Integrated Sensor Systems for Vessels of Opportunity, National Oceanographic Centre, Southampton, UK, October 10-12,2006 : workshop proceedings

The use of self-contained, low-maintenance sensor systems installed on commercial vessels is becoming an important monitoring and scientific tool in many regions around the world. These systems integrate data from meteorological and water quality sensors with GPS data into a data stream that is automatically transferred from ship to shore. To begin linking some of this developing expertise, the Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT) and the European Coastal and Ocean Observing Technology (ECOOT) organized a workshop on this topic in Southampton, United Kingdom, October 10-12, 2006. The participants included technology users, technology developers, and shipping representatives. They collaborated to identify sensors currently employed on integrated systems, users of this data, limitations associated with these systems, and ways to overcome these limitations. The group also identified additional technologies that could be employed on future systems and examined whether standard architectures and data protocols for integrated systems should be established. Participants at the workshop defined 17 different parameters currently being measured by integrated systems. They identified that diverse user groups utilize information from these systems from resource management agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to local tourism groups and educational organizations. Among the limitations identified were instrument compatibility and interoperability, data quality control and quality assurance, and sensor calibration andlor maintenance frequency. Standardization of these integrated systems was viewed to be both advantageous and disadvantageous; while participants believed that standardization could be beneficial on many levels, they also felt that users may be hesitant to purchase a suite of instruments from a single manufacturer; and that a "plug and play" system including sensors from multiple manufactures may be difficult to achieve. A priority recommendation and conclusion for the general integrated sensor system community was to provide vessel operators with real-time access to relevant data (e.g., ambient temperature and salinity to increase efficiency of water treatment systems and meteorological data for increased vessel safety and operating efficiency) for broader system value. Simplified data displays are also required for education and public outreach/awareness. Other key recommendations were to encourage the use of integrated sensor packages within observing systems such as 100s and EuroGOOS, identify additional customers of sensor system data, and publish results of previous work in peer-reviewed journals to increase agency and scientific awareness and confidence in the technology. Priority recommendations and conclusions for ACT entailed highlighting the value of integrated sensor systems for vessels of opportunity through articles in the popular press, and marine science. [PDF contains 28 pages]

Published work on freshwater science from the FBA, IFE and CEH, 1929-2006

A new listing of published scientific contributions from the Freshwater Biological Association (FBA) and its later Research Council associates – the Institute of Freshwater Ecology (1989–2000) and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (2000+) is provided. The period 1929–2006 is covered. The compilation extends an earlier list assembled by in 1979.

Algorithm of far-field centre estimation based on phase-only matched filter

Estimation of the far-field centre is carried out in beam auto-alignment. In this paper, the features of the far-field of a square beam are presented. Based on these features, a phase-only matched filter is designed, and the algorithm of centre estimation is developed. Using the simulated images with different kinds of noise and the 40 test images that are taken in sequence, the accuracy of this algorithm is estimated. Results show that the error is no more than one pixel for simulated noise images with a 99% probability, and the stability is restricted within one pixel for test images. Using the improved algorithm, the consumed time is reduced to 0.049 s.

The 2001 World Trade Centre evacuation

The WTC evacuation of 11 September 2001 provides an unrepeatable opportunity to probe into and understand the very nature of evacuation dynamics and with this improved understanding, contribute to the design of safer, more evacuation efficient, yet highly functional, high rise buildings. Following 9/11 the Fire Safety Engineering Group (FSEG) of the University of Greenwich embarked on a study of survivor experiences from the WTC Twin Towers evacuation. The experiences were collected from published accounts appearing in the print and electronic mass media and are stored in a relational data base specifically developed for this purpose. Using these accounts and other available sources of information FSEG also undertook a series of numerical simulations of the WTC North Tower. This paper represents an overview of the results from both studies.

Sentinel-3 Mission Performance Centre: Ensuring a high-quality altimetric dataset

Sentinel-3A is scheduled for launch in Oct. 2015, with Sentinel-3B to follow 18 months later. Together these missions are to take oceanographic remote-sensing into a new operational realm. To achieve this a large number of processing, calibration and validation tasks have to be applied to their data in order to assess for quality, absolute bias, short-term changes and long-term drifts. ESA has funded the Sentinel-3 Mission Performance Centre (S3MPC) to carry out this evaluation on behalf of ESA and EUMETSAT. The S3MPC is run by a consortium led by ACRI [1] and this paper describes the work on the calibration/validation (cal/val) of the Surface Topography Mission (STM), which is co-ordinated by CLS and PML.

A UKST survey of blue objects towards the Galactic centre - seven additional fields

We are searching for early-type stars towards the Galactic centre which are potentially young objects situated within the inner few kiloparsecs of the disk. Photographic photometry from the UK Schmidt Telescope has been used to identify the bluest candidates in nineteen Schmidt fields (centred close to the Galactic centre). We have previously obtained FLAIR low dispersion spectroscopy for three of these fields to estimate spectral types and here we present spectroscopy for an additional seven fields. Combining the results for all ten fields, 56 stars were initially classified as early-B type. Estimates of the equivalent widths of their Balmer and He I lines have been used to estimate atmospheric parameters and 32 targets have effective temperatures greater than or equal to 17 000 K (corresponding to a spectral type of B3 or earlier). The spectra of seven of these targets also have absorption lines due to O II and Si III and can be reliably classified as early- B type. Additionally 78 stars have estimated effective temperatures between 11 000 and 16 000 K with a further a further 50 objects identified as late-B (or early-A) type. All but two of the early B-type candidates have magnitudes in the range 12.0 less than or equal to V less than or equal to 16.0, and our best estimates of their distance suggest that they could be close to (i.e. R-g <3 kpc), or even beyond the Galactic centre.

