2,037 research outputs found
A comparative analysis of leadership skills development in Marine Corps training and education programs
This thesis analyzes the perceptions of a non-random sample of 210 officers and enlisted Marines in two locations. A researcher-developed survey and semi-structured interviews were administered to ascertain opinions of Marines concerning leadership development. An analysis of the content of leadership training and education courses was also conducted. This information was compared to contemporary leadership theory and relevant models of leadership. In general, leadership development provided is adequate, but is lacking in some areas of skill development, application of skills and values, and relevancy to contemporary leadership issues. Professional Military Education (PME) ge nerally provides relevant leadership training and education to enlisted personnel, but falls short of meeting the expectations of many officers.http://archive.org/details/acomparativenaly109453482Major, United States Marine CorpsCaptain, United States Marine CorpsApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited
Ranking Spaces for Predicting Human Movement in an Urban Environment
A city can be topologically represented as a connectivity graph, consisting
of nodes representing individual spaces and links if the corresponding spaces
are intersected. It turns out in the space syntax literature that some defined
topological metrics can capture human movement rates in individual spaces. In
other words, the topological metrics are significantly correlated to human
movement rates, and individual spaces can be ranked by the metrics for
predicting human movement. However, this correlation has never been well
justified. In this paper, we study the same issue by applying the weighted
PageRank algorithm to the connectivity graph or space-space topology for
ranking the individual spaces, and find surprisingly that (1) the PageRank
scores are better correlated to human movement rates than the space syntax
metrics, and (2) the underlying space-space topology demonstrates small world
and scale free properties. The findings provide a novel justification as to why
space syntax, or topological analysis in general, can be used to predict human
movement. We further conjecture that this kind of analysis is no more than
predicting a drunkard's walking on a small world and scale free network.
Keywords: Space syntax, topological analysis of networks, small world, scale
free, human movement, and PageRankComment: 11 pages, 5 figures, and 2 tables, English corrections from version 1
to version 2, major changes in the section of introduction from version 2 to
HerMES: A Statistical Measurement of the Redshift Distribution of Herschel-SPIRE Sources Using the Cross-correlation Technique
The wide-area imaging surveys with the Herschel Space Observatory at submillimeter (sub-mm) wavelengths have now resulted in catalogs of the order of one-hundred-thousand dusty, starburst galaxies. These galaxies capture an important phase of galaxy formation and evolution, but, unfortunately, the redshift distribution of these galaxies, N(z), is still mostly uncertain due to limitations associated with counterpart identification at optical wavelengths and spectroscopic follow-up. We make a statistical estimate of N(z) using a clustering analysis of sub-mm galaxies detected at each of 250, 350 and 500 μm from the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey centered on the Boötes field. We cross-correlate Herschel galaxies against galaxy samples at optical and near-IR wavelengths from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the NOAO Deep Wide Field Survey, and the Spitzer Deep Wide Field Survey. We create optical and near-IR galaxy samples based on their photometric or spectroscopic redshift distributions and test the accuracy of those redshift distributions with similar galaxy samples defined with catalogs from the Cosmological Evolution Survey (COSMOS), which has superior spectroscopic coverage. We model the clustering auto- and cross-correlations of Herschel and optical/IR galaxy samples to estimate N(z) and clustering bias factors. The S_(350) > 20 mJy galaxies have a bias factor varying with redshift as b(z) = 1.0^(+1.0)_(–0.5)(1 + z)^1.2^(+0.3)_(–0.7). This bias and the redshift dependence is broadly in agreement with galaxies that occupy dark matter halos of mass in the range of 1012 to 10^(13) M_☉. We find that galaxy selections in all three Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) bands share a similar average redshift, with = 1.8 ± 0.2 for 250 μm selected samples, and = 1.9 ± 0.2 for both 350 and 500 μm samples, while their distributions behave differently. For 250 μm selected galaxies we find the a larger number of sources with z ≤ 1 when compared with the subsequent two SPIRE bands, with 350 and 500 μm selected SPIRE samples having peaks in N(z) at progressively higher redshifts. We compare our clustering-based N(z) results to sub-mm galaxy model predictions in the literature, and with an estimate of N(z) using a stacking analysis of COSMOS 24 μm detections
