A pedagogical proposal in an area of epistemological uncertainty

IV Projetar 2009: PROJETO COMO INVESTIGAÇÃO: ENSINO, PESQUISA E PRÁTICA FAU-UPM SÃO PAULO BRASIL, Outubro 2009In professional areas in which there is an element of design practice, such as architecture and urbanism, the academic model of knowledge has not been clearly articulated. This means that often the values held in professional practice run counter to the traditional models of knowledge and research that are adopted. As a result there is a problem in accounting for research in these areas in ways that will be recognised and valued by both communities. There is an ongoing debate about the best way of dealing with and reflecting these values that are, from the academic viewpoint, non-traditional. The debate has substantiated an emergent type of research that is specific to areas of design practice that is called ‘Practice-based Research’ (PbR). PbR claims that design practice has an instrumental role in research in areas such as design and urban planning. This role is different from the role of experimentation in traditional empirical research, and different from the role of practice in professional design practice. This paper describes the development and delivery of a research methods training course in the department of spatial planning and design (Stedenbouw) at the Technical University Delft (TU Delft, Netherlands) that builds on research by the ‘Non-traditional Knowledge and Communication’ project (NtKC) at the University of Hertfordshire (UK). The paper will analyse the way in which research and practice are problematized in the TU Delft course. We claim that the problem of PbR manifests the differences between the worldviews of academic research and professional practice, with their differing aims and values. As a result, training and expertise in the professional values of design practice is insufficient for academic research, leading to a need for specific training as a researcher that recognises these differences. This need has been accepted at an institutional level in many universities in Europe, and the TU Delft course represents one such training programme

Whose Job Is It Anyway? Preparing Arbitrators for Consumer Dispute Resolution Programs

[Excerpt] In many respects, we have entered into a golden era in the evolution and study of conflict resolution. One of the most obvious examples of this new era is the significant growth of conflict resolution programs in institutions of higher education. The purpose of this article is to examine the current state of university and law school conflict resolution programs. We then offer some conclusions and recommendations for addressing what we believe to be the critically important role academia can and should play in training arbitrators. Our review of academic programs suggests that the array of offerings has grown substantially and includes credit courses, clinics, degree programs, and certificates in conflict resolution. At our own institution, Cornell University, the response by our student body to opportunities for studying conflict resolution has overwhelmed our current capacity to meet their needs and interests

Weak Equivalence Principle Test on a Sounding Rocket

SR-POEM, our principle of equivalence measurement on a sounding rocket, will compare the free fall rate of two substances yielding an uncertainty of E-16 in the estimate of \eta. During the past two years, the design concept has matured and we have been working on the required technology, including a laser gauge that is self aligning and able to reach 0.1 pm per root hertz for periods up to 40 s. We describe the status and plans for this project.Comment: Presented at the Fifth Meeting on CPT and Lorentz Symmetry, Bloomington, Indiana, June 28-July 2, 201

Polarization Independent Unidirectional Scattering with Turnstile Nanoantennas

We study the scattering behavior of a dielectric cross-dipole nanoantenna in the near-infrared spectral range when it is excited by a circular polarized plane wave. We theoretically demonstrate, for optimized geometrical parameters of the proposed turnstile structure, the possibility to simultaneously obtain a unidirectional scattering and a specific circular polarization of the scattered field. Our results open new functionalities for metamaterials and optical nanoantennas

Enhancement of photoacoustic detection of inhomogeneities in polymers

We report a series of experiments on laser pulsed photoacoustic excitationin turbid polymer samples addressed to evaluate the sound speed in the samples and the presence of inhomogeneities in the bulk. We describe a system which allows the direct measurement of the speed of the detected waves by engraving the surface of the piece under study with a fiduciary pattern of black lines. We also describe how this pattern helps to enhance the sensitivity for the detection of an inhomogeneity in the bulk. These two facts are useful for studies in soft matter systems including, perhaps, biological samples. We have performed an experimental analysis on Grilon(R) samples in different situations and we show the limitations of the method.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

A phenomenological theory giving the full statistics of the position of fluctuating pulled fronts

We propose a phenomenological description for the effect of a weak noise on the position of a front described by the Fisher-Kolmogorov-Petrovsky-Piscounov equation or any other travelling wave equation in the same class. Our scenario is based on four hypotheses on the relevant mechanism for the diffusion of the front. Our parameter-free analytical predictions for the velocity of the front, its diffusion constant and higher cumulants of its position agree with numerical simulations.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

The Antarctic dry valley lakes: Relevance to Mars

The similarity of the early environments of Mars and Earth, and the biological evolution which occurred on early Earth, motivates exobiologists to seriously consider the possiblity of an early Martian biota. Environments are being identified which could contain Martian life and areas which may presently contain evidence of this former life. Sediments which were thought to be deposited in large ice-covered lakes are present on Mars. Such localities were identified within some of the canyons of the Valles Marineris and more recently in the ancient terrain in the Southern Hemisphere. Perennially ice-covered Antarctic lakes are being studied in order to develop quantitative models that relate environmental factors to the nature of the biological community and sediment forming processes. These models will be applied to the Martian paleolakes to establish the scientific rationale for the exobiological study of ancient Martian sediments

Kinematic and stellar population properties of the counter-rotating components in the S0 galaxy NGC 1366

Context. Many disk galaxies host two extended stellar components that rotate in opposite directions. The analysis of the stellar populations of the counter-rotating components provides constraints on the environmental and internal processes that drive their formation. Aims. The S0 NGC 1366 in the Fornax cluster is known to host a stellar component that is kinematically decoupled from the main body of the galaxy. Here we successfully separated the two counter-rotating stellar components to independently measure the kinematics and properties of their stellar populations. Methods. We performed a spectroscopic decomposition of the spectrum obtained along the galaxy major axis and separated the relative contribution of the two counter-rotating stellar components and of the ionized-gas component. We measured the line-strength indices of the two counter-rotating stellar components and modeled each of them with single stellar population models that account for the \u3b1/Fe overabundance. Results. We found that the counter-rotating stellar component is younger, has nearly the same metallicity, and is less \u3b1/Fe enhanced than the corotating component. Unlike most of the counter-rotating galaxies, the ionized gas detected in NGC 1366 is neither associated with the counter-rotating stellar component nor with the main galaxy body. On the contrary, it has a disordered distribution and a disturbed kinematics with multiple velocity components observed along the minor axis of the galaxy. Conclusions. The different properties of the counter-rotating stellar components and the kinematic peculiarities of the ionized gas suggest that NGC 1366 is at an intermediate stage of the acquisition process, building the counter-rotating components with some gas clouds still falling onto the galaxy. \ua9 ESO 2017