The Science of Galaxy Formation

Our knowledge of the Universe remains discovery-led: in the absence of adequate physics-based theory, interpretation of new results requires a scientific methodology. Commonly, scientific progress in astrophysics is motivated by the empirical success of the "Copernican Principle", that the simplest and most objective analysis of observation leads to progress. A complementary approach tests the prediction of models against observation. In practise, astrophysics has few real theories, and has little control over what we can observe. Compromise is unavoidable. Advances in understanding complex non-linear situations, such as galaxy formation, require that models attempt to isolate key physical properties, rather than trying to reproduce complexity. A specific example is discussed, where substantial progress in fundamental physics could be made with an ambitious approach to modelling: simulating the spectrum of perturbations on small scales.Comment: paper at IAU256, The Galaxy Disk in Cosmological Context, Copenhagen, 2008 eds J. Andersen, J. Bland-Hawthorn & B. Nordstro

Overcoming the barriers of distance: using mobile technology to facilitate moderation and best practice in initial teacher training

This case study describes the development process of a model using readily-available technology to facilitate collaboration, moderation and the dissemination of best practice in initial teacher training in the UK. Students, mentors, tutors and external examiners from a number of educational institutions in a UK, higher education-led Lifelong Learning Sector partnership (LLS) participated. The study explored the extent to which using group video-conferencing software and tablet computing had the potential to model best practice in giving feedback to students, in the setting of targets and in the joint observations of mentors and tutors based in separate institutions. A further area of investigation was the impact of the technology on the observation and moderation of teaching practice by external examiners. The study found that participants could identify a wide range of advantages of using the technology and also some disadvantages. The impact of the study was measured qualitatively via the students’ professional development record (PDR). The challenges involved in undertaking a multi-site study requiring Wi-Fi connectivity and involving participants from several institutions are described. The introduction of key information sets (KISs) related to employability creates an urgent need for HEIs to develop measures which enhance the employment prospects of all students

Music and communication: a study of young children's original melodies

Music and Communication: a study of young\ud children's original melodies".\ud Edward Wilaiam Leggatt, 1979.\ud Earlier research (LEGGATT 1974) suggested that young\ud children can communicate moods through original melodies.\ud The present research examines the discriminating effect on\ud mood communication of the components pitch, rhythm and\ud speed. Age, sex, aural disembedding, perception, personality\ud and ambiguity were considered.\ud The hypotheses adopted were:\ud 1. (i). Junior children can communicate through\ud perceived moods in original melodies.\ud (ii). This communication is made by virtue of one\ud or more components.\ud 2. Communication is dependent on Personality.\ud 3. Communication is dependent on the ability\ud to disembed.\ud 4. Children like ambiguous tunes more than they\ud like unambiguous tunes.\ud Five moods identified as "Angryj comical, dreamy,\ud frightened and sad" were chosen. The experimental method\ud required each composer to produce, in random order on\ud different days, five melodies each evocative of a stated\ud mood. Each tune was recorded on magnetic tape so that\ud listeners could have identical renditions. Each tune was\ud then modified by subtracting successively pitch and rhythm.\ud A third modification was altered speed. Tunes were\ud assessed again for mood categorization; a sample was also\ud assessed for preference of ambiguity or unambiguity.\ud The results after computer and manual analvsis sugyýest:\ud 1. Removal of a musical component alters original\ud mood perception and may cause clustering of mood\ud perceptions.\ud 2. There is a connection between type of musical\ud component perceived and mood.\ud 3. Children's preference for ambiguous or unambiguous\ud tunes is influenced by perceived mood of\ud tune. .1\ud 4. Sex, age, personality and aural disembedding\ud ability do not significantly affect categorizations\ud of original or modified tunes.\ud The PP,, neral im-plications are;\ud In children's own tunes, perceived mood varies as\ud components perceived.\ud 2, The effect of certain components on mood perception\ud may be more readily discernible than others.\ud 3-, It is likely that a consensus exists amongst\ud children regarding the embodiment of tunes.\ud 4. Young children seem to sense bonding characteristics\ud between certain moods embodied in tunes

The theory and practice of jute spinning : being a complete descriptionn of the machines used in the preparation and spinning of jute yarns...

