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Selected AbstractsThe restructuring and privatisation of British Rail: was it really that bad?FISCAL STUDIES, Issue 4 2002Michael G. Pollitt Abstract This paper uses a social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) framework to assess whether rail privatisation in Britain has produced savings in operating costs. The paper shows that major efficiencies have been achieved and consumers have benefited through lower prices, whilst the increased government subsidy has been largely recouped through privatisation proceeds. We also find that output quality is no lower (and is probably better) than under the counterfactual scenario of public ownership (pre-Hatfield). The achievement of further savings is key to delivering improved rail services in the future. This paper finds that a privatised structure, where shareholders demand a return on their investment, has led to significant improvements in operating efficiency. It remains to be seen whether the new regime, with a not-for-profit infrastructure owner, will deliver the same efficiency improvements. [source] A precise water displacement method for estimating egg volumeJOURNAL OF FIELD ORNITHOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Scott A. Rush ABSTRACT Relationships between egg volume and an array of life-history traits have been identified for many bird species. Despite the importance of egg volume and the need for precise and accurate measurements, egg volume is usually estimated using a mathematical model that incorporates length and width measurements along with a shape variable. We developed an instrument that provides precise estimates of egg volume and can be easily used in the field. Using Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris) eggs, we compared egg volumes measured using our instrument with estimates based on linear measurements. We found our instrument to be both precise and accurate. Compared with a method based on linear measurements of eggs, use of our instrument reduced variation in egg volume estimates by 1.6 cm3, approximately 8% of the volume of a Clapper Rail's egg. Further advantages of our technique include ease of use, increased accuracy of field-based volume estimates, and increased resolution of variation in egg volume estimates. In addition, our technique does not require postdata collection processing time and did not influence hatching success. Also, for Clapper Rails and similar species, our technique can be combined with other techniques (e.g., egg flotation) so that both egg volume and embryonic stage can be estimated at the same time. SINOPSIS Las relaciones entre el volumen del huevo y una gran cantidad de caracteres en las historias de vida han sido identificadas para muchas especies de aves. A pesar de la importancia del volumen del huevo y la necesidad de medidas más precisas, el volumen del huevo es comúnmente estimado usando modelos matemáticos que incorporan medidas del largo, ancho y forma del huevo. Nosotros creamos un instrumento que proporciona estimativos precisos del volumen del huevo y puede ser fácilmente usado en el campo. Usando huevos de Rallus longirostris comparamos las medidas de los volúmenes de los huevos usando nuestro instrumento con estimados obtenidos mediante mediadas lineales. Encontramos que nuestro instrumento fue preciso. Comparado con métodos que se basan en medidas lineales de los huevos, el uso de nuestro instrumento reduce la variación de los estimativos del volumen de los huevos en 1.6 cm3, aproximadamente 8% del volumen de los huevos de Rallus longirostris. Ventajas adicionales de nuestra técnica incluye facilidades de uso, incremento en la precisión en los estimativos de volumen realizados en el campo y un incremento en la disminución de la variación de los estimativos del volumen del huevo. Adicionalmente, nuestra técnica no requiere tiempo de manejo después de la colección de los datos, y no afecta el éxito de eclosión. También, para Rallus longirostris y especies similares, nuestra técnica puede ser combinada con otras técnicas (e. g., flotación de los huevos) de tal forma que simultáneamente se puedan estimar el volumen del huevo y el estadio embrionario. [source] Public (Interest) or Private (Gain)?JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 2 2007The Curious Case of Network Rail's Status This paper develops Whitehouse's 2003 examination of the creation of Network Rail, a case study of New Labour's attempt to operationalize the ,third way'. Significant changes have occurred since 2003 which make Network Rail's position as a private company with private sector debt appear increasingly anomalous. These changes include: the reclassification of the debt of another rail company from private to public, and the introduction of,imputed debt'into public sector debt measurement; new funding arrangements for Network Rail which make it heavily dependent on public support; and important rail regulatory policy changes. The paper analyses these changes, and revisits White-house's conclusions. In particular, this paper challenges Whitehouse's contention that Network Rail's creation led to the de facto renationalization of the railway infrastructure at a reduced public cost. The paper demonstrates that Network Rail is a very expensive mechanism for channelling public