19,862 research outputs found
Peak into the Past - An Archaeo-Astronomy Summer School
Our landscape has been shaped by man throughout the millennia. It still
contains many clues to how it was used in the past giving us insights into
ancient cultures and their everyday life. Our summer school uses archaeology
and astronomy as a focus for effective out-of-classroom learning experiences.
It demonstrates how a field trip can be used to its full potential by utilising
ancient monuments as outdoor classrooms. This article shows how such a summer
school can be embedded into the secondary curriculum; giving advice, example
activities, locations to visit, and outlines the impact this work has had.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted for School Science Revie
An experimental study of the effects of autocratic, student-centered and laissez-faire group leadership on college orientation classes
Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston UniversityThe purpose of this study is to attempt to determine the effect of different types of leadership for freshman orientation groups at Boston University School of Educatio
Biaxial fatigue loading of notched composites
Thin walled, 2.54-cm (1-in.) diameter tubular specimens of T300/934 graphite/epoxy were fabricated and fatigue cycled in combinations of axial, torsional, and internal pressure loading. Two different four-ply layup configurations were tested: (0/90)S and (+ or - 45)S; all tubes contained a 0.48-cm (3/16-in.) diameter circular hole penetrating one wall midway along the tube length. S-N curves were developed to characterize fatigue behavior under pure axial, torsional, or internal pressure loading, as well as combined loading fatigue. A theory was developed based on the Hill plane stress model which enabled the S-N curve for combined stress states to be predicted from the S-N data for the uniaxial loading modes. Correlation of the theory with the experimental data proved to be remarkably good
Exact moments in a continuous time random walk with complete memory of its history
We present a continuous time generalization of a random walk with complete
memory of its history [Phys. Rev. E 70, 045101(R) (2004)] and derive exact
expressions for the first four moments of the distribution of displacement when
the number of steps is Poisson distributed. We analyze the asymptotic behavior
of the normalized third and fourth cumulants and identify new transitions in a
parameter regime where the random walk exhibits superdiffusion. These
transitions, which are also present in the discrete time case, arise from the
memory of the process and are not reproduced by Fokker-Planck approximations to
the evolution equation of this random walk.Comment: Revtex4, 10 pages, 2 figures. v2: applications discussed, clarity
improved, corrected scaling of third momen
Contacting the spirits of the dead: paranormal belief and the teenage worldview
A number of previous studies have examined both the overall level of belief expressed by young people in the paranormal and the major demographic predictors of such belief. Building on this research tradition, the present study examines how one specific paranormal belief concerning contact with the spirits of the dead integrates with the wider teenage worldview. Data provided by 33,982 pupils age 13 to 15 years throughout England and Wales demonstrated that almost one in three young people (31%) believed that it is possible to contact the spirits of the dead. Compared with young people who did not share this belief, the young people who believed in the possibility of contacting the spirits of the dead displayed lower psychological wellbeing, higher anxiety, greater isolation, greater alienation, less positive social attitudes, and less socially conforming lifestyles. Overall, paranormal beliefs seem to be associated with a less healthy worldview, in both personal and social terms
Can a connectionist model explain the processing of regularly and irregularly inflected words in German as L1 and L2?
