Manpower information

A description of the NAL nominal roll database (listing basic information about NAL employees) created using the Ingres relational database software. Using this database it is possible to provide a wide variety of reports about NAL staff, respond to a wide assortment of queries and undertake elementary statistical analysis to tabulate (and pictorially depict) the average age of NAL scientists, the future retirement pattern of NAL employees etc

Effect of Red to Far-red ratio on assimilation, growth, and morphology of two cucumber cultivars (Cucumis sativus cv. Hi Light and Imea)

The effect of different red to far-red (R:FR) ratios were studied on two cucumber cultivars; 'Hi Light' and 'Imea'. Observations were done on photosynthetic efficiency, morphological characteristics, growth and carbohydrate accumulation in leaves and fruits of both cultivars after light treatment with different R:FR ratios for approx. 30 days. This study found an increase in net assimilation with addition of FR resulting increase in the growth of plants, dry matter accumulation, and accumulation of soluble sugars and starch in both cultivars despite decrease in chlorophyll pigments

Variable structure and singular perturbation control of elastic dynamical systems

This thesis treats the question of control of flexible dynamical systems for space applications. Two elastic dynamical systems are considered; The multibody system developed in Phillips Laboratory, Edwards Air Force Base, CA consists of two elastic links actuated by electric motors at the joints and rotate on a smooth horizontal granite table. An air bearing is used, which allows the whole system to float on the air so that the frictional forces do not exist between the support plate and the granite table. The controlled output is judiciously chosen such that the zero dynamics are stable or almost stable. For the control of the end point, two kinds of parameterizations of end effector position are considered. A variable structure control (VSC) law is derived for the end point trajectory control of each chosen output. Stability of zero dynamics associated with end point control is examined. Although, the VSC law accomplishes precise end point tracking, elastic modes are excited during the maneuver of the arm. A linear stabilizer is designed for the final capture of the terminal state; The second flexible system considered in this thesis is the elastic space vehicle. For the attitude control and vibration stabilization of the elastic space craft (spacecraft-beam-tip body configuration), singular perturbation technique is used. Based on nonlinear inversion, a control law is derived to decouple the attitude angle and the dominant flexible modes from the remaining elastic modes. The inverse control law decomposes the spacecraft dynamics into a slow and a fast subsystem. Based on singular perturbation theory, controllers are designed for each lower-order subsystem. Then a composite state feedback control is obtained by combining the slow and the fast control laws. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Multilingual Approach to Mathematics Education

Multilingual approach to pedagogical practices in mathematics has the potential to target high level mathematical competence and abstraction. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is an innovative educational approach to learning, a dynamic and motivating force with holistic features. Not only does it image a shift towards curricular and cultural integration but also helps greatly to focus on deeper conceptual understanding in Mathematics. CLIL’s basic principle of integration of the content and languages if accepted in a broader sense as ‘Content connected to regional language and a new language, culture, nature, real-life’ might solve various problems associated with the teaching-learning of mathematics, and thus ensures to support ‘learning for real life’. This paper establishes the need for ‘Multilingualism’ through a comprehensive literature research. It highlights multilingualism as a trigger for active approach to the quality of Mathematics education, mainly in Indian scenario. The importance of teaching mathematics as a language and specific strategies for teaching mathematics vocabulary are discussed. The illustrations provided for such approaches are entirely based on author’s teaching experiences.&nbsp

Tilting at windmills: public-private partnerships in Indian education today

There are many obstacles to the successful provision of universal primary and secondary education. The failure of state schools to provide adequate schooling is a serious hindrance to achieving the international goal of Education for All. Non-state providers of education are regarded as an alternative but the variation in the quality of education provided is a growing concern. Educational partnerships between the public and private sector have been regarded as a way out of this impasse in the United States and Western Europe and there has been considerable debate about the economic and political implications of these public private partnerships (PPPs). Disentangling the economic and political dimensions of provision would further our understanding of these new models of educational provision. This paper sets out a typology of identifying the economic and political aspects of provision through using the Hirschmanian concepts of 'exit' and 'voice'. The idea of exit draws on the mainstream economic understanding of free entry and exit with the latter occurring when individuals were no longer satisfied with what was on offer in the market. The term voice is used to denote political activity undertaken by an individual to ensure the continued provision of a good and/or the quality of the good. Conceptualizing educational provision in relation to exit and voice permits the examination of how the role of the market and community affect the access to and quality of education. Educational initiatives by state and non-state providers in India are mapped onto this typology to gain an understanding of how the new models of education, such as PPPs, would affect the current provision of education

Ethical and societal challenges of information technology

Today in many developing countries insufficient progress in science and technology is considered to be the chief reason for general backwardness; on the contrary, many in the industrially advanced societies hold unfettered technological progress as the roots of all social ills. We are currently living in the so-called information age, which can be described as an era where economic activities are mainly information based. One can deduce that ethical decisions concerning technology are becoming a major concern for technologist, society, and the environment. The decisions that one makes will always have consequences. Those consequences will have an impact; either positive or negative. Rapid change is occurring, inequitably, with difference of opinion on how best to respond and what solutions to implement. But one thing that perhaps can be agreed to by all is that education does need to adapt to the changes at least as they are occurring. Current educational philosophies support processes which facilitate students development of willingness to experiment, comprehension of abstract concepts, advanced skills of problem solving, reasoning, awareness of social justice and ecological-sustainability issues, all within a framework of integration of technology in cross-curricular activities. It is obvious that individuals or organizations that are not accepting the ethical responsibility for their actions cause many of the detrimental effects of information technology. Like other powerful technologies, information technology possesses the potential for great harm or great good for all humankind. Hence, Ethics and Technology are becoming different aspects of the same function