7,629 research outputs found
Scholars Forum: A New Model For Scholarly Communication
Scholarly journals have flourished for over 300 years because they successfully address a broad range of authors' needs: to communicate findings to colleagues, to establish precedence of their work, to gain validation through peer review, to establish their reputation, to know the final version of their work is secure, and to know their work will be accessible by future scholars. Eventually, the development of comprehensive paper and then electronic indexes allowed past work to be readily identified and cited. Just as postal service made it possible to share scholarly work regularly and among a broad readership, the Internet now provides a distribution channel with the power to reduce publication time and to expand traditional print formats by supporting multi-media options and threaded discourse.
Despite widespread acceptance of the web by the academic and research community, the incorporation of advanced network technology into a new paradigm for scholarly communication by the publishers of print journals has not materialized. Nor have journal publishers used the lower cost of distribution on the web to make online versions of journals available at lower prices than print versions. It is becoming increasingly clear to the scholarly community that we must envision and develop for ourselves a new, affordable model for disseminating and preserving results, that synthesizes digital technology and the ongoing needs of scholars.
In March 1997, with support from the Engineering Information Foundation, Caltech sponsored a Conference on Scholarly Communication to open a dialogue around key issues and to consider the feasibility of alternative undertakings. A general consensus emerged recognizing that the certification of scholarly articles through peer review could be "decoupled" from the rest of the publishing process, and that the peer review process is already supported by the universities whose faculty serve as editors, members of editorial boards, and referees.
In the meantime, pressure to enact regressive copyright legislation has added another important element. The ease with which electronic files may be copied and forwarded has encouraged publishers and other owners of copyrighted material to seek means for denying access to anything they own in digital form to all but active subscribers or licensees. Furthermore, should publishers retain the only version of a publication in a digital form, there is a significant risk that this material may eventually be lost through culling little-used or unprofitable back-files, through not investing in conversion expense as technology evolves, through changes in ownership, or through catastrophic physical events. Such a scenario presents an intolerable threat to the future of scholarship
Entanglement between living bacteria and quantized light witnessed by Rabi splitting
We model recent experiments on living sulphur bacteria interacting with
quantised light, using the Dicke model. The strong coupling achieved between
the bacteria and the light indicates that during the experiment the bacteria
(treated as dipoles) and the quantized light are entangled. The vacuum Rabi
splitting, which was measured in the experiment for a range of different
parameters, can be used as an entanglement witness
Method of fabricating a twisted composite superconductor
A method of producing a twisted, stabilized wire or tube superconductor which can be used to wind electromagnets, armatures, rotors, field windings for motors and generators, and other magnetic devices which use a solenoid, toroidal, or other type winding is reported. At least one groove is formed along the length of a wire substrate which is then twisted into a helix and a layer of intermetallic superconducting material is formed in the groove. This layer can be formed by depositing the desired intermetallic compound into the groove or by diffusing one component of the superconductor into the groove formed in a substrate composed of the other component. The superconductor prepared by this method comprises a non-superconductor wire twisted into the shape of a helix, having at least one groove containing a layer of superconductor material along the length of the wire
New twisted intermetallic compound superconductor: A concept
Method for processing Nb3Sn and other intermetallic compound superconductors produces a twisted, stabilized wire or tube which can be used to wind electromagnetics, armatures, rotors, and field windings for motors and generators as well as other magnetic devices
Effects of Foreground Contamination on the Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy Measured by MAP
We study the effects of diffuse Galactic, far-infrared extragalactic source,
and radio point source emission on the cosmic microwave background (CMB)
anisotropy data anticipated from the MAP experiment. We focus on the
correlation function and genus statistics measured from mock MAP
foreground-contaminated CMB anisotropy maps generated in a spatially-flat
cosmological constant dominated cosmological model. Analyses of the simulated
MAP data at 90 GHz (0.3 deg FWHM resolution smoothed) show that foreground
effects on the correlation function are small compared with cosmic variance.
