4,924 research outputs found
Developing a quality assurance metric: a panoptic view
This article is a post-print of the published article that may be accessed at the link below. Copyright @ 2006 Sage Publications.There are a variety of techniques that lecturers can use to get feedback on their teaching - for example, module feedback and coursework results. However, a question arises about how reliable and valid are the content that goes into these quality assurance metrics. The aim of this article is to present a new approach for collecting and analysing qualitative feedback from students that could be used as the first stage in developing more reliable quality assurance metrics. The approach, known as the multi-dimensional crystal view, is based on the belief that individuals have different views on the benefits that the embedded process in a system can have on the behaviour of the system. The results of this study indicate that in the context of evaluation and feedback methods, the multi-dimensional approach appears to provide the opportunity for developing more effective student feedback mechanisms
Surfaces roughness effects on the transmission of Gaussian beams by anisotropic parallel plates
Influence of the plate surfaces roughness in precise ellipsometry experiments
is studied. The realistic case of a Gaussian laser beam crossing a uniaxial
platelet is considered. Expression for the transmittance is determined using
the first order perturbation theory. In this frame, it is shown that
interference takes place between the specular transmitted beam and the
scattered field. This effect is due to the angular distribution of the Gaussian
beam and is of first order in the roughness over wavelength ratio. As an
application, a numerical simulation of the effects of quartz roughness surfaces
at normal incidence is provided. The interference term is found to be strongly
connected to the random nature of the surface roughness.Comment: 18 pages, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, volume 36, issue 21,
pages 2697 - 270
RXTE Studies of X-ray Spectral Variations with Accretion Rate in 4U 1915-05
We present the results of detailed spectral studies of the ultra-compact low
mass X-ray binary (LMXB) 4U 1915-05 carried out with the Rossi X-ray Timing
Explorer (RXTE) during 1996. 4U 1915-05 is an X-ray burster (XRB) known to
exhibit a ~199-day modulation in its 2--12 keV flux. Observations were
performed with the PCA and HEXTE instruments on RXTE at roughly one-month
intervals to sample this long-term period and study accretion rate-related
spectral changes. We obtain good fits with a model consisting of a blackbody
and an exponentially cut-off power law. The spectral parameters are strongly
correlated with both the broad-band (2--50 keV) luminosity and the position in
the color-color diagram, with the source moving from a low hard state to a high
soft state as the accretion rate increases. The blackbody component appears to
drive the spectral evolution. Our results are consistent with a geometry in
which the soft component arises from an optically thick boundary layer and the
hard component from an extended Comptonizing corona. Comparing our results with
those of a similar study of the brighter source 4U 1820-30 (Bloser et al.
2000), we find that the two ultra-compact LMXBs occupy similar spectral states
even though the transitions occur at very different total luminosities.Comment: 27 pages LaTeX, 8 figures, accepted to the Astrophysical Journa
Variation with mass of \boldmath{B(E3; 0_1^+ \to 3_1^-)} transition rates in even-mass xenon nuclei
transition matrix elements have been measured for
even-mass Xe nuclei using sub-barrier Coulomb excitation in inverse
kinematics. The trends in energy and
excitation strengths are well reproduced using phenomenological models based on
a strong coupling picture with a soft quadrupole mode and an increasing
occupation of the intruder orbital.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, PRC in pres
Kripke Semantics for Martin-L\"of's Extensional Type Theory
It is well-known that simple type theory is complete with respect to
non-standard set-valued models. Completeness for standard models only holds
with respect to certain extended classes of models, e.g., the class of
cartesian closed categories. Similarly, dependent type theory is complete for
locally cartesian closed categories. However, it is usually difficult to
establish the coherence of interpretations of dependent type theory, i.e., to
show that the interpretations of equal expressions are indeed equal. Several
classes of models have been used to remedy this problem. We contribute to this
investigation by giving a semantics that is standard, coherent, and
sufficiently general for completeness while remaining relatively easy to
compute with. Our models interpret types of Martin-L\"of's extensional
dependent type theory as sets indexed over posets or, equivalently, as
fibrations over posets. This semantics can be seen as a generalization to
dependent type theory of the interpretation of intuitionistic first-order logic
in Kripke models. This yields a simple coherent model theory, with respect to
which simple and dependent type theory are sound and complete
A Paraconsistent Higher Order Logic
Classical logic predicts that everything (thus nothing useful at all) follows
from inconsistency. A paraconsistent logic is a logic where an inconsistency
does not lead to such an explosion, and since in practice consistency is
difficult to achieve there are many potential applications of paraconsistent
logics in knowledge-based systems, logical semantics of natural language, etc.
Higher order logics have the advantages of being expressive and with several
automated theorem provers available. Also the type system can be helpful. We
present a concise description of a paraconsistent higher order logic with
countable infinite indeterminacy, where each basic formula can get its own
indeterminate truth value (or as we prefer: truth code). The meaning of the
logical operators is new and rather different from traditional many-valued
logics as well as from logics based on bilattices. The adequacy of the logic is
examined by a case study in the domain of medicine. Thus we try to build a
bridge between the HOL and MVL communities. A sequent calculus is proposed
based on recent work by Muskens.Comment: Originally in the proceedings of PCL 2002, editors Hendrik Decker,
Joergen Villadsen, Toshiharu Waragai (http://floc02.diku.dk/PCL/). Correcte
The play's the thing
For very understandable reasons phenomenological approaches predominate in the field of sensory urbanism. This paper does not seek to add to that particular discourse. Rather it takes Rorty’s postmodernized Pragmatism as its starting point and develops a position on the role of multi-modal design representation in the design process as a means of admitting many voices and managing multidisciplinary collaboration.
