Self-adjoint difference operators and classical solutions to the Stieltjes--Wigert moment problem

The Stieltjes-Wigert polynomials, which correspond to an indeterminate moment problem on the positive half-line, are eigenfunctions of a second order q-difference operator. We consider the orthogonality measures for which the difference operator is symmetric in the corresponding weighted $L^2$-spaces. These measures are exactly the solutions to the q-Pearson equation.In the case of discrete and absolutely continuous measures the difference operator is essentially self-adjoint, and the corresponding spectral decomposition is given explicitly. In particular, we find an orthogonal set of q-Bessel functions complementing the Stieltjes-Wigert polynomials to an orthogonal basis for $L^2(\mu)$ when $\mu$ is a discrete orthogonality measure solving the q-Pearson equation. To obtain the spectral decomposition of the difference operator in case of an absolutely continuous orthogonality measure we use the results from the discrete case combined with direct integral techniques.Comment: 22 pages; section 2 rewritten, to appear in Journal of Approximation Theor

PHEROMONES IN SMALL RODENTS AND THEIR POTENTIAL USE IN PEST CONTROL

The paper reviews social interactions in small rodents in which pheromones have been reported to play a part. Some of the chemical messengers involved may have a potential use in control of rodent pests. Research in this field should be encouraged, because alternatives to the current control methods are highly desirable

PHEROMONES IN SMALL RODENTS AND THEIR POTENTIAL USE IN PEST CONTROL

The paper reviews social interactions in small rodents in which pheromones have been reported to play a part. Some of the chemical messengers involved may have a potential use in control of rodent pests. Research in this field should be encouraged, because alternatives to the current control methods are highly desirable

The indeterminate moment problem for the qq-Meixner polynomials

For a class of orthogonal polynomials related to the $q$-Meixner polynomials corresponding to an indeterminate moment problem we give a one-parameter family of orthogonality measures. For these measures we complement the orthogonal polynomials to an orthogonal basis for the corresponding weighted $L^2$-space explicitly. The result is proved in two ways; by a spectral decomposition of a suitable operator and by direct series manipulation. We discuss extensions to explicit non-positive measures and the relation to other indeterminate moment problems for the continuous $q^{-1}$-Hahn and $q$-Laguerre polynomials.Comment: 26 page

#aboerjc: The Alberta OER Journal Club

This presentation was given at the 2019 Alberta OER Summit, at NorQuest College, Edmonton.The Alberta OER Journal Club was started in Autumn of 2018 as a way of continuing the OER discussion in Alberta, following the end of the provincial government's one-time funding. The journal club hosts monthly Twitter chats where guest facilitators guide a discussion on a piece of OER literature. This presentation will review the background and development of this project, provide an overview of the format and best practices, and highlight the project's significance and surprises

History Limited: The HiddenPolitics of Postwar Popular Histories

This dissertation examines popular history and collective memory in the mid-20th century. Each chapter studies a different source of politicized history, exploring who created the history to be disseminated, what their goals and motivations were, why the historical trope particularly suited their needs and objectives, how they managed to convey ideologies through representations of the past, and how this popular history related to contemporary social and political issues. All of these "historians" - DuPont's radio and television show, Cavalcade of America; the History Book Club; CBS's historical news program, You Are There; the American Heritage Foundation's "Freedom Train"; and the Smithsonian Institution - attempted to mold collective memory into an ideological foundation for their agendas.  During a tumultuous period, at home and abroad, the past became a safer forum for political discourse, and reexamining these sources of historical information and interpretation sheds new light on postwar politics. Surprisingly, deep ideological divisions persisted well into the age of apparent consensus. However, despite significant differences, the key people in all of these cases shared the same basic assumption about the relevance of history to contemporary society. The widespread acceptance of a strong relationship between past and present in postwar American society contrasts with later attitudes toward the past. The new technologies that enabled the communication of particular historical representations and interpretations changed too, and rapidly matured into forms less suited to the dissemination of historical lessons. As these attempts to control the public's views of the past began to fail, popular history was increasingly driven by marketplace considerations and was less confined to perspectives carefully chosen by a particular group of elites