Internationalising Intermediate Microeconomics: Collaborative Case Studies and Web-Based Learning

This paper describes an internationally-oriented course module for intermediate microeconomics. We describe the collaboration project as well as the results of implementing it at an US and Peruvian university. In the project, US university students were partnered with comparable students at a Peruvian university to complete a project using web-based learning tools and internet conferencing. Project learning objectives are identified and an outline of the project and assignments is presented. Based on our experiences, we evaluate the project and consider problems and issues that arose. Our results suggest that the current state of web-based technology affords university students many opportunities to productively collaborate with their international counterparts.

Internationalizing intermediate microeconomics: collaborative case studies and web-based learning

This paper describes an internationally-oriented course module for intermediate microeconomics. We describe the collaboration project as well as the results of implementing it at an U.S. and Peruvian university. In the project, U.S. university students were partnered with comparable students at a Peruvian university to complete a project using web-based learning tools and internet conferencing. Project learning objectives are identified and an outline of the project and assignments is presented. Based on our experiences, we evaluate the project and consider problems and issues that arose. Our results suggest that the current state of web-based technology affords university students many opportunities to productively collaborate with their international counterparts

NASA CPAS Drogue Textile Riser Feasibility Study

Steel cable was chosen for the lower end of the drogue and main parachute risers on NASA's Orion Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) to protect the risers from extreme temperatures and abrasion should they contact the crew module during deployment, as was done for Apollo. Due to the weight and deployment complexity inherent in steel, there was significant interest in the possibility of substituting textile for steel for the drogue and main parachute risers. However, textile risers could be damaged when subjected to high temperature and abrasion. Investigations were consequently performed by a subset of the authors to determine whether sacrificial, non-load-bearing textile riser covers could be developed to mitigate the thermal and abrasion concerns. Multiple material combinations were tested, resulting in a cover design capable of protecting the riser against severe riser/crew module contact interactions. A feasibility study was then conducted to evaluate the performance of the textile drogue riser cover in relevant abrasive environments. This paper describes the testing performed and documents the results of this feasibility study

Dynamic pathway of the photoinduced phase transition of TbMnO3_3

We investigate the demagnetization dynamics of the cycloidal and sinusoidal phases of multiferroic TbMnO$_3$ by means of time-resolved resonant soft x-ray diffraction following excitation by an optical pump. Using orthogonal linear x-ray polarizations, we suceeded in disentangling the response of the multiferroic cycloidal spin order from the sinusoidal antiferromagnetic order in the time domain. This enables us to identify the transient magnetic phase created by intense photoexcitation of the electrons and subsequent heating of the spin system on a picosecond timescale. The transient phase is shown to be a spin density wave, as in the adiabatic case, which nevertheless retains the wave vector of the cycloidal long range order. Two different pump photon energies, 1.55 eV and 3.1 eV, lead to population of the conduction band predominantly via intersite $d$-$d$ transitions or intrasite $p$-$d$ transitions, respectively. We find that the nature of the optical excitation does not play an important role in determining the dynamics of magnetic order melting. Further, we observe that the orbital reconstruction, which is induced by the spin ordering, disappears on a timescale comparable to that of the cycloidal order, attesting to a direct coupling between magnetic and orbital orders. Our observations are discussed in the context of recent theoretical models of demagnetization dynamics in strongly correlated systems, revealing the potential of this type of measurement as a benchmark for such complex theoretical studies

Limits on the Emission From Fe VIII-XII in the Hot Local Interstellar Medium.

The majority of the emitted power from an optically thin million degree plasma (such as the one thought to produce the soft xray background) originates in the EUV band at wavelengths longer than 170 degrees A. Lines from Fe VIII - Fe XII dominate the emission in this wavelength region. This paper describes work in progress on the analysis of three years of data from the ALEXIS mission in search of this flux

Development of an On-animal Separation-based Sensor for Monitoring Drug Metabolism in Freely Roaming Sheep

The development of an on-animal separation-based sensor that can be employed for monitoring drug metabolism in a freely roaming sheep is described. The system consists of microdialysis sampling coupled directly to microchip electrophoresis with electrochemical detection (MD-ME-EC). Separations were accomplished using an all-glass chip with integrated platinum working and reference electrodes. Discrete samples from the microdialysis flow were introduced into the electrophoresis chip using a flow-gated injection approach. Electrochemical detection was accomplished in-channel using a two-electrode isolated potentiostat. Nitrite was separated by microchip electrophoresis using reverse polarity and a run buffer consisting of 50 mM phosphate at pH 7.4. The entire system was under telemetry control. The system was first tested with rats to monitor the production of nitrite following introduction of nitroglycerin into the subdermal tissue using a linear probe. The data acquired using the on-line MD-ME-EC system was compared to that obtained off-line analysis by liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (LC-EC), using a second microdialysis probe implanted parallel to the first probe in the same animal. The MD-ME-EC device was then used on-animal to monitor the subdermal metabolism of nitroglycerin in sheep. The ultimate goal is to use this device to simultaneously monitor drug metabolism and behavior in a freely roaming animal

Are situation awareness and decision-making in driving totally conscious processes? Results of a Hazard Prediction task

Detecting danger in the driving environment is an indispensable task to guarantee safety which depends on the driver's ability to predict upcoming hazards. But does correct prediction lead to an appropriate response? This study advances hazard perception research by investigating the link between successful prediction and response selection. Three groups of drivers (learners, novices and experienced drivers) were recruited, with novice and experienced drivers further split into offender and non-offender groups. Specifically, this works aims to develop an improved Spanish Hazard Prediction Test and to explore the differences in Situation Awareness, (SA: perception, comprehension and prediction) and Decision-Making ("DM") among learners, younger inexperienced and experienced drivers and between driving offenders and non-offenders. The contribution of the current work is not only theoretical; the Hazard Prediction Test is also a valid way to test Hazard Perception. The test, as well as being useful as part of the test for a driving license, could also serve a purpose in the renewal of licenses after a ban or as a way of training drivers. A sample of 121 participants watched a series of driving video clips that ended with a sudden occlusion prior to a hazard. They then answered questions to assess their SA ("What is the hazard?" "Where is it located?" "What happens next?") and "DM" ("What would you do in this situation?"). This alternative to the Hazard Perception Test demonstrates a satisfactory internal consistency (Alpha=0.750), with eleven videos achieving discrimination indices above 0.30. Learners performed significantly worse than experienced drivers when required to identify and locate the hazard. Interestingly, drivers were more accurate in answering the "DM" question than questions regarding SA, suggesting that drivers can choose an appropriate response manoeuvre without a totally conscious knowledge of the exact hazard