Experiencing Science, An Introduction to Real Methods of Science for the Preservice Teacher

The scientific method presented in the middle school classroom introduces the experimental approach of science in a way that may actually bear little resemblance to the processes actually used by working scientists. Teachers equipped with an insight into the motivations, philosophy, tools, and culture of science will better convey an accurate and positive picture of science as a critically important human endeavor. The Experiencing Science course was designed to answer the challenge of giving the pre-service teacher and decision-maker better insight into actual processes used by scientists, in the context of each of the major disciplines

Weakly nonlinear stability analysis of MHD channel flow using an efficient numerical approach

We analyze weakly nonlinear stability of a flow of viscous conducting liquid driven by pressure gradient in the channel between two parallel walls subject to a transverse magnetic field. Using a non-standard numerical approach, we compute the linear growth rate correction and the first Landau coefficient, which in a sufficiently strong magnetic field vary with the Hartmann number as $\mu_{1}\sim(0.814-\mathrm{i}19.8)\times10^{-3}\textit{Ha}$ and $\mu_{2}\sim(2.73-\mathrm{i}1.50)\times10^{-5}\textit{Ha}^{-4}$. These coefficients describe a subcritical transverse velocity perturbation with the equilibrium amplitude $|A|^{2}=\Re[\mu_{1}]/\Re[\mu_{2}](\textit{Re}_{c}-\textit{Re})\sim29.8\textit{Ha}^{5}(\textit{Re}_{c}-\textit{Re})$ which exists at Reynolds numbers below the linear stability threshold $\textit{Re}_{c}\sim 4.83\times10^{4}\textit{Ha}.$ We find that the flow remains subcritically unstable regardless of the magnetic field strength. Our method for computing Landau coefficients differs from the standard one by the application of the solvability condition to the discretized rather than continuous problem. This allows us to bypass both the solution of the adjoint problem and the subsequent evaluation of the integrals defining the inner products, which results in a significant simplification of the method.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, revised version (to appear in Phys Fluids

Stripping Down Sexual Scripts: A Sexual Analysis of Female-Authored Novels from Time\u27s 100 Must-Read Books of 2019

Most research on sexual content in the media has focused on visual media such as television and film, often overlooking novels. Likewise, research studies on sexual content have not studied the role of authorship. The pattern of accepted sexual scripts in novels, particularly those written by male authors, and the impact that these scripts have on the reader’s understanding of sexuality and sexual behaviors merits further research. This study analyzed sexual content in eight female-authored literary fiction novels from Time’s “100 Must-Read Novels of 2019.” Results found that fiction novels depict a plethora of sexual behaviors. Across the eight books, there were 642 instances of sexual behaviors, including sexual intercourse (15%), sexual affection (28%), verbal references (46%), and sexual ideation (11%). Of the 99 instances of sexual intercourse, 44% of initiation of intercourse was unknown, 15% was mutually initiated, 23% male-initiated, and 18% female-initiated

Excitable Patterns in Active Nematics

We analyze a model of mutually-propelled filaments suspended in a two-dimensional solvent. The system undergoes a mean-field isotropic-nematic transition for large enough filament concentrations and the nematic order parameter is allowed to vary in space and time. We show that the interplay between non-uniform nematic order, activity and flow results in spatially modulated relaxation oscillations, similar to those seen in excitable media. In this regime the dynamics consists of nearly stationary periods separated by "bursts" of activity in which the system is elastically distorted and solvent is pumped throughout. At even higher activity the dynamics becomes chaotic.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Mechanisms of kinetic trapping in self-assembly and phase transformation

In self-assembly processes, kinetic trapping effects often hinder the formation of thermodynamically stable ordered states. In a model of viral capsid assembly and in the phase transformation of a lattice gas, we show how simulations in a self-assembling steady state can be used to identify two distinct mechanisms of kinetic trapping. We argue that one of these mechanisms can be adequately captured by kinetic rate equations, while the other involves a breakdown of theories that rely on cluster size as a reaction coordinate. We discuss how these observations might be useful in designing and optimising self-assembly reactions

Risk aversion characteristics among PCA borrowers

Digitized 2007 AES MoU.Includes bibliographical references (page 13)

The Sentencing of White-Collar Criminals in Federal Courts: A Socio-Legal Exploration of Disparity

This Article addresses that question by examining judicial sentencing philosophy as applied to white-collar criminality and reporting data that illuminate the operation of that philosophy. Part I of the Article argues that the traditional purposes and limits of criminal sentencing may plausibly justify either disparate or comparable sentences in cases of white-collar and common criminality. Part II describes the obstacles to an accurate empirical inquiry into how judges resolve these uncertainties in the theory of punishment. Part III presents a study designed to overcome as many of these obstacles as possible. What is most dramatic is that the resulting data do not appear to support the oft-presumed hypothesis that judges impose lighter sentences on high-status individuals convicted of white-collar crimes than they impose on lower-status individuals convicted of common crimes.4 The data, however, suggest that a significantly increased emphasis on the prosecution of white-collar crimes may encourage sentencing disparities in favor of those convicted as a result. These findings form the Article\u27s conclusion and a foundation for further research