Efficient calculation of electronic structure using O(N) density functional theory

We propose an efficient way to calculate the electronic structure of large systems by combining a large-scale first-principles density functional theory code, Conquest, and an efficient interior eigenproblem solver, the Sakurai-Sugiura method. The electronic Hamiltonian and charge density of large systems are obtained by \conquest and the eigenstates of the Hamiltonians are then obtained by the Sakurai-Sugiura method. Applications to a hydrated DNA system, and adsorbed P2 molecules and Ge hut clusters on large Si substrates demonstrate the applicability of this combination on systems with 10,000+ atoms with high accuracy and efficiency.Comment: Submitted to J. Chem. Theor. Compu

Impediments to International Air Transportation Services in Japan: Measuring the Border Effect in Main Japanese Airports

In this paper, we investigate the effectiveness of international passenger air transportation services in Japan by quantifying the “border effect.†In order to measure the border effect, we employ the basic gravity model for explaining intra- and international passenger flow in Japan as a benchmark model at first. And then, “border effect†dummy variable is introduced to quantify the diminishing effect to passenger flow in case of international travel. If the dummy variable has negative and statistically significant coefficient, international passenger flow in Japan is smaller than intranational flow. Bilateral passenger flow data among main Japanese airports and between Japanese airport and foreign one is used for our empirical estimation, and the dummy variable shows negative coefficient. This result implies that international passenger flow is diminished by some impediments such as political regulation, institutional inefficiency, and so on. For instance, entry barrier for new carrier or market access restriction to airport services in international airline may have decreasing effect to international passenger flow because of high services cost, and poorly established infrastructure like international air terminal or tiresome immigrant / emigrant procedure may decline passengers’ incentives for traveling abroad or visiting Japan. Unfortunately we cannot specify the reason why international passenger flow is so small because we just measure the difference between international and intranational flow. However, if there are really some impediments in international air transportation services, those may be disadvantageous for Japanese airports to compete with other Asian international hub airports.

TOWARD THE CONSTRUCTION OF KENTUCKY FOOD IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: FOOD LOCALISM AND COMMODIFICATION OF PLACE IDENTITY UNDER POST-TOBACCO AGRICULTURAL RESTRUCTURING, 1990-2006.

This study examines the concept of local food and the discourses surrounding the concept, both of which have played a significant role during Kentuckys agricultural restructuring. Since the mid-1990s, Kentucky farmers who were dependent on tobacco production began to struggle financially after the substantial reduction of quota allotments, and they were encouraged to diversify their agricultural production. Subsequently, practices of producing, marketing, and consuming locally-grown food were implemented. Drawing primarily on qualitative data, this study investigates the meanings of Kentuckys local food discourse development in four dimensions: 1) the political economy of tobacco production and the structural change of Kentuckys agriculture; 2) the role of diverse actors who prompted the adoption of local food; 3) the construction of local scale and micro-scale politics for marketing local food at farmers markets; and 4) the symbolization of local food at county food-related festivals. Kentuckys tobacco production declined not only because of the national anti-tobacco movement, but also because of a constellation of causes including the influence of a free-trade ideology that decreased American burleys competitiveness with global markets, and the increase of part-time farmers that led local tobacco farms to struggle with labor shortages and meeting production demands. Farmers opposition to tobacco controls and their discourses were transformed to attract supporting small food-producing farms, which ultimately merged with societal interests in the production and the consumption of local food. Commoditized local brands at increased direct-sale venues such as farmers markets, however, became political entities as regulations and surveillance were required to maintain their definition of local food. Semiotic interpretation of county food-related festivals in Kentucky shows changes in how people attach their place-identities to agricultural products and how they understand local food. Although the distribution of venues is spatially uneven, the production and the consumption of local food have gradually been adopted throughout Kentuckys landscape over the last decade. To maintain the success of localized markets, this study proposes three potential requirements: 1) the credibility of and the transparency for understanding local food; 2) the resource investment to support future producers; and 3) the expanding adoption of community food security ideals

CS 790-01: Introduction to Parallel Algorithms

Low-cost parallel computers such as PC clusters are becoming available, and many previously unsolvable problems can be solved using such computers. However, designing algorithms that perform well on parallel computers is often challenging. The focus of this course is on learning how to design algorithms for parallel computers and how to evaluate them

CS 790-01: Introduction to Parallel Algorithms

Low-cost parallel computers such as PC clusters are becoming available, and many previously unsolvable problems can be solved using such computers. However, designing algorithms that perform well on parallel computers is often challenging. The focus of this course is on learning how to design algorithms for parallel computers and how to evaluate them