However, the Galactic emission, even just from the region with |b| > 20 deg,
significantly affects the topology of CMB anisotropy, causing a negative genus
shift non-Gaussianity signal. Given the expected level of cosmic variance, this
effect can be effectively reduced by subtracting existing Galactic foreground
emission models from the observed data. IRAS and DIRBE far-infrared
extragalactic sources have little effect on the CMB anisotropy. Radio point
sources raise the amplitude of the correlation function considerably on scales
below 0.5 deg. Removal of bright radio sources above a 5 \sigma detection limit
effectively eliminates this effect. Radio sources also result in a positive
genus curve asymmetry (significant at 2 \sigma) on 0.5 deg scales. Accurate
radio point source data is essential for an unambiguous detection of CMB
anisotropy non-Gaussianity on these scales. Non-Gaussianity of cosmological
origin can be detected from the foreground-subtracted CMB anisotropy map at the
2 \sigma level if the measured genus shift parameter |\Delta\nu| >= 0.02 (0.04)
or if the measured genus asymmetry parameter |\Delta g| >= 0.03 (0.08) on a 0.3
(1.0) deg FWHM scale.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for Publication in Astrophysical
Journal (Some sentences and figures modified
Desire in Bridgerton: Defining the Female Gaze
Feminist literature is rife with multiple, sometimes conflicting, sometimes partial, definitions of the female gaze. A definitive understanding of the female gaze incorporates the literature but includes other modes of thought and analysis appropriate for a number of different media. Bridgerton articulates this understanding as it privileges female sexuality not just through dialogue, but through its focus on multiple characters’ bodily awareness. Non-verbal elements like blocking, the physical articulation of bodies, changes in camera angles and foci that privilege subtle and nuanced movements, and even the pervasive use of music all contribute to the form and characterization of the female gaze. All of these elements create an emphasis on feeling and internal thought which is more important than the ongoing action. The plot becomes secondary to the characters and their personalities upsetting the entire flow of the male gaze. Bridgerton illustrates this definition with an emphasis on slow touch and by showcasing not only the female perspective and background but the male’s as well. Thus, the eroticism of the male body in the female gaze is not of a passive object but one of holistic appreciation of the character
Universal Statistics of the Critical Depinning Force of Elastic Systems in Random Media
We study the rescaled probability distribution of the critical depinning
force of an elastic system in a random medium. We put in evidence the
underlying connection between the critical properties of the depinning
transition and the extreme value statistics of correlated variables. The
distribution is Gaussian for all periodic systems, while in the case of random
manifolds there exists a family of universal functions ranging from the
Gaussian to the Gumbel distribution. Both of these scenarios are a priori
experimentally accessible in finite, macroscopic, disordered elastic systems.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Aspects of the biology of sea turtles in the mid-Atlantic Bight
I present here an investigation of several aspects of the biology of sea turtles in the mid-Atlantic Bight. During 19 years of data collection, included in this study, strandings have increased for all species of sea turtles in Virginia. Most sea turtle strandings occurred during the spring when juvenile turtles migrate into the Bay (Kemp\u27s ridleys had a second significant stranding peak, during fall migration) along the Southern Bay and Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Sea turtles utilize the Chesapeake Bay as a feeding area when the water temperature approaches 20??C, and they leave after the water temperature drops below 20??C. Although some turtles have stranded at much lower temperatures. The number of possible anthropomorphic interactions with turtles has increased as recreational boating & fishing has increased in popularity. The cause of death attributed to the largest number of strandings is boat and propeller damage. Commercial fishery interactions (entanglement) were second in importance, but such interactions, while usually resulting in turtles drowning, were less easily detected. The vast number of the strandings having an unknown cause of death maybe attributed to carcass decomposition and lack of observer training. The VIMS data set provided the basis for morphometric analysis. Regressions calculated from the data often explain more than 90% of the variation in the measurements. These regressions may be used to estimate missing values required by State and Federal management agencies. The carapace morphology of loggerheads and Kemp\u27s ridleys changes as they grow. The carapace flattens out in larger individuals, presumably to maintain a relatively constant amount of lift while swimming at higher cruising velocities. The extra lift may be needed by hatchlings because of their low swimming speed. Using satellite imaging technology and sea turtle abundance and distribution data from coastal aerial surveys, off North Carolina, I confirmed a behavioral temperature range of 13??C to 29??C, which is well within previously established physiological limits and also encompass values recorded in the Chesapeake Bay. Magnetic resonance imaging techniques, were used to image juvenile Kemp\u27s ridley and loggerhead sea turtle heads. The location of magnetic particles in the sea turtle heads appears to be in the ethmoid, in the same region as in birds and fishes. The anomalies were bilaterally paired suggesting a possible use as a sensory system. Results from an oxytetracycline injected adult loggerhead sea turtle show that bone rings are laid down on an annual basis. Examination of whole cross sections of the humerus suggests that the dorsal and ventral regions used for taking bone cores used in previous studies is inappropriate. The failure in other studies to detect growth rings may have been due to samples being taken from the dorsal surface of the bone. The lateral edges of the humerus should be used for future oxytetracycline studies. Growth rates and ring deposition support previous data, supporting the notion that sexual maturity may occur over a very large size range
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