Al final del llibre anuncis industrialsTaques d'òxi

MEAN-VARIANCE OPTIMIZATION AND PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION: A SHORT TERM TRADING STRATEGY

Mean-variance optimization, in theory a very powerful and intuitive tool, has failed to provide meaningful solutions in practical settings, and indeed, in theoretical settings in much past research. Whereas inaccurate statistical estimates for inputs provide even more erroneous outputs, the modeling errors determine outputs that are nothing short of extreme. In this study, we employ two different models based on the mean-variance framework, with one portfolio seeking the highest return given a risk target while the other portfolio seeks the lowest risk given a desired level of return. In unconstrained form, our results confirm to be acutely departed from past experience in this subject matter and contrary to the known literature on modeling errors, our portfolios remain solvent. In constrained form, our portfolios outperform the benchmark and market portfolios while maintaining at least some diversification; in unconstrained form, our portfolios provide surprisingly high absolute and risk adjusted returns with betas less than the benchmark and market portfolios

The development and assessment of behavioural markers to support counter-IED training

This article describes the method used to develop and test a checklist of behavioural markers designed to support UK military forces during Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) training. IEDs represent a significant threat to UK and allied forces. Effective C-IED procedures and techniques are central to reducing risk to life in this safety critical role. Behavioural markers have been developed to characterise and assess non-technical skills which have been shown to be important in maintaining high performance in other safety critical domains. The aims of this study were two-fold. Firstly to develop a method which could be used to capture and assess operationally relevant behavioural markers for use in C-IED training relating primarily to non-technical skills. Secondly, to test the user acceptance of the behavioural marker checklist during military training activities. Through engagement with military subject matter experts, operationally relevant and observable behaviours seen in C-IED training have been identified and their links to stronger and weaker performance have been established. Using a card-sort technique, the content validity of each of the markers was assessed in addition to their detectability in an operational context. Following this assessment, a selection of the most operationally relevant and detectable behaviours were assimilated into a checklist and this checklist was tested in C-IED training activities. The results of the study show that the method used was effective in generating and assessing the behavioural markers using military subject matter experts. The study also broadly supports the utility and user-acceptance of the use of behavioural markers during training activities. The checklist developed using this methodology will provide those responsible for delivering instruction in C-IED techniques and procedures with a straightforward process for identifying good and poor performance with respect to non-technical skills. In addition it will provide a basis for the provision of focussed feedback to trainees during debrief

‘Another World Just out of Sight’: Remembering or Imagining Utopia in Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven

At the heart of Station Eleven lies a tension between remembering and imagining. Whereas most post-apocalyptic texts value their contemporary society by generating a sense of ‘nostalgia’ for the present, St. John Mandel’s novel places its emphasis on the imaginary and utopian possibilities that could accompany disaster. In the novel, a host of now useless objects become aesthetic links to the past, reminders collected by Clark in the Museum of Civilization; the Travelling Symphony’s productions of Shakespeare plays act as a way of remembering; and the patriarchal violence enacted by the Prophet offers an unpleasant re-enactment of the religious fanaticism that has punctuated history. But, whereas the objects and beliefs of the past provide a constant draw back into a nostalgic appreciation for a life that can never be recaptured, it is Miranda’s self-published comic book, Dr. Eleven, that suggests the importance and primacy of imagination over remembrance in the wastelands of the future. Just as the comic offers Miranda an escape from the domination of the male figures in her life – first boyfriend Pablo, then actor-husband Arthur Leander – before the Georgia Flu pandemic, the comic’s survival in the aftermath is what gives the novel its hopeful aspect. This article explores the way in which Station Eleven offers hope not through a rekindling of an exhausted past, but in a new imagined future in which the traditional lines and boundaries of relationships, ideals, identity, and community can be redrawn in ‘another world just out of sight’ (Mandel, 2015: 333)

Withering the citizen, managing the consumer: complaints in healthcare settings

This paper considers concepts of citizenship and consumerism in light of complaints about healthcare, which have risen since the early1990s, due to a greater willingness by the healthcare user to complain, and also the reforms in complaint systems. The narrow legal model for dealing with complaints has been replaced by a managerial model based on corporate sector practice that views complaint handling as a way of retaining customers and organisational learning. The managerial model has proved difficult to embed into the English NHS and has been superposed with a centralised regulatory system that aims to manage performance while also being responsible for reviewing, complaints and being responsive to complainants. It is argued that this may have positive consequences in terms of improving healthcare quality but more negatively, the promotion of consumerism within complaints processes has led to a loss of the right to due process and public accountability