money to private companies, and argues that the Labour government's attempt to maintain the company's private sector status as part of its third way approach is ultimately untenable. [source] Railtrack is Dead , Long Live Network Rail?JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 2 2003Nationalization Under the Third Way This essay offers, by way of an examination of the proposals to reform the railway industry, a case study of the government's attempt to operationalize the third way. That these proposals are consistent with the third way is identified within this essay and yet they would appear to give rise to the de facto renationalization of the railway infrastructure. In accounting for this apparent contradiction in the (third way) means used and the (old-style democracy) ends achieved, it will be argued that this new form of nationalization is consistent with the third way rather than any socialist understanding of the term. To this extent, therefore, New Labour have attempted to reconceptualize the process of nationalization in pursuit of the ,new mixed economy'. [source] The Fragmentation of a Railway: A Study of Organizational ChangeJOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 3 2005David Tyrrall abstract This paper considers pathways of organizational change within British Rail (BR) during its long period of commercialization culminating in privatization. The Laughlin (1991) and Parker (1995a) frameworks are used to demonstrate how a new interpretative scheme supplanted the previous interpretative scheme within BR between the 1970s and privatization in the mid-1990s, leading to a fragmented organization. BR did not survive and privatization of Britain's railways remains controversial. The study demonstrates that without the earlier changes in interpretive scheme from ,social railway' to ,business railway' to ,profitable business', and the associated changes in design archetypes and sub-systems, privatization would have been both less tempting and less feasible. It is intended that the approach developed here to analyse organizational change in BR should be applicable to the study of other privatizations and to other forms of organizational change in both the public and private sectors. [source] Zeolites in fissures of granites and gneisses of the Central AlpsJOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 8 2010T. WEISENBERGER Abstract Six different Ca-zeolite minerals are widespread in various assemblages in late fissures and fractures in granites and gneisses of the Swiss Alps. The zeolites formed as a result of water,rock interaction at relatively low temperatures (<250 °C) in the continental upper crust. The zeolites typically overgrow earlier minerals of the fissure assemblages, but zeolites also occur as monomineralic fissure fillings. They represent the youngest fissure minerals formed during uplift and exhumation of the Alpine orogen. A systematic study of zeolite samples showed that the majority of finds originate from three regions particularity rich in zeolite-bearing fissures: (i) in the central and eastern part of the Aar- and Gotthard Massifs; (2) Gibelsbach/Fiesch, in a fissure breccia located at the boundary of Aar Massif and Permian sedimentary rocks; and (3) in Penninic gneisses of the Simano nappe at Arvigo (Val Calanca). Rail and road tunnel construction across the Aar- and Gotthard Massif provided excellent data on zeolite frequency in Alpine fissures. It was found that 32% (Gotthard NEAT rail base tunnel, Amsteg section) and 18% (Gotthard road tunnel) of all studied fissures are filled with zeolites. The number of different zeolites is limited to six species: laumontite, stilbite and scolecite are abundant and common, whereas heulandite, chabazite and epistilbite occur occasionally. Calcium is the dominant extra-framework cation, with minor K and Na. Heulandite and chabazite contain Sr up to 29 and 10 mol.% extra-framework cations respectively. Na and K contents in zeolites tend to increase during growth as a result of changes in fluid composition and/or temperature. The K enrichment of stilbite found in surface outcrops compared to subsurface samples may indicate late stage cation exchange with surface water. Texture data, relative age sequences derived from fissure assemblages and equilibrium calculations show that the Ca-dominated zeolites precipitated from fluid with decreasing temperature in the order (old to young = hot to cold): scolecite, laumontite, heulandite, chabazite and stilbite. The necessary components for zeolite formation are derived from dissolving primary granite and gneiss minerals. The nature of these minerals depends, among other factors, on the metamorphic history of the host rock. Zeolites in the Aar Massif derived from the dissolution of epidote, secondary calcite and albite that were originally formed during Alpine greenschist metamorphism from primary granite and gneiss assemblages. Zeolite fissures occur in areas of H2O-dominated fluids. This is consistent with equilibrium calculations that predict a low CO2 tolerance of zeolite assemblages, particularly at low temperature. [source] Touching the Third Rail: Explaining the Failure of Bush's Social Security InitiativePOLITICS & POLICY, Issue 4 2007Terry Weiner Although President George W. Bush mentioned Social Security and the need to "modernize" the