Situational Position and Student Choice Criteria

The student in choosing a particular university to attend does so within a particular university-student situational context. This paper demonstrates that the situational context significantly influences the evaluative criteria used by students in deciding which university to attend. Using a Canadian university as a case study, the authors develop an analytical framework for understanding the relationship between the particular university-student situational context and the student choice of university decision criteria.Lorsqu'il(elle) choisit l'université où il(elle) va poursuivre ses études, l'étudian-te) prend en considération des facteurs relatifs à l'université et à sa situation en tant qu'étudiant(e). Cet article montre que le contexte d'une situation influence d'une façon significative les critères d'évaluation dont se servent les étudiants au cours de leur choix d'une université. Prenant une université canadienne comme exemple, les auteurs élaborent un cadre analytique qui permet de comprendre le rapport qui existe entre d'une part, le contexte de la situation particulière de V université et de l' étudiant(e) et d'autre part, les critères dont se sert l' étudiant(e) lorqu'il(elle) choisit une université

Benefit Segments for Full-Time Undergraduate Students

The purpose of this article is to present the results of a case analysis conducted at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario. The objective of this case study was to identify the benefits sought by undergraduate students and to form meaningful groups, or segments, based upon these benefits. A sample of 427 full-time at Laurentian University was used for this investigation. A questionnaire to gather information on the student, this included 19 questions using Likert statements to measure the perceived benefits of a university education. Factor analysis was used to identify five underlying benefit dimensions which were subsequently labelled as: personal skill development; personal advancement; social pressure; learning and discovering; and intellectual development. Cluster analysis, based upon the factor scores, was used to form groups of students seeking similar benefits. Six groups, or segments, were formed and named as: self improvement; pressure; learning; self development; career; and continue to study favourite subject. These groups were found to have significantly different scores on a wide range of variables. Whilst this study was limited to the students at Laurentian University nevertheless university administrators should find this study useful as a case study of applying market segmentation to educational markets.Le but de cet article est de présenter les résultats d'une étude de cas effectuée à l'Université Laurentienne de Sudbury, en Ontario. L'objet de cette étude était d'identifier les avantages que recherchent les étudiants et de classer ces derniers en groupes significatifs, ou segments, en tenant compte de ces avantages. L'échantillon étudié était composé de 427 étudiants inscrits à plein temps à l'Université Laurentienne. On a établi un questionnaire dans le but de recueillir certaines données sur les étudiants. Ce questionnaire contenait 19 questions auxquelles les étudiants devaient répondre à l'aide de l'échelle de Likert (barème allant de 0 à 5) afin d'évaluer avec précision les avantages que des études universitaires pourraient, d'après eux, leur procurer. A la suite d'une analyse factorielle, on a identifié cinq catégories sous-jacentes d'avantages que l'on a intitulées: développement des aptitudes personnelles; progrès individuel; influence sociale; apprentissage et découverte; et développement intellectuel. Puis on a fait une analyse typologique tenant compte des résultats obtenus pour regrouper les étudiants qui recherchaient les mêmes avantages. Six groupes, ou segments, ont été ainsi constitués et nommés d'après ces avantages:progrès individuel; pression; apprentissage; développement personnel; choix de carrière; et possibilité de continuer à étudier la matière qu'on préfère. On a trouvé que ces groupes avaient des scores qui variaient de façon significative, utilisant un grand nombre de variables. Même si cette étude ne se limitait qu'aux étudiants de l'Université Laurentienne, elle devrait néanmoins être utile aux administrateurs d'autres universités en tant qu'étude de cas présentant une façon de faire une segmentation de marché qui s'applique aux marchés universitaires

Chandra HRC Localization of the Low Mass X-ray Binaries X1624-490 and X1702-429: The Infrared Counterparts

