62,402 research outputs found
Heliospheric modulation of the interstellar dust flow on to Earth
Aims. Based on measurements by the Ulysses spacecraft and high-resolution
modelling of the motion of interstellar dust (ISD) through the heliosphere we
predict the ISD flow in the inner planetary system and on to the Earth. This is
the third paper in a series of three about the flow and filtering of the ISD.
Methods. Micrometer- and sub-micrometer-sized dust particles are subject to
solar gravity and radiation pressure as well as to interactions with the
interplanetary magnetic field that result in a complex size-dependent flow
pattern of ISD in the planetary system. With high-resolution dynamical
modelling we study the time-resolved flux and mass distribution of ISD and the
requirements for detection of ISD near the Earth.
Results. Along the Earth orbit the density, speed, and flow direction of ISD
depend strongly on the Earth's position and the size of the interstellar
grains. A broad maximum of the ISD flux (2x10^{-4}/m^2/s of particles with
radii >~0.3\mu m) occurs in March when the Earth moves against the ISD flow.
During this time period the relative speed with respect to the Earth is highest
(~60 km/s), whereas in September when the Earth moves with the ISD flow, both
the flux and the speed are lowest (<~10 km/s). The mean ISD mass flow on to the
Earth is ~100 kg/year with the highest flux of ~3.5kg/day occurring for about 2
weeks close to the end of the year when the Earth passes near the narrow
gravitational focus region downstream from the Sun. The phase of the 22-year
solar wind cycle has a strong effect on the number density and flow of
sub-micrometer-sized ISD particles. During the years of maximum electromagnetic
focussing (year 2031 +/- 3) there is a chance that ISD particles with sizes
even below 0.1\mu m can reach the Earth.
Conclusions. We demonstrate that ISD can be effectively detected, analysed,
and collected by space probes at 1 AU distance from the Sun.Comment: 17 pages, 17 figure
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Business process simulation: An alternative modelling technique for the information system development process
This paper discusses the idea that even though information systems development
(ISD) approaches have long advocated the use of integrated organisational views, the
modelling techniques used have not been adapted accordingly and remain focused on
the automated information system (IS) solution. Existing research provides evidence
that business process simulation (BPS) can be used at different points in the ISD
process to provide better integrated organisational views that aid the design of
appropriate IS solutions. Despite this fact, research in this area is not extensive;
suggesting that the potential of using BPS for the ISD process is not yet well
understood. The paper uses the findings from three different case studies to illustrate
the ways BPS has been used at different points in the ISD process. It compares the
results against IS modelling techniques, highlighting the advantages and
disadvantages that BPS has over the latter. The research necessary to develop
appropriate BPS tools and give guidance on their use in the ISD process is discussed
16 years of Ulysses Interstellar Dust Measurements in the Solar System: II. Fluctuations in the Dust Flow from the Data
The Ulysses spacecraft provided the first opportunity to identify and study
Interstellar Dust (ISD) in-situ in the Solar System between 1992 and 2007. Here
we present the first comprehensive analysis of the ISD component in the entire
Ulysses dust data set. We analysed several parameters of the ISD flow in a
time-resolved fashion: flux, flow direction, mass index, and flow width. The
general picture is in agreement with a time-dependent focussing/defocussing of
the charged dust particles due to long-term variations of the solar magnetic
field throughout a solar magnetic cycle of 22 years. In addition, we confirm a
shift in dust direction of in 2005, along with a
steep, size-dependent increase in flux by a factor of 4 within 8 months. To
date, this is difficult to interpret and has to be examined in more detail by
new dynamical simulations. This work is part of a series of three papers. This
paper concentrates on the time-dependent flux and direction of the ISD. In a
companion paper (Kr\"uger et al., 2015) we analyse the overall mass
distribution of the ISD measured by Ulysses, and a third paper discusses the
results of modelling the flow of the ISD as seen by Ulysses (Sterken et al.,
2015).Comment: 41 pages, 10 figures, 5 table
Pre-K in Texas: A Critical Component for Academic Success
With funding from the Meadows Foundation and the Miles Foundation, researchers at CHILDREN AT RISK engaged in a study to examine how participation in Texas public PreKindergarten Pre-K1 is associated with performance on the 3rd Grade State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) Reading assessment.