popular social insurance program in his first and reelection campaigns for the presidency, many were surprised that it featured as one of his most important goals just two days after the election. Given that most reporters and congressional leaders recognized the "risks" and were circumspect about his chances of success, this article examines Bush's decision to make Social Security "privatization" a major legislative initiative in his second term. Using the garbage can model of agenda setting as proposed by Kingdon, the study looks at why the president decided to move this issue, long known as the "third rail" of U.S. politics, to the top of his agenda. It also questions why,if he indeed had new political capital to spend,he spent it on Social Security and why the effort for reform was virtually dead just ten months later. [source] Whatever Happened to Stakeholding?PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 3 2004Rajiv Prabhakar In 1996 Tony Blair declared in a speech in Singapore that stakeholding would define New Labour's programme in office. This speech provoked much interest in the UK among a centre-left keen to forge a ,third way' alternative to state-centred social democracy and free markets. Conservative politicians, however, subjected New Labour to a barrage of criticisms. Startled by the scale of the negative reaction, Blair stopped referring to stakeholding. A common judgement is that stakeholding got no further than the starting block. This paper challenges this, contending that the progress of stakeholding has not in fact been halted under New Labour. Policies such as Network Rail, foundation hospitals and the Child Trust Fund indicate that stakeholding remains a part of New Labour's approach. Recognizing the stakeholder dimension to policy is important because it opens up a new front in the reform of public services in Britain. [source] How Networks Explain Unintended Policy Implementation Outcomes: The Case of UK Rail PrivatizationPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 4 2001Andrew Grantham How a government secures the implementation of its policies is one of the most interesting processes in public administration. The tendency of scholars is to ignore implementation and how it impacts on the form of policy, something which invariably changes once resources have been allocated to implementing agencies and the policy detail is addressed. Traditional ,top-down' (Pressman and Wildavsky 1984, Mazmanian and Sabatier 1981) and ,bottom-up' (Elmore 1979, Hjern and Porter 1981, Hull and Hjern 1983) analytical frameworks give only a partial explanation of outcomes. In making the case for a netwrok approach, a typology of implementation networks is presented. The utility of this typology is evaluated in the context of one of the most complex privatization programmes attempted by any government: the privatization of British Rail (BR) between 1992 and 1997. In the case of the sale of one BR subsidiary train operating company, ScotRail, a variety of agencies with competing interests and acting in a politically-charged climate exchanged essential resources to deliver the policy, though not without generating unintended outcomes in the form of significant change to the policy and the agencies charged with implementing it. [source] Rail, Steam, and Speed: The "Rocket" and the Birth of Steam Locomotion , By Christopher McGowanTHE HISTORIAN, Issue 4 2008Marsh Wilkinson Jones No abstract is available for this article. [source] A precise water displacement method for estimating egg volumeJOURNAL OF FIELD ORNITHOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Scott A. Rush ABSTRACT Relationships between egg volume and an array of life-history traits have been identified for many bird species. Despite the importance of egg volume and the need for precise and accurate measurements, egg volume is usually estimated using a mathematical model that incorporates length and width measurements along with a shape variable. We developed an instrument that provides precise estimates of egg volume and can be easily used in the field. Using Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris) eggs, we compared egg volumes measured using our instrument with estimates based on linear measurements. We found our instrument to be both precise and accurate. Compared with a method based on linear measurements of eggs, use of our instrument reduced variation in egg volume estimates by 1.6 cm3, approximately 8% of the volume of a Clapper Rail's egg. Further advantages of our technique include ease of use, increased accuracy of field-based volume estimates, and increased resolution of variation in egg volume estimates. In addition, our technique does not require postdata collection processing time and did not influence hatching success. Also, for Clapper Rails and similar species, our technique can be combined with other techniques (e.g., egg flotation) so that both egg volume and embryonic stage can be estimated at the same time. SINOPSIS Las relaciones entre el volumen del huevo y una gran cantidad de caracteres en las historias de vida han sido identificadas para muchas especies de aves. A pesar de la importancia del volumen del huevo y la necesidad de medidas más precisas, el volumen del huevo es comúnmente estimado usando modelos matemáticos que incorporan medidas