Improving the performance of swift-water rescue quick release harnesses

This paper considered the effectiveness of empathic design modifications to quick release harness design. It was found that the critical element in effecting a rapid and efficient release was the tape length distal to the buckle/back-bar components. We have concluded that the length of tape pulled through the buckle and the loading of the buckle/ tri-glide are critical to ensure an effective release. Physical separation of tape and buckle mechanism when the harness is released is crucial to the effective release. We then considered the problems this may pose in multiple user situations such as ‘call out’ teams or training use and we propose that the adaptation utilised in the research harness to facilitate testing may provide a simple and low cost solution to the multiple user problem allowing easy adjustment of the harness to ensure the separation of buckle and tape on release. We conclude by outlining the design adaptations and recommendations for the training and use of the quick release harness and make recommendations for the training of QRH use

Experimental review of diffractive phenomena

A review is given of the measurements of the hard diffractive interactions in recent years from two high-energy colliders, the HERA $ep$ collider and the Tevatron $p\bar{p}$ collider. The structure of the diffractive exchange in terms of partons, the factorisation properties and the ratio of diffractive to non-diffractive cross sections are discussed.Comment: Contribution to the proceedings of BARYONS 2004. LaTeX 10 page

Constructing graphs with no immersion of large complete graphs

In 1989, Lescure and Meyniel proved, for $d=5, 6$, that every $d$-chromatic graph contains an immersion of $K_d$, and in 2003 Abu-Khzam and Langston conjectured that this holds for all $d$. In 2010, DeVos, Kawarabayashi, Mohar, and Okamura proved this conjecture for $d = 7$. In each proof, the $d$-chromatic assumption was not fully utilized, as the proofs only use the fact that a $d$-critical graph has minimum degree at least $d - 1$. DeVos, Dvo\v{r}\'ak, Fox, McDonald, Mohar, and Scheide show the stronger conjecture that a graph with minimum degree $d-1$ has an immersion of $K_d$ fails for $d=10$ and $d\geq 12$ with a finite number of examples for each value of $d$, and small chromatic number relative to $d$, but it is shown that a minimum degree of $200d$ does guarantee an immersion of $K_d$. In this paper we show that the stronger conjecture is false for $d=8,9,11$ and give infinite families of examples with minimum degree $d-1$ and chromatic number $d-3$ or $d-2$ that do not contain an immersion of $K_d$. Our examples can be up to $(d-2)$-edge-connected. We show, using Haj\'os' Construction, that there is an infinite class of non-$(d-1)$-colorable graphs that contain an immersion of $K_d$. We conclude with some open questions, and the conjecture that a graph $G$ with minimum degree $d - 1$ and more than $\frac{|V(G)|}{1+m(d+1)}$ vertices of degree at least $md$ has an immersion of $K_d$

Over egging the pudding? Comments on Ojala and Thorpe

In a recent paper in ISCJ, Ojala and Thorpe offered a culturally based observation that questions the role and application of coaching in action sports. Their critique is focused on the action sport of snowboarding which, despite its’ comparatively recent inclusion in the Olympics, retains a different, almost collaborative rather than competitive culture more akin to other action sports such as skateboarding and surfing. Ojala and Thorpe then present Problem Based Learning (PBL) as the solution to many of these perceived ills, describing the positive characteristics of the approach and promoting its cultural fit with action sport environments and performers. In this paper we offer a different perspective, which questions the veracity of the data presented and the unquestioningly positive view of PBL as the answer. Our alternative, data-driven perspective suggests that action sport athletes are increasingly positive, or even desirous of good coaching, of which PBL is a possible approach; suitable for some athletes some of the time

An alternative monetary aggregate: M2 plus household holdings of bond and equity mutual funds

Money supply ; Mutual funds

PROFILE user's guide

User information for program PROFILE, an aerodynamics design utility for refining, plotting, and tabulating airfoil profiles is provided. The theory and implementation details for two of the more complex options are also presented. These are the REFINE option, for smoothing curvature in selected regions while retaining or seeking some specified thickness ratio, and the OPTIMIZE option, which seeks a specified curvature distribution. REFINE uses linear techniques to manipulate ordinates via the central difference approximation to second derivatives, while OPTIMIZE works directly with curvature using nonlinear least squares techniques. Use of programs QPLOT and BPLOT is also described, since all of the plots provided by PROFILE (airfoil coordinates, curvature distributions) are achieved via the general purpose QPLOT utility. BPLOT illustrates (again, via QPLOT) the shape functions used by two of PROFILE's options. The programs were designed and implemented for the Applied Aerodynamics Branch at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, and written in FORTRAN and run on a VAX-11/780 under VMS

A Site Value Tax for Ireland: Approach, Design and Implementation

Ireland’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the EU/IMF requires government to introduce a recurring annual property tax. While the MoU has not specified the precise form this new taxation measure will adopt, commitments in the National Recovery Plan 2011-2014 and Fine Gael/Labour Programme for Government have pointed towards the introduction of an annual Site Value Tax (SVT). Budget 2011 suggested that the yield from this tax source would grow from €180m in 2012 to reach €530m in 2014. Similarly the MoU commits government to raising additional taxation revenues of €1.5bn in 2012 and €1.1bn in 2013 with both to be partly funded by a property tax and increases to that tax. To date assessments of the feasibility of a SVT (by the Commission of Taxation and the Department of Finance) have pointed towards a series of practical difficulties associated with its introduction. This paper outlines a proposal to overcome these difficulties and to introduce a credible, fair and reliable annual SVT from January 2013. The paper uses the land registry database of the Property Registration Authority of Ireland (PRAI) to outline the structure and administration of a SVT.Taxation, Property, Fiscal Policy, Ireland

2Planning for Contingencies: A Decision-based Approach

A fundamental assumption made by classical AI planners is that there is no uncertainty in the world: the planner has full knowledge of the conditions under which the plan will be executed and the outcome of every action is fully predictable. These planners cannot therefore construct contingency plans, i.e., plans in which different actions are performed in different circumstances. In this paper we discuss some issues that arise in the representation and construction of contingency plans and describe Cassandra, a partial-order contingency planner. Cassandra uses explicit decision-steps that enable the agent executing the plan to decide which plan branch to follow. The decision-steps in a plan result in subgoals to acquire knowledge, which are planned for in the same way as any other subgoals. Cassandra thus distinguishes the process of gathering information from the process of making decisions. The explicit representation of decisions in Cassandra allows a coherent approach to the problems of contingent planning, and provides a solid base for extensions such as the use of different decision-making procedures.Comment: See http://www.jair.org/ for any accompanying file