30,357 research outputs found
Measuring attitude toward theistic faith : assessing the Astley-Francis Scale among Christian, Muslim and secular youth in England
Empirical research within the social scientific study of religion in general and within the psychology of religion in particular remains very conscious of the complex nature of its subject matter. Empirical research in this field needs to take cognisance of the many forms in which religion is expressed (say, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism) and the many facets within the forms (say, beliefs, behaviours and affiliation). Working in the 1970s, Francis (1978a; 1978b) advanced the view that the attitudinal dimension of religion offered a particularly fruitful basis for coordinating empirical enquiry into the correlates, antecedents and consequences of religiosity across the life span
Curve Shortening and the Rendezvous Problem for Mobile Autonomous Robots
If a smooth, closed, and embedded curve is deformed along its normal vector
field at a rate proportional to its curvature, it shrinks to a circular point.
This curve evolution is called Euclidean curve shortening and the result is
known as the Gage-Hamilton-Grayson Theorem. Motivated by the rendezvous problem
for mobile autonomous robots, we address the problem of creating a polygon
shortening flow. A linear scheme is proposed that exhibits several analogues to
Euclidean curve shortening: The polygon shrinks to an elliptical point, convex
polygons remain convex, and the perimeter of the polygon is monotonically
decreasing.Comment: 15 pages, 18 figure
The Market Price of Credit Risk: An Empirical Analysis of Interest Rate Swap Spreads
This paper studies the market price of credit risk incorporated into one of the most important credit spreads in the financial markets: interest rate swap spreads. Our approach consists of jointly modeling the swap and Treasury term structures using a general five-factor affine credit framework and estimating the parameters by maximum likelihood. We solve for the implied special financing rate for Treasury bonds and find that the liquidity component of on-the-run bond prices can be significant. We also find that credit premia in swap spreads are positive on average. These premia, however, vary significantly over time and were actually negative for much of the 1990s.
Deformation mechanics of deep surface flaw cracks
A combined analytical and experimental program was conducted to determine the deformation characteristics of deep surface cracks in Mode I loading. An approximate plane finite element analysis was performed to make a parameter study on the influence of crack depth, crack geometry, and stress level on plastic zones, crack opening displacement, and back surface dimpling in Fe-3Si steel and 2219-T87 aluminum. Surface replication and profiling techniques were used to examine back surface dimple configurations in 2219-T87 aluminum. Interferometry and holography were used to evaluate the potential of various optical techniques to detect small surface dimples on large surface areas
The U.S. system for measuring cross-border investment in securities: a primer with a discussion of recent developments
The tremendous growth in cross-border securities investment in recent years has called attention to the systems used by the United States and other countries to measure international securities flows and holdings. Ideally, the data gathered by the United States could tell us the extent to which foreign investors hold U.S. securities, the types of securities held, and the countries in which the securities are held, for example, and could identify trends in investment. This article looks at how well the data shed light on these topics. Special attention is given to the system's design and the implications of the design for data analysis. Also discussed are anticipated changes to the system and international efforts to improve data collection systems worldwide.International finance ; Securities
Pressure-induced transition from the dynamic to static Jahn-Teller effect in (PhP)IC
High-pressure infrared transmission measurements on \PhC60 were performed up
to 9 GPa over a broad frequency range (200 - 20000 cm) to monitor the
vibrational and electronic/vibronic excitations under pressure. The four
fundamental T modes of \C60a\ are split into doublets already at the
lowest applied pressure and harden with increasing pressure. Several cation
modes and fullerene-related modes split into doublets at around 2 GPa, the most
prominent one being the G mode. The splitting of the vibrational modes
can be attributed to the transition from the dynamic to static Jahn-Teller
effect, caused by steric crowding at high pressure. Four absorption bands are
observed in the NIR-VIS frequency range. They are discussed in terms of
transitions between LUMO electronic states in \C60a, which are split because of
the Jahn-Teller distortion and can be coupled with vibrational modes. Various
distortions and the corresponding symmetry lowering are discussed. The observed
redshift of the absorption bands indicates that the splitting of the LUMO
electronic states is reduced upon pressure application.Comment: 10 pages, 17 figure
Evidence for Differential Rotation on a T Tauri Star
