612 research outputs found
Kings, Wars, and Duck Eggs: Interpretations of Poetry in Egil’s Saga
This paper examines the function and cultural implications of poetry in Egil’s Saga, an Icelandic saga written around the thirteenth century A.D. The title character, Egil Skallagrimson, is a renowned warrior and obstinate maverick, but perhaps his most singular trait is his gift for crafting poetry—a talent reflected in the nearly sixty sets of his verse that appear throughout the prose text. Obviously, these poems allow the reader to tap into Egil’s psyche, but they also fulfill the more profound purpose of illuminating the values and experiences of medieval Icelanders. Egil eternalizes the heritage he shares with his countrymen, explores (and exploits) the place of the poet in Viking society, and lends voice to the universal themes of friendship, death, and old age. His verse leads us view the Saga Age not as an epoch of legend, but as a time as authentic as our own
Vlasov simulation in multiple spatial dimensions
A long-standing challenge encountered in modeling plasma dynamics is
achieving practical Vlasov equation simulation in multiple spatial dimensions
over large length and time scales. While direct multi-dimension Vlasov
simulation methods using adaptive mesh methods [J. W. Banks et al., Physics of
Plasmas 18, no. 5 (2011): 052102; B. I. Cohen et al., November 10, 2010,
http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2010.DPP.NP9.142] have recently shown
promising results, in this paper we present an alternative, the Vlasov Multi
Dimensional (VMD) model, that is specifically designed to take advantage of
solution properties in regimes when plasma waves are confined to a narrow cone,
as may be the case for stimulated Raman scatter in large optic f# laser beams.
Perpendicular grid spacing large compared to a Debye length is then possible
without instability, enabling an order 10 decrease in required computational
resources compared to standard particle in cell (PIC) methods in 2D, with
another reduction of that order in 3D. Further advantage compared to PIC
methods accrues in regimes where particle noise is an issue. VMD and PIC
results in a 2D model of localized Langmuir waves are in qualitative agreement
Engineering Management and Industrial Engineering: Similarities and Differences
Engineering Management is a broad and diverse field of engineering, thereby making it difficult to define exactly what the degree encompasses. At the same time, the somewhat related degree of Industrial Engineering is better understood. Some universities offer a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Management with an emphasis in Industrial Engineering, while others offer a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering with an emphasis in Engineering Management. In today\u27s world of competitive academia, many wonder if these degree fields are similar enough to be used interchangeably or if there is a distinct difference separating the two degrees, making it mandatory that they stay clearly separate. To be able to offer insight into these concerns, a study of academic departments will be conducted to determine how both fields are defined and what real similarities and differences exist. As part of this study, curricula from departments in both fields will also be compared to better understand the similarities and differences in these degree programs in regard to course requirements. The results of this study will be provide insight into differentiating characteristics of the engineering management degree as an aid to successfully marketing it to prospective students
Energy transfer, pressure tensor and heating of kinetic plasma
Kinetic plasma turbulence cascade spans multiple scales ranging from
macroscopic fluid flow to sub-electron scales. Mechanisms that dissipate large
scale energy, terminate the inertial range cascade and convert kinetic energy
into heat are hotly debated. Here we revisit these puzzles using fully kinetic
simulation. By performing scale-dependent spatial filtering on the Vlasov
equation, we extract information at prescribed scales and introduce several
energy transfer functions. This approach allows highly inhomogeneous energy
cascade to be quantified as it proceeds down to kinetic scales. The pressure
work, , can
trigger a channel of the energy conversion between fluid flow and random
motions, which is a collision-free generalization of the viscous dissipation in
collisional fluid. Both the energy transfer and the pressure work are strongly
correlated with velocity gradients.Comment: 28 pages, 10 figure
Water and sanitation provision in a low carbon society: The need for a systems approach
In the face of climate change threatening to cause major alterations to hydrological cycles and taking into account the relationship between water, energy use, and food production, water management challenges today prove more complex than ever to address. This paper, recognising the progress made through science and engineering in the last century, reflects on the need to manage water resources more sustainably. It proposes that a change in mindsets is required in order to reconsider our approach in applying established solutions and utilising current technologies and tools to deliver them, with a renewed focus on re-assessing what the real problems are from a systems perspective. Focusing on the water-energy-food nexus, water reuse using desalination processes as a management option is revisited. Findings demonstrate that interdisciplinary, integrated and holistic solutions have the potential to deliver benefits across different sectors, disciplines, and systems, with a real potential for taking us a bit closer to sustainability
Repositioning An Academic Department To Stimulate Growth
The complexity of the market in higher education, and the lack of literature regarding marketing, particularly branding, at the academic department level, presented an opportunity to establish a systematic process for evaluating an academic department’s brand meaning. A process for evaluating a brand’s meaning for an academic department is developed in this paper using Keller’s Customer Base Brand Equity model. This process will aid academic departments experiencing perception problems or wishing to improve their brand to better understand their existing brand meaning and assess the alignment between the student market perception and the industry market perception. This systematic process for evaluating a brand’s meaning is presented as applied to a case study.
Discrete Space-Time Volume for 3-Dimensional BF Theory and Quantum Gravity
The Turaev-Viro state sum invariant is known to give the transition amplitude
for the three dimensional BF theory with cosmological term, and its deformation
parameter hbar is related with the cosmological constant via hbar=sqrt{Lambda}.
This suggests a way to find the expectation value of the spacetime volume by
differentiating the Turaev-Viro amplitude with respect to the cosmological
constant. Using this idea, we find an explicit expression for the spacetime
volume in BF theory. According to our results, each labelled triangulation
carries a volume that depends on the labelling spins. This volume is explicitly
discrete. We also show how the Turaev-Viro model can be used to obtain the
spacetime volume for (2+1) dimensional quantum gravity.Comment: 13 pages, Revtex, figure
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