PILOT: design and capabilities

The proposed design for PILOT is a general-purpose, wide-field 1 degree 2.4m, f/10 Ritchey-Chretien telescope, with fast tip-tilt guiding, for use 0.5-25 microns. The design allows both wide-field and diffraction-limited use at these wavelengths. The expected overall image quality, including median seeing, is 0.28-0.3" FWHM from 0.8-2.4 microns. Point source sensitivities are estimated.Comment: 4 pages, Proceedings of 2nd ARENA conference 'The Astrophysical Science Cases at Dome C', Potsdam, 17-21 September 200

Benefit Segments for Full-Time Undergraduate Students

The purpose of this article is to present the results of a case analysis conducted at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario. The objective of this case study was to identify the benefits sought by undergraduate students and to form meaningful groups, or segments, based upon these benefits. A sample of 427 full-time at Laurentian University was used for this investigation. A questionnaire to gather information on the student, this included 19 questions using Likert statements to measure the perceived benefits of a university education. Factor analysis was used to identify five underlying benefit dimensions which were subsequently labelled as: personal skill development; personal advancement; social pressure; learning and discovering; and intellectual development. Cluster analysis, based upon the factor scores, was used to form groups of students seeking similar benefits. Six groups, or segments, were formed and named as: self improvement; pressure; learning; self development; career; and continue to study favourite subject. These groups were found to have significantly different scores on a wide range of variables. Whilst this study was limited to the students at Laurentian University nevertheless university administrators should find this study useful as a case study of applying market segmentation to educational markets.Le but de cet article est de présenter les résultats d'une étude de cas effectuée à l'Université Laurentienne de Sudbury, en Ontario. L'objet de cette étude était d'identifier les avantages que recherchent les étudiants et de classer ces derniers en groupes significatifs, ou segments, en tenant compte de ces avantages. L'échantillon étudié était composé de 427 étudiants inscrits à plein temps à l'Université Laurentienne. On a établi un questionnaire dans le but de recueillir certaines données sur les étudiants. Ce questionnaire contenait 19 questions auxquelles les étudiants devaient répondre à l'aide de l'échelle de Likert (barème allant de 0 à 5) afin d'évaluer avec précision les avantages que des études universitaires pourraient, d'après eux, leur procurer. A la suite d'une analyse factorielle, on a identifié cinq catégories sous-jacentes d'avantages que l'on a intitulées: développement des aptitudes personnelles; progrès individuel; influence sociale; apprentissage et découverte; et développement intellectuel. Puis on a fait une analyse typologique tenant compte des résultats obtenus pour regrouper les étudiants qui recherchaient les mêmes avantages. Six groupes, ou segments, ont été ainsi constitués et nommés d'après ces avantages:progrès individuel; pression; apprentissage; développement personnel; choix de carrière; et possibilité de continuer à étudier la matière qu'on préfère. On a trouvé que ces groupes avaient des scores qui variaient de façon significative, utilisant un grand nombre de variables. Même si cette étude ne se limitait qu'aux étudiants de l'Université Laurentienne, elle devrait néanmoins être utile aux administrateurs d'autres universités en tant qu'étude de cas présentant une façon de faire une segmentation de marché qui s'applique aux marchés universitaires

Situational Position and Student Choice Criteria

The student in choosing a particular university to attend does so within a particular university-student situational context. This paper demonstrates that the situational context significantly influences the evaluative criteria used by students in deciding which university to attend. Using a Canadian university as a case study, the authors develop an analytical framework for understanding the relationship between the particular university-student situational context and the student choice of university decision criteria.Lorsqu'il(elle) choisit l'université où il(elle) va poursuivre ses études, l'étudian-te) prend en considération des facteurs relatifs à l'université et à sa situation en tant qu'étudiant(e). Cet article montre que le contexte d'une situation influence d'une façon significative les critères d'évaluation dont se servent les étudiants au cours de leur choix d'une université. Prenant une université canadienne comme exemple, les auteurs élaborent un cadre analytique qui permet de comprendre le rapport qui existe entre d'une part, le contexte de la situation particulière de V université et de l' étudiant(e) et d'autre part, les critères dont se sert l' étudiant(e) lorqu'il(elle) choisit une université

Meteorologic parameters analysis above Dome C made with ECMWF data

In this paper we present the characterization of all the principal meteorological parameters (wind speed and direction, pressure, absolute and potential temperature) extended over 25 km from the ground and over two years (2003 and 2004) above the Antarctic site of Dome C. The data set is composed by 'analyses' provided by the General Circulation Model (GCM) of the European Center for Medium Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and they are part of the catalog MARS. A monthly and seasonal (summer and winter time) statistical analysis of the results is presented. The Richardson number is calculated for each month of the year over 25 km to study the stability/instability of the atmosphere. This permits us to trace a map indicating where and when the optical turbulence has the highest probability to be triggered on the whole troposphere, tropopause and stratosphere. We finally try to predict the best expected isoplanatic angle and wavefront coherence time employing the Richardson number maps, the wind speed profiles and simple analytical models of CN2 vertical profiles.Comment: 28 pages, 14 figures, pdf file, to be published on July 2006 - PASP, see also http://www.arcetri.astro.it/~masciad

