Distance Education In European Higher Education - The Potential: UK Case Study

[About the project] Study 3 focuses on prospective distance education students – who are they, what do they look for, what are the barriers? For this purpose, the browsing and search behaviour on the Distance Learning Portal is analysed and five experts are asked to conduct a meta-analysis of existing research for five country cases. The term ‘better’ is used in the central research question (‘How can the distance education offer of European higher education institutions be better matched to the needs of adult learners? ’) to indicate that the project will look at both the demand and the offer side of distance education. The three studies, which are published as single online reports, are brought together in a final publication by the end of the year 2014

A Unitarity-Conserving Higgs Inflation Model

Scalar field models of inflation based on a large nonminimal coupling to gravity xi, in particular, Higgs inflation, may violate unitarity at an energy scale ~ M_p / xi << M_p. In this case the model is incomplete at energy scales relevant to inflation. Here we propose a new unitarity-conserving model of Higgs inflation. The completion of the theory is achieved via additional interactions which are proportional to products of the derivatives of the Higgs doublet. The resulting model differs from the original version of Higgs inflation in its prediction for the spectral index, with a classical value n = 0.974. In the case of a nonsupersymmetric model, quantum corrections are likely to strongly modify the tree-level potential, suggesting that supersymmetry or a gauge singlet scalar inflaton is necessary for a completely successful model.Comment: 5 pages, published versio

Designs efficiency for non-market valuation with choice modelling: how to measure it, what to report and why

We review the basic principles for the evaluation of design efficiency in discrete choice modelling with a focus on efficiency of WTP estimates from the multinomial logit model. The discussion is developed under the realistic assumption that researchers can plausibly define a prior on the utility coefficients. Some new measures of design performance in applied studies are proposed and their rationale discussed. An empirical example based on the generation and comparison of fifteen separate designs from a common set of assumptions illustrates the relevant considerations to the context of non-market valuation, with particular emphasis placed on C-efficiency. Conclusions are drawn for the practice of reporting in non-market valuation and for future work on design research

Effectiveness of a Rigid Grate for Excluding Pacific Halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis, From Groundfish Trawl Catches

A rigid grate was installed in a groundfish trawl to test its effectiveness in excluding Pacific halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis, from commercial flatfish catches in the Gulf of Alaska. The grate was located ahead of the trawl codend to direct halibut toward an escape opening while allowing target species to pass through toward the codend. In an experimental fishery, the escape rate of halibut was estimated at 94%, while 72% of the Dover sole, Microstomas pacificus, 67% of the rex sole, Glyptocephalus zachirus, and 79% of the flathead sole, Hippoglossoides elassodon, were retained

Two units for the teaching of Abe Lincoln in Illinois and Our Town

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

A study of policies governing the employment of part-time professional nurses in hospitals

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

A study of the correlation between reaction time, depth perception, visual span of apprehension, and a basketball skills test of high school male basketball players.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

The behavior of money and the economy in 1982-83

Monetary policy - United States ; Demand for money ; Money supply

The role of the reference alternative in the specification of asymmetric discrete choice models

Within the discrete choice modelling literature, there has been growing interest in including reference alternatives within stated choice survey tasks. Recent studies have investigated asymmetric utility specifications by estimating discrete choice models that include different parameters according to gains and losses relative to the values of the reference attributes. This paper analyses asymmetric discrete choice models by comparing specifications expressed as deviations from the reference point and specifications expressed in absolute values. The results suggest that the selection of the appropriate asymmetric model specification should be based on the type of the stated choice experiment.stated choice experiments, reference alternative, preference asymmetry, willingness to pay