2,929 research outputs found
Fluid coupling Patent
Two component valve assembly for cryogenic liquid transfer regulatio
Newspapermen can be made
Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit
Evaluation of the InDUCKtion project at UCL
Executive summary: There is evidence that a good induction to university life can help with student retention; however, there is also a danger of overwhelming students during the intense period of fresherâs week. Under the auspices of a small grant from the Higher Education Academyâs âChanging the Learning Landscapeâ funding stream, staff at two universities (University College London and Southampton Solent University) collaborated to produce an innovative and engaging induction project entitled âInDUCKtionâ, based on the idea of an induction duck being a fun character for students to interact with. At UCL, the InDUCKtion duck existed in the form of a physical plastic duck included in international postgraduate student induction packs, and they were encouraged to take photos of themselves in and around UCL and London as part of a photo challenge using social media. It was anticipated that this would enable students to familiarise themselves with the locale, make friends and have fun at the same time. The InDUCKtion duck was also evident on flyers and posters with QR codes advertising an online tour to enable students to gain an accelerated familiarisation with the campus and its facilities. Within UCL, the project was a collaborative, cross-departmental venture instigated by members of UCLâs E-Learning Environments (ELE) working in partnership with the Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching (CALT) and Student Support and Wellbeing (SSW). The logistics of the project meant that the team members also had to liaise with a number of other individuals and departments around UCL, to help promote and implement the project. Despite a rapid following on Twitter in a relatively short period, a reasonable hit rate on the QR code for the main page of the online tour resource, and some engagement with the photo challenges using social media, participation in the project was lower than anticipated. Lessons learned from an evaluation perspective revealed that adding another activity to an already overwhelming fresherâs week was problematic, despite its innovative and interactive nature. The use of QR codes was problematic for a number of reasons, and the project needed more buy-in from student representatives and academics to provide institutional endorsement. Recommendations for future instances of the project include securing student representation and academic endorsement, integrating the activity with parallel induction activities â particularly with academic departments, replacing QR codes with an alternative technology-enhanced learning approach and optimising the learning design to better motivate students and promote groupwork
Surface contamination analysis technology team overview
A team was established which consisted of representatives from NASA (Marshall Space Flight Center and Langley Research Center), Thiokol Corporation, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, AC Engineering, SAIC, Martin Marietta, and Aerojet. The team's purpose was to bring together the appropriate personnel to determine what surface inspection techniques were applicable to multiprogram bonding surface cleanliness inspection. In order to identify appropriate techniques and their sensitivity to various contaminant families, calibration standards were developed. Producing standards included development of consistent low level contamination application techniques. Oxidation was also considered for effect on inspection equipment response. Ellipsometry was used for oxidation characterization. Verification testing was then accomplished to show that selected inspection techniques could detect subject contaminants at levels found to be detrimental to critical bond systems of interest. Once feasibility of identified techniques was shown, selected techniques and instrumentation could then be incorporated into a multipurpose inspection head and integrated with a robot for critical surface inspection. Inspection techniques currently being evaluated include optically stimulated electron emission (OSEE); near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy utilizing fiber optics; Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy; and ultraviolet (UV) fluorescence. Current plans are to demonstrate an integrated system in MSFC's Productivity Enhancement Complex within five years from initiation of this effort in 1992 assuming appropriate funding levels are maintained. This paper gives an overview of work accomplished by the team and future plans
Order of Exercises for the Decoration of Soldiers\u27 Graves, 1871
Full title: Order of exercises for the decoration of soldiers\u27 graves, at Augusta, Maine, June 24th, 1871. Provides the program of opening and closing hymns and order and route of procession
Asymptotic Implied Volatility at the Second Order with Application to the SABR Model
We provide a general method to compute a Taylor expansion in time of implied
volatility for stochastic volatility models, using a heat kernel expansion.
