10,873 research outputs found
Bringing self assessment home: repository profiling and key lines of enquiry within DRAMBORA
Digital repositories are a manifestation of complex organizational, financial, legal, technological, procedural, and political interrelationships. Accompanying each of these are innate uncertainties, exacerbated by the relative immaturity of understanding prevalent within the digital preservation domain. Recent efforts have sought to identify core characteristics that must be demonstrable by successful digital repositories, expressed in the form of check-list documents, intended to support the processes of repository accreditation and certification. In isolation though, the available guidelines lack practical applicability; confusion over evidential requirements and difficulties associated with the diversity that exists among repositories (in terms of mandate, available resources, supported content and legal context) are particularly problematic. A gap exists between the available criteria and the ways and extent to which conformity can be demonstrated. The Digital Repository Audit Method Based on Risk Assessment (DRAMBORA) is a methodology for undertaking repository self assessment, developed jointly by the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) and DigitalPreservationEurope (DPE). DRAMBORA requires repositories to expose their organization, policies and infrastructures to rigorous scrutiny through a series of highly structured exercises, enabling them to build a comprehensive registry of their most pertinent risks, arranged into a structure that facilitates effective management. It draws on experiences accumulated throughout 18 evaluative pilot assessments undertaken in an internationally diverse selection of repositories, digital libraries and data centres (including institutions and services such as the UK National Digital Archive of Datasets, the National Archives of Scotland, Gallica at the National Library of France and the CERN Document Server). Other organizations, such as the British Library, have been using sections of DRAMBORA within their own risk assessment procedures.
Despite the attractive benefits of a bottom up approach, there are implicit challenges posed by neglecting a more objective perspective. Following a sustained period of pilot audits undertaken by DPE, DCC and the DELOS Digital Preservation Cluster aimed at evaluating DRAMBORA, it was stated that had respective project members not been present to facilitate each assessment, and contribute their objective, external perspectives, the results may have been less useful. Consequently, DRAMBORA has developed in a number of ways, to enable knowledge transfer from the responses of comparable repositories, and incorporate more opportunities for structured question sets, or key lines of enquiry, that provoke more comprehensive awareness of the applicability of particular threats and opportunities
An M-theory solution generating technique and SL(2,R)
In this paper we generalize the O(p+1,p+1) solution generating technique
(this is a method used to deform Dp-branes by turning on a NS-NS B-field) to
M-theory, in order to be able to deform M5-brane supergravity solutions
directly in eleven dimensions, by turning on a non zero three form A. We find
that deforming the M5-brane, in some cases, corresponds to performing certain
SL(2,R) transformations of the Kahler structure parameter for the three-torus,
on which the M5-brane has been compactified. We show that this new M-theory
solution generating technique can be reduced to the O(p+1,p+1) solution
generating technique with p=4. Further, we find that it implies that the open
membrane metric and generalized noncommutativity parameter are manifestly
deformation independent for electric and light-like deformations. We also
generalize the O(p+1,p+1) method to the type IIA/B NS5-brane in order to be
able to deform NS5-branes with RR three and two forms, respectively. In the
type IIA case we use the newly obtained solution generating technique and
deformation independence to derive a covariant expression for an open D2-brane
coupling, relevant for OD2-theory.Comment: 24 pages, Latex. v2:Sections 3.2 and 3.3 improved. v3:Some
clarifications added. Version published in JHE
Fission Hindrance in hot 216Th: Evaporation Residue Measurements
The fusion evaporation-residue cross section for 32S+184W has been measured
at beam energies of E_beam = 165, 174, 185, 196, 205, 215, 225, 236, 246,and
257 MeV using the ATLAS Fragment Mass Analyzer. The data are compared with
Statistical Model calculations and it is found that a nuclear dissipation
strength, which increases with excitation energy, is required to reproduce the
excitation function. A comparison with previously published data show that the
dissipation strength depends strongly on the shell structure of the nuclear
