Cut Off From(One\u27s) People_Punitive Expulsion In The Torah

Hobson, G. Thomas. “‘Cut Off From (One’s) People’: Punitive Expulsion in the Torah.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2010. 245 pp. This dissertation argues that the Torah’s penalty “cut off from (one’s) people” (kareth) is normally a form of expulsion from the community of Israel, in contrast to the view that this penalty is a threatened divine extermination curse, a view reflected in the LXX and rabbinic traditions. The author traces a punitive expulsion interpretation from the fifth century B.C.E. Jewish community, to Maccabean-era practice as described by Josephus, to expulsion at Qumran. The use of the verb כדת is examined, including evidence from synonyms and from the Jewish and Samaritan Targumim. Evidence for punitive expulsion elsewhere in the ancient Near East is also assembled. The closest parallels to the biblical kareth penalty are found to be the expulsion of the unclean uzug in early Mesopotamia, and expulsion for the crime of hurkel practiced by the Hittites. Biblical kareth is found to be a merciful alternative to the death penalty, which also removes a source of contamination that endangers the community

Heat transfer in a beef manure anaerobic digester

In cold climates it was determined that the heat loss from the hot effluent of a beef manure anaerobic digester represented a sizeable portion of the energy production of the digester. This suggested an effluent to influent heat exchanger was necessary. Available heat exchangers were unsuitable;A different concept heat exchanger using a vertical flat plate for the heat transfer surface with the hot and cold flows passing on either side was then considered. The exchanger would be divided into a number of tanks with an overall counterflow arrangement. The extra tanks and the counterflow arrangement would increase the effectiveness. Gravity flow would allow the introduction of gas agitation to keep the solids from settling, prevent plugging, and enhance the heat transfer coefficient. The concept was called a multipass mixed tank exchanger;Design equations and curves for the multipass mixed tank exchanger were developed using the number of transfer units, N(,tu). These equations were suitable for design when the overall thermal conductance, U, was known;A 1.18 m by 2.30 m prototype water to water heat exchanger was constructed and used to verify the design equations. The prototype was to have been used on an anaerobic digester at the ISU Beef Nutrition farm, but the digester was not yet completed at the time of this writing;To determine the convective heat transfer coefficient, h, (from which U can be estimated), and to consider the effects of air agitation, laboratory equipment was constructed. The equipment consisted of a large vertical cylinder with a closed bottom and open top, containing a fixed sample. Heat was applied at a known rate to the outer cylinder. In the center of the sample, a small, water cooled, pipe acted as a heat sink. The h value was determined from the known heat rate and the temperature drop between the sample and the center pipe;The effects of air agitation on h were determined by supplying varying amounts of air at the sample bottom. Sufficient air agitation to completely blend the sample was observed to greatly increase the h value compared to lower air rates. Additional air flow rates had a lesser effect;The experimental results indicated that the h value for a specific manure sample could be predicted by knowing the total solids and the air agitation rate. The h value for effluent could only be partly predicted by knowing the air agitation rate. It was hypothesized that other parameters, such as viscosity and Reynolds number, were necessary. These were not evaluated;The multipass mixed tank exchanger is a possible method to recover lost heat. Further studies are necessary to verify that the concept can be put to practical use

Submission of Evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee Inquiry on Tech and the future of UK Foreign Policy

In this submission we: 1) Introduce the contested concept of global technology assessment, as an increasingly important area of global policy relevant to UK interests. We argue that it would serve the UK’s current and longer-term foreign policy interests to more systematically monitor a) developments in science and technology b) evolving norms and practices in emerging technology governance globally; and to c) formulate clearer guiding principles on the UK’s foreign policy in this area. 2) Argue that there is a need for a new focal point for a UK global technology assessment strategy. We highlight the need for a co-ordinating institution – which could play a pivotal role in linking up capacities domestically in the area of innovation strategy and governance, with the UK’s foreign policy agenda. This body could i) systematically track developments of relevance to UK foreign policy ii) support the development and evolution of a more explicit and consolidated policy on the issue of global technology assessment

Skills for Success

'Skills for Success': a year 0 programme of guest speakers and workshops designed to support students holistic development as they transition into HE

The Effect Of Stellar Flybys On The Perturbation Of Earth’s Orbit

The effect of stellar flybys on planetary bodies within our solar system is relatively unknown. Research suggests that changes in Earth’s orbit can affect the climatic evolution on our planet. These cycles, dubbed the Milankovitch cycles, have been cited as playing a role in the extinction events in Earth’s history. There is the potential that long term consecutive stellar flybys could alter the Milankovitch cycles. This may be a contributing factor in the extinction events that are associated with the crossing of the spiral arms. This study presents the effects of 34 flyby scenarios on the Earth’s eccentricity and inclination evolution. A number of REBOUND simulations were run over a 15 Myr period, passing stars of various masses at a variety of encounter distances, locations, and inclinations. The numerical models show that although many cases have little impact on the evolution of Earth’s eccentricity and inclination cycles, that coplanar flybys at distances < 50000 AU can change these cycles significantly. The results suggest that consecutive close encounters of stars to our solar system can perturb Earth’s orbit. Therefore, it is plausible that stellar flybys may influence the Milankovitch cycles and play a role in mass extinction events on Earth

