For interactive simulations using a physics engine, a fixed time step is often necessary in order to maintain real-time performance. Furthermore, collisions between the simulated geometric objects have to be detected by solving a computational problem called collision detection. In its discrete formulation, the geometric configurations of the bodies are evaluated at each simulation time step, whereas its continuous variant also considers the bodies’ motion in betweenthe time steps. A fixed simulation time step can lead to missed collisions if only discrete collision detection is performed. This problem arises especially when simulating thin objects such as wires, chains, or ropes for applications like heavy lifting or anchor handling. In order to be able to simulate wires interacting with each other in real-time simulations, continuous collision detection is therefore necessary.An existing simulation model for wires, chains, and ropes using adaptive wire resolution has been augmented using continuous collision detection. This addition has been integrated into the physics engine AGX Dynamics. Issues in existing methods for continuous collision detection of moving line segments caused by co-linearity and co-planarity have been identified, classified and addressed. Using this augmented approach to continuous collision detection allows for alarger fixed simulation step size compared to discrete collision detection, and thus decreases the total run time by up to 58.22% in relevant scenarios.

Contained in this paper is Caries, a comparative relationship visualizer. The systemoperates on tweets and attempts to find named entities and map the relationshipbetween them.The biggest contribution this system makes to the academic community is its uniqueapplication area where it could be used as a form of recommendation system forcustomers. It can also be used as a form of analysis tool for marketing expertsto see what kind of named entities are being compared with each other on socialmedia. These marketing experts can then act on the information to benefit thebusiness. The paper shows that this system is viable, but there is still room forimprovement. Several suggestions for future work is offered, which could likelyincrease the performance of the system significantly.

Background: Increasing breastfeeding rates is a longstanding goal of health policy in England. Rationale for this is premised upon the health benefits to both mother and child conferred by exclusive breastfeeding. Current UK Infant Feeding Policy (IFP) derives from international guidelines incorporating the Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) that promote exclusive breastfeeding. Such ‘evidence informed policy formation’ is emblematic of the current context of health policymaking. However, the impact of current IFP upon women and healthcare professionals is under researched. Aim: This study explores the impact of IFP upon Women, Midwives and Heads of Midwifery services in England and considers the implications for maternity services. Methodology: A qualitative design used semi-structured interviews to determine the experiences and views of IFP with eight Heads of Midwifery and eight Midwives. Six women underwent three interviews exploring their infant feeding journeys at: 8 months pregnant, 1 month and 6 months’ post-partum. Data were analysed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Findings: Three key themes arose contributing towards understanding the context of IFP: Being with IFP, Discourses of Self-Determination and The Emotion work of Compliance. For Midwives: The socio-political context of health and health-care system policy is multifarious but contains identifiable spheres relating to current IFP. Midwives do not appear to actively engage in the political process of this type of policy generation. For Mothers: Infant feeding remains emotionally fraught territory. Three key themes arose from the first interview: Adopting a Stance, Formulating a Vision and Processing the Dialogues of Infant Feeding. The second interview engendered three more key themes termed: Being with the Reality of Infant Feeding, Regaining Selfhood and Seeking Companions. Discussion and Conclusion: Foucault’s analyses of power and governmentality were used to explore the ‘Art of Midwifery’ vs the ‘Art of Governance’. Lack of holism and neoliberal agendas dominating current IFP may be detrimental to maternity service provision as they compromise decisional autonomy for women and clinical autonomy for midwives.

Recent advancements in applied, medical materials engineering sciences and micro/nano technology have stimulated increasing demand for novel, high quality and precisely-shaped particles. As most of the materials that are used by these scientific fields are in crystalline forms, it is evident that crystallization, in particular micro-scale crystallisation is a very useful tool to satisfy this demand. This research charts the investigation and optimisation of micro-scale continuous crystallisation of a fine and commonly used compound, i.e. paracetamol, with attempts to overcome the limitations of such process, for instance to produce particles with narrow particle size distribution and maintain a smooth and continuous operation without microchannel blockage. In this thesis, efforts have been directed to design and test a micro scale continuous crystalliser using two different crystallisation techniques; namely: cooling down of saturated solution and adding antisolvent agent. The former technique was not so successful due to the difficult thermal control of such microfluidic system with available resources, as well as due to the inherent nature of such crystallisation mode, which required long induction time to start crystallisation. The latter technique, on the other hand, was successful due to the short induction time required to drive crystallisation and it does not require any thermal management, as it is performed at ambient temperature. Using the antisolvent technique require very short mixing time to mix the mother liquor with an antisolvent agent to produce supersaturated solution. This was achieved by proposing a novel microfluidic design consisting of baffled microchannel devices operated by superimposing a fully reverse oscillatory flow to facilitate fast non-axial mixing regardless of the very low axial flow rate that is typical to microfluidic devises. Computational fluid dynamics simulations in addition to microfluidic flow visualisation experiments were carried out to examine the non-axial mixing performance for the proposeddesign. Subsequently, the proposed design was tested as a con- tinuous crystalliser and showed very good performances by producing sub-micrometre particles with a very narrow particle size distribution. Finally, the performance of the micro scale continuous crystalliser was optimised to produce particle with minimum particle size using custom design of experiment technique. Results of this optimisation process were successful and produced paracetamol particles having average Z-Ave = 99.89 nm with standard deviation equivalent to 7.315 nm. Finally, this thesis shows a successful demonstration of a simple yet versatile microcrystallisation system capable of producing particles of consistent size by utilising fully reverse oscillatory flow into baffled microchannel.

