Telecommunications 2004: Strategy, HR Practices & Performance - Cornell-Rutgers Telecommunications Project

This national benchmarking report of the U.S. telecommunications services industry traces the tumultuous changes in management and workforce practices and performance in the sector over the last 5 years. This is a follow-up report to our 1998 study. At that time, when the industry was booming, we conducted a national survey of establishments in the industry. In 2003, we returned to do a second national survey of the industry, this time in a sector that was recovering from one of the worst recessions in its history

Towards a New World of Externships: Introduction to Papers from Externships 4 and 5

The scholarly literature on externships is growing and deepening, addressing concerns of importance to field placement programs and to clinicians in general. This Introduction places the issues raised by the subsequent four articles on externships into the context of current national debates about the externship method. These issues, which both extend and diverge from current thinking about externship pedagogy, include: 1) the impact of a harsh economic climate; 2) the educational potential of placements in corporate counsel offices; 3) the argument for compensating students in for-credit placements; and 4) the value of course design for teaching power dynamics in supervisory relationships. Taken together, the issues explored in these four articles point toward a new world of externships, filled with both opportunity and risk for clinical education. This new world poses key questions, not just for externships, but for clinical legal education and legal education generally

Classical to Quantum Transition of a Driven Nonlinear Nanomechanical Resonator

We seek the first indications that a nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) is entering the quantum domain as its mass and temperature are decreased. We find them by studying the transition from classical to quantum behavior of a driven nonlinear Duffing resonator. Numerical solutions of the equations of motion, operating in the bistable regime of the resonator, demonstrate that the quantum Wigner function gradually deviates from the corresponding classical phase-space probability density. These clear differences that develop due to nonlinearity can serve as experimental evidence, in the near future, that NEMS resonators are entering the quantum domain

A novel approach to correcting TeT_e-based mass-metallicity relations

Deriving oxygen abundances from the electron temperature (hereafter the $T_e$-method) is the gold-standard for extragalactic metallicity studies. However, unresolved temperature fluctuations within individual HII regions and across different HII regions throughout a galaxy can bias metallicity estimates low, with a magnitude that depends on the underlying and typically unknown temperature distribution. Using a toy model, we confirm that computing $T_e$-based metallicities using the temperature derived from the [O III] $\lambda$4363/$\lambda$5007 or [O II] $\lambda\lambda$7320,7330 / [O II] $\lambda\lambda$3727 ratio ('ratio temperature'; $T_{\rm ratio}$) results in an underprediction of metallicity when temperature fluctuations are present. In contrast, using the unobservable 'line temperatures' ($T_{\rm line}$) that provide the mean electron and ion density-weighted emissivity yield an accurate metallicity estimate. To correct this bias in low-mass galaxies, we demonstrate an example calibration of a relation between T_ratio and T_line based on a high-resolution (4.5 pc) RAMSES-RTZ simulation of a dwarf galaxy that self-consistently models the formation of multiple HII regions and ion temperature distribution in a galactic context. Applying this correction to the low-mass end of the mass-metallicity relation shifts its normalization up by 0.18 dex on average and flattens its slope from 0.87 to 0.58, highlighting the need for future studies to account for, and correct, this bias.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Performance of precast, prestressed concrete I-girders employing 0.7-in. diameter prestressing strands under shear-critical loading conditions

The majority of precast, pretensioned concrete elements are currently fabricated using 0.5- or 0.6-in. diameter prestressing strands. However, in recent years, potential benefits such as reduced fabrication costs and extended span capabilities have led to an interest in using larger-diameter 0.7-in. strands in the pretensioning industry. Such an increase in the diameter of strands might impact the shear strength of pretensioned girders due to the possibility of atypical failure modes that are not considered in current design provisions. An experimental program was conducted to study the effects of using 0.7-in. prestressing strands on the performance of precast, prestressed concrete I-girders under shear-critical loading conditions. Four full-scale pretensioned Texas bulb-tee girders (Tx-girders) employing 0.7-in. strands were fabricated and tested at Ferguson Structural Engineering Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin. The mild steel reinforcement in the specimens was detailed according to standard drawings by the Texas Department of Transportation for girders employing 0.6-in. strands. The test program investigated the shear failure in girders with different concrete release strengths, overall member depths, shear span-to-depth ratios, and strand patterns. Analysis of the results revealed clear signs of atypical shear failure mechanisms in all specimens. Considerable strand slip was recorded at both ends of the specimens prior to peak load. In three of the specimens, the shear failure resulted in prominent horizontal cracks at the interface between the web and the bottom flange. However, all specimens demonstrated significant diagonal cracking prior to failure. Yielding of the stirrups was also confirmed in all specimens, indicating a shear-tension failure. The capacities of all specimens were conservatively estimated using the general procedure in AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications and the detailed method in ACI 318-14. The findings of this study reveal no concerns regarding the performance of existing design provisions in predicting the shear strength of Tx-girders that employ 0.7-in. diameter prestressing strands.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin