Integrating Digital Humanities Projects with Undergraduate Courses in Area Studies: 2 Case Studies

Integrating digital humanities projects into undergraduate instruction in area studies classes can further both instructors' and students' engagement with the material, resulting in final projects that are useful to both researchers and students. These projects increase the amount of area studies-related information and scholarship available online, can be shared with professors' colleagues and added to their portfolios, and serve to expose students to high level writing requirements while increasing their knowledge of trends and tools in digital scholarship. This poster presents two case studies of undergraduate courses in the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies, with examples of the final digital humanities projects; input on the roles of faculty members, a librarian, and students as collaborators; and takeaways of positive and negative aspects of creating digital humanities projects in this way. Both projects shown--the Mapping the Avant-Garde and Yugoslav Punk sites--are visually appealing, incorporating elements such as network maps, archival images, and custom-created navigational interfaces. The poster also addresses issues of copyright and student confidentiality that can arise while doing such work.UT Librarie

Media and Politics From the Prague Spring Archive

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The Prague Spring Archive Project

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Falloff of the Weyl scalars in binary black hole spacetimes

The peeling theorem of general relativity predicts that the Weyl curvature scalars Psi_n (n=0...4), when constructed from a suitable null tetrad in an asymptotically flat spacetime, fall off asymptotically as r^(n-5) along outgoing radial null geodesics. This leads to the interpretation of Psi_4 as outgoing gravitational radiation at large distances from the source. We have performed numerical simulations in full general relativity of a binary black hole inspiral and merger, and have computed the Weyl scalars in the standard tetrad used in numerical relativity. In contrast with previous results, we observe that all the Weyl scalars fall off according to the predictions of the theorem.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, published versio

Kranc: a Mathematica application to generate numerical codes for tensorial evolution equations

We present a suite of Mathematica-based computer-algebra packages, termed "Kranc", which comprise a toolbox to convert (tensorial) systems of partial differential evolution equations to parallelized C or Fortran code. Kranc can be used as a "rapid prototyping" system for physicists or mathematicians handling very complicated systems of partial differential equations, but through integration into the Cactus computational toolkit we can also produce efficient parallelized production codes. Our work is motivated by the field of numerical relativity, where Kranc is used as a research tool by the authors. In this paper we describe the design and implementation of both the Mathematica packages and the resulting code, we discuss some example applications, and provide results on the performance of an example numerical code for the Einstein equations.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figure. Corresponds to journal versio

GRB Light Curves in the Relativistic Turbulence Model

Randomly oriented relativistic emitters in a relativistically expanding shell provides an alternative to internal shocks as a mechanism for producing GRBs' variable light curves with efficient conversion of energy to radiation. In this model the relativistic outflow is broken into small emitters moving relativistically in the outflow's rest frame. Variability arises because an observer sees an emitter only when its velocity points towards him so that only a small fraction of the emitters are seen by a given observer. Models with significant relativistic random motions require converting and maintaining a large fraction of the overall energy into these motions. While it is not clear how this is achieved, we explore here, using two toy models, the constraints on parameters required to produce light curves comparable to the observations. We find that a tight relation between the size of the emitters and the bulk and random Lorentz factors is needed and that the random Lorentz factor determines the variability. While both models successfully produce the observed variability there are several inconsistencies with other properties of the light curves. Most of which, but not all, might be resolved if the central engine is active for a long time producing a number of shells, resembling to some extent the internal shocks model.Comment: Significantly revised with a discussion of additional models. Accepted for publication in APJ

The Current Status of Binary Black Hole Simulations in Numerical Relativity

Since the breakthroughs in 2005 which have led to long term stable solutions of the binary black hole problem in numerical relativity, much progress has been made. I present here a short summary of the state of the field, including the capabilities of numerical relativity codes, recent physical results obtained from simulations, and improvements to the methods used to evolve and analyse binary black hole spacetimes.Comment: 14 pages; minor changes and corrections in response to referee

Science with the space-based interferometer eLISA. I: Supermassive black hole binaries

We compare the science capabilities of different eLISA mission designs, including four-link (two-arm) and six-link (three-arm) configurations with different arm lengths, low-frequency noise sensitivities and mission durations. For each of these configurations we consider a few representative massive black hole formation scenarios. These scenarios are chosen to explore two physical mechanisms that greatly affect eLISA rates, namely (i) black hole seeding, and (ii) the delays between the merger of two galaxies and the merger of the black holes hosted by those galaxies. We assess the eLISA parameter estimation accuracy using a Fisher matrix analysis with spin-precessing, inspiral-only waveforms. We quantify the information present in the merger and ringdown by rescaling the inspiral-only Fisher matrix estimates using the signal-to-noise ratio from non-precessing inspiral-merger-ringdown phenomenological waveforms, and from a reduced set of precessing numerical relativity/post-Newtonian hybrid waveforms. We find that all of the eLISA configurations considered in our study should detect some massive black hole binaries. However, configurations with six links and better low-frequency noise will provide much more information on the origin of black holes at high redshifts and on their accretion history, and they may allow the identification of electromagnetic counterparts to massive black hole mergers.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures, 7 table

Testing gravitational-wave searches with numerical relativity waveforms: Results from the first Numerical INJection Analysis (NINJA) project

The Numerical INJection Analysis (NINJA) project is a collaborative effort between members of the numerical relativity and gravitational-wave data analysis communities. The purpose of NINJA is to study the sensitivity of existing gravitational-wave search algorithms using numerically generated waveforms and to foster closer collaboration between the numerical relativity and data analysis communities. We describe the results of the first NINJA analysis which focused on gravitational waveforms from binary black hole coalescence. Ten numerical relativity groups contributed numerical data which were used to generate a set of gravitational-wave signals. These signals were injected into a simulated data set, designed to mimic the response of the Initial LIGO and Virgo gravitational-wave detectors. Nine groups analysed this data using search and parameter-estimation pipelines. Matched filter algorithms, un-modelled-burst searches and Bayesian parameter-estimation and model-selection algorithms were applied to the data. We report the efficiency of these search methods in detecting the numerical waveforms and measuring their parameters. We describe preliminary comparisons between the different search methods and suggest improvements for future NINJA analyses.Comment: 56 pages, 25 figures; various clarifications; accepted to CQ

Telesis 2021

Front Matter: This edition of Telesis, the University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture student journal, explores the theme of "Isolation."Editorial: The Telesis Team introduces Telesis: Isolation.Association: Randall Kinnaman shares his childhood experiences of visiting his incarcerated father at various prison visitation centers.Disorientation: Giuliana Vaccarino Gearty explores the positive outcomes from feeling lost in a city.Dismantling: Travis Howell and Tanner Pickens share the history of Oklahoma City’s Deep Deuce and Interstate 235.Engagement: Kate O’Connor introduces Marywood University’s Socially Responsible Architecture seminar.Food Fight: Rebecca Doglas combats food deserts.Drops: Ian Goodale provides shelter to the homeless.Displacement: Ben Gravel provides shelter for those displaced by California Wildfires.Schematics: Ryan Godfrey proposes inclusive design schematics for people with autism.Villa: Candelaria Mas Pohmajevic examines COVID 19 outbreaks in Argentina’s Shanty Towns.Rehabilitation: David Swaby investigates prison rehabilitation in the form of educational programs.Chair: Jake Lange explores the importance of agency in processes of rehabilitation.Incarceration: Emily Hays calls designers to no longer be complicit in the design of carceral facilities.Tunnel: Johanna Hilmes explores the benefits of incorporating color in prison design.Interview: Alex Finklestein interviews Dr. Jae James regarding his experience of incarceration and resultant ambitions.N