Hubble Space Telescope: Goddard high resolution spectrograph instrument handbook. Version 2.1

The Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) is an ultraviolet spectrometer which has been designed to exploit the imaging and pointing capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope. It will obtain observations of astronomical sources with greater spectral, spatial and temporal resolution than has been possible with previous space-based instruments. Data from the GHRS will be applicable to many types of scientific investigations, including studies of the interstellar medium, stellar winds, chromospheres and coronae, the byproducts and endproducts of stellar evolution, planetary atmospheres, comets, and many kinds of extragalactic sources. This handbook is intended to introduce the GHRS to potential users. The main purpose is to provide enough information to explore the feasibility of possible research projects and to plan, propose and execute a set of observations. An overview of the instrument performance, which should allow one to evaluate the suitability of the GHRS to specific projects, and a somewhat more detailed description of the GHRS hardware are given. How observing programs will be carried out, the various operating modes of the instrument, and the specific information about the performance of the instrument needed to plan an observation are discussed

Impact of residential energy system sizing and control over heat pump’s system cost and reliability

Using a simulation-based approach, this work analyses the impact that different energy unit sizes and control methodologies will have over the capital and running costs of an air source heat pump (ASHP) system to be installed in a refurbished dwelling. A total of 9 different heating configuration options were investigated and the cumulative cash flow over a period of 10 years (including initial investment) was utilized to compare the systems from a customer perspective. Additionally, in selected cases, the cycling of the heat pump was calculated in order to estimate the life-span of the device. The building and heat pump systems were simulated using TRNSYS energy system models. The results revealed the sensitivity of the system’s costs and life-span to its operating characteristics. For example, operating the system as a direct gas boiler replacement resulted in capital costs above £10,000 and the unit's life span reduced by half in comparison to more favourable operational strategies. The results highlight the fact that the successful technical and financial performance of heat pumps within the UK’s residential market will depend of designers, installers and end-users’ awareness regarding optimal operational strategies for this technology

Signaling strategic commitment for organizational transition: how to manage potential M&As through voluntary disclosures

To ‘transit or not’ often depends upon winning over investor opinion to large strategic initiatives. M&A is one such major realignment of an organization and yet once a bid for a company has been announced there is a period of uncertainty when the bid may not be completed. This depends on share price movements determined more by investor perceptions than fundamental values. This paper investigates whether these perceptions may be influenced by ‘voluntary’ corporate communications and so link managerial practices to strategic outcomes. Drawing upon two very large M&A data sets (USA and UK) (57,000 deals; 30,000 communications) we argue managerial practice (signaling strategic commitment) shapes market response and demonstrate communication characteristics, and the use of high-reputation intermediaries, play an important role in determining share price reaction

Voluntary disclosures as a form of impression management to reduce evaluative uncertainty during M&A

This study develops and tests a set of hypotheses on how to manage investors’ evaluative uncertainty during M&A through a specific form of impression management, namely, interim news events. We suggest that voluntary disclosures are key in influencing investors’ reactions during M&A. Empirical support for our theoretical arguments is shown in a sample of 36,376 deals and 163,023 associated interim news events carried out by NYSE and NSDQ listed organizations over 10 years. Our research contributes to literature on voluntary disclosures, impression management, and managing M&A

Put Away Your Phone and Learn! How technology engages or disengages students and… When it is good that your students are confused

Some technology increases student learning, some decreases it. I will show evidence of both and discuss what makes the difference. Approximately 70% of college students now text during class, and no faculty member we studied saw even as much as half of the texting that occurred. Is there any viable way to stop this? What should instructors do about the use of laptops in class? The second part of the talk will address the uses of confusion, presenting interesting data showing the type of confusion that leads to increased student learning. Part of the discussion will be how demos – beloved by chemistry, physics, and other science teachers – have minimal effect on student learning

Put Away Your Phone and Learn! How technology engages or disengages students and… When it is good that your students are confused

Some technology increases student learning, some decreases it. I will show evidence of both and discuss what makes the difference. Approximately 70% of college students now text during class, and no faculty member we studied saw even as much as half of the texting that occurred. Is there any viable way to stop this? What should instructors do about the use of laptops in class? The second part of the talk will address the uses of confusion, presenting interesting data showing the type of confusion that leads to increased student learning. Part of the discussion will be how demos – beloved by chemistry, physics, and other science teachers – have minimal effect on student learning

Modified Dark Matter: Relating Dark Energy, Dark Matter and Baryonic Matter

Modified dark matter (MDM) is a phenomenological model of dark matter, inspired by gravitational thermodynamics. For an accelerating Universe with positive cosmological constant ($\Lambda$), such phenomenological considerations lead to the emergence of a critical acceleration parameter related to $\Lambda$. Such a critical acceleration is an effective phenomenological manifestation of MDM, and it is found in correlations between dark matter and baryonic matter in galaxy rotation curves. The resulting MDM mass profiles, which are sensitive to $\Lambda$, are consistent with observational data at both the galactic and cluster scales. In particular, the same critical acceleration appears both in the galactic and cluster data fits based on MDM. Furthermore, using some robust qualitative arguments, MDM appears to work well on cosmological scales, even though quantitative studies are still lacking. Finally, we comment on certain non-local aspects of the quanta of modified dark matter, which may lead to novel non-particle phenomenology and which may explain why, so far, dark matter detection experiments have failed to detect dark matter particles

Persistence of chlorpropham (CIPC) in the concrete flooring of potato stores

The loss of the sprout suppressant, chlorpropham (CIPC), to the fabric of potato stores is currently of concern due to the risk of potential cross contamination of other crops subsequently housed in these stores. HPLC UV/VIS and GCMS methods were successfully employed to detect CIPC in the concrete flooring of research and commercial potato stores with histories of between 1 and 26 years of use. The concentrations in identical research stores, with different numbers of applications, were in the range 0.58–5.7 and 3.4–112 μg g−1, suggesting the magnitude of contamination was influenced by the number of applications. Commercial store A, with a history of 18 seasons of applications (estimate of total CIPC applied 2040 kg), had concentrations varying between 6 and 48 μg g−1 in the top three centimetres, with more than 92% within the top centimetre. In contrast, commercial store B, with a history of less than five seasons of applications (estimate of total CIPC applied 319 kg), had concentrations varying between 0.58 and 304 μg g−1 in the top four centimetres, with less than 47% within the top centimetre. The difference in depth distributions between A and B may be due to the structural integrity of the concrete, which was much poorer in B. CIPC was persistent in all stores irrespective of the total quantities of CIPC applied and date of the final application