Determinants of Anti-Immigrant Sentiments

Given the current refugee crisis’s from political unrest around the world there has been increasing opposition towards immigration in both rhetoric and policy changes. In order to address this phenomenon this paper builds off of several well researched theories including how economic security, educational attainment, threat to culture, and the availability of information play a role in developing ones view on immigrants. Using data collected from the European Social Survey (ESS) I test these theories in order to see which is the most statistically significant in determining ones opposition or favorability of immigrants. This paper attempts to progress the understanding of how anti-immigrant sentiments are fostered and provides insight as to how policy changes may help address this issue

“Arashi for Dream” : Idol—fan relationships in Japan

The topic of this thesis is idol—fan relationships in Japan, with a specific focus on male idol groups and their female fans. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, it organizes the current discourses into a unified framework. It outlines the historical roots of the idol system, and it identifies four defining characteristics of idols: their multimedia presence/intertextuality, their relations to (and departure from) youth culture, the jimusho system, and the conscious cultivation of fandom. The intimacy between idols and their audience is reconceptualized as a parasocial relationship, and their commercialization and the viewers’ reception experiences are analyzed in this context. Current theories on fan—idol relationships posit that the female fan gaze is asexual. The second objective of this thesis is to challenge this notion by resituating these arguments in the wider theoretical framework of gaze and by highlighting certain methodological issues in the literature, e.g., the problems of applying a psychoanalytic model and textual analysis, that assume a textual spectator, to the study of the meaning-making processes of actual, empirical audiences. I also conducted a thematic analysis on popular idol fanfiction to explore the potential of an active, erotically charged female gaze, and to identify certain common appeals of idols as love objects. The discussion of the findings is structured along four central themes. First, themes related to the narratives are introduced as I explore the function of fame in these stories. Second, the inherent flexibility of the celebrity image is analyzed in regards to its potential to invite fantasy. Third, I focus on the construction of the idealized masculinity of idols, and I argue that amidst the “masculinity crisis” in Japan, male idols represent a new kind masculinity where threatening aspects are omitted. Nonetheless, these images are still perceived as masculine and are sexual by their audience. Fourth, I investigate how work and dreams were presented in the dream novels, and what these texts reveal about femininity in contemporary Japanese society. I suggest that idols embody neoliberal values which center on work and consumption as primary sites for identity-formation. Since my research analyzed dream novels that specifically target women, its scope was naturally limited to female fans of Arashi. A possible avenue for future research could be a comparison between the findings of this study and the gaze of male Arashi fans, or an in-depth comparative analysis of female and male idol fandoms in general

On Pair-Particle Distribution in Imperfect Bose Gas

A simple model of estimating the radial distribution function of an imperfect Bose gas in the ground state is presented. The model is based on integro-differential equations derived by considering the space boson distribution in an external field. With the approach proposed, the particular case of dilute Bose gas is investigated within the hard sphere approximation and beyond.Comment: 8 pages, LaTEX, no Figures. Submitted to Phys. Lett.

Fission modes of 256Fm and 258Fm in a microscopic approach

A static microscopic study of potential-energy surfaces within the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-plus-BCS model is carried out for the 256Fm and 258Fm isotopes with the goal of deducing some properties of spontaneous fission. The calculated fission modes are found to be in agreement with the experimentaly observed asymmetric-to-symmetric transition in the fragment-mass distributions and with the high- and low-total-kinetic-energy modes experimentally observed in 258Fm. Most of the results are similar to those obtained in macroscopic-microscopic models as well as in recent Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov calculations with the Gogny interaction, with a few differences in their interpretations. In particular an alternative explanation is proposed for the low-energy fission mode of 258Fm.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Determining the β Decay Strength Function of 91Rb

The r-process predicts the formation of elements heavier than iron and occurs in neutron star mergers and supernovae. The β decay strength function reveals nuclear structure properties necessary to improve r-process models. Measurements of the 91Rb strength function, a nucleus involved in the r process, were made at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) this past July (2018). The 91Rb were made with the A1900 fragment recoil separator, then stopped in a long gas cell, and finally implanted in a mylar tape. Spectra and multiplicity of γ rays from the daughter, 91Sr, coincident with β particles from the decay of implanted 91Rb give one the information needed to determine the β decay strength function. Electrons produced by the β decay were measured in a plastic detector constructed at Hope College and γ rays were detected in the Summing NaI (SuN) detector. Coincidences between electrons and γ rays were needed to identify the energy level in the 91Sr daughter nucleus to which the parent 91Rb decayed and to quantify the probability of that decay path. β particles from the decay of 91Rb are difficult to distinguish from background events due to the buildup of long-lived daughter particles that subsequently also β decay. A tape system extending into the beam pipe through SuN is needed to move radioactive daughter particles away from the detector. Thus, a conventional Si surface barrier β detector could not be employed because of minimal space inside the beam pipe. The needed β detector was fabricated to fit inside the small beam pipe and around the tape system. The 20 cm long, barrel-shaped detector was constructed out of scintillating plastic with wave-shifting fiber optic cables on the exterior leading to photomultiplier tubes outside the SuN detector. Preliminary results are shown

