3,041 research outputs found
New initiatives in the development of customary land: group versus individual interests
In 2007, Papua New Guinea's National Research Institute published a report from the National Land Development Taskforce, Land Administration, Land Dispute Settlement, and Customary Land Development, which supported the current 'customary' system. This document was followed by the National Land Development Program Concept Design Document (National Land Development Program 2007). The PNG Cabinet endorsed the program outlined in this document and 28 million kina was committed for its implementation in the 2008 Budget. The program follows the concept of development through incorporated land groups, as introduced in the 1970s through the Incorporated Land Groups Act. This paper argues that land development in Papua New Guinea will continue to be marred by serious agency problems as long as the legal system fails to give definition to individual rights or interests in land
Mavo: Creating Interactive Data-Driven Web Applications by Authoring HTML
Many people can author static web pages with HTML and CSS but find it hard or impossible to program persistent, interactive web applications. We show that for a broad class of CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) applications, this gap can be bridged. Mavo extends the declarative syntax of HTML to describe Web applications that manage, store and transform data. Using Mavo, authors with basic HTML knowledge define complex data schemas implicitly as they design their HTML layout. They need only add a few attributes and expressions to their HTML elements to transform their static design into a persistent, data-driven web application whose data can be edited by direct manipulation of the content in the browser. We evaluated Mavo with 20 users who marked up static designs---some provided by us, some their own creation---to transform them into fully functional web applications. Even users with no programming experience were able to quickly craft Mavo applications
A Comparison of Spectroscopic versus Imaging Techniques for Detecting Close Companions to Kepler Objects of Interest
(Abbreviated) Kepler planet candidates require both spectroscopic and imaging
follow-up observations to rule out false positives and detect blended stars.
[...] In this paper, we examine a sample of 11 Kepler host stars with
companions detected by two techniques -- near-infrared adaptive optics and/or
optical speckle interferometry imaging, and a new spectroscopic deblending
method. We compare the companion Teff and flux ratios (F_B/F_A, where A is the
primary and B is the companion) derived from each technique, and find no cases
where both companion parameters agree within 1sigma errors. In 3/11 cases the
companion Teff values agree within 1sigma errors, and in 2/11 cases the
companion F_B/F_A values agree within 1sigma errors. Examining each Kepler
system individually considering multiple avenues (isochrone mapping, contrast
curves, probability of being bound), we suggest two cases for which the
techniques most likely agree in their companion detections (detect the same
companion star). Overall, our results support the advantage the spectroscopic
deblending technique has for finding very close-in companions (0.02-0.05") that are not easily detectable with imaging. However, we
also specifically show how high-contrast AO and speckle imaging observations
detect companions at larger separations (0.02-0.05") that are
missed by the spectroscopic technique, provide additional information for
characterizing the companion and its potential contamination (e.g., PA,
separation, m), and cover a wider range of primary star effective
temperatures. The investigation presented here illustrates the utility of
combining the two techniques to reveal higher-order multiples in known
planet-hosting systems.Comment: Accepted to AJ. 40 pages, 12 figure
Assessing the Effect of Stellar Companions from High-Resolution Imaging of Kepler Objects of Interest
We report on 176 close (<2") stellar companions detected with high-resolution
imaging near 170 hosts of Kepler Objects of Interest. These Kepler targets were
prioritized for imaging follow-up based on the presence of small planets, so
most of the KOIs in these systems (176 out of 204) have nominal radii <6 R_E .
Each KOI in our sample was observed in at least 2 filters with adaptive optics,
speckle imaging, lucky imaging, or HST. Multi-filter photometry provides color
information on the companions, allowing us to constrain their stellar
properties and assess the probability that the companions are physically bound.
