The educational scorecard: The Start of our Journey

Against a backdrop of public sector cuts, increasing university fees and high youth unemployment, we are facing challenges in Higher Education to demonstrate the value of our courses. Assessing the value of learning, however, is not straight forward. This paper reports on a study of evaluation processes on a post-graduate, professionally accredited diploma delivered at a selection of post 1992 universities. The driver for the study was a concern that current evaluation processes do not fully demonstrate the value of the course nor take into account the needs of multiple stakeholders. The project included benchmarking University evaluation processes and conducting a dialogue with stakeholders. The study adopted a qualitative management research approach, involving: a review of current practice, comparison with a sample of equivalent courses, and consultation (in the form of focus groups and semi-structured interviews) with a sample of students and employers. The paper discusses findings and proposes recommendations for future evaluation procedures in the design of an ‘educational scorecard’ for the course. Kaplan and Norton’s ‘balanced scorecard (1996) concept was adapted to provide a mechanism to represent and balance the needs of different stakeholder groups in the education process. We argue that we cannot truly assess accountability and comparability without engaging a range of stakeholders, not only in soliciting their views on the outcome of the learning but also in the design and implementation of evaluation processes. The ‘educational scorecard’ presented in this paper is developed specifically for the post-graduate diploma in Human Resource Management (PDHRM) at Leeds Metropolitan University and the report concludes with some initial reflections on the benefits of adopting the scorecard methodology The proposed model is flexible and may be adapted for other HE institutions and courses

Robot docking using mixtures of Gaussians

This paper applies the Mixture of Gaussians probabilistic model, combined with Expectation Maximization optimization to the task of summarizing three dimensionals range data for the mobile robot. This provides a flexible way of dealing with uncertainties in sensor information, and allows the introduction of prior knowledge into low-level perception modules. Problems with the basic approach were solved in several ways: the mixture of Gaussians was reparameterized to reflect the types of objects expected in the scene, and priors on model parameters were included in the optimization process. Both approaches force the optimization to find 'interesting' objects, given the sensor and object characteristics. A higher level classifier was used to interpret the results provided by the model, and to reject spurious solutions

Solar radio emission

Active areas of both observational and theoretical research in which rapid progress is being made are discussed. These include: (1) the dynamic spectrum or frequency versus time plot; (2) physical mechanisms in the development of various types of bursts; (3) microwave type 1, 2, 3, and moving type 4 bursts; (4) bursts caused by trapped electrons; (5) physics of type 3bursts; (6) the physics of type 2 bursts and their related shocks; (7) the physics of both stationary and moving traps and associated type 1 and moving type 4 bursts; and (8) the status of the field of solar radio emission

Spray coating apparatus having a rotatable workpiece holder

A spray coating apparatus is provided for rotating a workpiece relative to a spray station to obtain a uniform coating of the workpiece. In a typical example, the workpiece comprises a ceramic tile which is to be coated with a ceramic coating and the tile is to be used as a reusable component of the thermal protection system for a space shuttle. The apparatus for rotating the workpiece includes a base support having a first rotatable stage for rotation in the horizontal plane and a second rotatable stage for rotation in a second plane inclined at an angle, such as 45 degrees, to the horizontal plane and the workpiece is supported on this second stage. Thus the workpiece is rotatable in both of two planes of rotation

Survey of Material for an Infrared-Opaque Coating

More than 40 reflectance spectra in the range from 20 to 500 microns have been obtained for a variety of coatings, binders, and additives to identify promising components of an infrared-opaque coating for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility. Certain combinations of materials showed a specular reflectance below 0.1 throughout the spectral range measured. In addition to estimating the optical constants of several combination coatings, this survey also supports three qualitative conclusions: (1) promising off-the-shelf binders of different additives are Chemglaze Z-306, ECP-2200, and De Soto Black; (2) carbon black is very effective in reducing far-infrared reflectance; (3) the far-infrared reflectance from coatings containing 80 SiC grit is consistently lower than that from similar coatings containing TiBr powder

Mineralogy of the Ibitira eucrite and comparison with other eucrites and lunar samples

Single crystal X-ray and energy dispersive electron-probe techniques are used to study the mineralogy and track history of Ibitira. The mineralogical features of the Ibitire eucrite are described and examined in relation to data for other eucrites and howardites and lunar samples. The processes which transformed a presumed igneous texture into a more complex one are discussed

Exact Results for Three-Body Correlations in a Degenerate One-Dimensional Bose Gas

Motivated by recent experiments we derive an exact expression for the correlation function entering the three-body recombination rate for a one-dimensional gas of interacting bosons. The answer, given in terms of two thermodynamic parameters of the Lieb-Liniger model, is valid for all values of the dimensionless coupling $\gamma$ and contains the previously known results for the Bogoliubov and Tonks-Girardeau regimes as limiting cases. We also investigate finite-size effects by calculating the correlation function for small systems of 3, 4, 5 and 6 particles.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Nucleosynthesis and mixing on the Asymptotic Giant Branch. III. Predicted and observed s-process abundances

We present the results of s-process nucleosynthesis calculations for AGB stars of different metallicities and initial masses. The computations were based on previously published stellar evolutionary models that account for the III dredge up phenomenon occurring late on the AGB. Neutron production is driven by the 13C(alpha,n)16O reaction during the interpulse periods in a tiny layer in radiative equilibrium at the top of the He- and C-rich shell. The s-enriched material is subsequently mixed with the envelope by the III dredge up, and the envelope composition is computed after each thermal pulse. We follow the changes in the photospheric abundance of the Ba-peak elements (heavy s, or `hs') and that of the Zr-peak ones (light s, or `ls'), whose logarithmic ratio [hs/ls] has often been adopted as an indicator of the s-process efficiency. The theoretical predictions are compared with published abundances of s elements for Galactic AGB giants of classes MS, S, SC, post-AGB supergiants, and for various classes of binary stars. The observations in general confirm the complex dependence of n captures on metallicity. They suggest that a moderate spread exists in the abundance of 13C that is burnt in different stars. Although additional observations are needed, a good understanding has been achieved of s-process operation in AGB. The detailed abundance distribution including the light elements (CNO) of a few s-enriched stars at different metallicity are examined.Comment: Accepted for ApJ, 59 pages, 19 figures, 5 table

An alternative method of analysis for base accelerated dynamic response in NASTRAN

An alternative method of analysis to determine the dynamic response of structures subjected to base accelerations is presented. The method is exact as opposed to the approximate technique of using unusually large masses and loads to enforce desired base accelerations. This paper presents the relevant equations to motion, ALTERs for direct and modal frequency-, random- and transient-response rigid formats, and illustrative examples

Feasibility analysis of reciprocating magnetic heat pumps

The conceptual design selected for detailed system analysis and optimization is the reciprocating gadolinium core in a regenerative fluid column within the bore of a superconducting magnet. The thermodynamic properties of gadolinium are given. A computerized literature search for relevant papers was conducted and is being analyzed. Contact was made with suppliers of superconducting magnets and accessories, magnetic materials, and various types of hardware. A description of the model for the thermal analysis of the core and regenerator fluids is included