SZTAKI desktop grid: building a scalable, secure platform for desktop grid computing

In this paper we present a concept how separate desktop grids can be used as building blocks for larger scale grids by organizing them in a hierarchical tree. We describe an enhanced security model which satisfies the requirements of the hierarchical setup and is aimed for real-world deployment

Through Fire and Water: Protecting Museum Collections Against Increasing Climate Change Risks

As stewards of cultural heritage, museums have the responsibility to protect their collections from increasing climate change risks. Literature revealed that though cultural heritage sites are threatened by climate change, museums lack sufficient climate change adaptation strategies. In response, this study examined how museums can create effective climate change adaptation strategies. Through a qualitative comparative case study of the Getty Center and Newark Museum of Art and content and textual analyses, the study identified key themes of institutional mission, values, and policies, research, education and training, physical prevention, and collaboration as requirements for successful adaptation. Informed by these themes, a series of recommendations for the creation and implementation of climate change adaptation strategies are presented

Seeing Clearly: Telescope Assembly Instruction Redesign

The ME telescopes are over 60 lb mounts that must be secured to permanent piers that have been cemented onto the roof of COAS. The astronomy students have to learn to assemble these telescopes during their labs each semester. We have been working in tandem with the astronomy department to simplify their assembly manuals for the ME, Mx, and Mx+ telescopes. Feedback from ERAU students indicated that they were struggling to clearly understand the assembly process and reported the current instruction set to be cumbersome to use. Through a review of human factors and educational literature, a set of best practices was developed to create a template for a new instruction set that breaks down each step and pairs it with two images per page. The language was simplified into bulleted direct command statements rather than paragraphs. Once the ME manual was completed, we ran a pilot study where two teaching assistants and a professor walked through the manual during assembly. Currently we are making the necessary changes based on the pilot. The next steps will be to conduct a full usability study with naïve students and to apply the template to the other telescope models

Generalized routhian calculations within the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock approximation

We consider here variational solutions in the Hartree-Fock approximation upon breaking time reversal and axial symmetries. When decomposed on axial harmonic oscillator functions, the corresponding single particle triaxial eigenstates as functions of the usual cylindrical coordinates (r, $\theta$, z) are evaluated on a mesh in r and z to be integrated within Gauss-Hermite and Gauss-Laguerre approaches and as Fourier decompositions in the angular variable $\theta$. Using an effective interaction of the Skyrme type, the Hartree-Fock hamiltonian is also obtained as a Fourier series allowing a two dimensional calculation of its matrix elements. This particular choice is shown to lead in most cases to shorter computation times compared to the usual decomposition on triaxial harmonic oscillator states. We apply this method to the case of the semi-quantal approach of large amplitude collective motion corresponding to a generalized routhian formalism and present results in the A=150 superdeformed region for the coupling of global rotation and intrinsic vortical modes in what is known after Chandrasekhar as the S-ellipsoid coupling case.Comment: LaTeX using elsart, 32 pages, 4 included figures, submitted to Nuclear Physics A (revised version

Redesigning for Efficiency: Adding a Homepage to Canvas Courses

With the increase in online learning, learning management systems (LMS) such as Canvas are increasing in importance for disseminating information from professors to students. An initial focus group was conducted to assess students’ perceptions of their current Canvas course organization. Results indicate that students report a lack of consistency and clear organization, which leads to significant time searching for information and frustration. In an effort to help students create a clear mental model of a Canvas course, we developed a template homepage that contains a main navigation menu including an FAQ, Course Resources, Start Here, Grades, and Syllabus link. The homepage also includes a course overview schedule made with links to individual modules and assignment due dates. We are currently evaluating the new design in terms of efficiency and student perceptions. Our hypothesis is that the homepage design will help students get to the information they want faster and provide a better overview of the course than the traditional home page design