Connections: Some Implications of Informal Communication Networks for Congregational Nurture

An integral part of the dynamics of congregational development is the quest for deeper, maturer spiritual life. The biblical image of the church as a body conveys the oughtness of such progress, growth being the sure sign of the presence of life. A persistent question exists concerning the how\u27\u27 of promoting that search. The thesis of this project is that the discovery and diagramming of informal t communication networks within a church provides an effective avenue through which to nurture the spiritual life of the members. These naturally occurring links between congregants carry less resistance than do formal channels of association. Since this is so, they can achieve a greater degree of effectiveness in nurturing genuine spiritual maturity

Habitat selection and breeding ecology of three species of waders in the western isles of Scotland

The habitat requirements and population dynamics of Redshank, Dunlin and Ringed Plover on internationally important breeding grounds in the Western Isles of Scotland were studied from 1985 to 1987 using individually colour-ringed birds. Twenty-six habitat types were recognised at four study-sites on South Uist. The temporal and spatial use of the habitats by the three species were quantified. Redshank used a wide variety of pasture, marsh and water's-edge habitats and occurred mainly on "blackland" areas. Dunlin were largely confined to areas of old fallow machair and machair marsh. Ringed Plover occurred almost exclusively on the areas of machair used for cultivation. Redshank did not defend breeding territories and individuals ranged over wide areas. Dunlin and Ringed Plover held breeding territories within which most of their activities were confined. Late in the breeding season the seashore was an important feeding habitat for Dunlin and Ringed Plover. Breeding densities varied markedly between major habitat divisions and appeared to be mainly determined by the availability and quality of potential nest-sites as indicated by their conspicuousness to avian predators. Adults, especially males, nearly always returned to their previous year's nest-site or to close by. Young males bred significantly closer to their natal site than young females. Most birds settled within 4 km of their natal site. Breeding success, first-year and adult survival, and the age of first’ breeding were evaluated. The data were used to predict population trends, which were compared to results from large-scale population surveys. It is concluded that Redshank and Dunlin numbers are approximately stable but that Ringed Plover are decreasing. Avian predation was the main factor limiting productivity. Both early season and well concealed/camouflaged nests were more likely to be successful.The conservation of these birds is discussed and some measures suggested that might increase their productivity

Obtaining Maxwell's equations heuristically

Starting from the experimental fact that a moving charge experiences the Lorentz force and applying the fundamental principles of simplicity (first order derivatives only) and linearity (superposition principle), we show that the structure of the microscopic Maxwell equations for the electromagnetic fields can be deduced heuristically by using the transformation properties of the fields under space inversion and time reversal. Using the experimental facts of charge conservation and that electromagnetic waves propagate with the speed of light together with Galileo invariance of the Lorentz force allows us to introduce arbitrary electrodynamic units naturally.Comment: 11 page

In Memoriam: Daniel J. Meltzer

Sedan år 2006 har den syntetiskt framställda drogen spice existerat i Sverige, men först år 2008 blev drogen populär och tidningar började rikta uppmärksamhet mot den. Genom att drogen kan byta skepnad i uppbyggnaden kan den förbli laglig, därför kan egentligen namnet “spice” inte betraktas som ett enhetligt begrepp. Vårt syfte med denna studie blev att granska hur drogen spice beskrivs i tidningar och forskning. Även hur drogen betraktas gällande psykosociala och medicinska avseenden. Detta i förhållande till socialkonstruktivistiskt perspektiv. Den metod som vi valde att använda oss av i studien var kvantitativ innehållsanalys. Genom analys av 80 stycken svenska tidningsartiklar hämtade ur databasen mediearkivet, samt vetenskapliga artiklar och litteratur har vi besvarat våra frågeställningar. De resultat vi fick från analyser visade på att tidningar kan vara av betydande roll för ungdomars attityder. Tidningar kan utföra bland annat skrämselpropaganda för att upplysa och förhindra brukandet av spice, dessvärre visar resultatet en motsatt effekt. Forskning visar att bruk av spice kan påverka relationer och arbete negativt. Dessutom är några bieffekter av spice bröstsmärtor, vanföreställningar, självmordstankar och hjärtstopp

The optical conductivity of graphene in the visible region of the spectrum

We compute the optical conductivity of graphene beyond the usual Dirac cone approximation, giving results that are valid in the visible region of the conductivity spectrum. The effect of next nearest neighbor hoping is also discussed. Using the full expression for the optical conductivity, the transmission and reflection coefficients are given. We find that even in the optical regime the corrections to the Dirac cone approximation are surprisingly small (a few percent). Our results help in the interpretation of the experimental results reported by Nair {\it et al.} [Science {\bf 320}, 1308 (2008)].Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Application of OCT to examination of easel paintings

We present results of applying low coherence interferometry to gallery paintings. Infrared low coherence interferometry is capable of non-destructive examination of paintings in 3D, which shows not only the structure of the varnish layer but also the paint layers

Colorado College State of the Rockies Report Card

The critical research topics for the 2008 Report Card include immigration, affordable housing, renewable energy resources, river restoration and restoration economies, and wildlands

Tracking icebergs with time-lapse photography and sparse optical flow, LeConte Bay, Alaska, 2016–2017

We present a workflow to track icebergs in proglacial fjords using oblique time-lapse photos and the Lucas-Kanade optical flow algorithm. We employ the workflow at LeConte Bay, Alaska, where we ran five time-lapse cameras between April 2016 and September 2017, capturing more than 400 000 photos at frame rates of 0.5–4.0 min−1. Hourly to daily average velocity fields in map coordinates illustrate dynamic currents in the bay, with dominant downfjord velocities (exceeding 0.5 m s−1 intermittently) and several eddies. Comparisons with simultaneous Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) measurements yield best agreement for the uppermost ADCP levels (∼ 12 m and above), in line with prevalent small icebergs that trace near-surface currents. Tracking results from multiple cameras compare favorably, although cameras with lower frame rates (0.5 min−1) tend to underestimate high flow speeds. Tests to determine requisite temporal and spatial image resolution confirm the importance of high image frame rates, while spatial resolution is of secondary importance. Application of our procedure to other fjords will be successful if iceberg concentrations are high enough and if the camera frame rates are sufficiently rapid (at least 1 min−1 for conditions similar to LeConte Bay).This work was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (OPP-1503910, OPP-1504288, OPP-1504521 and OPP-1504191).Ye

The azimuth structure of nuclear collisions -- I

We describe azimuth structure commonly associated with elliptic and directed flow in the context of 2D angular autocorrelations for the purpose of precise separation of so-called nonflow (mainly minijets) from flow. We extend the Fourier-transform description of azimuth structure to include power spectra and autocorrelations related by the Wiener-Khintchine theorem. We analyze several examples of conventional flow analysis in that context and question the relevance of reaction plane estimation to flow analysis. We introduce the 2D angular autocorrelation with examples from data analysis and describe a simulation exercise which demonstrates precise separation of flow and nonflow using the 2D autocorrelation method. We show that an alternative correlation measure based on Pearson's normalized covariance provides a more intuitive measure of azimuth structure.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figure