A note on Dolby and Gull on radar time and the twin "paradox"

Recently a suggestion has been made that standard textbook representations of hypersurfaces of simultaneity for the travelling twin in the twin "paradox" are incorrect. This suggestion is false: the standard textbooks are in agreement with a proper understanding of the relativity of simultaneity.Comment: LaTeX, 3 pages, 2 figures. Update: added new section V and updated reference

Persuading young consumers to make healthy nutritional decisions.

There is widespread concern that consumers are making inappropriate decisions about what they eat, leading to a growing incidence of obesity and chronic illness which will strain public health budgets and damage economic competitiveness. Inappropriate nutritional decisions and obesity are of particular public policy importance where young consumers are concerned. The paper investigates how consumers, particularly young consumers, can be persuaded to make better nutritional decisions voluntarily, and how government and commercial persuasive communications can be deployed to facilitate such decisions. The key conclusions are that the mass media are not a reliable vehicle for bringing about the desired behavioural changes, but that new media, such as the Internet and ‘text messaging’ should be used to deliver tailored messages to individuals, particularly younger consumers

Lightweight, low compression aircraft diesel engine

The feasibility of converting a spark ignition aircraft engine to the diesel cycle was investigated. Procedures necessary for converting a single cylinder GTS10-520 are described as well as a single cylinder diesel engine test program. The modification of the engine for the hot port cooling concept is discussed. A digital computer graphics simulation of a twin engine aircraft incorporating the diesel engine and Hot Fort concept is presented showing some potential gains in aircraft performance. Sample results of the computer program used in the simulation are included

Alterity & sensitivity in inter-organizational relations: contours of the tutor in marketing ethics education.

Purpose & literature addressed: This paper scrutinises the way in which ethics is taught in the modern business/industrial marketing syllabus. We argue for a reappraisal of the tutor-student relationship such that we may facilitate a greater understanding of how marketing students can make sense of themselves and of ‘the other’ within industrial networks. Research method: This paper is conceptual in its approach. Drawing on literature from the history of marketing thought, educational philosophy and the work of Emmanuel Levinas, we suggest that the conceptualisation of ethics in marketing cannot be divorced from the question of pedagogy and the responsibilities of the tutor. Research findings: We suggest that the ideas of alterity and proximity offers space for a discussion of justice within the global supply chain, providing entry into the marketing discourse for those members of the industrial network not normally encountered by students in the course of teaching. Main contribution: Importantly for teachers of inter-organizational relationships, Levinas offers an opportunity to simultaneously re-imagine the relationship between the student and the tutor. In the process we are forced to confront and acknowledge the responsibility that the role of a moral mediator entails

Alterity and sensitivity: contours of the tutor in marketing ethics education.

This paper attempts to (re)plot the contours of the Tutor by scrutinising the way in which ethics is taught in the modern marketing syllabus. We open up a debate on how the Tutor role as a conduit of apparent ethical knowledge to students has somehow failed to map with sufficient sensitivity the terrain of the moral impulse in business practice. In particular, we argue for a reappraisal of the Tutor/student relationship such that we may facilitate a greater understanding of how marketing students can make sense of themselves and of ‗the other‘. Drawing on literature from educational philosophy and the work of Emmanuel Levinas, we suggest that the conceptualisation of ethics in marketing cannot be divorced from the question of pedagogy and the responsibilities of the tutor. Whilst the largely conventional model adopted for the teaching of marketing may provide students with a prescribed set of knowledge and skills, it may by the same token refuse us the moral education that seems to be necessary. The paper concludes that that recent economic problems offer an opportunity for a reappraisal of the teaching of marketing ethics. It is an opportunity to re-imagine the relationship between the student and the tutor

Semantics, sensors, and the social web: The live social semantics experiments

The Live Social Semantics is an innovative application that encourages and guides social networking between researchers at conferences and similar events. The application integrates data and technologies from the Semantic Web, online social networks, and a face-to-face contact sensing platform. It helps researchers to find like-minded and influential researchers, to identify and meet people in their community of practice, and to capture and later retrace their real-world networking activities at conferences. The application was successfully deployed at two international conferences, attracting more than 300 users in total. This paper describes this application, and discusses and evaluates the results of its two deployment

Are we teaching our students what they need to know about ageing? Results from the National Survey of Undergraduate Teaching in Ageing and Geriatric Medicine

Introduction - Learning about ageing and the appropriate management of older patients is important for all doctors. This survey set out to evaluate what medical undergraduates in the UK are taught about ageing and geriatric medicine and how this teaching is delivered. Methods – An electronic questionnaire was developed and sent to the 28/31 UK medical schools which agreed to participate. Results – Full responses were received from 17 schools. 8/21 learning objectives were recorded as taught, and none were examined, across every school surveyed. Elder abuse and terminology and classification of health were taught in only 8/17 and 2/17 schools respectively. Pressure ulcers were taught about in 14/17 schools but taught formally in only 7 of these and examined in only 9. With regard to bio- and socio- gerontology, only 9/17 schools reported teaching in social ageing, 7/17 in cellular ageing and 9/17 in the physiology of ageing. Discussion – Even allowing for the suboptimal response rate, this study presents significant cause for concern with UK undergraduate education related to ageing. The failure to teach comprehensively on elder abuse and pressure sores, in particular, may be significantly to the detriment of older patients

Phosphorylation of pRb: mechanism for RB pathway inactivation in MYCN-amplified retinoblastoma.

A small, but unique subgroup of retinoblastoma has been identified with no detectable mutation in the retinoblastoma gene (RB1) and with high levels of MYCN gene amplification. This manuscript investigated alternate pathways of inactivating pRb, the encoded protein in these tumors. We analyzed the mutation status of the RB1 gene and MYCN copy number in a series of 245 unilateral retinoblastomas, and the phosphorylation status of pRb in a subset of five tumors using immunohistochemistry. There were 203 tumors with two mutations in RB1 (RB1(-/-) , 83%), 29 with one (RB1(+/-) , 12%) and 13 with no detectable mutations (RB1(+/+) , 5%). Eighteen tumors carried MYCN amplification between 29 and 110 copies: 12 had two (RB1(-/-) ) or one RB1 (RB1(+/-) ) mutations, while six had no mutations (RB1(+/+) ). Immunohistochemical staining of tumor sections with antibodies against pRb and phosphorylated Rb (ppRb) displayed high levels of pRb and ppRb in both RB1(+/+) and RB1(+/-) tumors with MYCN amplification compared to no expression of these proteins in a classic RB1(-/-) , MYCN-low tumor. These results establish that high MYCN amplification can be present in retinoblastoma with or without coding sequence mutations in the RB1 gene. The functional state of pRb is inferred to be inactive due to phosphorylation of pRb in the MYCN-amplified retinoblastoma without coding sequence mutations. This makes inactivation of RB1 by gene mutation or its protein product, pRb, by protein phosphorylation, a necessary condition for initiating retinoblastoma tumorigenesis, independent of MYCN amplification

The Real Options Solution To A Cost-Of-Capital Dilemma

The required rate of return should equal the average expected return in the market for the same level of risk.  However, firms should only accept such projects with expected returns that exceed this required rate of return.  This contradicts our first statement that the required rate of return equals this average expected return for the market.  We study this possible paradox in the context of a stochastic general-equilibrium model with endogenous prices.  We find that the capitalization of the real options involved in this model explains away this contradiction or paradox