<p> This study analyzed the meta-data collected from a honeypot that was run by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a period of 5 years. This analysis compared the use of existing industry methods and tools, such as Intrusion Detection System alerts, network traffic flow and system log traffic, within the Open Source Security Information Manager (OSSIM) against techniques that were used to prioritize the detailed analysis of the data which would aid in the faster identification of attackers. It was found that by adding the results from computing a Hilbert Curve, Popularity Analysis, Cadence Analysis and Modus Operandi Analysis did not introduce significant or detrimental latency for the identification of attacker traffic. Furthermore, when coupled with the traditional tools within OSSIM, the identification of attacker traffic was greatly enhanced. Future research should consider additional statistical models that can be used to guide the strategic use of more intense analysis that is conducted by deep packet inspection software and broader intelligence models from reviewing attacks against multiple organizations. Additionally, other improvements in detection strategies are possible by these mechanisms when being able to review full data collection.</p>

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The US Navy's Information Professional Community currently qualifies its officers using a paperbased system. Candidates for the Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Qualifications use qualification books to attain knowledge and subsequently, prove possession of it. Once those books are filled with signatures, a board of Subject Matter Experts tests the candidate and verifies his mastery of that knowledge. Using Knowledge Value Added analysis and Business Process Reengineering, the return on knowledge (ROK) for the current Personnel Qualification System was estimated and improved processes were designed with the goal of maximizing ROK. First, the as-is ROK was estimated for the three processes and their various subprocesses. Then, a new to-be workflow for each of the three processes was designed emphasizing incremental improvements that could be implemented quickly. Finally, another workflow was designed, emphasizing radical, unlimited change. When it was proven that Web-enabling the PQS system indeed improves the knowledge-creating capability of these processes, a prototype Web-enabled database, called the Electronic Qualbook was developed as a demonstrator of the technologies and capabilities involved. This thesis includes appendices illustrating the design of the database schema and the Electronic Qualbook's Web interfaces. A third appendix lists the majority of the HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and Active Server Pages (ASP) code integral to the Electronic Qualbook.

"The proliferation of wireless computer equipment and Local Area Networks (LANs) create an increasingly common and growing threat to Marine Corps Network infrastructure and communication security (COMSEC). This threat requires a capable deterrent in order to mitigate risks associated with both official and un-official wireless LANs. The potential efficiencies gained by employing wireless technology within the Marine Corps and DoD is quite significant. The Marine Corps must leverage this relatively inexpensive technology to conduct operations cheaper, faster and more effectively. However, these same wireless LAN capabilities have introduced new ways in which critical information infrastructure can be viewed, altered or even denied. This thesis proposes the assessment of multiple installations within DoD in order to identify vulnerabilities and ensure secure employment of wireless technologies. These assessments will enable the development of adequate measures to secure existing wireless transmissions and protect future transmissions from observation, modification or denial of service. This thesis will assess threats posed to network infrastructure by wireless networks and evaluate WLANs that exist within the DoD to determine adequate measures to secure transmissions made by those networks. Vulnerability assessments of multiple services at different DoD installations will be conducted in order to gather a wide range of input. These assessments will provide an indication of how DoD installations are leveraging wireless capabilities to improve support to the operating forces. These vulnerability assessments will also provide insight into the current security posture within the DoD with regard to wireless communications. The practices employed by these services will be evaluated to determine the best means of standardizing wireless security procedures within the Marine Corps. In addition, a diverse assortment of wireless software and hardware tools will be tested in order to ascertain the best methods for monitoring and securing wireless networks within DoD. The evaluation of these software and hardware tools will facilitate the creation of an inexpensive and easily distributed WLAN tool kit which can be employed at installations across DoD. The final result desired is for this research is to improve the WLAN vulnerability assessment capability within the Marine Corps." p. i.

This research evaluates the Medium Access Control Layer (MAC) of the IEEE 802.16 Wireless standard and its utility in augmenting the IP (Internet Protocol) router based Automated Digital Network System (ADNS). This research explores the need for a high throughput, high speed network for use in a network centric wartime environment and how commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies that take advantage of the IEEE 802.16 wireless protocol can satisfy these requirements. The intent of this research is to prove that IEEE 802.16 systems can provide the ADNS with a viable alternative in order to enhance its capabilities and mitigate its limitations. This research includes a discussion on the current configuration of the ADNS architecture and its uses in the Carrier Strike Group (CSG). This research also analyzes the IEEE 802.16 MAC layer and identifies and tests its unique quality attributes that make it a viable high speed, high throughput communication link for point-to-point and point-to-multipoint naval applications.

This research evaluates IEEE 802.11b and 802.16 technologies to examine whether these wireless technologies can integrate into the tactical Internet. In order to establish a baseline, the current Marine Corps' systems architecture is analyzed with emphasis placed on mobile forces at the Regimental level and below. A side-by-side comparison between existing communication assets in the Marine Corps inventory, such as the Enhanced Position Location Reporting System (EPLRS) and Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS), and available 802.11b/16 technologies will evaluate whether existing Command and Control requirements are met, determine the existence and extent of excess capacity, and identify potential adaptations required to implement commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology into a military environment. The method for side-by-side evaluation will incorporate both COTS products as well as Marine Corps tactical communication devices in laboratory as well as field experimentation. This research captures key performance metrics such as range, power consumption, security, and bandwidth, but remains focused on the needs of the warfighter by evaluating performance of the system in support of Command and Control Compact Edition (C2CE) and Command and Control Personal Computer (C2PC) applications.