The connectionist model is a prevailing model of the structure and functioning of the cognitive system of the processing of morphology. According to this model, the morphology of regularly and irregularly inflected words (e.g., verb participles and noun plurals) is processed in the same cognitive network. A validation of the connectionist model of the processing of morphology in German as L2 has yet to be achieved. To investigate L2-specific aspects, we compared a group of L1 speakers of German with speakers of German as L2. L2 and L1 speakers of German were assigned to their respective group by their reaction times in picture naming prior to the central task. The reaction times in the lexical decision task of verb participles and noun plurals were largely consistent with the assumption of the connectionist model. Interestingly, speakers of German as L2 showed a specific advantage for irregular compared with regular verb participles
Hyperglycemia Has a Greater Impact on Left Ventricle Function in South Asians Than in Europeans
OBJECTIVE Diabetes is associated with left ventricular (LV) diastolic and systolic dysfunction. South Asians may be at particular risk of developing LV dysfunction owing to a high prevalence of diabetes. We investigated the role of diabetes and hyperglycemia in LV dysfunction in a community-based cohort of older South Asians and white Europeans. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Conventional and Doppler echocardiography was performed in 999 participants (542 Europeans and 457 South Asians aged 58–86 years) in a population-based study. Anthropometry, fasting bloods, coronary artery calcification scoring, blood pressure, and renal function were measured. RESULTS Diabetes and hyperglycemia across the spectrum of HbA1c had a greater adverse effect on LV function in South Asians than Europeans (N-terminal-probrain natriuretic peptide β ± SE 0.09 ± 0.04, P = 0.01, vs. −0.04 ± 0.05, P = 0.4, P for HbA1c/ethnicity interaction 0.02), diastolic function (E/e′ 0.69 ± 0.12, P < 0.0001, vs. 0.09 ± 0.2, P = 0.6, P for interaction 0.005), and systolic function (s′ −0.11 ± 0.06, P = 0.04, vs. 0.14 ± 0.09, P = 0.1, P for interaction 0.2). Multivariable adjustment for hypertension, microvascular disease, LV mass, coronary disease, and dyslipidemia only partially accounted for the ethnic differences. Adverse LV function in diabetic South Asians could not be accounted for by poorer glycemic control or longer diabetes duration. CONCLUSIONS Diabetes and hyperglycemia have a greater adverse effect on LV function in South Asians than Europeans, incompletely explained by adverse risk factors. South Asians may require earlier and more aggressive treatment of their cardiometabolic risk factors to reduce risks of LV dysfunction
Work-related psychological health and psychological type among lead elders within the Newfrontiers network of churches in the United Kingdom
Building on a series of recent studies concerned with assessing work-related psychological health and psychological type among various groups of church leaders, this study reports new data provided by 134 Lead Elders within the Newfrontiers network of churches in the United Kingdom who completed the Francis Psychological Type Scales (FPTS) together with the two scales of the Francis Burnout Inventory (FBI) concerned with emotional exhaustion and satisfaction in ministry. Compared with other groups of church leaders, Lead Elders within the Newfrontiers network of churches reported lower levels of emotional exhaustion and higher levels of satisfaction in ministry. Compared with other groups of church leaders, there was a higher proportion of extraverts among Lead Elders within the Newfrontiers network of churches. There was only a weak association between psychological type and burnout
XHIP-II: Clusters and associations
Context. In the absence of complete kinematic data it has not previously been
possible to furnish accurate lists of member stars for all moving groups. There
has been an unresolved dispute concerning the apparent inconsistency of the
Hipparcos parallax distance to the Pleiades.
Aims. To find improved candidate lists for clusters and associations
represented among Hipparcos stars, to establish distances, and to cast light on
the Pleiades distance anomaly.
Methods. We use a six dimensional fitting procedure to identify candidates,
and plot CMDs for 20 of the nearest groups. We calculate the mean parallax
distance for all groups.
Results. We identify lists of candidates and calculated parallax distances
for 42 clusters and 45 associations represented within the Hipparcos catalogue.
We find agreement between parallax distance and photometric distances for the
most important clusters. For single stars in the Pleiades we find mean parallax
distance 125.6 \pm 4.2 pc and photometric distance 132 \pm 3 pc calibrated to
nearby groups of similar in age and composition. This gives no reason to doubt
either the Hipparcos database or stellar evolutionary theory.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy Letters, 10 pages, 2 fig
What makes you not a Buddhist? : a preliminary mapping of values
This study sets out to establish which Buddhist values contrasted with or were shared by adolescents from a non-Buddhist population. A survey of attitude toward a variety of Buddhist values was fielded in a sample of 352 non-Buddhist schoolchildren aged between 13 and 15 in London. Buddhist values where attitudes were least positive concerned the worth of being a monk/nun or meditating, offering candles & incense on the Buddhist shrine, friendship on Sangha Day, avoiding drinking alcohol, seeing the world as empty or impermanent and Nirvana as the ultimate peace. Buddhist values most closely shared by non-Buddhists concerned the Law of Karma, calming the mind, respecting those deserving of respect, subjectivity of happiness, welfare work, looking after parents in old age and compassion to cuddly animals. Further significant differences of attitude toward Buddhism were found in partial correlations with the independent variables of sex, age and religious affiliation. Correlation patterns paralleled those previously described in theistic religions. Findings are applied to spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and for the teaching of religious to pupils of no faith adherence. The study recommends that quantitative psychometrics employed to conceptualize Buddhist values by discriminant validity in this study could be extended usefully to other aspects of the study of Buddhism, particularly in quest of validity in the conceptualization of Buddhist identity within specifically Buddhist populations
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