del largo, ancho y forma del huevo. Nosotros creamos un instrumento que proporciona estimativos precisos del volumen del huevo y puede ser fácilmente usado en el campo. Usando huevos de Rallus longirostris comparamos las medidas de los volúmenes de los huevos usando nuestro instrumento con estimados obtenidos mediante mediadas lineales. Encontramos que nuestro instrumento fue preciso. Comparado con métodos que se basan en medidas lineales de los huevos, el uso de nuestro instrumento reduce la variación de los estimativos del volumen de los huevos en 1.6 cm3, aproximadamente 8% del volumen de los huevos de Rallus longirostris. Ventajas adicionales de nuestra técnica incluye facilidades de uso, incremento en la precisión en los estimativos de volumen realizados en el campo y un incremento en la disminución de la variación de los estimativos del volumen del huevo. Adicionalmente, nuestra técnica no requiere tiempo de manejo después de la colección de los datos, y no afecta el éxito de eclosión. También, para Rallus longirostris y especies similares, nuestra técnica puede ser combinada con otras técnicas (e. g., flotación de los huevos) de tal forma que simultáneamente se puedan estimar el volumen del huevo y el estadio embrionario. [source] Integrated environmental product innovation and impacts on company competitiveness: a case study of the automotive industry in the region of MunichENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2008Ursula Triebswetter Abstract This paper examines the impact of integrated environmental product innovations on company competitiveness. In a regional case study about automotive, rail and commercial vehicle firms in Southern Germany it is found that integrated environmental product innovation is driven by factors such as regulatory pressure, the search for competitive advantages and technological lead as well as customer pressure. Regulatory pressure includes sector policies, such as emission standards, and wider non-sector energy conservation issues, at both national and international levels. For instance, EU directives on future use of renewable energy as well as national goals for reaching the Kyoto protocol play an important role in driving innovation. The study finds that integrated environmental product innovations driven by regulatory pressure produce similar competitiveness impacts as innovations undertaken voluntarily by companies. Such results yield supporting evidence for the so-called ,Porter hypothesis', which assumes that environmental legislation stimulates innovation and leads to ,win,win' situations , the simultaneous reduction of pollution and increase in productivity. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] A precise method for the impedance calculation of a power rail taking into account the skin effect and complex geometryEUROPEAN TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL POWER, Issue 1 2000Y. J. Wang The method of coupled inductance based on subdivision of conductors is employed in this paper for calculating the impedance of a power rail (also known as the conductor rail or third rail) considering the skin effect and complex geometry. The proposed method also allows the current distribution over the rail cross-section to be determined. A numerical technique that is able to economize on the number of subconductors required to achieve a prescribed level of accuracy, is also proposed to reduce computation time and matrix dimensions. [source] Ratcheting and fatigue-led wear in rail,wheel contactFATIGUE & FRACTURE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES, Issue 10 2003F. J. FRANKLIN ABSTRACT A computer model, which simulates the ratcheting wear of a ductile material subject to repeated loading, is presented and discussed in detail. Variation of material properties is a feature of the model, failure by ductility exhaustion occurring at isolated points or extending regions of failure. Such regions form crack-like features. Mechanisms for removal of weakened material from the surface as wear debris are described. The wear process causes a degree of surface roughness. The simplicity of the model enables simulation of millions of load cycles in only a few hours' computer time. The computer model is used to study the effect of partial slip on wear rate. When creepage is relatively low, the wear rate increases sharply with creepage. When creepage is relatively high, the wear rate is largely insensitive to the creepage. [source] Image analysis to reveal crack development using a computer simulation of wear and rolling contact fatigueFATIGUE & FRACTURE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES, Issue 10 2003D. I. FLETCHER ABSTRACT Plastic flow of near-surface rail material under contact loading is a feature of rail,wheel contact, and severe flow typically leads to both wear, and the initiation and development of small surface-breaking cracks. This paper presents results from a ratcheting based computer simulation, which has been developed to allow the simultaneous investigation of wear, crack initiation and early crack propagation. To identify repeatably small crack-like flaws, image analysis is applied to the visual representation of the wearing surface generated by the model. This representation shows a good similarity to traditional micrographs taken from sections of worn