5,111 research outputs found
The composing process in technical communications
The theoretical construct under which technical writing exercises operate and results from a survey distributed to a random sample of teachers of technical writing are described. The survey, part of a study to develop materials that did not stress prescriptive formats, drew on diverse elements in report writing to enhance writing as a process. Areas of agreement and disagreement related to problem solving, paper evaluation, and individualizing instruction were surveyed. Areas of concern in contemplating the composition process include: (1) the need to create an environment that helps students want to succeed, (2) the role of peer group activity in helping some students who might not respond through lecture or individual study, and (3) encouraging growth in abilities and helping motivate students' interest in writing projects through relevant assignments or simulations students perceive as relevant
On manifolds supporting quasi Anosov diffeomorphisms
Let be an -dimensional manifold supporting a quasi Anosov
diffeomorphism. If then either , in which case the
diffeomorphisms is Anosov, or else its fundamental group contains a copy of
. If then contains a copy of ,
provided that the diffeomorphism is not Anosov.Comment: 5 page
The Vascular Flora of Ordway Prairie McPherson County, South Dakota
The vascular vegetation of Ordway Prairie, a preserve maintained by The Nature Conservancy as an example of virgin prairie in McPherson County, South Dakota, was studied to determine its present composition. The sample comprised representatives of each species recognized in each of the 13 square-mile sections within the prairie, collected in 1975 and 1 9 7 6 . Three hundred nine different species, representing 170 genera in 55 plant families were found. One thousand six hundred forty five permanent herbarium specimens, serving as vouchers for their distribution, are now in the herbarium of South Dakota State University
Model for Dissipative Highly Nonlinear Waves in Dry Granular Systems
A model is presented for the characterization of dissipative effects on
highly nonlinear waves in one-dimensional dry granular media. The model
includes three terms: Hertzian, viscoelastic, and a term proportional to the
square of the relative velocity of particles. The model outcomes are confronted
with different experiments where the granular system is subject to several
constraints for different materials. Excellent qualitative and quantitative
agreement between theory and experiments is found.Comment: Link to the Journal: http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v104/i11/e11800
Scaling and Universality of the Complexity of Analog Computation
We apply a probabilistic approach to study the computational complexity of
analog computers which solve linear programming problems. We analyze
numerically various ensembles of linear programming problems and obtain, for
each of these ensembles, the probability distribution functions of certain
quantities which measure the computational complexity, known as the convergence
rate, the barrier and the computation time. We find that in the limit of very
large problems these probability distributions are universal scaling functions.
In other words, the probability distribution function for each of these three
quantities becomes, in the limit of large problem size, a function of a single
scaling variable, which is a certain composition of the quantity in question
and the size of the system. Moreover, various ensembles studied seem to lead
essentially to the same scaling functions, which depend only on the variance of
the ensemble. These results extend analytical and numerical results obtained
recently for the Gaussian ensemble, and support the conjecture that these
scaling functions are universal.Comment: 22 pages, latex, 12 eps fig
Eclipse Timings of the Transient Low Mass X-ray Binary EXO0748-676. IV. The Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer Eclipses
We report our complete database of X-ray eclipse timings of the low mass
X-ray binary EXO0748-676 observed by the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE)
satellite. As of this writing we have accumulated 443 full X-ray eclipses, 392
of which have been observed with the Proportional Counter Array on RXTE. These
include both observations where an eclipse was specifically targeted and those
eclipses found in the RXTE data archive. Eclipse cycle count has been
maintained since the discovery of the EXO0748-676 system in February 1985. We
describe our observing and analysis techniques for each eclipse and describe
improvements we have made since the last compilation by Wolff et al. (2002).
The principal result of this paper is the database containing the timing
results from a seven-parameter fit to the X-ray light curve for each observed
eclipse along with the associated errors in the fitted parameters. Based on the
standard O-C analysis, EXO0748-676 has undergone four distinct orbital period
epochs since its discovery. In addition, EXO0748-676 shows small-scale events
in the O-C curve that are likely due to short-lived changes in the secondary
star.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement
Series, 5 figures. Analysis revised. Tables 1 & 3 update
Minimal Work Principle and its Limits for Classical Systems
The minimal work principle asserts that work done on a thermally isolated
equilibrium system, is minimal for the slowest (adiabatic) realization of a
given process. This principle, one of the formulations of the second law, is
operationally well-defined for any finite (few particle) Hamiltonian system.
Within classical Hamiltonian mechanics, we show that the principle is valid for
a system of which the observable of work is an ergodic function. For
non-ergodic systems the principle may or may not hold, depending on additional
conditions. Examples displaying the limits of the principle are presented and
their direct experimental realizations are discussed.Comment: 4 + epsilon pages, 1 figure, revte
We love to read — a collaborative endeavor to build the foundation for lifelong readers
This article presents a model of a reading motivation project for a group of fourth grade students. The project incorporates strategies shown to promote engagement in literacy: opportunities for choice, reflection and social interaction. It features the use of metacognitive activities where students set weekly goals and reflect upon how they are growing as readers
On the work distribution for the adiabatic compression of a dilute classical gas
We consider the adiabatic and quasi-static compression of a dilute classical
gas, confined in a piston and initially equilibrated with a heat bath. We find
that the work performed during this process is described statistically by a
gamma distribution. We use this result to show that the model satisfies the
non-equilibrium work and fluctuation theorems, but not the
flucutation-dissipation relation. We discuss the rare but dominant realizations
that contribute most to the exponential average of the work, and relate our
results to potentially universal work distributions.Comment: 4 page
Non-analytic microscopic phase transitions and temperature oscillations in the microcanonical ensemble: An exactly solvable 1d-model for evaporation
We calculate exactly both the microcanonical and canonical thermodynamic
functions (TDFs) for a one-dimensional model system with piecewise constant
Lennard-Jones type pair interactions. In the case of an isolated -particle
system, the microcanonical TDFs exhibit (N-1) singular (non-analytic)
microscopic phase transitions of the formal order N/2, separating N
energetically different evaporation (dissociation) states. In a suitably
designed evaporation experiment, these types of phase transitions should
manifest themselves in the form of pressure and temperature oscillations,
indicating cooling by evaporation. In the presence of a heat bath (thermostat),
such oscillations are absent, but the canonical heat capacity shows a
characteristic peak, indicating the temperature-induced dissociation of the
one-dimensional chain. The distribution of complex zeros (DOZ) of the canonical
partition may be used to identify different degrees of dissociation in the
canonical ensemble.Comment: version accepted for publication in PRE, minor additions in the text,
references adde
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