Multiscale structure of turbulent channel flow and polymer, dynamics in viscoelastic turbulence

This thesis focuses on two important issues in turbulence theory of wall-bounded flows. One is the recent debate on the form of the mean velocity profile (is it a log-law or a power-law with very weak power exponent?) and on its scalings with Reynolds number. In particular, this study relates the mean flow profile of the turbulent channel flow with the underlying topological structure of the fluctuating velocity field through the concept of critical points, a dynamical systems concept that is a natural way to quantify the multiscale structure of turbulence. This connection gives a new phenomenological picture of wall-bounded turbulence in terms of the topology of the flow. This theory validated against existing data, indicates that the issue on the form of the mean velocity profile at the asymptotic limit of infinite Reynolds number could be resolved by understanding the scaling of turbulent kinetic energy with Reynolds number. The other major issue addressed here is on the fundamental mechanism(s) of viscoelastic turbulence that lead to the polymer-induced turbulent drag reduction phenomenon and its dynamical aspects. A great challenge in this problem is the computation of viscoelastic turbulent flows, since the understanding of polymer physics is restricted to mechanical models. An effective numerical method to solve the governing equation for polymers modelled as nonlinear springs, without using any artificial assumptions as usual, was implemented here for the first time on a three-dimensional channel flow geometry. The superiority of this algorithm is depicted on the results, which are much closer to experimental observations. This allowed a more detailed study of the polymer-turbulence dynamical interactions, which yields a clearer picture on a mechanism that is governed by the polymer-turbulence energy transfers

Factors contributing to effective language laboratory use in New Zealand tertiary institutes : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Japanese at Massey University

This study focuses on how language laboratories in New Zealand tertiary institutes can be used more effectively. The language laboratory is an excellent tool of learning which can be used to aid the development of both listening and speaking skills as well as a range of competency skills. Clear guidelines for use and management of this complex equipment with focus on full integration with classroom language teaching are not currently available to users of the language laboratory. The issues are: Our ability to use the language laboratory to its full extent Our ability to effectively manage the language laboratory Our ability to keep pace with the changing nature of language teaching Our awareness of the value of the language laboratory as a learning aid. The importance of the language laboratory to our teaching programmes Self-paced student-centred learning versus teacher control Discussion of the above with particular emphasis on training, preparation of materials, organisation and management, and integration with the classroom, help provide basic guidelines for improved language laboratory use and a basis for future research and debate

She Shall Be Saved in Childbearing: Submission, Contemplation of Conception, and Annunciation Imagery in the Books of Hours of Two Late Medieval Noblewomen

The role of the Book of Hours in female lay devotional life during the late Middle Ages has been investigated and analyzed by many scholars and art historians over the course of the past century. The general consensus has been that semi-literate medieval women valued these books greatly as instructional manuals on how to attain salvation, using the images contained within as spiritual aids meant to encourage individual contemplation and pious recitation. Prayers for mediation, protection, and guidance featured prominently within these books and many historians of both genders have come to the conclusion that Books of Hours were a source of comfort and spiritual nourishment for women living in a male-dominated and male-oriented world. [excerpt

The Dallas Pavilion

In 2010 Joseph-Lester was commissioned by the Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Texas) to set up and lead a new city pavilion for Dallas. He worked closely with 23 nominated galleries, museums, project spaces and other arts organisations situated across the city to produce a unique interpretation of the cultural life of a city. The resulting publication – a ‘printed pavilion’ – considers the relation between the pervasive global image of the city and the local art spaces that produce culture and asks how location is embedded in the thinking and creative output of Dallas artists, curators, educators, museum directors and critics. The aim of this long-term international research is to interrogate the process through which local identities are exported as a global brand. The Dallas Pavilion builds on Joseph-Lester’s work of previous city or location-specific interpretations of national pavilions (The Manchester Pavilion, 2003 and The Sheffield Pavilion, 2007) and on various projects that treat the book as an exhibition space (Project Biennale, 2009). The Dallas Pavilion was launched at the Venice Biennale in June 2013. A downloadable PDF of the printed pavilion is available online at the peer-reviewed journal What is a Pavilion? (Open University, 2013: openartsjournal.org). This research was first developed through a cross-institutional pedagogic initiative titled Project Biennale that was shown as part of the 2009 Venice Biennale (St George’s Church). This led to a further invitation to attend the international conference, ‘To Biennale or not to Biennale’ (Bergen, 2009) where ‘Project Biennale’ was exhibited as part of the Wanda Svevo Historical Archive on international biennales

James R. Killian, Jr., Sputnik, and Eisenhower: White House Science Advice and the Reformation of American Science Education, 1955-1958

This paper chronicles the often-overlooked relationship between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Dr. James R. Killian, Jr., the first-ever appointed Presidential Science Advisor. Emphasis is placed on the role of Dr. Killian and the President’s Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) in advocating curricular reform in the fields of science and mathematics, a reformation which became doubly important following the successful launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik I in 1957. This essay examines the efforts of Eisenhower and Killian to keep pace with the Russian scientific advances by improving American education in the scientific and technical fields. It concludes with a discussion of the National Defense Education Act of 1958 and Killian’s efforts to see the piece of legislation enacted

Cost Savings sans Allowance Trades? Evaluating the SO2 Emission Trading Program to Date

Title IV of the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act initiated a historic experiment in incentive-based environmental regulation through the use of tradable allowances for emission of sulfur dioxide by electric generating facilities. To date, relatively little allowance trading has taken place; however, the costs of compliance have been much less than anticipated. The purpose of this paper is to address the apparent paradox that the allowance trading program may not require (very much) trading to be successful. Title IV represented two great steps forward in environmental regulation: first a move toward performance standards and second formal allowance trading. The first step has been sufficient to date for improving dynamic efficiency and achieving relative cost-effectiveness.