We report on the precise localization of the low mass X-ray binaries X1624-490 and X1702-429 with the Chandra HRC-I. We determine the best positions to be 16:28:02.825 -49:11:54.61 (J2000) and 17:06:15.314 -43:02:08.69 (J2000) for X1624-490 and X1702-429, respectively, with the nominal Chandra positional uncertainty of 0.6". We also obtained deep IR observations of the fields of these sources in an effort to identify the IR counterparts. A single, faint (Ks=18.3 +/- 0.1) source is visible inside the Chandra error circle of X1624-490, and we propose this source as its IR counterpart. For X1702-429, a Ks=16.5 +/- 0.07 source is visible at the edge of the Chandra error circle. The brightness of both counterpart candidates is comparable to that of other low mass X-ray binary IR counterparts when corrected for extinction and distance.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

ASMs and Operational Algorithmic Completeness of Lambda Calculus

We show that lambda calculus is a computation model which can step by step simulate any sequential deterministic algorithm for any computable function over integers or words or any datatype. More formally, given an algorithm above a family of computable functions (taken as primitive tools, i.e., kind of oracle functions for the algorithm), for every constant K big enough, each computation step of the algorithm can be simulated by exactly K successive reductions in a natural extension of lambda calculus with constants for functions in the above considered family. The proof is based on a fixed point technique in lambda calculus and on Gurevich sequential Thesis which allows to identify sequential deterministic algorithms with Abstract State Machines. This extends to algorithms for partial computable functions in such a way that finite computations ending with exceptions are associated to finite reductions leading to terms with a particular very simple feature.Comment: 37 page

New XMM-Newton analysis of three bright X-ray sources in M31 globular clusters, including a new black hole candidate

We present detailed analysis of three globular cluster X-ray sources in the XMM-Newton extended survey of M31. The X-ray counterpart to the M31 globular cluster Bo 45 (XBo 45) was observed with XMM-Newton on 2006 December 26. Its combined pn+MOS 0.3--10 keV lightcurve exhibited a r.m.s variability of ~10%, and its 0.3--7.0 keV emission spectrum was well described by an absorbed power law with photon index 1.44$\pm$0.12. Its variability and emission is characteristic of low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) in the low-hard state, whether the accretor is a neutron star or black hole. Such behaviour is typically observed at luminosities \la10% Eddington. However, XBo 45 exhibited this behaviour at an unabsorbed, 0.3--10 keV luminosity of 2.5$\pm0.2\times 10^{38}$ erg s$^{-1}$, or{~140%} Eddington for a 1.4 $M_{\odot}$ neutron star accreting hydrogen. Hence, we identify XBo 45 as a new candidate black hole LMXB. XBo 45 appears to have been consistently bright for ~30 years, consistent with theoretical prediction for a globular cluster black hole binary formed via tidal capture. Bo 375 was observed in the 2007, January 2 XMM-Newton observation, and has a two-component spectrum that is typical for a bright neutron star LMXB. Bo 135 was observed in the same field as Bo 45, and could contain either a black hole or neutron star.Comment: Accepted by ApJ, 16 pages, 5 figures. This version includes the final changes made at the request of the refere

Monoamine oxidase-A modulates apoptotic cell death induced by staurosporine in human neuroblastoma cells

Monoamine oxidases (MAOs) are mitochondrial enzymes which control the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain and dietary amines in peripheral tissues via oxidative deamination. MAO has also been implicated in cell signalling. In this study, we describe the MAO-A isoform as functional in apoptosis induced by staurosporine (STS) in human dopaminergic neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y). Increased levels of MAO-A activity were induced by STS, accompanied by increased MAO-A protein and activation of the initiator of the intrinsic pathway, caspase 9, and the executioner caspase 3. MAO-A mRNA levels were unaffected by STS, suggesting that changes in MAO-A protein are due to post-transcriptional events. Two unrelated MAO-A inhibitors reduced caspase activation. STS treatment resulted in sustained activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway enzymes extracellular regulated kinase, c-jun terminal kinase and p38, and depletion of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. These changes were significantly reversed by MAO inhibition. Production of reactive oxygen species was increased following STS exposure, which was blocked by both MAO inhibition and the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine. Therefore our data provide evidence that MAO-A, through its production of reactive oxygen species as a by-product of its catalytic activity on the mitochondrial surface, is recruited by the cell to enhance apoptotic signalling

Correlates of Northern Bobwhite Distribution and Abundance with Land-Use Characteristics in Kansas