Five years of photometric monitoring of the T Tauri star HBC 338 in NGC 1333
has revealed that it is a periodic variable, but the period has changed
significantly with time. From 2000-2003, a period near 5.6 days was observed,
while in the last two seasons, the dominant period is near 4.6 days. No other T
Tauri star has been seen to change its period by such a large percentage. We
propose a model in which a differentially rotating star is seen nearly
equator-on and a high latitude spot has gradually been replaced by a low
latitude spot. We show that this model provides an excellent fit to the
observed shapes of the light curves at each epoch. The amplitude and sense of
the inferred differential rotation is similar to what is seen on the Sun. This
may be surprising given the likely high degree of magnetic surface activity on
the star relative to the Sun but we note that HBC 338 is clearly an exceptional
T Tauri star.Comment: Acepted for publication in PAS
Numerical analysis and simulation of an assured crew return vehicle flow field
A lifting body was proposed as a candidate for the Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV) which will serve as a crew rescue vehicle for the Space Station Freedom. The focus is on body surface definition, both surface and volume grid definition, and the computation of inviscid flow fields about the vehicle at wind tunnel conditions. Very good agreement is shown between the computed aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle at M(sub infinity) = 10 and those measured in wind tunnel tests at high Reynolds numbers
A pilot study of the S-MAP (Solutions for Medications Adherence Problems) intervention for older adults prescribed polypharmacy in primary care: Study protocol
Background: Adhering to multiple medications as prescribed is challenging for older patients (aged ≥ 65 years) and a difficult behaviour to improve. Previous interventions designed to address this have been largely complex in nature but have shown limited effectiveness and have rarely used theory in their design. It has been recognised that theory ('a systematic way of understanding events or situations') can guide intervention development and help researchers better understand how complex adherence interventions work. This pilot study aims to test a novel community pharmacy-based intervention that has been systematically developed using the Theoretical Domains Framework (12-domain version) of behaviour change. Methods: As part of a non-randomised pilot study, pharmacists in 12 community pharmacies across Northern Ireland (n = 6) and London, England (n = 6), will be trained to deliver the intervention to older patients who are prescribed ≥ 4 regular medicines and are non-adherent (self-reported). Ten patients will be recruited per pharmacy (n = 120) and offered up to four tailored one-to-one sessions, in the pharmacy or via telephone depending on their adherence, over a 3-4-month period. Guided by an electronic application (app) on iPads, the intervention content will be tailored to each patient's underlying reasons for non-adherence and mapped to the most appropriate solutions using established behaviour change techniques. This study will assess the feasibility of collecting data on the primary outcome of medication adherence (self-report and dispensing data) and secondary outcomes (health-related quality of life and unplanned hospitalisations). An embedded process evaluation will assess training fidelity for pharmacy staff, intervention fidelity, acceptability to patients and pharmacists and the intervention's mechanism of action. Process evaluation data will include audio-recordings of training workshops, intervention sessions, feedback interviews and patient surveys. Analysis will be largely descriptive. Discussion: Using pre-defined progression criteria, the findings from this pilot study will guide the decision whether to proceed to a cluster randomised controlled trial to test the effectiveness of the S-MAP intervention in comparison to usual care in community pharmacies. The study will also explore how the intervention components may work to bring about change in older patients' adherence behaviour and guide further refinement of the intervention and study procedures. Trial registration: This study is registered at ISRCTN: https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN7383153
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Survey Instrument for Gender Based Violence
This is a proposal for the design of a survey on gender-based violence across Europe. It introduces the purpose of the survey, which shapes the priorities embedded in the proposed design. It identifies the major issues involved in operationalising the concept of gender-based violence for a survey. It identifies some technical issues and how they are best addressed. The focus is on the questionnaire, largely leaving to one side the design of the survey and its strategy for issues such as sampling. This proposal draws on experience of a wide range of surveys and draws on selected parts of the architecture and questionnaire of the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), modified to fit the present priorities
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