Report : Petition of M. Paquette and T. Brisbois

Report : Petition of M. Paquette and T. Brisbois. [565] Winnebago treaty of 1829 at Prairie du Chien

The threshold for integer homology in random d-complexes

Let Y ~ Y_d(n,p) denote the Bernoulli random d-dimensional simplicial complex. We answer a question of Linial and Meshulam from 2003, showing that the threshold for vanishing of homology H_{d-1}(Y; Z) is less than 80d log n / n. This bound is tight, up to a constant factor.Comment: 12 pages, updated to include an additional torsion group boun

Element Settling in the Solar Interior

Element settling inside the Sun now becomes detectable from the comparison of the observed oscillation modes with the results of the theoretical models. This settling is due, not only to gravitation, but also to thermal diffusion and radiative acceleration (although this last effect is small compared to the two others). It leads to abundance variations of helium and heavy elements of $\cong 10$ below the convective zone. Although not observable from spectroscopy, such variations lead to non-negligible modifications of the solar internal structure and evolution. Helioseismology is a powerful tool to detect such effects, and its positive results represent a great success for the theory of stellar evolution. Meanwhile, evidences are obtained that the element settling is slightly smoothed down, probably due to mild macroscopic motions below the convective zone. Additional observations of the abundances of both Solar $^7$Li and $^3$He lead to specific constraints on these particular motions.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, paper presented at the workshop on Solar Composition and its Evolution - From Core to Corona, Berne, 26-30 January 9

Search For Oxygen in Cool DQ White Dwarf Atmospheres

We report new infrared spectroscopic observations of cool DQ white dwarfs by using Coolspec on the 2.7m Harlan-Smith Telescope. DQs have helium-rich atmospheres with traces of molecular carbon thought to be the result of convective dredge-up from their C/O interiors. Recent model calculations predict that oxygen should also be present in DQ atmospheres in detectable amounts. Our synthetic spectra calculations for He-rich white dwarfs with traces of C and O indicate that CO should be easily detected in the cool DQ atmospheres if present in the expected amounts. Determination of the oxygen abundance in the atmosphere will reveal the C/O ratio at the core/envelope boundary, constraining the important and uncertain ^{12}C(alpha,gamma)^{16}O reaction rate.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, to appear in proceedings of the 13th European Workshop on White Dwarf

Interrupted Continuities: Transatlantic Relations during and after the Age of Revolutions (1775–1824)

This essay reviews the following works: Connections after Colonialism: Europe and Latin America in the 1820s. Edited by Matthew Brown and Gabriel Paquette. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2013. Pp. vii + 328. $54.95 cloth. ISBN: 9780817317768. Frontiers of Possession: Spain and Portugal in Europe and the Americas. By Tamar Herzog. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015. Pp. i + 377.$35.00 cloth. ISBN: 9780674735385. Imperial Portugal in the Age of Atlantic Revolutions: The Luso-Brazilian World, c. 1770–1850. By Gabriel Paquette. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Pp. vi + 445. $140.00 cloth. ISBN: 9781107028975. Revolutions without Borders: The Call to Liberty in the Atlantic World. By Janet Polasky. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016. Pp. 392.$25.00 paper. ISBN: 9780300219845. Crisis in an Atlantic Empire: Spain and New Spain, 1808–1810. By Barbara H. Stein and Stanley J. Stein. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 2014. Pp. ix + 773. $89.95 cloth. ISBN: 9781421414249. Empire’s End: Transnational Connections in the Hispanic World. Edited by Akiko Tsuchiya and William G. Acree Jr. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2016. Pp. ix + 223.$34.95 cloth. ISBN: 9780826520777

Panning for gold: designing pedagogically-inspired learning nuggets

Tools to support teachers and learning technologists in the creation of effective learning designs are currently in their infancy. This paper describes a metadata model, devised to assist in the conception and design of new learning activities, that has been developed, used and evaluated over a period of three years. The online tool that embodies this model was not originally intended to produce runtime executable code such as IMS-LD, but rather focussed on assisting teachers in the thought processes involved in selecting appropriate methods, tools, student activities and assessments to suit the required learning objectives. Subsequently, we have modified the RELOAD editor such that the output from our tool can be translated into IMS-LD. The contribution of this paper is the comparison of our data model with that of IMS-LD, and the analysis of how each can inform the other