45,023 research outputs found
A case study of argumentation at undergraduate level in history
This article examines two essays by undergraduate students in the first year of study in History at a university in the UK. It also draws on documentary evidence from the department in question and interviews with the students themselves to paint a picture of the way argumentation operates at this level. While no firm conclusions can be drawn, the evidence suggests a department with a high degree of awareness of the importance of argument and argumentation in studying History; and students who are aware and articulate about the problem facing them in constructing essays in the discipline. Suggestions are made about induction into the epistemological and argumentative demands of undergraduate study
Mn valence instability in La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 thin films
A Mn valence instability on La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 thin films, grown on LaAlO3
(001)substrates is observed by x-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Mn L-edge
and O K-edge. As-grown samples, in situ annealed at 800 C in oxygen, exhibit a
Curie temperature well below that of the bulk material. Upon air exposure a
reduction of the saturation magnetization, MS, of the films is detected.
Simultaneously a Mn2+ spectral signature develops, in addition to the expected
Mn3+ and Mn4+ contributions, which increases with time. The similarity of the
spectral results obtained by total electron yield and fluorescence yield
spectroscopy indicates that the location of the Mn valence anomalies is not
confined to a narrow surface region of the film, but can extend throughout the
whole thickness of the sample. High temperature annealing at 1000 C in air,
immediately after growth, improves the magnetic and transport properties of
such films towards the bulk values and the Mn2+ signature in the spectra does
not appear. The Mn valence is then stable even to prolonged air exposure. We
propose a mechanism for the Mn2+ ions formation and discuss the importance of
these observations with respect to previous findings and production of thin
films devices.Comment: Double space, 21 pages, 6 figure
Different influences on lexical priming for integrative, thematic, and taxonomic relations.
Word pairs may be integrative (i.e., combination of two concepts into one meaningful entity; e.g., fruit-cake), thematically related (i.e., connected in time and place; e.g., party-cake), and/or taxonomically related (i.e., shared features and category co-members; e.g., muffin-cake). Using participant ratings and computational measures, we demonstrated distinct patterns across measures of similarity and co-occurrence, and familiarity for each relational construct in two different item sets. In a standard lexical decision task (LDT) with various delays between prime and target presentation (SOAs), target RTs and priming magnitudes were consistent across the three relations for both item sets. However, across the SOAs, there were distinct patterns among the three relations on some of the underlying measures influencing target word recognition (LSA, Google, and BEAGLE). These distinct patterns suggest different mechanisms of lexical priming and further demonstrate that integrative relations are distinct from thematic and taxonomic relations
Rotating Hele-Shaw cells with ferrofluids
We investigate the flow of two immiscible, viscous fluids in a rotating
Hele-Shaw cell, when one of the fluids is a ferrofluid and an external magnetic
field is applied. The interplay between centrifugal and magnetic forces in
determining the instability of the fluid-fluid interface is analyzed. The
linear stability analysis of the problem shows that a non-uniform, azimuthal
magnetic field, applied tangential to the cell, tends to stabilize the
interface. We verify that maximum growth rate selection of initial patterns is
influenced by the applied field, which tends to decrease the number of
interface ripples. We contrast these results with the situation in which a
uniform magnetic field is applied normally to the plane defined by the rotating
Hele-Shaw cell.Comment: 12 pages, 3 ps figures, RevTe
Far-infrared edge modes in quantum dots
We have investigated edge modes of different multipolarity sustained by
quantum dots submitted to external magnetic fields. We present a microscopic
description based on a variational solution of the equation of motion for any
axially symmetric confining potential and multipole mode. Numerical results for
dots with different number of electrons whose ground-state is described within
a local Current Density Functional Theory are discussed. Two sum rules, which
are exact within this theory, are derived. In the limit of a large neutral dot
at B=0, we have shown that the classical hydrodynamic dispersion law for edge
waves \omega(q) \sim \sqrt{q \ln (q_0/q)} holds when quantum and finite size
effects are taken into account.Comment: We have changed some figures as well as a part of the tex
Interface dynamics in Hele-Shaw flows with centrifugal forces. Preventing cusp singularities with rotation
A class of exact solutions of Hele-Shaw flows without surface tension in a
rotating cell is reported. We show that the interplay between injection and
rotation modifies drastically the scenario of formation of finite-time cusp
singularities. For a subclass of solutions, we show that, for any given initial
condition, there exists a critical rotation rate above which cusp formation is
prevented. We also find an exact sufficient condition to avoid cusps
simultaneously for all initial conditions. This condition admits a simple
interpretation related to the linear stability problem.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Far-infrared edge modes in quantum dots
We have investigated edge modes of different multipolarity sustained by
quantum dots submitted to external magnetic fields. We present a microscopic
description based on a variational solution of the equation of motion for any
axially symmetric confining potential and multipole mode. Numerical results for
dots with different number of electrons whose ground-state is described within
a local Current Density Functional Theory are discussed. Two sum rules, which
are exact within this theory, are derived. In the limit of a large neutral dot
at B=0, we have shown that the classical hydrodynamic dispersion law for edge
waves \omega(q) \sim \sqrt{q \ln (q_0/q)} holds when quantum and finite size
effects are taken into account.Comment: We have changed some figures as well as a part of the tex
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