Numerical simulation of flow, H2SO4 cycle and new particle formation in the CERN CLOUD chamber

To study the effect of galactic cosmic rays on aerosols and clouds, the Cosmic Leaving OUtdoor Droplets (CLOUD) project was established. Experiments are carried out at a 26 m3 tank at CERN (Switzerland). In the experiments, the effect of ionising particle radiation on H2SO4 particle formation and growth is investigated. To evaluate the experimental configuration, the experiment was simulated using a coupled multidimensional CFD – particle model (CLOUD-FPM). In the model the coupled fields of gas/vapour species, temperature, flow velocity and particle properties were computed to investigate the tank's mixing state and mixing times. Simulation results show that the mixing state of the tank's contents largely depends on the characteristics of the mixing fans and a 1-fan configuration, as used in first experiments, may not be sufficient to ensure a homogeneously mixed chamber. To mix the tank properly, 2 fans are necessary. The 1/e response times for instantaneous changes of wall temperature and saturation ratio inside the chamber were found to be in the order of few minutes. Particle nucleation and growth was also simulated and particle number size distribution properties of the freshly nucleated particles (particle number, mean size, standard deviation of the assumed log-normal distribution) were found to be mixed over the tank's volume similar to the gas species

Outstanding Educational Performance Awards: Highlighting High-Achieving Arkansas Schools, 2013

The GPA measure, we believe, is a better representation of student achievement on statewide standardized exams. In this report, we are presenting a list of the top 25 schools in each area. In some cases, these top 25 lists will contain more than 25 schools as some schools\u27 GPA scores will be identical. This is not a new phenomenon, as we also exceeded 25 schools in previous reports when using the percent proficient and advanced metric as an indicator for student achievement; however, there are fewer ties using the more precise GPA measure. After we present our overall snapshot of high-performing schools, we will release subsequent reports every few weeks focusing on different subsets of schools. For example, in section two of the OEP Awards AER, we will feature schools that are beating the odds (that is, schools that have high levels of student achievement while serving a high percentage of low-income students). In the following weeks, we will focus on high-performing elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools in the various regions across the state. Finally, we will conclude our report by focusing on the schools with the greatest improvement in test scores

An optical solution for the set splitting problem

We describe here an optical device, based on time-delays, for solving the set splitting problem which is well-known NP-complete problem. The device has a graph-like structure and the light is traversing it from a start node to a destination node. All possible (potential) paths in the graph are generated and at the destination we will check which one satisfies completely the problem's constrains.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

Metrics to evaluate research performance in academic institutions: A critique of ERA 2010 as applied in forestry and the indirect H2 index as a possible alternative

Excellence for Research in Australia (ERA) is an attempt by the Australian Research Council to rate Australian universities on a 5-point scale within 180 Fields of Research using metrics and peer evaluation by an evaluation committee. Some of the bibliometric data contributing to this ranking suffer statistical issues associated with skewed distributions. Other data are standardised year-by-year, placing undue emphasis on the most recent publications which may not yet have reliable citation patterns. The bibliometric data offered to the evaluation committees is extensive, but lacks effective syntheses such as the h-index and its variants. The indirect H2 index is objective, can be computed automatically and efficiently, is resistant to manipulation, and a good indicator of impact to assist the ERA evaluation committees and to similar evaluations internationally.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, 7 tables, appendice

Promoting learner autonomy through multiliteracy skills development in cross-institutional exchanges

This contribution presents findings from two empirical case studies, which followed a task-based telecollaborative learning format. Participants included student teacher trainees, tutors, and language learners from colleges/universities in Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The projects aimed at promoting learner autonomy through awareness raising of modes and meaning-making online and multiliteracy skills development based on hands-on analysis of web resources and social networking tools. It was hoped that this awareness would foster the teachers' own autonomy in virtual learning environments and enable them to design tasks which—in turn—would promote learner autonomy as understood by Palfreyman (2006): the informed use of a range of interacting resources in context. We argue that this awareness is reflected in enhanced multimodal communicative competence, i.e., “the ability to understand the combined potential of various modes for making meaning” (Royce, 2002, p. 92), and multiliteracy, with the latter allowing teachers and learners to realize the potential of blended and online only settings for language acquisition purposes. Ideally then, while becoming gradually more versed in multimodality and multiliteracy, learners can also take over more control and self-direct their own learning when working online (Benson, 2001) which are also characteristics of autonomy