A Groupoid Construction of Functional Integrals: Brownian Motion and Some TQFTs

We formalize Feynman's construction of the quantum mechanical path integral. To do this, we shift the emphasis in differential geometry from the tangent bundle onto the pair groupoid. This allows us to use the van Est map and the piecewise linear structure of manifolds to develop a coordinate-free, partition of unity-free approach to integration of differential forms, etc. This framework makes sense for any field theory valued in a Lie algebroid. We apply it to define the Wiener measure, stochastic integrals and other observables in a coordinate-free way. We use it to reconstruct Chern-Simons with finite gauge group and to obtain some non-perturbative deformation quantizations via the Poisson sigma model on a disk

Sales Forecasting in the Railroad Industry

C. L. Lackman is Professor of Economics at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro

A Groupoid Approach to the Riemann Integral (and Path Integral Quantization of the Poisson Sigma Model)

We use groupoids and the van Est map to define Riemann sums on compact manifolds (with boundary), in a coordinate-free way. These Riemann sums converge to the usual integral after taking a limit over all triangulations of the manifold. We show that the van Est map determines the n-jet of antisymmetric n-cochains. We discuss using this Riemann sum construction to put the Poisson sigma model on a lattice

Advanced Composites Status Review

I hope to give you very briefly this morning an overview of the composites technology. For some of you who are not too familiar with the technology, I am going to tell you what it consists of, what we are doing today in the technology, and where we think we are going tomorrow. I am going to end up with some comments on the role of NDI, which I think is going to be paramount in achieving our future goals. Although most of my talk will relate to laminated composite materials, obviously it is very generic to bonded joints. The bond plies are really bonded together by adhesive material, the resin. The filaments are bonded to the matrix material. We have many bonded joints, so many of the problems that I relate to also are generic to bonded materials in general, or two-phase materials

Clarence & Leah (Lackman) Jaeger Collection

Handwritten and printed recipes; greeting cards; family history information on the Jaeger, Birkmaier, and Jacober/Jakober familes; scrapbooks; a cookbook from St. Paul?s Icelandic Lutheran Church, 1926; and a book, "Niemals allein". The collection is in German and English and primarily dates from the 1920s to the 1950s.Handwritten and printed recipes; greeting cards; family history information on the Jaeger, Birkmaier, and Jacober/Jakober familes; scrapbooks; a cookbook from St. Paul?s Icelandic Lutheran Church, 1926; and a book, "Niemals allein". The collection is in German and English and primarily dates from the 1920s to the 1950s

Competitive Intelligence and Forecasting Systems: Strategic Marketing Planning Tool for SME\u27s

One of the drivers of both strategic planning and success in the marketplace is the role of competitive intelligence systems (CIS). CIS activity and its value to consumer/competitive intelligence are well established. In a survey of a broad cross section of firms, it was found that two thirds of the companies indicated a dramatic increase in level of activity and nearly three fifths (54%) said the impact of marketing intelligence systems (MI) contribute heavily to tactical and strategic decision making (Lackman, Lanasa, and Saban, 2000). Small and medium enterprises (SME’s) traditionally have neglected CIS partly because of the cost and the complexity. However, a low cost, less complex tool is operative in an SME as illustrated in this paper. An integral part of CIS is forecasting capability which needs to be built into a CIS in order to effectively serve strategic planning. This paper specifies the basic elements of a CIS and the forecasting modules required for the system’s effectiveness, including the external and internal modules of a basic CIS and the forecasting models needed to support each CIS module in an integrated format all feasible for an SM

An interactive interface for NCAR Graphics

The NCAR Graphics package has been a valuable research tool for over 20 years. As a low level Fortran library, however, it was difficult to use for nonprogramming researchers. With this grant and NSF support, an interactive interface has been created which greatly facilitates use of the package by researchers of diverse computer skill levels

Seed spitting and seed swallowing by wild orang-utans (pongo pygmaeus morion) in Sabah, Malaysia

Wild orang,utans (Pongo pygmaeus morio) studied at the “Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation project�, Sabah, Malaysia, are mainly frugivorous. They are regularly observed to swallow large seeds (length longer than five mm) from 37 different plant genera and to spit large seeds from 27 plant genera. For three of these genera, we compared the time to first germination, the germination success, the 50%, germination time and seedling mortality of seeds that were spat out, swallowed or left unprocessed by orang-utans. Our results show that mean time from planting to germination was shorter and seed germination rate was higher for seeds swallowed or spar than for seeds collected from the parent tree for two tee species (Dracontomelon dao and Koordensiodendron pinnatum, both species being part of the Anacardiaceae Family). For D .dao, germination success was better for seeds that were spat than swallowed, showing the potential importance of seed-cleaning and seed-spitting by orang-utans for certain tree species occurring within the natural orang-utan habitat