Searching for Planets with White Dwarf Pulsations: Spurious Detections

We present 13 years of pulsation timing measurements of the DBV white dwarf EC 2005-5234. Each of the four O-C diagrams mimic the sinusoidal behavior typically attributed to a planet + WD system. However, the amplitude and phase of the O-C variations are inconsistent with each other. We discuss the impact of this result on timing based WD planet searches.Comment: Part of PlanetsbeyondMS/2010 proceedings http://arxiv.org/html/1011.660

Transportations of space, time and self: the role of reading groups in managing mental distress in the community

Background: The practice of reading and discussing literature in groups is long established, stretching back into classical antiquity. Although benefits of therapeutic reading groups have been highlighted, research into participants’ perceptions of these groups has been limited. Aims: To explore the experiences of those attending therapeutic reading groups, considering the role of both the group, and the literature itself, in participants’ ongoing experiences of distress. Method: Eleven participants were recruited from two reading groups in the South-East of England. One focus group was run, and eight individuals self-selected for individual interviews. The data were analysed together using a thematic analysis drawing on dialogical theories. Results: Participants described the group as an anchor, which enabled them to use fiction to facilitate the discussion of difficult emotional topics, without referring directly to personal experience. Two aspects of this process are explored in detail: the use of narratives as transportation, helping to mitigate the intensity of distress; and using fiction to explore possibilities, alternative selves and lives. Conclusions: For those who are interested and able, reading groups offer a relatively de-stigmatised route to exploring and mediating experiences of distress. Implications in the present UK funding environment are discussed

Evidence for temperature change and oblique pulsation from light curve fits of the pulsating white dwarf GD 358

Convective driving, the mechanism originally proposed by Brickhill for pulsating white dwarf stars, has gained general acceptance as the generic linear instability mechanism in DAV and DBV white dwarfs. This physical mechanism naturally leads to a nonlinear formulation, reproducing the observed light curves of many pulsating white dwarfs. This numerical model can also provide information on the average depth of a star’s convection zone and the inclination angle of its pulsation axis. In this paper, we give two sets of results of nonlinear light curve fits to data on the DBV GD 358. Our first fit is based on data gathered in 2006 by the Whole Earth Telescope; this data set was multiperiodic containing at least 12 individual modes. Our second fit utilizes data obtained in 1996, when GD 358 underwent a dramatic change in excited frequencies accompanied by a rapid increase in fractional amplitude; during this event it was essentially monoperiodic. We argue that GD 358’s convection zone was much thinner in 1996 than in 2006, and we interpret this as a result of a short-lived increase in its surface temperature. In addition, we find strong evidence of oblique pulsation using two sets of evenly split triplets in the 2006 data. This marks the first time that oblique pulsation has been identified in a variable white dwarf star

A competency framework for librarians involved in systematic reviews

Objective: The project identified a set of core competencies for librarians who are involved in systematic reviews. Methods: A team of seven informationists with broad systematic review experience examined existing systematic review standards, conducted a literature search, and used their own expertise to identify core competencies and skills that are necessary to undertake various roles in systematic review projects. Results: The team identified a total of six competencies for librarian involvement in systematic reviews: “Systematic review foundations,” “Process management and communication,” “Research methodology,” “Comprehensive searching,” “Data management,” and “Reporting.” Within each competency are the associated skills and knowledge pieces (indicators). Competence can be measured using an adaptation of Miller’s Pyramid for Clinical Assessment, either through self-assessment or identification of formal assessment instruments. Conclusions: The Systematic Review Competencies Framework provides a standards-based, flexible way for librarians and organizations to identify areas of competence and areas in need of development to build capacity for systematic review integration. The framework can be used to identify or develop appropriate assessment tools and to target skill development opportunities

Evidence for temperature change and oblique pulsation from light curve fits of the pulsating white dwarf GD 358

Convective driving, the mechanism originally proposed by Brickhill for pulsating white dwarf stars, has gained general acceptance as the generic linear instability mechanism in DAV and DBV white dwarfs. This physical mechanism naturally leads to a nonlinear formulation, reproducing the observed light curves of many pulsating white dwarfs. This numerical model can also provide information on the average depth of a star’s convection zone and the inclination angle of its pulsation axis. In this paper, we give two sets of results of nonlinear light curve fits to data on the DBV GD 358. Our first fit is based on data gathered in 2006 by the Whole Earth Telescope; this data set was multiperiodic containing at least 12 individual modes. Our second fit utilizes data obtained in 1996, when GD 358 underwent a dramatic change in excited frequencies accompanied by a rapid increase in fractional amplitude; during this event it was essentially monoperiodic. We argue that GD 358’s convection zone was much thinner in 1996 than in 2006, and we interpret this as a result of a short-lived increase in its surface temperature. In addition, we find strong evidence of oblique pulsation using two sets of evenly split triplets in the 2006 data. This marks the first time that oblique pulsation has been identified in a variable white dwarf star

Whole Earth Telescope observations of the pulsating subdwarf B star PG 0014+067

PG 0014+067 is one of the most promising pulsating subdwarf B stars for seismic analysis, as it has a rich pulsation spectrum. The richness of its pulsations, however, poses a fundamental challenge to understanding the pulsations of these stars, as the mode density is too complex to be explained only with radial and nonradial low-degree (l< 3) p-modes without rotational splittings. One proposed solution, suggested by Brassard et al. in 2001 for the case of PG 0014+067 in particular, assigns some modes with high degree (l=3). On the other hand, theoretical models of sdB stars suggest that they may retain rapidly rotating cores, and so the high mode density may result from the presence of a few rotationally split triplet (l = 1) and quintuplet (l = 2) modes, along with radial (l = 0) p-modes. To examine alternative theoretical models for these stars, we need better frequency resolution and denser longitude coverage. Therefore, we observed this star with the Whole Earth Telescope for two weeks in 2004 October. In this paper we report the results of Whole Earth Telescope observations of the pulsating subdwarf B star PG 0014+067.We find that the frequencies seen in PG 0014+067 do not appear to fit any theoretical model currently available; however, we find a simple empirical relation that is able to match all of the well-determined frequencies in this star

Sharon Pollock's Portraits of the Artist

This essay is a study of Sharon Pollock's artist characters. Using concepts drawn from contemporary autobiography theory with Butler's theory of performativity, I examine three plays in detail—Blood Relations, Saucy Jack, and Moving Pictures—to show how Pollock develops an artist's power to produce identity, to articulate the meaning of a life in performance, and, in some instances, to resist those scriptings of life which limit or erase individuals. While I conclude with observations about these three plays, I also suggest that the paradigm Pollock explores through the artist character informs other of her plays and non-artist characters. Dans cet étude, on examine les portraits des artistes présentees par Sharon Pollock dans ses pièces, mais avec attention particulièr a Moving Pictures, qui raconte l'histoire de Nell Shipman, actrice et realisatrice. Pour creer la character de "Shipman," Pollock a utiliser l'autobiographie de Shipman et, dans mon analyse, j'applique les théories contemporaines d'autobiographics et performativity pour explorer comment Pollock monte l'enquete autobiographique de son "Shipman.