Antique Instagrams or Snapchats? Multimodal Composition of Early Twentieth Century British Postcards:Paper presented at “Aesthetes then and now: a bricolage of historical, artistic, and material-discursive meanings” Writing and Literacies Special Interest Group Roundtable at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting 8-12 April 2016, Washington DC.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the picture postcard was the key social networking tool of the day. Through the innovative opportunity to combine with an image, written messages could be exchanged within a few hours, giving rise to a sense of near-synchronous multimodal communication. Untrammelled by the etiquette of letter writing, people traded privacy for a new informality and spontaneity. This paper argues that the key endeavour of the Literacy Studies perspective, to deepen our understanding of writing and reading practices through fuller understandings of sociocultural context, can be achieved through the application of historical methods. With a dataset of 56 cards I investigate material and discursive dimensions of the texts against a background of historical evidence. A fuller version of this paper will appear as Gillen (in press)

Apollo experience report: Lunar module environmental control subsystem

A functional description of the environmental control subsystem is presented. Development, tests, checkout, and flight experiences of the subsystem are discussed; and the design fabrication, and operational difficulties associated with the various components and subassemblies are recorded. Detailed information is related concerning design changes made to, and problems encountered with, the various elements of the subsystem, such as the thermal control water sublimator, the carbon dioxide sensing and control units, and the water section. The problems associated with water sterilization, water/glycol formulation, and materials compatibility are discussed. The corrective actions taken are described with the expection that this information may be of value for future subsystems. Although the main experiences described are problem oriented, the subsystem has generally performed satisfactorily in flight

An empirical Bayesian approach to stein-optimal covariance matrix estimation

This paper proposes a conjugate Bayesian regression model to estimate the covariance matrix of a large number of securities. Characterizing the return generating process with an unrestricted factor model, prior beliefs impose structure while preserving estimator consistency. This framework accommodates economically-motivated prior beliefs and nests shrinkage covariance matrix estimators, providing a common model for their interpretation. Minimizing posterior finite-sample square error delivers a fully-automated covariance matrix estimator with beliefs that become diffuse as the sample grows relative to the dimension of the problem. In application, this Stein-optimal posterior covariance matrix performs well in a large set of simulation experiments

Single photon emission computed tomography: performance assessment, development and clinical applications

This is a general investigation of the SPECT imaging process. The primary aim is to determine the manner in which the SPECT studies should be performed in order to maximise the relevant clinical information given the characteristics and limitations of the particular gamma camera imaging system used. Thus the first part of this thesis is concerned with an assessment of the performance characteristics of the SPECT system itself. This involves the measurement of the fundamental planar imaging properties of the camera, their stability with rotation, the ability of the camera to rotate in a perfect circle and the accuracy of the transfer of the information from the camera to the computing system. Following this the performance of the SPECT system as a whole is optimised. This is achieved by examining the fundamental aspects of the SPECT imaging process and by optimising the selection of the parameters chosen for the acquisition and reconstruction of the data. As an aid to this a novel mathematical construct is introduced. By taking the logarithm of the power spectrum of the normalised projection profile data the relationship between the signal power and the noise power in the detected data can be visualised. From a theoretical consideration of the available options the Butterworth filter is chosen for use because it provides the best combination of spatial frequency transfer characteristics and flexibility. The flexibility of the Butterworth filter is an important feature because it means that the form of the actual function used in the reconstruction of a transaxial section can be chosen with regard to the relationship between the signal and the noise in the data. A novel method is developed to match the filter to the projection data. This consists of the construction of a mean angular power spectrum from the set of projection profiles required for the reconstruction of the particular transaxial section in question. From this the spatial frequency at which the the signal becomes dominated by the noise is identified. The value which the Butterworth filter should take at this point can then be determined with regard to the requirements of the particular clinical investigation to be performed. The filter matching procedure can be extended to two dimensions in a practical manner by operating on the projection data after it has been filtered in the y direction. The efficacy of several methods to correct for the effects of scatter, attenuation and camera non-uniformity are also investigated. Having developed the optimised methodology for the acquisition and reconstruction of the SPECT data the results which are obtained are applied in the investigation of some specific clinical problems. The assessment of intractable epilepsy using 99mTc-HMPAO is performed followed by the investigation of ischaemic heart disease using 99mTc-MIBI and finally, the diagnosis of avascular necrosis of the femoral head using 99mTc-MDP is studied. The SPECT studies described in this thesis make a significant contribution to patient management

BLP-2LASSO for aggregate discrete choice models with rich covariates

We introduce the BLP-2LASSO model, which augments the classic BLP (Berry, Levinsohn, and Pakes, 1995) random-coefficients logit model to allow for data-driven selection among a high-dimensional set of control variables using the 'double-LASSO' procedure proposed by Belloni, Chernozhukov, and Hansen (2013). Economists often study consumers’ aggregate behaviour across markets choosing from a menu of differentiated products. In this analysis, local demographic characteristics can serve as controls for market-specific preference heterogeneity. Given rich demographic data, implementing these models requires specifying which variables to include in the analysis, an ad hoc process typically guided primarily by a researcher’s intuition. We propose a data-driven approach to estimate these models, applying penalized estimation algorithms from the recent literature in high-dimensional econometrics. Our application explores the effect of campaign spending on vote shares in data from Mexican elections

Implementation Challenges and Training Needs for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs in Wisconsin High Schools

The data from this study details the challenges to implementing comprehensive school counseling programs in Wisconsin high schools. Results suggest that current professional development training practices may be ineffective in assisting high school counselors to implement key components of the ASCA National Model in their schools. This article discusses obstacles to conducting more rigorous, statewide evaluations, and describes connections to markers of student success

Percolating spaces:creative ways of using digital technologies to connect young children’s school and home lives

Contemporary research suggests there are many missed opportunities for home and school to work together to define and promote effective practices with digital technologies, especially in early years. This study outlines ways in which one Early Years classroom creatively promoted bidirectional connections between children’s learning with technologies at home and in school. Nested in a posthumanist perspective on space and classroomness (Burnett, 2014), the study illuminates the complex spatial entanglement among home, school and technologies in the form of enhanced vignettes. As a space-based interpretive case study that emerged from a larger project, the data collection methods revolved around a set of two visits by each researcher, one year apart, plus analyses of school documentation and online interactions. We integrate diverse data sources to argue that innovative, multimodal practices of teaching, learning and assessment can be designed and implemented imaginatively, deploying a range of digital technologies to connect with children’s and parents’ home lives. Use of multimedia affordances of technologies, attention to children’s physical and material interactions with resources and strategic school policy made it possible for influences to percolate between home and school, to the enhancement of children’s learning in the moment

Partnering with industry: Practical considerations from two programmes (practice paper)

Reflecting on both research and anecdotal evidence from two different engineering education programmes, we have developed practical implications for engaging with industry to support learning. While through our collective experience we have determined many positive reasons to consider partnering with industry, we also present areas of caution to consider when engaging with external partners for a learning experience. The two initiatives discussed in this paper are a school outreach programme that partners a university, industry, and school systems in the United States (Programme A) and a capstone integrated civil engineering design project that partners a university and nearby engineering firms in the United Kingdom. Despite the disparate nature of these programmes, we found points of comparison in consideration of the industry partnership aspect that they share