4,409 research outputs found
Embedding generic employability skills in an accounting degree: development and impediments
This paper explores and analyses the views of, and effects on, students of a project that integrated the development of employability skills within the small group classes of two compulsory courses in the first year of an accounting degree at a UK university. The project aimed to build, deliver and evaluate course materials designed to encourage the development of a broad range of employability skills: skills needed for life-long learning and a successful business career. By analysing students' opinions gathered from a series of focus groups spread throughout the year, three prominent skill areas of interest were identified: time management, modelling, and learning to learn. Further analysis highlighted the complex nature of skills development, and brought to light a range of impediments and barriers to both students' development of employability skills and their subject learning. The analysis suggests the need for accounting educators to see skills development as being an essential element of the path to providing a successful accounting education experience
Coherent Ro-vibrational Revivals in a Thermal Molecular Ensemble
We report an experimental and theoretical study of the evolution of
vibrational coherence in a thermal ensemble of nitrogen molecules. Rotational
dephasing and rephasing of the vibrational coherence is detected by coherent
anti-Stokes Raman scattering. The existence of ro-vibrational coupling and the
discrete energy spectrum of the rotational bath lead to a whole new class of
full and fractional ro-vibrational revivals. Following the rich ro-vibrational
dynamics on a nanosecond time scale with sub-picosecond time resolution enables
us to determine the second-order ro-vibrational constant and assess
new possibilities of controlling decoherence.Comment: submitted at Physical Review
Strong-Segregation Theory of Bicontinuous Phases in Block Copolymers
We compute phase diagrams for starblock copolymers in the
strong-segregation regime as a function of volume fraction , including
bicontinuous phases related to minimal surfaces (G, D, and P surfaces) as
candidate structures. We present the details of a general method to compute
free energies in the strong segregation limit, and demonstrate that the gyroid
G phase is the most nearly stable among the bicontinuous phases considered. We
explore some effects of conformational asymmetry on the topology of the phase
diagram.Comment: 14 pages, latex, 21 figures, to appear in Macromolecule
Plant evolution can mediate negative effects from honey bees on wild pollinators
Pollinators are introduced to agroecosystems to provide pollination services. Introductions of managed pollinators often promote ecosystem services, but it remains largely unknown whether they also affect evolutionary mutualisms between wild pollinators and plants.
Here, we developed a model to assess effects of managed honey bees on mutualisms between plants and wild pollinators. Our model tracked how interactions among wild pollinators and honey bees affected pollinator and plant populations.
We show that when managed honey bees have a competitive advantage over wild pollinators, or a greater carrying capacity, the honey bees displace the wild pollinator. This leads to reduced plant density because plants benefit less by visits from honey bees than wild pollinators that coevolved with the plants.
As wild pollinators are displaced, plants evolve by increasing investment in traits that are attractive for honey bees but not wild pollinators. This evolutionary switch promotes wild pollinator displacement. However, higher mutualism investment costs by the plant to the honey bee can promote pollinator coexistence.
Our results show plant evolution can promote displacement of wild pollinators by managed honey bees, while limited plant evolution may lead to pollinator coexistence. More broadly, effects of honey bees on wild pollinators in agroecosystems, and effects on ecosystem services, may depend on the capacity of plant populations to evolve
Processes, Roles and Their Interactions
Taking an interaction network oriented perspective in informatics raises the
challenge to describe deterministic finite systems which take part in networks
of nondeterministic interactions. The traditional approach to describe
processes as stepwise executable activities which are not based on the
ordinarily nondeterministic interaction shows strong centralization tendencies.
As suggested in this article, viewing processes and their interactions as
complementary can circumvent these centralization tendencies.
The description of both, processes and their interactions is based on the
same building blocks, namely finite input output automata (or transducers).
Processes are viewed as finite systems that take part in multiple, ordinarily
nondeterministic interactions. The interactions between processes are described
as protocols.
The effects of communication between processes as well as the necessary
coordination of different interactions within a processes are both based on the
restriction of the transition relation of product automata. The channel based
outer coupling represents the causal relation between the output and the input
of different systems. The coordination condition based inner coupling
represents the causal relation between the input and output of a single system.
