A satellite system synthesis model for orbital arc allotment optimization

A mixed integer programming formulation of a satellite system synthesis problem if presented, which is referred to as the arc allotment problem (AAP). Each satellite administration is to be allotted a weighted-length segment of the geostationary orbital arc within which its satellites may be positioned at any longitudes. The objective function maximizes the length of the unweighted arc segment allotted to every administration, subject to single-entry co-channel interference restrictions and constraints imposed by the visible arc for each administration. Useful relationships between special cases of AAP and another satellite synthesis problem are established. Solutions to two example problems are presented

A follow-up study of the 1949 and 1950 graduates of Chandler School for Women, Boston, Massachusetts, and a survey of the employers of the Chandler graduates, with implications for curriculum revision.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universityb1466393

Pascal’s Wager: A Good Bet for Personal Evangelism

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), a French scientist and mathematician, argued that it is advantageous to believe in or to “bet on” God because the rewards for doing so are at least as great as the rewards for not believing in God, regardless of whether or not God exists. His decision theoretic argument is commonly referred to as Pascal’s Wager. It is unlikely that everyone has the same estimates of the rewards for believing in God or for not believing in God that Pascal had. Consequently, a series of five questions, based on Pascal’s Wager, is suggested here for personalizing Pascal’s Wager. Results from an informal survey consisting of the five recommended questions are presented and analyzed. Finally, it is argued that a person’s responses to the five questions may be used to diagnose the person’s spiritual condition and to identify an appropriate evangelism strateg

Pascal’s Wager: A Good Bet for Personal Evangelism

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), a French scientist and mathematician, argued that it is advantageous to believe in or to “bet on” God because the rewards for doing so are at least as great as the rewards for not believing in God, regardless of whether or not God exists. His decision theoretic argument is commonly referred to as Pascal’s Wager. It is unlikely that everyone has the same estimates of the rewards for believing in God or for not believing in God that Pascal had. Consequently, a series of five questions, based on Pascal’s Wager, is suggested here for personalizing Pascal’s Wager. Results from an informal survey consisting of the five recommended questions are presented and analyzed. Finally, it is argued that a person’s responses to the five questions may be used to diagnose the person’s spiritual condition and to identify an appropriate evangelism strateg

A Deaf Way of Education: Interaction Among Children in a Thai Boarding School

This is an ethnographic study of peer society in a boarding school for deaf children in the Kingdom of Thailand. The aim is to describe the students' after-hours interaction together and its function in their intellectual and social development. Deaf children tend to be institutionalized because they are unable to fully participate in the process of socialization conveyed by speech. Deafness is perceived as an inevitable loss to intellectual and social capacity. Considered to be uneducable in ordinary settings, they are sent to residential schools, which remain the predominant placement worldwide. The informal interaction among deaf students has largely been ignored or decried as impeding educational goals. Yet as their first opportunity for unhindered communication, the interaction among deaf students reveals their learning capacity and preferences. Aged six to nineteen years, the youth created educational activities to learn the sign language, in-group and societal norms, and worldly knowledge. They devised a complex social organization via a sign language that is little used or appreciated by teachers. They regulated their modes of interaction with each other according to relative skill in the sign language and mental acuity (a "social hierarchy of the mind"). This provided a pathway of gradually diversifying learning activities. The confinement to a given status group fostered teaching and learning among youth of similar skill levels ( and provided an example of Vygotsky's "zone of proximal development.") Student leadership was split into elders who wielded authority and those few youth who were skilled and creative masters of signs. These "signmasters" were generators of new ideas, storytellers and interpreters. This honored role was aspired to by youngsters, and the skills had been consciously passed down. At the same time there was pressure, by some students and teachers, to supplant creative activities with regimentation. The study recommends that educators examine the overall school environment to assure that there is a "normal" balance of activity that is similar to other children in the society, and to consider the value of deaf students' interactions and sign language as resources in the classroom

Using Markov Chain Simulation to Measure the Eternal Impact of Personal Evangelism,

All Christians have been commanded by Jesus Christ to share the Gospel message with unbelievers so that they too may be saved. However, few Christians regularly share the Gospel with non-Christians, and there are eternal consequences to this disobedience for everyone. A Markov chain model is proposed for estimating over time the proportions of persons who are saved and receive eternal life in heaven and who are condemned to hell. An evaluation and an analysis of the model are presented. Simulation results for the model indicate that a moderate increase in present personal evangelism efforts will result in only modestly more salvations over time. Therefore, substantially more intense evangelism efforts must be undertaken and sustained to make a significant difference in the number of souls that are ultimately saved. Sadly, some persons will choose never to be saved, regardless of how many and how often Christians share the Gospel

Mechanisms for Anaesthetic Mediated Changes in Drug Disposition

Anaesthesia may alter acutely the disposition of drugs in the body. This may be produced by changes in hepatic blood flow, by changes in hepatic drug-metabolising enzyme activity or by changes in the distribution of the drug in the body. The known effect of anaesthesia on these determinants is described. The control of and factors affecting hepatic blood flow are discussed, as are the methods of measuring it. Hepatic drug metabolising enzymes are described. Their activity, mathematical models,methods of assessment and factors altering activity are discussed

Using Markov Chain Simulation to Measure the Eternal Impact of Personal Evangelism,

All Christians have been commanded by Jesus Christ to share the Gospel message with unbelievers so that they too may be saved. However, few Christians regularly share the Gospel with non-Christians, and there are eternal consequences to this disobedience for everyone. A Markov chain model is proposed for estimating over time the proportions of persons who are saved and receive eternal life in heaven and who are condemned to hell. An evaluation and an analysis of the model are presented. Simulation results for the model indicate that a moderate increase in present personal evangelism efforts will result in only modestly more salvations over time. Therefore, substantially more intense evangelism efforts must be undertaken and sustained to make a significant difference in the number of souls that are ultimately saved. Sadly, some persons will choose never to be saved, regardless of how many and how often Christians share the Gospel

Engineering calculations for communications satellite systems planning

A procedure is described that was used to calculate minimum required satellite separations based on total link carrier to interference requirements. Also summarized are recent results with a switching algorithm for satellite synthesis problems. Analytic solution value bounds for two of the satellite synthesis models studied are described. Preliminary results from an empirical study of alternate mixed integer programming models for satellite synthesis are presented. Research plans for the near future are discussed

Nature-Based and Cultural-Heritage Tourism in Piscataquis County Community Forums Summary

From April to July 2004, researchers conducted surveys of residents and business owners in Piscataquis County to assess local attitudes toward nature-based and cultural-heritage tourism. Following this process, UMaine researchers convened three public forums to share the results of the surveys with residents, and to elicit further dialogue on the topic. This report provides a summary of the respondents’ comments and viewpoints