A Large Catalog of Homogeneous Ultra-Violet/Optical GRB Afterglows: Temporal and Spectral Evolution
We present the second Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) gamma-ray
burst (GRB) afterglow catalog, greatly expanding on the first Swift UVOT GRB
afterglow catalog. The second catalog is constructed from a database containing
over 120,000 independent UVOT observations of 538 GRBs first detected by Swift,
the High Energy Transient Explorer 2 (HETE2), the INTErnational Gamma-Ray
Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL), the Interplanetary Network (IPN), Fermi,
and Astro-rivelatore Gamma a Immagini Leggero (AGILE). The catalog covers GRBs
discovered from 2005 Jan 17 to 2010 Dec 25. Using photometric information in
three UV bands, three optical bands, and a `white' or open filter, the data are
optimally co-added to maximize the number of detections and normalized to one
band to provide a detailed light curve. The catalog provides positional,
temporal, and photometric information for each burst, as well as Swift Burst
Alert Telescope (BAT) and X-Ray Telescope (XRT) GRB parameters. Temporal slopes
are provided for each UVOT filter. The temporal slope per filter of almost half
the GRBs are fit with a single power-law, but one to three breaks are required
in the remaining bursts. Morphological comparisons with the X-ray reveal that
approximately 75% of the UVOT light curves are similar to one of the four
morphologies identified by Evans et al. (2009). The remaining approximately 25%
have a newly identified morphology. For many bursts, redshift and extinction
corrected UV/optical spectral slopes are also provided at 2000, 20,000, and
200,000 seconds.Comment: 44 pages, 14 figures, to be published in Astrophysical Journal
Supplementa
The XMM-Newton serendipitous survey. VII. The third XMM-Newton serendipitous source catalogue
Thanks to the large collecting area (3 x ~1500 cm at 1.5 keV) and wide
field of view (30' across in full field mode) of the X-ray cameras on board the
European Space Agency X-ray observatory XMM-Newton, each individual pointing
can result in the detection of hundreds of X-ray sources, most of which are
newly discovered. Recently, many improvements in the XMM-Newton data reduction
algorithms have been made. These include enhanced source characterisation and
reduced spurious source detections, refined astrometric precision, greater net
sensitivity and the extraction of spectra and time series for fainter sources,
with better signal-to-noise. Further, almost 50\% more observations are in the
public domain compared to 2XMMi-DR3, allowing the XMM-Newton Survey Science
Centre (XMM-SSC) to produce a much larger and better quality X-ray source
catalogue. The XMM-SSC has developed a pipeline to reduce the XMM-Newton data
automatically and using improved calibration a new catalogue version has been
produced from XMM-Newton data made public by 2013 Dec. 31 (13 years of data).
Manual screening ensures the highest data quality. This catalogue is known as
3XMM. In the latest release, 3XMM-DR5, there are 565962 X-ray detections
comprising 396910 unique X-ray sources. For the 133000 brightest sources,
spectra and lightcurves are provided. For all detections, the positions on the
sky, a measure of the quality of the detection, and an evaluation of the X-ray
variability is provided, along with the fluxes and count rates in 7 X-ray
energy bands, the total 0.2-12 keV band counts, and four hardness ratios. To
identify the detections, a cross correlation with 228 catalogues is also
provided for each X-ray detection. 3XMM-DR5 is the largest X-ray source
catalogue ever produced. Thanks to the large array of data products, it is an
excellent resource in which to find new and extreme objects.Comment: 23 pages, version accepted for publication in A&
5-Androstene-3β,7β,17β-triol (β-AET) Slows Thermal Injury Induced Osteopenia in Mice: Relation to Aging and Osteoporosis
5-androstene-3β,7β,17β-triol (β-AET), an active metabolite of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), reversed glucocorticoid (GC)-induced suppression of IL-6, IL-8 and osteoprotegerin production by human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells and promoted osteoblast differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). In a murine thermal injury model that includes glucocorticoid-induced osteopenia, β-AET significantly (p<0.05) preserved bone mineral content, restored whole body bone mineral content and endochondral growth, suggesting reversal of GC-mediated decreases in chondrocyte proliferation, maturation and osteogenesis in the growth plate. In men and women, levels of β-AET decline with age, consistent with a role for β-AET relevant to diseases associated with aging. β-AET, related compounds or synthetic derivatives may be part of effective therapeutic strategies to accelerate tissue regeneration and prevent or treat diseases associated with aging such as osteoporosis
Panchromatic spectral energy distributions of Herschel sources
(abridged) Far-infrared Herschel photometry from the PEP and HerMES programs
is combined with ancillary datasets in the GOODS-N, GOODS-S, and COSMOS fields.