This paper will interrogate some of the concepts underpinning the Sensory Urbanism project to help define the scope of interest in multi-modal representations. It will then explore a range of techniques and approaches developed by artists and designers during the past fifty years or so and comment on how they might inform the question of multi-modal representation. In conclusion I will argue that we should develop a heterogeneous tool kit that adopts, adapts and re-invents existing methods because this will better serve our purposes during the exploratory phase(s) of any design project that deals with complexity
Evolution of the energy spacing in odd-mass K, Cl and P isotopes for
The energy of the first excited state in the neutron-rich N=28 nucleus 45Cl
has been established via in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy following proton
removal. This energy value completes the systematics of the
E(1/2^+_1)-E(3/2^+_1) level spacing in odd-mass K, Cl and P isotopes for
N=20-28. The results are discussed in the framework of shell-model calculations
in the sd-fp model space. The contribution of the central, spin-orbit and
tensor components is discussed from a calculation based on a proton single-hole
spectrum from G-matrix and pi + rho meson exchange potentials. A composite
model for the proton 0d_{3/2}-1s_{1/2} single-particle energy shift is
presented.Comment: Phys. Rev. C, in pres
Target trial emulation: Do antimicrobials or gastrointestinal nutraceuticals prescribed at first presentation for acute diarrhoea cause a better clinical outcome in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK?
Target trial emulation applies design principles from randomised controlled trials to the analysis of observational data for causal inference and is increasingly used within human epidemiology. Veterinary electronic clinical records represent a potentially valuable source of information to estimate real-world causal effects for companion animal species. This study employed the target trial framework to evaluate the usefulness on veterinary observational data. Acute diarrhoea in dogs was used as a clinical exemplar. Inclusion required dogs aged ≥ 3 months and < 10 years, presenting for veterinary primary care with acute diarrhoea during 2019. Treatment strategies were: 1. antimicrobial prescription compared to no antimicrobial prescription and 2. gastrointestinal nutraceutical prescription compared to no gastrointestinal nutraceutical prescription. The primary outcome was clinical resolution (defined as no revisit with ongoing diarrhoea within 30 days from the date of first presentation). Informed from a directed acyclic graph, data on the following covariates were collected: age, breed, bodyweight, insurance status, comorbidities, vomiting, reduced appetite, haematochezia, pyrexia, duration, additional treatment prescription and veterinary group. Inverse probability of treatment weighting was used to balance covariates between the treatment groups for each of the two target trials. The risk difference (RD) of 0.4% (95% CI -4.5% to 5.3%) was non-significant for clinical resolution in dogs treated with antimicrobials compared with dogs not treated with antimicrobials. The risk difference (RD) of 0.3% (95% CI -4.5% to 5.0%) was non-significant for clinical resolution in dogs treated with gastrointestinal nutraceuticals compared with dogs not treated with gastrointestinal nutraceuticals. This study successfully applied the target trial framework to veterinary observational data. The findings show that antimicrobial or gastrointestinal prescription at first presentation of acute diarrhoea in dogs causes no difference in clinical resolution. The findings support the recommendation for veterinary professionals to limit antimicrobial use for acute diarrhoea in dogs
Measurements of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Scaling Relations for Clusters of Galaxies
We present new measurements of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect from
clusters of galaxies using the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Infrared Experiment (SuZIE
II). We combine these new measurements with previous cluster observations with
the SuZIE instrument to form a sample of 15 clusters of galaxies. For this
sample we calculate the central Comptonization, y, and the integrated SZ flux
decrement, S, for each of our clusters. We find that the integrated SZ flux is
a more robust observable derived from our measurements than the central
Comptonization due to inadequacies in the spatial modelling of the
intra-cluster gas with a standard Beta model. This is highlighted by comparing
our central Comptonization results with values calculated from measurements
using the BIMA and OVRO interferometers. On average, the SuZIE calculated
central Comptonizations are approximately 60% higher in the cooling flow
clusters than the interferometric values, compared to only approximately 12%
higher in the non-cooling flow clusters. We believe this discrepancy to be in
large part due to the spatial modelling of the intra-cluster gas. From our
cluster sample we construct y-T and S-T scaling relations. The y-T scaling
relation is inconsistent with what we would expect for self-similar clusters;
however this result is questionable because of the large systematic uncertainty
in the central Comptonization. The S-T scaling relation has a slope and
redshift evolution consistent with what we expect for self-similar clusters
with a characteristic density that scales with the mean density of the
universe. We rule out zero redshift evolution of the S-T relation at 90%
confidence.Comment: Accepted to Astrophysical Journal. 52 pages, 14 tables, 7 figures
;replaced to match ApJ accepted versio
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