Correlation of electrical conductivity and radiation-induced free radical concentration in poly/ethylene terephthalate/ and related compounds

Gamma and ultraviolet radiation effects on electronic properties of polyethylene terephthalate and related compound

Data curation standards and social science occupational information resources

Occupational information resources - data about the characteristics of different occupational positions - are widely used in the social sciences, across a range of disciplines and international contexts. They are available in many formats, most often constituting small electronic files that are made freely downloadable from academic web-pages. However there are several challenges associated with how occupational information resources are distributed to, and exploited by, social researchers. In this paper we describe features of occupational information resources, and indicate the role digital curation can play in exploiting them. We report upon the strategies used in the GEODE research project (Grid Enabled Occupational Data Environment, http://www.geode.stir.ac.uk). This project attempts to develop long-term standards for the distribution of occupational information resources, by providing a standardized framework-based electronic depository for occupational information resources, and by providing a data indexing service, based on e-Science middleware, which collates occupational information resources and makes them readily accessible to non-specialist social scientists

Data curation standards and the messy world of social science occupational information resources

Occupational information resources – data about the characteristics of different occupational positions – play a unique role in social science research. They are of relevance across diverse research disciplines and in numerous disparate contexts. They are also very widely available, typically freely downloadable from research-oriented academic web-pages. But they are also one of the most uncoordinated types of information resource that social scientists routinely come across. In this paper we describe issues in curating occupational information resources during the GEODE research project (Grid Enabled Occupational Data Environment, http:/www.geode.stir.ac.uk). This project attempts to develop long-term standards for the distribution of occupational information resources, by providing a standardised framework electronic depository for occupational information resources, and by providing a data-indexing service, premised upon eScience middleware, which collates occupational information resources and makes them readily accessible to non-specialist social scientists

How (not) to raise money

We show that standard winner-pay auctions are inept fund-raising mechanisms because of the positive externality bidders forgo if they top another's high bid. Revenues are suppressed as a result and remain finite even when bidders value a dollar donated the same as a dollar kept. This problem does not occur in lotteries and all-pay auctions, where bidders pay irrespective of whether they win. We introduce a general class of all-pay auctions, rank their revenues, and illustrate how they dominate lotteries and winner-pay formats. The optimal fund-raising mechanism is an all-pay auction augmented with an entry fee and reserve price

Diffraction-contrast imaging of cold atoms

We consider the inverse problem of in-line holography, applied to minimally-destructive imaging of cold atom clouds. Absorption imaging near-resonance provides a simple, but destructive measurement of atom column density. Imaging off resonance greatly reduces heating, and sequential images may be taken. Under the conditions required for off-resonant imaging, the generally-intractable inverse problem may be linearized. A minimally-destructive, quantitative and high-resolution image of the atom cloud column density is then retrieved from a single diffraction pattern.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures v2: minor changes in response to referee reports, mostly additional experimental detail v3: revisions to figure 3: added trace and changed image. Minor text and referencing changes. Accepted by Phys Rev A (Rapid Commun

Is a local bar a good place to find a companion? The near infrared morphology of Maffei 2

Maffei 2 is one of the closest large spiral galaxies lying just beyond the Local Group. It would probably be one of the most heavily studied galaxies in the sky were it not for the approximately 5 magnitudes of visual extinction resulting from its position behind the Galactic plane. It is the site of a burst of nuclear star formation indicated by strong infrared and radii continuum emission. Interferometric maps of CO-12 and CO-13 emission indicate that star formation is associated with a barlike structure consisting of arms of molecular gas that extend from within approximately 50 pc of the dynamical center out to a radius of at least 500 pc. HI maps have shown the galaxy to have an angular extent of approximately 15 feet and a neutral gas mass typical of a large spiral galaxy

The national impact of regional policy : policy simulation with labour market constraints in a two-regional computable general equilibrium model

The first step in a comprehensive evaluation of regional policy is to identify its full spatial impact. This involves two tasks. The first is to determine the form and strength of inter-regional linkages. The second is to specify the national constraints within which the system of regional economies operates. In this paper we use simulation results from a two-region Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model of Scotland and the rest of the UK (RUK) to investigate these issues. The inter-regional linkages incorporate trade and income flows, inter-regional capital mobility and migration. The constraint that we focus on is an overall national population constraint and its impact on regional wage determination. The paper is structured in the following way. Section 2 outlines the AMOSRUK modelling framework. Section 3 describes the alternative labour-market model configurations used in the simulations. Section 4 reports the results for the model simulation and Section 5 is a short conclusion

Atmospheric environment for space shuttle (STS-8) launch

Selected atmospheric conditions observed near Space Shuttle STS-8 launch time on August 30, 1983, at Kennedy Space Center, Florida are summarized. Values of ambient pressure, temperature, moisture, ground winds, visual observations (cloud), and winds aloft are included. The sequence of prelaunch Jimsphere measured vertical wind profiles is given. Also presented are wind and thermodynamic parameters representative of surface and aloft conditions in the SRB descent/impact ocean area. Final meteorological tapes, which consist of wind and thermodynamic parameters versus altitude, for STS-8 vehicle ascent and SRB descent/impact were constructed. The STS-8 ascent meteorological data tape was constructed

Parent and Adolescent Temperaments and the Quality of Parent-Adolescent Relations

Adolescent and parent temperaments as predictors of the quality of parent-adolescent relations were examined. Participants were 88 seventh-grade adolescents and their mothers and fathers. All three family members provided reports of their own levels of activity and adaptability. Mothers, fathers, and adolescents also reported on acceptance, psychological control, lax discipline, and conflict in the parent-adolescent dyad. Multivariate multiple regressions with follow-up univariate tests indicated a complex set of relations between adolescent and parent temperaments and parent-adolescent relations. In some cases, parent and adolescent temperaments interacted to predict specific aspects of parent-adolescent relations. There were also gender-of-parent and gender-of-adolescent differences in the associations between temperament and parent-adolescent relations. These results are consistent with the goodness-of-fit model of temperament