Problem-solving skills and employability traits amongst Generation Y and Millenials in developed economies

In a rapidly changing world where new technologies, mass communications, alternative energies, shifting economic balances of power and genetic engineering are just five of a multitude of global developments and trends, it is perhaps not surprising that those born into, or growing up within, such an environment develop different characteristics compared to those from earlier times. The degree of generational shifts in attitudes and approaches to life are open to debate but evidence appears to exist that changes do occur at both an individual and broader generational level. This study suggests that a particular shift has evolved in the approaches by Generation Y and Millenials to problem-solving and that this has an impact on their individual employability. It also has implications on the training and development programmes and processes that employers offer, and there are also lessons to be learnt for education and training practices generally

Thermally stable low current consuming gallium and germanium chalcogenides for consumer and automotive memory applications

The phase change technology behind rewritable optical disks and the latest generation of electronic memories has provided clear commercial and technological advances for the field of data storage, by virtue of the many well known attributes, in particular scaling, cycling endurance and speed, that chalcogenide materials offer. While the switching power and current consumption of established germanium antimony telluride based memory cells are a major factor in chip design in real world applications, often the thermal stability of the device can be a major obstacle in the path to the full commercialisation. In this work we describe our research in material discovery and characterization for the purpose of identifying more thermally stable chalcogenides for applications in PCRAM

Generating the cosmic microwave background power asymmetry with g(NL)

We consider a higher order term in the $\delta N$ expansion for the CMB power asymmetry generated by a superhorizon isocurvature field fluctuation. The term can generate the asymmetry without requiring a large value of $f_{NL}$. Instead it produces a non-zero value of $g_{NL}$. A combination of constraints lead to an allowed region in $f_{NL}-g_{NL}$ space. To produce the asymmetry with this term without a large value of $f_{NL}$ we find that the isocurvature field needs to contribute less than the inflaton towards the power spectrum of the curvature perturbation.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure. Updated to match published version. Minor typographical correction

Research Software Engineers: Career Entry Points and Training Gaps

As software has become more essential to research across disciplines, and as the recognition of this fact has grown, the importance of professionalizing the development and maintenance of this software has also increased. The community of software professionals who work on this software have come together under the title Research Software Engineer (RSE) over the last decade. This has led to the formalization of RSE roles and organized RSE groups in universities, national labs, and industry. This, in turn, has created the need to understand how RSEs come into this profession and into these groups, how to further promote this career path to potential members, as well as the need to understand what training gaps need to be filled for RSEs coming from different entry points. We have categorized three main classifications of entry paths into the RSE profession and identified key elements, both advantages and disadvantages, that should be acknowledged and addressed by the broader research community in order to attract and retain a talented and diverse pool of future RSEs.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Computing in Science & Engineering (CiSE): Special Issue on the Future of Research Software Engineers in the U

The influence of ion energy, ion flux, and etch temperature on the electrical and material quality of GaAs etched with an electron cyclotron resonance source

The residual damage incurred to GaAs via etching with a Cl2/Ar plasma generated by an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) source was investigated as a function of variations in ion energy, ion flux, and etching temperature. The residual damage and electrical properties of GaAs were strongly influenced by changes in these etching parameters. Lattice damage was incurred in all processing situations in the form of small dislocation loops. GaAs etched at high ion energies with 200 W rf power, exhibited a defect density five times higher than GaAs etched at lower ion energies with 20 W rf power. This enhanced residual damage at the higher rf powers was paralleled by a degradation in the unannealed contact resistance. Higher etch rates, which accompany the higher rf power levels, caused the width of the disordered region to contract as the rf power was elevated. Therefore, the residual etch damage is influenced by both the generation and removal of defects. Increasing the microwave power or ion flux resulted in elevating the residual defect density, surface roughness, and unannealed contact resistance. GaAs etched at high temperatures, ∼350 °C, resulted in a lower contact resistance than GaAs etched at 25 °C. The high temperature etching augmented the defect diffusion which in turn lowered the near surface defect density. This decrease in residual damage was deemed responsible for improving the electrical performance at 350 °C. The electrical measurements were found to be more sensitive to the density of defects than the vertical extent of disorder beneath the etched surface. Results of this investigation demonstrate that in order to minimize material damage and improve electrical performance, etching with an ECR source should be performed at low rf and microwave powers with a high substrate temperature. © 1995 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70988/2/JAPIAU-78-4-2712-1.pd

Research Software Development & Management in Universities: Case Studies from Manchester's RSDS Group, Illinois' NCSA, and Notre Dame's CRC

Modern research in the sciences, engineering, humanities, and other fields depends on software, and specifically, research software. Much of this research software is developed in universities, by faculty, postdocs, students, and staff. In this paper, we focus on the role of university staff. We examine three different, independently-developed models under which these staff are organized and perform their work, and comparatively analyze these models and their consequences on the staff and on the software, considering how the different models support software engineering practices and processes. This information can be used by software engineering researchers to understand the practices of such organizations and by universities who want to set up similar organizations and to better produce and maintain research software.Comment: 2019 Intl. Work. on Soft. Eng. for Science (SE4Science), May 28, 2019, with ICSE'1

The Effects of Metaphylaxis and Milk Replacer Additives on Health and Growth of Neonatal Holstein Bull Calves.

A study evaluating effects of metaphylaxis and milk replacer additives on health and growth was conducted with Holstein bull calves (n = 52; mean BW = 42.28 +- 3 kg) < 7 d of age. Calves were randomly assigned to receive tilmicosin phosphate (TIL), ceftiofur crystalline free acid (CEF), or saline (CON). All calves received a commercial milk replacer powder (25% CP, 20% fat), and within metaphylaxis treatment, were randomly assigned to receive milk replacer with: 1) 4 g/d for 7 d and then 2 g/d for the next 14 d of an egg-based additive (PR); 2) 2 g/d of 96% betaine (BE); 3) both PR and BE (BP); or 4) no additives (NA). Calves were housed in individual fiberglass hutches with ad libitum access to a commercial calf starter and water. Body weight was recorded twice weekly and fecal scores (1=firm, 4=watery) were recorded daily for 54 d. Number of treatments per calf for scours, incidence of respiratory symptoms, and febrile events were recorded on a daily basis, and the cumulative incidence of each response was used as an index of morbidity. All data were analyzed as a completely randomized design with a 3 X 4 factorial treatment arrangement. Neither metaphylaxis, additives, nor their interaction affected ADG (P>0.60); overall, calves gained .45 kg/d. Fecal scores were reduced by 39% for CEF compared to CON (P&lt;0.01), but were not affected by additives. Metaphylaxis influenced neither the incidence of fever (P&gt;0.3), or respiratory symptoms (P&gt;0.2), nor were they reduced by additives. Overall, calves were treated an average of only 0.39 times for respiratory symptoms and 0.66 times for fever. Scours were not influenced by metaphylaxis (P&gt;0.6), additives (P&gt;0.5), nor their interaction (P&gt;0.8). Other than fecal score, metaphylaxis did not enhance productivity or reduce morbidity in this study, but disease challenge may have been mild. Feed additives influenced neither measures of health and performance nor did the metaphylaxis and feed additive interaction