CHILDREN AT RISK tracked approximately 47,000 students from the 2010-2011 school year to the 2014-2015 school year.2 These students began public Pre-K in 2010 and completed 3rd grade in 2015. The study focused on five major independent school districts (ISD) in Texas (Austin ISD, Dallas ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Houston ISD, and San Antonio ISD) and 12 additional school districts surrounding these major metropolitan areas.3 The purpose of this report is twofold.
The first purpose is to educate parents, policy makers, and the public about the association between Texas public Pre-K and 3rd grade STAAR Reading outcomes. Across campuses and students, this study examines the relationship between varying levels of public Pre-K participation and STAAR Reading scores by comparing 3rd grade STAAR Reading means among multiple sub-groups of economically disadvantaged students. The second purpose is to offer policy recommendations that will increase access to and improve the quality of the Texas public Pre-K program on behalf of parents, taxpayers, and—most importantly—children
Interstellar dust in the BOOMERanG maps
Interstellar dust (ISD) emission is present in the mm-wave maps obtained by the BOOMERanG experiment at intermediate and high Galactic latitudes. We find that, while being sub-dominant at the lower frequencies (90,150, 240 GHz), thermal emission from ISD is dominant at 410 GHz, and is well correlated with the IRAS map at 100 µm. We find also that the angular power spectrum of ISD fluctuations at 410 GHz is a power law, and its level is negligible with respect to the angular power spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) at 90 and 150 GHz
Risk Profiles in Individual Software Development and Packaged Software Implementation Projects: A Delphi Study at a German-Based Financial Services Company
The aim of this paper is to compare risk profiles of individual software development (ISD) and packaged software implementation (PSI) projects. While researchers have investigated risks in either PSI projects or ISD projects, an integrated perspective on how the risk profiles of these two types of information system (IS) projects differ is missing. To explore these differences, this work conducted a Delphi study at a German-based financial services company. The results suggest that: First, ISD projects seem to be more heterogeneous and face a larger variety of risks than the more straightforward PSI projects. Second, ISD projects seem to be particularly prone to risks related to sponsorship, requirements, and project organization. Third, PSI projects tend to be predominantly subject to risks related to technology, project planning, and project completion. Finally, in contrast to available lists of risks in IS projects and irrespective of the project type, the paper found a surprisingly high prominence of technology and testing-related risks
Evolution of Market Uncertainty around Earnings Announcements
This paper investigates theoretically and empirically the dynamics of the implied volatility (or implied standard deviation - ISD) around earnings announcements dates. The volatility implied by option prices can be interpreted as the level of volatility expected by the market over the remaining life of the option. We propose a theoretical framework for the evolution of the ISD that takes into account two well-known features of the instantaneous volatility: volatility clustering and the leverage effect. In this context, the ISD should decrease after an earnings announcement but the post-announcement ISD path depends on the content of the earnings announcement: good news or bad news. An empirical investigation is conducted on the Swiss market over the period 1989-1998.
Isoscalar dipole coherence at low energies and forbidden E1 strength
In 16O and 40Ca an isoscalar, low-energy dipole transition (IS-LED)
exhausting approximately 4% of the isoscalar dipole (ISD) energy-weighted sum
rule is experimentally known, but conspicuously absent from recent theoretical
investigations of ISD strength. The IS-LED mode coincides with the so-called
isospin-forbidden E1 transition. We report that for N=Z nuclei up to 100Sn the
fully self-consistent Random-Phase-Approximation with finite-range forces,
phenomenological and realistic, yields a collective IS-LED mode, typically
overestimating its excitation energy, but correctly describing its IS strength
and electroexcitation form factor. The presence of E1 strength is solely due to
the Coulomb interaction between the protons and the resulting isospin-symmetry
breaking. The smallness of its value is related to the form of the transition
density, due to translational invariance. The calculated values of E1 and ISD
strength carried by the IS-LED depend on the effective interaction used.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that in N-not-equal-Z nuclei this
distinct mode of IS surface vibration can develop as such or mix strongly with
skin modes and thus influence the pygmy dipole strength as well as the ISD
strength function. In general, theoretical models currently in use may be unfit
to predict its precise position and strength, if at all its existence.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, EPJA submitte
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