1,055 research outputs found
Some statistical and computational challenges, and opportunities in astronomy
The data complexity and volume of astronomical findings have increased in recent decades due to major technological improvements in instrumentation and data collection methods. The contemporary astronomer is flooded with terabytes of raw data that produce enormous multidimensional catalogs of objects (stars, galaxies, quasars, etc.) numbering in the billions, with hundreds of measured numbers for each object. The astronomical community thus faces a key task: to enable efficient and objective scientific exploitation of enormous multifaceted data sets and the complex links between data and astrophysical theory. In recognition of this task, the National Virtual Observatory (NVO) initiative recently emerged to federate numerous large digital sky archives, and to develop tools to explore and understand these vast volumes of data. The effective use of such integrated massive data sets presents a variety of new challenging statistical and algorithmic problems that require methodological advances. An interdisciplinary team of statisticians, astronomers and computer scientists from The Pennsylvania State University, California Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University is developing statistical methodology for the NVO. A brief glimpse into the Virtual Observatory and the work of the Penn State-led team is provided here
HOLIDAY ATTACHMENT: THE CONSTRUCT AND ITS MEASUREMENT
Given that it is not the individual components constituting a holiday in isolation or in simple additive relationship that determines tourists’ sense of satisfaction with that holiday, the absence of an instrument to capture the effect of the holiday experience in its entirety is but odd. Not only that, the current approach of inferring the whole complex of holiday experience as the simple additive sum of the knowledge of its constituent parts is epistemologically problematic, too. Beginning with a brief inventorying of the current approaches to the measurement of place attachment, which is being used by researchers to assess tourists’ attachment to holiday destinations, the present paper attempts to develop a more holistic instrument, Holiday Attachment, which can comprehensively measure tourists’ attachment with the composite holiday experience. The holiday attachment instrument has successfully demonstrated the essential tests of validity and reliability. The paper is concluded with a brief discussion of the current limitations and the developmental dimensions of the instrument, as well as its implications and potential applications.Holiday attachement; Holiday utility; Holiday identity; Implications of the scale.
ACTIVITY BASED COSTING FOR BETTER COST MANAGEMENT
Implementing change in management, successfully and profitably, is the greatest challenge for modern enterprises. Innovation in strategies, marketing performance, role of competition, change in technology, change in customer needs, management initiatives are all facts of life in the global environment today. Cost management works with its customer to manage change more profitably. Activity-Based Costing (ABC) is a new methodology of product costing which measures the cost of products more accurately. Overhead allocation is much more sophisticated under this system. This paper attempts to highlight the need, importance and methodology of ABC for better Cost Management in modern enterprises.Cost management; Cost and activity drivers; Activity based costing (ABC); ABC implementation; ABC applications
Reaching Out: Colleges Can Make a Difference
Afternoon institutes and newsletters can help to spread enthusiasm and effective teaching techniques to elementary and secondary science teachers
High School Faculty Institute for Chemistry Teachers
The High School Faculty Institute for Chemistry Teachers was established at Sacred Heart University in April 1980 with the long term goal to assist teachers in inspiring students to take up chemistry as a career or to continue studies in chemistry
Critical transition and spatial organization in climate and engineering systems
Diese Arbeit zielt darauf ab, die raumzeitlichen Regelmäßigkeiten an Übergängen
aufzudecken, die in saisonalen Klima- und Ingenieursystemen beobachtet
werden, indem moderne Methoden der komplexen Systemwissenschaft verwendet
werden. Das erste System ist der indische Sommermonsun - eine Regenzeit,
deren jährliche Schwankungen das Leben und den Wohlstand von mehr als
einer Milliarde Menschen auf dem indischen Subkontinent beeinflussen und die
Wirtschaft des von der Landwirtschaft abhängigen Landes stark beeinträchtigen.
Insbesondere die Kenntnis des zeitlichen Ablaufs des Ăśbergangs vom Vormonsun
zum Monsun ist für die Planung landwirtschaftlicher Aktivitäten dringend erforderlich.
Die Vorhersage des Monsunzeitpunkts ĂĽber dem indischen Kontinent
bleibt jedoch eine groĂźe wissenschaftliche Herausforderung. Das zweite ist ein
Verbrennungssystem, das anfällig für ein katastrophales Phänomen namens thermoakustische
Instabilität ist, das verhindert, dass das Verbrennungssystem unter
klimafreundlichen Bedingungen betrieben wird. Eine solche Brennkammer ist
typisch fĂĽr Energie- und Antriebssysteme wie Gasturbinentriebwerke, Boiler und
Raketen. Zu verstehen, wann der Übergang zur thermoakustischen Instabilität
auftritt und wie dieser Ăśbergang unterdrĂĽckt werden kann, sind SchlĂĽsselfragen
fĂĽr die Entwicklung klimafreundlicher Motoren. Diese Dissertation liefert ein
neues Verständnis des indischen Sommermonsuns und der thermoakustischen
Instabilität durch auf statistischer Physik basierende Ansätze, die verborgene
Merkmale in diesen Systemen nahe ihren jeweiligen Übergängen aufdecken.This thesis aims to reveal the spatiotemporal regularities at transitions observed
in seasonal climate and engineering systems by utilizing modern methods
of complex systems science. The first system is the Indian Summer Monsoon - a
rainy season whose yearly variability affects the life and prosperity of more than
a billion people in the Indian subcontinent and strongly impacts the economy of
the agriculture-dependent country. In particular, knowledge of the timing of the
transition from pre-monsoon to monsoon is greatly needed for the planning of
agriculture activities. However, the prediction of monsoon timing over the Indian
continent remains a significant scientific challenge. The second is a combustion
system prone to a catastrophic phenomenon called thermoacoustic instability,
which prevents the combustion system from being operated in climate-friendly
conditions. Such a combustor is typical in power and propulsion systems such
as gas turbine engines, boilers, and rockets. Understanding when the transition
to thermoacoustic instability occurs and how to suppress this transition are key
questions for developing climate-friendly engines. This thesis provides a new
understanding of the Indian Summer Monsoon and thermoacoustic instability
through statistical physics-based approaches that reveal hidden features in these
systems near their respective transitions
TOURISM AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES
Tourism and the environment are intricately and inseparably interlinked, with many positive relationships as well as several irreversible negative impacts. Destinations of higher environmental quality attract tourists and in that process are also transmuted, either positively or negatively. Drawing evidences largely from the Indian context, the present paper analyzes the root causes of tourism related degradation in environmental quality and suggests alternatives that synergizes tourism and environment. Two case studies are presented: one to show how tourism produces inferior environmental quality and the other to suggest a practical means to overcome the apparent contradiction between conservation and development. It is concluded that the paradigm of ecocultural tourism and the praxis of community based ecotourism could provide useful global frameworks with reference to which locally informed quality-tourism initiatives could be formulated and customized
Cruise Crimes: Economic-Legal Issues and Current Debates
Cruise tourism is one of the sunshine sectors of international tourism and is growing rapidly in many parts of the world. It is estimated that the growth rate of cruise tourism is twice the rate of tourism overall. Notwithstanding all the positives that accompany this growth, many critics have drawn attention to the “dark side” of cruise crimes. The eco-system aboard the cruise ship offers a fertile ground for the occurrence of crimes. The present paper examines the issue of crimes onboard from multiple standpoints and suggests some remedial measures that would lead to better management of cruise crimes. A presentation of the recent initiatives by the U.S. legislative bodies aimed at containing cruise crimes is also provided.cruise ships; criminology aboard; cruise crime typology; crime prevention; industry initiative; legislative intervention; and USA
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