXODUS evacuation model and associated fire models, this paper will examine the future development and data requirements of these models.

The role of evacuation modelling in the development of safer air travel

Computer based mathematical models describing the aircraft evacuation process have a vital role to play in the design and development of safer aircraft, in the implementation of safer and more rigorous certification criteria and in post mortuuum accident investigation. As the risk of personal injury and costs involved in performing large-scale evacuation experiments for the next generation 'Ultra High Capacity Aircraft' (UHCA) are expected to be high, the development and use of these evacuation modelling tools may become essential if these aircraft are to prove a viable reality. In this paper the capabilities and limitation of the air-EXODUS evacuation model are described. Its successful application to the prediction of a recent certificaiton trial, prior to the actual trial taking place, is described. Also described is a newly defined parameter known as OPS which can be used as a measure of evacuation trial optimality. Finally, the data requirements of aircraft evacuation models is discussed along with several projects currently underway at the University of Greenwich designed to obtain this data. Included in this discussion is a description of the AASK - Aircraft Accident Statistics and Knowledge - data base which contains detailed information from aircraft accident survivors.

The comparative advantage of the public sector in the development of urban water supply

This paper addresses the potential of public water operations in achieving developmental goals such as the Millennium Development Goals, and argues that the public sector has a comparative advantage in developing water services. The global importance of the public sector in urban water supply is examined through a review of current practice in the world's largest cities, including operational presence and distribution and ongoing trends. Empirical evidence shows that, in transition and developing countries, public operators are capable of undergoing successful reform. One explanatory factor is proposed to be the creation through the public sphere of highly interconnected networks among stakeholders. Such accountability networks act as vehicles for the generation and distribution of public knowledge among stakeholders, which in turn inform rational decision making on the reform and management of operations.

The role of joint training in practitioner development for learning disability services

The presentation explores and evaluates an innovation in education and training in which two different professional trainings (nursing and social work) are integrated to produce jointly qualified specialist practitioners.