Beyond the order 0 implied volatility which is already known, we compute the
first order correction exactly at all strikes from the scalar coefficient of
the heat kernel expansion. Furthermore, the first correction in the heat kernel
expansion gives the second order correction for implied volatility, which we
also give exactly at all strikes. As an application, we compute this asymptotic
expansion at order 2 for the SABR model.Comment: 27 pages; v2: typos fixed and a few notation changes; v3: published
version, typos fixed and comments added. in Large Deviations and Asymptotic
Methods in Finance, Springer (2015) 37-6
Fusion of neutron rich oxygen isotopes in the crust of accreting neutron stars
Fusion reactions in the crust of an accreting neutron star are an important
source of heat, and the depth at which these reactions occur is important for
determining the temperature profile of the star. Fusion reactions depend
strongly on the nuclear charge . Nuclei with can fuse at low
densities in a liquid ocean. However, nuclei with Z=8 or 10 may not burn until
higher densities where the crust is solid and electron capture has made the
nuclei neutron rich. We calculate the factor for fusion reactions of
neutron rich nuclei including O + O and Ne + Ne. We
use a simple barrier penetration model. The factor could be further
enhanced by dynamical effects involving the neutron rich skin. This possible
enhancement in should be studied in the laboratory with neutron rich
radioactive beams. We model the structure of the crust with molecular dynamics
simulations. We find that the crust of accreting neutron stars may contain
micro-crystals or regions of phase separation. Nevertheless, the screening
factors that we determine for the enhancement of the rate of thermonuclear
reactions are insensitive to these features. Finally, we calculate the rate of
thermonuclear O + O fusion and find that O should burn at
densities near g/cm. The energy released from this and similar
reactions may be important for the temperature profile of the star.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figs, minor changes, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Corporate Higher Education: Models And Examples
Corporate education has become a major influence in higher education today. The goal of this initiative is to explore the forms that higher corporate education takes. Among the most prevalent are: specifically designed university programs, partnership programs between a company and a university, and corporation designed programs created and offered to meet the specific needs of educating their employees in training matters and providing development within the corporate structure. While there is no set formula for fashioning a successful program the myriad variations provide an opportunity to explore the pros and cons of each model. An example of a successful corporate higher education program is explored
Gravity action on the rapidly varying metrics
We consider a four-dimensional simplicial complex and the minisuperspace
general relativity system described by the metric flat in the most part of the
interior of every 4-simplex with exception of a thin layer of thickness
along the every three-dimensional face where the metric
undergoes jump between the two 4-simplices sharing this face. At this jump would become discontinuity. Since, however, discontinuity of
the (induced on the face) metric is not allowed in general relativity, the
terms in the Einstein action tending to infinity at arise.
In the path integral approach, these terms lead to the pre-exponent factor with
\dfuns requiring that the induced on the faces metric be continuous, i. e. the
4-simplices fit on their common faces. The other part of the path integral
measure corresponds to the action being the sum of independent terms over the
4-simplices. Therefore this part of the path integral measure is the product of
independent measures over the 4-simplices. The result obtained is in accordance
with our previous one obtained from the symmetry considerations.Comment: 10 page
Restricted three-body problem in effective-field-theory models of gravity
One of the outstanding problems of classical celestial mechanics was the
restricted 3-body prob- lem, in which a planetoid of small mass is subject to
the Newtonian attraction of two celestial bodies of large mass, as it occurs,
for example, in the sun-earth-moon system. On the other hand, over the last
decades, a systematic investigation of quantum corrections to the Newtonian
potential has been carried out in the literature on quantum gravity. The
present paper studies the effect of these tiny quantum corrections on the
evaluation of equilibrium points. It is shown that, despite the extreme
smallness of the corrections, there exists no choice of sign of these
corrections for which all qualitative features of the restricted 3-body problem
in Newtonian theory remain unaffected. Moreover, first-order stability of
equilibrium points is characterized by solving a pair of algebraic equations of
fifth degree, where some coefficients depend on the Planck length. The
coordinates of stable equilibrium points are slightly changed with respect to
Newtonian theory, because the planetoid is no longer at equal distance from the
two bodies of large mass. The effect is conceptually interesting but too small
to be observed, at least for the restricted 3-body problems available in the
solar system.Comment: 20 pages, latex, 8 figure
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