A chemical analysis of five hot stars towards the Galactic centre

High resolution echelle spectroscopy is presented for thirteen stars lying in the direction of the Galactic centre which, on the basis of photographic photometry and low dispersion spectroscopy, have been classified as early-B-type. Eight of these stars have large rotational velocities which preclude a detailed analysis. The five stars with moderate to low projected rotational velocities have been analysed using model atmosphere techniques to determine atmospheric parameters and chemical compositions. Two of these stars appear to be evolved blue horizontal branch objects on the basis of their chemical compositions and small projected rotational velocity. The evolutionary status of a third is ambiguous but it is probably a post-asymptotic-giant branch star. The remaining two objects are probably young massive stars and show enhanced abundances of N, C, Mg and Si, consistent with their formation in the inner part of the Galactic disk. However their O abundances are normal, confirming results found previously for other early- type stars, which would imply a flat abundance gradient for this element in the inner region of our Galaxy.

Locally regularised two-stage learning algorithm for RBF network centre selection

Nonlinear models constructed from radial basis function (RBF) networks can easily be over-fitted due to the noise on the data. While information criteria, such as the final prediction error (FPE), can provide a trade-off between training error and network complexity, the tunable parameters that penalise a large size of network model are hard to determine and are usually network dependent. This article introduces a new locally regularised, two-stage stepwise construction algorithm for RBF networks. The main objective is to produce a parsomous network that generalises well over unseen data. This is achieved by utilising Bayesian learning within a two-stage stepwise construction procedure to penalise centres that are mainly interpreted by the noise.

The carbon abundance in main-sequence B-type stars towards the Galactic anti-centre

Differential carbon abundances (based on the C II doublet at 6580 Angstrom) are presented for eight early type stars, towards the Galactic anti-centre. All the stars have similar atmospheric parameters with effective temperatures in the range 25000-29000 K and surface gravities between log g = 3.9-4.3 dex. The derived photospheric abundances vary by up to 0.6 dex, and with the exception of one star, RLWT-41, the differential abundances are found to be closely correlated with those of nitrogen. This implies that both elements may have been formed by similar mechanisms and that the lack of correlation between the nitrogen and oxygen abundances previously found in this sample is not directly due to CNO-processed core material being mixed to the stellar surface.

Experimental Moments: R.U.R. and the Birth of British Television Science Fiction

Drawing on material from the BBC Written Archive Centre, this article examines the earliest sf dramas broadcast by the BBC Television Service: two adaptations of Karel Capek's "R.U.R." ("Rossum's Universal Robots") from 1938 and 1948. These productions are used as sites of formal experimentation with the possibilities of the new medium, representing one aspect of contemporary debates about the purpose of television and the style it would assume.

Blending Art and Science in Nurse Education: The Benefits and Impact of Creative Partnerships

Blending Art and Science in Nurse Education: The Benefits and Impact of Creative Partnerships

This paper presents the benefits of an innovative education partnership between lecturers from the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queens University Belfast and Arts Care, a unique Arts and Health Charity in Northern Ireland, to engage nursing students in life sciences

Nursing and Midwifery students often struggle to engage with life science modules because they lack confidence in their ability to study science.This project was funded by a Teaching Innovation Award from the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queens University Belfast, to explore creative ways of engaging year one undergraduate nursing students in learning anatomy and physiology. The project was facilitated through collaboration between Teaching staff from the School of Nursing and Midwifery and Arts Care, Northern Ireland. This unique Arts and Health Charity believes in the benefits of creativity to well being.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE(S)
To explore creative ways of engaging year one undergraduate nursing students in learning anatomy and physiology.

METHODS AND METHODLOGY
Students participated in a series of workshops designed to explore the cells, tissues and organs of the human body through the medium of felt. Facilitated by an Arts Care artist, and following self-directed preparation, students discussed and translated their learning of the cells, tissues and organs of the human body into striking felt images. During the project students kept a reflective journal of their experience to document how participation in the project enhanced their learning and professional development

RESULTS
Creativity transformed and brought to life the students learning of the cells, tissues and organs of the human body.

The project culminated in the exhibition of a unique body of artwork which has been exhibited across Northern Ireland in hospitals and galleries and viewed by fellow students, teaching staff, nurses from practice, artists, friends, family and members of the public.

CONCLUSION
The impact of creativity learning strategies in nurse education should be further explored.

REFERENCES
Bennett, M and Rogers, K.MA. (2014) First impressions matter: an active, innovative and engaging method to recruit student volunteers for a pedagogic project. Reflections, Available online at: QUB, Centre for Educational Development / Publications / Reflections Newsletter, Issue 18, June 2014.

Chickering,A.W. and Gamson,Z.F. (1987) Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education The American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, March. http://www.aahea.org/aahea/articles/sevenprinciples1987.htm, accessed 8th August 2014

Fell, P., Borland, G., Lynne, V. (2012) Lab versus lectures: can lab based practical sessions improve nursing students’ learning of bioscience? Health and Social Care Education 3:1, 33-38

The virtual atomic and molecular data centre (VAMDC) consortium

The Virtual Atomic and Molecular Data Centre (VAMDC) Consortium is a worldwide consortium which federates atomic and molecular databases through an e-science infrastructure and an organisation to support this activity. About 90% of the inter-connected databases handle data that are used for the interpretation of astronomical spectra and for modelling in many fields of astrophysics. Recently the VAMDC Consortium has connected databases from the radiation damage and the plasma communities, as well as promoting the publication of data from Indian institutes. This paper describes how the VAMDC Consortium is organised for the optimal distribution of atomic and molecular data for scientific research. It is noted that the VAMDC Consortium strongly advocates that authors of research papers using data cite the original experimental and theoretical papers as well as the relevant databases.