Modeling Uncertainty in Climate Change: A Multi-Model Comparison

The economics of climate change involves a vast array of uncertainties, complicating both the analysis and development of climate policy. This study presents the results of the first comprehensive study of uncertainty in climate change using multiple integrated assessment models. The study looks at model and parametric uncertainties for population, total factor productivity, and climate sensitivity. It estimates the pdfs of key output variables, including CO2 concentrations, temperature, damages, and the social cost of carbon (SCC). One key finding is that parametric uncertainty is more important than uncertainty in model structure. Our resulting pdfs also provide insights on tail events

Multiple Effects of Prefrontal Lesions on Task-Switching

This study examined the performance of 41 patients with focal prefrontal cortical lesions and 38 healthy controls on a task-switching procedure. Three different conditions were evaluated: single tasks without switches and two switching tasks with the currently relevant task signalled either 1500 ms (Long Cue) or 200 ms (Short Cue) before the stimulus. Patients with Superior Medial lesions showed both a general slowing of reaction time (RT) and a significantly increased switch cost as measured by RT. No other prefrontal group showed this increased reaction time switch cost. Increased error rates in the switching conditions, on the other hand, were observed in patients with Inferior Medial lesions and, to a lesser extent, ones with Superior Medial lesions. Patients with left dorsolateral lesions (9/46v) showed slower learning of the task as indicated by a high error rate early on. Several different processes are involved in task-switching and these are selectively disrupted by lesions to specific areas of the frontal lobes

Proposed instrumentation for PILOT

PILOT (the Pathfinder for an International Large Optical Telescope) is a proposed Australian/European optical/infrared telescope for Dome C on the Antarctic Plateau, with target first light in 2012. The proposed telescope is 2.4m diameter, with overall focal ratio f/10, and a 1 degree field-of-view. In median seeing conditions, it delivers 0.3" FWHM widefield image quality, from 0.7-2.5 microns. In the best quartile of conditions, it delivers diffraction-limited imaging down to 1 micron, or even less with lucky imaging. The areas where PILOT offers the greatest advantages over existing ground-based telescopes are (a) very high resolution optical imaging, (b) high resolution wide-field optical imaging, and (c) all wide-field thermal infrared imaging. The proposed first generation instrumentation consists of (a) a fast, lownoise camera for diffraction-limited optical lucky imaging; (b) a gigapixel optical camera for seeing-limited imaging over a 1 degree field; (c) a 4K × 4K near-infrared (1-5 micron) camera with both wide-field and diffraction-limited modes; and (d) a double-beamed mid-infrared (7-40 micron) imaging spectrograph

Induced innovation in energy technologies and systems: a review of evidence and potential implications for CO2 mitigation

We conduct a systematic, interdisciplinary review of empirical literature assessing evidence on induced innovation in energy and related technologies. We explore links between demand-drivers (both market-wide and targeted); indicators of innovation (principally, patents); and outcomes (cost reduction, efficiency, and multi-sector/macro consequences). We build on existing reviews in different fields and assess over 200 papers containing original data analysis. Papers linking drivers to patents, and indicators of cumulative capacity to cost reductions (experience curves), dominate the literature. The former does not directly link patents to outcomes; the latter does not directly test for the causal impact of on cost reductions). Diverse other literatures provide additional evidence concerning the links between deployment, innovation activities, and outcomes. We derive three main conclusions. (1) Demand-pull forces enhance patenting; econometric studies find positive impacts in industry, electricity and transport sectors in all but a few specific cases. This applies to all drivers - general energy prices, carbon prices, and targeted interventions that build markets. (2) Technology costs decline with cumulative investment for almost every technology studied across all time periods, when controlled for other factors. Numerous lines of evidence point to dominant causality from at-scale deployment (prior to self-sustaining diffusion) to cost reduction in this relationship. (3) Overall Innovation is cumulative, multi-faceted, and self-reinforcing in its direction (path-dependent). We conclude with brief observations on implications for modeling and policy. In interpreting these results, we suggest distinguishing the economics of active deployment, from more passive diffusion processes, and draw the following implications. There is a role for policy diversity and experimentation, with evaluation of potential gains from innovation in the broadest sense. Consequently, endogenising innovation in large-scale models is important for deriving policy-relevant conclusions. Finally, seeking to relate quantitative economic evaluation to the qualitative socio-technical transitions literatures could be a fruitful area for future research