The Impact of Covid-19 on Mathematics Education

The Covid-19 pandemic led to the disruption of teaching and learning systems globally. In the UK, educational institutions across the sector needed to adapt to facilitate learning remotely during national lockdowns whilst supporting students face-to-face in order to maintain essential services. Even when restrictions were eased, the need for social distancing, regular testing and isolation meant that returning to pre-pandemic strategies was not an option for many institutions. Despite the challenges the pandemic presented, a silver lining can be taken from the lessons learned and the innovations made. The pandemic led to a reimagining of what education could, and should, look like in the 21st century

Differences in attitudes to feeding post repair of Gastroschisis and development of a standardized feeding protocol

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine differences in attitudes to feeding in neonates with Gastroschisis between clinical groups and to develop a standardized feeding protocol. Confusion, inconsistencies in practice and lack of evidence could be contributing to avoidable delays in the establishment of enteral feeds resulting in lengthy requirements for central venous access, dependence on total parenteral nutrition (TPN), increased risk of sepsis, TPN related cholestasis and prolongation in length of hospital stay. Methods: A national survey of clinicians (neonatologists, neonatal intensive care nurses and paediatric surgeons), looking after neonates with gastroschisis was undertaken to determine differences in feeding practice post repair. In addition, an audit of practice in one hospital was undertaken to examine variations in practices between clinicians. A feeding protocol was then developed using inputs from surgeons and neonatologists. Results: Gastric aspirates and residuals were typically used as indicators of feed readiness and feed tolerance; however, there was very little consistency within and between clinical groups in definitions of tolerance or intolerance of feeds and in how to initiate and progress feeds. A feeding protocol with clear definition of feed readiness and a clear pathway to progression of feeds was developed to help overcome these variations in practice with the possibility that this might reduce the length of stay (LOS) and have other secondary benefits. The protocol included early introduction of enteral feeds particularly direct breast or sucking feeds. Conclusions: Wide differences in attitudes to feeding neonates post Gastroschsis repair exist and the need for a consistent protocolized approach was felt. The feeding protocol we developed requires a change of practice and further clinical trials are needed to evaluate its effectiveness. © 2019 The Author(s)

Strengthening Mechanism of Short Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic Foam

This study deals with new ideas in composite material technology. Specifically it is a representation of work done to improve the physical strength and stiffness properties of a cellular plastic by reinforcing it with short chopped glass fibers. Previous work has been examined to discover what has been accomplished in the area of fracture mechanics and the reasons for improved properties of the fiber filled material over the unfilled matrix. Several ideas are presented which suggest a different or modified fracture mechanism over what was gleaned out of the literature. Tests were performed to check their validity.Mechanical Engineerin

Figures of Merit for Testing Standard Models: Application to Dark Energy Experiments in Cosmology

Given a standard model to test, an experiment can be designed to: (i) measure the standard model parameters; (ii) extend the standard model; or (iii) look for evidence of deviations from the standard model. To measure (or extend) the standard model, the Fisher matrix is widely used in cosmology to predict expected parameter errors for future surveys under Gaussian assumptions. In this article, we present a frame- work that can be used to design experiments such that it maximises the chance of finding a deviation from the standard model. Using a simple illustrative example, discussed in the appendix, we show that the optimal experimental configuration can depend dramatically on the optimisation approach chosen. We also show some simple cosmology calculations, where we study Baryonic Acoustic Oscillation and Supernove surveys. In doing so, we also show how external data, such as the positions of the CMB peaks measured by WMAP, and theory priors can be included in the analysis. In the cosmological cases that we have studied (DETF Stage III), we find that the three optimisation approaches yield similar results, which is reassuring and indicates that the choice of optimal experiment is fairly robust at this level. However, this may not be the case as we move to more ambitious future surveys.Comment: Submitted to MNRAS. 12 pages, 9 figure

Dust heating by the interstellar radiation field in models of turbulent molecular clouds

We have calculated the radiation field, dust grain temperatures, and far infrared emissivity of numerical models of turbulent molecular clouds. When compared to a uniform cloud of the same mean optical depth, most of the volume inside the turbulent cloud is brighter, but most of the mass is darker. There is little mean attenuation from center to edge, and clumping causes the radiation field to be somewhat bluer. There is also a large dispersion, typically by a few orders of magnitude, of all quantities relative to their means. However, despite the scatter, the 850 micron emission maps are well correlated with surface density. The fraction of mass as a function of intensity can be reproduced by a simple hierarchical model of density structure.Comment: 32 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Ap