Four units in mythology for use in English classes in grades eight and nine

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University, 1948. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Factors Leading to Effectiveness and Satisfaction in Civil Engineer Information Systems

The Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency (AFCESA) has developed information systems in support of civil engineer operations. Over the last decade, the number of systems has grown to support the breadth of civil engineer functions. At this time, numerous (900+) decentralized systems support civil engineer functions around the world. Due to budget constraints, AFCESA is transforming civil engineer business processes to leverage the workforce in an optimized fashion. In support of this transition, AFCESA is posturing to acquire new information systems in support of civil engineer business processes. To help AFCESA improve upon its suite of information systems development efforts it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of its current systems. This thesis develops a model based on cumulative research to assess information system effectiveness. The thesis evaluates 10 systems developed for the civil engineer community. Predictors of information system effectiveness are System Quality, Information Quality, and Service Quality. The study indicates that one system, GeoBase, is significantly better in all areas of information system effectiveness. It is recommended that future system development be fashioned after GeoBase

Supporting ethnographic studies of ubiquitous computing in the wild

Ethnography has become a staple feature of IT research over the last twenty years, shaping our understanding of the social character of computing systems and informing their design in a wide variety of settings. The emergence of ubiquitous computing raises new challenges for ethnography however, distributing interaction across a burgeoning array of small, mobile devices and online environments which exploit invisible sensing systems. Understanding interaction requires ethnographers to reconcile interactions that are, for example, distributed across devices on the street with online interactions in order to assemble coherent understandings of the social character and purchase of ubiquitous computing systems. We draw upon four recent studies to show how ethnographers are replaying system recordings of interaction alongside existing resources such as video recordings to do this and identify key challenges that need to be met to support ethnographic study of ubiquitous computing in the wild

Plasticity in current-driven vortex lattices

We present a theoretical analysis of recent experiments on current-driven vortex dynamics in the Corbino disk geometry. This geometry introduces controlled spatial gradients in the driving force and allows the study of the onset of plasticity and tearing in clean vortex lattices. We describe plastic slip in terms of the stress-driven unbinding of dislocation pairs, which in turn contribute to the relaxation of the shear, yielding a nonlinear response. The steady state density of free dislocations induced by the applied stress is calculated as a function of the applied current and temperature. A criterion for the onset of plasticity at a radial location $r$ in the disk yields a temperature-dependent critical current that is in qualitative agreement with experiments.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Weak turbulence theory of the non-linear evolution of the ion ring distribution

The nonlinear evolution of an ion ring instability in a low-beta magnetospheric plasma is considered. The evolution of the two-dimensional ring distribution is essentially quasilinear. Ignoring nonlinear processes the time-scale for the quasilinear evolution is the same as for the linear instability 1/t_ql gamma_l. However, when nonlinear processes become important, a new time scale becomes relevant to the wave saturation mechanism. Induced nonlinear scattering of the lower-hybrid waves by plasma electrons is the dominant nonlinearity relevant for plasmas in the inner magnetosphere and typically occurs on the timescale 1/t_ql w(M/m)W/nT, where W is the wave energy density, nT is the thermal energy density of the background plasma, and M/m is the ion to electron mass ratio, which has the consequence that the wave amplitude saturates at a low level, and the timescale for quasilinear relaxation is extended by orders of magnitude

Problematising international placements as a site of intercultural learning

This paper theorises some of the learning outcomes of a three-year project concerning student learning in international social work placements in Malaysia. The problematic issue of promoting cultural and intercultural competence through such placements is examined, where overlapping hegemonies are discussed in terms of isomorphism of social work models, that of the nation state, together with those relating to professional values and knowledge, and the tyrannies of received ideas. A critical discussion of cultural competence as the rationale for international placements is discussed in terms of the development of the graduating social worker as a self-reflexive practitioner. The development of sustainable international partnerships able to support student placement and the issue of non-symmetrical reciprocation, typical of wide socio-economic differentials across global regions, is additionally discussed

Understanding wind turbine power converter reliability under realistic wind conditions

The reliability of wind turbine power converters is crucial for analyzing wind energy project costs, and for estimating maintenance and downtime. The published literature in this field relies on evaluating the reliability effect of wind speed to estimate the converter lifetime. However, this paper demonstrates that wind turbulence intensity, which has not been widely considered in similar reliability analyses, shows a significant impact on converter lifetime. This paper uses 821 10‐min wind speed time series sampled at 1 Hz on the two most commonly deployed wind turbine converter topologies: the two‐level voltage source and the three‐level neutral point clamped. Electromechanical and thermal modelling, combined with statistical analysis shows that mean wind speed and turbulence intensity both impact the lifetime of both converter topologies. However, the paper estimates that the three‐level converter can operate 2.4 to 4.0 times longer than the two‐level converter depending on the operating wind speed and turbulence intensity

‘River! that in silence windest’ The place of religion and spirituality in social work assessment: sociological reflections and practical implications

This paper explores the place of religion and spirituality in social work assessment. Place represents a topographic or locational concept that suggests an embeddedness within a physically bounded space, implying here that religion and spirituality are centrally important to the lives of many people and therefore necessarily part of the social work relationship between practitioners and their clients or service users. A range of concepts and implications arising from the idea that religion and spirituality form a necessary part of quotidian social work practice require some discussion. First of all we must recognize that religion and spirituality are often seen as synonyms and we must first discuss this and suggest discrete definitions of each concept. We also need to discuss assessment itself in social work, recognising the power relations and potential for the normative imposition of unspoken and taken-for-granted assumptions in making judgements about vulnerable people’s ecologies and psychologies. This is problematised further when we consider questions of vulnerability – a contested term in itself; who makes someone vulnerable, is it a quality or characteristic or does it reflect something structural, or both? Social work may be considered as a locally contextualized set of processes or moral practices that make statements about assumed vulnerabilities. We are taking this further by asking about religion and spirituality as one aspect of this collection of processes. This may project social work as both homogeneous, transferable and globally understood, an idea we will need to debate. Accepting that all these concepts may be contested and problematic we can move forward to consider ways in which religion and spirituality may be assessed in social work, making reference predominantly to UK and US social work whilst being tentative in making any normative assumptions about this exploration. A number of models will be introduced, drawing out some of the potential meanings and consequences of these for interpersonal relationship and also for people’s spiritual perspectives. A case example of the exclusion of religion and spirituality, notably Christianity, from UK social work in the recent past will be provided. This background prepares us for moving towards a sociological analysis of the state of play