Heat transfer in separated flow

Imperial Users onl

Low Frequency Improvements to Commercial Geophones

Commercial geophones have been used in the field of geology for many years. They are commonly used to detect oil and gas deposits and create three dimensional simulations of the earth. Geophones are commonly made up of a spring mounted magnetic mass moving back and forth in a wire coil to create a voltage. The response of the coil is proportional to the velocity of the ground. At various frequencies, seismic events can be measured using a geophone. However, most commercial geophones only allow accurate measurements of frequencies down to approximately five hertz. By using a feedback circuit, an attempt will be made to accurately measure seismic motions at lower sensor frequencies. This will be evaluated with a shaking table that is displaced at known frequencies, taking measurements of the output of the feedback circuit. The results of the feedback circuit will be compared to the results taken of the geophone on the same shaking table to show how much better this device will detect seismic activities at lower frequencies

Alternate Models for Forecasting Hedge Fund Returns

Alternate Models for Forecasting Hedge Fund Returns Michael Holden Faculty Sponsor: Gordon Dash, Finance and Decision Sciences Investors have always wanted to improve the efficiency of modeling realized volatility to maximize directional trading returns and substantially improve profitability. As proposed, this honors project will provide evidence from hedge fund returns that a Radial-Basis Function (RBF) artificial neural network (ANN), specifically the Kajiji-4 RBF-ANN dominates other forecast methods in producing one-period ahead change-of-direction when forecasting the expected returns of various hedge fund indexes. I began this project by collecting historical economic data in monthly increments to serve as the dependent variables. The primary independent variable used in this study are two types of Treasury securities (short-term and long-term) to represent interest rates as well as the Volatility Index (VIX). The VIX index serves as a proxy for options implied volatility in the equity markets. These independent variables are used to predict the returns of multiple hedge fund indexes which serve as the dependent variables. The data was plugged into the RBF-ANN in order to solve the economic models. The ANN first took time to train using 33% of the data, and then it validated the remaining 67% of the data to measure the fitness. The study proceeded to calculate the residual by taking the difference of the actual data and the RBF-ANN predicted data. The RBF-ANN showed that the data was very fit as the mean square error (MSE) was relatively small. Overall, I have found that the RBF-ANN has done quite well in predicting the returns of various hedge fund indexes. The scope of the project will examine three well-known hedge fund styles

Access and Equity in Ontario Teacher Education: Teacher Candidates’ Perceptions

Access, equity, and equitable representation are ongoing challenges in teacher education. While many Canadian teacher education programs identify equity and diversity as key values, these values do not always result in rates of representation that reflect the student population. Minoritized teacher candidates also experience our programs in unique ways, creating gaps between university equity statements and the lived experiences of our students. This study therefore examines the perspectives of 13 teacher candidates who self-identify as members of various underrepresented groups. Participants’ experiences offer key insights into the challenge of achieving equitable and diverse representation. The presented findings will be of interest to teacher educators and other stakeholders committed to addressing the complex task of increasing equity and access for underrepresented groups in their programs.L’accès, l’équité et la représentation équitable constituent des défis constants en formation des enseignants. Alors que plusieurs programmes de formation des enseignants identifient comme valeurs fondamentales l’équité et la diversité, l’adoption de ces valeurs ne mène pas toujours à des taux de représentation qui reflètent la population des étudiants. Les candidats minoritaires au programme de formation à l’enseignement vivent l’expérience du programme différemment, ce qui crée des écarts entre l’énoncé de l’université sur l’équité et le vécu des étudiants. Cette étude porte sur la perspective de 13 étudiants candidats au programme de formation à l’enseignement qui s’auto-identifient comme membres de divers groupes sous-représentés. Ces expériences offrent des aperçus essentiels sur le défi d’atteindre une représentation équitable et diverse. Les résultats sauront intéresser les formateurs d’enseignants et d’autres parties prenantes qui s’engagent à aborder la tâche complexe qui est celle d’augmenter l’équité et l’accès à leurs programmes pour les étudiants sous-représentés.Mots clés : accès; équité; formation des enseignants; groupes sous-représentés; admission

Evolving Practices: Admissions Policies in Ontario Teacher Education Programs

This study investigated the admissions practices of Ontario’s teacher education programs during the 2014–2015 and 2015–2016 academic years. Data were gathered from 15 institutions via online resources and collaborative conversations with stakeholders at each institution. The findings identify that academic averages are used by every Ontario university as a measure of cognitive skills, while non-cognitive written statements and references are used by a majority of institutions. A majority of programs also articulate explicit equity admissions policies. These findings represent the first study of Ontario admissions in the wake of Regulation 283/13, and the first Ontario admissions study to augment online data with province-wide stakeholder input. This research offers a thorough, current overview of admissions practices that may be used to inform policymaking in Ontario teacher education, and serve as a helpful resource to other ITE programs outside of Ontario

Evolving Practices: Admissions Policies in Ontario Teacher Education Programs

This study investigated the admissions practices of Ontario’s teacher education programs during the 2014–2015 and 2015–2016 academic years. Data were gathered from 15 institutions via online resources and collaborative conversations with stakeholders at each institution. The findings identify that academic averages are used by every Ontario university as a measure of cognitive skills, while non-cognitive written statements and references are used by a majority of institutions. A majority of programs also articulate explicit equity admissions policies. These findings represent the first study of Ontario admissions in the wake of Regulation 283/13, and the first Ontario admissions study to augment online data with province-wide stakeholder input. This research offers a thorough, current overview of admissions practices that may be used to inform policymaking in Ontario teacher education, and serve as a helpful resource to other ITE programs outside of Ontario