We find that 60 -- 80% of companions within 1" are bound, and the bound
fraction is >90% for companions within 0.5"; the bound fraction decreases with
increasing angular separation. This picture is consistent with simulations of
the binary and background stellar populations in the Kepler field. We also
reassess the planet radii in these systems, converting the observed
differential magnitudes to a contamination in the Kepler bandpass and
calculating the planet radius correction factor, . Under the assumption that planets in bound binaries are equally
likely to orbit the primary or secondary, we find a mean radius correction
factor for planets in stellar multiples of . If stellar
multiplicity in the Kepler field is similar to the solar neighborhood, then
nearly half of all Kepler planets may have radii underestimated by an average
of 65%, unless vetted using high resolution imaging or spectroscopy.Comment: 23 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astronomical
Journa
Characterizing Episodic Memory Retrieval: Electrophysiological Evidence for Diminished Familiarity following Unitization
Episodic memory relies on both recollection and familiarity; why these processes are differentially engaged during retrieval remains unclear. Traditionally, recollection has been considered necessary for tasks requiring associative retrieval, whereas familiarity supports recognition of items. Recently, however, familiarity has been shown to contribute to associative recognition if stimuli are "unitized" at encoding (a single representation is created from multiple elements)-the "benefit" of unitization. Here, we ask if there is also a "cost" of unitization; are the elements of unitized representations less accessible via familiarity? We manipulated unitization during encoding and used ERPs to index familiarity and recollection at retrieval. The data revealed a selective reduction in the neural correlate of familiarity for individual words originally encoded in unitized compared with nonunitized word pairs. This finding reveals a measurable cost of unitization, suggesting that the nature of to-be-remembered stimuli is critical in determining whether familiarity contributes to episodic memory
Discovery of a White Dwarf Companion to HD 159062
We report on the discovery of a white dwarf companion to the nearby late G
dwarf star, HD 159062. The companion is detected in 14 years of precise radial
velocity (RV) data, and in high-resolution imaging observations. RVs of HD
159062 from 2003-2018 reveal an acceleration of ,
indicating that it hosts a companion with a long-period orbit. Subsequent
imaging observations with the ShaneAO system on the Lick Observatory 3-meter
Shane telescope, the PHARO AO system on the Palomar Observatory 5-meter
telescope, and the NIRC2 AO system at the Keck II 10-meter telescope reveal a
faint companion 2.7'' from the primary star. We performed relative photometry,
finding magnitudes,
magnitudes, and magnitudes for the companion from
these observations. Analysis of the radial velocities, astrometry, and
photometry reveals that the combined data set can only be reconciled for the
scenario where HD 159062 B is a white dwarf. A full Bayesian analysis of the RV
and imaging data to obtain the cooling age, mass, and orbital parameters of the
white dwarf indicates that the companion is an old white dwarf with an orbital period of years, and a cooling age of Gyr.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure
SImMER: A Pipeline for Reducing and Analyzing Images of Stars
We present the first public version of SImMER, an open-source Python
reduction pipeline for astronomical images of point sources. Current
capabilities include dark-subtraction, flat-fielding, sky-subtraction, image
registration, FWHM measurement, contrast curve calculation, and table and plot
generation. SImMER supports observations taken with the ShARCS camera on the
Shane 3-m telescope and the PHARO camera on the Hale 5.1-m telescope. The
modular nature of SImMER allows users to extend the pipeline to accommodate
additional instruments with relative ease. One of the core functions of the
pipeline is its image registration module, which is flexible enough to reduce
saturated images and images of similar-brightness, resolved stellar binaries.
Furthermore, SImMER can compute contrast curves for reduced images and produce
publication-ready plots. The code is developed online at
\url{https://github.com/arjunsavel/SImMER} and is both pip- and
conda-installable. We develop tutorials and documentation alongside the code
and host them online. With SImMER, we aim to provide a community resource for
accurate and reliable data reduction and analysis.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures. Accepted to PAS
The Sustained Effects of CBT Training on Therapist Competence and Patient Outcomes
The continued effectiveness of in-service psychological therapy training requires evaluation. This study assessed therapist competence and patient clinical outcome during cognitive behaviour therapy training and 12+ months post-training. Trainee competence was assessed using audio-recorded sessions rated on the Cognitive Therapy Scale Revised at the beginning (n = 33) and end of training (n = 45), and at least 12 months post-training (n = 45). Pre-to-posttreatment clinical outcome for trainees’ patients during the course (n = 360) and post-training (n = 360) was evaluated using standardised self-report measures. The relationship between therapist competence and patient outcomes was explored. Trainees achieved competence during training (100%, n = 45) and largely maintained competence post-training (84%, n = 38). Patients demonstrated pre-to-posttreatment effect sizes between 1.38 and 1.89 and reliable improvement exceeding 80% during and after training. Competence was not significantly associated with patient outcome. Trainees predominantly maintained competence and achieved good clinical outcomes post-training. Structured training and continued use of regular supervision possibly supported retention of competence
The Effects of Stellar Companions on the Observed Transiting Exoplanet Radius Distribution
Understanding the distribution and occurrence rate of small planets was a fundamental goal of the Kepler transiting exoplanet mission, and could be improved with K2 and Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Deriving accurate exoplanetary radii requires accurate measurements of the host star radii and the planetary transit depths, including accounting for any "third light" in the system due to nearby bound companions or background stars. High-resolution imaging of Kepler and K2 planet candidate hosts to detect very close (within ~0.”5) background or bound stellar companions has been crucial for both confirming the planetary nature of candidates, and the determination of accurate planetary radii and mean densities. Here we present an investigation of the effect of close companions, both detected and undetected, on the observed (raw count) exoplanet radius distribution. We demonstrate that the recently detected "gap" in the observed radius distribution (also seen in the completeness-corrected distribution) is fairly robust to undetected stellar companions, given that all of the systems in the sample have undergone some kind of vetting with high-resolution imaging. However, while the gap in the observed sample is not erased or shifted, it is partially filled in after accounting for possible undetected stellar companions. These findings have implications for the most likely core composition, and thus formation location, of super-Earth and sub-Neptune planets. Furthermore, we show that without high-resolution imaging of planet candidate host stars, the shape of the observed exoplanet radius distribution will be incorrectly inferred, for both Kepler- and TESS-detected systems
- …