General News

Dstl: It may seem like a strange solution, but introducing holes to vehicle armour can actually provide a protective advantage.  The trick is to think of them as circular ‘edges’ rather than holes.  When a bullet hits an edge, it gets deflected and turns from a sharp projectile into a blunt fragment which makes it much easier to stop.  The introduction of holes also reduces weight.  As a result perforated Super Bainite steel armour is ballistically very efficient.
 
Invented, designed & manufactured in the UK, Super Bainite is experimental high performance armour steel developed to save the lives of UK Armed Forces.  Unlike conventional steels, the composition of Super Bainite was derived from first principles using thermodynamic modelling techniques.  This allowed its processing, properties and cost to be optimised in months rather than years.
Press release ~ Dstl – Faster, Stronger, Harder ~ Super Bainite ~ Corus ~ Bodycote ~ QinetiQ
 
OGC BS: An enhanced flooring procurement arrangement will provide public sector buyers with a flexible, easy-to-use service for all flooring requirements. The comprehensive Supply & Delivery and Supply & Installation of Floor Coverings framework agreement from OGCbuying.solutions offers a simple and effective solution to satisfy all flooring needs.  
 
The framework agreement has been awarded in two lots:
* Supply & Delivery of Textile Floor Coverings - the supplier for this lot is InterfaceFLOR
* Supply & Installation of Flooring - the supplier for this lot is Crown Flooring Ltd
Press release ~ Agreement
 
TfLTransport for London (TfL) is strengthening its measures to combat fare evasion, which costs Londoners £70m a year. From Sunday 11 January 2009 TfL’s penalty fare for non-payment on its Bus, Tube, DLR and London Overground services increased to £50 from the current level of £20.
 
The increase in penalty fare aims to deter more people from failing to pay for their journey.  After a public consultation, the Penalty Fare on Tramlink will also rise to £50, from the current level of £30.  An early payment incentive will also be introduced that reduces the £50 penalty fare to £25 if it is paid within 21 days.  If issued with a penalty fare on a bus, the facility to pay by debit or credit card on the spot will also now be available as well as online, phone, cheque and postal order payments.
Press release ~ TfL – penalty fares
 
CCWater: For those resolving to make savings on their utility bills in 2009, the Consumer Council for Water has some top tips to help reduce energy bills and save water. Around a quarter of a household's energy bill comes from heating water, for example, in baths or showers, or for washing clothes or dishes.
 
By cutting water wastage through the following easy steps, families should see a reduction in their energy bill, and those who are charged for their water by meter, should also see a reduction in their water bill as well.
Press release ~ How can you save water? ~ Energy saving tips from the Energy Saving Trust ~ Big Green Switch ~ DirectGov – Energy and water saving ~ Simply Switch ~ Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology – Household Energy Efficiency ~ Waterwise – Hot water and energy
 
Defra: Farming Minister, Jane Kennedy, has announced a new national research centre for food and the environment. The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) will bring together Defra's Central Science Laboratory, Plant Health Division, Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate and the Plant Variety Rights Office and Seeds Division as one agency.
 
This will hopefully strengthen Defra's work in plant & crop protection, food chain safety, environmental risk assessment & crises response and promote better integration between policy development, scientific evidence and inspection services.
 
Fera comes into being officially on 1 April 2009, but has been operating in shadow form since April 2008. The Agency's main science laboratories will be located at Sand Hutton near York (currently CSL), with seed offices in Cambridge, a wildlife study centre in Gloucestershire and around 40 other small shared office facilities for its plant health inspectorate around the UK.
Press release ~ Central Science Laboratory
 
HA: In the first installation of its kind in the UK drivers and rail users in the North West are to benefit from a new barrier system that will prevent bridge strikes along the M6 motorway. As part of the £3.2m overhaul of Rose Whittle Bridge near junction 28 of the M6 at Leyland, a new Delta Bloc System, specifically designed for the protection of bridges, was installed last month.
 
The bridge carries M6 traffic over the West Coast Main Line and the blocks have been installed to prevent and minimise the impact of bridge strikes.  Incidents involving bridge strikes can cause long delays for safety reasons as engineers need to check for damage before re-opening roads or railway lines.
Press release ~ DfT: Prevention of bridge strikes: Good practice guides ~ HA – Bridge heights ~ Delta Bloc System
 
STFC: Researchers have discovered that the mysterious overweight stars known as blue stragglers are the result of ‘stellar cannibalism’ where plasma is gradually pulled from one star to another to form a massive, unusually hot star that appears younger than it is.
 
The process takes place in binary stars – star systems consisting of two stars orbiting around their common centre of mass.  This discovery helps to resolve a long standing mystery in stellar evolution.
Press release ~ UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) ~ University of Southampton ~ Hubble Space Telescope ~ NASA picture of globular cluster ~ NASA picture of blues stragglers in a globular cluster
 
HEFCE:  The Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Office for Fair Access have called on higher education institutions to submit strategic assessments of their widening participation activity. They have set out details of the new form of reporting for institutions on widening participation in higher education.
Press release ~ HEFCE – Full statement ~ OFFA
 
FAFellows’ Associates reports that Northgate Public Services (NPS) has announced its participation in the development of the national e-Consultation Hub in partnership with the Planning Portal.

Following a successful 3-month pilot with a number of local authorities, NPS is building a connector linking Northgate’s local authority planning systems to the national e-Consultation hub.  The connector will be available in Spring 2009 and will provide the missing piece in the end to end e-planning process.
Press release ~ Fellows’ Associates ~ Northgate Public Services ~ Planning portal - National e-Consultation Hub
Facing the Future...find out more