Dynamic characteristics of far-field radiation of current modulated phase-locked diode laser arrays

A versatile and powerful streak camera/frame grabber system for studying the evolution of the near and far field radiation patterns of diode lasers was assembled and tested. Software needed to analyze and display the data acquired with the steak camera/frame grabber system was written and the total package used to record and perform preliminary analyses on the behavior of two types of laser, a ten emitter gain guided array and a flared waveguide Y-coupled array. Examples of the information which can be gathered with this system are presented

Mass transfer cooling on a porous flat plate in carbon-dioxide and air streams

Mass transfer cooling on porous flat plate in carbon dioxide and air stream

Collective learning and optimal consensus decisions in social animal groups.

Published onlineJournal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tResearch Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.Learning has been studied extensively in the context of isolated individuals. However, many organisms are social and consequently make decisions both individually and as part of a collective. Reaching consensus necessarily means that a single option is chosen by the group, even when there are dissenting opinions. This decision-making process decouples the otherwise direct relationship between animals' preferences and their experiences (the outcomes of decisions). Instead, because an individual's learned preferences influence what others experience, and therefore learn about, collective decisions couple the learning processes between social organisms. This introduces a new, and previously unexplored, dynamical relationship between preference, action, experience and learning. Here we model collective learning within animal groups that make consensus decisions. We reveal how learning as part of a collective results in behavior that is fundamentally different from that learned in isolation, allowing grouping organisms to spontaneously (and indirectly) detect correlations between group members' observations of environmental cues, adjust strategy as a function of changing group size (even if that group size is not known to the individual), and achieve a decision accuracy that is very close to that which is provably optimal, regardless of environmental contingencies. Because these properties make minimal cognitive demands on individuals, collective learning, and the capabilities it affords, may be widespread among group-living organisms. Our work emphasizes the importance and need for theoretical and experimental work that considers the mechanism and consequences of learning in a social context.This research was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant 1210029 to ABK, a National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Fellowship to NM, and National Science Foundation Award PHY-0848755 and EAGER Grant IOS-1251585, Office of Naval Research Award N00014-09-1-1074, Army Research Office Grant W911NG-11-1-0385, and Human Frontiers Science Program Award RGP0065/2012 to IDC

Carmeli's accelerating universe is spatially flat without dark matter

Carmeli's 5D brane cosmology has been applied to the expanding accelerating universe and it has been found that the distance redshift relation will fit the data of the high-z supernova teams without the need for dark matter. Also the vacuum energy contribution to gravity indicates that the universe is asymptotically expanding towards a spatially flat state, where the total mass/energy density tends to unity.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Int. J. Theor. Physics, this paper is based on an invited talk at FFP6, Udine, Italy, Sept 200

Embedding Employability in Non-vocational Undergraduate Courses: A Reflection on Practice Across the Institute of Health and Society at the University of Worcester

Employability can be defined simply as the character or quality of being employable (Hillage & Pollard, 1998). For students, undertaking a higher education degree is largely framed in terms of becoming more employable (McCowan, 2015) and, as a result, preferring courses that enable them to develop transferrable knowledge and skills which will increase their competitiveness in the labour market (Gosling, 2009). The concept of employability therefore continues to be highly relevant in a higher education context, for both students in work and those seeking work (McQuaid & Lindsay, 2005). Indeed, universities have an important responsibility to ensure their undergraduate courses have relevance to the employment market (Pothigai Selvan, 2013). The range of skills students develop in higher education is diverse, depending on their course and experience of work during study. Critical thinking, problem solving, research and analytical skills, interpersonal awareness, communication, self-reflection, time management, team working, and autonomy are key examples of skills developed during university and are highly attractive to a wide range of employers (Reddy, Lantz & Hulme, 2013). Given the importance of employability to students and prospective employers alike, it is imperative that careful consideration is given as to how to effectively embed employability across undergraduate courses. In light of this, this article aims to explore the ways in which employability is currently integrated across non-vocational disciplines within the Institute of Health and Society at University of Worcester, with a focus on key examples of practice drawn from Applied Criminology, Applied Health and Social Sciences and Psychology

Recognising Desire: A psychosocial approach to understanding education policy implementation and effect

It is argued that in order to understand the ways in which teachers experience their work - including the idiosyncratic ways in which they respond to and implement mandated education policy - it is necessary to take account both of sociological and of psychological issues. The paper draws on original research with practising and beginning teachers, and on theories of social and psychic induction, to illustrate the potential benefits of this bipartisan approach for both teachers and researchers. Recognising the significance of (but somewhat arbitrary distinction between) structure and agency in teachers’ practical and ideological positionings, it is suggested that teachers’ responses to local and central policy changes are governed by a mix of pragmatism, social determinism and often hidden desires. It is the often underacknowledged strength of desire that may tip teachers into accepting and implementing policies with which they are not ideologically comfortable