Based on this rich dataset, we reproduce the restframe UV to FIR ten-colors
distribution of galaxies using a superposition of multi-variate Gaussian modes.
The median SED of each mode is then fitted with a modified version of the
MAGPHYS code that combines stellar light, emission from dust heated by stars
and a possible warm dust contribution heated by an AGN. The defined Gaussian
grouping is also used to identify rare sources. The zoology of outliers
includes Herschel-detected ellipticals, very blue z~1 Ly-break galaxies,
quiescent spirals, and torus-dominated AGN with star formation. Out of these
groups and outliers, a new template library is assembled, consisting of 32 SEDs
describing the intrinsic scatter in the restframe UV-to-submm colors of
infrared galaxies. This library is tested against L(IR) estimates with and
without Herschel data included, and compared to eight other popular methods
often adopted in the literature. When implementing Herschel photometry, these
approaches produce L(IR) values consistent with each other within a median
absolute deviation of 10-20%, the scatter being dominated more by fine tuning
of the codes, rather than by the choice of SED templates. Finally, the library
is used to classify 24 micron detected sources in PEP GOODS fields. AGN appear
to be distributed in the stellar mass (M*) vs. star formation rate (SFR) space
along with all other galaxies, regardless of the amount of infrared luminosity
they are powering, with the tendency to lie on the high SFR side of the "main
sequence". The incidence of warmer star-forming sources grows for objects with
higher specific star formation rates (sSFR), and they tend to populate the
"off-sequence" region of the M*-SFR-z space.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. Some figures are presented in low
resolution. The new galaxy templates are available for download at the
address http://www.mpe.mpg.de/ir/Research/PEP/uvfir_temp
High Energy Colliders as Black Hole Factories: The End of Short Distance Physics
If the fundamental Planck scale is of order a TeV, as the case in some
extra-dimensions scenarios, future hadron colliders such as the Large Hadron
Collider will be black hole factories. The non-perturbative process of black
hole formation and decay by Hawking evaporation gives rise to spectacular
events with up to many dozens of relatively hard jets and leptons, with a
characteristic ratio of hadronic to leptonic activity of roughly 5:1. The total
transverse energy of such events is typically a sizeable fraction of the beam
energy. Perturbative hard scattering processes at energies well above the
Planck scale are cloaked behind a horizon, thus limiting the ability to probe
short distances. The high energy black hole cross section grows with energy at
a rate determined by the dimensionality and geometry of the extra dimensions.
This dependence therefore probes the extra dimensions at distances larger than
the Planck scale.Comment: Latex, 28 pages. v4: minor changes, largely to agree with published
version; appendix added comparing convention
HerMES: Current Cosmic Infrared Background Estimates Can be Explained by Known Galaxies and their Faint Companions at z < 4
We report contributions to cosmic infrared background (CIB) intensities
originating from known galaxies and their faint companions at submillimeter
wavelengths. Using the publicly-available UltraVISTA catalog, and maps at 250,
350, and 500 {\mu}m from the \emph{Herschel} Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey
(HerMES), we perform a novel measurement that exploits the fact that
uncatalogued sources may bias stacked flux densities --- particularly if the
resolution of the image is poor --- and intentionally smooth the images before
stacking and summing intensities. By smoothing the maps we are capturing the
contribution of faint (undetected in K_S ~ 23.4) sources that are physically
associated, or correlated, with the detected sources. We find that the
cumulative CIB increases with increased smoothing, reaching 9.82 +- 0.78, 5.77
+- 0.43, and 2.32 +- 0.19 at 250, 350, and 500 {\mu}m
at 300 arcsec FWHM. This corresponds to a fraction of the fiducial CIB of 0.94
+- 0.23, 1.07 +- 0.31, and 0.97 +- 0.26 at 250, 350, and 500 {\mu}m, where the
uncertainties are dominated by those of the absolute CIB. We then propose, with
a simple model combining parametric descriptions for stacked flux densities and
stellar mass functions, that emission from galaxies with log(M/Msun) > 8.5 can
account for the most of the measured total intensities, and argue against
contributions from extended, diffuse emission. Finally, we discuss prospects
for future survey instruments to improve the estimates of the absolute CIB
levels, and observe any potentially remaining emission at z > 4.Comment: Accepted to ApJL. 6 Pages, 3 figure
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