Simulating Turbulence Using the Astrophysical Discontinuous Galerkin Code TENET

In astrophysics, the two main methods traditionally in use for solving the Euler equations of ideal fluid dynamics are smoothed particle hydrodynamics and finite volume discretization on a stationary mesh. However, the goal to efficiently make use of future exascale machines with their ever higher degree of parallel concurrency motivates the search for more efficient and more accurate techniques for computing hydrodynamics. Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods represent a promising class of methods in this regard, as they can be straightforwardly extended to arbitrarily high order while requiring only small stencils. Especially for applications involving comparatively smooth problems, higher-order approaches promise significant gains in computational speed for reaching a desired target accuracy. Here, we introduce our new astrophysical DG code TENET designed for applications in cosmology, and discuss our first results for 3D simulations of subsonic turbulence. We show that our new DG implementation provides accurate results for subsonic turbulence, at considerably reduced computational cost compared with traditional finite volume methods. In particular, we find that DG needs about 1.8 times fewer degrees of freedom to achieve the same accuracy and at the same time is more than 1.5 times faster, confirming its substantial promise for astrophysical applications.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Proceedings of the SPPEXA symposium, Lecture Notes in Computational Science and Engineering (LNCSE), Springe

Routine administration of oral polio vaccine in a subtropical area. Factors possibly influencing sero-conversion rates

Poliomyelitis is an important problem of public health in warm-climate countries. Studies of serological responses to vaccination in these countries have given conflicting results but in many investigations the rates have been considerably less than in countries with temperate climates. In this study three possible factors influencing sero-conversion were investigated - the season of the year when vaccine was given, the social status of the mother (as indicated by the number of years of schooling) and the presence of non-poliomyelitis viruses (NPV) in the gut when vaccine was given. Over 200 children about 2 months of age were included in the study. Each was given three doses of trivalent vaccine at 6-week intervals. The sero-conversion rates of the groups fed in winter were excellent but were slightly less good in summer. The differences were greatest in children in the lower socio-economic groups and in children excreting other enteroviruses. The conclusions are that, provided a potent vaccine is used, the factors which diminish the effectiveness of immunization in warm-climate countries can be overcome: (1) by giving three doses of trivalent vaccine; (2) by beginning vaccination at the earliest possible age (when enteroviruses are fewest); (3) by concentrating special attention on the lower socio-economic groups and if necessary by giving a reinforcing dose several months after the third dose has been given - preferably in the colder month

Achieving equity through 'gender autonomy': the challenges for VET policy and practice

This paper is based on research carried out in an EU Fifth Framework project on 'Gender and Qualification'. The research partners from five European countries investigated the impact of gender segregation in European labour markets on vocational education and training, with particular regard to competences and qualifications. The research explored the part played by gender in the vocational education and training experiences of (i) young adults entering specific occupations in child care, electrical engineering and food preparation/service (ii) adults changing occupations

Discontinuous Galerkin method for multifluid Euler equations

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106454/1/AIAA2013-2595.pd

The Unfulfilled Potential of Data-Driven Decision Making in Agile Software Development

With the general trend towards data-driven decision making (DDDM), organizations are looking for ways to use DDDM to improve their decisions. However, few studies have looked into the practitioners view of DDDM, in particular for agile organizations. In this paper we investigated the experiences of using DDDM, and how data can improve decision making. An emailed questionnaire was sent out to 124 industry practitioners in agile software developing companies, of which 84 answered. The results show that few practitioners indicated a widespread use of DDDM in their current decision making practices. The practitioners were more positive to its future use for higher-level and more general decision making, fairly positive to its use for requirements elicitation and prioritization decisions, while being less positive to its future use at the team level. The practitioners do see a lot of potential for DDDM in an agile context; however, currently unfulfilled

Pseudo-transient Continuation, Solution Update Methods, and CFL Strategies for DG Discretizations of the RANS-SA Equations

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106459/1/AIAA2013-2686.pd

Entrances and exits: changing perceptions of primary teaching as a career for men

Original article can be found at: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713640830~db=all Copyright Informa / Taylor and Francis. DOI: 10.1080/03004430802352087The number of men in teaching has always been small, particularly in early childhood, but those that do come into teaching usually do so for the same reasons as women, namely enjoyment of working with children, of wanting to teach and wanting to make a difference to children's lives. However, in two separate studies, the authors have shown that on beginning teacher training in 1998, and at the point of leaving the profession in 2005, men and women tend to emphasise different concerns. This article will explore those differences and seek possible explanations for how men's views of teaching might be changing over time.Peer reviewe

Organisational participation and women - an attitude problem?

Employee participation is a dynamic and contested area of organisational behaviour, attracting continuing academic, practitioner and policy interest and debate. This chapter focuses on organisational participation and women

HDG-NEFEM with Degree Adaptivity for Stokes Flows

This paper presents the first degree adaptive procedure able to directly use the geometry given by a CAD model. The technique uses a hybridisable discontinuous Galerkin discretisation combined with a NURBS-enhanced rationale, completely removing the uncertainty induced by a polynomial approximation of curved boundaries that is common within an isoparametric approach. The technique is compared against two strategies to perform degree adaptivity currently in use. This paper demonstrates, for the first time, that the most extended technique for degree adaptivity can easily lead to a non-reliable error estimator if no communication with CAD software is introduced whereas if the communication with the CAD is done, it results in a substantial computing time. The proposed technique encapsulates the CAD model in the simulation and is able to produce reliable error estimators irrespectively of the initial mesh used to start the adaptive process. Several numerical examples confirm the findings and demonstrate the superiority of the proposed technique. The paper also proposes a novel idea to test the implementation of high-order solvers where different degrees of approximation are used in different elements

A study of patent thickets

Report analysing whether entry of UK enterprises into patenting in a technology area is affected by patent thickets in the technology area