surfaces. The model clearly reveals the interaction of wear with crack development, processes which are linked because wear truncates surface-breaking cracks, and can completely remove small surface-breaking cracks. [source] Post-privatisation industrial relations in the UK rail and electricity industriesINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL, Issue 2 2003James Arrowsmith Commercial firms in industries once under public ownership generally have well-organised trade unions with significant disruptive capacity, yet overt confict is often low despite major change. This paper examines the experience of two major rail and energy companies after privatisation. The results demonstrate the importance of sectoral characteristics, and the form of privatisation itself, in shaping industrial relations. The exercise of strategic choice at firm level also undermines any general industrial relations ,theory of privatisation'. [source] Stair Performance in People Aged 75 and OlderJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 4 2004Kathryn A. Hamel PhD Objectives: To examine specific behaviors used by older adults while ascending and descending stairs and to assess the relationships between confidence and stair performance. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Center for Locomotion Studies, The Pennsylvania State University. Participants: Sixteen male (mean age=82.7, range= 77,89) and 16 female (mean age=82.2, range=77,87) community-dwelling adults. Measurements: A stair self-efficacy (SSE) test was created to assess individuals' confidence in their safety on stairs. Observational stair performance measures, measures of walking speed on stairs, and the total SSE score were examined for differences due to sex, and the relationships between SSE and specific stair behaviors were assessed. Results: There was a significant relationship between SSE and the safety precautions taken during stair negotiation. Those with lower SSE were more likely to ascend and descend the stairs at a slower speed, use the handrail to a greater extent, and position themselves closer to the rail. The women had lower domain-specific SSE and tended to use the handrail to a greater extent than men even though there were no sex differences in self-reported functional ability or general falls and mobility confidence. A small group of subjects exhibited characteristics of instability, particularly during stair descent, yet most of this group had high SSE scores and failed to use the handrail. Conclusion: It appears that confidence related to stair negotiation plays a major role in determining risk-taking propensity during stair use in older adults. [source] Deaths Between Bedrails and Air Pressure MattressesJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 6 2002Steven H. Miles MD OBJECTIVES: To describe how patients die by becoming trapped between therapeutic air pressure mattresses and bed rails. DESIGN: A retrospective review of all voluntary reports deaths in beds with air mattresses that can be found in the Food and Drug Administration's on-line databases of adverse medical events that cover 1994 to 2001. SETTING: Death reports come from manufacturers, medical staff, and coroners and describe deaths in hospitals, nursing homes, and home care, although type of care site is often not given. MEASUREMENTS: Event descriptions were reviewed to determine how the person became entrapped in the rail and how responsibility for the event was allocated. RESULTS: There were 35 deaths involving many product lines. Twenty-one deaths involved overlay air mattresses placed on top of a regular mattress. Thirteen patients died in beds with built-in air mattresses. Compression of the mattress allowed an off-center person to slide against the rail where reexpansion of the mattress kept the person compressed against the rail. Two patterns were seen. In one, the mattress bunched up behind a person who was lying on the side of the bed, pushing the neck against a bedrail. In the second type, a patient died after sliding off the bed and having the neck or chest compressed between the rail and bed. Manufacturers attributed the deaths to poor clinical decision-making or inadequate monitoring. CONCLUSIONS: Lethal asphyxiation in beds with air pressure mattresses is a variant of bedrail-mattress entrapment that requires redesign by bed manufacturers and risk awareness by clinicians. [source] Project Development in Complex Environments: Assessing Safety in Design and Decision-MakingJOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2001Joop F. M. Koppenjan How can we be sure that safety risks are adequately dealt with in the design of complex, innovative projects? In The Netherlands, a number of recent innovative project initiatives have made this a relevant question. These initiatives include projects such as the construction of tunnels using new technologies, the construction of underground facilities that combine several functions, i.e. shopping, parking and transport, and the development of a transport corridor in which rail, road and waterway have been or will be combined. These projects combine several functions and have been, or will be, realised in densely built and populated areas. Although safety regulations for products and systems have been institutionalised through legislation and professional