2,980 research outputs found
RDF, the semantic web, Jordan, Jordan and Jordan
This collection is addressed to archivists and library professionals, and so has a slight focus on implications implications for them. This chapter is nonetheless intended to be a more-or-less generic introduction to the Semantic Web and RDF, which isn't specific to that domain
Absolute positioning with textpos
I describe the textpos package, which allows you to
place blocks of text at arbitrary positions on the
page. I give an overview of its functionality, and
discuss a few points of TEXnical interest
Digital Preservation and Astronomy: Lessons for funders and the funded
Astronomy looks after its data better than most disciplines, and it is no
coincidence that the consensus standard for the archival preservation of all
types of digital assets -- the OAIS Reference Model -- emerged originally from
the space science community.
It is useful to highlight both what is different about astronomy (and indeed
about Big Science in general), what could be improved, and what is exemplary,
and in the process I will give a brief introduction to the framework of the
OAIS model, and its useful conceptual vocabulary. I will illustrate this with a
discussion of the spectrum of big-science data management practices from
astronomy, through gravitational wave (GW) data, to particle physics.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, to appear in proceedings of ADASS XX; corresponds
to LIGO document P100017
A Journal for the Astronomical Computing Community?
One of the Birds of a Feather (BoF) discussion sessions at ADASS XX
considered whether a new journal is needed to serve the astronomical computing
community. In this paper we discuss the nature and requirements of that
community, outline the analysis that led us to propose this as a topic for a
BoF, and review the discussion from the BoF session itself. We also present the
results from a survey designed to assess the suitability of astronomical
computing papers of different kinds for publication in a range of existing
astronomical and scientific computing journals. The discussion in the BoF
session was somewhat inconclusive, and it seems likely that this topic will be
debated again at a future ADASS or in a similar forum.Comment: 4 pages, no figures; to appear in proceedings of ADASS X
Source Reconstruction as an Inverse Problem
Inverse Problem techniques offer powerful tools which deal naturally with
marginal data and asymmetric or strongly smoothing kernels, in cases where
parameter-fitting methods may be used only with some caution. Although they are
typically subject to some bias, they can invert data without requiring one to
assume a particular model for the source. The Backus-Gilbert method in
particular concentrates on the tradeoff between resolution and stability, and
allows one to select an optimal compromise between them. We use these tools to
analyse the problem of reconstructing features of the source star in a
microlensing event, show that it should be possible to obtain useful
information about the star with reasonably obtainable data, and note that the
quality of the reconstruction is more sensitive to the number of data points
than to the quality of individual ones.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures. To be published in "Microlensing 2000, A New Era
of Microlensing Astrophysics", eds., J.W. Menzies and P.D. Sackett, ASP
Conference Serie
Prominence and flare fine structure from cross-field thermal conduction
Thermal conduction across a magnetic field is strongly suppressed compared
with conduction along the field. However, if a flare is heated by a highly
filamented beam directed along the field, then the array of heated cells in a
cross-section of the flare will result in both small spatial scales (with
consequently large temperature gradients) and a large surface area for the
heated volume, providing a geometrical enhancement of the total cross-field
energy flux. To investigate the importance of this filamentary geometry, we
present a simple model of a single heated filament surrounded by an optically
thin radiating shell, obtain an analytical expression for the stable
equilibrium temperature profile within the shell, and use this to impose limits
on the size of filament for which this model is appropriate.
We find that this mechanism by itself is capable of transporting a power of
the same order as a large flare, with a moderate range of filament sizes. The
length scales are substantially smaller than can be resolved at present,
although they should be regarded as underestimates.Comment: 7 pages, LaTeX, 4 figures. Source, figures and PS at
http://www.astro.gla.ac.uk/preprints/95-05.html . To appear in A&
Managing Research Data in Big Science
The project which led to this report was funded by JISC in 2010--2011 as part of its 'Managing Research Data' programme, to examine the way in which Big Science data is managed, and produce any recommendations which may be appropriate. Big science data is different: it comes in large volumes, and it is shared and exploited in ways which may differ from other disciplines. This project has explored these differences using as a case-study Gravitational Wave data generated by the LSC, and has produced recommendations intended to be useful variously to JISC, the funding council (STFC) and the LSC community. In Sect. 1 we define what we mean by 'big science', describe the overall data culture there, laying stress on how it necessarily or contingently differs from other disciplines. In Sect. 2 we discuss the benefits of a formal data-preservation strategy, and the cases for open data and for well-preserved data that follow from that. This leads to our recommendations that, in essence, funders should adopt rather light-touch prescriptions regarding data preservation planning: normal data management practice, in the areas under study, corresponds to notably good practice in most other areas, so that the only change we suggest is to make this planning more formal, which makes it more easily auditable, and more amenable to constructive criticism. In Sect. 3 we briefly discuss the LIGO data management plan, and pull together whatever information is available on the estimation of digital preservation costs. The report is informed, throughout, by the OAIS reference model for an open archive
Service-Learning Practice in Upper Division Geoscience Courses: Bridging Undergraduate Learning, Teaching, and Research
This article describes the use of service-learning practice in geoscience courses taught at the University of Connecticut. The stated objectives for instituting this practice are: to foster student interest in earth sciences through community service; to enhance university outreach through interactions with communities; to enhance students' learning ability by applying course knowledge to real-world problems; and to encourage the student-centered learning process and team-work as cooperative learning. Favorable responses from both students and local community leaders show that service-learning is an effective way to improve geological undergraduate learning. Educational levels: Graduate or professional
RDF, the semantic web, Jordan, Jordan and Jordan
This collection is addressed to archivists and library professionals, and so has a slight focus on implications implications for them. This chapter is nonetheless intended to be a more-or-less generic introduction to the Semantic Web and RDF, which isn't specific to that domain
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