All steps are illustrated with the example of a network of resource
administration processes which is supposed to provide requesting user processes
exclusive access to a single resource.Comment: In Proceedings IWIGP 2012, arXiv:1202.422
Longitudinal and Transverse Response Functions in ^(56)Fe(e,e') at Momentum Transfer near 1 GeV/c
Inclusive electron-scattering cross sections have been measured for ^(56)Fe in the quasielastic region at electron energies between 0.9 and 4.3 GeV, at scattering angles of 15° and 85°. Longitudinal and transverse response functions at a q of 1.14 GeV/c have been extracted using a Rosenbluth separation. The experimental Coulomb sum has been obtained with aid of an extrapolation. The longitudinal response function, after correction for Coulomb distortion, is lower than quasifree-scattering-model predictions at the quasielastic peak and on the high-ω side
Direct Hopf Bifurcation in Parametric Resonance of Hybridized Waves
We study parametric resonance of interacting waves having the same wave
vector and frequency. In addition to the well-known period-doubling instability
we show that under certain conditions the instability is caused by a Hopf
bifurcation leading to quasiperiodic traveling waves. It occurs, for example,
if the group velocities of both waves have different signs and the damping is
weak. The dynamics above the threshold is briefly discussed. Examples
concerning ferromagnetic spin waves and surface waves of ferro fluids are
discussed.Comment: Appears in Phys. Rev. Lett., RevTeX file and three postscript
figures. Packaged using the 'uufiles' utility, 33 k
Deriving Bisimulation Congruences: 2-categories vs precategories
G-relative pushouts (GRPOs) have recently been proposed by the authors as a new foundation for Leifer and Milner’s approach to deriving labelled bisimulation congruences from reduction systems. This paper develops the theory of GRPOs further, arguing that they provide a simple and powerful basis towards a comprehensive solution. As an example, we construct GRPOs in a category of ‘bunches and wirings.’ We then examine the approach based on Milner’s precategories and Leifer’s functorial reactive systems, and show that it can be recast in a much simpler way into the 2-categorical theory of GRPOs
Depletion forces near a soft surface
We investigate excluded-volume effects in a bidisperse colloidal suspension
near a flexible interface. Inspired by a recent experiment by Dinsmore et al.
(Phys. Rev, Lett. 80, 409 (1998)), we study the adsorption of a mesoscopic bead
on the surface and show that depletion forces could in principle lead to
particle encapsulation. We then consider the effect of surface fluctuations on
the depletion potential itself and construct the density profile of a polymer
solution near a soft interface. Surprisingly we find that the chains accumulate
at the wall, whereas the density displays a deficit of particles at distances
larger than the surface roughness. This non-monotonic behavior demonstrates
that surface fluctuations can have major repercusions on the properties of a
colloidal solution. On average, the additional contribution to the Gibbs
adsorbance is negative. The amplitude of the depletion potential between a
mesoscopic bead and the surface increases accordingly.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Compassion, Dominance/Submission, and Curled Lips: A Thematic Analysis of Dacryphilic Experience
Paraphilias are often discussed in the psychological literature as pathological problems, yet relatively little research exists that looks into non-pathological paraphilias (i.e., non-normative sexual interests). Empirical evidence suggests that many individuals incorporate a range of non-normative sexual interests into their sexual lifestyles. Dacryphilia is a non-normative sexual interest that involves enjoyment or arousal from tears and crying, and to date has never been researched empirically. The present study set out to discover the different interests within dacryphilia and explore the range of dacryphilic experience. A set of online interviews was carried out with individuals with dacryphilic preferences and interests (six females and two males) from four countries. The data were analysed for semantic and latent themes using thematic analysis. The respondents' statements focused attention on three distinct areas that may be relevant to the experience of dacryphilia: (i) compassion; (ii) dominance/submission; and (iii) curled-lips. The data provided detailed descriptions of features within all three interests, which are discussed in relation to previous quantitative and qualitative research within emotional crying and tears, and the general area of non-normative sexual interests. The study suggests new directions for potential research both within dacryphilia and with regard to other non-normative sexual interests
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