design practices, recent project proposals link systems and their environment in new and complex ways. The risks evolving from these links are unknown and the extent to which they are covered by existing safety approaches is uncertain. In this contribution, we examine how the attention paid to safety can be increased and maintained in the design process of infrastructural projects. First, we discuss the need to reorganise the safety focus in the design process. Then we describe the role of the design process in decision-making for major projects with regard to utility building, town planning and the construction of infrastructures. Third, we elaborate how the focus on safety can be organised within this context, given developments in the field of interactive decision-making and the design and management of interaction processes. We then outline a safety risk management method that can be used to achieve this and, finally, address the conditions that influence the use of this method. [source] Floating ladder track response to a steadily moving load,MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 14 2007Roger J. Hosking Abstract Floating ladder rail tracks, which can significantly reduce traffic vibration and noise, have already been installed at several railway sites in and around Tokyo. The steel rails are fixed onto successive ladder-like sections with two parallel longitudinal reinforced concrete sleepers, which are then mounted upon discrete resilient supports on a concrete bed. A simple mathematical model in which a continuous horizontal Bernoulli,Euler beam on periodic discrete elastic supports represents each floating ,combined rail' (i.e. rail and longitudinal sleeper), used earlier to discuss the low-frequency free vibrations in the system, is again adopted to investigate the response due to a steadily moving load. We demonstrate that Fourier transforms can be invoked to obtain the forced deflexion, which depends upon the load speed. A contribution from the periodic supports determines the steady component of the deflexion moving with the load, and the other contributions from the supports produce oscillations. As is the case for a load moving over a beam or plate with continuous support, the response may be characterized using the free flexural wave dispersion relation,although there is now a countably infinite number of dispersion curves, corresponding to the existence of propagation bands in the periodic structure. The lowest wavenumber local minimum in the phase speed (coincident with the group speed) defines the primary critical load speed of most interest, at which the magnitude of the steady component accompanying the moving load becomes large. This primary critical load speed depends upon the relative elasticity of the discrete supports, which must not be too low if the floating ladder track is to be safe for fast rail systems. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Outbound supply chain network design with mode selection and lead time considerationsNAVAL RESEARCH LOGISTICS: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 3 2007Erdem Eskigun Abstract We present a large-scale network design model for the outbound supply chain of an automotive company that considers transportation mode selection (road vs. rail) and explicitly models the relationship between lead times and the volume of flow through the nodes of the network. We formulate the problem as a nonlinear zero-one integer program, reformulate it to obtain a linear integer model, and develop a Lagrangian heuristic for its solution that gives near-optimal results in reasonable time. We also present scenario analyses that examine the behavior of the supply chain under different parameter settings and the performance of the solution procedures under different experimental conditions. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2007 [source] Laser Recanalization of the Subclavian VeinPACING AND CLINICAL ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 4 2006CHARLES A. HENRIKSON We report the use of a long wire and introducer as a rail for the laser recanalization of a chronically occluded subclavian vein following extraction of a fractured permanent pacing lead. This allowed new pacing leads to be placed through the previously occluded vessel. [source] Census and monitoring based on individually identifiable vocalizations: the role of neural networksANIMAL CONSERVATION, Issue 2 2002Andrew M. R. Terry Vocal individuality is widely suggested as a method for identifying individuals within a population. But few studies have explored its performance in real or simulated conservation situations. Here we simulated the use of vocal individuality to monitor the calling corncrake (Crex crex), a secretive and endangered land rail. Our data set contained 600 calls from 30 individuals and was used to simulate a population of corncrakes being counted and monitored. We tested three different neural network models for their ability to discriminate between and to identify individuals. Neural networks are non-linear classification tools widely applied to both biological and non-biological identification tasks. Backpropagation and probabilistic neural networks were used to simulate the reidentification of members of a known population (monitoring) and a Kohonen network was used to simulate the