Global Warming: Why is There Debate?

Previous studies have produced conflicting results for the determining factors of acceptance or rejection of the science behind the global warming phenomenon; some cite religion as a hindrance to the acceptance of this scientific theory [Kilburn 2008], some conclude lack of education is the driving force [Brechin 2003], and some deduce that party affiliation plays the most significant role in determining belief in global warming. In this study, the National Election Survey of 2012 dataset, consisting of 5,916 individual data points from the United States of America, is analyzed to determine the effects of party affiliation on one’s belief in global warming, along with variables for education, religion, and age. The study was conducted using a logit model. The results conclude that religiosity and democratic affiliation had a significantly positive effect on one’s belief in global warming, while education had a significantly negative effect (p\u3c0.01). Age did not have a significant effect. These unexpected results are worth continued consideration, with the inclusion of research into the characteristics of those labeled democrats versus republicans in this dataset, as these distinctions could point to a shift in the generally accepted definitions of the political parties

Exploring the feasibility of international collaboration and relationship building through a virtual partnership scheme

International collaboration is an under-studied component of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). This study sheds light on the process of international collaboration by illustrating an exploratory approach to the process of forming and maintaining collaborative partnerships. Participants in this study were put into pairs (each one comprised of one individual from the University of Glasgow and another from the University of Wisconsin System) and asked to participate in email correspondence over the course of one year. The text of participants’ emails was pooled and analyzed through a general inductive approach using NVivo software. The study, though small in nature, helps to illustrate and further understand international collaborative relationships. We offer suggestions for future international collaborations and discuss the implications of emphasizing such partnerships within SoTL

Curating Architectural 3D CAD Models

Increasing demand to manage and preserve 3-dimensional models for a variety of physical phenomena (e.g., building and engineering designs, computer games, or scientific visualizations) is creating new challenges for digital archives. Preserving 3D models requires identifying technical formats for the models that can be maintained over time, and the available formats offer different advantages and disadvantages depending on the intended future uses of the models. Additionally, the metadata required to manage 3D models is not yet standardized, and getting intellectual proposal rights for digital models is uncharted territory. The FACADE Project at MIT is investigating these challenges in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry and has developed recommendations and systems to support digital archives in dealing with digital 3D models and related data. These results can also be generalized to other domains doing 3D modeling.U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Service

DSpace : An Institutional Repository from the MIT Libraries and Hewlett Packard Laboratories

The DSpace⢠project of the MIT Libraries and the Hewlett Packard Laboratories has built an institutional repository system for digital research material. This paper will describe the rationale for institutional repositories, the DSpace system, and its implementation at MIT. Also described are the plans for making DSpace open source in an effort to provide a useful test bed and a platform for future research in the areas of open scholarly communication and the long-term preservation of fragile digital research material

Multiple Dalitz Plot Analysis At Cleo-C

Dalitz Plot analysis is a standard technique for the study of weak hadronic 3-body decays. This technique allows us to extract the relative amplitudes, phases, and fit fractions of the resonances that are the primary product of such decays. A Dalitz analysis is complicated by the presence of two or more interfering resonances that appear at the same place on the plot. In this analysis I attempt to resolve the $K^{0}_{s} a_{0}(980)^{0}$ and $K^{0}_{s} f_{0}(980)$ in the decay of $D^{0} \to K^{0}_{s} K^{+} K^{-}$. Using the $K^{0}_{s} a_{0}(980)^{0}$ resonance found in $D^{0} \to K^{0}_{s} \pi^{0} \eta$, I compare equating a resonance in an interfering decay channel with a non--interfering channel by fit fraction or amplitude. I use the 818 $pb^{-1}$ of CLEO-c data collected a $\psi(3770)$ energies to perform the Dalitz plot analysis of $D^{0} \to K^{0}_{s} \pi^{0} \eta$ and $D^{0} \to K^{0}_{s} K^{+} K^{-}$. I find large fractions from both $K^{0}_{s} a_{0}(980)^{0}$ and $K^{0}_{s} f_{0}(980)$ that destructively interfere to leave the $K^{0}_{s} \phi(1020)$ as the dominant resonance on the plot

Bringing Research Data into the Library: MIT\u27s Experience

Presentation to science librarians about MIT\u27s approach to providing data management and data curation services for the campus

Cracking the Enigma

This paper will examine the mathematics used to decode the Enigma machine. The enigma was a machine that was used by the Germans to send secure, encrypted messages amongst each other during World War II. This paper will discuss the workings of the machine and how it was continually adapted to increase security. Polish mathematicians, in particular Marian Rejewski applied theories of permutations of disjoint cycles in order to crack the enigma cipher. The work done by Rejewski and his colleagues was used by the British at Bletchley Park in order to continue breaking ciphers throughout the war. Being able to read the message sent amongst the German military played a significant role in insuring Ally victory in World War II

A Sharpened Lens

Mackenzie Evan Smith, recent graduate at JCCC, describes time spent living in Morocco