system.Comment: 15 pages 9 figure
On Central Charges and Hamiltonians for 0-brane dynamics
We consider general properties of central charges of zero branes and
associated duality invariants, in view of their double role, on the bulk and on
the world volume (quantum-mechanical) theory. A detailed study of the BPS
condition for the mass spectrum arising from toroidal compactifications is
given for 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8 BPS states in any dimensions. As a byproduct, we
retreive the U-duality invariant conditions on the charge (zero mode) spectrum
and the orbit classification of BPS states preserving different fractions of
supersymmetry. The BPS condition for 0-branes in theories with 16
supersymmetries in any dimension is also discussed.Comment: 23 pages, latex fil
ISSUES IN MEDICINE: Recommendations to improve the National Development Plan for Health
In November 2011, a draft National Development Plan (NDP) was released that addresses two of South Africa’s major challenges: poverty and inequity. Health and economic development are interdependent, presenting an important opportunity through the NDP to integrate health within goals of broader socioeconomic development. Reviewing the NDP identified gaps based on evidence and the epidemiological risk profile of South Africa. Recommendations to improve the NDP and to deal withpoverty and inequity should focus on prevention and addressing the social determinants of health, including: (i) a multisectoral approach to establish a comprehensive early childhood development programme; (ii) fiscal and legislative policies to bolster efforts to reduce the burden of  non-communicable diseases; (iii) promoting and maintaining a healthy workforce; and (iv) promoting a culture of evidence-based priority setting.Achieving the goal of ‘a long and healthy life for all South Africans’ will require healthy public policies, well-functioning institutional and physical infrastructure, social solidarity, and an active and conscientious civil society
Low Energy Analyzing Powers in Pion-Proton Elastic Scattering
Analyzing powers of pion-proton elastic scattering have been measured at PSI
with the Low Energy Pion Spectrometer LEPS as well as a novel polarized
scintillator target. Angular distributions between 40 and 120 deg (c.m.) were
taken at 45.2, 51.2, 57.2, 68.5, 77.2, and 87.2 MeV incoming pion kinetic
energy for pi+ p scattering, and at 67.3 and 87.2 MeV for pi- p scattering.
These new measurements constitute a substantial extension of the polarization
data base at low energies. Predictions from phase shift analyses are compared
with the experimental results, and deviations are observed at low energies.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure
Elastic scattering of low energy pions by nuclei and the in-medium isovector pi N amplitude
Measurements of elastic scattering of 21.5 MeV pi+ and pi- by Si, Ca, Ni and
Zr were made using a single arm magnetic spectrometer. Absolute calibration was
made by parallel measurements of Coulomb scattering of muons. Parameters of a
pion-nucleus optical potential were obtained from fits to all eight angular
distributions put together. The `anomalous' s-wave repulsion known from pionic
atoms is clearly observed and could be removed by introducing a
chiral-motivated density dependence of the isovector scattering amplitude,
which also greatly improved the fits to the data. The empirical energy
dependence of the isoscalar amplitude also improves the fits to the data but,
contrary to what is found with pionic atoms, on its own is incapable of
removing the anomaly.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables. V2 added details on
uncertainties,extended discussion. To appear in PR
Gender Disparaties in Sciences: the Question of Parental Influence on Children's Self-Concept and Utility-Value
Self-concept and utility-values are thought to influence differences in choices, participation and performance in schools-careers between students of different genders and ages. This study was investigating existence of gender differences in such constructs regarding science. Further, the study investigated whether development of such constructs is still influenced by how children feel their parents perceive them in relation to sciences. Using a 30-item, Lickert-type questionnaire, data were collected from a random sample of 184 second and third graders. Results showed that, students’ self perceptions and those of parents regarding science are positively related. Further, self-concept and utility-values were higher among boys than girls. Based on the result, it was concluded that, parents’ gender-based perceptions regarding science that are still communicated at home might be the reason for the development of children’s gender-based self-perceptions regarding sciences
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