County-level agricultural statistics were correlated with Rural Mail Carrier Survey reports and Breeding Bird Survey data for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) in Kansas. Results indicate statewide analysis is feasible when temporally congruent data exist for both agricultural land-use characteristics and bobwhite distribution and abundance. Interpretations of these results can be useful in state or regional analysis and in the development of habitat management strategies for bobwhite. The Multiple Response Permutation Procedure identified 16 land-use variables, 3 soil variables, and 1 spatial variable that were significantly different in counties where bobwhite were present from counties where they were absent. Sixteen land-use variables, 5 soil variables, and 3 spatial variables distinguished between counties where bobwhite abundance was classified as high or low. Spearman\u27s rank correlation identified 8 soil variables, 14 land-use variables, and 3 spatial variables that were significantly correlated with bobwhite abundance. Least absolute deviation regression analysis revealed 4 land-use variables that were significantly correlated (Agreement= 0.48, P = 0.0001) with bobwhite abundance

A mapping approach to synchronization in the "Zajfman trap": stability conditions and the synchronization mechanism

We present a two particle model to explain the mechanism that stabilizes a bunch of positively charged ions in an "ion trap resonator" [Pedersen etal, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87 (2001) 055001]. The model decomposes the motion of the two ions into two mappings for the free motion in different parts of the trap and one for a compressing momentum kick. The ions' interaction is modelled by a time delay, which then changes the balance between adjacent momentum kicks. Through these mappings we identify the microscopic process that is responsible for synchronization and give the conditions for that regime.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures; submitted to Phys Rev

The Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) Earth Occultation Catalog of Low-Energy Gamma-Ray Sources

The Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), aboard the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO), provided a record of the low-energy gamma-ray sky (20-1000 keV) between 1991 April and 2000 May (9.1y). Using the Earth Occultation Technique to extract flux information, a catalog of sources using data from the BATSE large area detectors has been prepared. The first part of the catalog consists of results from the monitoring of 58 sources, mostly Galactic. For these sources, we have included tables of flux and spectral data, and outburst times for transients. Light curves (or flux histories) have been placed on the world wide web. We then performed a deep-sampling of 179 objects (including the aforementioned 58 objects) combining data from the entire 9.1y BATSE dataset. Source types considered were primarily accreting binaries, but a small number of representative active galaxies, X-ray-emitting stars, and supernova remnants were also included. The deep sample results include definite detections of 83 objects and possible detections of 36 additional objects. The definite detections spanned three classes of sources: accreting black hole and neutron star binaries, active galaxies and supernova remnants. Flux data for the deep sample are presented in four energy bands: 20-40, 40-70, 70-160, and 160-430 keV. The limiting average flux level (9.1 y) for the sample varies from 3.5 to 20 mCrab (5 sigma) between 20 and 430 keV, depending on systematic error, which in turn is primarily dependent on the sky location. To strengthen the credibility of detection of weaker sources (5-25 mCrab), we generated Earth occultation images, searched for periodic behavior using FFT and epoch folding methods, and critically evaluated the energy-dependent emission in the four flux bands.Comment: 64 pages, 17 figures, abstract abridged, Accepted by ApJ

Tests of Lorentz violation in muon antineutrino to electron antineutrino oscillations

A recently developed Standard-Model Extension (SME) formalism for neutrino oscillations that includes Lorentz and CPT violation is used to analyze the sidereal time variation of the neutrino event excess measured by the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND) experiment. The LSND experiment, performed at Los Alamos National Laboratory, observed an excess, consistent with neutrino oscillations, of ${\bar\nu}_e$ in a beam of ${\bar\nu}_\mu$. It is determined that the LSND oscillation signal is consistent with no sidereal variation. However, there are several combinations of SME coefficients that describe the LSND data; both with and without sidereal variations. The scale of Lorentz and CPT violation extracted from the LSND data is of order $10^{-19}$ GeV for the SME coefficients $a_L$ and $E \times c_L$. This solution for Lorentz and CPT violating neutrino oscillations may be tested by other short baseline neutrino oscillation experiments, such as the MiniBooNE experiment.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, uses revtex4 replaced with version to be published in Physical Review D, 11 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables, uses revtex