NASTRAN finite element analysis activity at Northrop

In-house evaluation of the various analytical capabilities of the MSC version of NASTRAN, prior to production release, is a continuous effort. The NASTRAN superelement and subsonic aero features are presently being tested and brought on-line for production use. Two examples of recent NASTRAN structural solutions are also presented

Survival of the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap through the Holocene thermal maximum: evidence from sulphur contents in Katla tephra layers (Iceland) from the last ∼8400 years

International audienceThe climate in Iceland was drier and warmer during the Holocene thermal maximum than it is today and it has been suggested that ice caps disappeared entirely. Katla, a volcano covered by the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap in southern Iceland, has erupted rather steadily throughout the Holocene. Preand post-eruption sulphur concentrations in its products have been determined in previous studies, through melt inclusions trapped in phenocrysts (pre-eruption mean values of 2155 ± 165 ppm) and fully degassed magmatic tephra (post-eruption mean values of 445 ± 130 ppm). The phreatomagmatic tephra has much more variable S contents (550-1775 ppm) and spans the compositional gap between magmatic tephra and melt inclusions. These variable sulphur values are attributed to arresting of degassing as the magma is quenched upon contact with external water in the shallow levels of the volcano conduit. Sulphur in Katla tephra can thus be used to evaluate whether Mýrdalsjökull survived the warm spells of the Holocene. In this study, sulphur concentrations in tephra layers representing the last ∼8400 years of the volcano's eruption history were measured, revealing concentrations in the phreatomagmatic range (600-1600 ppm). Hence, we conclude that over the last ∼8400 years, explosive activity at Katla has been dominated by phreatomagmatic eruptions, implying that the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap has been present throughout the Holocene

Factors Affecting Phonotaxis in Male House Crickets, Acheta domesticus

This research addresses some of the possible factors that affect male Acheta domesticus phonotactic responses to calls of males of the same species. The study examines cricket age and social interaction with females as possible factors affecting this behavior. Through Friedman rank test analysis, the study attempts to demonstrate a link between these factors and the responsiveness of the male crickets in the study. As the crickets aged, they responded to a wider ranges of syllable periods, which may imply that they follow a similar pattern of decreasing selectivity in their response with age as their female counterparts. A Friedman\u27s rank test was done on the data to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference within any of the syllable period as the crickets aged. This test showed slight significance in the syllable periods 50ms and 90 ms. Socializaion with females had minimal effects on male phonotactic behavior

P-27 Factors Affecting Phonotactic Responses in Male Acheta domesticus

This research addresses some of the possible factors that affect male Acheta domesticus phonotactic responses to calls of males of the same species. The study examines cricket age and social interaction with females as possible factors affecting this behavior. Through logistic regression analysis, the study attempts to demonstrate a link between these factors and the responsiveness of the male crickets in the study. As the crickets aged, they responded to a wider range of syllable periods, which may imply that they follow a similar pattern of decreasing selectivity in their response with age as their female counterparts. The socialization aspect of the research is still underway. However, if it follows a similar trend as other cricket species, we expect to see socialization with females decrease responsiveness to conspecific calls

A Study of Factors Related to the Numerical Growth of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Iceland from 1950 to 1980

Problem The rate of growth in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Iceland has not been previously analyzed. This study was undertaken to discover, through historical and numerical analysis, what may have contributed to or hindered growth in the church since 1950, and to analyze the programs of the church and the patterns of growth. Method A survey of records of the Iceland Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, i.e., the church paper, executive minutes, constituency reports, membership lists, and accounts of outreach emphasis for several decades, presents a clear picture of the methods used in an attempt to achieve church growth. In addition, a survey was conducted in all the churches in the conference in an attempt to discover the self-understanding of church members concerning their role and function in the church; their involvement in and satisfaction from the church services, and their conception of the community perception of the SDA Church. Results Records show that the work of the SDA Church in Iceland has been conducted in two main stages of evangelism. The rather vigorous evangelistic program conducted during the first part of this century led to the organization of fourteen churches and companies. During the second stage the church concentrated upon Christian education. This has served the church well in biological growth, but has not been effective as means of outreach. A new SDA church has not been organized during the last thirty-two years. The membership tenure in the SDA Church in Iceland has steadily increased for several decades. Presently, almost two-thirds of the church members under sixty-six years of age are second and third generation Adventists. Conclusions It is concluded that a change in strategy in evangelism is necessary in order to improve the rate of growth in the SDA Church in Iceland. therefore a reordering of priorities is recommended in which more of the resources of the church are channelled towards more direct forms of outreach involving the training and participation of the members of the church

Not Your Business: Pedagogical Lessons Of Activist Resistance To Neoliberalism In Canadian Higher Education

The growing power and permeation of neoliberal ideology across all facets of social life has been instrumental in promoting and orchestrating a shift among Canadian post-secondary institutions towards a reductive view of schooling at the expense of a more liberatory vision of education. The aim of this study was to examine the connections between power, education, and democracy in relation to the neoliberal restructuring of higher education in Canada, while simultaneously exploring discourses of resistance to neoliberal hegemony. Using critical discourse analysis, this study begins by establishing the promotion and naturalization of neoliberal ideology within the policy landscape of Canadian higher education via four discursive manifestations: the reduction of education to a market function by emphasizing job training and curricular compatibility with labor market needs; the construction of students as economic entities or customers who are in the business of purchasing an education for their own personal, material gain; the commercialization of knowledge and research achieved via the establishment of formal linkages between post-secondary education and the private sector; and the trend to compensate for decreased public funding for post-secondary education by promoting “internationalization” which positions international students as a source of revenue generation and human capital. This study then documented the successes, challenges, and teachings of the largest and most recent student-led, grassroots-based movement in Canadian history--the Maple Spring of 2012--which launched a powerful counter-story to the prevailing doctrine of neoliberalism in Canadian educational and social policy. In unprecedented collective action--and despite vilification by the state and media who variably pathologized student protesters as disengaged and lazy or violent and extreme--students used a local policy proposal to illuminate a global ideological shift threatening to transform and obliterate public spaces and services, while interrupting the dominant neoliberal discourse. By presenting a vision for education as a form of cultural politics and vehicle for social justice, this student movement defended institutions of higher education as public resources that serve the common good as opposed to profit-driven entities subservient to the market economy. Considered together, the findings from this study aim to contribute to the ongoing conversation regarding the role of higher education in democratic life and the link, however fractured and tenuous it currently may be, between activism and social policy