2,265 research outputs found
The Development of Return on Investment (ROI) Analysis for Training Programs in the United States
This paper\u27s goals are to support the intuitive feeling that training and education of employees is financially sound business procedure and may be empirically substantiated by citing studies that show: 1. Organizations that provide employees opportunities for training, education, and development are able to generate savings that significantly add to the profitability of the organization; 2. Education increases employee productivity; 3. Education of employees helps the company compete with changes in the economic world; 4. Education of employees produces a better quality product
Efficiency at optimal work from finite reservoirs: a probabilistic perspective
We revisit the classic thermodynamic problem of maximum work extraction from
two arbitrary sized hot and cold reservoirs, modelled as perfect gases.
Assuming ignorance about the extent to which the process has advanced, which
implies an ignorance about the final temperatures, we quantify the prior
information about the process and assign a prior distribution to the unknown
temperature(s). This requires that we also take into account the temperature
values which are regarded to be unphysical in the standard theory, as they lead
to a contradiction with the physical laws. Instead in our formulation, such
values appear to be consistent with the given prior information and hence are
included in the inference. We derive estimates of the efficiency at optimal
work from the expected values of the final temperatures, and show that these
values match with the exact expressions in the limit when any one of the
reservoirs is very large compared to the other. For other relative sizes of the
reservoirs, we suggest a weighting procedure over the estimates from two valid
inference procedures, that generalizes the procedure suggested earlier in [J.
Phys. A: Math. Theor. {\bf 46}, 365002 (2013)]. Thus a mean estimate for
efficiency is obtained which agrees with the optimal performance to a high
accuracy.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
Limiting Behaviour of the Mean Residual Life
In survival or reliability studies, the mean residual life or life expectancy
is an important characteristic of the model. Here, we study the limiting
behaviour of the mean residual life, and derive an asymptotic expansion which
can be used to obtain a good approximation for large values of the time
variable. The asymptotic expansion is valid for a quite general class of
failure rate distributions--perhaps the largest class that can be expected
given that the terms depend only on the failure rate and its derivatives.Comment: 19 page
Measuring cultural relativity of emotional valence and arousal using semantic clustering and Twitter
An integrated bidirectional multi-channel opto-electro arbitrary waveform stimulator for treating motor neurone disease
This paper presents a prototype integrated bidirectional stimulator ASIC capable of mixed opto-electro stimulation and electrophysiological signal recording. The development is part of the research into a fully implantable device for treating motor neurone disease using optogenetics and stem cell technology. The ASIC consists of 4 stimulator units, each featuring 16-channel optical and electrical stimulation using arbitrary current waveforms with an amplitude up to 16 mA and a frequency from 1.5 Hz to 50 kHz, and a recording front-end with a programmable bandwidth of 1 Hz to 4 kHz, and a programmable amplifier gain up to 74 dB. The ASIC was implemented in a 0.18ÎŒm CMOS technology. Simulated performance in stimulation and recording is presented
A transiting companion to the eclipsing binary KIC002856960
We present an early result from an automated search of Kepler eclipsing
binary systems for circumbinary companions. An intriguing tertiary signal has
been discovered in the short period eclipsing binary KIC002856960. This third
body leads to transit-like features in the light curve occurring every 204.2
days, while the two other components of the system display eclipses on a 6.2
hour period. The variations due to the tertiary body last for a duration of
\sim1.26 days, or 4.9 binary orbital periods. During each crossing of the
binary orbit with the tertiary body, multiple individual transits are observed
as the close binary stars repeatedly move in and out of alignment with the
tertiary object. We are at this stage unable to distinguish between a planetary
companion to a close eclipsing binary, or a hierarchical triply eclipsing
system of three stars. Both possibilities are explored, and the light curves
presented.Comment: Accepted into A&A Letters (5 pages & 3 figures
Comparison of NITAG policies and working processes in selected developed countries
BACKGROUND: Vaccines are specific medicines characterized by two country-specific market access processes: (1) a recommendation by National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG), and (2) a funding policy decision. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to compare and analyze NITAGs of 13 developed countries by describing vaccination committees' bodies and working processes. METHODS: Information about NITAGs bodies and working processes was searched from official sources from June 2011 to November 2012. Retrieved information was completed from relevant articles identified through a systematic literature review and by information provided by direct contact with NITAGs or parent organizations. An expert panel was also conducted to discuss, validate, and provide additional input on obtained results. RESULTS: While complete information, defined as 100%, was retrieved only for the UK, at least 80% of data was retrieved for 9 countries out of the 13 selected countries. Terms of references were identified in 7 countries, and the main mission for all NITAGs was to provide advice for National immunization programs. However, these terms of references did not fully encompass all the actual missions of the NITAGs. Decision analysis frameworks were identified for 10 out of the 13, and all NITAGs considered at least four criteria for decision-making: disease burden, efficacy/effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness. Advices were published by most NITAGs, but few NITAGs published meeting agendas and minutes. Only the United States had open meetings. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports previous findings about the disparities in NITAGs processes which could potentially explain the disparity in access to vaccinations and immunization programs across Europe. With NITAGs recommendations being used by policy decision makers for implementation and funding of vaccine programs, guidances should be well-informed and transparent to ensure National Immunization Programs' (NIP) credibility among the public and health care professionals
Some Connections Between Modern and Classical Control Concepts
This is a tutorial paper that discusses the synthesis of optimum constant-gain feedback Stationary Linear Systems With Quadratic Criteria and No Disturbances Consider a stationary linear dynamic system with a single input u{t), a single output y(t), and no disturbances. Such a system may be described by giving the transfer function F(s), wher
Extent of alteration, paleomagnetic history, and infrared spectral properties of the Tarda ungrouped carbonaceous chondrite
Tarda is an ungrouped, hydrated carbonaceous chondrite (C2âung) that was seen to fall in Morocco in 2020. Early studies showed that Tarda chemically resembles another ungrouped chondrite, Tagish Lake (C2âung), which has previously been linked to the dark Dâtype asteroids. Samples of Dâtype asteroids provide an important opportunity to investigate primitive conditions in the outer solar system. We show that Tarda contains few intact chondrules and refractory inclusions and that its composition is dominated by secondary Mgârich phyllosilicates (>70 vol%), carbonates, oxides, and Feâsulfides that formed during extensive waterârock reactions. Quantitative assessment of firstâorder reversal curve (FORC) diagrams shows that Tarda's magnetic mineralogy (i.e., framboidal magnetite) is comparable to that of the CI chondrites and differs notably from that of most CM chondrites. These traits support a common formation process for magnetite in Tarda and the CI chondrites. Furthermore, Tarda's preâterrestrial paleomagnetic remanence is similar to that of Tagish Lake and samples returned from asteroid Ryugu, with a very weak paleointensity (5.4â8.3 AU. An origin in the cold, outer regions of the solar system is further supported by the presence of distinct, porous clasts enriched in aliphaticârich organics that potentially retain a pristine interstellar composition. Together, our observations support a genetic relationship between Tarda and Tagish Lake
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