counting of a population of unknown size (census). We found that both backpropagation and probabilistic networks identified all individuals correctly all the time, irrespective of sample size. Kohonen networks were more variable in performance but estimated population size to within one individual of the actual size. Our results indicate that neural networks can be used effectively together with recordings of vocalizations in census and monitoring tasks. [source] Antwerp Central and Liège-Guillemins, BelgiumARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Issue 3 2010David Littlefield Abstract David Littlefield describes how Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB is realising a new holistic vision for high-speed rail in the country with railway stations that are being envisaged as destinations in themselves that connect their urban contexts. This is epitomised by Jacques Voncke's recently completed renovation and expansion of the fin-de-siècle Antwerp Central and Santiago Calatrava's dramatic white canopy for the new station at Liège-Guillemins. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Atmosphere of Interior Urbanism: OMA at ITTARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Issue 3 2008Charles Rice Abstract Charles Rice explores interior atmosphere in a site challenged by existing infrastructure among a generally deteriorating urban scene. Crediting the Office for Metropolitan Architecture's IIT building in Chicago with refiguring the field via the deployment of complex spatial planning, integration of the building with the elevated train rail and a highly differentiated illumination scheme, he ultimately defines the nature of interior urbanism, an urbanity and atmosphere beyond the limits of the building envelope. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Schienenlängskräfte auf Brücken infolge TragwerksbiegungBAUTECHNIK, Issue 2 2005Peter Ruge Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Die Längskraftbeanspruchung von durchgehend geschweißten Schienen auf Brücken ist nach DIN -Fachbericht 101 auch für den Lastfall Tragwerksbiegung infolge Verkehrslast nachzuweisen. Für elastisch-plastische Kopplung zwischen Gleis und Tragwerk beschreibt der Aufsatz einerseits eine numerische Finite-Element Lösung über äquivalente Temperaturdehnungen und andererseits eine exakte analytische Lösung in Form einer Steifigkeitsformulierung. Diese erfordert lediglich ein Minimum an Freiheitsgraden und ermöglicht darüber hinaus die Konzeption kompakter praxistauglicher Bemessungsdiagramme, falls keine Rutschbereiche auftreten. Longitudinal forces in rails on bridges due to bending of deck. According to DIN -Fachbericht 101, the calculation of longitudinal forces in continuously welded rails on bridges must include the actions due to bending of the deck. For an elastic-plastic connection between rail and deck, this paper first describes a numerical FE-solution by treating bending by means of equivalent strains due to temperature. Secondly, an exact solution is presented in a stiffness-like manner. This formulation needs only a minimum of degrees of freedom and can be used to create rather compact design graphs for the practicing engineers if sliding does not occur. [source] Cost estimate for biosynfuel production via biosyncrude gasificationBIOFUELS, BIOPRODUCTS AND BIOREFINING, Issue 1 2009Edmund Henrich Abstract Production of synthetic fuels from lignocellulose like wood or straw involves complex technology. There-fore, a large BTL (biomass to liquid) plant for biosynfuel production is more economic than many small facilities. A reasonable BTL-plant capacity is ,1 Mt/a biosynfuel similar to the already existing commercial CTL and GTL (coal to liquid, gas to liquid) plants of SASOL and SHELL, corresponding to at least 10% of the capacity of a modern oil refinery. BTL-plant cost estimates are therefore based on reported experience with CTL and GTL plants. Direct supply of large BTL plants with low bulk density biomass by trucks is limited by high transport costs and intolerable local traffic density. Biomass densification by liquefaction in a fast pyrolysis process generates a compact bioslurry or biopaste, also denoted as biosyncrude as produced by the bioliq® process. The densified biosyncrude intermediate can now be cheaply transported from many local facilities in silo wagons by electric rail over long distances to a large and more economic central biosynfuel plant. In addition to the capital expenditure (capex) for the large and complex central biosynfuel plant, a comparable investment effort is required for the construction of several dozen regional pyrolysis plants with simpler technology. Investment costs estimated for fast pyrolysis plants reported in the literature have been complemented by own studies for plants with ca. 100 MWth biomass input. The breakdown of BTL synfuel manufacturing costs of ca. 1 , /kg in central EU shows that about half of the costs are caused by the biofeedstock, including transport. This helps to generate new income for farmers. The other half is caused by technical costs, which are about proportional to the total capital investment (TCI) for the pyrolysis and biosynfuel production plants. Labor is a minor contribution in the relatively large facilities. © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [source] Floating ladder track response to a steadily moving load,MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 14 2007Roger J. Hosking Abstract Floating ladder rail tracks, which can significantly reduce traffic vibration and noise, have already been installed at several railway sites in and around Tokyo. The steel rails are fixed onto successive ladder-like sections with two parallel longitudinal reinforced concrete sleepers, which are then mounted upon discrete resilient supports on a concrete bed. A simple mathematical model in which a continuous horizontal Bernoulli,Euler beam on periodic discrete elastic supports represents each floating ,combined rail' (i.e. rail and longitudinal sleeper), used earlier to discuss the low-frequency free vibrations in the system, is again adopted to investigate the response due to a steadily moving load. We demonstrate that Fourier transforms can be invoked to obtain the forced deflexion, which depends upon the load speed. A contribution from the periodic supports determines the steady component of the deflexion moving with the load, and the other contributions from the supports produce oscillations. As is the case for a load moving over a beam or plate with continuous support, the response may be characterized using the free flexural wave dispersion relation,although there is now a countably infinite number of dispersion curves, corresponding to the existence of propagation bands in the periodic structure. The lowest wavenumber local minimum in the phase speed (coincident with the group speed) defines the primary critical load speed of most interest, at which the magnitude of the steady component accompanying the moving load becomes large. This primary critical load speed depends upon the relative elasticity of the discrete supports, which must not be too low if the floating ladder track is to be safe for fast rail systems. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The workload of riding-school horses during jumpingEQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue S36 2006M. M. SLOET Van OLDRUITENBORGH-OOSTERBAAN Summary Reasons for performing the study: As there are no reports on the real workload of horses that jump fences, this study was undertaken in riding-school horses. Objective: To compare the workload of horses jumping a course of fences with that of horses cantering over the same course at the same average speed without jumping fences. The workload variables included heart rate (HR), packed cell volume (PCV), acid-base balance (venous pH, pCO2, HCO3,) and blood lactate (LA), glucose, total protein and electrolyte concentrations. Methods: Eight healthy riding-school horses performed test A (a course of approximately 700 m with 12 jumps from 0.8-1.0 m high at an average speed of approximately 350 m/min) and test B (same course at the same speed, but without the rails) in a crossover study with at least 4 h between the 2 tests. Before each test the horses were fitted with a heart rate meter (Polar Electro)1. Blood samples were taken from the jugular vein at rest prior to the test, after warm-up before starting the course, immediately after the course and after recovery. All samples were analysed immediately. Results: The mean ± s.d maximal HR (beats/min) during the course (184 ± 17 and 156 ± 21, respectively) and the mean HR after recovery (75 ± 6 and 63 ± 7, respectively) were significantly higher in test A compared to test B (P=0.001 and P=0.007 respectively). The mean LA concentrations after the course and after recovery (mmol/1) were significantly higher in test A (3.6 ± 2.7 and 1.0 ± 0.9, respectively) compared to test B (0.9 ± 0.5 and 0.3 ± 0.1, respectively), (P=0.016 and P = 0.048 respectively). The mean PCV (1/1) after the course and after recovery was also significantly different between tests A (0.48 ± 0.04 and 0.39 ± 0.03, respectively) and B (0.42 ± 0.04 and 0.36 ± 0.03, respectively) (P<0.01). The mean pH and the mean HCO3, (mmol/1) after the course were significantly lower in test A (7.40 ± 0.04 and 28.9 ± 1.4, respectively) compared to test B (7.45 ± 0.03 and 30.4 ± 2.3, respectively) (P<0.05). Conclusions: This study indicates that in riding-school horses jumping fences, even at a low level competition, provokes a significant workload compared to cantering the same distance and speed without fences. Potential relevance: This study makes it clear that the extra workload of jumping fences should be taken into account in the training programmes of jumping horses. Further research with more experienced horses jumping higher fences will reveal the workload for top-level jumping horses. [source] Materials Selection Process for Compound-Extruded Aluminium Matrix Composites,ADVANCED ENGINEERING MATERIALS, Issue 12 2005A. Weidenmann Compound extrusion is a near-net-shape process allowing for the rapid and flexible in-line production of unidirectionally-reinforced profiles. Regarding the use of this technology for the production of reinforced lightweight profiles for structural applications, no materials combination has yet been systematically assessed or examined since the first investigations on compound conductor rails starting in the 1970s. On this account, a materials selection process respecting the compound extrusion demands is mandatory. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||